The Cake and the Diamond Content . I was in the Rat and the Pot , a foreigner cornerclub in Ald ' ruhn , talking to my fellow Rats when I first saw the woman . Now , Breton women are fairly common in the Rat and the Pot . As a breed , they seem inclined to wander far from their perches in High Rock . Old Breton women , however , are not so migratory , and the wizened old biddy drew attention to herself , wandering about the room , talking to everyone . Nimloth and Oediad were at their usual places , drinking their usual stuff . Oediad was showing off a prize he had picked up in some illicit manner - - a colossal diamond , large as a baby ' s hand , and clear as spring water . I was admiring it when I heard the creaking of old bones behind me . " Good day to you , friends , " said the old woman . " My name is Abelle Chriditte , and I am in need of financial assistance to facilitate my transportation to Ald Redaynia . " " You ' ll want to see the Temple for charity , " said Nimloth curtly . " I am not looking for charity , " said Abelle . " I ' m looking to barter services . " " Don ' t make me sick , old woman , " laughed Oediad . " Did you say your name was Abelle Chriditte ? " I asked , " Are you related to Abelle Chriditte , the High Rock alchemist ? " " Closely related , " she said , with a cackle . " We are the same person . Perhaps I could prepare you a potion in exchange for gold ? I noticed that you have in your possession a very fine diamond . The magical qualities of diamonds are boundless . " " Sorry , old woman , I ain ' t giving it up for magic . It was trouble enough stealing this one , " said Oediad . " I ' ve got a fence who ' ll trade it for gold . " " But your fence will demand a certain percentage , will he not ? What if I could give you a potion of invisibility in exchange ? In return for that diamond , you could have the means to steal many more . A very fair exchange of services , I would say . " " It would be , but I have no gold to give you , " said Oediad . " I ' ll take what remains of the diamond after I ' ve made the potion , " said Abelle . " If you took it to the Mages Guild , you ' d have to supply all the other ingredients and pay for it as well . But I learned my craft in the wild , where no Potion - makers existed to dissolve diamonds into dust . When you must do it all by hand , by simple skill , you are blessed with remnants those fool potion - makers at the Guild simply swallow up . " " That sounds all very nice , " said Nimloth , " But how do we know your potion is going to work ? If you make one potion , take the rest of Oediad ' s diamond , and leave , we won ' t know until you ' ve gone whether the potion works or not . " " Ah , trust is so rare these days , " sighed Abelle . " I suppose I could make two potions for you , and there ' d still be a little bit of the diamond left for me . Not a lot , but perhaps enough to get me to Ald Redaynia . Then you could try the first potion right here and now , and see if you ' re satisfied or not . " " But , " I interjected . " You could make one potion that works and one that doesn ' t , and take more of the diamond . She could even give you a slow - acting poison , and by the time she got to Ald Redaynia , you ' d be dead . " " Bleedin ' Kynareth , you Dunmer are suspicious ! I will hardly have any diamond left , but I could make two potions of two doses each , so you can satisfy yourself that the potion works and has no negative effects . If you still don ' t trust me , come along with me to my table and witness my craft if you ' d like . " So it was decided that I would accompany Abelle back to her table where she had all her traveling bags full of herbs and minerals , to make certain that she was not making two different potions . It took nearly an hour of preparation , but she kindly allowed me to finish her half - filled flagon of wine while I watched her work . Splintering the diamond and powdering the pieces required the bulk of the time ; over and over again , she waved her gnarled hands over the gem , intoning ancient enchantments , breaking the facets of the stone into smaller and smaller pieces . Separately she made pastes of minced bittergreen , crushed red bulbs of dell ' arco spae , and driblets of ciciliani oil . I finished the wine . " Old woman , " I finally said with a sigh . " How much longer is this going to take ? I ' m getting tired of watching you work . " " The Mages Guild has fooled the populace into thinking alchemy is a science , " she said . " But if you ' re tired , rest your eyes . " My eyes closed , seemingly of their own volition . But there had been something in that wine . Something that made me do what she asked . " I think I ' ll make up the potion as cakes . It ' s much more potent that way . Now , tell me , young man , what will your friends do once I give them the potion ? " " Mug you in the street afterwards to retrieve the rest of the diamond , " I said simply . I didn ' t want to tell the truth , but there it was . " I thought so , but I wanted to be certain . You may open your eyes now . " I opened my eyes . Abelle had made a small presentation on a wooden platter : two small cakes and a silver cutting knife . " Pick up the cakes and bring them to the table , " said Abelle . " And don ' t say anything , except to agree with whatever I say . " I did as I was told . It was a curious sensation . I didn ' t really mind being her puppet . Of course , in retrospect , I resent it , but it seemed perfectly natural at the time to obey without question . Abelle handed the cakes to Oediad and I dutifully verified that both cakes were made the same way . She suggested that he cut one of the cakes in half , and she would take one piece and he ' d take the other , just so he would know that they worked and weren ' t poisoned . Oediad thought it was a good idea , and used Abelle ' s knife to cut the cake . Abelle took the piece on the left and popped into her mouth . Oediad took the piece on the right and swallowed it more cautiously . Abelle and all the bags she was carrying vanished from sight almost instantly . Nothing happened to Oediad . " Why did it work for the witch and not for me ? " cried Oediad . " Because the diamond dust was only on the left - hand side of the blade , " said the old alchemist through me . I felt her control lessening as the distance grew and she hurried invisibly down the dark Ald ' ruhn street away from the Rat and the Pot . We never found Abelle Chriditte or the diamond . Whether she completed her pilgrimage to Ald Redaynia is anyone ' s guess . The cakes had no effect , except to give Oediad a bad case of droops that lasted for nearly a week .