Online:An Unexpected Defense

Book Information An Unexpected Defense
ID	1459
See Also	Lore version
Collection	Tales of Tamriel
Related to	Prisoners of the Sphinx
Locations
Found in the following locations: Just outside the main door of Fort Sphinxmoth (map) Fort Sphinxmoth (map)

An Unexpected Defense

A tale of a thief's unforeseen encounter

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The thief waited in the darkest corner of the common room, watching. Few paid heed to him; a petty noble made eye contact with him for a moment, but he was not the man the thief was seeking. After a time, a man dressed as an unobtrusive merchant approached the thief and slipped him a rolled sheet of parchment. With easy grace he slipped the parchment up his shirtsleeve, and with a slight nod to the man he left the tavern.

By the light of Secunda he unrolled the scroll and looked it over. On the yellowing page was sketched the floor plan of a sturdy tower, showing all of the entrances and exits as well as marking the location of his target, a small chest hidden on the highest level of the tower. As he strolled out of town a lady of the evening called to him, but he had other treasures on his mind.

The tower stood tall and dark, looming grimly above the surrounding trees. It did not take the thief long to scale the outside of the tower, to one of the upper windows that he intended to use as his means of entrance. He slipped easily through the window and crouched there for a moment in the darkness, listening. Then suddenly the entire room was alight with fire—bolts of flame streaming directly at him. "Sheogorath's teeth!" he cursed as he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the bolts of fire. He hadn't been expecting a mage.