Tag Archives: Mercer Frey

A Nightingale’s Tale Eighteen – Unrequited Love

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Chapter 18 - Selene and Brynjolf at Fort Blackmoor

Selene lay on her side with her eyes closed, enjoying the heady, floating sensation from the potion Jora had given her. The priestess and her husband Lortheim had taken her and Brynjolf in at the temple of Talos and treated their burns. Brynjolf lay face down on the cot next to hers, naked and covered with a light sheet, sound asleep. His back, buttocks, and the backs of his legs were covered with blisters and cracked, peeling skin. He had been in quite a bit of pain, so Lortheim had given him something to knock him out.

They would rest and heal for a few days before getting back on the road and heading to Fort Blackmoor. Since they found the note from Karliah on Mercer’s remains, their quest had become less about the loot and more about answers. Karliah had kept something from them, and before they confronted her, they needed to find out what happened at the fort.

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A Nightingale’s Tale Seventeen – Shades of Mercer Frey

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Chapter 17 - Selene and Brynjolf fighting Mercer 3

Selene, Brynjolf, and Karliah sat around the dining table in Nightingale Hall as Brynjolf told them his idea. “What are the two things that are most important to Maven? Wealth and power. What if we take those away from her? Selene has the ear of half the jarls in the province. We could use that influence, along with some carefully planted evidence, to drag Maven’s name through the mud. At the same time, we make it so that she can’t produce her mead. We’ve already taken Goldenglow out of the equation, and she’s begun importing honey. If we sabotage her supply lines, possibly start a couple of fires at the meaderies here and in Whiterun, suddenly she has no revenue.”

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A Nightingale’s Tale Nine – The Long Con

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Chapter 9 - Selene and Karliah 2

“No,” Mercer Frey said slowly, eyes wide, but Selene wasn’t fooled. His voice and eyes may have shown shock and fear when she told him about Karliah, but his scent told a different story. He wasn’t surprised to hear his nemesis’s name.

Brynjolf had told her all about it on the way back from Whiterun. Twenty-five years previously, Karliah had seduced Gallus to gain his trust, and then she had begun stealing from the Guild. When Gallus had discovered her treachery, she had killed him and gravely wounded Mercer. She had disappeared after that, and no one had seen or heard from her since.

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A Nightingale’s Tale Six – Going Away Present

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Mercer Frey 1Selene went home, cleaned up, and got some rest as Maven had instructed. The next morning, she went to the Scorched Hammer to sell the sword Maven had given her.

Balimund, the smith who owned the shop, was working at the forge, while his adoptive son Asbjorn hammered away at a piece of armor. She knew Asbjorn, who had also lived at Honorhall, although he usually didn’t have much to say beyond hello. Balimund, however, was a different story, and Selene adored him. The friendly blacksmith was in his mid-forties, burly, with dirty blond hair. She suspected he was handsome under all the soot that covered his face, but she had never seen him cleaned up. Balimund looked the sword over, tested the weight, and even went so far as to make a small cut in his arm to test the enchantment. “Hmm,” he muttered. “It has a fear enchantment on it.”

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A Nightingale’s Tale Three – Goldenglow

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Chapter 3 - Goldenglow Estate

Selene followed Brynjolf through a false back panel in the Flagon’s pantry and into a cavernous cistern. A domed ceiling covered a pond much like the one in the tavern, but this one had a small island in the center and four stone bridges leading to it. Four exits led out of the center room, including the one they had just come from. Cots and chests were laid out around the perimeter, in addition to a cooking and eating area, an office section with a desk and display shelves, and a small archery range. A few people milled around the eating area and archery range, all wearing the same black armor. The hall was dimly lit, the air was chilly, and the smell of mold was prevalent; but it felt safe and welcoming, and Selene was instantly comfortable there.

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