Wow, this is something not typically seen. Luper having problems against an opponent. Of course, Almalexia's rules on her city doesn't help the situation I bet. I am quite curious as to how Revan can use things like invisibility and such while Luper can't... Perhaps he's doing some work for the mad goddess?

In the game, levitation is only not disabled under mournhold. And nowhere in mournhold are the recall and intervention spells disabled. Most likely this is all part of some subplot or variation but for now I'm all confused.

And where has Chrysamere gotten to?

And isn't Reven in another ... oog .. my head hurts.

Anyway, good update.

Well, I can answer your questions, Blockhead. Captain whats-his-name of the palace guard had Lup give Chryasmere up due to security reasons, and when our Redguard Telvaani friend came back to reclaim it after being attacked by assassins, it had mysteriously vanished.

Now as for Revan's presense, cameo, the man's older than he looks.... very much so. Before he was freed from servitude he worked for the Deadra (most all of them). So several years before freedom, he's in Mournhold under Azura's devine authority.

Ahhh, how nice to return and find this! A thrilling continuation, more please?

Alright, explanation time!

1: Revan didn't simply dodge the rules, he circumvented them entirely! The Dark Narynn's ability to merge with the shadows is something different than the common forms of Magicka. Maybe Almalexia could have blocked it, if she knew what to look for.

2:The recall and intervention spells have been added to wire the plot together. Nowhere has Luper used them around Mour....Crap, he did use them! He used recall once to return to Ro-El's place after annoying the Royal guards! Dammit! (got to explain, got to explain.) Umm, Almalexia is nuts and the no recall/intervention rule was added at midnight because she had a bad dream. Yeah, that's it. See, it all makes sense.

3: Chrysamere is....around. Yes, around. *Dammit, text doesn't allow for a mysterious tone the way I want it to.*

4: As for Luper having troubles against Revan, he was without Chrysamere for one thing and the odds where stacked against him for another anyway. That said, I do have a powerup planned for good ol Lup. Can't say any more of it, though.

Now that I've done that and basked in the compliments, let's bash lore entirely! MUHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!.......cough....... *Why do I always get into coughing while doing the evil laugh, why?!*





I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t feel any air around me, couldn’t feel ground beneath my feet. My blood rose to my head and my innards seemed to be all tied into a knot. Worst of all, I simply couldn’t see. It was more than the absence of light. It was as if I’d developed the need for sight but never developed eyes to see with. It was downright horrible. But somehow, I didn’t die. The lack of air was horrible and my body screamed for it, but I didn’t die. It was surreal, like a dream. More like a nightmare.

Without any warning, words suddenly appeared before me. Words made out of sparkles without any colour I could reasonably describe. The colour looked like all colours combined yet no colour at all. I frowned at the ‘sight’. I couldn’t read it either. It looked Daedric though. And I could feel the word’s essence. It was Magicka. Once I’d realized that, I put my observation to the test and drew some of my own. While otherwise there was nothing to see, Magicka was still visible. I drew a simple greeting and waited.
,,Ah, modern Cyrodiilic. Yes, I greet you as well.” Floated before my eyes.
,,This has got to be the weirdest conversation ever.” I thought to myself.

,,Who are you?” I then asked. Of course, a name had little meaning and I couldn’t see the being either.
,,I have many names. To most however, I am a wandering seeker of knowledge. It has been a long time since I came across an unformed plane of essence. This intrigues me so I decided to remain. I apologize if this caused you any discomfort, lord.” The lack of air was still distracting me but I still caught on to the last title. Whatever it was, it had just named me as the apparent master of this place. Now asking it what it meant by that would reveal my complete lack of power. As such, it was better to dodge the subject.
,,Really? Why don’t planes remain unformed then?” I asked instead.

,,It is mostly a matter of applied Psychology. As you know, the plane of essence is connected to its master. Actually, calling them two separate beings is entirely incorrect itself. Being one and the same, the plane of essence forms to whatever wish its thinking portion, the lord, holds. Few I know can resist the temptation of a world formed to their will, where they can rule as an omnipotent god.” Now this was actually some helpful information. Forms to whatever wish the thinking portion holds? If I could simply wish for air and sight, it would make my stay a whole lot more pleasant. I did so and it was even easier than I thought it would be. I just had to realize that air was a distinct possibility and there it was. I could sniff up the smell. The air had the unique ashy taste of Vvardenfell.

,,Ah, now it has been formed. An endless expanse of air, made of a mixture found in the north-eastern area of Tamriel.” The storyteller said. I added light to the mix and finally saw him. He was simply a featureless orb of glass floating about.
,,Well yeah. I’ve spent some time there so it brings back memories. Or would you prefer the earlier absolute nothing?” I quipped with vocal speech.
,,This is your land, not mine. I have seen plenty of interesting things yet change is the very nature of everything. Once the master appears to lay claim to what is his, the plane of essence simply can’t remain unformed.” The orb answered in an absolutely neutral voice. It felt as if it had taken Cyrodiilic and relieved it of all the nuances that made speech so personal.

,,So, care to tell me what others make of their planes?” I asked. I honestly had no idea what to do with this place myself. The orb of glass twinkled, the only sign that it was more than just an inanimate object. I hadn’t specified an actual lightsource, so the twinkle had to be its doing, not mine.
,,I have seen many things. Quite simply, there is no limit to the possibilities. The last plane I visited however, was a battlefield where its lord enjoyed to fight and slaughter countless minions of its own creation, content with the knowledge that he was the absolute god of his realm and so nothing could beat him.”

Nothing could beat him? The idea appealed to my sense of pride which had taken quite a blow after Revan wiped me out. Or had he? Weren’t his last words ‘go home’? This place was in a way my home. Or at least, it could become. In here, I could lose my frustration by making a hundred Revans and tearing them apart as if I was a Daedric prince. Daedra, Aedra, were there any differences? Perhaps in the view of mortal tamrielians, but to me, it didn’t feel like there was anything different in the end. So I was a Daedric prince? How flattering.

But no, kicking the crap out of people with all the power of a god would only be childish. In the end, it wouldn’t accomplish anything. No, I shouldn’t stay here. It would be unhealthy for me. My pride had taken a blow, but it was a good one. There is a distinct line between confidence and unreasonable arrogance. No doubt I’d crossed the line there. Hopefully I’d shifted back down to plain confidence.

So I’d just decided that playing god in my own world was not a potential career change. I had to get back, somehow. Not just for me, but also for Ro-El, Gavis and his reality-challenged brother. I had to stop the Mournhold Captain before he ran out of control with Gravedigger. I had so many things to do. And….I suddenly realized that taking revenge on a certain Dark Elf was not on my to-do list. Whatever he might have done, he was just following Azura’s orders, I think. So if I had a fish to cut with someone, it was my mother. Then again, maybe this whole thing was her idea of a ‘coming to manhood’ ceremony. I wished she would have taken a more peaceful option but then again, most manhood ceremonies I’d come across all involved girls and permanent bonding of some sort. I wasn’t exactly the perfect husband, not as long as I had a sword I could swing and baddies to carve up.

Then again, did it really matter? If I so desired, I could make myself a hundred women right here. Which, admittedly, would be even more childish than the godmode slaying of a hundred Revan’s. So back to the point at hand, I had to get back to Nirn.
,,It has been nice talking to you, but I’m on a tight schedule. I’d say, feel free to wander around the place as long as you like, or leave at your leisure or whatever. As for me, I’ll be taking a hike back to Nirn right away.” I told the Orb. It twinkled again.
,,Back to Nirn? Forgive me, lord. But that is unfortunately impossible as long as the pact remains in place. One can only come to Nirn, if one is summoned. Even a lord has to obey this rule.” It spoke, which put the big sink on my mood.
,,Only if summoned? Wonderful, no one knows me! It could be centuries till someone gets the idea to summon a Redguard instead of a Dremora and that’s if I’m lucky! So what am I going to do in the meantime, twiddle my thumbs?” I called out.

,,This concept of rush is unusual and intriguing to observe in an immortal being. If you are truly in such a hurry, perhaps you could request an audience with a fellow lord, one who is more regularly summoned. It is not impossible for someone to follow another to Nirn. Travel to the planes of other lords is also restricted, yet less severely. In fact, most lords hold an oath of non-interference as sufficient to allow free passage through their world. If you so wish, I shall take you to the lord of your choice.” The orb offered. I grinned as the perfect choice came to my mind.

,,Ok, thanks. I’ll take the offer. Can you open a portal to Azura?” I requested.
,,If given your permission.” The orb replied. I realized that it was probably similar to how I’d formed the air. I would simply have to ‘tell’ this place that the orb was a friend who was free to open a portal. I did so and a big black gap of nothing appeared between us.
,,Follow me, lord. I shall take you to Azura.” I looked around me for one last time before flying through the portal. Who knew how long it would be till I returned here, if ever.

Ooo, this is an interesting twist. But I guess when you got a bit of Akatosh in ya, you're allowed to have your own plane when you appear to be "defeated".

Should be fun to see how he and Azura interact. Let's hope it doesn't come to blows this time!

Aye.

Demi-gods, go figure. Lol, Luper better not take long, otherwise Almalexia might get to kill Vivec before he can save the land.

Well, I needed something for later on and a plane where Luper is literally God just happens to be the best plottool I could think off. (admit it, few can beat this one.)

And saving the land? Funny enough, now that I think of it. Luper has never actually saved the land. He has up to this point simply been Azura's playtoy that would bring her revenge down on Dagoth Ur and all. If he wasn't around, she would simply bombard someone else to Nerevarine. The fact that Dagoth Ur would eventually conquer everything didn't matter.

Anyway, time for the update. Lup meets Azura. He's matured a bit, but not much.


The portal led to a walkway of pure silver, suspended above a sparkling city of the same stuff. I looked around in bewilderment. Waterfalls, butterflies, flowers. Was this really Azura’s domain? It was definitely not what I’d imagined. More like the opposite in fact. But then again, my view of Azura was coloured by the events of my life and all. I knew her as manipulative, cold and cruel to boot. Oh, and completely self-centered. The glass orb bade me farewell and floated off to the city below. I ventured onward along the walkway. A green and red mass of vines and roses loomed at the end, just a short walk away. Azura living in a palace of roses? Crazy.

When I reached it, I couldn’t control my curiosity and plucked one of the sweet scented flowers from the wall. A grin broke through the glum expression when I examined it a bit closer.
,,Thorns. That’s more like the Azura I know.” I chuckled and threw the flower away. I moved up to what looked most like a gate and peered between the thick foliage. Two unblinking eyes gazed back.

,,You, mortal. Why did you invade upon Azura’s domain? How did you invade? Do you realize the punishment that awaits you? Only those of her kin are allowed here. You should have remained on Nirn.” The creature asked in an icy tone. I simply frowned and shrugged. Then I held up five fingers in the Daedra’s view.
,,Now, not so pretty lady. There are several incorrect assumptions you make. One, I’m not a mortal. Two, I am not invading anything, just passing through. Three, a friend was so kind to open a portal for me. Four, said portal came from my own domain, not Nirn. And finally, I don’t give a bloody damn about whatever punishment you’ve got in store for me. If you want to punish, bring it on. But you’d better think twice before challenging an Aedra, sis.” I replied in the same tone.

The Winged Twilight, that’s what it was, laughed.
,,You, an Aedra? Whoever you are, you sure know how to bluff, mortal. Very well then, what is your name and what are your titles, oh great lord?” She asked me sarcastically yet playful. Well, at least I managed to break the ice, somehow.
,,Luper Alkad, Arch-mage of Vvardenfell, Arch-magister of House Telvanni, Hortator of the Houses Telvanni, Redoran and Hlaalu. Nerevarine of the four Ashlander tribes, slayer of Dagoth Ur, incarnation of Akatosh and to top it all, self-proclaimed swordmaster.” I counted. To my surprise, the plants separated to reveal an opening.
,,I see. Forgive me for my insolence. You have been expected, Luper Alkad. Just follow this corridor. It shall lead you directly to Azura.” The Winged Twilight spoke reverently. Geez, going from hated and mistrusted mortal to funny mortal and then to most honoured guest in less than five minutes? Wow, impressive.

The moment I set foot upon the floor of roots, the floor itself began to move, carrying me with it. I folded my arms across my chest and managed to regain a stern expression on my face.
,,Now this is just plain showing off.” I commented, yet still slightly amused. The wandering roots eventually came to a cavernous chamber which was completely empty except for one thing. Azura. She was as large as the statue of her shrine on the eastern coast of Vvardenfell, and dressed in a deep blue gown. Ash-coloured skin, crimson eyes. The resemblance with the Dark Elves was remarkable, or perhaps not. More than one source claimed that it was Azura who crafted the current appearance of the Dark Elves.

,,Hi, Azura.” I called across the distance, simply so I could annoy her by speaking first. She didn’t move a single muscle and looked completely emotionless though.
,,Good evening, my son.” She replied simply. Instantly, anger flared up from deep within my soul. With one single word, she’d managed to evaporate all of my self-control.
,,Don’t you dare call me that! My mother is an Alkad, my father is an Alkad. You, you are just a manipulative witch who killed them just so you could use me as your pawn in the whole Dagoth Ur scenario!” I shouted. My right hand clenched into a tight fist as it gripped empty air. It had moved to the place where Chrysamere’s hilt used to be. I corrected the motion by drawing my saber till a fingerwidth of the blade showed outside its sheath.

Now, Azura cast a neutral smile.
,,Are you going to draw that sword, Luper? Are you going to attack me again? I’d hate to see that you haven’t learned your lesson from last time you tried.” She said, still with that damn calm voice. I was still fuming but my sword remained where it was, half-drawn. Last time we met I’d tried to punch her in the face and actually managed to hit my target. But my blow lacked any effect and the Daedric Prince showed the gap between us power-wise by breaking nearly all my bones without even moving. Aggression wouldn’t take me anywhere. And even if the impossible happened, then what? She definitely wouldn’t help me return to Nirn after I whacked her. And then there was Revan.

,,Now that I’m here, you’ll tell me why you sent Revan after me, why you took me from Nirn.” I demanded without any useless diplomacy. Azura’s smile widened slightly.
,,You would order your mother?” She asked me in return.
,,Don’t call yourself that!” Great, I began to lose it again.
,,There are many reasons for what I did, Luper. Yet most of them are as of yet beyond your capability to understand. After all, by mortal years you haven’t even made thirty. Most mer would consider you a mere child even. Most Daedra would consider you even less than that. I shall give you the easiest to understand. Power and responsibility.”

With a loud hiss, I pushed the saber back into its sheath.
,,Power and responsibility? What does this mean?” I asked warily. Rarely, I mean never, had I liked her answers.
,,You are the incarnation of Akatosh and that makes you one of us, an immortal. While fighting Dagoth Ur, your strength ascended faster than any mere mortal could ever hope to match. Even now, your power continues to rise towards unfathomable heights.” I nodded and grumbled incoherently. I had indeed gone from plain loser to hero in a rather short time.
,,And then there is a promise we made with those of Nirn. No Daedric prince nor Aedra shall ever physically come to Nirn again. Only those of low rank can, when summoned. That is how you came to the world, powerless, unformed and summoned by one of my priestesses. But now, our promise has caught up to you. When Revan was about to banish you, your power flared beyond the allowed limit and so you were cast into your realm by the power of the Dragonfires, that which protects Nirn from our meddling.”

The likely conclusion came to me before Azura could continue.
,,So I’m now too powerful to return to Nirn as long as those Dragonfires exist. Destroying them would likely bring about a full scale invasion of Daedra which would make my return more harmful than good. So what am I supposed to do now, twiddle my thumbs for eternity? I think I asked the same question earlier today.” I interrupted. An hourglass rose up through the floor before my feet.
,,Time is a fickle thing, one of those few forces I cannot control. Yet your father, Akatosh, can. To return to Nirn is in all of our interests, for that is where your responsibility lies. But to return, the Dragonfires must not be allowed to block your path. To pass them, you must return to a point in time where they do not yet exist.” Azura pointed at the hourglass as she continued her speech.
,,I get it. So I’ll travel back in time with that thing, go to Nirn and then use my lack of aging to survive till I’m back at the proper timepoint. But that won’t work. When the Dragonfires are born, made, whatever, I’ll simply be cast back and we’ll be back where we started.” I interrupted again.

,,Only if you fail to convince the mortals of your required presence in the world. There is a possibility for an exception to be made, an exception that allows you full passage on Nirn and Oblivion. Find that exception and utilize it. Claim your destiny, Nerevarine.” Azura fell silent and waited for me to do something, like a statue. I stared long and hard at the hourglass but in the end, I concluded that whatever she was plotting, I was going to play my part whether I liked it or not.
,,And just when I thought I was rid of you.” I complained as I bent to pick it up. The last words before the world swirled into nothingness chilled me to the bone.
,,You’ll never be rid of me, not even if you return to the birth of everything.”

Ooooo, this is an interesting twist. Looks like we won't be re-visiting Mournhold for awile. With the gods, anything is plausible!

As usual, I love it when Luper acts like his arrogant self. Wonderful dialog between him and the Winged Twilight. I look forward to seeing how Luper reacts to the past....

The (at times) obnoxious ways of our hero really make the story rock.

Hmm: so now he'll be way back in time. Hey, let's change history. let's cause the locals to never believe in Azura, thus diminishing her power? That would be a nasty twist.

Hey, or have Dagoth Ur never come to power to begin with?

Maybe putting in a time traveling Aedra might just make the plot a tad *too* open? Maybe our hero just became too uber?

Now now, Blockie. Remember what Azura said? Power and responsibility. I'll keep him under control, though I can already tell that the lore will be adapted quite a bit.




The whole timewarp episode swept by without any conscious registration on my part. It could have taken a second, it could have taken a thousand years. To me, it all felt the same, too short to notice. At what I assumed to be the end of my trip, I found myself standing on a grassy hill, close to a farm. A lone High Elf stood behind a plow drawn by a Guar. The ground looked like a mess though, so unlike the hill I was standing on myself. It was cracked, filled with rocks. Man and beast struggled as they pushed the plow in a jagged line. I felt that whatever he would seed, its harvest would be barely enough to survive.

I scratched the back of my head. Why would anyone take that as his land when a perfectly fertile hilltop was a stone’s throw away? Also, why would the farmer be a High Elf? I thought the goldskinned definitions of arrogance considered themselves too high and mighty for that kind of stuff. I hesitantly made a step towards the farm but stopped when my boots clunked on smooth rock rather than grass. I looked down and saw, much to my amusement, that I was standing on top of an altar.
,,Well, that explains why no one puts his farm up here. Sacred ground and all that stuff.”

I jumped off the altar and walked towards the man and his Guar. As soon as I was in shouting distance I called out to him.
,,Hey, you there! Can I talk to you for a while?” I shouted. The High Elf looked up at me and his hand reached for a small axe hanging at his belt. A High Elf with an axe? What happened to their love of standing back and making people explode? I raised my hands in the universal gesture of goodwill.
,,Geez, calm down fella. I’m not here to hurt you. Say, you tell me where I am and I’ll help you plow. How about that? I’m stronger than I look.” I said.

The axe turned out not to be meant for me. Instead, he cut the lines tying his Guar to the plow after which he ran off with his beast in a frantic panic. Again I scratched the back of my head in utter confusion.
,,What in the? Wait, don’t tell me. There’s a big beast standing right behind me, isn’t there?” I mumbled, spinning around and drawing my sword at the same time. The only thing behind me was the altar. With more force than was strictly necessary, I sheathed the blade.
,,Hey, come back here! I’m not that scary! Or did I grow horns all of a sudden?!” I shouthed at the two figures far away. Just to make sure, I ran a hand through my hair. No horns. With a resigned shrug, I walked to the farm and then followed a muddy path which had to lead somewhere.

Ten minutes later, I came to wonder if he even knew what I’d said. I spoke third era Cyrodiilic. But Azura had said that big high and mighty Daedra like her couldn’t reach Nirn in my time. I hadn’t heard of any succesfull Daedric prince summonings either during the history lessons at the Mage guild. Nerevar summoned Azura for council regularly according to some stories, but he was a man from the first era. So I reasoned that I was now either at the first or the second era. Heck, perhaps even the zeroth era, if that was even possible. What if modern Cyrodiilic was too different from the current language to be understood?

I thought on the subject some more. Cyrodiilic was a bit of a mess, but mostly inspired by ancient Nord languages and Aldmeris, I think. Linguistic history is not exactly my strongest point. I put the subject away for the moment. I would simply try again next time I met something sentient.

Next time was roughly four hours later. The first sign of people was some heavy shouting punctuated by the clash of steel. I sighed as I realized the kind of situation I’d walked into. No matter what year it was, there would always be people trying to kill other people. I broke into a jog so I could approach the tangled group faster.

What I saw made my heart skip a beat. A High Elf woman stood with her back pressed against a tree, while a man of the same race fended off the assault of three Redguards with a simple wooden staff with steel tips more suited as a walking aid than for combat. Or at least, he tried to fend them off. Already he was bleeding from over a dozen wounds. Their nature confirmed what I could already see simply from the swordsmen’s movements. They were playing with him, like a Nix-Hound with a Scrib. I had seen scenes like this before. But never were the culprits Redguards. It went against our honour. Just why would they disgrace themselves by hounding a defenceless couple of elderly people? And again the apparent refusal to simply blast them to kingdom come amazed me. I mean, aren’t pyrotechnics the High Elf’s specialty?

My jog sped up into a sprint. I came closer, close enough to hear the words of my kin. They spoke something that felt similar to a Hammerfellian dialect. An older version perhaps? I also noticed that they all wore the same clothing, as if it was some kind of uniform. A chainmail shirt, brown pants with leather boots. A red sash. I was now close enough to call to them and be heard over the clanging of steel.
,,Hey, what’s going on here?!” I shouted, using the modern version of their language. With a bit of luck, at least the Redguards would comprehend me.

One of them broke off, the other two continued their game. I relaxed a bit. The guy who stopped behaved with the air of a leader. They wouldn’t dare to kill the old man out of fear of robbing him of his pleasures.
,,Ah, friend. It is as simple as you see. We are fighting the point-ears, as our contract says.” He spoke, spitting on the dirt at his feet. He had a dark stubble lining his cheeks and enough wrinkles to be considered thirty. I skidded to a halt two steps away. I’d just ran a threehundred metre sprint, but I was as fresh as if I’d walked that distance. From his words, I could make out he’d been able to understand my words.
,,What contract?” I asked bluntly.

,,Why, the contract with the Empire of course. This land, Resdayn. It shall be ours from that tree till the creek over there. As soon as the war ends and this land has been conquered for the Emperor. Where are you from? I don’t know your dialect. Learn some manners, you’re talking to a captain. What’s your name, kid?” The man replied and spat again, this time hitting the tip of my left boot. I deliberately ignored his attempt to anger me, even though I was becoming more annoyed by the second.
,,Morrowind. And my name is Luper Alkad. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?” I answered, still in the same blunt tone.

Now his sword went up into the air.
,,I said, learn some manners! I’m a captain in the Imperial legions!” He hollered.
,,If you don’t learn some manners, my men and I will gut you! We’re the best swordfighters in the land!” He added and then fell silent. I’d reached for the hilt of my own sword at his movement. He gestured with his free hand and the other two Redguards stopped their game to stand at their master’s side. The High Elven couple backed away, the man supported by the woman.
,,I see, you’re with them! You’re a spy for the pointears. No wonder you don’t have any respect!”

I looked at the three for a moment and then my hand dropped back to my side, leaving the Ebony saber in its sheath. The Redguards took this as their cue to laugh and spit at my feet in unison.
,,Ha, coward! You don’t dare to draw your sword and fight us? You lack the bravery to face death? Fine then, run! We’ll cut you down from behind, as befits a coward!” The leader taunted. I let out an extremely bored sigh.
,,As befits a honourless bully, you can’t back up your words with deeds. I haven’t fought Redguards in a while. Bad news, eh?” I then quipped, which caused more laughter and more shoespitting. Oh, they’d better clean up my boots later.
,,Yes, you don’t hold the skills to fight us with your sword! That’s why you haven’t drawn. You’re begging for mercy.”

I smirked, which took away some of their false courage.
,,Bad news for you. You see, lately I’ve only been fighting immortal gods, demons, untouchable assassins and elite of the elite bodyguards of gods. And I’ve been defeating each and every one of them. Simply put, you’re so far below my skills, any attempt at swordplay is an utter waste of my time.” I gloated and promptly used a trio of firelances to melt down their swords to three steaming puddles. The smirk vanished and my sword flew from its sheath faster than they could blink.
,,And this is how I deal with those who taint Redguard honour.” I snarled, disembowelling them all in a single stroke. I left them there on the ground, bleeding their lives away.

I scraped the spit off my shoes against a nearby rock. I refused to touch them in any way. I then turned to the two High Elves. The men pulled himself free from his wife’s grasp, I think they were married. He raised his quivering staff against me.
,,I’ll not let you lay a finger on my wife as long as I life.” He said. Bingo, married. I was however surprised to hear him speak in the exact same language as the Redguards. I took a better look at him as I resheathed my sword. A simple robe, a pouch with a sheet of paper dangling out, a quill tied to the side of his hat, several vials of ink tied to his belt. A scholar of languages? Why not?

,,Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” I vowed. I then remembered the allegiance the dying scum had claimed.
,,In fact, I’m not even involved with the Empire. Look, let me demonstrate where I stand.” I added and cast a simple healing spell on him which took care of those cuts in a moment. Too bad I couldn’t sew his robe the same way.

A bit of resentment for the Altmer?

I wonder ... to what god is this altar dedicated?



LOL! Priceless!

Mmm more Luper-y goodness. Keep it up!

You are a splendid storyteller. I finally read through all of "Oasis" and now caught up with "Oasis 2" (only halfway through "Agent").

1) You have a refreshing take on the Morrowind quests and a witty style that made me laugh out loud or just smile numerous times.
2) Luper Alkad has such an original personality that you won't confuse him with anyone else. I'm happy that you've decided to continue Luper Alkad's story since he's my favourite of your characters so far.
3) You describe your action scenes really well, and you slowly evolved Alkad into a "fighting machine".
4) Reading Alkad's thoughts and opinions made his decisions and actions understandable, which is nice for the reader.
5) It's quite impressive that you are able to keep so many different characters, plotlines and stories going at the same time. (I saw that you're the author behind some more stories as well.)
6) You have two rather different ways of telling a story in "Oasis" and "Agent". I think it's good to experiment and try out new writing styles.

It's fun to see you weaving two main characters in the same story, and I definitely enjoyed reading about their Mournhold adventures. But then Alkad's in another plane and speaking with Azura? This is something of a major plot twist.

And yes, Altmers do seem to have a bad rep in TES. Mankar Camoran isn't exactly helping.

Thanks for the compliments. Be warned though, this update can be a bit chaotic, what with all the lore being thrown into a blender.





The man instantly brought his staff into a position where he could lean on it. That still didn’t change the way he looked at me though.
,,Why did you do that?” He asked in a deliberately neutral tone. No gestures or pointing fingers were needed. I knew he was referring to the little scuffle I had with those Redguards.
,,They attacked you. I don’t tolerate people who try to kill those who cannot defend themselves.” I replied evenly. The man’s answer was rather odd.
,,Then do you tolerate yourself?”

He didn’t wait for me to say anything before he pressed on.
,,They are unarmed and untrained in the art of the mind. Yet still you struck them down without any hesitation and there they lie now, bleeding to a tortuous death. So I repeat, do you tolerate yourself?” Unarmed, and I struck them down. I told myself they were evil, but was there really any difference? Dagoth Ur, was he evil? Most people would say so but from his point of view, he was on the side of good, no matter how twisted it might seem. I killed Dagoth Ur, but why? Simply because a false god and a true goddess had told me to do it, which instantly made me seem less like a hero or good person. The time of killing had come to an end, yet I did not stop. I killed because I didn’t know better and justified it somehow. They killed because they didn’t know better and justified it themselves. Was I really any less evil than they were?

To put it more simply, I didn’t tolerate them because they attacked a man who couldn’t defend himself or his wife. And what did I do? I destroyed their swords so they couldn’t defend themselves and then struck them down. Like cattle. How was I any different?

Without a word, I turned and emptied my Magicka reserves into the three Redguards. Entrails crawled back to where they should be and the wounds healed, leaving only three clean scars as a reminder. Their mouths hung open in dazed confusion.
,,Go, before I change my mind.” Was all I said to them. A cloud of kicked up dust at the horizon was the last thing I saw of them. I then turned back to the Elf.
,,I guess I don’t tolerate myself. Just tell me what year it is and where I am. I’ll leave you alone after then.”

The High Elf muttered something to himself which was probably along the lines of ‘why doesn’t he know what year it is’.
,,The year is 2920, and you are just west of Mournhold, home to the Tribunal, praise Their names, ALMNEVI.” At the mention of the tribunal, his eyes shone with devotion. I noticed but was more hooked up in the details. 2920, I was sure I’d read that date on the cover of a book. Wasn’t it the one where an Akaviri became emperor of Cyrodiil or something? And what about ALMNEVI, wasn’t it supposed to be ALMSIVI?
,,Sorry for busting a promise about going away within the first ten seconds, but what does ALMNEVI stand for?” I asked the scholar.
,,Why, the names of our gods of course. Almalexia, Nerevar and Vivec.” His wife answered for him.

I must have made a really dumb expression, for she then shook her head in pity.
,,Ah, you’re an outlander. Allow me to explain. Almalexia is our Queen-mother, who cares for the people. Vivec is the great poet and scholar, as well as my husband’s patron deity. Nerevar, He leads our warriors into battle. If you ever see a man in golden armour, wielding a sword of fire, run. No one has ever stood against Him and been victorious or even survived.” She then added, which in turn told me nothing I didn’t know already except for two very critical facts.

One, Nerevar had not died at Red Mountain but was very alive. Two, Vivec would later add Nerevar’s role to his own after the Tribunal betrayed him. But, Nerevar was one of the Tribunal? It so completely turned history upside down, I had no footing left to compensate. I mumbled an indistinct farewell and then took off, heading east. I had only one foothold left. The Tribunal betrayed Nerevar. How, and when, that was what I had to find out somehow. If Nerevar was alive, then what was Sotha Sil’s role, and what was Dagoth Ur’s? I would have to find out, somehow.

I skidded to a halt as another thought struck me. I had been created to replace Nerevar. But if Nerevar lived, there would be no need for me. I would never exist? If he lived, would this mean I would just poof into nothingness? I shook my head to clear the mental fog.
,,I’m Telvanni! Temporal paradoxes be damned! It’s not as if my youth was so good. If I’m never born, my folks won’t have to die at the Empire’s corrupt justice! I’ll just warn Nerevar about the betrayal and see how history pans out. In the meantime, I have to find this dragonfire meeting.” I began to argue with myself.
,,Think, where could Nerevar be? He was, or rather, is Almalexia’s boyfriend. He’s also at the head of the armies. Almalexia has a big palace in Mournhold in the third era. So if anyone knows where to find him, it’s her and she’s probably in Mournhold. Not to mention the scholars who can bring me up to speed about the current procedures for Daedra summoning. Ok, plan made. Time to get moving.”

Ooo, this is an interesting turn of events. Nerevar lives yet Sotha Sil is withdrawn from the Tribunal... I wonder if that means that Sotha is now the betrayed one...

I look forward to seeing how this unfolds.

The hero likened to the villains? That's brave of an injured man.

ALMNEVI: That was clever. Hmm, Sotha Sil as the betrayed one, like Mallet said, or Nerevar just holding the seat warm for him in a coming plot twist...

Maybe our hero has been thrown into an alternate universe?

I still wonder about the altar he materialized on. I'm guessing that since he is akatosh, it must be an altar to him. On the other hand, it could be one to Azura, as she is the one who sent him there?

Then, maybe I am reading too much into this but I get the impression that the altmer recognized our hero ... perhaps as akatosh?

Sorry, Blockhead. You're seeing to much in the altar. I just needed a reason for Luper not to appear in the middle of a city filled with people.

And ALMNEVI is very important to this 'sidequest' indeed.




I’d completely forgotten about the war going on. The guards at the gates of Mournhold were more than eager to remind me however.
,,Redguard! Surrender immediately!” The one on my left shouted while the one on the right moved to flank me. A few dozen archers on the walls readied their bows. Two swordsmen and forty-something archers against one person? Wasn’t that overkill? Overkill if done against a normal Redguard, I mean. As it was, none of it managed to really intimidate me.
,,Isn’t it a bit early to talk about surrendering? I haven’t even drawn a sword.” I called back.

,,Don’t try to use diplomacy on me, man. I know your kind.” The guard who’d spoken first replied. I decided he was a captain of sorts, based on the red scarf he wore around his neck. Another pair of guards ran out of a small watchbuilding to join the two and finish the encirclement. Whether he liked diplomacy or not, I was going to try. It would be much easier to get an audience with Almalexia if I didn’t smear her city red with the blood of her soldiers. And since this was the past, I decided not to use my own name. That way, if I screwed up and left a goddess with a grudge, at least she wouldn’t come after Luper Alkad in the third era.
,,I doubt you know anything about my kind. Allow me to introduce myself. I am…Caius Cosades, A pilgrim from….I doubt it matters. Anyway, a small village located off the coast of Summerset.”

Four swords kept pointing at me.
,,Anyone can bring up a fancy story. Now unbuckle your swordbelt and kick it across the ground towards me. Don’t do any fancy moves, or you’ll regret it!” The captain snarled. I sighed. Talk about stubborn. I could say anything I want and it would just fuel his paranoia.
,,I’m only here to pay tribute to ALMNEVI. I have no intention whatsoever of kicking you straight over the wall and into Almalexia’s thrice-blessed toilet.” I shut up and gave myself a mental kick to the head. Great, I’d done it again. I’d let myself get carried away in my anger and had turned my brilliant diplomatic manoeuvre into the biggest insult I could make.
,,What did you say?! Men! A…..”

The time for talking had come to an end. Only bloodshed could solve this now. Only bloodshed…..or a spell which suddenly popped to the forefront of my mind. It was a spell that manipulated a person’s mind. Felissa had taught a simple version of it to me so I could keep my nonexistent slaves under control. I took that crude matrix and crafted into a larger form that took hold of all four swordwielders simultaneously. I couldn’t reach the archers up on the wall, but they were out of earshot anyway.
,,Sheathe your blades!” I ordered.

All four did as I told and I couldn’t hold back a smirk.
,,Now, good captain. What is needed for me to be allowed to enter your city without encountering any problems from your colleagues on the streets?” I asked as I nearly burst into maniacal laughter.
,,Normal protocol requires you to give up any tools of war for the duration of your stay. I can however sign some papers that will give you permission to go wherever you please, while maintaining procession of your items.” The man, yet another High Elf, answered. We then walked to the watchbuilding, flanked by his companions. A quick gesture at the walls made all the arrows vanish. Good.

Strange, I had only seen High Elves today, excluding those three Redguards. Of course, now I realized. Azura had punished a golden-skinned race called the Chimer. The punishment had occurred directly after the battle at Red Mountain. But if Nerevar was still alive now, then that punishment could have been postponed as well. It would also explain the lack of Destruction.

Several hours later, and many important looking documents richer, I finally entered Mournhold. I still carried the Ebony saber, I still wore my armour, I now had a lovely green scarf with the sign of ALMNEVI woven into its fabric, identifying me as a follower of ALMNEVI, and best of all, I hadn’t hurt anyone.

Ahhh, the resourcefulness of magic! Luper seems to be taking his revelations to heart about his violent ways. Good to see some change.

Caius Cosades?

Controlling four minds simultaneously is an impressive feat; yes, the mind is sometimes stronger than the sword.

Lol, yeah. There are two ways to look at it.
In-story: Luper remembered how utterly devastated he was the first and second time he killed someone. He now realizes that using violence without thinking about the consequences puts him at risk for turning into a monster.
Out of story: I figured I had to put further limits on Lup. If he was allowed to continue his ways, he would godmode through every guard and Chimer that even looked at him funny. It would be a senseless bloodbath.

And Caius Cosades was a coincidence. I was looking for a good name to use and that one just popped up. Hey, it works and it sounds Luperish to boot. It's perfect.

And now we stop my babbling and go on with the update.




My plans were simple, but their execution wasn’t. All I needed to do was to meet Almalexia, make her tell me where Nerevar was, then hike over to him and convince him that his gal is shacking up with Vivec and that they’re planning to kill him. Simple, but how to actually do it? I’d already decided to get face-to-face with the goddess without decimating her entire city full with fanatic worshippers. This however, brought a new problem to the foreground. I remembered that it had been awfully hard to get to Vivec. I had to disguise myself as an Ordinator first for that. No Ordinators here however, and gold-coloured skin is a lot harder to duplicate than ash-coloured skin. Not to mention more expensive. There was simply no chance whatsoever that they would permit a stranger, who was a member of a hostile race, to meet their queen. Then how should I continue?

The war, that was the key. One of the quickest ways to achieve the full trust of someone high up, was by turning spy. Was I willing to betray my own people? I thought about it and then shrugged. It didn’t matter anyway. As far as I was concerned, there was no such thing as ‘my people’. Only friends, neutrals and enemies. None of my friends had even been born yet, so I could scratch that part from my list. That left my loyalties completely free to do whatever I wished. Alright, spy it would be. It would be hard perhaps, but I would manage somehow. Now I suddenly felt myself wishing that I’d actually done some real spy-work while under good old Skooma-head’s wing. Caius had been a nice spymaster, for an Imperial Blade, who knew how to handle me. But as a result, I’d only done some public questioning on subjects any tourist would likely bring up. And after he left, I’d been anything but subtle while going about my business. Nope, I wasn’t much of a spy, despite my semi-official title as one.

The skyline of Mournhold was dominated by two buildings. One had many intricate spires and banners emblazoned with ALMNEVI. This was the temple and palace of Almalexia. The other was darker, less elegant. I figured that this was the castle. To get to Almalexia, I could go there and get the ear of the current ruler. I made my choice and strutted towards the castle. It was no surprise that the guards at the gates tried to stop me. Believer or not, I was still a Redguard and no one had great love for that detail. Not now anyway. Not later either.

,,Halt! State your business, man!” Again it was a man with a red scarf who was in charge here. I slipped into a short silence as I figured out how to reply. Blurting out more insults didn’t seem like a funny thing to do. If I had to resort to mindgripping everyone I came across, I would go nuts.
,,Business, you ask? Well, I am sure you can ask your lord all about my business and he might even tell you. But are you willing to lose your tongue?” I said slyly with what looked like an all-knowing grin. The captain stiffened visibly.
,,I asked for your intentions. If you don’t answer me, you will see the power of Mournhold’s guard. Even you dark-skinned demons fear us.” He boasted, very agitated. I flicked a finger in the rough direction of the west.
,,Perhaps some of my less-skilled kin fear you. Perhaps. But know this, my good captain. Battles aren’t only fought by muscle and steel, especially if the muscle is somewhat lacking.” I told him, then moved that same finger to tap my forehead.
,,Know what I mean?” I asked, demonstratively moving to pass him even before he had answered.
,,I see. Pass. You have our silence.” He conceded with an utter show of disgust. Ah well, no one likes a spy, not even those who hire them. Trust? Yes, if proven. Like? Never.

Inside, I was met with looks of disdain all over. The Chimer might not look like it in colour, in spirit they were Dunmer through and through. I was surprised no one called me an outlander. It was also somewhat surprising that no one tried to stop me. Apparently they put great trust in the guards at the gates. Misplaced trust. No one worth his salt should have caved in that quick. What if I wasn’t a spy? He would be the laughingstock of the century. Wait a minute, I wasn’t, I was only pretending to be one! I had to bite down on my tongue to keep from laughing and fall out of my role.

The only ones who came even close to slowing me down were the guards standing at each side of the doors leading to the throneroom. They didn’t speak or make any overly obvious gestures, apart from the halberds crossed before me. They only glanced at my sword which got the point across. With a sigh of resignation, I unbuckled the swordbelt and put it in a basket. I could understand the need to keep swords away from their lord, but it still got on my nerves. The halberds rose.
,,Don’t lose it, fellas. Last time I came here, it got stolen and boy, was I pissed!” I quipped. The joking tone was only to take the sting out of my words. I was completely serious at this point. Though I had to give them points for how they carried themselves. Professional, yet not downright rude like Helseth’s thieving captain. Man, it made me realize how far their successors would fall.

The throneroom was large, lit by torches and sparsely decorated. The eyecatcher was the throne at the far end of the hall. To get there, I had to pass between two lines of guards. The result was nice and intimidating, for a peasant. As I strode up towards the throne, for once I refused to let my eyes wander. It would be taken as a sign of weakness, of being unable to bear the sight of the guy on the throne. Speaking of that guy, I wasn’t sure what to think of him. All rulers I’d met so far had been wearing full armour, with the exception of any Telvanni, who were mages anyway. This one didn’t, instead opting for a comfortable and horribly expensive robe bespeckled with gemstones. He looked like a weakling compared to the likes of Dren and Sarethi. I began to count the stones and came to the conclusion that together they weighed as much as a decent suit of armour, as well as offering reasonable protection to light weapons. Perhaps not so much of a weakling.

Again a pair of halberds were lowered once I came close enough to the throne. I took this as my cue to keep standing. The lord looked at me and I looked back. After a few moments, he lost the staring contest and had to look away. As he did so, I could see the confusion upon his face. He wasn’t used to meeting people who weren’t in awe of him. Score one for the Redguard without a sword.

,,And what would bring you here, man?” He asked me in a dignified tone. This time, he kept his eyes levelled at my chest. While covered by a brownish fabric, the Lord’s Mail shone through the tattered threads. I made a mental note to do some sewing later. I’d learned that being a shining beacon is rarely healthy, especially on a battlefield and the like. It was one reason why generals in their shiny and overdecorated armour always stuck behind the lines. If they moved to the front, they would be cut down in moments.
,,Caius Cosades, serving under captain Lenos, milord.” I replied and snapped a salute which made me feel rather silly. Saluting people was so not me. People saluting me was more common, in the third era.
,,That is late captain Lenos. He unfortunately died during an ambush at he Argonian border.” I added.

The lord turned to the advisor standing to his left. I hadn’t noticed that Chimer yet, standing there in the shadows.
,,Is what he says true?” He asked at a loud enough tone to make me hear it. I swore inwardly. If that advisor had ridiculous knowledge on every detail of the Chimeri army, I was screwed. If he hadn’t and brought someone in who did, I was screwed. If he did neither of those, I had to keep bluffing and hope it worked out, or I was screwed. If I was screwed, they would likely order me arrested or executed. Sword or not, either arrest or execution would lead to a slaughter. Their slaughter.

Fortunately, the advisor gave an apologetic shake of the head.
,,I do not know a captain Lenos, sire. However, our detachment near Argonia has indeed been wiped out recently. There were no survivors. Perhaps he works for the enemy, although Lenos sounds Chimeri to me.” He said. Whew, actual facts backing up a lie. That was insane. The lord turned back to me.
,,You served captain Lenos. How exactly?” He inquired. This bit was easy. I’d studied it for five minutes now.
,,Intelligence.” Yeah, that was one word and it took me five minutes. But it is all about the tone. Too fast, and it is obvious it was a deliberately studied response. Too slow, and it would sound made up.

,,A spy.” It wasn’t a question, more like a confirmation. The lord let his eyes wander slowly. I resisted the urge to move and scratch my nose.
,,You don’t look like a spy. Heavy armour, a sword deposited at the entrance and you walk into my throneroom just like that. What is there to prove that you are one, and one good enough for my needs at that? Obviously you are here to be hired.” The man jumped to conclusions rather fast, but he was mostly right.
,,If I looked like a spy, I wouldn’t be one. Besides, how do you really prefer to meet me? Here, surrounded by your trusted men, or finding me standing beside your bed in the middle of the night?” I answered.

,,True, very true. I see. You are a traitor of your own kin. Tragic, very tragic. Still, I have need of one like you. Alright, I believe I can hire you.” He mumbled. I frowned, one motion that got past my guard. I didn’t correct it. My slip went unnoticed that way. But still, he went overboard too fast, just like the guard at the gate. Were the people here really that meek, or was there more to it? Maybe they were just too damn used to having gods make all the important decisions for them?
,,But what if you are a counter-spy? I must verify so I will send you out on a simple mission.” He continued and snapped his fingers. A test of loyalty, that was more like it. I’d been doing those kind of things dozens of times. Now however, I began to see why people had always insisted on giving me these things.

A page passed a scroll into my hands.
,,A permissal to remain at the Dancing Guar tavern at no cost. Go there, ask for room three and wait for further instructions which will come later tonight. Till then, you may go and prepare yourself with the supplies available in this city. The scroll also includes an letter which provides you a budget of a hundred mountains to fund your needs. Now go, I am a busy man.” I turned away instantly and walked back at a casual pace. At first my mind went over the word mountains, but then I decided it was simply the local currency. Obviously, without Septims on the throne having the Septim as currency would be a bit weird. I wondered if a hundred mountains would be a lot or spare change. I settled on spare change. At the door, I picked up my sword again and left the castle. First up on the list was the sewing. I had to repair a few things. But Velas’ cloak would remain how it was. A torn cloak was less suspicious during a war than one that looked new and fresh.

Great description of Luper's musings regarding how to gain entry to the Chimer lord. The detail with the tattered robe was realistic, considering Luper's numerous travels it must have endured quite a lot.

Looking forward to an explanation of the "mountains". Good thinking not to call it Septims.

Goody goody! Luper acting all sneaky is he now? I wonder how long this will last?

With Luper behind the steering wheel? Not long.

And for the mountains, I was rather pushed at trying to come up with a suitable coinage. In the end I picked Red Mountain. It's probably as good a symbol as any.




While the Chimer had been less than friendly and cooperative, I managed in the end to gain all the items on my list. And so it was with a mixture of satisfaction and anger that I walked into the Dancing Guar. The moment the door had swung closed behind me, all conversations hushed. I grimaced behind the green scarf and made my way to the tap without looking left or right. Damn racists. Lack of pointy ears didn’t gave them the right to be so hostile. The man at the counter looked up at me, then returned to cleaning mugs without a word. I waited for two minutes without making a sound. In those two minutes, he glanced at me five times before his eyes shot away again.

,,Ya know, I’m not leaving.” I casually remarked at the end of the third minute, having drawn my scarf down.
,,Go away. We don’t serve your kind here.” The barkeep hissed back, finally acknowledging my existence. I wondered if I was supposed to pull out the lord’s letter and wave it around in front of his nose. I had already begun to move a hand towards the parchment tucked behind my belt. Right then, a chair scraped over the floor as it was moved. I froze my movements and let out a slow sigh. I should have expected it.

,,What kind? Why won’t you give me a drink?” I asked while pretending I hadn’t heard a thing, not even the heavy footsteps drawing closer. I had to be practically deaf to not notice a thing.
,,Because I don’t want any filth to touch my mugs. That, and because you’re bothering the customers.” The Barkeep replied with gratuitous amounts of venom within his voice. My face was cast into a grim expression. The noise and violence these people were begging for would really not go well with the Chimer-loving spy I was playing. The barkeep misinterpreted this though and laughed me in the face.
,,Haha, what’s this? Think you can throw your muscle around here?” He asked.

,,You did realize I have a sword, right?” I answered with a quizzical frown. The footsteps stopped right behind me.
,,We realized. But a sword won’t help you against five axes.” A grunting voice said. From the direction, I took that the guy speaking was about two heads taller than me and nearly thrice as heavy. I turned around slowly and threw one of my grins at him. They’d kept pushing my buttons for too long. And as I thought, five overgrown Chimer with simple axes stood around me. They were probably the bouncers, specializing in intimidating anyone who caused trouble.

,,And who might you be? The local lumberjacks?” I asked and then darted to my right where I drove my fist into one Chimer’s stomach. With a loud oomph, the man released the air from his lungs and the grip on his axe. The amount of force I’d used was not enough to lift him of the floor and slam him against the wall at the far side of the room, which is what would have happened if I had shown my full Aedric and corprus-boosted strength. But still, it did what I’d wanted, making him take three steps back and dropping the damn axe.

I grasped the falling weapon with my left hand while drawing my sword with my right hand. Then I drove the axe into the counter till it stuck and at the same time I flung myself around and cleaved through the handles of the four remaining axes, just below the heads. Even before the four blades had loudly thunked onto the floor, I’d pressed my saber’s tip against the lead Chimer’s nose.
,,And you must have drunk so much you’re seeing double. I only see one axe, and that one is stuck into the counter.” I gloated, then became serious.
,,Alright, fellas. Listen carefully. I don’t care who you damn well think you are, but if you ever dare bother me again, I’m going to repaint the walls here in a nice shade of red. Now clear out and leave me alone.” I threatened. The five scurried away, one still clutching his stomach. Only after they’d retaken their seats did I turn back towards the barkeep.

,,Ahem, I’m a pilgrim travelling the world. You know how it goes. Walk around, do some sightseeing, scaring the crap out of the locals. Anyway, my uncle wrote me a letter and said that this place was nice if I so happened to come to Mournhold.” I said and dropped the letter on the counter.
,,So despite the trouble of just then, I figure I’m going to show how easy I forgive. So, can I have a room here? My uncle said that the view from room three is especially breathtaking.” I continued. A simple iron key was slapped down on the counter.
,,Up the stairs, second room on your left.” I followed the directions without thanking him or giving him a tip. He would have gotten one if he’d been helpful before I scared the crap out of him.

But still, it could have been worse. Yes, I had just used violence and liberal amounts of intimidation. But I could have sent those fools flying or fried them with a fireball. If I’d done either of that and word came out, the lord would have me executed. He could handle a Redguard who was pretty good with a sword, he could not handle a semi-immortal battlemage, not without calling in the help of his precious Tribunal.
,,Geez, I so hope my first job doesn’t involve talking to Chimer and look for traitors within his own ranks.”

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, OK!




LOL. Oh, I do love these lines.

I can't wait to see what happens next. I have no idea!

Ahh, a classic Luper moment. I love reading those. Good stuff!

I've finally come around to reading evrything thus far. I must say, absolutely smashing work! Luper has come a long way from the Luper I used to know, who made fun of Caius Cosades and treated him with misrespect until Caius finally got angry and taught him his place. Luper has also come a long way from being the local troublemaker to being the local immortal demi-god. Quite a journey I must say.

The audience with Azura somewhat reminded of Prince of Persia when time-travelling was mentioned. If you've played Prince of Persia or just trivially heard of it, you'll know that it involves a lot of time-travelling, both as a gameplay feature and a plot point. And after finishing all three Prince of Persia games, I can say firmly that it has the best storyline of a game I've ever played, the series also being my favourite in terms of gameplay. If you want the best banter you've ever heard between two characters who don't stand each other, play Prince of Persia 3. The banter between the Prince and the Dark Prince is just great. Anyway, back to Luper.

The whole going back in time and seeing everything as being different was also a great touch, something oft used in things like movies and other games, but not used within fan fics so far. One thing I also like is Luper's personality. My Arthago is a pretty gray character imo, I mean he doesn't have that clear of a personality. If he does, it's not as clear as I'd appreciate it. Anyway, a writer will never be truly satisfied with his work.

Keep up the great work!

This is kinda funny. Luper is the only character of mine who's personality was never made. He just kinda appeared. First as a boring angry dude, and now the anger has turned into arrogance. Anyway, I'm at a total loss here. Whatever happens, I can write it no problem. The problem is, what happens?

So I'm putting this one open for suggestions. If you were the duke, who was suddenly approached by an unknown man of a hated race who claimed to be a spy of one of your dead underlings, what kind of mission would you give him to test his worth? And how would you make sure that he really did the job and not make it all up?

I've been trying to catch up with this for a while. So far, so very good! Luper Alkad is just the kind of person I love reading about. (I have to say, the comment about him first being a 'boring angry dude' is somewhy funny. Gotta read the first part of the story after catching up with this.)

Actually, I wouldn't have posted until I caught up with this, though I just HAD to give my five cents. If I was the Duke, I would give the MoaHRWCtbaSoOoYDU (AKA: Luper) two tasks - one to make him get information I'd already know from a person I know that will not give the info out easily (both to test whenever he was loyal, and if he was good at gathering info), and second, to prove he wouldn't struggle to fight if needed, perhaps pitch him into an Arena against another of his race.

Check his skills through information you already have and a second check to observe his reactions during a fight. That sounds reasonable. I'll try to fill in the details.

Just one more question. What does MoaHRWCtbaSoOoYDU mean?

MoaHRWCtbaSoOoYDU - Man of a hated race who claims to be a spy of one of your dead underlings.

Just got caught up. I have to say I've enjoyed the way you adjusted Luper's skills so that he wouldn't be impossibly overpowering. And combined it with time travel and subterfuge. Looks like this will get even better than it already is. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Great tension defusion in the bar.

And my five cents: Let Luper prove he actually did the deed by making him restore/return/bring back something the duke knows can't be faked. Doesn't have to be the head of someone... You could turn it into something Luper would loathe like learn a certain dance or sing a special song. That way Luper would also prove that he could gather information and communicate it perfectly.

I've got a great help for outlining Luper's adventures in 'TIME AND SPACE!' (Dang, I need a trademark sign here.) It's the book 2920. Good stuff even just to read. What feels weird though is that the gods are portrayed as rather weak instead of the omnipotent vision I actually got from them. (omnipotent in the propaganda, that is)




The view from room three was anything but breathtaking. The lack of a window was the biggest culprit. It did make sense though. If this was a regular rendezvous point for spies, it was best not to have anyone peek and lip-read. I raked my knuckles across the wall. Sturdy, dampens sound, hard to eavesdrop. Yup, this place was built for spies alright. I was a few hours early, so I spent the time pacing back and forth within the cramped confines. It was finally, long after my patience had worn thin, that an unsigned envelope was pushed through under my door. I slammed the door open and dove into the cramped corridor.
,,Was about damn time you….” I cut off mid-sentence and frowned. Where was the messenger? Invisibility? Maybe, though unlikely. I would have sensed its presence, even if I couldn’t deduce its exact location. Then what?

I shrugged. I wasn’t much of a spy, I’d already told myself that. Who was to say that a real spy didn’t know how to hide better than I did? What was to say he wouldn’t………cling to the ceiling, as he obviously did right now? I grinned and waved at the masked Chimer. Maybe I wasn’t such a bad spy after all. At least I managed to detect a real pro.
,,Oy, sorry I left you hanging. Anyway, could you tell the Duke to do something about what goes for hospitality here? It’s rather missing.” I told him and slammed the door closed behind me. That should teach him not to try to hide from me.

I opened the sealed envelope. If I had been expecting a long letter full of diplomatic terms for painful stuff, I would be disappointed. There was only one sentence, not even a hint towards who had written it, not even a single-letter mystery name.

Find out where the Imperial army will attack.

That was all it said. I burned the scrap of paper and sat down on the crude bed. Find out where the Imperial army will attack. Now that was helpful. I didn’t even know where to begin. I closed my eyes and began to think. How would the real Caius Cosades approach this problem?

,,So you are not the Nerevarine yet but you might become the Nerevarine? Strange, it would have been a lot easier if you got a simple yes or no. Whatever is the case, I need to find the Dissident priests. They’re not on my map, that’s for sure.” Caius commented and diverted all his attention back to the huge map he had stretched out over the floor.

A map! That was what he would do. He would take notes first of where he would attack and then apply it to an army and see where the army could actually approach before going out and checking out things in person. I had the bad luck of not owning a map that was current and no one would be willing to sell me one here. After all, I was the Outlander. But what I did have, was a map of the third era that showed quite a sizeable chunk of mainland Morrowind.

I spread it out on the floor and went to work. First, I began with the assumption that the largest settlements would already exist at this point. The smaller ones, I ignored them. Even if they did exist, their strategic value was minor. Every General I knew preferred the glory of sacking a city instead of burning a shed in the middle of nowhere.

I marked the possible cities, then moved on to my next point. Approach. Again I was forced to assume things, in this case that the landmarks hadn’t changed much since now, then. Bah, speaking with multiple time-frames is a nightmare. I went ahead and marked the possible angles of approach for a decently sized army. I ended up with nearly all of Morrowind’s eastern border.

I sighed and folded up the map. This wasn’t working. I had to find a better approach. But what? I chose to apply a Telvanni meditation to see if there was something in my memory that could give me the answer. I had used the technique before, during spell-practice and it had given me some good insights back then. Maybe it would work here as well, even though I wasn’t hunting for a particular pattern of Magicka here. My mind eased into a near slumber, with only a tiny voice remaining that probed. It probed for something, without knowing what or how. Then it quivered. It had found something.

19 First Seed, 2920
Bodrums, Morrowind
The quiet hamlet of Bodrum looked down on the meandering river, the Pryai. It was an idyllic site, lightly wooded where the water took the bend around a steep bluff to the east with a gorgeous wildflower meadow to the west. The strange flora of Morrowind met the strange flora of Cyrodiil on the border and commingled gloriously.
"There will be time to sleep when you've finished!"
The soldiers had been hearing that all morning. It was not enough that they had been marching all night, now they were chopping down trees on the bluff and damming the river so its waters spilled over. Most of them had reached the point where they were too tired to complain about being tired.
"Let me be certain I understand, my lord," said Vivec's lieutenant. "We take the bluff so we can fire arrows and spells down on them from above. That's why we need all the trees cleared out. Damming the river floods the plain below so they'll be trudging through mud, which should hamper their movement."
"That's exactly half of it," said Vivec approvingly. He grabbed a nearby soldier who was hauling off the trees. "Wait, I need you to break off the straightest, strongest branches of the trees and whittle them into spears. If you recruit a hundred or so others, it won't take you more than a few hours to make all we need."
The soldier wearily did as he was bade. The men and women got to work, fashioning spears from the trees.
"If you don't mind me asking," said the lieutenant. "The soldiers don't need any more weapons. They're too tired to hold the ones they've got."
"These spears aren't for holding," said Vivec and whispered, "If we tired them out today, they'll get a good night's sleep tonight" before he got to work supervising their work.
It was essential that they be sharp, of course, but equally important that they be well balanced and tapered proportionally. The perfect point for stability was a pyramid, not the conical point of some lances and spears. He had the men hurl the spears they had completed to test their strength, sharpness, and balance, forcing them to begin on a new one if they broke. Gradually, out of sheer exhaustion from doing it wrong, the men learned how to create the perfect wooden spears. Once they were through, he showed them how they were to be arranged and where.
That night, there was no drunken pre-battle carousing, and no nervous neophytes stayed up worrying about the battle to come. As soon as the sun sank beneath the wooded hills, the camp was at rest, but for the sentries.

I reopened my eyes. The book I’d thought about shortly earlier this same day. Now I remembered. Or at least, I remembered a single chapter. There was a large battle, fought near a place called Bodrum and a river called the Pryai. I didn’t know where to find either, nor did my map tell. I did also recall however, that the Imperials suffered a crushing defeat, thanks to the involvement of a Breton spy, one Cwynnen, or something. I wasn’t a Breton, but the book was still a load of fiction slapped onto a skeleton of facts. Besides, the Tribunal I know portrays Vivec as a wiseman who definitely doesn’t need any spies to figure out things. So the Vivec and by extension, the spy, in this book were manipulated for the sake of a better story. Who did what was not important, the outlines were what mattered. A battle as important as this one was likely to be recorded by the scribes.

I made up my mind. I couldn’t possibly go and search the entire border, but focussing on a single location was within my capabilities. I would start tomorrow by asking those lumberjack bouncers if they’d ever heard of a place called Bodrum. Or wait, I wouldn’t. Not directly anyway. If I could get someone to talk about the great outlines or perhaps find a map, I could cheat my way past and hide the fact that I got my information from a book that hadn’t even been written yet.

Once I had the information, I could go there and then trace my line further into the Empire till I came across an army at which point I could haul my behind back to Mournhold, at full speed. I grinned and laid down to rest. I might just pull this one off in the end.

Ooh, interesting! Now Luper is on for scouting. Lucky he read 'Last Year of the First (or was it Second?) Era' (which I should do myself - it sounds so dang interesting, yet I can't get myself to do it. Perhaps it would prove a cure to my writter block and the odd urge to rip off Three Musketeers and throw them into TES world.), since the 'What would Caius do?' thing didn't help a lot. Proved to be quite on the worthless side, actually...

Looking forward to seeing Luper's sort-of plan in action.

Using the book is a wonderful way to give Luper an advantage in this time. I wonder what happens to him (and the future) if he manages to change the past?

I'm wondering too you know! As always a joyable read!

What would happen if he changes the past? I don't know. I honestly don't. In fact, I don't even know what he's going to change. I'm just going with the flow and stuff. Anyway, we're moving right along now.



I still had a habit of sleeping light, a leftover from the Nerevarine business. On top of that, I was always armed to the teeth as well. As such, it came as little surprise to me that I’d been able to react to the sudden intruder who had entered my room somewhere before dawn. By the time I’d actually woken up, we were already standing against a wall in the stinking corridor just outside my room, him with a dagger slotted between his ribs, me holding said dagger and grasping empty air with the other. A big axe fell out of the Chimer’s hand and bounced off of my armoured foot.

I let out a sigh after which I pulled back the dagger and lowered my empty hand at the same time. Without Chrysamere, my reflexes were all messed up. I still grasped for empty air all the time. This could have been a good thing perhaps. With how rickety these walls were and how far my reactions went, I would have cleaved the Chimer and the wall in two by the time I’d woken up. Explaining where I got the strength needed to do something like that, one handed of all things, would have been a bit of a nuisance. I pushed slightly and felt the wall give. Rickety indeed. It appeared as if only the walls of my spy-room had been given the proper treatment of money during their construction.

,,Ah, crap. The dagger broke. Meh, that’s what you get when you use Chitin, I guess.” I muttered and watched the downed Chimer, who was snoring loudly even as he gurgled from all the blood collecting in his lungs. That blade’s fatigue drain was as nasty as ever. No wonder the previous possessor had managed to kill several Ordinators with it. I sat down on the bed and kicked the door closed.
,,Brilliant, one of the lumberjacks. Must have felt the loss of his sense of manhood when I schooled him and his buddies. Bah, how could he possibly be so dumb to think that he would have better luck on his own than he had with all his buddies nearby? Blast them all. If I’m going to patch him up, he’s going to tell everyone about the Redguard mage and stuff. I haven’t seen any Redguards around in the city, so I’ll be the only one who fits the description. Azura’s big nose, why do these pointy-eared idiots insist on making it so hard for me to keep my cover?” I complained to myself.

I shrugged. I’d better focus on what I was going to do now. By now, the Chimer had taken his last breath. Guess patching him up was out of the question now whether I wanted to do it or not. Now what? I sighed and decided to focus on one thing at a time. I’d go through the standard routine of dealing with unplanned corpses. First step, loot the damn moron’s pockets. I didn’t find much. Some more of those Mountains, a toothpick and a brass key. I added the Mountains to my own and dumped the toothpick back where I’d found it. I then held up the brass key and examined the engraving on the shaft.
,,Almalexia’s plaza, southeast-23. Wonderful, they’re actually stupid enough to put the address on their keys? That’s just asking for thieves. Heh, thieves. Now that gives me an idea.” I snickered.

About an hour later and just before dawn, I unceremoniously dumped the dead lumberjack on the floor in his living room. This would have gone quicker if I’d just been allowed to walk in broad view with a dead Chimer. But that wasn’t going to happen. Maybe if I’d been perfectly disguised as a Chimer officer but as a Redguard? No, definitely no.

I looked about. The place was Spartan, which was no surprise given how the place’s late owner had to work part-time as a bouncer at a worthless inn. There was a table with a single stool, one cupboard, one improvised fireplace, a chest, a few racks with the tools of his trade and a bed. Oh, and there was a half-rotten rug made from a bear. Probably his prized hunting-trophy. I tried to open the chest and found that it had not been locked. Given the state of the lock, this wasn’t much of a surprise.

,,Now let’s see. What do we have here?” I whispered to myself and bent down.
,,Ooh, Moonsugar. So our friend was a drugaddict. Funny, this stuff gets blamed on the Khajiit later. Uhuh, booze, more booze. Wow, I must have done him a favour when I finished him off. No way his intestines were going to hold on much longer with that destructive life-style.” I opened a bottle and tried a sip.
,,Blegh, horrible stuff, better put it back before I get alcohol-poisoning. Ah, now that’s more like it. A map.”

I held up the parchment and unfolded it. It was a map, and a good one at that. Ok, so it was cheap and obviously mass-produced which resulted in vague and scribbly lines, but it did have all of Morrowind, or Resdayn as it was called here. There were some black crosses near Mournhold, made with Charcoal. I had no idea what they meant, but considering his job as a lumberjack, it had likely to do with where to find good wood or where he’d chopped everything down already.

And there was the Pryai. This would help me. I scratched my chin and thought hard. The map was good, but there was something missing. I smirked and dove back into the chest where I dug around till I’d found the piece of Charcoal he used to mark his map. I put down some more crosses, randomly yet mostly close to Mournhold. But some I placed along the river. After a minute or so, I was done. I held up the map again and admired my work. This would do, definitely. I looked at the corpse and at the room. People would start asking questions if they found him here with a single stabwound. Maybe I should add signs of a struggle. Or…

I drew my Ebony sword and stabbed him again, at exactly the same spot. I was in luck, the blood in his veins was still a liquid. I forced a few extra beats out of his heart with Telekinesis and watched the red liquid spill from the wound. This looked better. Death by sword instead of death by dagger. I rolled up the map and tucked it behind my belt. That was that. Now it was time for business.

Our hero has become ... devious. Innnnnteresting.

Interesting installment. I must admit that you've completely confused me, however. I have no idea why he put extra charcoal marks on the map. I hope it becomes clear in the next installment. (if not, I guess I'll need a new nickname - perhaps "oblivious"?)

Don't worry, Planty. I was hoping that Luper's intentions weren't all clear in that update. You're not Oblivious at all.

And about him being devious, yeah, he did change to the more thinking type. At the start of the story, he simply bashed his way through any trouble that appeared, generally with little dificulty. But now he's actually trying to manipulate rather than intimidate. Ok, so he still intimidates people, it's simply no longer his sole means of persuasion.

Oh, and one last thing for the readers. Is what Luper does in this update convincing enough?


This time around, the guards at the castle just scowled at me, sneered, crossed their halberds for a moment and then allowed me to pass without a word. Same thing in the halls. One day, and I had already become a regular. It probably had something to do with the fact that the lord didn’t ask for my head on a spear last time around. The guys with the basket where there again as well and I dropped my sword in it with little hesitation. I would get it back later and what I was going to do wouldn’t involve any form of violence, I hoped.
,,Oy, you might want to clean it while you’re at it. It got a bit wet.” I snickered and entered the throne room itself where I just marched right to the other side.

This time, there was no staring contest between us. Instead, the lord merely gazed in my general direction.
,,And what brings you here? I believe I gave you a mission. It would be most surprising if you had achieved it, even moreso if you would have achieved it this soon. Not even my best spies could do that, and they are Chimer, not man.” I rolled my eyes openly. Again with the racism. Did the guy ever bother to think that having your spy be a member of the race your enemy is actually at war with, does not make the job easier? The guards at the door came running in.
,,Halt! You are under arrest on the charge of murder!” One of them shouted. I smirked and jabbed a thumb in their direction.
,,Well, I merely came here to say…I caught a spy.”

The lord held up his hand and I could hear the guards behind me skid to a halt.
,,A spy? Hmmph, I find that hard to believe. There are no spies in this city, except those who are on my payroll.” He claimed. I looked over my shoulder to see what the guards had been doing. The one on the left was holding up my sword, out of its sheath. The dried blood still glistened a bit on the Ebony. Good.

I shrugged as I turned back to the lord.
,,Well, I’m sorry but I guess that means he never thought of telling you he worked for the enemy.” I said dryly. I dropped a hand into my pocket which made everyone in the room tense up. I brought up the brass key and flicked it onto the lord’s lap after which everyone relaxed slightly. Hah, as if an assassin would ever openly walk up to a noble. The only time that would happen was if the assassin was so good, no number of guards could possibly pose a threat. Which was pretty much the current situation, only I was not an assassin.

,,Almalexia’s plaza, southeast-23. Feel free to send a few Ordies over there.” One of the guards behind me just had to whisper: ,,Ordies? Must be some kind of Redguard title”
,,Silence!” The lord shouted. He then carefully picked up the key between two fingers and dropped it in the hands of his advisor who in turn gave it to a servant who in turn gave it to another servant who in turn scooted out of the room.
,,I know Almalexia’s plaza. It is a place inhabited by the common folk, yet all are Chimer. There could never have been a spy there.” He said venomously. Again I shrugged.
,,Perhaps I used the wrong term. I didn’t quite mean spy, cause the guy was obviously an amateur. Nah, traitor is a better word.”

,,CHIMER ARE NEVER TRAITORS! NEVER, IMPOSSIBLE!” The lord howled. I was actually surprised by this outburst.
,,Wow, this religion of ‘all serving under the great living gods, forget ambition, follow the three bozo’s who are addicted to a slimy heart’ really must have brainwashed them. Does he really think none of his people ever try to make career? Or does he believe that such things are limited to the nobles?” I thought.
,,Oh, please. Don’t tell me you’re serious about this. Everyone turns traitor at some point. It’s just that some forms of betrayal are worse than forgetting to do groceries for mom as promised. Can you claim with a pure heart and on the honour of ALMSIVI, that you have never betrayed someone?” I asked. The lord fell dreadfully silent.
,,What did you say?” He asked after a long pause. I almost slapped myself.
,,By the honour of ALMNEVI, can you swear you never betrayed anyone, dude?” I answered. Whoa, that had been close. I’d actually used ALMSIVI instead of its current form.

The advisor chose to interrupt the conversation.
,,You will call our lord ‘Your Grace’, or ‘Your Highness’, or ‘Your Lordship’, or simply ‘Duke’. You will not however, refer to him as ‘Dude’. Also, your manners are sorely lacking. I advise you to improve on these points lest his Lordship shall strip you of the honour of serving him.” He warned. I dismissed the advice with a casual wave of my hand.
,,Yeah, yeah, whatever. Thanks for the tip, but no thanks. I’m going to call the pointy-eared fellow whatever I like. Because it is me who decides when to end this relationship between us. If he fires me because he feels insulted…” I shrugged. ,,then he fires me. I’ll simply go find someone else who is willing for quality without letting his need to have his ego satisfied get in the way. That’s the way things are. I’m in charge, not the other way around.”

When the Duke spoke again, his voice was icy-cold, but all business.
,,I will consider your claims, if you present me with some proof.” He declared. I cleared my throat. The intimidation had been easy, but now would come the tough part. Now I actually had to convince everyone of a clean lie.
,,First of all, the story begins at the tavern I’d been sent to. The suspect, together with some accomplices, attempted to assassinate me, both under the guise of a bar brawl and as a regular assassination later that night. I suggest you find a new rendez-vous point for your associates. Anyway, I disarmed them and sent them away, blaming their actions on simple racism. That, however, ended when I found this. It was in the pocket of a vest one of my assailants was forced to give up when I pinned it to the wall. It is also where I got the key from as well.” Again I dug my hands into my pockets, but this time I didn’t fish out a key. No, I fished out a coin which I threw at the lord.

,,Please take note the fact that this coin is not a member of the local currency. Observe the engraving on the coin’s sides, or rather, the missing engraving. It has been filed away, most likely to avoid easy identification.” I began and watched with hidden amusement as the Duke followed my directions without realizing he’d actually pushed himself into the role of inferior already. Telvanni attitude, no matter what the time-period, it gets the job done of making you look like the big man in town.
,,Most interesting is the creature engraved on one side. That is a Dragon, which you surely recognize as the symbol of the Empire.” I continued and waited while the Advisor took the coin and examined it himself. It was a regular third era Septim, with some annoying details filed away, such as the date it was made and the name of Uriel Septim.

,,I see. This is interesting, but it does not prove that the suspect was, indeed, a traitor. Perhaps it was a trophy claimed from a vanquished foe on the battlefield.” The Duke said slowly. I nodded. I’d been expecting this response.
,,That is what I assumed myself at first, so I went to investigate. The address on the key made it easy. Anyway, I came into his house and tried to interrogate him. Instead though, he attacked me and I was forced to run him through. Anyway, I gave his house a quick search and found a chest filled with moonsugar and alcohol, with signs that he used these goods regularly. That, combined with how clumsy he acted throughout all three of our encounters, I feel it safe to conclude that he was simply in no condition to fight anywhere, least of all on the battlefield. He would not even pass the medical examination. Being a lumberjack stretched his abilities to the limit, I’d say. He also lacked the money to buy it off of a veteran. If what I’ve seen is any indication, trophies like these are prized possessions of those who have acquired them.” I replied.

I now took out the map, my final ace.
,,Among the drugs and alcoholic beverages, I found this.” I unfolded the map and pointed out the crosses on it.
,,At first glance, it appears to be a simple map with markings to indicate places where good lumber can be found or where the wood has already been claimed, either of these two. But look at these here.” I tapped a finger at the group of crosses I’d put next to the Pryai.
,,All nice and stuff, but why would a lumberjack travel this far to chop down a tree? This place is a good day’s march away. Maybe he’s been there once or twice, but not with the intention of taking down a tree and bringing wood back home with him the next day. For work it is completely inefficient. Using three days to bring back one load of wood, one day for travelling, one for chopping and another one for travelling, is simply stupid compared to how easy it is to get three loads of wood in the same timespan by sticking to the other marked locations close to Mournhold.” I folded up the map and handed it over as well.

,,So in short, our suspect carried a coin he should not be able to possess, he attacked someone who made use of your ‘rendez-vous point’, he holds a map that has some markings he should not have placed. And so, I believe he is not working for the best interests of the Chimer people. The marks near this river…the Pryai, may instead indicate a rendez-vous with Imperial agents. It is just short of Resdayn’s borders. That, or it may indicate a path of approach for the Imperial army. Following the Pryai, Imperial troops could circumvent all fortifications and march right up to Mournhold. Only the local landmarks, such as the swamp, will impede their progress. Give them a squad of Battlemages though, and they’ll walk over the mud as if it’s a tiled street.” I finished. I’d played my bluff, now I would just have to see if they fell for it.

Welllll ... this bit might be a bit impluasible:
I expect that halfway though that speech, a shout of "off with his head" or some such would have occurred.

One other thing: never sheath a sword with blood still on it. You may not be able to ever get it out of the sheath again once it dries. I don't recall if Luper had acquired a sheath along with that weapon or not. On the other hand, I am not sure if scimitars fit in sheaths. A curved blade like that may make it un-sheath-able?

So, now we find out the purpose for the extra marks on the map. Very inventive, and a good way to put his "future knowledge" to good use without being suspected. Of course, having insulted the Duke, and looking like a murderer should have had him killed on the spot. I agree with Blockhead that it seems unlikely that a Redguard could insult a Chimer noble in such a militant fashion and get away with it. Aside from that one point, the update was believable, especially given that it's Luper we're dealing with.

Ok, I guess I'll give my view of things here.

First of, the scimitar. I don't know, but I think that as long as you make a properly fitting curved sheath, it will work just fine. In fact, I feel that straight swords are hardest to unsheath, cause you've got to keep pulling in a straight line and your arm only goes so far. Claymores and other excessively long swords are therefore extremely hard to unsheath. And he did aquire a sheath, cause he got it by removing the belt (including scabbard) from an Ordinator who was about to start chasing him, back in third era Mournhold.

Now, on to more important parts. Luper insulting the Chimer. My thought was that it was so outrageous, everyone was simply stunned and unable to think of something till the moment had passed and he'd launched straight into his conspiracy-theory. But yeah, I admit that 'off with his head' would have been quite a likely reaction as well. In fact, that's the more likely conclusion, given how violent the TES world tends to be, and then I'm not taking into account the fact that he's from a race the Chimer are at war with. No way he should have gotten away with it, even though it's Luper we're talking about.

Hmm, now I have to be a sore loser and handwave things. How about he subtly manipulated their minds with his Magicka? He is Telvanni, after all, and he's done it less subtly before.

Maybe his speechcraft skill is very high?

About the sheath for a scimitar: it all depends on the shape of the blade. If it is simply curved but rather uniform in dimension, it should be possible to create a sheath. If it is shaped more like Trueflame, with significant variations in blade dimensions, it would be practically impossible to create a workable sheath.

More tying in with the book.


The Duke and his advisor whispered to each other for quite a while. In the end though, they seemed to reach an agreement.
,,Some of my other operatives will look into the information you have disclosed. Know however, that I do not pay for insults. If you desire to swim in riches, you will learn to treat me with the utmost respect. Fail, and you will learn that your trade has suddenly become less hospitable. In the meantime, I have another task for you. Perhaps this time you will take into account the proper etiquette and actually earn your pay.”

I fought the desire to roll my eyes. So he was going to hold back on his pay. I mentally shrugged. Pay had not been my goal when I begun this. It was unimportant. I could hunt, I could sew, I could take care of myself in the Morrowind wilderness just fine, money or no money. So I simply folded my arms and waited for the noble to continue.
,,There is an agent of mine, who you will assist in any and all endeavours till the time the agent frees you from this service at which point you will return here for further instructions.” My expectations sank considerably. What he’d just told me was that this assignment could potentially go on for years and he would try every chance he got to weasel himself out of my pay. Again, payment wasn’t my goal, but I wasn’t interested in these long missions either. If I were to claim the reputation as a spy worthy enough to work for a goddess, I needed short ones, risky ones if possible.
,,The agent awaits you in the main hall, wearing green. That is all, now go.” I snatched my sword and scabbard out of the guard’s hands before leaving.

There was only one person in green at the main hall, but not quite the type I’d been expecting. For one, she was female. Secondly, she was very very young, even for a Dunmer, err Chimer. And finally, she had none of the shifty eyes that revealed every single spy I knew. Even Caius had them, though he made a good effort of suppressing the motions. I leaned against a pillar and watched her from the corner of my eyes while keeping my pupils straight ahead, pointing at some big tapestry of something. Clenched fists, hanging her shoulders, head kept low. Not the happy type, if you asked me. The lack of age kept nagging me. Either she was very good, or she was a rookie, like me. The rookie theory deserved some more thought, but I soon dismissed it. Rookie meant unreliable, and the Duke would never put two unreliables in one team. If he wanted to get rid of me, he would team me up with someone better at slipping daggers between ribs. That was the only way he could get rid of me. Kill me…or embarrass me in such a way everyone will try to kill me.

She had her back to me and wasn’t looking at anything approaching a reflective surface, so I ditched all precautions and just looked at her directly. I suppose she was attractive, by the standards of her kind. Maybe her trick to get the job done was seduction? Oh boy, I was beginning to see the whole thing now bright and clear. But she wasn’t a spy, I could see that much. And even if she had been, she wasn’t my type. That, and I had better things to do than get close to the ladies. I squared my shoulders and crossed the hall.

,,Ok, you’re not much of a spy, missy.” I said once I got close. She didn’t react in any way I would have been able to predict. She just hung her shoulders even more and kept her back to me.
,,Go away with your weak jokes and leave me to my sorrow.” She sniffed. I rolled my eyes and sighed quite loud.
,,Oh, the drama. It’s a cold world and all that. Now just listen to me for one second. The big honcho here told me I was to go to this room and talk to the one wearing green, an ‘agent’ of his. The way he said it, it felt pretty damn as if I was to become that person’s trusty assistant, sidekick, lackey, pack-Guar and so on. Now you’re the only one wearing green here and you’re definitely not a spy, unless your secret ace up the sleeves are your charms.” I said sharply. This time, she did wheel around to face me.
,,Charms?! What do you know about…” She fell silent and I rolled my eyes again. Stranger in a strange country, people staring, mouths falling open. It was getting old by now.

I noticed that her eyes had the traditional Dunmeri red, but not because it was her natural colour. Rather, she’d been crying, and quite a lot. I forced a grin, though not a reassuring one. Comforting grieving girls was not what I’d be hired for.
,,Enough to know that I don’t have any and am not interested in getting any. I’m a Redguard and yes, my skin is a bit darker than what you’re used to and my ears are a bit less likely to stab someone’s eyes out. Now pick your jaw up off the floor and tell me what’s going on here.” I snapped and did my best to look intimidating. I only had to put my hand on the hilt of my sword, and she was ready to faint. Of course, all the guards in the room got their eyes on me so I moved my hand away just as fast.

The girl looked at me for an uncomfortably long time before she finally said something.
,,So he hired a barbarian to make sure I stayed out of his sight?” She said and then turned for the big door leading outside.
,,Fine, follow me around, hack my head off when I’m not watching. I don’t care.” She added and began to walk. I rolled my eyes again. Great, a suicidal ‘the world sucks and my heart’s broken’ type. What did I get myself into?

That was unexpected. I wonder who this woman is, and why the king would want to keep here away (or perhaps that's just the lady's depression talking).

Who is this mystery woman? Fascinating! More please?

Uhhh yeah....mysterious women are always intriguing.....very good Mr Cloudy..very good indeed!