Author's note. Here's a shout out to thunaer for following my story. Hope you enjoy it.

To keep you all up to date on the progress of my youtube channel, I started recording, but found that the current draft of my story does not read well out loud. You may have noticed I updated chapter one. This is because I went through and made some small changes to make sure the story would sound presentable out loud. The additional editing and recording and then video editing is sure to slow down writing progress a bit, but fear not. My rough draft is up to chapter 81, so I've decided that I'll at least try to post a new chapter every Saturday. I will be sure to let you know when my first video is uploaded and give you the channel name.

Big thanks to my long time readers and those who have helped by pointing out grammar errors and suggested corrections.

I found the mage I was looking for at the Eight Plates corner club. Itermerel was a tall high elf man with high styled blonde hair. He stood apart from the rowdy crowd in the taproom. It seemed a riverboat had arrived in town and a crew of eight, mostly dark elves, had come for food and drink. Two of them were embroiled in a rowdy wrestling match while the others cheered one side or the other. Itermerel himself had two books open along with a scattering of scrolls. He seemed to be cross referencing passages from books in languages I didn't even recognize. His eyes rolled up from his paperwork to watch my approach. "Please tell me you are my escort. I've had quite enough of this place and its rambunctious patrons."

I nodded, simply. I didn't have any armor to mark me as a mercenary, but my weapons marked me as more than a commoner. My response was enough to get Itermerel packing his things. He gently rolled the scrolls, closed the books, and packed it all away in a well crafted leather rucksack. He swung the pack over his green robed shoulders and looked to me. "Whenever you're ready."

I turned and left the club with the wizard on my tail. I was silent for a time and that seemed to suit the Altmer well. On the inside however, I was strategizing. After accepting the task, Ranis had elaborated a more nefarious goal for me to accomplish. I shouldn't have been surprised, I supposed. That was par for the course.

As we left the outskirts of Balmora and traveled along the Odai river, I made my first play. "Ranis tells me you're one of our foremost researchers on Oblivion and conjuration." He cocked his head at me in interest. It didn't strike me as a pose he assumed very often.

"Did she really? I wasn't aware she was even interested in my research, let alone, prone to give praise. How did that subject come up?"

I looked over to meet his eyes. He really was tall, having at least six inches on me. However, he was not well built. His robes hung loosely on his frame. "As a matter of fact, I'm an ardent student of conjuration myself. I may not be an expert, but I've done my share of reading about the oblivion planes."

Itermerel looked ahead with a smirk on his face. "No doubt your interests are limited to combat."

I frowned at his superior manner. "It is how I make a living. I suppose you can think of a better application for conjuration magic."

He huffed. "Small minds never change. You seek to summon a single creature or a weapon so you can win a skirmish. The difference between you and I is the same difference between your average dirt farmer and a plantation owner. Even the greatest of conjurers are limited by their own strength. I seek to draw strength from elsewhere and bend it to my will. Imagine if you were to be able to summon and control an army of daedra from oblivion. That's the difference between the guilds hired swords like you and famed researchers like me."

I said nothing, but tried to suppress a grin. Itermerel seemed to await a response, but turned to look back at me when none was forthcoming. His superior grin was replaced with a confused look. "What's so funny?"

I shrugged. "If your research is so powerful, why do you need a common sellsword to escort you between towns?"

Itermerel opened his mouth as if to reply, but came up short. "My research isn't complete of course. It isn't as if you can just command such forces on a whim. Like I said earlier, you have to harness a great source of power. That's what I've been working on lately. I'm in Morrowind to research Oblivion streams for the mages guild in Cyrodiil."

I decided not to press him further. I'd already knocked the superior look off his face and decided to bide my time. We walked past Fort Moonmoth and took the passage across the foyoda to Lake Amaya. Itermerel didn't speak beyond complaining about the humidity and the dust and the bugs and most any other minor inconveniences we chanced upon. I led him down the path to the edge of the lake, past where Ajira and I had met Dren's retainers watering their horses. It was here that I decided to pursue my true goal again.

"Hey, I don't suppose I could take a look at your report, could I? Surely, even in its unfinished form, there could be something that a journeyman like me could learn."

"Look, I don't mean to insult, but I've studied with the best minds in Tamriel. I have half a century of education in the world's center of knowledge under my belt. There's no way that someone with a few years of practical magic experience could comprehend the mysteries I'm unraveling. You may as well reach for a cloud."

I bit my lip. If I couldn't get him to show me the notes, this job was going to get nasty real fast. "Well now you've got my curiosity up. Just let me look them over once we get to the inn."

The wizard's face hardened. "Even if I wanted to, the information I have is for qualified eyes only, by order of my arch mage. I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen."

"Alright," I relented. "I wouldn't want to get in trouble with the guild."

"No," the wizard agreed. "You wouldn't."

I stared out at the lake for a moment, delaying my inevitable task. My feelings were conflicted. Part of me said that this was no different from any other job and that I should get it over with. Another part of me was hesitant, even regretful that I'd have to kill him. I thought of my mother, thinking I was dead and reminded myself that these jobs would pay to get me back to her. Still, I hated to end the researcher's life. It seemed different somehow, from when I'd killed alongside my parents. I shook myself and set my teeth. The path was winding near the lake now and it would be an easy place to dispose of the body.

I glanced ahead and behind and saw that there was nobody in sight to witness the crime. Itermerel looked at me. "What is it?"

I shook my head. "Thought I heard something." That little tidbit was enough to put him on edge. The high elf glanced behind us worriedly. That's when I drew my sword and with one swift motion, dealt a deep cut to his neck. From the bleeding, I'd hit an artery. He grabbed at the wound in surprise, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. I stood back to watch as he realized with horror just how bad the wound was.

I don't think he even knew any healing spells. He stumbled backwards, off the path and away from me. It didn't take long for him to collapse and lay still. I went to his robe to wipe the blood off my orcish sword before stealing his backpack. I checked his pockets, finding a purse with a decent amount of gold. Probably a stipend to fund his journey, I thought. I doggedly rolled the body into lake Amaya and pushed it out towards the middle. There were slaughterfish in these waters. The blood would attract them and the body wouldn't last long.

As soon as the body left my hands, I kept moving towards Pelagiad. I couldn't shake the feeling of filthiness that clung to me. It reminded me of the dream I'd had the other night where I'd been buried in piles of money.

I decided that from then on, I would be much more picky about the jobs I took. After I sold the dwemer artifacts to Ra'Virr, I'd be much closer to my goal and I wouldn't have to take any job I could get.