A Thief's Stage

The salty sea air of Riften woke Figgin with a smile. He really liked it here in Riften. It reminded him of his brief life in Anvil with his mom and dad, before the tragedies that were bestowed upon him at the young age of five. He descended down to the courtyard below to meet up with Brynolf. The plan was simple, yet Figgin still did not understand the complete motive behind it. Figgin was to pick the lock on Madesai's lock box under his merchant stand in the yard and steal his silver ring.  Brynolf would provide a distraction as cover. Then Figgin would then plant the ring in the pocket of Brand Shai, the dark elf merchant. Figgin could not understand why Brynolf wanted Brand Shai to take the rap and go to jail but money is money to Figgin so questions sometimes take a backseat. Figgin could only rationalize it that Brand Shai must be the only real competitor to Brynolf in this town and what better way to eliminate your competition then to have them locked up.

Brynolf started his show and as the enormous Nord started to project his voice, all the people, including the guards started to gather. This seemed too easy and Figgin slipped behind everyone and found the lock box. The lock was simple enough to pick and Figgin helped himself to more than just the ring. No one saw him, and how could they? They were all watching enthralled by Brynolf and his Snow Elves potion and stories. Figgin listened and wondered to himself if these elves did in fact exist at one point. Never the less, Figgin slowly crept his way to Brand Shai and sat down next to him. As Brynolf neared the climax of his story and everyone jumped up in excitement, Figgin dropped the ring inside Brand Shai's right pants pocket and deftly made his way back to the middle of the courtyard. No one was the wiser as to what just transpired in the last five minutes. Brynolf concluded his speech and everyone returned back to their normal routine, save for Madesai who noticed his opened lock box and missing items. Oddly, the fingers pointed to Brand Shai with no hesitation. Figgin was sure he would be at least investigated being the newest vagrant to wander into Riften. It all seemed too well put together as the guards converged on Brand Shai and whisked him off to the Riften Keep. Figgin sat back and admired his work though and he remembered something his mother always said to him:

          "Figgin, the only problem with being a thief is, if you are good at it, nobody ever sees
          how good you really are. You see a Thief's stage is set and only seen by the thief
          himself. It's a lonely stage filled with the silent applause only you can hear."

She was right. "I miss you mom" Figgin whispered. Just then he was interrupted as the sun disappeared from the Skyrim Sky. Brynolf stood over him and bear hugged him to the point Figgin felt his own bones cracking under the giant's crushing biceps. Brynolf put Figgin down and congratulated him on a job well done. He asked Figgin if he was interested in some more work? Figgin eagerly accepted as once again, money is money to Figgin. He told Figgin to meet him at the Ragged Flaggon inside the Ratway and good luck getting there. When Figgin pressed Brynolf as to where in Oblivion is the Ratway? Brynolf responded. "It's right under your feet lad."

Figgin found the Ratway rather easily, thanks to the clever hint from Brynolf. "Good luck getting there" rung in his ears. These are sewers, and Figgin knew sewers. That being said, these weren't the sewers of Cyrodiil he once ran freely in. Ten steps into the Ratway proved this to be the case. Two armed men drew weapons and attacked Figgin unprovoked. An arrow pierced his left arm and sent him reeling back behind a barrel. Dazed and confused, Figgin heard the men approaching and swords being unsheathed. He conjured up his flame spell and lept to his feet and showered the entire tunnel with a blaze that rivaled the dragon he had killed outside of Whiterun. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the two men dropped to their knees and then face first, a charcoal black so burnt Figgin never knew what race the men were. Now they were blackened skeletons smoldering with the stench of burnt flesh. Figgin drew his sword and moved on. He would be more careful going forward. He would use the shadows to conceal his movements and stay out of sight.

Figgin rounded the corner and saw a man sharpening an axe on a table. He snuck up and swiftly slit the man's throat, hoping he wasn't with Brynolf but after that warm Ratway greeting from the charcoal twims back there, he could not afford to take any chances. The women in the adjacnt room suffered a similar fate as Figgin found himself outside the Ragged Flaggon. He entered the Flaggon and found Brynolf drinking a pint at the bar. Brynolf seemed impressed and told Figgin he would have no problems coming down here anymore. He introduced him to a few of his "colleagues" as he called them and offered him another job. Figgin felt an odd nostalgic feel form the Flaggon, like he had been here before. Brynolf sat him down and explained it all to him. This was the Thieves Guild. Figgin was home finally. I made it mom. Ran though his head and he wanted to jump for joy, cry in despair and rattle his whole story to Brynolf all at the same time. Fifteen years was a long time to wait for this moment. He had to compose himself and not play that card just yet. Brynolf had asked Figgin to pay a visit to some people who owed the guild some money and were reluctant to pay up. Seeing that it was late now and once again, too late to travel back to Windhelm, he would stay another night and oblige Brynolf.

The three targets were Keerava, the bartender at the Bee and Barb, Bersi the owner of the Pawned Prawn and Haelga who own the Bunkhouse in town. The job was simple. Collect the payments from all three and bring it back to Brynolf. The only rule was to not kill any of them. "We are not the Dark Brotherhood after all." Brynolf snickered. This normally would have sent Figgin into a frenzy and led to Brynolf losing an ear or maybe his life, but given the recent turn of events, Figgin decided to let this one slide.

He decided to go to the Bee and Barb first. He walked in and tried to sweet talk Keerava and ask her for the money he owed her. Her lizard tongue almost lashed his retina as she cursed him for asking. She told him how the guild has fallen on hard times and why should she pay? They cannot even protect themselves anymore. They are washed up. Figgin quickly realized he needed some leverage and remembered the conversation from yesterday about her family and the farm in Morrowind. It didn't take Keerava long to change her tune once Figgin threatened to expose them to his friends back home. She quickly paid up and offered Figgin a night's stay on the house tonight, same room on the left. Figgin agreed and extended the offer to include last night's stay as well.

Feeling overly confident, he strolled into the Pawned Prawn expecting Bersi to roll over like the meek skeever he looked like. Once again Figgin was mistaken. Bersi, scoffed at Figgin and told him to leave at once. This is growing old Figgin thought. He grabbed a nearby mace and started smashing the items in Bersi's store. Bersi called for the guards until Figgin smashed a Dwarven vase on the table by the window. Bersi's bravado left him as he pleaded with Figgin to stop and paid him the amount owed to Brynolf and said he would pay from now on.

Figgin had one more stop to make and this time, he figured to go in swinging. He entered the bunkhouse and went right into threat mode. This time, Figgin was pleasantly mistaken as word had gotten around about Figgin and his collecting methods and Haelga paid up without a fight. Figgin returned to the Flaggon and gave the money to Brynolf. Brynolf welcomed Figgin to the guild and introduced him to Vex, Tonila, Delvin and Mercer Fry. They gave Figgin armor and a new job to do. Goldenglow Estates. Brynolf would fill Figgin in later after he got back. Figgin explained that he had to travel back to Windhelm to tie up some loose ends and would return to complete the Goldenglow job. More importantly, he met Tonila and now had a fence to unload the things he "found" in Skyrim, plus he was a part of a family again. Something he lacked for fifteen years.

Figgin went back to the Bee and Barb and enjoyed his free stay and slept soundly for the first time in days. Tomorrow he would go see the boy in Windhelm and tell him of Grelod's last breath in this world.