[b]And here's the next chapter, done by Gregzilla, TheDoctah and me.[/b]

[size=4]Chapter 5: Sithis Is Not[/size]

[i]Riften, Inside the Honorfall Orphanage[/i]

Mary had done some things she wasn't proud of ever since she became an Interference. Killing the defenseless was one of those things she had managed to avoid. Not anymore as she witnessed the body of an old Nord woman fall down, her tanto sticking out from the side of her lower chest area. The ninja grabbed the body, stopping the corpse from falling and dragged it towards the bed. "Grelod the Kind? More like Grelod the Tyrant!" She scoffed as she removed her tanto from the corpse of the old woman. Mary used the sheets of the dead Nord woman, Grelod to clean her weapon and sheath it. She pulled out the sheets from under Grelod's corpse and closed her eyes, hoping to keep the body's state long enough for her to leave the city of Riften.

Mary opened the door and closed it quickly then walked out of the orphanage. Once outside and a short distance from the building, the ninja ran at full speed. She took the quickest route that let her easily reach the main gates of Riften. "I am leaving."

The two city guards standing besides the gates nodded and the guard on the left side opened his gate to let Mary through. She ran out of the city and continued running. The ninja had done what she needed. All that was left was to meet with the one who "hired" her in a sort of way.

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[i]Arentino Residence, Windhelm[/i]

"The deed is done." Mary said as she walked up the stairs and looked to her right. She was staring at an Imperial child, a boy with very short, dark brown hair. Behind him was a circle of candles that surrounded a skeleton, a heart, some flesh and a book with a dagger on top. "Grelod is dead."

Silence for several moments as he looked up at her, eyes widened. "R-really?" He was overjoyed. "Wow!" He was jumping up and down in joy, ignoring the dead body. "Someday I want to be an Assassin, so help lots of kids! Just like you!"

Just like the orphans in Riften's Honorhall Orphanage probably were, this little boy in Windhelm didn't care what the Dark Brotherhood did, just that they were so good to him now, did what he asked. "Thank you, thank you!" He finally calmed down after a few seconds, taking a breath and sitting down. "I'll go back to the Orphanage in a little while. Wait for them to... you know... clean up the mess." He reached into his red shirt, pulling out a green plate. "Um... here. This is from my family. I want you to have it."

"Umm... Thanks." Mary replied as she took the green plate. The ninja kept it tucked under her arm and bowed at the boy. "Enjoy your life." She would've said something about not depending on the Dark Brotherhood for much longer but decided not to say anything. The ninja down the stairs and out of the house. Mary had gotten what she needed to know. All she had to do was return to the inn and make her report.

On the way to the inn, Mary stopped as a young Imperial male ran towards her. The ninja couldn't help but find something familiar about him. He somehow reminded her of an Imperial she had met once back in Cyrodiil. The man in fact dressed similar to that same Imperial. Probably a descendant of that same courier. "Do you have something for me?"

"How did you- Nevermind. Someone asked me to give this note to you." The Imperial said, taking a note out of his pocket. After giving it to the ninja, he left.

Curious, Mary opened the note to read it. It had the hand print of a right hand in ink and two words under the hand. "We know. I better show this to him." She pocketed the note and resumed her trip to the inn.

It didn't take long for her to arrive at Candlehearth Hall and enter the inn. Mary could see some Nords, sitting together and sharing a drink of the local brew, commonly known as Nord Mead. The ninja simply walked past the common room and up the stairs. She walked towards her room, opened the door and stepped inside. Placing the green plate on the nightstand, the ninja stared at Zero. She had met him again about a week after her visit to Cyrodiil when she decided to return to Nirn. However, it turned out that 200 years had passed when she last left Nirn and that she was in another province called Skyrim.

"I'm sure you have heard but Grelod is dead. The boy paid me with a plate. If what you told me about the Dark Brotherhood still having an operating cell is true, I should have gotten their attention." Mary reported. The ninja took out the note she pocketed and gave it to Zero. "Here. I believe it is from them."

Zero looked up, nodding as Mary reported the completion of her mission.  Despite having stayed for nearly two hundred years, although he had skipped a few decades here and there to return and report back in to the Sergeant, he looked almost no different.  His cloak was more tattered, for sure, and one could make out more cracks and scratches on his helmet, which were also on his armor, if one could see it under his cloak.  He took the note, looking at the hand print and the two simple words.

[i][b]"We know".[/i][/b]

"The black hand.  That's their sign.  They've managed to find us out, it seems."

The Reploid tilted his head slightly, thinking.  Could he take on the entire Dark Brotherhood?  Definitely not, even with Mary's assistance.  They most likely wouldn't send the bulk of their force, though.  The Dark Brotherhood seemed to prefer sending quiet killers, not making a loud disruption.  They enjoyed their secrecy, much like the Assassins.  But focusing on the present, Zero just turned back to the small table in the room, and dropped the letter on it.

"There's nothing to be done for now, we'll have to wait for them to come to us.  You've had a long rest, and I know humans need rest at least once a day, and eight hours of sleep to be at their best.  You should get at least six hours of rest to be at the minimum energy capacity."

Mary nodded. They had no leads on the Dark Brotherhood and they knew about them. What worried her was the fact that they had found out about Grelod's death quicker than she expected. Still, Zero was right and she did need a rest. "Very well. If you find out anything about the Dark Brotherhood or if something happens, let me know." The ninja waited until Zero left the room and laid down on the only bed. She didn't bother removing her boots nor her weapons. Now that the Dark Brotherhood knows what she did, it was better to keep her guard up while she rested. The ninja closed her eyes and went to sleep

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[i]Abandoned Shack, North of Morthal, Hjaalmarch Hold[/i]

Mary groaned as she began to wake up, her vision blurry. As her eyes began to focus, the ninja managed to take notice of a few things. A chest on the right of her sight, a barrel and a bag on the left and in between, closer to the bag and barrel was an empty shelf. Tilting her head a bit, she looked up and was surprised to see a woman leaning against the wall on top of the shelf, one leg dangling besides the furniture and her right arm raised besides her. The ninja couldn't see the woman's face since the latter was something similar to the same mask and ninja tabi she herself wears. Mary noticed that the woman was clad in a red and black armor of sorts.

"Sleep well?" The woman asked.

"What?" Mary said, glaring at the woman. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"Does it matter?" the woman countered calmly. "You're warm, dry, and still very much alive. That's more than can be said for old Grelod, hmmm...?"

"You know about that?" Mary asked. The ninja gathered that she wasn't in her room back in Windhelm. Which meant she had been abducted when she had gone to sleep. The comment about Grelod simply made her more wary of the woman. Could she be a member of the Dark Brotherhood? The ninja had to keep her guard up in front of this woman.

Her eyes rolled. "Half of [i]Skyrim[/i] knows. Old hag gets butchered in her own orphanage? Things like [i]that[/i] tend to get around." Still, she became serious again. "Oh, but don't misunderstand. I'm not criticizing. It was a good kill. The old hag had it coming. And you saved a bunch of [i]urchins[/i] to boot. But there is a slight..." She paused, trying to come up with a word for it. "....problem."

"There's always a catch. All right, what's the problem?" Mary asked. She knew the woman had the advantage and it wouldn't do good to provoke her. Besides, the ninja wanted to glean any information from the woman that she could.

She was more than happy to explain. "You see, that little Aretino boy was looking for the Dark Brotherhood. For me, and my associates." That simplified things. "Grelod the Kind was, by all rights, a Dark Brotherhood contract. A kill... that you [i]stole[/i]. A kill you must [i]repay.[/i]"

Mary's eyes widened. So it was the Dark Brotherhood after all. And the woman in front of her had admitted that she's a member. The ninja was a bit confused about what the woman meant then understood. "You want me to murder someone else? Who?"

"Funny you should ask." She looked behind her briefly. "If you turn around, you'll notice my guests. I've collected them from...well." She chuckled. "That's not very important. The here and now. [i]That[/i]'s what matters. You see, there's a contract out on one of them, and that one can't leave this room alive. Which one?" She seemed to smirk under the mask. "See if you can figure it out. Make your choice. Make your kill. I just want to observe... and admire."

Mary glared at the woman, not knowing how to respond to that. Looking behind her, she saw three individuals tied up and wearing bags that covered their heads. She saw a man and a woman, whether Imperial, Nord or Breton, she couldn't tell and a dark furred Khajit. The ninja then looked back at the woman, glaring more intensely at her. If that woman wanted a kill, she would get it.

The assassin took that. "I could take your silence as acceptance. Then you know where you stand. Make your kill, and we're square." Calm again. "Repayment of your debt is but a discreet knife thrust away."

Mary checked herself first to see if she still carried her weapons. She sighed in relief, feeling her tanto and unsheathing it. Her left arm generated swirls of smoke as she used her Scorching Embers spell, launching a smoke cloud heavy with live embers. The spell managed to lightly burn the woman and she jumped down from the shelf. "You won't get that lucky again!"

"We shall see, murderer." Mary managed to make a stab at the Dark Brotherhood member on her left flank but the woman managed to deflect it by unsheathing an ornate dagger, decorated in black and gold coloring and moving it in the way. The Dark Brotherhood member slashed at Mary but the ninja managed to move back, only getting a light cut on her left shoulder.

The ninja strangely felt weaker than she should have from getting a light cut. In fact, she shouldn't have even felt weaker from getting a light cut. Mary figured that the dagger the Dark Brotherhood member was wielding had some sort of enchantment. She slashed at the woman with her tanto, managing a slightly deeper cut on her right shoulder. "Ugh!" The Dark Brotherhood member grunted as she made a thrust at Mary but the ninja dodged it and threw a punch at the former's face. The woman staggered a bit but was able to parry another thrust of Mary's tanto. The Dark Brotherhood member had more experience in combat than the ninja as she managed to slash Mary three times before the latter managed to block a fourth attack. "By Sithis, I'll see you dead!"

Mary couldn't help but feel even weaker after that quick assault. The enchantment of the Dark Brotherhood member's dagger was weakening the ninja quicker than she expected. She had to finish this as quickly as possible. "You shall be the one to see Sithis!"

The two women kept trading blows against one another, parrying, blocking and dodging each attack one threw at the other. Mary continued, waiting for an opening for a definite strike. However, the ninja knew she needed to find it fast. The Dark Brotherhood member managed a few more light cuts on her, the dagger's enchantment weakening the ninja further. Mary didn't have to worry much longer as the chance soon came. She soon saw an opening for the woman's chest. It was a risky move and one that could easily cost the ninja's life if she failed. Mary was used to risks like these, however and acted on it. She moved to the side as the enchanted dagger cut her side and grabbed the Dark Brotherhood member's arm to keep the limb in place. The ninja then stabbed the woman's chest with her tanto and scored a hit.

"Well done..." The Dark Brotherhood member replied and soon went still.

Mary pulled out her tanto from the recent corpse's body and picked up the dagger. The ninja panted for a moment before inspecting the enchanted weapon. The woman had been tough, a lot tougher than she had expected. Despite having appeared evenly matched, the Dark Brotherhood member had the advantage from start to finish and most of the ninja's strikes had barely glanced or stopped her for long, if not for just a short moment.  "I won because of luck. I need to train more."