The Connivers of Bosmora, (a redo) Options

[redsrock]

Not my favorite chapter for some reason, but here it is:


CHAPTER SIX


A little after eleven that same night Sirius was resting in his bed, trying to fall asleep in a place he’d never been before. Though the bed was very comfortable, and the room was at a pleasant temperature, it just wasn’t the same as sleeping in Caldera. Of course that was a bit silly to say, given the fact that the bed in which Sirius slept in Caldera was basically just a large plank of wood with a torn cushion thrown on top. His new bed was certainly of the highest quality, but still, Sirius couldn’t help but feel a little awkward.

The next morning Sirius woke up sometime after eight o’clock. He walked downstairs and had himself a quick liquid breakfast, and then strolled over to the Great Bazaar in order to do some shopping. When he arrived, Sirius saw that even though it was early in the morning, the streets were already flocking with many people wanting to get their hands on the latest items. Most of the people shopping were of high social-status, and Sirius felt very out of place.

The first store he visited was the clothing store, which was run by an elderly female Dunmer. The elf looked upon him as if he were scum because of his lesser attire. Her store was supplied with clothing of the highest quality. Reaching into his pocket, Sirius pulled out fifty septims. It was pretty much what he had left, save for a few scatted coins back in Caldera.

“Are there any outfits I could get for fifty septims?” Sirius asked sheepishly, hopeful that the Dunmer would feel sorry for him and give a discount. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

She gave the look of disgust and replied, “My garments are rivaled by no one, Imperial, and because of this, every article of clothing is priced at a lofty rate. The only outfit I have that is under fifty septims is this.”

The Dunmer pulled out a pair of green pants, a green shirt to match, and also a pair of brown cowhide shoes. It wasn’t much to look at it, but sure beat the rags Sirius was currently wearing.

“How much?” Sirius asked.

The Dunmer sighed impatiently and said, “Thirty-five septims.”

Sirius walked out of the store with his clothes in hand, and began wandering towards the other shops. The next place that caught his eye was a book store. Sirius figured he’d need something to pass by the time other than wine and beer, so he eagerly entered the shop.

Standing behind the counter was a large Nord with massive bundle of blonde hair and a beard. The Nord was humming loudly, no doubt some ancient Nordic riddle that Sirius didn’t understand. Upon seeing Sirius enter his shop the Nord immediately stopped humming and attended to his new guest.

“Ah, good mornin’ there, lad! What can Rolf do for ye’ today?”

“Well, I’d like to buy a book,” Sirius said, albeit a little sarcastically. He was in a book store after all.

“Wonderful!” ‘Rolf’ came lumbering over to Sirius, and he threw his massive right arm around him as he led Sirius through the store. “Thur are hundreds of books in me store. Just tell me what ye’ want and Rolf will gladly get it.”

Rolf was certainly the cheerful Nords, a little too nice for Sirius; “Umm, I don’t know, I….”

“Just tell Rolf how many golds ye have today,” Rolf said.

“Fifteen,” Sirius said.

“Fifteen?” Rolf asked with great surprise. Suddenly Rolf’s grip got much tighter. “Hmm, well thurs not a lot of goods reads for that kind o’ gold. Lemme check somethin’ real quick.”

Rolf finally let go of Sirius’s body and then disappeared into a small room in the back corner. He returned minutes later with a large red book. “This here is called Children of the Sky”, Rolf exclaimed with a happy grin spread across his hairy face. “It tells the history of Rolf’s ancestors, and gives ye, the reader, a tale er two of our Nordic ways. Very interestin’ it is, lad. I’ll hand it over for a mere ten golds.”

Sirius happily paid the Nord and walked out of the store as quickly as his feet could carry him.

With only five septims to his name, Sirius left the Great Bazaar feeling a little foolish. He had spent fifty septims on an outfit, and then ten on a book. How was going to be able to pay for anything else now? It was a good thing he had food and drink back at his house. And back to his house he went. He threw his clothes onto the kitchen (downstairs) table and grabbed a bottle of Sujamma. While drinking, he began reading his new book, “Children of the Sky”:

Nords consider themselves to be the children of the sky. They call Skyrim the Throat of the World, because it is where the sky exhaled on the land and formed them. They see themselves as eternal outsiders and invaders, and even when they conquer and rule another people; they feel no kinship with them.

What the hell is this author talking about? Sirius thought out loud to himself. He never did get the Nords and their strange way of life. To him, living in land full of snow was just stupid. Of course, Sirius had never visited Skyrim, so his views on the province were a little off, to say the least.

Sirius threw the book to the floor and then tossed back a few more bottles of wine before going back upstairs. He was extremely bored and it was only ten o’clock in the morning, two hours left until he’d be meeting Hession at the Winged Guar. So rather than sit around and wait at the table he instead walked to his room and laid in his bed and took a short nap.

Lucky for Sirius he woke up at a little after eleven thirty. Quickly he dressed himself into his new outfit, and then stared at himself in his large mirror that was nailed to his wall. He looked rather extravagant, or at least in his mind that is. He more so looked like some who was trying to look rich, but at least it was better than what he was wearing before.

At that time it was ten minutes till noon, and Sirius began to walk to the Winged Guar. But before he could go anywhere he was suddenly he was hit in the back of the head by something hard. His vision began to blur, and his sight darkened until it was no more.


++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++


After feeling the touch of smooth piece of cloth, Sirius opened his eyes, yet the only thing he saw was darkness. A blindfold of some sort was covering Sirius’s eyes, and he could not see a thing. He tried to move his arms and legs, but he realized they had been binded together with rope, no doubt by whoever had hit him in the head.

However, he knew he was inside somewhere, because the wind wasn’t blowing against his body, nor could he hear or smell anything that would be outdoors. He was probably in someone’s house in Mournhold, but he couldn’t be for sure.

All of a sudden he heard footsteps to his right and he turned his head in the direction of the sounds. Then a voice sounded, “Take his blindfold off.”

Within seconds a hand ripped the cloth from Sirius eyes, and he could see once more. He was tied to a bedpost in some room that he had never seen before. It looked to be an old kitchen of sorts, in an old and rundown house, judging by the holes and tears on the walls and floor.

“Get him to his feet!”

Sirius looked up and saw a Dunmer standing before him with a black cowl covering his entire head. He was holding a steel dagger in his right hand. Then from behind came two more Dunmer, both with the same black cowl. They cut the ties from his bedpost and allowed him to move freely. Of course Sirius didn’t try to run away, for that would have been a foolish move. So instead he stood there looking at the Dunmer with the dagger.

“Who the hell are you?” He asked, trying to sound brave, though in truth he was reasonably afraid.

The Dunmer just chuckled and replied, “That is not important, Mr. Vero. What is important is that my master wishes to give you a message. We know who you are and why you are Mournhold. You are here to help King Helseth and House Hlaalu solve the disappearances in Balmora.”

Sirius was surprised to hear all of this come out of the Elf’s mouth. “So, what if you’re right?”

“My master is directly involved with the investigation, but of course will not give up his identity to you. He wants to give you the message to watch your back. He is neither with you nor against you, but he does not wish for you to make a mistake that might cost you your life.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Tell me who you are!”

The Dunmer just stood there for seconds before replying, “No, Mr. Vero, I will not. My master wants me to give you this.” The Dunmer handed Sirius a letter. “I will transport you back to Mournhold now, where you can read the letter for yourself.”

“Then what was the point of bringing me here?” Sirius asked.

“Because my master also wishes for you to see something.” Then the Dunmer walked over to the wall and put his hand on a painting. Suddenly the wall opened to reveal a small hidden area. Inside were four Dunmer bodies, one female and three male, all dead.”

“Are those….?”

“I will let you answer that; it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out who they are.”

“Where are we?” Sirius asked, even though he knew he wasn’t going to get an answer.

“Again, I cannot tell you that. The only thing I can tell you is that my master wishes for this become somewhat of a game for you. A test, if you will.”

“Test?”

“Yes, a trial to determine something in the future. But I will say no more, and now it is time for you to take your leave.”

One of the other Dunmer wrapped both of his hands around Sirius’s neck and squeezed hard. He started to feel dizzy and everything went black once more.

[raggidman]

ps the relevance of Ald'ruhn being destroyed is that their influence will be weakened and so even less likely they will have wrested Caldera back from Hlaalu w/out a major war.

yeah, but you don't know what year by story is set.

och, and then I gets hit on't back o' head agin (me thinkin me have very hard head or in wrong line of work )

What year? Helseth became king at about the time that Hlaalu got control of Caldera ... no apparent reason for change before Oblivion crisis - then Auld'ruhn destroyed ... ? Maybe this 200 seasons later? Think not.

Suspect this after Nerevarine and before Kvatch ...

This post has been edited by raggidman: May 8 2008, 10:00 AM

[redsrock]

CHAPTER SEVEN

He awoke to the sound of heavy knocking. Within seconds Sirius realized he was back in Mournhold, no less inside of his house. He got up from the ground, but then almost stumbled back down because he was still dizzy. He did his best to hustle to the door, and it was Hession, standing there with a worried expression.

“Sirius, it’s three o’clock. Are you okay?”

Right then he was about to tell Hession everything that had just happened, but then he thought a little more. Perhaps it wasn’t too good of an idea to tell her, at least not yet. Hell, Sirius wasn’t even one hundred percent sure of what had happened.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, Hession, I must’ve fallen asleep. I didn’t get a lot of rest last night,” he lied.

Hession gave him a weird expression, looking him up and down. “Well, you sure don’t look good. Your face is extremely pale. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course, of course, just…a, just a little too much wine,” he said, stuttering the entire time. Fortunately for him Hession seemed to have believed the fib.

“That does sound like you, Sirius,” she said with a cheery smile. “I was just so worried when you didn’t show up at The Winged Guar. I thought something awful happened to you.”

Sirius shuffle his feet, wanting to leave the awkward situation. “No, I’m still alive, for now anyways,” he laughed, an awkward one at that. “Listen, Hession, I have a very important appointment with you-know-who soon. How about I meet you for breakfast tomorrow?”

“I’d love to, Sirius. Just remember to show up this time!”

She then waved goodbye and finally Sirius was able to shut the door. He immediately pressed his back against the door and sat on the floor. His adrenaline was running full blast and his hands were shaking like an exotic bar-dancer. And also, he was more scared now than he had ever been in his life.

He was scared that somehow three strangers had broken into his home. He was scared because those strangers somehow teleported him to an unknown location. And he was scared because those strangers, and their master, were apparently involved somehow with the disappearances in Balmora. And if those bodies really were the ones of the people who vanished, then it was now known that they were dead, and not just vanished.

He went straight for his downstairs cupboard and down four bottles of hard beer in less than two minutes. So far ever since arriving in Mournhold he was able to partially control his thirst for alcohol, and he only drank when he wanted to. But now it was controlling his life, forcing him to drink out of pure stress and fear. Though Sirius would never admit he was an alcohol. Of course, alcoholics never do.

After trying to drink his problems away, it didn’t work, as always. He stumbled outside and walked all the way to the palace, taking him ten minutes when should have taken him no more than three. Along the way he received many disproving stares, but thankfully most of Mournhold’s inhabitants didn’t yet know Sirius was back in town. When he entered the palace lobby, it was around three forty-five in the afternoon. One of the guards gave him a strange stare and muttered, “Damn, you don’t look too good.” Before he could even get one word out Sirius vomited all over the carpet.


++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++


“You’re going to have cease with the drinking, Sirius. I can’t have you stumbling through my town like this.”

Sirius was sitting in his office with Helseth, the two of them alone for the moment. But that would change in a matter of a few hours, and soon the room would be filled with the five Hlaalu councilors and their arrogant voices. Sirius couldn’t stand any of them.

“I had good reason to get drunk, Hlaalu. You can’t even begin to understand.”

“The King of Morrowind shook his head and at the sad state that Sirius was in. He sighed inside of his head and then said, “Alright, please explain to me why you vomited all over my expensive carpet.”

“To hell with you damn expensive carpet, Hlaalu! You think I give a rat’s boat about that?”

“No, I don’t,” Helseth said calmly. “But I didn’t bring you here to get drunk, either. You are here to offer the services I know you are capable of. Now, tell me what happened earlier. My men told me that your face was a white as a pearl when you stumbled into my palace.”

Sirius rubbed his temple with his shaking right hand, trying to massage his awful headache. He was still a bit shaken after seeing those bodies. Sirius should have been used to such scenes, seeing as how he used to be a top-notch investigator. But that was five years ago, and he was sure rusty. He quickly gave Helseth an overview of what happened, and the King was completely taken back his claims.

“Are you positive this is all real, and it’s just the effects of alcohol?”

Sirius slammed his hand on the desk and yelled, “Look at my damn hands, Hlaalu! They are shaking! Can you remember a time where I’ve been like this? I am NEVER in the state I am in now! What scares me the most is that they were able to break into my house so easily!”

“Did you lock your door when you left?”

“That doesn’t matter, Hlaalu! If I’m so important I think I need a little protection, don’t you think?”

“No, that would be a distraction, and we don’t want you to draw any attention. Whoever you spoke to, their master must be someone who knows you are here, and why you are here?”

“Do you think it’s one of the councilors?”

Helseth didn’t change his expression, but simply pondered the question. It was possible, but definitely unlikely.

“I wouldn’t bet on it, Sirius. My councilors aren’t the conniving thieves you think they are.”

The two talked back and forth for the next couple of hours or so, but not about much. Helseth wanted to save the most important stuff for when the councilors arrive, and Sirius was still trying to get over his headache. At around seven forty-five the councilors began filing in, and at eight o’clock on the mark the meeting commenced.

[raggidman]

Cards to the chest eh? Poor Sirius definitely needs to get into training. Did you ever see the film Cat Baloo?

[redsrock]

Did you ever see the film Cat Baloo?

No, not really.

[redsrock]

CHAPTER EIGHT


All five councilors, plus Helseth and Sirius, were seated around a large round table, with everyone spaced out evenly for the most part. Nobody in the room was in a particularly good mood, not that it was expected. The Councilors of House Hlaalu wanted nothing to do with Sirius, but of course, like it has been noted several times before, he was their only hope if they wanted to find out the truth.

Helseth explained to the five Councilors of what had happened to Sirius earlier in the morning, with great detail. When it was finished, some five minutes later, the expressions of the Councilors changed, and the room was split in their feelings about the situation.

“How do we know he’s lying?” asked the always-angry Dram Bero. “Hlaalu, you just told us he had been drinking earlier. I think it was all dream, and that Sirius had passed out.”

This of course caused everyone to speak out at once, which infuriated Helseth. “SILENCE! I will not have everyone yelling like damn children. We will speak one at a time, in a formal matter.”

He then pointed to Velanda Omani. “No, this was not a dream, the way I interpret it at least. The way the situation has been described, I think Sirius is telling the truth.”

Just then Sirius remembered the letter the Dunmer with the cowl had given him. He reached into his right pants pocket and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper.

“What is that?” Helseth asked.

“I forgot about this. The elf with the cowl had given it to me before transporting me back to my house.”

“See?” Velanda asked with excitement. “This proves my theory! Please, Sirius read the letter.”

Sirius looked at it for the first time, and realized it was more of a riddle than anything. He began to read it aloud:

Look to the east, where the sun doesn’t shine
Look to the place where conspirators confine

Deep within the shell of rust, and where nothing seems to grow
To the place where all dangers and evils seem to go

A catchy little poem, but one that struck the heart of Sirius like a piece of sharpened steel. The spooky feel of the writing seemed to have chilled everyone to the bone, and apparently they all knew where this was going, except for Sirius.

“No, surely the source of this mess isn’t coming from there?” Velanda mentioned, a worried look spread across her face.

“What are you talking about?” Sirius asked.

“The riddle, Sirius. It describes a place that I have never been to, a place where only terrible stories come from. I’m talking about Bosmora.”

This caused more talking with one another, and Helseth quickly called for silence once more. “It does sound awfully like Bosmora, but let’s not get carried away, Velanda. Let us decipher the riddle one line at a time. Obviously this is rather important to our investigation, and we need to make sure we get it right.”

“Well, the first line looks to signify the atmosphere of whatever location the riddle is describing,” Crassius Curio explained. “It’s obviously saying that it is a gloomy place, one filled with dread and despair. And the second line, it is saying that whoever is kidnapping and perhaps killing our members, they are hiding somewhere in this certain place.”

“Okay, what else can you think of, Crassius?” Helseth asked.

“Hmm, I think the last two lines are most important. The ‘shell of rust’ likely refers to the fact that Bosmora has sort of ‘shelled’ itself away from the outside, and because of that they have essentially ‘rusted’ away from the outside world. They do things their own way, whether that is good or not is not up for discussion. Bosmora is a very bad place.”

“What about the last line?”

“It’s very simple. It purely means that the place is dangerous and evil, and that certainly describes Bosmora well. Nothing good ever comes out of that place. It makes me shudder just to think about it.”

All was silent for about a minute while everyone let Crassius’s explanation sink in, and then Helseth spoke up once again. “I think the best way to find out what is going is to travel to Balmora, Sirius. That is where the vanishings took place, and that is where you might be able to find some clues. Is everyone in favor of this?”

The councilors all nodded their head reluctantly, still worried about Bosmora.

“Very well, then you may leave. I would like to speak with you Sirius, though, in private.”

He waited for everyone else to leave, and then immediately started talking. “I won’t lie to you, Sirius; I am starting to get worried. I don’t like the sound of sending you to Bosmora, not at all in fact. However, it does seem to make sense and I think we need to start talking about our possibilities. You will travel to Balmora tomorrow, by boat, and then by stilt strider. It is important that your identity is not given away at any time during this investigation. Also, five thousand septims are being delivered to your house right now; here is the key to the gold’s container. Use the gold to buy whatever you need, but please do try and calm down on the drinking. Do you have any questions?”

“No, I know what I’m doing, Hlaalu; although I am a bit concerned about Bosmora. You all seem to be very fearful of the place. Why?”

“That will have to wait for another day, I’m afraid, as I have matters to attend to outside of the city. For now search for clues in Balmora, and if anything comes up that points us towards Bosmora, then we’ll talk. I don’t wish to speak of the place if I don’t absolutely have to.”

“Very well then,” Sirius said, still a little confused. “I’ll report to you when I find something useful.”

Hlaalu nodded his head while handing Sirius the key and Sirius left the palace, heading straight for his house to collect his gold.


++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++


Because he was about to embark on his first mission in over five years, Sirius was in need of some equipment. The life of an agent wasn’t an easy one, and those wishing to perfect the art, equipment of the highest quality were a must. Back in his prime, Sirius was the owner of the finest gear known to both men and mer, but over the years those items had been sold to pay for his business in Caldera, not to mention the alcohol.

And now he finds himself barren of anything but the clothes he was now wearing. He walked over to Godsreach and entered his house. Resting on the table was a large chest with a lock. He opened the chest with the key, and what he found made smile. The gold glistened brightly into Sirius’s eyes, almost blinding him. He picked up a handful of coins, almost as if making sure he was not dreaming. Then he grabbed a sack from another room and began filling it with the gold.

Once in Godsreach he first went to the local weapons-smith. A grumpy looking Orc, dressed in fancy clothing, was sitting behind the counter, looking as if he was seconds from falling asleep. But upon hearing the door close, he quickly woke up.

“What do you want?” The Orc asked, upset that Sirius had disturbed him.

“Yes, I want to buy an elven shortsword, pleas.”

“Anything else?” the Orc asked, impatiently.

“No, that’ll be it.”

The Orc gathered the sword and laid it on his counter. “It’s gonna be six hundred septims.”

Sirius happily handed him the gold and then left the store. Next on his list were lock picks, and for this he traveled to the general goods store. An attractive Breton woman was shuffling through some boxes when Sirius entered the store.

“Hello, how are you today? Is there something I can help you with?” The cheery Breton woman said with a pretty smile. She looked to be in her late twenties, possibly early thirties. Her hair was bright red, and ran from her head to down below her nicely-curved bottom. Sirius was mesmerized by her beauty, and for a second he couldn’t speak.

“Umm…yes. I…I’d like to buy some lock picks, please,” Sirius stuttered. He was also blushing, and the Breton woman giggled.

“May I ask what quality you are looking for?” She asked, again with the same beautiful smile.

“I…ugh, I’d prefer Master if you have them.”

“As a matter of fact I do,” She said, pulling up a small chest from behind the counter. “This here is a set of ten picks, all beautifully crafted by a Khajiit on an island just south of Sadrith Mora. I assure you, you will find no better pick than here in my store. And I’d be willing to part with them for a mere eight hundred septims, a bargain I should add.”

Sirius looked at the picks, and sure enough they were of great quality. “I’ll take them.”

He gave the Breton the gold and started to walk towards the door, but then he stopped in his tracks half way. He had the sudden urge to ask this woman out to dinner. He had time because he wouldn’t even be leaving for Balmora until the following morning, and at the moment it was nine o’clock at night. Hession’s diner didn’t close until eleven.

Sirius wasn’t sure why, but he was very attracted to the woman. She was very friendly, and even prettier. There was simply something about her than Sirius couldn’t quite explain. The only thing he knew was that he wasn’t going to leave until asking her out to dinner. So he turned around and walked back to the Breton, who was looking at him with a smiling, suspicious stare. He noticed that there were no rings on her finger, and then he made his offer.

“Um, would you possibly want to have dinner with me tonight? We could eat at the Winged Guar if you’d like.”

The Breton woman smiled brighter than ever and replied, “I’d love to. Let’s say in an hour? I’ll be closing in thirty minutes.”

“That sounds great. I’ll shop around for a little longer until then.”

He waved at the woman and walked to the door. Before leaving he took one more look behind him. The Breton lady was smiling at him with the sweetest set of teeth and the most gorgeous light-blue eyes he had ever seen.

Maybe this drunk can get lucky after all. Sirius thought to himself. And then he left the shop.

[raggidman]

Oooowh - poor Sirius is in real trouble now - a woman

- also poor Sirius thinks master picks are the best ... hope he learns before it is too late, and remembers to actually practice with some cheap ones and with his shiny new third rate sword too.

hannyhow - I thought your riddle referred to Red Mountain - lucky I was not doing the Quest or I would have been halfway up the slopes already.

This post has been edited by raggidman: May 11 2008, 10:25 PM

[redsrock]

What did you think of the riddle, Raggidman?

[raggidman]

naughty riddle - the place where the sun doesn't shine is rude!

But I do not know what or where Bosmora is - though I do have my suspicions ...

The riddle says to me

Look to the east, where the sun doesn’t shine = a dungeon

Look to the place where conspirators confine = a prison

Deep within the shell of rust, and where nothing seems to grow = a Dwemer dungeon

To the place where all dangers and evils seem to go = Hell/Oblivion ? Red Mountain, but that is west of Mourmhold? Though it is east of Balmora. Also the name Bosmora seems to be a Bosmer name?
Depends what the word 'mora' means, and 'Bos'.


Of the 4 lines: the least informative in terms of what I know, or the most mysterious is the last ...

[redsrock]

CHAPTER NINE


The moment after Sirius shut the door he felt as if he were walking on air. The Breton woman had taken his breath away, and apparently his urgency to prepare himself for the task at hand, which was to ready himself for the trip to Balmora. That had all been forgotten for the time being, and now he was more focused on somehow impressing his new found acquaintance.

Of course he wasn’t sure how he was going to accomplish that particular task, because he didn’t know a thing about the girl. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even know her name!

What am I going to do? Sirius thought to himself as he hunted for a store beholding something to make an impression on the Breton woman.

Finally he found a flower shop, and he walked towards only to be greeted by a grumpy-looking Imperial woman coming from the building, one with long silky black hair that ran down all the way to her knees.

“We’re closed.”

The woman’s tone couldn’t have been blunter, and Sirius was very offended by the rudeness.

“I just want to buy a small bouquet. It’ll only take a few minutes…” Sirius pleaded, but to no prevail.

“Come back tomorrow, I’m going home.”

The woman started to walk away when Sirius replied, “But I won’t be here tomorrow. I need them tonight!”

The woman stopped, turned around, and said with a smartalic smile spread across her face, “Well I want nice house on the beaches of St. Venicus, but I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon.”

Sirius immediately walked up to the woman and got in her face. She gave Sirius a wink and then yelled, “GUARDS, GUARDS! I’M BEING ATTACKED!”

She fell to the ground and rolled up into a ball, still screaming at the top of her lungs as if Sirius was beating her with a stick, but of course that was not the case, and Sirius couldn’t have been anymore confused. Seconds later two guards came from behind Sirius and pinned him to the ground, bashing his nose against the stone ground in the process. Sirius screamed himself, from the pain of the blow to his nose. The guards paid this no attention and swiftly dragged him to the Palace, where he was immediately thrown in the dungeon.

He sat there for what seemed like hours as he tried to figure out what had just happened. One minute he innocently trying to buy a gorgeous woman some flowers, and the next his nose was being shoved forcefully onto the ground. Now he wasn’t even going to be able to see that woman, and she would likely forget all about him. Suddenly the door down the hall opened, and in stepped Helseth.

“Get me the hell out of here!” Sirius yelled at Helseth.

The King simply stood just feet away from his cell and said, “Do you know why that woman lied about you beating her?”

For several seconds Sirius just stood there, dumbfounded that Helseth knew about that. Then of course he soon realized what had happened. Someone Helseth had him set up.

“How do you know about that?” Sirius asked suspiciously.

“Because that woman is no florist, Sirius. Here, follow me to my chambers.” A guard opened Sirius’s cell, and then Sirius followed Helseth to his room, where the King closed the door and even locked it from behind. The two sat down at the round “meeting table”.

“What’s going on, Helseth? Is someone trailing me?” Sirius asked, a little steamed at the thought.

“That’s exactly what’s going on, Sirius, and for good reason I should add. I ordered ‘Nalmida’ to follow you, to be sure you stay on the right path. Obviously you were not, thus forcing to her to take action.”

It suddenly all made sense to Sirius. So that’s why she winked at me? Clever mother of mine… Sirius thought to himself; an agent tricked by an agent. How ironic life was.

“Your priorities should be clear, Sirius. Your mission is to search for clues in Balmora, not to get in bed with a pretty Breton,” Helseth said forcefully.

Sirius stood up from his chair, mostly to simply look like a hard-boat, but Helseth wasn’t having any of it. He continued to sit in his seat, not at all phased by Sirius’s antics.

“Sit down, Sirius.” The Imperial reluctantly did, and Helseth continued. “You are indeed being followed, Sirius, and it’s a good thing. I want you to leave for Balmora right now, just to keep from getting anymore off-track.”

“Can I at least get a bite to eat first? I’m starving,” Sirius pleaded, thinking of Hession.

Helseth rolled his eyes and said, “Fine, fine, just hurry it up. Remember, Sirius, you are being trailed, at least until you get to Balmora. From there you are on your own.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sirius said as he walked out of the door, slamming it behind him.


++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++


I can’t believe him. Well, no, I take that back. It actually sounds just like him the more I think about it, Sirius thought to himself while walking fast. He was trying to get to the Winged Guar as soon as possible, so that he may quickly explain to Hession what was happening. However, it was going to be tricky since he was being watched and all.

Once inside the restaurant he went straight for Hession, who was working behind the counter.

“Hession, I need to talk to you for a few minutes, but I don’t have a lot of time,” he gasped, out of breath from walking so fast the entire way.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I am working right now. Please excuse me.”

Hession then walked past the counter and passed Sirius without even looking at him. What the hell? he thought crazily to himself. What is she talking about?

“Hession, wait up for a second!”

Suddenly a large body, a tall Nord, blocked his way to Hession, who was now cleaning a table in the back left corner of the room. Sirius immediately recognized the man as Rolf, the Nord from the book shop.

“Good evening, lad. How’re ye doing tonight?”

“Excuse me, but I have business to attend to…” Sirius said quickly, hoping to avoid a conversation with the Nord. As he walked past, Sirius heard Rolf say, “Business, eh? I don’t think ye will find Balmora in Mournhold.”

Sirius immediately turned around and stared into the Nord’s eyes. He knew then that Rolf was working for Helseth.

“So, you’re working for the King?”

“That I am, lad. Rolf’s job is to make sure ye don’t get anymore sidetrack than ye’ve already been. It’s best if ya’ leave now. Hession there has been ordered not to speak with ye ever again, I’m o-fraid.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Sirius demanded, getting a little edgy.

“Because I believe in respect, lad. I’m jus givin’ ye a fair warning. Now, please leave before Rolf has to force ye to…”

Sirius looked past the Nord, and towards Hession. He could’ve sworn he saw tears coming down her cheeks. Then he sighed, looked one last time at Rolf, and then left the restaurant.

[raggidman]

ouch - this is getting seriously Helsethian

[redsrock]

CHAPTER TEN


Sirius walked away from the restaurant, feeling both agitated and utterly confused. He knew the power of Helseth was substantial to say the least, but Sirius was surprised it had gained power over Hession. After all, she had always been a ‘rebel’, if you will. However, it seems something must have happened for her to comply with the King’s orders so easily.

Perhaps Helseth threatened her life if she were to continue to talk to me. Sirius thought to himself as he walked to the lobby of the palace, ready to be transported back to Vvardenfell.

And if that were the case, that Helseth had threatened Hession’s life, Sirius was going to have a word with the King. Helseth could do anything he wanted, but he was not going to abuse his powers onto Hession. She was too good of a friend of Sirius’s for him to let that happen. Sirius right then made a mental note to ask Helseth about that when he came back from Vvardenfell.

It had made Sirius extremely depressed when Hession had ignored him and walked away. He had felt helpless and alone, two feelings Sirius didn’t like a bit. Hession had always been a very good friend of his, and to see her act like she didn’t even know him and walk away was devastating to him mentally. It made him feel as if he had no friends, which was probably the truth now. Hession in fact was his only friend, and if she really had been won over by Helseth’s influence, well, it was probable that Sirius was on his own from here on out.

Of course, traveling to Balmora would no doubt gain him at least a couple of new acquaintances, given the fact that he will have to interact with someone if he wished to find out what’s going on with the disappearances. This made Sirius wonder if the Hlaalu district leaders in Balmora would even know about him. Helseth likely told them another investigator was coming, but of course giving a name other than ‘Sirius’. He doubted the King wanted too many people to know of Sirius’s temporary readmission into The House.

When he entered the Palace lobby area, a smiling Argonian was standing beside the teleportation spot. He was obviously a mage, and Sirius could tell that by his bright colored robes.

“Hello, what can I do for you today?” The cheerful lizard asked.

“Yes, I’d like to go to Vvardenfell.” Sirius responded.

“I’ll have to transport you to Ebonheart. Will that be alright?”

“Yes,” Sirius replied, a bit impatiently.

The lizard walked over to the teleportation spot, fiddled around for a few seconds, and then motioned for Sirius to step onto the small stone platform. Sirius followed the orders, and within seconds he was transported from the city of Mournhold.

When he appeared in Ebonheart Castle’s teleportation chambers he stumbled a bit and hit his head on the wall to his right. In almost an instant blood began trickling down from the wound and into his eyes. He had hit his forehead on the wall after tripping for some odd reason, and he could already feel the knot begin to form on his skin. Thankfully the blood wasn’t able to go too far because soon a small hand appeared from his right and brought a clean cloth to wipe the blood from his head.

“Oh my, that was a nasty fall. I’m terribly sorry, sir. Something must have happened during your teleportation,” said a female voice.

She started to wipe the blood away and Sirius was thankful for that. He was feeling down at the moment, and it was good to see someone willing to help a stranger. And when he looked at the woman, he realized she was a pretty young Breton, even more beautiful than the woman he had met in the Great Bazaar, back in Mournhold.

“Thank you, ma’am, I appreciate the help. If you give me that cloth I’ll just be on my way.”

The woman looked at him as if he were crazy and replied, “Oh heavens no, sir! I must get you to a healer. I believe the bleeding is beginning to stop, but that cut doesn’t look very good at all. I think I should take you to see one of our healers, if you don’t mind.”

Sirius of course wanted to continue in chatting with the attractive women, but then he remembered what had happened to the lady in Mournhold, and how she had likely waited hours for Sirius to show up and take her to dinner, but obviously that had never happened because Helseth had intervened. Sirius didn’t want anything like that happening to this woman. That wasn’t to say that she would agree to go on a date with Sirius if he offered, but for some strange reason Sirius had a hunch that someone was always going to be trailing him wherever he went. Helseth had assured him that he would not be followed upon leaving Mournhold, but the King had lied to him before, and Sirius had no doubts that he’d do it again.

“Unfortunately I do mind, miss. I have an important meeting to attend to in Balmora,” he partially lied. “And I really don’t have any time to spare, for I am going to be late as it is. I promise I’ll be okay, I’ve had worse cuts than this before.”

The women gave Sirius one last look of concern and said, “Very well, if you’re positively sure you’ll be okay. Well, welcome to Ebonheart!” She said, laughing at the last part. “Enjoy your stay, sir, and be sure to take care of yourself.”

Sirius chuckled as well, gave one final wave, and then exited the castle. Outside the sun was shining down brightly from a cloudless blue sky. If there was a silver lining in the mess Sirius was involved in, it was that he didn’t have to travel in bad weather, and for that he was very thankful. To him there wasn’t anything worse than traveling in the rain. Sirius hated the rain, and pretty much water for that matter, except for drinking of course. He never did learn how to swim as a child, and he planned on keeping it that way for the rest of his life.

Bustling through the city of Ebonheart was a countless number of people, of various races and ranks. There were Imperial soldiers, Imperial officers, citizens, merchants, and they barely even scratched the surface of how many people there were in the city. It also helped that the caretakers of Ebonheart kept the entire city clean of too much trash and dirt. It was especially impressive given the fact that Ebonheart was one of Morrowind’s largest cities in terms of both size and population. It spoke volumes as to how much the rulers of this city cared about their people, that they were willing to go to any length to ensure everyone a clean and friendly atmosphere.

One aspect that was particularly unique about Ebonheart, or at least in Sirius’s mind, was that it played host to both Skyrim and Black Marsh diplomatic figures. It was special because Imperials were usually subjective to other races. By letting these races into the city so freely it showed the Empire is not the tyrant force everyone thinks it is. But of course to Sirius it really didn’t matter. He wasn’t a hireling of the Empire; he could care less about them and their reputation, which probably sounds a bit awkward since Sirius is of the Imperial race himself.

In front of the city was a Dunmer shipmaster, standing next to his medium sized transport vessel. The elf didn’t look very friendly, and Sirius really didn’t feel like dealing with anyone with an attitude, but alas he had no choice if he wished to travel across the sea to the rest of the large island. But as he came closer to the elf---who himself had a frown that kept getting bigger as Sirius neared closer---he realized he had five septims with him. The rest of lying safely in his locked chest, back in Mournhold.

Damn, what now? Sirius thought as he kicked himself inside for forgetting to bring more gold. And he really didn’t feel like going back all the way to Mournhold, because that would simply waste too much time. So he walked up the elf and said, with his most cheerful smile, “Good evening, sir! If it’s not too much trouble I’d like to travel to Vivec, please.”

“It’ll be fifty septims,” the Elf replied with no emotion whatsoever.

FIFTY? Sirius thought to himself. The amount of gold was indeed outrageous, and absolutely unnecessary. The Elf was likely overcharging, in order to gain a little extra coin. But, of course, Sirius had thought up his own little scheme.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t have fifty septims. I only have five.”

“Then I guess you won’t be traveling to Vivec anytime soon. Come back when you have the gold.”

The elf was obviously stupid if he thought Sirius was going to give up and walk away that easy. Unfortunately for him Sirius was a sly as they come, and his plan to trick the elf was certainly well thought out.

“You know, sir, it would sure be a shame if the guards found out about the smuggled Dwemer items inside your ship….”

Upon hearing this, the Dunmer gave Sirius an immediate surprised and curious glare, and for good reason too. It was well know by everyone that the Empire closely monitored dealings involving Dwemer items. Such dealings were actually illegal, yet idiots were always trying to sneak past the eyes of the Empire. Sirius had no clue whether the Dunmer was one of those idiots or not, but it was at least worth a good try.

“What the hell are you talking about, N’wah?” The Dunmer asked with a furious expression spread across his heavily tattooed face. It was clear that the trick was working.

“First of all, I don’t quite like being called…what is it you said…N’wah? The way I see it, you’re in the hole right now, and I’m holding all the cards, if you catch my drift. I know you have numerous crates filled with smuggled Dwemer items. If you don’t give me the ride for free I will go to the guards right now and inform them of your illegal activities.”

The Dunmer then stepped closer to him, just mere inches away from his face, close enough where I Sirius could smell the Dark Elf’s skooma-filled breath. The Dunmer was trying to act tough, but Sirius could smell the act from a mile away. No way would the elf try something with the guards so close by. That’s when Sirius thought of a better idea.

“On second thought, how about you give me three-hundred pieces of gold in exchange for my pledge not to tell the guards about your cargo? I know that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what you’re making with the illegal items. Just give me the gold and I’ll leave you alone. If not, then I will immediately alert the guards…”

“You’re bluffing,” The Dunmer said, trying to hold in his fear.

“You think so? Don’t test me, elf, you won’t like the results.”

The Dunmer looked into Sirius’s eyes, trying to desperately figure out if he was lying or not. Within seconds the Dark Elf finally caved in to Sirius’s mind trick.

“Fine, I’ll be right back,” The elf grumbled, and then entered his cabin, slamming the door hard behind him. Minutes later he returned with small sack, filled with what looked like three hundred. Sirius wasn’t going to count them, because that wasn’t the point anyway. The point was that he at least he now had some money to work with.

“Just take it and leave!” The Dunmer shoved the sack into Sirius’s chest, and he just barely grabbed the bag before it spilled to the floor.

“Thank you,” Sirius said with a sly wink, and then left before the Dunmer could respond.

Alright, now I have some money, but how am I going to get to Balmora with no shipmaster to take me? Sirius was stumped on that question, until he saw a middle-aged Imperial woman standing next to a rickety ship, not too far from the angry Dunmer’s. It looked to be a fishing boat of low quality, but Sirius had already thought of yet another idea.

“Hello, miss; you aren’t by any chance heading over to Vivec anytime soon, are you? I need to catch a silt strider to Balmora as quick as possible,” Sirius asked the lady nicely, with a look of desperation set across his face. He was giving her the pity-trip, but unfortunately for Sirius it appeared this woman wasn’t going to be as easy to win over as the Dunmer had been.

“Sorry, fella’, I ain’t leaving this place for another couple a’days. Besides, I ain’t a transport service anyway. Why don’t you talk to Elfie over there?” She said, pointing the now even angrier Dunmer Sirius had just left.

At least she was friendlier than the Dunmer was, and that was good for Sirius. The great thing was that he wasn’t going to have to worry about making the woman angry, unless of course he kept going at it and bugged the hell out of her.

“Well, unfortunately he won’t be giving me a ride, for reasons I have yet to understand.” Then he whispered into the woman’s left ear, “He called me an N’wah, and then said he didn’t have time for ignorant Imperials. I didn’t want any trouble so I walked away.”

“That’s awful,” the woman replied, actually with a tone of sympathy. “I wish I could help you out…but I just don’t wanna leave right now, you know? I docked only two hours ago.”

“I’d be willing to pay you, but all I have is fifty septims,” Sirius lied. The woman’s eyes lit up at once at the sound of money. Apparently Sirius was going to ‘buy’ the woman over.

“Fifty, eh? Hmm…I haven’t seen that much money in a couple of weeks, now that I think about. Damn fish keep missing my net! Alright, I’ll tell you what, fella. You give me fifty of those coins and I’ll take you to Vivec. We got a deal?” She then held out a hand to Sirius.

“Of course.”


XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX


The entire trip to Vivec Sirius had the unpleasant experience of basically listening to the woman’s entire life story. The woman, who actually had a name, Dorothy, complained about pretty much everything there was to complain about. Simple things from why she decided to be fisher’woman’ all the way to why she and her husband divorced years ago. It had something to do with her smelling like fish all the time. Sort of ironic if you really think about it…

“Oh the stories I could tell you…erm…what’s your name, fella?”

“Servius.” You mean you haven’t openly told me every story yet? You’ve said enough to write a whole library of autobiographies… Sirius thought to himself.

“Well, Servius, you look to be coming along in age, though not too old I should say. What is your take on life?”

The woman was quite the philosopher as well, giving her open and honest opinion on even the most delicate of matters, holding nothing back. Sirius really wasn’t too interested in talking when he didn’t have to, so he gave a quick remark, just to be polite.

“My mother used to tell me not to talk more than five minutes at a time, if that means anything to you.”

And it of course did not mean anything to the woman, because she was too dimwitted to see how smart Sirius was getting with her.

“Aye, yer mother must be a smart one. I can’t stand people who keep talkin’ and talkin’, when yer not even listening. You know what I mean, Servius?”

“Yeah…tell me about it…”




Within a couple of hours the ship at last came to a rest at another ship, this one an actual transport, in Vivec. Sirius thanked the woman for her service, and then gave her sixty septims, ten more than originally requested. “Thank you, Servius. If you’re ever Ebonheart again, be sure to look me up. I’ll be leavin’ in about a week, though, maybe less.” Sirius gave one final wave and the woman set sail back to Ebonheart, to Sirius’s relief.

Sirius headed straight for the silt strider, which was just up a hill, actually right above the docks he had just left. “I need to get to Balmora, please,” Sirius told the Dunmer land-gondolier, this one much friendlier than the Dark Elf back in Ebonheart. “Do you have twenty septims with you?”

“Yes I do, sir.”

“Then hop aboard!”

The ride to Balmora lasted no more than one hour. Sirius paid the elf the required payment, and then descended down a set of stairs leading down into the city. The place was rather empty, or at least when compared the business of Ebonheart and Mournhold. It was strange that the city would be that much less crowded than the other two cities, when it fact Balmora was the same size, if not larger. What was also strange was that Sirius had never been to Balmora in his life, even while working for Helseth. It was peculiar because Balmora was the district seat of House Hlaalu in Vvardenfell.

Before he did anything Sirius checked to make sure there was a local inn where he could buy a room for the moth. He was sure there had to be someplace to sleep, given the fact that the city was so huge, but he still had his doubts. Fortunately he didn’t have to look long because at the edge of the steps was an inn with the name, “Lucky Lockup”.

Sirius entered through the wooden door, and immediately his question as to why the city was slow was answered. The inn was packed with people, of all races, though mostly of the three elf races, mixed in with the other races as well. It was a very noisy atmosphere, one that was increasingly annoying Sirius as the seconds waned by. He spotted a burly Nord standing behind the counter polishing a large beer flask, so he walked over to the man.

“Excuse me, but do you rent rooms per month?”

The Nord looked Sirius up and down, and then replied, “Sorry, lad, but I only rent them out up to a week at a time, and after that ya’d have to give your room to whoever is waitin’ in line for their own bedroom. And believe me, lad, there’s always someone waitin’.”

Sirius sighed and then looked away for a second. It was possible that the investigation could be solved in a week, perhaps less if people cooperated. “Very well, I’ll buy a room for a week. How much is it going to cost me?”

“Seventy-five septims for a week, and that’s a discount, lad. Business has been slow lately, so I thought lowerin’ the prices might attract more guests.”

Sirius looked behind him, trying to figure out how the Nord would classify the overcrowded inn as ‘slow’, and then pulled a handful of coins from his sack. “Here you are sir, one hundred septims. Put what you owe me on my tab. I’ll be back to get something to eat later.”

“Thank you, and have a good evening’!”

“You do the same. By the way, can you point me to Hlaalu Council Manor?”

“Why, just leave here, take a right, and then head up a set of steps about fifty or so yards in front of ya’. When ya’ get to the top take an immediate left and you’re there. Ya’ can’t miss it.”

Sirius gave the Nord a final wave and exited the inn, heading straight for the Hlaalu offices.

[redsrock]

CHAPTER ELEVEN


The “Lucky Lockup’s” owner had indeed given Sirius the correct directions, step by step, and in no time he arrived at a very large building decorated with the usual sumptuous decorations you would find at any given Hlaalu structure. It was this that reassured Sirius that he was for sure at the right place. The Dunmeri designs told him that, not to mention a shining iron sign next to the entrance to the building, reading, “Hlaalu Council Manor”.

And also next to the entrance, on each side respectfully, were two guards decked out in full Bonemold armor, a preferred battle-uniform worn by most guards and warriors of the tree Great Houses. The two sentries stood as still as a statue, not paying paying any attention to anyone unless they were attempting to enter the Hlaalu compound. Sirius had dealt with their kind before, and many of the encounters had not been pleasant ones. In Sirius’s experiences, Hlaalu guards, or rather the majority of House guards in general for that matter, were usually on the arrogant side. He just hoped these two particular guards would be an exception.

“Good evening,” Sirius said to the guards, and ‘evening’ was definitely an understatement. It was now a little after ten o’clock at night, and that was probably why the streets were so deserted. Sirius was thinking about then when the guard on his left replied, “be gone, outlander, these offices are closed for the night.”

“My name is Servius Silverfane,” Sirius continued, totally ignoring the guard’s rude comment. He was, and likely along with his partner as well, of course a Dunmer and Sirius could easily tell by his raspy and hostilely tone. The Elven races, especially the Dunmer, absolutely hated the Empire and their Imperialistic ways. But of course that was expected, since the Empire had invaded their homeland of Morrowind in the first place. “I have come to investigate the disappearances of the four members of House Hlaalu. King Helseth sent me himself, from Mournhold.”

“Yes, yes, we obviously know who the King is and where he resides,” The guard replied in a very rude tone. “But that doesn’t change anything. The compound is still closed for the night, and you will simply have to come back tomorrow. Good night.”

Sirius knew he wasn’t going to get far with the stubborn elf, not that he expected to anyway. The guards were very loyal to their Houses, plus it was likely that whoever was in charge of Balmora’s Hlaalu compound had already retired for the night. So he nodded to the guard and then left, heading straight back to the “Lucky Lockup” for some much needed supper.

Back at the inn, it was still just as crowded as before, if not a little bit more somehow. The Nord owner was still cleaning mugs when he saw Sirius enter his place. “Ready for food yet?”

“Sure, why not?”

Sirius walked up and sat on one of the tall wooden stools in front of the counter. The owner finished cleaning the glass he had already been working on, then sat it on shelf with the other clean mugs and walked over to Sirius. “What can I get ‘ya this evening?”

Sirius pondered the question for a few seconds because in all honesty he really didn’t know what he wanted. He wasn’t too hungry, and he wanted some alcohol more than anything. It had been a whole since his last drink, or at least to him that is.

“I think I’ll just take s a small cut of venison, and an order of cooked carrots.”

“Anything to drink?”

Sirius smiled and replied, “Yeah, give me two bottles of brandy.”

After he had finished eating Sirius thanked the man, whose name was Albert, took a key from the man and then went to find his room upstairs. It was a small space, but Sirius didn’t mind. It wasn’t like he had bags and bags full of crap to store. He only had what clothes he had on and what money he was carrying, which was now a little more than two hundred septims. He then closed the door, flopped onto his bed, and fell asleep almost in an instant.

****************************************************

What woke Sirius up the following morning was the smell of something good cooking from downstairs. So he seemingly drifted down the staircase outside of his bedroom, because he was still half asleep, and he realized that Albert was cooking breakfast, which Sirius should have known anyway.

“Good mornin’ there, lad. Wakin’ up early, eh?” Albert asked with a wide and friendly smile.

Sirius asked him what time it was and the Nord answered ‘five forty-five in the morning. “Geez, to be honest I wish I was still in bed, but then I smelled something good and decided to see what it was.”

“Sorry fer wakin’ ya’ up with my food, but some of my customers like to come in extra early. Can I get ya’ somethin’ to eat?”

Sirius thought for a couple of seconds, a ‘couple’ only because he couldn’t deny the offering of delicious smelling food, and said yes. “Yeah, what are you fixing right now?”

“I’ve got just about everything, but what I’m fixin’ now is Kwama eggs, Kagouti sausage, and fresh baked biscuits with Scrib jelly.”

“That sounds great. I’ll take that with a bottle of brandy.”

“Brandy? This early in the mornin’?” Albert asked with a confused expression on his face.”

Sirius simply chuckled and replied, “Fine, I’ll take a bottle of milk instead.”

The food was fixed and brought to Sirius within minutes, who himself was sitting on the same stool from last night. “Say, Albert, how’d you learn to be such an excellent cook?” Sirius asked after taking a bite of his sausage.

“Well, lad, I guess it’d be me dad that taught me everything. He died a few years back, but let me tell ya’, he was one of THE best cooks in all of Vvardenfell, or at least that’s what he’d tell ya’,” Albert said with a hearty laugh. “He even cooked for the Duke several times. Boy, do I miss him dearly. But anyhow, I learned everything me father. What a great man he was…”

Albert seemed to drift off for several seconds, but then he turned back to Sirius and asked, “What about y’self, Sirius? What are ya’ doin’ here in Balmora?”

At that point Sirius couldn’t help but laugh, for he knew this question was bound to come up sooner or later. It’s a good thing for him that he had been preparing a story on the boat ride from Mournhold.

“Nothing important, really; Just to see the sights around the city I suppose. I’ve heard the place is magnificently beautiful, especially at this time of the year.”

“Aye, that they are, lad. I personally would suggest that ya’ visit the Temple if ya’ get the chance. I’m not much on the Dunmeri religion, but I hear the place has some fascinatin’ artifacts if you’re interested.”

Soon the meal and conversation was over with, and Sirius began pulling out some gold coins from his sack, when Albert announced, “Don’t worry, lad, all meals are on the house since yer rentin’ for a whole week.”

Sirius, pleasantly surprised by the offer, replied, “Are you sure, Albert? That’s a lot of money you’re not going to be making.”

“Not a problem, lad. I am here to serve, not make as much money as possible,” he said with a wink.

So Sirius thanked him and left the building, heading again for the Hlaalu Council Manor. It was now about seven o’clock in the morning, and Sirius was almost positive that he’d be able to finally enter the compound and begin his investigation.

At that moment he started to think about what was going to happen, and how desperately excited he was about getting back to work after five years of drinking and lying around doing nothing. The thought donned on him so suddenly that he literally stopped walking and just stood there, thinking.

It was true that Helseth was only using him to do his dirty work, but Sirius couldn’t help but feel a tad bit grateful all the same. If it wasn’t for Helseth, Sirius would still be in Caldera, drinking his life away and spending money he didn’t even have. True, he was still drinking, but at least for the time being his life actually meant something again.

Once the ‘trance’ was finished, Sirius walked up the stairs to the Hlaalu compound. The same guards were standing by as before and Sirius asked, “May I enter the compound now?”

“Yes,” said the same guard Sirius had talked with yesterday. “I spoke with Lady Nileno Dorvayn, the high-ranking member here in Balmora. I told her of your presence, and she had instructed me to guide to her office. Please, follow me.”

The tone of the guard was totally different from what Sirius endured yesterday. It was likely that whoever this ‘Nileno’ was, she had probably instructed the guard to be polite and respectful. Sirius didn’t really mind that.

So the guard opened the door and led Sirius into the building. There were many plants, paintings, and portraits spread throughout the entire first level. It was a beautiful place, but Sirius didn’t get a long time to gander, because the guard quickly took him down a hallway and into a medium-sized room where an exhausted-looking Dunmer was sitting at a desk, with her head in her hands.

“Excuse me, Lady Nileno, but the investigator has arrived,” the guard announced.

The Dunmer quickly looked up, and her tiresome expression was replaced by a fake cheerful smile. “Thank you. You may return to your post.”

The guard took a bow, and then left the room, closing the door behind him.

“Good morning, how are you today? King Helseth mentioned in a letter yesterday that you would be here. I would like to thank you for taking time out of your likely hectic life to help us. The situation unfortunately hasn’t gotten any better, I’m afraid.”

Sirius studied her face, and as he did he could see how much she was hurting inside. Even though she was not a ‘true’ councilor of House Hlaalu, Sirius could sense the leadership that she held. She cared for her people, and it was tearing her pieces that some of them were disappearing, seemingly out of thin air.

“Not a problem, m’lady, I am here to help in any possible. Just tell me everything that has happened so far, from beginning to end, please.”

She gave Sirius a quick overview of the events that have taken place in Balmora, though none of it was any different from what he had gathered from Sirius and the other Councilors. After Nileno was finished Sirius asked for the addresses of the victims, so that he can officially start the investigation.

“Here is a list with the addresses; um…what is your name?”

“Servius…..Servius Silverfane.”

“Alright, Servius, here are the address to the members who have disappeared. I would suggest you ask around the city as well, but you have probably already figured that out.”

“Don’t worry, m’lady, I will do everything I can to find out what has happened here in Balmora. Now if you’ll excuse me, I will take my leave and begin the investigation. Shall I return later and give my results my results for the day?”

“Yes, that would be great. I leave here at eight o’clock, so if you get here and I am present, here are directions to my house.” She then handed Sirius the addresses and then directions to her house as well. “Good luck, Servius, and be careful out there…”

Sirius thanked her and then left promptly. First on his list was a middle-aged Dunmer male named Norvo Milande. He was apparently the first to have disappeared, so Sirius decided to start with him first.