The Contract of the Century

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Astrid sat at the head of the table where she always does and her silence was reaching all the way to her very thoughts even so everyone in her surroundings was noisily arguing. She was simply too lost in her thoughts to care about the others at this moment.

She recapped the situation a few more times in her head.

Serana is the newest Assassin she recruited, an excellent one, one with a dark past and a heavy sadness. For a vampire, Serana is gentle and passive almost like a doll… a highly luxurious doll that is made of the best materials on the land.

This girl who was thought to be a random vampire made a 300 years old vampire-like Babette act meekly around her as if they were two different beings. Even in her feeding habits, Serana acted more like a noble vampire rather than being as messy as Babette. Almost magically elegant! One bite and the blood of her victims would withdraw gently from their bodies and just… die.

Astrid was still processing the situation she's in. Long ago, they became the only surviving offshoot of the death cult of the Dark Brotherhood and they lost a lot of their power and connections outside Skyrim. Astrid kept the wheel going and increased the number of assassins which allowed this sanctuary to survive.

After the death of Alisanne Durpe, there was no listening for almost 15 years and Astrid knew just the way to operate this sanctuary and so she devised a new system. Herself as well as Nazir would roam Skyrim undercover and look for those who are looking for the Dark Brotherhood. It was easier than any would think since rumors fly stringless between the Nords.

Once she marks enough clients, she would go back and distribute the contracts to the assassins. Each of them would take a few clients at the same time which gives each of them a few months of traveling and contracting. Eventually and by the end of every season, they would all return to the Sanctuary and share what is going on.

That was how Astrid managed the Assassins without a Listener since she was the acting Listener, to begin with. She would do her best to gather intel on those who carry on the Black Sacrament and would deliver that back to the Brotherhood.

Not even the Night Mother was needed.

So why now? Why would a Listener emerge?

Astrid felt that all that she built was in danger and is going to be undone so soon so she had to formulate a plan and refocus.

"Alright! Quit blabbing!" She called out, making everyone in the room drop silent right away.

She was sitting down in her seat and appeared as someone who is totally in control despite the storm brewing in her mind. Those who looked at her were waiting for her judgment as the leader of this Sanctuary.

"The appearance of the Listener changes nothing." Astrid said.

These words were enough to make the entire Dark Brotherhood turn heads left and right and look at each other.

"The appearance of the Listener changes nothing… We are Assassins and we will always be there to deliver our contracts whether the source is the Night Mother or our outsider sources." Astrid said.

Her words were rather crafty. At first, she tested out the assassins' willingness to return to the old creed. She put on a hostile phrase at first to test out their reactions then swiftly retracted it to not cause any unnecessary opposition. By doing that, she managed to take a look at all the reactions of the people in the room and take note of who can be with her and who will be against her.

"But we must welcome the return of the old ways. This is a change for the better in our Sanctuary." The old man Festus Krex said as he sneered at Astrid.

Of course he would do that since he knows all of Astrid's tricks. He's not particularly against her but likes to be troublesome for nothing.

"Hmph!" Astrid snorted, "Of course we do. But need I remind you of the state of disorder we have been in the last few years? While we welcome the Listener, we need to take care of many loose ends first. Serana is one of us alright and I am the one who recruited her myself so I know her well. Serana, are you sure enough of your ability as a Listener?"

"What is the meaning of this? The Listener is the Listener! There is no way the Listener isn't sure of her abilities… this is simply…" The one who retorted badly just now as Cicero.

He seemed to be very devoted to the fact that there is a new Listener after so many years and due to the fact that he occupies the position of the Keeper, it is going to be even more problematic to Astrid this way but his words were cut short by what seemed to be music to Astrid's ears.

"I am not." Serana's words echoed through the hall as she sat all the way opposite from Astrid at the end of the long table.

Astrid, who stood over the top of the table, smiled faintly as she looked at Serana with pleased eyes.

"How exactly are you not able to… control being a Listener?" Babette asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Haven't you seen what happened to me after "Listening" once?" Serana asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask about that?" Arnbjorn seemed curious as well.

"Well… most of you are oblivious to my past but in my head, there's more than just one voice. Having the Night Mother added to the mix doesn't feel good to me so… it'll be hard to tell which is which." Serana replied.

Her words caused a state of unrest all of a sudden. Astrid was very pleased with what she heard and sat back in her seat which she guaranteed as the Leader of this Sanctuary.

"I promise to offer all the aid that the Listener needs during her mission as the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood." Astrid spoke, "With the difficulties facing her, we are all bound to do the same. I think we all agree on that."

Her words were still effective in her sanctuary, all the assassins showed respect and complied with Astrid without a hint of disagreement. After all, the supposed Listener Serana isn't doing great and seems to be hearing more than just the Night Mother. This is problematic since no one wanted to get between a force such as the Night Mother and her Listener… no one except Astrid.

"Listener, I…" Cicero approached Serana with a mournful face as he seemed disappointed over the fact that the Listener he finally found isn't doing well and wanted to encourage her with words but he found her look even more tranquil.

"It's alright, Cicero." Serana replied, "I am sorry to disappoint you."

"No! Lady Serana… my good lady… I am just trying to say you need to be careful and… try your best." Cicero said and walked away back to the chamber of the Night Mother.

"Nice act you did there." Astrid approached Serana as she leaned against the large table resting her butt on.

"It wasn't an act." Serana replied, taking a careful distance and avoiding eye contact.

"Hmmm. Truly?" Astrid said, "It is funny how you are called the Listener and we're still supposed to Listen to you."

"I am not interested in such a thing." Serana said, "I've said what you wanted me to say, I understand that you are pleased now."

"I am. You made me quite happy, girl. Nothing's more important than our family being on the same page. That's how we ran this guild without killing each other for the past 15 years." Astrid stood off the table and walked closer to Serana, "I've met the previous Listener… Alisanne Durpe, that's her name. Quite the vicious woman she was. I heard that her end was so horrible that she died ablaze."

"Horrible."

"I guess. She was a bitch. Almost smoked this entire sanctuary once."

Astrid and Serana had a moment of exchanging words, the same as the one they had before tonight's meeting. Astrid told Serana to keep the Listener matter down as she did as she was told without being stubborn.

"So the Jester talks to himself, I suspect him to be working with someone and send to spy on him, he turns out to be innocent and you turn out to be the Listener." Astrid sighed.

"That sums it up." Serana replied.

"Fate is a dangerous game indeed." Astrid said, "Alright, what was the name of the Contract the Night Mother gave you?"

"Amaund Motierre near the ruins of Volunruud."

"Look. Something is happening here. I'm not sure entirely what that something is, but... Well, we need to find out. If the Night Mother really did give you an order to talk to a contact, we'd be mad to ignore it. And I think we'd both agree, Cicero's brought quite enough madness to this Sanctuary. So go. Go to Volunruud. It's a crypt, pretty far to the northeast. Talk to this Amaund Motierre. And let's see where all this leads." Astrid displayed a little bit of shakiness as she gave Serana the order.

"You've made your mind faster than I thought." Serana said.

"Did I? Well, I had the entire day thinking about it and thanks to the scene you've made, now everyone else knows about it. I'd have kept this thing between the two of us since I am the Leader here and I won't have my authority challenged by new blood such as yourself but the others are pulling their weight on this one as well. I don't know what you're walking into but be careful of what you bring in your heels, Serana."

"I understand." Serana nodded.

Jon has informed Serana that if everything goes according to his predictions then Astrid would take some time before deciding to give her a particular job. Jon's ability to know the future surely baffled Serana in the past but this time, it seemed that Astrid did something Jon didn't predict.

Should she report to Jon first or treat it as something normal? But how can she? The Listener… the True Listener is not her at all but rather Jon and all she did was to hear the Night Mother through Gluttony.

It vexed Serana how reliant on Jon she had become but she swallowed the better pill and left the sanctuary. Yet outside the sanctuary was a man veiled and tracking Serana with his eyes as he madly ate his fingernails.

"Treachery!" The voice of the mad jester whispered in anger as he watched the Listener walk away.

***

Serana arrived at Morthal town and from it, she traveled to Volunruud as fast as she could. For a vampire, she would transform into a swarm of bats and fly through the night unhindered across the sky of Skyrim thus this flight took her almost 9 hours and she made it through 400 miles almost drained of stamina. Lucky for her, she discovered a band of war deserters nearby and thus she committed a massacre and restored her energy.

As she approached Volunruud, she made sure she would appear as mysterious as ever so that her client would feel intimidated. That was her way of dealing with nosy humans.

The moment she entered the crypt, she noticed that most of the ancient traps were recently disabled and the draugr were all destroyed. Following the tracks of destruction, she soon arrived at a chamber at the edge of the crypt where a man was sitting and another man standing behind him.

The sitting man was short with a fox-like face and Imperial skin tone. The standing man was wearing a Legionary's armor and seemed Imperial as well with a little bit of a Nordishness.

"By the almighty Divines! You've come. You've actually come. This dreadful Black Sacrament thing... it worked." Once the sitting man saw Serana, his eyes gleamed with surprise and he jumped off his stool.

Serana looked the little man up and down and made sure she remained ambiguous in her assassin robes as only her chin was shown from the loosely large hood. She also didn't reply and remained silent.

"Right, then. You prefer to listen, is that it? Well, you must represent the Dark Brotherhood. I certainly wasn't expecting anyone else." The little man said as he spoke excitedly and stuttered, "So I'll cut to the chase. I would like to arrange a contract. Several, actually. I daresay, the most important work your organization has had in, well... centuries."

"Go on!" The words were enticing enough for Serana to faintly reply.

"As I said, I want you to kill several people. You'll find the targets, as well as their manners of elimination, quite varied. I'm sure someone of your disposition will probably even find it enjoyable. But you should know that these killings are but a means to an end. For they pave the way to the most important target. The real reason I'm speaking with a cutthroat in the bowels of this detestable crypt. For I seek the assassination of… the Emperor."

"The what of whom?" Serana was momentarily taken aback and spat out.

After she escaped Castle Volkihar a few months ago with Jon, she immersed herself in all manner of books that she didn't get to read for the past 1000 years. Safe to say that she has gained all the knowledge she needs to catch up on any topic in the modern world.

So she understood what it meant for this Amaund Motierre to just come and say "Kill the Emperor!".

"That is correct! What I ask is no small thing, of course. But you represent the Dark Brotherhood. This is what you do? No? You must understand. So much has led to this day. So much planning, and maneuvering. Now, it's as if the very stars have finally aligned. But I digress." Amaund said then looked back and signaled to the man behind him, "Here, take these. They need to be delivered to your, um... superior. Rexus! The items!"

As per said, the Soldier brought the items his master asked for and handed them to Serana. One item is a sealed letter that is surely addressed to Astrid, the other is an amulet with an Imperial design.

Serana raised the amulet and took a look at it but couldn't decide its origin.

"The sealed letter will explain everything that needs to be done. The amulet is quite valuable. You can use it to pay for any and all expenses." Amaund said and clapped his hand, "So I guess that's where we…"

Serana looked at him and before he continued, she disappeared in a puff of black mist.

"Wow! Rexus, did you see that? That's insane!"

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