A Dance in Fire , Book VII Summary . A part of the seven - volume " A Dance in Fire " series . Content . Scene : Silvenar , Valenwood Date : 13 Sun ' s Dusk , 3E 397 The banquet at the palace of the Silvenar was well attended by every jealous bureaucrat and trader who had attempted to contract the rebuilding of Valenwood . They looked on Decumus Scotti , Liodes Jurus , and Basth with undisguised hatred . It made Scotti very uncomfortable , but Jurus delighted in it . As the servants brought in platter after platter of roasted meats , Jurus poured himself a cup of Jagga and toasted the clerk . " I can confess it now , " said Jurus . " I had grave doubts about inviting you to join me on this adventure . All the other clerks and agents of building commissions I contacted were more outwardly aggressive , but none of them made it through , let alone to the audience chamber of the Silvenar , let alone brokered the deals on their own like you did . Come , have a cup of Jagga with me . " " No thank you , " said Scotti . " I had too much of that drug in Falinesti , and nearly got sucked dry by a giant tick because of it . I ' ll find something else to drink . " Scotti wandered about the hall until he saw some diplomats drinking mugs of a steaming brown liquid , poured from a large silver urn . He asked them if it was tea . " Tea made from leaves ? " scoffed the first diplomat . " Not in Valenwood . This is Rotmeth . " Scotti poured himself a mug and took a tentative sip . It was gamy , bitter and sugared , and very salty . At first it seemed very disagreeable to his palate , but a moment later he found he had drained the mug and was pouring another . His body tingled . All the sounds in the chamber seemed oddly disjointed , but not frighteningly so . " So you ' re the fellow who got the Silvenar to sign all those contracts , " said the second diplomat . " That must have required some deep negotiation . " " Not at all , not at all , just a little basic understand of mercantile trading , " grinned Scotti , pouring himself a third mug of Rotmeth . " The Silvenar was very eager to involve the Imperial state with the affairs of Valenwood . I was very eager to take a percentage of the commission . With all that blessed eagerness , it was merely a matter of putting quill to contract , bless you . " " You have been in the employ of his Imperial Majesty very long ? " asked the first diplomat . " It ' s a bite , or rather , a bit more complicated than that in the Imperial City . Between you and me , I don ' t really have a job . I used to work for Lord Atrius and his Building Commission , but I got sacked . And then , the contracts are from Lord Vanech and his Building Commission , ' cause I got em from this fellow Reglius who is a competitor but still a very fine fellow until he was made dead by those Khajiiti , " Scotti drained his fifth mug . " When I go back to the Imperial City , then the real negotiations can begin , bless you . I can go to my old employer and to Lord Vanech , and say , look here you , which one of you wants these commissions ? And they ' ll fall over each other to take them from me . It will be bidding war for my percentage the likes of which no one nowhere has never seen . " " So you ' re not a representative of his Imperial Majesty , the Emperor ? " asked the first diplomat . " Didn ' t you hear what I ' m said ? You stupid ? " Scotti felt a surge of rage , which quickly subsided . He chuckled , and poured himself a seventh mug . " The Building Commissions are privately owned , but they ' re still representatives of the Emperor . So I ' m a representative of the Emperor . Or I will be . When I get these contracts in . It ' s very complicated . I can understand why you ' re not following me . Bless you , it ' s all like the poet said , a dance in fire , if you follow the illusion , that is to say , allusion . " " And your colleagues ? Are they representatives of the Emperor ? " asked the second diplomat . Scotti burst into laughter , shaking his head . The diplomats bade him their respects and went to talk to the Minister . Scotti stumbled out of the palace , and reeled through the strange , organic avenues and boulevards of the city . It took him several hours to find his way to Prithala Hall and his room . Once there , he slept , very nearly on his bed . The next morning , he woke to Jurus and Basth in his room , shaking him . He felt half - asleep and unable to open his eyes fully , but otherwise fine . The conversation with the diplomats floated in his mind in a haze , like an obscure childhood memory . " What in Mara ' s name is Rotmeth ? " he asked quickly . " Rancid , strongly fermented meat juices with lots of spices to kill the poisons , " smiled Basth . " I should have warned you to stay with Jagga . " " You must understand the Meat Mandate by now , " laughed Jurus . " These Bosmeri would rather eat each other than touch the fruit of the vine or the field . " " What did I say to those diplomats ? " cried Scotti , panicking . " Nothing bad apparently , " said Jurus , pulling out some papers . " Your escorts are downstairs to bring you to the Imperial Province . Here are your papers of safe passage . The Silvenar seems very impatient about business proceeding forward rapidly . He promises to send you some sort of rare treasure when the contracts are fulfilled . See , he ' s already given me something . " Jurus showed off his new , bejeweled earring , a beautiful large faceted ruby . Basth showed that he had a similar one . The two fat fellows left the room so Scotti could dress and pack . A full regiment of the Silvenar ' s guards was on the street in front of the tavern . They surrounded a carriage crested with the official arms of Valenwood . Still dazed , Scotti climbed in , and the captain of the guard gave the signal . They began a quick gallop . Scotti shook himself , and then peered behind . Basth and Jurus were waving him goodbye . " Wait ! " Scotti cried . " Aren ' t you coming back to the Imperial Province too ? " " The Silvenar asked that we stay behind as Imperial representatives ! " yelled Liodes Jurus . " In case there ' s a need for more contracts and negotiations ! He ' s appointed us Undrape , some sort of special honor for foreigners at court ! Don ' t worry ! Lots of banquets to attend ! You can handle the negotiations with Vanech and Atrius yourself and we ' ll keep things settled here ! " Jurus continued to yell advice about business , but his voice became indistinct with distance . Soon it disappeared altogether as the convoy rounded the streets of Silvenar . The jungle loomed suddenly and then they were in it . Scotti had only gone through it by foot or along the rivers by slow - moving boats . Now it flashed all around him in profusions of greens . The horses seemed even faster moving through underbrush than on the smooth paths of the city . None of the weird sounds or dank smells of the jungle penetrated the escort . It felt to Scotti as if he were watching a play about the jungle with a background of a quickly moving scrim , which offered only the merest suggestion of the place . So it went for two weeks . There was lots of food and water in the carriage with the clerk , so he merely ate and slept as the caravan pressed endlessly on . From time to time , he ' d hear the sound of blades clashing , but when he looked around whatever had attacked the caravan had long since been left behind . At last , they reached the border , where an Imperial garrison was stationed . Scotti presented the soldiers who met the carriage with the papers . They asked him a barrage of questions that he answered monosyllabically , and then let him pass . It took several more days to arrive at the gates of the Imperial City . The horses that had flown so fast through the jungle now slowed down in the unfamiliar territory of the wooded Colovian Estates . By contrast , the cries of his province ' s birds and smells of his province ' s plant life brought Decumus Scotti alive . It was if he had been dreaming all the past months . At the gates of the City , Scotti ' s carriage door was opened for him and he stepped out on uncertain legs . Before he had a moment to say something to the escort , they had vanished , galloping back south through the forest . The first thing he did now that he was home was go to the closest tavern and have tea and fruit and bread . If he never ate meat again , he told himself , that would suit him very nicely . Negotiations with Lord Atrius and Lord Vanech proceeded immediately thereafter . It was most agreeable . Both commissions recognized how lucrative the rebuilding of Valenwood would be for their agency . Lord Vanech claimed , quite justifiably , that as the contracts had been written on forms notarized by his commission , he had the legal right to them . Lord Atrius claimed that Decumus Scotti was his agent and representative , and that he had never been released from employment . The Emperor was called to arbitrate , but he claimed to be unavailable . His advisor , the Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn , had disappeared long ago and could not be called on for his wisdom and impartial mediation . Scotti lived very comfortably off the bribes from Lord Atrius and Lord Vanech . Every week , a letter would arrive from Jurus or Basth asking about the status of negotiations . Gradually , these letters ceased coming , and more urgent ones came from the Minister of Trade and the Silvenar himself . The War of the Blue Divide with Summurset Isle ended with the Altmeri winning several new coastal islands from the Wood Elves . The war with Elsweyr continued , ravaging the eastern borders of Valenwood . Still , Vanech and Atrius fought over who would help . One fine morning in the early spring of the year 3E 398 , a courier arrived at Decumus Scotti ' s door . " Lord Vanech has won the Valenwood commission , and requests that you and the contracts come to his hall at your earliest convenience . " " Has Lord Atrius decided not to challenge further ? " asked Scotti . " He ' s been unable to , having died very suddenly , just now , from a terribly unfortunate accident , " said the courier . Scotti had wondered how long it would be before the Dark Brotherhood was brought in for final negotiations . As he walked toward Lord Vanech ' s Building Commission , a long , severe piece of architecture on a minor but respectable plaza , he wondered if he had played the game , as he ought to have . Could Vanech be so rapacious as to offer him a lower percentage of the commission now that his chief competitor was dead ? Thankfully , he discovered , Lord Vanech had already decided to pay Scotti what he had proposed during the heat of the winter negotiations . His advisors had explained to him that other , lesser building commissions might come forward unless the matter were handled quickly and fairly . " Glad we have all the legal issues done with , " said Lord Vanech , fondly . " Now we can get to the business of helping the poor Bosmeri , and collecting the profits . It ' s a pity you weren ' t our representative for all the troubles with Bend ' r - mahk and the Arnesian business . But there will be plenty more wars , I ' m sure of that . " Scotti and Lord Vanech sent word to the Silvenar that at last they were prepared to honor the contracts . A few weeks later , they held a banquet in honor of the profitable enterprise . Decumus Scotti was the darling of the Imperial City , and no expense was spared to make it an unforgettable evening . As Scotti met the nobles and wealthy merchants who would be benefiting from his business dealings , an exotic but somehow faintly familiar smell rose in the ballroom . He traced it to its source : a thick roasted slab of meat , so long and thick it covered several platters . The Cyrodilic revelers were eating it ravenously , unable to find the words to express their delight at its taste and texture . " It ' s like nothing I ' ve ever had before ! " " It ' s like pig - fed venison ! " " Do you see the marbling of fat and meat ? It ' s a masterpiece ! " Scotti went to take a slice , but then he saw something imbedded deep in the dried and rendered roast . He nearly collided with his new employer Lord Vanech as he stumbled back . " Where did this come from ? " Scotti stammered . " From our client , the Silvenar , " beamed his lordship . " It ' s some kind of local delicacy they call Unthrappa . " Scotti vomited , and didn ' t stop for some time . It cast rather a temporary pall on the evening , but when Decumus Scotti was carried off to his manor house , the guests continued to dine . The Unthrappa was the delight of all . Even more so when Lord Vanech himself took a slice and found the first of two rubies buried within . How very clever of the Bosmer to invent such a dish , the Cyrodiils agreed .