The Dragon's Legacy: Return

Chapter Fifteen: A Cornered Rat

Eerika and Brynjolf grabbed Lydia from the local tavern, the Bee and the Barb. She anxiously sat in a corner, a barely touched mug of mead sitting beside her. She practically jumped out of her chair when she saw Eerika rush inside the entrance. She grabbed her shield and ran after her.

"He's in the warrens!" Eerika panted as they ran down a set of stairs to the lower docks of the city. The stench of the stagnant water of the canal was over-whelming, but they ignored it as they followed Brynjolf through the maze of docks and platforms.

They came to a rod iron gate within one of the foundational walls supporting the city. Brynjolf opened it and led to another door down a few steps. "This is the Ratway." He said. "I'll take you as far as the Ragged Flaggon. I'll cover for you, but then you're on your own."

Eerika looked up at him. "How long do you think we have?"

He shook his head slightly. "Not long, I'm afraid, lass."

They opened the second door, and it revealed a dark, gloomy, damp passage lined with moss and slime. Lydia covered her nose from the rotten stench that filled the air. They stepped inside the sewer and closed the door.

Eerika heard voices up ahead.  "I dunno, Drahff. They'd skin us alive if they knew we were doin' this." Said a deep scratchy voice, belonging to that of a Nord it sounded.

"Why are you always acting like such a big baby? I've gotten us this far." Said another higher male voice. This she assumed to be Drahff."

Brynjolf held a finger to his lips as he snuck closer to the two men."This far? We're livin' in a sewer. You said we'd have a house as big as the Black-Briars' by now." Said the other man.

"You worry about bashing people's heads in, I'll worry about the Guild. Okay?" Eerika looked over to Brynjolf, she saw him clench his jaw and his fist.

"Okay, okay." The man said, back down from Drahff.

"I'm going to check the entrance to the Ratway. Be right back." Drahff said, and he started to turn towards the entrance but was met with a fist to the face.

Brynjolf let out an angry cry as he punched him square in the jaw. Drahff let out a shriek and cried, "Hewnon! HEWNON HELP!" The larger Nord came from their coven with a war hammer in hand. She saw Brynjolf strangling his partner, he raised the hammer, but Eerika fired two arrows in his chest, two miniature javelins protruding from his torso. He fell backward into a bucket of waste.

Brynjolf slammed Drahff into the wall. "YOU'RE THE ONE GETTING MY RECRUITS!" He screamed, bashing him into the wall again. "YOU'RE THE REASON WE SUFFER, IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU BASTARD!" HE pushed the trembling nord to the ground. "Get out of here." The imperial commanded. "OUT!"

He scampered over to his fallen friend and lifted him up, groans coming from his mouth.

"I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU IN HERE AGAIN!" Brynjolf screamed, raising his fist in the air.

The two low life's scurried from sight, escaping through the entrance of the Ratway.

As the door slammed, The only thing audible was the dripping of water and the man's heavy breathing.

"Let's keep moving." He muttered, kicking a dead skeever out of the way.

The made it to the Ragged Flaggon, an underground tavern that resided under the city, and the only source of light besides a few torches was what appeared to be the opening of a well, the same well that was in the cemetery of the market.

A stagnant pool of water sat in the center of the chamber while the bar was set up on what appeared to be a make-shift wooden platform.

Brynjolf walked right into the place, but surprisingly didn't get any strange looks from the people around him, even though he stuck out like a sore thumb with his fine clothes and clean skin compared to the other people dressed in filthy leather armor and hoods covering their expressions.