Had an interesting encounter earlier. Bethany Shan, recently inducted into the Nightengales encountered a thief on the road. Who promptly gave her 500 septims.

Neat! Was it one of the ones that usually tries to rob you?




Kai-Neeus crept forward, tail stretched out for balance. Firelight danced across the floor. Her dark scales made her one of the shadows.

This was not the old woman who had discarded her, but it might as well have been. Kai-Neeus owed her and all like her a debt that had not been repaid. She was once as hopeful and innocent as the children asleep in this orphanage, entrusted to its care by the grief-stricken and foolish. Handed over to be treasured until new families claimed them, but instead traded like chattel. Much of Kai’s education was a gift from the master, as she had been a gift to him.

She learned to move as a ghost to avoid waking him. She learned his weaknesses from sneaking him poisons. A thousand times she imagined striking with a blade while she cleaned his armor. And she learned how to go away in her mind when she thought his greasy weight would smother her. There it was black and cold, but also safe and quiet. I am, she would whisper when she was finally alone. I am.

One night she woke the master. Her poison kept him still and silent. His own blade worked until he was cold. “I am,” she spoke out loud, to hear a Saxhleel voice. “And you are not.”

But tonight she must be cautious. The children must awaken free and unafraid. Kai-Neeus watched the light leave the woman’s faded eyes. She fluffed the pillow. A smear of blood under the nose was gently wiped away.

I am. She slipped into the night.

WOO HOO !!! Very powerful write !!!



Huge line, very effective realism. Awesome Write !!!

YES! An Argonian!
She sounds like a great character. Can’t wait to hear more of her!

"Seriously? You're a hunter? In that armour?" Caerellin asked the man that called himself Voldur.

"Yes?" The Nord replied.

"You look fit to drop." Caerellin moved over to the man, put his hands to Voldur's shoulders and activated the healing. The bleeding slowed, and finally stopped and colour returned to the man's cheeks.

"Take it easy for a couple of days, you're not going to be fully healed from that." Caerellin said.

"Thank you stranger, you do me much honour even stopping."

"The name's Caerellin, and don't mention it. What are you doing here anyway?"

Voldur pointed at the cave, "We chased a bear up into that there. Trouble is, as soon as we got in, we were ambushed by a trio of blasted Spriggans. My friends, they didn't make it. Only because I was nearest the door was the reason I got away. I've been trying to get back to get the bodies out...Damned Spriggans. I can't go back in." Pain and shame were in the Nord's eyes as he said, "I'm sorry, please?"

Caerellin looked towards the cave and the Flame Atronach appeared before the pair of men.

"Whoa!" said Voldur, obvioulsy impressed. "Who the hells are you?" He asked with a frown.

Caerellin looked at the Atronach as he answered, "Knight of The Nine. But don't mention it eh? Espescially to any Imperials or Thalmor who pass yes?" He looked down at the hunter.

The Nord smiled and nodded. "Please bring my friends out. I'll rest some, and then I'll fetch the horses from up the road a-ways. Carry them to the village over there." He pointed.

Caerellin nodded, turned his head and narrowed his eyes at the cave entrance.

"Come on hotstuff. Let's burn some wood."

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

The fireball blew apart the last of the spriggans and Caerellin put his hand to the deep wound in his arm where a clawed hand had ripped into him with the last of the trio.

He walked to the glorious pool that was being fed by a waterfall and drunk, then he noticed the skeleton and the battleaxe on the floor of the pool. He spat out the water, despite it tasting absolutely clear.

"Well, that was unfair." He said. He pulled out his waterskin and drank deeply.

"Think we could move in?" He asked the Atronach, who in fairness had done a large part of the work, which was oddly erotic, in an even-too-weird-for-him really kind of way.

The Atronach turned to him and did a loop in the air. Caerellin smiled, "Yeah. Beautiful place." He drank again.

The Bosmer stood up, looked about again, said to himself, "Definately need some work though." Then he set about the job of removing the pair of hunters that had fallen.

Then he came back for the Bearskins and claws. You never knew when you needed a blanket in Skyrim.

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

"Thank you. Here, take this." Voldur said and produced a dagger. He passed it to Caerellin. "It always seemed lucky to me...Not so sure now." The Nord said, looking at the girl. "Take care and watch yourself Sir Knight. I hope we meet again...Under." The man gestured about himself, "...Less?"

Caerellin smiled, "Indeed."

The pair clasped arms and the Nord set off down the hill.

Caerellin watched for a while and shouldered his pack once more.

The Familiar chose that moment to appear and looked up at the Knight, tail wagging.

"Yeah." The Bosmer said. "Hey! I'll come with you!" He called to the Nord, and set off down the hill to catch up.


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

You PC owners have all the fun, don't you?

/sigh.

Tried to hook up with Alva and overthrow Movarth, didn't work. Tried to hookup with Sybille, didn't work. Tried to hook up with Laelette, sure as hell didn't work. Tried to hookup with Hert, meh didn't work out. Oh and Babette...don't even ask because I am not going there.

Bethesda, y u no release mods for PS3?

The occupants of the Hall of Attainment jerked in surprise as the door was slammed open at the direction of a rather irritated Altmer woman. Azula stalked passed her fellow apprentices and made right for the upper level. Trailing in her wake, Jenessa followed her fellow mer with an expression of vindictive amusement adorning her face.

"Enthir." Azula bit out, charging well into the Bosmer's personal space and locking her eyes on him from her greater height. "When you said you were concerned about 'making a bad sale' you really should have mentioned it was to vampires." The lightning mage thrust the recovered staff solidly into Enthir's chest, all but throwing him to the floor. "I expect you to hold our deal. And to be clear, if you ever keep information like that from me when making a deal, you will not like the response."

Before the wood elf could regain either footing or breath, Azula was half-way down to the first floor. She still had one more 'issue' to resolve.

"Tell me J'Zargo, did you mean for your spell to explode? Because it exploded. Violently. Like I'm about too."

"Ahh... no... it wasn't supposed to do that.... ah... This one apologizes."

Gold-red eyes bored into the nervous Khajiit in silence before Azula abruptly spun and pointed at a suddenly wide-eyed dunmer.

"Brelyna, your spell wore off after an hour. Was actually rather useful underground, let me know if you want any more help."

Seemingly calmed down now, Azula walked into her room and flung the curtain separator closed. She really could use a good night's rest.

Hey everyone. I'm Renee a.k.a. Lady Saga, and I'd like to talk about my brand-new Skyrim character

Crystal Beth has just arrived in Riverwood. She's a brand-new character. I've had 3 other characters in Sky so far: Blade 'n' Bone!, Thor a'Zaene, and Claire Voyance the Cleric of Chorrol. I will describe them briefly.

Blade and Bone and Thor were both dead-is-dead characters, both Nordic fighters. BnB only lasted that first weekend. He died 11/13/11, matter of fact. Thor lasted about a month before meeting a really mean draugr overlord who 2-shotted him and his partner.

Claire Voyance practices the arts of Restoration and some Illusion. She often carried a mace/sheild combo. She is not dead is dead, but I'm taking a break from her. She got to be Level 28 so far, but after loading Update 1.04, her partner/wife Brelyna immediately got killed during their first battle. Got killed and did not wake up, that is. Before 1.04, Brelyna seemed to have lasted as long as she did due to a glitch, perhaps.

Anyways, I don't know what to do about Claire's game (seriously) now that her partner has died. Her game is not over, but it's on hold.

So I started Crystal Beth, a high elf. For those of you who know me already, you'll know I only start new characters if it's raining (or snowing) outside. There has to be some sort of precipitation. It's a weird little rule of mine. Today it's rainy, so I decided Beth would give Skyrim a go.

She's going to be my first Skyrim pure mage, using only a daggar as a weapon currently. During the beginning of the game, Beth wound up following Rolef (i think that's his name) the Nord. My first 3 characters followed the Imperial as the dragon attacked. I'm finding, therefore, that Crystal Beth's entire early game is much different than Blade 'n' Bone's, Thor's, or Claire's.

Beth has settled down in Hod and Gerdur's house in Riverwood. She's hoping to find somewhere to sleep, so that tomorrow will be a good day. If Rolef leaves for Whiterun (as he said he would) Beth might go with him. She's interested in adventuring (and the loot that comes with it) but doesn't want to go at it all alone.

Welcome to Skyrim Beth! (once again, I just love your names!) Playing a pure mage is a real challenge in Skyrim, because your magicka only regenerates at one third the normal rate while in combat, and none at all while you are casting spells. So forget using those Ward spells, they will suck your magicka dry in a matter of seconds.

The Stormcloak guy's name is Ralof. He seems kind of short, don't you think? I know because most of my characters have followed him, so I have gotten used to seeing the name. Due to some glitches, I have done the opening sequence at Helgen over a dozen times, even though I am only on my third character. For some reason I have been getting a bug where Ralof/Hadvar will not follow my characters from the storeroom (where you get a quest marker to search a barrel for the first time in the game). It works if I use an old save in Helgen, but never if I start a new game from scratch.

I have never tried following Ralof to Whiterun. I don't know if he really goes there or not, to tell you the truth. He might disappear after the initial quest is over, or never leave Riverwood at all. I think I have heard other people remark that Hadvar never leaves his uncle's house. I am not even sure if he is in the later game or not. I would hope he is in the civil war questline though.

It also depends on what focus the pure mage is. Cameron (Illusion/Summoner) has to be cautious but most of her spells are long duration so the regen isn't an issue 4/5 of the time. Where as Azula (Destruction/Alteration) has found exceptionally few things that last more then 3 dual-cast Thunderstrikes. Of course, Az also has the advantage of a few mods that bring destruction damage to scale with skill and not be static. She also is high enough at enchantment to have a 97% reduction to destruction costs making all her attacks either 'free' or very cheap in terms of cost to cast.

Though, yes, Wards are close to useless.

wow that sucks about glitch, SubRosa. hope you got it figured out. Ralof seems to get stuck in Riverwood. He says he'll "meet Crystal Beth in Windhelm" but seems to just loiter around the house. Maybe if I ever go to Windhelm he just shows up at some point.

Beth currently just got the Golden Claw, but she don't know about going further into Bleak Flats Barrow. she can fell a draugr with her Fire spell, but 3 of them at once? She's thinking the best course of action will be to go back to Riverwood and learn more spells. She just leveled up to 2, by the way.

About the magika regeneration issue: that's where perks and Enchanting items comes in handy! there are also plenty of robes in the game...some of them can regenerate health faster than normal. Beth's Novice robes already have her magic regenerating 50% faster than normal

Very true, but something to keep in mind, as SubRosa said, magicka won't regenerate while you have a spell charged or going so it's only intermittently going when in combat, better to focus on spell cost reductions.

If you're playing a straight up mage, take a good look at Spell Absorption perks.

Specifically, the Atronach Perk (30% spell absorption, constant, passive, Alteration) combined with the Ward Absorb Perk (I think the number is at least 20% spell absorption, but must be actively used to work, Restoration tree) can get you some pretty hefty magicka-recovery in the thick of things.

Oh, and there's a shield that's enchanted to actively Ward you while being used, and it syncs up with Ward Absorb to turn an active shield-block into a spell-sucking drain on your enemies' arcane attacks while still dealing with those annoying things like arrows (especially patella-oriented projectiles), swords, and axes (but my infinite awesomeness allows me to note that my trusty maces and warhammers like to bypass your armor, so there's that).

Send me a PM if you want to know how to make yourself able to survive everything short of a direct application of Sethyas-Velas-to-the-Back-of-the-Neck.

Remember, if you can see Sethyas Velas, Sethyas Velas is watching you watch him. If you can't see Sethyas Velas, you may be only moments away from an application of Something-Nasty-to-the-Back-Your-Neck.

I find this both hilarious and slightly terrifying at the same time... ... ...

I find I don't like this feeling... ...

So I played a bit of Skyrim with my Bounty Hunter Imperial. She's a handful. After reading a bit of "Blood on the Moon" by Trey, I was inspired. I also did "I'll Met by Moonlight." The bloodmoon brought some nostalgia.

****

The Hunt is eternal. His hunger is eternal. For generations the Hounds hunted the night while Nirn twisted and changed. The god of the Hunt is fearsome and hungry. His fierce eyes keen. His spear ready to strike. His mouth aches for the taste of flesh and blood. The stars above flee like sheep from Him, at the full time of His power he rules the nocturnal sky. When the Bloodmoon wanes, the hunt begins. The Hunt will always be. Eternally starving. Eternally hunting.

Vera ripped away her clothes, standing nude in the pine forest under the twin celestial bodies; a full Masser, which sat in the sky next to a crimson Secunda. For centuries she waited for the next hunt. For generations, she anticipated a new dawn. And for a lifetime, she craved the glories of the hunt on Nirn and the promise of an afterlife of the same.

Her senses had exploded; sights, sounds and palate had flooded impossibly quick. In the span of a few seconds passing, she saw a group of parasitic insects swarm into focus. She could smell the traces of plant matter and animal blood on each proboscis. She heard the water in a river become a crashing sound in her ears. And the beating heart of human prey perhaps a mile or two away.

Her mind dragged on at the sensory assault. Vera could feel everything that was happening to her. Her flesh was burning, as if every cell in her body had transformed into a furnace of raging inferno. Her respiration quickened until she was panting like a wolf. The landscape of her brain changed as her mind pumped new thoughts that quickly replaced all trace of human mindset.

Pale hot pain flared in her jaw as her molars shifted forward to give way to the growth of powerful new carnassial teeth, and the fangs and canines became deadlier and more pronounced. Sharp incisors pointed into the sky. Blond hair fell back, tumbling to the dirt as black hairs sprouted from a soon-to-be hairless head and tufted ears.

Vera screamed, but what shook the woods was the growl of an animal. There was no trace of humanity left in that roar. The snarl was so powerful that debris and dirt flew beneath her hot breath, causing the nocturnal vermin to flee into the cracks of the overturned logs. The howl was as loud as all the fury, the anger and the despair in Tamriel. It spread through the forest trees and out into the night sky. It was not the cry of a woman. In that very moment, that very hour, that form of Vera the huntress existed no more.

What remained was a thing that stood up in twisted muscular legs and tore up with monstrous claws. It was no longer human. It was a beast of the oldest of, most ancient of legends. A werewolf. It rose and stood in the cold watch of Masser’s light. And there, under the watchful eye of the Prince of the Hunt, the werewolf threw back it’s head and howled it’s fury at the night.

Jensa the conflicted werewolf has made up her mind about some things. It started when Erik the Slayer went missing in her game. Here’s what she says about it.
*

By the time we heaved the last stone onto the cairn, it was snowing so thick I could barely see Stenvar. I knew what his face would look like, because we’ve buried a fair number of folk together over these last months. This was the first time we buried a whole settlement, though. No one lives at Anga’s Mill now but the chickens. Anyway, Stenvar likes to say a few words over the dead. I straightened up and waited.

“Here lie the woodcutters and lumberjacks of Anga’s Mill,” he said. “At least as much as we could find of them. They lived as laborers, but in death they showed their warrior hearts. They took on a dragon armed with daggers and hunks of firewood. Of course the dragon won. But not for long after we showed up. Yonder sits its head.”

I gave Stenvar another minute to collect his thoughts. Sometimes he starts to ramble, but it seemed disrespectful to mention how bad I needed to pee.

“Sovngarde awaits all true Nords,” he finished, looking right at me. That made me want to punch him, run until my legs gave out, and lie down and cry all at once. I didn’t do any of that. Just started walking.

“You going to speak over me when I’m gone?” I asked him. He knows my worries, and I know what he wants me to do. But he won’t say it out loud. It’s a rift between us.

“Kid, I’ll be under the stones at your side.”

That was sweet, but I wanted something to fight about.

The thing that has me still upset is Erik the Slayer. He’s missing, no one knows where. His Da said he stopped getting letters a couple of months ago. Something is really wrong. Erik doesn’t even change his socks without writing home about it.

The last time Stenvar and I went through Rorikstead, I could tell Mralki had given up hope.

“Sovngarde is not for hoe-pushers, Jensa,” Mralki told me. “My boy is in a better place. If I kept him here with me, I’d just have one lifetime. Now he gets to live forever in Shor’s Halls of Valor. You’ll see him there someday. Tell him he made his Da proud.”

I made up my mind by the time Stenvar and I got to the stables outside Windhelm.

“There’s something I have to do,” I said to Stenvar. It was still snowing thick as stew. “I have to go get something in Whiterun, then haul my tail back here to the Sea of Ghosts. There’s no coin in it. I guess we better part ways.”

Stenvar rocked back on his heels a little. “Let’s take the carriage. We can sleep on the way. You do what you need to. I’ll watch your back.” Then he shivered a little. “Damn this cold. I should have dressed more warmly.”

That made me laugh. I teased him about shaving his head and then fussing about the cold. He said he had enough hair on his backside to make up the difference. We got under the furs in the back of the wagon, and he was asleep before we even made the turn onto the road. At least the cold keeps the fleas down.

When I think about what I’m about to give up, I get a cold empty feeling right through my middle. But at least soon I might be able to rest.

Really cool stories here, and thanks Captain Hammer, for the perk advice.

Crystal Bethis about to attempt her 2nd adventure...taking down some bandits at Redoran's Retreat. She's excited and eager for adventure. A true high elf. Right now, her only spells are Oakflesh, Fire (8 pts. per second), Shock (8 pts. per second), Fury and basic Healing. She's got a daggar for a weapon, and several potions & poisons.

She's confident but I'm nervous. She's a dead-is-dead character, you see.

@Grits: Jensa is sweet and coarse at the same time. I'm glad Stenvar is with her, even though he scares Aravi.

@Renee Gade: I wish you and your high elf luck. I know Aravi's been in Redoran's Retreat, but I can't recall what lives there.

CB sounds prepared enough. She has elemental spells for any situation. It is so important to be able to be able to switch between all three, because you never know what you will be facing. Hopefully she will not need that dagger, and they will not get close enough for her Oakflesh to matter...

A Dead is Dead character in Skyrim? I would rethink that if I were you. Most of the time you can skate through this game. But once every two or three days something awful comes out of the woodwork and kills you in two shots. One moment you are walking along, the next you are dead, wondering what the heck was that?

I've already had a couple characters die in Skyrim, actually. One of them (Blade 'n' Bone) only lasted that first weekend, and died on 11/13/11! Obviously, it was easy for me to let him go, since I didn't get too attached to BnB. But my next character Thor a'Zaene? I did get attached to him. It sucked that he died. He got 2-shotted by a draugr overlord I think. Something really wicked.

Claire Voyance is my 3rd character and I am not playing her dead-is-dead, because I figured I wanted to just learn the game for awhile. Since she's clairevoyant, Claire Voyance could always see into alternate realities and avoid the deaths in them, you see. But sadly, her partner (Brelyna) just died.

Claire was pretty attached to Brelyna, and to be honest I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to game without that mage/cleric combination (Brelyna was mage, Claire is a cleric). Claire's game is on hold, until some inspiration strikes for her.


@ Coin: Yup. Bandits. Crystal Beth is breezing right thru them all, but she hasn't encountered the bandit leader yet. Those guys are usually pretty tough. Beth is gonna do a lot of running if she sees a leader.

Clair Voyance...Love it... ...

That's all, sorry to interrupt... ...

Oh, though I will agree with Subrosa about Dead is Dead...My original character, Wulff Olfsson, Bard, who was a tank due to his Heavy Armour skill coupled with Legendary Ebony Armour, would find himself suddenly dead from to his habit of wading into stuff with much abandon and "his" missing his need for potion...(Or Robert's reliance on the kids shouting "HEAL!!!" when needed... ...)...

Would never play Dead is Dead...I get too attached to my characters...Hence why I've only made a few characters down the couple of years we've had Oblivion and Skyrim...

Awesome.

I had two dead is dead characters in Skyrim. Had. Very briefly. It will be years before I do that again in this game!

Good hunting, Crystal Beth! Redoran's Retreat is memorable to me as being where two different characters shot Faendal to death. Sigh.

That gives that location a nice little gold star doesn't it?

I wish you luck on a DiD run Renee, I have no intention of trying one for a while yet, though I'm pretty sure I know some ways to do it. Just a matter of living long enough to get the good stuff and staying away from two-handed Druger. Azula's closing in on Master Destruction and there is very little she's encountered that pose a credible threat. Including dragons, 4-5 dual Thunderstrikes and they're down. As long as she says out of melee, she's pretty good.

Must...resist...obvious...answer...to...SubRosa's...question...


That's because you already know what's waiting for you...


Don't bother waiting him out. He's immortal. Lurking in the shadows. Waiting. Waiting for his moment. Because when he strikes...it will be...

Swiftly, And-to-the-Back-of-Your-Neck!

(D@mn, nearly stopped myself from letting it get through! )

Speaking of Azula...

After several weeks in her specially tailored Archmage robes, Az has been convinced that for crawling around ruins and wilderness, it just doesn't impress the undead and beasts quite as much as mortals with a pulse. So she's now in something a bit more sturdy.

In the reality next door, Sinead has done several jobs that required an intimidating presence, with her taste in armor, she shows off that she fits the bill.

Crystal Beth managed to kill the members of Redoran's Retreat. It wasn't easy. Actually, the first fort she showed up at (the one I brought up last nite) was not Redoran's, it was Silent Moon Camp. All the bandits there are wearing hides & fur. Beth took care of them all, no problems. When she got to Redoran's it was a different story.

Those guys were tougher; wearing heavy armors. It took awhile to take them all down one by one, but she did it! There was one scary moment when the bandit cheif showed up. Beth started running from him, and got stuck at some point as she was trying to exit the Retreat. She got outside, healed up a few moments and WHAM, a Hired Thug landed a hit on her, almost killing her! Her health was almost gone!

Luckily, Beth managed to climb up the rocks there. The Thug couldn't get to her. She survived, taking down the Thug and later the Bandit Chief as well.



I grew up with dead is dead in teh 1980's as we played our dice & paper games, although we didnt' call it "dead is dead" back then. Back then, it was something naturally incorporated into the game at all times. You died? Your'e dead. The only possible exceptions were if a high-level cleric or magic-user were nearby who could resurrect, or the party had a VERY expensive potion on hand.



Ahh tanks! I sat there and sat there trying to think of the PERFECT name for my new cleric. I knew it was there, too. All a sudden I think I started thinking about Skyrims' new spells. Like clairvoyance. Clairvoyance Claire Voyance CLAIRE VOYANCE!! YESSS!!!

Those of you who know me at Bethsoft know the name of my character is almost as important (sometimes more important) than his or her backstory!






I think Beth did get something, but I'm forgetting now. On PS3, we get trophies, though, not stars. I'll look it up when I get home.

Lil: The latest pic in your sig makes me think of "Buddy, I'm gonna shoot you in the face!"

She's just like honey on cornbread.

Jensa cured herself of lycanthropy. Then she slept for a day and a night while Stenvar stood watch. That guy is all right. Of course events took a turn again. Here’s what she says about it:

I’ve met a Breton woman who‘s likely to get me killed. Then again, she just might know how to save us from the dragons. She had a job for me that I had to do on my own. I went over to Stenvar to tell him we had to split up for real this time.

“If you say so,” he said. “You know where to find me.” He took my chin in his hand and smiled. “Say, your eyes are blue again! I missed that.” Then he kissed me on the forehead like I was a little kid, and he walked away. If he means to confuse me, he’s done it.

I did the job and got no thanks for it. That crazy Breton took off with most of my gear. I had to get back to Whiterun Hold with no food, no furs, and no coin on my person. No mead, either. And with what I had just done, it was not a good time to hang around town looking for work.

I found some hunters who said I could come along with them, they would keep me warm. They looked all right, so I said yes. After the first night they said they didn’t mind changing their plans, they’d follow me for a while. After the third night I remembered that without my beast blood, these dirty fetchers could give me their diseases. Luckily we found a wayshrine and we all got cured. All things considered, it was worth it.

By the time we got to Labyrinthian the flin had run out and we had tired of one another’s company. I had to face the frost trolls alone. The last time I went through there, I had Stenvar beside me. Of course back then I didn’t know the dragon word for fire. Now the trolls better watch out when they see me coming. I scraped up some troll fat to take with me. If that Breton isn’t quick with an apology, she’s going to get to eat it.

Nice little story there, Grits.

Crystal Beth has just returned to Whiterun, after taking down some bandits at Valkheim Keep (however you spell it). She knows of the College in Winterhold, but is honing her skills and her spells on the simple and stupid bandit camps and forts that lie near Whiterun.

She's basically learning as many spells as she can locally by buying up the ones she wants one by one as she adventures, before making the long and dangerous journey to The College.

[quote name='Grits' date='Feb 29 2012, 08:06 PM' post='139839']
[quote name='King Coin' post='139765' date='Feb 27 2012, 07:46 PM']
@Grits: Jensa is sweet and coarse at the same time. I'm glad Stenvar is with her, even though he scares Aravi. [/quote] She's just like honey on cornbread.

Jensa cured herself of lycanthropy. Then she slept for a day and a night while Stenvar stood watch. That guy is all right. Of course events took a turn again. Here’s what she says about it:

*Looks at Jensa*

I had a feeling that she was not taking a Darkness-approved path. I blame the Companions quest bug. It derailed her whole story, or at least sent her in a new direction.

Here's another update from Jensa. I hope I'm being vague enough to avoid spoiling things:

That woman has me running all over Skyrim, but a plan is coming together. This time the job was to go find this old fellow and drag him back with me. I had a chance to pack up some gear before I left, so I just went off on my own. I wasn’t sure how it would be, since I’m usually with someone or someone’s with me. I spent a week without talking to a soul. Just kept my own company. Turns out I’m all right.

I guess the old fellow hasn’t had anyone to talk to for longer than that, since he can’t finish a sentence or stop running his mouth. I learned a lot from just listening and piecing things together. Also he’s pretty handy in a fight, even though I nearly wet my skirt the first time he let loose with all that fire. I had plenty of chances to get used to it. Seems like these days there’s always a dragon in the sky.

When we finally got where we were going, I was ready for some hot water and a real bed. We walked into the inn and there sat Stenvar with a smile on his face. My heart just about jumped up my throat, I was so happy to see him. But when I opened my mouth, what came out was, “Stenvar, what the fetch?”

That just made him laugh. He knew what I meant.

The old fellow and the crazy Breton put their heads together and decided what to do next. I already knew what I was going to do. I scrubbed myself pink and crawled in bed with Stenvar. Then I fell asleep before he could even turn over. I would never mistake him for a gentleman, but he was one that night. And the next morning, too. When the old fellow woke us up early, Stenvar didn’t even punch him a little.

We all got ready to go. I took my time getting the last buckles fastened, since Stenvar hadn’t said anything yet. I wanted him to want to come with us, and if I asked him then I’d never know. We got out on the inn porch and he was still quiet. The other two were down on the road, the old fellow talking at the trees and the Breton watching the sky.

Then Stenvar grinned and said those words that make my heart sing. “Let’s go find something ta fight!”

Aaahhh, Jensa and Stenvar is a very sweet story !!! No matter what Jensa goes through (or puts him through), he is always there if she needs him.

Stenvar, what the fetch?

Coarse and sweet.

Here's an update from Jensa:

Things have occurred, but it’s been a while since my ink was thawed enough to write with. And I’ve been busy.

The first thing is that Stenvar has me wearing plate armor ever since that frost dragon stuck its tail spine right through me. I don’t remember much. Just looking at the sky with Stenvar yelling, then waking up with a potion going down the wrong pipe. Anyway he said we were going back to the temple to get me some real armor. Normally I would have reminded him that he is not the boss of me, and there would have been a fight. But he had a look on his face that I’ve never seen before. He was scared. I said all right.

So we got the armor and spent a few weeks chasing down Word Walls and hunting dragons until we were too worn out to even talk. It was way out in the snow fields that I finally had enough. I looked over at Stenvar, and his beard was full of ice. I said, “Fetch it, we’re going to the hot springs.” I know where some hunters camp. They always have plenty of meat and not enough mead. They’re also Sanguine worshippers, so they’re a fun bunch to spend time with. We bought a keg of mead in Windhelm and hit the road.

We found them right where they always are, and they were glad to see us. Stenvar tapped the keg while I got out from under all that metal. We were sitting in the hot springs drinking cold mead when snowflakes started to fall and hiss into the water. I didn’t think I could be happier. Then Stenvar took my face in his hands and said, “Marry me, Jensa.”

I said yes, and then I showed him that I meant it. After a while we remembered about the hunters. They had gone over by the tents to fix the dinner.

When we finally got out of the springs, they all said congratulations. We shared a meal and worked our way through most of the keg, but that night we didn’t sleep with any of them. I guess it’s better to quit being a drunken strumpet before your wedding rather than some time after.

Next morning we woke to a dragon in the sky. I could hear it was far enough for us to gear up for the fight, and close enough that we could hunt it. Stenvar was still flat on his back. I picked up my head to see what he thought.

“You and me,” said Stenvar, and he was smiling. That man does not need a lot of words.

*throws confetti*

Jensa is my fave character you have in Skyrim. She is who she is and makes no apologies for it. I'm really glad if she is going to marry that it is Stenvar, he has proven he will be there if she needs him. I think if she married anyone else Stenvar would always be in the background, and it would be pretty hard to stay faithful to another as long as he was, lol.

Wow, she wasn't kidding when she said "things have occurred." Near death and then marriage!

+1

Can't say it better than this!

I'm still with Craig and Farkas. , Farkas proposed to Craig after the battle with the dragon/dragon Priest! He did does not to care that Craig is as old as Kodlak.
The marriage ceremony will take in a few days! And I swear that I will write about it!

AWWWW!!!...I'm misting up here...*Bottom lip quivers*...

I'm gonna buy a hat!!!...And a dress!!!...Yes... ...

What?... ...

An amusing arrow shot.

I used to be a bandit. Then...

How perfect!


In other news, Kids, don't try this at home!

After all that, the PC looks at the thief who just has this look of terror on his face...

LOL!!

Ah expert difficulty, where the game itself will try to kill you in a cinematic.

Crystal Beth has made it to Winterhold. On the way, her abilities were sorely tested, and she nearly died a couple times. She encountered a fort in the middle of the road, inhabited by a wicked mage. He could throw massive fire balls and other such magics, easily taking much of Beth's health.

Her horse was killed by this mage. Her horse that she strugged to save money for, was killed in less than a minute. But the good thing is the horse did lots of damage to the mage. As the horse kicked the evil mage and kept him occupied, Beth was able to throw fire at him.

she eventually took him down, only by drinking almost every health potion she had found inside Stillborn Cave did she stay alive and win the fight. Damn! She also nearly got totalled by a large wolf (damn things seem stronger up here, the farther we go north) and another mage.

But she's made it. She's in The Frozen Hearth. And now Beth is off to the College.

*phew* CB made it! I still think you are mad for trying a DiD character in Skyrim. If Real Life was like that, I doubt there would be too many people in college...

MM Hmm...that's the point, my dear. That's the point! I've already done the main Mage's Guild questline, by the way, with Claire the Cleric. I alrady know what's gonna happen, so it'll easier to prepare.

Beth is planning on not just jumping into those quests and adventures just yet, though. She's seen the world of Skyrim. It's much worse than Cyrodiil, the randomness that is. Mages here use less magic, they cannot create their own magics like the Cyrodiilians of 200 years before, but their magics are more powerful than anything Beth has ever seen.

So she's not just planning on leaving and questing right away. Not until she's had LOTS of in-college practice.

Wooh! I'm glad she made it. That first journey to the college is a test. Aravi made a similar journey, only to be turned away!She couldn't cast her entrance spell!

Really? Wow.

I've noticed the entrance spell was different when Claire had to get in. She was asked to cast a destruction spell, wheras the gatekeeper (whatever her name is) asked Crystal Beth to cast a Healing Hands spell on her. When Beth replied she didnt' know that spell yet, the gatekeeper provided it to Beth for a fee of just 30 gold!

I think it might have something to do with whateverf magic your character is least experienced with. Claire never used destruction until she got to the College, but did know Healing Hands. Beth, on the otehr hand, has used plenty of destruction, but didn't know the Healing Hands spell.

Perhaps the game identifies our character's weakest magic, and makes this the test, in other words.

I think it just picks at random from a certain list of spells. When Aradia went to the College, I saved right before talking to the snotty Altmer gate guard. Just for shits and giggles I reloaded and tried again, and she demanded that Aradia use a different spell from the first time.

For the Witch character, you might look for Illia, who is a Witch you can get as a follower if you do a certain quest. Scylla came across her when I first started playing, and she proved to be a great follower. Although if you are already playing a magician, you would probably want a fighter type follower instead.