Chapter III
A female Imperial stood in front of a large wooden desk, in front of her, a male Nord sat.
"I may serve the Empire here at Ebonheart's Port, but I only agreed to setting up this trap if you could guarantee me that the assassin was captured," he spoke. The female shifted uncomfortably, replying,
"We have plenty of guards on the streets searching for him, Ebonheart is safe."
"That may be so lass, but now there is an assassin loose, so close to the centre of the Empire's operations in Vvardenfell." The Nord replied gruffly.
"As you know, I am an Agent of the Blades - the direct arm of the Emperor himself. Despite the resources at our disposal, we have limited manpower available here in Vvardenfell, so if you could only agree to send your cities guard out to search the surrounding countryside…" she replied boldly. The Nord sat back in his chair, sighed and drank a long gulp of mead.
"I will not justify sending out my guards to search for this assassin. I gave you your chance by assisting in the trap, but you were the one who failed. A Blade you may be, and I respect you for that, but the Blades have no authority to tell the Empire's bureaucrats what to do."
The female Imperial cursed to herself, her Superior wasn't going to be happy that she had failed. The Blades had been working against the independent assassins working in Morrowind for some time now, even longer they had been covertly damaging the vast Morag Tong – the primary, legalised assassin's guild which operated in Morrowind. She knew that there was maybe a dozen Blades members operating in Vvardenfell, but information was handed out on a need to know basis. As such, the only contact she had with a fellow Blade was with the Grand Spymaster, who coordinated all of the Blades' efforts in Vvardenfell. She walked out of the Nord Harbourmaster's office and found herself once again walking the port of Ebonheart. She weighed up her options: it would prove near impossible to find the escaped assassin by herself. He was a native Dunmer who knew the land, she was a foreigner and, more importantly, working alone. The assassin could have a vast network of allies for all she knew – he also knew how to handle himself judging by the stunt he pulled on the boat. Swearing in her native Cyrodilic once again, she decided to head to Ebonheart's main tavern, the Six Fishes, where she was staying during the duration of her mission.
She found her way to the bar and ordered some Cyrodilic Brandy. The tavern was busy tonight, so she decided to retire to her room and attempt to work out what to tell her Superior. Whether due to lack of concentration or frustration, the Imperial didn't notice that her room's door was unlocked. Nor did she sense the man sneaking up behind her as she placed her drink down on the table.
"Wake up Imperial," growled a deep, ash scarred voice, unmistakably that of a Dunmer. The woman forced her eyes open and instinctively grabbed out at her attacker. She felt a dagger to her throat and soon decided not to resist. The Dunmer brought his face round to look at her and she found herself staring at the assassin she had failed in capturing.
"You know, because of this whole thing being a set up and all, there will be no payment if you kill me as 'instructed'," she reasoned. The Dunmer merely smiled, before replying,
"Oh no, this one isn't for money. This is personal."
"I am an Agent of the Blades, you'll be getting more trouble than you're asking for if you kill me," she retorted.
"I guess if there is one thing I can't fault Imperials for, it is their unrelenting aggression even when a weapon is pushed against their skin," the assassin said.
"We didn't walk into Morrowind and conquer your people by being submissive you know," she replied, managing a smile as she did so. This remark clearly angered the Dunmer, whose eyes flickered for a moment.
"That matters not, the only thing that does is this dagger and your neck, right here, right now," the Imperial woman stayed silent at this.
"I want to know more about the Blades' operations in Morrowind," the Dunmer said.
"I think it's pretty obvious what we get up to."
"Destroying our culture with your damn Imperial towers and soldiers aside, why the sudden attention on the business of assassinations?" the Dunmer scoffed. The woman once again found herself weighing up her options. Either she refused to say anything and got her throat slit, or she answered him as best she could and gave herself a chance to turn the tables on the Dunmer. She decided she wanted to live to see her hometown of Chorrol again, so she replied,
"The Blades, among many operations here in Morrowind, have been working covertly for many years to damage the Morag Tong; all the while our diplomats back in the Imperial City have been trying to persuade the Tribunal to close the Morag Tong down."
"Why target me? I am not Morag Tong," the Dunmer questioned.
"The Empire views independent assassins the same way – something to be destroyed."
"And why use the Blades? Why not have your precious legions hunt us down?" the Dunmer continued.
"Because assassins are tricky ones to catch, as you can attest to, so individual Blades members are used to lure them out." The female replied, intensely aware of the cold steel against her throat. The Dunmer didn't reply immediately, she felt a glimmer of hope that she would be spared.
"Thank you," Relen said simply, as he cut the Agent's throat.