Trey in Mournhold, Chapter 5 Options

[treydog]

Chapter 5

Dedicated to the memory of Jonajosa. Be at peace, my friend.

Rather than walk back to the Palace, I used an amulet to cast Divine Intervention. Mainly, I chose that means of transport because I was terribly weary. But I admit that it was also a calculated insult to the Tribunal Temple. After all, the spell carried me to the entrance of the Imperial Cult, their religious rival. Once I had been deposited in the Palace courtyard, I mentally prepared myself for my meeting with Tienius Delitian. If possible, I hoped to keep Galsa Andrano’s name to myself- betrayal did not come easily to me. Though she was a member of Almalexia’s Temple, she was not responsible for its misguided choices. Before heading for the throne room, I nipped down the stairs to the basement and exchanged my armor for a robe. While the Dark Brotherhood armor might have served as a pointed reminder of Helseth’s murderous intent toward me, I did not think it wise to appear before his guards dressed as an assassin. While the King’s paranoia might be the product of a guilty conscience, theirs was a professional reflex- one that I preferred not to test. A measure of their caution was the fact that I had yet to lay eyes on Helseth, even in his own throne room. Confronting him with my…righteous indignation was going to be difficult if all he ever did was cower in his private chambers. Of course, he would also have a hard time governing from that position, a prospect that did not make me particularly unhappy. On the other hand, my disagreement with Helseth was personal rather than political, so I rather hoped he would show his sorry face sometime soon.

If Captain Delitian was happy to see me, he disguised it quite well. Stony-faced, he stared at me and queried,

“Have you anything to report? Or have you just been wandering around Mournhold gawking at the sights?”

I was becoming used to his irritating manner, having realized that his baiting was as much an attempt to surprise me into blurting something revealing as because he genuinely disliked me. Besides that, I didn’t really care- I didn’t much like him, either. So I simply smiled blandly at his sneer and described what I had discovered regarding the Temple’s view of his precious monarch. At the end of my recital, he grunted and said,

“Of course, I had someone follow you, so I know that you spent some time with the healer, Galsa Andrano. She certainly speaks her mind, and, from what you say, sounds sincere. You handled her well. The Temple seems to recognize that King Helseth will not be content to be a puppet like King Llethan, and plans to act against us. Very good work, Trey. The king will hear of your loyal service.”

So much for keeping Galsa out of it. Well, I had tried. And perhaps there would not be a confrontation between Temple and king. Better still, maybe someday I would get over the feeling that I was a particularly low form of life that betrayed confidences.

Meanwhile, Delitian had other things on his mind. Motioning for me to follow him out into the hallway, he dropped his voice and said,

“Now you can help us with another matter. King Helseth is concerned about possible disloyalty among the Guards. I've replaced many of the former king's guards with more reliable men. But I had to keep some experienced guards, and I can't be certain of their loyalties. I will pretend you wish to join the Royal Guards. That's your excuse for talking to the guards, sounding them out, and looking for evidence of disloyalty. If you find any hint of treason or evidence of disloyalty, report it to me. Take no action. Report to me, and I will judge what action is appropriate.”

The cover story struck me as being awfully thin, although it would have the advantage of explaining my repeated visits to the captain. Hoping for a bit of guidance, I inquired as to which guards I should investigate. Delitian’s familiar scowl reappeared and he replied,

“It's your judgment I'm testing, not mine. Talk to them yourself. Form your own conclusions.”

The assignment revealed still more of Helseth’s problems- and his errors. I was practically certain now that he was responsible for King Llethan’s death. And it seemed that a number of others had reached the same conclusion- including some of the palace guards. Regardless of whether they had personally liked the old king or not, his safety had been their responsibility…and they had failed to protect him. I had no way of knowing whether Helseth was any good as a ruler, but he had a positive genius for making enemies. So far, he had alienated the Temple, the conservative Dunmer (probably including House Redoran), and some of his own guards. And, oh yes, one insignificant but highly motivated Breton. He was beginning to discover that a major problem with ascending to the throne through assassination was the ideas it put into other people’s heads. Ideas like- if one king can be killed, why not two? Actual justice is often fickle or uncertain, but watching a guilty man squirm in fear of justice can sometimes be an acceptable substitute.

None of these ruminations were getting me any closer to finding out which guards, if any, were contemplating a change in management. The only thing for it was to visit the guard quarters and spread some charm and cash. I briefly entertained the notion of trying to implicate some of the loyal guards, thus weakening Helseth, but realized that Delitian wanted evidence- not just my accusations. I again had to play it straight if I was to have any hope of gaining the king’s confidence.

The guard quarters were functional and little else- each guard had a bed and a locked chest for personal items. The room itself was open and offered no possibility of concealment. A quick glance at the chests showed that the locks were of reasonable quality. I could get past them with sufficient time or with a spell, but the idea of getting caught rummaging through a Royal Guard’s possessions did not appeal to me. My fears were given additional emphasis when a guard wandered through the room, and turned his helmeted head to stare at me. Sighing with disgust, I sat down on a storage chest to consider my options. As I idly traced the badly carved name on the chest, Ivulen Irano, my eyes fell upon a scrap of parchment that had fallen between the chest and the foot of the bed. Thinking it was probably a note inviting the guard out for drinks after work, I picked it up. After some effort to decipher the tiny and nearly illegible handwriting, I understood that it was a copy of guard duty rosters for the past several weeks. Three names were always correctly spelled -- Milvela Dralen, Ivulen Irano, and Aleri Aren -- and those watches when all three were the only guards in the Throne Room were underlined twice. My finely-honed investigative senses told me that this might be what was known in the trade as a “clue.” More to the point, I thought it might be a good idea to talk to Guardsman Ivulen Irano.

[treydog]

My idea was simple- I wanted revenge on Helseth; the Hlaalu nobles wanted revenge on Helseth; therefore, we should be able to work together long enough to reach our mutually-desired goal. As a result of my spying for the king, I now possessed the names of three potential allies whose interests coincided with my own. All that remained was to find them and convince them to assist me. Careful inquiries, with much use of the Hlaalu code-word “business,” yielded the following information: Forven Berano was a faithful member of the Temple and could usually be found somewhere nearby. Bedal Alen was an avid reader and spent much of his time in the bookshops. Locating Hloggar the Bloody was a more difficult proposition. The first few people I asked about the Nord simply expressed disgust by more or less demonstrative means and took their leave of me. Finally I remembered Ra’Tesh, the Khajiit bartender at the Winged Guar. He was the closest thing to a friend that I had in Mournhold; more to the point, he had sources of information about the less savory residents and visitors to the city.

When I asked about the Hlaalu retainer, the normally imperturbable Khajiit’s whiskers actually trembled. I had the feeling that his tail was lashing from side to side, as well. Picking up an already clean glass and polishing furiously, Ra’Tesh muttered,

“Ra’Tesh knows of this Hlaalu. Ra’Tesh also knows of the bad Daedra, but he prefers to not speak of them. This Khajiit believes that it is better not to think or speak of evil things lest he draw their attention. Why does friend Trey ask about this evil person?”

Because I did count Ra’Tesh as a friend, I could not tell him the true reason- to do so would put him in the position of either passively agreeing to the scheme or having to report it. That was not the sort of thing I would do to him. So I simply fell back upon the old standard, that I had “business” with Hloggar. Ra’Tesh was still not satisfied and he hissed,

“That one’s ‘business’ is killing. Hlaalu masters say, ‘this person is a problem,’ and call for Hloggar the Bloody. He comes and there is no more problem. What business could you have with such a person?”

I looked Ra’Tesh in the eye and told him,

“The sort of business that you suspect. Please, don’t ask me more. If you know where he is, just tell me. Trust that I know what I am doing.”

Ra’Tesh shrugged as if to indicate that he had done all he could and then said,

“The Nord does not stay in the inns or the houses. Some say this is because the Nord is too cheap to pay for lodging. Ra’Tesh does not think so. Ra’Tesh believes that no decent establishment will rent a room to this Nord. And so, this Hloggar, he stays down in the sewers near the Palace. Ra’Tesh has been told that people have seen a Nord camped in the West Sewers. Perhaps this is the Nord friend Trey seeks. Ra’Tesh does not know. Ra’Tesh thinks friend Trey should forget this ‘business’ with the bloody Nord and have a drink.”

That was probably the best advice I had gotten since I came to Mournhold. And, of course, I did not heed it.

According to my sources, Forven Berano should be the easiest to find, as he spent much of his time in and around the Temple of Almalexia. Although I was not happy about going back into proximity of the Temple, my need drove me. Fortunately, Berano was not actually inside the Temple, but standing on the steps. When I first approached him, he was polite but not encouraging, saying,

“If you seek money, you would do better to find honest labor, rather than begging for alms.”

When I assured him that I was not a beggar, he relaxed slightly and asked me to state my business quickly.

Glancing around to ensure no one was likely to overhear my words, I muttered,

“My business regards King Helseth and what can be done about him.”

At the mention of the king, Berano’s eyes widened, but he gave no other sign, simply repeating the standard phrase,

“Helseth is king now, long live the king.”

I knew that his words were just for show, a bit of protective coloration. Determinedly, I stated,

“Ser Berano, I am aware that you and other individuals seek some means to correct the injustice that was done when Llethan was murdered. I also intend to fight Helseth’s injustice. You should know that he is already aware of you…. Can we not find common cause?”

I carefully did not mention just how it was that Helseth had “become aware” of Forven Berano. While it was certainly relevant, it would have done me no good at all. In the end, it did not matter, for Berano became panicked and said,

“I am sure you are a fine young man, and perhaps even talented with a blade. But you would have no chance against Helseth’s guards. If he is aware of me as you say, I must flee immediately. I thank you for the warning, but if you are wise, you will leave Mournhold. Good day.”

My experience with Bedal Alen was much the same- I found him browsing the books in the shop located in the Great Bazaar. His reaction was less friendly than Berano’s. He looked me over and asked,

“You are a Breton, aren’t you? From High Rock, same place as that pile of guar droppings that calls himself a king. How do I know you aren’t one of his spies? And even if you aren’t, why should I believe that you can accomplish a feat even the Morag Tong refuses to attempt? No, boy, I’ll have none of this. You can go back to your precious king and tell him that Bedal Alen has left Mournhold. For good.”

With that, he cast an Almsivi Intervention spell and was gone. This was not working out at all as I had hoped. So far, two of my hoped-for allies had fled. And now I was left to seek Hloggar the Bloody, to return yet again to the sewers of Mournhold.