Day 129: Jailbreak

I set out this morning to reestablish contact with Mehra Milo, Caius' contact in the main temple library in Vivec. He had told me that she had information on the Dissident Priests and possibly the lost Nerevarine prophecies. He was also concerned for her safety. Justifiably so, as it turns out.

Rather than teleporting I opted to leave early and walk through the countryside. The beauty of the Ascadian Isles region cannot be denied, and it gave me a good backdrop for reviewing Caius' guidance to 'think locally'. I had hoped to be able to reduce the multitude of directions I am being pulled in, but had no luck. Basically all of my problems are local problems it seems, except the Dark Brotherhood, and there doesn't seem to be much to be done about that vile crew.

The cantons of Vivec rose majestically above the mists of the bay. Between bringing the dreamer prophet to justice and pursuing the pilgrimages of the temple I have made headway in my relations with the Ordinators. They still call me outlander when they greet me, but I no longer hear 'scum' hissed on the end of it when I pass. I'm glad. It is a beautiful city. Too beautiful to have it spoiled by strained relations with the officers of the law. I hope my part in today's events goes completely unremarked.

When I reached the temple library I could not find Mehra Milo. Despite my pilgrimages I did not want to draw the attention to her that being asked after by an outlander would undoubtedly bring, and if she had run afoul of the temple hierarchy I did not want to bring attention on myself either. There was some hope that today was just her day off. I went to her quarters, being careful that I was not observed turning into the hall that leads to her door. I knocked, but used an opening spell to gain access quickly, before being seen. There would have been nothing gained by waiting. She was not there.

On a table inside her quarters I found a note addressed to Amaya. Amaya is a code word Mehra Milo and Caius had agreed upon. It meant she was in trouble. Without knowing that the contents of the note would have been innocuous enough. Knowing that put an entirely different light on a reference to her work requiring a trip to the hall of justice, with the possibility of being "tied up for hours", and a question about whether the fictitious 'Amaya' was ready to return the teleportation scrolls she had borrowed. I hurried to the guild hall and picked up some scrolls, then used my recall spell to return home and prepare for what had to be done.

I returned to Vivec City late in the afternoon, this time by teleporting direct to the temple. When I appeared on the steps of the High Fane I went directly to the edge of the plaza and used my levitation spell to cross the narrows of the bay, landing on the shore west of the city near the Ebonheart road. To all appearances I was merely a traveler headed to Ebonheart, using the magical means at my disposal to hurry along my way. So it would appear, unless the observer followed me further on as I ducked into a thick stand of brush to remove my robe, revealing the Dark Brotherhood chainmail.

I pulled the hood over my head and donned the black gauntlets. The armor, my chameleon spell, and the setting sun at my back would conceal my approach. I levitated back towards the city, rising to the tiny moon suspended above the High Fane by the mighty spells of Vivec during his battles with the Daedra; the moon now honeycombed with the passages of the hall of justice. The door was stout, with a lock so complex that it took my most powerful spell of opening. I crept inside.

Although my armor may have concealed my identity I had no desire to raise a general alarm. I crept through the passages, avoiding the Ordinators on patrol as well as those who were going about whatever other business had brought them here. I could not escape the eerie feeling of being in a carven stone underground passage while knowing that I was suspended high above the city. Should the spells of suspension fail the carnage will be unbounded.

I found the main detention cells, and brazenly stole the keys from the guard's desk. Brazenly may be overstating. I actually crept to the desk on my belly, cloaked in chameleon spells and praying silently to the divines for assistance in moving undetected. With key in hand I slid from shadowy corner to sheltered niche surveying the prisoners. I wondered about many of them. What crime had brought them to this hall? Was there justice in their case? Today I had no time to satisfy those questions. I avoided guards and prisoners with equal effort until I spotted the coppery hair of Mehra Milo through the tiny barred window of a cell door. I slipped inside and released my chameleon spell as I slid back the black mask.

"Arvil Bren!" she cried, in an appropriately hushed tone. "You found my note?" It wasn't really a question, and she hurriedly continued, "Did you bring a divine intervention scroll?" I drew the teleportation scroll from my sleeve and pressed it into her hand. "Listen, we must depart quickly; you especially. We will draw less attention if we appear separately, though in that armor you are going to be noticed..."

I cut her off. "I have my own exit plan. Where do we meet?"

"The Dissident Priests have a monastery..." She quickly gave me the directions, and the information I would need to gain access, then she read the scroll and disappeared in a swirl of magica, bound for the nearest Imperial Shrine, probably at Ebonheart Castle. I cast my own recall spell and returned home once more. When she is found to have escaped hopefully no connection to me will even cross a mind.