
He cast a strong ward and stepped through the door, with Gilda firing Ice Spikes past him. Clark peeked through the window slit and saw an archer waiting on the bridge, with his bow half-drawn, and aiming at the door. Clark blocked and Gilda thrust past him with her sword, before the man could react. They met another axe-wielder first, coming down the stairs. "If we meet more archers, stay behind my ward, and use that Ice Spike to shoot back," Clark instructed. Gilda and Clark rushed into the base of the tower and ran up the stairs. An arrow flew past him, fired from the top of the tower. Clark sent a lightning bolt through her at close range, then cast his Ebonyflesh spell in case any more bandits came down. The one on the ground saw her do it, and broke off her conversation with Clark to draw an axe. Gilda could see another bandit out on the bridge, so she moved the wagon into the shadow of the tower where it would be safe from archers. Clark got down from the wagon, and put himself between the bandit and the horse, while he argued with her. Their wagon was stopped by a bandit demanding a toll, outside Valtheim Towers. For the journey, however, she was wearing a merchant's dress, and looking just like the apprentice she was. She knew she looked good in tight leather, and theirs would make the most of her assets. If she did well, she might get some level of immunity, too. And if Gilda was going to become a successful merchant, she needed to know how thieves operate. It wasn't a difficult choice between those. Gilda had shown promise with her stealth, and the two places you went to train that further were the Thieves Guild or the Dark Brotherhood. The third Nightingale was Mercer Frey, the current head of the Thieves Guild, which had its headquarters in Riften. She'd followed in her mother's footsteps, as one of Nocturnal's Nightingales, and the last he'd heard was heavily involved with one of the others, an Imperial called Gallus Desidenius. They returned to Whiterun to drop Lydia off, and Gilda and Clark headed towards Riften.Ĭlark hadn't heard from his daughter, Karliah, in ages, and he was beginning to get worried about her. Previously: Clark and company cleaned up their loose ends in Markarth. Lydia being more audible has nothing at all to do with her being left behind on the next trip. Grits: Gilda's going to be doing that again this time, with variations. She'll continue to prefer one-handed with a sneak bonus, though, when she gets the chance. archery limitations, so destruction magic is her ranged attack. Acadian: Gilda's got to compensate for her.
