"I've heard that poor Sabjorn has found himself in Whiterun's prisons; how unfortunate for him," Brynjolf began when Macayla found him in one of the tunnels in the Cistern. Practice dummies filled with hay awaited to be slashed at, others were positioned higher for archery targets, and chests with locks of various difficulties sat about the room.

"Yet very fortunate for Maven," she said.

He grinned. "Exactly! Now you're beginning to see how our little system works. Maven sent word that you discovered something while you were out there. Something important to the Guild?"

"The same symbol from Goldenglow was involved."

Brynjolf's brow furrowed in worry. "Then this is beyond coincidence; first Aringoth and now Sabjorn. Someone's trying to take us down by driving a wedge between Maven and the Guild."

"What do we do?"

"Mercer thinks he can identify this new thorn in our side. He wants to meet with you right away."

Even though she longed for a bath to wash off the stink of fighting the lunatic and his pet skeevers, Macayla went in search of the Guildmaster. Mercer Frey was bent over a ledger on his desk; he looked up at her approach. His eyes still narrowed with displeasure any time he saw her.

"There you are. I've consulted my contacts regarding the information you recovered from Goldenglow Estate, but no one can identify that symbol."

"I found the same markings at Honningbrew Meadery."

His mouth tightened even further. "It would appear our adversary is attempting to tear us apart indirectly by angering Maven Black-Briar. Very clever."

She crossed her arms. "Maybe we should recruit them."

"You jest, but they've been able to avoid identification for years. They're obviously well-funded, driven and patient. Just don't mistake my admiration for complacency; our nemesis is going to pay dearly."

"How can we make them pay?"

"Because, even after all their posturing and planning, they've made one mistake. That parchment you recovered mentions a 'Gajul-Lei'. According to my sources, that's an old alias used by one of our contacts. His real name is Gulum-Ei. Slimy bastard," he said under his breath.

"Where do I begin?"

"Gulum-Ei is our inside man at the East Empire Company in Solitude. I'm betting that he acted as a go-between for the sale of Goldenglow Estate and that he can finger our buyer. Get out there, shake him down, and see what you come up with. Talk to Brynjolf if you have questions." He turned back to his ledger, dismissing her without actually saying it.

Macayla headed back down the tunnel, where she found Brynjolf. She quickly filled him in on what was going on and asked if he had any suggestions.

He shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe Gulum-Ei's mixed up in all of this; that Argonian couldn't find his tail with both hands. Don't get me wrong, he could scam a beggar of his last septim, but he's no mastermind."

"Think he'll give me trouble?"

He scoffed. "Trouble? He's one of the most stubborn lizards I've ever met! You have your work cut out for you, lass."

Great. "So how do I get him to talk?"

"You're going to have to buy him off; it's the only way to get his attention. If that fails, follow him and see what he's up to. If I know Gulum-Ei, he's in way over his head and you can use that as leverage."

She wondered what she could pay him off with. Being a thief, he probably wanted something he couldn't steal before, and that's where she came in. "Even if he's betrayed us, I'll let him live."

Brynjolf smiled. "I'm glad to see you're embracing our methods. It would be a waste to lose a contact in the East Empire Company before we know the whole story. Just keep on Gulum-Ei's tail and he's bound to step in something he can't scrape off his boot. Good luck in Solitude. Keep Gulum-Ei alive, but remind him who we are."

Macayla scratched an itch in her hair. Ever since Honningbrew Meadery, she had been itchy. "I'll head there as soon as I get a bath, and I got Delvin a new shiny."

***

Macayla mostly slept on the week-and-a-half journey to Solitude. All of her fellow passengers didn't want to talk with her—she was below them—so to bide the time, she slept. Sometimes she pretended to be asleep to overhear the wealthy and stuck-up couple talking about Vittoria Vici's wedding they were travelling to Solitude to attend. When they reached the capital city of Skyrim and the passengers went their separate ways, the couple left with quite a few valuables and coins missing from their pockets.

In the marketplace, Macayla asked a man if he knew a Gulum-Ei and where she could find him. He directed her toward The Winking Skeever. She entered the inn and looked around for an Argonian. She headed toward the innkeeper to ask if he had rented a room when she found the blue, red, and dark green-scaled lizard sitting at a table and drinking.

"Gulum-Ei?"

He looked up at her; obviously the Argonian was mistrustful. "You smell like the Ratway, so you must be from the Guild. But that can't be right because I told Mercer I wouldn't have anything else to do with them anymore."

"I'm here about Goldenglow Estate."

"I don't deal in land or properties. Now, if you're looking for goods, you came to the right person." His voice became suede, like selling her something.

Macayla was fed up with the self-centered people she's had to deal with. Why couldn't one just be cooperative instead of conniving? "Cut the act Gajul-Lei."

His attitude changed at the mention of his alias. "Wait; did you say Goldenglow Estate? My apologies, I was mistaken."

"Of course you were. Now, what do you know?"

"I'm sorry to say I know very little about that... A bee farm, correct?"

She crossed her arms in irritation. "You acted as a broker for the new owner."

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. I can't be expected to remember every deal I handle."

She sighed in defeat. "Alright, what do you want?"

"Well, now that you mention it, there's a case of Firebrand Wine that I've been unable to get my hands on. There's some in the Blue Palace; return with it and we'll talk about Goldenglow Estate."

Macayla left with a deep breath for the Jarl's residency. The mass of people frantically at work preparing for the upcoming wedding made it quite a walk up to the Blue Palace. Perhaps she could use it to her advantage.

To the left of the main entrance into the Blue Palace, a wagon was parked in front of the servant's entrance; men and women were busy unloading the wagon of boxes, baskets of food, and cases of wine and mead. Macayla slipped over to them and effortlessly inserted herself into the workers by accepting a crate from a man handing down items from the wagon. She turned with it and headed straight into the servant's entrance like she knew what she was doing.

She entered the massive kitchens and followed the line of workers putting down their loads and heading back out for more. Macayla quickly cast about for the easily identifiable logo of Firebrand Wine as she placed her crate down on the others. She found a case sitting on a table; she purposely strolled over to it, picked it up, and walked toward the exit. Workers loaded down didn't pay her any attention as they walked by; the man supervising the unloading looked at her curiously.

She quickly came up with the lie. "Wrong brand of wine. I'll swap it out."

Macayla walked back to The Winking Skeever and Gulum-Ei without any trouble. She set the case down in front of him on the table. "There's your wine."

"Perfect! My client will be pleased. My thanks." He handed her some soul gems, empty, of course.

"Now tell me what you know."

"A woman approached me, waved a bag of gold in my face, and wanted me to act as the broker for the sale of Goldenglow. All I had to do was pay Aringoth. I brought him the coin and walked away with her copy of the deed."

Mercer had pretty much come to that same conclusion. Not much help other by narrowing it down to one unnamed member of the female sex. "Did she say why she was doing this?"

"Not at all. I don't tend to ask many questions when I'm on the job; I'm sure you understand. However, I did notice she was quite angry, and it was directed toward Mercer Frey."

"That's it?" she asked incredulously. "No name or anything? There's nothing else you can tell me?"

"In this business, we rarely deal with names."

"I think you're lying to me." She knew he knew her name.

"That's all I know; I never said I would have all the answers. Now, since our business is complete, I'll be on my way." Gulum-Ei stood, grabbed the case of wine she had stolen, and headed out of The Winking Skeever. Macayla breathed out her frustration, but stayed still until she heard the door close behind him. She gave him some time to get away from the inn's entrance, then she turned to shadow him, like Brynjolf had suggested.

She stepped out to see Gulum-Ei's tail slide past Solitude's main gate being held open by a guard. Macayla gave him a comfortable berth so he wouldn't feel like he was being followed before she headed for the exit, too. He neared the first gate when she came out. She kept her eyes on his back as she walked farther behind him. When paranoia suddenly stopped him, Macayla quickly jumped behind a tree and waited for him to be reassured no one followed him and start again.

When he turned off the road to the one running by the stables, she ducked into the foliage growing beside the road—being turned, he could've seen her. Instead of staying still, she crept through the foliage to watch him pass not far in front of her, heading down to the docks. As she thought, Gulum-Ei turned off the road again to make his way down the wooden pier.

Macayla stayed hidden a moment longer before emerging and following the lizard down the pier. A single guard patrolled the long pier running north and south; to the south were two docked ships, but the pier running to her left disappeared behind a building—Gulum-Ei turned that way.

She waited until the guard had his back turned to her before she hurried down the rest of the way and turned north. The end of the long wharf ended at steps leading up to a dark door; the entire wall was wooden and closed gates sat in the water—when open, a ship could sail through. This had to be the East Empire Company Warehouse.

Gulum-Ei reached the door, balanced the case of Firebrand Wine on a hip as he pulled out a key, unlocked the door and stepped in.

Macayla hurried to the door, pulling out her lockpicking tools, assuming the Argonian would lock the door behind him. She hurried to pick the door before Gulum-Ei could get away. She opened the door fairly quickly and slipped in.

She found herself in a one-room shack, existing solely to house the door. Through the door-less doorway, she could see Gulum-Ei walking toward tall shelves of merchandise. She stepped out to follow him.

The East Empire Company Warehouse's layout greatly resembled Yondis'; except for stalactites, this warehouse also had labyrinths of inventory, and an overseer's shack watching over the warehouse in the distance. The main difference was the deep pool to her right and enormous gates sealing off the rest of the bay.

Gulum-Ei passed by another shack before curving around a shelf. Macayla peered around the structure's corner to see no one was on guard. She continued after the Argonian to find ramps leading up to the top of the shelf he disappeared behind. She scurried up it to see her mark rounding another corner, passing right beside a patrolling guard holding a torch. A wooden makeshift bridge connected her shelf's walkway to another.

Her job of shadowing became easy, for the connecting walkways kept her right above him, mimicking his every step. One time though, she was forced to drop down to walk behind him in torchlight, for the shelves didn't connect when the floor turned into wood over the water. Once she got past that treacherous situation, her ramps started again, and she headed up out of sight.

They neared the overseer's house; she just knew something within was worth stealing. She would still be able to monitor Gulum-Ei's progress the higher she went. So, Macayla climbed up the rock wall and, once it leveled out, crept to the open window and peeked inside. Pushed up against the window was a table covered by a map, rings of various metals, and scattered gold coins. She grabbed it all, then pulled the map closer for inspection: it listed the trading routes of the East Empire Company. The Guild could find some use in having that information; she rolled it up, placed it in her satchel, and hurried down to stay on her mark.

Gulum-Ei was on the last wooden walkway built over the water; it ended at another door leading outside to Skyrim. She couldn't understand why he would enter here just to leave yards apart. Then he slowed as he came to steps leading down into the water. He checked to see if there were any guards nearby, then headed down into the shallow water to disappear behind some inventory.

She climbed down the shelf she perched on, checked for guards too, then ducked down the stairs to wade through the knee-high water after the Argonian. Stairs rose out of the water to a walkway hidden behind the shelves of merchandise. Macayla saw Gulum-Ei disappear through a door. She hurried to it, found it unlocked, and went in.

Obviously, this wasn't a part of the East Empire Company Warehouse. The algae-covered rocky walls had been carved into a tunnel, making access into the warehouse both easy and illegal. If she knew anything, this had the look of a bandit's hideout.

Macayla followed the tunnel, turning into a torchlight hallway where she heard voices emanating from an opening. She started to walk in when she saw a tripwire; she stepped over it to avoid activating the trap and alerting the owners of those voices to her presence. She crept further in to a cave entrance split in two: the side closest to her being land with shelves of stolen merchandise and a pool of water taking up the rest. The easy-going river snaked its way deeper in. A wooden bridge connected to a platform and another bridge hung over the water further away. Two bandits were talking on a dock with the small boat missing.

They talked about Gulum-Ei coming through with the case of wine the boss wanted and commandeering the boat to take it to her. With their backs to her, Macayla snuck over to the bridge. She went up it and walked across the next one to see a man swimming in the water and another bandit watching him on the platform. She couldn't see a way to sneak behind the dry bandit without being seen by the wet one.

Then she saw a cave opening hidden by spider webs. She could deal with a Frostbite Spider if the way could get her around the bandits. Macayla cut her way through the sticky webs and followed the natural tunnel to a spider's den. She killed it easily, then continued on to the exit; she cut her way out to find herself safely past the two bandits.

Deeper she travelled into the grotto, careful to keep her step light on the wooden bridges so as to not make noise or to make them sway much. She used the cover of barrels and boxes to keep her out of sight when she came upon two bandits lounging around a fire.

It wasn't much more walking before the river ended and she found two small boats docked at a large natural opening lit by a bright fire. Voices echoed out of it—one of the voices travelling across the water sounded like Gulum-Ei's. Macayla crossed over the last bridge and crept closer to the opening.

Gulum-Ei and a woman stood by the fire talking. She dressed like a bandit leader with mix-matched pieces of armor. She didn't look like she could be the mastermind behind Goldenglow and Honningbrew, but Macayla could be proven wrong.

Gulum-Ei had proven that simple interrogation wouldn't make him talk, so she would just have to bully the information out of him. She wouldn't kill either of them—unless the woman proved to be hard-headed and pose a threat—but the Argonian didn't have to know that. Macayla pulled out her bow, aimed at a spot between the two people, and let the arrow fly.

It dug into the dirt between the Argonian and woman; they jumped back in alarm. The woman drew her sword as her mouth opened to call for help.

"I wouldn't unless you want this arrow in your throat," Macayla warned as she stepped into the light, her bow aimed at the woman.

The woman obediently closed her mouth, even though she wasn't happy about it.

"I thought thieves didn't kill..." Gulum-Ei began, ending it like a question and wasn't sure she was past it.

Exactly what I want you to question. "Mercer doesn't have to know." She motioned the woman to the left with her bow. "Get beside him so I can see you both."

The woman did; the Argonian looked nervous with Macayla's bow turned more toward him.

"Is this the buyer of Goldenglow?" she asked.

The woman's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "No, no; this isn't her," he answered.

"Then there's no reason for her anymore..."

Gulum-Ei panicked. "NO! There's no need for that! She's just a client; she's not involved!"

She turned her bow on him. "Alright, then start talking lizard; who is involved?"

"Okay, okay... It was Karliah." He spoke the name with significance.

"You say that name like I'm supposed to know it."

Gulum-Ei's eyes rounded. "Mercer never told you about her? Karliah is the thief responsible for murdering the previous Guildmaster. Now she's after Mercer."

That didn't sound good. "And you're helping her?"

"NO! No! I didn't even know it was her until she contacted me later. Please, you have to believe me!"

"Where is Karliah now?"

"I don't know. When I asked where she was going, she just muttered 'where the end began'."

Macayla considered the tone of his voice—he was absolutely terrified to where his tail twitched in jerky movements. He wasn't lying or holding anything back this time.

She lowered her bow to calm him down. Gulum-Ei and even the bandit leader released a heavy breath of relief. "If this is a run-around, I will find you again, Gulum-Ei, and we won't be talking."

He bobbed his head frantically. "It won't be." He pointed behind him. "There's a hidden exit back there; pull the middle lever—it's through a horker cave."

She walked past them to do what he said, keeping an eye on the armed woman. She never made an aggressive move, so Macayla opened the hidden door and ducked through.

There were three horkers resting in and around a shallow pool; horkers were large amphibians hunted for their tusks and meat. Macayla decided just to run past them—they were easily quadrupole her size and their three long tusks impaled sailors all the time, but all that blubber made them really slow.

She made it past them before they could even flop around quick enough to see her. Outside, though, she still hurried away from the entrance to the horker cave. Getting an idea on her location, Macayla took off running toward Katla's Farm to get back on the carriage. Mercer needed to know Karliah was after him.