To Second Emissary Carina [Apocrypha]

Emissary, I must apologise for the delay in your receiving of this message, if the Khajiiti bearing this missive is later than Morndas then have her flogged.

The manse set aside for your use is, to put it politely, uninhabitable. Though our allies, nominally and I believe morally, Elsweyr's culture is even more alien than Morrowind's. And I write this with certainty as you will recall my work in Mournhold. Hlaalu paper pushers would go mad trying to set up an embassy in Corinthe.

While Torval has a modicum of bureaucratic normalcy Corinthe takes corruption and laziness to a new level.

While the manse is technically sound, and I stress the word technically, it currently lacks:

• Doors. Instead there are wicker lattices that mer must pick up and relocate to ingress or egress.

• Proper rugs

• Glass in any windows

• A functional water supply. We are currently utilising the public well as the bore on the grounds has been used as a privy by the squatters.

Ah yes, the squatters. At some point in the last era, the steward assigned to keep the grounds died. Soon after a local skooma production set up shop in the manse and sent forged letters back to Alinor requesting funding and materiel. These requests were approved by some fat sload of a clerk who didn't bother to verify the identity of the sender.

So when the vanguard of your household arrived, instead of minor repairs and resupply we had to fight a gang of skooma dealers. My letters to the local representative of the Mane have gone unanswered and we have had to 'negotiate' with the local skooma lords to down our swords long enough to do real work.

Rest assured that as your agent I displayed exceeding restraint and only had a dozen of the thugs executed. The locals seem to disapprove of our methods but trust me in this Emissary, negotiating from a position of power is necessary when it comes to skooma dealers. This I learned in Mournhold also.

I have accepted into the household's service one of the local scholars, Jo'Naar, who serves variously as our translator and face for the locals. Jo'Naar informs me that it is best for the smooth operation of our household that we keep a large supply of gold, sugar, and sweetmeats on hand. Civil and legal matter are more likely to be solved by palmed gold than by legal contract. As the majistrete is one of Jo'Naar's cousins our voices and preferences are louder to his ears.

While I disapprove of bribes being necessary, without the merpower to enforce out edicts we must adapt to the local traditions of bak'sheiz primitive and corrupt though they are.

Please find attached several invoices, lists of required materiel, and detailed reports of the premises, local authority figures, and planned renovations.

In Duty and Service under the Eagle Banner

Your Servant, Agent Korine