The Common Tongue The Common Tongue is a slanderous newsletter targeting King Hlaalu Helseth that is written and published in secret by journalist Trels Varis . Content . [ This broadsheet is a newsletter copied on cheap paper , featuring sensational events in the city of Mournhold . One article describes a list of individuals who died under suspicious circumstances when their interests conflicted with those of ' a former prince of the West ' . The reference is clearly King Helseth , King of Morrowind , formerly Prince Helseth of the kingdom of Wayrest in the province of High Rock . ] THE COMMON TONGUE " A poet can have no higher purpose than to tell the truth about the human condition . " - - Lord Vivec < nowiki > * MYSTERIES * < / nowiki > OF THE WEST I have a little list . They never would be missed . Appearing at the top - - three names . . . Anhar , Khajiit male - - Martyrius Arruntius , Imperial male - - Jusole Asciele , Breton male . What do these three names have in common ? All three at one time or another represented an inconvenience to a Western noble prince named Helseth . Anhar was an agent for Eastern ebony merchants . There was an unfortunate scandal concerning improper contracts offered to Helseth as compensation for his assistance in obtaining ebony import remits from the Imperial Board of Census and Excise . Luckily for Prince Helseth , this scandal blew over when no one could be found to testify . Is it just a coincidence that Anhar ' s health went into a steep decline , just as he was to testify before the Imperial magistrates ? He died a natural death , according to the Imperial coroners . Convenient and timely , perhaps , but natural . Martyrius Arruntius was a city alderman of Wayrest . Prince Helseth ' s liaison with the alderman ' s married daughter was potentially embarrassing to the Prince - - especially when Martyrius Arruntius forcefully pressed his suit for ' predatory adultery ' in Wayrest ' s courts . Many thought it strange that Martyrius Arruntius should suddenly fall ill and die of ' exhaustion ' on the eve of the trial . The suit was settled out of court , and charges dismissed . The Imperial coroners ruled that Martyrius Arruntius had died a natural death . Convenient and timely , admittedly , but natural . Jusole Asciele was a diplomatic attache at the High Rock embassy in Wayrest . Widely rumored to be an intelligence officer , Jusole Asciele was often seen at court , taking a great interest in the affairs of Queen Barenziah and her family . It is said that Wayrest can be a beastly uncomfortable place in high summer . Perhaps the Breton ' s constitution was ill - suited to the relentless heat and pestilential swarms of the southern Iliac . Jusole Asciele took suddenly ill one evening , and within three days he was dead . Once again , Imperial coroners ruled that Jusole Asciele had died a natural death . Convenient and timely , yes , but natural . And these , The Common Tongue notes significantly , are only the ' A ' s on the list . Some have quietly suggested that Prince Helseth was the most accomplished and subtle poisoner in the West . But The Common Tongue has never seen a single scrap of evidence that would prove such an indictment . [ Admittedly , the absence of such proof could count as qualifying towards the title of a ' most accomplished and subtle poisoner ' . ] And , further , The Common Tongue does not wish to suggest that King Helseth is a poisoner , or that the recent death of King Athyn Llethan ' s was a poisoning , and not a natural death . The Common Tongue has never seen a single scrap of evidence that would prove such an indictment . And the Imperial coroners have ruled that Athyn Llethan died a natural death .