Disclaimer: Morrowind is not mine, and by publishing this I am not trying to suggest otherwise.

Author's Note: This is actually a collaboration, adapted from a role play. Una is my character, but Deln is not. I'm not sure the way I've done this is easy to follow, so feedback would be appreciated.

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In the year 427 of the Third Era, Emperor Uriel Septim ordered that several individuals with certain characteristics locked up in the Imperial City prison be released to the island of Vvardenfell, in Morrowind. In accordance with his wishes, those prisoners matching the description he gave were transported to the volcanic island and released with a handful of gold and orders to report to the local spy master, though it was expected that only a few would follow orders.

As one of those prisoners exited the census and excise office, she reflected on the time she had spent locked up over the previous months. Maybe setting a fire to escape from the guards hadn't been the best idea she'd ever had, but it was supposed to have been a distraction - everyone's attention would have been focused on putting out the fire, and she could slip away before anyone noticed. That they hadn't been able to put the fire out and the whole store burned to the ground wasn't her problem.

The only problem was... well, she had horrible luck. It hadn't taken the Imperial guards long to catch up with Una "the Puny Elf" and lock her in the Imperial prison. She had earned the nickname from the time she spent terrorizing the Imperial capital with a Nord at least twice her size. She wasn't sure what had happened to him, but she didn't really care to find out, either. It was partly because of him that she had another eight months tacked onto her already long sentence of two years.

Though she had been sentenced to almost three years, Una spent barely three months in confinement before she learned that she was being set free.

She had been happy to hear that, until she discovered that she was being sent to Vvardenfell. From what the Bosmer had heard, the entire island was still behind the rest of the world. It was a backwoods country with backwoods people. What she saw, as she stood outside of the Census and Excise office in Seyda Neen with nothing but the clothes on her back (and everything she could carry out without getting caught) didn't do much to change her impression. With a sigh, the Wood elf scanned what she could see of the town for the nearest shop, dark eyes narrowed into slits to keep some sunlight out.

She might have been granted an official pardon, but Una had no intention of changing her ways just yet. The first thing she needed to do was unload everything she'd stolen from the census office, and find some decent armor... armor that would only be paid for if she had no other choice.

As Una's attention was focused on her next destination, another one of the newly released prisoners exited the Census and excise office behind her. Unlike the Bosmer, Deln hadn't even meant to commit a crime, much less get caught. He had expected to be released after the initial investigation – he had only been defending himself, after all.

Sometimes it didn't pay to be a talented apprentice. His master had attacked him in a fit of jealousy, not the other way around. He had merely struck back with a fireball, in self defense. The attack hadn't even killed the man, but the guards would have none of it. They had tossed him in prison without so much as listening to his side of the story, saying that he was too dangerous to remain free.

Deln had lived in fear for nearly a month after that. The Imperials were capable of some horrible things, he had heard, some of which bordered on utter barbarism. When he received word that he was to be released to Vvardenfell, he was unsure whether to be relieved or more scared than he had been. He would be free, and he was glad of that, but what good was freedom when he could die at any time? After all, Morrowind was rumored to be dangerous.

The trip itself had been a short one. Deln slept through much of it, and what he hadn't slept through had been pleasant enough, considering his status as a prisoner. As though to rub that status in, he had been released on the island with nothing more than a set of cheap clothing. The Altmer had lost everything when he was arrested. He suspected that he was only allowed to keep his knowledge because the Imperials had yet to figure out a way to take it from him. The only other thing he had been allowed to keep, his shoulder-length white-blond hair, couldn't properly be called a possession.

As he exited the Census and Excise office, Deln took a good look around the dingy town he had been forced to visit. He was tall, as were all High Elves, so he was able to see in spite of the small crowd that had started to form just outside the door. His eyes paused on the female Wood Elf standing nearby. She was dressed in similar clothing, so he guessed she was also one of the newly-freed.

Deln summoned a bound dagger (a spell which came easily to him, as most others did) then tucked it in his belt as he approached Una. He hoped he would not need the weapon, but he was very much aware that at least some of the individuals being set free along with him had been in prison for a reason.

"Hi... you just freed yourself?" He asked, somewhat awkwardly.

The Wood Elf had not been aware that anyone else was paying attention to her, and the sound of Deln's voice addressing her startled her. She whirled, hand reaching for where her sword would have been... if the Imperials had given it back to her. As it was, they had not, and her hand met nothing but air. Trying a new tactic, she adopted a less aggressive stance and put on a fake smile.

"That's what they said. I'm not sure I believe it... if it's too good to be true then it isn't, after all," she said amicably. Already, the dark-haired thief was trying to work the situation to her advantage. If she could befriend the high elf, she would have herself a new meat shield.

Though Una didn't know it, Deln was thinking precisely the same thing about her. From her reaction to his greeting, he guessed that she might be a warrior. Someone like that would come in handy if he ran into trouble. "Wood elf, sorry if I'm being blunt, and unwanted. But it strikes me as this: we are both strangers in a strange land, with near nothing to our names. We would..." he hesitated for a moment as he chose his words carefully "...profit, and better yet, survive, from traveling together."

Una was surprised that the Altmer had broached the subject first, but she wasn't going to complain about it. He had a point; they were both unlikely to survive in Morrowind for long on their own. Working together offered the best chance for success.

After considering this for a moment, the Bosmer nodded. "Sounds fair enough to me. Speaking of profit, though, how were you planning to split the loot?"

Had he been a less reserved person, he would have leaped for joy. Deln was aware that she was already looking for an opportunity to take advantage of him, but he was okay with that. He needed her help more than he needed whatever they might find.

"I was thinking..since I'm a mage, and not a greedy one, most of the loot would go to you. I would just take enough to cover for me, my training, supplies, and a some of the magic items. The greatest part would go to you, as you see fit...?" He hoped it was a reasonable suggestion.

The Bosmer seemed to be happy with that arrangement, because she took his hand and shook it. "Sounds like a fair deal to me! Call me Una."

While he normally would have been averse to allowing a Wood Elf to shake his hand, Deln supposed she couldn't do any harm. He had nothing to steal on his person anyway. "I'm glad," he replied. "You may call me Deln," he added as the dagger he had summoned disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a puff of magical smoke. The Altmer glared at where it had been just moments before. He was unhappy to be unarmed once again, but he hoped he wouldn't need the weapon any more.

He had Una, after all.

"So, what do we do first?" he asked as he turned to the shorter elf. He had never been comfortable in a leadership role, and he was happy to let her take over for now.

Una had been planning to make her own decisions about where they went anyway, so his apparent willingness to follow suited her just fine. "Well, Deln, first I need to sell a few things I... uh, found. And I think that guard captain said something about Balmora to me..." which he had, just after he had caught her trying to steal the key to the warehouse.

"It's supposed to be a larger town than this little fishing hole, so we might get a better deal on weapons or armor there than we would here. I doubt we can make the trip on foot without some equipment. I don't want to waste my coin riding a giant bug, but that's our only option unless you have any suggestions."

Deln nodded in understanding. "Ah, so you're a thief." He didn't sound surprised, or even displeased. Most Wood Elves were thieves, in his experience, so he had expected that Una would be as well.

She opened her mouth to protest his characterization of her, but the Altmer was already speaking again.

"Wait here." He made his way into the swampy area on the edge of town, stopping long enough to pick some mushrooms and plants here and there. He returned to his new companion and held out one of the mushrooms for her to take. "If we sell these, we should have more than enough gold to buy passage on the Silt Strider," he explained to her.

Una hesitated. She looked at the mushroom in Deln's hand as though it was going to grow arms and legs and try to kill her. Finally, she reluctantly grabbed it, holding as far away from herself as possible. "...right. Sounds like a plan," she said, though she sounded distracted.

"Is this thing even safe to touch?"

Deln shook his head. He was surprised – who would have thought a Bosmer would be afraid of plants? "No. A word of advice: most plants won't hurt you, unless I say otherwise," he told her.

Despite his reassurance, Una didn't look convinced. "I'll go sell this... thing... then." She walked off, headed for the trade house.

"Just what I need... a pointy-eared, flower-pickin' mage," she muttered to herself as she went.

The High Elf didn't hear her – which was probably better for the both of them. He watched her with mild amusement for a moment before he went back to picking more plants. After he heard two nearby guards talking about how one of them had been sent to Morrowind as punishment, he kept an eye on the building the Wood Elf had gone into. He definitely didn't want to be left alone on this island.

Several minutes later, Una emerged from the trade house. Deln met her at the bottom of the stairs. "All went well?" he asked in an intentionally humble tone.

Una kept looked around nervously before she nodded. "Everything went just fine," she said. "But let's avoid the guards for a little while," she added after a moment. The dark-haired elf went to the bridge before she jumped into the stream it crossed. She paused just long enough to motion for Deln to follow.

Deln didn't really see the need for her nervousness, but he supposed anyone who had just gotten out of prison would want to avoid the guards; any business with guards was trouble. And so he followed her at a sedate pace, until a rather angry-looking High Elf exited the trade house, calling after Una: "You scoundrel! You won't get away with this! Thief!"

Deln kicked the pace to a flat out run, which he had only a little difficulty maintaining. "You stole from him?" He asked incredulously. He was disappointed not because she had stolen, but because she had given them a rather rough start to their journey. He headed for the silt strider.

"I just made our transaction a bit more fair, is all. And be glad that I did! I picked up a pretty nice dagger and 200 coins," she defended herself as she scrambled up the hill ahead of him. Una stopped short of admitting that she had in fact stolen anything.

The guards in Seyda Need weren't exactly the best the Empire had to offer, fortunately. It took them a moment to comprehend what exactly the owner of the trade house was carrying on about, and by that point the pair had reached the caravaner.

"100 Septims if you ignore the guards and take us to Balmora immediately," Una offered, the coins already in hand. Fortunately for Una, that was a decent offer and the caravaner nodded in agreement. He took the coins and the Wood Elf hastily climbed into the hollowed-out portion of the creature's shell, followed closely by Deln.

Now that they were safe, he took a moment to reply. "I see..." was all he had to say about it. He had no desire to see the inside of another jail cell, of course, but he suspected that Una wasn't going to change her ways any time soon.

"Wake me up when we get there," he said as he settled back to enjoy the ride. Within just a few minutes, the high elf was asleep.

How can he be asleep already? Una asked herself, though she didn't bother to voice the thought. She resisted the urge to stand and pace to pass the time; she suspected doing so might make her even more uncomfortable than she already was.

Instead, she turned her thoughts toward planning what to do once they arrived in Balmora. If the thieves guild in Morrowind worked at all like it did back in Cyrodiil, the first thing they needed to do was locate the local guild leader and join. Una wasn't interested in going back to jail either, of course, and in her experience the guild could be very helpful with that.

After that... Una frowned. She suspected Deln would want to find a slightly more legitimate way of obtaining funds. Something pointless and time-wasting like picking flowers for the mages guild, no doubt. They would probably have to check in there as well, then.

Una crossed her arms as she leaned forward to wait for the trip to end.

Oh well, she supposed. It could be worse. At least it's a bug and not a plant.