A Thief's Ascension, The story of Jak's life from small beginnings Options

[Darkness Eternal]

Jak versus the Walking Blue-Eyed Dead! Seemed that when he killed one, more came. For each dead Draugr, others came out of the woodwork.

Mercer . . . what an asshole. I mistrusted him from the start. No honor among thieves, huh. Jak learned a valuable lesson here. One I hope he takes to heart later in his travels. Good thing Karliah saved his life. He owes her.

Great thing that Mercer was revealed to be a traitor to the group.

So with Chillrend in hand, it is time to go after the Eyes of the Falmer!!

[Acadian]

Ahah! Horse murdering Mercer is a bad guy as I suspected! Just can't trust a horse murderer.

This is fun seeing how the TG stuff plays out. Glad Jak is back in tight with his thiefy buds.

[BretonBlood]

Darkness Eternal: Indeed Mercer is an asshole. He is in Jak's sights now, and with the Guild now on Jak/Karliah's side we will have to see how they want to handle Mercer.



Acadian: Hahahaha Buffy would not get along with Mercer.

And I'm glad you are enjoying it so far.

Chapter 15

Jak and Brynjolf met Karliah at the center of the cistern and Karliah began to speak,"Brynjolf it's time to decide Mercer's fate." Brynjolf agreed and declared that Mercer needed to die for everything he had done. Karliah was happy to hear that Brynjolf's decision and told them to meet her southeast of Riften near a standing stone where there is a path cut up the mountain side. Both Karliah and Brynjolf said they had some preparations they need to make before heading out, so Jak took this time to try and get some sleep, but that proved harder than he thought as his mind overflowed with thoughts of what was going to happen.

In the morning Jak left Riften and made his way southeast, he found the path and followed it up the mountain where he found the two of them already waiting for him.

"I'm glad you're here. This is the Nightingale headquarters, cut into the moutain by the first of our kind. We will hopefully get the edge we need to defeat Mercer."

"What kind of an edge?" Jak asked.

"If you follow me, I'll try to explain on the way." Karliah walked past the two of them and they looked at each other and then followed her. She opened a secret entrance and they all entered a cave, Brynjolf commented on how he had always heard stories of Nightingale Hall but he never believed them, which Karliah says was done on purpose. Brynjolf then questioned why he was there in the first place as he was not religious.

"This isn't about religion Brynjolf... it's business. Now follow me to the armory so we can don our armor and begin the Oath."

They followed her to the armory and she told them to touch one of the three stones to get their armor; Jak watched as both of them obtained their armor.

"What's wrong Jak? Are you nervous to take the Oath?"

He shook his head at Karliah and proceeded to the stone while the two went ahead. He slowly placed his hand on the stone...suddenly a black substance ran up Jak's arm and eventually all over his body forming the Nighingale armor, it was as if the armor was some kind of magical creature bonding itself to him.

"Whoa this armor, it feels good. Magical almost..." Jak said as he joined the other two.

"That's because it is. This armor can take on the shape of any armor or clothing you wish, that way you can disguise your identity as a Nightingale, it also enhances your abilities. Now if you are ready let's begin." Karliah explained.

The three of them proceeded into the main chamber and stood on their respective circle, Karliah then summoned Nocturnal. Nocturnal sounded disappointed with Karliah and asked what she had to offer in order to gain her favor. Karliah then offered Jak and Brynjolf to Nocturnal and said they would be willing to serve her in life and in death; Nocturnal was pleased with Karliah's terms and gave her blessing, making all three of them official Nightingales. They all met back in the center of the room where Karliah explained that they now had an edge over Mercer and that his true crime was stealing the Skeleton Key from the Twilight Sepulcher, she said without the key they had lost their connection to Nocturnal and could not use her gifts. Both Jak and Brynjolf agreed they needed to get to Mercer as soon as possible to get the key back.

"Before we leave lad, we need to talk about the Guild, and its leadership." Brynjolf began, "Once this is all over we will need a new leader, Karliah and I were talking about it before you arrived and we think you should be the new guildmaster."

"Me?" Jak couldn't believe what he was hearing, "What about you Brynjolf?"

"I'm a skilled thief, maybe one of the best, but I am no leader. I have never been in a leading position and never want to be in that kind of position so we figured we should give it to you after everything you have done for the Guild."

"I don't know what to say."

"Don't worry about it yet, lad. We still have some business to take care of and we won't make it official until I have heard from all of Delvin's sources that we have returned to our former glory."

Jak reluctantly agreed to take the position as he was skeptical about his ability to lead the Guild, and so the three of them made their plan to travel to Irkngthand to stop Mercer.

Karliah let them to Irkngthand, and up on arriving found it to be similar to Markarth as it was built into the mountain as well. The three of them sneaked inside and found a group of dead bandits, they assumed it was Mercer's doing, and continued on where they found destroyed dwemer creatures. It wasn't far into the ruins before they came across traps, the first being a room with pillars that revolved shooting fire, they each went through one at a time and made it across the room safely.

They came across the first trap set by Mercer when Jak opened a door and a flail came hurling at him, but he dodged it easy enough. They moved on and came to a balcony overlooking a giant room.

"Look there's Mercer!" Karliah pointed and they watched as he sneaked up behind two Falmer and killed them, "He is toying with us." she said and looked at the other two.

"Let's get a move on then we don't want him to get to the eyes and get away." Brynjolf said.

The three Nightingales continued forward and found themselves in a room where they had two choices, taking the high road or the low road, Brynjolf commented saying he didn't care which one they took as long as they got through quickly so Jak decided on the higher path to avoid most of the Falmer, they did come across one but Jak stabbed him as he got close. The Falmer let out a deafening scream as it died and they knew they needed to get moving before the rest showed up to investigate; luckily the cry from the Falmer drew all the others to its location allowing Jak, Brynjolf, and Karliah to easily navigate through the room and continue onward without a fight. They found a message left by Mercer saying one step ahead.

"He is really trying to get to us, to mess with our heads." Karliah said before they moved on.

In the next large room there was a Centurion Guardian, and Jak had a plan to turn it on and let it fight the Falmer that patrolled the room and they would sneak by during the commotion, his plan was successful as the Guardian quickly dispatched all the Falmer and they were able slip by unseen.

After passing the Centurion and entering the next area they noticed they had found what seemed to be the Falmer's hive, as there were numerous Falmer everywhere, they had to be extremely careful sneaking by because while the Falmer couldn't see they had exceptional hearing and smell. Eventually they found a room with several huts and Falmer walking around the camp, Karliah did not want to fight them and risk alerting all the other Falmer so they began to sneak around them. Jak could have sworn he heard one of the Falmer talking about its precious as they sneaked by, but he brushed it off as he had to stay focused. They did everything they could to avoid the Falmer and even traversed the pipes that ran above through the cave. They finally reached the end of the ruins.

"Are you ready? This is it, Mercer has to be beyond this door." Karliah looked at both of them and they nodded, Jak then put his hand on the door and slowly pushed it open.

[Darkness Eternal]

The verdict is known. Mercer must die. I find no argument here. I'm sure neither will Acadian

Jak couldn't get much sleep. And undertstandably. There's much at stake and there so much that is going on that sleep right now was the last thing in his mind. When Karliah mentioned the edge they need . . . it had me wondering. Fearfully. On what's about to go down. I have an inkling.


Well, that's quite an opportunity for Jak here to become the new guildmaster. Taking a glance at his humble beginnings, I say that's an enormous feat for him. Too bad his mother had to pass before success. Uhh. Being guildmaster must mean less sleep.

That's some beautiful armor. I love it. And if I were Jak, I'd also feel uneasy about taking an oath. Even more so when I discover a Daedric Prince is involved, but the situation demanded it.

After some confrontations with the Falmer, Karliah did well to want to sneak around them. Now we wait for what will become of our heroes and the horse-murdering Mercer.

[Acadian]

I'm very much enjoying your telling of the TG questline. Buffy's heard of and is intrigued by the Nightingales. She has also dealt with Nocturnal in the past and has no real problems with her. That all said, she really is not a thief and would never do that questline. That is why it is so nice to read about others doing it.

Cool new armor that Jak has and it seems like the three Nightingales are using good tactics and teamwork to get through that ruin. I hope they catch and kill that horse-murdering Mercer. Very clever to let that big Dwemer Centurian do some of their dirty work.

'Jak could have sworn he heard one of the Falmer talking about its precious as they sneaked by, ...'

[BretonBlood]

Darkness Eternal: The verdict is out, and Mercer must die. Now the question is can it be done. We shall see.

It is quite the accomplishment for Jak, one that he definitely isn't ready for, despite Brynjolf thinking so, considering he has only been with the guild for a couple months now. It is a shame that his mother passed before Jak achieving such a grand goal, even though she probably wouldn't have approved, it still would have made him happy knowing he would have been making good money for her.

Jak isn't particularly a religious man, he doesn't care much about the gods or Daedra so he was more than willing to take the oath since it meant stopping Mercer.


Acadian: I'm glad you are enjoying it. Buffy can live vicariously through Jak then since she is a good person and would never stoop to thievery.

The three of them do make a good pair, they couldn't have made it through to confront Mercer if one of them was missing.

And hahahaha I had to throw that little tid bit in there because I always thought the Falmer were like Gollum.

Chapter 16

The three of them entered the room where they found Mercer on a giant statue grabbing one of the Eyes of the Falmer. "He hasn't noticed us, Brynjolf guard the door." Karliah said to which he agreed and stated nothing would be getting by him. Just then Mercer jumped down and said he knew they would show up soon, he then used the Skeleton Key to emit some kind of blast causing the platform Jak was standing on to break and the ceiling to break causing water to begin filling the room.

"When Brynjolf brought you to me I felt a shift in the wind and knew it would only be a matter of time before I had to get rid of you. But at least I got some wealth out of you."

"Give me the key, Mercer!" Jak yelled.

Mercer laughed, "You think you can beat me? How about this, if you beat me I'll give you the key. Then you can take me in and bring me before the Guild and Nocturnal for my crimes... but when YOU lose I'll be sure to display your body for Nocturnal and all the Guild to see."

"I will not lose!" Jak drew his sword and Mercer shot a strange aura at Brynjolf. Mercer turned invisible and so Jak took this opportunity to get to higher ground to get a better vantage point and get away from the floor where the water was rising. "I can't stop myself!" Brynjolf yelled as he began to attack Karliah, and she parried his blows, "Please forgive me, lass!" Jak wanted to help Karliah but there was nothing he could do to get back up to her and she couldn't escape as Brynjolf had her cornered. Mercer then showed himself and charged, Jak swung at him when he saw an opening and tried to avoid Mercer's blades as best he could. When he got a hit on Mercer he would disappear and then reappear and charge again. Mercer was fast, but with the Nightingale armor Jak's reflexes were enhanced making it easier for him to dodge. Mercer reappeared once again and was able slice Jak on his side barely breaking through his armor, Jak fought the pain and took the opporunity to stab Mercer in his side making him fall to his knees for a second. "How do you like the chill of your own blade Mercer?" Jak shouted as the blade Chillrend he found in Mercer's house took its effect on him. Like before Mercer turned invisible, but this time Jak could see a slight distortion in the area where Mercer was not completely invisible so he ran after him up towards the top of the statue. He swung his sword killing Mercer from behind and he watched as he reappeared and his corpse fell to the floor of the room.

Mercer's spell on Brynjolf wore off and the ceiling finally gave out and the room quickly began filling with water. Jak dove into the water and looted Mercer of everything he had on his possession, but most importantly the Skeleton Key. Karliah said they needed to get out of there quickly, but when Brynjolf tried the door it was blocked from the other side. The three of them tried there best to stay above the water and were losing hope as the water was nearly at the top of the cave when suddenly a rock fell from the ceiling revealing an exit. They swam to the exit and walked through the cave the exit lead to.

"I can't believe it, twenty-five years of exile and just like that it is done." Brynjolf patted her on the shoulder, "Now all that's left is to return the Skeleton Key to the Twilight Sepulcher."

"Aye, but I need to get back to the Guild, we don't need the place to go into panic." Brynjolf said.

"Well what are we waiting for, lets return the Key." Jak spoke up

"It isn't that simple I'm afraid. When the key was stolen we lost our entry to the inner sanctum of the Sepulcher, the only way back in is through the Pilgrim's Pass. And I'm afraid I can't go with you... after my failure to protect the Key I don't think I can face Nocturnal."

"Fine I guess I'll return the Key myself, how hard can it really be?"

"I feel bad for making you undergo this task alone, so I want you to have this." She handed Jak her bow, "I have used this bow most of my life, but you deserve it."

They left the cave and found themselves at Lake Yorgrim near Windhelm.

Jak, Brynjolf, and Karliah made their way back to Windhelm and hired a carriage to Riften. Brynjolf returned to the Guild, Karliah to the Nightingale Hall, and Jak headed to the Twilight Sepulcher in Falkreath Hold following Karliah's instructions, and eventually he found the temple in a secluded cave in the mountains . He entered and was approached by a ghost of a Nightingale, he soon found out that the Nightingale was none other than Gallus. He told Jak he would have to face the tests to get to the inner sanctum, there he would have to return the Skeleton Key.

Jak continued on to face his first test, it was a room with the exit at the bottom of the staircase, but he needed to find the button to activate the gate. He found the button and opened the gate, but was then attacked from the shadows by a Nightingale Sentinel who believed Jak was intruding on the Sepulcher, it was a difficult fight as it was like fighting invisible shadows, but Jak won in the end. Upon continuing, Jak faced his second test, it was a room in almost complete darkness, but with several areas with basins lighting them, he knew to avoid the light as he saw a corpse, and being a thief he knew the shadows were his ally not the light. He eventually made it through the second test and came to the third one, a room with a statue of Nocturnal and a dead bandit. It looked as he was supposed to leave an offering, but Jak knew it couldn't be that simple and thought to himself, What is the only thing Nocturnal would want? Darkness. He then found two chains that put out the fires leaving the room in darkness, this opened the doorway and he continued further into the Twilight Sepulcher Inner Sanctum.

He finally made it to the Inner Sanctum and came to a dead end with nothing but a well so he jumped down. After a few moments the well disappeared and Jak fell into the inner sanctum. In the middle of the room was the Ebonmere, the portal between Evergloam and Tamriel, Jak kneeled down and placed the Skeleton Key and backed away. The Ebonmere opened and Nocturnal appeared within a shroud of crows, she addressed Jak and told him she was pleased with his efforts even if they were part of his deal. Nocturnal gave Jak her blessing and returned to Evergloam. Karliah then entered the inner sanctum through the portal connecting the Inner Sanctum and Nightingale Hall and Jak approached her.

"Nocturnal seemed pleased with you." Karliah stated, but Jak didn't agree. "Believe me, if she was displeased with you we wouldn't be having this conversation." Karliah then went on to explain how Jak could select one of three powers given to Nighingales and so he chose the Agent of Strife. After choosing his power Gallus appeared, much to Karliah's surprise and the two began to talk. They said their goodbyes and Gallus walked to the Ebonmere and entered Evergloam to become one with the shadows.

Jak and Karliah left the Twilight Sepulcher, Jak returned to Riften to talk to Brynjolf. He told him what happened and that they now had Nocturnal's favor once again, Brynjolf was happy to hear it and thanked Jak for all he had done for the Guild and said he saw a bright future for the Guild.

[Acadian]

A tough fight with Mercer. That he pulled both Brynjolf and Karliah effectively out of the fight is demonstrative of the awesome power of illusion magic.

Good that Jak prevailed and returned the key.

Sounds like some leadership changes at the guild may be in order?

[Darkness Eternal]

Mercer certainly got what he deserved. Jak must have been irritated at Mercer's comment about how he used him. It bothered me, to be honest. It was a very tough fight but Jak prevailed. The nightingale armor was put to great use in this confrontation. Mercer was always a slippery one but even his magical powers did not help him.

After the return of the key, the future of the Guild seems brighter but I can't help but realize that Jak's future is darker than ever. The cost of this victory was pretty high . . . the currency being his soul and all. I do wonder if Jak will ever stop to truly ponder this.

And how appropiate that he chose Agent of Strife! Haha.

Great write!!

This post has been edited by Darkness Eternal: Oct 26 2016, 08:13 PM

[BretonBlood]

Acadian: If I am not mistaken, and you wouldn't know this if you have never done the Thieves Guild quest, I believe that the power he used on Brynjolf was one of the Nightingale powers you can choose but I am not sure which one.

The Guild is for sure in need of new leadership, and Brynjolf seems to think Jak is deserving of the title... we shall see if he is up for it.


Darkness Eternal: Mercer did get what he deserved. This was by far the most challenging fight Jak has ever had, if he did not have the Nightingale armor he surely would have lost since it's power to enhance a person's reflexes, speed, and strength were what allowed him to keep up with Mercer and eventually beat him.

Jak was never truly a religious man so he never thought about the afterlife and where his soul will go, that's one of the reasons he didn't mind taking the oath and giving his soul to Nocturnal. However, now that things have settled down maybe it is something he will stop to think about.

Thanks.

Chapter 17

Jak left Brynjolf in the Cistern and returned to the Flagon where he got two jobs from Vex and Delvin. both of which were in Markarth as the Guild's reputation was growing in the Reach and Delvin and Vex wanted to make sure to keep it that way. With his jobs, Jak left the Guild and decided it would be best to return home as Fina had not seen him in awhile and he feared she probably thought he was dead. When he entered the house Fina almost instantly ran up the stairs and had the biggest smile when she saw it was Jak, she ran up and hugged him and explained how she was worried something horrible had happened. He told Fina a story of what happened but changed details to make it sound like a bad business deal occurred and he had to fix it, and Fina simply nodded along but she only cared he was okay. After talking some more the two eventually made dinner and Jak finally got a moments rest and enjoyed his meal while talking with Fina some more.

"Fina, I really don't know what I would without you. I'm glad you have been here for me since my mother passed."

"It's why I am here Jak, don't worry about it. We have known each other for a long time, I wouldn't let you go through everything that has happened alone."


In the morning Jak left for Markarth, much to Fina's displeasure since he had just got back, to complete his jobs. Once he arrived in Markarth a couple days later Jak waited for nightfall and then began to make his way through the city, it felt right being back to his old ways after everything that had happened with Mercer, he missed good old fashioned burglary. He entered the house of the mark and sneaked around until he found the Golden Urn and took it. With his business done in Markarth, Jak returned to Riften and turned in the jobs. Delvin was more excited than Jak had ever seen and explained how there was a new client that needed their help; in return for their help this client would then back the Guild in Markarth solidifying their grip on the hold again. Jak couldn't refuse the job so he accepted and told Delvin he would return as soon as possible with the news of how it went.

________________________________________________________________________________


Meanwhile in Solitude.

"Kath, what's the rush? "

"We need to get to the Rift, that's where I live. I am about to show you a whole new life you could never imagine. There are adventures to be had, Vivienne." Kath responded as she continued to walk.

The two of them left Solitude and began their journey to the Rift. They passed Dragon Bridge and continued southeast towards Whiterun, where they eventually came to Rorikstead, a small little village that Kath said didn't have much going for it. They went to the outskirts of town, sitting on a giant rock, to look on into the distance and think about their journey to the Rift.

"So what is so special about the Rift?" Vivienne was curious.

"Have you ever been there?"

"No. I have lived in Solitude my whole life with my aunt... " Vivienne paused and looked up to the sky for a moment, "I'm going to miss her, but at least you helped her get some closure about my cousin Fura."

"Don't worry, that feeling of missing your aunt will pass in time, especially with the new life I am about to show you. But anyways... if you've never been to the Rift then you wouldn't understand, while Solitude is a great and beautiful city, nothing beats the beauty of the Rift."

"I'll have to take your word for it." Vivienne sighed.

"Now, I'm getting hungry, lets find something to eat."

________________________________________________________________________________



With his special job from Delvin, Jak left for Markarth. Once there he made his way to the Silver-Blood Inn, the owner and his wife bickered and she eventually came up to Jak to ask if he needed a drink but he declined the offer. He found Endon sitting by the fire and joined him, he filled Jak in on why he contacted the Guild, he had ordered a special mold but the shipment was robbed by bandits and he wanted Jak to get it back.

Jak had all he needed from Endon and left Markarth to made his way to Pinewatch in Falkreath Hold. A couple days later he arrived to find it unguarded on the outside so he picked his way into the house. The house seemed ordinary until he noticed a button on the wall, he pressed it and the bookshelf on the wall slung open revealing a passageway into a cave. Jak moved carefully as he didn't know how many bandits inhabited the cave, and he wanted to avoid a big confrontation, as he made his way into the cave he found a spiked pit with corpses of poor travelers who crossed paths with these bandits and Jak knew these were worse than the average bandit. He continued on sticking to the shadows, taking down any torches he saw, and eventually one bandit came walking towards Jak unaware he was there until Jak jumped him and choked him to death. Jak was not going to show them any mercy and he even got the chance to try out his new power from Nocturnal as he drained the life from a bandit and killed him.

Further into the cave was a storage room with a few bandits sitting around a table talking about the leader of the group, Jak wasn't going to take them all on so he sneaked around the boxes and chests and passed them unnoticed. Finally, Jak came to the end of the cave where the leader, Rigel Strong-Arm, laid in her bed asleep. Jak was not going to let her live so he quietly approached the bed then grabbed her head, waking her, and slitting her throat leaving her to die. He took the keys to the treasure room off her person and continued, after avoiding a few traps he unlocked the door to the treasure room. He entered the room and was in awe at all the treasure on the table, he had never seen anything like it. His Nightingale Hood retracted letting him get a better look at all the loot, he grabbed the mold first and then the rest of the gold, jewels, and ores before he made his way out of Pinewatch.

After traveling back to Markarth, Endon was pleased have the mold and assured Jak that if the Guild ever needed any help in Markarth he would be more than happy to do it. With his job complete Jak rested for a day in Markarth, however despite needing rest he found it hard to come by as just as he always has he ahd a bad feeling in Markarth. The following morning Jak left and in a few days returned to Riften to give Delvin the good news. He found that another merchant had moved into the Flagon as a result of hearing the Guild was making a comeback, then Delvin mentioned a new recruit so Jak took the time to meet him. His name was Garthar, and he claimed he joined because he helped Vex fight off some wolves before she tried to rob him and it ended in a stalemate, he then made it obvious he had a thing for Vex and Jak wished him luck in trying to get her.

Over the course of the next few weeks Jak completed more jobs for the Guild to help get it back on its feet, mainly in Whiterun as that was the last major city the Guild needed to regain its foothold in Skyrim. Of course in that time Fina had grown restless so Jak brought her along every so often to Whiterun, he would wait until night when she was asleep and then complete the job. Jak would sneak through the town unnoticed, watching the guards patrol to learn their routes, then he would break into the houses of his marks once he knew they were all going to be asleep. Jak had really honed his skills since he first started his career as a thief and now moved like a shadow, unseen in the darkness.

After turning a job in to Vex Tonilia came up to Jak and asked for his help; she wanted the Guild to form a partnership with the Khajiit Caravans so she asked Jak to speak with Ri'saad their leader and give him some Moon Sugar to convince him. Jak accepted Tonilia's request and then found Delvin who said they had enough jobs in Whiterun so he received a special job there and he recommended Jak. Once in Whiterun, Jak was to speak with Olfrid Battle-Born, one of the head families in Whiterun, and upon meeting Olfrid Jak had to try not to smirk as he found it ironic he was helping a man he had stolen from in the previous weeks. Olfrid explained he had an old friend that had been arrested, but he was a wanted man in Solitude and knew if the guards in Whiterun figured out who he was they would kill him. He wanted Jak to go into Dragonsreach and change Arn's name and take the letter that the Jarl had received notifying him to keep a lookout for Arn.

The job was easy enough so Jak accepted. He found the prison ledger in a room in the Jarl's Private Quarters and changed the name, and then as the guards changed shifts he sneaked into the Jarl's room and found his office where he took the note off the desk and put it in his pocket. Jak waited until morning before returning to Olfrid, and he found him in The Drunken Huntsman, he told him the job was finished and Olfrid thanked Jak saying he will forever be in the Guild's debt. As Jak left Whiterun he was lucky enough to run into Ri'saad and his caravan as they had setup their camp, he told Ri'saad Tonilia's offer and gave him the Moon Sugar and he gladly accepted, "This one thinks this will be a great partnership, give Tonilia our regards."

With both Tonilia's request and the special job done Jak returned to Riften. He gave Tonilia the news and she was pleased. He then looked around to find no one in the Ragged Flagon.

"Where is everyone, Tonilia?" Jak asked.

"Brynjolf needs to talk to you about the Guild's leadership. Congratulations...boss." She gave slight smile before standing up to lead Jak to the Cistern.

They entered the Cistern and saw everyone gathered around the center, Brynjolf was missing and when Jak asked where he was Vex pointed in the direction of the training room.

"Well, are you ready to make this official, lad. You have come a long way."

"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Jak gave a worried sigh.

He followed Brynjolf back to the center of the Cistern and was surprised when he saw Maven was attending the ceremony. I guess she wants to be in the know when it comes to who is running the Guild and who she will be working with now. Jak thought to himself.

"I'm going to keep this short and simple." Brynjolf started of saying, he then explained how Jak had been a great boon to the Guild and he didn't think anyone else deserved the title of Guild Master more than him. He then turned to Vex, Delvin, and Karliah and asked each of them if they agreed to making Jak the new leader to which they all agreed thus making it official; Jak was the new Guild Master to the Thieves Guild. Everyone clapped and then eventually went back to their business and Jak approached Brynjolf.

"Brynjolf, I know I said I am ready to do this, but I don't know how well I can do it. I have never handled all the numbers, the contacts, and doing jobs all at once."

"How about this, lad. I will take care of our contacts for now and worry about our numbers, and you keep doing what you do best until you get used to being in this position."

"Sounds good, thanks Brynjolf. I'll catch on pretty quick, but until then I'll ask you if I have any questions."

" Good. And... I didn't want to say this and embarrass either of us in front of everyone, but I'm personally proud of you, lad. You've been like my own pupil. In a way I feel like a father who has watched his son grow up to become successful... But anyways go see Tonilia. She will give you your new Guild Master armor."

Jak held out his hand and shook Brynjolf's and then went to the Ragged Flagon and asked Tonilia for his armor which she gladly handed over. Jak put his new armor on and let his Nighingale armor get a feel for it so it could copy its look when needed. Jak returned to the Cistern where he saw the new recruit wandering around, and so he went to introduce himself.

"Hello." The recruit turned around and looked Jak up and down, "So you're the one everyone has been talking about? The one that was just promoted to Guild Master, you don't look like much to me."

"Hmm." Jak nodded his head, "I like you. You have a certain character to you, I think you will fit in well here. We need more people like you to keep Delvin and Vex in check." Jak gave a light laugh. He then found out the Dark Elf was named Ravyn Imyan, who was formerly a Morag Tong assassin and made a slight threat saying Jak better not tell his secret unless he wanted to end up dead from the Dark Brotherhood. Jak simply shook his head and noticed Brynjolf behind Ravyn laughing.

Jak returned to the Guild desk to see the new responsibilities he would eventually have to deal with and began his work as the Guild Master.

[Acadian]

Aww, nice that he's taking Fina with him sometimes.

Ahah! Buffy used to routinely clear Pinewatch. Now we know what that 'unusual mold' in the treasure pile is for!

Wow, Jak is now the guildmaster! Well-done!

Ooh, a mystery? Who are Kath and Viv? Maybe we'll find out more about them.

[Darkness Eternal]

Jak is a hard working, always keeping himself busy. Right after Mercer's death he went straight for more work. This will take him places. It'll get him somewhere. Its nice to see Fina with him. Funny that everytime we see Fina I always think of Arissa for some reason.

His hard work paid off. Guildmaster is no joke. He has an enormous responsibility over his shoulders now, and such a title is not to be taken lightly.

In such a position he's more exposed to darker forcers. The Morag Tong and the Dark Brotherhood are no joke . . .

And Vivienne . . . and Kath . . . Vivienne is cousin to Fura . . . I wonder. This sounds good. I'm curious about these new characters.

[BretonBlood]

Acadian: It is nice, and good for Jak. Fina is his longest, and closest, friend so her bringing her along really helps as he has someone to talk to when he isn't doing a job.

The mystery shall be solved... little bits at a time.


Darkness Eternal: Lol it's probably because of his rough patch with Fina that he was more willing to befriend Arissa. Had Fina not pushed Jak away he never would have leaned toward partnering up with Arissa and becoming her friend and then lover.

You are correct, Jak now has more responsibility than ever. Luckily, as Brynjolf told him, he will handle most of the hard numbers stuff and contacts until Jak gets more used to hi new position.


Previously- Jak, Brynjolf, and Karliah killed Mercer thus bringing justice to the Guild. However, their work was not done as Karliah asked Jak to return the Skeleton Key to the Twilight Sepulcher, a place where Nightingales get their power and connect with Nocturnal, so that the Guild could regain her favor. Jak completes this mission and returns to the Guild and back to the old ways of thievery throughout Skyrim. Within a few weeks Jak had the Guild back on its feet and officially made the new Guild Master.

Final Chapter: A Thief's Ascension

After a few weeks, Jak began to understand how things worked as the Guild Master, and in that time even took extra time learning all the responsibilities by passing on jobs. Despite being busy as the Guild Master, the kind of work enabled his mind to wander, unlike when he is hands on doing the jobs personally. Jak would find himself thinking about everything with Mercer, and selling his soul to Nocturnal, what it really meant and what would happen to his soul when he died..

After going so long without completing a job Jak checked in with Vex to see if there were any available, she had a few and he accepted the one in Markarth. Jak then returned home after checking the books one last time to make sure everything was in order. The next morning he got up and gathered his things to leave for Markarth and talked with Fina while she prepared to leave for Whiterun to complete a bounty.

"Fina, I haven't exactly been truthful with you for a long time... and I don't want to do that anymore, you deserve better from me."

"Oh?" She looked puzzled, "What do you mean, Jak?"

"It's a long story and I really need to leave, but when I get back from Markarth I will tell you okay?"

"Okay." Fina looked at him with a slightly worried face, "It isn't anything bad is it? Are you okay?"

"Oh no.. I'm fine, it's just complicated. But you'll be back from Whiterun before I get back from Markarth so I'll just tell you when I get back."

Fina told him she looked forward to it and they both left the house and went their separate ways.

Days later, Jak arrived in Markarth and scouted out the house he needed to rob. As he walked the streets he was surprised when a guard mentioned something about "doing business in the city now." but Jak played dumb and the guard walked off. Once night came Jak crept through the city and broke into the house. He grabbed the item Vex requested and made his way out into the cool night, he gazed up at the sky as stars and aurora borealis lit up the night. Jak let his Nightingale armor change back into his guild armor and he made his way to the Silver-Blood Inn, he rented a room. Sleep was hard to come by as Jak laid in bed thinking about how he would tell Fina the truth, the stone slab that was the bed didn't help either. The next day he began his long journey back to Riften; the trip was uneventful until the morning he made rode into the Rift. As he rode along the road he spotted a woman standing on the side of the rode waving him down yelling... Jak stopped as he got close and got off his horse to find out what was happening.

"Are you alright?" Jak asked as he walked closer.

"Please! I need your help, some bandits captured me and my friend and they... I escaped, but they still have my friend you have to help her!" The woman fell into his chest and began to lightly sob. Jak wasn't sure he could take on a camp of bandits in broad daylight, but he couldn't refuse and leave her and her friend to suffer at the hands of the bandits. He agreed to help and asked her to show him the way; they made their way into the woods and Jak followed as the woman led the way in a hurry. The woman would glance back at Jak and he couldn't tell if it was because she didn't trust him, thought he was going to stop following, or some other reason but whenever Jak tried to ask her anything she would just insist that he hurry. As they got closer to some ruins the woman slowed down and became more cautious until they reached the foot of the stairs leading up to the ruins then she stopped.

"Your friend is up there?" He turned to the woman.

"Yes..."

Jak took a deep breath and thought to himself, Nocturnal please get me through this, I don't know how well I'll manage against a camp of bandits with no shadows to guide and protect me.

"You stay here and I'll go up there and take care of the bandits. Okay?"

Before the woman could respond Jak suddenly felt paralyzed as someone grabbed him from behind and removed his hood, "Well well, you did good Vivienne. You may make a good vampire yet." Jak could do nothing but look at the blonde woman who now had him under her spell. She looked Jak in the eyes, smiled, and then stroked his cheek before sinking her fangs into his neck and began draining him of his blood while Vivienne tried not to look, but her gnawing hunger was overpowering and she couldn't look away.

"Kath, stop! You're going to kill him!" Vivienne stepped forward"... I mean I need to feed too don't I?..."

Kath then stopped and looked up, "I know what I am doing." She paused, "But, if you are so eager then here." She handed Jak to Vivienne insisting she drink.

"Will I kill him if I drink? I don't want to kill him." Vivienne looked down at Jak.

"Of course not, I won't let you. Don't worry, you will become accustomed to things all to quickly and you won't have to worry about things like this." Kath responded.

Vivienne then gently bit Jak and began drinking his blood, he could do nothing but feel his life slip away while under Kath's spell. Vivienne stopped drinking only moments after biting and when Kath asked why she lied stating she was full.

"Well if you're full we can go, just drop him there." Kath looked around to figure out the direction they wanted to head to get to Riften.

Vivienne gently placed Jak against the rock formation, "I'm sorry." Vivienne whispered before she stood up. The two of them began walking away leaving Jak in a weak, almost lifeless, state. "I tell you Vivienne, Riften will have plenty of people to feed on just like him, it will be great." Jak fell to his side and began going in and out of consciousness. His perception of time escaped him, he couldn't tell if he had been laying there for seconds, minutes, or even hours as his consciousness came and went.



"You're dying, aren't you?" Jak opened his eyes and looked up.

"Arissa, hush! Jak, my sweet baby, it isn't your time. I know you can make it, all you have to do is fight. You can do this I know you can."

"I know you can do it, Jak. I've seen you accomplish great things, this should be nothing. You can't die here."

"Shut... up... I am not going to die. I am not going to die!" Jak got up and tried to walk away only to fall back to the ground. He then gathered his strength and began to crawl across the ground to get back to the road, he struggled and used every bit of energy he had to pull himself across the ground as he slowly lost more blood. He could see the road ahead, but he needed to rest to regain his strength. He turned over to catch his breath but his breathing had become quickened and he took short breaths. As he laid in the grass his eyes slowly closed and his breathing slowed...Jak suddenly jerked, "No, no fight! I am not going to die! I won't!"

Jak rolled back on his stomach, he had reached his limits, as he felt his body going numb and cold, so he used his remaining energy to crawl back to the road. When he finally reached the road he took one last look for anyone to help before his vision finally blurred and went black.

[Acadian]

I wondered when I saw this episode prefaced by 'Final Chapter'.

Yikes! Kath and Viv ate Jak! In his delirium it was delightfully unclear what was real and what was not near the end.

This could indeed be the end of Jak. Or. . . mebbe not, as you kind of left your options open.

Nice job!

[Darkness Eternal]

The Final Chapter. One has to ask after the conclusion . . . is it really?

Jak just got to learning the ropes of being the master of the Guild. Granted, he had more time to ponder on every detail of his life, great and small. I also wondered on how he felt knowing his fate was in the hands of Nocturnal. A Daedric Prince's favorite currency is souls, after all . . . how does Jak feel knowing his entirety belongs to this deity?

Jak is far too trusting of women, haha. After what happened to him before, he should never trust a hooded woman in the wilderness calling for help. That screams trouble. I don't think he was expecting vampires . . . the fact that they hunted during the day was odd enough and unthinkable. Yet alas.

And Kath and Vivienne. Two undead blood-sucking broads. Vivienne is learning the ropes, it seems and I wonder did she have mortal affection for poor Jak as she apologized to him? Feelings of regret?

The end . . . of Jak? But did he die? Like Acadian said, you did leave it open-ended and there's always a possibility for return . . . and the fact that he was just BITTEN by a damn vampire and not drained makes me wonder now . . .

Great story, BretonBlood! It was quite the adventure. Looking forward to more, if more is to be expected.

[BretonBlood]

Acadian: I'm glad you liked the fuzziness of whether Jak was actually seeing his mom and Arissa or not, I'll go ahead and say he was not, he was just delirious and hallucinating from the loss of blood.

It was more Kath than Vivienne, Vivienne took very little blood from him haha.

Thanks Acadian.


Darkness Eternal: True, Jak did just learn the ropes of being the Guild Master, he has been officially the Guild Master for about 3 weeks. In that time he did have some time to think about aspects of his life since he wasn't running around doing jobs, of those things he thought about Nocturnal and his soul was one of them. It's one of those things where he doesn't mind having given up his soul, he just is interested to know what it will be like when Nocturnal takes his soul.

Jak is trusting of women, but he also can't turn down someone who is in need, or seemingly in need in this case, his kind nature was his downfall. He definitely wasn't expecting vampires, he should have possibly considered Durak's offer about joining the Dawnguard or at least learning more about them and he could have avoided the situation, alas he didn't think the vampires were a problem. Especially, as you said, during the day, Kath and Vivienne most definitely were not Volkihar vampires if they are walking around during the day.

That would definitely seem to be the case, Vivienne clearly did not want to kill Jak or hurt him, but she is learning the ropes from Kath and has to do what she says if she wants to survive. Vivienne definitely regretted what she did to Jak.

Thanks Darkness Eternal.



Thank you to the both of you for following along and reading Jak's story. I am not at liberty to say what Jak's fate was, I'll leave it a mystery as whether he died or what have you. However, I will say this is the end of Jak's story... but not necessarily the end of the story in this universe of characters.

[Acadian]

Oh, thanks for the follow up and answering a couple questions. Despite its rather tragic (it seems) ending, it has been a real pleasure to follow Jak's story. Thanks for sharing!