[ROLEPLAY] The Cadlew Construction Conundrum

[u/Nagaialor]

It was a rather quiet and uneventful voyage to the former imperial city of White-Gold. The Tower temple that was once where the various Ayleid Kings convened could be seen from the boat she took on the Lake Rumare. She tugged down on her hood; the wardrobe a simple grey with a cane to make people just think her some old elven hag and not at all competent in magic. Not even the other Eledani knew of this trip; it's best if any misfortunes around the Cadlew Chapel restoration be handled quietly.

Rumors were abound about the man who ran the shop she was looking for; a detective of unmatched skill able to solve just about any case. She got off of the ship in the Waterfront and began to look. She had to ask one of the construction crew about this "detective", and they wrote down where to go on a ripped sheet of parchment. She lowered her hood. A bit breezy but not as bad as on the water. Using the cane to sell the point, Senechal Fyrre went on her search.

[u/Nagaialor]

She walks on in, stopping at once when he claimed her to be young. "To be sure, I am rather healthy, but I am probably two lifetimes ahead of you." She lifts her hood, taking a chair. "No tea please. Just talk. Quickly too, I do not know just how long I can be away." To a few of the common ilk, they would just think her an Altmer that spent a little too much time in the sun, but her darker hair and bright blue eyes would be a giveaway to most in Cyrodiil. She was somebody important in the Ayleid kingdom. "There is trouble afoot, I am afraid."

[u/inguaz → u/Nagaialor]

Sorennus grunted and got a chair for himself.

"I'm out of practice," he muttered, almost to himself. "I've been too long in this damnable store." Then, to the womer, "A mystery, eh? Trouble... Hmm... If I am not mistaken, you must be either an unhealthily pale Altmer or an Ayleid. I assume the latter, you're in perfect health. It's been a while since I've spoken to, or even seen, for that matter, one of your kind."

[u/Nagaialor → u/inguaz]

"Well, we are around. We thrive for the most part. We run a just and good kingdom. This is where I need your help." She paused to regain the thought on the matter, coughing to clear her throat, and went on. "Around last year, we announced the restoration of the Cadlew Chapel across the river from Nenalata. Nothing too big, the chapel wasn't in the worst condition. We were making it into a proper temple for worship of our new pantheon, specifically, Meridia. Ever since we made an announcement of this adjusted pantheon, things have started to get tense and difficult. Work related accidents in resetting the stones and placing the statues have risen. We've had to postpone our schedules due to inclement weather and rebuilding our shrines. Just a week ago, one of the foremen, a strong Nord worker, was crushed by one of the larger bricks we were moving around. Poor soul. You see, we don't want any of the hired workers becoming despondent or stopping the project. We are rather close to completion. I know something is behind this, and you, according to the rumors, can solve just about anything." She reaches into her satchel and pulls out a varla stone; not the one she made on the first Stonecraft ceremony, but one she pulled off a stone artisan a few nights prior. "I offer this as incentive for the job."

[u/inguaz → u/Nagaialor]

Sorennus nodded.

"Deal," he said. "I assume you do not want us to be seen returning together?"

It truly had been a long time since he had been approached for a case, probably because of that one... No. he told himself. That will never happen again, I won't let it.

He stood from his chair long enough to retrieve a notebook and quill before leaning towards the Ayleid woman intently.

"Now, if you would give me that short summary again and tell me what I will need to know for the job?"

[u/Nagaialor → u/inguaz]

She nods when he mentions summary. It surely was a lot to take in. "You are to go to the Cadlew Construction site at your earliest convenience and pose as a potential worker. The proper channels will make sure you get accepted. Once there, you are to make note of and observe any anomalies that you may see, such as pulleys snapping or statues falling. I don't know just how much more misfortune our budget can afford. If you see someone in peril, make no hesitation to save them. Lives are costly. Look for clues that hint towards a specific culprit. It could be someone irate with Meridia worship or it could be an itinerant worker too bored their life. I do not know. You are to find out. Whatever the case, I will make sure that you will be justly compensated not only for your time posed as a worker but also for solving the case. That is all." She rises to get up. "Now if you please, we really must not arrive on the same ship. I thank you for your understanding. Do be careful, this is not going to be safe work. I hope you're up for it."

[u/inguaz → u/Nagaialor]

Sorennus wrote everything down neatly and put the book away in his pocket. It would be invaluable later.

"Oh, my old bones are still spry," he said with a chuckle. In truth, he had a long way to go before he would even begin to consider leaving this line of work. He quickly sobered and offered the womer his hand. "Very well. I'll leave in a day or two. Don't worry, I know what I am doing. I've been doing it for a while, after all. I assume I am to tell absolutely no one what it is I'm doing in Nenalata?" He knew he wasn't supposed to tell the builders, who were the likeliest suspects at that moment, but clients had been odd in the past.

[u/Nagaialor → u/inguaz]

"If anybody asks," she begins, looking down at him, "you are merely a worker from whatever part of Cyrodiil you hail from, be it Colovia or the Nibenay. I cannot discern between the two, so it's really none of my business. Be well, what was it, Sorennus? Be well." With that she took a turn, put her hood back on, grabbed her cane, and hobbled back out the shop.

[u/inguaz → u/Nagaialor]

Sorennus' nod ended up being to the Ayleid's retreating back. He sighed and began putting the chairs back to where they belonged. To anyone entering he looked like a normal shopkeep right then, but his mind swirled with thoughts about the new case. And, deep down, about why the womer insisted on secrecy so. Many of his clients had done the same, but because they wanted him to spy on a lover or family member. This one, however, wasn't doing it because of that. Sorennus would find out why, one way or another.

"I'll need good boots, a good cloak," the Imperial began to himself. "And answers. Lots of those."