Fools ' Ebony , Book IV Summary . This book is part of a six part series on Fools ' Ebony , as follows : Content . Mercantile Dealings , The Armorers Involve Themselves . After some general discussion and verbal dancing around , finally the topic of Fools ' Ebony is explored . . . Somewhere near the market , in the back of a store called " Nephron ' s General Mercantile . " The day after . PROLOGUE : Whilst the actors playing the Adventurer and the merchant Nephron dramatically move their mouths to pantomime a conversation , it is on poor Prologue ' s shoulders to update the audience on the play ' s actions in its first three acts . The Adventurer , a rogue of a Dunmer , has been hired two different groups — four inebriated priests and two greedy mages — to delay the other group , and find the lost cache of Fools ' Ebony in the Wrothgarian Mountains . Now , picture this clownishly decorated set as the back room at a prosperous merchant ' s shop . And before the Adventurer and Nephron develop lockjaw , Prologue will leave you thus . ADVENTURER : So you see , friend Nephron , just what an opportunity we have here . We have this new commodity , for which you agree there will be a huge demand . NEPHRON : Especially from the Royals — once one of them has something new , they all want it , of course . ADVENTURER : And do not forget the Armorers for their forges , and the Alchemists for their retorts and whatnots . . . NEPHRON : You seem to have the Mages lined up nicely , got their location , memorized the access map , and so on - you know , we merchants have had a suspicion for quite some time that those old twits had some deep dark secret of interest to us . . . Now , the priests - the School of Julianos we already work well with , hand and glove , you might say . But of course we shall cut them out of the major profits — maybe let them distribute some to their flocks ? And their Temples make good , how can I say ? - - storehouses ? But the Akatosh Chantry is a problem , always running off and doing things on their own initiative , no cooperation , just crazy people . . . we really need to do something about them , to . . . er . . . ensure their cooperation . . . ADVENTURER : I have a suggestion that might help . . . you recall how old Komon left and apparently dragged off some little blonde lamppost girl . . . just suppose , that just by chance , in his state of . . . befuddlement . . . he dragged off someone important by mistake . . ? Might be a lot of trouble for the Chantry , if word got out ? NEPHRON : Hmmm . Indeed . . . there ' s this silly little blonde Royal who ' s all excited by the ' real life ' down in these parts of town . Disguises herself ( or so she thinks ) , comes on down here and plays at being poor . Stupid little twit . . . Komon is still in hiding with his blonde , right ? ADVENTURER : Yes , in that ' retreat ' the Priests have , down near the waterfront . NEPHRON : Oh yes , I know that place - often sell them some ' spiritual powders ' and so on . . . Good . . . you see , just imagine what would happen if Komon , by mistake , had grabbed this slumming little Contessa . . . Akatosh Chantry would have no end of trouble from the palace if something nasty happened to her . . . and then we could move in , offer to ' help ' the Chantry during their hard times . . . Hmmm . Yes ! Leave it to me , I shall contact a few of my . . . er . . . business associates , as it were . . . make some arrangements . ADVENTURER : And I ' ll keep up chatting with the priests , get them to support our little business venture ? NEPHRON : Right ! And I should introduce you to some of the more senior members of our Brotherhood . . . excuse me , Guild . Let me contact you in a few days , when everything is all set . You are here every evening ? ADVENTURER : Yes , not particularly safe outside after dark these days . NEPHRON : I see . We shall have to arrange some . . . protection for you . Well , in a few days , then . ARMORER 1 : OK , fellow . Lets not spriggen - foot around ! We know about this Fools ' Ebony thing . And about the Mages who apparently discovered the location . And we have been watching you dance around with the Priests , the Mages , the Merchants . Just about everyone with two feet ! ARMORER 2 : And how you are really working with Nephron . ARMORER 3 : And how you are double - crossing the Priests and Mages . . . ARMORER 2 : You and Nephron are really doing a good job on the Akatosh Chantry , we must admit . ARMORER 1 : But now , we want that Fool ' s Ebony supply . We need it to increase our production , our quality — and our prices . We can work with Nephron and his gang , we need warehouses and distribution anyway . ARMORER 4 : We could torture it out of you . . . ARMORER 3 : We could let the Priests know about your plans — they would throw you to the Afterdark Society in a flash ! ARMORER 5 : We could let the Mages know — they would send you to Oblivion for a very , very long time ! ARMORER 1 : But we would rather you ' joined ' our Guild . We cannot afford to leave Daggerfall for some hairy wilderness trip . Too much demand these days , for our services . ARMORER 2 : But we can send a group of our apprentices along to keep you company . ARMORER 4 : Our apprentices usually test all our products . . . and will be just itching to test out there . ADVENTURER : Gentlemen , gentlemen ! Please - I really was going to give the whole deal to you , once I had gotten gold from everyone else . Ohhh . . . well , I thought of it . . . ARMORER 5 : Sure ! And I ' m a Nymph ! ADVENTURER : Yes , Yes , Yes , you are very persuasive . I would welcome an . . . er . . . escort and guard of such tough gentlemen . Be very handy out there . ARMORER 1 : Good . Thought you would see it our way ! Some of our other members are presently having a little . . . chat with Nephron . We can handle him . And from now on , two of our bigger apprentices will always be close at hand . Protection , of course - this town can be quite dangerous at night . . . ARMORER 3 : So continue with your arrangements , work with Nephron . You can always leave word about your departure date with any weapons shop . And about any problems you may have . . . ADVENTURER : Certainly , gentlemen . Yes , you are indeed very persuasive . I shall keep you up to date . And , er . . . thanks for the protection . ADVENTURER : Hello , who are you ? ORTHO : Me am Ortho ! ADVENTURER : My . . . protection ? ORTHO : Me am Ortho ! ADVENTURER : You look very familiar to me for some reason . Have you every been to Morrowind ? ORTHO : Me am Ortho ! ADVENTURER : Fine then . ( aside ) My old man used to say the very worst thing that can happen to a fellow is an evening spent in the company of an earnest politician . This , I think , is a close second . EPILOGUE : Our play has six parts , and we ' ve just finished the fourth . It ' s interesting I think that the Lusty Contessa has not made an appearance yet . You don ' t suppose our playwright forgot he put her in the Dramatis Personae , do you ? Well , you ' ll only know if you come back for The Fools ' Ebony , Part the Fiveth . And if your neighbor decides not to return , don ' t tell him what happened . We actors have to make a living too , you know . Don ' t forget to tip your wenches while we change the scene . So Endeth Part The Fourth