27 Shadow, and Returning

"It looks like we're finally at the entrance," Karliah beckoned a very weary Brynjolf to the final stretch.

They had taken another 4 hours to return to the surface, even with Brynjolf taking care of the traps and the lack of Dwemer obstruction on the way back the walk was a monster of its own. When they opened the last damned bronze door with a clang, what greeted them was overwhelming darkness.

It wasn't as if nighttime had descended, it was even worse. They weren't positive they had stepped outside again, to be exact. They couldn't see their own hands when they passed through, they couldn't feel any wind on their face, they could only use the dirt beneath their feet as any indication.

"This darkness... Shadow magic. Be on your guard," Warned Karliah once more, yet even her voice was muffled to the both of them.

It was only seconds after it was said that the darkness around them seemed to liquefy and flow all at once in a single direction. Lines and small edges of blue sky were revealed at the edge of their now expanding vision as the pool of inky blackness continued to dive toward a single point like a drain in the very world. Soon the ruin was revealed, then the earth beneath them, the mercenary camps and tents that lay here and there, fallen beams of stone and crumbled walls around them, and finally, a pile of goods left behind by a number of men in a hurry.

Soon, the 'drain' was identified and it took the shape and form of a man. The black clung to him as if he had taken a bath in Herma Mora's dimension. Suddenly, the man's eyes opened to reveal an unnatural reddish glow dominating not just the iris and the pupil, but even the whites glowed red. Shortly, the red faded, the black receded, and Erebus was revealed in his usual attire.

"You certainly took your time," Yuri commented.

His study in shadow went even better than his study in light. He had no idea why, either. A good theory for this Record's situation is that Deadra are significantly more powerful than Aedra and thus lend a greater advantage to Shadow in the 'Genesis Conflict'. He had applied much less mana and was still met with greater results in every single action he took in Shadow magic. Constructs weren't exactly possible at the moment, Shadow refuses to be ordered into a mold, but he didn't need it. With enough control, intent, and density, he could corrupt or consume anything he wished. In his hands, he could choose if it should conceal harmlessly or decay harmfully. A more advanced application was yet to be discovered on his end, but he believed it to only be a matter of time.

"You sure know how to make quite the show, Erebus," Brynjolf commented.

"Ready to go?" Yuri brushed it off. He pointed his hand, and a portal appeared beside him that led from a wall of the underground cellar they convened in first.

"...Wha...Why didn't you-" Brynjolf was about to start before Karliah put her hand on his shoulder. When he looked at her, she shook her head as if to say, "Don't ask". She walked through the portal without further ado. Brynjolf shook his head and begrudgingly followed.

Yuri cocked a trollish grin underneath his cowl and stood up, before quickly following them and closing the portal behind them. The portal to Riften cost him 80 mana, but he didn't bother refueling himself and let his natural recovery take care of it.

Yuri caught Brynjolf before he decided to find a bed to crawl into and asked, "Where is your vault. I need to make the inspection and repairs before I leave."

"Follow me," He replied tiredly. It was empty anyway.

Karliah decided to rest here as well, she still had a proposition to make to the thieves guild's master and another outstanding member that would help them all get back on their feet.

Brynjolf trudged up the stairs and pushed open the cellar door, prompting questioning looks from Vekel the Man who had not seen him enter recently. He saw the grouchy look on his boss's face and kept his mouth shut.

"Delvin, bring your key!" Brynjolf shouted to no one in particular across the Cistern. Delvin soon came from one of the corridors and joined the two in walking down another. Down a cobble tunnel lined with dead torches, they finally reached a vault door that looked much better than the rest of the place. Yuri saw it and brought out the blueprint book that Savos had given him in advance while casting the Masterkey Spell that would let him stay in there for as long as he wanted and give him administrative access once let inside. Green runic rings circled his right forearm and a magic circle appeared on the back of his gloved hand while his fingers formed a number of green key-shaped teeth along them.

Bryn and Delvin went to either side and found the two keyholes on the edge before counting down and twisting simultaneously. With a click, the door unlocked, and with a groan, the door opened.

Yuri traipsed inside the room filled with empty chests, display cases, and baskets. "I'll let you know when I'm done, gentlemen," Yuri said without turning back and opening his blueprint.

Brynjolf merely nodded and turned around to seek a bed. Delvin, much more confused at his boss's carelessness, looked back and forth and let his questions catch in his throat. He, too, finally realized that the vault was empty anyway and followed Bryn out after a few more moments.

Yuri confirmed through study what he had already suspected in theory. The key opened this place, the key hijacked the enchantments in these walls, and the key gave him supreme control over them. There was no damage to these runes or anything similar. Mercer didn't have the skill to damage or alter them nor the desire to, perhaps wanting to leave it intact as a testament to a flawless performance.

This was shockingly similar to the situation with Chillrend. When he grasped it first, he realized that there wasn't a single contract or binding left on it and it became simply an exquisite blade. He thanked Mercer for doing all the work for him at that moment.

Yuri quickly went to work restructuring the vault. Brynjolf already had administrative access to the vault, thus he was easily readministered. He needed another as a backup before he could leave the rest to the guild and their copy of the blueprint, but to do that he needed them physically here.

Yuri closed his eyes and focused for a second, then a black fog projected from his back and formed a mirror image of himself slowly. In a few more seconds, he was back to back with his own shadow.

His shadow walked away and out of the vault, striding through the halls in search of someone. Shadow Yuri went through the cistern and found Delvin seated at the Ragged Flagon and trying his best to talk to Vex with an obvious lack of skill in the department. Shadow put his hand on Delvin's shoulder mid-sentence.

"What-" Delvin was upset at the interruption for a moment before he looked up at the interrupted and silenced himself. Vex was almost grateful to Shadow but still couldn't muster anything but trepidation at the foggy manifestation.

Shadow gestured his head toward the Vault's tunnel and walked away to lead Delvin. Once Delvin got up and went down the tunnel, Shadow vanished.

That was Yuri's second Arcane level spell- Shadow Self, and also his second performance of it. He was increasingly impressed with its ability and possible applications. It couldn't speak or even cast spells for him, yet, but who doesn't like a second pair of eyes?

"I'm guessing it was you who called me?" Delvin's cockney voice echoed in the tunnel right outside the entrance.

"I need you present to give administrative access," Yuri replied. "Get in here"

Delvin walked in and brooded silently. If only London needed a Batman.

With a few gestures of 'Masterkey' and code words spoken here and there, Delvin became the right-hand man to the vault and Yuri sent him on his way after telling him the details to later pass on to Bryn. His work here was done.

With his map function, he looked outside of Riften and opened a portal to a forest on the edge of the walls before walking out and changing to traveler's clothes, while putting his contacts in his inventory directly. His mage robes would be too conspicuous here right now. He TP'd down the road he could feel and started walking toward Riften's main gate. Met with two guards, he 'donated' some of his Septims which now numbered 646 thanks to the Mercenaries. Riften was a bit more crooked, he wasn't gonna try to guilt-trip them as he did in Winterhold.

After crossing the gate and adopting a doe-eyed look of an easy mark, he walked toward the Bee and the Barb tavern to rest and eat. The food here wasn't great, but it was doable. He did manage to spoil himself with Black-Briar Mead, however. He loved the smooth and sweet taste that lingered in the background and didn't overpower it.

He paid for a room and "retired", the whole time training his ESP on Karliah. The next day, he got to witness her scam Brynjolf and Vex into selling their afterlife to a Deadra and reforming the Nightingale Trinity. She didn't choose Delvin, Vex was the better archer Yuri supposed.

Brynjolf looked like he had found some belief back into his eyes. He adored the Nightingales and found hope for the guild's revival in her promises. Vex was enthused, if only for selfish reasons.

That same day, the trio departed the Ratways and Yuri was right behind them. Activating his Shroud, he left the tavern/inn without warning and floated 300 feet up with telekinesis to follow them.

The trio took a carriage, and it was excruciatingly slow. For four days Yuri had to suspend himself in total silence while following a single carriage. That was their speed with only a single rest a day. The reason for the trip's length was that it went from Riften to Falkreath, and a mountain range that held up the Throat of the World divided it. They had to travel around it to continue on their journey.

When the trio finally made it to the Twilight Sepulcher which would soon house the Skeleton Key inside the Ebonmere, Yuri had had enough and marked it on his map for later.

Was he about to go in there and swipe it mere days after their separation? Absolutely not. He would wait for a few months or even more before infiltrating when he had confirmed they were all out, all but one. A few months would be enough to cast aside any suspicion they held of him while also casting suspicion on each other. Karliah would be the first to suspect her new recruits, Erebus might not even factor in since he might not have attributed Mercer's ability to the key. He would let them gain enough experience in their new roles to be conceivably capable of stealing the key. Nocturnal wouldn't even see him, thus casting suspicion on another Daedra's champion for the act. It was almost the perfect crime.

Yuri opened a portal above the Merryfair Farms once they were out of sight, and went through it before descending in the middle of the long path to their house and unshrouding himself. He made the peaceful walk to the lakeside mansion with the waves of wheat on either side of him making calming rustling sounds. Sunset had already fallen, and the siblings had one more day before they would depart back to the College with him.

As Yuri approached the house, he found Edith sitting in a rocking chair on the porch with a peaceful smile on her face. She noticed him and immediately waved as he approached from a distance. Yuri reciprocated with a graceful smile.

'Baldur is a lucky man'

Without hurry, he climbed the stairs and came to greet Edith officially.

"I'm sorry to trouble you so late, Mrs. Laniston. Do you have room for another tonight?" Yuri didn't have any shame in asking the rich couple for a stay. He was taking their children back to the College the day after tomorrow, he doubted he didn't earn it. Things like troubling them weren't on anyone's mind, but he had etiquette.

"Our door is always welcome to Mr. Nightingale," She replied smilingly. "Please, come in!" She got up and led him indoors to avoid her guest having to enter alone.

After a quick greeting from Baldur and Bjorn, and a Cynthia who hadn't given up despite her father's warnings, evidently, the friends and family eventually had dinner once again. Yuri was led to a guest room by Bjorn, they might be rich but the farm-raised family had no use for servants.

Yuri slept without interruption, then spent the next day helping the family with any problems that cropped up and the siblings couldn't handle. Bears taking residence in a nearby cave, rivers obstructed by trees too large to handle quickly, landslides at the edge of their property, spiders nesting at the edge of a crop field. Yuri worked so hard that Baldur would've been convinced he was after their daughter were it not for the impassive and 'ignorant' face he gave toward her advances. Though for Yuri, it wasn't hard at all. But he said nothing when he received Baldur's ever-increasing gratitude. He also liked the change of pace for now. The fields, earth, and wind gave him some sorely needed peace after his war underground.

The next day, Yuri fetched another 'almost luxury' carriage from Riften and brought it to the farm while the siblings said their farewells. Ten minutes later, they were off.