CHAPTER 13: unravelling clues and puzzle pieces
"There is always a pleasure in unraveling a mystery, in catching at the gossamer clue which will guide to certainty" - Elizabeth Gaskell
"Is that all, soldier?" Sir Tallin asked while doing his best to hide the despair from his voice.
"There are some more at the back, Sir! I will fetch them right away, Sir!"
"Great," murmured the Eternal Champion when the soldier was out of earshot. He stared at the piles and piles of boxes full of folders. Each a report of a citizen who went missing sometime during the last few years.
"At least they will allow us to review them at your place, right?" asked Master Elasara.
"Yeah, the legion granted me this little favor. Better than dealing with the possibility of other people snooping in. The only question now is," he scratched his head, "how are we going to carry all of those?"
"A couple of trips, I guess," the altmer answered while testing how many boxes she could safely levitate at one time and grimacing at the result, "maybe a dozen."
"I guess there is no helping it."
The soldier from before came back with reinforcements, each carrying one more of the offending objects.
"Now that is all, Sir!"
"All right, soldiers! You are all dismissed!"
The group of men and women saluted and left the premises, barely hiding the excitement of meeting 'the' Sir Tallin in person. Master Elasara chuckled.
"You know, it is high time you accepted that Legion patent that the higher-ups are so desperately trying to give you."
"Has Viola put you up to this?" the Breton asked while picking up a pile of three boxes.
"No, why?" the elf said while casting a levitating spell with each of her hands to carry two boxes at once.
"She's been bugging me for two years now," he said with a gentle smile, "she thinks it will be good for us and the kids in the long run."
"She is right, you know" the altmer replied while leading her floating cargo through the door.
"Yeah, but… I never really felt that I would make a decent general."
The high elf raised an arched eyebrow while they proceeded down the streets. Luckily, they did not seem to be calling too much attention for a change.
"You see. When the events of the Imperium Simulacrum occurred, I was just a lowly infantryman. Younger and less prepared than any of the soldiers in that tower, and I was simply catapulted to a special operations asset out of nowhere."
"I was not exactly high in the ranks either, you know."
"I am aware. But you, at least, finished your training."
Elasara laughed full-heartedly and had even to stop for a moment, so to not to let her cargo fall all over the streets of the Arena District.
"What exactly do you think extra training would teach you that crawling through dungeons all over Tamriel had not already?"
Tallin joined in the merry laughter.
"I guess I do tend to overthink these issues, do I not?"
They continued on their way but soon had to stop again due to the loud rumbling of the streets. The duo noticed the noise came from a long line of warriors that extended all the way to the Arena.
"I thought all matches had been canceled because of the funerals," said Elasara.
"They were. But that would not stop people from trying to organize illegal ones," Tallin answered with a dissatisfied expression, "let us check it out. We can inform the local guard and let them deal with it on their own. It is their jurisdiction after all."
The battlemage nodded and they followed the line until its beginning. As they suspected, it did not lead into the Arena itself, but to one of the little courtyards that competitors used to practice. Quite a crowd was circling it and cheering loudly every time that a match was finished and a defeated competitor left the premises.
To the two warriors' surprise, however, what had attracted the attention of such an audience was not a fighting tournament, but rather an arm-wrestling one. Right there, at the center of the adoring fans, with their elbows supported by a crate, were a male argonian in heavy armor and a female dunmer in a kimono.
The knight blinked a few times before turning his head in the high elf's direction.
"Is that?"
"Afraid so."
Soon the argonian's arm gave in and another loud wave of cheers took over the crowd. The two competitors shook hands and the argonian left. The dunmer was about to ask the next in line to step forward when she noticed the prestigious pair among the observers. She waved with her whole arm and smiled broadly when they responded with a wave of their own. Afterward, the dark elf bowed to the crowd before speaking in a loud but sweet voice.
"I am sorry, everyone, but I must leave for today. May the Nine illuminate all of your paths."
The statement was followed by a series of disappointed 'Ahs' as the many citizens dispersed. The white-haired dunmer then walked up to Tallin and Elasara. She involved both in the tightest hug ever seen in the streets of the Imperial City, effectively knocking the air out of them.
"It is so good to see you two. It has been ages."
"It is good to see you too, Rav. When did you arrive?" said Tallin once he could.
"Less than an hour ago. I would have been here sooner, but I missed the mark three times," she answered while scratching her head.
"Typical Ravaelle," said Elasara chuckling, "Only Talos knows how happy I am to see you, even under these circumstances."
The dark elf nodded with a somber expression.
"Emperor Uriel was a great man. He will be deeply missed," she said crestfallen.
A moment of silence followed before the dark elf spoke again, after noticing the boxes.
"What are you doing?" she asked confused.
"Ah, these are files that we are to review at Tallin's house. There are more of these for us to bring over if you want to help."
"Southmost tower at the Merchant's District," Tallin indicated the direction with his head, "just say that I sent you."
Ravaelle nodded before storming in the appointed direction. Meanwhile, knight and battlemage continued down to the Elven Gardens.
"She must be really shaken. Rav has always been easily distracted, but to forget to get off your transport three times!" commented Sir Tallin.
"It happens to the best of us. We are all on edge, and you know how much she admired Emperor Uriel. Besides, the roads must be a nightmare right now."
"Yes, you are right."
They were about to enter Tallin's residence when the dark elf caught up to them. She came running and carrying about fifteen boxes in each arm.
"Did you take all of them?"
"Yes, there were none left."
"Great," said the knight relieved while opening the door.
Viola rushed to meet them and help unload the cargo after properly greeting the newcomer. Soon, the Dale's basement was stacked with boxes and folders. After the dark elf was updated on the investigation, the three warriors proceeded to analyze file by file. They focused on their endeavor for a couple of hours before taking a break when Viola brought them some homecooked sweet rolls and tea.
"These are wonderful," complimented Ravaelle.
"Thank you, it is my mother's recipe," answered Viola.
"Truly delicious," agreed Falch, "would you mind sharing it? Or is it a family secret?"
Everyone in the room startled at the bosmer's sudden appearance. The wood elf had materialized at the table as per usual and was happily chewing a sweet roll.
"Thank you," replied Viola after a minute, "I will write it down for you. Do you want a cup for the tea?"
"Yes, please."
Viola left to fetch the extra cup, leaving the four heroes by themselves.
"So, I see you have been bus…"
Fauchalas stopped mid-sentence as the air was forced out of his lungs by one of Ravaelle's bone-crushing hugs.
"Falch! I missed you so much!"
Ravaelle let go of the other elf when he started getting blue. Fauchalas took some big gulps of air through his mouth before finally addressing the dark elf.
"It is great," deep breath, "to see," deep breath, "you too," deep breath, "Rav."
The dark elf opened a bright smile at that.
"By the way, Mr. Cosades sent his regards. He is very happy to be assigned to Vvanderfell again."
"I hope he is. He kept begging me to have that post back ever since you let go of it," he answered sounding a tad bit bitter.
"I was never that much of a spy, Falch, besides…" she sighed, "I have had enough of politics for a lifetime. Not really my ally."
"All right, enough of you two. Falch, do you have something for us?" questioned Elasara's diplomatic voice.
The wood elf retrieved a piece of parchment out of one of his many pockets while mumbling something about 'wasted potential' under his breath. He opened it over the table for the others to scrutinize. Inside, it contained a list of items followed by their monetary value and buyer. The other warriors attentively read the content, being just briefly interrupted by Viola bringing the extra cup for Fauchalas.
The Rat in the Pot logbook – Mid Year 9th 3E 431
Allding's trades – day sales
Incomplete silver cup set (3 pieces) – 20 septims - Drinar Varyon
Single common pants and shirt outfit – 15 septims - Galthragoth
15 iron arrows – 30 septims - Tiras Sadus
10 lockpicks – 10 septims - Tongue-Toad
'Mythic Down Commentaries part 1 by Mankar Camoran' (2 copies) – 50 septims (AF included) – anonymous buyer
2 torches – 10 septims - Dravasa Andrethi's
Single iron spear – 70 septims - Yak gro-Skandar
"The anonymous buyer is our main suspect, I take it? The others are all local residents if I am not mistaken," asked Ravaelle.
"Yes. From what the fence reported, the buyer was a rather disheveled khajiit that showed up asking to buy any copies of a series of books by that specific author."
"What does AF mean?"
Fauch took a sip of his tea before answering.
"AF is a common Thieves Guild notation for an anonymity fee. It means the buyer paid extra to keep his or her name out of the record, official or otherwise."
"I thought all transactions of the Thieves Guild were 'anonymous'," commented Tallin.
"They are, in the sense that there is no official paper trail tying anyone to the sale. However, the fences do keep their own records for accountancy purposes, and in the not so rare case they have to recover an item."
"So, since our khajiit paid extra, there is no way to know his identity?"
"No, we were lucky the fence personally remembered him due to the oddity of the situation."
Sir Tallin examined the parchment on the table once more.
"Camoran? Is that not the name of Valenwood's royal family? I remember dealing with quite a few of its members in the past," he wandered.
"Yes, the Camoran Dynasty," agreed Elasara in her scholarly tone, "The Camoran's are one of the oldest royal lines of Valenwood. They were the first to unify the region during the first Era and control most of the threethanes to this day."
"King Braldulain Camoran, the current head of the Camoran Dynasty, serves as the local monarch, and has proven himself quite loyal to the Empire so far," added Falch.
"So, you do not believe they may be involved?" asked Ravaelle.
"No, not the family as a whole, at least," asserted Falch while picking up another sweet roll, "the alliance with the Septims is… or at least was… a great factor in the region's political stability," he affirmed between bites.
"It would be too much of a risk for them. Without the threat of retaliation from the Imperial Legion, any bosmer chief could challenge the Camorans… and the altmers from Summerset would 'love' to have a go at conquering that territory again," added the breton.
"There is that too," agreed Falch.
"Besides," said Elasara after taking a sip of her tea, "Vallenwood's bosmers' are not typically daedra worshippers. They have quite a few unique deities of their own, but I believe Hermaeus Mora is the only daedric prince of note in the region… and stealth assassinations are 'not' his usual Modus Operandi," she completed with finality.
"I understand all that. However, just because the main family is not involved, it does not mean none of its members are," said Ravaelle while pointing to the author's name on the parchment, "do we know of any royal of the Camoran dynasty that goes by that name?"
A deadly silence befell the room which was broken by Fauchalas after a few minutes.
"I do not believe so, no. But every family has its secrets. I can 'discreetly' pressure the Camarons for information. They should be here for the funeral and the Elder Council meeting."
Tallin nodded satisfied with the course of action.
"Writing a book that ended up being bought by a cultist does not make anyone guilty of murder, but it is our best lead so far. What about the book itself? Do we have a copy or know anything about it at all?"
"Not from that fence. I have not checked if anyone else has it, though."
"I particularly have never heard of it. If it was even slightly popular at some point, though, someone in the Mages Guild must have. I can ask around," said Elasara.
"It is a long shot, but I will contact the local temples. They usually have a library," assured Ravaelle.
"We can always check the Imperial Library and local bookstores," considered Tallin.
"Sounds like a plan," commented Fauch while admiring the many boxes and folders scattered around the room, "any luck on your end?"
"Actually, yes," Elasara said before passing him a folder.
Falchalas opened the file that described the case of a certain Glarthir from Skingrad. He was a local bosmer who was known as the town's eccentric. Never showed violent behavior, but frequently pestered the city guard about multiple conspiracies against him that did not seem to have any ground on reality. He vanished a couple of years ago, which was only noticed because his neighbors began to complain about the smell coming from his house. The city watch entered after he failed to answer the door and found a lot of rotten food, but no signs of the elf and no clues to where he had gone. There was also no evidence of forced entry and nothing appeared to have been stolen. Some of Skingrad's citizens were interviewed at the time of the disappearance.
Bernadette Peneles – "He was always a little paranoid but it was getting much worse lately. I swear he kept staring at my living room from his window. I had to install curtains because of it."
Toutius Sextius – "The little nutcase was always following me around! I caught him many times but he just fled and came back the next day. I was about to file a formal complaint."
Davidi Surilie – "I was afraid something like this might happen. As of late, he began to hide behind my property's fence to observe me and my brother working. Every time I tried to say hello, he bolted."
"This does sound promising, I will give you that," said Falch after reading.
"The file lists a journal as one of the items found in his house that did not prove to be of any help to the guard. I am planning to travel to Skingrad as soon as possible to get a better look at it," said Ravaelle.
"I would go too if I did not have my hands full already," said Falch, "Is that all?"
"So far," Ravaelle answered while pointing to the multitude of boxes.
Falchalas sighed.
"I guess I can help with the heavy work. I just have to give some orders and will be back in a minute or two."
Falchalas finished his tea before disappearing into thin air. The others resumed the tedious task of reading missing citizens' reports while he was gone.
"Heavy work… Is it not impressive how helpful he becomes every time Ravaelle is around," commented Elasara.
"Oh, I am sure he is only interested in the sweet rolls," refuted the dunmer.