A rift in the sand

Sneaking back into Riften is fairly easy for Michael, his invisibility allowing him to avoid the guards and the many Thief Guild members that were still searching for Mercer, and his Blink spell allowing him to bypass the walls.

Once inside, he enacts the third phase of his plans. With the Thieves Guild in disarray and practically penniless now that Mercer was dead and Michael had stolen his shit. The last thing to deal with was Maven Black-Briar. If he left her alone she might continue the investigation, whether or not she'd succeed in finding him was a moot point. He didn't want the attention, and he had no doubt that Medresi's tongue would waggle if put under any strain at all.

The Black-Briar Manor was usually heavily guarded, but it seems even more so this night, the chaos by Mercer's betrayal hasn't just sent ripples through the Guild, but the rest of the city as well. Maven, with her close working relationship with Mercer instantly had her Manor locked down as soon as she heard the news. She wasn't about to let herself be slain by some resentful thief who got lucky.

Unfortunately for her, her Manor's defences meant almost nothing to Michael. He invisibly sneaks around and slowly clambers up to the roof, the smoke coming from the chimney meant that a fire was going, but Michael wasn't about to let that stop him.

He holds a Health potion in his mouth and slowly slides down the chimney, heat travels up his feet, legs, and body, but he ignores it. He almost shouts in pain as his feet hit the flames, but he just tilts his head upwards and drinks the Health potion to rid him of the wounds, spitting it out while climbing out of the fireplace.

Once out, he's greeted by the shocked face of Maven Black-Briar and her son Hemming Black-Briar. Both of which were still seated on a couch with shocked looks on their faces.

Michael grins at them, "Look like Santa came early this year." he states, drawing his dagger.

Hemming quickly jumps to his feet and grabs a nearby butter knife, pointing it at Michael with the most intimidating look he could muster. "S-stay back! I'm warning you! I'm the most fierce warrior in Riften-no, all of Skyrim!" he shouts.

Maven just forces his hand down however, scowling at him, "Be quiet Hemming, no one else believes your blustering, yet you think this man would?" she focuses on Michael, "Well? Who sent you? Because I promise I can pay far more than they can."

"Oh, no one sent me, I'm here simply because I want to be." he says as he walks towards them, Hemming backing up while his mother stood her ground, her face neutral as if she didn't think Michael would dare strike he down.

"So someone scorned then? Tell me who it was that caused your ire and I will deliver them to you before sunrise."

Michael smiles, "Oh really?"

Maven nods, crossing her arms with a gleam in her eye, "Then afterwards we could discuss your employment. I appreciate a man who can take matters into his own hands."

Michael nods, "Then, the person who I want is... Maven Black-Briar." he says, finally getting a reaction from the woman, her brows scrunching as she finally takes a step back.

"Your poor jokes have no place here. Tell me what you want or leave, because I promise you, if you touch me, your life and the lives of your friends and family will join you. My allies are everywhere, the Thieves Guild bends to my whims, the Dark Brotherhood follows my orders, the Thalmor scrap their knees to please me! Tell. Me. What. You. Want." she growls.

Michael shakes his head, "I thought you were a smart woman, I already told you what I want." he says, deciding to end this. He steps forwards and drives his dagger into Maven's chest, causing her eyes to widen as she gives a shuddering shout of pain.

"MOTHER!" Hemming shouts, losing himself in anger as he charges Michael.

Michael just tosses Maven's body onto the floor and grabs Hamming wrist as he tries to stab him. His dagger finds the man's throat, cutting so deeply that it finds his spine. He drops next to his mother, the two expiring on the floor from their wounds.

Michael wasn't done just yet however, he bends over and presses his hand into the growing pool of blood, afterwards slapping it against the nearby wall, leaving a familiar-looking hand-print that could only belong to the Dark Brotherhood.

"Yeah, that'll do it." it mutters, his ears twitching when he hears the clattering of metal boots against stone. Looks like Hemming's earlier shout had alerted the guards... Michael turns invisible and uses Blink to quickly climb back up the chimney.

He could hear the guards start shouting orders behind him, but it matters not as they had a snowball's chance in hell of actually finding and catching up with him. He retreats from the area and begins making his way over to Medresi's building to wait for sunrise.

He didn't dare sleep in this town, not after he'd killed the most important person and pinned it on the Dark Brotherhood. Instead, he just sat invisibly in an alleyway, waiting for Tiffania's Teleportation Gate to open.

Not ten minutes later, the entirety of Riften was in an uproar, news got around quickly, and Maven Black-Briar getting murdered in her fortress-like home by the Dark Brotherhood was certainly news-worthy.

The Thieves Guild hadn't stopped looking for Mercer yet, so any attempts for the guards and other associates of Maven to contact and use them to find Maven's murderer fell on deaf ears. Indeed, even the Jarl's position itself was at risk, as her most important support, Maven, was now out of the picture... Jarl Laila Law-Giver had made many enemies, and the common folk thought her obliviousness to the obvious corruption and lawlessness in the city made her less than worthy for the position in their eyes.

Fortunately, Michael didn't encounter any other problems as the sun rose, a thin door manifests in front of Medresi's building, and Michael quickly goes through it before anyone else can take notice of it.