Chapter 11: Freelance Adventuring (Part 1)
The Morag Tong and the Thieves' and Mage's Guilds

Heartfire 18 (Day 34)

I slept restlessly and the sun had climbed high into the sky before I made my way outside. Cosades had indicated that I should continue to work on my "freelance adventurer" cover. I decided that I would take a few days and work on some of the commitments I had made during my wanderings.

My first stop was the nearby armorer. The battles I had been in recently were taking their toll on my weapons and armor and I had inteneded to have him make some repairs, but I instead thought of how much of my travels had taken me to the uninhabited portions of Vvardenfell and wound up simply purchasing several armorers hammers. The armorer then kindly allowed me to use his shop and I spent some time pounding inexpertly on my swords, shield and armor. The armorer seemed somewhat amused at my lack of skill and it did take me considerable time but by the time I had almost worn out the hammers I had purchased I had suceeded in restoring my equipment to its original state. I could tell that my technique had started to improve by the end of my efforts and I resolved to continue to attempt to repair my own equipment so that I could become more self-sufficient.

Leaving the shop, I crossed the street to the Mage's Guild and had the guide transport me back to Vivec City. Big Helende had told me that "Gentleman Jim" Stacey, the head of the Thieves' Guild, could be found here in the Foreign Quarter in Simine Fralinie's Bookshop. I decided to work on my advancement within the Guild and so set out to find him.

A few inquiries led me to the canalworks and I soon found the bookshop I was searching for. However, once inside, I found the shop deserted except for Fralinie himself. My casual inquiries were of no help as Fralinie politely claimed no knowlege of anyone named Stacey.

I wandered through the shop a bit more and noticed a door leading into a back room but, upon trying the knob, I found it locked. I looked around to see if Fralinie had noticed my attempted intrusion only to find him watching me. Then, upon seeing me looking back at him, he turned his back on me and began to carefully examine one of the books on his shelves.

I smiled at this and turned back to the door. Pulling out my lockpick, I easily opened the door and stepped inside. There I found a Redguard who watched my entrance with professional interest. There was no need for introductions, as I immediately knew that I had finally found the master thief himself.

I introduced myself and Stacey greeted me warmly. He told me that he had heard reports of my actions from the other guildmasters and was pleased to finally meet me himself. We chatted briefly then he asked if I was looking for more work. When I indicated my interest he described his problem to me.

It seems that another member of the guild, a thief by the name of Nads Tharen, had disappeared. While this is always an occupational hazard for thieves, Stacey was concerned because Tharen was supposed to be delivering a key to him. Stacey wanted me to investigate. He was naturally concerned for Tharen, but he was also concerned as to the whereabouts of the key. Even if I could not locate Tharen, I was to try and return the key to him.

Stacey gave no hints as to what the key was for and, though my curiosity was aroused, I knew better than to ask. So, I simply told him that I would see what I could find out. Stacey told me that Tharen used to spend a great deal of time at the Elven Nations Corner Club in the Hlaalu Canton and suggested that I start my investigations there. Saying that I would, I told him I would return when I had information on Tharen and started to take my leave.

Before I could do so however, Stacey stopped me. He looked me over again then, with an almost conspiratorial tone, asked if I had ever heard of the "Bal Molagmer". I had not so he began to tell me of their legend.

The Bal Molagmer, he told me, were also known as the "Stone Fire Men"; so called because they would carry burning rocks from the Vvardenfell volcano to light their way. This was symbolic of their mission of carrying the light of justice around Morrowind, for their mission in life was to steal from the unjust and and giving the proceeds to those in need. The Bal Molagmer were recognized, he said, by the gloves they wore to protect them from the burning rocks.

With this, Stacey pulled out a pair of gloves and handed them to me. It was time, he said, for the Bal Molagmer to return. When I felt I was ready, I was to wear the gloves and come speak to him.

I had intended to continue on to the Mage's Guild in the Foreign Quarter but as I passed the Arena I remembered that I had yet to report my successes to the Morag Tong. With this in mind, I entered the Arena waistworks and made my way down to the canalworks.

The Ordinator in the area studiously ignored me as I found my way to the storeroom. Several more rats had found their way inside since my last visit and I was forced to slay them before I could open the trap door and drop down into the Morag Tong guildhall.

When I entered the main room, Taros Dral motioned me over and asked if I had dealt with the "sensitive matters" we had spoken of before. When I indicated that the matter had been taken care of he smiled and said that Mephala herself wished to speak with me.

I was a bit taken aback by this. It was not often that a god, or even a daedra, wished to speak directly with a mortal. Still, when they do, it is not wise to keep them waiting. So, with only a slight hesitation, I stepped towards the altar.

"You have done well, mortal" said a voice within my head as I approached. "There are some things that must be done to preserve the order. And, it will be amusing for me when this business comes to light. I look forward to it."

As she spoke, a ring appeared on the altar and she bade me to pick it up. It was a Ring of Khajiit, which would boost my speed and stealth while wearing it. I started to thank her for the ring but she dismissed me abruptly, her discussion with me over. I shrugged, then realized that the ring would have come in very handy a few minutes ago when I was stealing Progress of Truth from the Temple library. I sighed. Mephala probably found that timing amusing also.

Nodding to Dral, who seemed pleased with my accomplishment, I went deeper into the guildhall and found my way to Eno Hlaalu's chambers where I reported the execution of Odaishah Yasalmibaal. Hlaalu seemed pleased and, after paying me for the execution, offered me another pair of writs, which I accepted.

The first was for Ethal Seloth, who was supposedly hiding in the bandit cave of Zaintirari. The name sounded familiar and, from Hlaalu's directions, it seemed to be in the area where I had encountered Ree-Jah a few days previously. I shrugged. I had been planning to return to the area to pick up the items I had been forced to leave behind anyway and this simply gave me another reason to return to the area.

The second writ was for two individuals; Sarayn Sadus and Idroso Vendu. Both of them were here in Vivec City, probably in the temporary housing area of the Telvanni Canton. Hlaalu did give me a bit of additional information on these two. Apparently Sadus and Vendu were murderers but Duke Vedam Dren was unwilling to take action against them. Someone, determined to see justice done, had taken matters into their own hands and had commissioned the Morag Tong to gain their retribution. I almost hesitated, briefly concerned that I may be going against the wishes of the local representative of the Empire. But it then occurred to me that for all I knew it may be the Duke himself who had taken out the writ; publicly doing nothing for reasons of politics while privately making sure that the right thing got done. I accepted both writs from Hlaalu and told him I would return as soon as they had been executed.