The Black Arrow , Book II Content . On the last dinner in my employ at the palace , the Duchess , quite surprisingly , had invited the mayor of Moliva and Master Hiomaste among her other guests . The servants ' gossip was manic . The mayor had been there before , albeit very irregularly , but Hiomaste ' s presence was unthinkable . What could she mean by such a conciliatory gesture ? The dinner itself progressed along with perfect if slightly cool civility among all parties . Hiomaste and the Duchess were both very quiet . The Mayor tried to engage the group in a discussion of the Emperor Pelagius Septim IV ' s new son and heir Uriel , but it failed to spark much interest . Lady Villea , elderly but much more vivacious than her sister the Duchess , led most of the talk about crime and scandal in Eldenroot . “ I have been encouraging her to move out to the country , away from all that unpleasantness for years now , ” the Duchess said , meeting the eyes of the Mayor . “ We ' ve been discussing more recently the possibility of her building a palace on Moliva Hill , but there ' s so little space there as you know . Fortunately , we ' ve come to a discovery . There is a wide field just a few days west , on the edge of the river , ideally suited . ” “ It sounds perfect , ” the Mayor smiled and turned to Lady Villea : “ When will your ladyship begin building ? ” “ The very day you move your village to the site , ” replied the Duchess of Woda . The Mayor turned to her to see if she was joking . She obviously was not . “ Think of how much more commerce you could bring to your village if you were close to the river , ” said Lady Villea jovially . “ And Master Hiomaste ' s students could have easier access to his fine school . Everyone would benefit . I know it would put my sister ' s heart to ease if there was less trespassing and poaching on her lands . ” “ There is no poaching or trespassing on your lands now , Your Grace , ” frowned Hiomaste . “ You do not own the jungle , nor will you . The villagers may be persuaded to leave , that I don ' t know . But my school will stay where it is . ” The dinner party never really recovered happily . Hiomaste and the Mayor excused themselves , and my services , such as they were , were not needed in the drawing room where the group went to have their drinks . There was no laughter to be heard through the walls that evening . The next day , even though there was a dinner planned for the evening , I left on my usual walk to Moliva . Before I had even reached the drawbridge , the guard held me back : “ Where are you going , Gorgic ? Not to the village , are you ? ” “ Why not ? ” He pointed to the plume of smoke in the distance : “ A fire broke out very early this morning , and it ' s still going . Apparently , it started at Master Hiomaste ' s school . It looks like the work of some traveling brigands . ” “ Blessed Stendarr ! ” I cried . “ Are the students alive ? ” “ No one knows , but it ' d be a miracle if any survived . It was late and most everyone was sleeping . I know they ' ve already found the Master ' s body , or what was left of it . And they also found that girl , your friend , Prolyssa . ” I spent the day in a state of shock . It seemed inconceivable what my instinct told me : that the two noble old ladies , Lady Villea and the Duchess of Woda , had arranged for a village and school that irritated them to be reduced to ashes . At dinner , they mentioned the fire in Moliva only very briefly , as if it were not news at all . But I did see the Duchess smile for the first time ever . It was a smile I will never forget until the day I die . The next morning , I had resolved to go to the village and see if I could be of any assistance to the survivors . I was passing through the servants ' hall to the grand foyer when I heard the sound of a group of people ahead . The guards and most of the servants were there , pointing at the portrait of the Duchess that hung in the center of the hall . There was a single black bolt of ebony piercing the painting , right at the Duchess ' s heart . I recognized it at once . It was one of Missun Akin ' s arrows I had seen in his quiver , forged , he said , in the bowels of Dagoth - Ur itself . My first reaction was relief : the Dunmer who had been kind enough to give me a ride to the palace had survived the fire . My second reaction was echoed by all present in the hall . How had the vandal gotten past the guards , the gate , the moat , and the massive iron door ? The Duchess , arriving shortly after I , was clearly furious , though she was too well bred to show it but by raising her web - thin eyebrows . She wasted no time in assigning all her servants to new duties to keep the palace grounds guarded at all times . We were given regular shifts and precise , narrow patrols . The next morning , despite all precautions , there was another black arrow piercing the Duchess ' s portrait . So it continued for a week ' s time . The Duchess saw to it that at least one person was always present in the foyer , but somehow the arrow always found its way to her painting whenever the guard ' s eyes were momentarily averted . A complex series of signals were devised , so each patrol could report back any sounds or disturbances they encountered during their vigil . At first , the Duchess arranged them so her castellan would receive record of any disturbances during the day , and the chief of the guard during the night . But when she found that she could not sleep , she made certain that the information came to her directly . The atmosphere in the palace had shifted from gloomy to nightmarish . A snake would slither across the moat , and suddenly Her Grace would be tearing through the east wing to investigate . A strong gust of wind ruffling the leaves on one of the few trees in the lawn was a similar emergency . An unfortunate lone traveler on the road in front of the palace , a completely innocent man as it turned out , brought such a violent reaction that he must have thought that he had stumbled on a war . In a way , he had . And every morning , there was a new arrow in the front hall , mocking her . I was given the terrible assignment of guarding the portrait for a few hours in the early morning . Not wanting to be the one to discover the arrow , I seated myself in a chair opposite , never letting my eyes move away for even a second . I don ' t know if you ' ve had the experience of watching one object relentlessly , but it has a strange effect . All other senses vanish . That was why I was particularly startled when the Duchess rushed into the room , blurring the gulf for me between her portrait and herself . “ There ' s something moving behind the tree across the road from the gate ! ” she roared , pushing me aside , and fumbling with her key in the gold lock . She was shaking with madness and excitement , and the key did not seem to want to go in . I reached out to help her , but the Duchess was already kneeling , her eye to the keyhole , to be certain that the key went through . It was precisely in that second that the arrow arrived , but this one never made it as far as the portrait . I actually met Missun Akin years later , while I was in Morrowind to entertain some nobles . He was impressed that I had risen from being a humble domestic servant to being a bard of some renown . He himself had returned to the ashlands , and , like his old master Hiomaste , was retired to the simple life of teaching and hunting . I told him that I had heard that Lady Villea decided not to leave the city , and that the village of Modiva had been rebuilt . He was happy to hear that , but I could not find a way to ask him what I really wanted to know . I felt like a fool just wondering if what I thought were true , that he had been behind Prolyssa ' s tree across the road from the gate every morning that summer , firing an arrow through the gate , across the lawn , across the moat , through a keyhole , and into a portrait of the Duchess of Woda until he struck the Duchess herself . It was clearly an impossibility . I chose not to ask . As we left one another that day , and he was waving good - bye , he said , “ I am pleased to see you doing so well , my friend . I am happy you moved that chair . ”