Chapter 8: The Sadrith Mora Thieves' Guild

Heartfire 10 (Day 26)

I woke early but did not feel rested; my dreams had kept my sleep restless all night. I decided that I would feel better moving and, collecting the equipment I would be taking with me, set out into the gray Balmora dawn. I stopped briefly at Meldor's armor shop and made small talk with him as he hammered out the damage my armor had incurred. The efficiency of my equipment restored, I set out again.

I did not relish the idea of walking all the way across the island of Vvardenfell to reach Sadrith Mora so I simply walked across the street to the Mage's Guild and went downstairs. There, I found the Guild Guide and had her send me to the Mage's Guild in Wolverine Hall, just outside of Sadrith Mora.

The trip took no time and, after waiting for the momentary disorientation to pass, I stepped off the arrival platform and looked around. The guild at Wolverine Hall was a single large, open room and its members looked up from their business or quiet conversations to see who the new arrival was. I simply nodded a greeting and, thanking the local Guide, stepped through the door.

I found myself on a landing of a spiral stairway which extended upwards and downwards away from me. It occurred to me that I did not know my way around Wolverine Hall and was afraid that I would have trouble finding my way out. However, it turned out to be easier than I expected. Descending one level brought me to a door leading to the local Imperial Shrine. A door there led outside and a flight of steps took me to the courtyard of the Hall.

Dirty Mureil's Corner Club, Sadrith Mora

As I had been told, Dirty Mureil's Corner Club lay directly across the bridge from Wolverine Hall. Nodding to the guard as I passed, I crossed the small lane and entered the club. Several patrons were standing around and again conversations ceased as I entered. A few inquiries directed me upstairs where I was soon introducing myself to Big Helende.

Big Helende turned out to be an Altmer and she stared at me with seeming anger as I introduced myself and explained my reason for being there. At the time I wondered if I had done something to offend her but later learned that her stern, angry gaze was her normal expression. At any rate, after I had finished with my introduction she acknowledged that she had heard of me from others in the guild and welcomed me to Sadrith Mora. It was fortunate I had arrived, she said, as she had just received a request from one of her "clients" and none of the local guild members were currently available.

The client in question was a member of the Mage's Guild who was interested in acquiring a recipe for a potion of Dispel Magicka. Not just any recipe, however. Her client wanted the recipe used by Anis Seloth, a local alchemist. Her shop could be found in the central marketplace of Sadrith Mora.

Telling her that I would return with the recipe I took my leave and returned to the lower level. There I spent a few minutes introducing myself to the other patrons and members of the guild. Most of them were quite friendly and welcomed me to Sadrith Mora.

Asking about the local situation, I learned that Sadrith Mora was a Telvanni town and that foreigners such as I were not really welcome here. In fact, all visitors were supposed to register with Angaredhel, the "Prefect of Hospitality", before they would be allowed to do business in the town. He could be found in the Gateway Inn near the docks.

Sadrith Mora

I thanked my new colleagues for their information, left the corner club and headed into town. Sadrith Mora turned out to be very different from the other towns I had so far visited in Vvardenfell. Unlike the Imperial-style buildings of the Hlaalu areas or the dome-like huts of the Redorans the buildings here seemed to have been built inside of living plants. The smaller buildings resembled mushrooms while the larger ones were small trees. An enormous tree dominated the center of town and I learned that it was the home of the Telvanni mage who controlled Sadrith Mora.

After walking for a short distance I found myself passing the Gateway Inn. I considered for a moment then turned and walked through the large door at the base of the building. This turned out to only lead me through the building to the docks but a flight of stairs led me to the office where I found Prefect Angaredhel.

Angaredhel looked me over briefly then asked my business. I told him that I was there to acquire a set of Hospitality papers and, businesslike, he immediately set out collecting the proper forms. I supplied the information he needed, paid a small "processing fee" and accepted the papers he handed me with thanks.

I was about to take my leave when he stopped me and, looking me over once again, asked if I would possibly be interested in doing a job for him. Deciding that it would not do any harm to gain the favor of a town official, I agreed.

Seeming somewhat relieved, Angaredhel described his problem. It seemed that the south turret of the Gateway Inn was haunted. But this was not an ordinary haunting. The ghost there had been defeated many times and various mages had attempted to exorcise it but it always returned. Business at the Inn was beginning to suffer and Angaredhel wanted someone who could solve the problem once and for all.

I told him that I would look into the problem and he thanked me. He then suggested that I speak with Arara Uvulas, the "mouth" or spokesperson for Telvanni councilor Neloth. She was the mage who had examined the haunting and would possibly have some useful information for me. I could find her in the local Council House.

Thanking him for his time, I continued on into the Inn. Nodding briefly to the patrons in the lounge area I found my way to the south turret. Upon opening the door to the bedchamber there, I found myself face-to-face with the Gateway haunt itself.

The Gateway Haunt

I had expected the ghost and my weapon was already out and ready. I met its initial attack and was rewarded by seeing it flinch backwards. Our combat continued for a brief while and I received more injuries than I would have liked before a final thrust caused the ghost to vanish with a fading wail. I collected the ectoplasm it left behind and spent a brief moment healing myself before heading back downstairs and leaving the Inn.

I had confirmed the existence of the Haunting but, even though I had defeated it, I had not really learned anything about it. If what I had been told was true then the spirit would return within a few hours. Seeing the sphere of the Council Hall nearby I decided to go see if Arara Uvulas could shed any light on the problem.

Inside the Council Hall I found the mouths of the various Telvanni councilors standing on their platforms, idly waiting to answer requests for or carry out the instructions of their masters. I easily found Uvulas and she was quite willing to speak of the haunting.

This haunting was very different than a normal haunting, she told me. Not only did the ghost continue to return, it did not seem to be associated with any event as a haunting usually would be. This had led her to believe that this "haunting" was really the work of a mage skilled at conjuration. Unfortunately, her duties for Neloth had prevented her from continuing any further in her investigation. Since I was now helping Prefect Angaredhel in his investigations she suggested that I speak with Uleni Heleran in the Wolverine Hall Mage's Guild. She was a talented conjurer and even provided training in that magickal art. She could possibly provide more information.

Since Uvulas seemed to be in a friendly mood I asked her about Nerevar and his history. She told me that when the Dunmer first followed Veloth to Morrowind they were composed of many warring tribes with no law or leader. Nerevar alone had the ambition to rule and, to help him gain that end, went to the smiths of House Dwemer and asked them to create an enchanted ring. The smiths of Sorcerer-Priest Kagrenac agreed to do so and created One-Tribe-Under-Moon-and-Star, an enchanted ring blessed by the Daedra Lord Azura and of such power that it would kill anyone other than Nerevar who attempted to wear it.

Later, when the Houses Dagoth and Dwemer and their allies the Nords and Orcs attempted to conquer all of Morrowind, it was Nerevar who led the tribes against them and defeated them at Red Mountain.

Thanking her for her information I once again set out into the streets of Sadrith Mora. This time I continued on to the central market area and started searching for Anis Seloth's shop. It turned out to be slightly east of the marketplace and I climbed the steps to the door and entered the mushroom-shaped building.

Seloth was working behind her counter and looked up as I entered but as I simply began to examine the various wares which lined the shelves along the walls she soon turned back to her work. Taking the opportunity, I slipped up the stairs and into her private chambers.

I could hear Seloth continuing to work below but I did my best to remain silent as I stealthily searched her chambers. My search was rewarded when I found the Dispel recipe in her desk. Carefully taking it, I returned to the lower floor. Seloth did not seem to have noticed my actions and I left without a word.

Big Helende

I quickly made my way back to the Corner Club and casually handed the recipe to Big Helende. She glanced at it briefly without changing expression then put it to one side and, without a word, handed me my payment. She then asked if I was interested in another job.

Without waiting to hear my reply she immediately started describing what she wanted me to do. This time she had a client who desired a Grandmaster's Retort; a rare and expensive piece of alchemy equipment. She only knew of the location of one such item; in Berwen the Trader's shop in the distant town of Tel Mora. She wanted me to travel to Tel Mora and "acquire" the retort.

I was still trying to adapt to her brusque way of doing business but I agreed to her request. She made a gesture of dismissal and turned back to her work. I paused for a moment then, realizing that she had already ceased to pay any attention to me, turned and left.

Wolverine Hall

Back outside, I glanced towards Wolverine Hall. Thinking about what I had learned from Arara Uvulas, I crossed to the entrance and climbed to the Mages Guild. There, my inquiries led me to Uleni Heleran.

When I asked her about the ghost at the Gateway Inn Heleran began laughing and immediately admitted to causing it. It was, she said, a joke she was playing on Prefect Angaredhel as she found him pompous and annoying. She continued to laugh but I, still feeling the bruises I had sustained in my fight with the ghost, failed to see the humor in the situation.

Finally Heleran stopped laughing and, wiping the tears from her eyes, admitted that the joke was probably wearing a bit thin. She said that she would remove the haunting and handed me a document that she had apparently spent some time creating. Glancing at it, I saw that it was a reasonable copy of the Hospitality Papers I had received from Angaredhel except these were titled "Ghost-Free Papers". Heleran started chuckling again as she saw me reading the paper and told me to give it to the Prefect of Hospitality for her and to tell him that the haunting would cease.

I could not understand what Heleran thought she would gain by antagonizing Angaredhel but I agreed to deliver the message for her. She was laughing quietly to herself as I left.

A glance at my map had shown me that I would have to travel by boat in order to reach Tel Mora so I headed towards the docks. As this took me to the Gateway Inn I stopped long enough to deliver Heleran's message and papers to Angaredhel.

As I expected, Angaredhel became quite angry when I told him what had transpired and from his comments I suspected that Heleran would soon come to regret her little joke. Eventually the Prefect calmed down enough to thank me for resolving the situation and offered me a gift as payment. He had several enchanted rings which he identified as a Thief's Ring, a Fighter's Ring and a Mage's Ring, which he offered to me by telling me to select the one I wanted. Figuring it would be the most useful, I selected the Thief's Ring. He thanked me again and I bid him good day and left the Inn.

Continuing on to the dock, I found a boat captain who would take me to Tel Mora. I tried to find out what I could from him but he didn't seem to be interested in conversation. All he told me was that Tel Mora was ruled by the Telvanni Mistress Dratha, who hated all men. Mulling over this information, I leaned back and let the rocking of the boat lull me to sleep.

Heartfire 11 (Day 27)

I awoke in darkness to find the captain shaking me and telling me that we had arrived. Sore from sleeping in an uncomfortable position in the small boat, I stretched then collected my equipment and walked down the dock and into the town of Tel Mora. It was dark but the sky was clear and I could see the bulk of the wizard's tower which dominated the center of the town silhouetted against the sky. I stopped a passing guard to ask about services and she directed me to Berwen the Trader's hut.

When I stepped inside, Berwen herself came running up to me in obvious panic and begged me for my help. Startled, I was about to ask what she was talking about when a blood-curdling screech came from the room above, followed by the sound of furniture crashing. Berwen flinched back at the sound and I, somewhat unnerved myself, asked what was happening.

Berwen wasn't sure. All she knew was that a creature of some kind had found its way into her private quarters. She had managed to trap it there by knocking over a stack of crates but she had no way of getting rid of it. She didn't want to involve the town guard as she was afraid of the effect the creature would have on her business. Another screech from overhead punctuated her words. Promising her that I would see what I could do, I carefully climbed the stairs.

When I had ascended about half the flight I finally caught sight of the creature. It appeared to be a man! However, his skin was distorted and bulging and his face showed nothing but madness and hatred. Emitting another screech, the thing charged but was unable to reach me because of the wreckage and the railing along the stairs.

Not wanting to face the thing, I stayed where I was and pulled out the bow I had been carrying. I placed an arrow in the bow and almost shot myself in the foot when my fingers slipped from the bowstring. Marksmanship has never been one of my strengths. My second arrow did somewhat better but still missed the creature by a wide margin.

The Corprus Stalker

The battle that followed was one for which I was glad there were no witnesses. I fired arrow after arrow in the direction of the thing but most of them wound up littering the floor and wall around it. I was able to strike my target with a few but I almost despaired when I saw the thing's wounds closing on their own. However, a few more arrows caused it to slowly crumble to its knees. With a final gurgled screech, it fell face forward onto the floor. After looking at my bow in disgust for a few moments I returned it to my back and drew my longsword. Climbing over the fallen crates, I knelt to examine the creature.

It was, or had been, a man but one suffering from some horrible disease. At first I thought it was some extreme form of Blight disease but then I remembered hearing of an even more horrible affliction. Corprus. The disease which turns animals into monsters and men into beasts. Obviously that was what I was seeing but how it came to be in this Alchemist's shop I did not know.

I could hear Berwen downstairs so I quickly searched her chambers. I found little of interest except a soul gem which I took and placed in my belt pouch. I then climbed back over the crates and descended to the main level.

Berwen was waiting anxiously at the bottom of the steps and was visibly relieved when I told her the creature was dead. I asked if she knew how the creature had found its way into her shop but she did not. She said she had gone upstairs to rest and found the creature waiting there. She had knocked over the crates and fled downstairs and had been trying to decide what to do when I entered.

She still appeared somewhat shaken and I told her that I would stay with her until she had regained her composure. Thanking me, she turned to her counter and began straightening out some items which had been upset during the fight while continuing to make small talk with me, apparently thankful at not being left alone with the thing upstairs.

While she spoke, I examined the contents of her shop and noticed, sitting on a shelf, the Master's Retort which had been my goal in traveling here in the first place. Continuing to speak with her, I stealthily moved across the shop and, while her attention was elsewhere, picked up the retort and dropped it into my pack. I continued our conversation without interruption and she did not notice my actions. By the time she turned around I had returned to my original position as if nothing had happened.

Eventually Berwen calmed down to the point that she was able to relax and she thanked me for staying with her. I purchased a few items from her stock, mostly invisibility and water walking potions, then bid her good night and returned to the dark streets of Tel Mora. I started to explore the city then decided that there was no reason for me to remain there and returned to the boat docks.

The captain, obviously happy to get a customer at this time of night, started listing the ports he served. I had intended to return to Sadrith Mora but when he mentioned Tel Aruhn I suddenly remembered the writ I was still carrying for Odaishah Yasalmibaal. The directions Grandmaster Hlaalu had given me told me to go to Tel Aruhn then head west to the mainland. After a moments thought I instructed the boat captain to take me to Tel Aruhn and settled down for the trip. I tried to engage the captain in conversation along the way but he proved to not be very talkative and I spent the trip watching the dark coastline slip past.

Dawn in Tel Aruhn

The sun was rising when we arrived at the docks in Tel Aruhn. Thanking the pilot, I stepped ashore and started to walk towards the center of town but stopped after only a few steps. I had no need to enter the town here in search of anything and I had more than enough tasks to keep me busy for the moment. So, I changed my course to look for a route to the shore.

After consulting my map I drank the first of my water walking potions and set out across the surface of the ocean towards the mainland. It appeared that my destination was somewhat to the southwest but I angled towards another island initially so that I would be standing on solid ground in case the potion wore off. I could have swum across but my progress would have been much slower and I would have had to fight the schools of slaughterfish which seemed to infest the shallows around the island. As it was I had to endure several attacks by cliff racers and a single mudcrab challenged my arrival on the first island.

The island turned out to contain a ruin of some sort but I did not venture into it to determine if it was a Daedric shrine or a Dwemer ruin. Instead, I circled around it until I reached the far side of the island and, downing another potion, set out across the water again.

Odaishah Yasalmibaal's Yurt

I arrived at the mainland on the small peninsula I had been aiming for and found myself just a few steps south of Odaishah Yasalmibaal's yurt. Not seeing any need for preliminaries, I drew my jinkblade and stepped inside.

Yasalmibaal was inside and instantly threw himself at me with a scream. At the time I thought he knew of my reason for being there but I have since learned that entering the yurt of any Ashlander uninvited is a great insult and an invitation to attack. It did not matter as I was ready for him and met his charge with my jinkblade, which instantly froze him in mid-leap. I switched to my longsword and attacked my now-helpless opponent. The paralyze charge wore off just before I was able to deliver a death blow but his end was not long in coming and he collapsed a few seconds later without ever having succeeded in hitting me.

After checking the body and confirming that he was dead I disposed of the corpse and made a quick search of the yurt. I found nothing of interest and indeed I had suspected that I would not. Only a few minutes had passed when I stepped back outside into the morning light.

I looked around the lonely, windswept peninsula on which Yasalmibaal had built his yurt and wondered briefly why he had chosen such a desolate spot to live. Perhaps it was related to whatever had caused someone to take out a writ for his death. It was a question which I would probably never know the answer to and so, after a final glance around, I drank my last water walking potion and set out across the water towards Tel Aruhn.

As I was on my last water walking potion I tried to make it directly to Tel Aruhn without stopping on the intervening island. Unfortunately the potion wore off and I was forced to swim the last few hundred yards to shore. Luckily my glass armor did not weigh me down much and I was able to get to shore without fatiguing myself too much. As I had expected, several slaughterfish did attack but I was able to dispatch them without much trouble.

My unplanned swim did provide one small benefit. As I neared the shore I saw several kollops lying on the bottom. Swimming down, I checked several of them and was rewarded by finding pearls in two of them. I placed the pearls into my pouch and climbed to shore.

At the docks I was surprised to learn that I could not take a boat directly from Tel Aruhn to Sadrith Mora. Instead, I would have to travel back to Tel Mora and then on to my final destination. I thought about trying to make it to Sadrith Mora on my own but decided that I done enough swimming for the day. Climbing into the boat, I began the long journey back. I used the opportunity to rest, cleaning my gear and sitting in the sun while watching the coastline and islands pass by.

I only stopped in Tel Mora long enough to book another boat to Sadrith Mora. My boat journeys had taken all day and the sun was setting by the time I found my way back to Dirty Mureil's Corner Club.

Big Helende was waiting for me with her usual sour expression and she barely thanked me as I handed her the retort. Her expression did not change but by now I had met with her enough times that I could see that her opinion of me had improved immeasurably since our first meeting and that she now respected my abilities as a thief. After storing the retort away so that it could be delivered to her client, she asked if I would run a quick errand for her. I wondered how "quick" the errand would be but agreed.

Like Habasi in Balmora and Aengoth in Ald-Rhun it seemed that Helende too was worried about the Cammona Tong and wanted help defending the Corner Club in the event of an attack. In this case, she wanted a battlemage on the premises for support and asked if I would go over to the Mage's Guild and attempt to hire one. While I was certain that the task would be more difficult than it sounded, I told her I would do what I could and left.

Wolverine Hall Mage's Guild

I made the short walk to Wolverine Hall and climbed the stairs to the Mage's Guild. A brief inquiry directed me to Arielle Phieneel and I explained Big Helende's request to her.

Phieneel thought for a moment then said that she knew of a battlemage who would probably be willing to help us. As payment, she requested that I provide her with four pieces of raw ebony for the guild to use in its research. I started to object but she pointed out that the Thieves' Guild should be able to locate a source of ebony and "acquire" some for them.

I acknowledged that she was correct and said that I would bring the ebony to her. However, I was less confident than I sounded as I was unsure where I would be able to find that much ebony. I had found one piece during my explorations of the Arkngthand ruins but was fairly certain there was no more there. The only place I could think of where I was sure that I would be able to find ebony was the Caldera Ebony Mine. Shrugging, I turned to the guild guide standing nearby and had myself teleported instantly to the Caldera Mage's Guild.

Heartfire 12 (Day 28)

For a moment I stood on the arrival platform and waited for the wave of vertigo which always accompanied the instantaneous transport to pass then, nodding to the local guild guide, I made my way down the stairs and into the streets of Caldera. It was still dark but there were already a good number of people out on the streets. I started to walk towards the south gate of town but stopped as I passed a building known as Ghorak Manor. I had heard a rumor about this place and decided to take a moment to check it out.

Creeper, the Scamp

Creeper is an extremely useful resource for two reasons. First, as you may have noticed, when you sell to most merchants they pay you quite a bit less than the item is worth. (Of course, you can buy things for less than they are worth too.) Creeperalwayspays you full price for anything you sell him and charges you the same price when you buy it back. Second, he always keeps anything you sell him in his inventory so you can buy it back if you decide you need it later. Think of him as a pawnbroker. Very useful little Scamp.

Ghorak Manor turned out to be inhabited by Orcs, as was obvious from the decor and general state of cleanliness. The Orcs looked at me curiously as I wandered through their home examining its contents but none of them moved to stop me. I did find volume VII of the Wolf Queen series of books lying in the fireplace and, upon reading it, was able to pick up a few pointers on speechcraft which would probably be useful the next time I needed to persuade someone to help me. I assumed the fact that Orcs are not known for their skill at speaking had something to do with the location of the book. Looking around further I found a copy of Night Falls on Sentinel sitting on a window ledge and briefly glanced through it, noting a few techniques in Blunt Weapon it described that I had not previously seen.

Continuing up the stairs I came face to face with the being I had been seeking. A Scamp, one of the lesser daedric beings, was bobbing up and down in front of me. "I'm creeping!" he was whispering over and over again in a high pitched voice as I arrived. Then, seeing me, he scurried forward. "Help a Scamp out?" he asked. "There's gotta be something you want to buy! I need booze!"

I laughed and asked him to show me his wares but it turned out that he really didn't have anything to sell me. Instead, he offered to pay for some of the items I was carrying.

I had picked up a number of Dwemer coins while investigating the ruins previously and had held on to them as they were fairly valuable for their weight. Creeper was willing to buy all of them from me and gave me a much better price than I would have gotten from another merchant. He also told me he would keep the coins and that I could buy them back from him if I ever needed them again. Thanking him for his time, I pocketed the money he gave me and exited back to the streets.

Leaving through the south gate I continued along the road for a brief distance then attempted to head west over the mountains. Unfortunately I was unable to cross them at that point and so wound up walking along the hillsides to the north and west, passing Caldera again. Several creatures were out and I found myself forced to take the time to fight the now ubiquitous rats, nix-hounds and cliff racers but I also found myself attacked by a kagouti at one point. The creatures were nothing I could not handle but the sun had risen before I came upon the entrance to the Caldera Mining Company.

The Caldera Mining Company

The mining camp was located in a depression or crater in the center of the mountains. I started to enter the camp but then stopped and realized that the mine itself was probably located in one of the surrounding hillsides. I began searching along the crater rim and soon came across a Dunmer named Alveleg standing outside of a familiar looking cave. I asked about it and he seemed somewhat evasive but I was able to determine that the cave was called Ashanammu and had nothing to do with the ebony mine. I assumed it was another of the bandit caves that I had been finding across Vvardenfell and briefly considered raiding it. But, in the end, I decided to ignore it for now. Alveleg was visibly relieved as I walked away.

While I had become accustomed to seeing the bandit and smuggler caves which seemed to dot Vvardenfell I was a bit surprised to see one openly near a major facility like the Caldera mine. Its presence seemed to imply that perhaps some sort of deal had been struck between the bandits and the administration of the mine. I considered following up on the line of thought then stopped and laughed. What was I doing contemplating getting involved in the local politics? I forced myself to remember that I still did not know what was going on around me or why I was here and that I needed to get those answers before I got involved in anything else.

I had continued walking towards the east while thinking and now spotted a network of rails and mine carts ahead of me. Realizing that I had found the entrance to the mine, I made my way in that direction.

Entering the mine, I waited a moment for my eyes to adjust before heading deeper into the mountain. Once they did, I realized that the mine seemed to be semi-deserted for such a large facility. A bored guard watched as I passed but said nothing to me; perhaps he thought I was a worker. I saw a few other guards and several workers as I wandered through the mine but none of them bothered to inquire as to my reason for being there and I did not go out of my way to initiate contact with any of them. Eventually I found myself in a small side tunnel with an outcropping of ebony and no one else in sight. It was a simple matter to pull several chunks from the wall. They were heavy and after pulling four I realized that I would not be able to carry all of them away. I started looking through my pack to see if there was anything I could leave behind and came across the lone ebony chunk I had found earlier in Arkngthand. Realizing that I did not need all four chunks I had just collected I dropped one of them on the ground and shrugged my pack back into place. It was heavy but I thought I would be able to move while carrying it.

I slowly made my way back through the mine and towards the exit. I froze briefly when a guard stopped near me in the entryway but he simply told me to keep moving and continued his rounds. I let out a sigh of relief and left the mine.

I did not try to cross the mountains again and instead followed the road north out of the mining company outpost and then followed the signs to Caldera. This proved to be a much easier task than my earlier explorations, made even easier by the fact that the sun was now shining brightly in the sky. I made my way to the Caldera Mage's Guild and asked the guild guide to send me back to Wolverine Hall.

The instantaneous transport was as quick and disorienting as ever but when my head cleared I found Phieneel watching me expectantly. My pack was beginning to strain my shoulders so I simply dropped my pack in the middle of the floor, to the amusement of the watching wizards, and pulled out the ebony chunks.

Phieneel's amusement was quickly replaced by a gleam in her eyes and she almost snatched the ebony away from me. She was examining each piece for quality as I pulled my pack back into place and asked about the protection for the corner club.

Phieneel smiled and said that she had anticipated my return and had already dispatched someone to the club. A battlemage by the name of Natalinus Flavonius would be waiting on me when I returned. I thanked her and left, inwardly pleased that I had so quickly gained her confidence. Apparently I was beginning to gain a reputation for myself in Morrowind.

Returning to Dirty Mureil's Corner Club I climbed the stairs to find Big Helende deep in conversation with who I assumed to be Flavonius. My assumptions were confirmed a few moments later when he introduced himself and Helende expressed confidence that we were now protected against possible Camonna Tong attack. She thanked me for my work, showing more emotion that I had previously seen, and said she had a reward for me. Giving me a ring, she told me that I would probably find it useful in the future. Examining it, I discovered it to be a Dire Shardbolt Ring; a magickal device that would cast bolts of lightning at an opponent in combat.

Helende was looking at me expectantly so I asked if she had any task she needed me to perform. She nodded and told me that she had recently gotten a request from a client. It seems that Fara, proprietor of Fara's Hole-in-the-Wall in Sadrith Mora, was engaged in a cooking contest with Dindra Othrelas of Ald-Ruhn. Othrelas was the cook for the Llethri family and Fara knew that most of his dishes were based on the book Redoran Cooking Secrets. Fara had asked Big Helende to acquire a copy of the book for her. The book would be somewhere in Llethri Manor in the Ald-Ruhn manor district.

The assignment sounded easy enough; I had already robbed half the manors in the district anyway. I told her I would get right on it and she nodded then returned to her conversation with Flavonius. As I turned to leave I rolled my eyes at the thought of getting another book. By now it seemed as though I had acquired so many books for the Thieves' Guild that it could start its own lending library. But I kept my opinions to myself and once again crossed the bridge to Wolverine Hall and climbed to the Mage's Guild where I had guild guide sent me to Ald-Rhun.

My head cleared more quickly this time; apparently I was becoming used to this instantaneous transport. The guildhall was quite familiar to me since I had cleared it out earlier and so I quickly found my way to the exit and into the streets. One of the ubiquitous ash storms was blowing and I shielded my eyes against it as I headed north across the town plaza towards the Skar.

Once my eyes had adjusted to the dimness of the manor district I found my way to Llethri Manor and stepped inside. Finding the book I wanted turned out to be as easy as it could be. A quick search led me to a bedroom where the book was lying on a bed. The room was unoccupied so I simply picked it up and left. I spent less than five minutes in the district.

Back outside, I chuckled at how easy the job had been and decided to stop by the Ald-Skar Inn to have a drink to celebrate and to get out of the ash storm. A few minutes later I was sitting in the tavern and listening to the bartender as she regaled me with the latest local gossip.

Much of it was familiar; a strange cult was attacking Imperial citizens and strange creatures were roaming inside the Ghostfence, but then she mentioned Ienas Sarandas. The name sounded familiar and I thought for a moment then remembered where I had heard it before. Sarandas had purchased items from several merchants then never paid for them and a few of them had asked me to look into it for them. I ordered another drink and asked for more details.

The bartender shrugged and said that when Sarandas' parents died they had left him a small fortune. Unfortunately, it was now an even smaller fortune. He had fallen in with a bad crowd and had spent most, if not all, of his inheritance on drink and gambling on the guar. He wasn't a bad kid, she told me, but he had obviously made a mess of things.

The bartender moved on to serve another patron and I sat and thought for a moment. I felt sorry for Sarandas. I had never known my parents; my father was never known and my mother had abandoned me to my clan when I was still a child and now there was no way of knowing for certain whom she even was. I had been forced to fight and struggle for everything I had and so knew the value of it. Sarandas had grown up with everything and so didn't have that knowledge. When he lost his parents suddenly he had no one to teach him that lesson and so he had learned it the hard way. When one starts with nothing, losing everything is easy to deal with. When one had always had everything, losing it is a very frightening thing. Deep in thought, I paid my tab and exited the Inn.

The ash storm had abated and the sun was sinking into the west but I easily found Ienas Sarandas' home slightly to the south of the Inn. I found him inside staring morosely at a cold fireplace. I told him why I was there and his depression seemed to deepen. His frustration was apparent and, pulling up another chair, I offered a sympathetic ear and advice.

We talked for a long time. Or, mostly he talked and I listened. I soon found myself agreeing with what the bartender had told me. Sarandas was a "good kid" who had simply gotten in over his head. He had been so taken care of though his life that he did not know how to take care of himself when he had to. He had not intended to steal from the merchants in town but when he found himself with no more money he had no way to pay them and his pride was too much for him to return to them and admit his mistake.

In the end, he decided he had to face himself and admit his mistakes. I had come to like him in the short time we had been together so I offered to help. He then pulled out several items and handed them to me; a brocade shirt and silk pants, a racer suede belt, a pair of designer shoes, a firejade amulet and an ebony and glass ring. He asked me to return them to the merchants they belonged to and to tell them he was sorry. He then told me that he planned to join the Temple and devote his life to helping others to make up for the troubles he had caused.

While I watched, he gathered a few belongings together then the two of us stepped out into the night. He thanked me again for listening to his story then headed off towards the Tribunal temple which rose to the east of town. I watched him go and felt a rare sense of satisfaction in knowing that, for at least one person on Vvardenfell, I had made some sort of difference.

I looked at the various articles of clothing he had given me then carefully packed them away. I would return them to the merchants from which they came but that would have to wait for another day. It was late, I had the book I had come to Ald-Ruhn for and I needed to get back to Sadrith Mora. Sarandas had disappeared into the night so I walked through the town plaza and to the Mages' Guild. A short conversation with the guild guide later and I was once again in Sadrith Mora.

Big Helende was looking over some papers when I entered. She seemed pleased when I handed the cookbook over to her but then her gaze clouded, as if there was something she did not want to talk about. I asked if there was a problem and she admitted, with a sigh, that she had received a new assignment but wasn't sure if she could complete it. The task was very dangerous and she wasn't sure she could send any of her thieves on in with a clear conscience.

I smiled to myself. Her words told me, as I had come to realize, that her sour disposition was only a facade and that she really did care about the people who served under her. I was also pleased that she was willing to reveal this to me. Obviously I had proven myself to her and she now considered me an ally and equal.

I asked her what the assignment was and suggested that I could probably handle it. My statement seemed to surprise her and she looked me over with a combination of surprise and shock. She asked if I was sure, repeating again that the assignment would be dangerous. With surprising confidence I assured her that I could.

She hesitated for a moment then, suddenly becoming businesslike again, launched into the description of the assignment. She had been asked to acquire an enchanted ebony staff. The staff in question belonged to Felen Maryon, assistant to the Telvanni councilor Mistress Therana in Tel Branora. Acquiring it would not be easy; Maryon never let the staff out of his sight so there would be little chance to steal it unobserved and he was a powerful wizard in his own right. Attempting such a theft from deep within a Telvanni stronghold would be almost certain suicide.

I thought for a moment. The task would certainly be difficult but I thought I knew of a way to accomplish it. With more confidence than I felt I assured Helende that I would return with the staff. It almost seemed as if she was reluctant to let me go but she wished me luck and turned back to her paperwork. I thought for a moment she was going to say something else but she continued shuffling papers and so I said a polite goodbye and left.

There did not seem to be any reason for waiting so I made my way through the darkened streets to the docks and found a captain willing to take me to Tel Branora. The boat pushed off and I, making myself as comfortable as possible, attempted to get some sleep. I would need my wits about me for what I had planned.

Heartfire 13 (Day 29)

The sun was shining brightly by the time we arrived at Tel Branora. I could see the wizard's tower which dominated the center of the small island and started walking towards it. As I approached a guard confronted me and I asked him where I could find Felen Maryon. He responded that Maryon was in Mistress Therana's chambers in the upper tower and helpfully pointed out the path to me. I thanked him and started to climb.

Wizard's Tower - Tel Branora

It was an odd experience climbing the tower. It was as if I had suddenly been taken back to my childhood in Daggerfall where I would climb the trees in the forests outside of town and build tree forts in their crowns. Combined with the unusually sunny weather my thoughts left me in a surprisingly happy mood; possibly the best I had felt since my arrival in Vvardenfell. I even let out a short laugh and sprinted the last short distance to the upper tower entrance, suddenly more confident in myself than I had felt in a long time.

Stepping from the bright sunlight into the dim interior of the tower left me momentarily blinded but my eyes soon adjusted and I started my explorations. I soon found the tower's central flywell and, downing the first of my rising force potions, let myself drift upwards. Several rooms radiated off from the flywell but I stopped at the first occupied chamber and was pleasantly surprised to find myself face-to-face with Felen Maryon.

Maryon looked up curiously as I drifted into his chambers and asked my business there. I passed myself off as someone looking to purchase some spells and he began describing those he was able to sell. While he spoke, I looked around his small chamber and saw the staff Helende wanted, leaning against a bookcase in the back of the room. It would be difficult to acquire it without Maryon's notice.

Maryon finished his list and, thanking him, I turned to leave. I had just stepped into the flywell when I noticed, for the first time, that my rising force potion had worn off.

Plummeting to the bottom floor, I hit the ground with enough force to knock me from my feet and to momentarily stun me. I lay there, staring up the shaft until it stopped spinning above me then burst out laughing. I had fallen out of my share of trees as a child too and my memories from outside came back to me once again. With a final chuckle I pulled myself to my feet and cast a healing spell upon myself a few times. Then, I set about my plan.

Taking out another rising force potion I drank it then followed it with one of the invisibility potions I had purchased from Berwen in Tel Mora. After a quick glance to make sure the flywell was clear I drifted upwards and back into Maryon's room. Maryon did not react as I stealthily drifted past him and picked up the staff.

The invisibility potion failed as soon as I touched the staff but it was still a second or two before Maryon became aware of my presence; long enough for me to tuck the staff under my robe. When Maryon did register that I was there he simply apologized and said he thought I had left. I apologized for taking up more of his time and stepped back into the flywell and returned to the ground level.

I quickly stepped outside and floated to the ground before the rising force potion wore off. Then, not wanting to be around when Maryon discovered his staff missing, I headed directly to the harbor and caught the next boat to Sadrith Mora.

Returning to the Corner Club, I climbed the stairs and found Big Helende. She seemed surprised to see me and was even more so when I pulled out the staff and handed it to her. She examined it carefully for several minutes before convincing herself that it really was the staff of Felen Maryon. She then carefully put the staff away before turning back to me with a look of genuine admiration.

She gave me my payment for the mission then, with a slight hesitation, told me that she did not have any new assignments for me. Those that were available could easily be handled by her local thieves and, she told me, would be a waste for my talents. I smiled and tried to express modesty but internally I was quite pleased by the praise.

Helende insisted that for the benefit of both the Guild and my own development I should travel elsewhere. She was promoting me within the Guild and I would no longer be reporting to one of the local bosses. Instead, from now on I would take my orders directly from Gentleman Jim Stacey; the leader of the Thieves' Guild himself. Stacey, I was told, could be found in Simine Fralinie's Bookshop in the Foreign Quarter of Vivec City.

I thanked Helende for everything she had done for me and, promising to stop by from time to time, turned to leave. As I did, Helende called for me to wait then pulled out a ring and handed it to me. This ring, she said, would help me in my future endeavors and was her way of thanking me for what I had done.

I examined the ring. It was a Ring of Far Reaching, a magickal ring containing a telekinesis spell. With this ring, I could manipulate objects or open doors or chests from some distance away. I thanked her again and, with a final goodbye, returned to the lower level of the Corner Club.

I now had to consider my next move. Obviously if I wanted to continue my advancement within the Thieves Guild I needed to travel to Vivec City. I needed to go there anyway to report my successful assassination of Odaishah Yasalmibaal to the Morag Tong. Apparently Vivec City was to be my next stop.

However, it seemed to me that I had achieved a milestone of some sort and that I needed to take a small break. With this in mind, I left the Corner Club and headed into Sadrith Mora.

I visited several of the shops, selling some of the items, ingredients and weapons that I had accumulated in the last few days of adventuring. I also stopped by the blacksmith to have my weapons and armor repaired. With my purse and equipment restored I returned to Dirty Mureil's.

There, I spent some time with the trainers in the Corner Club and improved my basic skills. By the time I was done I had spent most of the drakes I had acquired but had gained skill in both Speechcraft and Mercantile. I had also realized that my Magickal skills were very weak and so found a trainer who would teach me both Alteration and Conjuration. By the time I finished I was exhausted and my head was spinning with all that I had learned. Thanking my colleagues, I found my way to the Gateway Inn where I acquired a room and fell into a sound and restful sleep.