"Thanks." 

And he says his goodbyes, picks up a new pack of contracts to do on the way to and from Solitude, and heads to the back entrance. 

Vex appears next to him, matching his quick steps.

"Off on a new adventure? Without me?"

"Vex!" He grins at her, "I've hardly seen you lately! I'm off to Solitude - more of that case of the mysterious letter writer, from Goldenglow and Honningbrew." 

He pauses beneath the ladder, "Want to come with? If you aren't busy. I don't know anyone in Solitude, I'm sure it'll be very lonely, between the chases and heists and shaking down Argonians."

"Sounds pretty miserable to me," she replies and smiles. "I just got back from a job. If you give me a few minutes to drop off my loot and restock I'd love to accompany you. Plus it gets cold up there, you'll definitely need another body to keep you warm."

"I can wait," he agrees. He grins, "We can finally get in those lessons, too," he says, "Gotta keep the blood hot, out in the frozen north." 

"You're definitely speaking my language. A few bruises and bloody noses will warm you right up."

He smirks, a little red around the cheekbones, "I certainly wouldn't object to a few bruises here and there - I'm told 'black-and-blue' is my colour," he says.

He leans back against the ladder, elbows slipping into the space between two rungs. "I'll wait right here," he says. "Don't take too long," he adds, "I hear Mercer is in quite the mood. I doubt he'll tolerate me hanging around here forever." 

"I'll show you my top-secret ways of avoiding the old man when we get back. I have many years of practice." She demonstrates this by ducking into a shadowy corner and disappearing completely. It's a few minutes before she returns, jogging over the cistern from the direction of the Ragged Flagon. She has a fresh backpack swung over her shoulder. "Coast is clear for now. But let's not take our chances."

How does she do that?

"Right," he agrees. He turns and pulls himself up the ladder and into the crypt entrance. 

"Do you have a horse, by the way?" He asks as they head towards the city gates. "My Sweetroll is a sturdy boy, but if we have to share I'll have to rest him more often." 

"I don't own one personally, I like walking most places. Well, running mostly. But when I'm working with someone else, or need to be somewhere quickly, my friend Sorian lets me borrow one of his. He keeps them stabled just outside the city."

He nods, "Well, I always board Sweetie when I come into the city, so we can pick them up at the same time." 

"Sorian Black-Briar?" He asks, "Huh. That's good of him. Are all of the Black-Briars involved with the Guild, then?"

"Nah. Sorian's sister Lianda does her own thing, and his only real connection to the guild is through me. We don't, uh, really talk about work."

"Ohh, I see." He grins, "I have a few friends like that." 

They get their horses from the stables and start down the road. It's a day and a half to Whiterun, where he has a few contracts to complete, and about the same distance to Solitude from there. They'll be taking the main roads, so they probably won't have to deal with bandits. Still, he double-checks his sword, making sure he can draw it easily. You never know when you'll encounter a troll or something. 

"You have any daring adventures to dazzle with me? It's been a while since we've seen each other. I've heard all types of stories about you."

"Oh no," he says, laughing, "They're telling stories about me? I'm sure they're all true," he admits.

"As for thrilling adventures... well, I'm sure you've heard about how we've expanded our influence in Whiterun and Windhelm? I was all caught up in that - had to arrange an identity change and a prison break-out, for the first one, and deal with this wanna-be thieves guild for the other. They were all Altmer - bunch of supremicists." He makes a face. 

"Sounds like fun. Which is probably why they sent you and not me. One too many brawls on my record."

"I could have used some back-up of the brawling kind on the Windhelm mission," he admits. "Ended up hunting them down and having to fight through the fort they'd taken over. It was not easy." 

He'd been lucky they were all spread out, it let him sneak from one to the other and deal with them mostly on their own.

"Sounds like my idea of a good time."

He shrugs, "I know my way around a blade, but it's not my best skill," he says. "It got a little dicey there a few times - but my luck has always been good." 

"I tend to rely on my fists, if anything. Though my time with the Guild has curbed that a bit."

"How long have you been with the guild? I get the impression Brynjolf picked you up, too, but not how long ago that was." 

"I was a kid. He caught me running around in the Ratway. I kicked him and ran off with his coin purse."

-He laughs.

"Oh no, poor Bryn!" He gets out, before laughing again, "Perfectly reasonable, but-" Nope, more laughter. He can just imagine what Brynjolf's face must have looked like. It must have been great. 

She laughs too. "To his credit, he caught me a few minutes later. Then he took me in and I've been kicking people and stealing their coin purses for the Guild ever since."

"Putting those hard-won skills to good use," he snorts. He shakes his head, "The guild in Cyrodiil picked me up when I was a kid, too. They taught me... oh, not everything I know, but a fair amount of it."