Always sad to lose a friend Maybe if The Hero of Kvatch The Saviour of Bruma The Defeater of Umaril The Champion of Cyrodiil Renee goes a few rounds in the Arena she´ll get her mind off it, at least for awhile.


Heh, using a Charm spell on Palonirya, did she?

@Renee - those are some nice dresses.

I suspect they might've cost even more if not for that suspicious green glow Palonirya has...

-----

So I'm still jumping around, though not quite so hectically. I spent some more time with Ughoth first - he got a couple of missions for the Archmage, tracking down artifacts that had been taken from the AU by panicky and/or sinister mages, and he needed to get out and stretch his legs a bit (those teleport pads at Frostcrag have made him sort of lazy), so he did it all on foot - first up past Chorrol to check on Caranya (and that didn't surprise him a bit - he never did trust her), then back down by way of the IC to the Nibenay Valley to check in on Irlav, which didn't go so well (or at least didn't go so well for Irlav).

On the way out to Fort Teleman, he happened on Nocturnal's shrine, so when he was done there, he went down to Leyawiin to check into that. Immediately after arriving, he heard about an Orc at the castle who claimed she was a knight, and found his interest piqued by "Orc", "knight" and "she" - not necessarily in that order. But first he had to go find this Weebam-na and see what he could learn about the Eye. On his way out of town to go get the Eye, he swung by the castle, only to find out that this Orc so-called-knight - a pushy broad named Mazoga - wanted someone to track down Weebam-na. Seems to be involved in lots of stuff.

So Ughoth ended up going to Tidewater Cave, recovering the Eye, delivering it to Nocturnal, going back to Leyawiin, rousing Weebam-na, delivering him to Mazoga, then guiding Mazoga to Fisherman's Rock, all in one hectic day. Then he slept, loafed around most of the next day, and went that night with Mazoga to take care of Black Brugo.

Then after sleeping late the next day, he made the long trip back to the IC to report to the Archmage, and is currently parked outside the AU. He's going to take some time off and spend some time in... one of the cities. Not sure which yet.

Then I spent quite a while with an old character I'm newly playing (she was parked in the Market District on her first morning for a couple of years) - Lorl gra-Ornug the battlemage.

She came about when someone on the Beth forums asked for the best race for a battlemage. I did a bit of research and found that, by stats alone, the "best" is a female Orc - that's the only race/gender combination that gets no meaningful penalties - every other race/gender gets penalties to the "battle" part or to the "mage" part. So after a bit of thought, I created my own female Orc battlemage, but aside from a name I quite liked, she didn't have any particular identity, and ended up just parked.

When I created Ughoth, I revised my Orc textures, and I wanted to see what they looked like on a female Orc, and the only one I had was Lorl, so I loaded her up. I was impressed by how almost pleasant (at least by Orc standards) they made her look, and right there was my hook into the character. She's... imagine a sort of Dar-ma of an Orc. She's just a pleasant person. And an Orc.

As I've played her, I've come to realize that it makes more sense that it's not that she's just naturally pleasant - she's naturally smart, and she's cultivated being pleasant, because she recognizes that it's to her advantage.

She wears whatever armor suits her purposes, though she leans a bit toward heavy, and carries a warhammer. She uses destruction for ranged attacks and a fairly broad assortment of utility spells. And after all that introduction - she's still quite early in the game and is currently in Skingrad, on day 2 of dealing with Glarthir. She's already rescued Erthor, and cleaned out all the area dungeons, and is just killing time, then she'll set out for Anvil. And I have no idea what I'll do with her when she gets to Kvatch, but I suspect that she'll just ignore that turn-off.

Then I spent some time with Belladonna. She had been headed out to the West Weald to track down the Dwemer artifacts for Bothiel, but couldn't seem to make it out of Chorrol. First she got roped into helping the Jemanes reclaim Weatherleah, then on the way to the camp she had been told to check on, she happened on an entirely different one and ended up fighting a bunch of bandits and recovering one of the artifacts there. When she returned to Chorrol to offload loot, she found that Dar-ma had vanished, so she spent a day and most of a night tracking her down and rescuing her, then finally got back out into the West Weald and made it to Camp Ales. Then she spent three days traveling around the West Weald and tracking down the artifacts. That was a blast - she's very stealthy (without armor or melee skill, she doesn't have much choice) so when she knew she was getting close to one of the camps, she'd start sneaking - moving from one rock outcrop to another, always looking for a good vantage point, then spending some time scanning the countryside, looking for the camp. She took one set of bandits out when they were so far away that they were barely specks in the distance (seriously - I should've gotten screenshots of it, but I was too wrapped up in doing it and didn't think about it until it was too late. They were like flyspecks on the screen - easily some of the longest shots I've ever made in the game).

On the way back, heading toward Skingrad, she ran across the West Weald Brown Bears. She saw the first one as it was charging her and wisely climbed up on a nearby rock, because two more came right behind it. She could see a house in the distance, so once the bears were dealt with, she made her way cautiously over there and found that the owner claimed to have a bear problem. No kidding? She tracked down two more fairly quickly, but it took her a long time to find a sixth. She finally found one though, and claimed her reward, then finished up the trip to Skingrad and is currently parked near the east entrance, ready to continue on to the IC.

This made me smile.

I know what you mean about fly-specks in the distance, now that I'm on PC. Consoles barely give any draw-distance at all, but on PC, it's possible for NPCs to be doing their thing very far away. And sometimes my elf can actually hit one of 'em with an arrow, but this usually takes a few shots.

Morndas, 9:43 am, Morning Star 7, 3rd Era 434

Gameplay: 171 hours, 7 minutes, 53 seconds

*click* ... *pick*

Kahreem of Weet wanders all around Anvil, looking for things he can easily pick and sell. An onion here, a thatch of aloe vera leaves there. He hopes it will all add up to 500 gold. This task would not be so much of a task if he had a fence, somebody to sell stolen things to, here in Anvil itself.

"How goes it?"

"What's going on, man of cat-fur?"

"S'shani. The old sea captainnnnn and rover .. now a shipowner and fatcat. Please to meet you."

Kahreem returns to the Count's Arms, where (unfortunately) his 24-hour room rental has ended. Not wanting to blow another 25 gold for this room, he simply walks upstairs, and picks its lock. Chances are nobody else would rent it, and then find somebody illegally squatting in there.

"So, how's a man like me, a simple out-of-work Redguard merchant, supposed to make a living in this town?"

"Take some advice? Go down to the seeeea, stand a while. Watch the sun rise and set. Think on the distant lands across the water."

"That it? That all? Well, you've been ... quite helpful there, Khajiit. Very insightful advice you've given. How's that supposed to make me some Septims? Hmmph."

"'bye!"

"Sure. 'bye. Think I'll go stare at the sunset awhile. I heard it can make me mad amounts of gold. Hmph."

Once inside 'his' room, the Redguard is glad to see that the legionnaire's armor he had scavenged some days before is still here. He has a good night's rest in his un-rented room, and wakes next morning to sell the things he picked. The morning air is crisp and clear on his walk to Lelle's Quality Merchandise. Once inside, Kahreem manages to sell the following: One pair of doeskin shoes, and some coarse brown trousers, a pair of rough leather shoes, and some tan linens...

"That's a good deal."

"It is?"

He also sells a weak fire-resisting potion, three aloe vera leaves, a wedge of cheese...

"You've made a good bit of gold... You drive a hahd baagain."

"I do? How about 100 gold for this ear of corn. NO? Well give my my one fokkinge Septim, then. Sheesh."

...an ear of corn, a small bit of foxglove nectar, three vines of purple grapes (Kahreem has a hard time letting those go), a leek stalk, a yellowing head of lettuce...

"You got a great deal there."

"Great deal? It's ..... a head ...of ... lettuce...for another lousy gold piece."

... an onion, a pear, four rotten potatoes, two strawberries, two tomatoes, a clay pitcher (Norbert refuses to part with any gold for this, even though he just dropped some Septims on some rotten food), four cloth swatches, and two repair hammers.

"That's a fair deal."

Altogether, the Redguard earns 56 gold, and now carries 529 in total. Not bad for some honest scavenging.

"Tell your friends about me!"

Kahreem decides this might be an unusual idea, since he hasn't got any friends.


10:40 am
He follows the same procedure from the day before: having a look over his shoulder before entering The Stranger's house. Looks okay. No curious guard, stalking him on the street. The one guard who recognized him a day or two ago must not be on duty, out here. Nobody is inside the abandoned house which the Stranger lives in, so Kahreem has a seat, eats some stolen bread ...... and then waits. For hours. In his manpurse is a single bottle of skooma, and it takes all his willpower not to just down this bottle, and then fall into a wasted stupor. As he waits hour after hour, getting bored, and getting sleepy, he actually picks up a book which the Stranger has brought up here, and does some reading.

"Hmm. Myth? or Men ... ace?" says its cover. "Many invesss ... in ... in .. ves ..ti ...gators ... investigators have attempted to solve the riddle of the Thieves Guild. Despite repeated proofs that no vi--- vi-a viable Thieves Guild exists, the rumors persist. Whenever historians search for evidence of this shadowy organization, nothing is found. Witnesses know nothing *HA!* and nothing is found. Safe houses are empty. Fences turn out to be simple businessman...."

It takes him a couple hours of reading, for there are some words which he does not know, before he finally comes to this book's conclusion.

"...By nature, a thief is a rule-breaker. Therefore an organization that has rules would fail if all its members were thieves. *HA!* For these reasons, I dis-- dis-pu-te the exist-ence of a modern day Thieves Guild in Cyrodiil. Ha! Well that's a laugh. I might have to write a book of my own someday. Tell them my story, or the story of my many stor--"



"Don't interrupt me."

"Ah, finally, you're back, forger. So how goes it? You going to give me my fokkinge letter, or what?"

"You're bothering me."

"Good. If it makes you feel any better, let's get this business out of the way. Because your attitude is worse than the hockings of a beggar downing Cheap Wine for days on end. I am about to give you five-hundred fokkinge gold pieces for your .... 'work'. You'd better be happy about it."

"Do you have my fee?"

Kahreem does not answer. Instead, he simply plops the man's fat bag of gold, right on the table. 500 gold. Gone. Just like that. "I'm in the wrong business. If all I had to do to make that much money was write a few words on a piece of paper..."

"Here is the List of Candidates. Hieronymus Lex has a glowing recommendation."

Kahreem notes the forger is finally smiling. Obviously, why would he not? "That's my money you've got there. Many pockets picked, and many items stolen. Have fun renovating this old dump of a home."

"Hmmph."

As Kahreem leaves The Stranger's home, he also smiles. 500 gold is a lot to lose, and he feels like he's just taken a hammer in his stomach.

"So let's fill that gaping wound in my tummy, eh?"

But he smiles because he knows it's finally time to move into Stage Two of his .. uh ... two-stage plan.





4:55 PM
clank clank clank clank ...

With just 29 gold in his pocket and nothing to lose, the Weet Bandit decides he's had enough of Anvil.

clank clank clank clank...

He had spent the last hour or so donning his tin Legionnaire's suit; hefting this heavy gear around, trying to make sure everything was properly fastened, and fitted just so, for he has a definite goal in mind. Some of his armor pieces are pretty beat-up, but still, armor is always better than no armor. As he got his suit together, he smiled and pondered and wanted.

"Here I come. Come to rescue my five fair maidens from this decrepit place of business."

Wilbur stares and glares, as the Redguard who had been staying in his establishment comes down his stairs one final time. Instead of walking down the stairs and leaving outright, the Redguard hooks around the end of the staircase, angling himself before Wilbur's Cheapest of Wines.



"Hello Wilbur. And hello lovelies. I'm Kellsgard, the Dragon-slayer, though you might also call me the Bottle-Slayer as well. *clink*

"You treacherous little filcher, HOW DARE you steal from me!"

"Oh that's not all, Wilbur. These poor lovelies deserve a better home than this hodge of a hovel you call an inn." *clink*

"Somebody help! Come quickly, we've got a burglar!"

"I promise to give these lovelies the best of care. Do not fret or worry, Wilbur. It's been a pleasant stay, here at the Count's Arms." *clink!* "I'm going to make sure to tell all my friends about you."

"Break the law on MY WATCH, will ya? I'll be confiscating your stolen goods," says a poorly-paid representation of Cyrodiil. "Oh, and no gold to pay your fine, hmmm? It's off to the lockup then."

"In your dreams, Imperial."

"Then PAY WITH YOUR BLOOD!"

From that moment on, it's all a blur. Kahreem grabs one final bottle, then dashes out of the inn. Several patrons grab their weapons, and turn to the Redguard who just stole five bottles of Cheap Wine, but it's to no avail. By the time they react, he is already out the door.

"Stay away!"

He makes a dash for it, straight across the causeway, and winds up leaving Anvil from its western entrance. He hears some other guards mobilizing as he runs up Anvil's dock. Bows being nocked, arrows being shot. But he takes not one lick of damage. He borders the town's outskirts, and finds a short set of stairs to run up. Stops, to get his breath. Apparently, nobody is coming for him, or at least, they have no idea where he went. Good! ... He turns around, and casually walks against the sunset.


8:06 pm

"Greetings to you."

"What's new with you?"

"Maenlorn and his brother there have a nice establishment at the flowing bowl."

"I've eaten many meals there, and I've always been satisfied."

An elf and Anvil's sole stablehand, a Redguard, have a pleasant conversation, as the sun sets behind them. The Morningstar air around them is crisp and cool. But nowhere near as cool as what might be found up north.

"Have you heard any word about the other provinces?"

"They say that--"

"Somebody help.." "Somebody come quick, we've got a burglar!..." The Weet Bandit strikes again, this time managing to mount the same bay he rode in on. The same bay which he had stolen long ago, from Skingrad's stables. Kahreem smiles as the wood elf below him grabs some sort of knife, and begins to charge the stolen steed. His bounty must be through the roof.



"Well now, what do we have here?" asks one of Anvil's Finest casually. "Caught in the act and no gold to pay your fine," he says in an overhanded way, knowing he's about to maybe make the up-for-grabs title of Watch Captain, or so he hopes. "I'm confiscating your stolen goods."

"Ha! Okay. You can have this loaf of bread I filched earlier this evening. Have it! It's yours."

"Now it's off to jail with ya!"

"Sure. But not now. Mmm....must be somewhere, you know, must deliver someth--"

"Then PAY WITH YOUR BLOOD!"

The Redguard decides he'd rather not do this. Who wants to pay with his blood, anyways? So instead of paying with his blood, he rides off into the night, with a very angry set of people clamoring after him, and bottles of Cheap Wine clinking in his night-sack.

Awesome, I love this story! Firstly, it because it's long and secondly, because it has many funny events.

The part about "five fair maidens" is my favorite as is the description of a guard - a poorly paid representative of Cyrodiil.

Talk about an epic departure! Kahreem strikes again and finally he has the forged letter in his hand!

Acadian, how nice to see Buffy with her friend Lenwin!

gpstr, you really have been jumping around lately. It’s fun to have so many different characters to read about.

Renee, nice modesty top on Felrika! It sounds like she and Renee get along well. Nice to see Renee in a pretty dress. I really laughed at her assessment that it had no protective properties and might be a burden in combat. Sorry to hear about Cresha and Miss Gade’s resulting funk. (Had to be careful that I spelled that correctly.)

But he smiles because he knows it's finally time to move into Stage Two of his .. uh ... two-stage plan.

I lol-ed. The daring liberation of Wilbur’s cheap wines! And so my favorite bandit rides off into the dark on his stolen horse.


Darnand had a small incident with a billy inside an Ayleid ruin the other day. Jerric had charged off to parts unknown as usual during a big fight, and Darnand couldn’t even hear battle sounds any more. Their best-friend almost psychic connection kept warning him that Jerric was still under attack somewhere and repeatedly falling unconscious. Darnand had to scoot through a room with poison gas while searching for him. There was a land dreugh on the other side.

Darnand had been using a nighteye spell because he hasn’t found an enchanted item or bothered to get into the AU yet, and torches are for Nords. His Shield spell was still up, but it’s not a very good one. He had enough magicka to attack by himself or summon something and then run off healing himself of the wounds he had already received, but not both. Darnand being Darnand, he chose to attack.

Land dreughs move forward slowly and predictably, so Darnand stood his ground. Also the poison gas room made him not want to move back, and the minotaur lords they had fought previously made him not want to run forward and past the billy into enemies unknown. So he cast weakness to magicka while the dreugh marched toward him, then weakness to fire while the dreugh marched toward him some more. Then his nighteye spell expired.

No time to renew it or use a detect life spell. He cast a ball of fire straight into the dark, and it lit up the land dreugh much closer to him than a second ago. While I panicked a little Darnand cast fire again. The dreugh appeared by the light of his spell now very close indeed. Then it fell down covered in flames.

Whew.

A second later Jerric charged in grinning with a torch in his hand. I’m not sure which of his cheerful greetings he offered. At that moment Darnand’s internal monologue would have drowned out an Oblivion Gate opening. But he was happy to see that torch light!

Ah Kareem... such noble deeds should not go unrewarded.

@Grits - I like that scene - that moment when the fireball goes billowing into the dark and is just going to hit something or not, and that's just the way it is. It feels so nice when something like that works out.

Yikes, that sounds positively frightening about Darnand. Especially the part when the fireball lit up the land dreugh, which was now much closer than you thought. Sheesh.

Oh, but Jerrric did return, and with a torch. PHEW is right. Oh my gosh. Funny thing though, but as scary as all that sounds, it just made me really psyched to play some Oblivion tonight.

There we go. Xbox on. Kahreem is making his way slowly from Anvil to Skingrad. Not really much to write about as he journeys in all the Xbox'x 30 fps glory, so I'll post an old RG3 story instead. I'm running out of RG3 stuff... oh no!



Loredas, 7:58 am Evening Star 1, 4th Era 20

"Ahhh, sorry friend. It would appear that the opponent you bet on lost the last fight. Better luck next time."

Renee looks to Hundolin, the Bosmer who runs the gambling portion of the Arena. At first she forgets that she had bet on a match. She had done so the previous day.....she had bet 100 gold on this match, and lost. Not a huge problem; she still had thousands in Cyrodiil's bank. But she silently hopes that her poor luck with gambling won't translate to poor luck overall.

"Oh that money?" Renee shrugs, "It is no matter, elf. Win some, lose some. No, I am here for a different reason. I have come to compete in another fight."

"Ahh sorry. I just assumed. Well, if you would like to participate in a match, please head down the stairs and--"

"--speak to Owyn, that annoyingly pesky Redguard who runs the Bloodworks. Believe me, I cannot wait to hear his latest taunts."

But then Renee changes her mind. She has arrived here at the Arena with her entire gang of adventurers, all four of them: Gabrielle (her Imperial friend from Skyrim), Felrika (ale-drinking Nord warrior, also from Skyrim), Haili (an altmer magic-user from Cheydinhal), and the newest addition to her posse: Bree (wood elf archer from Valenwood, said to have studied under the tutelage of the great Lady Saga herself). With all these extra people along, Renee realizes she cannot just bring them all with her for the fight. Not only is this probably not allowed, but all the gamblers and spectators might have trouble seeing who would be the actual winner. Would it be Renee? Or one of her followers?

She counts her gold, and realizes she's got 160 on her person. Plenty to bet on a match. Again, she bets 100 gold, this time on the Blue Team.

"All right, my friend. You've got 100 gold down on the Blue Team. Good luck, and enjoy the match! Oh, and if you win, come see me for your payout!"

"You can bet I will."

"'Bye!"

With this out of the way, Renee now brings her entire gang up to watch the fight, and tells them all she's going to have them stay up here. This way, she has her own little cheering section, not that she needs such a thing.

"Good luck... Champion!" Felrika the Nord says sarcastically.

"Hey, you better hope this 'Champion' wins her next match, otherwise you are all out of a job."




10:53 am

"I'm a busy man, what is it?"

"Oh? You are busy? .. Doing what, exactly? You know, every time I have ever seen you, you have been standing here by that wall. Standing around, making your snippy little comments, trying to insult true bravehearts like myself."

"Don't talk such rot."

"Come with me, Redguard, I will show you what 'busy' really means. When was the last time you traversed from Bruma to Leyawiin in less than a week? Bravil to Anvil? Uhh-huh, I will show you busy."

"I don't like your attitude, Pit Dog."

Wearing her most precious new dress, a rose-colored set of exotic threads, which she had paid way too much for at Divine Elegance, Renee hopes to shock Owyn the Redguard. Every time he has seen her so far, which has been three times in total, she's been less than fashionable. Way less.

"That dress is getting a little tight on you, Brawler! I think you need some exercise! What do you say? Ready for a match?"

"Getting a little tight on me? Are you saying I'm fat?"

"I heard a rumor that you're an idiot. Any truth to that?"

Renee now fumes and pouts. Furious she is. How dare he? ... but she holds it all in, and saves face. "If an idiot can go up against the best the Yellow Team has to offer and win, then so be it. I am an idiot. An idiot who is getting rich off the likes of you, though. And I am much more busy, too."

With that, Renee does a turnabout. Stalks toward the raiment cabinet, and goes to get suited, before the rudest Redguard in all Cyrodiil can follow up with another insult.



11:06 am
Walking back to Owyn while wearing a light battle raiment feels a little like the ultimate walk of shame to Renee, which puzzles her. It's like the times when she was younger back in her Skyrim days, and she had angered one of the teachers at the Riften orphanage where she was raised. But she knows what to do. She knows how to handle this. Rather than direct her anger at the Redguard, Renee Gade the third decides to direct it in another fashion.

"Well. I am back," she greets, wearing blue-colored armor and brandishing a giant silver sword upon her back. This sword had been previously sharpened by Rohssan, over at The Best Defense. "What comes next?"

"All right, Brawler, this next match is going to be a challenge."

"It is?" Renee asks, pretending to stifle a yawn.

"Turns out there are TWO Wood Elf sisters who always fight together."

"Two wood elf sisters?" she says, now fully engaged. "Two of them, eh? Go on."

"They're twins, actually. You got to take 'em both out! Now get in there, and show those tree-climbers who's boss!"

"Those two twins will wish they never climbed out of their tree," she promises. "They'll wish they could run all the way back to Valenwood, I can guarantee this."

As Renee turns to walk towards the Bloodworks, her heart-rate doubles, and her adrenaline surges. Two against one? .. It seems like an unfair match, a bit of unexpected trickery to throw her off game. Was this Owyn's idea? Or somebody unseen? As Renee looks back, she notices Owyn is smiling.





11:27 AM

"Good people of the Imperial City....WELCOME TO THE ARENA! Youuu came to watch a fight, and a fight you shall have..."

Today, unlike the first three times Renee fought here, it is finally sunny. She remembers back to her first fights, during which it was so rainy, she feared the crowd might not even see her. Well, this would not be a problem today.

"...can the Blue Team's Brawler possibly hope to defeat the Yellow Team's dual elf archers? Let's find out. LOWERRRR THE GATES!"

And the gates are lowered. Heart hammering in chest. But oh, the rush of energy, to be seen and watched by all. To be recognized for her greatness with a sword. Usually, she fought scummy enemies located far away from civilization, but HERE she would be fighting them before the masses. Such a forum for enticement. ... Renee decides she won't even bother throwing her chakram this time. These elves (like many elves) would be all flash and no fury, or so she hopes. As archers, they might expect some sort of distance-wielded object to come flying their way, for perhaps they had heard about her odd, circular weapon. They would expect her to throw this weapon, and then stand by helplessly, waiting for it to come back, and (all the while) needing to dodge twin arrows.

So Renee decides to cast a spell instead; a spell which will shield her body from extra attacks.

A couple arrows fly toward her indeed, both of them miss as she dodges. "YOU ELVES ARE ALL THE SAME, ALL FLASH AND NO FURY!" she cries the popular taunt at them. She dodges left and right, looking for cover, as some arrows fly. The Arena features several stone columns she can hide behind, while gaining on her opponents step by step. The trick would be to engage one of them, and then try to keep this one between herself and the other twin. Do it right, and the second elf just might fire an arrow straight into her twin sister.

"Let's get this over with!"

"I am ready, elves, and am in agreement! And it is just me! I was not born with a twin to watch my back!"

Renee doesn't have to worry about trying to engage one of them; surprisingly, one of the Yellow Team twins rushes towards her, wielding a large steel claymore. Renee goes for the defensive, and holds her own sword in a blocking stance, trying to keep watch of where the other twin is. The elf with the sword swings! .. and Renee is caught off-guard. The elf forces the Imperial to misstep, and as Renee falters, the other elf gets her with a silver arrow, while the first elf dances behind, trying to get another swing. "Ohhhh" goes the crowd from above.

"Lucky, that one was!" Renee now blocks another swing, and then triple-thrusts with her own sword WHAM SLAM WHAM, causing the sword-swinging sister to back off a bit, stunned. The archer gets another shot in, slamming Renee's shoulder "ARRGH!" but she survives. And gulps down one of the two healing potions she's brought along.

"Hah!"

The sword-wielder attempts to recover, while Renee cleverly keeps one of the Arena's columns between herself and the archer. Seeing an advantage, the Imperial thrusts a final couple of swings, and amazingly, the golden-haired elf with the sword is down!



"I'm just warming up, you pathetic Imperial!" cries the archer, which Renee can barely hear over the shouting of the crowd! .. As the archer dances left to right, trying to get one of her arrows into her opponent's body, Renee does a similar dance behind the stone column, which the first elf had died beside. While she does so, she realizes her health is lower than she thought. She can feel this. All of this (gate rising, elves rushing, one dying, and Renee feeling a bit faint) takes place in the course of about half-a-minute.

Renee begins to heal herself up, casts another shielding spell, and then dashes towards the second elf, running from column to column, evading all her arrows. As she nears the opposite side of the Arena, she sees that the elf (who must now realize she's lost her twin forever) has run down the Yellow Team's ramp, and is cowering back at the Yellow Team entrance.

"Come out from there, coward!" Renee taunts. "Face your fate. You stepped up to this, and assumed victory through trickery. Not very fair, if I were to opine."

The archer doesn't come, and Renee fears she'll have to finish off the elf down by the Yellow Team entrance, where nobody can see what's going on. So she dashes back a bit, and waits to see if the archer will follow. She does not. Renee shanks up her silver sword, and begins throwing her chakram instead, but this is impossible. The archer keeps herself well-hidden down the Yellow Team's stairway entrance, meaning that it's impossible for the Imperial to cause any damage from a distance.

"You think you're so smart? You think you can hide from ME? Now's the time to face thy fate!"

Renee re-brandishes her sword, and rushes towards the elf, hoping not to get stung by some more of her arrows. The archer manages to get another arrow out which stuns Renee, but it's the last arrow she shall ever shoot. Twins from Blackwood, Leyde and Meyde, who had longed and longed for the chance here in the Imperial City, are felled one-by-one by the Imperial brunette with the giant silver sword.



As Renee does a sort of victory dance, she gazes up to the crowds and spots her followers. She sees Bree, her new wood elf archer from Valenwood. Renee hopes that Bree understands the death of two fair elves. No hard feelings, and all of that. All of this fighting was voluntary, and that she herself could have been the one to fall, not the twin elves.



12:18 PM

"Haaa those girls didn't stand a chance! Good job, Brawler."

"Good job?" Renee asks in surprise. "You are complimenting me?"

"Here is your take," the Redguard says, giving Renee ten 100-gold coins, a thousand gold in all. "One more match and you'll advance again."

"You bet I will, and oh, next time, try to pick some opponents I can actually take my time with, eh? Now, I hope nobody befouled my pretty new pink dress. Time for a night on the town."

Renee says this, then she walks back to her gang of followers, bruised, bleeding, but bolder than before. She looks forward to yet another nice, long soak in the Market District's bathhouse, among other things.

That was a nice little read, I liked it. And Renee did indeed do a good job




"Busy man"... Yeah, right

That was a fun arena match! I love Renee’s sass. I couldn’t wait for her to get down there and match wits with Owyn. Your screenshots make the perfect illustrations for her story.

I also enjoyed examining your HUD. (That sounds naughty, lol.) What’s the orange bar above health?

Aww shucks. Thanks ya'll.

Funny thing is I don't like the idea of constrained combat at all. So claustrophobic and forced. That story was hard for me to edit & read in a way, isn't that odd?

OTOH, yeah, I do love all her 'comebacks' and banters with Owyn, especially. If you've ever watched Xena, you'll know that Xena always has the perfect Hollyweird thing to say in reply, especially when talking to enemies and scumbags, so that's what I try to do with RG3.

@Grits - that story is quite thrilling, especially the part where Darnand cast his light spell and the dreugh was closer, it feels almost like from some horror movie when a villain is closer each time the light appears. I laughed at the part "torches are for Nords".

@Renee - good job with writing that match, you even gave names to the twin sisters! Very creative that she bet on herself and brought her posse to watch the match. I like Renee's attitude and her battle screams.

Oh and looks like Gabrielle likes to sunbathe her legs only and have the rest of her body covered.

Nice story Renee. As always, I'm impressed by the way you build off of vanilla content.

This made me think of my early and wonderful Dunmer, Kyla. I originally envisioned her as just a female Dunmer with a claymore who came to the IC to fight in the Arena. Her character took over and established herself when it suddenly struck her, at the end of one of the Arena matches, that this now-dead person on the ground was in a lot of ways probably just like her - some actual, complex human being with hopes and dreams and desires and goals, who'd dedicated some portion of their life to gaining enough skill to fight in the Arena. And now all they were was dead. She never fought another match.

'course, on the other hand, Mu-teel the Argonian killer sees them as people in a lot of ways probably just like her - ready, willing and able to kill another with no compunction and fully aware that they put their lives on the line every time they try, and that's just the way it is. She never has a second thought.

On the spoilers thread because I spent most of my time over the last few days with Clive. I'll tie up a few other loose ends first though.

I finished up Shetcombe and Tina moved in there. In-universe, the original owner sat in there and slowly went crazy, before he finally went off to the dungeon down the hill, so the place, on the inside, was originally the wreck you find it in in vanilla, and was in fact the exact same cell. But the vanilla exterior is quaint and picturesque, which is exactly what attracted Tina to it in the first place. So the exterior is untouched and the interior is updated, with mostly middle class furniture, a few of Stroti's, Meo's and Lady N's meshes (crockery, cookware, paper goods and the like) and a couple of little gimmick touches (the fireplaces switch on and off, as does the candle by the bed). In-universe, Tina just hired some people to deliver some basic furniture and she cleaned out most of the old stuff and replaced it and that was that. It's plain and simple but she likes it and it's nice to just have a quiet spot to stop for a while.

Then I spent quite a while fiddling with Dawn's hair. She's the Breton "Princess" - a battlemage in light armor with a very nice family heirloom claymore. She uses a Corean hair - #12, which is a simple ponytail, all pulled back. The mesh has never quite fit the skull correctly and has always bothered me. Now that I've started to figure out how to get around in Blender, I decided to do something about it, which was when I discovered that hair meshes are just... bizarre. I still don't really understand how it all works, but I figured out enough of it to sort it out, so she finally has hair that actually fits on her head rather than floating a half inch outside of it.

Then it was on to Clive. He had just finished up with the Draconis family and picked up his reward and his next mission from the well in the Skingrad Castle courtyard, and needed to go to Bruma next to kill a Khajiit named J'ghasta, who apparently knew someone was coming for him.

That was a bit stressful for Clive. He's pretty much a coward, so he's most comfortable catching people off guard. That and he's sadistic and enjoys the look of shock on their faces. But this time he was going to have to be particularly careful and he didn't much relish it. But, entirely in desperation, he'd hit on a strategy with that retired watch officer in Leyawiin way back when, and knew that if all else failed, he could fall back on his mage's staff. He'd thought Paralysis was a good choice, but it'd taken that terrifying fight to show him just how good a choice it was.

He got into Bruma in the late afternoon and decided there was no reason to wait. He tracked down J'ghasta's house and broke in and... there was nobody there.

He left and scoured the city and didn't find him anywhere. So he made his way back to the house and broke in again, then settled down to wait.

The longer he waited, the more uncomfortable he got. This J'ghasta was supposed to be ready for him, so why would he not even be there? He got to wondering if maybe he was there after all, and thought he'd better look around the house more closely. After making a couple of laps through the house without finding even a hint, he sort of bemusedly thought maybe he should look for a secret passage (ooooh! a secret passage!!) Imagine his surprise when he actually found one. He snuck down the ladder and found J'ghasta in a secret training room, beating the bloody hell out of a punching bag. This wasn't looking good.

Clive steeled himself and hit him with a combo spell - Drain Speed plus Summon Flame Atronach. It's his spell of choice for surprise assassinations, but it did damned near nothing to that Khajiit. He bypassed the Atronach entirely and came straight for Clive, threw a few dismissive words at him, then started beating the hell out of him. And it was a good thing that he had already formed his backup plan, because he sure needed it. He reeled back under the blows, then turned and ran for the ladder and escaped upstairs. He found a clear spot, then turned back around and pulled out his staff just as J'ghasta came out of the trap door. And he let him have it with 7 seconds of paralysis, then summoned another Flame Atronach to attack him. And that then became the pattern - every time the Khajiit started to stir, Clive let him have it with the staff, and when the first Atronach faded, he summoned another. When that one faded, he summoned another. Finally, after seemingly forever, the Khajiit lie dead.

And Clive knew something wasn't right about this. This was not just an assassination target - J'ghasta was no ordinary bloke, but he wasn't a soldier or anything like that either. He seemed more like some sort of mercenary. Clive decided to search the house and see what he could learn (That's unusual for Clive. Though he has no particular morals to speak of, he's not a thief - he generally just leaves after he's done, without so much as touching any of the victim's stuff. I think he considers it beneath his station to actually rummage around in someone else's belongings). He wasn't all that surprised when he found a copy of The Brothers of Darkness in the hidden room, and by the time he found the Black Hand robe and hood, it just confirmed what he'd started to suspect. J'ghasta was DB, and furthermore, part of the Black Hand. What did that mean? Was Lucien making some sort of power play? It doesn't really matter much to Clive one way or another - he has absolutely no loyalty at all, to anyone or anything. But he's sure as hell not going to get himself involved in something where someone might decide to come kill him. He likes being able to sleep at night. He's going to have to keep a close eye on developments and be ready to cut and run if things start to go sour.

With that thought, he went on his way. First a night at the Jerall View, then the long trip down to the IC and a leisurely evening in the King and Queen, just enjoying the peace and quiet. Then, after a welcome night's sleep in his own bed, he made his way down to the Old Bridge to pick up his reward and his next contract, and that's where he's parked right now, ready to continue the trip down to Flooded Mine. He's already got some pretty strong suspicions about just what sort of "psychopathic killer" this is, and why she's "hiding out." He just hopes Lucien knows what he's doing.

Oh my gosh yes! This is exactly what I'm going through with RG3 as she competes in the Arena. It's somewhat more personal than when I did the Arena questline years ago on PS3, because back in those days I wasn't writing a story, nor was I considering the actions and feelings of any opponents that are faced.

I agree that the exterior of Shetcombe is gorgeous. Several of mine have stayed there throughout the years. This makes two people whom I know personally, here at Chorrol, who have changed the interior of this cottage. Man I'd like to see some pics.

Interesting that Clive is a scumbag, a torturer, but also a coward. Yeah, his 'Drain Speed / Summon Atronach' spell is pretty cowardly.

Well *wow* what a thrilling encounter with that K'hajiit. Pretty cool how he had to search the house to figure out where the target cat-guy was, and then also searched the premises (which he wouldn't normally do). Very cool.

Turdas, 10:13 am, Morning Star 10, 3rd Era 434

Bounty: 778



The Redguard awakes. Wonders where he is. Oh yes, he's in Pell's Gate, in the Sleeping Mare Inn. Wanted by the law. Hunted by the Legion. It all comes back to him now.

"Wine. Where's my wine?"

He finds it, two bottles of the cheap stuff, located safely in one of the sacks in his room. He is unsure how long this wine has been here though, for he also finds some armor he'd left behind several weeks ago. Bravil guard's armor, which he had stashed here after being wanted down in Bravil. But now, he's wanted in Anvil. And Skingrad. And possibly everywhere else. When they had last seen him, he had been wearing some Imperial legion armor, the heavy stuff.

"Time to swap that out for some new metal."

And he does so. In his now-clouding mind, he thinks he might just get away with it, if he's seen wearing a different set of armor. Getting dressed takes about half-an-hour this time. He winds up wearing a mixture of Bravil armor on his upper body, but heavy legion armor on his legs and feet.

"Where now? Where am I to be now?"

He checks his manpurse, which has a sheaf of paper full of random scribbles. If anybody else tried to read this, they'd get nowhere fast, and with a headache. But Kahreem manages to find where he is go be next.

"Imperial City. Fokke!"

*clank clank clank* go the heavy iron boots on his feet. After getting a mutton sandwich from Candice, the lady who runs the Sleeping Mare, the Redguard is dismayed to find he's only got ...

... "FIVE GOLD?" ...

... left on his person. This makes him furious for a moment, but the moment passes, and his anger slips away within seconds. One thing he had learned from his days as a bandit was that it wasn't prudent to stay angry for long. Anger causes mistakes & foolishness, in the long run. So he fixes a neutral expression on his face, and leaves the inn with a half-smile. He's still got one more bottle of Cheap Wine, after all.




11:16 am

"Today's your lucky day. So let's hear it!" says the Nord known as Irroke the Wide.

"What's new with you?" Schlera Sestius greets back on this fine but slightly chilly day.

"I hear that the Nords of Skyrim have been warring with the Redoran of Morrowind," Irroke lays out the latest news he had heard from some Imperial patrol. Life moves slowly here in Pell's Gate. News like this could take weeks to hear from anybody else, but the patrols, with their innate sense of knowledge about such things, always were up-to-date with this sort of information.

"More fighting for the Nords?" asks Schlera, suddenly wondering why they call Irroke 'Wide'. "This is sad news."

"So long."

"Good --"

"SOMEBODY HELP! COME QUICKLY! WE'VE GOT A BURGLAR!"

"Aww come on, I'm not a burglar people. See? I am a Bravil guard, returning to--"

... but it does no good to reason with these small-minded people. Schlera readies her fists, and gets a good pummel into the horse which Kahreem manages to mount. Somebody nocks a bow. And Irroke the Wide finds the small daggar located within his breeches, and begins to swing. Kahreem decides it's probably best not to extend his formerly pleasant stay, here in Pell's Gate. Instead, he rides north, passing by the fort located just paces away from this hamlet. Here, he is attacked by a bandit, a Redguard, at that. Another soon joins in the offense, another Redguard, that is.


Kahreem tries and tries, and even manages to call upon his Reguard heritage for Adrenaline Assistance, but he's simply not very skilled with a cutlass, which keeps slipping in his hands (downplaying damage). He's much better with blunt weapons, but he hasn't got one right now.



"Haaa!"

To make matters worse, Schlera the Redguard shows up to join the fight. She initially goes after the Redguard who just stole a horse right in front of her, but winds up fighting the two other Redguard men, instead. Weapons slash, fists pummel, cries call out. Unfortunately for Kahreem, his health begins to fail, and when he sees Schlera fall before him, he knows it's simply time to get out of here, for good.



He mounts his stolen horse for the second time, and decides to ride across the water, instead of taking the road. The bandits try to follow him, swimming somehow with their heavy weapons, but eventually they cannot keep up, and possibly drown. Kahreem rides on, and does not look back. He makes it to shore, and rushes around the Waterfront shacks, just in case the bandits had managed to follow. His health is a sliver; he knows this. Finally, he slows pace, and has a look behind himself. The bandits are nowhere to be seen. GOOD. Chances are, they certainly had--



..."Well now LOOK WHO WE HAVE HERE," says an Imperial legion known as Davide Baggius. "Caught in the act, and no goolllld to pay your fine hmm?" he asks. "It's off to the lockup, then."

Knowing he is done, and knowing he has (once again) outwitted himself, and stands outmatched, The Weet Bandit decides to simply give in.

"Shhh can you keep it down?" Kahreem whispers. "People know me here. .... HEY," he now speaks more loudly "Good thing you're here, guard. I'm Edvin the Solvulent, from Bravil! Been travelling with a merchant clan, but we got attacked and scattered, and now there's some angry bandits chasing after me!" ..."Okay, just pretend to arrest me. They won't be able to attack me if I'm in custody, right?"

"Hope you rot, criminal scum."

"Good job, Imperial. We can drop the act now, you know, I think the bandits won't be following me now. You can see all these cuts and bruises on my person, right?"

"'Drop the act?' Not a chance. I know your face, and you're wanted for horse theft, among many other things. Kellsgard the Goblin Slayer heh heh heh. I got you now."

"FOKKE!"


4:20 PM
Just like that, back behind bars. As Kahreem settles in for what could turn out to be a longer stay than usual, he hopes that the guards won't notice the letter he's carrying, the one which will hopefully place the Imperial City's most notorious Watch Captain somewhere far away from the city itself. After all, he recently paid a LOT for this piece of parchment, way too much.

@Renee: So Kareem's back in his home away from home... free food and no bandits at least, hmm?

Clive's cowardice is really central to his character - that's where much of the rest of it springs from. He's vicious and self-involved, but he doesn't have the courage to just go his own way - he's too self-conscious and too worried about what other people will think of him. Where someone like Mu-teel would just do whatever she thought was best in a given situation and to hell with what anyone else thinks about it, Clive is very conscious of what other people might think. But it's not that he actually cares about people - he has absolutely no empathy at all. His interest in people is limited only to what they can do for him. He's concerned about what they think of him, but not because he cares about them - I don't think he's even capable of sincerely caring about anyone. He's concerned about what they think of him because what they think of him has an effect on his life. If they think he's a good person, then that's to his benefit and if they think he's a bad person, then that's to his detriment. And he resents the fact that their opinion of him has an impact on his life, even as he's too cowardly to just say the hell with them and do as he pleases anyway. That combination of resentment and fear eats at him until he can't take it any more, then manifests in sadism. Carefully hidden sadism though, because, again, he's afraid of what other people might think of him. And 'round and 'round it goes.

Tina's Shetcombe is really sort of embarrassingly dull. Since you asked though - from right to left around the room - 1, 2, 3, 4

I haven't actually been playing at all for a couple of days now - when I haven't been fiddling around in Blender, I've been playing Freelancer. I'm sort of itching to get back to Elenin though, so I might do that tonight.

I was wondering when Kahreem would be behind bars again..



@gipster - Ooh, nice to see Shetcombe lit up and in order

Yeah "Home away from home", that's a good way to put it! At least the Imperial jail serves better food than some others.

Her Shetcombe isn't dull, it looks quite comfy, actually.

Davide Baggius vs Edvin the Solvulent!

Another great Kahreem's story!

So I finally took a break from fiddling in Blender and spent some time with Elenin.

She was parked in Skingrad - the evening of her first day there. She had already talked to Sinderion and checked in at the Mages Guild, then gone and rescued Erthor. After dropping him off, she was approached by Glarthir.

So she had nothing pressing to do and not a whole lot of time to find something to do, so she just went up to the Two Sisters and spent a few hours lounging in front of the fire. Then she went to meet Glarthir.

She really feels sorry for him. He's so obviously disturbed. She agreed to help him just because that seemed like the least damaging choice. And she wasn't the least bit surprised the next morning when she saw that Bernadette Peneles seems to have no particular interest in Glarthir, and if anything, it's Glarthir who's watching her. She only spent a few hours in the morning watching them, and when it was obvious what was actually going on, she just left.

She went up the road a bit to one of the caves she'd passed on her way - Grayrock - and decided to do a bit of exploring. It was an odd place. Obviously something fairly ugly had happened there some time ago - there were skeletons and bits of debris everywhere. It looked like a number of different people had tried to make temporary (or even permanent) homes in there at different times, and they'd all met grisly ends. She was glad to get out of there, though a bit surprised to find a completely separate entrance from the one she'd come in near the road. And not far from that entrance, she happened on a very charming and apparently abandoned cottage that appeared to be home to a very healthy bay horse and a pair of dogs.

Side note - I've had Maigrets' Maple Leaf Cottage in pretty much every game I've played for years now, but it's always just been a landmark - I've never had a character who's actually ended up living there. A few have spent nights there and I seriously considered moving some of them in permanently, but it's just never been quite right for any of them. It's at least possible with Elenin - I'm not sure yet. I had no impression of what she thought of animals at all, so I don't know how the dogs might appeal to her, but the cottage seems to fit her personality well. We'll see...

Anyway, she made her way back to Skingrad, after wandering down a side road and discovering a fascinating little valley upstream from the castle, with an enormous Ayleid ruin that's somehow magically sealed. She swung by Sinderion's and picked up the elixir he'd made, then spent a few more hours soaking up the heat from the fireplace in the Two Sisters. Then she went and met Glarthir, and after only a moment's hesitation (for better or worse, she just can't lie), she told him that Bernadette was definitely not watching him. He seemed relieved by that, and Elenin's hopeful that this will all settle down. She's agreed to help him some more, then went back to the Two Sister's for the night, and is currently parked outside the door of the Two Sisters, on the following morning, ready to go verify that Toutius Sextius is not watching Glarthir.

Side note - this is sort of tough to play, because I know what's going to happen and I know that it's going to break Elenin's heart. But I don't see any other option - she's sympathetic and honest, which means that she's going to want to help Glarthir, and she's going to tell him the truth, so that's the way it's going to play out. It's not going to be pleasant.

As I have always said, honesty is never the best policy...

Yeah... like I said, it's going to be tough, but I just don't see any way around it. That's who she is, and that's what's going to happen. I'm curious to see what sort of effect it has on her though - if she even considers what might've happened if she'd lied to him or if she's just too earnest for that.

It's much easier with less honest characters, just because they generally toy with Glarthir. Clive in particular did that - he told Glarthir whatever he thought would wind him up the most (that everyone was spying on him), then refused to help him and left him twisting in the wind. He was pleased when Glarthir snapped, and was just disappointed that the guards killed him before he could do even more damage (he only managed to kill Bernadette before the guards got him).

Just spent a little more time with Elenin. She checked in briefly on Toutius - just long enough to verify her suspicion that he's not spying on Glarthir - then hiked up the road to Greenmead Cave and explored that place. That was VERY rewarding - she not only came out of it with some valuable loot to resell (she spends a lot of money on spells, so she needs it), but found a Robe of Deflection (Tan Robe - 5% Shield) and a Base Amulet of Reflection (Reflect Spell 14%). The Robe is actually a bit better than the armor she was wearing, and after trying out armor for a while, she was sort of considering switching back to a robe anyway, so it couldn't have come at a better time. Then she made her way back to town and sold the stuff she didn't want to Gunder, and now she's parked outside his door and it's late afternoon.

The "armoured" robes go up to an Aegis Robe (Grey Robe - 18% Shield) which isn't bad if you add rings and amulets with similar enchantments. But then, you can get almost complete defense with rings and amulets anyway.

Yeesh. Greyrock is indeed a spooky place, as well as its near-twin Greenmead. Creepy. And oddly, they're two of the best places to find some good loot, even if the character is low-leveled, in the vanilla game. There's always a Robe of Deflection (502 gp) or some sort of useless, but expensive ring that'll fatten up that purse.

Yes, it's always best to play out whatever happens, even if we've already done quest before. Cheers.

I think Tim the Breton enchanter wore the Robe of Aegis for a while, but by that point he was overpowered enough that he could, and did, wear pretty much whatever he wanted. I know that Maelyn the Dunmer courtesan has one, but I don't think she's ever worn it, just because she has so many other options. She did spend quite a while in the green 12%er though (I can never remember which name is which, other than Aegis). Bogmok the morose Orc is in the tattered 15%er and it's unlikely he'll wear anything else, just because tattered fits his personality so well. Elenin looks pretty good in the tan, so if she happens on the 8%er, she'll switch to that. I'm hoping she finds the green 12%er, just because she already has the green robe from Vilverin, so I know she looks good in green. I can't see her wearing the tattered one though, and we'll have to see about the Aegis. I haven't seen what she looks like in grey, but I think it'd suit her. But it's likely that by the time it shows up, she'll have other better options, or will have enough other enchantments that she'll be able to wear whatever she wants.


Greyrock is definitely creepy. IIRC, it also has the most Cairn Bolete of any dungeon in the game, which somehow adds to the creepiness. It's okay - definitely atmospheric, but not one of my favorites. Greenmead, on the other hand, is probably my favorite dungeon in the game - it's certainly the one that I've gone through the most times, just because it's so conveniently located and it's just stuffed with good magical loot.



And on that note - after loafing around town the rest of the day, she went to talk to Glarthir that night and told him that Toutius wasn't watching him. She was a bit bothered by his reaction, since that seemed to make him suspicious of her. But what could she do? Toutius really wasn't watching him. After Glarthir asked her to spy on Davide Surilie, she went and talked to Captain Dion. She had already told him that Glarthir was claiming there was a plot against him, but the captain didn't do anything then. This time, she begged him to do something about him, but he just said he couldn't do anything until Glarthir actually did something. Elenin's thought then was that by then it would be too late, but there seemed to be nothing more she could do, so she went back to the Two Sisters for the night.

The next morning, she swung by the vineyard just long enough to verify that Davide wasn't watching Glarthir (she was already pretty certain of that, since she'd already seen Davide at the vineyard on previous days). Then she spent the rest of the day walking to and from the IC. She needed to replenish her supply of lockpicks and drop off some of the gear she wasn't using any more, and store some of the alchemical ingredients she'd gathered but didn't have a use for yet. By the time she got back to Skingrad, it was late evening. She just sort of wandered around town, feeling a mounting sense of dread, then went to meet Glarthir. As soon as she saw that he was carrying a battle axe, she knew things were likely to go bad.

She knew from last night that he was close to snapping, and she knew that then he had seemed suspicious of her. She briefly considered trying to placate him by lying and telling him that Davide was watching him, but she was afraid that if she did that, he'd go after Davide with that axe. She didn't want that. So she steeled herself and told him the truth, then watched helplessly as Glarthir came unglued. And there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

When he started swinging at her, she drew her sword and blocked him, but she didn't swing at him. She tried to yield to him, but he refused to accept it. She had just readied a Charm spell, in the probably vain hope that that might work, when Captain Dion charged past her and started swinging at Glarthir. And it was all over in no time at all, and Glarthir - that poor tormented soul - was dead.

She just stood there for a moment. She wasn't all that surprised - the whole thing had been going wrong pretty much from the beginning, and it had been looking like it would end up tragically. And at least this was better than it might've been - it's likely that, given the right impetus, Glarthir would've been using that battleaxe on Davide or Toutius or Bernadette instead of her, and it's certain that they couldn't have defended themselves at all. Still though, there was no reason that he had had to die.

Dion was walking away, and she ran to catch up to him. She wanted... she didn't know what she wanted. Just so say something, or hear something. When she asked him about Glarthir, he did the oddest thing - he acted as if he knew nothing about it other than that "He turned up dead." "He turned up dead?" She had just stood right there and watched Dion kill him, and how he was just vaguely saying "He turned up dead?!" What the hell?

She didn't even know what to say to that. She just walked away.

Had Glarthir been right, or at least sort of coincidentally right? Certainly there wasn't really a conspiracy against him, but in a way, just because of the way he acted, there had come to be one. At least it had reached the point that it served the interests of a number of people, Dion obviously included, for Glarthir to die, and so it had come about that he died. And then they could just treat it as if it was an odd and inexplicable thing that just happened, rather than a specific state of affairs that they had a part in creating, or at least in failing to prevent.

The closest thing to a lesson that she could get out of this was that she probably can't count on officialdom. If she's going to help people, SHE has to help them. She obviously can't presume that officials are going to help them, even when it's their job.

She spent a restless night at the Two Sisters, and is now parked outside the west gate, ready to continue on toward Anvil. She's mostly glad to be leaving Skingrad. There were some parts of it she quite liked - the Two Sisters, Gunder and his shop, Tamika, Davide and Gaston Surilie, Uuras... But there was an awful lot of it that just left a bad taste in her mouth. There's something just... sinister and cruel about that town.

Beautiful write-up, sir. Skingrad does indeed have quite a few dark secrets.

It's been sunny this week, and so I've been playing some Fallout instead of TES4, but stay tuned for some more Kahreem. Or Joan or Saga, or whoever I wind up with next.

3:01 am, Morning Star 11, 3rd Era 434

Days Passed: 138
Days Jailed: 29
Bounty: 778

"Good evening".

"Three o'clock, and all's well."

One guard greets another, on this dark, misty night, here in the Imperial City's Prison. Not much to do tonight. And never any crime, yet these two had been stationed, night after night, to protect the unlikely event that some monster (or a group of bandits, or any sort of enemy) would come crashing through the doors to the Prison District. The chances of this happening were very slim of course. First, this enemy would need to climb an incredibly steep incline. Then, they'd need to figure out a way to attack not just the two guards stationed on either side of the Prison District's main door, but an entire group of guards, bored out of their minds, and just looking for a reason to finally raise their weapons.

"So, anything to report?"

"I overheard that the previous shift caught that Redguard thief. Kellsgard the goblin-slayer. Got him right near the Waterfront."

"Kellsgard the Goblin Slayer? No, you must be mistaken. They caught that other Redguard, Vincent the Spice Merchant. He's the one wanted down in Leyawiin, for stealing Countess Caro's ring."

The two guards stand silently for a moment, each keenly aware that he has just disagreed with the other. Kellsgard? or Vincent? ... They stand silently, staring down at their boots, but also giving an occasional glance upwards, wondering what should be done about their disagreement. It's a rather intuitive moment. Something only the guards of Cyrodiil would be able to understand, with their magically-shared minds.

"Heard any news about the other provinces?"

As the other man answers, both guards are both grateful that the subject has been changed.




Fredas, 3:33 am
Seven days later, the Redguard who had generated more gossip, and more rumors, than any other prisoner within memory, leaves the prison's Bastion. He is given his things outside, and changes from prison duds to Bravil guard's armor over the course of a half hour.

"What's this about?" asks one of the guards standing nearby.

"THIS is about a man being falsely-arrested, that's what this is. I mean, look at me. I am obviously an enlisted member of County Bravil's finest. But because I have the looks of this ... Redguard you have been seeking so fervently, you have over-acted. And faltered because of it. Oh .. if Uriel Septim were still alive, I would go straight to the top! Complain about how incompetent the Imperial City guards have been.

"Blow away, windbag."

"Don't think I won't do it anyways. There's still the Elder Council. They might listen to my cause. And when that happens, you'll all be out of your jobs."

"Hey! Good one! ha-ha-ha," laughs the guard.

"Hmph."

Kahreem of Weet saunters off slowly, walking toward his home, the Marie Elena. He crosses the bridge to the Market District, walks through the market itself, through the Arena District, and through the Arboretum. A soft rain begins to fall. He uncorks one of the pleasures the guards had taken from him a week earlier--a bottle of Cheap Wine. Gulps it down as he walks. Finds himself walking by Temple of the One, and then crosses through the tunnel which connects the Temple District to the Waterfront. Ah, good to be home.



It takes him nearly 5 hours to make this walk. He takes his time, seeing familiar faces, and hearing their greetings or taunts. When he finally gets inside his home, he throws his near-broken pirate's cutlass on the floor, has a seat in what used to be the captain's dining area, has a slab of dried meat and grapes for breakfast, and then remembers the lone bottle of skooma leftover in his night sack.

The bottle of skooma does not last very long after this moment.



Loredas, 2:59 AM
He awakes hours later, room and head fuzzy, yet clear. For a moment, he thinks he's still in jail, but then he hears the creaks of the floorboards below his feet, and remembers where he is.

He has no idea where he's supposed to go, and the beggar he had met hours before had no idea what's up either. The scribbled notes in his manpurse say something about taking his forged letter into some sort of Legion compound, where he'll place some sort of seal there. Where is this compound though? The Imperial City's a big place.

"When in doubt, have some fokkinge wine."

And this is just what he does. He also discards the Bravil guard's armor he'd fallen into a stupor while wearing into a nearby sack. He is pleased to find a total of fifteen bottles of wine stashed in this sack, as well. Plenty for days! ... He changes into some anonymous dark clothes; his guard's armor is going to be firmly retired, he decides, now that every fokkinge guard in the Imperial City has seen him wearing it.

He goes for a walk over to Armand Cristophe's house. Armand is home, and his door is open, but this fellow Redguard knows nothing about Kahreem's latest mission. Kahreem decides to go for a free meal at the Bloated Float, and then spends the rest of his day searching around for this Imperial compound he's supposed to locate.
Hours pass, as he walks from the Waterfront, to the Imperial Palace. He is cautioned several times in here. By the time he has left the palace, he has been well-informed that only the first two floors of the palace are safe for citizens to explore.

Getting frustrated, he leaves the palace, and walks to the Talos Plaza District. Enters the Tiber Septim Hotel, but unfortunately he hasn't got much coin on him for lunch. But it is here that he meets a Breton who gives him a curious eye.

"You wear the shadows well, fellow thief."

"Well, this is because I don't go blabbing around about shadows."

The Breton's name is Ancus. Kahreem would not have guessed this man is Thieves Guild; he looks so civilized. Kahreem is grateful to learn from Ancus that the location of the Imperial Guard's compound is right where he had started, a day (or two?) before. The Prison district.* By late afternoon, he is finally where he needs to be.



This post has been edited by Renee: May 9 2015, 11:19 PM

I LoL-ed about the guards' dialogue and how they stare at each other's boots, not knowing what to say. News from other provinces are always a good idea to change a subject.

Kahreem has fifteen bottles of wine? Well, that will... Oh, they´re gone now?


Should have figured...

Thanks Lopov, and sorry, I kind of lost inspiration by the end there. But during that guard conversation, I had writing pretty good, eh?

Yah, 15 bottles of wine! .. It's been awhile since he's returned to the Marie Elena, he must have gone on a massive thievery spree months ago to get all that wine!

Did you guys notice all pumpkins + watermelon Kahreem puts outside his door? Almost all my characters do something like this. With Luci Phera and Eradi~Kate, it was skulls & bones. A lot of my others put pumpkins, or some other large vegetables or tubers or whatever.

Of course I noticed them, they're hard to miss. Though I'd expect that Kahreem would put empty wine bottles outside.

Loredas, 8:29 pm, Morning Star 19, 3rd Era 434

Days Passed: 146
Days Jailed: 36



"Do you have bizz-e-ness with me?"

The Reduard noticed the Khajiit a couple hours earlier, back when he had first entered the Imperial City's Prison District. This entire place is inhabited by Imperial guards, so who is the lone cat-man? Why is he here?

... His name is J'baana*. J'baana'd told the Redguard, whose true name is Kahreem, about his sordid past as a thief. He had been caught years before, and had been given a long sentence. But because he was such a model prisoner, this one had earned more rights than any other in the Bastion. One of his rights? He was allowed to roam all over the grounds of the Prison District. As long as he kept the place clean, and (obviously) never attempted escape, J'baana had free reign on the entire district. They even allowed him to set up his own tent, right on the Bastion's grounds!

"Shadow hide the hunter."

"You know of me, eh? Then you may know of my dilemma. Tell me, where is the place I am supposed to fokkinge go, to make this forged letter become official?"

J'baana explained that the place to start was through an innocuous door on the northwest side of the district. The door would be locked with the most expensive (and rarest) of locks: a five-tumbler.** Chances are, Kahreem would be able to steal a key to open this door, if not, the only other option would be to pick its lock.

"Five tumblers, eh? .. That's the granddaddy of all locks!"

"Youuuu t'ink?"

"But I am going to do it, lion-face. Just you watch."

Doing it, and doing it, are two different things though. Assuming he managed to pick this lock, would he be in an area which is safe? .. With no guards roaming about? Only one way to find out.

"Shadow hide you."

For once, Kahreem does not mind this advice.

9:22 pm
After walking nonchalantly across the Bastion's plaza, Kahreem finds the door the cat-man had told him of. He opens his manpurse, and prepares his lockpicking kit. Thirteen lockpicks. Thirteen chances.

"I can do this."



He says this as though anybody can possibly hear him, and then crouches down in shadow. He focuses his mind. He wishes he had not bottomed out his final bottle of Cheap Wine with J'aabana, for right now he has too much of a buzz for such serious work. But he does his best at focusing on the keyhole before him.

*tick ... tick....*

He bounces the first tumbler, slow and steady. Tries to get a rhythm, while hoping nobody will notice him. The first tumbler cycles through quick lifts, and slower ones. It's always best to try to place each tumbler while it's moving at its slowest, but Kahreem lets this first tumbler go through several proper cycles. Then ....

*CLICK*

He nails it! The first tumbler is as good as secure. He knows how to manipulate the others without disturbing this first tumbler. Getting the others done will be much more of a headache. But amazingly, he does it! ... Within minutes, the Weet Bandit has picked them all, losing only two hooks in the process. Amazing.



He finds himself in a typical Imperial District lobby area, with low benches to his left, and an organizing-desk on his right. There is also a door on his far left. The place is lit by candles...

...slurrrp gallup....

... and somebody is eating nearby. He moves quickly, but silently, across the floor. Has a look inside the desk, but it's locked. There is nothing really official about it, nothing which makes it appear to be used by anybody of power. It's just a desk. So he spares his eleven remaining lockpicks. He moves across the floor again, finds a secretary. It is unlocked, and there's nothing of importance inside.

clop clop clop clop

Whoever had been eating suddenly stops, gets up, and begins to walk, causing Kahreem to force himself into a shadow, near the office's cellar door. He focues and listens. Good thing there's no fokkinge castle music in here, thinks he. The footsteps stop, and are replaced by pure silence. For a long time, nothing happens, and nobody moves. He figures whoever it is who had been eating must now be in bed. It's late, after all. He risks an approach then, across the floor, up the stairs to his left. He thanks Nocturnal that he had chosen fur boots on his feet, instead of some stupid legionnaire's boots. No more clank clank clank, now it's fsss fss fsss. Only slightly noisier than a cat, or a bunny rabbit.

He climbs the stairs, and comes to a door on his left. Locked by a three tumbler. Again, he focuses, and again he loses another hook. He manages to get inside though, but finds himself in a room full of sleeping guards.

Barracks! Fokke!

No way would he be able to get his letter stamped in here. He leaves this room, descends the stairs, pads across the floor, and finally decides he'll try the door he had previously ignored. The man who had been eating must have been in here; this is not really an official place of business, he assumes. How much time had gone by? .. It feels like an hour or two. And the door is locked by another five-tumbler. Must be something of importance in there! He tries his luck for the third time, glad that the alcohol which had clouded his brain is not affecting him anymore.

He's losing his nerve, though. This time, he breaks three hooks in a row. He realizes he is sweating, and decides to remove the posh red blouse he had been wearing. Throws it right on the floor, and relishes the feel of cool air on his upper body. On his fourth try, he finally opens the door .... and finds himself in a room full of nothing.

FOKKE!

A dining hall. That is all. Had the cat-man lied to him? Or gotten his information wrong? All Kahreem sees are a lot of tables with some bread loaves, cheese, apples, and carrots all over the place. Nobody ever seems to finish their meals. He decides to search the rest of the premises anyways, eating some food as he goes, and throwing some plates and silverware on the floor. Weet Bandit strikes again!... But there is nothing to find, nowhere else to look. The tension dies down, and his sweaty body now has a chill. He paces back to where he had thrown his blouse, and puts it back on.


2:00 am
On a hunch, Kahreem decides to pass back the way he had come, just in case J'baana had been right. And there he sees it. The stamp which is to be used to seal the letter. It was right there in front of him when he had first entered the building, right on top of the ordinary-looking desk. He grabs it, runs to the basement, uses his torch to melt some wax, and places this seal upon the letter. DONE!

Hieronymus Lex. eminently qualified - my personal recommendation...

.. it says right on top. Some other candidates had also been listed, just to give some believability to the forgery. It looks so good, Kahreem is suddenly proud to have spent 500 gold upon it.

"Now, to return to Anvil."

...but before he does so, he cannot avoid just one more moment of risk. He decides to climb the stairs once again, and enters the barracks. Slys up to one of the sleeping guards, reaches into this man's pocket...... and manages to steal this man's key, without getting caught! It's a moment of pure triumph for Kahreem. He ALWAYS gets caught while pickpocketing ordinary citizens, ALWAYS gets caught when stealing from nobility, yet here is going through an actual guard's pocket, and he finally succeeds. It's a moment he'll cherish forever, he thinks, far into the days of--

"IT'S ALL OVER LAWBREAKER!" the guard awakes suddenyl. "Your spree is at an end. I'll take any stolen goods you have. The next move is yours -- pay your fine, or I'll haul you away!"

"Well done sir. The first test has been passed. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Basker Duncan. Specializer of break-in safety of all kinds. And you have passed the test. You woke up! You weren't supposed to wake up! .. Nobody in all my years has ever woken up while I've pickpocketed them. The matrons of the Elder Council will certainly want to know your name. "Imperial City's Top Guard" they will award you. Why, you'll probably get a raise of Septims once they hear of this. You might just get bumped up to TWO Septims a day! Imagine that?"

"THEN PAY WITH YOUR BLOOD!"

"Two Septims? Did I say two? Okay, maybe I'll recommend they bump it to five!"

"IF IT'S A FIGHT YOU WANT, IT'S A FIGHT YOU'LL GET!"

And with this moment, Kahreem of Weet, now known as Basker Duncan, takes his leave, with many ardent followers at his tail.

*facepalm*


He was done with it. Nothing more to do than return to Anvil. He was home free. And he just HAD to take that guard´s key...


*facepalms again*

Poor Basker Duncan. He had it all but he wanted more and now he's on the run again!

The Wheet Bandit does what he does best, run from the law!

Renee, the guards’ magically-shared minds made me grin. Ha, Kahreem is a little careless with his pumpkin and watermelon decorating. Lildereth had a pumpkin on her doorstep at Shetcombe Farm, but it was very precisely placed. I’m pretty sure Jerric had some watermelons outside his Waterfront Shack, but not for a homey atmosphere. He intended to fill them with grain alcohol if he ever found any.

That’s really neat about J’baana. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him.

Oh no, after all of that tension he went for a guard’s key!! Oh, Kahreem. That’s just awesome. That picture of Basker Duncan at a full run might be my all-time favorite.

Sundas, 4:24 am, Morning Star 20, 3rd Era 434

Days Passed: 147
Days Jailed: 36
Bounty: 5

Playtime: 179:29:30


"Where is that pesky Redguard? Where did he go?"

"He was here a second ago."

"More like five hours ago. I want all of the Bastion searched! No way he'll get away this time!"

"Sir. Which Redguard are we pursuing?"

.... the guard asks this question, but then immediately realizes the futility of answering it. It's the same Redguard who had been incarcerated up until a few days ago, the one whose name nobody could agree on. They all know his face, though. Whoever he is, he had been nearly caught inside of the guardhouse barracks, after stealing a key from one of the wardens. This warden had been asleep at the time. Somehow, after stealing this key, the Redguard had managed escape, from a room full of at least a dozen guards. He left the building, and then managed to get by several others who were still on duty. How had this happeneded? How can this be?

J'banna, the roaming K'hajiit who lived on the prison's outer grounds, had been questioned in association with the Redguard thief. Apparently, J'banna and the Redguard had been spotted speaking to one another earlier that evening. This had been a waste of time, though. J'banna hadn't been seen anywhere inside the guardhouse; when they searched for him, he'd been found, calmly sleeping, while the Redguard was still at large.

"We'll find him Lex, if it's the last thing we do!"


11:01 am

"You have my ear, citizen."

"No I don't. I'm afraid this 'ear thief', whoever he is, might just never be caught. Blasted thief."

The guard looks to the Redguard with the smart mouth, and feels a bit sore. Is that the man we're looking for? ... He cannot be sure. And by law, he cannot pursue his intuition, not without a larger bounty on the man's head. At present, the Redguard who apparently stole somebody's key is only wanted for 5 gold. It would take another 495 before open questioning (stop, search, seizure) without immediate cause could be attained.

"Bye!"

"Move along."

Kahreem of Weet does so, before spending the rest of the day sleeping, while the guards of the Imperial City's hands are tied over their own useless decree.

See, now that's a real example of a loyal guard that never questions his orders. Even he recognized the man, he had no right to arrest him because his bounty wasn't high enough. As usually, I like your humor when it comes to the AI.

It's rather short this time, but that's mostly because he doesn't have any money. He wanted to gamble in the Arena, but he only has like 8 gold right now. He doesn't feel like going on a crime spree. He's thinking of heading to Bravil, where he's got a fence he can make some profit from. And skooma, of course.

Evening Star 28, 4th Era 20

The sorceress Suri Drothan. Living up in Fort Scinia. Up above Cheydinhal. What might she be plotting up there?

Are the outlaws of Cyrodiil growing bolder and stronger? There was once a time, long ago when my mother lived. The daedra had suppressed everybody for a short while. Bandits and outlaws were included under this suppression. These enemies were weak. Weakened by the daedric threat, and latter invasion.

But now, it seems there are pockets of outlaws who .... by chance ... ARE improving. They live long enough, they improve over time.

And this is the situation we have here. This 'Suri Drothan' .... the sorceress I have been hired to put down. What might she have in store? Does she already know I am coming? Surely word has gotten to her that there is a new breed of adventurer in today's world. It is rare to see anybody doing what I do; only the Argonians and Khajiit are bold enough*, and they mostly stay to the south, in Blackwood.

Cheydinhal is so pretty at night. Could see myself living here, perhaps.

It's been awhile since I've written a story, June has been a busy month. Anyways, I feel like I'm a little bit rusty now. But as long as I allow my thoughts to go from my head to the keyboard, I think I'll be okay.

Fredas, 12:03 am, Morning Star 25, 3rd Era 434



"Yes?"

Kahreem of Weet arrives inside the Count's Arms to rent a room. "I would like a room," he says.

"There's a wonderful room available, it's the best I have, and you can have it for a mere 25 gold. Interested?"

"Oh is that all? Quite a steal you've go there."

Amazingly, Wilbur, proprietor of this fine Hammerfell-styled establishment, does not seem to recognize the Redguard that's before him. The same Redguard who singlehandedly managed to decimate Wilbur's entire population of Cheap Wine not long ago. Kahreem expects some sort of retaliation. An angry, insulting speech, or something. But Wilbur does not deliver anything such. He does not recognize the wine-thief at all, it seems.

"Excellent. It's up the stairs there, and then directly across the hall. Center room, wonderful view of the city. Sleep well!" *CLINK*

Then again, Wilbur had only lost some measly bottles of the very cheapest stuff he had arranged on his property. Overall loss? Maybe 16 or 20 gold. Shoe polish had more worth. As Kahreem of Weet makes his way up the stairs, he takes a gander toward Wilbur's Cheap Rack, and is surprised to see the man has not even bothered to restock.




Fredas, 11:03 AM
Kahreem wakes way late the next morning, downs a bottle of the cheap stuff with some dried meat for breakfast, then affixes an Imperial legion helmet to his head, just in case. He managed to fool Wilbur, but chances are he might not manage to fool members of Castle Anvil. And he's got a bounty on his head, once again. What else is new?

He opens the door to the Count's Arms lounge, his breath fruity with wine, and his head buzzy with it, and is greeted by Wilbur at the bottom of the stairs. Wilbur seems cordial, still not suspecting a thing, yet he cannot give up his usual, slightly paranoid habits.

Outside it is sunny. Really can't complain. And nobody Kahreem greets on the street is unpleasant. He makes his way to the castle, wearing middle-class clothes + his helmet, and finally enters the castle's court. "State your business", Countess Umbranox greets.

"Good morning milady," Kahreem raises his voice about an octave. "I've come from over the hills and far away, to give ye something you might take of pleasure!"

"I am Millona Umbranox, Countess of Anvil," she says, exuding confidence. "I hope you enjoy your visit. I trust you will give us no cause to regret our hospitality to strangers."

"Regret?" ... Oh no! Why would you dabble in such thoughts?!" Kahreem flashes back into his mind for a couple moments. Forged letter. At least a dozen bottles of stolen wine. And two stolen horses. No, he hasn't got any regret at all. "Anvil is quite the pleasant town, I must agreeeeeeee. Cannot fathom a finer place of locating for a port, I cannot."

"You can best know Anvil by walking its streets," Umbranox advises with a lowered voice. "And speaking with its people. My favorite time is the harbor at sunset. The sun and sea to the west."

"Joviality, milady! Well. Not to waste any more of your time. I am merely here to make delivery of this document, sealed and signed by the ... um .... Elder Council himself. I mean, not the Elder Council, but one of the guards. Or somebody. [cough] Have a look would you? Something about your new Watch Captain."

"You have the Imperial Watch recommendation for my new guard captain?"

"Is that a crime?"

"Normally, these missives are handled by my steward, Dairihill."

"Yes well think about that statement for a moment would you? In order for Dairihill to handle one of 'these missives', somebody else would have to handle it, unless your precious steward somehow has the time and the freedom to walk all the way to the Imperial City."

Umbranox frowns. Is he mocking me? "Let me see that."

Kahreem hands it over, making some sort of submissive gesture. And thinking of nothing other than a large, fat bag of gold, to be handed to him by S'krivva, that mangy, walking housecatperson.

"Hmmm," Umbranox can't help but read the document right in front of her subject. "Hieronymus Lex looks like the best choice. I was about to give the position to Dairihill's cousin."

"Oh, you would not want to do that, milady. I can attest, and I do hope I am not speaking out-of-turn here, but I can attest that Hieronymus Lex has done a FINE job of cleaning up the Imperial City's Waterfront of its rabblery. Starting man hunts in search of art thieves. Starting man hunts in search of the Grey Fox. Fruitless attempts, I can assure, yet the man certainly does not give up!"

"I have the orders right there. I'll fill in his name and you can deliver it to Captain Lex. Thank you courier. My steward will tip you."

"Well it 'tis about fokkinge time. Ah. I mean, it's about time the graces of Anvil have such a fine officer in their employment milady. Graces be to Anvil!"

As Kahreem turns to walk away, Countess Millona Umbranox lets him know "you are dismissed."



[u]Note[/I]: After this night's gaming session, Kahreem got rather obsessed with this so-called "tip". Dairihill was nowhere to be seen, so he got impatient after several hours of waiting in the lobby, then he took the secret passageway to her room, which was locked. We shall see what happens next week (or whenever I feel inspired again). Stay tuned!

Kahreem is making progress! All while having a bounty over his head, marvelous!

I love it when he sort of loses his temper at the end and says "about fokkinge time", then quickly takes his words back.

I love the look on Umbranox's face at the end! So classic!

Fredas, 11:32 pm, Morningstar 25, 3rd Era 434

Days Passed: 142
Days Jailed: 36

Active Quests: 19
Quests Cmptd.: 9


Music swirls all around, as a Redguard man, the same Redguard man who had committed a series of burglaries, trespasses, and petty assaults makes his way deeper into Castle Anvil. The Redguard is intensely focused, listening and noticing. Crouched in position for at least an hour, waiting for the moment when the old wall before him would come down. His heart rate slows, yet his mind stays jumbled. He remembers a time, not long ago, back when he was living a different life. Sleeping outside, or on the floor of some fort or cave. Living on boar's meat cheese, and other scraps of food. Seeing his buddies live fast, and die young.

But things had changed, and five months later, he here is, crouched behind a wall, waiting for the right moment, as soothing music swirls all around. Was he any better or any worse than others of his newly-chosen profession? Did other thieves plan and wait for hours, until the moment was right? Did they sometimes also get very lucky? ... or not?


He pulls the lever, and the wall before him begins to shift.


11:39 pm
Up ahead and to his right stands a guard. He just stands there, not moving. He does not appear to be protecting anything. Most guards, if they stand still, are protecting something: usually a doorway to a Very Important Area. But this man stands in the middle of the corridor to the right of Kahreem. Why is he in the middle? Why is he not pacing, as guards often do? .. Kahreem tries to keep himself from becoming mentally aggravated.

I'm just here to collect the pay which is owed he thinks. Being a messenger isn't bad work, actually. I enjoyed carrying that false document halfway across Cyrodiil and back, straight to Countess Umbranox, herself. And she had thanked me, and said 'her steward' would pay me. But her steward had not been around. She had not shown up, even as dinner came and went.

... And this Redguard NEEDS his pay. So here I am.

A lady in blue finery walks by up ahead, probably Umbranox herself. She walks right by the guard, who does not greet her. Five minutes later, another guard, and what looks to be a Khajiit walks by the initial guard, who remains at his post, guarding some carpet. Kahreem thinks he's going to go mad, as the music swirls all around. All I have to do is get down the hall behind me, without alerting that guard, thinks he. Well, the guard isn't facing me. Maybe I need to make a move.

And he does so. Carefully sidestepping from left to right, out of the alcove he has been hiding in. He then walks backwards, feeling the wall with his fingers, feeling for the entrance to the doorway to the steward's room. Dairihill is her name. Kahreem walks backwards, and the carpet-guard makes no move. Kahreem feels for the door behind him, and then turns to face it.* It is locked. And he doesn't have its key. Fokke! ... He is sure he had stolen a castle key from Dairihill last time he saw her, but apparently not. Or maybe it had gotten confiscated, last time he was in jail.

No problem, either way. The lock has three tumblers, and this means he's opening the door in less than a minute. He creeps in, sees her lovely office, all prim and proper. Closes the door behind him, so the guard outside won't get suspicious. Paces across the floor to her lonely (but completely safe) bedroom.

And Dairihil is nowhere to be seen.




2:10 am
Up ahead and to the right, Festivus the guard twitches his helmet. Thinks he hears something, or somebody behind him. But he cannot be sure, because the soothing music they blare day after day tends to clamber upon his hearing. He turns his head to the right, trying to see if anybody is behind him, but because he is in training, he does not turn his entire body all the way around. He can't! For he is in training. They told me to stand here on this carpet, eight hours straight, and I aim to please.

And he does please. Before long, he's got the job he signed up for. After his eight hour stint, Festivus becomes an official guard of Anvil county. He is assigned the shiny armor he's been wearing, plus a sword of silver, and free food plus lodging for eternity, while the chance to catch the second most-wanted thief of the year 434 slips right behind him.

IIRC, Dairihil has a lover in Anvil and spends some days with him instead in the castle. Maybe that's why Kahreem can't find her.

How can his brain get any more damaged after so much skooma?

Now that's an unusual thing to happen in Cyrodiil!

Nice to finally read more from Kahreem!

Thanks Lopov! Yes it's good to be back. You are probably right about Dairihill having some lover. Kahreem already left Anvil though. He did another grandstanding moment as he left the Counts Arms too, stealing 2 bottles of Cheap Wine in plain sight of everybody, rushing out of town, and then stealing a Black Horse Courier horse he found a few days prior.

9:51 pm, Morningstar 27, 3rd Era 434

Level: 7
Playtime: 186:58:03

Days Passed: 154
Days Jailed: 36
Bounty: 1007 gp

Kahreem stands up, and prepares to leave the inn of Pell's Gate. He'd had rough day. Chased by wolf, then imps, then a guard, then another wolf, then another guard ... this had gone on for hours. He had stolen an additional horse, and evaded capture and death by riding this horse for several hours, through rivers, though dells and glades.

He had finally managed to shake them all somehow, made his way to The Sleeping Mare, and had a quiet dinner, sitting toward the inn's front door, just in case one of the guards decided to check the Mare. But this had not happened. And in the process of being able to finally rest, eat, and have a couple beers, Kahreem's health returns.

His plan is to ride his stolen Legion horse across the Niben. He hopes to then find Armand, who will manage to lower Kahreem's bounty. Because even if he is somehow able to speak to Hieronymus Lex directly, he'll still have to do some major jail time by that point. He certainly does NOT have the gold to pay his fine--after his Pell's Gate meal, he's down to just 5 gold.

He gets up, and walks out the door.

- - - - - -

11:12 pm
He rides past Fort Homestead, where a lone archer bandit tries his best to hit the Redguard who rides past, wearing blue upper-class (but dirty and torn) clothing. But the horse Kahreem is on is too fast. Kahreem rides across the water, and the bandit chooses to make the swim as well. Once they're both on land, Kahreem decides to flee, rather than fight, and rushes through the Waterfront's shacks. Nobody's around, so it's easy for the Weet Bandit to ride through without hitting anybody. The bandit falls far behind quickly..

12:01 am
Kahreem makes a sharp turn, rushes past Armand's cabin, rides up and down some stone steps, and dismounts the horse just after getting on the Marie Elena. Once here, he goes inside its upper quarters, then immediately drops to a lower galley. Pulls his cutlass (just in case) from his belt, but the bandit never shows.

"Ha!"

Chances are, that bandit could have encountered a lone guard. There was always one posted on the Waterfront's docks, even at night. After some time passes, it's clear that the bandit isn't coming aboard. Kahreem relaxes, sits down, and has a meal of somewhat stale bread. He notices that somebody else must be living on "his" ship. Every time he returns after some days have passed, he finds food here and there. Clothes, too, and other miscellaneous items. Whoever the other person is who's been living on the Marie Elena, he never manages to meet this person.

2:05 am
After some time passes, he finally changes clothes, sneaks off his ship, and hopes that Armand happens to be home. His walk doesn't last long though! Turns out, the bandit is still on the isle (wow). A rather drawn-out fight ensues between Kahreem (who's got a club but is wearing ordinary clothes) and the bandit, who has a battle axe + leather armor.

5:35 am
Daylight begins. The bandit gets his feet stuck in a set of rocks somehow, and Kahreem picks at him with his club here and there, but the fight is going nowhere. Suddenly, a guard shows up on the docks, but he seems confused. He doesn't just run down to where the fight is going on. Still though, as soon as this man shows up, Kahreem decides to crouch down and hide, moving away from the bandit. He wants the bandit's gear, actually. Would sure be nice to have a free set of new armor, and whatever else the man is carrying.

"ha!"
"urgh!"

Kahreem jumps on a crate which leads on top of a shed, which leads on top of a Waterfront cabin's roof. Crouches down again. The bandit had managed to get his foot free, and winds up fighting the guard, head-on, while a lady wearing blue clothes watches. The bandit falls quickly. Good! And the guard does not seem to know where Kahreem is hiding. Life on the Waterfront begins to stir. Kahreem sees familiar faces begin emerging from their shacks and cabins. He decides to risk getting off the roof. Skulks over to the bandit, where he takes the man's cuirass, boots, a leather shield, and a much-needed lockpick.

"Now, let's go have a chat with the deal-maker." He walks inside Armand's place. "Hey, wake up fool."

"What do you want?"

"Is that a way to greet the Redguard who's managed to spread more notoriety than any other? Except, of course, the Grey Fox."

"We don't talk about him in public. The Thieves Guild follows the Gray Fox. However, we make sure that most folks think he is just a myth."

"Public? We're in public? Never mind. I came here to speak about the mountain of a bounty which is no-doubt about to crash all over my head."

"You can pay your fines to the guards, serve your time, or pay me half, and I'll fix them all."

"Fokke."

"What is it?"

"Well I don't have any gold."

"It's your prison sentence, not mine."

"Yea, I completely forgot. I'm so used to having a sackfull of gold at all times. The Thieves Guild has done well by me. But I suppose it's time to face the music. Sigh."

"Shadow hide you."

"Whatever, Armand."

With that, Kahreem bites into a sweetroll he'd found, not looking forward to walking back outside.

That is strange!

At least Kahreem can always count on free food when he gets home


Seems like Kahreem wants to be liked, as well as getting faster on his feet. For some reason...