Ranis Athrys. Balmora Mages Guild Master.

I closed the door to my office/bedroom, locking the trapped lock with my key before changing from a robe to sleeping clothes. At my desk, a couple letters sat waiting to be read. I peeked at each one to see who had sent them. Edwinna Elbert, Llarer Bareloth, Trebonius Artorius. "Bah," I muttered, tossing them back on the table. So much of the Guildmaster's job was to deal with people's petty problems. When I took that old boob Trebonius' position as Archmage, things would be run differently. My underlings would do as they were told and the Guild would be a powerful influence in Vvardenfell. There would be no more silly experimentation or wasteful hours of study. Students could learn on the job.

Rubbing my temple, I reached for a bottle in my drawer along with a glass. As always, I used a detection spell to check for poison in my drink, a habit from my time in House Hlaalu. Finding no hidden poisons, I poured a shot of the fiery drink. Before my mind even registered the abnormal taste of the liquor on my tongue, I found myself standing outside, barefoot in the Balmora Temple courtyard.

"What the devil," I spat, dropping my glass? An armored figure stepped through the entryway into the courtyard and a spell shot from her hand.

I dropped to the ground instinctively, adrenaline pumping, and fired back. Accessing my pool of magicka and willing the energy in the air between us to split apart resulted in a lightning bolt which the Altmer deflected into the air with a spectral shield. My opponent flanked left firing colorful streaks of light over the temples small gardens at me. I rolled sideways to avoid the spells, springing to my feet and firing back by willing the water in the air to gather and freeze into rods. I whipped the volley of clear thin ice spikes at the sorceress. She flanked me at a sprint, stepping into the light. I recognized her immediately as the golden clad High Elf, Cindana. The ice shattered against the courtyard's adobe wall, each one just too slow to hit the girl. Sweat gathered on my brow from the sudden exertion and the realization that I was facing a skilled opponent. I took a sharp breath, constricted my core, physically preparing for her next attack and trying to drive away the battle tension that had rooted in my belly. My willpower failed me as my uncertainty grew. Panic and desperation drove me toward simpler spells rather than well thought out strategy. I let loose a mighty torrent of flame from my hands which engulfed Cindana, my fear distracting me from the the feeling of a small prick on my neck.

My stream of magicka rushed from my core and warmed my arms as I let it vent with no more control than being cast in a general direction. The power left my fingertips and changed into heat, energy's simplest form, lighting the priests garden plants on fire. The spell was wasteful and inefficient and I would have considered that had I been calm. Out of desperate self preservation, I put all my magicka into the attack until the flames died out and I had nothing left in reserve. To my horror, Cindana stood from where she'd been crouched behind her elven shield, her hair a bit shorter and blacker than it had been moments before. I paused, putting a hand to my neck, finally noticing the small sting. My fingers fumbled and I pulled a dart from my skin before collapsing to the loose garden soil, losing all muscle control. By the Tribunal, I couldn't even call for help.

A young woman squealed in delight from atop the courtyard wall, holding a simple bamboo tube. "I knew we could put something in her drink. They only check for poisons, not potions."

Cindana secured her shield on her back with a leather shoulder strap before hauling my dead weight over her shoulder without regard to the pain it caused in my gut. "We have to leave, that was loud."

The other woman, I now recognized as Gildee, a Bosmer who had caused a stir at the guild not long ago, turned to look back at the town. "Oh, a guard is walking up the steps to the temple."

"We can't let him see me," Cindana warned. "My armor's too easily recognizable."

Gildee tucked away her dart gun and drew her bow, lobbing an arrow far over the guards head to skitter off the stone path behind him. He turned on the noise with a verbal challenge, waving his torch nervously to investigate the sound.

"Go," Gildee prompted. Cindana exited the courtyard and followed the outer wall around until we were out of sight of the guard. Once Cindana was in the clear, Gildee daintily dropped from her perch landing soundlessly on the grass and following Cindana through the dark to Balmora's northern wall.

They pressed into the shadows of the wall, my face bouncing off of Cindana's armored back with every step. "Okay Gildee," she groaned, struggling with my weight. "You distract the guards."

Gildee traipsed to the stairway leading to the parapet where a couple of guards stood watch over both the city and the outer perimeter. The guards near the entrance turned to face her. "Excuse me, but I just heard a bunch of loud noises from the Temple. I don't know what you people do to worship in this town, but it sure makes it hard to sleep."

Cindana ducked through the open archway while Gildee droned on to the guards. Her metal armor clinked as she moved, but thanks to the light moonstone metal it was made of and the fine leather backing, the sound wasn't very loud at all. Gildee put on her most obnoxious voice to cover the noise.

"Okay outlander," one of the guards yielded, holding up his hands for her to stop. "I'll go check out what's happening, but I'm sure the patrol is already looking into it."

"You know, whatever," Gildee responded, waving her hands in annoyance. "I'm going to Caldera where a girl can rest peacefully through the night."

She descended the stairs to join Cindana outside the wall guards line of sight. I could only watch limply from my position on Cindana's shoulder as the two elves took me out into the wilderness in the dead of night.

"Are you tired Cindy?" Gildee chimed, "She looks heavy."

"Yeah, do you want a turn?"

Gildee snorted. "I don't think I could lift her. It'd be a shame if I dropped her on her face."

"No it wouldn't," Cindana stated bitterly, turning the conversation awkward and killing Gildee's conversational mood.

Gildee led the way with her hunters knowledge of the terrain. All signs of her playful nature deserted her in anticipation of whatever they had planned. She led us to a spot far outside of town and out of earshot of any commonly used travelers paths as a precaution. The Odai river valley opened up much wider the further north you went. Caldera was nestled against the low mountains on the west side of the valley. My captors hugged the opposite mountain on the western side until they came to a predetermined destination marked only by a pile of dirt, a six foot deep hole, and a pair of shovels. I felt my chest fill with dread. My body was still fully paralyzed, unable to so much as widen my eyes with terror as Cindana lowered me, feet first, into the hole. Cindana held me in a standing position, dangling me by my arms while Gildee took one of the shovels and began to backfill the hole with dirt around me.

My heart raced faster and faster as the hole was filled around me. First up to my ankles, then my knees. By the time I was buried up to my hips, tears streamed down my eyes, unaccompanied by sobs or ragged breathing. I rebelled against my disconnected body, willing myself to move. I'd have given anything just to be able to speak, to beg for mercy. The girls ignored me altogether, Cindana with the look of an executioner and Gildee with determination, grunting occasionally from her work.

Cindana dropped my arms once my legs were securely buried, letting my limp body lean back against the wall of the hole. Both girls continued to bury me, scraping dirt into the hole, pelting my face with pebbles and moist clumps of earth. Loose earth collected in my limp bottom lip and even bounced back into my mouth. My body instinctively hacked without my conscious direction, spewing dirt and leaving a line of spit hanging off my bottom lip. They buried me up to my jaw, only then sheathing their shovels in the ground and pausing, catching their breath. I stared up at them from a foot below the surface, my kidnappers silhouettes outlined by the blue and red moons Masser and Secunda. The only sounds were the light breeze and the pairs breathing.

Cindana closed her eyes and pointed her open hand at me. The feeling of control returned to my body starting at the tip of my scalp and ending just above my shoulders. I inhaled, breaking into gasping, panicked breaths and tried to speak, knowing each of these girls had something they wanted from me. "You must release me at once," I sputtered in fear. "My guild will notice my disappearance and they will surely investigate."

Gildee gently knelt beside the hole, staring down at me with a look of sadness. "I don't think so. From what we've gathered, most of your guildlings will be more than happy to be rid of you. You know what we want from you."

I tried and failed to maintain my composure. "You obviously aren't familiar with the rules of negotiation. You can't kill me or you'll never find out what I know."

Gildee tilted her head with longsuffering. "It doesn't matter. Cindana and I are tired of being stonewalled. You'll tell us what we want to know or we'll bury you. You have no tricks, no leverage. Just talk."

I said nothing, knowing that my silence was the only thing keeping me alive. Gildee reached down and stroked my cheek. I felt a tingle and recognized the feeling of a charm spell. I instantly flooded with unnatural fond feelings for my captor, but I am not so easily manipulated. I was of House Hlaalu and had been raised for politics. Despite the unnatural affection I felt, I bit my tongue as I'd been taught, knowing that if I spoke, I'd likely reveal everything.

It was minutes before Gildee sighed and stood, brushing the dirt from her leather breeches. She took a shovel and scooted another scoop of dirt into the hole. I closed my eyes against the soil and struggled with all my might, twisting my neck back and forth as if the effort might free me from the hole, but the dirt piled higher and higher until I could only breath by tilting my head far backwards.

"Stop!" I screamed, no longer able to see with the dirt covering my eyes. The burying halted and I broke. Panic stole any sense of discipline or logic. "The Khajiit, Ajira. She's with that Dark Elf Han lu. I expelled them from the guild when they refused to work for me anymore. Ajira took the silt strider and I lost track of her. Han lu disappeared that night. That's all I know, I swear."

There was a long pause and I heard a whispered voice, muffled by dirt. "What of Itermerel? Did you have him killed?"

I sobbed, shuddering too hard to get an answer out. My body trembled in place. Eventually, Cindana decided she had her answer. She ceased the spell, leaving me fully paralyzed and dumped a shovel full of dirt into my open mouth. By the time the two elf girls left with shovels in hand, nobody would notice the small circle of turned soil out in the wilderness. Even if somebody happened upon it, new plants would be sprouting there within days and in two weeks, it would blend in perfectly with the surrounding vegetation covering the patch of ground. The last thing I felt was loose soil settling in my throat. I couldn't even cough as my lungs were starved for air.