Marayn Dren. Dunmer Mages guild lecturer and tutor.

I was having a normal, lovely day. I was much happier since I'd retired from House Hlaalu and become a member of the Mages guild. There were still some of the petty politics and backstabbery, mostly due to the Guildmaster Ranis Athrys, but it was far more subdued and less likely to get you killed. I had taken up a lecturing position traveling between guild halls and teaching on subjects like the history of Vvardenfell alongside my magical tutoring. Free of House Hlaalu, I could finally focus on inspiring curious young minds and enjoying the simple daily pleasures of life, such as a cup of tea at a riverside cafe in Balmora while watching the sunrise.

I leaned back in my chair, simply enjoying the morning and watching the town wake up. Two people broke from the crowd, catching my attention. Both were female outlanders, and sat at one of the other cafe tables, not far from my own. I noted that one was an Altmer and the other a Bosmer, but payed them little mind. The two spoke in hushed but excited tones which I found distracting. The Dunmer serving girl took their orders and left. It was a few minutes before I was distracted again. The Altmer failed to stifle her voice as she chided the Bosmer playfully. The sound drew me to glance in the pairs direction. To my surprise, I caught the Bosmer peeking at me before she averted her gaze and giggled with her friend.

Now I may have been an accomplished mage and scholar, but that had never given me an edge with women. The fairer sex had always seemed to prefer the toned, muscle bound, warrior type or the powerful lordly men and once my younger years had passed I had lost interest in pursuing women. However, this playful young Wood Elf had somehow filled my stomach with butterflies with a single glance. She had my undivided attention.

'Should I do something,' I thought? 'Whatever you do, don't stare.' I focused on my teacup, trying to think what I should do. 'I need to just be polite. Please Marayn, for once in your life, be suave.'

Gathering all of my scholarly courage, I lifted my eyes to find her peeking again. I smiled and lifted my teacup as if to say cheers and took a sip. This drew another bout of giggles from the girls and I mentally patted myself on the back. 'Good job, you didn't screw it up.'

I couldn't help but watch them out of the corner of my eye. They seemed to discuss something with mirthful expressions on their faces before the Wood elf stood to her friends embarrassed protests and made her way to my table. 'Oh dear, what should I do?' I straightened in my seat, furiously trying to look casual, but landing in an odd position.

"Good morning," I mumbled, glad I'd been able to come up with something.

"Good morning yourself," she replied, taking a seat across from me. She wore simple commoners clothing, mostly tanned animal hide, but it did show an attractive slender figure underneath. I found myself getting hot under the collar, especially as she leaned forward over the table, perching her chin on her hands in the cutest way. "I love your look. Are you a wizard?"

I wore a robe with a decorative leather harness with a number of metal buckles and loops. In fact, I was proud of my fine outfit, but no one else had ever complimented me on it before.

"W-Why yes I am."

Gildee looked delighted. With a look of genuine interest, she asked, "What sort of things do you do?"

Her easy manner put me at ease immediately, as well as her asking me about my profession. I was a professor after all. Sitting up straighter and with more confidence, I answered, "Well I specialize in history and alteration magic. Lately I've been a traveling tutor of sorts. I assist the students at the different guildhalls with their training and research as needed."

Gildee's face lit up. "You must know so much about the different guildhalls then."

I tilted my head modestly, uncomfortable with Gildee stroking my ego. "I'd consider myself fairly knowledgeable, yes."

Gildee slid over so she was in the chair next to me, not flirtatiously, but still making me flush. "Perhaps I could ask a question then."

"Of course."

"Which of the guildhalls here on Vvardenfell do you think is the best? I've been investigating because I'm considering studying with the guild."

"Well if you wish to focus on your studies, I'd have to recommend the Wolverine hall guild in Sadrith Mora. It's one of the smaller guildhalls, however the Guildmaster there is the most study oriented."

Gildee pursed her lips in disappointment. "Oh, I was hoping it would be closer. I have to take care of my nana here in town."

I eagerly moved to reassure her. "Oh don't let that dissuade you. The guild here in town is fine, the Guildmaster is just much more," I struggled for the right word, "task oriented." I spoke the last part as if it were a question, knowing it wasn't quite right, but hesitant to be more specific.

Gildee averted her eyes, almost shamefully. "I spoke to her once and to be honest, she made me nervous. I'm not sure if she'd be the right teacher for me."

I closed my mouth, gritting my teeth before I could say something out of turn. I was also uncomfortable the presence of Ranis. The Dunmer woman had come from House Hlaalu like myself, but rather than leaving to get away from the petty politics, she seemed to bring them with her. It was obvious she was vying for higher rank and power in the guild and I'd heard some distressing rumors about her attempts to do so. "Yes, she's definitely got an agenda of some sort. I fear sometimes her students get second priority to whatever her plans are at any given moment."

Gildee's eyes flashed with interest. "What sort of things have you heard?"

"Oh, I don't want to spread rumor and doubt. I've never heard any clear evidence of wrongdoing," I backtracked.

To my surprise, the young girls hand slid slowly across the table and I was surprised to find the tips of her fingers over mine. There was an unnatural spark of sensation between us for a moment which I immediately dismissed as a wave of emotion fell over me. Suddenly, more than anything, I wanted to say whatever would bring a smile to this pretty girls lips.

Gildee tilted her head to one side, bright green eyes focused on mine. "I understand. It's very upstanding of you to look out for your guild. I was just worried there might be something that could affect me as a student. It's all just academic curiosity of course."

"Well, if you can keep it between us," I eagerly declared, getting goosebumps as her face lit with hope. "There's been a larger flow of guild dues from her guild than normal. I'm not very involved with the guild finances, but it seemed odd to me that she's making so much money. I'm not sure where it could be coming from. I thought about questioning her about it, but it's not really my place."

Gildee scooted closer, as if to better keep our conversation a secret, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You also said her guild members came second to her agenda. What do you mean by that?"

I shivered involuntarily with the pretty young woman so close to me. "Well, she reached out to a Telvanni wizard demanding that he join as a part of her guild. She sent two of her students to do it, knowing ahead of time about the temperment of the Telvanni. Those students could have been in great danger. I heard they were recently expelled, even though they successfully recruited the wizard. And then there was a researcher from the Summerset Isles. During his stay, Ranis kept pressing him for details of his research. She pestered him for so long that he left and stayed at an inn until he needed to leave Balmora. Two days after he left, I found some of his notes in the rubbish bin in the guild hall. I don't know how they would have ended up there. He was supposedly in Pelagiad."

Gildee wore a look of concern. "Were they important? Maybe he'll come back for them."

I shrugged. "I kept them, but it doesn't mean anything to me. It talked about Oblivion streams, but I've never pursued research on the Oblivion realm. Besides, it's been a week or more. If he needed them, I'm sure I would have heard."

"Do you know where he is now?" Gildee pursuing her questions with a boldness that now seems unordinarily pushy, but at the time seemed perfectly reasonable.

I averted my gaze. "Nobody in the guild has heard from him. The last one to see him was one of the students that was expelled. He was a Dark Elf I think."

"Han lu?" Gildee asked.

"Ah, yes. That was his name." I paused, suddenly hit with an uncharacteristic pang of jealousy. "Do you know him?"

"I met him once," she answered, standing up. I rose too, alarmed that she was leaving so suddenly. "Thank you for your help Muthsera."

"Marayn," I insisted, hoping to leave an impression on the girl. "No need to be so formal Miss…"

"Gildee," she answered.

"I hope I shall see you at the guildhalls soon," I said wishfully.

"Oh I wouldn't doubt it," Gildee responded, a winning smile on her face. "It was a pleasure talking to you."

"The pleasure was all mine, I assure you."

I remained at my table, dumbstruck with puppy love. So much so that I didn't notice that Gildee and the Altmer left the cafe before their order was even served.

Cindana Highfael

Gildee and I walked side by side alongside the river. I shook my head disbelieving. "Wow, you got him to tell you everything."

Gildee giggled and turned to a dock sticking out into the Odai. She leapt playfully onto the tops of the wooden pylons that served as the docks supports, balancing playfully on one leg before jumping to the next one. "It's all a matter of charm Cindy. When I turn it on, men just can't say no." Gildee got to the last pylon and turned to see me watching her with sad eyes. She leaped down next to me, laying a comforting hand on my arm. "Hey, what's the matter?"

I took a deep breath through my nose, keeping my lips pursed to keep them from trembling before looking Gildee in the eye. "He said no one's heard from my father. I'm really worried about him. What if he ran into trouble? He's a scholar, not a spellsword like me."

Gildee hugged me with one arm while urging me to keep walking. "Don't worry about that. He was with Han lu. Han lu is Ajira's friend. She said he's very versatile and dependable."

"Gildee," I stopped, making the Wood elf turn and look me in the eye. "Han lu was working for Ranis. It sounds like she's bad news. What if she had Han lu do something to my father? How did my father's research notes end up back at the guild hall?"

Gildee bit her lip, coming to terms with the likely story. "It sounds like Ranis is the only person with the information we need."

"She won't talk. I've already questioned her. She just referred me to Han lu, who disappeared the same day I started looking for him. We could threaten her, but she's got her guild to protect her."

"Then we'll just have to get her out of her guild," Gildee suggested, an impish look spreading across her face. Somehow, the silly girls antics calmed my troubled mind. She had a plan.