Kaleeth's banter was a relatively new phenomenon. However, it was not the first time that she had called Fendros and Ahnasha out over the prevailing years.

"You know what, Kaleeth?" Fendros said, turning his head to grin at her. "I think I preferred you when you were more modest about your strength." He turned slightly in his squat over the corpse he was searching and held a hand out to one side. "I'm [i]sure[/i] you would do fine when those swords and spears are joined with magic and arrows."

Janius called out from a short distance away, still tying up the captives. "Don't get too cocky, dear. They're gaining on us."

[hr]
"That skirmish," Sabine's question cut through both of them. She did not look up while she ground up a mixture to sooth the wounded werebear's pain. "Did the Thalmor survive? It might not be the whole Dominion."

[hr]
Back in Blackreach, missives and updates came in every day through the door. They were all coded, as Saras had specified, though one in the sea of parchment arrived with an attachment. Unscrolling the first letter revealed an older piece sealed with it. The fresher parchment was from a long standing and trusted informant. After decoding, it read:

[i]S
Some disguised figures are looking for wolves in Solitude. Team of three Imperials. Names and appearances aren't familiar with those working for Vile. Could be new ones. They stay in the city, so can't end them just yet. Thing is, they're acting more openly. They aren't trying to make inroads with the Jarl or anything like that. They're just asking around about beast sightings or attacks. Nothing more than investigation. Seems they have authority over the Jarl's men, though. They were let in the castle and got to have some long chats with all the important people. Guard captain, Jarl's family, Thalmor emissary, the lot. No one on Vile's pay has that kind of access. Gets stranger when I filched a letter they tried to send. Find it attached. It's written in code like nothing Vile has either. Nothing I've seen of anyone before. The seal is still clear, though. Does that symbol mean anything to you?
-W
P.S. Just got a report. They're going to be scouring local caves and ruins. They might stop by Raldbthar soon. Let me know if you want them to be attacked by trolls on the way back.[/i]

The older parchment attached was indeed written in a gibberish code that was rare to see in Saras' investigations. To decode it would take a while, but there were a few techniques that might be candidates, including one that he did not expect to find at all. His suspicions were confirmed when he held the two halves of the broken wax seal from the old parchment together. It was an eye in a circle, joined to the top edge with three straight lines. The insignia of the Penitus Oculatus; the highest security organisation in Cyrodiil.