Kapitel 263: Merc'd
Again, Mercer throws himself to the side to dodge, but Michale had been anticipating this, throwing his hand forward and casting "Shock!". The tendrils of energy whip forward and strike Mercer in the side, scorching his black leather armour and throwing him to the ground. Michael was tempted to just finish him with a Dragon Slave spell but knew that probably result in the entire city burning... With that in mind, he turns off Fiery Soul to prevent his flame aura from doing the same.
Still, he Blinks towards Mercer who was still trembling from the electricity coursing through him, but he recovers quicker than Michael had anticipated. He swipes his dagger up to intercept Michael strike, and succeeds... Only to get punched hard in the face by Michael's off-hand.
"Argh!" Mercer groans as his nose audibly break under the strike, he tries to stab Michael with the Skeleton Key but Michale quickly backs away to avoid it, not knowing what would happen if he got hit by such an artifact... Maybe his 'flesh' would 'unlock' to spill his intestines on the floor or something.
With Michael getting distance between them, Mercer pulls himself to his feet and throws his dagger, it is easily dodged, but Mercer didn't think it'd hit in the first place, instead intending to free up his hand for casting. Two turquoise coloured spells shoot from his palm, hitting the floor next to Michael and exploding outwards.
Michael managed to dodge the first one but gets caught in the next, causing a wave of... Peace, to wash over him. The world turns a shade of blue and he looks over at Mercer, a man he'd been trying to kill for some reason. He nods his head at him and wonders where he could buy some pizza, he really wanted to watch a movie, and binge on food right now.
...
"Hang on, this isn't right..." he mentally intones as he watches Mercer run towards him with his dagger raised.
Just then, the world returns back to its dull and gloomy colour, Michael's senses to return and allow him to avoid a lethal injury, even if Mercer's dagger does gouge a deep wound into the wide of his head... Luckily, it's merely a flesh wound.
"Just. Die!" Mercer exclaims, throwing a flurry of attacks at Michael as he dodges, blocks, and parries them. Finally, Mercer leaps backwards and glances around with a scowl on his face, realising that they are guests rapidly approaching, most likely the other Thieves Guild members.
Growling under his breath, he stabs the Skeleton Key forward once more, and dissipates into shadowed particles again... This time with a passenger, who'd managed to grab a hold of the man just before he fled.
Mercer and Michael practically fly into existence within a swamp a good distance outside of Riften, Mercer losing his grip on the Skeleton Key due to how exhausting it was to transport two people at once. It falls into the swamp waters, leaving Mercer completely unable to search for it as he still had Michael to deal with. "You won't leave here alive! I promise you that!"
Michael just shakes his head, "Wanna bet on whether that key uses your Magicka?" he asks before immediately casting Mana Void. He thrusts his arms outwards in a pulling motion, and a blue glow encapsulates Mercer, giving the man no way to dodge.
The spell erupts, blasting both him and the area surrounding him with a shockwave that bathes everything in blue light. Once it clears, Michael spots Mercer kneeling on the ground with an incredibly pale face.
"Huh, so that thing doesn't use mana... Cool?" he murmurs, knowing that Mercer would've instantly died if the Skeleton Key did.
Mercer, knowing he wasn't winning this, weakly searches for the key in the swamp water but finds his arm held in place with burning electrified shackles. He gives a strained shout of pain as Michael pulls him over and drags him onto dry land.
Michael kicks him onto his back and points his palm towards the man, "By the way, I stole most of your shit. Thanks for collecting it, it really saved me a lot of time." he sarcastically says.
"W-wait... Are you one of them!? O-one of Hers!?" he gasps out, utterly exhausted and looking on death's door.
Michael tilts his head in thought, "I think I know who you're talking about, but even if I was it wouldn't matter. Have fun in whatever hell you're going to." he states before casting Dragon Slave directly in his face, utterly incinerating the man.
...
"Oh, shit... I probably should've checked him for loot before I did that." he mutters, palming his face. After a moment of chiding himself, he searches for the Skeleton Key and begins walking back to Riften while invisible.
This had gone far quicker than he thought it would... He'd honestly been anticipating fighting the entire Thieves Guild... Fortunately, it seems that luck was on his side with this one.
Mercer had actually been far stronger than Michael had thought as well, in the game he was somewhat difficult because he was a boss character and scaled with the Dragonborn's level. But in reality, the guy was just a thief, a Nightingale to be sure, but not someone you'd consider when discussing fierce warriors.
The man was better with a dagger and almost as Michael was, so if he hadn't been using his spells and other abilities he'd have probably lost. This was surprising as his Agility while using his Gandalfr Runes was around eight times a regular person's.
Was this just how strong people usually got in this world? Or was it something else? Like a blessing from Nocturne, or him using the Skeleton Key...?
Regardless, there was only one solution should many more people turn out as capable or more so than Mercer... Get stronger himself.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Niggross
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Kapitel 264: A rift in the sand
Sneaking back into Riften is fairly easy for Michael, his invisibility allowing him to avoid the guards and the many Thief Guild members that were still searching for Mercer, and his Blink spell allowing him to bypass the walls.
Once inside, he enacts the third phase of his plans. With the Thieves Guild in disarray and practically penniless now that Mercer was dead and Michael had stolen his shit. The last thing to deal with was Maven Black-Briar. If he left her alone she might continue the investigation, whether or not she'd succeed in finding him was a moot point. He didn't want the attention, and he had no doubt that Medresi's tongue would waggle if put under any strain at all.
The Black-Briar Manor was usually heavily guarded, but it seems even more so this night, the chaos by Mercer's betrayal hasn't just sent ripples through the Guild, but the rest of the city as well. Maven, with her close working relationship with Mercer instantly had her Manor locked down as soon as she heard the news. She wasn't about to let herself be slain by some resentful thief who got lucky.
Unfortunately for her, her Manor's defences meant almost nothing to Michael. He invisibly sneaks around and slowly clambers up to the roof, the smoke coming from the chimney meant that a fire was going, but Michael wasn't about to let that stop him.
He holds a Health potion in his mouth and slowly slides down the chimney, heat travels up his feet, legs, and body, but he ignores it. He almost shouts in pain as his feet hit the flames, but he just tilts his head upwards and drinks the Health potion to rid him of the wounds, spitting it out while climbing out of the fireplace.
Once out, he's greeted by the shocked face of Maven Black-Briar and her son Hemming Black-Briar. Both of which were still seated on a couch with shocked looks on their faces.
Michael grins at them, "Look like Santa came early this year." he states, drawing his dagger.
Hemming quickly jumps to his feet and grabs a nearby butter knife, pointing it at Michael with the most intimidating look he could muster. "S-stay back! I'm warning you! I'm the most fierce warrior in Riften-no, all of Skyrim!" he shouts.
Maven just forces his hand down however, scowling at him, "Be quiet Hemming, no one else believes your blustering, yet you think this man would?" she focuses on Michael, "Well? Who sent you? Because I promise I can pay far more than they can."
"Oh, no one sent me, I'm here simply because I want to be." he says as he walks towards them, Hemming backing up while his mother stood her ground, her face neutral as if she didn't think Michael would dare strike he down.
"So someone scorned then? Tell me who it was that caused your ire and I will deliver them to you before sunrise."
Michael smiles, "Oh really?"
Maven nods, crossing her arms with a gleam in her eye, "Then afterwards we could discuss your employment. I appreciate a man who can take matters into his own hands."
Michael nods, "Then, the person who I want is... Maven Black-Briar." he says, finally getting a reaction from the woman, her brows scrunching as she finally takes a step back.
"Your poor jokes have no place here. Tell me what you want or leave, because I promise you, if you touch me, your life and the lives of your friends and family will join you. My allies are everywhere, the Thieves Guild bends to my whims, the Dark Brotherhood follows my orders, the Thalmor scrap their knees to please me! Tell. Me. What. You. Want." she growls.
Michael shakes his head, "I thought you were a smart woman, I already told you what I want." he says, deciding to end this. He steps forwards and drives his dagger into Maven's chest, causing her eyes to widen as she gives a shuddering shout of pain.
"MOTHER!" Hemming shouts, losing himself in anger as he charges Michael.
Michael just tosses Maven's body onto the floor and grabs Hamming wrist as he tries to stab him. His dagger finds the man's throat, cutting so deeply that it finds his spine. He drops next to his mother, the two expiring on the floor from their wounds.
Michael wasn't done just yet however, he bends over and presses his hand into the growing pool of blood, afterwards slapping it against the nearby wall, leaving a familiar-looking hand-print that could only belong to the Dark Brotherhood.
"Yeah, that'll do it." it mutters, his ears twitching when he hears the clattering of metal boots against stone. Looks like Hemming's earlier shout had alerted the guards... Michael turns invisible and uses Blink to quickly climb back up the chimney.
He could hear the guards start shouting orders behind him, but it matters not as they had a snowball's chance in hell of actually finding and catching up with him. He retreats from the area and begins making his way over to Medresi's building to wait for sunrise.
He didn't dare sleep in this town, not after he'd killed the most important person and pinned it on the Dark Brotherhood. Instead, he just sat invisibly in an alleyway, waiting for Tiffania's Teleportation Gate to open.
Not ten minutes later, the entirety of Riften was in an uproar, news got around quickly, and Maven Black-Briar getting murdered in her fortress-like home by the Dark Brotherhood was certainly news-worthy.
The Thieves Guild hadn't stopped looking for Mercer yet, so any attempts for the guards and other associates of Maven to contact and use them to find Maven's murderer fell on deaf ears. Indeed, even the Jarl's position itself was at risk, as her most important support, Maven, was now out of the picture... Jarl Laila Law-Giver had made many enemies, and the common folk thought her obliviousness to the obvious corruption and lawlessness in the city made her less than worthy for the position in their eyes.
Fortunately, Michael didn't encounter any other problems as the sun rose, a thin door manifests in front of Medresi's building, and Michael quickly goes through it before anyone else can take notice of it.
AUTORENGEDANKEN
Niggross
Niggross
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