Tale of the Devious Trader

The Necromancer, the Airship, and the Devious Trader   
       
A long time ago, or perhaps it was yesterday; maybe even tomorrow, a strange chain of events unfolded in the slave capital of Morrowind, Tear. 
    
 It was an ordinary day, nothing out of the usual.  Traders were trading, guards guarding, and slaves slaving.  A silt strider was moaning in the distance, and a Sload airship had just arrived to buy new slaves, most likely for their unholy rituals. 
 
As soon as the Sloads had left their airship, they were greeted by a Dunmeri Trader, who introduced himself as Athys Hratri, nothing out of the usual there, as the Sloads always paid good money for their slaves. 
    
     
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Athys haggling with the Sloads 
    
 (But this is where the story twists and bends in a whole new direction, every minute jumping further and further towards the conclusion of this story, if a story ever ends, that is.) 
 
Athys and the three Sloads who had just arrived with the airship, had been haggling for the price of quite a large amount of slaves for some time now, with the amount of gold jumping up and down for what seemed like several hours.  After awhile, Athys suggested that if the Sloads gave him their airship, he would give them all of his 30 slaves.  One of the Sloads responded "but how would we get back to Thras?" 
 
The young Dunmeri trader answered "have the slaves carry you." 
 
Another of the Sloads, outraged by even the suggestion of such a ridiculous thing, said "Thras is many miles away.  The slaves will never make it, and even if they did, we wouldn't be home for years. 
 
Young Athys laughed, in the sinister way common for Dunmer, and said "with all your mighty magic, would that be a problem?  Make them run faster, and you will be home in no time!"  
 
The first Sload considered this a good idea and the Sloads left with their new slaves.  They cast a powerful fortify speed and strength spell on the poor slaves, and they were ordered to carry them towards Thras.  One Sload, clad in a black cloak, said he would stay behind and travel to Thras later.  The other two Sloads left for Thras, carried by ten slaves each, for such is the weight of a Sload. 
 
In the meantime, Athys made his way to his new airship.  He thought it might fetch quite a price among certain people, either broken into parts, or as a whole airship.  But the young trader was tired after hours of haggling with the Sloads, and decided to return home to get some rest.  After hiring a few loyal warriors to guard his airship of course; he wouldn't want to lose what would make him a very rich man, after all. 
 
As the sacred hour of Azura passed and the day became night, the black-cloaked Sload made his way to the home of the devious Dunmeri trader.  This Sload was the only one who had realized that Athys had tricked them, and he would not let this deed go unavenged.   
 
Athys was asleep in his bed, a bottle of high-quality Greef by his hand.  The black-cloaked Sload walked up to Athys and whispered "your love for alcoholic beverages will soon give back what's mine, young Dunmer, and when that happens you will realize that you have nothing left but your own greed."      
 
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Athys was asleep in his bed with a bottle of high-quality Greef by his hand 
      
 After whispering these words, the black-cloaked Sload disappeared in a puff of smoke.  The next day when the sacred hour of Azura had once again passed, and night passed into day, Athys woke up, with a strange urge for Greef.  He searched through his entire house, finding no Greef or any other alcoholic beverage.  He stumbled out on the streets, which strangely enough were empty, not a single living being was walking the streets. 

    
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The empty streets of Tear   
  
 
He walked around the streets of Tear for some time, pondering on where all the people had gone, and more importantly, where he could get some Greef, but there was no Greef to be found.  After awhile he came upon his airship, unguarded.  He made his way into the airship, only to see the black-cloaked Sload, who had arrived yesterday, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the airship.  Athys asked the Sload "where are all the people?  What have you done to this place?" 
 
The Sload anwered "that is not important, is it, for either one of us?" 
 
"That is true.  For some reason, all I can think of now is Greef.  I can't think of anything else, no matter how hard I try."  Athys responded. 
 
"That's what I thought. I happen to have with me 30 bottles of Greef.  What are you willing to pay for them?"  The black-cloaked Sload answered, with an evil grin. 
 
Athys and the black-cloaked Sload haggled over a price for the 30 bottles of Greef for what seemed like hours upon hours.  After awhile, the Sload suggested that if Athys gave him his soul, he would give him all 30 of his bottles of Greef. 
 
Athys responded "but how could I live without a soul?" 
 
The black-cloaked Sload answered "buy a new one." 
 
Athys, outraged by even the suggestion of such a ridiculous thing, said "but it is impossible to by a new soul!  There is no way anyone would give their soul to me!" 
 
The Sload laughed, in the strange way common for Sload, and said "with all your skills in bargaining and trading, would that be a problem?" 
 
Athys agreed, and gave his soul to the Sload in return for the 30 bottles of Greef. 
 
Now the black-cloaked Sload laughed.  He disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Athys there with his 30 bottles of Greef. 
 
Athys woke up.  It seemed like it had all been a dream, but why was he laying on a small island in the middle of nowhere?. 
 
The Sload necromancer appeared in front of Athys, why did he seem so tall?  Suddenly a mirror appeared next to the sload.  He put it in front of Athys.  To his horror, it was not his own face that was staring back at him in the mirror, but that of a mudcrab. 
 
The Sload laughed.  "You gave me your soul, and now the shell of a mudcrab is what houses it.  Your own greed, your craving for wealth, will now, as always, be your cause in life.  Adventurers will flock to this small island, upon hearing the rumor of a wealthy, talking mudcrab trader." 
     
 

 
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"You gave me your soul and now the shell of a mudcrab houses it." 
 
     
 Once again, the Sload disappeared in a puff of smoke, and left poor Athys on the small island, with no other company than a large amount of gold. 
 
Greed was his life, and greed was his doom.  Athys is rumored to still be alive, buying alcoholic beverages from travelers passing by his little island in southern Vvardenfell.  
 
    

    
Editor's Note:  

This tale is believed to have originated somewhere in southern Morrowind, and travelled with traders westwards, even as far as Hammerfell.   It is obviously nothing more than a fairy tale to scare young children from the same path of greed that Athys took.  There have been rumors, though, of a mudcrab trader somewhere in Vvardenfell.