The year was 194 of the 4th Era. Night fell upon the sleeping town of Whiterun, and Jarl Balgruuf the Greater found himself tasked with unraveling an ominous string of crime coursing through his beloved city. For the past week, people were reporting that their gold was being lifted straight from their pockets, and that their most valuable possessions were going missing without explanation. The citizens were frantic with worry that a dangerous criminal known as the Black Phantom was on the loose in Whiterun, and insisted that their law-breaking intruder may yet commit even worse crimes in the future than petty burglary. Though Balgruuf doubted that this criminal would commit an atrocity such as murder, there was no real way to tell; criminals in Skyrim were frequently unpredictable, not to mention unstable. But regardless of the criminal's motives, it fell to Balgruuf and the Whiterun guards to drag the thief out of the shadows and into the waiting arms of justice.
Though his throne room was empty and his subjects had gone off to bed, Balgruuf found himself far too uneasy to sleep. He never liked seeing his people so frightened, particularly when he felt there was so little he could do to ease their woes. He stood before his throne and reflected upon his role as Jarl of Whiterun; if he could not rescue his people from the singular threat of a thief, how could he be expected to keep his people safe from the threat of war? Could he count himself truly worthy of the throne if he could not accomplish this task?
Just then, as Balgruuf came wearily up the stairs to his private quarters, his attention was drawn to what seemed to have been a shadow moving about in his chamber. Cautiously he drew his weapon and peered into the inky blackness of his room, and that's when he saw the intruder... or rather, the intruder's silhouette, for that was all that could be seen in the shadows. The instant that Balgruuf recognized the shade as an intruder, the black form realized it had been seen and swiftly hurled a stray inkwell at Balgruuf's head. The Jarl was distracted momentarily, but his focus was far too sharp to be kept away from the invader for long. Nimble though the shade was, Balgruuf proved to be quite a fast runner himself, and hurriedly pursued the shadowy thief.
The shade was clearly intimidated by Balgruuf's pursuit, and made haste to reach the nearest escape route. Taking refuge in the nearest shadow, it swiftly tied a rope to the head of an iron arrow and shot for the wooden support beams on the second floor. The arrow found its mark and the thief began to climb up the rope and toward an open window... but Balgruuf grabbed the rope and gave it a hard yank, causing the intruder to fall to the ground below him. At last Balgruuf rolled the thief onto his back, and beheld a masked figure dressed in pitch-black attire. Balgruuf lifted the mask from the thief's face, but could not recognize him.
"Speak, thief!" Balgruuf commanded, "Who are you?"
"I am Markus Blackwell..." the thief replied, "The Black Phantom."
"So you're the one who has been stealing from my good people?"
But surprisingly, Markus shook his head. "That is the work of a traveling band of burglars, Jarl Balgruuf. They call themselves 'The Shadow-Stalkers of Morrowind'... I am not affiliated with them, nor would I seek to take advantage of your subjects. Your people live on modest sums of gold that earn them food and shelter, not grand fortunes in exchange for luxurious comfort. Henceforth I've only taken from Clan Battle-Born and your own castle... only from those who can afford the loss."
Balgruuf was so taken aback by Markus' response that he released the thief from the ground. "Honor... in a thief?"
Markus nodded. "Your people needn't worry about me; however the Morrowind Shadow-Stalkers are indeed seeking to empty the pockets of Whiterun Hold."
"And how do you know of these... Shadow-Stalkers?"
"Underworld connections; a bribe here, a heist there..."
Balgruuf put his sword away, and helped Markus to his feet. "Markus Blackwell... you have stolen from my home, and I'm of a mind to have you tried for your crimes... but you are also my only connection to the menace that plagues my people. If you can drive the Shadow-Stalkers out of my Hold, I will pardon you for what you have done and you will be free to go on your way."
"You would let me go?" Markus was visibly surprised.
Jarl Balgruuf nodded. "Though you are indeed a thief, your ways have not harmed my people as I had believed. Therefore I shall grant you leniency if you can restore order to my city."
And so it was that Markus Blackwell tracked down the Shadow-Stalkers and led the Whiterun Authorities to their base of operations. Once the robbers were imprisoned, Markus bid farewell to Jarl Balgruuf the Greater. And so moved was he by Balgruuf's gesture of mercy, that for the rest of his life he never again stole from Whiterun Hold.
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