Skyrim:Gulum-Ei

Gulum-Ei (RefID: )
Home City	Solitude
Store	The Winking Skeever
Race	Argonian	Gender	Male
Level	PC×1 (range=10-50)	Class	Nightblade
RefID		BaseID
Merchant
Gold	1000-4000 (+1000 Master Trader)
Sells	See Standard Merchandise
Buys	Fence (all)
Other Information
Health	50+(PC-1)×8.3
Magicka	50+(PC-1)×3.3
Stamina	50+(PC-1)×3.3
Primary Skills	Destruction, Sneak, Alteration, One-handed
Moral.	No Crime	Aggress.	Unaggressive
Essential	Yes
Faction(s)	BardAudienceExcludedFaction; Brinewater Faction; CrimeFactionHaafingar; FavorExcludedFaction; Gulum-Ei Player Friend Faction; TG04EastEmpireFaction; Thieves Guild No Pickpocketing Faction; TownSolitudeFaction

Gulum-Ei enjoys a bite to eat

Gulum-Ei (also known by the alias Gajul-Lei) is an Argonian dock-worker living in Solitude and employed by the East Empire Company to maintain their warehouse. He also made significant money on the side by co-operating with the Thieves Guild, who would pay him handsomely for select items lifted from the trading company's inventory. However, he has recently cut his ties with the guild, which has irritated Guildmaster Mercer Frey and aroused suspicion.

Throughout the day, he can be found eating in The Winking Skeever in the alcove to the left of the bar. Before you start the related Thieves Guild quest, he will curtly dismiss any attempt at conversation: "I have no business with you. Leave me.", "Go away. I have more important things on my mind right now." and "I don't like strangers...".

Gulum-Ei wears merchant clothes and boots. He carries the key to the warehouse, a gem of varying quality, a leveled restore magicka potion and up to nine gold coins. He is armed with a leveled dagger (up to Elven quality) for protection and supplements this with four spells: Fast Healing, Ice Spike, Frostbite and Lesser Ward.

Related Quests

• Scoundrel's Folly: Squeeze a reluctant informer for information.

Quest-related Dialogue

Mercer Frey will shed some light on him when giving you your instructions: "The parchment you recovered mentions a "Gajul-Lei." According to my sources, that's an old alias used by one of our contacts. His real name is Gulum-Ei. Slimy bastard. Gulum-Ei is our inside man at the East Empire Company in Solitude. I'm betting he acted as a go-between for the sale of Goldenglow Estate and that he can finger our buyer. Get out there, shake him down and see what you come up with. Talk to Brynjolf before you leave if you have any questions." Inquire further and he'll tell you: "When Gulum-Ei was getting us merchandise from the East Empire Company, we were making a hefty profit. It was so lucrative, I was considering moving the Guild to Solitude to save us time." If you press Mercer he'll reveal: "Gulum-Ei started to get greedy and cut us out of the deal. Almost can't say I blame the scaly bastard. It started out innocent enough; he kept claiming the shipments were light because of Imperial interference. Then, maybe a few years ago, it all stopped. He didn't even bother to contact us anymore."

If you take Mercer's advise and contact Brynjolf you can glean some more information: "I can't believe Gulum-Ei's mixed up in all this; that Argonian couldn't find his tail with both hands. Don't get me wrong, he could scam a beggar out of his last septim... but he's no mastermind." If you ask whether the Argonian is going to be trouble Brynjolf will laugh: "Trouble? He's one of the most stubborn lizards I've ever met! You have your work cut out for you." He will however provide advice on how to handle him: "You're going to have to buy him off; it's the only way to get his attention. If that fails, follow him and see what he's up to. If I know Gulum-Ei, he's in way over his head and you'll be able to use it as leverage."

As much as Brynjolf dislikes Gulum-Ei, he will admit his importance to the Guild. If you threaten to kill the lizard he'll scold you: "No, no. Mercer wants him alive, for now. Stubborn or not, he's the only contact we've got at the East Empire Company." If you claim Gulum-Ei owes the Guild he'll agree: "Aye, he does indeed... and with his fingers in the East Empire Company's pie, we'll make good use of that debt. If I'm not being clear enough, that means we don't want him killed." Finally, if you promise to keep the Argonian alive, he'll be relieved: "I'm glad to see you're embracing our methods. It would be a waste to lose a contact at the East Empire Company before we had the entire story." Either way, he'll provide one last bit of advice: "For now, just keep on his tail and he's bound to step into something he can't scrape off his boot."

When you first approach Gulum-Ei he is rather aggressive: "So, what do we have here? Hmm. Let me guess. By your scent, I'd say you were from the Guild. But that can't be true, because I told Mercer I wouldn't deal with them anymore." If you enquire about Goldenglow he'll feign ignorance: "I don't deal in land or property. Now, if you're looking for goods, you've come to the right person." Even when unmasked, he is unhelpful. First he plays dumb: "Oh, wait... did you say Goldenglow Estate? My apologies. I'm sorry to say I know very little about that... bee farm, was it?" and when pressed about his role he dismisses it: "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. I can't be expected to remember every deal I handle." His dislike for you is palpable by his remark when leaving him: "If you're the best the Guild's got, they're in worse shape than I imagined."

At this point you can return to Brynjolf and ask him more questions about Gulum-Ei, and he paints a colourful picture of the Argonian: "There are thieves and then there is Gulum-Ei. No honor, no code at all. He'd shake your hand and stab you in the back at the same time. The cut he's supposed to provide the Guild has dwindled as of late. He says pickings in the warehouse are slim, but I'm certain he's lying. Keep your eyes on him, he's quite crafty."

To get the information you want you'll need to either bribe or persuade Gulum-Ei, the latter being quite hard to do. Intimidation will achieve nothing, given the lizard's coarse skin. If you choose to bribe him, he'll demand a specific good: "I have a buyer looking for a case of Firebrand Wine. There just so happens to be a single case in the Blue Palace. Bring it to me, and we'll talk about Goldenglow Estate." Once you're back he'll reward you with some soul gems: "Good. Can't have the buyer getting impatient and looking elsewhere for this, can we? Here, take this. I certainly can't use it, but I suppose I need to pay you something for the goods." If you comment on the irony of being bribed in turn, he'll snidely remark: "Not at all. I consider it an investment in prolonging my life. As far as Goldenglow Estate goes, I'll tell you what I know."

True to his word, he recalls: "I was approached by a woman who wanted me to act as the broker for something big. She flashed a bag of gold in my face and said all I had to do was pay Aringoth for the estate. I brought him the coin and walked away with her copy of the deed." Enquire about possible motives and he will protest ignorance: "Not at all. I tend not to ask too many questions when I'm on the job. I'm sure you understand. However, I did notice she was quite angry and it was being directed at Mercer Frey." He will also be unable to provide a name: "In this business we rarely deal in names; our identity comes from how much coin we carry." If you accuse of lying, he'll dismiss you: "Look, that's all I know. I never promised you I'd have all the answers. Now, since our transaction is done, I'll be on my way."

After the conversation, he will leave to the warehouse. Once inside, he will make his way to the secret entrance to Brinewater Grotto, all the while nervously looking back over his shoulder. Once inside he'll press on further into the cavern. While following him, you may catch the resident brigands conversing rather deferentially about the Argonian: "You'd better find that chest that fell off the boat or Gulum-Ei will have your hide!" and "Oh my... that's the worst one yet. How about we stop talking and keep our eyes open like Gulum-Ei said?"

When you finally confront him, he's lost all his brazeness: "Now, there's no need to do anything rash... This isn't as bad as it seems. I was going to tell Mercer about everything, honestly! Please... he'll have me killed!" You have three options: assuring him Frey won't find out, threatening to kill him or telling him to take his chances. Either way, you'll get the name you needed: Karliah. If you ask him about her he'll be surprised: "Mercer never told you about her? Karliah is the thief responsible for murdering the previous Guild Master, Gallus. Now she's after Mercer." Pressing him about his assistance to her will make him squirm: "Help... ? No, no! Look I didn't even know it was her until after she contacted me. Please, you have to believe me!" He is unable to provide anything but a cryptic clue to her whereabouts: "I don't know. When I asked her where she was going she just muttered "Where the end began." Here, take the Goldenglow Estate Deed as proof. And when you speak to Mercer, tell him I'm worth more to him alive."

He is happy to be rid of the paper: "Consider it a gift to ensure your silence. That thing seems to be bringing me nothing but trouble anyway. Karliah didn't even want it, she wanted to keep the sale a secret. I can see how well that went." If you promise to keep hush with Mercer he'll be delighted: "Now you're speaking my language. Tell you what. If you need any stolen goods fenced, you bring them to me and I'll pay you good money for them. Consider me your new friend in the north." You can also ask him about the mysterious Nightingales: "They were a secret cabal of the three top rogues in the Thieves Guild. No one knew their identities. Some people say they watched over the group, others say they were reserved for the most elite jobs. I don't really know. It wasn't until recently that I heard Mercer Frey and this Dark Elf named Karliah were a part of that group." As you leave, he makes sure of being on Frey's good side: "Now you won't forget to tell Mercer I cooperated, will you?"

You can of course kill Gulum-Ei, at which point you must identify his written confession, but this won't go down well with Mercer: "I thought it was painfully obvious that Gulum-Ei was important to the Guild. I'm sorry to say your payment for the job will have to go to elsewhere since you feel like taking things in your own direction." Vekel on the other hand will be rather pleased: "Glad to hear Gulum-Ei got what he deserved. That lizard owes me big for a bad shipment of Shadowbanish Wine he tried to pass off on me."

If you kept him alive, once the Thieves Guild questline is over Gulum-Ei will happily fence stolen items for you:

"Ah, you're just in time. I got in a shipment of fine wares courtesy of the East Empire Company."

"Come to sell me something special, or did you just want to look through my merchandise?"

"Ah, you're back. I'm hearing good things about the Guild through the grapevine."

"Brought me more than some Firebrand Wine I trust?"

If you ask him how business is going, he'll be elated: "Working with the Guild again is the best decision I've ever made. Protection, respect and a constant flow of coin... it couldn't get any better. Best of all, there's no need to smuggle things quietly anymore. With the influence we have in Solitude, I can march it right out the front door."

Standard Merchandise

This is the merchandise found in Gulum-Ei's Merchant Chest. These items are only available if purchased from the merchant; they cannot be pickpocketed or stolen. They are restocked every two days.

Count	Item	Details
2	Leveled Dagger/Sword	Enchanted and best-quality
2	Leveled War Axe/Mace	Enchanted and best-quality
~10	Lockpicks	Max 14 (6@100% + 4@25% + 4@75%)