Grits - Loved Lil's journal entry as the gang explores Elsweyr.

McB - Congrats on that little house. I like that one quite a bit - cozy and a water view.

*

Buffy's on the Green Road. Having overnighted at the Ill Omen, she'll easily make Bravil before sunset. I say that only because she's already passed the one waterfall on the way, so she is less likely to get excessively distracted or drawn off course.

Haute: There's more than one kind of magic


Well, Tarvyn's secured his recommendation in Bruma, albeit in a particularly unusual fashion. Next stop, Cheydinhal. He'll be glad of the warmth. Though he'll be back in Bruma from time to time, Jeanne insisted.

The only time the guildhall there will be prank free is when Tarvyn visits, and she could use the quiet

CT - Oh noes! I hope Tarvyn didn't turn that pair of prankster mages into chickens or some such!

Nope, he just turned the prank back on J'Skar, in a very embarassing, not to mention hilarious, way I might sort something out for the spoiler thread...


Fired up Oblivion again for another quick game-day. Volanaro recommended he take the unmarked northern path through the mountains to Cheydinhal, which was enough to make Tarvyn decide to stick to the roads. Hunted a few deer on the way down, five actually, and didn't miss a shot, which was nice.

Had more trouble shooting later on though. It's been so long since I played an archer in Oblivion that my aim sucks Anything uphill is a real problem for me at the moment, especially when it's a mudcrab I'm shooting at.

Anyway by the time he was near Fort Urasek it was starting to get dim, so he began thinking about camping out. That was when he spotted a campfire near an Ayleid ruin. Despite approaching with his bow slung, he was attacked on sight. It made him curious what tey were doing there, so in the morning he plans to investigate...

Grits - Funny you should mention that, Lissa does tend to ask almost every NPC about rumors. She loves to gossip! and thank you! Lissa looks great. She now has an excuse to wear her more revealing wardrobe, which will show up no doubt once I start updating her Elswyr!

Acadian - Oh dear... Buffy and waterfalls! I agree, good job there's only the one... otherwise she'll never get to bravil in time! Haha

Now, an update from yesterday mornings playthrough. The evening was spent desert crawling

-----------

So after taking the morning to think about it, Lissa decided she wasn't ready to go home yet, so she would go and visit Sir Mazoga in Leyawiin. After a quick, yet difficult, change of clothes (so many cute clothes...) she was ready to leave.

Lissa bid farewell to Anyanka, "It was so good to see you... I'll try and stay longer next time." Lissa said, hugging her friend.

"Please do. Do not let my heavy work load distain you from visiting. You are my best friend and are always welcome." Anyanka smiled.

Lissa held Anyanka's hand,"And you're doing a fantastic job. Kud-Ei would be so proud of you."

Lissa left Bravil and hopped onto Crystal, her noble unicorn*, before venturing off to Leyawiin. After a few stops for food and water, Lissa made it to Leyawiin, or more specifically the White Stallion Lodge, Mazoga's home just outside of Leyawiin.

"Hey, Lissa! What are you doing here?" Mazoga greets as Lissa enters the lodge, finding Mazoga eating a sweet roll. Lissa and Mazoga caught up over food and drinks, before Mazoga made a request.

"Ya'know, I've seen some bandits take refuge in that cave over there," Mazoga said, in reference to a cave dangerously close to her home, "If you feel like getting your knight on, how about we take it back!"

"Can't see why not! As long as there's more sweetcake when we return!" Lissa agrees.

So they went to the cave, and are immediatly greeted by a bandit, spotting them almost immediatly as they enter the cave.

"I got this!" Mazoga stated, carging full force toward the flimsy bandit, being overwhemed almost immediatly.

Mazoga searched his body, finding some gold, which they shared between them.

Lissa and Mazoga continued through the cave, spotting another couple of bandits, which both took care of flawlessly. Finally, the girls saw abandit carrying one of Mazoga's precious black bows. "The count would be pleased if we showed him we got another Black Bow Bandit." She whispered. Lissa nodded, Lining up a shot, unspotted, and firing, killing the bandit instantly. "Didn't stand a chance." Mazoga muttered.

The room they then found themselves in was perfect to spend the night. A bedroll, a table of food and a roaring fire... but there was still more of the cave to explore, which Lissa saw was flooded.

"I can't swim in this armor!" Mazoga gently pointed out.

Lissa knew this, "I know. I can go by myself. You stay here and rest, I'll be back soon."

After a nod of agreement, they breifly parted ways as Lissa went to explore the flooded caves. However, apart from a few chests and slaughterfish, there was nothing of intrest. One cave, however, contained a large bag of gold, easily over 400 septims within, so it wasn't a complete waste of a journey.

Lissa returned to the campsite, finding Mazoga fast asleep, still clad in her armour. Lissa, although comfortable in her own skin, didn't want to get dressed out of her wet clothes, so instead she sat beside the fire, letting nature warm her as she slowly drifted off to sleep...

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

* - Thanks to Slof's horses I managed to replace lissa's original horse to something alot cuter! haha. the only thing I liked was a unicorn with yellow twinges in it's hair. SO as Lissa's story goes this unicorn was found getting attacked by ogres. Lissa saved the poor thing and they've been inseperable ever since.

In half an hour I discovered many things...Tharryn is under armoured, too slow, too weak (as in unable to carry stuff) and really really doesn't like the sprawling Ayleid ruins...Especially the full of conjourers, Sardavar Leed...

Also especially that damned walled poison trap...If you run out of magica healing yourself and can't cast the Fortify Strength spell...Grrrrr... ...

Eeeeasy there, big fella...!

Remember Rindir´s words: Take your time..

After this morning's nerve-racking experience with Tarvyn, I second this.

This morning Tarvyn explored Vilverin, and cleared the place out. I'm not sure there's a more intimidating prospect in the game than sneaking around a dark, shadowy ruin, with no armour and nothing but a shield spell or bound dagger spell for defense, and with absolutely no means of spotting enemies in the dark. Tarvyn has sworn off exploration, both under and above ground at night, until he has something that lets him find his targets in the dark. More often than not he found his way with his ears, folowing the dry, hash croaking of skeletons rather than his eyes.

He started using his flare spell as an actual flare, using it to light corridors briefly, before discovering that open spells provide more light, are less exhausting to cast repeatedly, and don't seem to alert enemies. At one point he actually struck a skeleton lurking in the shadows with one, and it didn't react at all! So for te first time ever in Oblivion I actually had open very easy locks hotkeyed!

One of the things I love about Oblivion on the 360 is that the dark really is dark. In the tutorial it can be so dark you can't see rats that are right on top of you. In the past my characters have only found them by stepping on them. Fantastically atmospheric.

So after all that, what's he gained? 8 welkynd stones (all the ones that were loose. The ones still in their stands are stuck there in his game), a varla stone, and a tome of minor dispel, which might be handy. At present it's the only mysticism spell he has. Oh, and one of those statues of course. I was surprised by that, because the damn thing wasn't on it's pedestal. Tarvyn had thrown an open spell across the spot where the tunnels with swinging blades met, but it had actually struck the statue and hurled it!

There´s one of them statues in Vilverin??


Edit: Just as I posted this I remembered this was the one I sold that brought Umbacano´s butler to me...

@Rihanae...Awesome jaunt with Mazoga there...Was that Rockmilk cave?...I like that one...It's an excellent Bandit/Marauder farming place... ...Oh, hang on...No, there's no water there...I give up!... ...

@Mirocu...It's just one of them things where I kinda get used to my uber-high-level tank characters and so...Y'know...When I get up and ma head's full of mush...Robert is having a bad-memorythingie-day...And Tharryn is pretty much getting hammered by Clanfears and the like...Not that I died even once, you understand...But that moment with the walled poison trap was ridiculous...

Still, Tharryn will be using his strength fortifyers something chronic now...Just one more little thing to set him apart from the others...I am still enjoying him...He's not as hard as the others, and that's actually a good, fun thing tbh...

I managed to get myself around 3000 glod (Pratchett reference alert!!) and a level-up from the trip anyways... ...

@He's Thorny, Thorny-Thorny-Thorny...Vilverin is always fun...Farming!!... ...You know you can get the high-up stones with a bow and arrow, right?...Well, of course you do...I used to use that all the time until I discovered the "Remote Manipulation" spell...Much fun..."Use the Force, Luke!"...Or...If you like..."Accio Welkynd!"...

Oh, although there's ones that are stuck aren't there?...The ones around the traps...Unless I just didn't try to get them...Hmmm...

If I find any statues in these ruins, as I've no idea where they are anymore...And no, I don't want to know either...Erm...Oh yeah...I'm gonna put them with the Vilverin one...Which is in the corner of the market next to the spell shop place... ...Shockingly enough, I can't remember the name of the it...*Shrug*...

Damned bad memory days...*Sigh*...

Nice stories Rhianae & Callidus!


I can second this. On PC there are a multitude of settings and mods to make dungeons darker, on consoles one only has to dungeon-dive as normal. I would push a setting on my TV remote to make my vanilla games even darker, but even if I didn't do this there would still be areas where one might actually need a light source.

Lady Saga got several new radiant-style quests from the merchants of Skingrad*, one of these brought her into Goblin Jim's Cave. She brought a couple of Wood Elves along for this expedition: Maglir and Erthor.



She found Erthor lurking in his stupid cave once again, trying his hand (and failing) at his usual experiments. Silly elf. Erthor had somehow managed to eradicate the vampire known to the locals as Eradi~Kate, who had been rumored to frequent Bleak Flats Cave towards the end of the 3rd Era.

One of the cool things about Saga's delve into Goblin Jim's is she left Maglir and Erthor waiting for her in an early chamber, and then managed to dispose of every single goblin in the cave, one after another, with her crossbow. She only missed maybe twice. All shots were done while she stealthily stalked them, so there was no melee action at all, and no summoning. Only blondie and her bow. Ironically, only Goblin Jim himself managed to spot the blond elf before she could get a shot on him.

*Enhanced Economy adds 'retrieve the item' quests.

Farming?

Yeah, I could have Tarvyn shoot them down, but I'd rather have an explanation for them still being there, and a reason for him not to shoot them down or anything.



Yet another game-day passed for Tarvyn, and he now has his recommendation from Cheydinhal. And Falcar has earned a place on Tarvyn's list. One day soon there will be a reckoning, now that Falcar is no longer protected by Guild Law it is only a matter of time...

And on a lighter note, on the way to Cheydinhal, he came across this. He spent a few minutes just standing there, looking at it, listening to the sounds it made. He'd never seen anything like it back in Vvardenfell. Considering the sight before him, he couldn't help thinking it a great shame that there was nothing like this back home.


Sorry the pic's not great, it's times like this I envy you guys, being able to take screenshots.

Edit: And a quick question for any marksman inclined players. Would 100 arrows be an unreasonable number to carry around? In terms of realism, I mean.

Rihanae – Great job by Lissa and ‘Zoga clearing undertow cavern!

CT – Vilverin is a great dungeon. Clever alternate lighting tricks by Tarvyn. I agree about leaving some of the non-respawning stuff in dungeons for when you come back. In fact, one of the ‘lessons learned’ when we restarted Buffy’s game a couple years ago was that now she doesn’t pick up welkynds, varlas or nirn roots. I think Buffy’s collected all ten of the statues though. Nine are with the dude who collects them and the final one is in Buffy’s apartment; that way, the quest is ‘frozen’ at a convenient place for us for now. Love the waterfall! And the Cheydinhal recommendation is done. Yeah, Falcar is still on our ‘list’ too. Grrr.

Regarding arrows, 100 should certainly cover a young marksman. Later, a good marksman will strive for generally getting 'one hit, one kill' and the number required should go down. As far as an individual quiver, they vary. Buffy's only hold 15 arrows, but 25 would not be unreasonable for a large quiver that an adventuring archer might carry I think. Of course, Buffy's mare does carry extra arrows for her elf. Also, Buffy is able to recover a much greater percentage of her arrows from fallen foes than the vanilla game provides for. She is also quite aggressive about recovering any arrows that miss - to include using her 100 foot telekinesis spell (for arrows that are not stuck in a tree/ground etc).

McB – Glad you’re still enjoying Tharryn! Hang in there – in time he’ll figure out his own path to the best way of doing things.

Renee – So good to see Lady Saga adventuring with her Bosmer Buddies. Glad she’s enjoying her crossbow and additional quests from your mods.

*

Well, we got Valenwood Improved installed in Buffy’s game. She’s near Falinesti in NW V-wood now, exploring.

I have no idea how many arrows is 'realistic', that's one of those things i need to remember to ask an archer next time I'm at a Renaissance fair. Saga goes for about 50; usually a mixture of iron, steel, and silver.

The waterfall pic looks fab. The pic up above (Saga with her Bosmer companions) was taken with a digicam; sometimes I use a camera, other times I'll let my PC take a screenie. In my opinion cell phone pics & cameras can capture some contrasts & highlights PCs cannot. I also sometimes like the slight blurring effect a camera can create.

Farming...That completely unstorylike thing where you simply jump around the dungeons that you know are full of Bandits or Marauders and you just go in/kill/sell the loot...Much like the Dragon-Farming in Skyrim where you just jump from Dragonpeak to peak and kill repeatedly...*Shrug*...Is fun and moneymaking...

Fair enough on the not shooting them down...I worry not about such things meself...

Just remember about the arrows, the weight of each arrow is about 0.1 in carryweight terms...I hadn't realised that, as the Skyrim ones don't weigh anything...Well, I think that...The Fallout bullets don't anyways...

So 100 is...Um...10?...Weight?...Er...I think I had 250 Iron ones at one point...*Shrug*...

I thought as much.

I used to use Sercen for that. 1 Ringleader, 1 boss chest, minimal risk. There was that, Fort Nikel, and I think it was Fort Empire...

Renee is using a crossbow pretend mod now!

"I hope we'll get to Skingrad soon, I've had enough of the wilderness for now!"



Erthor complains as he did long ago, Aerin from Valenwood thinks. She had brought the errant elf to with her to Valenwood in the Year 434, but he hadn't stayed more than a month before he'd gotten too homesick for his beloved Skingrad.

"I con't wait to be back in Skingrad..." Erthor reminds his rescuer. The same tall blonde Bosmer who had 'rescued' him years before. "...safe and sound."

"This time, I shall take you where you desire to return, and such is not of erroring, Associate."

With that, Saga does indeed turn towards Skingrad. Though Maglir (Saga's recently-hired knight-errant) says nothing through this ordeal, he hopes his new boss keeps her word. Just five hours with this fool, and I cannot stand his nitwitty presence!


* Lady Saga has just finished her recommendations, and is headed towards the Arcane University. Since I RP that it's in the future with her game, and she'd tried to make it into the university in the past, this means it's taken her seven years to finally make it this far.

Saga finally escorted Erthor back to Skingrad? It is truly wonderous times..

She really looks good, btw

Yeah, she looks good in that pic, I agree. Look like she's walking with purpose.

Finally! He is in Skingrad. Recommendation finished. She's on her way to the I.C. Can't wait to see the University, it's been so long.

Lothran is now in the Market District

Really? ... Wow, he and Saga just passed each other. She's in the Arcane University right now (it's her first time, wow) but she was doing some shopping in the Market District not long ago.

What year is it in Lothran's game? That's a good question for you and Acadian, actually, you've both been at it so long.

*Applauds Renee*...I like Maglir...He makes me laugh... ...It's the grumpy thing, y'know?... ...

Aaaamywho, as was challenged by Thorny-Boy...I did Barren Cave on normal difficulty, in one run without saving...

Yes, Tharryn got the whatsit disease (Which we cured with a potion he'd made, the instant we finished the dungeon) and yes, the Patriarch and the Matriarch did pretty much kill him on a couple of occasions...

Mostly, the lower level vamps were easy enough...They gave decent damage to health and armour, but their disappearing thing didn't work much as Tharryn always uses the Detect Life spell anyways...

Much use of the heal spell and repair hammers afterwards sorted the effects of the fights well enough...

The Patriarch had a Glass Warhammer of Fire™, which he used to awesome effect...Ruined my armour. shield and boots...The boots I couldn't repair 'cause Tharryn's Armourer rating is still in the 30s...

The Matriarch had some Corrode Armour and Weakness to Lightning spells...I think that's what they were, the first one was that brown-y/Orange one with snowflakes-ish...Aaanyways, when she started with the spells and the quick slicing with her dagger...The health poured off of me little Dunmer... ...But generous application of silver sword/shield staggering saved the day...

In both boss fights, had I not had the healing potions I'd have been dead...I admit...If I'm not supposed to use them during fights, I apologise, that wasn't in the memo... ...

However, had they managed to kill him at any point, I'd have just reloaded, and tried again... ...

Level-wise, we're at Glass weapons and Orcish armour for bosses...So we'll be expecting some pretty Ebony stuff soon...*Rubs hands with glee at thought of acquiring his Ebony Longsword once more*...

We so need to get his strength up though... ...

Having taken him out of his game in order to do this vampy cave...(We were travelling the ring road around Lake Rumare)...I may take him further out of the game and do the MG recommendations, so as to get at the enchanting/spell making stuff...(Which, in his story is available via The Church™)...

Hey Renee, I'll say hi to Erthor for you... ...

If I´m not mistaken Lothran´s year is 437. Not that high as you´d think maybe, but he´s come a long way still..

@McB - Glad to see the survival capabilities of your character But I would not have said anything if you had had to reload..

had had..? Was that right? The English language is so strange to me..

Yep, that's right...Safe to say your English is a hell of a lot better than my Swedish... ...

Yeah, I was a bit surprised how well Tharryn did, actually...I'm hoping to find a bandit cave along my travels in order to get him a higher-level cuirass...We're probably at Mithril level now...Have to wonder about the Glass armour and whether he would feel it a little ostentatious... ...(over the top btw)...

Oh, we've just finished clearing Fort Alessia of Marauders...And selling their stuff...Awesome!!...Glass Longsword!!...Booyah/slice!!...

Put my first piece of "I'm keeping this" swag in my Imp City house...The Silver Sword is now sticking up out of the bin by the bed... ...

McB: Congrads on another successful dungeon dive!

mirocu: Ahh the Year 437. Close enough!

And yes, it is possible to say "had had" on occasion. It does seem rather clumsy, right?

Renee – Congrats to Lady Saga on being accepted into the Arcane University! I hope she remembers her Bosmeri buddy, Erthor, once she’s all edumagecated. Mirocu’s right – that’s a great pic. It is year 437 in Buffy’s game. There’s a couple factors that have held that back: I started her over at 1000 hours (she’s now at total 3645) and we play at a slowed time scale of 12.

mirocu – I hope Lothie doesn’t spend all his money in one store. Does he want the best or does he want cheap?

McB – Glad Tharryn got through Barren Cave okay. Buffy’s fave part of that is washing the vamp dust off in the nearby waterfalls after. I’ve always found the glass and daedric armor pretty fuggly; that’s one reason Buffy’s forever level 19. 'Imp City' - what images that conjures!

*

Buffy’s exploring northern Valenwood. She’ll be slowly working her way south but, for right now, she is quite enamored with what the Valenwood Improved mod has done to the Strid River Valley.

No worries. He bought a lot of ingredients but he also sold lots of weapons and a few armour pieces, so all in all his coin purse is fuller now than before he came to the Market District

And I see Buffy is yet again off-Cyrodiil..


And Lothran is now in Cheydinhal after a brief visit to Morcant. As always she provided excellent service and my dark elf left with ingredients, his mace fully charged and to top it off he had learnt how to summon a boar

The boar is a great sidekick! He reminds me of a clannfear the way he charges straight at the enemy. That’s Jerric’s favorite summons at the moment. Good choice!

Lil and Jerric had a relaxing day in Dune. Lil replaced some dried-out arrow shafts and then they both took a nap. I expect that when night falls they’ll go for another stroll out on the sand.

At the market they bought a lot more fruit, some desert clothes, and a cute hat to take home to Abiene. Lildereth is not enthusiastic about writing up the accounts. I expect that some things make their way into her bag without the traditional exchange of coins, and those transactions are best unrecorded.

Here’s a picture of where they ate dinner the first night they got there. And here’s a Dune traffic jam. Note the Alfiq walking practically under the Pahmar! Lil is in her new desert camo and Jerric is wearing whatever was on top of the merchant’s pile.

Yeah, I read Subrosa´s comment how good the boars are for Archers since they never leap so I thought I´d add that spell to Lothran´s repertoire

Jerric and Lil look very comfortable in Dune. Did they stop by to visit Baa and Mooch in their home?


You mean the housecat under the tiger?

Yeeesh, all them head-height naked butts all around the place...Oh, I wonder if that's how Bosmers feel around Altmer nudists?... ... ...



Aaaamywho...Going along with the ring-road travails at the moment...Cleared out a goblin cave that I forget the name of, just over that long bridge on the south east of the road...That was fun...

And then we had a vampire redux with Memorial Cave...Contracted the disease, FT'd to Chorrol to pray at the chapel and sell the expensive swag at Rasheeda's...1200 glod is not to be sniffed at... ...

Then we've bought some more ingredients (and potions to replace the ones we piled on, facing two high-armoured, high-level vamps at once) to mix up and push the alchemy some...

We're back at the cave to reload with more stuff, but McBoy's just spotted a robed vamp walking around in the distance...So that'll be him dead next go... ...The vamp btw, not the boy... ...

Much fun!!!...



That was excellent!...Elsweyr looks funky!...Reminds me a bit of Damascus in the first Assassin's Creed game...

Jerric looks awesome!...That shield!!... ...It's gorgeous...

So's the cat...

Has anyone ever modded an ebony shield with different designs on?...

Oh, this bit...



Now, is that...Y'know...*Looks left, looks right*..."Oh darn, that seems to have fallen into the bag"...Or is this the Dibella thing?... ... ...

mirocu – Aww, Morcant is always a wise and gracious host.

Grits – Love the pix of Lil’s travels in Elsweyr. Dune is such a neat and exotic city. And I love how Illiana incorporated so many of the moon-crafted Khajiit breeds – even the four-legged ones.

McB – Lol, Buffy has indeed sometimes tried to slip through a crowd of Altmer by keeping low. Sometimes they try to set a beer mug on her head though. Tharryn is getting to be quite the vampire slayer. I’m glad he’s still working well for you.

*

Buffy just left the wonderful elven city of Arenthia. She is now ready to start venturing further south into Valenwood.

New contest: How far south can Buffy go?

Well, the vampire slaying so soon after the other is just because of Thorny's challenge...Had I just stuck to the road I'd have only had this lot to discover...But yes, it's nice to know that he's very capable...I'm really enjoying how I'm playing at the moment...Much speechcraft...Much mysticism and Illusioning...Really quite good...

I've also bought a Bound Boots spell because I want a more permanent ghost about the place as the Ancestor Guardian being once a day is pretty useless... ...

Ach, who am I kidding?... ...

Today, I bring sad news...

This morning, Brother Tharryn died...

Having consumed far too much mead after morning mass, his drunken amblings brought him face to face with a wild boar...Which he then decided to punch to death...On Very-Hard level...

All was going well until the boar launched a surprise counter attack and jumped for Tharryn's throat...

In two hits, it was all over...

And thus did Tharryn sprawl ungainly-ly on the grass...I suspect the Boar cocked a leg and did a widdle on his head...It's just the sort of thing one would expect really...Oh no...That's dogs isn't it?...Or politicians...

Aaaamywho...Yep...Dead Battle-Priest before my very eyes...

So then the Autosave loads aaaaand we're back in business!!!...Oh hells yeah!!...

Kill the troll that had been just down from Memorial Cave (again), pick some ingredients (again), make porkchops out of the damned boar (YAY!!) and then heal a passing Legionnaire who must have been fighting something nearby...

So now Tharryn has just fought three goblins at once in Fort Ursacheck...Uras...Ursamajor? ...No...The damned Goblin fort that starts with an U anyways...



*Raises eyebrow*...Best ask Salvian Mattius... ...

(These mods sound awesome though, Acadian...You going to put any pics of Valenwood in the Potpourri thread?)

McB, sorry to hear about your boy getting boared. Glad you reloaded though. Tough to hoot with the owls, then wrestle with the pigs or some such insightful saying I guess. Pork chops made for good revenge though!

A ghost makes a great summon. They can make monkeys out of foes armed with mundane weapons. They also stay put because they use ranged spells for ranged foes and touch spells for touchy foes up close. By staying put, they can be used as a shield. Their predictable positioning makes them easy to heal as they fight. And they're weak enough that they need some help to kill much more than a mud crab. The one we use has its 'defense' built up some so it is harder to kill, but still has just the vanilla weak spells. That way, it works well as mostly a shield and distraction. It doesn't understand a whit about friendly fire when using its frost spells so its wise to stay behind it.

Buffy would go pretty far south for her dear Savlian.

We are taking some screenshots in V-wood and, yes, they'll eventually work into Buffy's Potpourri thread.

Tarvyn Dralor set out from Cheydinhal, shortly before it began to rain. But it wasn't too heavy, so he pressed on rather than turn back. He had a lot of ground to cover to reach Bravil, after all, and didn't want to waste a few hours because of the weather.

This was a decision he soon came to regret.

As he approached the Red Ring Road, the rain became a thunderstorm, and Tarvyn was forced to dig the green hood he'd found in Vilverin from his pack. Slipping it on kept the rain from his eyes, but little else, truth be told. It wasn't the best fit over his dark shirt, but it was good enough to use.

However the storm continued, the gust of wind growing stronger and the rain falling in near-solid sheets rather than droplets. He practically fled down the Red Ring Road, looking for a decent shelter from the rain. He passed a fort, but decided against it. It would likely be occupied, and he did not want to fight right now, so he rushed onwards, his soaked blacksmith's trousers clinging to his thighs with every stride.

He ended up wedged into a corner on the first floor of a burned out building, huddled into a corner, which at least kept the wind from him. beneath a roof that was mostly missing. Fortunately there was just enough to keep his corner dry, but the storm raged on and on.

As darkness fell, a cold and somewhat dejected Tarvyn dug a bottle of Tamika's from his pack, along with a small loaf of bread, a chunk of ham, and a wedge of cheese. He sighed heavily as he looked out at the storm that raged about him, and heard the wind as it screeched and wailed around the ruined building.

It was going to be a long night...

I'm gonna start playing again, probably DiD with more RP....oh...did somebody say fan-fic....no? Well I might do it anyway.

CT - Ugh. I can just feel the wetness soaking through Tarvyn's clothes as he shivers in the remains of that burned out old alchemy shop building.

ImpSnob - That's great news! Let us know who you meet in that prison and how is goes.

This thread's been busy again! Sorry if I don't comment, I'm finally gaming after a weekend of no gaming (too nice outside) so I have to just add my own little story for now..

Fredas, 10:36 AM, Evening Star 7, 4E Year 4

Days Passed: 103
Fame: 9
Infamy: 1

"Yes?" ...Maglir asks his blonde wood elf master. "Do you need something?"

At this moment, Lady Saga is glad to have left Erthor behind this time.* She is glad she listened to his complaints, and brought him back to Skingrad, where he feels 'safe and sound'. This Maglir is much more suited for his profession, much more able-bodied and willing to do the job. And he never complains that he'd like to return to Skingrad.

"Maglir, today I shall bring you inside a place a person such as your self might not otherwise have the gifting for viewing: The Arcane University. A knight-for-hire such as your self would never gain allowance in to the walls before you. Will not be of importance, mayhap, because you are with me, but if any of the mages inside give you grief, I shall make supportion upon your side."

The walls of the Arcane University do indeed loom before the pair.



* I am also glad I took him to Skingrad. I think we got lucky on PS3 because Erthor managed to stay where he was in-game, he never vanished. I had one NPC follower (an Argonian I think) vanish from Renee or Igodah's game, apparently he vanished because my game glitched out, and there was nothing I could do about it. I figure I'd better get Erthor back to Skingrad this time, especially with a modded game.

Saga managed to find and buy an assortment of soul gems from Mystic Emporium. Her gear will be lightly enchanted, and this will be a great addition to the Wearing / Wiedling thread later on.

A nice little story there, Renee. Somewhat shorter than I expected but that´s ok, I was out of tea anyway...

I´m still struggling to imagine you playing on a PC and having more mods than me!

Impy- Even if you don't start a fan-fic, why not try writing about your character here? And I hope you have better luck playing DiD than I generally do


The storm raged for nearly a full day, finally blowing itself out a couple of hours after dawn, or so Tarvyn later judged from the sun's position once the sky cleared.

Having spent hours cooped up in that ruined bulding, Tarvyn wanted nothing more than to stretch his legs and enjoy the fine weather and warm sunshine. He raced back down the road in search of the plants he passed the day before, harvesting all he found. After buying those spells in Cheydinhal he was once again somewhat short of coin, and alchemists were always willing to buy ingredients.

As he passed Fort Magia for the third time in two days, he noticed an upper section to it, without any clear means of reaching it. Feeling the need for a proper stretch, he spent a few minuted trying to find a way up, only to find that there was nothing up there. But he was glad of the exercise anyway, he'd spent too long hunched up in that ruined buiding.

He jogged down the road towards Bravil, pausing for the occasional detour to investigate something. An out of work mercenary-turned-brigand with his dog at a fort near the road, an Ayleid ruin with an Altmer standing around. This really caught Tarvyn's attention, particularly when he noticed a scamp wandering around, the two seemingly at ease around each other.

Teekeeus had warned Tarvyn of this, of a group of mages who'd broken with the Guild following the ban on necromancy. Apparently they feared that they would be next to be banned, and so had fled the Guild, retreating to forts and taking over Ayleid Ruins. Traven had ordered that they be treated without leniency for betraying the Guild, and was rumoured to have teams of Battlemages roaming Cyrodiil hunting both these "Conjurers" and Necromancers.

A single arrow, at long range, tore the life from the Altmer, but alerted the scamp. The fireballs it hurled were of no real concern to Tarvyn, and it soon fell under a series of well placed arrows. With the area clear he examined the body of the Altmer, finding his clothes curioisly unstained by blood. The arrow had taken him through the neck, yet the Altmer's clothes were unmarred. He understood when he saw the telltale glow of enchantment.

Stripping the body was more than a little ghoulish, but he needed the coin the garment would fetch, and the Altmer had no use for them anymore. He found the Altmer also carried a mage's robe in the bag slung over his shoulder, one identical to Teekeeus'.
The rest of his journey passed without event, though it began to grow dark before he came in sight of Bravil.

Fortunately at about the same time, the Inn of Ill Ome came into view. It wasn't a first rate inn, but compared to Tarvyn's previous night's accomodation, it was more than welcome.



Wow, that was longer than I'd expected I might have to borrow a section or two to expand upon at a later date...

Well, another gameday passed for Tarvyn.

He's now in Bravil, having taken a relaxed walk from the Inn of Ill Omen. No sooner had he arrived in Bravil than he was greeted by a beggar, which set the tone for his visit. He was totally overdressed in his black and burgundy outift, which he's now become rather fond of, despite his inital misgivings. He also got arrested over a misunderstanding.* He then managed to get lost twice in the rat's nest of Bravil's streets, before managing to find the Guild.

He's been given his assignment, and is basically staking out the guildhall waiting for Varon Vamori to turn up. Kud-Ei also told Tarvyn that he'll not gain his recommendation until he can cast apprentice level illusion spells. This hass got him somewhat worried for when he tries to earn his recommendation in Anvil.

His opinion of the Nine and the chapels has taken a blow in Bravil, not that he thought too much of them in the first place. Walking around a city built of wood and then being faced with the immaculate craftsmanship of the Chapel of Mara towering over all seemed to annoy him greatly.


*He's been talking to people more than my other characters have, which became a problem when one of the npc's in the Lonely Suitor Lodge moved just before he tried to talk to her, resulting in Tarvyn stealing some crappy mug

Renee – I always liked traveling with Erthor (via CSR after his quest). He was able to learn several summon spells that helped him really pull his weight. I’m glad that Saga is having good luck with Maglir though. I hope her training at the University goes well! And great screenie!

ImpSnob – CT and Renee are wonderful proponents for DiD. For some, the vulnerability creates a precious bond that helps the player feel closer to their character and increases the intensity of the game. Just be aware that not all successful roleplayers incorporate DiD. In my case for example, that chance of suddenly losing a precious character would result in me maintaining my emotional distance from them. That would result in me either: (1) thinking of my character as disposable (just the opposite of the intent behind DiD), or (2) never letting my character venture outside city gates to experience the beauty of Cyrodiil. For me it simply works better to have my character’s mortality bound to my own; she’ll die when I do. Our playstyle is already overly slow, methodical and cautious. Even though I would resurrect her if it came to that, we go to pretty extreme lengths to preclude that. My advice is to try roleplaying with both techniques and see which works better for you.

CT – Poor Tarvyn is spending lots of time running up and down the west portion of the Red Ring Road! Nice touch on providing some background on conjurers. Glad he’s safe and sound in Bravil. Alas, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kud-Ei’s recommendation quest sends him right back up to the Red Ring Road! Stealing a mug!

*

Buffy is slowly and methodically mapping out V-wood. It’s gonna take her quite awhile, methinks.

I recently added a creature companion mod, and am loving it. I decided to work out a back story for the companion in question, so I will do so as Black horse Courier articles.

------

Lost Princess Finally found... after five centuries!

One of Cyrodiil's greatest mysteries has possibly been solved; the dissapearance of Princess Killiana of Anvil.. which happen over five hundred years ago!

A common story retold my many has told of the young Princess, daughter of Count Hector Umbranox I mysteriously vanished after a routine visit to Kvatch she wold often take problem free apart from that one fateful day when she would never be seen again... until now.

It seems that whoever kidnapped her had managed to transform her into a Spider Daedra and held her captive until his death, where from that point on the princess, seemingly immortal in her new form, was forced to spend centuries in a cage deep within the depths of the Aylied ruin Fanacasecul.

Adventurer Maelissa Cristenn, 20, had this to say upon discovering her.

"I was just going through the ruin on pretty routine hunt for something worth selling and I came across the Princess. It was quite shocking at first, but when I saw her cower away in fear I knew she couldn't be your average, vicious Daedra. I just sensed that there was something different about her. I took a risk and freed her, constantly reassuring her that I meant her no harm, and immediately she ran toward me and shook my hands in thanks. It was strange."
Upon rescuing the Princess, Lissa had this to say about discovering her origin.

"I brought Killiana to Anvil, unintentionally terrifying everyone, but the people of Anvil seemed quite shocked at the fact that she seemed so fearful. I brought her to Carahil [head of the Anvil mages guild], who immediately notices a unique birthmark on her arm, immediately recognising it as Killiana's. Once Carahil said her name she reacted as if to say 'yeah, that's me!'. Obviously Killiana doesn't speak our language, but she can still understand it. Carahil asked Killiana some extensive yes or no question about Killiana's life, to which she got all the answers correct. That completely solidified the theory that this was Killiana.'

However, although it is now almost certain this is the lost Princess, Carahil is still uncertain of how she came to be a Daedra.

"I only have one theory," Carahil says, "Killiana's kidnapper most likely was planning to hold Killiana for ransom, transforming her with a spell only he could reverse to make sure he doesn't get double crossed. He most likely died, somehow, before his plan could be put into effect; ultimately forcing Killiana to live the rest of her life like this."

Carahil then added, "we can't risk turning Killiana back into a human as she would no longer me immortal, and would die. She has told us through basic yes or no questioning that she is happy the way that she is. She has adjusted. So we have decided to work on a spell to enable Killiana to speak our language instead of her daedric dribble. This could take quite some time, however."

Rihanae - What a wonderful little backstory for Killiana! I hope she makes a great companion and protectress for Lissa, Jesse and Anyanka in their adventures. An adorable screenshot of Lissa and her new friend there!

Wow great stories everyone. This is amazing. Wish I had more [censored] time to write.

mirocu: I've got somewhere between 30 and 40 mods for each of my 3 PC games, and to be honest I'm not really seeing much more I want to add. So no worries.

Now it's dessert time in my house. I'm going to make waffles, and then I'm going to read some of these awesome tales. I don't do tea, I do waffles.

You still have more mods than me

Lothran is still in Cheydinhal but plans have been made to go south-ish and maybe return to Skingrad laters.

Ooooh, had a bit to post but completely forgot...There's a thing...*Sigh*...

Aaaamywho...We did the undead-ridden Fort Chalman; having prayed at the Chapel of Stendarr in Chorrol, Tharryn decided to clear Crumbling Mine of Bandits having absolutely no prior knowledge of their being there...Of course...

Aaaamywho, jumping back to F.Chalman, we proceeded along the ring-road to Sercen and cleared it...Picked three hard-locks without breaking one lockpick...BOOYAH!!!...Swaggy... ...

Having sold much loot, we proceeded towards the village of the invisibles...That I currently forget the name off...Aleswell?...*Shrug*...but got sidetracked by Fingerbowl Cave...

Sounds like a swanky restaurant...

Anyways, that's where we are...

Yep, it's Aleswell where everyone is invisible. Sercen is one of my fave places to strategize. It's one room, but several NPCs + one boss chest, so it's like one-stop shopping for adventurers.

I agree about Sercen. It's a regular camping spot for Buffy. Once she clears it, she brings Superian in for the night. Fires to keep warm, high ceilings for the mare and even bedrolls. 'Course, Buffy hits any strange bedroll with a combo dispel/frost spell before using it.