“Now, now Karliah, we both know I'm just a humble Reachman man of business who really ought to have retired years ago,” Nepos scolded gently. “Apart from the fact the city needs me, of course. Good thing I am still here, thanks to the entire Silver-Blood family getting themselves inconveniently killed, I appear to be stuck running things. Apparently I am the only one with any kind of education who knows where everything is.” He gestured for the three of them to sit down, eyeing Brynjolf and Sapphire rather sceptically. “I take it these two are associates of yours. I'm guessing so anyway, because I'm sure that young lady is about as pregnant as I am.”
“Aedra, is it that obvious?” Sapphire sighed. “Thank Mara anyway, I'm sick of pretending.”
“Nepos is very good at reading people, Sapphire,” Karliah soothed her. “Nepos, this is Sapphire and that's Brynjolf. We... well, we need a bit of a favour. The first plan was to try and con Thonar into helping us, but seeing as the Forsworn have got a bit restless, we're opting for plan B.”
“Of course you need a favour,” Nepos sighed. “Anu forbid you visit me for any other reason. After all I've done for you over the years, finding you employment, protecting you from your own Guild, arranging Sanctuary with one of our Matriarchs, persuading Madanach you'd be an asset... you could at least keep in touch better.”
“I'm sorry, Nepos,” Karliah said apologetically. “It wasn't safe to write. But I cleared things up with the Guild at last. Mercer's dead and I don't have to hide. Not from my own kind anyway.”
“Just the law,” Nepos said knowingly. “Well, I can't be seen to be abetting thieves and criminals, Karliah, you know that... but I'll always listen to an old friend. Sapphire and Brynjolf, hmm? How very odd, I know both those names. Sapphire would be that under-the-table buyer that used to buy gemstones off hardworking Reachman miners and pay under the odds for them. How unfortunate for you that I now pay half the value of any found gemstones to the one who mines them. I daresay you'll have to find another sideline.”
Sapphire patted the Eyes still hidden under her dress. “Half the value, eh?” she smirked. “We'll see.” She loosened the dress's stays and finally got the Eyes out from under there, delivering them on to the table, glad to be rid of the blasted things. “What will you give us for these?”
Nepos stared at them, eyes bulging as he prodded them, hardly able to believe they were real.
“What in the world are – where in the Void did these come from?? Do I want to know?”
“No,” said Karliah firmly. “Let's just say we need to cash them in. Quickly.”
“I imagine you probably do,” Nepos said faintly. “Dear gods, are these really two entire diamonds the size of an infant?? Surely not, one such would be nothing short of miraculous, but two... hmm.” He picked one up, scrutinising it carefully, even running a few spells over it, before breaking out into a grin.
“Well well. May I take it you've been delving a Dwemer ruin somewhere? Stealing the eyes of a blind race, how dreadful. I should be appalled, but this is quite the find, more than you realise. They're not two whole diamonds, they're lots of smaller flawless diamonds magically bonded together and then cut, using an old Snow Elf magic that's long been lost... but not in the Reach. You're in luck, I don't think there's anyone else in Tamriel who could break these down... but one of our Matriarchs could do it. I think about a hundred flawless diamonds would be a lot more useful to us all than two great big ones. I can establish a credit line to the sum of twenty thousand septims for these?”
“You said half rate earlier!” Sapphire snapped. “The equivalent of one hundred flawless diamonds is worth a damn sight more than that!”
Re: The Wolf Queen Awakens 21.5
“Aedra, is it that obvious?” Sapphire sighed. “Thank Mara anyway, I'm sick of pretending.”
“Nepos is very good at reading people, Sapphire,” Karliah soothed her. “Nepos, this is Sapphire and that's Brynjolf. We... well, we need a bit of a favour. The first plan was to try and con Thonar into helping us, but seeing as the Forsworn have got a bit restless, we're opting for plan B.”
“Of course you need a favour,” Nepos sighed. “Anu forbid you visit me for any other reason. After all I've done for you over the years, finding you employment, protecting you from your own Guild, arranging Sanctuary with one of our Matriarchs, persuading Madanach you'd be an asset... you could at least keep in touch better.”
“I'm sorry, Nepos,” Karliah said apologetically. “It wasn't safe to write. But I cleared things up with the Guild at last. Mercer's dead and I don't have to hide. Not from my own kind anyway.”
“Just the law,” Nepos said knowingly. “Well, I can't be seen to be abetting thieves and criminals, Karliah, you know that... but I'll always listen to an old friend. Sapphire and Brynjolf, hmm? How very odd, I know both those names. Sapphire would be that under-the-table buyer that used to buy gemstones off hardworking Reachman miners and pay under the odds for them. How unfortunate for you that I now pay half the value of any found gemstones to the one who mines them. I daresay you'll have to find another sideline.”
Sapphire patted the Eyes still hidden under her dress. “Half the value, eh?” she smirked. “We'll see.” She loosened the dress's stays and finally got the Eyes out from under there, delivering them on to the table, glad to be rid of the blasted things. “What will you give us for these?”
Nepos stared at them, eyes bulging as he prodded them, hardly able to believe they were real.
“What in the world are – where in the Void did these come from?? Do I want to know?”
“No,” said Karliah firmly. “Let's just say we need to cash them in. Quickly.”
“I imagine you probably do,” Nepos said faintly. “Dear gods, are these really two entire diamonds the size of an infant?? Surely not, one such would be nothing short of miraculous, but two... hmm.” He picked one up, scrutinising it carefully, even running a few spells over it, before breaking out into a grin.
“Well well. May I take it you've been delving a Dwemer ruin somewhere? Stealing the eyes of a blind race, how dreadful. I should be appalled, but this is quite the find, more than you realise. They're not two whole diamonds, they're lots of smaller flawless diamonds magically bonded together and then cut, using an old Snow Elf magic that's long been lost... but not in the Reach. You're in luck, I don't think there's anyone else in Tamriel who could break these down... but one of our Matriarchs could do it. I think about a hundred flawless diamonds would be a lot more useful to us all than two great big ones. I can establish a credit line to the sum of twenty thousand septims for these?”
“You said half rate earlier!” Sapphire snapped. “The equivalent of one hundred flawless diamonds is worth a damn sight more than that!”