Eyedis was sitting in her desk on the top floor of the fighters guild. She seemed fed up with the stack of papers under her gaze. I decided to distract her from her stressful issues and dropped the bag of septims on her desk. She looked up at me sluggishly, rubbing her temples. Her eyes were green and her red hair was tied back with a piece of leather.

"The rats are taken care of."

She laid back in her chair, relaxing for a moment. "Good. You can keep the whole payment as a show of good faith, but in the future, the guild will take a cut."

"Thank you ma'am. I mean Serjo. Oh I don't know what to say anymore."

She cracked a grin. "Ma'am will suffice around here. Are you not a local? I assumed you were."

"No actually, I grew up in Cyrodiil."

She gestured at the chair beside me and said, "Tell me about yourself."

"Uh," I backtracked. "I'm sure you have more pressing matters than my background." I nodded to the surface of her desk, hoping to avoid the subject. She piled all the papers and a ledger in one stack and dropped it off the side of the desk.

"Would you look at that. My schedule just cleared up. One of the perks of running your own guild." She took a bottle from her desk and asked, "Care for a drink?"

"No thanks," I sighed, taking my seat across from her.

"I'm actually from Cyrodiil too. Most of the guild members are. We all came because of the rumors of danger and hostility, thinking that in a place like this, surely fighting men and women could make serious money."

"I take it that that isn't going well."

"No. Not at all. Maybe if this were wild land that had been recently settled, things would be different, but the Dunmer have figured out what it takes to live here. Within the cities, the guards keep the peace with efficiency and the people outside the cities will handle most of their own issues. Lots of the jobs we get are similar to what you just did."

"And you can't go home because of the quarantine," I chimed in.

Eyedis just nodded with a sour look on her face. "So what brings you to Vvardenfel? The lovely people, the mild climate," she joked sarcastically. "Or maybe you just have a death wish."

I allowed a chuckle. "I have heard that there's no shortage of warring factions around here."

"What's your reason?" She pressed, refusing to let the subject go.

I considered for a moment. "Well, I messed with the wrong noble in Cyrodiil and wound up in prison. I guess I just wanted to get out of the country."

She smiled wryly. "Why, is someone still looking for you?"

I chuckled again, this time bitterly. "I hope not." My thoughts were drawn to the papers in my satchel. At first, I hadn't worried about the Empire, figuring I could dodge them as I had all my life, but considering I was alone and how my skills had deteriorated, I began to have doubts. "It shouldn't interfere with an occasional job now and then."

"That doesn't seem very promising," she mused, almost making it an accusation. "If this were regular work, I'd think twice before hiring you, but it doesn't make much difference if a fighter or two disappear without warning. You wouldn't be the first."

A silence grew between us. Eyedis never took her eyes off me while nursing her drink. After finishing her glass, she waved at the door of her office. "Check back with me in a day or two. I have a few promising leads." As I stood she snapped her fingers. "Oh, one more thing. You're welcome to board here. We have plenty of bunks at the moment."

I tipped my head in a thank you before stepping out the door.

That evening, I chose a bunk early and pretended to be asleep. I had too much on my mind to answer a million questions from my new guild mates. After sleeping on a stone floor for so long, the straw mattress was soft and welcoming, but it couldn't distract me from my thoughts. They drifted from subject to subject. At first I thought of all I'd learned about Vvardenfell already. People said it was dangerous, but here in the cities it seemed safe enough.

Then my thoughts drifted towards my mother, Fargoth, and Bargrum. There was no doubt in my mind that they would still be together, although I doubted whether they'd still be working. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought of how my father's death must have broken Virisa's spirit and worse, she probably believed the Emperor's ruse and thought I was dead too. I feared for her state of mind and begged the gods, all of them to comfort her in her grief. I'd grown up worshipping the daedra that Dunmer had traditionally worshipped, Boethiah, Mephala, and Azura, but I plead to the Imperial cults nine divines also.

After a moment, I chided myself. I don't need Imperial gods and certainly they had no interest in helping me. The more I thought about this, the more the papers in my satchel tantalized me. What message did they hold for Caius Cosades? What was important enough that they'd release me, an elf guilty of high treason?

Ultimately, I decided that if I was ever going to get some sleep, I had to solve this mystery. I dressed in the dark and took my satchel from the chest at the end of my bunk. The other guild members were fast asleep when I ducked out into the hall and onto the street.

I traced my steps from earlier to the south wall cornerclub. I hadn't noticed during the daytime, but it wasn't in a very nice part of town. The two thugs I'd seen from earlier had multiplied. There wasn't a single block that wasn't host to a handful of unsavory individuals. Some starred as I passed, as if deciding whether I was a worthwhile victim. I met their gazes with a challenge and none of them rose to it.

I stepped out of the cold and into the South Wall and was met with the smells of a tavern. There were a few people on the main floor, but the taproom was in the basement. While making my way there, I noticed that there weren't many dark elves in the club. Mostly, the patronage was made of foreigners.

I noticed many sets of eyes watching me as I walked past and I began to think that there was something strange about this place. I descended the stairs to the taproom and scanned the place before going to the bar. Many of them consciously noted my appearance and because I was watching carefully, I realized that many made a conscious effort to look like they were ignoring me.

Still, I noticed at least two follow my movements to the bar. One was an Argonian standing in the corner. The lizardous man wore a simple robe over his olive colored scales. He had multiple piercings in each large ear. I figured him for some kind of mage. They often wore robes as a symbol of their profession.

The other was a Khajiit. The cat woman was covered in short tan-orange hair. She had a very flat face and I noticed her tail was sticking out behind her chair. It lashed from side to side, curiously.

I pretended not to notice them and went to the barkeep. The Imperial man was balding, but he had a sharp look in his eye and greeted me kindly enough.

"What's your poison," he asked? He snagged a clean glass from behind the counter.

I shook my head with a smile. "I'm looking for someone. I was told somebody here would know him." The proprietor put away the glass and leaned in expectantly. "Caius Cosades is his name. I'm guessing he's an Imperial."

"Hmm, yeah I know him. Can't imagine what you'd want to talk to him about. I think he lives on the far north edge of town, but I'm not sure." He looked over my shoulder at the Khajiit. "Habasi, where does that man Caius Cosades live?"

The cat theatrically scratched her chin with one short claw. When she spoke, her voice sounded less like a purr and more like someone gargling sand. "That one lives on the upper east tier. His house is the one on the north end of the street."

I nodded and left a few coins on the counter. "Here, she sounds like she could use a drink." The Khajiit seemed to smirk as I passed. She called out before I got across the room.

"This one did not catch your name."

"This one," I said, imitating her dialect, "Never gave his name." I left without looking back. The place had left an impression on me. I'd been to plenty of inns and bars with a bad reputation, but this one felt different. It almost felt organized, but I laid my suspicions aside for the time being. I had a bigger fish to fry.