[hollmt]

Ah, the Imperial City and all its glory. I need a black cape and so I go in search of a luxury shop and purchase one for nearly 100 gold. Not a bad deal really for such a glorious cape. While walking around the city I come across some wanted posters for a man named “The Grey Fox” and my interest is piqued immediately. I ask some guards about this man and they give me general information. I then ask some bums and they provide me with some inside information about where the members or a member may meet if interested. Of course I go…

At midnight I arrive at the waterfront district and meet a man by the name of Armond Christophe who offers me a chance to join the Thieves Guild. This is right up my alley so I jump at the chance. My acrobatics is pretty good. However, there is a catch and that is my invitation is subject to the 2 competitors going against me and who can retrieve the diary of one Amantius Allectis who resides somewhere in the Imperial City. He informs us that beggars are our eyes and ears and may know of vital information when and if we need it. Well apparently one of my competitors named Methredhel doesn’t need any information and she sprints off towards her destination. My other competition, Amusei looks like a bumbling idiot and does…something. I proceed to a bum named “Puny” and he gladly tells me exactly where Amantius lives for a 5 gold bribe. I immediately run there as fast as I can and arrive just ahead of the over eager Methredhel who knows exactly where the diary is located. I of course do not and can’t search quickly enough. Methredhel finds the diary and quickly leaves the house. I have until the next night to get the diary, so I decide to find out where Methredhel lives. She lives near the waterfront where we all met and I calmly break into her residence while she is sleeping and swipe the diary from her. That should piss her off in the morning…

I gladly delivered the diary to Armond the next night much to the chagrin of Methredhel who moans and groans about being robbed. Amusei threatens to go freelance…Armond informs me that I can steal goods and have then fenced with certain buyers who associate with the thieves. He informs me my first fence resides in the city of Bruma. He also informs me of the rules of the Thieves Guild: not to murder while on a job for the guild, not to steal from other thieves and not to steal from beggars or peasants. Fair enough. Apparently I could steal from Methredhel because none of us were actually in the guild yet so my theft of her did not count thankfully, because the price of expulsion is steep. One other perk of the guild is that they will pay off your bounty for half off. Not bad, but I don’t plan on getting caught.

I head to Bruma fairly late and decide to do some thievery at the best place I know of…the castle. A lot of guards roam the rooms, and frankly just too many, however the main room has some display cases with some nice Akavari Katanas that I swipe and fence. I do the same with shield in the unlocked display case. I find some houses and steal some folded cloth which gets a pretty penny on the black market and in the third house I am robbing I come across a secret hatch! Interesting…so I proceed to go take a look.

This secret room is a training room of some sort with a nice hand to hand combat book that gives me some valuable knowledge and a very hard locked barrel. Again, curiosity of locked devices peaks my interest and I manage after breaking 12 locks to finally open the barrel and inside, much to my shock is an enchanted hood and cloak with 15 fortified points to my sneak, illusion, marksman, blade, and speechcraft abilities…simply amazing! What more could a thief want. I proceed to fence the rest of my stolen goods and have now fenced over 600 gold worth of stuff. I still have in my possession though, 3 stolen items…the hood and cloak I just snagged and that Varla stone I snagged from Castle Chorrol and blamed on the thief, Chanel.

I head back to the Imperial City to see Armond again that night and he offers me a job again since I am proving myself to be a valuable thief. He would like me to steal the tax records and gold from the Imperial Watch that they have collected from the Waterfront District which is not normally taxed because of their low income. I gladly accept and ask a bum to tell me the info for free to which he gives me a half assed response. I decide to pay him the 10 gold and bribe him for a better answer and he tells me that the Captain of the guard, Hieronymous Lex has an office at the top of the south watch tower. Lex apparently hates the Grey Fox and has put forth much effort into catching him. I arrive at the watch tower and to my surprise the place is loaded with guards and more guards. This won’t be fun at all. Time to case out the joint…

I watch the tower from afar and proceed inside and test my limits. I see few guards at the lower level and I go upstairs and am warned to leave…to which I comply. I wait and wait and realize less guards are around at night and those that are, are normally sleeping. I decide this is my best time to strike and after scouting the first, second, and third levels of the tower know exactly where I have to go and what needs to be done. The final level is locked and I will need to pick it. So first I decide to go to that level and pick the lock but NOT open it yet so as to not cause any alarm from guards that are awake. After being warned again, I run back downstairs.

After my prep work is done…it is time to put all into action. I get to the first ladder and go into sneak and cast a camo scroll on myself and quickly climb up and to the left to the next ladder and up and to the left to the next without causing any attention from guards. With the final lock already picked to the top level I pick it and see LEX!!!

I had completely forgotten about Lex…but he was asleep, thank goodness! I snuck up to the desk and opened the lock, took the gold and records. I realize I am unseen and I see another interesting Ninroot and some folded fancy cloth…and take them all. I test my luck to see what Lex has on him and I snag is 2 handed steel claymore…a nice added bonus. I probably should have left well enough alone and realized after the fact that I was risking way too much but I felt my camo scroll spell had me hidden well enough for the 20 seconds it lasted. I had already done my preparatory work so all was smooth getting up to his room and quickly swiping what I wanted and needed. I quickly left the way I entered and headed out to see Armond as it was midnight the next day.

Armond gladly let me keep the taxes that were collected, which I figured I’d be spending on information from bums anyway. He also gave me another job to go visit Cheydinnal and steal a statue of Llathasa Indarys. I gladly accept and make my way there and on the journey remember I have someone else to visit here as well…the impostor of Reynald Jemane.

I arrive in Cheydinnal and find my bum for information. These bums are getting a bit greedy though and this one asks for 15 gold for some solid information. He tells me the statue is in the undercroft of the chapel in Cheydinnal and is also rumored to be haunted by a ghost. Great news…ghosts and I don’t mix well. I arrive at the church and get to the locked door of the undercroft and pick it and realize there is one lone guard protecting the area. I watch her route and time my entrance to my destination, snag the statue and some gems as well and to my surprise and greeted by a ghost. I bring out my new strong 2 handed steel claymore that packs a solid punch and with one swing…drop the ghost. Interesting…steel over iron seems to be the trick. I decide to sell my old iron broadsword at my next opportunity right then and there.

I make my exit, careful not to be seen by the guard again and ask yet another bum about the imposter of Reynald Jemane to which I am told there is no Reynald but a Guilbert Jemane living in town and am told where he might be located. I quickly go there and talk to Guilbert, who is amazed that his twin brother still lives. He runs off to Chorrol to find Reynald and asks me to meet them both there at my earliest convenience.

I decide, as the day is still early to do some thievery of Cheydinnal Castle…