@All: if you were wondering why we went off into the Thieves Guild questline, this is where it's justified. I needed Imbel Manor to be available for purchase, to move the story in the right direction.

------------

A New Man

He wanted to go and talk to Taminwe about work, and he thought he might ask her opinion about the sisters' riches while he was there. She was always good at seeing the broader picture.

He took his time wandering through the docks, and the Temple District. He stopped for a while to watch the workmen relaying the paving in the street around the Temple of the One. The Elder Council had argued for months about starting that project. Some of them wanted to leave the entire area untouched, as a monument to the victory over Dagon. The more practical members had called for it all to be rebuilt. People still lived there, and needed to get their lives back to normal. The compromise had been reached to leave the Temple building itself alone, and fix up the rest. He was glad to see that work had finally begun.

He walked around the central circle until he came to the broad street leading to the Talos Plaza district. All the way round, the huge dragon statue loomed over him, and he couldn't help looking up at it. As he neared the door to the next district, he turned and looked back once more. Somehow the dragon was trying to tell him something.

One had to walk through the entire Talos Plaza district before it was possible to double back up the alleyway that lead to the Red Dragon Club. As he passed the statue in the middle, he was struck by its similarity to the great statue of Akatosh inside the Temple. And this smaller one had been put there before that entire event.

"Thinking of buying it?" asked the watchman. He'd seen him looking up, but he thought he was looking at the building behind the statue. That was Imbel Manor, where Jakben, the late Earl, had lived. It was on the market now, but nobody seemed to have the asking price. "And you can't haggle on house prices, either." the legionary reminded him.

Taminwe had been the one who'd told about the Earl's death and he'd just found out that Minx was the one who'd slain him. He was starting to feel a personal connection to the place. "I wonder just how much gold the sisters have?" he thought.

---

Taminwe thought it would be pefect for him to become a neighbor. It would justify his presence in the area at any time, and he didn't need to be seen coming in. She was sure the sewers connected all the buildings in the district. "And if they don't, we'll get a few alterations made."

She could use a "noble" on her team, too. Even if he didn't have a title, yet. Now Ocato was Potentate, he could bestow one, once they'd worked out a good cover story. She knew all about the sisters, of course. They weren't a problem. Every Manor needs staff, family, whatever they wanted to be.

"And how's your book coming along?" she asked. Uzgash had told her about his progress on that. Taminwe thought that it might be quite successful, judging by the stories Uzgash had passed on to her. As long as he wrote it as well as he had for the Courier, it was bound to be a best-seller.

He told her that it was nearly ready for publication. At least the first chapters were, he still had some work to do on the last few. He'd have time to do something else, soon. Taminwe didn't react. He'd come back tomorrow, and check again.

---

The next day, he paid a visit to Vinicia Melissaeia at the Office of Imperial Commerce to find out how much Imbel Manor was on the market for. Vinicia was suprised to find the same man that had bought the shack on the Waterfront asking her about that. She told him it was 60,000 Septims, just for the empty building, and furnishing it would cost a good bit more.

He didn't yet know how much gold the sisters had collected, so he couldn't make any deal now, but Vinicia didn't expect anyone else to be paying that kind of money. It could wait until they got here.

---

At the Red Dragon Club, Taminwe was waiting for him, and Potentate Ocato was with her. He had a proposition for him.

"The High Council has agreed to make the Champion, the Hero of Kvatch, its new Count," he announced, "and that's going to mean that he'll be really busy with the rebuilding. Tsarrina has her hands full running Gweden, although she'll be able to spare a day each month to do the accounting for this place as before. The Champion needs someone to run this Club for him. I also need someone to act as liason to the Council for the intelligence operations. Before they made me Potentate, that was part of my department, but I need another head of operations now."

"But Taminwe's the person to do that, not me!" he protested. "She has much more experience than I do."

"I expect her to be an invaluable assistant," Ocato replied "but I can't elevate someone in her profession to that station without questions being asked. I know you work well together, and we need you to act as spokesman for the agency. She'll still be doing most of the espionage work."

Taminwe pointed out she preferred to be underestimated. She didn't want a public position that would compromise her ability to do her intelligence work. He, on the other hand, was about to become a well-known author, as well as an Earl. It appeared that he'd get Jakben's status to go with his house. Ocato didn't need Council approval for that.

"Besides," Ocato reminded him "the High Council have no idea that the Red Dragon Club was in any way associated with the spies, except when they had the same master in Ormelius Goldwine. They knew that the Count ran both, but I've always encouraged them to think that they were separate. When the Champion took over the Club, I oversaw the intelligence part myself, and that helped keep them apart in the eyes of the Council. So the Champion will give you the manager's job here first, and I'll announce the other one later."

"And will we still see you visit here in the future?" He glanced sideways at Taminwe when he asked Ocato that. He knew that those regular briefings were important to her.

"Oh, yes," Ocato responded. "It would look suspicious if I changed my habits now. And there are those on the Council who prefer to see me coming here, rather than taking a wife and starting a dynasty! Plus what you tell me, and what you subsequently tell the Council, won't always be the same. I'll need an opportunity to get the facts from Taminwe."

Ocato indicated that his purchase of the Imbel Manor would be underwritten by the Office of the Potentate, if necessary. It was a good idea that had now become an imperative.

"There is one thing about all this you might not like, however," he continued. "We're going to have to change your face, if you're going to become a public figure. While you were hidden away on the waterfront, it wasn't thought necessary, but circumstances have changed."

"Change my face! How?"

"It's a straightforward alteration spell," Taminwe began to explain. "When you were growing up, did the healer straighten your teeth?" He nodded. "That was a weaker version of this spell. It will soften the bones so that they can be sculpted like clay. But we need to paralyze you, so your own muscles won't pull the bones around. That's why Ocato's here, too. He'll cast the paralysis, and then I'll use the face-sculpting spell. It will take all my magicka just for that one."

He wanted to know if Taminwe had ever had it done to her. He liked her face, and he'd have been disappointed if it wasn't real.

"Yes, but this is my original face. I was transformed into a doppleganger for a foreign countess once, but I thought she was ugly and had them put me back again when the mission was over. It's not something we do very often. Even if you look exactly like someone, the way you act will give you away immediately. But that time the only people we had to fool had never met her, they'd only seen her portrait."

If she'd been through this twice he could hardly refuse. They laid him on a bed and started the procedure. Taminwe talked to him as she worked, even though he couldn't respond.

"I can't change your race, although I could give you pointed ears like an elf, you'd still be an Imperial. And I really don't want to do anything too drastic. What I'm aiming for is to make you look like the elder brother you never had. I'll make your chin a little more square, and your whole face a little less round. Would you prefer a straight nose, or an aquiline one? Maybe something in between."

All the time she was pushing and pulling at parts of his face, adjusting it to his new look. It was a strange sensation, but not painful. Eventually she stood up and looked over at Ocato. He cast a Dispel that both let the bones harden again, and the paralysis dissipate. Taminwe handed him a mirror.

Before and after

She'd acheived what she said. He really did look like an older sibling. Only about five years older, and the family traits were all still there. Of course she was only changing the shape of his face; the color of his skin, and his eyes, remained the same. But it was a different face, and the reporter was now truly gone.

Parts of his skin felt tight, and when he touched his chin, the shape felt wrong, but he knew he'd soon get used to it. But would Angeline and Diablita, and all the others?

They called in all the Red Dragon Club staff to re-introduce him, and Miranda cut his hair to a different (and of course shorter) style. Then they sent him back to the waterfront to explain to Minx. Once she knew the story, that would take care of the Thieves Guild angle.

The beggars all thought that he was someone new, judging by the way they all tried to get a coin from him. He came up behind Carwen and spoke to her. She recognised his voice, and was surprised when she turned around and didn't see the face that went with it. But that helped him convince her that he was really the same man. "Minx needs to know about this" she told him, which matched his intentions completely. They went over to the guildhall to look for her. If he'd gone on his own, they might not have let him in.

Somehow I completely missed this update when you posted it.

Oh my gosh, Clark is a hottie! I would have voted for him in the contest. I absolutely love your description of face-sculpting.

This was such a satisfying update. The game leaves so many things hanging, and you have tied some of them up and launched the Fourth Era. Soon we’ll be calling him the young Earl!

Taminwe was particularly interesting here. How true that rewarding her with a promotion would put an end to the kind of work that brought her success in the first place.

I’ve always viewed the TG questline as, above all, a touching love story. Getting to kill a damn vampire for his boots is just an added bonus.

"And you can't haggle on house prices, either."
Nice little tongue-in-cheek jab at the game!

Magic can do so much and your face sculpting combination of magicks is a great example!

@Grits: I'm giving in to your decision and calling him Clark, but not for a couple more episodes. He needs to get used to his face before he has to deal with a new name.

@Acadian: I always like the practical uses of magic, in the game and in others' stories. And this part adds another use of magic combined with mundane mechanics - the sort of things the Dwemer would do, I wonder if there any in Uzgash's lineage?


----------------

Morse Magicka

At the Red Dragon Club, Taminwe had something new to show him. Varulae's signal ball had given Uzgash an idea, and they'd been working on it while he was away. The espionage networks had been using them for secure communication for years, of course, but up to now thay'd only been used for simple information, like "come to Falkreath". The pair of balls would be lit steadily, and another pair had to be used for an acknowlegement signal.

Uzgash's idea was that they could send a flashing signal by covering the sending ball with an inverted tankard. "We played around with the idea for a while, and the best way to get a message across was to have a code of short and long flashes that represented a letter or number. With a few special codes, like one for the end of the message, so you'd know whose turn it was to send, we could handle quite complicated information," Taminwe told him.

"We asked Tar-Meena, at the University Archives, and it turns out that it's not entirely a new idea, and there was an existing code that was used with mirrors reflecting sunlight. We've started training some of the girls in the code, and we've made some improvements in the apparatus."

She took him into a room down the corridor, where Uzgash was working on the latest version of the signal device. There was a metal shroud around the ball, with an aperture in it that was covered by a shutter. When she pressed on a lever, the shutter was opened, and the light from a candle fell on the ball, and lit up the one on the other side of the table. When she let go, a spring closed the shutter, and the other ball darkened again. "Much faster and less effort than lifting a tankard, and you just leave the shutter closed when you're receiving a message, instead of having to leave the tankard over the candle. That usually makes the candle go out, if you're not careful."

Taminwe sat at the other end of the table from Uzgash and asked the reporter to write down a message for her to send. He did so, without showing it to Uzgash, and Taminwe began tapping on the lever on her apparatus. Uzgash watched the ball at her end, and wrote down the letters Taminwe was sending. When she'd finished, she had the same message to show him. A couple of letters were wrong, but the meaning wasn't lost. "If the spelling is important for a word, we have a code that lets us repeat it for confirmation. And really critical messages get sent back to make sure they arrived intact," Uzgash informed him.

"The only way you can intercept these messages is to steal the apparatus. The balls are enchanted together, and won't send to anywhere else. Mostly they're pairs, like these, but the mages tell me they can enchant a group so we could send out a broadcast message from one to all the others. I can't figure out how you'd have a conversation with more than two, though."

Taminwe had another detail for him. "The larger clear crystal balls can also be used to send messages, of course. You can write on a slate, and someone at the other end can read it. But it's much harder to find large pieces of clear crystal to make those, so they're expensive to produce. These can be made much more cheaply, so we can make a lot more of them."

He wondered aloud why they were telling him all this.

Taminwe informed him that he needed to learn the code. At least to be able to read a message straight from the flashing ball. Sending was not much harder to learn, but that came afterward. "And if you want to teach the code to Varulae and her sailors, that's fine. The code doesn't need to be secret. You don't need that with a secure link, and anyway it's possible to encrypt a message just like you could if it was to be carried written down. It's probably best if everyone who uses crystal balls this way uses the same code. That way we can recruit operators who are already trained in future!"

There was still something missing. Why him, and why now?

Taminwe explained. "We figure that this apparatus should be made and sold to the general public, so it's not regarded as being for spies only. We don't want our agents getting arrested just for having this stuff. So we need someone else to have a legitimate use for it. What use would whores and exotic dancers have for this?"

"What use would an author have for it?"

"I don't know about an author, but the manager of a brothel in the city, which is owned by the Count of Kvatch, might need it to communicate with the Count."

"So the Champion and I get our own link, and I have to be seen using it. And I assume the one at his end will need to be just as visible."

"We're thinking that you might even provide a public service to send messages between the Imperial City and Kvatch. If it catches on, extra apparatus takes over the public messages, and you and the Champion get your private link back."

"So you think it might develop into a messenging service that anyone could use? Just bring your message to an office in a city, and have it sent to another one. It would still need a local courier to deliver it," he mused.

"Oh, yes, and if yours is successful, a lot of others will copy it. And the existing courier services will be the first to adopt it, and cut down the horse traffic between the cities. The riders will be retrained on the apparatus, and just carry packages instead of letters. The Black Horse Courier will get all its incoming reports this way. They'll still print in the city, and deliver by horse, of course, but the reporters won't have to meet up with a rider, or come to the city themselves."

Uzgash told him that she'd be travelling down to Kvatch to operate that end to start with. She'd train a local or two to take over, and then return to her regular job. He'd do the same here in the city, operating out of Imbel Manor to start with. Taminwe would help the Black Horse Courier people set up their own network, and they'd see what grew out of those.

"Once it gets started, Ocato will provide the provincial rulers with secure channels to the Palace," Uzgash informed him. "Then my father and I can get back in regular contact. That's the real reason I want all this to work!"

"The enemies of the Imperium will find it just as useful," he reminded them. "We won't be the only ones with secure communication."

"We aren't now," Taminwe pointed out. "Varulae's already in contact with the Serpent's Wake, and I'm sure she didn't invent that method. Whoever found out how to link crystal balls that way must have seen the possibilities. You know that the Champion is also Arch-mage these days, since Traven's death. He's aware of a lot of the Mages Guild members using the larger clear crystal balls for messages. I'm sure he knows the linking spell himself. The only thing we're doing is making it easier and cheaper for everyone else to use."

"Then I'd have thought that we'd already have channels like that with the provincial capitals," he continued. "Expense wouldn't be an issue there."

"Well, the other issue is privacy," Taminwe responded. "With the clear ones, each end can see everything at the other end all the time. That's not such a popular idea, even if you can put the thing in a room that's only used for sending messages, and cover it up when it's not in use. These new ones can't receive anything that's not deliberately sent, so there's much less to object to."

Uzgash concurred with that point. Gortwog wouldn't accept the clear channel, (he'd dealt with Queen Elysana too much to be the trusting kind), but she didn't think he'd have any objections to this one.

---------------

This does not (yet?) appear in the mod, mainly because I haven't made the mechanism yet. But I'm working on it. I also have to create a quest to get Uzgash to come to the City, as the tale I told here of the collapsing bridge turned out to be a bust, when I tried to make one. But I am working on more quests that start at the club and will involve Uzgash, and her mother Marghak.

Isn’t it amazing what you can come up with sitting around lifting tankards? Leave it to the brilliantly studious Tar-Meena to be familiar with a suitable code to pair up with Clark's enchanted balls.

An interesting way of communicating over distance in a world with magic.

@Grits: Clark becomes Clark in this one, and a little bit more.

@Acadian: Of course the problem with using the tankard for signalling is that it doesn't work for its regular purpose upside-down. Uzgash was anxious to correct that problem.

--------------

Buying Imbel Manor

He'd arranged to meet the sisters at the Waterfront and then go take a look at Imbel Manor. Even though Ocato had told him the purchase was going to happen anyway, he wanted them to like the place, too. He found them outside the Bear Riders' office, talking to Gudrun. She was in town on one of her monthly visits, nominally for a meeting with Heidi, but really an excuse to go shopping in the Market District.

Of course, none of them recognised him at first, with his new face, but it didn't take long to convince them he was really who he said he was. Gudrun thought the new face was an improvement, but the sisters weren't so sure. They all agreed that Taminwe had done what she set out to do. He did look like his own older brother.

Since the Market District was their first destination, to pick up a key from Vinicia, Gudrun joined them for the walk across the city. He took the opportunity to tell her about the new invention he'd heard of, and to suggest that they use one between the Lodge and the Waterfront office.

"What, spoil my reason for a shopping trip? Are you crazy?" Gudrun did accept that it might be useful in between visits, but it was no substitute for the personal touch.

When they reached the Market District, Gudrun headed for Divine Elegance, while they went across the plaza to the Office of Imperial Commerce. Vinicia didn't know who he was. "You're the second person asking about that property. That wasn't your brother before, was it?" Since it would stop her thinking too much about it, he told her that his younger brother had indeed told him about it. That seemed to satisfy her limited curiosity, and she didn't have any identity for the shack-owning "brother" either. He'd had the sale registered as Emer Dareloth, to suit the waterfront tradition.

Vinicia went with them to the Talos Plaza district and showed them around. The building was completely empty at that time, and their footsteps echoed in the huge spaces. "The Skingrad house was a bit like this when we bought it," Angeline told him. "Just not on the same scale. And do you remember Arborwatch when we first moved in? We didn't have any furniture downstairs to start with."

Diablita concurred. "It will look very different with furniture in it. You can divide a big room up with bookcases and things, and cluster chairs around a table to make a smaller area of focus. It's easier to work with a big space than a small one."

They liked the separate rooms upstairs. Arborwatch had that, too, but the Skingrad house didn't. "There's a servant's quarters down in the basement, but that's only for one person. And we have Eyja using that. We put bunks in the main bedroom, so we'd all have somewhere to sleep."

They hadn't told him about Eyja. Apparently, she'd asked them about the house-servant job as soon as they bought the furnishings at Colovian Traders. She'd been living with Gunder, but was ready to move on. They'd hired her to look after the place when they weren't around, which was most of the time, as they really preferred to stay at Arborwatch.

"One of those communication sets would be perfect for her," was Diablita's opinion. "or maybe two, if we're going to live here as well." He made a note to ask Uzgash to stop off there on her way to Kvatch. Perhaps this Eyja could operate the Skingrad office of their messaging service?

It seemed that the sisters had already decided to purchase Imbel Manor, so he let Vinicia know that, and they all went back to the Market District to do the paperwork. Again he had the opportunity to register the deeds anonymously, as it was being underwritten by the Office of the Potentate, and he took it. Then it was off to see Tartullian Verus about furnishing the place. He offered a choice of layouts for the central section of the basement. They could have a forge put in, if they needed a lot of armor and weapon work, or a mage's alchemical workbench and ingredient storage, or just a lot of extra shelving and chests for storage.

The sisters had reasons for wanting all three options, but they eventually decided on storage. They did their own repairs in the field, but Varel Morveyn and Rasheda and even Agneta the Pickled did a better job than they did, so their own forge wasn't a priority. Diablita did her own Alchemy, but she didn't really need a special room for it, and ingredients should be used quickly, while they were still fresh. She didn't like storing them for later.

But they were collecting stuff like crazy. It may have been because they just didn't have a lot of things while they were growing up on the Island, but they found it hard to leave anything behind when they went adventuring. They sold most of what they gathered, which is why they had so much cash on on hand that they could buy houses, but they'd still collected a lot that was too good to sell. None of the merchants could afford to buy it all from them.

"There isn't a basement at Arborwatch, and that's one reason we bought Rosethorn Hall in Skingrad. It has a lot of storage space, and display cases for the pretty things. But we've almost filled it up already." Angeline was quite proud of that.

---

Over the next couple of days, the men from the Three Brothers Trade Goods carted furniture into Imbel Manor, while the trio stayed at the Waterfront shack. Not that they spent much of their time in the cramped little place. They each had friendhips in the district that needed to be renewed, in his case with Carwen, and Minx - although not together this time around.

Once Imbel Manor was furnished, the next thing was to hold an open house party to let everyone in the neighborhood know who lived there now. Ulen Athram came over with his wife Dralora, from their house on the opposite side of the plaza. Ulen couldn't believe that he'd let so many people party in his house. "Don't you worry about having everything stolen?" he asked.

His host just smiled. The one good thing about inviting the whole of the Thieves Guild was that they wouldn't stand for freelancers stealing from one of their own. Ulen might want to check his pockets before he left, however. Carwen had her eye on Ulen, and she'd often mix business with pleasure. Dralora had just gone upstairs with the neighborhood watchman, and a bottle of wine. Carwen had noticed, and was steering Ulen in the opposite direction.

Just then, a flashing light on his desk started to attract everyone's attention, just as he'd hoped it would. Uzgash had gone to Skingrad with one of the signalling systems, and had started to teach Eyja to use it. She naturally knew of the plans for this bash.

He signalled that he was ready to receieve, and decoded the flashes for the onlooking crowd. "How's the party? {over}"

"Not too good. Some people still have their clothes on. {over}" he sent back, translating for the onlookers as he did so.

"Then open the Tamika's! {over}"

That little exchange did everything he wanted it to do. The party got a bit more spirited, and a lot of people asked him about the flashing crystal ball device. The women from the Red Dragon Club had been briefed about the importance of discussing the apparatus, even if they were busy ... doing other things.

The sisters were helping out on that, too. They'd started to learn the code, as they'd get a set to use between Arborwatch and Rosethorn Hall. And they were happy to tell anyone who was interested how easy it was.

---

Taminwe was pleased with the way thing had gone. The two of them had retired to the private bedroom up in the dome at the end of the party. He was half-expecting it to be occupied, even though he'd locked the trapdoor. That wouldn't stop any of the Thieves Guild, and the Red Dragon Club staff were just as adept at lock-picking. But they'd all taken the hint, and left it for him and Taminwe.

He hadn't had a briefing with her for quite a while, and he'd missed that.

They discussed the production of the new communicators. They'd have to come up with a price, and decide who was going to make them. There couldn't be any connection with the Red Dragon Club, and preferably none with the Palace. The shutter mechanism was something any competent smith should be able to produce, but the enchanted crystals would require a mage's involvement.

Well, there was no reason that they shouldn't be made separately, and purchased separately. He could take the plans for the shutter to Rohsann and get a quote for those, check with Calindil about unenchanted crystals, and he had contacts in the Arcane University who'd be able to price the enchantment service. It might be good that they'd all be dependent on each other for the continuation of the trade. No demand for shutters if the supply of crystals dried up, and so on. The other piece, that might be more of an issue, was training in the flash code. Right now, apart from Eyja, the sisters, and himself, all the potential teachers were Red Dragon Club staff. They didn't want the public associating the devices with them.

"Can you write it all down, so that people can learn from a book?" Taminwe asked. "We'd have something else to sell, and another set of merchants involved. You could have another best-seller on your hands."

"Well, before I can publish anything, I need to decide who I am now. I have a new face, and I need a new name to go with it."

"Your Black Horse Courier articles always were published with an anonymous byline, weren't they? Maybe you could stay anonymous."

"Yes, it was always just Junior Reporter on those. You don't get to use your own name until you're promoted. I think a lot of the folks around the Market District thought my name was Junior."

"So now you're older-looking we call you Senior? Major? Or just Reporter? Wait, that gives me an idea ... Clark!"

"Hmm, I like it! But that's just one half. We're not like elves, Imperials always use two names. So do Bretons, not that it's relevent to my situation."

"No, but it does remind me that the prior owner of this place was a Breton. He was known as Jakben, Earl of Imbel. Imbel wasn't just a name, it was a place. His relatives, whoever they are, presumably still live there. And if Ocato's going to make you an Earl, you need a notional earldom to connect to. So if we can decide where that is, we have our answer."

They considered a few of the more obvious alternatives. "Earl of Arborwatch" sounded appropriate, as did "Earl of Rosethorn", but he felt that those homes belonged to the sisters, not to him, especially the one in Skingrad.

Taminwe mischeviously suggested that he'd spent enough time just outside Anvil to be the Earl of Gweden! He had a feeling that was going to stick.

ROFL !!! That's Eyja for you! Can't have a party without her!



BWAAAHAAA! I love this, owning Imbel Manor! I see trouble ahead, lol. Great Write!

"What, spoil my reason for a shopping trip? Are you crazy?"
Necessity is the mother of invention. . . and so is born the need for crystal ball on-line shopping! Who knew?

The pair of naughty and nice sisters have been busy! Wind ‘em up, let ‘em go and they come back full of septims!

Ladies and gentlemer, presenting Clark, the Earl of Gweden!

The blinking magic balls are such a great idea! Using a mundane candle as the light source makes it even more fun. When they talked about the larger crystals showing too much of what happened around them, I thought they were about to invent online adult entertainment!

Yay for Clark, Earl of Gweden! Fun party. I love the observation that the safest items in the city belong to the friends of the Thieves Guild.

@Grits: The mixture of simple mechanicals and magic is the part that appealed to me too. Magic isn't anything special on Nirn, it's just part of life. So they will use regular candles along with enchanted crystal balls.

@Acadian: On-line shopping doesn't let you try thngs on first, so Gudrun wouldn't like that so much.

@mALX: Real trouble needs a Maxical, not just an Eyja. But I'll try a Marghak first, and see what happens.

----------

Marghak's coming to town

One of the first of the new communicators had gone to the Iron Fortress, in Orsinium. They'd presented it to Marghak, Uzgash's mother, in her capacity as Head of the Orsinium Guild of Prostitutes, as a gift from the Red Dragon Club. They couldn't give one directly to Gortwog, as he might have been suspicious that it was in some way a spying device. He had reason to suspect everything, as there was considerable evidence of a growing threat to Orsinium from Hammerfell and High Rock. There may not be much unity between the quarreling little kingdoms in those areas, but they did concur in their hatred for the Orcs.

Marghak was pleased to know her daughter was still alive, if not surprised. She'd raised her children to be independent and resourceful, and they'd inherited a lot from Gortwog. If Uzgash couldn't look after herself, she'd have been worried, but she knew better than that.

So when Marghak announced that she'd be coming to Cyrodiil, Uzgash couldn't believe it, especially that she'd be visiting the Red Dragon Club. She'd thought that her death in the bridge collapse was well-established as a "fact", and it appeared that her mother was blowing that wide open.

Taminwe set her straight. Marghak was the head of the Guild of Prostitutes in Orsinium, so a visit to a successful brothel like the Red Dragon Club was a perfectly normal thing for her to do. It also got her out of the way of any troubles that might erupt back at home, at least for a while. The Empire's relationship with Gortwog was much better than formal arrangements implied. The lack of full Provincial status was not a real issue, as it would not bring any benefits to Orsinium. That was more the desire of Queen Elysana, who wanted the indirect support of the Empire through her alliance with the Orcs. Since she was an inveterate trouble-maker, constantly plotting against the other local rulers, Ocato wasn't likely to help her in any way.

So for Marghak to be the guest of the Potentate for a time would give Gortwog one less worry. They had let it be known that this was a mission of apology for the incident of Ambassador Gorthag's fake wife - coveniently another excuse for Marghak to visit the Club - and to mend relations that really had never been broken. She'd be here to interview Brienne, and to see how the capital city's best brothel was run. All strictly business, and unrelated to any Orc that might be working there.

And she'd be given another communicator to take back for Gortwog. He now understood how they worked, and Marghak could oversee the enchantment of the crystals, and be sure that only two were linked. Only then would he trust that the link was secure.

Uzgash still was unhappy about the idea. Nobody likes their mother coming to check up on them, and the possibilities for embarassment didn't bear thinking about.

---

Taminwe already had a dossier on Marghak, of course, but Uzgash related her background for Clark's benefit.

Marghak was an orphan, brought up by a coven of witches somewhere in High Rock. Obviously her mother had been an Orc, but her father could have been any race. Uzgash suspected Dwemer, as all her siblings had a tendency to tinker with mechanical things. She'd left the witches' coven some time in her late teens, presumably when she got to the rebellious age, and they couldn't handle her. Orcs aren't blessed with much innate personality, which would only have made things worse.

She'd lived the adventurer's life for a while, relying on the spells she'd learned from the witches. She didn't have the Bretons' capacity for magic, and needed to supplement that with weapon skills she hadn't learned as a child. So she'd gone into town, and traded her favors for lessons with blades and blunt weapons. That brought her to the attention of the local Guild of Prostitutes, who insisted on her joining up, and paying her dues.

The Guild gave her speechcraft training, as a matter of necessity. She worked in the brothels as often as a bouncer as in any other capacity, but she was learning from everything she saw. And the Orc customers naturally preferred one of their own, so she made a reasonable income, and she settled into that trade for a while.

Later that year, 3E399, Gortwog fought his duel with Lord Bowyn and secured the land of Orsinium. He chose to celebrate his victory in the very brothel where Marghak was working, perhaps because it was one of the few that employed an Orc, and the two met for the first time. Not having been brought up in Orcish society, she had no idea who he was, and just treated him like any other customer. It appeared that they each made a good first impression.

Marghak was pleased to find an Orc who actually used his brain, and not just his muscles. Gortwog liked her because she was different, too. She knew spells, she'd had training in speechcraft. Her upbringing in the witches' coven had made her open to new ideas, as was clear from her current choice of career. Most Orcs assumed they'd become mercenaries, or something similar. And he'd never seen an Orc woman dance like she did. That was another thing she 'd learned from the witches, who spent most of their time dancing naked in worship of the gods.

He'd taken her back with him to his camp in the foothills of the Wrothgarians, where he intended to build the city of Nova Orsinium. She listened to his grand plans for a fortress with walls of iron, and other military emplacements to make it impregnable. Then she pointed out that he hadn't planned any of the infrastructure to support it. Where would everyone live? Where would the food come from? Where was the tavern, the shops, the brothel?

Gortwog believed that if he provided a safe refuge, then all that would grow up on its own. But he listened to her argument that it all required as much planning as the fortress. The people living in the city outside the fortress would need easy routes to retreat into its walls, but that could also make it accessible to enemies. The houses could be barriers to an invading army, or they could provide them cover. Too little urban planning could make the city weak, and too much could put people off from moving there. It needed balance, and Marghak seemed to be the right advisor to help him keep it.

"Uzgash is making it sound like her mother just moved in and took over," laughed Taminwe. "It wasn't that easy in reality, and she got a lot of resistance from Gortwog's existing retinue at first. But that training she got from the Prostitutes' Guild made her a much better persuader than most of them had ever met. Once she was generally accepted, it was time to seal her position with an heir."

Uzgash explained further. "My mother told me that she'd discussed that with Gortwog very early on. She saw that an heir might dash the hopes of several nobles who might otherwise inherit his position. She didn't want to make any extra enemies that way. It's probably why they didn't marry then, although they still didn't later when they could have done so. She always told me that it left Gortwog free for a strategic alliance, if he ever needed it. It could also have kept that inheritance issue open, for those who thought it important."

Marghak had been visibly pregnant when she founded the Orsinium Guild of Prostitutes. She had a number of reasons for that timing. She needed more women to handle the men of the court, especially while her own activities were limited. The "den mother" image would be particularly useful to her, and becoming a real mother made it more convincing. It was also good for her to take a position of her own, independent of Gortwog, at a time when they were obviously close. And the Breton Guildhall in Camlorn was trying to assert jurisdiction over the area, and Gortwog wanted that to stop. Orsinium needed its own guild. Now!

Gortwog made the most of the situation, and issued a proclamation setting up Orsinium's own guilds in all the trades. That conveniently gave him a number of Guildmaster positions to bestow where they would be useful, as well as establishing Marghak's parity among those so chosen.

Uzgash recalled the part the Guild had served in her upbringing. Marghak understood the value of the training it could offer, as well as making sure her daughters didn't think of themselves as princesses. Her younger sister had never really let go of that, and she'd done all her whoring around the court, instead of at the brothel. The elder sister was a tomboy, who preferred fighting, and thought that sex was just a way to celebrate after a victory.

The Prostitutes Guild had prospered under Marghak's hand. She quickly got a reputation for giving the women their fair share of the income, and protecting them from abusive clients. Soon it wasn't just Orcs that wanted to work in the Orsinium area, although they did remain a majority. That created some friction with the neighboring provinces' guilds, who were concerned that they'd lose staff, and Marghak was quick to mend those fences. Soon she was a major player in setting up an all-Tamriel council to regulate inter-provincial trade. Consistent guild rules between provinces was an early outcome, and that tended to be adoption of Marghak's Orcish ones.

She had the sense not to contest the position of chairwoman. Orsinium was a minor guild, as it didn't represent a full province. It made more sense for one of the others to take it, and she wanted to spend more time with Gortwog than that would have allowed. She accepted a lesser position that suited her better, and let her travel around the country as the Guild's representative.

"Which let her gather intelligence for Gortwog, of course." Taminwe pointed out. "Whores know as much about what's happening as the beggars do, in most places. Especially what's going on behind closed doors."

Somehow she'd found time to have six more children with Gortwog. They'd apprenticed with the guilds when they were old enough and all learned a trade or two. Uzgash's youngest brother was an accomplished smith, and had learned to enchant his own work, too. Gortwog now had them scattered across Tamrielfor their own safety, and Uzgash was officially considered dead. "If we'd thought of it at the time, my brother could have pulled the same ploy with that ship fire," thought Uzgash.

Taminwe wasn't so sure. That attack seemed designed to fail, but to throw the blame on the Bretons. She was sure that he'd have been killed in battle if the expected retaliation had ensued, probably by "friendly fire" from an infiltrator on his own side. That would ensure that the incident escalated further.

"Having Marghak visit here might prompt an attempt to do something similar, although I don't expect them to use the same play more than once," Taminwe suggested. "So I think the ship bringing her is safe. If they do try anything, it might be after she reaches the City."

"Who would be doing that?" Clark asked.

"Whoever's trying to stir up trouble in the High Rock/Hammerfell/Orsinium area," Taminwe replied. "It appears to be a more sophisticated campaign than Elysana could manage, but we're not sure who is behind it. Maybe that Lathenil character's not so wrong about the Thalmor of Summurset Isle."

Uzgash still was unhappy about the idea. Nobody likes their mother coming to check up on them, and the possibilities for embarassment didn't bear thinking about.

So true.

I’m really looking forward to meeting Marghak in person. She sounds formidable!

QFT

Other than the line Grits quoted, this is my favorite quote in the chapter. The background story was fascinating, the weaving together of lore and your imagination was brilliant! This chapter is up amongst my top favorite you have written, loved it!

‘Orcs aren't blessed with much inate personality,’
Aww, they’re wonderfully noble and loyal once ya get to know ‘em. Oh, and you probably want to slip another ‘n’ into innate.

I enjoyed the planning considerations for Nova Orsinium.

Wow, Marghak’s an interesting mer!

Seven baby orcs! I like the idea of orcs being more prolific than other elfs. I’d imagine they live hard and die young by the sword. Gotta compensate by birthing more of them.

This is one of the rare occasions I very much disagree with you, my friend

Just an odd coincidence that I thought I'd share with you:

I was looking up Marghak on the interwebs, trying to find out whether I'd published anything in the past about the Daggerfall mod I'd created her for, and discovered that "marghak" is Cornish for "rider"! I didn't find any indication of whether they rode bears or not.

Ooh, interesting!

How funny, ghastley. I was also looking Marghak up a few days ago because I was sure you had written something else about her but I couldn’t quite place it. I think it was the mention in Uzgash’s story parts that I was half-remembering. “Rider,” perfect! Lol.

@Grits: Ask, and you shall receive - one Marghak coming in!

@mALX: Marghak's not above getting behind those closed doors, especially in her official capacity as head hooker of Orsinium.

@Acadian: I'd expect the Orcs at the top of the heirarchy have even more to watch out for. Political assassinations aren't a beggar's fear, and the average footsoldier isn't the target of every enemy mage and archer.


Some general reminders: Marghak and Gortwog's children have been scattered across Tamriel, so that they won't all be in one place if the Orcs' enemies unite against them. They're generally incognito, and you'll notice that she avoids referring to them by name.

Marghak has come to the Imperial City because Gortwog is concerned about the outside influences he's noticed in the Wayrest court. Elysana's dirty tricks were never very sophisticated before, so she must be getting more competent help. He feels better if Marghak's out of Elysana's range for a while. She won't be returning on any schedule that a spy might discover either.

-----

Marghak's in town


When Marghak's ship arrived at Anvil docks, the new Count of Kvatch was there to meet it. He found her on the deck with a spyglass to her eye.

"The woman down there at the end of the dock, do you know her?" Marghak pointed to a Breton obviously flirting with a sailor outside the door of the Fo'c'sle.

"That's Mirabelle Monet," he replied. "She runs the boarding house for sailors."

"Does she have any other staff?"

"No. I can't imagine Mirabelle sharing her duties!" he laughed.

"That's all right, then," replied Marghak. "I thought there was an unregulated establishment we'd need to sort out, but if she's in business just for herself, we need not get involved. I presume she's charging the sailors for their rooms, not any other services they might get?"

He nodded.

"The Guild has to be careful," Marghak explained. "It's just too easy for young women to get involved in all sorts of sex-for-payment schemes that skirt around the regulations. We exist to make sure they get a fair deal. Our rules dictate that the provider sets the price. Although she may delegate the negotiating to a pimp, she gets final say on whether the price is acceptable. Orcs aren't always the best negotiators, so that rule is one of mine!"

"I don't expect your establishment will depart from the regulations. Gweden, isn't it? I've already heard through Guild channels that Tsarrina runs it the way I'd like it, but I hope you won't mind if we go there and check. I need the visit to add legitimacy to this trip. Just like I'll be 'inspecting' the Red Dragon Club when we get there."

---

When Clark entered the Red Dragon Club, he found Taminwe in conversation with an impressive Orc woman, opulantly dressed in fine (and rather sheer) silks which she filled rather well. A huge ruby necklace indicated that she was wealthy, and wearing it in public suggested that she could handle herself against bandits. The lines on her face told him she was old enough to be his mother, but her body looked young enough to belong to her daughter.

Marghak - posing in a test cell.

It turned out that he knew that daughter already. This was Marghak, Uzgash's mother. She was here to pick up a communicator for Gortwog, reunites with Uzgash, and a host of other errands. Her cover story of inspecting the Champion's brothels for the Guild of Prostitutes was genuine, and she'd do that diligently, not that they had any reason to think they'd violated any Guild rules.

She looked him over carefully. "How much for this one?" she asked Taminwe with a leering grin.

"He'll have to decide that himself," Taminwe told her. "If you hadn't guessed already, this is Clark, Earl of Gweden, the new manager of the place."

"Right answer!" Marghak firmly reminded Taminwe that Guild Rules dictated that he'd set his own terms anyway. No matter who the member was, or his or her rank. And she had known who he was, as he fit Uzgash's description of him. "Even with the new face?" he asked.

"Orcs aren't too concerned with faces," she replied. "We notice other things. Just like you apparently do." His eyes quickly came back up to meet hers.

"I wonder if my daughter would mind sharing," Marghak mused, with a wicked twinkle in her eye.

"If it were anyone else, I'd think my mother was joking," said Uzgash, over his shoulder. He hadn't noticed her joining them. "But she did get my reports on you, in particular, the one about our performance at the Falkreath Tavern. I may have exaggerated a bit."

Clark doubted it was possible. He remembered the days and nights of training he'd needed with Sugar for that. Just one Orc was more than enough for him. Especially when it was Sugar or Uzgash, who'd had equal training. But they both knew that, and didn't expect any more from him than he could deliver. It was the uncertainty of Marghak's expectations that had him concerned. She had, after all, come to inspect the brothel, and it might be part of the test to see how well a female client could be served.

But Marghak was quite aware that the Red Dragon Club was one for gentlemen only, and she was just joking with her daughter, ... maybe.

Taminwe asked Clark if he'd mind hosting dinner tonight. There would be Marghak and Uzgash, and herself. There were things they needed to discuss privately, and Imbel Manor was a good place to do so. The only soundproofed rooms at the club were the bedrooms, and they'd be a bit crowded with four.

"If you're agreeable, we'll have everything sent over from the Tiber Septim Hotel, " she continued. The sisters were back at Arborwatch, so he had no problems with that.

---

After an excellent meal, he opened a couple of bottles of his own stock of Tamika's. The Tiber Septim Hotel had sent over what he considered a lesser wine, and he felt they deserved better. Marghak seemed to agree with his choice.

"However, I'm afraid I'm going to spoil all this with business," she said. "We need to discuss the situation in the Summerset Isle."

"One of my sons was sent to the court of King Karoodil and Queen Morgiah in Firsthold, ostensibly as a weapons and armor tutor to Prince Goranthir and his sister Rinalla. The Queen and her children are Dunmer, and so a foreign tutor was nothing unusual. Since Orcs have a good reputation with heavy armor, and most weapons, it was relatively easy to arrange the placement."

"He reports unrest among the local people. Not everyone was happy with the King's marriage to a non-Altmer, especially as it meant his children would be of a different race. If you read 'The Firsthold Revolt' then you already know of the incident with Gialene a few years back. She's still alive in Skywatch, although we can't tie her to any of the current turbulence. Someone is stirring up resentment, but it may not be her this time."

"It's not just confined to that area, either. We have reports of conflict throughout the province. The wizard syndicates have always squabbled among themselves as much as the petty kings of the Illiac Bay used to. But now it seems to have moved to another level. The destruction of the Crystal Tower seems to have been the catalyst for releasing all the tensions that Alinor had kept a lid on in previous years."

"Anyhow, this time Morgiah is sufficiently worried to have started preparing her escape route in case things get ugly. She has a ship with a loyal crew, and she'll need that to reach the mainland whatever she does. We assume she'll want to reach Morrowind, where she can expect her brother Helseth to protect her. That means either sailing into the Illiac bay, and then travelling through Wayrest, Orsinium and Skyrim, or else landing at Anvil, and passing through Cyrodiil."

"What about doing the whole journey by sea?" asked Clark.

"That would only be a reasonable alternative in summer," Uzgash pointed out. "There's too much ice in any other season. Since she doesn't know when she needs to move, she needs another route."

"So Ocato, and Gortwog, need to guarantee her safe passage. It won't be anything formal, as that might be seen as taking sides in a provincial dispute. There can't be any military escort, although her party could have a few local 'guides' added to strengthen their numbers." Margak reminded them that Orc mercenaries were used as caravan guards in most provinces, so that would be easy to arrange.

Clark wasn't sure that the Anvil route would be safe. He recounted his meeting with Lathenil of Sunhold, and the subsequent attempts on his life. This wasn't news to Marghak, as she'd had a report at the time that Uzgash had been sent to Falkreath, but his first-hand perspective was useful. Marghak pointed out that Wayrest also held specific threats for Morgiah, who'd once been a potential rival to her step-sister Elysana in the court there. She felt that they balanced out, and both routes should be made available, if only to divide the forces that could be used against Morgiah.

"Why does Orsinium want to help Morgiah?" Clark asked.

"In case she might be useful later," Taminwe replied. "And the same goes for Cyrodiil. If she owes us a favor, we can call on it when we need to. We have no specific interests in Firsthold itself, but Morgiah may have influence with Helseth. She'll undoubtedly have intelligence about the situation in the Summerset Isle that we can use. You might get called on to help collect that, if she takes the Anvil route."

Clark hadn't been a Earl for long enough to start thinking of himself as a player in those circles. Uzgash reminded him that he hadn't been an Earl when they'd met. "You knew I was Gortwog's daughter, because I told you. But as far as the folk in Falkreath were concerned, I was just a bear rider, and you were just a reporter. Morgiah and Rinalla won't be travelling as a Queen and Princess either."

"Quite likely they'll not even travel as mother and daughter," Marghak suggested. "Rinalla's apparently got some of her father's height, and she's taller than her mother. Morgiah's still young by elf standards, so they could pass for sisters, or just companions."

"And if you've got any problems with sleeping with princesses, Marghak and Uzgash can help you work that out," Taminwe smiled. "I've got to get back to the club, but you three can carry on without me."

Marghak – Enforcer for the Guild of Prostitutes!

Great screenshot of her and it suits her perfectly!

Clark was wise to sidestep the offer to entertain two orcs. While one is, no doubt memorable, two might not be survivable.

Trouble in the Summerset Isle, it seems. . . .

Ooh, Marghak is pretty! I love that she was worried about what Mirabelle Monet is up to! I guess with a guild in Anvil, no one else is allowed to give them competition, ROFL!

Morgiah, isn't that Barenziah's daughter? Love the way you weave lore through this! Really Awesome Write!

Oh my gosh, Marghak is awesome. She spotted a potential unregulated competitor while she was still on the ship!! I love it.

Thank you for Marghak’s reference to The Firsthold Revolt. It let me do some quick homework so I had the info to understand what she was talking about.

All kinds of intrigue, and Clark the new Earl is right in the middle of it! This is really interesting, ghastley!

@Acadian: Marghak knows that if the customer doesn't survive, you don't get the repeat business. And it won't be a problem, as it happens.

There is indeed trouble in the Summerset Isle, as Lathenil reported earlier. And the Thalmor aren't the only bad guys. The collapse of the Crystal Tower blew the lid off all the syndicate rivalries and other unrest.

@mALX: Morgiah is Barenziah's daughter by Symmachus. By my calculations, the mother was 387 years old at the time. Don't children keep you young? Orcs don't live anything like as long as Dunmer, so Marghak's had to work harder at looking young than Barenziah did.

@Grits: Marghak thinks she's awesome too. She's especially proud of how's she's kept her figure.

----------

Dancing in the Dark

As Taminwe left the room, Marghak winked at Uzgash, and the two of them stood up from table.

"On the way here from Anvil, I paid a visit to Gweden Farm," Marghak told him. "And while I was there I talked to all the women. They all remember you. In particular, the three Daedra women remember playing a game in the dark, where you had to identify which was which. That sounded like a lot of fun, and I wondered if we might try something similar."

She dropped a blindfold on the table in front of him. "Don't put it on yet," she instructed, "We have a lot to show you first."

"Uzgash or Taminwe have probably told you that I was brought up in a coven of witches. They spent a lot of their time dancing around naked, and it was clear that it kept their bodies fit and young-looking. But there was more to it than that. I learned that a Master of Restoration can fully repair the stretching of pregnancy and childbirth, if she acts promptly. And after the child is weaned, she can restore the mother's breasts. A witch didn't start to show her age until she couldn't keep up her exercises, and she'd have stopped dancing before that."

"So before I started to produce Gortwog's children, I made sure that there was a Master Restorer in the court. A good workout with a heavy warhammer tones up the muscles even better than dancing, although I still do that to maintain flexibility. I may be twice my daughter's age, but I suspect you'll have a hard time telling us apart."

Uzgash chimed in. "We've all learned to do the same dance moves, even my brothers. It's no good being strong if you're not supple as well. My mother's particularly proud of how she's kept in shape while having seven kids, and attributes it all to what she learned from the witches. I hope you can play that lute I see in the corner. Dancing goes much better with music."

Marghak explained that the dances the witches did were a little different than the ones he might have seen at Houses of Dibella. Those were intentionally erotic, as that was their purpose. The witches were oblivious to the effect their dancing had on any audience, as they were an offering to the gods, not the men watching. They took their clothes off before they started to dance, if they wore any.

"So where did you learn the other style?" he asked Uzgash. He'd seen her in the Tap and Tack - and Gudrun too, who'd learned it all from her. That was definitely the erotic way of dancing.

"Some of it in the brothel in Orsinium, but I made most of that up as I went along," she replied. "You just have to keep your eyes on the audience and repeat what they like." He could see Marghak nodding her head in agreement. That was much the same as she'd done where she worked before she met Gortwog.

She handed him the lute and told him what tune she wanted him to play first. It was the one he'd seen her strip off to at Olav's. He wan't as good a player as the minstrel there, but he made a fair effort.

Uzgash and her mother must have rehearsed this dance, because they did everything as perfect mirror images of each other. And as more and more of them was revealed, he was impressed by how remarkably similar their bodies were. He was starting to forget that Marghak was any older than she looked.

Once they were nude, Uzgash called for a different tune, and they changed their dance to the witches' style. This was a communal dance, not a solo one, and they would swing and lift each in ways that were just as arousing as the Dibella style, but in a totally different manner. He found it hard to concentrate on playing the accompaniment, and they noticed.

"I think he's ready for the next part," Marghak said, and picked up the blindfold. The two women hauled him up the steps to the bedroom in the dome, and helped him undress. While Marghak pinned up her hair, Uzgash made sure the blindfold was in place, and doing its job.

"Now the first thing you have to do is guess which one of us is on the left, and which is on the right." Marghak's voice (or was it Uzgash's?) said from the foot of the bed. He hadn't really noticed how similar they sounded until he had the blindfold on. This might be trickier than he thought without that clue.

He felt each of his hands being lifted and guided, and he tried hard to feel a distinction. He wasn't sure he wanted to find any, as they might stop this game if he did. Still, that wasn't happening anyway, and even the quiet moans of pleasure that escaped the two weren't providing any help. Everything he'd learned about Uzgash in their time at Falkreath apparently held true for Marghak, too.

He admitted that his hands couldn't tell him who was who, and they moved on to the next part. "Who's this?"

"Marghak," he stated confidently. She lifted the blindfold from his eyes and asked him how he could tell so easily. The woman astride him was indeed her.

"Just a well-informed deduction. No matter how detailed Uzgash's reports about me were, I knew you'd want to find out for yourself," he replied. "You're like her in that, too. And I know Uzgash well enough to be certain she'd insist on you going first, just in case two was too many."

"I told you he was clever," Uzgash laughed. "Now I'm going back to the club and leaving you two to play."

Marghak didn't seem too disappointed at having him all to herself.

---

Marghak might feel just like Uzgash, but something more intangible was reminding him of Taminwe. A well-conditioned response took over.

By the morning, he knew the location of each of Gortwog's children, and a lot more about the politics of the Wayrest and Orsinium courts. He had a unclear picture of the way the Altmer were interfering, but that was a reflection of Marghak's own uncertainty. And she was happy to have confided in a trustworthy friend. After all, look what he'd done for Uzgash.

Marghak may have learned a few new things, too, but she'd soon find out they were common knowledge in the Imperial City.

---

Taminwe was impressed, although she told him it was all due to her training. "That's why I'm not worried about Marghak getting together with Ocato tonight. But you did much better than I'd expected! I do hope Morgiah decides to come through Cyrodiil. She could be an ebony mine of information!"

"In that case, I'd better spend more of my time with Minx, and less at the club," he suggested.

"On the contrary, she's been living in the Summerset Isle for the last thirty years, and Rinalla hasn't known anything else. I'd think you need more Altmer."

"Who did you have in mind? Ouch! Careful with those fingernails!"

Marghak’s a magnificent example of Orsimeri splendor at the peak of bloom! Very fun background about the witches and their arts of cosmetic restoration and dancing under the stars - skills that have clearly served the prolific and Nirn-traveled Marghak well.

And yay for Clark, as he is treated to a woman who has amassed a lifetime of charms!

It’s a testament to Clark’s training that the evening didn’t end right there.

I love the applications of Restoration. It’s a magical world!

First off, I am so sorry it took so long to get here and read - very hectic week. Loved the game with the blindfold, reminds me of something I saw on the Howard Stern show once! Lol. Great Write!

@Acadian: I've been playing Daggerfall a bit to soak up the background, and the witches are essential for Vampirism and Lycanthropy cures. So with my usual luck, my characters have been visting them quite often. And Marghak's part of my Daggerfall. So an episode featuring both was inevitable.

@Grits: I've always liked "scientifical and practical" magic in stories. Magic needs rules, and the reader should be able to understand (sort of) how it works, and what its limitations are. It's way too easy to just use it when the author's painted the protagonist into a corner, and there's no other way out. Counter-magics, like detect life and dispel, another thing I like about the games, and other's stories.

@mALX: I'd cut the original "tell the Daedric women apart in the dark" story down from a whole over-raunchy chapter to a piece in the reporter's notes, so I needed to put some back in. Blindfolds just add a note of anticipation to the mix.

--

The next part is already made into a playable quest. I wasn't quite sure where it belonged in this sequence, but here seems as good a place as any.

-----------------

Cult of Dibella

Marghak was back at the Red Dragon Club. She had another concern that needed their help.

The Guild of Prostitutes has a close relationship with some of the cults of Dibella. While they concentrate on the erotic, not on the sex itself, there are always some who can't help themselves and get carried away. We recruit many of our best women that way.

And there's a smaller number that go in the opposite direction. Those who prefer the preliminaries to the main event, as it were. We cooperate on training, and generally sort out who belongs where early on. It's been a positive arrangement for both sides, and is likely to continue to be so.

However, they don't have the same unified structure as the Guild. The cults are independent of each other, with their own rules and regulations. We have to deal with each one as we find it. Recently, we've encountered a few that want nothing to do with the Guild, and there's something suspiciously consistent about them that makes us think they're connected in some way. Our main fear, of course, is that they're exploiting the young women who join them.

We know the cults need some form of income to survive. If a man wants to pay to watch a woman dance naked, that's not a problem for us. Or he can pay to can rub scented oils over her entire body, or anything short of actual sex. If that's where it ends up, she's a prostitute, and falls under the Guild's rules. And believe me, we've had to define what "actual sex" means to the finest degree.

These new cults don't want us to know what they're doing, and that makes us think it's just unlicensed prostitution. The women may not even be getting paid for their services, if they've got them convinced that it's an act of worship. They could be using drugs or spells to do that.

And then, too, because it's illegal that way, they may also be blackmailing the men. It's hard for us to figure out what their motives really are. They've started to pop up all over Tamriel, in farmhouses, caves, even in houses in some of the cities. It's always a small group, six at the most, and the priestesses are usually Altmer, although the acolytes could be any local race of men or mer.

We've just heard that there's one in a cave not far from Bravil that may be a good candidate for you to investigate. It's isolated enough that you can go there without being noticed, unless they have a spy detailed to watch the place. I doubt they've the manpower for that. And if there is any trouble, it won't be noticed either.

The priestess might be dangerous. They always know a good range of spells, and being Altmer, they'll have the magicka to use them. If the women are their thralls, they could fight on the priestess' side, so watch out for that. None of them will be armored, of course. Barely dressed, if they follow their usual style.

Ideally, we'd like you to seduce the priestess, and find out what she's up to that way. We're assuming the other women are innocent of anything, and any violence is likely to harm them, so we'd prefer to avoid it.

He realised that Marghak was speaking directly to him for that last part. He'd been wanting an investigative assignment, but he hadn't quite imagined this one. All the women he'd been involved with while he was a reporter had initiated things themselves, and he'd only needed to keep his head and steer activities in the right direction. But this time was going to be different. He needed to make sure that the priestess, and not one of her subordinates, was his partner.

He couldn't just use a Charm spell to get past her guard, either. She'd be ready for that. He'd have to do it the old-fashioned way.

----

Angeline and Diablita accompanied him to the cave, and went off to patrol the area for anyone who might be watching the place. He entered the cave alone.

The passage down into the cavern was long and dimly lit, but it opened up to a large open space, with a collossal statue of Dibella in the center. It was similar to the one in Anvil, but appropriately for one of her erotic cults, with much less drapery.

The priestess and her acolytes also dressed according to that theme. The acolytes wore a few wisps of thin gauze, that completely exposed one breast and barely concealed the other. Another piece of the same thin material was draped around their hips. It wasn't hard to see through it, even in the dim light in the cave.

Where the acolytes' outfits simply revealed, the priestess' displayed. Her breasts were held high by a sinuous golden band that wound around them and ended in a spiral around her nipples. An ornate belt around her waist held up a half-skirt that fell only at the back, and an elaborate collar and shoulder pieces framed, but did not conceal.

Taminwe had warned him that she might try to use illusion magic on him, to command or charm him, so he'd gone in prepared with enchantments on his clothes that would reflect or absorb spells. She didn't need those spells to have the effect she did, although he suspected Illusion was enhancing the display. But it also played in with his plans. He needed to concentrate on her, and she was making that easy.

The priestess, Alinwe, was suspicious of this stranger who'd turned up in her cave unannounced, but was also prepared to take advantage of whatever the gods delivered. She asked him who'd referred him to their remote location; surely he'd not found it by accident? If he'd been sent by her masters, that would become obvious in how he replied. If not, she might get some idea what she could gain from this encounter.

He replied that he'd heard rumors of the cult's existence in Bravil, and had just been curious. "Who could resist the idea of a cave full of near-naked women with love on their minds?"

She laughed, and called the acolytes to her. "I hope we're everything you expected," she said. The girls all looked back at him adoringly, as if he was the best thing they'd ever seen. Just a little too adoringly, or he might have believed them.

Alinwe suggested he choose one of the girls, and let her show him the joys of DIbella. They all eagerly stepped forward to be selected, but he held up a hand to stop them. "I couldn't pick any one of these over the others. And I doubt that I could please them all. No, if there's any choice to be made, I'd have to pick you, Alinwe. After all, Dibella has placed you above them; who am I to disagree with that choice?"

"Oh, I like a bold one!" Alinwe's broad smile looked amost genuine, and perhaps her words had some truth to them. "But you're going to have to deserve that. Perform a service for Dibella, and then I'll perform for you."

She wanted him to retrieve the silver phallus that they used in their initiation rites. Goblins from Fort Irony, on the other side of Bravil, had stolen it, and it was presumed to have been taken there. "Hurry back," she exhorted.

He left the cave to confer with Angeline and Diablita. They'd go check out the fort, while he went back into the cave to scout around. "Let us do what we're good at, and you go do the same." Angeline told him.

He wasn't all that good at sneaking, but he could use his invisibility spell, if he was careful, and if Alinwe wasn't using life detection. He thought that unlikely, as she was probably using all her magicka controlling the girls.

He started his search in the darker corners of the cavern, and soon found a passage that led to the sleeping quarters. Simple pallets and bedrolls for the acolytes, and a smaller room with a single bed was presumably where Alinwe slept. There was a chest by the bed, but the lock was beyond his picking abilities.

He renewed his invisibility and went back to the main cavern. Near the opposite corner he noticed a rope hanging down from the roof of the cave. He looked around, and saw that he was concealed from view here, and could safely pull the rope without giving himself away. He did so, and a large rock slid down, revealing a small side-cave. In it, another woman was chained naked to the wall.

The Breton's name was Mariette, and she told him that Alinwe's spells had failed to enthral her the way they had the others. Her natural resistance to magic was enhanced by her enchanted sandals, surprisingly the only piece of her clothing they hadn't taken away. She knew all about the setup here. Whoever was controlling Alinwe would send agents to be rewarded by the women, or else they'd be providing them to locals who could be blackmailed afterwards. "You can't use alcohol, drugs or spells to make a woman want you, or it's rape," she reminded him. She must have seen the look on his face, because she continued "Oh, we all use Charm or a few drinks to break the ice, but there's big difference between that and what I'm talking about."

"That phallus she sent you off to to find is locked up in her room. It's supposed to be available to any acolyte who wants to prove herself, but Alinwe keeps it as her personal toy."

By this time, he'd managed to unlock the shackles that held Mariette to the wall. She was weak from her ordeal, and collapsed to the floor, but not before warning him to look behind him.

At the doorway, where the rock had been, was a flame atronach! Alinwe and the acolytes had all summoned daedra, and were running angrily towards him. The priestess had noticed the rock wasn't in its place, and she'd raised the alarm.

He ducked out of the small cave into the wider spaces of the main one, to lead them away from the vulnerable Mariette. He knew enough about summoning spells to realise that it was pointless to try and take on the summoned creatures. They were all scamps and flame atronachs, anyway, and he just had to keep moving out of the way of the slow fireballs. He needed to concentrate on the casters, in particular Alinwe, who was the mastermind of all this.

She flung a shock spell at him as he approached, only to writhe in agony as it reflected from him. He'd prepared for illusion, but it worked just as well against destruction! Her own power was her undoing. Without any armor, she was particularly vulnerable, and her race and birthsign both traded extra magicka for weakness to its effects.

When Alinwe died, her spells died with her. Her own summoned atronach was dispelled, and the girls were released from her control. In moments, all the daedra were gone, and the acolytes were staring horrified at each other, and wondering what they'd been doing.

Their reactions to their lack of clothing differed considerably. The Imperial, Caudillia, was trying to cover everything with her hands, and finding she had too much to succeed. The Redguard, Tamara, glared at him with her hands on her hips, looking more angry than embarassed. Horwen, the Bosmer, was trying to sink into the shadows, and pretend she wasn't there.

Urana, the Dunmer, was completely relaxed. So she was almost naked, and had the attention of a good-looking man. What was wrong with that? She smiled at him, hopefully.

He was still staring at Alinwe. Even though she was dead, she was still magnificent. It was unfortunate that she'd had to die. Perhaps he was projecting Taminwe's skills on her, and she wasn't as good as she looked, but she definitely would have been interesting! He found himself almost sympathetic to Falanu, now.

A faltering voice at his side told him otherwise. Mariette had staggered down from her prison to join them. "There's illusion and fortify magicka enchanted on that outfit," she told him. "Help me put it on, and I'll show you what I mean."

With the priestess' garb in place, Mariette looked larger than life. Her breasts looked larger, her hips flared wider, and she looked a lot taller. "The height's mostly the high heels, but the rest is illusion magic." Mariette took the opportunity of her newly fortified magicka to cast another healing spell on herself, and her voice lost its quaver, and became more authoritative.

He looked back at the corpse on the floor. Alinwe did look a lot more ordinary without the help of her outfit. Mariette handed him a key that she'd taken from a pocket in the belt. "This will probably fit the chest in Alinwe's room. Can you go see if the phallus is in there?"

He found himself hoping that the same reward was still on offer for its return.

It was indeed in the chest, along with a number of clothing items that he assumed were what the acolytes had arrived wearing. He left those behind. He preferred their current attire.

The silver phallus was significantly larger than life-sized, and had a flat base, so it could stand on its own. Mariette took it from him, and placed it on the middle of a platform behind the statue, where a row of stone chairs faced towards it. "I think you can imagine what the initiation rite involves," she said with a wink. "Part of the test comes from having everyone else watching. She needs to concentrate on the joys of Dibella, and shut out the rest of the world, or she'll fail."

Urana was eager to try, and particularly wanted him to watch. Mariette told her to save it for when they had a paying audience. She'd taken charge now, and she had to run things properly. They'd need all the income they could get, and erotic displays were a good source of gold.

"I'll need a talk with each of you later, to make sure you really belong here. I know Alinwe was holding you against your will, but you all came here freely in the first place. Probably all for different reasons, even if they did have something in common."

They weren't really listening to her. They were all staring at the phallus. Caudillia with a mixture of fear and fascination. She couldn't get over the size of that thing. Was it really possible? Could she do it? The thought of being watched was especially scary, but exciting at the same time.

Tamara's expression was more one of defiance. Yes it looked impossible, but she'd do it.

Horwen was demurely looking down, but her eyes kept being drawn back to it. If they could do it, so could she. But she'd want to practice with something more normal first, and work up to it.

Mariette took his arm and led him towards the sleeping quarters. She needed to thank him for rescuing her, and the girls needed some time to play without her watching over them. He briefly thought of Angeline and Diablita, who were probably fighting goblins right now, but Mariette soon got his attention back.

---

Taminwe and Marghak weren't as pleased with the outcome as he'd been. Their hope was that the priestess would reveal something about those higher up the chain of command. "Are sure that Breton didn't have any clue to who was behind Alinwe?"

But Mariette had been chained up most of the time she was there. The little she knew came from Alinwe's attempts to make her do things she didn't want to. Once the Altmer realised her spells were ineffective, the Breton's chance to learn more had evaporated. "She'll send word if they try and contact Alinwe, so we still have a possibility that this will pick up where it left off."

They could only wait and hope.

Thank goodness for spell reflection!

‘He was still staring at Alinwe. Even though she was dead, she was still magnificent. It was unfortunate that she'd had to die. Perhaps he was projecting Taminwe's skills on her, and she wasn't as good as she looked, but she definitely would have been interesting! He found himself almost sympathetic to Falanu, now.’

I wonder what the goblins wanted with the silver phallus? Someone stole their totem and the shaman has a sense of humor?

He wasn't all that good at sneaking, but he could use his invisibility spell, if he was careful, and if Alinwe wasn't using life detection. He thought that unlikely, as she was probably using all her magicka controlling the girls.

I particularly like this part. She can’t use all magic at all times, and Clark figures out how to use his skills to get the job done himself. His spell reflection meeting Alinwe’s natural weakness was another great touch. Darnand is hoping I will forget about that.


He briefly thought of Angeline and Diablita, who were probably fighting goblins right now, but Mariette soon got his attention back.

They will be disappointed when they don’t find what they’re looking for! I hope Clark is prepared.

*

First off, I am so sorry it took so long to get here, I have been sick as a dog this week.

Loved the degrees and distinctions in the acts to qualify for the guild or qualify to be against the guild if practiced outside of it! Bill Clinton needed to learn these, lol.

Also, the silver Phallus, ROFL !!! Do I detect a "Naughty Little Claudia" clutter item? ROFL !!! Awesome Update!


*

@Acadian: of course the goblins are just ignorant victims here. Alinwe was just using them as scapegoats for her own misuse of cult equipment. She's got it locked in her chest.

@Grits: I did at least point the sisters at a ruin that contains Shadowbanish wine. It won't be a complete waste of time going there.

@mALX: Yes, there's a clutter item. But I leave it in the cave. There's no point letting Angeline and Diablita get distracted by toys.

----

I'm working simultaneously on three new quests for the mod. One covers Uzgash coming down to the City from Falkreath, and it's similar to what was described here, with the stripping in Olav's, but without the bridge collapse. Another takes Morgiah and Rinnala across Cyrodiil from Anvil to the Morrowind border, and the last one starts the split of the Mages Guild.

This episode is a part of an older quest that's needed for a bit of background for what's to come.

----------------

Randonil's tale

Whenever Tsarrina came to the Imperial City to help with the book-keeping, Clark would take her place at Gweden. He was sure that the place would run itself perfectly well without him, but it kept up the appearance of being a dutiful manager for the Count of Kvatch. Besides that, there were a few other reasons he liked to visit the place.

One of them was Virgilia, the Imperial who'd made an early impression on him when he first visited as a reporter. But this time, she was with a tall Altmer mage, and the way she was looking at him made him think it wasn't just another customer.

"This is Randonil," she told him. "Remember how I told you about sneaking an invisible fellow student into my bedroom when I was trying to lose my virginity? This is him! And I know you're not a reporter any more, but I think you'd like to hear the rest of the story."

To be honest, Clark had only given that job up reluctantly. Whenever he could, he still wrote anonymous articles for the Courier. It was good writing practice, and that helped with his books. Those too, he thought ruefully, were just a hobby now.

It was his own article about Gweden that had got their story going again. Randonil had completely lost track of Virgilia when her parents sent her away to live with her Aunt Rosentia. He'd given up all hope of seeing her again at the Arcane University, and immersed himself in his studies to try and forget. But then he'd read about Gweden in the Black Horse Courier and something seemed very familiar.

He'd graduated some time before, and was doing some research work for the senior staff, but nothing that couldn't be interrupted. He got permission to travel down to the Gold Coast to see if Virgilia really had found her way there. Somewhere between Skingrad and Kvatch, he'd been waylaid by bandits.

That hadn't been entirely unexpected, and he hadn't had too much trouble defeating them, but with his magicka reserves dangerously low, he had no defense against the necromancers who turned up next. Cursing his luck, he'd been dragged off to Fort Linchal and imprisoned there. He wasn't sure what they had in mind for him, and why they hadn't killed him immediately. The cell they put him in kept his magicka drained, and he had no option but to wait for things to develop as they might. At least he'd written ahead to the Count's Arms let them know he was coming. When he didn't turn up, someone might come looking for him.

It took rather longer than he'd expected. Wilbur had sent a message back to the University, instead of raising the guard in Anvil. Raminus Polus had alerted the Arch-mage.

"That's the boss, of course," Virgilia pointed out. "He was here at Gweden when Raminus' Dremora messenger popped out of nowhere and gave him a note. It's a good thing thing Prizna wasn't in the room, or she'd have been scared she was being called back!"

"So you were there and saw it?" Clark asked.

"Of course. That's probably the only reason I was able to persuade him to let me come along. Raminus didn't provide a lot of information, just that Randonil was coming to look for me, so naturally he quizzed me for anything I knew."

She continued explaining everything that had happened next. They'd gone up to the city to ask around at the University for any clues to the disappearance. Maybe one of Randonil's colleagues would have some ideas on his route, or something. "I took my armor with me. It wasn't much use as armor, because it doesn't cover much, but it was better than nothing."

Clark and Randonil grinned at each other when she said that. They both liked the idea of nothing, especially on Virgilia.

"Well, it's quite good at being armor now," Virgilia told them. "Raminus suggested that we ask Delmar to enchant it with Shield, so it would function properly. It's better than Ebony now, even if it does still remind me of goblins."

"We left it with him, while we went off to Cheydinhal. The Arch-mage had to install Deetsan as chapter head, and give her a promotion to Warlock. There was also a candidate for the Mages Council there to interview, an Orc battlemage by the name of Orgul gro-Kurak."

"Then we came down to Anvil, to ask Carahil to join the council, too. She wouldn't do it until the Arch-mage found someone to replace her, so we went back to the University, to see if Raminus had any news, and to collect my armor."

"That's when we got the tip-off that the necromancers had been seen taking someone towards Fort Linchal. The three of us, Orgul, the boss and I, all went off to the fort to look for Randonil. Orgul hates necromancers, something to do with a family crypt I think, so he was eager to get involved."

Randonil reminded her that Raminus had taught her a few extra spells, so she could actually help them. "She's a quick learner. I'm sure she'd have done well at the University if she'd had the chance to continue her studies. It wasn't just her other obvious talents that attracted me to her."

He hadn't seen any of the action, being stuck in a cell deep in the fort while most of it was going on. "And Virgilia's been too modest to tell me about it. Apparently she thinks I'd be upset about her putting herself in danger to rescue me."

"To be honest, I was hiding behind Orgul and the Champ most of the time," she admitted. "One of the spells Raminus taught me was healing, and it seemed to be a better use of my reserves than trying to hurl fireballs or lightning."

"Orgul didn't use that kind of spell either. He seemed to prefer summoning a war-axe and hacking with it. He said it was better in confined spaces like the corridors of the fort, and that the necromancers might absorb spells cast at them. My impression was that he just liked being hands-on when he dispatched a necromancer."

Randonil agreed with that judgement. "I'm no battlemage, and they do get more weapons training than the rest of us, but Orgul did seem to delight in splitting necromancer's skulls with his axe on the way out. And it was he who insisted that we clear the place, and not just leave once I was found."

"Did you ever find out why they kept you alive?" Clark asked Randonil.

"No, although it's possible they hoped that I'd join them. Many of the necromancers are Altmer, so perhaps they thought I'd be sympathetic. The other possibility was ransom, but I gather no notes were delivered to ask for any payment."

"You haven't told him what happened afterwards," Virgilia reminded Randonil.

"Oh, yes, the best part! We all continued to Anvil, and the Arch-mage talked to Carahil again about joining the Mages Council. When she repeated her objection, he made me her replacement! Apparently he'd had a recommendation from Raminus Polus that I was ready for a chapter position, and it all just fit so perfectly."

"So Randonil's in charge in Anvil, and we can see each other all the time!" Virgilia bubbled.

Clark wondered what the Altmer thought of Virgilia continuing her employment at Gweden. He'd known about that when he came here to look for her. "I'm the same age as she is," he pointed out. "That's a trivial part of an elf's life expectancy. I won't be looking for a wife for a century or more, and she's as much fun as I need now, the way things are. Her capacity for this greatly exceeds my meager needs. And she's learning so much, I can't complain."

"It would have been splendid to be each other's first, but it didn't happen that way. We've consoled ourselves with the fact that we actually knew what we were doing when it did happen.That first experience of each other was a lot better than it would have been."

"Talking of first times," Virgilia interrupted, "I've not had two of my favorite men together at the same time before."

"It's a good thing Tsarrina's not here to hear you say that," Clark told her sternly. "She'd be expecting double the income from you in future!"

"Three in the bathtub might be a first too," Randonil suggested. Clark doubted it, but it did sound like a good idea. They headed down the basement stairs. He had a few more ideas for "firsts", but he'd save them for later.

So Carahil is part of the Council of Mages! How wonderful for her and Traven. And Rattatoui Randonil is in charge of the Anvil MG branch!

I like Orgul’s direct approach to necrohunting.

So they’re headed for the tub. Bubbles!

Oh my. That is a hilarious image!

Yay for Shield charms.

I like Orgul’s armor over robes look. (I checked out his page to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.)

And Carahil finally gets her promotion!!

First off, I am so sorry it took so long to get here and read this. RL has been pure hell this past couple weeks.



This line made me laugh, maybe it wasn't meant to be funny but it just struck me that way. Like there needs to be a personal reason to hate a necromancer, lol. And just the hint of a story without the telling of it - loved that line!

Orgul has meager needs? Maybe the brothel will have some "Stallion Potion" to assist him in that? Lol. Great Write!

@Acadian and Grits: Carahil and Orgul will be relevent in a later chapter, but it was really Randonil, and his experience with the necrodudes, that I needed to introduce before I refer back to them.

@mALX: No it's Randonil with the meager needs, and that's only in comparison to Virgilia. In the mod, he visits the farm once a week, and Virgilia visits him once a week, too. I don't know if Carahil and Orgul get up anything in the Council Chamber at night, I don't often go and peek!

The next few episodes recount a new quest I'm building that has the player escort Morgiah and Rinnala across Cyrodiil. The "one camp at a time" aspect makes sure that they at least have to get past a few bandits, and not just fast travel all the way.

---------------

Black Queen's Gambit - Part 1

Clark knew the location of Atrene Camp. It wasn't too far from Gweden, and Darwen had taken him there once. She'd said they'd be hunting bears, but she didn't ask him to bring a weapon, and they didn't see any bears. He suspected she just wanted to get him away from all the other women, and have him all to herself. It was one of the few campsites that never seemed to harbor bandits, so it was a nice safe location for an afternoon of fun and games. He wondered if that was what Morgiah and Rinnala had in mind.

Clark had been asked to escort the two through Cyrodiil. They'd be arriving by ship from Firsthold, but they wouldn't anchor in Anvil harbor. Instead they'd come ashore by rowboat, and head for the campsite, bypassing the town completely. Apparently they thought it was safer for them to stay away from cities, and main roads.

They were waiting at the camp when he arrived. An Altmer sailor from the ship was on guard, but Clark gave the right password and was allowed past to meet the Dunmers. Both were dressed as commoners, but you couldn't describe either as inconspicuous. Morgiah's preference for bright red clothes had been inherited by Rinnala, and both liked to feel the sun on their breasts.

He'd been told that the taller one would be the daughter, and he was glad that he had that difference to go by. Morgiah didn't look significantly older, but whether that was just a Dunmer's natural slow aging, or if she'd enhanced that effect with alteration or illusion magic, he couldn't tell.

It was apparent, however, who was in charge. Morgiah dismissed the sailor back to his ship. "Now the Earl's here to look after us, we won't be needing your services any more. Go back to Firsthold, in case my son needs the ship."

The sailor bowed, and left. The glance back at Rinnala suggested to Clark that his duties had included a bit more than just protection. Rinnala, on the other hand, was only looking at Clark.

He asked Morgiah what she had planned, but she'd been waiting for his arrival before making up her mind. "Do you think we could pass for sisters?" she asked him. "We don't want to travel as mother and daughter, or we might leave clues for anyone following our trail."

He was reluctant to offend Rinnala by suggesting she looked as old as her mother. A young lady wants to appear mature, not old, and one's mother is always of an older generation. "Why not just use similar names, and not tell anyone what your relationship is?" he suggested. "Sisters, cousins, whatever. You have a family resemblence that anyone could spot, but there's no need to be specific. Let them guess."

They both seemed to like that idea, and set to making up names. He suggested borrowing Falanu and Miranu. They were cousins, and looked as similar as these two, although they really were about the same age. They didn't think that was a good idea. The real Falanu and Miranu might become unintended victims, if anyone followed that false trail.

"Tolisi and Tanasa, then - I know they're both dead already." Those were rejected, too. Rinnala did not want a dead woman's name. Well, not a recently dead one, anyway. It's a different matter being named after an honored ancestor.

Morgiah lit the camp fire and started assembling the ingredients for a stew from the sacks they'd brought with them. Clark had expected cooking to be one of his duties, not something a Queen and Princess would do. Morgiah reminded him that she wasn't trusting anyone on this trip. She'd prepare her own food, until she knew him better.

As they ate, the two women continued proposing and rejecting names. He learned quite a lot from their reasons for discarding some of them. They belonged to people he didn't know, but the women did. Usually friends of one, but not the other.

After their meal, Morgiah pointed at one of the small one-person tents, and told Rinnala to go and get some sleep. The look she gave her mother made it clear that wasn't what she had in mind, but she did as she was directed.

Morgiah, meanwhile, led Clark to the larger tent, pulled him inside, and closed the flap.

"You need to know something about why we left the Summerset Isle," she told him. "Have you heard of a group of thugs called 'the Beautiful'? Probably not, the news had only just reached Firsthold when we departed. They'd issued threats to most of the royal families, and illustrated what they meant by abducting the daughter of the King of Shimmerene. Not for ransom, you understand. They wanted to create fear, and what they did to her achieved just that. I don't think Rinnala knows about it, because I'm sure it would have quite put her off sex. You're not a woman, so you wouldn't be able to imagine what that poor creature went through."

"And it will be good for Rinnala to get away from the court for a while. I remember being in the same situation in Wayrest. I was the odd one out, the only Dunmer girl in a sea of Bretons. I also had Princess Elysana to contend with. Not only was she a rival for every man in Wayrest, but she wasn't above spreading lies about her half-sister and brother. I took the first chance I got to be out of there."

"I was still in the minority in Firsthold, but I was the Queen, and that makes a big difference. I was so grateful to Karoodil, I was almost faithful to him. And I probably could have been, if he didn't go off chasing pirates so much. The Altmer are a xenophobic lot, and only have eyes for their own. If we hadn't had ambassadors from all around Tamriel, I don't know what I'd have done for amusement."

"The common people are just as bad. You probably recall that I had to put down an uprising led by Lady Gialene not so long ago. If we'd stayed, I'm sure that would only have happened again. Bringing Rinnala away from Firsthold is just what she needs. It's not just for her safety, she's at the age where she needs to explore her tastes, and she needs a better selection of partners than she'd have back there."

Clark wondered whether the mother needed a wider selection, too. Morgiah had much of her legendary mother Barenziah's intelligence, and it wasn't just coincidence that Morgiah had decided to pass for Rinnala's sister. She knew that everyone would expect her to be just as promiscuous as the younger woman, and he suspected she was going to make the most of the opportunity.

"I've seen the way Rinnala was looking at you," Morgiah told him. "Of course, she looks at most men that way, at her age. She'll doubtless feel a bit constrained by her mother's presence on this trip, but if she's got any brains, she'll find a way to get you alone. Don't disappoint her."

"Do I give you any reason to suspect that I would?" he asked.

"No I'm sure that Orsinium arranged for you to escort us with that in mind," she responded. "The Orc who taught her Blade and Blunt undoubtedly taught her other things, and he'd have reported her tastes to his masters when he passed on our request. So we assume you're just what she asked for. The only question is whether she really knows what she wants. After all, that's why she's looking around, just like any woman of her age."

"I don't know anything about you, and so I can't trust you, yet. I sent one of the ship's crew into Anvil to ask around, and he came back with a bit of information about a brothel outside town called Gweden Farm. And you're the Earl of Gweden, any connection?"

"Yes, in the sense that my title does come from that place. It was a private joke of Ocato's, because my Earldom derives from running the Imperial CIty's best brothel. The Potentate is a regular customer, and we have a few mutual interests. I'm just the manager, it belongs to the Count of Kvatch, as does the local one." He could see that this wasn't all news to Morgiah, and his honest response was making her more comfortable trusting a stranger.

"I've heard of the Red Dragon Club," Morgiah continued. "It does have a good reputation among the diplomatic community as a clean establishment with a good wine cellar." She didn't seem to mind letting him know what she already knew. That was probably a good sign.

"Gweden Farm serves a good glass too," he told her. "It's not so far from Skingrad, and in my opinion at least, the best wines in Cyrodiil come from Tamika's vineyard there. We should make a point of sampling some when we pass through."

"Well, we have to give that a miss. We won't be going through any of the cities on our journey. That's exactly what anyone sent to follow us will expect, and they'll have spies looking out for us in them. Our plans are to go cross-country, and stop in campsites like this one. It will mean forgoing the protection of the Legion and city guards, but I'm not sure they're any more trustworthy than anyone else."

"A lot of these campsites are popular with bandits," he pointed out. "You just can't predict which will be safe, and which won't."

"A lesser risk than entering the cities. Bandits go around in small bands, and we're not incapable of handling that limited a threat. They probably won't be any worse than the wild animals of the forests. We just need your local knowledge to keep us away from goblins. They're tribal, and tend to congregate in large numbers. Tough fetchers, too."

"Where are we headed next, then?" he asked.

"I'll let you know when we leave here," replied Morgiah. "And that might not be for a few days. We don't want to stay here long enough for anyone to find us, but we also don't want to be predictable. Our departure will be as randomly determined as I can make it."

Morgiah pulled the flap of the tent aside just a little, so she could peek through the gap towards Rinnala's bedroll. Her daughter looked like she was sleeping, but she knew better than to rely on appearances. "Go bring the other bedroll in here," she told him. "If I leave you here alone, you might not get any sleep."

Camp hopping it is! And, no doubt sampling the bedrolls in each to ensure they’re fit for royalty.

At first, I thought that Morgiah doing her own cooking was going to symbolize her link with the common mer. But I see now it is just a precaution to avoid the royal danger of poisoning.

Buffy, when she sleeps at a bandit camp, hits the bedroll she uses with both a frost and dispel spell to get all the cooties out. Oh, and as you may know, tmar’s characters (Baa & Mooch) use fast travel to go bandit camp hopping. They like popping into the middle of a fight though - great fun I suppose, if you've got the stones for it.

This was fascinating, absolutely LOVED the plans for changing Morgiah's name and the background story! She and Barenziah are two of my favorite characters in the Lore. Awesome Write!

I like all of the security measures, especially having to stop at various camps along the way. That will allow time for Morgiah’s and Rinnala’s characters to really make an impression.

@Acadian: I'm sure Morgiah will learn to trust Clark soon. Like in this episode.

@mALX: Barenziah's probably a role-model for both these women. To be seen later.

@Grits: The multiple camps was a necessary part of the mod, or there'd be nothing to do, but it does help here.

-----------------

Black Queen's Gambit - Part 2

"Last night ... you didn't, did you? Not with my mother!" The look on Rinnala's face was a complex mixture of emotions. Hope that nothing had happened, mixed with all sorts of disbelief that her mother might have actually...

He assured her that Morgiah had just wanted him where she could keep an eye on him, and all that had happened was sleep. He had to stop himself showing any disappointment, as he wasn't yet sure how Rinnala would react to him finding Morgiah attractive. Or even, as he suspected, to her thinking the same of him.

For now, he just reminded her that Morgiah was only about thirty-five years older than her. Barenziah had been nearly 400 when she conceived Morgiah. She hadn't thought about it that way before.

Rinnala saw her mother walking over to them, and asked "Are we leaving today?"

Morgiah responded that with the day's fine weather, it would be just what anyone would expect them to do, so they wouldn't.

"Then could I go down to the beach for a swim? It looked deserted when we came ashore, except for a mud crab or two."

Morgiah looked questioningly at Clark, and then replied. "Why not? Let's all go."

---

As soon as they reached the edge of the sand, Rinnala was slipping out of her shoes. If Morgiah hadn't stopped her, she'd have taken everything off, and just run naked into the ocean. "Pick those up, and make a tidy pile of everything over on that rock!" she was instructed.

That didn't slow her down by much, and soon Clark and Morgiah were watching her frolic in the waves, while they took off their own clothes at a more sedate pace, and added them to the pile. Morgiah asked for a lot more assistance with the process than she needed. Clark was glad to have his attention pulled away from the display that Rinnala was putting on. He rather wanted to have a swim himself, before the ladies decided he was ready for anything else.

He could make a show of being polite, closing his eyes, when Morgiah revealed too much, and not give any offense. He declined her offer to assist him unlacing his pants, and quickly got into the water before she could make any other move.

That seemed to amuse her immensely. He felt her splash into the water behind him and she whispered in his ear. "If you'd let me, I'd have cast a spell to solve your problem. It's one I use when I want to humiliate a man, but it has its beneficial uses, too!"

"Does Rinnala know that spell?" he asked.

"Of course, but I can't imagine her wanting to use it," Morgiah responded, pulling him around so that he'd have to look at her, and not Rinnala. The younger woman was bending over in the shallow waves near the beach, pretending to look for clams. "And don't worry, the opposite spell is beyond anyone's abilities."

"Ah! You know there's a potion for that." Clark told Morgiah about Miranu's wonderful potion #9.

"Really? That could be very useful!" she exclaimed. "The most powerful men are quite often advanced in years, and not always as ... amenable to persuasion ... as the younger ones. That potion could make all the difference."

With that happy thought, she took his hand and lead him out into the deeper water to swim.

Morgiah dived down towards the bottom, and he drew a deep breath and followed. She levelled out and skimmed her hand through the top of the sea-grasses, flushing small fish out of their hiding places, and watching them dart around trying to hide again. After about a minute, she rolled over to face him, and beckoned, but he was heading back to the surface for air.

"Don't you know a water-breathing spell?" an incredulous Morgiah asked. "I'd better teach you one quickly, or you and Rinnala won't be able to hide from me."

Alteration wasn't his area of expertise, but that really was a simple spell. Still, it took a couple of tries before he got the casting motion right, possibly because what Morgiah was doing would distract anyone. Two could play at that game, he thought.

Morgiah thought that turnabout was more than just fair, but she lifted his head and pointed over his shoulder . Rinnala had spotted them on the surface and had swum out to join in the fun.

---

Morgiah had another spell to offer when the three emerged from the water to look for the rock that was keeping their clothes dry. She summoned three heated towels, handed one to Clark and asked him to dry her back. Rinnala picked hers up and got to work on Clark.

---

Back at the camp, it was clear to Clark that a lot of the earlier tension had gone. Morgiah seemed to trust him now, and she also appeared to have decided not to tease her daughter by keeping too close a rein on him. Now his worry was that they might decide to share, instead of take turns. He'd had practice with Minx and Carwen, and of course Angeline and Diablita, but that was just pleasure, and these two were business.

"We'll leave tomorrow," Morgiah announced, "so you two had better make the most of the large tent tonight. We don't know what accomodation there will be for us at Brotch Camp."

"Rinnala, he can walk on his own...."

Clark had a good point about the very slim age difference (by Elven standards) between mother and daughter. Of course to Rinnala her mother would seem ancient, even though they might look very much the same.

The water breathing spell is one of my favorites just for sheer enjoyment. What a fun day at the beach.

"Rinnala, he can walk on his own...."

Seems like Clark was having a hard time getting undressed at the beach, what with Morgiah pulling on his attention. Oh noes! Morgiah’s got a spell that can soften things up!

‘She summoned three heated towels,’
Kewl! Buffy would have to summon three times for three towels and wouldn’t have a clue about magically warming them without risking a fire.

What a magically fun day at the beach!

Poor Clark, he's got his work cut out for him escorting these two. Barenziah's blood runs strong, I see trouble ahead for Clark, lol.



Ain't it the truth, ROFL !!!

Awesome Write!

@Grits: Morgiah is twice Rinnala's age and more. And as her mother, she 's of another generation. This trip might change Rinnala's perspective, but it's just started.

@Acadian: Since Illusion gives you Charm, Command, Frenzy, and Fear spells, I figured there would be a few more specific ones for certain situations. But then I had to wonder why Miranu's potion was so special, before I painted myself into a corner.

I'm not sure Morgiah heated the towels magically, so much as knowing where to find hot ones. I suspect they have them at the palace in Firsthold. My take on the summon spells is that they relocate, rather than create. It makes more sense for creatures that way.

@mALX: If Clark isn't used to trouble by now, Taminwe will just have to find him some more.

-------------

Black Queen's Gambit - Part 3

The following morning, they crossed the road leading to Lord Drad's estate and headed towards Arkay's wayshrine. He and Rinnala both took advantage of the blessing of health, causing Morgiah to remark on how exhausting the previous night's activities must have been.

It was hard to miss the sight of Kvatch's ruined walls on the hill. Although the Oblivion Gates were gone, the place where the great siege engine had breached the wall was still visible, even from this distance. Clark asked them if there had been Oblivion Gates in their part of the Summerset Isle.

"There was one that opened not far outside the city of Firsthold," replied Morgiah. "But all that happened were a few Daedra wandered out and looked around for a while. I instructed the local militia to watch and wait, and not take any action until the Daedra got close enough to be a direct danger to anyone. It seemed that they were waiting for a signal from somewhere, perhaps intending to attack all the cities at once. Anyway, the Gate disappeared as mysteriously as it arrived. I later learned that all the Gates went together, just after the Crystal Tower fell."

She didn't mention those Thalmor that Lathenil had told him about. If they had indeed claimed responsibility for closing the Gates, it hadn't been reported in Firsthold.

He told her that the same had happened in Cyrodiil; all the Gates had closed at once, after Mehrunes Dagon and Akatosh fought their battle-by-avatar in the Temple of the One. And he asked her about the Mythic Dawn. Again, they appeared to be unknown in Firsthold. By then Kvatch was dwindling on the horizon.

Following*

They carried on past Bodean Camp, which was deserted. That was a good omen, he hoped. If all the campsites were empty, they'd be in a better mood for talking, than if they had to fight for them.

He steered them clear of the Forts, and the Ayleid ruins, but those were easy to see. Both had been built where they had commanding views of the countryside, and that worked both ways. He was more careful in avoiding Shattered Mine. The last report he'd had placed bandits there, but mines were always popular with goblins, and you often didn't see the entrances until you were right on top of them.

Fort Linchal got an especially wide berth. He'd heard about that place from Virgilia. It was where the Necromancers had taken her friend, Randonil. The Champion had helped to rescue him, and he was now the chapter head for the Mages Guild in Anvil. Clark had heard a few more Necromancer stories from him, too. He didn't mention Necromancers to Morgiah yet, that was a topic that needed more time, and they needed to get to Brotch Camp first.

The shadows were getting longer as they approached Brotch Camp. Nothing significant had troubled their journey so far. A few wolves had seen them, but they were dispatched by fireballs before they even got close. A boar that they flushed from a bush around lunchtime had provided their lunch, as well as bit of shortsword practice for Rinnala.

There was a plume of smoke drifting up from a campfire, so his hope that it would be empty proved false. The question was, how many bandits were in residence, and what sort of opposition would they present?

Clark had learned the benefit of spell reflection and absorption from his run-in with the Dibella cult, so he was wearing the same outfit today. He also had a sturdy shield, in case they were using regular weapons. Morgiah was completely unarmored, but he knew she would use spells for defense. Rinnala paired her shortsword with a buckler, favoring speed over anything else. He'd seen her in action against the boar, and thought he detected a shield enchantment, so he wasn't too concerned about her. They should be good against anything but archers.

Luckily, the pair of Khajiiti were armed with blunts. The female had a heavy warhammer, and the male an axe and shield. Rinnala picked the female and pointed him to the male. Morgiah would hold off and use ranged spells. They had the advantage of numbers, which should be more than enough to balance the armor advantage of their opponents.

His own blade skill was not that great, but when he went out with the sisters he'd done well enough by blocking his opponent until one of them could assist. His blocking skill had advanced much more than any offensive one. He hoped that tactic would work with these two, as well.

He edged around the Khajiit, trying to put him between himself and Morgiah, so that she'd get a clear shot at his back. It would also put him further from Rinnala and her bandit, so the two battles would stay separate. The cat swung his axe, and Clark raised his shield at just the right time to deflect it. As the axe slid off his shield, he saw Morgiah hurl her first spell.

---

When he came to, he was aware of Morgiah's hand on his forehead. "Sorry I didn't warn you," she said contritely. "I used a spell with an area effect, and got both of you. The Khajiit got more of it, and it looked like some reflected from you onto him. Your head doesn't hurt, does it? That spell's supposed to knock you out, but I forget if it feels like it."

It didn't, although it hadn't been pleasant at the time, and she had at least dispelled it before it could have any after-effects.

The Khajjit, however, was still unconscious. He had taken most of the spell's effect. Rinnala had laid him out on a bedroll, taken off his cuirass, and was tying his wrists securely to tent-stakes.

"What about the female?" He asked.

"Dead," Morgiah responded. "Rinnala didn't want to have to kill her, but she ran onto her sword. Those warhammers have a lot of momentum, and you can't help going with them."

He helped Rinnala pull the male's boots and greaves off, and they tied his ankles to another pair of stakes.
"I'm glad we could keep the male alive," said Morgiah. "There aren't a lot a of Khajiiti in the Summerset Isle, and certainly none around the court. Rinnala probably doesn't know about their peculiarities."

Rinnala was bit annoyed about being discussed in her presence as if she wasn't there. "What peculiarities?"

"Well, why don't you wake him up and ask him?" Morgiah could barely keep a straight face.

Rinnala used the same touch spell that Morgiah had used to bring him round. It took a few moments before his eyes could focus, and when he saw the three of them standing over him, his first reaction was to flee. But he was securely tied down, and couldn't move. After a short struggle, he saw that it was futile, and subsided.

"Why'd you keep this one alive?" he asked. "Even a Necromancer prefers a dead victim."

"Education," replied Morgiah. "My ... friend ... has something to learn, and I'm sure you'll learn from your failure today, too."

"So you're going to torture this one, are you?"

"Not exactly. Rinnala, would you take your shirt off, please? Show our prisoner what you have under there."

Rinnala looked puzzled, but she did as her mother asked.

"Nice pair, but there is no understanding," he grinned. "Where's the pain in looking at those?"

Clark was feeling mild discomfort, and had to adjust his clothing. The other presumably didn't find elves quite as arousing as he did, or maybe it was just fear. Either way, Morgiah instructed her daughter to strip off completely.

A fully nude woman had the effect Morgiah was expecting. As Rinnala watched, it became apparent to her what her mother had meant.

Rinnala knelt down and took a closer look. She reached out a finger and touched the barbs. Her gentle touch almost was the torture the poor Khajiit had feared. He moaned involuntarily and she snatched her hand back.

"That looks very uncomfortable," the young woman told her mother. "How do they ever persuade the females to mate with them?"

"Mostly, they don't." Clark told her all he knew about the Khajiiti. How the females were completely under the control of the moons' cycles, and all but oblivious when they mated. "They're even more driven to it than you are."

"It's not as bad as it looks, either," Morgiah joined in. "Your grandmother did it with a Khajiit called Therris, back when she was your age. She told me it was one of the most intense experiences she'd ever had. Mind you, Barenziah was an exceptional woman."

"Anyhow, you're in the driving seat here. You can do whatever you want, because he's not going anywhere for a while. Take all the time you need, and be sure to teach him something while you're at it. Meanwhile, there's another bedroll over there, and Clark has something I need to attend to."


----------

*The screenshot has my latest test character, not Clark, in it. He's got the sisters in tow wherever he goes.

BWAAHAA!



This fascinated me. Your transitions between Lore and your own world-building for your mods is always so smooth that unless I know the Lore I can't tell where it stops and your story starts. Here is one of those places.

Did a gate open up in Firsthold? I honestly don't know, but if it didn't and this is from your creative mind, I am totally in awe of your ability to shadow the Lore this way! AWESOME !!!

*mALX searches for bowing down emoticon*

Loved that screen shot, Love seeing your mods in action!



SPEW !!! Like barbs? ROFL !!!



OMG, I nearly choked to death on this!

Ah yes, the scene with Barenziah and Therris - who could forget that? Lol.



So I read, ROFL !!! Awesome chapter, I am loving this addition to your mod!


*

I don't know for sure, but we do know from Lathenil's book in Skyrim that the Daedra did invade there and take down the Crystal Tower. I'm assuming a gate per major city as in Cyrodiil. Oblivion has "news from the other provinces" that indicates gates in Morrowind, and Black Marsh, and that's enough to suggest all provinces got the same treatment.

I haven't seen the Skyrim book, but the "news from other provinces" is very interesting - I will def peek into the dialogue boxes for that one, haven't seen it yet! (but wasn't looking, lol). Awesome Write, Ghastley!

Some conversation examples:

I have heard things are bad in Vvardenfell. The Telvanni do their best to close the gates, but it is to no avail.

The news has not been good. I've heard it said that the daedra have overrun the town of Ald'ruhn. The entire town has been destroyed.

There is grave news from Skyrim. From Falkreath to Windhelm, the foul daedra attack the land.

I hear all of Skyrim is under siege. The daedra lay waste to the Old Holds, and there is little to do to stop it.

Many Argonians say they have been "called back" to Black Marsh. They disappear into the swamps and are never seen again.

The last one doesn't mention Daedra or gates explicitly, but there are other lore references that indicate the "call back" was to fight the Daedra.

Thank you so much! I def need to listen better in game, these are great!

What a pleasant view your screenshot provides to follow through the golden grasses of the Gold Coast! I can see why Rinalla can raise a cat’s barbs.

Neat to hear about how the Ob Crisis went in other parts of Tamriel, and a grim reminder of Kvatch.



Nit? Do you want 'camp' or 'Camp' when associated with the actual name of the place? (My recommendation would be Brotch Camp, but more important is consistency.) –
'They carried on past Bodean Camp, ...
...they needed to get to Brotch camp first.
The shadows were getting longer as they approached Brotch Camp.'

If that was Clark in the screenshot, he wouldn’t need to adjust his trousers. I liked hearing about the Oblivion crisis in the other provinces.

I chuckled at “Nice pair.” Isn’t that what Therris says? What an educational trip!

@mALX: Since the mod's events are set in around 4E1 or 2, I need to make it fit what's reported in Skyrim as well as the Oblivion 'rumors' dialog, which is fun when they contradict each other. I'm also using known stuff from Daggerfall and Morrowind, although the latter is harder when I don't have a copy of the game! Apart from Helseth, who does get a fair amount of mentions in this part, as Morgiah's brother, I'm not sure who's a canonical survivor into this time. Morrowind didn't do "essential" the same way as the other games, so everyone could be dead!

@Acadian: Again your proof-reading catches the elusive ones. I'm usually using too many capitals, perhaps a hang-over from German, where all nouns are "proper'.

@Grits: I was hoping someone would pick up that quote from the book.

I have since re-run the quest with Clark in the lead, and I may post a screen-shot from that later. There are still a few loose ends in the choreography of the Rinnala/Khajiit scene (which all happens in a closed tent out of view). It took me a long time to stop the bandit getting up and going to sleep in another tent. Rinnala was quite offended! And I want to re-work the closed tent model a bit before release.

----------------

Black Queen's Gambit - Part 4

"So how do you know so much about Khajiit mating?" Morgiah asked him. "Dunmer, I can understand, although you surprised me a couple of times."

Clark told her about Shulassa and Tsarrina at Gweden. As far as he knew, they might be the only female Khajiiti who really knew what was happening when they mated. And yes, he'd asked about that. Shulassa had shrugged and told him it was just different. She liked it with or without, no preference for one over the other.

"Rinnala's apparently taken to it," Clark added. "How many times have we heard her so far?"

"More than we've managed, that's for sure. I'm starting to feel cheated." Morgiah replied, wondering if Clark was getting aroused by the sounds from across the campsite. She certainly was.

Her own experience with Khajiiti men had been under different conditions. She'd taken drugs to reduce the intensity, as she'd wanted to keep full control. That had left her with a feeling that she'd missed out on something. And Rinnala was getting it full-strength, as much as she wanted.

Clark may not been able to read Morgiah's mind but it was clear to him that he needed to distract her, or she'd be running over and taking her daughter's place. This was his best opportunity so far to really get Morgiah off-guard.

"Have you wondered why they didn't just send a hulking Orc with a battleaxe to escort you?" he asked her. He didn't dare let her think too much about that, so he answered his own question. "Because you need a guide, not a guard. Someone who knows the territory, and I don't just mean the land, I mean the people, too. You need to be kept clear of the all the threats against this journey, and the worst of those are ..." He trailed off, letting her fill in the space with her own thoughts.

"I need to know where you think the threat is coming from," he continued after a moment. "You mentioned those fear-mongers, the Beautiful, but I got the impression that they weren't the only ones. There's some other group that has you worried, isn't there?"

"If I knew who they were, I'd have dealt with them myself." Morgiah replied with a disgusted look on her face. "But all we see is the results. Someone's stirring up the common folk, but nobody ever seems to know where rumors started, or who was the first to complain. That's not easy to manage, and their competence is what has me scared. It started even before the Daedra invaded, but it got worse after. The gates used up a lot of good soldiers that would otherwise have kept a lid on things."

She clung tightly to him, as if for reassurance, and that gave her the opportunity to change the subject. Clark smiled, recognising those tactics. She was good at this, too. "Of course, Rinnala thinks you were sent to look after her needs, not because we needed any help with the journey. They all think they're immortal, and capable of anything, at her age. Travelling across Cyrodiil with just a map and a shortsword seems easy to her."

---

In the morning, Clark and Morgiah found the other pair still asleep in each other's arms. She'd obviously untied him at some point, once she trusted him not to run away. When she'd found the time to do that wasn't clear. Last night, it had sounded like non-stop action. Clark told Morgiah that another quirk of the Khajiiti men was that they had to be ready for the "feast or famine" nature of the females by being ready to mate many times in quick succession.

The other side of the coin was that they'd have to be prepared to wait a whole month for the next opportunity, so it evened out over the course of time. That was good, because they'd have to leave him behind. Morgiah was a little worried by that thought. She was sure that he'd have heard her use Rinnala's name, and didn't she mention Barenziah, too? Did he know too much for them to let him live?

"Look at them," said Clark "Don't you think he's on our side now? Have some faith in your daughter's abilities, even if they are a bit uncontrolled at this stage."

Morgiah didn't look convinced.

"And if you really need to be certain, stay here another day, and work on him yourself."

He knew before she responded what her decision would be.

---

They helped bury the dead female, and make a small pile of rocks to mark the site. She hadn't been his mate, just a fellow bandit he'd recently teamed with. It hadn't been long enough for the moons to take control of her, so he didn't know if she'd accept him, or go and hide herself when the time came. He'd not really thought about it. Khajiit don't, it just happens.

And mating didn't necessarily create any permanent attachment. A female in heat couldn't always escape her own desires, and she'd do it with someone she didn't really care for. If there were several men around, and she was unattached, they'd most likely all get a turn.

So no, he didn't feel bound to Rinnala in any way. Grateful, and happy to serve again if called upon, but that was all. She was too strange, too foreign. "But exotic, and erotic, are only one letter different. Khajiit has certainly learned from this."

---

"Do you think I'm just a slut?" Rinnala asked. Clark had to think fast. There's no right answer to that question, so he answered another one.

"If you'd asked me if your breasts are too small, or too large, I'd point out that they fit my hand perfectly. That's because you wouldn't really want an answer, you'd just want me to give them a bit more attention. You would have asked, because you'd be worried that I might be ignoring them because I don't like them. You should know I think they're just right, but you'd ask anyway, just to get me thinking about them."

"So I'm guessing that your question means that you over-did things last night, and you're feeling a little sore. You're wondering why you didn't know when enough was enough, so you ask that other question, really meaning that you want to be treated gently tonight."

The way she smiled at him told him that he was right. But then a frown crossed her face. "Why do you think I'm not happy with the size of my breasts?"

Clark was saved by a loud cry of mixed pain and ecstasy coming from the other side of the camp. Rinnala laughed. She knew just how Morgiah felt. And Clark had taken the hint and was doing exactly what she'd wanted. She didn't ask any more questions.