Part 1: You Are Here Part 2: [link] Part 3: [link] Part 4: [link]

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Fadali raised her eyebrows in surprise as she entered the Ragged Flagon. Something felt...wrong. It seemed quieter...or maybe that was her imagination. Maybe Dirge looking at her oddly as she passed was her imagination too. She wondered what his expression had meant, nodding slightly in greeting to him.

The usual suspects were there: Vekel at the bar, cleaning the top disinterestedly, Tonilia and Vex sitting out on the deck, Delvin at his usual table in the back corner. Brynjolf was there too, at the table nearest to the entrance, and he looked troubled. Fadali cocked her head, ears twitching, and altered her course, sitting down across the table from him. He looked up.

She hadn't seen Brynjolf look so somber before; he was usually a cheerful man, even when he was serious. But now he was frowning softly, looking disturbed and a little bit lost.

"What's with you, Bryn?" Fadali laced her fingers together, resting her chin on them. "You look like someone killed your puppy."

She thought she saw him wince a little, and wondered if the joke had hit close to home. Oops. She didn't think he had a puppy, though...

"I was wondering when you'd be back here, Fadali." His voice was low and a far cry from its usual cheerful tone. She noticed he hadn't answered, but decided not to push it just yet; instead, she glanced surreptitiously around the room again. Delvin and Vekel were minding their own business, Vex and Tonilia talking quietly. Dirge was, as always, glaring at anything that moved. By all accounts, it should have been a perfectly normal day in the Flagon, but something still felt off to Fadali, like there was a layer of something coloring everything different. She wasn't certain what.

"Can't stay gone for too long," she said finally, "you'd miss me. I make it fun here. Speaking of which..." She cut her eyes back to Brynjolf. He wasn't looking at her anymore. "...what's wrong? Seriously. This is still a tavern, for the Divines' sakes. Why is everything so..." She gestured vaguely. "...so gloomy here?"

Nobody answered her immediately, and Fadali took the moment of silence to continue. "By Sithis, we need Mrr. She knows how to cheer you people up. Wasn't she supposed to be back soon?" She turned in her seat to glance back at the entrance, as if Mrrsizha was about to step through it any moment.

Brynjolf let out a breath. "About that, Fadali..."

Fadali's ears twitched and she looked at him sharply. Her voice was low, warning, when she next spoke.

"What about that, Brynjolf?"

"Mercer's back. He arrived today."

Mercer... Fadali thought that was the Thieves' Guild's leader. He had some name starting with an M, she seemed to recall. She'd only seen the man maybe once, though, and Mrrsizha didn't say much about him. She almost growled when she asked in response, "And Mrrsizha?"

Brynjolf let out a short, harsh breath. He reached out to place something on the table in front of her: it took Fadali a moment to recognize the gold-and-moonstone earrings she'd given Mrrsizha shortly after they'd become friends. Mrrsizha treasured them, and the Khajiit wore them everywhere.

Brynjolf shouldn't have had them.

"She's dead."

Fadali's breath caught. She forced herself to swallow around the lump in her throat, shakily picking up the earrings and waiting for Brynjolf to tell her he wasn't serious, or that he didn't mean dead dead, or that--

"What?!" The Dunmer didn't realize she'd stood until she was leaning over the table towards Brynjolf. "She can't be dead!" She was dimly aware that everyone in the Flagon had looked up at the outburst; Brynjolf stood as well, so she wasn't standing over him, but Fadali didn't care, reaching across the table to grab the front of his armor and yank him forward.

"You bastard! You said she would be safe!" She realized her vision had blurred, but she didn't care. She shoved Brynjolf back. "Where is that son of a bitch?!" She didn't let Brynjolf answer, pushing past him and starting for the door that led down to the inner sanctum of the Thieves' Guild.

He caught her arm before she could get far, though, beginning, "Fadali--" The assassin lashed out in response, and felt a twinge of satisfaction when she felt her fist connect with Brynjolf's jaw. That wrist was abruptly jerked back a moment after, though, because Dirge had intervened; it took both him and Brynjolf to subdue her, and the Dunmer only relented when both men had her pressed to the wall, her arms twisted painfully behind her back.

"You promised!" Fadali's voice was choked and gasping, and she realized she was crying. "You were supposed to take care of her!" She started to struggle again, but knew it wouldn't matter; she couldn't wrestle away from Brynjolf and Dirge. "He was supposed to take care of her! Let me go! I'll kill him!"

Brynjolf let out a harsh breath, helping Dirge haul her off the wall. He stepped away as Dirge took hold of her arms, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. "Get her out of here." His voice was quiet, flat, and Fadali could almost shriek at his indifference. Brynjolf had been Mrrsizha's mentor, her friend, the reason she was in this damned guild at all. How could he be so indifferent?!

Dirge almost had to pick her up and carry her to the door, but he finally got her there and shoved her out, none too gently. Fadali heard the door lock behind her, sealing her out of the Ragged Flagon. She sank to the floor and curled up against it, sobbing.

She should have never let Mrrsizha go alone. She should have been there, she should have made sure she was safe, she should have done anything. She couldn't have lost her just like that.

After a few minutes, her tears abated. She looked up, rubbing a hand over her face. Maybe she could get back into the Flagon, she thought, through the back way. Find Mercer, kill him for failing Mrrsizha. But they would be expecting that. She let out a harsh, hoarse breath. No. Mrrsizha couldn't be dead. She couldn't. That Khajiit was too smart, too stubborn to just be dead.

Fadali shoved herself to her feet, her hand clenching painfully around Mrrsizha's earrings. She swallowed, then started back towards the entrance of the Ratway, her stride quick and purposeful.

She was going to Snow Veil Sanctum herself, and she was going to find Mrrsizha.

Then she would kill Mercer.

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Just a sketch of Fadali, ~CountessofTheGhastly's Dunmer assassin and my Mrrsizha's best friend. Due to not exactly being lawful herself and being Mrrsizha's friend, she spends an inordinate amount of time in the Ragged Flagon, and more-or-less befriended a good chunk of the Thieves' Guild. Brynjolf was the one who drew the short straw and had to tell her when Mrrsizha "died" at Snow Veil Sanctum during the Speaking With Silence quest.

It didn't go well.

Luckily, nobody got stabbed or set on fire. Which is a very real possibility, with Fadali.

_{I think Fadali has a braid or something IDK but I don't care nearly enough to fire up Skyrim and load her game just to stare at her creepily for a dumb sketch so deal with it}