I once again knocked on Caius' door with no answer, so I sat myself down in his doorway. I began to nod off and found myself dreaming. I was in some sort of treasury. Piles of gold were stacked high all around me. I looked for some sort of bag to fill, but all around me was just gold. I began stuffing my pockets to overflowing. This was my ticket off of Vvardenfell.

Once I had all I could carry, I scanned the room for an exit, but the gold coins stretched as far as I could see. Something gold moved and a tall lanky dunmer wearing a wide golden sun mask appeared from behind one of the stacks. It spoke with the voice of the temple's priest. "Is this what you desire?"

The figure kicked the bottom out from a tower of stacked coins, tipping it towards me. I had to run to avoid the avalanche. The noise behind me was deafening as the heavy metal fell to the ground. I ran past tower after tower of gold. I finally stopped to catch my breath once the noise stopped behind me.

"Money will bury you Han-lu!" I winced as he kicked over another tower after me. I ran again, but was caught up in the flow. The crushing weight of thousands of coins fell on me and I was buried, immobile. Two hands reached through the gold and hauled me halfway out of the avalanche. I looked up to see Orvas Dren and my father looking down at me. They both spoke uniformly. "This is what we can offer."

They each laid a hand on top of my head and pushed me down in a baptism of greed.

I started, my heart leaping out of my chest as I woke. I scanned the street, hoping to see Caius, but it was still empty. I looked at the horizon and decided it had to be a few hours until dawn still. I stood and returned to the fighters guild to spend the rest of the night. There wasn't any point to waiting any longer.

When I knocked on Caius' door yet again the next morning, I was gratefully out of my party clothes. The long sleeves had served me well during the chill night, but with the sun shining, I prefered my less constricting commoners clothes. I'd armed up, bringing my orcish sword and bow. Despite all my preparations, Caius still wasn't home.

I turned around and leaned against the door, trying to plan my next move. The last mission I'd done for Caius was getting information from Hasphat and Hasphat had told me about another informant at the mages guild. I couldn't remember the name, but it was unmistakably orcish so I decided to follow that lead. I crossed town to the mages guild. I liked the mages guild hall. It was cool and dimly lit. They used candles rather than torches like the fighters guild hall next door. The feelings it gave me were subdued and it was the perfect environment for reminiscing on your studies.

I quietly made my way through to Ajira's workstation, hoping against hope that she'd be there, but it sat empty. I asked for Ranis and was directed to an upstairs office where the dark elf woman sat penning a letter. The upstairs office was dim in the candle light and Ranis' red eyes rose to see me crest the stairs. She glanced at my weapons.

"You look like you're ready to stir up some trouble. What's the occasion? Are you looking for work?"

"I'm looking for an Orc. You wouldn't happen to have an orcish guild member, would you?"

The edges of Ranis' lips turned down. "Ah, you must be referring to Sharn. You'll probably find her asleep. She's one of a few who prefer to perform their studies at night. If you need work though, I have a task that would fit you nicely. There's an Altmer guild researcher who needs an escort to Pelagiad."

"I'll keep it in mind, but I'm afraid I have a pressing issue at the moment."

Ranis nodded and dismissed me with a wave of her hand. I returned to the basement and found a female orc in one of the bunks. She had her black hair tied back and wore a simple brown robe. Two of her orcish teeth jutted out over her upper lip like most orcs.

I shook her gently by the shoulder. She awoke with an undignified snort and slowly sat up, bleary eyed. "Whad'ya want," she blurted?

"The Nerevarine cult. I want to hear what you know about it."

Sharns eyes snapped open and she looked upon me with suspicion, glancing around the room. "I don't know who you've been talking too, but they gave you bad information. Are you with the temple?"

I chuckled at her reaction. "No, not at all."

The orc looked at me hard. Slowly, she seemed to come to a decision. "Something you should know, that sort of information doesn't come cheaply and those who share it, do so at great personal risk. So it isn't something to be easily shared between strangers. There must be a relationship of trust first. You haven't even told me your name."

"It's Han-lu. I'm working for the fighters guild, but lately, I've been delving into Morrowind's history and culture. I feel like there are some important things happening right under our noses."

Sharn considered my explanation before replying. "One should not get too close to the fire, or they may be burned." I met her gaze and held it.

"I can take it. There must be some way you can trust me. Some way for me to prove myself."

Sharn slipped into a devious smile. "Some may not like to admit it, but aspiring mages always need help from discrete sources. Are you cut out for assisting with sensitive matters?" I nodded slowly, never breaking eye contact. "Good. I need the skull of Llevule Andrano from his ancestral tomb south of Pelagiad, no questions asked. If you can bring it to me, I'll tell you anything you want to know about the Nerevarine cult. That is my offer." She waved me away, assuring me that there would be no haggling.

I gave a casual salute and left her sitting on her bed. She was being wise. Grave robbery was a crime and she knew it. If I brought her the skull and ratted her out for speaking about the Nerevarine cult, she'd be able to accuse me. It was a fortunate opportunity though. If I was headed to Pelagiad, I could escort Ranis' guild researcher at the same time and make some money.