Chapter Text
In the morning, the two awakened, and left the house. Mannimarco wore the robes that Sylvanas made, and he also wore a hood to hide his identity. Sylvanas put on her Elven helmet, and they walked on the road to Whiterun, as she knew that they would stop there at first.
"Breathing in the fresh air already has me happy after being down there for so long. I thought that I was going to die down there," Mannimarco said, as they walked past a cave entrance. Sylvanas wondered what got Mannimarco in that cage in the first place.
And for how long he was down there in it. The only clue that she had was 'for so long'.
This didn't matter, for now, as she would find out. First stop was Whiterun, before they would get to their main destination, Morthal, which was to the north west of their starting destination for their journey.
The two arrived at the city, and Mannimarco was happy to see a settlement after being in the cage for too long.
"We will stock up on supplies, and then head to Morthal," Sylvanas said.
"Good idea. We won't do tomb scouring while having less potions and supplies. Who knows what we might encounter in the place you're going to?" Mannimarco agreed.
Once they entered the city, they saw two Redguards in the traditional clothing. A female guard was barring them from proceeding.
"Look, you've already been told you're not allowed here. Turn around and go back the way you came," she spoke.
"We're causing no trouble. All we ask is to look for her," the Redguard replied.
"I don't care what you're doing, after what happened, you're lucky I don't toss you in jail. Now get lost."
"We will be back. This is not over."
"I wonder what is going on here," Sylvanas mused, as she and Mannimarco walked away before they could be approached. Sylvanas thought to bring the situation to Balgruff.
In Dragonsreach, she walked up to the throne area, and Balgruuf was glad to see her, while Mannimarco warmed by the fire. Sylvanas guessed that it was ages since he was a part of the civilized society, which had her wondering how long he was in that cage.
"It's about the Redguards at the entrance. They spoke of a woman here in the city, and I want to investigate the matter," Sylvanas said.
"Those two are a part of Alik'r. There are rumors of Redguard women being harassed by Alik'r across Skyrim, as the latter are searching for a specific one," Balgruuf replied.
"Come to think of it, we witnessed two of these warriors harassing a woman, and mentioning a scar. Clearly a clue alongside the location of a woman that they're seeking."
"There are few Redguard women here in Whiterun, Saadia, Ahlam and Saffir. I need you to find out what is going on, and why Alik'r are here."
Sylvanas nodded, and believed that she would take a look. She found Ahlam in Temple of Kynareth. The woman was married to Nazeem, and Ahlam had no scar. Saffir, who was arguing with her husband about his sword, also had no scar. But, once they entered the Bannered Mare and sat down to have a drink, they were approached by a Redguard woman, who had black hair, and scar on her face.
The former Ranger bought a drink, sipped it, and said: "Did you know some Alik'r warriors are looking for a Redguard woman?"
"Are you sure? Oh no! They've found me? I need your help! Please, come with me. I need to speak to you privately."
Sylvanas followed the woman, only for Saadia to take out her dagger.
"What is the meaning of this? What is going on here?" Mannimarco asked.
"Put that dagger away. I do not mean to hurt you, only to find out what is going here," Sylvanas added.
"I am not the person that the people of Whiterun think I am. My name is Iman. I am a noble of House Suda in Hammerfell. The men who are looking for me, the Alik'r, they are assassins in the employ of the Aldmeri Dominion. They wish to exchange my blood for gold. I need you to root them out and drive them away before they find me and drag me back to Hammerfell for an execution," Saadia explained.
While Sylvanas had no idea about the Aldmeri Dominion, Mannimarco looked a bit suspicious about something.
"We will have these Assasins dealt with," Sylvanas agreed, as the two left the Tavern.
"Let's ask the other side in this case, as this could not be a simple task," Mannimarco whispered to her.
"So, do you think that we should search this hold's bandit lairs to find a trail of their leader and ask him about his side of the story. Surely, the assassins would try to poison her by putting a poison into her drink? Something is clearly not right here with her story," Sylvanas whispered back, as she and Mannimarco left Whiterun.
It took them a day or so to search whole hold's bandit lairs to find the trail, but to no avail. So, they came back to ask a prisoner in Whiterun Dungeons, who told them about their leader, Kematu, being in the Swindler's Den close to Rorikstead.
They arrived to the Swindler's Den, where Sylvanas sniped the Bandit at the entrance.
"So, the supposed Assasins are here. Let's see what they have to say, before we make our strike," she said, as they entered the lair.
Bandits were the obstacle to Kematu, but, thanks to Sylvanas's stealth shots, the Bandits were taken aback, and Mannimarco used his magic to defeat the bandits, taking the advantage of their confusion.
They reached the final spot, where they saw three Redguards. Two of them were ready to attack, but, the leader called them off:
"Alik'r, hold! You've proven your strength, warriors. Let's avoid any more bloodshed. I think you and I have some things to talk about."
Sylvanas and Mannimarco took this as a sign that they would indeed discuss something with Kematu, and find out what was going on here.
"We're here about Saadia, and her speaking about Alik'r hunting her here in Skyrim. She said that you're the assassins, who were hired by the Aldmeri Dominion to hunt her after she spoke out against them, and had to flee here, but, I am suspicious of that claim." Sylvanas spoke.
"Assassins, so she says. "Saadia", as you know her, is wanted by the noble houses of Taneth for treason. We were hired to see her returned to Hammerfell for her crimes. She sold the city out to the Aldmeri Dominion. Were it not for her betrayal, Taneth could have held its ground in the war. The other noble houses discovered her betrayal and she fled. They want her brought back alive. The resistance against the Dominion is alive and well in Hammerfell, and they want justice," Kematu explained.
This was a different side to the story, and Sylvanas wondered as why Thalmor wouldn't just go after her themselves or send their own assassins to dispatch her? Now Sylvanas and Mannimarco knew that something was absolutely not right with her story.
And Sylvanas was sure that the assassins were not mercenaries.
"So, she lied about her being a rebel. That will not do. And she pulled a dagger on us, when we tried to inquire, once she led us to the safe spot in the tavern in Whiterun. Hmmm, where shall we meet you about surrendering her?" Sylvanas asked.
"She trusts you, at least to some extent. She sent you after us, and has no reason to think that you'd do anything other than that. Convince her that we'll be coming for her, and she needs to leave. Lead her to the stables outside Whiterun. We'll be waiting to take her into custody. I'll gladly share a portion of the bounty in return for your efforts in seeing proper justice done."
"Understood. I'll meet you behind the stables," Sylvanas agreed as she and Mannimarco departed to Whiterun.
They returned to Whiterun, and told Saadia that the assassins knew where she was, and told her to escape. Sylvanas lost any trust towards Saadia, so, she had no shred of regret of turning her in. Kematu had followed Sylvanas, and waited for the right time to appear.
"We meet at last, my dear lady," he began.
"What is this? What have you done?" Saadia asked, turning to Sylvanas.
"I do not trust liars, and traitors. I had someone, who paid the price for his treachery, with his own life," Sylvanas responded, remembering what Varimathras did during the War against the Lich King, and the whole fiasco on the Wrathgate, and the Undercity.
"Oh, come now. You didn't really expect to manipulate people forever, did you? Your luck had to run out sometime," Kematu said, as he cast a spell, that had Saadia fall onto the ground.
"I hope it did not hurt her," Sylvanas noted.
"It's a Paralyze spell, so, she wasn't," Mannimarco responded.
"Now, we'll take our friend here back to Hammerfell, where she will pay the price for her treason. And she won't be harmed on the way here. Once in Hammerfell, what happens to her won't be up to me. And as for you, I owe you a portion of the reward, don't I? Well, here you go. Spend it wisely, and if I may... Don't allow yourself to be fooled by a pretty face. You're better than that."
"Exactly. She already had me suspicious. I will keep that gold for keepsake. Be careful, especially with the war raging," Sylvanas noted.
"Of course. I'll see to it that you get a letter, once we reach back Hammerfell, and the aftermath," Kematu responded, as he, and his warriors left with Saadia in tow.
"That is over with," Sylvanas noted.
"You have to tell the Jarl about what happened," Mannimarco responded.
"She was what?!" Balgruuf was shocked, once Sylvanas explained the outcome.
"She used the cover story of assassins going after her to drag her back to Hammerfell for the execution. That way, she would fool anyone thinking that she was a victim of something, that clearly would not get her into trouble back in Hammerfell," Sylvanas responded.
"You've done Skyrim and the Empire a great service by finding the Dominion spy. I assure you, if she was actually a noble on the run from the Dominion, they would send their own assassins, not rely on mercenaries. They would gather the intel on her, like they did with the Blades, and hunt her down."
That just showed that Saadia was indeed in the wrong, and Sylvanas was right to investigate this. Only the time would tell, if Sylvanas made a mistake. And it looked like that Hulda in the Bannered Mare needed a replacement, which she would had to find.
Sylvanas and Mannimarco returned to the Swindler's Den, got the treasure that would help Whiterun, and they had a rest in the Dragonsreach, before they would continue their journey,
That night, Mannimarco had a different dream. He was back in the same land, but, he was in the spire, listening to an Elf playing the music. He was the same race as Sylvanas, but he was alive, and not the undead.
And the land was alive, as there was no trace of the undeath affecting it. It was gorgeous as Summerset Isle, even more gorgeous, Mannimarco thought, and he sat down onto the floor to hear the song that the Elf played on his lute.
It was gorgeous, so Mannimarco stayed to listen, before he awakened in the reality the next morning.