A SEARCH FOR TRAITORS

 

Up bright and early the next morning, fresh from my drastic experience as a stage actor, I set forth in search of three traitors.

 

The first one I was looking for would be pretty easy to find. Having been told by several people around the city that Forven Berano was a very religious person, he'd probably be in the Temple area.

A quick look around the outside of the Temple produced the desired result, as I found Forven strolling around the grounds, admiring the view.

 

"Yes, I am Forven Berano." he said, "But I don't see how that matters to you."

I told him about my mission, and that, due to the evidence of conspiracy in my possession, he was under a writ of execution.

"Er, uh, I don't know what you're talking about." he stammered, caught off guard by my appearance. "This is obviously some kind of mistake....."

I tended to believe that Helseth was not as honest a King as he should be, so I decided to give this guy a break.

"Look," I said, "I'm not too keen on this new king of yours either, but the evidence is here, and if it weren't me, you'd be dead already. Tell you what - disappear, leave Morrowind province completely, and I'll report back that you've already left the area. Don't come back here, either. I'd rather not kill you."

 

Seeing that I was offering him a way out without having to die, he decided to go along with my idea.

"Oh, gods, THANK YOU!" he exclaimed. "Blessings of the Nine, and Almsivi, and anything else you like. Thank gods I have a Mark spell set. I'll be gone instantly - and I assure you, I will never betray your mercy."

With that, Forven cast a Recall spell, and vanished before my eyes.

I was glad he took my advice.  I was sure the king was responsible for the death of the former ruler of Morrowind, but without proof, this was the only option available to both of us.

 

The next one I needed to search out was Bedal Alen. One of the people in the Grand Bazaar said something about him being a bookworm, so it made sense to check the bookseller's store.

 

Sanaso Sarothran, the owner of the bookstore, was extremely helpful. I asked her about the third guy I was looking for, Hloggar the Bloody, and she suggested the west sewers, so I decided to check those later. Any trip in the sewers would mean a change of clothes. I hoped they were done cleaning that green one I had used earlier.

Regarding Bedal Alen, she seemed a bit shy about telling me where he might be, but aimed her glance at the stairs near the front of the shop. Taking the hint, I decided to check out the second floor of the bookshop.

 

As I had hoped, I found Bedal Alen browsing over some old book, and seeing me approach, he closed the book, and turned to face me.

"Bedal Alen." I said, "I have to speak with you concerning a conspiracy against the king."

 

"But, I don't understand." he replied, "Is something the matter?"

I showed him the writ of execution with his name on it. His face went white with fear."Oh dear." he said, "I knew this would happen." He looked at me with pleading eyes. "Please, have mercy on me!" he said.

I told him of my thinking concerning Helseth, and gave him the option to depart the province, never to return.

"You have shown yourself to be an honorable Breton." he replied. "I thank you. I will absent myself from Mournhold immediately. And I would die before I'd betray your generosity to me. And now, if you'll excuse me, I believe an Almsivi Intervention spell will swiftly deliver me out of peril."      

 

Casting the intervention spell, he vanished into thin air, meaning that I didn't have to kill him. I was just hoping I could convince the boss that, so far, two out of three traitors had flown the coop.

 

Heading back to the Winged Guar Tavern, I found that my green robe had been cleaned, pressed, and was ready for another romp in the sewers. Changing clothes, I headed back out to look for Hloggar the Bloody, who was reported to be hanging out in the west sewers.

 

After searching around the edge of the city walls for a few minutes, I found yet another trapdoor. Making sure my belt of Night-Eye was firmly in place, I headed back down into the wonderful, rat-infested sewers of Mournhold.

 

As expected, there were a few rats running about, but a fireball spell took care of them quite easily.

I made my way up a spillway, and then heard something around the corner.

 

Goblins!

I hear they'll get you, if you don't watch out.

Same was true here. There were several of them patrolling the sewers, looking for trouble, I guess. Using the Amulet of Shadows, I got close enough for a good shot at them.

 

Using the spell of God's Fire, I managed to get rid of one, then another, and yet another.

 

An odd creature called a War Durzog charged me, but I managed to kill that thing as well.

I stacked them all up in a neat pile, figuring it would be the only "neat" thing that'll ever be found in the sewers.

The goblins only had a few pieces of gold and a healing potion or two on them, not much else. The durzog had some type of hide that might prove useful in alchemy later.

 

I followed one path after another in this stinky place, but no Hloggar was to be found. I hadn't even found the west sewers yet.

I finally headed down into a deep, water-filled pit. There, I found another doorway leading to another section of the sewers, probably under the palace. Using my Belt of Fish Gills, I managed to make it to the door, and then to the next section of sewer.

 

As I swam around looking for clues, I came across a corpse of someone who had done this before. Obviously, he hadn't done so well. Right next to him was a water breathing potion. Pity he hadn't thought to use it before he expired.

 

continued............

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