User:JohnB/The Book and the stone 3a

We Are Not Amused!

Emperor Uriel Septim sat at the table in his study going over the items on his to-do list for the next day when there was a distinctive rat-a-tat-tat coded knock heard from the other side of the wood paneling.  The aged emperor removed his green-glass spectacles and hobbled over to the wall where he lifted a sliding panel and released the lever behind it. The secret door clicked open, and a Dunmer ninja dressed as an every-day commoner slipped into the study.  Ninja wear their blacks only when doing highly dangerous night-time activities so as not to be mistaken for Morag Tong or thieves during the day.

“We thought you were warned,” the emperor blurted petulantly, “that this entrance was to be used only in dire emergencies!”

“I beg a thousand pardons, your majesty," the ninja responded getting down on one knee, "but while it's not exactly an emergency, it's a matter that requires your immediate attention. The parties involved neglected to inform your majesty that they are undertaking an expedition that could have earth-shaking consequences.”

“In our realm?” the emperor asked in disbelief.

“In your majesty's realm.”

“Earth-shaking, you say.  How earth-shaking?”

“Well, your majesty, that still remains to be seen.”

The emperor sat down again and considered for a moment.

“Who are they, and what exactly are they doing?”

“I learned a lot from a ship's recruiter in the city by pretending to be interested in signing up as a crew member.  I couldn't ask questions that were too detailed, so as not to come across as a private investigator.  But this is what I found out.”

The ninja told what he'd learned about the Bethamez map and the lodestone that had caused tremendous excitement within the business community.  He even saw the three sailing ships being decked out for a long voyage to confirm the existence of a continent somewhere to the east beyond Akavir.

“Why were we not consulted about this?  We would think a letter of patent from us would be prerequisite to any venture such as this!”

“If your majesty would forgive my expressing my own opinion, but this voyage does not seem to be business-oriented.”

“Oh?  Then why are they doing it?”

“Simply to confirm the map. If the outcome is promising, they will commence economic activity in whichever country they discover. However, they have applied for and received from the city council a reentry permit to the Cyrodiil dock, so it is not as if they are blind to formalities.  And if I may express my opinion once more, I would advise that your majesty not intervene at this time.”

"Hmmm," the emperor mused while gazing at the far wall, which was his habit when in deep thought. "If these merchants have no objective for carrying out what they're doing, maybe we should give them one. This expedition could be the vanguard for an invasion by my legions to take possession of whatever they find. The question is how," he said tapping his forefinger on his the side of his head.

"If your majesty will permit," the ninja cut in, "I think I've already found exactly what you need--a rat-fink in need of redemption."

The ninja receded through the secret door and returned with Aldaril wearing a black blindfold tied over his eyes.  Aldaril raised his hands to remove the blindfold, but the ninja barked at him to leave it on.

“I encountered this fellow,” the ninja continued, “who'd just signed up for a one-way voyage with the expedition.”

He was about to force Aldaril onto his knees, but the emperor gestured that he not do so.

“Do you know who I am?” the emperor asked Aldaril, studiously avoiding the imperial “we”.

“No,” he answered shaking his head.

“Or where you are now?”

“No.” Aldaril quaked.  This could be a pirate stronghold as far as he could tell.

“Good. Now listen, young desperado! As 'leader of the underground', I can expunge whatever bounty you have on your flea-bitten head like this,” he said gruffly, clicking his fingers. “However, if you cross me even once, I could have you hung by your own entrails. Have I made myself understood?!”

Aldaril swiftly accepted his new commission to act as an unknown third-party's eyes and ears on the expedition.  A constant-effect Bodycam ring was placed on his finger, and it was explained to him that it turned his eyes and ears into a virtual bodycam.  His thoughts, emotions, and memories were inviolable, but whatever entered his eyes and ears would be relayed by telepathic magicka to the command center monitor. In the mean time, he was to behave impeccably. A sailor who can do no wrong in the officers' eyes can take advantage of their (misplaced?) trust to peruse charts and open logs with impunity.

After Aldaril signed away his freedom (actually signing his name on a blank piece of paper), the emperor went to a chest and took a sizable pouch of gold and dropped it in Aldaril's hand.

"Buy a decent sailor's kit and be on your way then," he commanded waving them off.

The ninja shoved Aldaril back into the secret passageway, and the door clicked shut behind them.