9.5 Interlude Brief rest

"Hello, dear sir! Welcome to the Black Horse Courier. What can I do for you?"

I first congratulated him on the quality of the journal and the reliability of its articles.

"I'm delighted to hear that, sir. Admirers of good journalism are rare, you know. Some people consider our publication a mere collection of gossip without value, like the Imperial City Gazette. They steal all our customers and give us a bad name. Just look at this!"

He handed me an Imperial City Gazette with the headline:

'The Black Horse Courier: A Sack of Stupidity that Shames our Fine City, see page one.' , 'Adamus Philida is Right, see page two.'

I returned the journal, impressed by its size and content.

"But, sir, it's simple. It has EVERYTHING in it. We're just amateurs. I don't know how long we'll be able to compete against a man like Olfred, the director of the journal."

I wished him good luck, and after insisting that his journal was more interesting and catered to the middle class, I started making my way to "First Edition," one of the most comprehensive bookstores in Cyrodiil.

"- Good day, sir. Feel free to sit wherever you like. Our reading tables are at your disposal."

I sat down, taking a few books from the shelves: 'The Vampires: Everything About Their Lives', 'The Human Body: Full of Weaknesses', 'Philida and the Paralytic Assassin'.

The book about vampires taught me a bit more about the stages of vampirism. The weak stage was the most common and occurred after three days of hemophilia. A vampire would gain more strength, and could sense blood from several hundred meters away. The moderate stage, which Azazer exemplified, was even stronger. They could see blood even further away and transform into several bats. Their regenerative abilities were also incredible. However, their vulnerability to sunlight was greater. I skipped the superior and grandmaster levels, as they didn't interest me much, but I could guess that Vincente was of a higher level. The nosferatus were ancient, immortal, and invincible monsters, capable of flying, detecting life for kilometers, being perfectly invisible, but possessing hideous appearances and needing to consume humans instead of just drinking their blood. I had some regrets when reading 'invincible and immortal', but what was done was done.

The book about the human body gave me several good ideas to execute contracts with flair. I just needed a blade that could freeze blood, and...

"Is there something you like, sir? Can I take them back?"

I returned the first two books to the proprietor and began reading the one parodying our brotherhood and Philida. There were some truly amusing moments. Adamus Philida was portrayed as a hero, chasing an assassin while paralyzed in a wheelchair. And what's worse, Adamus always lost. In a memorable scene from the book, the wheelchair slid down a slope and hit a child. Philida burst into laughter and shouted that it was proof the paralyzed man was an assassin. Then, about thirty guards appeared and 'beat him up' for ten pages. Truly memorable. I bought the book and while strolling through the streets, I overheard mothers telling their children to come inside, or else Adamus Philida would scold them. They obeyed immediately. However, all the readers of the Imperial City Gazette spoke of us as if we truly existed.

Upon returning, I saw the Black Horse Courier proprietor sitting on the steps of his office, lost in thought as he stared at the sky. I sat down next to him and asked what was troubling him.

"- Business isn't going well enough anymore, you know, Oxfeld wants to buy out my journal to eliminate me from the market. If he remains my competitor, I'll undoubtedly lose... What should I do? I don't want to sell and allow him to fill my journal with nonsense like 'Adamus Philida was right!' I'm up against a wall, a wall..."

I placed my hand on his shoulder and reassured him that things would work out.

"- I want you to put on the front page: 'THE BLACK HORSE, DOOMED TO BE EXTERMINATED.' Come on, hurry up! I want to eliminate any competition! You lazy bunch! Faster!"

The employees of the vast printing house of the Gazette seemed so overwhelmed that they didn't pay attention to the odd newcomer, who must have been recently hired.

"Come on, you bunch of slackers! What is this... What sloppy work!"

Oxfeld leaned over the printing presses and vented his anger.

"THIS PAPER IS ABOMINABLE! START OVER! FASTER THAN THAT!"

All the workers grumbled and left the room. Clearly pleased with his authority, the boss took a sip of Tamika's wine and leaned against the paper press barrier.

"gulp... Hey, what are you doing here? Get back to work! But what... Let go of my head, no... please! Don't..."

The metal press creaked and finally crushed the mass beneath it as if cracking an egg with a spoon. The Grey Horse Courier's proprietor was right; you truly can find EVERYTHING in the Imperial City Gazette.

As I passed through the market square, the Khajiit ran toward me, laughing.

"- It's a miracle! Haven't you heard the news? A stupid accident due to wine, Oxfeld fell into a printing press at the Gazette! I should be sad... but I'm not. My business is picking up! The Gazette is out of the competition! Take this freshly printed copy."

'Oxfeld Frederique, the drunken boss of the Imperial City Gazette, has died after falling into a paper hydraulic press. Best of luck to the Gazette's staff in repairing and cleaning their machines.'

He burst into laughter, but I told him that it might shock the public. He pondered for a moment, then agreed that I was right.

"By the way, my friend, what's your... name?"

The mysterious Dunmer was already gone.

The proprietor seemed lost in thought for a moment, then shrugged and returned to his office.

"- Ah, but it's you, my dear brother! I don't understand; you left this morning!"

Some things never change, and old habits die hard.