[Apocrypha] Gray Fox: An Historical Enquiry-Pritia Pontanian

Gray Fox: An Historical Enquiry-Pritia Pontanian

Foreword by Lugna Glorump

The Gray Fox, although largely regarded as a myth by lay-folk and scholars alike, was nevertheless a popular subject for bards and playwrights around the beginning of the Fourth Era. Perhaps because fascination with the character stemmed from the populace's general discontent with the authorities of their time, it was not the purpose of most authors to demonstrate the historicity of the legendary thief. Indeed, for many, the Gray Fox stories were merely a convenient means of escape, resulting from a desire for a rebel-hero who could defy the stifling laws of bureaucrats and who genuinely cared for the poor and downtrodden.

However, Pritia Pontanian endeavored to discover whether there was any truth lurking, undiscovered, behind the legend of the Fox. Although Pritia did not leave any record as to her reasoning behind this pursuit, it should be noted that Lady Pritia was the granddaughter of the Most-Esteemed Imperial Legionnaire and Captain of the Anvil Guard, Hieronymus Lex. Captain Lex, if Imperial folklore is to be given any credit, was somewhat obsessed with the legend of the Gray Fox himself, prior to his assignment as Guard Captain of Anvil.

Sadly, Pritia's fascinating thesis on the figure of the Gray Fox was left to languish, as, for reasons that are unclear, her manuscript was never completed. Naturally, considering the source material, all manner of fanciful tales have sprung up claiming that Pritia's efforts were frustrated by the Thieves Guild, or that Pritia was even recruited by the Gray Fox himself! These things are obviously senseless rubbish, as Pritia's completely intact and unaltered research notes have been uncovered and presented as that which you now read. It is most likely that the truth is as Pritia herself wrote, she merely lost interest in her investigation after encountering a frustrating dead-end on what seemed to be a promising trail.

Chapter 1-Research Methodology

As with any serious scholastic endeavor, I will seek to confirm and reaffirm all information from secondary sources with what is known from the historical record. However, I anticipate a great deal of trouble in this regard due to a lack of cooperation from many of the unsavory-types who might otherwise offer me a treasure-trove of information.

Chapter 2-On the Fox's Trail

Curiously, my first lead did not demand that I travel any further than Anvil, my own home and birthplace. Without any idea where I might begin my inquiries, I was reminded of an old saying, “If you really want to know something, go ask the beggars.” So it was that I mustered my courage and asked about town where I might find such a beggar. After a number of sidelong glances and odd questions, I was informed that a Khajiit named S'jash was recovering from the effects of Skooma addiction in the Chapel of Dibella.

Arriving at the Chapel, I did not find it difficult to locate S'jash, the Khajiit stood out like a sore-thumb, to say nothing of the beast's musk nor the sound of his wretching. Although the task was distasteful, and the foul laggard demanded 20 Septims, I eventually managed to convince S'jash to discuss the Gray Fox with me. Naturally, he began with all the common nonsense about the Fox being the guardian of thieves, but, after a few more Septims, S'jash did mention that he had heard from his cousin that the ruling family in Anvil had been placed under his protection decades ago.

Now, here was a quandary, what proper method was there to consult with the family of the Count about their connection to the legendary thief? Such an accusation would certainly dishonor the many years of my grandfather's faithful toil; no, I would have to find some other, more clandestine means of investigation.

Chapter 2-Thrill of the Hunt

I must admit, at first I felt ashamed sneaking into the Count's bedchambers. However, I simply couldn't let my investment in the Invisibility potions go to waste! Oddly enough, the experience was invigorating, particularly as I would swear that once a guard heard the creek of a door as I opened it. Still, I am a proper lady and far from a dishonorable sneak-thief, I spirited nothing away from my Count's possessions. In all honesty, the only thing I left that chamber with was an abundance of new knowledge, and a sense of overwhelming gratification.

As it happens, the late Count Corvus Umbranox was evidently something of a Gray Fox historian himself, though he did not seem to find the notion of the master thief as romantic as many others. Judging from the journal I read during my illicit stroll, Count Umbranox did a considerable amount of my research for me. Much of what is mentioned seems useless to me, curious notes about moth priests and esoteric etchings.

However, the most titillating passage read thus, “My contacts have informed me that our new Master Thief has recovered the arrow, and now all I lack are the boots. When I next speak with him, I shall send him to uncover the resting place of the famous thief, Springheel Jak. With any luck, his descendant, the Earl Jakben, will assist us.”

Springheel Jak? The famous thief? Perhaps this is the man behind the myth, the originator of the Gray Fox legend. Sadly, it seems as if Count Umbranox got rather busy after this entry, as the journal had nothing further written within it, other than, "Capital! I believe that the ritual will alter time itself! It's possible that the true identity may even reappear in records, or within the memories of those that might have such knowledge!"

Alter time? What an odd man our Count Umbranox must have been!

Chapter 3-Search for the Earl

My search for answers has become quite the adventure! Having perused a list of genealogies, which was rather exhausting, I discovered that there was a Breton Earl named Jakben living in the Imperial City at the end of the Third Era. Certain that this was the mysterious nobleman that Corvus' journal mentioned, I set out for the capitol at once.

Upon arrival at the Imperial City, I once again consulted with the beggars, who are, really, rather useful once one masters the sense of distaste that accompanies associating with them. After I had a secretive exchange of a handful of Septims with a particularly dirty Nord known as Skeever-Cleaver, I was informed that the man known as Jakben had lived in a spacious manor situated in the Talos Plaza District, and that he had been discovered murdered in the catacombs beneath his house. Stranger still, it was said that the Earl's body had burnt upon exposure to the sunlight! I thanked Skeever-Cleaver for his assistance, as it was certainly worth the 10 Septims he had requested.

Although I admit to getting a bit turned-around in the City, I did finally manage to locate the building that Skeever-Cleaver had described. Jakben's manor appeared to me as if it where in a state of disrepair, though whether this was due to abandonment or some other reason, I did not know. Frankly, looking back, it is entirely possible that the home simply didn't seem as impressive as I had imagined that it would. Regardless, I knew that I could not simply speak to the owner, if there even was one, about murders in the house. Such a thing was neither polite nor civil conversation.

After renting a room for the night at the local Inn, and stewing on my predicament, I realized that my only remaining course of action was to pick the house's lock and sneak into the house under cover of night. So, that is what I did. Now, if I may say so, lock-picking was actually a rather hard thing to do, and I wasted more than a few of my hair-pins before meeting with success. Once again, after gaining entry to the home, I entertained no thoughts of theft, and in my trespassing I harmed no one.

Although it was terrifyingly frightful in the dark of the manor, I steeled my nerve and carefully slunk my way into the crypt beneath the house. After some anxious wandering, I uncovered yet another journal lying discarded on the ground, this one covered in cobwebs and encrusted in what I suspect was very old blood.

The journal itself appeared to be the diary of Springheel Jak, the very thief I aimed to learn about! Even more exciting, Jak was a vampire, and one-and-the-same as the Earl Jakben who had been found murdered within these very crypts! Unfortunately, the diary revealed that Jak, while a thief of great renown, was only the once-partner of an even greater thief, one that was said to have stolen from Nocturnal himself. Very curiously, Jak did not seem to remember this man's name.

Fascinated, but more than a little scared and ready to quit the catacombs, I dutifully replaced the book where I had found it, as I would not steal even this, and I hastened back to my room at the inn.

Chapter 4-A Wasted Venture

(Editor's note: More than a few scholars have been intrigued by the obvious stylistic differences between this chapter and the previous ones. As this perceived difference accounts for some of the speculation about the Gray Fox's involvement in the failure of Pritia to complete her manuscript, it is appropriate that I address it by asking the reader to please be aware that a considerable time lapsed between the time that Pritia wrote the previous segment and this one. Moreover, it is evident that Pritia experienced a degree of trauma from her wanderings, and it is therefore no surprise that her authorial style should have shifted somewhat.-Glorump)

Yes, it has been some time since I have written, I'm afraid that business with the dead vampire put me off adventure more than just a little.

And yes, for a time, I had thought that a Breton man named Emer Dareloth, born in the early Third Era, second son of a long-forgotten merchant family of Wayrest might have been the man behind the Gray Fox legend. Evidently, Dareloth had been raised in the care of his cousin after his father was accused of serving as a nightblade and executed, though, as in all things that Bretons claim, who can know for certain?

I made this discovery only after finding that a man by the same name was a confirmed member of the Thieves Guild of Abah's Landing, in Hammerfell. I knew this because Dareloth was reported as a captive after being caught in the midst of a burglary in 3E 105; evidently, Dareloth escaped, as an incentive for a reward for the assistance in the capture of Dareloth was authorized not long after the record of Dareloth's capture.

After tracing Dareloth's background to High Rock, I thought I had found the answer to the questions I had been asking myself. It is common knowledge that the Thieves Guild in Cyrodiil was allegedly founded by the Gray Fox, and operates on the rules that he established. Reading about Dareloth, I realized that the Hammerfell Guild shares almost the same precepts as those allegedly created by the Fox, even though the organization of thieves at Abah's Landing predates the founding of the Thieves Guild in Cyrodiil by centuries!

Surely a link between the organizations must exist, and I wondered if the Gray Fox had modeled his faction's rules on the ones he had learned in Hammerfell?

Investigating further, I found that not long after the time that Dareloth was listed as a fugitive in Hammerfell, a Writ of Purchase for a home in the Waterfront District of the Imperial City was recorded as being issued to an Emer Dareloth in the Imperial tax records. My own grandfather always told me that the Imperial Waterfront was no less than the seat of the Thieves Guild of Cyrodiil!

However, when I visited the home that Dareloth had allegedly owned, I found nothing of note.

Then, further investigation into Imperial record indicated that the Emer Dareloth of Cyrodiil was a soldier who had served with honor after conscription into the Legion during the War of the Isle. There was nothing further to uncover about the man, and, barring his censure for a minor embarrassment involving a daedric cult in 3E 137, he lived out his life in obscurity.

Thus, I admit that I was wrong. I see now that the notion of an organized band of thieves is utter foolishness.

I see now that it was a childish notion that led me to believe that there was an individual known as the Gray Fox.

There is no Gray Fox. It was a waste of my time to go chasing after a simple legend, and it would be a mistake for anyone else to go looking for him either. In an endeavor to keep anyone from repeating my mistake, I made certain to destroy the many false-leads that I have uncovered; I hope that I am not judged too harshly for this.

Nonetheless, despite all the time I have wasted on silly fancies, I have discovered that I do rather enjoy traveling! Sadly, I know that my absence breaks Mother's heart, and she will be resolute in her efforts to prevent me from traveling far from home ever again.

Therefore, I have decided that I will spirit myself away come nightfall, in favor of a wanderer's life. I am certain that Mother will be steadfast in her efforts to recover me and have me transported home, so I will be equally stubborn about making certain that I leave no tracks for her hirelings to follow.

So, farewell Mother, please don't be too displeased with me, and try to be thankful that I have, after all these years, realized what it is that I would like to do with my life. I love you and Grandfather both.