Chapter 9: Page 9: Incident in Riften
The guards of Riften patrolled the streets, ensuring nothing happened.
Everything was quiet until the scream of a woman broke the silence.
"Thief!"
The guards quickly mobilized to investigate the commotion.
They arrived at a house where a distressed woman was waiting.
They questioned the lady, who explained the situation.
"I was asleep when I heard a strange sound coming from downstairs, so I went to check. That's when I saw him. It was a thief. I couldn't see his face because he was wearing a mask. I screamed, and he escaped through the door."
The guards exchanged glances after hearing her story and assured her they would catch the thief.
One of the guards stayed behind to protect the woman in case the thief returned, while the others set out to find him.
"Another member of the Thieves Guild."
"We should storm the Ratway and deal with all of them."
"Jarl Laila won't allow it."
Meanwhile, the thief was hiding in one of the alleys, crouched behind a barrel.
"Damn it. I never thought they'd find me. Mercer's going to be furious."
The thief moved slowly, keeping a close eye on the guards.
When he saw an opening, he made his way into another alley, ignoring the noise he made in the process.
Hearing footsteps approaching, he hurried across the bridge.
"There he goes!"
One of the guards had spotted him and alerted the others.
"Shit!"
The thief kept running until he found himself in a dead-end alley.
Realizing there was a small wall leading to Honorhall Orphanage, he decided to climb it as his only chance of escape.
He landed quietly in the orphanage's small yard.
'I need to hide until they're gone.'
Carefully, he opened the door and saw all the orphans' beds, which meant he needed to move silently.
Noticing that one of the beds was empty, he started looking around in case the child might see him.
He heard a strange noise, readying himself in case he needed to knock out the child.
Peeking through a slightly open door, he spotted Grelod's body lying on the floor with a dagger in her throat.
'What happened here?'
The thief heard another noise and hid inside the room with the corpse. Through the crack of the door, he saw a child emerging from the storage room.
Trying to stay as quiet as possible, he watched as the child quickly retreated back into the storage room, locking himself inside.
"Someone's here!"
The child shouted, alerting the other kids.
"Damn it."
The thief was about to leave, but the front door burst open.
Guards swarmed the orphanage, surrounding the thief.
"Surrender. You're surrounded. There's no escape."
The thief weighed his options but realized he was completely cornered.
'I have no other choice.'
He pulled a scroll from his clothes, but before he could use it, a guard shot an arrow into his stomach, causing him to drop it. As the thief stumbled, another guard rushed forward and killed him with a sword.
"He's dead. Let's check on the children."
The guards searched for the orphans, who were hiding under their beds, terrified. Their relief upon finding them safe was palpable.
Lun emerged from the storage room, only to be met by a guard pointing a sword at him.
"Calm down. He's just a child."
Another guard intervened.
"Did you scream?" the guard asked.
"I did," Lun replied.
"Good job. That was very brave of you."
The guards discovered Grelod's body and realized they needed to inform Jarl Laila.
While some guards went to report to the Jarl, others stayed to watch over the children, and a few left to fetch a Priest of Arkay to handle the body.
Hours passed, and most of the children eventually fell asleep, except for Lun, who stayed awake, listening.
The guards had noted the poor living conditions of the orphanage and the state of its infrastructure, which they would also need to report to the Jarl.
The incident spread quickly through Riften, as the murder of an elderly woman by a thief was no small matter.
'It was a great coincidence that the thief broke in; otherwise, I wouldn't know how to explain what happened to Grelod.'
Lun sat quietly, playing with a small light.
'Killing her was surprisingly easy. It's just like the game; they made her die with just a single hit…'
As he toyed with the light, a thought struck him, making him analyze his actions more closely.
'Now that I think about it, wouldn't this mess up the Dark Brotherhood's recruitment process?'
He knew that in the game, joining the Dark Brotherhood required accepting Aventus Aretino's contract after he escaped from Honorhall. But now that Grelod was dead, there would be no reason for Aventus to run away.
'The Dragonborn won't be able to join without Aventus Aretino's quest. Without that, the Listener won't be discovered. And without the Listener, the Emperor's assassination questline won't begin.'
He extinguished the light in his hands.
"Looks like I changed quite a few things with this. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing."
Lun got up, moving silently to avoid waking the other children, who were all huddled together asleep.
He went to the Punishment Room, finding it already cleaned.
"They sure clean up quickly."
He recalled a guard mentioning someone would stay by the door to watch over them until the Jarl decided what to do.
"Hopefully, whoever comes next is better than Grelod. It'd be strange if someone else ended up dead."
Unsure of what to do, he considered trying Oakflesh again until his thoughts returned to the Dark Brotherhood.
'Maybe the Emperor's questline will still happen.'
Looking at his hand, he remembered how he had stabbed Grelod's neck.
"It's not my problem anyway. Unless they come after me, then it'll be my problem—and those assassins will disappear."
He noticed a piece of paper on the floor.
"A scroll? I wonder what it does."
Meanwhile, at Mistveil Keep, Jarl Laila was receiving a report from her steward about the events.
"A thief broke into Honorhall Orphanage and murdered its matron. We also discovered evidence of possible embezzlement and child abuse. The orphanage's structure is in poor condition, which allowed a skeever to enter, as reported by one of the children."
Jarl Laila considered her next move.
She knew that Honorhall Orphanage was funded by Maven Black-Briar, so she would need to speak with her to determine whether the funds had been misappropriated or never sent at all.
"First, we need to find someone suitable to take over as matron of the orphanage," the Jarl said.
"My apologies, my Jarl. I believe I know someone who could take the position," Anuriel replied. "A while ago, I received a request to assist Honorhall Orphanage, but I had to decline because Grelod claimed she could manage it herself."
"Who is it?" Laila asked.
"It's Helena, the former Priestess of Mara."
The Jarl considered her.
Lenita was known for her good reputation—kind to everyone and healing all who needed it.
"She'd be an excellent choice. Contact her and let her know."
"Yes, my Jarl."
Anuriel left the throne room, leaving the Jarl with her aide.
'The Thieves Guild has gone too far this time.'
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