Omgosh look at that huge demon! Like some monster straight out of DnD. 👿

Back with the gang in Benirus. Why did Claire want him to go back there?

Rosalind speaks like Moon Zappa! Off-topic now, but I recently fell into a Moon Zappa hole. Youtube randomly displayed for me an interview with the grown-up Moon Zappa, and how she talks about how she wound up 1). being awakened from bed in the middle of the night to record those silly voiceovers by her father Frank, and 2). providing Frank with his first Top 10 radio single. And the story's pretty incredible. Some of those voiceovers were just made up on the spot! "Gag me with a spoon" wasn't a real valley girl quip, for instance, but it became one.

Question is: does Rosalind really speak like that in the game? I feel this is either a mod-author really taking some liberties with Cyrodiilic speech, or macole really taking some liberties.

This is a silly scene, either way!

No, Rosalind doesn't speak like that in the game. It's just me taking some liberties. Sadly, after the initial introduction Rosalind's dialog is very limited. A few greetings and good-byes and that's it.

20230517 AyleidSteps-Captain Tertia Aurum – I-SL Mystery of Mir Corrup

Morning of our departure came, Kaleah took me in her arms, spread her wings, and away she flew leaving Benirus Manor dwindling behind us.

Basking in the invigorating unfiltered aetheric light of Magnus, I looked up to Kaleah and said, ”Just like old times.”

Like rolling thunder far off in the distance Kaleah laughed, “You’ve been roaming around in the dark dungeons far too long. You’ve let your battery run down. Have you forgotten the light powers your magic?”

Ah yes, there is that. Been that way ever since the Daggerfall days. Only difference is that now-a-days here in Cyrodiil where everything is so bright, even in the deepest dungeons, it doesn’t seem to matter much. But, as Kaleah reminds me there are consequences for spending too much time in the dark.

We land in the center of the Merchant District of the Imperial City

“You know we could have just taken the stepstone in Benirus Manor to get to the Market District.” I said.

“Yes, we could have but then everyone would’ve wanted to come along,” Kaleah laughed again. “Some things are best done with fewer people involved.”

Shopping at the Goddess Store came to mind. Cheaper for me, that’s for sure. Except Kaleah headed off in the direction of the Elven Gardens District. A sudden anxious feeling came over me shaking to the core of my wallet. The bank, she’s going to the bank. Uh oh, this could get expensive.

To my rescue someone called out, “Vampire Hunter, a word if you will.”

Turning at the sound of the familiar yet near forgotten title, I found Captain Tertia Aurum striding toward me.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been addressed that way,” I said.

“Hunter,” Captain Tertia continued. “I’ve made some inquiries and my good friend, Roland Jenseric raves about your unique skills. Pray tell your findings on Hlavene Irennu?”

Remembering the task that I had agreed to perform for the Captain I gave her the details on finding the Dunmer, Hlavene Irennu dead in the Ayleid ruin, Lost Aldaras. For proof I handed over Hlavene Irennu’s ring.

Noting my skill and experience in navigating the steps she pumped me for all the information that I could give concerning them Ayleid step system. Her aggressive interrogation left me questioning the Imperial Watch’s motives. Only way to find out is to play along.

When Captain Tertia Aurum was satisfied, she paid me the 300 septims for finding Hlavene’s remains. Then before leaving Captain Aurum mentioned that should I stick around the Imperial City for a few days, the Imperial Watch Special Step Detachment may have another assignment.

Hmmm, not really feeling the pinch for money at the moment I told Captain Aurum, “We have a few things to do but we’ll be back in a few days. Look us up then.”

Once Captain Tertia Aurum was gone I turned to Kaleah. “Well, let’s get a move on to Bruma and find out what Kiyana thinks is so important.”

With a deep sweeping curtsy Kaleah laughed and teasingly cried out, “As you wish, my valiant hunter.”

Then she clapped me on the, ahem, shoulder. Taking her hand I cast the Take Me Home spell.

It was early afternoon when we arrived at my Bruma house. Kiyana is a nighttime cat, sleeps all day and parties at Olaf’s or prowls the streets at night. She was still sleeping when we arrived. We woke Kiyana up from her slumber and she passed on the information she overheard at Olaf’s.

Some Nord prospectors had come across a sarcophagus a short distance west of Cloud Ruler Temple. They were attacked by a vicious pack of wolves that acted very strangely. Werewolves they kept saying. Thinking the place to be cursed, the Nords fled leaving the sarcophagus undisturbed.

“Thank me later,” Kiyana said with a yawn and went back to sleep.

Kaleah and I left for Cloud Ruler Temple. Reaching the main gates of the Blades fortress we turned west and continued on along the snow covered trail. Kiyana’s information was good. As we approached the Blade’s Eternal Fire shrine, we could see below us what could only be Molvirion’s sarcophagus.

Carefully so as not to attract the attention of the wolves, we could see half way down the slope, we dropped down near the sarcophagus. Opening the sarcophagus we found Arenar’s amulet that along with the ring could hopefully be used to convince Molvirion to become the count of Kvatch.

A second item, Molvirion’s frost bitten finger was also in the sarcophagus. If the amulet and ring don’t work magic on Molvirion then we could use the frostbitten finger in a ritual to raise the body of Adria, Molvirion’s lost lover. Necromancy at its best is still something I’d rather not do.

“The path leads us south once again, my Feache,” Kaleah said.

“So it does,” I agreed.

It was getting late and after talking it over we decided to the return the way we came, stopping at Cloud Ruler Temple for the night. I think the deciding factor in the decision was the howling of a wolf pack below us. On the odd chance that it was a werewolf pack, why take the gamble.

The Blades of Cloud Ruler Temple welcomed us with fanfare, dinner, and a bedroll in the general quarters.
During dinner, to help us with the ‘Mystery of Mir Corrup’, Captain Steffan told us what little he knew about Jills. To help explain Jills he handed us an obscure document titled The Nu-Mantia. The Nu-Mantia speaks of the Jills as the servants of the Dragon that mend minutes without volunteer.

After dinner, I picked up the Nu-Mantia to read. The document, so full of half truths and ludicrous linguistic phrases, put me to sleep before I was halfway through it.

Macole, what happened to your Imperial City? Where's all the smooth white stone, what's all that dilapidated plasterwork? One would think they are in Crucible!

Nice using Kaleah Air to get to the IC. Wow, they actually recovered those baubles without having to fight werewolves.

Lena: I think it is the weather lighting as there have been no changes made to the I. C. stone work. It's always been green marble.

20230524 Hanasaku Touken - Vila – Fighters Guild – Kvatch Rebuilt

Morning came and before we left, Kaleah and I talked Captain Steffan into allowing us to view the fabled Hanasaku Touken weapon collection. Opening the case and with great respect to the touken of each blade, I examined the weapons.

Some say these are weapons of the Tang Mo of Akavir. If so, how did they get here?

After placing the weapons back in the case we bid Cloud Ruler Temple good-bye. Taking the northern trail through the mountains passing the cold and lonely Frostcrag Spire we made our way to Cheydinhal. We hadn’t been in Cheydinhal for more than a minute when a familiar voice came up behind us.

“Well there you are. It’s about time you got back.” Vilja greeted us.

Proudly Vilja declares she’s learned new spells. With a sweeping wave of her arm she announces that she has learnt how to cast a paralyze spell. Fearing a demonstration Kaleah quickly steps in front of me, extending her wings like a protective shield. The look Kaleah gave Vilja would have frozen a normal person where they stood but Vilja just goes on yakking like nothing has happened.

Just think, Paralyze… in the hands of Vilja… oh that could be dangerous. May my Goddess protect me should I ever step in front of Vilja while in battle.

After calming things down, Kaleah and I left Vilja to deliver the beauty cream Heneri. Heneri paid the promised “reward” with a potion, Melting Daedra Heart Essence, -10 point personality. Oh joy, just what I need, a potion that will make one so repulsive that no one will want to have anything to do with you. On second thought, it would be perfect on those days when the Ladies get to squabbling and all you want is to be left alone.

As a bonus for warning her of adverse side effects of the beauty cream, Heneri also gave us several bottles of assorted strong potions. She told us that she is aware of the side effects and is planning on running a test. I don’t want to be around to see that.

There are additional spells that Heneri has offered to teach Vilja. But, due to the strain of working with Vilja, Heneri says she needs 3 days to recoup before resuming the arduous task of teaching Vilja.

A stop at the Fighters Guild to report the successful conclusion to the latest assignment was next. Guild Hall Master Burz gro-Khash chided me for paying the girl’s ransom. “You’ll never get rich that way,” he said. Never the less he promoted me to the rank of Protector.

After managing to get away from gro-Khash without being assigned a new contract, we returned to my Cheydinhal house. What little was left of the day was spent with Vaves Andas in the Cheydinhal OVB chapterhouse catching up on Order of the Virtuous Blood business. The report is good. Vampire activity is way down, almost non-existent in fact.

The following morning after breakfast we left Cheydinhal to give another go at convincing Molvirian to become the count of Kvatch. Being a very nice morning, we stopped at the boat dock while on the way to the Nibenay Basin
Gate to take one last look of the city lake.

It’s such a peaceful feeling just to stop and gaze out over the little lake. It has change a little bit over the years. The foliage has grown more lush and colorful, and the water is bluer than when I first visited Cheydinhal but it has always reminded me of Shaw’s Garden back home. Ah, got things to do and we better get going.

It was late afternoon upon reaching Molvirian’s cottage and we find Molvirian keeping vigil at Adria's grave. He looked a wreck, like he hadn’t eaten or slept since we last saw him. It also looks like he’s been defending the gravesite. A body of a giant rat and what could be harpy feathers lay on the ground nearby. Well, well, he may be suffering from grief ridden depression but the wimp can show some gumption when properly motivated.

Molvirian sees us approaching and falls to his knees lamenting his lot in life.

“Get up, you simpering oaf!” Kaleah commands.

Showing no patience for Molvirian’s plight, Kaleah lifts Molvirian up by the shoulders and stands him in front of me. Hoping to awaken memories of his past I offer him the amulet and ring. The sight of the artifacts appears to have shaken Molvirian out of his depression. We can sense a change in him as he mentions how he had forgotten about the ring, and that he misses his wolf.

Now that Molvirian has come to realize that he is Arenar Goldwine heir to Kvatch, I tell him that Kvatch needs its leader. Accepting his new responsibilities the now Count Arenar of Kvatch shakes off Kaleah’s hold and sets out on his journey to Kvatch. Perhaps we’ll stop by in a week or so and see how he is doing.

“He may no longer be the simpering wimp we had first met but I still say, you would make the better count,” Kaleah stated matter-of-factly as we watch Arenar walk resolutely away from us.

“Perhaps so,” I replied. “But, the Men and Mer would never accept you and the Ladies and I would not tolerate that and besides, it just wouldn’t be any fun.”

With a smile Kaleah said, “I hear tell that when the wind is right one could smell Telvanni mushrooms down by Bothia’s Shrine. Want to go find out if it’s true?”

We both laughed and took the path south.

Wow, the change is quite extreme. I think you might also have higher resolution than me. Compare side by side: your picture and my picture.

Yes, I use very high textures. In 2017 when I put this game together I had just built a new PC with a high end graphics card which I pushed to the max with a boat load of 2K and 4K textures.

But, why such a dirty moss covered look to the walls of the Imperial City? Well, having just gone through the Oblivion crisis there is no money left in the coffers to pay for maintenance. The empire is broke and laid off all of the street cleaning crew.

TES IV is a very bright game world, this is true. Kahleah's got a very astute point there. Daggerfall's dungeons especially...





Yeah, I was gonna say: you used to be Macole - Vampire Hunter in the old forums. Interesting that Jandaga also carried this title at one time as well. The part when he falls asleep because while reading that text also cracks me up.

Uh oh, it's Vilja. Yeah I have heard about her yakking. She's supposed to be really well-done by Emma (yakking and demanding and such), and you've definitely captured this. Ha ha. "Due to the strain of working with Vilja, Heneri needs three days..."

Anyway, interesting quest going on there. Why is Molvirian a wimp?

Vilja is high maintenance all right. I can see where Heneri would need some time to recoup after hanging with Vilja for awhile.

It’s interesting the various paths Kvatch took depending upon the Elder Scroll consulted. In Buffy’s world, the Count had a wife – Countess Odalys Goldwine. The Count and his court mage had her magically frozen and locked in a vault when the Deadra takeover of his city became imminent. Savlian Matius and Buffy discovered her as they freed the city and managed to bring her out of the deep freeze. The process had taken its toll however and she never fully recovered, remaining sickly until her death a few years later. She nevertheless led the city well through most of its renovations. Of note, she turned the old Arena into an entertainment amphitheater for plays and concerts. She also had a statue built to honor the Hero of Kvatch (Savlian Matius who was killed defending Buffy during the final push to free the city). After Countess Odalys’ death, the Council appointed the Champions of Cyrodiil (Sir Agronak gro-Malog and Sir Mazoga) as Count and Countess of Kvatch. Somewhat related, the Arch Mage was so impressed with how Sigrid acquitted herself during the Battle of Kvatch that he designated her as Guildmagister of the city's Mages Guild chapter.

In Daggerfall during the chargen you have an option to apply disadvantages. My Daggerfall Jandaga was created with the disadvantage Light-powered Magery - Lower Magic Ability in Darkness (Decreases the maximum magicka.). That’s why paying attention to magic use while in dungeons is critical. Unless you’re in Cyrodiil where you don’t have to worry about such things.

The Jandaga is still a member of the Order of the Virtuous Blood, current rank of Vampire Hunter. It's a title he values highly.


Thanks, but um it is all in the way Emma wrote the dialog. I reworded it a bit. Heneri really does complain that getting Vilja to learn anything is torture and she needs three days to recover from the strain. Emma did an excellent job of painting Vilja as a big dumb blond Nord.

When we first met Molvirian he ran off at the first mention of the possibility of him being the count. Kaleah took a disliking to him when she heard that. She considers Molvirian as slow in deciding on a course of action and when he does decide he then needs a push to get started.




That sound like a good way to it. The amphitheater is something I would like to have. Kvatch could become the cultural center of the empire.

20230605 I-SL Mycelium Sanctum, Shenara Hleras’ Hut

Linking arms we left Molvirian’s cottage skipping south along the trail to where we could not tell. Not too far south of Molvirian’s cottage past Rickety Mine and Kemen we crossed the steps leading up Hero Hill. There on the steps we met the wanted criminal Zirain Avalone (MOO Wanted Faction).

At first I didn’t know what to make of Zirain. Kaleah was fighting a harpy when Zirain appeared on the steps loosing arrows at the harpy or so I thought. After the first couple arrows missed the harpy, striking Kaleah, I realized my error and took Zirain Avalone out of action permanently.

Standing there looking like a pin cushion, a stern faced Kaleah icily commented on my quick response in dealing with Zirain Avalone. At first I thought, “Uh oh, my time with this Daedra fantasy girl is over.”

Then she started to laugh, “You should see your face! Come on let’s get going.”

After collecting another trophy for the morgue we continued south through the Valus Mountains. From the steps of Hero Hill, up the southern slope we climbed, winding our way around boulders the size of houses until we stood atop the ridgeline high above the valley below.

There we came across a most puzzling sight. A large boulder protruded from the mountainside like a sore thumb. In front of it were two Ayleid stepstones. One was half buried while the other was fully exposed, neither appeared to be in good operating condition. On top of the boulder was an OOO chest.

Standing looking down at the misplaced chest my mind zoomed out west, back to our first visit to Lipsand Tarn and the tales Pa told me of birdmen that once lived there long before the Altmer arrived. Could this be another Birdman launch pad?

As I imagined a Birdman stepping out onto this rock, spreading his wings, and soaring high above the valley below I opened the chest. With such high hopes of finding some fey artifact no matter how small or insignificant I was disappointed to find only a hefty pouch of gold coins. That left me wondering, why would OOO put a chest in a place like this?

Seeing my disappointment, Kaleah rested a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. “It’s been a long time since we last found any trace of the Fey.”

“Yes,” I replied. “The Altmer and the Cyrodiilics have done a grand job of eliminating any trace of the Fey and the Birdmen. Ever wonder why that is?”

Night fell as we stood there pondering the chest’s origins. The dark cloak of night called to the multitude of stars to come out to dance and play in the sky while Magnus turns his enlightening gaze elsewhere. With no moon in the sky, traveling the Valus in the dark would not be wise. To stay on the safe side we spent the night there.

The morning came and we awoke to find going forward required climbing straight up or to drop straight down. I decided to back track and find an easier way to climb to the top of the mountain in hopes that we would be able to walk along the ridgeline. It was rough going and took most of the day but we did manage to find a way to the top of the mountains.

“Why do you always insist on doing things the hard way?” Kaleah asked. “I could have easily flown us here and you could have just levitated as you sometimes do or use that Midas angle wings spell to fly along with me.”

“It strengthens the will,” I explained. “Father used to say that perseverance of will allows one to push beyond his otherwise physical and mental limits. He considered willpower to be the most important attribute.”

Traveling southward along the ridgeline of the Valus Mountains, we eventually found ourselves standing high above Boethia’s shrine.

“I don’t smell any mushrooms, do you?” I asked.

Testing the air Kaleah responded. “No, but then it could be the wind isn’t right?”

‘Then we’ll have to go down and ask around,” I calmly stated.

The worshipers at the shrine had no idea what we were talking about. All they did was complain about how we invaded their secret place of worship. When they demanded to know how I knew about their secret site, they refuse to believe it when I told them it was marked on every map that I had ever seen.

Leaving the Shrine of Boethia, we search a wide area south to southeast of the shrine for any signs of Telvanni mushrooms. After several hours of fruitless searching we found ourselves standing in a valley looking up at Hame feeling thoroughly dejected. Where else can we look?

Talking it over with Kaleah we came to the conclusion that there was an area high in the Valus Mountains, west of Mir Corrup that we haven’t explored. Fortunately, we were standing near the entrance to the Lost Road tunnel leading to Mir Corrup. Into the tunnel we went. Exiting the Lost Road tunnel at the northern end we turned west, zigzagging our way across the Valus Mountain range.

The first thing we discovered was another OOO chest. This one was set between what I took to be as Goblin warning totems. The chest held nothing of an archeological interest. Just another question as to why it was here.

Shortly after finding the goblin chest we sighted what could only be a Telvanni mushroom house. Just think, the Telvanni mushroom house that we have been trying to find for nearly a year was practically a stone’s throw from Mir Corrup. Had we explored the area around Mir Corrup a little more thoroughly we would have found the mushroom house then. That would have saved us a huge amount of time. Makes one want to scream just thinking about it.

Though no one answered when we knocked, the door just swung open, beckoning us to enter. So we stepped in to see if anyone was home. Shenara Hleras was upstairs meditating. We waited until she was finished and then I tried to strike up a conversation.

Typical Telvanni, Shenara Hleras is one rude, sharp tongued, antisocial, old mage. It took some serious negotiating just to get her to talk about what I wanted. She kept interrupting with insults laced with insane, n’wah, and s’wit. When I was able to get through to Shenara that the Stranded Light desired to grow two Telvanni mushroom houses she demanded that I get certain supplies. First of which would be a working mind.

Kaleah bristled at the implication. Realizing that we were locked in a Telvanni duel of WILL I cleared my mind, put on an unreadable poker face, and politely showed her what kind of mind she was dealing with.

Fold 'em, let 'em hit me, raise it, baby, stay with me (I love it)
Love game intuition, play the cards with spades to start
And after she's been hooked,
(Mum-mum-mum-mah)
(Mum-mum-mum-mah)

An eon passed in seconds. Shenara Hleras gave a slight near imperceptible shiver. Oh my goddess she’s going to laugh at me. Had I over played my hand? A single bead of sweat appeared between her red eyes, rolled slowly down her nose, and dropped silently on the rug. Shenara cracked.

“Wh, wh, why sh, should I help you?” Shenara stammered.

Playing on her primal beliefs I explained (demonstrated) the power of magic.

“Yes, you have some good points,” Shenara said rather robotically.

Negotiating then began in earnest. So for the modest sum of 6 varla stones and 55 welkynd stones we got two spores primed for house growing. Not a bad deal considering she started off wanting the outrageous price even considering the recent inflated value of welkynd stones of 250,000 septims.

“Well played, My Feache,” complimented Kaleah. “But, the shriveled up old s’wit, didn’t even acknowledge she was dealing with the one true Archmagister, emeritus. I should’ve ground her into…”

“Now, now,” I interrupted. “No need for that. We may have need of her again. For now I think we need to go to Merendin and find out where to plant these spores.”

Hero Hill. I have a vague idea where that is. Somewhere northeast, as I recall. And more stepstones. How many of these do you reckon have been found, so far?

I see one of those Reverent Shades in the background of the chest picture! I can remember first time we saw one of those; it was in front of the fort Istrius, although I didn't know where (or what) it was. Man, that blew my mind. Such a magical world. WHOA look at taht night sky!!!

He's traveling with Kahleah, now. Is there any advantage to this over say, traveling with Pym or one of the others? In other words, what does Kahleah bring specifically that the others do not?

That is true about the chests in the middle of nowhere. I can remember there was some guy in the old forums complaining about this, like, he started an entire thread to complain about how illogical it was for some chest containing meager treasure to be dragged deep in some ruins, or out in the woods somewhere. And it was like.. dude, it's a FANTASY game.

The part when he tries to out-stare the Telvanni matron by singing yet another song from our times had me giggling! -------- Don't know that song at all, though. No bells ringing for me this morning.

Ssshhhh... She's his wife!

Stepstones: I've activated around 130 stepstones. I’ll have to do some digging but I think I read that there are around 170 steps all together.
Hint: The title of the song is in the preceding sentence.
Kaleah: She laughs in the face of danger (using companion sound set cssCalisto_csscal8_00000D0C_1).
She can fly, providing another RP mechanic for fast travel.
In times of severe inclement weather or to provide a safe haven at night she can use her wings to envelope the two of them in an impenetrable cocoon.
Chests: The oddly placed chest adds to the adventure. They allow you to add your own reason why.



Uh oh, who told? Love with a Daedra is complicated and could cause a commotion among the Field Hippies.

I remember a certain book... "A match", was it?

What a spectacular night sky over birdman rock!

Telvanni and their smelly old mushroom houses. . . .

Yikes, didn't know they are married!

But I was asking more about what sort of abilities Kahleah's got, which aren't shared by Pym or any of the others. Like... why would Jandaga ask Kahleah (or anyone) to join him but not the others? Because I notice he tends to roll with somebody for a while, and then somebody else.

Thanks for explaining, macole.

Acadian: may be the oldest but still best night sky mod ever, IMO.

Renee: Kaleah is with me at this time because I intended to reach Merendin where Kaleah will provide moral support an upcoming battle. Who better to lend aid when fightin Daedra than another Daedra.
Kaleah has couple other useful traits; a heightened sense of smell especially useful in detecting vampires and she is my conduit to UESP and the Nexus. When stumped she can supply guidance.

Married? It’s not the formal Mara thing. Being a Daedra and Faerie thing it would be totally against all the tenets of the Nine to accept such a union. I had a dream that worked out all the details. Now, shortly after waking I can’t remember how it works. Just a couple of things remain. One: there is a firm bond between the Daedra, Kaleah and the Fae Aelf, Jandaga. Two: (secrets the ladies won’t let me tell).
Kaleah lifts the Jandaga up by the shoulders looks intently at him with smoldering heterochromic eyes and says, “I am yours, you are mine, we are what we are, and that makes it hard.”

20230613 Dragons, Sundercliff Watch
(Addendum: when convincing Shenara Hleras to help there are three skill check options you can take; Lore, Magic, and Misc.
Lore: I fail every time. Blame it on my character’s racial disagreements with the accepted lore of the Nine for being unable to answer the questions advantageously.
Magic: is successful but my answers left me with 1 point of infamy. Some NPCs no longer think I’m such a great hero, such is life. I feel that would be appropriate since I travel with a Daedric Seducer or Succubus which I would think would cause some concern among the population. I didn’t go back and redo.
Misc: successful without taking a hit on fame but I decided to keep the Magic result.)

We left Shenara Hleras’ hut, trekking north to the top of the Valus Mountains. Once we reached the ridgeline we turned south. Trekking through the high country at this time of the year was enjoyable. Few wild beasts or villains bothered us as we walked and there was only one mild snow storm that forced us to take shelter under Kaleah’s wings.

Navigating our way along the edge of one dangerous cliff I commented, “Someone needs to cut a safer trail through the Valus.”

“I’m sure the Imperial Land Office has a Trails of Cyrodiil project on file,” Kaleah replied.

On the second day, enticed by a fairly gentle slope, we turned slightly westward leading us down out of the mountains. It was a nice quiet hike down the mountainside toward the valleys below. At one point the slope leveled out in a wide rocky flat. Crossing the wide level area I thought this would be a good place to build a mountain hunting lodge.

A roar like distant thunder echoed up the mountain side from down below.

“And just what will you hunt, dragons?” Kaleah asked.

Not long after that we were walking in the land of dragons. As we passed by Abandoned Mine, we stood face-to-face with the maker-of-thunder, a great shadow dragon. An adult shadow dragon, teaching her two younglings a few hunting techniques, had decided to use us as the objects for the demonstration.

Of course we objected to being used in such a manner. The fight took us from one side of the coulee to the other. When it was finished and the dragons had learnt their lessons, we were looking up at the ruined walls of Sundercliff Watch.

Worn out from the fight I thought Sundercliff might provide us a suitable place to rest.

“Now you know we usually have to spend a day exterminating these places to make it suitable for resting,” Kaleah laughed as she checked the string of her bow. “Think this one will be any different?”

A step inside Sundercliff Watch, Kaleah stopped me from going any further. Lowering her voice she said, “I don’t like the smell of this place. It reeks, reeks of death ancient. We should leave.”

What? The normally unwavering Kaleah showing signs of unease at entering a ruined fort, that gave me cause to pause. Yes the place was dank with a heavy musty smell and it was dark, even with Twinkle at my shoulder but it was quiet. I was about to disagree with Kaleah when we were attacked by what we later learned was a Drothmeri soldier. That changed everything. Kaleah now will not leave until she extracts her just retribution.

The Drothmeri soldier, then another, and another go down easily as we advance along through the ruined fort. After several encounters with Drothmeri soldiers we are hindered by a large locked door. When we try to open it, a voice on the other side yells out, “What’s the password”.

Noticing an Abandoned Knapsack sitting on the floor near the door we search through it to find a small diary… What a dummy! He wrote the password in his diary and left it by the door. Who would do such a thing?
Password accepted, we’re allowed to access to the inner portion of Sundercliff Watch. Stepping through the double doors the steward sitting at a desk with two guards at his back looked up at us. It was a déjà vu moment.

"Ahh yes, we've been expecting you. You'll have to be recorded before…” Steward Vaske began. “Wait, you don’t look like… you’re not new recruits. Guards kill them!”

At the command, the Drothmeri soldiers sprung into action. Over matched, the Drothmeri fell easily. Kaleah and I took some time to look around. A note found on Steward Vaske’s body gave some insights as to what is going on here. Arch-Mage Frathen Drothan is raising an army led by Commander Adrethi with the goal of bringing an end to the Empire thereby freeing Morrowind from Imperial enslavement.

The note was signed, Death to the Empire. Arch-Mage Frathen Drothan.

The note also mentioned the capture of an assassin sent by King Helseth of Morrowind. Apparently not everyone in Morrowind agrees with Frathen Drothan.

Turning to Kaleah, I pointed at the signature on the note.

“Arch-Mage… phfft,” I spat. “I warned Uriel that playing the Mages Guild and the Telvanni against each other would only lead to trouble. Now we got rouge mages leading a revolt. What has happened to the organization I left behind?”

Kaleah laughed and sang a little song reminding me that it was my decision to leave it all behind and retire to Lyithdonea in the Azurian Isles.

Where, oh where, are you tonight?
Why did you leave me here all alone?
I searched the world over, And thought I found true love.
You met another and Phfft! you were gone.

My ranting turned to laughter and together Kaleah and I advanced deeper into Sundercliff Watch. Sadly the few
Drothmeri that had the misfortune to stand in our way never learned just what was so funny.

The fun came to a sudden halt when we opened the doors to a large subterranean room. Standing there speechless, we looked out in amazed disbelief at the village set deep beneath surface of Cyrodiil.

Using Kahleah and her Jandaga for hunting practice was a mistake - even for dragons.

It is a hassle when every dungeon you want to enter is password protected. No wonder some folks write down their passwords. . . .

Wow, I wonder what the deal on that underground village is?

Yes, that's what I was getting at. So Kahleah's got some unique traits which The Jandaga has sought for this upcoming occasion.

Neat how you have dreams about your creations, too. So they're not officially married, is what you're saying. Kahleah's got a pretty wide standard for her man: she allows him to travel with all these other voluptuous vixens and sexy shrews!

Whoa, they're fighting a black dragon!

Ha ha ha that's pretty stupid, leaving the password right there in a nearby journal. Clever of Jandaga to have figured this knapsack should be searched.

Hmm.. Sundercliff. This is one of Bethesda's DLCs. Mehrunes Razor being done, eh? That was a fun dungeon crawl.

Renee: Kaleah doesn’t worry about the voluptuous vixens and sexy shrews the Jandaga travels with. Kaleah's adopted sisters are her acolytes and they have learned their lessons well. The problem is the is the Jandaga, he is proven to be a most mystifying and intriguing case study.

20230620 Mehrunes’ Razor, Sundercliff Watch - Kaleah shows potential

Why am I surprised to find a village buried deep under Sundercliff Watch? It’s certainly not the largest or most elaborate underground habitation we have encountered during our explorations. It was just unexpected.

Quietly and stealthily as possible, Kaleah and I slowly approached the outskirts of the village. As we knelt there surveying the village I kept thinking of the papers we found on Steward Vaske. If the intention of Frathen Drothan, the so-called arch-mage is to field an army to bring down the empire it would have to be one of considerable size. We had better be extra careful, for if that army is here we could be in serious trouble.

The closest building was to our left. If we could get there we could take some time to figure out how to deal with this army and nip this revolution in the bud. Two Drothmeri sat around a fire between us and the building. All we had to do is to sneak by and get inside.

It didn’t work. One Drothmeri soldier got up and moved away from the fire. Light from his torch reflecting off of my armor revealed my location. The soldier drew his weapon and attacked. His companion gave a shout drawing three other Drothmeri to the fray.

Lucky for us that was all that showed up for the party. It was over quickly allowing Kaleah and me to reach the target building without any further disturbance.

“You really should get Claire to enchant your leather kit,” Kaleah snickered. “Your Dragonspirit armor is just a tiny bit too noisy and flashy for sneaking around in the dark.”

The building turned out to be the jailhouse where the assassin, mentioned in the note to Steward Vaske, was being held. In the office, we found a note to the jailor from Commander Adrethi. Commander Adrethi believes the assassin is a Morag Tong agent and may have a writ, hidden in a most disgusting place, upon his person. The commander gave the jailor orders to search the assassin for the writ.

With only cell one in the jailhouse the assassin was easy to find. Giving me a, steel-eyed-I-know-you, look the Morag Tong reached behind his back to produce a soiled writ of execution for my inspection. Not wanting to touch the dirty thing I read it through the bars of the cell. His assignment was Commander Adrethi.

Is a Morag Tong Writ of Execution legal in Cyrodiil? Uncertain, I turned to ask Kaleah for her opinion but on an impulse, using the Unlock Everything spell I unlocked the cell and set the Morag Tong assassin free. Let’s make our life easier and let the Morag Tong take out his assignment. Without a word the Morag Tong assassin cast a chameleon spell and left to find his mark.

While the effect of the chameleon effect was very good the assassin was easy to follow. The assassin may have been invisible but that flaming sword he carried dancing around in midair on its own was one heck of a guide. The Morag Tong agent left the jailhouse with us following.

He led us through a door to the Commons section of Sundercliff Watch. Crossing a rope bridge the assassin approached a house when his chameleon spell expired. While that didn’t seem to bother the assassin, as he boldly entered the house I on the other hand began to worry.

When Kaleah and I entered the house, we found Commander Adrethi and the Morag Tong engaged in a fierce duel. Adrethi appeared to be pressing hard on the assassin who had lost the advantage of surprise.

Impatient as usual, Kaleah gave the commander a poke in the back. Adrethi turned to face the new threat and that was the opening the assassin was looking for. The Morag Tong’s flaming blade cut Adrethi in two.

With the death of Commander Adrethi the Morag Tong assassin silently left, leaving us to gather whatever loot we saw fit to take. I was particularly interested in a big shiny marble. Kaleah called it an enchanted Bezoar.

Leaving Commander Adrethi’s house we need to find leader behind this revolt. Pointing to the house next door we suspect that the so called Telvanni arch-mage could be staying there. Our assumption was correct. Frathen Drothan does reside here but he isn’t he isn’t home but we picked up a few things during the search; a book Treatise on Ayleidic Cities, a Varla Stone, two vials of Trichobezoar Extract, nine Scrolls of Transmutation (two on the desk and seven behind a false wall), and Drothan’s journal.

It was difficult to concentrate while reading Drothan’s journal with Kaleah leaning over my right shoulder softly breathing in my ear. Unexpectedly, Kaleah lets out an ear piercing scream causing me to drop the book and cover my ears in pain.

Falling to her knees Kaleah buries her face in her hands and wails. “The fool has gone to Varsa Baalim! He intends use Nefarivigum, the foul construct of Mehrunes Dagon, to awaken Dagon’s champion. My Feache he seeks Mehrunes’ Razor! You must stop him.”

“We together will stop him.” I said trying to console the visibly shaken Seducer. I didn’t feel like I was getting through. In an attempt to redirect her attention, I continued. “Look, the journal tells us that we need two bezoars to open the doors to Varsa Baalim. We’ve got one enchanted bezoar; the other is in the Forge. Come on, let’s go.”

When she didn’t move from her position on the floor, I gently took her by the hands to help her up and said, “I need you Kaleah. Together we can stop him.”

“Where you go, I follow,” Kaleah said not in her usual confident self voice but it was a start.

“You know,” I said rubbing my right ear. “I thought the Lion’s Roar was a myth (watch Kung Fu Hustle) but with a little practice and a big Buddha bell megaphone you could become a master of the Lama Pai Lion's Roar technique.”

The sound of Kaleah’s steely gaze ricocheting off my helm resounded throughout the cavern.

“Just don’t call me Fat Lady!” Kaleah said in mock indignation.

Breaking out in laughter, arm-in-arm we left Sundercliff Commune in search of a second enchanted bezoar.

Cool, thanks for explaining. Your gaming approach is a lot more complex than I first realized, so it's good to get immediate answers as questions arise.

So if Kahleah's a daedric minion, that also sort of explains how she's not so involved with messy mortal emotions. She doesn't get jealous (or as jealous) as a typical human-type. And so she's also like a leader to Pym, Claire and some of the others as well, eh? Are Pym and Kahleah also tagged Essential?

Yeah, Sundercliff Watch is unusual. An underground village; it is unexpected. And it's a rather large dungeon crawl too, since the place keeps getting deeper and deeper under the earth. Don't wanna post spoilers, in case this is your first time with the Mehrunes Razor DLC. But I remember Renee Gade III spent nearly two weeks exploring the place, trying to figure out its mysteries. Since I use realism mods, this also meant she kept running out of food & fluids, and needed to return to the mod-added town of Silverfish Falls to get her gear repaired. ⚔



Probably doesn't help to go around wearing psychedelic gear!

Nope, the Morag Tong does not carry jurisdiction within Cyrodiil. Of course, that doesn't matter much down here.

Oh yeah... the Bezoars. Those darn things took a while to find. Conversation between J and K made me Lol toward the end.

I like the Jandaga's approach to the Morog Tong - if the writ suits his current purpose, turn 'em loose. If not, take 'em out as the hired killers of a foreign power.

Off to find Mehrunes' Razor it seems.

When there's work to be done use the best tool for the job.

20230627 Mehrunes’ Razor, Sundercliff Watch The Forge

We have one bezoar, now we need to find a second. According Drothan’s journal the second enchanted bezoar was given to the Forgemaster for safekeeping. Leaving Drothan’s house we left to find the Forge.

To get there we returned to the Village and crossed over to the east side of the cavern village. Of course this meant that we had to fight any Drothmeri soldiers that had survived our previous visit to the Village. Being primarily a force of recruits armed with iron daggers and long swords (kind of a poor choice of weapons I thought) they posed little threat to our progress to Sundercliff Forge gate.

Entering the tunnels of Sundercliff Forge the first thing Kaleah noticed was a large boulder jutting out from the wall of the tunnel. Certain that this boulder led directly to the Forgemaster’s quarters Kaleah made it her mission to open the door. She attacked the boulder with all her might. The boulder refused to budge.

Knowing Kaleah would not give up on moving the boulder, Twinkle and I set off down the tunnel in search of another more accessible path to the Forgemaster. It was then that I noticed the holes in the floor that I realized there was at least one level below the tunnel I was walking in.

Multiple levels, the Forge is going to take a little longer to get to than I hope. Seeing a tunnel leading downward, I took it. The tunnel took led directly to the door of the Sundercliff Mines.

Frustrated with her failure to move the boulder, Kaleah eventually gave up and caught up with Twinkle and me when we entered the mines. The three of us proceeded along a dark tunnel until we came to a bend in the tunnel.
Stopping, I motioned to Kaleah. “That tap, tap, tap sound, Do you hear it?”

Turning the corner we could see in the dust filled darkness a large cavern two floors high. Khajiit and Argonian miners labored while Drothmeri soldiers patrolled the corridors. My first thought was slave labor but I was wrong. The miners attacked us just as fiercely and as quickly as the soldiers did.

By the way the soldiers and miners fought I assumed we had found a gold mine. When the fighting was done, much to our disappointment all we found was iron ore. As I stood there puzzling over that fact, Kaleah mentioned the Scrolls of Transmutation.

“Scrolls of Transmutation to turn the iron into gold?” Kaleah suggested. “Something like the Midas Aurum Assimulator?”

“Oh, now that would be interesting.”

Taking a passage to the upper level we encountered an encampment of soldiers and miners. A good place to come back to later, to rest up, I thought.

Just past the camp we could see a narrow passageway. The soldiers and mine workers did their best to prevent us from reaching the passageway but that only made us more determined to get to the tunnel entrance. The outcome was a foregone conclusion, we entered the tunnel. A short while later we found a door leading to the lower level of the Forge.

Finding ourselves down in the lower level of the Forge we caught the Forgemaster and his two apprentices by surprise. The Armor Apprentice and the Weapons Apprentice recovered swiftly though. Drawing their weapons, they charged.

Equally fast was Kaleah with her fiery charged daedric bow. Kaleah showered the room with arrows. I’m not sure which magical arrows Kaleah was using but the way that closest Dunmer flew back 20-feet from an arrow to the chest, I’d say it was the right one.

Meanwhile with Kaleah busy dealing with the apprentices, I set my sights on the Forgemaster. Twinkle tickled the Forgemaster from ensuring that the fight didn’t last very long. The Forgemaster and his apprentices may have been excellent at the forge but they were lacking in fighting skills. Judging by the number of iron daggers that covered the floor, they spent all their time working on gaining smithing skills and not enough time on their weapon skills.

Searching the Forgemaster’s tent we found what we were looking for. Sitting on a table shining like Secunda was the second bezoar. We grabbed the silvery marble along with some other interesting items and then we left the tent. Oh, and one other thing. Tucked neatly under the Forgemaster's bed was some familiar bedtime reading material.

Well that answered the question, “Why the unusually high ratio of female swimmers in the mining crew?” Dirty little mind, the Forgemaster really should have spent less time reading and more in time weapons training.

Back in the forge room, as we were setting up the Weapons Apprentice, the Forgemaster, and the Armor Apprentice for the morgue shot the messenger Ignar Rodblock suddenly appeared. Ignar handed me a message from Kvatch and raced away, taking an exit tunnel at the far end of the forge.

What could Kvatch want now? I got them their Count, why are they still pestering me?

Snatching the magical items, the Forgemaster's Amulet and the Forgemaster's Smock, off of the forgemaster’s corpse we chased after Ignar. The passageway Ignar took was a dead end. When we caught up to him, Ignar was franticly running around in circles. A rope hung from the ceiling. Recognizing what it was I let Kaleah have the honors.

Good grief, she made a big production of it.

Drawing her daedric short sword she struck the wall three times called out in a thunderous voice “I, Ka-Ata-Killa, first of the honor bound, command thee open!”

She gave the rope a tug and the wall of rock slowly lowered, revealing the door back to the Village. Turning to me with a smile that nearly out shown Twinkle, the beaming Kaleah asked, “Well, how was that?”

“Hmmm, maybe a little over the top but not bad really. Just try not to scare the locals too badly next time.”

Ignar, as if seeing Kaleah for what she is for the very first time, couldn’t wait to get away. The boulder had barely dropped halfway when Ingar squirmed through the slit of an opening and fled. By the time the door had opened fully Ingar was gone daddy gone. Wonder if we’ll ever see him again?

Back in the Village, we made our way to the Commune and from there to the Excavated Ruin entrance to Varsa Baalim. Placing the bezoars on the pedestals we could sense the shift in the status of the door to the Ayleid ruin. With a push, Kaleah opened the door to Varsa Baalim and immediately slammed it shut.

Turning to me and with an unusually soft voice Kaleah said, “You’re looking a little peaked, my Feache. Perhaps we should find something to eat or take a little rest before continuing. I’ll not have Fiona yelling at me for not taking care of her Amado Mio.”

Kaleah was being a little too sweet. Sensing something was wrong, I asked, “What is it you’re not telling me?”

“Vampires, my Feache!” Kaleah replied. “The scent of ancient vampires sickening strong. My Feache, we should prepare. Charge our weapons, repair our armor, and you should go outside. Let the restorative Magicka of Magnus shine upon your face.”

Good advice should always be considered and especially when it’s Kaleah giving the advice.

A whole dungeon just to get that second bezoar. But finally, access to Varsa Baalim. Uh-oh, looks like we’re gonna need a Vampire Slayer.

Very dramatic! Always remember to give the rope a tug after you command it, and not before!

Yeah, those Drothmeri soldiers are hiding all over the place. In all those underground dwellings and so on. And it gets confusing trying to remember which dwellings have been searched, and which have not.

Kahleah's attacking a boulder! -- Your game is pretty dark, I'm noticing this, macole. Not as dark as my subterrenean interiors, but close.



Ha that's great! I suppose they don't expect any adversaries to ever penetrate as deep as they are underground, so their job is to make weapons for the soldiers, I guess.

Who is Ignar? Sounds like he's (or she) is from some other area of the world entirely. He tracked the Jandaga all the way down there? 🖲



It took forever to find. Maybe some gamers get lucky and find both of them easily, but I remember searching for Bezoar #2 for quite a while.

Ignar is the Kvatch messanger from the Kvatch Rebuilt mod. He has appeared a few times when either Savlian Matius or Procis Douarus has a problem that needs to be taken care of. He has the uncanny ability to find me no matter where I go.

20230707 Mehrunes’ Razor, Varsa Baalim and the Nefarivigum

Thank the goddess it wasn’t raining. After a day repairing arms and armor in the sunshine did us a world of good. Refreshed and recharged, Kaleah and her Fearless Vampire Killer were ready to go back to the Excavated Ruin.

With the bezoars in place on the pedestals we opened the door to the excavated ruin and entered. It was shocking. Blood was splattered everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, everywhere. The bloody mess ended at another door.

This door opened to Varsa Baalim. From our vantage point high above what once was the grand plaza of Varsa Baalim, lay nothing but rubble of collapsed buildings, blocked doorways, and uprooted paving stones. Shades of Abagarlas and Daedra Princes at war, I thought.

“There’s fighting going on down there,” I pointed out to Kaleah.

“Vampires,” Kaleah replied in disgust. “Drothmeri soldiers. Let them kill each other.”

With an eye on the melee going on below us we slowly made our way down a ramp to the plaza of Varsa Baalim. Content with waiting it out, we stood there in the darkness watching until one of the combatants spotted us. I thought it might be one of the Drothmeri soldiers until I heard the scream, “Sweet Blood!”

“Why my sweet little Feache, I think she’s calling you.” Kaleah laughed. Clapping me on the shoulder she pushed me into the spotlight.

Drawing Light of Dawn I stepped into the fray while Kaleah loosed a shower of arrows at the vampires. No doubt about it now, the dance marathon had begun.

Out numbered 6 to 3, the Drothmeri soldiers were putting up a good fight which was quite unbelievable considering the iron weapons they were using. I thought that Drothmeri would relish any help they could get in ridding the plaza of the vampires.

Was I wrong or what? As I braced to meet the vampire that called my dance number a Drothmeri soldier pulled up alongside the vampire to attack me. So now instead of 6-5 the game became vampire plus Drothmeri against Kaleah and me. Not good.

To even the odds I called for the usual aid. The Light of Dawn wasn’t too happy. Greedy sword wanted to go it alone, feasting on every vampire but I thought the wiser course of action was to call for help. With the aid of an angel, the Sisters of Insanity and Markie/Marcus we prevailed.

With the plaza now quiet, we checked other nearby doorways. A door to the west, its lentil collapsed and blocked by a boulder, was rendered unusable. A usable doorway on the eastern side of the plaza led us Cava Arpenia.
Cava Arpenia was little more than a hallway with a small room in the middle that looped around to the far southern end of the plaza. Halfway through, there was a small room where three vampires were passing a limp Drothmeri around like a wine skin. We put an abrupt end to that little party.

The Cava Arpenia hallway let us out at the far end of the plaza, a short distance from where the grand melee occurred. Turning left we climbed up a short narrow staircase. Crossing a ruined rotunda, we met another vampire hidden in the darkness. It retreated further into the darkness where we cornered and put an end to it.

We found ourselves at the end of the roadway, a dead end. The ceiling had fallen blocking the way. A nearby door sat severely tilted by the rockslide, lucky for us it still functioned. We entered Cava Beldameld.

Most of Cava Beldameld was blocked by a cave in. Fortuna was smiling on us though, a pathway to the exit still existed. To add to our enjoyable tour of Varsa Baalim, three vampires led by Mojan Kjen (MOO generated) were here to keep us entertained.

As we had hoped when we exited Cava Beldameld we had by-passed the roadblock putting us further in Varsa Baalim. There was only one problem. We stepped right into the middle of another Vampire Drothmeri dispute.
Two Drothmeri soldiers were in a desperate struggle with seven vampires. This time though we didn’t bother with offering to help the Drothmeri. We just called for the usual support and dealt with both gangs.

The altercation settled Kaleah and I followed the broken pavement through the ruins of Varsa Baalim. We dealt with several solitary vampires and saw a few dead Drothmeri along the way until we arrived in a broad plaza. An arrow struck me down. From up above, archers were losing arrows upon us. To get out from under the shower of arrows we ducked into the nearby Cava Marspanga.

Once again we find ourselves in the midst of an all out brawl. Vampires, Drothmeri, and Daedra summon by the vampires were rocking the joint. I swear if Varsa Baalim wasn’t already in ruins, it certainly would be with all this heavy fighting going on. The brawl in Cava Marspanga quieted, we found a staircase that led up to an exit.

Stepping out to the upper level of Varsa Baalim we were ambushed by the MOO vampire, Ulil T’rizen. Outfitted in his green glass armor Ulil T’rizen on his own would have been a difficult opponent. The three high ranking vampires that accompanied him made it doubly so. After securing the area, we continued our search for Drothan.

Across the chasm, we could see what looked like the Ayleid entrance of Nefarivigum. Despite the difficulty navigating across the upper Varsa Baalim ruins we made it to the entrance. But, the path continued on. Curious we followed the path until we could go no further. Here lost in the darkness was the forlorn body of a Drothmeri recruit. In his pocket we found a letter addressed to his brother in Morrowind. The letter recounts the last moments the young recruit’s life and his growing disillusionment with Drothan, whom he has come to believe is insane.

Returning to the stone door we had found, we entered The Nefarivigum. The entrance hall wound its way past bodies of slain vampires and Drothmeri soldiers to a large, dimly lit, and largely empty room. We could see a bedroll to the left, a gate at the far end of the room, and someone standing in front of an ebony statue. That must be Drothan.

Drothan turned, shouted something nonsensical, and attacked. Well, I always said that if any Telvanni had an issue with my retirement that they could take it up with me personally. Of course I thought they’d have to be insane to do so and Drothan, ahem, proves the point.

The threat of Drothan’s rebellion at an end, I sat down to read the late Drothan’s field journal. The Nefarivigum, a foul construct of Mehrunes Dagon, was erected to test the worthiness of any who would approach it. Pass the test and be rewarded with Mehrunes Razor, a vicious blade through which Dagon himself can instantly send a struck foe to Oblivion through Dagons' wrath

Drothan has been studying the inscriptions around the statue for clues on how to obtain the Razor. He has managed to reveal the Razor behind the gate at the far end of the room. His field journal suggests two options; force the gate open or draw the heart from the chest of the champion, and devour it. Drothan fears forcing the gate is trapped and eating the heart is just plain disgusting.

As I inspected statue something came over me. Like the mythological Captain Ahab waving on the Pequod to its doom the Nefarivigum beckons. Reaching to take the beating heart from the quivering champion’s open chest, Kaleah steps in between to block my hand. Arms akimbo, she throws her wings out wide and stares intently at me.

“Do not so this, my Feache!” Kaleah warns. “It is death eternal.”

Heeding Kaleah’s warning I look to Drothan’s second option. When an inspection failed to detected any traps I attempted to force the gate open. Passing the strength test, the gate opens.

Grabbing Mehrunes' Razor opened a hidden doorway. As the wall slowly lowered revealing the Forgotten Tunnels, the Nefarivigum awakened Msirae Faythung. Swinging a fearsome axe Msirae Faythung charged across the room, right onto the pointy end of Light of Dawn.

With the end of Msirae Faythung, Kaleah and I ran through the Forgotten Tunnels to exit out in Lake Canulus. Swimming to shore we sprawled out on the beach laughing joyously at being alive.

What a massive dungeon crawl. But the Razor is now in their possession and the reward is a nice swim in the lake.

Yes, much larger than I expected. Unlike the Wizards Tower and the Vile Lair, this one made me work to get the prize.

Mm hmm, yeah, that's the thing about most of those DLC: we get it all for free, and with some really minor backstory instead of fuller-fleshed quests. Actually, it does take a bit of work to get Wizard's Tower up and running.

Cava Arpenia. I remember all of this vaguely. There are several Cavas though, right? It gets confusing remembering which ones we've been into, and stuff.

Jandaga's flaming sword is a nice touch. When my Renee Gade III did these ruins she had a similar idea.

Ah, there is Mehrunes Razor. That's a powerful piece right there. Will Jandaga be using it? I remember for RG3's game she merely placed it in one of her homes as a trophy, since she's already got a lot of mighty swords for daily use.

Maybe I didn't complete it thoroughly. Once the teleporters were working I stopped.


Remembering Cava Arpenia, is it because it's the first cava or because it is the only one you don't have to go into? The others are nessecary to by-pass road blocks.


We'll see what transpires.

20230718 Playing mumbley-peg, OOO Argonian Smugglers Red Gill Cave

Warm and dry under Kaleah’s tented wings we waited out the rain on the banks of Lake Canulus. The following morning when rain had ended, I peeked out from under Kaleah’s wings to see the face of the shining sun. Stirring to get up Kaleah touched me and whispered ever so softly, “Don’t go, stay with me.”

Later that morning I was sitting on the banks of Lake Canulus playing mumbley-peg with the Razor when my peace was shaken to its core.

“AYIEEE!” Kaleah screamed.

“What!” Jumping up, I dropped the Razor. Looking down to see the Razor stuck in the ground between my feet, I exclaimed, “Geez, I nearly stuck my foot! What is it?”

”Mehrunes’ Razor!” Kaleah screeched. “It’s death, not a toy! It fills me with dre… terr… I can’t say it.”

“But why? It’s a little long and heavy for a dagger but I see nothing unusual with it. Here take it and see for yourself.”

Recoiling back several steps, Kaleah scream in terror, “No, I cannot touch it! You really don’t know? Of course, being of the Sylphim world you wouldn’t, would you? The blade is blessed with Daedric Banishing. With a touch Mehrunes Dagon can instantly claim the soul, even one of a Daedra.”

“Oh, I see.” Realizing Kaleah’s deep fear of being captured by Mehrunes or any other Prince I summoned the Midas Chest. As I locked the Razor away, I thought. “Banish Daedra at a touch, hmmm? That might come in handy some day.”

Thinking it wise I changed the subject. “By my count we dusted 31 vampires in Varsa Baalim and the Light of Dawn feasted on 13 of them making its total now 343.”

Kaleah laughed. Then, pointing to a spot across the lake she said, “Feache, that cave over there is not on the Imperial map. I have no clue as to what we’ll find there.”

The great unknown, what more of an excuse is needed to go find out what’s there. The water was cool, the sun warm, and with Auri-El’s bow arced across the sky in an array of color we swam across Lake Canulus.

A short time later we entered the strange cave. We hadn’t gone ten steps when our progress came to a halt, we could go no further. The cave was flooded.

This familiar sight reminded me of when we ran into Argonian Smugglers (OOO) holed up in another flooded cave similar to this. Blood Clot Cave if I remember correctly. Knowing Twinkle can’t travel under water for any distance
I asked Kaleah to remain at the entrance to keep the sweet little Will-o-the-Wisp from following me.

I could have just dismissed Twinkle but it seems so cruel to call one so eager to serve when you need something and then heartless send it away when its presence is inconvenient.

Activating a water breathing spell, I lowered myself into the flooded tunnel. It took some time swimming round in the dark water until I found what I was looking for. Breaking the surface in a small room, I found myself in Kizra’s lair.

Here, talking to Kizra, the leader of the Red Gill Cave Argonian Smugglers I learnt that the Morrowind Slavers have place a placed a price on Kizra’s head for an attack on the slaver encampment of Seran.

Having, up to now, taken a neutral stance in the altercation between the Argonian Smugglers and the Morrowind Slavers there wasn’t much more for us to talk about. I left Kizra’s lair and returned to the entrance of Red Gill Cave, after spending some time getting lost in the process.

Why didn’t I use the Mark and Recall spell to set a mark when we first entered the cave? It would have made things so much easier. Remember back in the Illiac Bay days, it was automatic. Enter dungeon, set mark, ready to leave cast recall.

Kaleah was in a better mood when I returned to the entrance of Red Gill Cave. Smiling she told me the while I was gone she had gone outside and found Fort Cuptor a little ways down along the shore of Lake Canulus.

“Come on, let’s go have some fun,” she said.

20230727 Fort Cuptor

Fort Cuptor’s entrance corridor ended in a T-intersection. From the left, old wooden doors opened and a lone robed figure appeared. He shouted something and attacked us. Why, I don’t know. His robe bore the insignia of necromancers. That explains everything. Necromancers aren’t known for their gregarious personality.

Now that the necromancer was lying stiff at our feet, we wondered what was in the room he had come out of. We were about to open the doors when we were stopped by the din of battle coming from the other end of the corridor. There we saw an Orc adventurer desperately struggling with two wraiths. Rushing to his aid, Kaleah arrived just in time to prevent the wraith from completely sucking the life out of him.

Saving Orc Adventurer.

“Gortwog and Orsinium thank you, travelers,” the big Orc said. “For a moment, I feared Gortwog was going to mourn the loss of the treasure found here.”

While sitting under the invigorating effects of my Healing Cloud spell the Orc adventurer related his encounter with the Wraiths. Entering Fort Cuptor, the Orc took the corridor to this area. Pointing to a lever sitting on a wall shelf, the Orc told us he used it to raise the portcullis.

The staircase now accessible the Orc descended into a large room. Three necromancers huddled over two stone altars, paused their experimentations to send undead minions to greet the Orc intruder.

With the odds against him, the Orc quickly retreated, raced to the lever, and closed the gate. Two wraiths however had managed to get past the gate before it closed.

That’s where we entered the scene.

As the Orc told his tale, with Twinkle’s help I surveyed the small necromancer experimentation table. What I saw was sickening. There on a table were the eviscerated remains of a small child, the perverted handiwork of necromancers. As sickening as the sight of the young child’s body was the note (Oscuro’s) we found on the table was even more disturbing.

After reading in detail the butchery Sarlyn the Twisted performed on a young girl, I vowed should our paths ever cross Sarlyn the Twisted will rue the day he took the life of an innocent child. Grim faced, Kaleah nodded in agreement. Turning to the Orc adventurer I told him he could leave if he wanted to but Kaleah and I were going to put an end the necromancers here in Fort Cuptor.

“For the honor of Gortwog and glory of Orsinium!” the big Orc bellowed. Drawing his sword, he gave the lever a pull.

Proceed with caution I said but did anyone listen? No, of course not. Like the three musketeers, we charge through the open gate and down the stairs to battle a Nether Lich.

Shelonah Moabone of the MOO School of Higher Necromancy was supervising the experiments of two of her two graduate students when we interrupted her class. They quickly dropped their experiments to summon an army of undead to confront us. Nothing I couldn’t counter with my own summoned army. But, it was the sheer number of wraiths, and spectral warriors, and zombies, and mummies, and nether lich, and… well let’s just say it was a brutal fight.

To quickly lessen the number of undead, Kaleah and I concentrated on eliminating the students. The Orc decide to chase down Shelonah Moabone on his own. He was pressing hard when Shelonah released her bound daedric axe and switched to her Staff of Woe. A blast of the staff severely weakened the brave Orc and he quickly fell to Shelonah’s magic.

If only the Orc could have held on just a moment longer for less than a second later the Sisters of Insanity and the Midas Angel became free to join the fight against Shelonah Moabone. They cornered the necromancer headmistress and put an end to her curriculum.

The laboratory had become deathly quiet. After paying respects to the fallen, Kaleah and I searched the rest of Fort Cuptor. Other than a handful of zombies and several locked chests there was nothing of consequence to be found. With the demise of Shelonah Moabone, we deemed Fort Cuptor a necro free zone.

Claiming the Staff of Woe as our prize of the day, we were on our way to Cuptor’s exit when we noticed a side hallway led down a stairwell to another set of old double doors. Perhaps we were a bit hasty in our thinking that Fort Cuptor was necro-free. The polite thing to do would be to extend our judgment to the Fort Cuptor Battlemains occupants.

Entering the Battlemains of Fort Cuptor we turned left at the first intersection. A short undisturbed walk down the corridor we came across an old wooden double-door.

“This door shouldn’t be locked,” Kaleah said pointing to the door. “Of this I’m certain. Yet here it is… locked, requiring a key to open.”

Continuing on past the old wooden doors, we followed the corridor while carefully avoiding un-stable looking manhole covers. The grates covering holes cut into the corridor floor allowed us to see a level below us. Passing an old wooden door to our right we continued on until we came to another intersection. Following standard procedure, we again turned left.

We followed the quiet corridor until we were stopped by a closed portcullis gate. Unable to find a mechanism to open the portcullis, we had to turn back.

The corridor turned to the right and a light shown in the distance. The light, we found, was from candles on a desk, a little study area. There wasn’t much to find here but with our attention on searching the desk a ghoul and a zombie lunged out at us from a dark alcove. A necromancer and an ancient lich approached from down the hallway and the fight became interesting.

The ghoul and zombie went down easily. The necromancer and ancient lich (the MOO ancient lich are just plain butt ugly) took a bit of work.

The ancient lich happened to fall on a floor grate, knocking it loose, and causing the grate to fall to the floor below. The lich, hanging precariously on the edge of the trap, was carrying a Rune Skull of Lucifer (MOO). Even though I took great care not to disturb the lich as I reached for the rune skull the lich slid and fell to the floor below.

In a desperate attempt to hang on to the rune skull, I too fell to the floor below. Thankfully the lower level was flooded with half-a-foot of Nirn soft water and I sustained no injuries.

In sympathy, as they tried to catch me as I fell, Kaleah and Twinkle followed me down to the lower lever of the Battlemains. Now, we all have to find the way back to the upper level.

There wasn’t much of note in this lowest level of the Battlemains. A few zombies and a nether lich or two and that’s all. The way back to the upper level was closed by the portcullis we had found earlier in the upper level.

This meant we had to search the entire lower level to find the portcullis lever. It was located in the opposite corner from the lower Battlemains’ exit. Sitting next to the portcullis lever was a common jewelry box. In it was Fort Cuptor’s High Chamber Key (OOO), the locked door we found on the upper level.

Flipping the lever to open the portcullis, we took the key and returned to the upper level. Making our way to the locked door we used the key to enter Fort Cuptor’s High Chamber. Residing in the High Chamber were Fort Cuptor’s Oscuro necromancers, a Lady of the Dead and a Keeper of the Dead. Guarding the two ladies were at least six zombies.

Sure the two necromancers didn’t like that we just walked on in unannounced like we did but they didn’t have to go ballistic. By the way they acted you’d think they were playing patty-cake.
Really, just what did they expect? After all, they’re the ones who left a key where anyone could just pick it up.

Thankfully they weren’t as difficult as Shelonah Moabone and her graduate students. An army of zombies just doesn’t compare to an army of wraiths, liches, and what not. Minutes later as Kaleah and I were searching the High Chamber for valuables, we found a Mysticism Skill Book: Souls, Black and White on a stone table next to the bed.

Feeling that I’ve learned something valuable I mentioned to Kaleah that we should leave this fort and find a place to sleep. I may be tired but there was no way I was going to sleep in place crawling with zombies.

Rune Skull of Lucifer, Staff of Woe

Rune Skull of Lucifer (MOO & Runeskulls) enchantment properties:
• Fire Damage 2 points 5 sec on hit
• Soul Trap 5 sec on hit
• Fire Shield 5%
• Resist Magic 5%
• Restore Magicka 3pts

Staff of Woe (MOO & Nexons Armory)
• 35% weakness to fire, frost, shock, disease, and poison on target

Yeah, the Razor’s not a toy!

Seems like Kizra’s lair is pretty well hidden, especially from air breathers.

By Gortwog! Those orc adventurers have stones as they delve into dungeons seeking trouble. Unfortunately, that is exactly what they usually find. . . .

And right into Fort Cuptor. The only good necrodude is a dead. . . .

Fort Cuptor sounds confusing to navigate and seems to host more than one significant combat challenge, but the Jandaga and his crew proved up for it. And some decent loot was had.

Hey, what is mumbly-peg?

-- When Kahleah screamed I almost jumped in my chair! Oh, I get it. So she's a daedra, and this is why she's so freaked about Mehrunes Razor.

Wow, look at that rainbow. I've said this a zillion times, I know, but when I was playing OB we never saw any rainbows. And I do have that mod, I know, I've checked. Seen plenty of shooting stars, but never any rainbows.



Exactly. They always make those silly threats and taunts! This is half the fun of combat, imo.

Nice, Kahleah saved an Orc Adventurer. Those poor guys. Probably half the time they'd get killed in my games, especially for those who try to make stealth attacks. It's hard to tell them orcs apart from enemies in a darkened room.



Ha ha, that's the truth a lot of times.

There are many ways to play. Here is a sample https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRZ_Ni45G80.
As a kid we used to play closes to the peg wins at Boy Scout camp until the moms found out and declared it to be too dangerous. You can make it more or less dangerous depending on whether you use a peg in the ground or your feet as the target.

20230803 OOO – Nayon Camp, Ayleid Steps – Lost Olisode
It was late when we stepped out of Fort Cuptor. Tired, I stopped for a moment to think before turning north. At the northwestern point of Lake Canulus we came across Camp Nayon. It appeared deserted. Bottles of beer and sacks of food were scattered everywhere.

“We’re in luck,” Kaleah said. “This camp seems to be abandoned. My Feache, how did you know to come here?”

I didn’t really, just made a mistake in direction. That’s what happens when you’re tired.

“Fortuna smiles on those who believe,” I replied and quickly redirected the conversation. “By the looks of it whoever they were they left in a hurry and recently too.”

A note we found on a table confirmed it. The Nayon group of Morrowind slavers (OOO) had received orders from Master Lerys to avenge the attack on Camp Seran. March immediately on Drowned Hopes cavern, the orders read. Butcher all there, afterwards regroup at Seran. After restocking their orders were to do the same to Deep Cover.

Oooh weee, the Oscuro slavers have gone on the war path. I know where Seran is. It’s a camp south of the Panther River and east of Welke and Marsh Punk camp. I’m not sure where Drowned Hopes and Deep Cover are.

Well since no one is here the tents are free for us to use. Not needing sleep, Kaleah took watch as I chose a bedroll for the night. With a star studded sky as my blanket, I lay watching Kaleah gazing out over Lake Canulus.

Softly, (well for Kaleah it was softly) she began to sing a hauntingly beautiful melody of intense love-sick longing, Pana Cand Nu Te Iubeam.

Were my eyes playing tricks on me in dim light? Like a cobra rising to the flute of the snake-charmer, I could swear that the tall rushes along the banks began to sway in time to her singing.

I fell asleep wondering, “Longing for what?”

Early the next morning, we gathered our loot and struck out for the shysters, err, markets of Bravil.

It was a beautiful day for traveling overland. Kaleah, I could tell, was acting rather melancholy. Something was bothering her but she didn’t want to talk about it. When I asked she’d just look forlorn at me and say everything was fine. I swear, if a Daedra could cry she’d shed a tear.

A beautiful day should not be wasted on sadness. There was only one thing I could think of doing. Hoping to lift her spirits, I sang hoping the magic would ease her heart.

I've been a poor man and I've been a king
I've had my life and the world on a string
I've traveled many roads, but I'm so far from done
I have been hopeless and I've had my faith
Some things I've lost and some things I have saved
All of these moments showed me the way that I've gone
Good to know, there's so much to live for

Sometimes a bud needs a little warmth to bloom. Kaleah took my hand and chimed in.

Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh, what a day to feel alive

The rest of the morning we skipped along singing and laughing like we were walking on a yellow brick road.

Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn
Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn
Vor uns liegt ein weites Tal
Die Sonne scheint mit Glitzerstrahl

Time went by quickly and before we knew it we were standing on the banks of Niben Bay.

The Niben Bay, just south of the mouth of the Silverfish River and Nenalata, is at its widest. Bravil can be seen directly across the water. Too far for swimming, I cast my water-walking spell and stepped out onto the calm water to walk across the bay to Bravil when Kaleah stopped me.

“Look, there!” She exclaimed, pointing at the far shore south of Bravil. “The golden tree!”

Yes, I could clearly see the golden tree. Could it be one of the clues for Ervvin’s 11th puzzle?

Only one way to find out. Keeping our eyes fixed on the golden tree we walked across the bay to a small island.

There they were; the dead tree, the tower burnt, and the golden tree which oddly had turned green to closer we got to the island. Some sort of deception Illusion Magic at work or was it simply just the fading sunlight that did it?

Now all we had to do was to find the stepstone. Three stepstones later we stood in the darkness of Lost Olisode.

Something is wrong here!

No, it’s not finding skeletons, ghosts, mummies, and liches. That’s pretty much a given these days. It’s the ruins itself. The whole place is tilted! It’s like we’re climbing up the side of a steep mountain.

Lost Olisode must have been built on the side of a mountain and swept away in an avalanche. What’s amazing is that Lost Olisode ended up tilted and not totally destroyed. It is funny though to kill a skeleton and watch it slide across the room, down to the far wall.

When the undead were finally laid to rest, we gathered up every Welkynd stone we could find and looted all the Ayleid chests of their valuables. The important stuff taken care of, we went back to the room with the stepstone.

Here we had a problem, there were two stepstones. To leave Lost Olisode we had to decide which one to activate. Neither stepstone looked to be working properly so it was a toss-up as to which one to use.

Tossed a gold piece in the air. With no idea where we going to be transported, we activated the step the coin landed closest too.

Thankfully, we were deposited at the Ayleid Well near fort Blueblood. An easy walk to Leyawiin but since it was dark and we were tired I sang the Take Me Home, Leyawiin spell.

Ah, nothing like a comfy bed at home when you’re tired.

Slavers on a rampage slaughtering the bandits who inhabit camps and dungeons? Is that a problem?

Poor Kaleah. The Jandaga can be so clever yet sometimes so blind. . . .

Finally home to a real bed in Leyawiin.

OK, so Kraftwerk were familiar, but the other one I had to google.

So where did you find Jake Reese? He wasn’t even born when Autobahn was released, and your usual quotes are “vintage”.

He was born in the '80s, that makes him vintage, if not antique.

(Explanation: if you look on eBay, you find amazing things. Like this: "My mum's antique sewing machine, bought new in the '80s!" That's 1980s, not 1880s.)

Antique is something different. I think it refers to the finish.

My grandfather was a cabinet-maker, and specialised in making brand-new antique furniture. If someone had a set of four dining chairs from the 18th century, and needed two more to match, that would be right up his alley. Of course the few of his pieces I have are genuinely antique now.

Well, by definition "antique" is something that is at least 100 years old. So a plastic sewing machine made in 1980s does not fulfil the requirement whichever way you look at it. My point was that to someone who himself was born in late 1980s, something like that would have come from the time before he was born automatically meaning it was way way way way old...

What you're talking about is reproduction of antique pieces. The reproductions themselves are not antique though (unless they are indeed 100 years old by now).

I’m a notorious commercial watcher and jingle collector. A bank (Ameriprise Financial 2015) was running commercial that had the light and bouncy hook in it. Drove me crazy. With only the Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh to go on I searched YouTube until I found a couple of candidates.
Jake Reese - Day To Feel Alive and Phillip Phillips – Home
Liked them so I DLed both. Also did the same with Dirty Vegas - Days Go By - Nisson and others.

Kraftwerk Autobahn... now that was date music in the early seventies.

Thank goodness I may be old but I'm nnot antique... yet.

Gosh, no wonder your mom got concerned after discovering mumbly peg! Y'all were playing with knives!

OOO slavers! Oscuro would be proud.

Ha ha yep. I don't know what the first song is, but I remember Kraftwerk from when I was a kid. My family moved to Germany for a year. Funny fact: that German electronic music band inspired all those hip hop artists from the early 1980s. Somehow. I think it had something to do with the spasmodic beats their electronic drum machines created.

Was Kahleah able to water-walk as well? Or did she swim?

Renee: In game, Kaleah walks on the water whenever I do. There is a glich in Oblivion where swimming NPCs sometimes will continue swimming in the air after leaving the water. I caught Kaleah doing that once and that how I think of her crossing lakes and rivers.

20230810 Shopping in Leyawiin, Ayleid Steps – Lost Laife

It was late, nearly noon when I awoke. Kaleah was already dressed in her southern city attire and ready to go.

Business first though, we had a working breakfast with J’Dato, the Khajiit monk and head of the OVB Leyawiin chapter house. During breakfast J’Dato filled us in on current OVB official business. He sat on the edge of his seat listening in rapt attention as Kaleah and I told him of the vampires in Varsa Baalim. We thought it best to leave out the part where we acquired Mehrune’s Razor.

“Thirty-one vampires!” J’Dato shouted jumping out of his seat. “In one place! How do you find them? Here I’ve been thinking things have gotten boring.”

OVB business taken care of Kaleah and I left for Best Goods and Guarantees and The Dividing Line. The rest of the day was spent haggling over the price of our goods. Afterwards we had dinner at The Mermaid Inn on the wharf. Nice little place with the best gumbo in Cyrodiil. The heady spice helps to cover up the wharf smell.
We left Leyawiin the next day heading northeast toward Merendin. Yeah, we could have taken the road but I like walking through the black wood. With fern leaves wider than my body and standing taller than my head, every step is an adventure.

At one point, through the lush foliage we could see the white towers of the Ayleid ruin Veyond to the north. It was around then that we stumbled upon an Ayleid Well. The jungle was so thick had we been looking for this well I doubt we would ever have found it.

Kaleah stopped, pausing for a moment. Gazing intently to the north she said, “If Elenya was here she could read the jungle better and know for sure but I feel that the alignments fit Ervvans’ puzzle for the last of the twelve Lost Ayleid ruins.”

Trusting in Kaleah’s feelings we studied the Ayleid Well closely. As with other Ayleid wells we have seen, it had four stepstones set the prime directional lines; north, south east, and west. The north stepstone had green speckles indicating a step in good working order. Puzzle solution or not, a working stepstone is high temptation. Unable to resist the call of the unknown I took Kaleah’s hand and activated the step.

When our vision cleared Kaleah and I were standing in a dark and quiet corner of a dimly lit dust filled room. We were slightly surprised that we had found the lost Ayleid ruin Laife so easily. Unlike many of the other lost ruins, there were no intermediate steps leading to Lost Laife. Although Lost Laife appeared empty I had this feeling that empty it was not. Dust that should have been settled thickly on the floor was floating high in the air which could mean only one thing. I fixed my helmet on my head.

With extreme caution I proceeded through the room to the far side. Something moved along the wall. Twinkle finally arrived to shed some light on the situation.

Oh buggers, I had stepped into the middle of an Argonian zombie and skeleton conga line.

An arrow zinged over my shoulder just inches passed my ear. Loosing an arrow from the dark corner at the far end of the room, Kaleah took out the lead zombie. She’s gotten better with her Shadow bow over the years. I remember when she would … BANG!

Yep, that’s my girl. Smiling fiercely, I picked myself up off the floor and finished the thought; “hit me in the back”.

You can talk about Cha Cha
Tango, Waltz, or the Rumba
Jandaga’s dance has no title
He jump in the saddle
Holds on to de bridle
(Jump in the line, rock your body in time) Somebody help me!

With Light of Dawn, into the line of zombies I jumped. Chunks of rotten flesh flew everywhere. Rounding the corner I came face to face with the choreographer, a lich. Responding to my call for help, the Angel came to my aid. Not to be out done, so did Markie.

Those two have a very competitive relationship. Oh, they work well together when there’re enemies to deal with but when the enemies are gone they fight amongst each other like two children fighting over a favorite toy. I just don’t understand.

Touring the rest of Lost Laife we met three more liches and their zombies. The last lich we encountered was accompanied by a banshee. Having met banshees before, I knew what to expect and how to deal with it. Ear plugs!

Go out yonder, peace in the valley
Come downtown, have to rumble in the alley
Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in

The banshee came at me wailing. The rumble didn’t last long. I sure was happy it wasn’t my death her keening foretold.

The rumble over and no more dances on the ticket, Lost Laife was as quiet as a tomb. That gave us all the time we desired to loot the numerous Ayleid chests. A many of the chests were closed with very hard locks. The recently acquired Latar Andavar staff which can unlock very hard locks would be handy right now.

With Latar Andavar, I wouldn’t have to run around half naked in order to cast the Open Very Hard Lock spell. The only problem was Kaleah. She was carrying the staff and she held it up for ransom.

We found some good stuff; 20 welkynd stones, an ebony sword and, a Rune Skull of the Shaman. All very nice to be sure but now and then you come across something truly wondrous. In one small container we found a very rare rechargeable purple welkynd stone. I just have to figure out how it works before selling my stock pile of welkynd stone.

Ecstatic at our find, we returned to the entrance stepstone and left Lost Laife.