Unnamed Book Content . " The problem with thieves today , " said Lledos , " Is the lack of technique . I know there ' s no honor among thieves , and there never was , but there used to be some pride , some skill , some basic creativity . It really makes those of us with a sense of history despair . " Imalyn sneered , slamming down his flagon of greef violently on the rough - hewn table . " B ' vek , what do you want us to say ? You asks us ' What do you do when you see a guard ? ' and I says , ' Stab the fetcher in the back . ' What d ' you prefer ? We challenge ' em to a game of chits ? " " So much ambition , so little education , " said Lledos with a sigh . " My dear friends , we aren ' t mugging some Nord tourist fresh off the ferry . The Cobblers Guildhall may not sound intimidating but tonight , when the dues collection is housed there before being sent to the bank , the security ' s going to be tighter than a kwama ' s ass . You can ' t just stab at every back you encounter and expect to make it into the vaults . " " Why don ' t you explain specifically what you ' d like us to do ? " asked Galsiah calmly , trying to keep the tone of the group down . Most locals at the Plot and Plaster cornerclub in Tel Aruhn knew enough not to listen in , but she knew better than to take any chances . " The common thief , " said Lledos , pouring himself more greef , warming to his subject . " Sticks his dagger in his opponent ' s back . This may slay the target , but more often gives him time to scream and drenches the attacker with blood . Not good . Now a good throat - slashing , properly executed , can both slay and silence a guard and leave the thief relatively bloodfree . And after all , after the robbery , we don ' t want people seeing a bunch of blood - soaked butchers running through the streets . Even in Tel Aruhn , that ' s likely to warrant suspicion . " If you can catch your victim lying down asleep or resting , you are in an excellent position . You place one hand over the mouth with your thumb under the chin , then you use your other hand to slit the throat , and quickly turn the head to one side so the body bleeds out away from you . There is a risk here of becoming blood stained if you don ' t move the head quickly enough . If you ' re unsure , strangle the victim first to avoid the blood that tends to spurt out in three foot jets when someone is stabbed while alive . " A very good friend of mine , a thief in Gnisis whose name I won ' t mention , swears by the strangle - and - slash technique . Simply put , you grab your victim ' s throat from behind and while throttling him , you batter his face against the opposite wall . When the victim is thus rendered unconscious , you slash his throat while still holding him from behind , and the risk of staining one ' s clothes with blood is practically . " The classic technique , which requires less grappling than my friend ' s variation , is to place one hand over the victim ' s mouth , and then saw through the throat in three or four stroke rather like playing a violin . It requires little effort , and while there ' s quite a bit of blood , it all jets forward away from you . There ' s no reason when one knows one is going to be slitting some throats not to take some precautions and bring some extra equipment . The best neck - hackers I know generally carry a bit of wadded cloth on the aft - side of their knives to keep blood from getting on their cuffs . It ' s impractical for this sort of assignment , but when you ' re only anticipating one or two victims , nothing beats throwing a sack over the targets head , drawing the string tight , and then supplying the killing blow or blows . " Imalyn laughed loudly , " Can I see a demonstration sometime ? " " Very soon , " said Lledos . " If Galsiah has done her job . " Galsiah brought out the map of the guildhouse , freshly stolen , and they began to detail out the strategy . The last several hours had been a whirlwind to all . In less than a day , the three had met , formulated a plan , bought or stolen the necessary ingredients , and were about to execute it . Not one of the three were sure whether confidence or stupidity were driving the other two , but the fates were aligned . The guildhouse was going to be robbed . When the sun set , Lledos , Galsiah , and Imalyn approached the Cobblers Guildhouse on the east end of town . Galsiah used her cachous of stoneflower to mask their scent from the guard wolves as the three passed over the parapets . She also acted as lead scout , and Lledos was impressed . For someone of relative inexperience , she knew her way through shadows . Lledos ' s expertise was demonstrated a dozen times , and the guards were of such a diverse variety , he was able to demonstrate all the means of silent assassination he had developed over the years . Imalyn opened the vault in his unique and systematic method . As the tumblers fell beneath his fingers , he softly sang an old dirty tavern song about the Ninety - Nine Loves of Boethiah . He said it helped him focus and organize difficult combinations . Within seconds , the vault was open and the gold was in hand . They left the guildhouse an hour after they entered . No alarm had been raised , the gold was gone , and corpses lay pooling blood on the stone floors within . " Well done , my friends , well done . You learned well . " Lledos said as he poured the gold pieces into the specially designed compartments in his tunic ' s sleeves , where they held fast with no jingling or unusual bulges . " We ' ll meet back at the Plot and Plaster tomorrow morning and split up the bounty . " The group parted ways . The only person who knew the most covert route through the city ' s sewer system , Lledos , slipped in through a duct and vanished below . Galsiah threw on her shawl , muddied her face to resemble an old f ' lah fortune - teller , and headed north . Imalyn headed east into the park , trusting his unnatural senses to keep him away from the citywatch . Now I teach them the greatest lesson of all , thought Lledos as he sloshed through the labyrinthine tunnels of sludge . His guar was waiting where he left it at the city gates , making a laconic lunch of the chokeweed shrub to which it had been leashed . On the road to Vivec , he thought of Galsiah and Imalyn . Perhaps they had been caught and brought in for questioning already . It was a pity he couldn ' t see them undergoing interrogation . Who would break under pressure first ? Imalyn was certainly the tougher of the two , but Galsiah doubtless had hidden reserves . It was merely intellectual curiosity : they thought his name was Lledos and he was meeting them at the Plot and Plaster . The authorities wouldn ' t therefore be looking for a Dunmer named Sathis celebrating his wealth miles and miles away in Vivec . As he prodded his mount forward and the sun began rising , Sathis pictured Galsiah and Imalyn not undergoing interrogation , but sleeping the good deep sleep of the wicked , dreaming of how they would spend their share of the gold . Both would wake up early and rush to the Plot and Plaster . He could see them now , Imalyn laughing and carrying on , Galsiah hushing him to avoid bringing undue attention . They would take a couple flagons of greef , perhaps order a meal — a big one — and wait . Hours would pass , and so would their moods . The chain of reactions that every betrayed person exhibits : nervousness , doubt , bewilderment , anger . The sun was fully risen when Sathis reached the stables of his house on the outskirts of Vivec . He reigned in his guar and filled its feed . The rest of the stalls were empty . It wouldn ' t be until that afternoon when his servants returned from the feast of St Rilms in Gnisis . They were good people , and he treated them well , but from past experience he knew that servants talked . If they began to connect his absences with thefts in other towns , it was only a matter of time before they would go to the authorities or blackmail him . After all , they were human . It was best in the long run to give them a week off with pay whenever he was out of town on business . He slipped the gold into the vault in his study , and went upstairs . The schedule had been tight , but Sathis had given himself a few hours to rest before his household returned . His own bed was wonderfully soft and warm compared to the dreadful mattress he had to use at the canton in Tel Aruhn . Sathis woke up some time later from a nightmare . For a second after he opened his eyes , he thought he could still hear Imalyn ' s voice nearby , singing The Ninety - Nine Loves of Boethiah . He lay still in his bed , waiting , but there was no sound except the usual creaks and groans of his old house . Afternoon sunlight came through his bedroom window in ribbons , catching dust . He closed his eyes . The song returned , and Sathis heard the vault door in his study swing open . The smell of stoneflower filled his nose and he opened his eyes . Only a little of the afternoon sunlight could pierce the inside of the burlap sack . A strong , feminine hand clamped over the mouth and a thumb jabbed under his chin . Just as his throat opened and his head was shoved to the side , he heard Galsiah in her typical calm voice , " Thank you for the lesson , Sathis . "