Letters to Carorilie, by Agent Cale Darper

Agent Darper writes in his leather bound notebook as he sips from his cup of coffee in suite five at the Tall Trunk Tavern in Vulkswasten, Malabal Tor

13th of Second Seed.

Carorilie, I arrived in Vulkwasten, Malabal Tor in the province of Valenwood today. I’ve never seen so many trees in my life. Some appear as tall as the mountains I rode through in Thorstad and just as majestic. A few miles outside of town I ate at a traveling food vendor. Carorilie, it was the best damn salmon stick I ever ate. If you ever come by this way, that salmon stick is worth the stop. In Vulkwasten I met a few charming locals and discovered there was a minor epidemic going on. Didn’t look too serious as I would have expected it to smell much fouler. I didn’t see one corpse, so it is safe to assume this one is only temporary. Unfortunately the town is under quarantine and I’ll be stuck here longer than I expected. I don’t mind though, It’ll give me some time to spend with my investigation.

I spoke to one of the local constables, Mr. Thorn is his name. An amiable fellow who seemed to be the one in charge. He is an Argonian, you know the water breathers. What gave him away was the gravelly voice. Aye, he had scales, sharp teeth and a tail, but I’d rather not be one who assesses people on appearance alone. I asked for his permission to hand out my missing posters and he was willing to accommodate me. Swell fellow that man is, I’m sure he’s got quite the following here.

I spent most of the day handing out the missing posters and asking the locals if they’ve seen the face that was sketched on them. Perhaps my leads were incorrect, because not one person recognized Lulan on the poster. Very strange, very strange indeed. According to Lulan’s wife, he’s been sending payments to her and their child the past few years from Vulkwasten. I’ll get more answers soon after I meet with Lulan’s parents in Tanglehaven.

I stopped in local tavern, called the Tall Trunk Tavern and Inn. This place has to be the tallest tree in all of Valenwood. I went in and ordered my obligatory a cup of coffee and I have to say, damn fine cup of coffee if I ever tasted one. There’s something dandy about these local folk and how they craft their drinks. Tomorrow I’ll ask for my first taste of Rootmuth...I believe it’s called. I’m looking forward to that. They say it is made of rotten meat. Can you believe it? They drink their food.

Oh Carorilie, I almost forgot. I have to find out what kind of trees these are. They're really something.

-Agent Cale Darper

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the missing person poster Darper's been handing out to the people of Vulkwasten

Agent Cale Darper writes in his notebook as he travels inside a carriage on his way back to Vulkwasten.

17th of Second Seed.

Carorilie, I have much news to tell you. The man I have been searching for, Lulan Leaf-Lake, is dead. Yes, this new information shocked me as much as it will shock you, yet there are still a few unresolved issues I need to uncover.

Turns out, Lulan's parents have two homesteads, one in Wayrest and one in Vulkwasten. And here I thought Lulan was a full Breton. Apparently he's half Bosmer as well. This explains the two homes. One for his Breton mother in Wayrest during the summer months and one for the Bosmer father in Vulkwasten during the winters. Can you imagine a high-society woman of Wayrest marrying a rural Bosmeri from Valenwood? I agree, it's odd, yet hopefully romantic at the same time.

The Vulkwasten quarantine was lifted so I hopped on a carriage and made my way up north to Wayrest to meet with Lulan's parents. It was a lovely ride on the way to Wayrest. I slept the entire time. Although, I never did get a chance to go south to see the Elden Tree in Elden Root, but I can't imagine the trees there being any bigger than the one I found in Vulkwasten. Which reminds me, they are called graht-oak. Not Valen-oak like I originally thought. I should have listened to you Carorilie, I now owe you fifty drakes.

Upon my return to Wayrest, I met with Lulan's parents. I found it peculiar that they didn't show much grief when they told me their son was dead. I told them that Lulan's wife in Auridon had sent me to investigate his disappearance five years ago. Oh my word, Carorilie, you should have seen the shock on their face when I told them Lulan had been married to an Altmeri woman in Skywatch. What kind of son wouldn't tell his parents that he's been married for seventeen years and has a sixteen year old child? I suppose Lulan got away with it by being so far from his parents home during his tour in the army.

Now, here is what keeps bugging me, Carorilie. Lulan's wife, who asked me to search for him in the first place, insists that she still receives financial payments each month to support her and her child. Even though we don't fully know the origin of the said payments, there is clear evidence they are coming from Vulkwasten. This of course is why I traveled to Vulkwasten in the first place. But, new information has come to light while speaking to Lulan's parents. Apparently he has a twin sister, named Lulie who works at the tavern in Vulkwasten. If my memory serves me correctly there was a bartender there whose name I believe is Lulie, but I can't place a face. She should be fairly easy to find though, since I would assume there aren't too many Breton barmaids in that town.

Carorilie, I'm currently heading my way on a carriage back to Vulkwasten to meet up with Lulan's sister, Lulie. I'm looking forward to visiting the town and see its trees again. The graht-oak they call them. Oh and the finest cup of coffee I ever tasted, next to yours of course.

-Agent Cale Darper

Agent Cale Darper writes in his notebook as he sits on his leather cot in suite five of the tall trunk tavern and inn.

19th of Second Seed.

Carorilie, You'll never guess who I bumped into today. Kramkoo Nightvale, that unhinged bosmer of a fellow. I was taking my morning walk through the forest and I heard the familiar tune of whistling that old favorite, "Timber on the Shore, Don't Want No More." I knew it had to be him, and as sure as sun rises in the East, it was Kramkoo Nighvale, the mer Agent Eronre put in jail for twenty years. But that's a story for a later time.

I met up with Lulan's sister, Lulie. It has been said that some of the fairest woman live in the trees. And after meeting Lulie, I dare say that's but a myth. She looked overworked, exhausted and had a rough complexion. I didn't ask, but I assume she's with child. To make matters more interesting, Lulie is not a Breton as I assumed. I found it quite perplexing as it is not common for a mixed race couple to have an offspring of the father's race. I will look in to this further.

We do have some developments in to our case, Carorille. We now know who's been sending Lulan's wife the money each month. Lulie told me she's been doing it. Strange however, non of Lulan's family ever told his wife that he had died. This is and the other things make me believe there is more to this story. These are questions I feel Lulan's wife and the army will demand answers to.

I will head to Auridon in the morning to bear the bad news to Lulan's wife. We will see how she receives the news of her husband's death, before we proceed any further in this case.

In Akatosh

Agent Cale Darper

22nd of Second Seed.

Agent Cale Darper gathers his thoughts while sitting in the confines of a dirty Vulkwasten Jail Cell.

Carorilie,

You'll never believe the day I had.

I traveled to Auridon to meet up with Lulan Leaf-Lake's wife to tell her of her husband's death. She was obviously distraught and I had to keep her vertical. During her tears, she explained to me that Lulan had many enemies, mostly women that he had wronged in the past. She also told me that she only married him because she felt forced to by her parents after she had found out she was pregnant with Lulan's child.

I told her it was not my duty to find the cause of death, but I would return to Vulkwasten to get more information from Lulan's parents. However, the next thing Lulan's wife said troubled me greatly. She told me Lulan never had a sister. I insisted that both of Lulan's parents confirmed that Lulie is the sister of Lulan. She however did not believe me.

I decided that I should speak with Lulie and her parents again and confront them with this information. I was fairly certain it was not true and Lulan's wife was probably confused during her grief.

And yet, here I sit in a jail cell, under the canopy that I admired so much. Partly at my own request to save myself from being chopped to pieces by the locals.

Remember how I previously stated how much I enjoyed this town? Its quirkiness, the people, the warm welcome I received? Well, Carorillie, I take that all back. This town has no civility whatsoever. One short haired blonde Bosmeri, I never did get her name, drew her weapons as soon as I asked Lulie to come with me. She obviously cared for Lulie, but my gods I was trying to be polite as possible. Carorillie, Remind me that there are still barbaric places and people in the world, no matter how beautiful.

There were more people that began to confront me. A female Khajiit, Lulie's husband Gloo, a creepy pale complected old Bosmeri man, a tall Altmeri male and a Dunmer barmaid.

Suddenly, when I felt there was no recourse, I did do something I am truly ashamed of. I snapped and yelled out that I was here to arrest Lulie after they asked me why I had come. Quite embarrassing on my part, as I take pride on my ability to remain calm during these stressful situations. Well, that accusation caused the entire town to feel the need to envelope me with mud balls.

As soon as I had said those false words of my intentions to arrest Lulie, another Bosmer came out of the fold and proclaimed that Lulie was in fact the man I had been searching for all along. I heard laughter from the others as the Bosmer said this. Lulie is Lulan she said over and over. I did not believe her..who could? It was a preposterous notion that the pretty blonde bosmer was once my old friend, Lulan Leaf-Lake.

Before I had time to gather my thoughts and absorb this information, the Altmeri gentleman threatened me and appeared to want my head on a platter. I believe his name is Octane, or something of that nature. It was then that I realized I was probably not going to survive the current situation, so I did what any sensible person would do and asked the local town guard to arrest me.

And here I sit in a jail cell, under the canopy that I once cherished. If Lulie is indeed Lulan in disguise, then I shouldn't be too worried about my current situation and he..i mean she will take care of it. If not, then I am probably doomed.

Agent Cale repeats these words in his head throughout the night, so that he will remember them when he writes in his notebook. The figure of a woman in a blue dress approaches him. It is Lulie and she sits outside the cell, explaining everything to him