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Warning: potential side quest (Fighters Guild) spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

Thieves and Children

Modryn sent me back to Anvil to speak with Azzan about an important contract. After the cold and wet journey southwest I was greeted at the guildhall’s entrance by Maglir, who I had previously been sent to investigate for defaulting on one of his jobs. Maglir was none to pleased to see me but managed to put forth at least a little effort in feigning indifference towards me. After bedding down in the guildhall for the night I went upstairs to speak with Azzan. Azzan informed me of reports that a gang of Bosmer thieves had been striking out against the local populace as of late. The gang’s base of operations was unknown but patterns seemed to suggest that they were based in or very close to the city. Azzan told me that since we didn’t know how many thieves there were I’d be working with another guild member – Maglir. As you might guess, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea and was eager to get this job taken care of immediately.

Maglir and I split up and canvased the city asking around for witnesses, victims, or anyone with any kind of clue as to where the gang might be based. Finally someone referred Maglir to Newheim the Portly – a large Nordish man who was incensed about having his flagon, a family heirloom, stolen from him by the same gang we were hunting. Newheim had heard that they had been hanging around in Hrota Cave off of the northern road out of Anvil. Although Maglir was less than interested, I told Newheim I’d keep an eye out for his flagon and we set off on our way.

“My Dremora Lord bravely takes an elvish arrow in the face.”

As Maglir and I crept into the cave and drew our swords we heard whispers in the darkness ahead. We were able to sneak up on the first two thieves and dispatch them quietly though a third walked in upon us as we searched the bodies and screamed out as he peppered us with arrows. As Maglir dove for cover I summoned a Dremora and followed suit. Although none of his companions came to assist they were all too aware of our presence by that point so we tread less carefully while clearing out the rest of the cave. Despite his apparent lack of dedication to the guild Maglir performed admirably in Hrota Cave – he seemed to have absolutely no qualms about killing his own kin. We dispatched 8 thieves in total, cleared the place of its meager loot, leaving much of for the Anvil guard to sort with later, and returned to the city.

“Ughhh, is this what I’ve come to? Talking to ass ugly Nords about drinking piss?”

Azzan was pleased with our success. He offered me another contract that involved escorting a scholar named Elante of Alinor to an old Daedric shrine located at the bottom of Brittlerock Cave. Having to kill a variety of minor Daedra aside, this was another contract that I was able to complete with ease. Azzan took me aside and told me that Burz had a job he thought I could handle up in Cheydinhal. While I wasn’t thrilled about the lengthy ride back east I was happy for more action so quickly. After a long journey I was disappointed when Burz rudely informed me that the job was far south, in Water’s Edge near Leyawiin. Another long ride and I met the subject of the contract: an attractive Breton named Biene Amelion.

“Ahhh, now this is more like it.”

Biene explained to me that her father had been taken away due to some outstanding gambling debts. At first I was confused about the nature of the job – surely she didn’t expect the guild to intervene in such a matter unless her father was someone of some kind of significance. Indeed, she clarified – she wanted me to retrieve her grandfather’s precious enchanted armor and sword from the family tome so that she could sell them to pay off her father’s debts. While this sounded a lot more in line with my usual line of work I didn’t quite appreciate the idea of her selling off her precious family heirlooms and, indeed, robbing her own family tome in the process. Instead, having sized her up to be a decent person I decided take a more chivalrous route and simply pay her myself and let her keep her and her family’s honor intact. She was overjoyed with this previously unthinkable option and I got to head back up north in record time, knowing full well that my payment would take care of the majority of my cost and I’d recover the rest in due time.

Finally, I was dispatched back to Chorrol. Modryn performed a small ceremony and declared me to be promoted to rank of Protector within the guild for my exemplary performance. After the attending members cleared off he took me aside to tell me about my next job. My duty was to take Viranus Donton, the son of the Guildmaster, to help him get his feet a little wet and boost his confidence. Officially the mission was to search for Galtus Previa, a farmer who went missing exploring Nonwyll Cavern. I have no idea why a farmer would be heading into any wilderness caves or ruins alone though perhaps he was tempted by the same tales of riches that had drawn me into my life as an adventurer.

“Viranus Donton fucking owning a troll. Not too shabby!”

I met Viranus at his house in the city and we marched by foot into the northern wilderness to hunt for the cave. Viranus has a vague idea of its location and we soon found it easily enough. Almost as soon as we entered we were ambushed by a pair of bloodthirsty trolls. Thankfully Viranus wasn’t as green as Modryn let on and we were able to dispatch them without too much difficulty. Further into the cavern we encoutered more trolls and even an odd ogres or two. Nonwyll Cavern definitely wasn’t a place for farmers – in fact I was starting to wonder if the guild hadn’t misjudged my own qualities as a protector. Surely the Guildmaster wouldn’t look favorably upon her son dying under my watch.

“Hiding behind my shield in mortal terror.”

More and more trolls rushed us as we explored the narrow passageways, in fact the most I’d seen in any one place up till then. Finally we made it to the bottom level of the cave only to be greeted by a fearsome minotaur. Finally, the body of Galtus Previa lay in front of us. Of course I wasn’t shocked to find him dead considering the opposition we encountered just making it down there, if anything I was surprised that the corpse had been brought this far below but hadn’t been devoured. We collected a couple of his personal effects to bring to his relatives to prove that we found him and Viranus attempted to map the location of the body in case his family wished to retrieve it for a proper burial.

“Stick to growing beets, buddy.”

Modryn was saddened to hear about the death of Galtus but quite intrigued by the shield we found with his body, confiscating it for further study. While I didn’t know what that was all about he was quite pleased with the completion of the contract regardless and rewarded me with my share of the gold and a powerful enchanted Daedric longsword which, my misgivings about furthering my bond with the Daedra aside, I’d no doubt be using. At last my guild membership was starting to yield some real benefits!

I didn’t expect such a nice blade for an reward in this quest but I believe Oscuro’s Oblivion Overhaul boosted the stats of this rare weapon. Sweet!

Warning: potential side quest (Fighters Guild) spoilers ahead!

From the journals of Garn:

Changing Careers

Having seemingly exhausted my supply of fresh work with the death of the would-be Ayleid king Umbanaco I’ve decided to take leave of the Imperial City once again. While I’ll keep it my base of operations for now it seems almost as if the city exists inside of a bubble where matters of the rest of realm have little bearing on life within. Not a good place for work unless you join the guard and even then I’d suspect it none too exciting unless you get a great thrill out of putting irons on pickpockets. Instead I’ve decided to ride east to the city of Cheydinhal where I’m told I can join the Fighters Guild. With this I hope to be able to receive some extra training, keep a closer ear to news from around Cyrodiil, and of course get some steady work, even if it does reward the guild’s honor more than my own.

At the Fighters Guild guildhall in Cheydinhal I’m directed to an Orc named Burz gro-Khash. While a few of the other guild members have at least a passing knowledge of me, Burz does not, and combined with his usual Orcish temperate, I expect little comfort from him as I work my way through the ranks. Indeed for my first assignment he’s given me little more than an errand to run, delivering supplies to some other guild members planning to clear out a nearby cave infested with goblins. Though the Orc tries to test me, it is only a test. Besides, stirring up an organization such as the Fighters Guild would be exceedingly counterproductive to my goals.

“Jump for joy!”

I receive quite a warm welcome to Desolate Mine. A pack of savage goblins ambushed me and slew my horse before it was over. Of course, they all paid. Inside I deliver the supplies. Impressed by my handling of the goblins outside, the other members have asked for my sword in cleaning them out. Naturally I accept. Between the four of us the goblins are no match. Unfortunately numbers didn’t appear to help the numerous dead miners we’re finding in the lower depths. I’m not sure what caused this incursion but whatever it was, the mine is now cleared. Burz is pleased with our performance and has advanced me from Associate to Initiate rank in the guild. The bad news is that if I want immediate work I’ll need to go elsewhere – he says the Anvil hall currently has a healthy backlog of jobs. It’s a long ride out west but it has been a while since I’ve visited the port.

“Speaking with Azzan, head of the Anvil Fighters Guild.”

Burz was right. The guildhall at Anvil is bustling with activity. I’m directed to the head of hall here, a Redguard named Azzan. His first contract for me as an Initiate is to deal with a rat problem in a local woman’s basement. Surely, despite my rank, he can tell from my arms and the way I carry myself that I am no novice fighter. Still, as with Burz, perhaps just a test. I go to visit the woman. Arvena Thelas, a Dunmer, apparently isn’t the victim of a rat infestation but rather she keeps pet rats and something has been killing them. Upon investigation I find a mountain lion in her basement, catching it in the act. The beast immediately turns on me as I disturb it but I’ve fought large cats many times before now and am able to quickly put it down. Anvil city seems like an unusual place for mountain lions. Arvena suggests I contact Pinarus Inventius, a local hunter, to help track down the beasts and thin their numbers.

“What am I, level 1?”

Pinarus gladly accepts the task and volunteers to take me to some spots in the foot hill outside of the city walls where he suspects we might find them. Sure enough, after a short hike we spot a small pride gathered under some trees. I summon one of my more destructive fireball spells and kill them all in one large blast. I return to Arvena to collect my fee but she’s not pleased to hear the news – apparently there’s already another mountain lion in her basement. I quickly put it down too but by the Nine, what could be luring them down here? She suspects one of her neighbors, Quill-Weave, could be responsible as she’s expressed a strong dislike for the rats before.

I seek out Quill-Weave, an Argonian woman – apparently a famous author. She quickly sees through my questioning and rejects any notion that she could be responsible. I’ve decided on another approach. I’ll simply hide outside of Arvena’s basement, near the hole that the mountain lions have been entering through, and see what happens. Sure enough a few hours later, after night has fallen and most have extinguished their candles and torches, I spot Quill-Weave sneaking to the hole and tossing some rotten meat nearby. As she turns to leave I confront her. She continues to deny it at first but caught red handed she finally tells me the truth. She was hoping to lure the rats out so that the city guard would find them and dispatch them – she knew nothing about mountain lions. She begs my mercy and so I accept as I believe her story and her desire to avoid conflict with Arvena. I tell Arvena that she was mistaken about the Argonian and accept my reward, hoping that I closed this contract with the least amount of turmoil for all involved.

“I might have destroyed your shop, but I got the burglars!”

Azzan’s next contract for me is a little more interesting. Apparently a local shop has been getting burgled regularly during off hours. I head over to Lelles’ Quality Merchandise on the docks and speak with Norbert Lelles, a friendly Breton. He suggests simply handing me the keys for the night and leaving me to take watch in the dark while he heads to the tavern next door. Simple enough.

I’m sitting alone in the dark here for hours. I hear faint whispers and the unmistakable sound of boards creaking beneath heavy feet… the door opens. Three men, armored and armed, creep in. I draw my sword from its scabbard and command them to halt, ready to give chase in case they flee but, surprisingly, they draw their weapons themselves and surround me. The battle is chaotic and bloody, leaving three corpses and a mess of merchandise in Norbert’s floor. After fetching Norbert he seems quite pleased by the result though rather disturbed by the fact that all three men used to work for him in the past. Azzan is pleased as well and I’m being promoted to Journeyman.

Azzan has informed me that the next contracts suitable for someone of my rank would have to be assigned at the Chorrol guildhall. It has been quite a while since I’ve visited Chorrol but my last stay there was fair enough. It’s a fairly lengthy journey when taking safe roads, which I plan on doing. Upon entering the city I’m already hearing rumors about the guild – not surprising since both the Fighters Guild and the Mage’s Guild have a strong representation in the city. The talk on the streets seems to be fairly negative. I’m greeted by a Dunmer called Modryn Oreyn who seems to have little patience for new recruits. After explaining my assignment I think I know why: I’m to ride to Skingrad to look for a new recruit who has defaulted on his contract.

“Fallen Rock Cave. Ahhh, I get it…”

After my journey I immediately ask a city guard manning the gates if they knew of the man, Maglir. The guard is usually a good source of information as long as you can find one of the less stern ones. I’m told that Maglir can usually be founding drinking at one of the city taverns so I’m heading that way. Sure enough, Maglir was sitting alone with an ale at the West Weald. He seemed to know why I was there. He explained that although his task was simple, to retrieve a journal rumored to be in a local cave, the contract wasn’t paying enough for the risk. I asked him about this several times, and every time he shrugged off my statements with less and less concern. He suggests that if I want the contract I can have it, and that he suspects I can find the journal in Fallen Rock Cave.

I’ve decided to make my way to Fallen Rock Cave this morning to try to close out the contract. I’ll decide what to do after that. Maglir might be a dishonorable coward but he wasn’t wrong about the dangers lurking in this cave. It is quite infested with undead and considering the ruins I’ve been clearing out lately that’s saying something. I fought many skeletons, wraiths and ghosts in the this place, even a lich, and eventually I located the journal in a flooded passageway on the lowest level of the cavern. The loot isn’t spectacular but at least I’ll return to Chorrol with the job complete. In Chorrol Modryn is pleased enough about the contract being finished but demands to know what Maglir’s role in this was. Given Maglir’s disposition about the whole or ordeal I do not deny the truth and tell him about Maglir smugly defaulting.

“Another bar… I’m starting to sense a theme here.”

Modryn’s next job for me is in Leyawiin. An exceedingly long ride from here but apparently this is the life of a guild member who volunteers to travel rather than only work locally. Apparently there have been reports of some other members causing all sorts of trouble in the city’s taverns and inns. Sure enough, even after the long ride I catch them red handed in the Five Claws Lodge. The men plead their ignorance but in their drunken stupors admit their guilt as well. Still, their excuse rings true enough: the men claim that the Blackwood Company has been grabbing up all of the work in the area and that they’ve got nothing better to do without contracts. After reassuring the bartender that the guild would have them out of her hair soon I left to canvas the city for potential work.

After a few referrals I’ve found a local alchemist who, after being offered some rare reagents that I’d gathered on the last job, has agreed to contract with the guild for some other alchemical components. I return back to the Five Claws to give them the good news and the details. They seem genuinely happy about the opportunity for honest work again. Returning to Chorrol, Modryn is quite pleased with my work as well and has decided to raise me to rank of Swordsman, making me a full member of the guild at last. Perhaps I’ll get some less lackluster jobs now…

Warning: potential side quest spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

Long live the King!

When I returned to Umbanaco to claim my reward I could tell he was quite excited to finally have possession of the carving though, to my curiosity, he spent very little time looking it over. He seemed to start to offer me another job but hesitated before finally making the offer. He told me that my next job may be a little different than the usual because the item he wanted was not in some long forgotten ruin or guarded by horrible apparitions, but instead was in the possession of another collector in the city. He told me it was the crown of the last king of the Aleyids and that its owner, Herminia Cinna, refused to sell it to him. While he told me that the intention was simply to try to purchase it for him as a 3rd party, he seemed to imply that acquiring it by less scrupulous means may be required. He gave me 1000 septims and off I went.

“About to descend into Lindai.”

I tracked Herminia Cinna down to running errands near the tower and brought up being interested in her antiquities. Perhaps I should have changed into less conspicuous clothing or at least thought my words over a little more carefully before speaking to her as she immediately suspected me of being an agent of Umbanaco’s. She made it clear that it wasn’t a matter of money and that there was simply something about Umbanaco that she didn’t trust, and that she suspected him of being motivated by more than he claimed. While Herminia couldn’t elaborate much, even as I pressured her to, the Aleyids were known to be powerful magic users and dedicated servants of the Daedra, some rumored to be quite cruel in fact, so it didn’t seem out of the question that Umbanaco might be after something more sinister than a simple collection of dusty artifacts.

Herminia pleaded with me to consider another option – while the crown she had was indeed the crown of “last Aleyid king” there was no overarching Aleyid kingdom and, in fact, there were various other kingdoms, many of them even rivals. She told me that she knew of the possible location of another, similar crown from around the same time period that she hadn’t had the funds to hire help seeking out yet. I got all of the necessary details from her and told her I’d have to consider it. For someone with so little to back up her suspicions, Herminia seemed quite convinced.

“Setting things on fire never gets old.”

Herminia told me that the royal crown of Lindai would have been kept in the royal tomb of the site, now known simply as Lindai, which she suspected was still sealed. I figured there was little harm in attempting to acquire the crown before making any further decision so I set off for the ruins of Lindai, northwest of the city. The ruins were fairly typical of my findings so far, guarded by undead creatures and traps. Herminia’s suspicions were correct though and much of the tomb’s treasure seemed to still be intact including the cask containing the crown. Now I had one option secured.

“Oooh, look what I found!”

Although I’ve mostly stayed clear of a life of crime so far, I decided to visit Herminia Cinna’s home one afternoon after she had left to go to the market – I had developed a new plan. I had more or less decided that Herminia’s fears were unfounded and her outright refusal to part with the artifact for any sum of money was unfair to a someone such as Umbanaco, who had already displayed his merit as a real collector, with a real passion for the history of the Ayleids. To be honest, it was more Herminia’s motives that I was questioning at that point. So, a quick lock pick on her front door when I was sure that I wouldn’t be spotted and in I went. I carefully searched her fairly modest home for the artifact until I eventually found it in a locked cask upstairs. This lock was more troublesome to pick but soon I had the authentic crown in my possession, the royal crown of Lindai in its place and hopefully Herminia would be none the wiser until such a time when she examined it more closely.

Returning to Umbanaco I presented him with the real crown which seemed to please him to no end. He said he had another task for me: to escort him through the ruin of Nenalata to the east for another archeological expedition. Easy enough, I thought. He said he’d arrange to meet me there in three days time.

“Is that a stupid haircut or are you just happy to see me?”

Nenalata was a fairly unimpressive looking ruin from the outside, despite being perched on the side of a hill overlooking the junction between the Silverfish River and Niben Bay. I waited on horseback until I heard the first rustling of someone approaching and road to investigate. Umbanaco had arrived and was excited to get started. I asked him to wait outside at first, as many of these Ayleid ruins were quite dangerous. He seemed a bit put off by the idea, but agreed. This part of Nenalata was pretty typical of Ayleid ruins so far, save for more ornate stonework and a distinct lack of traps. After clearing out virtually the entire structure of guardians I returned to escort Umbanaco, who in-turn seemed to escort me. We went down to one of the lower levels where he spotted the location he was looking for and ran over to it to place the carving I had acquired for him earlier in a recessed spot in the center of the wall. He then dramatically recited some Elvish which I could not understand, causing a secret passageway to open.

“Someone light a fucking torch!”

Excitedly, he proclaimed that we were entering the throne room of the last king of the Ayleids and that it was now up to him to reclaim his people’s lost glory. I took pause, of course, though he was an Altmer I figured he was still speaking as a student of the history of Ayleid peoples. When he donned the crown and sat in the thrown, shouting in Elvish tongue, however, I began to reconsider. Was Umbanaco a mad man or…?

Before I could finish my contemplation of the events at hand the spell that Umbanaco was apparently casting had completed and a massive burst of energy spread out from him in all directions. As the smoke cleared he cast another spell and disappeared from sight. Doors opened from every side of the chamber and several liches and other undead flooded in. I drew my sword and began backing towards the door.

“Errrmmm…”

I summoned my own guardian and began casting all manner of offensive spells as skeletons rushed towards me, striking against my shield with huge, clumsy blows. It was quite a perilous situation and I constantly found myself having to retreat away from the seemingly endless hordes of undead. Umbanaco himself, or whatever he had become, also reappeared from time to time to summon more undead and launch the occasional spell at me. At one of these moments he found himself between me, still strategically withdrawing, and a corner. Looking in his rage filled eyes, I was sure that there was no other way and lunged. Umbanaco fell with a desperate cry echoing through the halls amidst the backdrop of still clamoring creatures and blasts of magic.

“Cleaning up Umbanaco’s mess.”

I finished clearing the room and took my time, looting the rest of the ruin. I wasn’t quite sure of what to do – Umbanaco was a fairly respected citizen of the Imperial City and he’d now be missing. If he told anyone about where we were going I would be suspected in his disappearance, and who would believe me about his attempts to resurrect the Ayleids? Only one person. As soon as I returned to the city I sought out Herminia Cinna and professed my regrets for not believing her. I gave her back the real crown and even offered her some of the other Ayleid artifacts I had looted. I only asked that, in return, she support my claims should I be implicated later on. While seemingly disturbed by the whole thing, she agreed and seemed quite happy to have her crown back, in addition to the other artifacts I added to her growing collection.