Christ that is creepy. Favorite part this time is actually in the beginning, when the bard is trying to think of love songs, but only sees ash piles and remains all around.

Hmm. You mention the dark one has something 'military' about him. Hmm. Like a soldier. Hmm.

EDIT: So I'm gaming now with Claire. She is headed towards Solitude. She's been traveling with Hadvar lately; Farkas and Aela the Huntress both ditched Claire during the first Civil War skirmish at Whiterun. I just figured 'that is that', and Claire is probably done with the Companions.

But then we hear a voice come up from behind us in Dragon Bridge. "We Nords were proud warriors once, and we still could be". I was like HOLY [censored], Aela had somehow decided to begin following Claire again, out of the blue. Since it is the 9th f Frostfall, and the Civil War skirmish took place several days ago, that's pretty neat. It's like she tracked Claire's whereabouts over time, or something.

Renee, I missed your edit till now. Wow, that is really neat about Aela finding Claire!

Thank you, Renee and Acadian.

Renee, I find it really funny how Claire's followers disappear from time to time but then somehow find their way back to her.

--

He was only interested in the Orc.

Not because He'd have anything against him but because the Orc was of the appropriate race and appeared at the right time. Or from the Orc's viewpoint, he appeared at the wrong time. But the Orc wasn't traveling alone, there was an elderly man and a pretty woman with him. Most unfortunate for them. But He really had no choice - when He was doing something, He was doing it good.

Not proofs nor witnesses were left behind.

Only ash piles and occasional corpses.

People die all the time in Tamriel, who would even get suspicious of just another dead body along a road.

Was He evil? Most likely people would call Him that but He never really thought much about it. Some enjoyed hunting, some singing, some baking and some enjoyed killing.

He wasn't doing it just for the sake of killing and enjoyment. Whoever thought this, was very, very wrong. He was a professional, a person for hire, an individual specializing in performing malicious and wicked deeds for those who payed well.

Well, He couldn't deny to himself that He wasn't enjoying what He was doing. Because if this weren't true, then He'd kill only the Orc and capture his soul, leaving the other travelers unharmed. But plain killing was boring. Yet if He used some imagination, played with his victims a little before leaving them to their fate, there was a sense of accomplishment. A feeling of satisfaction, known only to Him, when he could almost hear cries and pleas for mercy.

But the word "mercy" had no place in his mind. At least not when on "duty".

"Game over, little one." She was a necessary victim but the real purpose of the attack was in his satchel - the Orc's Soul.

Only Six more.

Ooooh! I think I know which quest he is doing. Hmm, at this rate though, Skyrim's gonna start to become a rather empty place. . . .

Do you have HM's quest in mind?

I admit that the quest which the dark one is doing, is partially inspired by this one but it's not the same, I made this quest up.

Oh, that's neat. Made up quests are some of the best. But yes, I was thinking HM's quest - even though I've never done it.

Yeah, sometimes we have to make up our own quests. I can't think of what the dark one is after here yet. But maybe I will. I find it interesting that he "takes pleasure" in what he is doing, though. This leads me to believe he has a wider range of emotions than I previously guessed.

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

Sometime in Frostfall, 4th Era 201

"Can't wait to kill another of Oyfric's boys." ...states Hadvar, as he stands outside of Nightcaller Temple with Aela 'the Huntress'. "Been too long since I've been on a Stohmcloak raid."

"Ulfric?" answers Aela, shrugging. "Can't say I am really of a particular notion about who I kill. My bow is ready at her command."

"This Imperial armor's damn heavy. When's she coming out of there?"

"Well, she is very devoted to The Eight, as you may know. And it it Sundas. I cannot reckon her reasonings, Hadvar. If you are so impatient, why not join her inside?"

"I ... No. She has her reasons. Like I said. And my persuasions within the Gods are not so deep, honestly."

The two stand outside, in the early morning snow, thinking it would have been a better idea (perhaps) to stay behind, down in Dawnstar. Then again, Claire would not have been able to handle the spiders which populated the outside of Nightcaller by herself. And at least the sun is out. It takes another few minutes before Claire is done with her prayers and ministrations. She bursts out of Nightcaller with her usual mischievous smirk. "Ready? Let us go. Just a few furlongs south, that is where the Stormcloaks have holed up. I have already seen the place in my visions. We will join the others, they are already there."

"Now you're talking!"

"And we will do so soon. But for now, hold still, while I place a blessing on you, Aela."

"Thanks, I feel .... better," she says as nonchalantly as she can, without rolling her eyes. Claire is her friend, one of the most adventurous souls she had ever met, but this 'blessing' nonsense is getting old.

"And now for you. Divines bless your spirited soul, Hadvar."

"Hey, that feels good! Can't wait to kill another of Oyfric's boys."

"Ulfric", Claire corrects. "And please, a little respect as we stand before the Temple of Mara."

Hadvar smiles. Whatever you say, he thinks, getting mentally ready for the battle ahead.

What a cool little story, Renee. That mod sounds perfect for Claire!

Acadian's post in the conversations thread reminded me of an event yesterday. My character is walking into Falkreath when one of the guards says "Favor the bow eh? I'm a sword man myself."

However, she's carrying the most humungous Epic Ebony Battle-axe on her back when he says this. She has about level 20 archery, and she's not even carrying any arrows.

My only guess is that was triggered by her making 30 or more dwarven bows to raise her Smithing skill. She and Erik the Slayer were hauling as many as they could carry into town to sell them.

How odd that the game would keep track of crafted items rather than scanning your inventory!

Buffy doesn't do any smithing and her bow is a summoned one . . . so I just figured that comment is triggered by one's skill in archery - of which she has aplenty.

Anyway, I checked in UESP wiki and was able to confirm my suspicion with this quote in the Archery Skill section:


It does beg the question if you have a skill of say 35 in bow and 95 in one handed and have a massive claymore strapped to your back. Would the game be smart enough to weed out this comment in favor of one that addresses your blade prowess? Since Buffy doesn't know which end of a melee weapon is which, I'll leave finding that out to someone else.

I use Guard's Equipment comment tweak, which changes the comments guard's make about equipment to reflect what you are actually wearing, not what your skill is.

That makes a lot more sense anyway, imho. Thanks for the link!

Hmm, a mod where guards pass judgment on your character's fashion sense, eh? I'm just imagining some of the possible comments overheard as almost any of ghastley's characters stroll through town.

Can you imagine a whole guard force made up of Radiant Raiment ladies as fashion police?

My ladies tend to avoid the fashion problem completely. So they wouldn't comment in case it provoked her to cover up.

He spotted her grayish skin from a distance and immediately knew that she was of the appropriate race for his collection.

Helsa Braal, a loyal of Vigilant of Stendarr, had just killed a flame atronach, rumored to be created by some elderly woman living close to Riverwood. Her name was supposedly Anise and Helsa was on a mission to put an end to her profane experiments. But behind Helsa's back something far more sinister was approaching, determined to get her untainted soul. The magic struck her and Helsa knew that a soul trap was cast on her. She pulled out her trusted mace, the very same with which she killed the flame atronach, and turned around to face the threat. She expected to see the old woman but her attacker was not a woman and not even a...before she could finish her thoughts and defend herself, the bound dagger struck her neck and Helsa's essence was sucked from her body and a black soul gem in her killer's hands was getting filled with another unlucky soul.

Within a few minutes Helsa was stripped of her robesand new Vigilant of Stendarr was standing next to her. A bit unusual Vigilant he was and he knew this very well, but for what he had in mind, he was certainly dressed more appropriate than before.

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A sunny day in Riverwood it was, when the Vigilant of Stendarr was approaching it, passing the old bridge, the only safe point to cross the White River and get to Riverwood. Not many people were outside when he arrived to town. Local drunk Embry was sitting on a bench outside the Sleeping Giant Inn and noticed someone in robes coming to the village but he couldn't care less about who it was. He or she or whatever it was, won't buy him a mead, that's for sure. It never happened. Damned stingy travelers!

The Vigilant of Stendarr passed the inn and headed down the main road until his cold eyes caught something on his left - Riverwood Trader.

"Well one of us has to do something!" said Camilla Valerius to her stubborn brother Lucan who refused to do anything about the golden claw that was stolen from them.

"We are done talking about this, Camilla!" He dearly loved his sister but sometimes she was just as annoying as their late mother, Arkay bless her sould.

"Well what are you going to do then, huh? Let's hear it!" Camilla didn't give up just that easily. She knew very well that her brother could afford to pay some adventurer to retrieve the claw that's been a trademark of their shop for years.

"I said no! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!" Lucan was losing his nerves. His sister really didn't know...then he noticed a new customer in his shop, a wizard by his look. He must have stepped inside as he was bickering with Camilla. He surely hoped that their argument wouldn't discourage him from buying anything he got on display, really.

"Oh, a customer. Sorry you had to hear that."

"Stendarr's blessings upon you, Imperial," said the Vigilant and put his smile on display, one which Lucan didn't like at all.

Both Lucan and Camilla often saw Vigilants passing through Riverwood and from time to time they did business with them but they didn't know that they extended their membership to Khajiits as well. Not that it bothered them - a customer was still a customer, no matter his race and profession.

"Your... wife?" asked the Vigilant as Camilla passed him.

"Emm...my sister," replied Lucan, hoping that the Vigilant'd be more interested in his goods than in his sister. There were already Sven and Faendal competing for her hand, and he didn't another adventurer to send her stupid letters. Especially not the one with fur. Not that he was a racist, of course.

"Perfect from the bottom to the top," said the Vigilant and approached Camilla that was beginning to feel uneasy as the dark Vigilant was looking at her.

"Fair lady, allow this humble servant of Stendarr to give you this flower, which I picked today down by the river...as if my God granted me a vision that I shall be blinded by your beauty today."

"Thank you," said Camilla, took a thistle branch from the Vigilant's hand but then looked down, to an empty tankard in front of her. She didn't like the sight of the Vigilant, not because he was a Khajiit but she could hardly look him into his eyes and remain calm. Besides, she noticed that unlike most Khajiits, this one didn't speak in third person. An old Khajiit that she knew when she was a child, once told her, that this was a trait of Khajiits that were shunned from their clans.

And now," said the Vigilant and stepped to the counter,"what do you have for sale, Imperial? Surely not anything Daedric, eh?"

"Everything I've got on display, really."

Lucas felt slightly uneasy as the Vigilant was browsing his goods, as he was searching for something of Daedric origin which would give him a reason to confiscate the item. Of course Lucan wouldn't allow this to happen, he was a merchant and he had rights to sell any item but still, he didn't feel too confident going against this Vigilant. However, he noticed that his customer was mostly interested in spells because he paid special attention to old magic tomes.

"I won't make you richer today," finally said the Vigilant and returned tomes to Lucan.

"Well then I better get back to cleaning the store. What a mess." said Lucan, hoping that the Khajiit would now leave his shop. In case he forgot where the door was, he'd gladly show him.

"Stendarr is ever watchful, Imperials. Remember this." With these words Vigilant left the shop, obviously still remembering where he came in. Both Lucan and Camilla sighed with relief.

"See, sister? You can't even trust Vigilants of Stendarr. This one was odd. And you'd want me to pay these...these adventurers to retrieve our golden claw. Bah!"

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.
.

Faendal, a wood chopper and a skilled archer, couldn't in his worst nightmare imagine that the hooded Khajiit which was staring at him as he was carrying firewood to Alvor's place, was thinking about how nicely will his soul fit in a black gem. Eyes of the soul collector sentenced Faendal to death.

Oooh! We learn the Dark One aka Soul Collector is a Khajiit! And nice tidbit from Camilla about why he might not speak in third person. He seems to be amassing quite the collection of filled black soul gems.

Whoa he's khajiit! The dark one is a kitty cat!

I love the dialog!

It wasn't always easy to take screenies in such a way to hide his tail.

A few years ago in Elsweyr...

Be buried here, Sharkan of Otbatha, murderer, betrayer, defiler,
May your name be forgotten for evermore,
May your deeds be punished by eternal suffering,
May your wicked soul never find peace.

...Khajiits were chanting and sipping sands on their bound kinsman, condemned to be buried alive in a hole in the middle of a desert. As sand was filling his snout so he could barely breathe, he was wishing one thing only - to avoid death, to cut throats of those sipping sands on him, to rip hearts of those that sentenced him to death.



He didn't know to whom was he praying, whom was he asking for help, but in that moment unknown force pulled him out of his grave, throwing him amongst his executioners. He didn't know what had just happened, nor did his kinsmen but he recognized this as a last chance to escape. With hands and foot unbound, his executioners stood no chances against him. That was many years ago and ever since then Sharkan was repaying the debt to the Daedric Goddess that saved him on that faithful night. So long as he would follow her orders and please her by entrapping souls, so long his own soul would be safe.

Skyrim, the present...

Faendal chopped a lot of wood this day and now he was ready to enjoy a well-deserved meal. He was hoping to see Camilla earlier and have a word with her but it seemed like Lucan didn't allow her out of their shop again. Oh well. He was buttering the bread when he suddenly felt that he's not alone in his house. And he was right, a few steps away from the table there was the Khajiit standing, the same one which he saw today in the village. He didn't hear him coming which meant that he must have sneaked in. And those that sneak, usually don't have good intentions, figured Faendal.

The black Khajiit was staring at him without saying anything and Faendal felt uneasy so he tried starting a conversation: "Did I see you talking to Sven? Maybe not. Maybe...nevermind. But I would stay away from him if I were you." The Khajiit said nothing, instead raised his hands and blue magic flashed from his left hand, straight to Faendal.

"Last mistake!" yelled Faendal and quickly got up. There was a bounty of 400 septims for assaults in Skyrim but Faendal decided to teach the Khajiit his own lesson in manners. He should have anticipated that this Khajiit didn't come to ask for coin or food, and it seemed like there was a good reason to keep them out of towns. Sadly, there were no guards in Riverwood, that's why riff-raff like him could come and go as they pleased. But now he'll show him - he might be retired but he still knew how to deal with common bandits.

What Faendal couldn't know, is that the late visitor in his house was anything but common. As his bound dagger was causing him severe wounds, Faendal was realizing that he might be nearing the end of his life. But he must fight on, he must fight, fight for Camilla...for all these years he had been hoping to marry her...but now the Khajiit was shattering his dreams.

As he fell on the chest that contained never sent letters to Camilla, barely alive, he felt his soul leaving his old body and he saw the Khajiit holding a black gem high above his head, to where blue magic was traveling, brightening up his small house. "Why...why me?" he asked with his last strength. There was no answer. As the blue light was gone and Faendal's body stopped glowing, the Khajiit whispered:"Explaining why would take too long. Not that you would understand any of it, Bosssmer."

He assumed that Faendal would be missing quickly so he decided to prepare a little surprise for anyone that would find him. Anyone without imagination could kill but Sharkan liked to spice his deeds. And he saw something in Faendal's shack that would allow him to enrich the beautiful art of soul trapping. After accomplishing what he intended, Sharkan left Faendal's house, satisfied, because his satchel was heavier for another soul gem.

Roads were empty as the soul collector left Riverwood.

Ahah! So now we even have a name to go with this mysterious soul-collecting Kat. As well as a pretty darn engaging background on why he does what he does. Rescued by trading his soul! I'm going to guess that his Daedric patroness is Mephala?

Hmm, if he keeps taking out named NPCs, his game might start to get a bit empty. . . .

Heh, I'll bet folks in Riverwood pin the murder on Sven, with the motive of eliminating his 'Camilla competition'.

I was thinking Mephalastopheles too. Though then again, since the Black Cat is collecting souls, and souls from black soulgems go to the Soul Carin, perhaps it is the mysterious Ideal Masters?

We shall see...but for today let's jump on a bright side.

A new flyer appeared on doors of the Retching Netch Cornerclub, the only inn on Solstheim:

There's a new bard in town,
his music won't make you yawn,
so forget your worries and sad stories,
in the evening come to the inn,
and while Geldis serves you some flin,
Shala will make your head spin!

Geldis Sadri, the proprietor of the cornerclub made a deal with Shala to rent him a room for twenty gold instead of usual hundred as long as he'll perform in his inn in the evenings. Shala's performances usually start between 6 - 6:30 PM and last until the last guest leaves which is around midnight. He earns between 40-90 septims per one performance, so he can't complain but he spends quite some of this gold on room and food. When the performance is over, he eats his dinner while chatting with Geldis and before going to sleep, they each drink one mazte together. Shala then goes in his small room and sleeps by noon. The last time he asked captain Gjalund Salt-Sage how far are repairs for the Northern Maiden, he said that things aren't going well so it seems they'll be staying on Solstheim for a long time.

Awww, even in death, Faerendel still dreams of Camilla. How romantic. I knew that the 'dark one' has some sort of daedric ties; just knew it!

I don't know why, but every time I read about Shala I just start grinning, and even laughing. Something about him. But hey, at least he isn't forced to sleep in that cold storage room anymore!

That is so cool the way he earns money though. It's almost like it's not a videogame anymore.

Shala's making progress! He's got a real bed now!

Renee, how neat that Claire can actually bless her companions. Aela’s reaction was priceless. I love how she found Claire again unexpectedly.

Whoa, Sharkan the soul collector is scary. I love his backstory. I’m hooked on his story and interested in hearing more! Nice to hear about Shala’s bard life in Raven Rock.

I've been doing speed runs to test out the Orc Hearthfires this weekend. I load a save (made with no mods active) at Helgen exit, tweak the character's appearance a bit, and then COC to the site, where I enable the workbenches, and then run a batch file to add all the materials, once we've gone to the table. All that stuff over-encumbers the player.

So Fiona De Fault, Faye De Fault, Fanny De Fault etc. all Breton redheads (but with different hairstyles) have each done this for the hour or so it takes to build and furnish a longhouse.

Flora gets there, takes out her axe to whack the wolf she's expecting near the site (usually a good source of the leather she needs for the Tanning Rack). She finds a Sabre Cat in its place. Dies quickly.

Reload, find a skeever there next time. No pelt, but at least she's alive. Starts making nails at the anvil, and a bunch of bandits run through and attack her. Dies again.

The next time, it's a Stormcloak Patrol.

Her sister Finola got the place built, but we did see a dragon fly over at the end, and a pair of mammoths were attacking something at Greenspring Hollow just down the hill.

That’s a fun spot for the stronghold. The last time Mithilion built it he was bitten by three wolves while digging clay. I’ve never had that happen before at the Milkdrinker Hearthfire sites!

I have a Dunmer lass heading across the bridge from Riften to Largashbur. I expect she will shorty be involved with some orcs and their problems.

Is this 0.2 or 0.3?

0.3. I downloaded it I think last night possibly while sleepwalking because I don't remember doing it, and I started a new girl in the cart this morning.

The clay pit is close to where the mammoths like to roam. I've actually been rescued from a fierce mudcrab by them once! Yesterday was the first time I've seen them come and clear Greenspring Hollow, though.

I suspect the Sabre cat that got Flora came from Greenspring Hollow. I usually find a bear there, and their AI has them sleep most of the time and not wander much. Sabre Cats come at a lower level, but they're way more active predators. That could be why the Mammoths got interested.

That sounds really fun. Wish I had more time to learn about modding.

Un oh. Claire Voyance just got her first Dark Brotherhood Assassin note. Some fool wants Claire dead.

9:01 AM, Turdas, Frostfall 30, 4E 201

Claire Voyance is at Level 21. She has steadily been doing Civil War quests, but her game is at the point that most of Skyrim is under Imperial control, and things aren't bound to change soon for the Stormcloaks. So Claire is finally taking the time to do some other things. She is headed to Falkreath for the first time, to find a drum for some guy in the Bard's College.

But that's not really interesting. What's interesting is her new companion: Idolaf Battle-Born. That's right, she has decided to grab that annoying guy who wants to 'damn those Greymanes to Oblivion". *facepalm*

But I mean, it makes sense for her to do this. She's a devout Imperial, and Idolaf finally gets his chance to live up to all his boasts.

Nice that Claire is taking a bit of a break from the redcoats vs the bluecoats. Mebbe she'll track down whoever wants her dead? Anyway, I hope she enjoys Falkreath.

Idolaf sounds like a good follower for Claire and she didn't even have to give him Imperial armor.

Claire Voyance is in jail. She somehow got a bounty in Haafinger, I have no idea how, or why. And she couldn't just pay it off. Too high. I know I added a jail / bounty mod to my roster, but I didn't think she would be the one who would first wind up getting suckered with this!

Oh well, what can ya do? .. Hey, she's apparently doing more than anybody else to destroy the Stormcloaks, and they thank her by sending her to jail?

- - - -

In other news, I started up Master Baytor's game again; this time on PC instead of Xbox. I found several cool mods to go along with his game, including Sarcastic Player Dialog, which promises to add extra speech options for those who have sharper tongues than usual.

Claire might have gotten the bounty for fighting the Stormcloaks! Seriously, it can happen when you do the civil war.

That's so weird, wouldn't surprise me though.

The thing is, I was all excited to see Grits's new mod. I've got her Bard's College Cube mod, which means that Claire will have a room all to her own once she gets back to the BC. But ... gotta wait in jail first.

Oh no, Claire in jail! Ouch. Maybe hard times will develop her art, and she will turn her misfortune into some soulful singing as a bard.

Claire in jail? And arrested by Imperials? See, that's why Sigfried dislikes them - you fight for them and then they turn against you.

Which prison mod are you using? I've been using Life in Prison, which is pretty harsh and I really don't want to see any of my characters get arrested. Bounties are increased and you can't just click on bed and be magically released. For every "click on bed" your bounty decreases for 70 septims and 7 days pass. But as I said, bounties are greatly increased, I think that murder can get you a bounty of 10.000 septims. Now imagine how many clicks would that take to get released... ...I decreased bounties myself but still left them high enough to keep my characters motivated to not get arrested. That's why I've been using Crime Decay together with this mod, so their bounty decreases with time.

Yup, Life in Prison, that's what I got. I had to turn off Realistic Needs while Claire is in jail, otherwise she dies from starvation, since time gets served in 1-week increments. She's going to be locked up for months.

With Life in Prison it's easily to stay imprisoned for years if using default values. I hope that her starting bounty wasn't that high, though.

I immediately decreased values when I saw that a starting bounty for picking pockets is 500 septims.

Poor Claire. "Death to the Imperials!"

Must. Resist. Obvious. Retort.

Morndas, 12:19 AM, 4th of Second Seed, 4E 202

"Good morning."

"What brings you here?"

"Do you ever think she will get out?" Vori, a member of the Dawnguard asks Aela the Huntress. "It's been weeks. Months. She's still locked up in there."

Aela the Huntress nods grimly. This was true, indeed. Claire Voyance had been locked up in Solitude's jail for much longer than anyone she had ever heard of. And the charges were unclear. Why had she been taken to jail? .. The Imperials could not give a straight answer on that one. She had simply been arrested, right in front of all the villagers of Dragon's Reach, and slapped with a 6,820 gold bounty on the spot. No official reason had ever been given for this.

"Well, I have a plan. An idea."

"And whot might that be?"

"She's got gold, right? Lots and lots of gold. And I am bored. She just hired me when we met, and there's no way I am going back to the Dawnguard, not until they offcially mobilize against Harkon."

"Go on."

"We can maybe phish upon this gold. Get it out of Skyrim's banking. Pay her fine. It's confounding she even got locked up in the first place."

"We Nords were proud warriors once, and we still could be!" gloats Aela the Huntress to her Dawnguard companion. "Let's make the bastards pay."

"Yes, let us do so. Now, how do we get back to Whiterun from here?"

And this is how Claire Voyance the Cleric from Chorrol managed to get out of jail, finally, after spending six months inside of it.

Whew, I wasn't sure whether Vori and Aela were headed for the great bank robbery or the great jail break for a moment there.

Wow, a 6,820 bounty! Good Divines, how on Nirn did she manage that! When Persephone killed Maul, Sapphire, and Brynjolf right in the middle of Riften all she got was a 40 gold bounty.

Heck, I'd have happily paid Persephone's bounty for that bit of entertainment civic action.

It's pretty nuts, right? If that fine didn't get paid, she would have been in jail for 682 days! That's a long time. Interesting mod, though. It includes several methods to escape. You can also go into a room with other inmates, where there's brawls and gambling. I had to cheat a little though.

Hey! I know Maul is kind of a tool, but Bryn and Sapphire are really good people once you get to know them.


I'm with 'Rosa on this one. Did Claire walk into the Blue Palace and do unspeakable things to Elisif with Toryg's war horn?