33 Joining the Thieves Guild VII

"So, you're the new recruit, huh? Well, looks like you and I are going to get very well acquainted." Tonilia says with a wide avarice-filled smile.

"Oh? And why's that?" I ask, pretending to not know she's the fence I'm going to be making quite rich in the near future.

"I'm the fence down here. You come by anything you don't exactly own and I'll pay you some coin for it. Minus a little slice for the Guild, of course. I can also provide a few supplies useful to our trade now and again, for a small fee." Tonilia explains.

"As any self-respecting businesswoman should, you provide a valuable service in our line of work after all." I say agreeing with her extortion.

"See, I knew we'd be good friends if you keep such a good head on your shoulders… Though that's harder than what we'd hope considering our line of work." Tonilia says with a melancholic smile before continuing, "Here, was told you had a couple extra lackeys coming with you so I was told to give you these extra outfits… For your… Outfit… Yeah, sounded dumb after I said it, just take your junk and leave unless you've got something to sell."

I grab the gear she hawks at me and make my way over to Delvin who comments on Brynjolf.

"Brynjolf, eh? Lemme guess. He plucked you off the street and dropped you into the thick of things without tellin' you which way is up. Am I right?" Delvin chuckles in his gravelly voice.

"Heh, you know it, would appreciate any advice if you've got it?" I ask, trying to get on his good side.

"See, that kind of attitude comes from someone who wants to get rich and stay alive long enough to enjoy it. We're goin' to get along nicely. So, if you've got the nerve, I've got plenty of extra jobs to help get the Guild back on its feet." Delvin says with a truly criminal grin.

"Back on its feet? Is it really on such bad times?" I ask sitting down with him.

"Look around you, Kid. The Flagon, the Guild… It's all fallin' apart. A few decades ago, this place was as busy as the Imperial City. Now, you'll be lucky if you don't trip over a bloody skeever instead." Delvin reminisces.

"What happened to knock the Guild this low?" I ask with feigned interest.

"Look, I know the others think I'm a daft for sayin' stuff like this, but I'm gonna give it to you straight. Somethin' out there is piss-drunk mad at us. I don't know who or what it is, but it's beyond just you and me. We've been cursed!" Delvin says conspiratorially.

"A curse?! Oh shit! What can we do to break it!" I exclaim in shock, knowing full well, which bastard did it.

"I'll tell you what we do. We spit in that curse's fuckin' face and turn things around down here! Put things back the way they were. That's where you come in, Kid. I've got plenty of work available that could guide us down the road to recovery. All you need to do is ask and we can both come out of this smellin' like a rose." Delvin says, laying out my role in the Guild according to him.

"Sure, I'll take'em all. But how're a few odd jobs going to help the Guild?" I ask as he pulls out a few sheets of paper with the jobs listed on it.

"Years ago, the Guild used to have a foothold in every major city in Skyrim. You wouldn't dare even lift an apple without checkin' with us. When things started goin' downhill around here, it became difficult to keep it all together. We lost fences, influential contacts, and most of all, coin. It wasn't long before we lost what we depended on to survive… Respect. By doin' these extra jobs and puttin' some fear into the people, we can take back the cities and start bein' taken seriously once again." Delvin says recounting the Guild's impressive past.

"Take a city back? How do we do that?" I ask leaning forward.

"Thanks to Maven Black-Briar, we still have some pull in Riften. But get arrested in Whiterun and you'll be tossed right in the prisons. If we gain the confidence of someone very influential who lives there by doing a unique job for them, we'd be able to have some leverage there too. The only way we get that special job is by doin' smaller ones in those cities until we catch their ear… Then they'll contact me and we're off." Delvin explains while nursing his mead.

"I see, well, off to save the Guild." I say with a tusked grin causing Delvin to chuckle before toasting me.

"Hear, hear!" Delvin cheers.

I walk over towards the exit when Vex speaks up, "Before we begin, I want to make two things perfectly clear. One, I'm the best infiltrator this rathole of a Guild's got, so if you think you're here to replace me, you're dead wrong. And two, you follow my lead and do exactly as I say… No questions, no excuses."

"Oh really? Says the one who botched that Goldenglow job? How about you watch me clean up your mess and we'll see how well that first point holds up?" I say with a derisive sneer.

"Ha! Now you I like. I've been getting sick of the pushovers that usually walk in here. I think you and I are going to get along just fine. Now, it's time to get your feet wet and I don't want to waste a lot of time talking about anything but business." Vex says with a laugh and smirk.

"Speaking of, I heard you got some side jobs for me?" I ask pulling up a chair at her table.

"I'm not going to sugar-coat it for you. We're in a bad way down here." Vex says with a no-nonsense look resting upon her face.

"I've heard what Delvin has to say, but what do you think?" I ask.

"Who knows? I know Old Delvin thinks it's some kind of a curse. I think he's crazy. If you want my opinion, I'd say it's just plain old bad luck." Vex says with a shrug.

"So, what can we do to fix it?" I ask, leaning back.

"You can get out there and start making a name for us again… Make them start fearing us like they did long ago. And, while you're at it make a little bit of coin on the side. Not a bad deal, eh?" Vex says, with a faint smile towards the end.

"Not bad at all. Speaking of coin, I'll take whatever side jobs you got laying around." I say, putting my hand out.

"Sure thing, Smiles." Vex says before handing the papers with the job details on them which I squirrel away before getting up and leaving the Ragged Flagon to head back to the Inn where a reckoning I had forgotten was due was about to be paid.