Until I complete the other mods, there's not a lot to add to their stories, so I thought I'd tell the tales associated with Gweden while I work on them.

That mod's anything but linear, as you can do the individual quests for most of the girls in any order. That meant I'd have to come up with a narrative that links them all together and creates a sequence. Rather than take the easy way out and describe it all from the Player-character's viewpoint, I thought I'd try a different approach entirely.

So I'm going to write a story, about a reporter writing a story, about the stories of the girls who work at Gweden. They'll tell them to him one at a time, and there will be a bit of extra narrative added beyond what actually happens when you play through each of the quests they're describing.

The Champion is arbitrarily male as before, and of no specific race. Because of the requirements of the mod for some of the quests, he's also the Madgod, Master of the Fighter's Guild, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Arena Champion, and Archmage, although I'll try to play those down as much as possible. All of those things are less important to his employees anyway. He's the boss, and he did something special for each of them, or they wouldn't be there.

----



"Listen up girls," Tsarrina began. "This one expects you've all heard the news by now. The Oblivion Crisis is over, and the Gates are all closed. Martin Septim is no more, and the Elder Council is running things ."

"Our boss is now the Champion of Cyrodill, and so everything he does is front-page news in the Black Horse Courier. They're sending a reporter down here to do a story about this establishment of his, in the next few days."

"This one doesn't want it to be just another story about the boss. He's getting a bit tired of that himself. This one wants it to be our story. Your story."

"We probably won't make the front page, as it appears they're sending a junior down to do the interviews. But that should work in our favor. He'll be young, and you'll all appreciate that. Especially Juliana. This one wants you to be ready if he's really inexperienced. The rest of you are to make the best impression you can. We can get some really good publicity from this."

"Should we start shopping for new clothes?" asked one of them, hopefully.

"No, you won't be needing those much," Tsarrina chuckled, "but make sure anything you do wear is is the best you have. And by that, this one means the most effective, not the most expensive. Unless it's both. Dark-eyes, get your uniform starched up and crisp. Cybeline, that red velvet number with the plunging neckline that you keep for special occasions. This is a special occasion."

Everyone looked at Prizna. She just laughed, and Tsarrina had to grin, too. "This one does not expect you to start wearing clothes now."

"This one wants you all to be ready to tell him how you came to be here, and what part the boss played in that. It will keep the stories relevant to his assignment, but they'll be about you as much as they are about the Champion."

"We'll make use of the old farmhouse as the interview room. It's nice and cozy in front of the fire there, and we'll put some comfortable chairs either side. We should keep the main rooms in the Lodge open for business. There's no point losing any trade while he's here, after all."

"Will he be staying at the Count's Arms while he's here?", asked Maeva. "I can walk up with him in the mornings if he does."

"No, we'll keep him here at the farm," Tsarrina decided. "He'll use the main bed in the farmhouse, and this one doesn't want him sleeping in it alone! You'll each get a turn to tell him your story. Make sure you also get a turn to show him what you can do."

----

Future pieces will have each of the women telling her story of how she came to be at the Gweden Brothel, or the reporter putting the report together. I'll add a postscript article from the Black Horse Courier about Cousin Miranu's miraculous potion at the end, which should take a post or two to cover it. I have most of the stories drafted, as they come straight from the mod itself, but I'm still working on the wrapper narrative, and haven't finalized the sequence of the individual tales yet.

This is a fun idea and off to a grand start! You efficiently get across much here without seeming to do a data dump – especially your opening two short paragraphs. A stellar example is that via name and dialect only, we infer Tsarinna is Khajiit.

What a fun way to introduce folks to your mods!

I imagine the reporter will need some of Cousin Miranu's miraculous potion before he's finished with his research. Great idea to keep the boss out of it as much as possible, so that it still fits just about anyone. There may be an issue with the link. Looking forward to the stories!

Link fixed. Something defaulted my "org" to a "com".

Still just introducing things, I'll get into the mod proper next time.

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



Skingrad to Gweden

The junior reporter from the Black Horse Courier sat on the bed in his room at the West Weald Inn. He was reviewing the notes he'd made in preparation for this assignment.

He'd not been the contributer for the original "Anvil Tarts Thwarted!" issue, so he'd read that before he set out, to get some of the background. All he knew was that Gweden Farm had been the scene of that incident, although that hadn't been mentioned in the printed edition. "Why not?" he wondered. He'd ask the Madam, what was her name? Ah, yes, Tsarrina. He'd ask her what she knew about it. Maybe she'd known that Faustina Cartia woman that ran the gang. That would add a bit of spice to his report!

Skingrad seemed to be a dull town compared with Anvil, and he couldn't find any past editions with a story of the Champion that took place here. He knew the Oblivion gate just outside the walls had been closed by him, but nobody knew any details. He'd gone out to look at the site, but there was nothing there but the blackened remnants of a wayshrine, and a few burnt trees.

He got half a story concerning a paranoid Bosmer by the name of Glarthir, but no-one wanted to talk about that. Everybody wanted to just forget about it, and they suggested that he should, too. Glarthir was dead now, anyway. There were hints that the Champion had been involved, but nothing he could use.

The wine and food here was anything but dull, however. Tamika and the Surilie Brothers seemed to be constantly trying to out-do each other with the quality of their wines, and Salmo's sweetrolls were the best he'd ever tasted. Here in their home town, they weren't so expensive, and even a junior like himself could eat and drink well. He made a note to suggest a "fine dining" edition, but ruefully admitted to himself that his chances of getting to write it were slim.

He visited the other tavern in the city, the Two Sisters Lodge, as inns are always a good source of gossip. Mog gra-Mogak, who ran the place, didn't have any stories for him either. There had been a band of Vampire hunters there a few months back, around the time she'd last seen the Champion. She'd thought they might generate a bit of excitement, but they'd all disappeared without bringing back any tales to tell in the bar. Mog suspected they were just passing through, as she'd never heard of any Vampires in the area.

One of the other guests at the West Weald Inn, a big Nord fellow called Bjarne Long-arm, had just come back from Gweden. He wouldn't tell him anything about it, though. Didn't wan't to spoil the fun of finding out for himself. Bjarne slapped him on the back and nearly knocked him over. "You'll have fun there," he said. "You can count on that."

Bjarne warned him to watch out for bandits on the Gold Road. There were several camps close to the road that they used, so he'd be well advised to travel with the Legion Patrols if he could. If he reached the Gottshaw Inn safely, there was one Patrol that went into Anvil, and another from there to the farm. He marked the camps on the reporter's map so he'd know when he was getting close.

"If you get past Fat Ramp Camp without meeting any bandits, then the next one is Ra'sava. There's another Legion horseman that turns around just there, so if your timing's good, you can follow him to where the road to Kvatch turns off. Then you're almost at the Gottshaw Inn, and past them all."

He got the impression that the Nord did that trip fairly often. He didn't pry any further though. He could always ask about Bjarne at the farm when he got there.

If there were bandits on the road, he'd better make sure he was prepared for them. He dropped in to Hammer and Tongs before he left, to have Agnete the Pickled make sure his travel armor and shortsword were in good condition. Although he'd been a customer, she didn't have any stories about the Champion. She apologized for having such a poor memory. Some evenings especially seemed to be completely missing from it.

Falanu Hlaalu, the Alchemist next door, sold him some healing potions, just in case. She also suggested he take some Mandrake root. It would be just the thing if he got bitten by any diseased creatures along the road. Then there was that comment about necrophilia, as if she expected him to be dead the next time they met. He was beginning to reconsider this trip!

The actual journey turned out to be completely uneventful. The patrolman from Anvil to the farm wasn't there when he left the city gates, but the road was deserted. He found the man's horse waiting patiently outside when he got to Gweden.

He was quite astonished to find a large Lodge had been built next to the farm he'd been expecting. The farmhouse was the usual low thatched block common in this region, but the Lodge was a big two-storey stone structure in the Anvil style, with a tiled roof and a collonaded porch. The red light hung next to a big metal door. He checked his notes. The report of the Sirens affair had only mentioned the farm, and said nothing about this other building.

Just then, the patrolman emerged from the farmhouse and walked over to him. He hadn't seen him here before and wanted to know who he was. He showed the legionary his press card, and asked about the extra building. It hadn't been built all that long ago, just after he'd taken over this patrol route. The previous man had retired, and he'd pulled rank to get the assignment. He remembered that the old farmhouse was getting rather full at the time, so he wasn't surprised when Tsarrina had the Lodge put up.

"So how many women are working here?" asked the reporter.

"Must be at least a dozen," the legionary replied. "Of every race, including a few you've probably never met before. But go on inside and count for yourself. They're expecting you." He opened the farmhouse door and ushered him in.

Tsarrina and some of the women were indeed waiting for him. They took his bag and put it by the chest at the end of a big comfortable-looking bed. Tsarrina led him over to an armchair by the fire and put a glass of wine in his hand. "Make yourself at home," she said. "We've got a lot to tell you."

One sip told him it was Tamika's. He liked these people already.

What a fun little tour of Skingrad and the road to Anvil! Many great touches, sure to bring a smile to those who know the game.

Well, we saw the preparations that Tsarrina and her crew were making during the last episode in anticiapation of the reporter’s arrival. Here we get the reporter there. I’m looking forward to the stories that follow.

As Acadian said, plenty of smiles here.

That would add a bit of spice to his report!

He has no idea. This is going to be fun.

Tsarrina

"So, Madam Tsarrina, is it true that the Champion of Cyrodiil owns a piece of this brothel?" asked the reporter from the Black Horse Courier.

"No, this one must correct you" she replied. "Firstly, this is a Gentleman's Lodge, and this one requests you not to use that other term. Secondly, he doesn't own a piece of it. It's all his property. This one is but the steward of this part of his estate."

"This one can see that she'll have to explain the whole story, to set the record straight," she continued. "She hopes you brought a large notebook"

----

It all starts with Ma'iq. This one was working the streets of Leyawiin, and let's say she knew Ma'iq well He told her one day that he'd come across a farm for sale in Anvil County. The soil was poor, and the property abandoned, but the farmhouse itself was sound. The Countess was eager to sell it off, so that it didn't become a haven for bandits or marauders, so the price was very low, something even this one might afford.

"This one, a home-owner?" she asked, disbelieving.

"Would I lie?" he countered. "To you, I mean."

It certainly sounded like a good idea, the way he described the place. Not too far from town, a price this one really could afford, as long as she didn't need to spend any gold repairing the place. She'd traded for services before, so she imagined that fixing it up shouldn't be a problem. It certainly would be nice to have a permanent roof over her head instead of using bedrolls and dark doorways. The poor land wasn't an issue, as this one wasn't going to become a farmer.

You may think her foolish, but this one gave Ma'iq all the gold she had to go ahead to Anvil and buy the farm for her. This one found out later that he had to add some gold of his own, but he didn't tell her that. She arrived a few days after and found that the previous owners had a left a small amount of furniture behind, including a real bed! That helped her thank Ma'iq properly.

The first customer was the Legion Patrolman, a fortunate circumstance, as it always helps to have the law on your side. This one set up an arrangement with him, where he'd bring supplies from town, in return for a discount for the Legion. He passed the word to some of the guard in Anvil, who are always helpful in giving strangers directions. Pretty soon there was a steady stream of visitors, all without this one setting foot in town.

Getting the place fixed up went much as expected. There was lot of labour given in lieu of gold, as well as not having to buy the materials. The men were making the place comfortable for themselves as much as for this one, after all.

Of course, one reason things were going well was that Khajiiti are rare in this business, and that made this one special. Most female Khajiiti are so ruled by the moons that they aren't interested for most of the month., When they are, it's so intense they'd never think to ask for gold, or to sheath their claws! This one doesn't know why she's different. There must be a bit of human or elf in her ancestry, she supposes.

But then Faustina and Signy turned up. They'd been working at the Flowing Bowl in Anvil, they told her, and heard about her activities at Gweden from the customers there. Faustina proposed a "merger". as she put it. They'd join her at the farm and in return, not report her to the Countess .

"Report this one? For what?"

"Running an unlicenced brothel, of course. Don't you know the Castle has to approve any business operating here?"

She didn't know any such thing. This one was a full paid-up member of the Guild, and had never heard of any county needing licences before. But then again, she'd not owned her own property before, either. Were the rules different if you weren't on the streets?

To make a long story short, Faustina convinced this one that she should let her and Signy stay at the farm and "help". That was a bad idea. Pretty soon this one found out that they were robbing the men, instead of giving them what they'd paid for. You don't get repeat customers that way, even if you do get a bit more gold than they were prepared to give you. This one was going to throw the two of them out, but Faustina pulled out a wicked-looking dagger and threatened her with it.

"You're part of this gang, just as much as we are," she said. "If you go to the watch they'll just throw you in jail. They'll think you're the ringleader, since you own the place."

This one didn't know the Anvil watch well enough to contradict that. She never went into town, and only knew the few who were customers before Faustina and Signy arrived. Decent sorts, but a bit literal-minded and unbending when it came to the law. This one could imagine Faustina was right.

The reporter though of Captian Dion from Skingrad when she said this. He was inclined to agree with her if the watch were the same here.

This one became a prisoner in her own home. Faustina and Signy would go into town and look for men to lure back to the farm. She'd have to stay behind, and they locked the door when they left. She went to the basement when the men came. She didn't want any part of their scheme.

Then one night, the man who turned up was a bit less gullible than the others. Apparently, he didn't put down his weapon and undress like the others, but confronted the women. The stupid pair attacked him! This one ran up from the basement to try and stop the fight, but it was all over and Faustina and Signy were dead. A couple of guards from Anvil came in and took their bodies away, and paid the man for his help.

That man is now the Champion of Cyrodiil.

After the guards left, we talked. He told this one the story of how Maelona and Gogan had recruited him to act as the Sirens' next victim. They were supposed to follow him in and arrest the gang, but all the hard work was over before they turned up. He'd also had to convince them that this one wasn't involved, as she'd been assumed part of the gang. She had a bounty that was more than she'd paid for the farm!

Realising just how much she owed this man, this one told him the farm was his, and proposed that she re-open the original business and work for him. If he could recruit a few more girls to help, honest ones this time, he could have a good source of income here. This one is good at persuading, but it didn't take much .

He already knew a likely candidate, just down the road at the next farm. Her husband had run off and left her, taking a family heirloom with him. He'd just retrieved that for her, and she was now a widow. Maeva the Buxom, he called her, and it fits her well. Maeva not only comes to work part-time at Gweden, she brings us fresh produce from her own farm.

At that time, the Champion was travelling around Cyrodiil closing Oblivion gates and collecting items for Martin's attempt to recover the Amulet of Kings, so it wan't hard for him to check in each city for likely girls to work here. Each of them has a tale to tell of the Champion. Would you like to hear them?

The reporter looked up from his notebook, which was filling fast. "I'd like that, of course, if they're willing to tell."

What fabulously creative twisting you have going on here to support your wonderful mod! I love how you tied it to the girl gang quest as well as Maeva’s quest and came up with the story behind Tsarrina and why the Champion of Cyrodiil owns the place.

Writing a first person narrative for one who speaks in the third person is a challenge I would not want to undertake - certainly not for more than an episode or two. Especially when some of the characters she refers to (also in the third person) are of the same sex and competing for the same pronouns! You did an admirable job however.

Nit:
’Faustina convinced this one that she should let her and SIgny stay at the farm and "help".’
That capital I in Signy needs to be reduced to an i.

I like the licensing issue that causes so much trouble for Tsarina. Now the CoC can handle the bureaucratic concerns, and she can focus on her areas of expertise.

Nice touch recruiting Maeva the Buxom. As I recall, she is pretty open about being ready to date again as soon as she hears that Bjalfi won’t be coming home. And I know she must be happy with her new job, if she’s bringing fresh produce to share at work.

Heh heh. I've played the mod but it's nice to see some background.

@Acadian Thanks for the encouragement on the Khajiiti dialog. I have another Khajiit in the story later, and I've already decided that she's not going speak like that (having been born in Cyrodiil). SIgny's nit has been picked.

@Grits You hit the nail on the head with that piece of Maeva's standard dialog. It made her a perfect first recruit. In fact, the combination of having Gweden farm locked and wasted as a usable home, and Maeva being just down the road was the thing that got me started on the mod. The two stories needed to be finished, and connecting the two just made sense.

@My Cat I hope you'll try the others, if you haven't already.

-----------

First impressions


"The first this one wants you to meet is quite unique," Tsarrina said. "There aren't many Dremora around in Cyrodiil. The conjurers may summon a few, but they're all male, and they don't stay for long."

Prizna came into the room and and the reporter for the Black Horse Courier didn't know where to look. The woman was completely naked!

He kept his eyes focused on his notebook, but she wasn't going to be ignored. She walked over and sat in his lap. He was saved by Tsarrina remarking that he wouldn't be able to write her story if she sat there. Prizna got up again and took the other chair, but not before rubbing herself against him a few times.

He was left with the impression that she was hot! Not just that way, but her skin felt like she had a fever. He asked about that, and a voice like dark velvet replied that it was true. She came from Dagon's realm, where lava flowed and fires burned everywhere. Her body temperature wasn't all that different from Humans or Elves, and Khajiiti were somewhere in between. Argonians were a bit cooler, she thought, but maybe theirs wasn't constant anyway.

"Tell him how you came to join us at Gweden" Tsarrina prompted, and Prizna began her tale.

First I need to tell you about my childhood. Yes, we Daedra are immortal, as we can return from the waters of oblivion and resume our lives, but everything has a beginning, even if it has no end. I do not remember if I was born, or created, but I remember being a child.

Nor can I tell you anything about returning from death, as I have never done so myself. Most male Dremora return because they are called back by Dagon, to fight his endless wars. There may be other ways to return, but I have no knowledge of them. But back to my growing up.

Females live to serve the males. If a young girl shows competence at any trade, she may be set to doing that for the rest of her existence. If she's good at smithing, she may be set to making armor and weapons. Or with other skills, she could be a cook, or a healer, or a fletcher. I was a bit more intelligent than the rest of my class, and conspired to hide my abilities until I could choose my own vocation. I learned a little of every skill I could, in case it could help me later, but I was careful not to shine in anything.

It almost worked. When I was grown enough, they made me a "reward for valor". Well, I was good at that, and I might have chosen it anyway.

I think it was because I wasn't as submissive as the others. I could take the initiative, and be a partner instead of a chattel. True heros appreciate that, and I was serving the best. Kothet was a hero when he was presented me as a permanent reward for the victory at Ganoneh. I was happy to belong to him, at first.

But Kvatch was retaken and Kothet fell from Dagon's favor. He started to mistreat me, and I started to hate him. I learned spells and weapon skills in secret, hoping for the day I could free myself from Kothet.

The chance came when a Gate was opened outside Bravil. Kothet was chosen to defend the Tower island, and I managed to travel there too. When he took up his post near the flaming arch, I killed him and stepped through it into Tamriel.

I needed someone's help to close the Gate, so I could stay in this world and leave Kothet behind. I was sure that Dagon wouldn't restore him in any haste, especially as he'd been killed by a mere woman. However, I needed the Gate closed so he couldn't reach me later.

The man who helped me is the owner of this Lodge. I was being chased by Scamps near the Gate when he came to my assistance, and healed my wounds. He has such cool, gentle hands!

He asked me what my name was. I didn't understand what he meant. A Dremora woman doesn't have a name of her own. She's "Rynaz' daughter" or "Kothet's woman" or just "the cook". He decided I needed a name and called me "Prizna". Wow! I was just like the Kyn themselves now, with a Name of my own!

I put away my fears and followed him back into the Gate. I needed to confirm that Kothet was still dead. I also was determined to help close the Gate, or die trying. I wanted to deserve having a Name!

We found Kothet's body inside near the Gate, and he was as dead as I'd left him. We could see the Sigil Tower from there, but there was a locked war gate between us and the entrance, so we couldn't go that way.

There was also a Daedroth charging towards us. I dropped back and cast a shock spell, while my hero stepped forward with his sword and shield. He must have had an enchantment on that sword, as the creature didn't last long, and I heard a soul gem fill as it died.

We set off to the East past a small tower, where we ran into a couple of Dremora. I cast my shock spell again and one of them was hit. So he charged after me while his colleague engaged my partner. I backed up, casting my spell again, but he was getting very close. He swung his sword at me and opened a huge gash in my arm. I went down on my knees, and was sure I was going to die, when he fell dead on top of me. The Hero pulled his sword from the Churl's back and put it back in its scabbard.

He took a look at my arm and laid his hands on my breasts to cast his healing spell again. I asked why he hadn't put his hands on my arm instead.

"If I touched the wound, that would hurt you, wouldn't it? Until the healing is complete, the pain won't go away. I need to cast the spell as close to your heart as I can, so it works as quickly as possible. ... And it also helps remind me why you're worth saving."

That got a laugh that made me feel better. Taking the Churl's longsword made me feel better too, as I now had something to block with.

We made our way further and crossed a bridge over to another island in the lava. We appeared to be circling the Sigil Tower amd not getting any closer. A doorway in the rocks ahead of us looked as if it might lead into a cave or tunnel. If the tunnel was in the same direction as the door, it might take us closer to the Tower, so we went in.

By the time we emerged at the other end, I had a shield to go with the sword. Our tactics remained the same. I'd stay back and use spells, while the Hero got in close with his sword. If anyone attacked me I would block until help arrived. and continue to cast shock when I could. Then we'd stop, repair our equipment, and heal. I was enjoying the way he healed me, even if I didn't like it being needed.

We'd come out into a tower, from which a bridge led across to the central island where the Sigil Tower stood. An archer stood on the bridge and fired as soon as we came through the door. I blocked the arrow with my shield and fired a bolt of shock back. But then I had to turn my attention to a Clannfear who'd run over the bridge toward us. I knew that Clannfear reflect damage, so I didn't use the longsword, just blocking with the shield and casting shock when he recoiled. I didn't notice that I had my back to the archer until an arrow caught me in ... a certain large muscle involved in sitting down.

I looked back, to see the archer nock another arrow. As he let fly, I stepped sideways and the arrow flew past me into the Clannfear, finishing him off. That let me hurl another bolt of shock at the archer, and end his career, too.

My partner had also been busy. A Daedroth and a Markynaz lay on the edge of the bridge. He pushed them off into the lava with his foot, and came over to me.

"That arrow's got to come out before I can heal the wound" he told me. "You know they use barbed arrows, so this is going to hurt"

He made me lie face-down on the ground, so the muscle would be relaxed. I heard him cast a spell, but I couldn't see what type of spell it was. It can't have been healing, my breasts were beneath me.

When he started to pull out the arrow, I knew what spell it was - Paralysis! I couldn't scream, even though I wanted to. But it must have made removing the arrow easier, as the pain soon ended. I felt the healing spell flowing through me again, and I hadn't even noticed where he put his hands this time.

A few seconds later, the paralysis went away and I could stand up. I saw the huge door to the Sigil Tower ahead and I knew that's where we were going next. I didn't know what to expect inside, but I knew that whatever was in there kept the Gate open.

That's when I started to get worried. I wanted Kothet to be trapped here, but I wanted to escape. I knew that the mortals that closed Gates were transported back to Tamriel when the Gate closed. Kothet had mentioned that when he told me about the Gate at Kvatch.

But would I go with him? I had to take the risk. And by that point, I'd have followed my hero anywhere.

The forces guarding the interior of the Tower were much the same as outside. The good news was there weren't any archers, the bad news was more of everything else. By the time we reached the Sigil Chamber, I'd needed a lot of healing, and my hero had had to replenish his magicka from the wells several times to do that.

I'd had the opportunity to take a suit of armor from one of the dead, but it was too uncomfortable, and hampered my spell-casting too much. I just can't do anything properly if I'm covered up. I think I was also concerned it might hold me back in Dagon's realm if I wore it.

We climbed up the ramp to the platform at the top of the Tower. I saw the Sigil Stone balanced on top of the pillar of fire. That was apparently the key to closing the Gate.

"You take it" he said. "The stone always leaves with me when a Gate closes, and it should take you with it"

"But what if that's how you get out?" I asked. "I wouldn't want you left behind."

"I don't belong here," he reassured me. "And you don't either. So take the Stone and let's go back to Tamriel" I noticed that he put his arm around me, just in case. At least I think that's why he did it.

As soon as we re-appeared outside Bravil I gave him the Stone. I didn't want anything to do with Dagon or his realm any more.

However, I knew nothing about the world I'd chosen. Was there a need for someone like me in Tamriel? What would I do here? How would I survive? Who did I belong to?

He answered the last question first. I had my own Name now, so I didn't have to belong to anybody else. Not even him, even though I knew he deserved it more than Kothet ever had.

And he also knew just what I should do in Tamriel. What I did best, of course. And Tsarrina would help me learn the customs of this land, and how to make the most of my skills.

She never did get me to wear clothes, though. I still don't understand why anyone thinks they're a good idea. They tickle and chafe, which makes me too aware of my own body, and then I can't concentrate on my customers.

And it's not like I have anything special to hide. Every Dremora woman has a body just like this one. If you can't see our faces, you can't tell us apart. And you can only tell me from a Mazken or an Aureal by color. We're all the same size and shape. Well, maybe my skin's warmer, too, but that's all.

The reporter assured her that she appeared very special to him, not that he'd looked. He still wasn't looking. He tried to get his concentration back on the story by asking her about the others. "You're quite a different build than some of the humans and elves, though. You may not stand out from the crowd where you come from, but it's not like that here. Everybody's different, and that's good."

"Well, if different is good, why can't I be different by not wearing clothes?" she asked.

Again Tsarrina saved him by asking to see what he'd written so far. Or had she? Now he had nothing to look at but the floor, or Prizna.

Prizna went over to Tsarrina to take a look at his notes too. "This is very good. I think he deserves a reward, don't you, Tsarrina?"

He involuntarily looked up when she said that. Prizna had her back to him, and she was bending over the notebook...

---------

Note the "heal other on touch" spell always seemed to target her chest, so I added that into the story.

What a clever and even cute story! Tsarrina certainly has an interesting crew! Your hero is giving a whole new meaning to the paladin/cleric skill of laying on of hands.

Good idea to paralyze the patient to remove an arrow. We have found 'disintegrate weapon' helps as well.

Prizna came into the room and and the reporter for the Black Horse Courier didn't know where to look.

I’m glad he figured it out by the end of the interview.

I like Prizna’s dark velvet voice. Instead of being harsh metal similar to the Dremora males, their females are completely opposite. Makes sense, and likely more soothing to her mortal customers.

Nice use of the Heal Other spell.

@Acadian I didn't know that "disintegrate weapon" would work on arrows. Is that any use in the game, or is it just useful in FF?

@Grits He's trying to maintain a professional detachment. The interviewees would prefer a professional attachment, so there will be a bit of friction until this is reconciled. (No, wait, hold the friction, that will only make things worse.) He's going to lose anyway, there's too many of them, and only one of him.

I wanted the female Dremora to be as opposite to the males as possible, so voice was another opportunity for contrast.

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

Virgilia

The next girl who came into the room next was naked, too.

"Virgilia," asked Tsarrina "did Prizna put you up to this?"

Virgilia giggled and nodded her head vigorously, which set most of the distracting parts of her body jiggling. And he thought them particularly distracting. She was an Imperial like him, and quite the prettiest he'd ever seen. Certainly the most naked one he'd seen, and perhaps that might have been biasing his opinion. As a reporter, he wanted to be unbiased, but he was finding it hard not to look.

Which was exactly what she wanted. Virgilia leaned back in the chair and uncrossed her legs. With all the willpower he could muster. he looked her in the eyes, and asked "Shall we begin the interview?"

She held his gaze for long enough to know he wasn't going to look where she wanted him to, and nodded agreement. More jiggling resulted, but he was already concentrating on his notebook.

My story really only starts when my father died. He was a member of the Imperial Watch, and he was killed trying to arrest a thief who turned out to be a Vampire. My mother mourned for the required period, and started dating again. After a while she found another man she liked and re-married. That was Viator Accius, the proprietor of Stonewall Shields. We moved into his shop and I started to attend the Arcane University.

My stepfather wasn't too happy about that. He knew what my mother was like, and he assumed I'd be like her, and chasing after men if I got the chance. But my mother assured him that I'd be kept too busy with my studies. I was only there during the day, and I wasn't allowed out in the evenings, so that was all too true.

But I did get to meet a lot of intelligent young men.They were eager to help with my virginity problem, but we were watched too closely at the University. The closest I got to success was when one of them learned a nice long-lasting invisibility spell. I took him home with me to the Market District, and he cast the spell just outside the shop. We entered, and I led him up to my room. I opened all the doors and closed them behind us, so he wouldn't have to do anything to make him visible.

I think it was closing the doors that made my stepfather suspicious. He was always shouting at me to come back and close doors, and that evening he didn't have to. Anyway, he must have followed us.

I took off my dress and lay down on my bed, ready for my lover-to-be. But just as he touched me, he became visible again, and the door burst open. I screamed and covered myself up, as my stepfather chased him out of the window. He had the presense of mind to cast his invisibility again when he landed, so nobody could see which way he ran off. Or that he was naked.

Well I wasn't going to be allowed to go back to the University after that fiasco. Mother suggested sending me away to stay with her sister down in Leyawiin. That would keep me away from the mage students I'd been plotting with, and Aunt Rosentia could teach me a few things, too. She was quite an expert on Daedric artifacts and knew a number of conjuration spells that I could learn.

We all traveled down to Leyawiin and Mother explained to her sister what had happened back in the city. Aunt Rosentia promised she'd take proper care of me and my virginity, and my stepfather appeared to be content with that. They returned to the city the same day.

Aunt Rosentia took me shopping. She thought I needed a new dress, as I couldn't keep wearing my University robe if I wasn't going there any more. She bought me a nice suit of armor too, in case I needed some adventure. It didn't look like it would protect me much, but it did look pretty.

At that time, she was a bit preoccupied with cleaning her house. Apparently, she'd had Scamps living in her home and they had left a nasty smell behind. She was still trying to get rid of it. I told her I couldn't smell anything, but she kept scrubbing the floors, and bringing in fresh lavender.

She told me that she'd bought a staff from a spellsword that had passed through the town. He'd asked for a suspiciously low price, but she she couldn't resist the bargain, and bought it. Then she noticed an inscription on it in runes. It wasn't a real word, but she could read it phonetically and pronounce it. When she did, the Scamps appeared!

After she realized they weren't going to harm her, she tried to drive them out of the house, but they just followed her everywhere. They were following the staff, but she couldn't put it down. Eventually she got word to her friend Alves at the mages guild, who researched the item for her.

The Staff of the Everscamp was created by Sheogorath to drive its owner insane, and it was working. She could only let go of the staff if someone else would willingly take it from her, or if it was returned to his shrine in Darkfathom Cave.

Fortunately, before long a hero had arrived to do that for her. He'd taken the staff to the cave and the scamps with it. She was so grateful, and gave him a ring she'd bought for an ex-lover who hadn't worked out so well. She was expecting him to visit again, and I got the impression that she had another reward to give him.

When he arrived, Aunt Rosentia introduced us. "This is my niece Virgilia, who's staying with me until she grows up a bit. I hope that won't take her too long".

It was the Hero of Kvatch! No wonder he'd had no problem sorting out Auntie's scamps for her. I was a bit eager and asked him if I could go along with him on his next adventure. Auntie thought that wasn't a bad idea and sent me upstairs to change into my new armor. "Take your time," she told me, "We have a lot to discuss while you're changing, and you need to make sure all the straps are done up properly."

When I came back down, the Hero looked at my armor and raised an eyebrow. He walked around me slowly, appraising it carefully. "Alright, let's go!" he said "Did you have anywhere in mind?"

The only place I knew to explore was somewhere called Barren Mine a short way north of towm. I'd heard someone say that there were Goblins there, and I'd never seen one of those before.

We left town through the North-East gate and headed up the road, with the Hero following me. After a while, he decided it would be better if he lead the way, so he could concentrate on watching out for wild animals.

That was all right with me, as it wasn't easy to stride along looking confident in those high heels, and the back of my armor does show a lot of skin! Well the front does too, but he'd need eyes in the back of his head - like my stepfather had!

Virgilia strides along

We reached the mine and slipped inside the door into the dark tunnel. I was quite excited at being alone in the dark with a man, but that was all ruined by a screeching, smelly creature who ran at me with an axe! I pulled my claymore off my back and defended myself as best I could, but there were too many of them. Something hit me on the back of the head and it all went black.

When I woke up my head hurt and the smell wasn't making it feel any better. There were several of the foul creatures lying dead, one of them on top of me. My armor wasn't covering everything it should, and I had to wriggle it all back into place. The Hero was watching with considerable amusement, and I was totally embarassed.

I wanted to go back to town, right away. We abandoned our exploration and headed back. It was just as well, my sword was bent, my armor dented, and I had a headache. And my boots may have looked good, but they weren't meant for comfort.

When we got back to town, he asked if I'd learned anything from our trip. I told him I never wanted to see a Goblin again. He asked about my impractical armor, and what I thought it was good for.

"Aunt Rosentia said it would be perfect for the type of adventure I needed" I replied. "But it was useless for fighting Goblins".

"That's because she was thinking of a completely different sort of adventure" he told me. "The kind that happens when men notice how pretty you are. And that armor was intended to make them notice. Does it unfasten easily too?"

I felt so stupid! I'd assumed that Aunt Rosentia was supposed to be holding me back, but she was really on my side! I was about to run back to her house and apologize for misjudging her, but the Hero said she might be busy.

I didn't understand that either, at the time.

We talked a bit more, and he asked me if it was my mother who'd sent me down to Leyawiin. I replied that it had been her idea, and he nodded. "I'd better go have a word with her," he said. "First though, we should go get some breakfast at the tavern."

I got back to Aunt Rosentia's just in time to see a stranger leaving the house. A rather good-looking man, with a smile on his face. When I went inside, Auntie was sitting at the breakfast table, wearing a thin night-dress.and an even bigger smile than the man's.

By the time the Hero returned from the city, I wasn't the same girl he'd left. I could call myself a woman now, Auntie reminded me. Once we'd cleared up the misunderstanding, she'd been able to help me to ... achieve my goals. Maybe she'd been too successful, as Leyawiin wasn't a large town, and there really weren't enough men to go round.

Our mutual hero had a solution for that problem. He'd talked to my mother, who had no objection at all to what he suggested. When he told me about Gweden, it sounded like the perfect answer.

"Bring your armor" he told me "you might get to use it again."

I did bring it, but it just reminds me of Goblins. I hate Goblins.

She shuddered when she said it, and that distracting jiggle happened again. She could tell that he'd noticed her this time. He was finding it diffficult to conceal his interest. She ran off to let the others know, and he permitted himself to watch her leave.

Ha! What a clever weave in of the everscamp quest. Nicely done with plenty of fun, humor and jiggling. It seems the Hero has touched plenty of . . . lives.

Well, Virgilia’s boots aren’t made for walking, and her greaves are definitely not for sitting down. I’m glad she found a way to put her gear to good use.

A mention of Ancondil's warhammer, Persuader, reminded me of Sugar's negotiating axe. About time I had her tell her story.

---

Sugar gra-Mazog

"Sugar, this reporter from the Black Horse Courier would like to know all about how you came to work at Gweden" said Tsarrina.

The Orc looked down at him with a scowl, or was that supposed to be a smile? She began.

You may have noticed that there aren't many Orcs in this business. That's because we're not the best salespeople in Tamriel. We need a good pimp to handle the negotiating part of the transaction, or we just don't get the price we deserve. Once I take over, I give good value, and I don't get any complaints. Oh I know what you're thinking, but they come back for more, so it's not that.

So anyway, I thought I had found a pimp I could work with. A scrawny llittle weasel that I didn't really trust, but he had the usual Imperial way with words and he got the job done. Trouble was, he got greedy. He wanted a bigger cut of the gold, and I told him he wasn't getting it.

At first, he tried persuasion, including that Charm spell they all seem to be able to cast. Didn't do anything to me, so he got mad and pulled out his sword. Now that's the sort of negotiation I can handle, so I replied with my axe, until he saw things my way.

So now I'm without a pimp again. He's off getting his face healed, and I figure he's not likely to work with me when that's done. I move to the Imperial city, where I hoped there might be more potential customers, maybe even a few Orcs that know true beauty when they see it. Turned out that most of my customers were Bosmers, whose eyes never got up to my face.

(At this point the words "copious cleavage" are underlined in the reporter's notes)

I was sleeping in an abandoned hut in the Waterfront during the day and working the Arboretum in the evenings. Darkness seemed to help trade in several ways, and it meant I was sleeping while the others who used the hut were working, and vice-versa. I always took my negotiating axe with me, except for the one day I forgot, and that's when it was stolen.

Fortunately, that was also the day the Champion came by the Arboretum. Of course he was just another adventurer then, and I thought he was there on business. My business, I hoped.

So I start to chat with him, and it turns out he knows my old friend Mazoga! She grew up in my family when we took her in as an orphan. Well, not even that. She was born in our cave where we were all sheltering as refugees from the war. Her mother died in childbirth, and we never even got to ask her who the father was. So we named her after my father Mazog, and that's the only name she uses.

He told me Mazoga had become a Knight-Errant of the White Stallion, no less, down in Leyawiin County, and she was busy hunting bandits for the Count. Had her own home just outside town and all. It was good to knows she's on the right side of the law at last.

I told the Champion that it was a good thing she hadn't come to the city, or she'd be hunting down the thief who stole my axe. I just wanted it back, but Mazoga would be after the thief's blood. That's just the way she dealt with things - violently. He nodded with agreement at that.

That's how I came to tell him all about the axe, and the pimp, and everything else. He asked me if I'd consider coming here to Gweden when I got my axe back. Well, of course I would! My own bed, no Imperial pimp to cheat me, what's not to like about it?

When he brought me the axe, he told me all about getting it back. How he'd asked around the Waterfront until one of the beggars sent him to Armand Christophe. I knew the guy slightly, he lived a few huts down from the one I slept in, but I didn't know how much he ran the place. Apparently he has all the beggars in Cyrodiil telling him what's going on!

Someone had seen the thief in Bravil, so the Champion had followed him there. He'd tried to fence the axe down there, but nobody was buying. He'd gone off to some Marauder hideout to try and sell it there. That's where the Champion found him, dead. Still had the axe on him, so it seems the Marauders weren't buying either.

It was always a good axe for me, but I could understand how it wouldn't suit everyone. Heavier than usual, and drains the user's magicka. But it hits hard, especially when I'm using it, and it's durable, too. I still have that axe, though I never need it here at Gweden.

Well, that's not entirely true. I did need it once. After I'd been here a while, the Champ turned up with a bizarre tale about the Dark Brotherhood and a contract to kill me! It was that old pimp of mine behind it, and apparently one of us had to die. I didn't want any killing, but if it was me or Octavius, I knew who deserved it the most.

Champ was going to go off and kill Octavius for me, but I insisted on going along. I found my axe, and put on my armor. That got a few comments from the Champ about a "chainmail bikini", but it does get me noticed, and I'm not going to fight everyone I meet. Got to think about business, too!

What do you mean, skimpy? Look at the size of those pauldrons!

We set off for some Inn on the other side of Cyrodiil. The Drunken Dragon, I think it was called. A bit out of the way for an Inn, but Octavius was still in the pimp business, so a touch of seclusion was what he wanted.

The two sluts he had working the place hadn't seen him in weeks. As soon as they'd pulled in a few coins, he'd gone off to spend them in the city. The legion patrolman seemed to think Octavius had acquired the place a bit shadily, too. Seems the previous owner had been a Dark Brotherhood victim, and Octavius' claim to the property was somewhat doubtful.

We followed my ex-pimp to the city, asked a few beggars, and found him in Luther Broad's. He had an Argonian goon with him as a bodyguard, and they attacked us as soon as we walked in. I'm glad to say I got to finish off Octavius myself, with my trusty axe. Champ had sorted out the Argonian too, before Luther could even get the warhammer off his shoulder and help us.

We gave him the small amount of gold we found on the two as payment for the cleanup. He didn't want to take anything. We'd done him a favor getting rid of them, as they were obnoxious enough to drive his usual customers away. I could see his point.

The Champion and I parted company there in the city and I set off for home here at the farm. Just before I got to Skingrad, I was accosted by a highwayman demanding gold. I told him I didn't have any gold, but I could give him something much better than that. My armor doesn't hide much, and I could tell that he'd noticed.

I pulled him into the bushes and humped him senseless. While he was sleeping it off, I took his weapon, his armor, and everything else he was carrying, and sold it in Skingrad. He probably woke up naked after an hour or so, but I was long gone.I could have just killed him, but that was much more fun! He was lucky it was me and not Mazoga!

So now I keep the axe and armor in the chest at the foot of my bed, and I hope they can stay there. Gweden's a nice safe place. It's far enough from town that the drunks can't make it here without sobering up on the way, and there's the Legion patrolman to keep the peace, too. I like him, and I don't think it's just the discount rate that keeps him spending his spare gold here.

Oh, and my name? It's really pronounced Soo-GAAR, but it's written the same, so everyone gets it wrong. And in this line of work, that doesn't hurt any.


---

She's recounting what are two separate quests in the mod. The second requires the player to be Listener of the DB, and is started by taking to the Lucky Old Lady / Night Mother in Bravil. Since you have to have eliminated the publican of the Drunken Dragon earlier in the DB questline, it makes a perfect location for the new quest.

Quite a collection of working lasses you’re building! Very nice how you tie many things to the game, from aspects of Mazoga’s background to the warhammer that Luther Broad does indeed carry on his back. Just a spoon full of Sugar!

She humped him senseless.

Our reporter needs a rest. However, he may not get much.

---

Juliana Galena

Tsarrina decided that it was getting a bit late for more interviews, and the reporter should have a quick tour of the place before he turned in for the night.

First, she took him across the yard to the main Lodge, so he could pick up a snack in the dining room and meet some of the customers. They were all busily engaged chatting with the women, so he just took an apple from the table, and followed Tsarrina into the next room and up the stairs.

The upper floor was one big dormitory, where the women could sleep, eat a quiet meal and generally relax between clients. Each of them had a well-appointed bed, and a chest for her personal possessions. Few of them were locked, and Tsariina showed him a few of the momentos they kept.

Prizna's held a solitary Daedra Heart. Was it Kothet's? Virgilia's held that skimpy armor she'd told hiim about.

Tsarrina's own room was on the same floor, with a double bed in it. But they were just looking right now, and she quickly closed the door, and took him back downstairs. Nobody was using the bed in the main room, but a lot of negotiating was in progress. A Bosmer girl was dancing in one corner, and attracting quite a lot of attention. She might have just taken something off, as there were approving sounds coming from the crowd. He wished he could see better.

They left the women to their haggling and went back over to the farmhouse.

"This is the original building this one bought when she came to Anvil," Tsarrina told him. "At first there was just one level of basement, with three beds. That was quickly filled, even with Maeva sleeping at her own farm, and the boss had a second level dug out beneath it."

They'd gone down to the first level while she was telling him that. It was just a single room with the beds around the walls, and a few tables and chairs around. The beds weren't as plush as the ones in the newer building, but they looked comfortable enough. Each had its private chest, and there was maybe a little more space for each of them over here. Tsarrina told him that many of the women preferred the coziness of the old place, even if the new one was a bit better furnished.

The lower level was just a little larger, with four beds in one room and a big stone bathtub in another. The tub looked large enough for two. There was a chest against the opposite wall to keep clothes dry in case there was any water splashed around. The damp floor suggested that happened a lot. There was a drain in the corner, and several buckets of water, some with steam rising from them. A table with some candles, and some bars of soap, one of which had a rather suggestive shape.

Tsarrina led him back upstairs, where he found a very pretty Breton woman sitting on his bed waiting for him. Tsarrina introduced her as Juliana Galena, and then left them alone together. Juliana wasn't wearing much, just a thin wisp of lace blurring her details, and some ribbon to keep it in place.

Juliana waits

"I'm pleased to meet you," she said brightly. Then a huge grin broke out on her face. "And I can see you're pleased to see me."

He tried to explain to her about professional detachment. How he wanted to keep himself out of the story he was writing, and not form any personal opinions.

"Looks to me like it's not working," she giggled, pointing.

Juliana then showed him her idea of detachment, detaching all his clothes, and hers. "It's the same for us," she told him. "Most of the men who come here need to pay for it, because they're not likely to get it for free. We have to put our opinions aside and act like professionals, too.

"So when we get someone like you coming here, it's a welcome change. We can forget the business side, and have fun. Why don't you just do the same?"

He had to agree that she was making a compelling argument. And there was no way he could put this in his article for the courier anyway!

---

---

If you want to learn to swim in a hurry, dive in where it's deepest.

He had second thoughts about those words as soon as he wrote them. It was an accurate description of his experiences the previous evening, but perhaps in more ways than he'd intended.

This morning was full of double-entendres . He'd said he felt like a new man. "I want one, too," she'd said before pouncing on him.

He liked Juliana. Apparently it was her special task to start things off with a new customer, or something like that. And he was a customer, even if he wasn't handing over any gold. They were getting repaid with a favorable story in the Black Horse Courier. An honest one, he reminded himself, these girls really were that good, at least Juliana was.

He'd leave last night out of the story, he decided. The girls' own tales were interesting enough and nobody needed to know about him.

But back to Juliana. She was on top of him now, and if she didn't quit doing that, he'd never get any reporting done. He reached over for his notebook, and announced that if she was going to do her work, he'd do his too. She didn't exactly stop, but she slowed down enough that he could write legibly. He crossed out that first line and started again, just writing down what she told him in her story of the Champion of Cyrodiil.

I was working Chorrol at the time, dividing my time between the Grey Mare and the Oak and Crosier. Most nights, if I didn't have a customer, I'd sleep at the Grey Mare.

I'd eat my meals at the other place, just because I like the spicy dishes Talasma serves. They remind me of the food in the south, where my sister and I come from. Luciana didn't get any further North than Bravil, and works in a tavern there, behind the bar. She's probably doing other work, too. A bar's a good place to do business.

One evening, while I'm eating in the Oak and Crosier, Modryn Oreyn comes over to me. I'm a bit surprised, because he's not the type that needs to pay for it. But it's not for himself, it's a new recruit to the Fighter's Guild. Now that makes sense, because I do have a reputation for being good with the first-timers.

This new recruit turns out to be Viranus Donton, the younger son of the Guildmaster, and Oreyn's trying to "make a man of him". He thinks a session with me will make a difference. Well, he was right about that, but it wasn't quite the difference he had in mind.

For a start, Viranus turns up at my room with another young man. He and Edouard are both ambidextrous, or whatever the term is, and I'm getting double-duty tonight. I don't think I showed them anything they hadn't already tried, but I learned a few new tricks from them!

I wasn't complaining. Not only was that more fun than I'd had in months, I got paid triple! Each of them paid me and I got another payment from Oreyn afterwards.

Well, it wasn't all good news. Just after that, I noticed an itchy rash down there. No idea when I picked it up, but there was a good chance Viranus and Edouard had it too. I decided discreet was the watchword, so I didn't take it to the chapel healer. I got a recipe from a book and made up a cure myself.

I wanted to let Viranus have some of the potion, but I couldn't get near him. His mother keeps him in the house most of the time, except when they're both over at the Fighters Guild. I needed someone else to act as a middle-man.

By the time I found someone, the potions had gone off, and I needed to make up another batch. I didn't have any more of the ingredients, either. Dreugh Wax and Ogre's Teeth aren't easy to get, unless you're Fighters Guild, maybe, and I couldn't ask them for obvious reasons. Aloe Vera's plentiful in the South, but there wasn't any left for sale in Chorrol.

Well, you can guess who agreed to help me. We're in his establishment now. He was a Fighters Guild member himself, and had all the access he needed to Viranus. Plus, he was travelling south on a contract, so he could look out for the ingredients. How's that for convenient!

It was a while before he came back with the bad news. He had all the ingredients for me. He'd killed the Ogres and Land Dreugh himself. But there wasn't any point in making up the potion, because he'd found Viranus and Edouard dead in Forsaken Mine.

It wasn't the Itchy Pox that took them, either. They'd been killed by Trolls, or possibly by the Blackwood Company, who'd interfered in their contract. His next job was to find out which it was.

I was devastated. Those two fine young men dead! I couldn't stay in Chorrol now. There was too much there to remind me of those two boys. So at his suggestion, I came down here to Gweden.

I love it here! No itchy pox, and such nice customers! Especially you.

He put his pen down and asked her "Off the record, can you show me some of those new tricks you mentioned earlier?"

"Only if you've got two" she giggled.

He opened a drawer beside the bed and took something from it "We can improvise."

-----------

In the game, there are two ways the player can complete the quest to recruit Juliana. One is to give her the ingredients, wait a day for her to brew it, and then deliver it it Viranus. The other is the one she tells here, if he's died in Forsaken Mine. This one makes more sense of why she'd join.

I wondered right up until you announced it whether Juliana was Luciana’s sister and sure enough, she is! And she even looks like it in the screenshot.

You did fine justice to the game’s treatment of Luciana, Viranus and Edouard here.

Ambidextrous!

Nice to hear about Viranus and Edouard having some fun together. Finding his journal always makes me sad.

I like Juliana. She has a positive attitude.

Acadian: A few references to the vanilla game tied in to this one, too, and I took the opportunity of linking in to my Bear Riders, too.

Grits: More Fighter's Guild, (and more senselessness) in this episode.

----

Darwen

"Darwen!" Tsarrina called down to the basement, "Put some clothes on and come talk to the reporter, will you?"

"Is Darwen the Bosmer girl I saw dancing last night?" asked the man from the Black Horse Courier.

"Quite likely" replied Tsarrina. "She does like to dance".

Darwen entered the room like she was walking out onto a stage. She had a dancer's slender figure, with small, high breasts. Her subtle curves were like a sneak attack on your sub-conscious. So when she moved, it was hard not to watch her.

She sat still, so the reporter could concentrate on writing.

Dancing is fun, sex is fun. When I think of work, I think of hunting.

Everyone hunts deer for food, but the only quarry worthy of a true hunter is a bear. I'd hunted bears all through Colovia and the West Weald, selling their pelts, and sometimes fangs .

But then someone told me there were bears in Skyrim that were white like the snow, and I'd never seen one of those. I took a trip up there to see for myself. I did see a white bear, but there was a rider on its back! She told me that in that part of the mountains, it was illegal to hunt the white bears, as they were much too valuable as mounts. Nothing comes close to a sure-footed snow bear for riding in the icy mountains!

So no hunting for me. I traveled back South again, looking for black or brown bears, and I found Bruma. I made that city my base for while. I hunted in the mountains all week, and returned to town to sell the pelts at Nord Winds on the weekend. To start with, I stayed at the Jerall View Inn, but it was a bit expensive for my simple tastes, and a bit dull, too.

So I tried Olav's Tap and Tack. which had a much livelier crowd. Before long, I felt really at home there and started to relax and enjoy the company. My problems started when a travelling minstrel dropped in and started to play his lute. I can't just listen to music, I have to dance!

Well, all the men wanted to dance with me, so they were buying me drinks. More drinks than I'd have bought for myself. I don't remember much about what happened after that, but when I woke up the following morning, my head hurt, and I wasn't in my room at Olav's. I'm not sure whose house it was, because he'd already gone off to chapel and left me sleeping.

I put on my clothes and checked my purse, in case I'd been robbed. There was more gold in it than I expected to find! So I thought this would be a good time to pay Olav some advance rent on my room, before I wasted it.

Olav took the gold, but he wanted more. He said things had got broken while I was dancing the night before, and I had to pay for the damage I'd caused. Since I couldn't remember most of the previous night, I couldn't argue.

Most of the gold I got for the bear pelts the following week went to pay for those damages. But I had enough left to rent the room for the weekend, and have a meal and a couple of drinks by the fireside. Olav brought me a new drink to try, a mulled ale full of spices that was really tasty! He told me that one of his other customers had bought it for me.

I was just starting to notice how strong the mulled ale was, when the singing and dancing started up again. A few more of the women had joined in tonight, so I wasn't the only one dancing with the men. Olav had banked up the fire, so with all that exercise, it was getting quite warm in the barroom. Skjorta had her blouse unlaced, and pretty soon I'd taken off my fur armor, and was dancing in my underwear. Nobody seemed to mind, and we all kept dancing and singing until I passed out again.

Same deal as the last time. I wake up with a hangover in a strange bed, wishing I'd been awake for the best part. Olav wants the damages paid for again, says he's already got Skjorta's share, and mine's just a bit more than I have in my purse. I went and asked Skjorta about it, but she didn't remember any more than I could. At least it was her husband Olfand that took her home, or she'd have a worse problem than me!.

The next weekend I'm a bit more careful. I buy my own drinks and try and stay in my chair when the dancing starts. It doesn't work. I can't watch other people dance and not join in. I don't notice that my tankard never gets empty, or that the contents are getting stronger. This time I wake up in my room, but I'm completely naked, and my clothes are down in the bar on the floor. My tankard's still on the table, half-full of brandy, just like I must have been. Once again, I've been paid for the fun I presumably shared, but it's not enough to pay off Olav, so I'm still in debt.

I asked Skjorta if she'd help me by watching my tankard, but she's just not reliable. The following week she passed out before I did, and the inevitable repeated itself.

You're probably wondering why I kept returning to the Tap and Tack. Partly that was because I was in debt to Olav, and I wasn't going to leave town until he was paid off. But I also wanted to find out who was spiking my drinks. I wanted to tell him he didn't have to do that, and I was much better sober!

Then one Sundas, a stranger came into the chapel where I'd gone to nurse my usual hangover. He'd watched me dancing in Olav's bar, getting totally naked, and passing out on the floor. He'd talked to Olav while I danced. Olav spilled the whole story to him. I'd never broken anything; that was just a ruse to keep me coming back and dancing for him. Olav had been the one adding to my drinks, and he'd made even more gold pimping me to the men once I got legless enough. If my head hadn't been pounding, I'd have gone and killed Olav there and then - as slowly as possible.

The man had a better idea. He told me about Gweden Farm, and suggested I move down here. I didn't really owe Olav anything, and the bear hunting was just as good on the Gold Coast as anywhere else.

But the thing that really swayed my decision was the prospect of a warm bath. That was something you don't get too often up in Bruma. Tsarrina has a tub in the lower basement, and for a few gold pieces you can share it with one of the girls. I was down there when Tsarrina called. That's my second favorite "special duty", after dancing, of course.

I still take a bit of time off to go bear hunting once in a while. Tsarrina's always worried when I do that, but it's not dangerous if you have a good bow. And it's because I know my bears that I got involved with the pirates down in Leyawiin. The boss is also the Master of the Fighter's Guild, and they had a contract to stop arms shipments to the Black Bow bandits. He went down there himself to investigate, and came across a white bear pelt.

He brought it here and showed it to me. I'd seen the white bears in Skyrim, and I knew any white pelt had to be contraband. I'm a good tracker, if I say so myself, and I persuaded the boss to take me to where he found the pelt. We followed the trail of the smugglers, from a small dock on the Topal Bay, to a cave near Leyawiin that he knew was a bandit lair.

That confirmed the bandit connection, but we needed to tie the pelt to its source. He told me he'd found it in a rowboat. That was likely to have come from the Damsel, a ship in the docks that he'd been watching, but he had no proof. We asked around in town, and discovered that he hadn't found the only white pelt. Someone had just sold another to Gundalas. He didn't know the strange Khajiit, but the beggars did. She was the captain of the Damsel!

That was the piece of the puzzle we'd been missing, so we went on board to investigate. The boss was expecting to find an Argonian named Wave-Walker in charge of the vessel, as he was the one that told him about the rowboat. He was a member of the Blackwood Company, and he'd been hired to guard the ship, while the crew was away. But we couldn't find him, and the doors and hatches were all locked tight.

Except for one. There was a balcony door on the outside of the captain's cabin, They'd either forgotten about that one, or didn't think we could reach it, We went over the stern railing and entered the ship that way. The captain attacked us immediately, and we had to fight more of her crew on the decks below.

Wave-Walker was locked in a cabin on the lower deck. We also found the bodies of two Argonians in the hold, who'd obviously been tortured to death. Apparently the pirates had been working for both sides. They'd been smuggling weapons in for the bandits, and bodies out for the Count, probably dumping them at sea.

The boss had an idea. The Blackwood Company was struggling to reform itself as a proper hired security outfit. He'd killed off the previous leaders himself, when he destroyed the Hist tree they'd been using. The new head, Jee-Tah, was trying to run things honestly, but they had a bad reputation to dispel. The Fighters Guild was getting all the contracts, once again.

The idea was to turn the Blackwood Company into a naval patrol, hunting for pirates and smugglers. They had a number of good sailors in their ranks, and now the Damsel was available. They didn't really need a contact for the work, they could make enough income from any contraband thay confiscated. Now he'd found those dead Argonians, he had some leverage if the Count objected, too.

The Blackwood Company would no longer be in competion with the Fighters Guild this way. They'd handle anything off-shore, and leave the land jobs to the Guild.

Jee-tah liked the idea. Wave-Walker could captain the ship, and he'd run things back at base. Handle the financial side and record-keeping. The boss suspected he got sea-sick, but he didn't say anything.

Wave-Walker brought me back to Anvil in the Damsel. I wanted to bring him and his crew here to meet the rest of my team, but he was eager to go back and start patroling the Topal Bay.

Now I come to think of it, I'd bet he thought I was in the Fighters Guild, like the boss. Silly Argonian!

GAAAAH !! You've got a thread that I didn't notice - will read and catch up - and sorry about that.

Nice tie in to the white bears and it was clever the way our hero resolved the Blackwood/Fighters Guild competition in Leyawiin.

Darwen was fun!

Whew, I’m glad that Darwen is now getting senseless in the correct order. I like how the bears and Blackwood Company tie in to Darwen’s story. How funny that Wave-Walker thought he was going to meet a bunch of bear hunting fighters at Gweden.

*

First off, this concept is Awesome & fun, but I expected that already coming from you.



Love that line !!!




ROFL !! Coming from Maiq - lost some coffee on my monitor over that line !!

Tsarrina's segment is my fave so far, this one had me rolling !!! The Legion is the first customer - yes, I absolutely picture that happening !! - Add to that word of her place spread without her ever putting foot in town and the Legion bringing supplies for discounts - again, Yes - You always manage to hide obscure realisms into your plots, Love that !!


Maeva - great candidate, ROFL !!



SPEW !!! ROFL !! I could picture this whole scene, but that line had me rolling !! As did the below quote :





SPEW !! As always, your unique humor and wording is going to cost me a new keyboard, ROFL !!
And again, below :



Ooh, your ridable bears join the brothel?

Love this, as I do all your mods - and Great Write (as always) !!!

@Acadian and Grits: More tie-ins in the next episode, mainly to a certain Alchemist in Skingrad. No bears were harmed in the making of this episode.

@mALX: Glad you've caught up.

----

Silanu Hlaalu

"Silanu is a special feature of Gweden" Tsarrina stated proudly. "Not only does she have the largest breasts in all Cyrodiil, but she's the strictest mistress of discipline you'll meet anywhere."

The reporter from the Black Horse Courier was inclined to think that her outfit was one of the wonders of the world, too. It seemed incredible that such thin leather straps could support what they did.

Silanu laughed. "If it's hard to believe, then it's usually magic. A lot of women are using Illusion magic to just make theirs look bigger, but I have a different story to tell."

---

When I was young, I was jealous of my older sister Falanu. She was getting all the attention from the boys, because her breasts had grown and mine hadn't started.

Do you know my sister? She's an alchemist, and she runs the All Things Alchemical shop in Skingrad. You do? Then you know she's a well-proportioned woman and I had a lot of catching up to do.

It didn't help that she was also a "wild child" in her youth, and way more active than most of her peers, if you know what I mean. I saw how much fun she was having, and I wanted my share. Well, I really wanted more than my share, like my sister was getting, but you get the point.

This was all when we were still living in Morrowind. Dunmer society is quite accepting of its young women playing the field before they're ready to settle down, and Falanu got invited to all the best orgies. I got left at home, because I wasn't big enough for that yet.

I was convinced that "big enough" was a reference to my breasts, not my maturity, so I was determined to do something about it, or them. I persuaded a mage I knew into casting a spell to make them grow. I should have just had her cast an Illusion spell to make them look bigger, but she did an Alteration spell. Perhaps it was so I wouldn't be pestering her for a repeat when it wore off.

Anyhow, they started developing, just as if I was a few years older. And they kept on going. At some point the spell-induced growth stopped, and my own natural growth took over. I ended up with both, and double-sized breasts. Apparently I was going to be quite large anyway. Fortunately, the spell had included a Feather effect, so they're no heavier than a normal pair.

Well I did get invited to the orgies once I was bigger, but they found out how young I was and wouldn't let me do any of the fun stuff. That's when I got into whips and teasing and that sort of thing. If I had to say no, I wanted to enjoy doing that. By the time I was old enough to say yes, I was attracting too much attention, and I wanted to say no, to most of them anyway.

When we left Morrowind, we settled on the Red Ring Road and Falanu opened her Alchemy shop there. I had a room in the basement where I could entertain my clients.

They tended to be the well-heeled gentry who had plenty of servants to order around. It seems that that kind of man finds relaxation in handing control to someone else for a time. He's used to getting what he wants, when he wants it, and it's all just too easy. I'm never easy, but I'm well worth the trouble.

One of my regulars was a nobleman by the name of Tertius*. He was an illegitimate son, but he didn't know who his father was, or if the first two sons were legitimate or not. He had an untraceable stipend that kept him comfortable, if not in luxury, and wasn't going to risk it by trying to find out more about his father.

He was a big healthy man, and I like big. Perhaps because he was so strong and commanding in his regular life, he liked me to spank him. I even had a special riding crop made with a weak shock enchantment, to make it tingle more. We had such fun together, I think I was falling in love with him. Not very professional, but so what?

So one day, he's bent over the chair in my room, I flick the riding crop across his backside, and he keels over dead! I can't believe it. If a man's heart is weak, it's much later in the proceedings that he'll have a problem. Besides, Tertius isn't a man with a weak anything.

A man I know only as Tertius' servant comes bursting into the room, screaming that I've killed his master. Falanu is as horrified as I am, and we're all panicking. To make things worse, the servant shows me a letter that was taken from a messenger on his way towards Chorrol, where Tertius lived. It's addressed to the illegitimate son ... of the Emperor!

The servant decides that I need to run away before the Legion Patrol finds out, and tells me I should go back to Morrowind while they try to cover up the crime. Before we know what's going on, the building is on fire, and I'm on a horse galloping up the road towards Cheydinhal, and the Morrowind border, with the servant leading the way. At the border, he sends me off to an address near Silgrad Tower. He turns back the way he'd come and I never see him again.

When the Emperor was assassinated, and the news reached Morrowind, I decided to return. There was obviously a bigger plot going on, and Tertius' death must have been part of it. I found Falanu's new shop in Skingrad and joined her there. Soon after, we had a visit from the Hero of Kvatch, who's now the Champion of Cyrodiil, and the proprietor of this Lodge.

He'd heard I was back in Cyrodiil, and he wanted to meet me. Someone in town had told him to ask Falanu about the large chest, so he had. Falanu sent him up to my room, probably thinking I had a customer.

I showed him the letter, and told him about the events at the old shop. He explained to me that the letter was meant for Martin, not Tertius, and the messenger they'd intercepted was on his way to Weynon Priory to have Brother Jauffre send it on. I could tell that he was intrigued by the story, and he wanted to find out more.

He went to the burned-out shop and found my riding crop, and that convinced him I was telling the truth. It still held a part of its feeble charge, and anyone could tell it wasn't a murder weapon. The fire was a troubling detail too. A blaze attracts attention, not deflects it, so it didn't make sense to do that.

Next he went to Chorrol, to ask about Tertius. There he was attacked by a member of the Mythic Dawn, a man called Eugal Belette. It turned out that he was the one who'd taken over Tertius' house in Chorrol after he died. There was a letter in his basement that tied him in to the plot to kill Tertius, and suggested that the servant I'd met was yet another agent.

Falanu remembered the servant hanging around the well at the old shop whenever Tertius was visiting, so she gave him the key to the well, and he went to take a look. He came back with another letter that proved what had happened, and that I was innocent. Or at least, that the Mythic Dawn was responsible for the murder. It was addressed to the assassin, and told him how he was to bring about Tertius' death.

He'd be in the room with us, under a spell of chameleon, so we couldn't see him. He was to cast a spell on Tertius that drained his health and made him weak to both magicka and shock.That tiny charge on the riding crop would become enough to finish him.

They thought they were killing the Emperor's son, and pinning the blame on me! Anyone could see now that it wasn't true. Except that if I hadn't used the riding crop, Tertius might still be alive. I hate them for that part.

I was still concerned that everyone might think I was part of that Mythic Dawn cult, so I came here to stay out of the way. This is a place that knows how to be discreet.

I still miss Tertius, and there aren't so many nobles to spank this far from the city. But they pay well, so I bring in enough for Tsarrina to let me stay. And I feel so much safer with all the others here. You've already met Prizna, haven't you? She's fought Daedra bare-handed, and bare everything else. How can I be afraid around people like that?

The reporter looked up from his notes. She'd mentioned her sister Falanu quite a bit in this story, and he could see that he'd have to get more detail from her on his way back to the city. He'd met her for the first time on his way to Gweden, and she'd struck him as a little "unusual". Especially some of the things she'd said when he was in her shop. Could Silanu enlighten him a little about what she meant?

Silanu would do that, but it would have to be strictly off the record. Some of the things her sister did weren't exactly legal, even it wasn't quite as big a deal as it would have been back in Morrowind. She'd get together with him later, when he'd finished his report about the Champion, and had more time to spend with her. It could be a long story...

----

* - Tertius means "third son", hence the musing about the prior two. It also suggests he wasn't considered by his father as being important enough for a proper name. Unless his oldest brother was Primo.

I used an image of Silanu as a load screen for when you enter the Gweden Lodge.

Load Screen

Falanu’s. . . little. . . er. . . big?. . . sister! And another story involving Cyrodiil’s Champ. Silanu seems like she would be well-suited to duty with the northern white bear patrol? Tsarrina seems to have quite a large crew working at Gweden!

Nit: ’Anyhow, they started developing,’

This one had me rolling from beginning to end.

Spew! The riding crop survived the fire, ROFL !!

The plot to kill the Emperor's illegitimate son via riding crop, ROFL !!!

The final straw was the load screen at the bottom, I lost it !! LOVED this chapter !!!

Nit: Most people only use a single 'i' in "goiing".

Silanu puts Alteration and Destruction magic to excellent use here.

I still miss Tertius, and there aren't so many nobles to spank this far from the city.

That just struck me as an especially humorous dilemma. Not the part about Tertius, of course.

@Acadian and MyCat: Nits duly picked. There seems to be an unwritten law that whenever you do a last minute edit you introduce another error in its place.

@mALX: It was that or Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick, and I don't have his permission to use him.

@Grits: Yes, Silanu has become a bit specialized, but I did add a customer for her in the mod, so she's not totally idle.


----

Cybeline

"Cybeline, tell the reporter how the Champion brought you to Gweden," Tsarrina asked the Altmer.

The tall girl smiled wistfully, as she remembered how it had all happened.

I was walking around a corner in Bravil, when I bumped into a well-dressed Imperial. I was quite a bit taller than him, especially as I was wearing high heels, so he planted his face right in my cleavage. He was polite enough to take all responsibility for the accident, and equally ready to admit he'd quite enjoyed it.

"It must have given you quite a shock," he said " I think you should sit down for a moment, perhaps in that tavern over there?" He offered me the support of his arm, and I accepted.

He was dressed in green velvet with gold trim, very opulent-looking. I didn't know who he was yet. "Probably a noble", I thought. "I hope he likes me!"

I was just a commoner, and I worked as apprentice to a skillful seamstress. I was learning to sew a straight seam, make simple lace and piping, that sort of thing. My employer also had me model outfits for her customers, particularly the men who were buying for their wives and mistresses. I was young and pretty, and all Altmer are tall and elegant. I was also not shy, even when I was modelling the more intimate garments.

She had the idea of letting me wear examples of her dresses, whenever I went into town. Then perhaps the women would see them, and want to look like me. If they dared to wear them, of course! Some of them were cut very low, like the one I was wearing on this outing. It was also one of her more expensive designs, and quite concealed my station, if little else.

He told me his name was Gellius, and I told him mine. He hadn't mentioned his family name, so I still didn't know exactly who he was. He showed his good taste by ordering a bottle of Tamika's 415. I was sure we were going to get along fine by the time we emptied that!

Much later in the evening, we left the tavern to head for his bed. Things were going just as I'd hoped. Then he turned us over the bridge towards the Castle! No, he can't be related to the Count, he's got such a nice personality.

The following morning, he asked me more about myself, and I had to tell him the truth. He was disappointed, as he knew his father wouldn't let him marry a commoner. I told him, quite honestly, that I'd never even considered marriage. I would perfectly happy as his mistress, especially if he was always as good as last night!.

He thought for a few moments. He wanted me to come and live in the Castle, so I really ought to become one of the staff. He'd ask his father if there was a job I could do. That seemed like a plan, but I had to get the dress back to the shop. I'd return later, to see what he'd worked out. He had a better idea. He'd buy me the dress. He really liked the way it looked on me.

I pointed out that I still had to return to the shop, whether I gave the dress back, or paid her for it.

So an hour ot two later, I was back at the castle, still wearing the same dress. Count Regulus liked it too. I could tell by the direction his eyes kept wandering.

He told me I could have a job in his court. I'd have a bed in the servants' quarters until he decided on more permanent arrangements. I could take my bag down there now while he talked further with his son about what sort of position I'd have..

I went down and changed into a plainer dress. Half an hour later, a guard came to fetch me. He took me up to the private quarters and opened the door to the Count's chamber. He pushed me inside and closed the door behind me. I soon found out what position the Count had in mind for me. Several, actually, and none of them comfortable. My dress was torn, and I was crying, as I clutched the remnants across my breasts and fled from the room.

When Gellius found out, his reaction wasn't what I expected. He wasn't angry with his father, but at me for not resisting his advances. I realized I wouldn't get any help from Gellius where the Count was concerned.

I got the job I'd been promised, but it was sweeping floors, and other drudge work. I was expected to sleep with the Count whenever he wanted. I tried to run away, back to my old job, but the guards wouldn't let me leave the Castle.

Gellius was obviously deeply affected by his father's treatment of me. He grew more and more remote, and started drinking heavily. Soon alcohol wasn't enough, and he moved on to skooma. His bed was no longer my refuge, it was just another part of my jail.

I was sweeping the floor in the dining room off the Great Hall when a stranger came up and spoke to me. He'd heard around town about the Count and how he treated his servants. Was it true?

I looked around to see if a guard was listening. When I was sure we were alone I told him all about Count Regulus Terentius and his disgusting demands. I probably embarassed him when I showed him where I'd been bitten.

He wanted to help me leave immediately, but for some reason I felt I had to give Gellius a chance to redeem himself first. Perhaps without the skooma, he'd again be the Gellius I'd fallen in love with He wasn't mean to me, like his father, just distant. There was still hope, wasn't there?

I knew Gellius kept his skooma in a chest behind his bed. I was only allowed in the room when I slept with him, so I didn't know how to take it from him. The stranger did. He slipped on a ring, and disappeared!

A few minutes later, he re-appeared with three skooma bottles in his hand. He'd give me three days to see if Gellius could straighten himself out, and then he'd come back to collect me.

Of course Gellius just got more skooma. He didn't care about me any more. He didn't care about anything. But there was still a problem with trying to leave. I knew the guards had orders not to let me leave the Castle, and I didn't have one of those rings. He let me wear his, but the guard's eyes still followed me. I knew it wasn't strong enough for me, and my weak skill at sneaking. They could still hear me, perhaps.

There was another chance, though. I could wear a robe and hood that covered me completely. The guards would see me, but they wouldn't know who I was. And if I looked like a noble, they wouldn't dare ask me to show myself. They were too afraid of the Count's bad temper to risk it.

So I just needed a silk robe and hood. And steady nerves. He could leave the first two in a sack in the servant's quarters for me, the third I'd have to supply for myself.

Two days later, the sack was full. I was happy they were red, as I always look good in that color. The silk accentuated my curves, which meant the guards wouldn't be looking at my face. This could work!

I started to creep out of the room, and then stopped myself. I had to think like a noble and stride out confidently with my head high. No, with my head down and my hair across my face. I wished I had longer hair.

In the end, I just walked. I couldn't decide what was the optimum strategy, so I didn't have one. That was probably for the best. The guards glanced appreciatively in my direction, and probably thought me stuck-up and aloof when I didn't look back. I headed over the bridge and across to the Lonely Suitor.

The stranger was waiting there for me. He had some normal clothes for me to change into. While I was doing that, he asked me what I would do, now I was out of the Castle. I replied that I couldn't stay in Bravil, as the guards might take me back. I didn't know a trade, as I'd not finished training as a seamstress, and the Castle had only taught me to be a drudge and a sex-slave.

"Regulus hasn't turned you off sex, I hope"

I wasn't sure if I was being propositioned. I was in the middle of changing, and everything was on show. He might want a reward for rescuing me, should I prove that I wasn't turned off?

I just laughed and assured him that that was impossible, and carried on getting myself dressed. He didn't try to stop me, even helped with the buttons at the back.

"Then I do have a proposition for you" He told me all about Gweden Farm, and Tsarinna's band of girls, He asked if I'd like to join them.

"As long as Regulus Terentius isn't a customer" I said.

She was wearing that dress. The one she'd worn when she met Gellius. She asked him to stand up close to her, so he could see her from Gellius' viewpoint. He put down his notebook and did what she asked. He wasn't so shy about looking at the girls now, and Cybeline was easy on the eyes, especially from that angle..

However, he wasn't expecting her to slip the material aside and show him how the bite marks had faded. She nearly put his eye out doing that!

----

I just started making an addition to the mod, that's in part based on writing this series of tales. Assuming that the Black Horse Courier did write an article about Gweden, it would probably get noticed by the Elder Council. The Red Dragon Club, a retreat for gentlemen in the Talos Plaza District, was run by the late Ormelius Goldwine before the Kvatch invasion took him out of play. The Elder Council needs the services of a few loyal women for various acts of intrigue and diplomacy, and the club was a fertile recruiting ground, as well as keeping them busy between assignments. The CoC would be the perfect person to step into Goldwine's shoes as proprietor.

I'm undecided whether any of the current cast should move to the city, or just pay the odd visit. So far I've just added the door to the end of an alley, and built the interior (below ground). I'll post some screenshots as soon as I have the staff uniform finished.

It will need a quest or two. I'm thinking of maybe busting the skooma trade in Bravil, although as seen above, I wouldn't wish dealing with the Count on anyone.

I do believe this may be my favorite of the stories so far. It fits beautifully into the game, has love gone awry, adventure, courtly intrigue, damsel in this dress distress and of course, the hero. I love how you portrayed Count Bravil and how his skooma-sucking son turned out so poorly – even tragically.

'It was also one of her more expensive designs, and quite concealed my station, if little else.'
This is beautiful in both its imagery and cleverness!

The Red Dragon Club sounds fun. A touch of noble intrigue between the sheets, as it were?


Nits – you are so right. I find exactly the same thing. It is the last minute edits that always seem to bite back. Anyway, I did notice a couple tiny ones:
'I was sure we were going to along fine by the time we emptied that!'
Missing a word? Perhaps ‘get’ in front of ‘along’?
'Much later in the evening, we left the taven to head for his bed.'
Tavern, of course.

I did a quick render from 3DS MAX of the basic outfit with a quickly-sketched texture (just diffuse, no normals yet) and I think it has promise.

Red Dragon Club hostess

A bit of work on the dragon (especially the head) and I can start to populate the place!

GAAAAH !!! Now we know who drove Gellius into his Skooma addiction!! ROFL !! Loved this latest addition.

I agree with Acadian, the Red Dragon Club sounds like fun !! Also, you could connect it to Gweden Farm with a transporter portal like the Arcane University uses so the girls could travel back and forth quickly for service vs sleep, lol.


PS: Love the screen of the headless lizard dragon (or is it two-headed?), ROFL !! Nice outfit for the Red Dragon Club !!!

I enjoyed this little story of Cybeline. She thinks her dreams are coming true, and then crushed!

I'm hi-jacking my own thread here, but the background for the Red Dragon Club is going to be spying for the Elder Council. Their main concern after the Oblivion Crisis is the succession, and finding a new Emperor. I'm assuming the fact that Uriel sends you off with the amulet towards Martin is that he's the only direct heir left (albeit illegitimate).

But I can't find anything about any siblings of Uriel VII and any cousins etc. that might still be around. Maybe I should ask Brother Arturo who he's going to check out next? Or does anyone here recall any genealogy I'm missing?

I just added a new section of sewers to connect the RDC to a grating just outside the city walls, so there's a back way out for anyone who needs it. Just need to add a few customers, and shoot the publicity stills.

Fact: Uriel's eldest son, Crown Prince Geldall Septim was assassinated right before the Emperor at the age of 56.

Consideration: Surely his age would support having produced an illegitimate offspring of his own?

Fun: One might think that the Guild of Prostitutes would definitely but discretely keep records of any. . . royal liaisons. You know, for future. . . business purposes. Or perhaps one of the older guild leaders would recall rumors regarding any of her sisters that hit the big time and attained the rank of courtesan and more. . . noble access? Just food for thought.

Sorry for the double post

This page has all the Septim Dynasty in it, scroll to the bottom of the page for the geneology chart:


http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Septim_Dynasty



There is another (illegitimate) son of Uriel's that it is up in the air whether he was actually killed. No body was ever found, and he was supposedly assassinated by Uriel Septim himself's orders (something Uriel Septim wouldn't have done), but it was at the time of the Imperial Simulacrum so that means it was Jagar Tharn that ordered the murder.

The murder was supposedly performed by Lady Benoch, who was devoted to the real Uriel. It occurred the year before Jagar Tharn was vanquished, and was ordered because Calaxes had suddenly become hostile to "Uriel" - which he would have if he suspected an imposter.

Calaxes was trying to overthrow "Uriel's" rule and set up the Temple of the One as the rule - probably to protect Tamriel from Jagar Tharn's rule.

I've always believed Lady Benoch knew Uriel/Jagar Tharn was an imposter by then, and instead of killing Calaxes she protected him. She developed a mysterious "gardener" after this, and 11 years later married him. My supposition is that the gardener is Calaxes and that he still lives.


Calaxes Septim (?b - 3E 398)

An (illegitimate) son of Emperor Uriel Septim VII, given the Archbishopric of The One in the Church of the Nine Divines. During Calaxes' reign as Archbishop, tensions grew between himself and the Emperor due to Calaxes' views on the secularity of government, and the Emperor's Legislation to limit the Church's Authority. Rumors grew that Calaxes was advocating a rebellion to establish a Theocracy, and soon afterwards he was assassinated on the 29th of Sun's Dusk 3E 398, in the Temple of the One, supposedly by Lady Benoch and the Imperial Guard because of the threat he represented.

Thanks for that link, mALX. Following a few leads from there got me to:

"Andorak Septim (?b - ?d)

According to A Brief History of the Empire, upon his father's death Andorak, Emperor Uriel IV's son, was disinherited by vote of the Council, and a cousin more closely related to the original Septim line was proclaimed Cephorus II by the next year, 3E 248. For the first nine years of Cephorus II's reign, those loyal to Andorak battled the Imperial forces. In an act that the sage Eraintine called Tiber Septim's heart beating no more, the Council granted Andorak the High Rock kingdom of Shornhelm to end the war. Andorak's descendants still rule Shornhelm as of the Fourth Era."

The last line suggests that the current ruler of Shornhelm would be the appropriate candidate to be rejected by the Council at the end of the process, being the closest provable relative, but of a lineage already rejected, and presumably with a renunciation of all future claims in the final agreement.

I've come up with my first pretender, and am putting the quest together now. Details here Follow the link to Uriel's Cousin, too.

Hopefully I'll still have the time to continue this thread. And finish the Daggerfall mod, and the Bear Riders, and the companion sisters, and ...

Of course, "finish" is an inexact term, as I keep revisiting them to add more.

WOO HOO !!

A quick interlude and Selena's tale. This was the first sub-quest I wrote for the mod, and it's a bit simple, even more so as she has to relate it without having seen it happen. Go there, kill everything, report back. So she'll talk more about Kvatch, from her point of view.


Selena

The second night at Gweden was just starting for the young reporter from the Black Horse Courier. His room was full of all the women he'd already interviewed, and he had a good idea what they had in mind.

They told him that Sugar had a pair of Orc brothers come in from Chorrol, and she was taking both on at once. With just one customer, it was like a cross between a rodeo and a wrestling match, so two was going to be a real spectacle. Tsarrina was selling tickets to watch, and she'd sent all these women over to him, so there would be more room for the men.

"So where would you like to start?" asked Virgilia, as innocently as she could.

He tried to avoid choosing. "Isn't there anyone here whose story I haven't heard?" But Tsarrina had sent those women upstairs over at the Lodge. She was controlling who he talked to, and when. He looked around the room, hoping for a way he wouldn't have to pick between them.

It must have been the way his gaze didn't linger any longer than it had to on Prizna that provoked her. "Come on now", she said. "You know you want to look. Start being honest with yourself!" Prizna was a tall, strong Dremora, and she had a lot of her colleagues backing her up. In seconds, he was lying naked on the bed, and Prizna was making him take a very close look.

That solved his problem with choosing, but now he had to deal with Prizna. He only saw one option, but he wasn't complaining. Prizna was moaning, but it didn't seem to be a complaint.

Inevitably, the others weren't going to just stand and watch. He couldn't see who was doing what, all he could see was Prizna. Sugar was busy, so he knew she wasn't one of them. He just hoped they'd be more gentle with him than she would.

---

"What did Juliana mean by 'silver-tongued Imperial'?" Tsarrina asked with a mischievous grin on her face. He groaned at that one, for more than one reason.

Tsarrina guessed he hadn't had a lot of sleep. She decided he should hear Selena's story next, as it wasn't too complicated.

Selena was a Redguard who'd survived the Siege of Kvatch. She came in and started to tell her tale.

Kvatch was a good town for a prostitute before the Daedra came. There was an Arena there, and a big market, and several taverns. Plenty of merchants and adventurers passing through, who might want a bit of fun while they were in town. The Count ran things with a light hand. Taxes weren't too high, the guard were forgiving, and business of all kinds was encouraged.

I worked for Garanil. He was an Altmer who owned a large house with private rooms that he rented out to us. He'd also solicit for us at the Arena, while we worked the taverns. I was making a good income, and didn't mind giving him a share. He took care of us, had a big Orc for a bouncer at the door to stop any trouble, and dealt with the law when we needed it.

But when the Oblivion Gate opened up outside the city, he ran away. He headed for a hideout in Salted Mine, to the north of Kvatch. We begged him to take us with him, but he told us we were on our own. The Orc bouncer didn't turn up, so we couldn't get any help from him, either.

We scattered, figuring we had a better chance of escaping individually. I climbed over a part of the city wall where a pile of rubble made a ramp, and made my way to the South. I found a campsite on the road. They told me Captain Matius had put up barricades to stop the Daedra coming out of the city, so it should be safe enough there. But they wanted to know where I'd got out, so they could guard there too.

I waited in the camp for the others from Garanil's house. None of them arrived, and nobody among the refugees had any news of them getting out. I guess I was the only one who made it.

A refugee camp's not a good place for a prostitute to do any business. There's just nowhere private enough. Most of us slept on bedrolls in the open, and the few tents were used by the healer, the smith, and others who had a proper job to do. We all pitched in to forage for food, but I had no hunting skills, and I wasn't good at finding the right plants either. I helped tend to the wounded, but I don't know any healing spells, so I still felt useless.

I was still hoping Garanil would return. He'd know what to do, and we'd start getting back to normal. But he didn't come. I was certain he'd got out of the city, so where was he now?

When the adventurer that I now know as the boss came to the camp, I asked him if he could help me find Garanil. I told him where Salted Mine was. That was the only place I knew where he might be. I was still hoping that Garanil would help us rebuild, and I could get back to my old job.

Salted Mine was on the other side of Kvatch, to the North. He asked me if he could go through the city to get there. I told him there was only one city gate, at the end of the road through the camp, and that one was blocked by an Oblivion Gate. Nothing could enter the city until that was shut down.

He strode off up the road anyway, to talk with Captain Matius at the barricades. The following morning a number of people came down the road telling tales of how the Oblivion Gate had just been closed. They'd not seen anything of the fighting, but had been sheltering in the Chapel of Akatosh until help arrived. The chapel had been damaged in the siege, but for some reason the Daedra were unable to enter it, and they'd been spared.

Brother Martin and Oleta, the healer from the chapel, were there, and so were Guilbert Selone, the gardener from the Arena, and a woman called Lenka Valus, whom I didn't know well. None of my sister prostitutes had reached the chapel, and nobody had seen Garanil. I asked Tierra, the guard who'd escorted the new batch of refugees from the city, but she hadn't seen him either.

She had seen my new adventurer friend, though. Captain Matius had told her that he was the one who closed the Oblivion Gate after the guards had failed. He'd rescued Ilend Vonius from the Deadlands too. They were calling him "The Hero of Kvatch" now.

She told me they'd all be trying to retake the Castle as soon as she returned to the city.

Just then a squad of legion men came into camp. They'd seen the smoke from the Gold Road and come to investigate. They followed Tierra back up the hill to Kvatch. I didn't see any of them come back down in the next few days, so I guess there was more fighting in the city.

The Hero came back a day or two later to tell me that he'd found Vampires in Salted Mine. They'd made Garanil a Vampire, too, and he'd had to kill them all. So Garanil wouldn't be coming back, ever.

He told me what the destruction in Kvatch was like. I'd seen some of it myself, but it got even worse after I escaped. He'd been with Captain Matius when they retook the Castle, and he'd found the Count's body himself. Matius was determined to rebuild, but that wasn't going to be happening soon. It would be years before there was a city on the hill again. Years before there would be a proper brothel in Kvatch. He asked me if I'd come here and help Tsarrina, instead. He'd see me here later, but he had to speak to Brother Martin first.

The three of us walked down to the Gold Road, but we went in opposite directions when we got there. I don't know where they were headed. The Hero thought it was best if he didn't reveal his plans. He and Brother Martin had something special they needed to do, and they didn't want to get me involved.

None of us knew back then who Brother Martin really was, and what would come to pass in the following months. I knew that the man I'd agreed to work for was now the Hero of Kvatch, and I had a feeling that he'd not stop there. Of course you know he became the Champion of Cyrodiil and more.

The new mod sounds great! Politics and courtly intrigue will be a fun contrast to Gweden’s relaxed environment. The ladies look very svelte in their uniforms.

I thought Prizna's solution was perfect. Good thing the young reporter didn't have tusks or fangs to worry about.

I like Serena’s tale a lot. Just a working girl from Kvatch giving an insider’s view of events. I love that she walked Brother Martin down to the Gold Road with the Hero of Kvatch. I wonder if she knew him personally?

What a great interface and rich tribute you provide to Kvatch here! This was well-anchored in the game and should do a wonderful job of supporting your mod.

Nit: ’I asked Tierra, the guard who'd escorted the new batch of refugees fron the city, but she hadn't seen him either.’
‘from’ of course.

The beginning of Serena's story where the reporter is talking SO reminded me of a joke. I typed it out before realizing...doubt it would be allowed on these boards, lol.

This Black Horse Courier reporter may never be the same, lol. And not sure if it was deliberate, but it seems everyone Matias went somewhere with - his partners ended dead and him a hero, ROFL !! I'd be leary about joining him in battle.

Loved Serena's tale, and the newest addition to the mod !!! Great Write !!

I just realised that I spelled Selena's name wrong all the way through that last entry. At least I was consistent! Let's hope I can spell Freija properly.

---

Freija

"I know you," said the reporter from the Black Horse Courier. "I reported on your Arena match against the Grand Champion."

"And I suppose you're wondering why I'm working here for him," answered Freija, "especially after the beating we gave each other."

"That did cross my mind," he admitted.

Freija took off her dress. What was it with these women? Why couldn't they keep their clothes on? She made him look closely at her body. She was covered in scars, everywhere he looked, There were a few places he wasn't going to look, or this interview would get off-track.

She put her dress back on, and he sighed with relief. Pehaps he'd be able to concentrate on getting the story this time. This should be a good one.

---

Like most Nords, I was fond of good food, a good fight, and a good ... well, just about anything. The North's like that, you have to work hard and play hard, just to stay warm. I did a few contracts for the Fighters Guild up in Bruma, and got myself a reputation for swinging a sword. That kept the men respectful, and made me a bit of gold, too.

But I needed some more excitement, so I went off into the mountains to look for ruins and caves to explore. That's where I came across a shrine to Boethia. I was promised all the excitement I could hope for, in the Tournament of Ten Bloods.

I wasn't too keen on having to kill all the other contestants, but I wasn't going to let anybody kill me either. I had trained well in the Fighters Guild, and I knew I could defeat them.

After I did, Boethia told me that my reward was immortality, if I wanted it. I didn't think it out, and agreed too quickly. I also accepted the suggestion that I should use it to become the Champion of the Imperial Arena. How could I lose?

The first fights were easy, but of course they get harder as you advance in rank. Before long I was fighting opponents who were my equal, and really able to hurt me. I couldn't lose, but I could get still get badly injured. You can't believe how painful it is to survive wounds that should be mortal.

The Basin of Renewal heals all, but it doesn't take away all the pain. Some of it will never go away; it's etched into my memory.

So I trained harder, and took more time between matches to make sure I was ready. I fought more defensively, and carefully. I still needed to attack to win, but I wasn't reckless any more. I became a better fighter, and won my matches fairly.

I don't know why I didn't just stop. I wouldn't have been the first to retire from the Arena. Maybe I was afraid of Boethia's "reward" and what might happen if it was taken back. I kept advancing, and was soon the team champion. Only one more match, and the title would be mine, and then maybe Boethia would be satisfied, and I could safely retire.

Normally, when the Grand Champion is challenged, it's an unlimited match, with no armor, weapon or spell barred. I had had matches against mages that burned off all my hair, and Orcs that swung huge warhammers that rattled my bones. I could get badly damaged in an unlimited match.

I persuaded the Battlematron, Ysabel Andronicus, that the crowd would be better served by the opposite. What would be better than a match where both combatants used equal equipment, and spells were forbidden? I got a lot of support from Owyn, the Blademaster, for that last idea. Like most Redguards, he hates spell-casters, .

Ysabel liked the idea too. We discussed what gear would be appropriate, and decided on reviving the ancient armor of the first Arena. Just a manica on the sword arm in place of the full cuirass. A traditional bronze helm and shinguards, with a round shield and gladius to match. Oh, better add a loincloth to keep it decent!

"That's not much protection, but it's the same for both combatants, The crowd will have no problems seeing the blood, if you're not all covered up." Ysabel reasoned..

Owyn wasn't so sure when he saw it. He wanted me to cover my chest. "This isn't that kind of show," he complained.

"It is now," returned Ysabel. "The crowd will love it. We should have the seats taken out from the cheap sections, so we can pack more in."

"But it's too distracting," Owyn argued. "I've seen them a thousand times, but I still can't help looking. It's got to be worse for the Champ. Aren't you supposed to be looking out for his interests?"

Ysabel was convinced that the Grand Champion wasn't going to have any problems concentrating on the fight. She had his financial interests to look after, too. This was going to draw in a much bigger crowd, and she got a cut of that.

They had an artist come in and draw my likeness for a new poster. It was quite tasteful, but one's imagination could easily fill in what it didn't quite show.. So could an urchin with some charcoal! I was going to be famous for that, if nothing else.

I would have the advantage of training with the unfamiliar antique equipment. The Gladius is a stabbing sword, unlike the modern edged weapons, and you need a different style of fighting to use it effectively. That also meant a different defense, especially without body armor. The current Champion would forget that, I hoped.

The day came, and I issued my formal challenge to the Champion. We suited up, (or is that down?), and took our places behind the arena gates.

When the gates dropped, we both came out slowly. I held my shield up in front of my chest to tease the crowd. I knew I'd get more effect when I moved it aside. I hoped that worked the same on the Champion.

The Champion never took his eyes off mine. Ysabel was right, he was too good a fighter to get distracted.

He opened with a slash at my shield arm, just as if he were using a regular shortsword. I dodged and stabbed under the swing. He wasn't there any more and I had to bring up my shield quickly to block the real attack. Damn! he understood the old weapons too.

Over the next half-hour we stabbed, blocked and parried at each other without seeming to make any progress. Neither had scored any major hits, but we were both bleeding from numerous small cuts. The crowd had cheered every one of those. especially when the blood trickled down my chest. Our swords and shields were showing a lot of wear, too, as most of our efforts had involved them colliding in futility.

I'd read that a lot of the fights in the early Arena had ended when one of the combatants collapsed from fatigue or loss of blood. Back then, the crowd got to choose if he lived or died. I couldn't die, but I was getting close to collapse.

My opponent had the advantage there. I'd fought short matches in the Arena, but he'd been off closing Gates in the Oblivion Crisis, facing streams of opponents in long battles to get to the Towers. I had trained hard, but I began to doubt if it was enough.

Then our equipment started to break. My sword tip snapped off against his shield, making it next to useless. Then the handle came off his shield, but I had nothing to attack with but my fists. I'd killed with them before, so that's what I used. And then my shield broke, just like his.

In a few seconds, we were both pummeling each other with our bare hands. The crowd had never seen anything like this before. This wasn't a back-alley brawl outside the tavern. We were trained fighters in open space. And without my shield, they could see me better. They loved it.

They couldn't see the bruises yet, but we could feel them. We were both liberally smeared with each other's blood, and our blows would re-open the cuts and keep it fresh and flowing. My only hope was that he was as close to collapse as I was.

He wasn't. I went down first. When I came back to consciousness, he was just standing there waiting for me. Anyone else would have tried to finish me off while I was down, but he hadn't.
Or had he? Had he tried and given up?

We tried to continue the match. I went down a couple more times, and realised we'd come to an impasse. He couldn't kill me, of course, but I couldn't win either. I suppose I could wait until he starved to death, but the crowd wouldn't.

I took off my helmet and told him what I had just thought. He agreed that the match had become pointless, and neither could win. We went back to the Bloodworks to ask the Battlematron for a ruling.

She had no idea how to handle a tie, they just didn't happen! She pulled a dusty old book from her cupboard, to read what had happened in the past. We'd fought our match with the old equipment, so the old rules should apply, shouldn't they? No, they didn't, she decided, one of us had to die.

"But I can't die" I confessed. "And I don't have the ability to kill him."

I had to tell them the whole story of Boethia and the immortality curse. I was cheating, so the match was void. Ysabel wasn't happy with the idea of a void match, as she might have to give the crowd its money back. And we'd certainly given them value. There hadn't been a bout this long in all her memory. Forfeit, then, just like you'd get for illegal equipment in a regular match.

I didn't care. I didn't want to fight any more, so any way we could stop was good with me. I didn't expect to get paid, either, and I was very surprised when the Champion insisted we split the purse. He said I'd done half the work, so I should get half the gold. We'd announce a tie, not a forfeit.

We washed off the blood, and went back up to the Arena with Owyn, who raised both our arms in "victory". The announcer declared a drawn match, the first in history, and the crowd went wild! The Champion would retain his title, as he had not been defeated. I would retire undefeated, too.

A part of the crowd who'd hoped for a rematch weren't happy with that, and a few small fights broke out in the terraces. The guards soon stopped those, however, as the majority of them knew they'd had a great show. I was still giving them one, if you think about it.

Back in the Bloodworks, the Champion asked me what I'd be doing after this. "Hurting" I told him.

He meant after that. I hadn't given it any thought, mainly because I hadn't expected this outcome.
He pointed out that I wasn't reluctant to use my "obvious assets" to my advantage, and suggested I join his venture here at Gweden.

I wasn't ready for that kind of switch in career yet. I liked the idea of giving pleasure instead of pain, but I couldn't come to terms with asking for payment. "If a guy deserves me, he should get it for free." I told him.

"Besides, I need to get myself some different skills if I'm not going to be a fighter any more. I want to learn to heal, instead of injure. Cure diseases, that sort of thing."

He'd wait. He marked the farm on my map, so I knew where to find him when I was ready. I gathered up my few possesions, put on a plain robe, and hit the road.

I went back to Bruma first, and had Cirroc teach me healing, both for myself and others. It was strange to learn spell-casting from a Redguard, but I guess healing is a special case. Owyn never had any problems with the Basin of Renewal being magical. It was just there, and we all used it.

Bravil was next, the Mages Guild. I wanted to avoid fights in future, and I thought a Calm spell would help. It would probably make healing more effective too. It's a friendly place, that guild, and I stayed for about a week before I moved on.

Heading back North, I ran into a bandit. My new Calm spell wasn't enough, and I ended up having to kill him with his own weapon. Carrying one of my own wasn't a good idea, as that seemed to make the bandits attack first and talk later. I needed to be able to conjure one instead. That way, I wouldn't look threatening until I needed it.

Chorrol Mages Guild was the place to go for Conjuration, so that was my next stop. We worked on creating me a custom spell that gave me both a bound sword and some armor. The defense was mainly magical, as I figured I'd use my natural distractions to supplement it. Even if it hadn't worked on the Champion, it would work on highwaymen and bandits. Teekeus made me practice it in the basement, as I was distracting everyone else!

I still wasn't ready to take up the Champion's offer. I felt better about travelling the roads now, so I went all the way to Cheydinhal next. I wanted to see more of Cyrodiil before I made up my mind, and I could take some training in the chapel there. Perhaps to cure disease, or poison.

I was about as far from the farm as I could get in Cheydinhal, and there was something I didn't like about the place. Maybe it was the corrupt guards, although I'd run into those just about anywhere I went. Cheydinhal did seem to have more than its share. So I didn't stay long, and soon found myself headed for Anvil.

I wasn't consciously going towards Gweden, that was just coincidence, wasn't it? I wasn't sure any more, but it wouldn't hurt to learn another spell at the Mages Guild while I sorted out my mind. By the time I learned to cure paralysis, I was decided.

The Champion wasn't at the Lodge when I arrived. Tsarrina promised to send him a message, and introduced me to the rest of the team. That was a word I hadn't heard since the Arena, and it meant something different here. Most of the Arena fights were one-on-one and the only help you got from your team was encouragement before the bout.

Ok, maybe there were a few similarities, but there wasn't another team to hate here. Quite the opposite. And every match was a tie, or as close as you could manage.

Tsarrina told me I'd really be part of a team that night. One of the men of the Anvil watch had got a promotion, and they were all coming here for an orgy to celebrate! She assumed I wasn't too shy for that after my Arena performance.

She showed me where I would sleep, and gave me a chest to stow my things. I didn't carry much, just the helmet from that championship match as a reminder of what I'd put behind me.

Back downstairs, the men were beginning to arrive. It was strange to see them in civilian clothes, but that didn't last long.

"Didn't I see you in the Arena?" one of them asked. I noticed he wasn't looking at my face when he said that. The other men noticed that too, and laughed at him.

So I gave him something better to remember me by. I could tell by the way they all cheered that he would.

And the crowd roars! This was just a real nice story with some great insights into the price of immortality, the Arena and respect between two skilled combatants. You well-captured the length and futility of Freija’s final match. And she retires in fine style. Hey, scars are sexy!

You also paint the Champion with a noble brush that makes the intentionally nameless/faceless hero one that any gamer would like to play.