Caius had his own bag stored nearby. He collected it and returned to where I was sitting, staring at the ground. Something bumped against my temple and I realized he was holding out a potion. I took it and drank it in good faith. He'd proved that he wasn't out to hurt me, at least not outright. After taking a swig, I looked up at him.

"How'd you find me? It's starting to seem inhuman how you always know where I am."

He shook his head. "A better question is what were you doing in a tomb? The local Dunmer don't take kindly to grave robbery. Speaking of which, we should be on our way before somebody sees us here." The middle aged man offered a hand, pulled me to my feet, and started west at a quick pace.

"Actually, I was there for you. The Orc requested that I bring her a skull in exchange for information on the Nerevarine cult."

Caius slowed to a walk on hearing about the skull. "Did you get it?" I nodded. "Show me," he demanded. I slipped the clean carved elven skull out of my bag. Caius took one look and shook his head. "Great, now I have to worry about having an aspiring necromancer in my city."

"Speaking of which," I interrupted. "What gives with the undead in the tomb? I thought necromancy was illegal in the Empire. Why do these people get a free pass on using it to guard their tombs?"

"Well, you're asking the right person. Why do they get away with slavery when that's outlawed in every other province? The truth is that Vvardenfell is so isolated, the Empire would be kicked out in revolution if we didn't make some concessions to the nobility. If you asked the Dunmer politicians, they'd babble on about their right to tradition and if you asked the legionnaires, they'd probably use the blight as an excuse for not having the reinforcements to enforce Imperial law to the T, but neither of those are quite true."

I nodded and contemplated whether or not to ask my next question. "So, theoretically speaking, if I were to use necromancy, would I get in trouble for it?"

Caius sighed. "The Dunmer only use necromancy to guard their tombs. Don't push your luck boy." He tightened the drawstring on his straw hat. "The best way to stay safe in Morrowind is to avoid attracting attention, unlike what happened at the Dren's harvest party." I bit my lip and avoided his gaze. "I don't think you realize how much extra work it caused me when that nobleman recognized you. You blew your cover."

"Look, it's not like I could have known that would happen," I snapped. "I never would have suspected anyone to recognize me."

Caius nodded. "Of course. Canctunian Ponius is his name. The Emperor assigned him to oversee the running of the East Empire Trading Company here in Vvardenfell. He accepted the position knowing he'd be stuck here until the quarantine was over. Running into him was just sheer bad luck, but it's still something we need to discuss. Now some important people know your connection with the Emperor. It may complicate your future dealings with them."

I chuckled. "Honestly, the less I have to deal with the Dren's, the better. They're shady characters if I ever met any."

"I'd tend to agree, but we don't always have the luxury of choosing who we must deal with. From now on, you should probably avoid giving out your name when you can help it."

"Agreed." I felt a wet raindrop hit my head and looked up to the cloudy sky. The wind had picked up and was bringing heavy clouds.

"Han lu," Caius spoke somberly. "Is Itermerel dead?"

I looked over to see him stone faced, staring at the trail ahead. He gave away no emotion. I considered lying, but got the feeling that he already knew. "Yes. Ranis wanted his research and he wouldn't give it up."

Caius hung his head, the straw hat dripping rain. I expected some sort of backlash, but he simply said, "I'm disappointed. His daughter will be too." Now he turned to look at me, genuine sadness in his eyes. "One day, you're going to have to start considering the consequences of your actions. Other people's lives matter too."

He turned to the path ahead, becoming muddy with rain. "I need to part ways here, but I'll be back in Balmora soon. I hope you'll have some interesting reading material for me." He turned from the road and headed south on a small path leading over the mountain towards Seyda Neen. I kept walking, feeling about two feet tall. I couldn't help but dwell on my immoral conduct. How could I be so callous?

I didn't even jump as lightning sent a loud boom across the landscape. It seemed like only Imperials had the charisma to cut me down to size and curse them, they were very good at it.