Good lord, a fight with two dragons at once? *shivers* Rhano sounds like a good one to have around. Combat archers rock, as long as you can keep out of their way!



A hahahahaaaaa so true!

I just made an Imperial Soldier follower NPC for Claire's game named Stephen Opp. I am going to try that Additional Follower Voices mod, hopefully it works and we can hear new voices. I gave him the MaleGuard option, which has been completed according to the info at THE Nexus.

My latest character is a pure mage, and would like to pick up a melee follower before going to Labyrinthian, so she went and found Kharjo. His Moon Amulet is in Frostmere Crypt again! I've never had that quest point me anywhere else, so I loaded my entire load order into TES5edit to see what's overriding it. Nothing! The selection should be random, and it's using the same criteria as each location in my Khajiit Hearthfires, where I get genuinely random bandit lairs.

Actually, I do have one thought. I load a save at the exit from Helgen when I start a new character, rather than start in Helgen itself, as there's too much "controls disabled" going on before, and the exit is the first "quiet" point. I suspect Kharjo's quest is enabled at game start, and the aliases are already filled. There's no need for that, but the check box may default to on.

Acadian, companion Lil often gets the last laugh in fights. Since she looks for cover it takes her some time to find a position once the action starts. Then after Jerric and some tough opponent have been whaling away on each other, Lil’s first arrow can be the final blow that sends Jerric’s foe sailing across the room.

I’m amazed by how much fun Rhano brings to the party. I gave him the same voice set that Erik the Slayer has. His battle cries are epic!

Renee, this time it was a dragon priest (Krosis) and a dragon, which was neat because the dragon was still alive and on the ground when Krosis popped out. I had never had that happen before. Usually the dragon is dead before my characters get to the Word Wall where Krosis sleeps. Jerric’s ranged attack is unreliable against a flying dragon, so he charged up there hoping to tempt it to land so he could nail it with runes. Big fun. Claire’s new follower sounds like fun! I loved hearing the different comments you get from non-standard voiced followers.

ghastley, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten Frostmere Crypt from Kharjo. I remember getting Lost Knife Hideout a bunch of times in a row. I wonder if I was re-starting someone from their Helgen save when that happened.


Raldbthar did contain an item that Jerric and Darnand were looking for. Katria made an appearance when they found it and cheered them on to their next step. Jerric plans to go to the college next, however. He suspects that since Katria is dead her sense of time will allow some detours. Anyway Darnand may have some luck at the Arcanaeum pinpointing their next location. If it is near Riften they will probably go get Mjoll. Jerric would like to see bladesman Rhano’s reaction to the full glory of a Nord woman with a really big sword.

While they were in Raldbthar Jerric’s one-handed skill hit 100. Perhaps it was Rhano’s influence.

@Acadian - well, those Falmer took Katla really far away from her home. It looks like they're not lucky with their prisoners, I'm sure Buffy already rescued Derkeethus (can't spell his name properly) earlier from their lair.

@Renee - nice that LHM will accompany Claire on her quests. He definitely won't mind a break from his motor-mouth wife Mjoll. Sounds like an odd bug with her being impervious to damage - maybe she was touched by the Divines.

@ghastley - I only did Kharjo's quest once long ago, but according to notes which I was keeping back then, it led mo the Frostmere Crypt as well.

@Grits - Rhano is an interesting and notable character from Cyrodiil, I'm sure he is a great addition to the party. He's a master of Blades after all, if my memory serves me right. Or is that Alix Lencolia from the Faregyl Inn? I'm not sure anymore. Addendum: now when I read about Jerric hitting 100 in OH, I'm sure it's Rhano.

Good stories guys, I'm not regularly here but maybe that's even better, because when I come, there's lots to read.

Elinora lost her horse, too. I keep forgetting it will follow when you fast travel, and hers was patiently waiting at the entrance to the College of Winterhold when the swarm of Magical Anomalies spawned. The horse was still alive at 6/10, but ran behind a building and I lost track. A few minutes later it was dead.

I'm not used to having a horse, but building so many wagons has changed all that!

I went to the Nexus to get CH, but I'm a bit confused by the choices of files. I'd like one without all the armours I'll never use, but it didn't look like there was an option for that.

ghastley, did you get CH installed? I just use the main file with most of the options disabled. The mod can do a lot of things, but it doesn’t have to. Sorry about Elinora's horse.


Dar-Ma has been recovering stolen wainwright tools from Bilegulch Mine, Treva’s Watch, Bloodskaal Barrow, and Valtheim Towers. She and her friends are resting at Valtheim Towers before heading back to restore the ruined forge and build Dar-Ma’s wagon.

Derkeethus plans to part ways with the group in the morning. Haj-Meer and Crook Tooth have moved in to Ilinalta Den with Dar-Ma, but Derkeethus has his own home in Darkwater Crossing (Arthmoor’s mod). Dar-Ma knows a couple of Khajiit who will help her with the wagon, so Derkeethus is going to get back to whatever he does at home. And hopefully not get kidnapped by Falmer again!

Here is a picture of Dar-Ma and Crook Tooth at Bloodskaal Barrow. The Dunmeri reavers had a lot of mean things to say to Dar-Ma. She is not interested in returning to Solstheim.

Grits, that's a great back lit shot of Dar-Ma and Crook Tooth. How dare those reavers say mean things to dear Dar-Ma!

Tell me who those mean Reavers were, and Persephone will go kill them...

Oh, how cute Argonians look in shadow!

Thanks, folks! That was one of those times when I turned the camera to make a save and they just stood there looking cool.

Jerric and Rhano went to Valtheim Towers, Redoran’s Retreat, Broken Helm Hollow, and Orotheim on behalf of some Khajiiti friends. Now Shuvesse and a Khajiit warrior called Keiko are staying at the wainwright’s restored house (ghastley’s awesome Khajiit Hearthfire mod). Mojo should turn up eventually.

Jerric took their wagon for a spin and was immediately banned from ever doing it again. Apparently he was going ‘too fast’ and was ‘reckless,’ two concepts that he struggles to comprehend. I can report that he is also terrifying when parking.

However he and Rhano made themselves forever welcome when the first visitor arrived. The dragon attacking a burning wagon was the first random encounter they saw at the restored house. This dragon spent some time at the Western Watchtower but landed frighteningly close to the new caravan wagon. Jerric filled it up with ice spikes, and Rhano’s arrow dealt the final blow.

Next Jerric and Rhano are going to wander a bit. There was talk of Jerric driving the wagon to Ilinalta Den to show Dar-Ma, but everyone shouted that idea down. Rhano especially, since when Jerric parked Rhano was somewhat under the wagon. Jerric said he was doing a handbrake turn. Kip was pulling the wagon at the time. Kip will carry his Nord to Oblivion and back, but he is also not a fan of Jerric’s driving.

For now there is a glorious sunset, a pile of mead bottles, and the wainwright’s porch.

Eeep! What an unwelcome guest! I figure Jerric's skill at driving a merchant wagon is probably no better than his skill as a merchent. . . so no problem, right?

That’s right, Acadian! In all those years as a caravan guard, there’s a reason why they didn’t let him negotiate the contracts!

Well, at least Jerric can still lift heavy things onto and off of the wagons...

I don't think I've ever seen the carriage scene with the dragon. The burnt carriage (carriages have seats, wagons don't) with the corpses is one of those random encounters, but I haven't looked into the details of where it can happen. I'd expect a few conditions to make sure the location is dragon-accessible, and of course that one is! Was there a dog survivor? UESP wiki says it's a possibility.

OMG, is that Ghastley's wagon? Urk!

No, like I mentioned in my post, you can tell that it's not because it has seats. But the house is very close to an "encounter zone" which is where the game plays out scenes like this.

The one where a dragon attacks a wagon is usually over and the dragon gone before the player arrives. There are always a few burnt corpses, a dead horse, and a chance of a dog that survived. It starts with everyone dead and the dragon just hitting the area again, so they don't have to swap live NPC's for dead ones and all that extra work. This must have been triggered by fast travel, as I don't think you can have this one start in line of sight.

SubRosa, shifting heavy things is still one of his Master skills.

ghastley, there was indeed a dog survivor called Stray Dog. You can see it in the lower right in the screenshot, retextured by a mod. Jerric recruited it to live at the wainwright’s house, but when he left the cell and then returned the dog had gone. I have never been able to get a Stray Dog to stay once they’re dismissed.

I’ve also seen that dragon attacks carriage encounter at the intersection very near Markarth with a steep hill. It’s very rare. I wasn’t sure if it was content restored by Cutting Room Floor, because I have never seen it in my console games (at least that I remember).

mALX, that’s a random encounter flaming carriage that disappears when you leave the cell. There are dead Imperials on the ground near it and a surviving dog that you can get to follow you. ghastley’s wagon was parked right across the road and behind Jerric, out of the shot. It was a surprise to come out and find a burning wagon carriage so close!

I forgot to mention that Jerric has been dodging a 40 Septim fine for a while now. He always gets spotted by the guards in Rorikstead and doesn’t want to go all the way back and deal with it, and then he forgets to take care of it when he’s back in Whiterun. He’s not surprised that he picked up an assault charge somewhere without noticing, but he’s a little embarrassed to have the outstanding fine. When he finally remembers to pay up he will go fill some of the prison barrels with ale and mead. Also probably sweetrolls.

As I wrote earlier, I think it has a whole bunch of constraints on when it can happen, because everyone has to start dead, except the dog and the dragon. Since it's listed on UESP, it wasn't a Cutting Room Floor thing, just very rare. And the dragon being still there is even rarer(er).

The dragon scared the hell out of me both times that I saw it near Markarth. Jacelyn was coming from the city and Jensa was coming from the other direction when they saw it, and both times it flew up from ground level and very close but out of sight-line with a roar. Both times it was very easy to kill.

Dar-Ma got a letter from Skyrim’s grateful carriage drivers (ghastley’s awesome Khajiit Hearthfire mod) informing her that they had restored the old wainwright’s workshop out by the Western Watchtower. She helped her Khajiiti friends Keiko and Shuvesse move in. She has been told that fellow caravan leader Mojo will turn up eventually.

Though Shuvesse has moved into the wainwright’s house, she is still traveling with Dar-Ma, Crook Tooth, and Haj-Meer for now. Dar-Ma has built her trade wagon and will soon make her circuit of Skyrim. She needs three guards plus Vigilance to be safe on the road.

First she has promised to do some favors for folks, though. And she needs to figure some things out. Dar-Ma has met several handsome and available Saxhleel men, but her heart never jumped for them the way it did when she met Shuvesse. This was a complete surprise. It might also explain why Shuvesse has not fallen for the strapping Keiko the way I expected.

It is not a surprise that Dar-Ma is an excellent driver. She is careful when she needs to be and makes good time when the road is straight and even. She does not get nervous about parking, she just gets it done. I thought that she would have to leave the wagon in Riverwood or along the road across the lake from Ilinalta Den, but she just drove across the lake in the shallow place not too close to the falls and parked in a level spot. Her head appeared to go under a few times, but she is not bothered by some cool, sweet water across the gills.

Dar-Ma used to have a second dog who got lost somewhere along the way, probably kicked out of the group by AFT when she recruited one too many followers during the big move. I’m not sure if it was a Stray Dog or Meeko. Hopefully it was Meeko and she’ll be able to find him again. Dar-Ma adores dogs, but she has some trouble keeping track of them.

What about the horse? Or perhaps she found an alternative source of motive power - I've seen a mod somewhere that adds a Dwemer mechanical mount.

Blossom the horse swam right across with no problem. You wouldn’t have known she was pulling a wagon. I’m not sure if the back of the wagon dragged along the bottom or if it sort of floated low. I’ll try to swim the wagon across where it’s deeper in Mojo’s game. Dar-Ma would not enjoy the drama if things go badly in deep water.


I don’t recommend crossing deep water.

Unless you’re an Argonian.

Mojo made it across here without drowning, but he had the gurgling sound. Best to look for shallow places! The good news is that the horse and wagon were fine, nothing strange happened.

I'm so glad to hear that Dar-Ma is better at wagoneering than Jerric is. The thought occurs that Jerric would probably do fine if hitched up to the wagon, not sitting in the driver seat.

And it is good indeed that Dar-Ma can breathe underwater!

Run Silent, Run Deep!

It's that time of year when I want to dress my character in a red-and-white outfit (with shiny black boots) to suit the season. Yes, I mean Vampirella!

I had to make the costume, as nobody else had done so for Skyrim. I think I had to do that for Oblivion, too, And certainly for Daggerfall.

It's not working properly yet, as she jiggles through it. Her body has more bones than the outfit, and they don't move together, but I'll have it fixed soon. Then I'll post some screenshots, if I don't upload it to the Nexus as a mod.

So she's headed for the Dawnguard quest-line first, and gone into Dimhollow Crypt at rather a low level. She's having major problems with Lokil, as he's ten levels higher than her, and heals himself (at her expense, via his vampiric drain spell) faster than she can damage him. So she's sniping from a distance, and running away before he can get near enough to drain her health. Or at least, that's the theory. In practice, I'm having problems escaping fast enough, and he's getting health back. I had to save with him only half-way down on his health. And she'll be needing more arrows/bolts soon!!

Ha ha ghastley, cute! Good luck in Dimhollow. There's a reason the game doesn't start Dawnguard until Level 10, or whatever it is.

That underwater carriage. It's like one of those boat tours, gone awry.

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

Middas, Sun's Height 15, 4th Era 202



Location: Vernim Wood

Level: 36
Playtime: 199:05:50

In the first years of the First Era, a powerful race of Elves called the Ayleids, or heartland high elves, ruled central Tamriel with an iron hand. The high and haughty Ayleids relied on their patrons, the treacherous Daedra Lords, to provide armies of daedra and dead spirits; with these fearless magical armies, the Ayleids preyed without mercy upon the young races of men, slaughtering or enslaving them at their whim....


Claire Voyance pores over the book she'd just found in Fort Amol, one which she'd read before, yet had still gathered inspiration from, many times in her life. As a young girl "The Amulet of Kings" had fascinated her. During her teens and into young adulthood, simultaneously training with the Imperials to be in military, and with the monks to be clerical, she had been captivated again and again. Imaging those of past lore. Imagining a different world from thousands of years ago, but one which was not really all that different.

"Ugh ... I'm going to have to bathe thoroughly to get this stench off me."

Lydia complains from downstairs, while Aela probably rolls her eyes.

"Just a few more hours and I can crawl under some furs."

Their newest recruit, an Imperial soldier named Mykke Honnt, probably sitting there stolidly. Mykke had been one of the only soldiers Claire had met in all her travels who desired to break away from official Imperial warriors' camps, and join Claire's pack full-time.

"Blood on the wind today. Good hunt ahead of us."

Aela, always the wild one. The one who wasn't entirely human, yet Claire had become fast & good friends with this barbaric archer, somehow.

Claire closes her book, yawns, and thinks of the day to come. "Legate Rikke will be pleased," she says, in reference to the downing of Stormcloaks at Fort Amol. "Time to turn in."

Vampirella did finally whittle Lokil down and get past him to release Serana, who thankfully is appropriately levelled to match the opposition! And now she has taken her home, and accepted Harkon's offer to join their group. I don't recall if she'd already turned vampire at that point, but she had been infected and was on the way.

Now I'm seeing the opposite balance problem. Her Vampire Lord abilities are at the level she'd have been doing it all later, and she's overpowered against levelled enemies. Not using it takes her back to over-weak. It seems like Dawnguard makes Lord form necessary all the time, rather than being the ace in the hole.

Plus I need to un-vampire her face (I'll go look at the Face and Body thread for that) and find the right hair, preferably to match the Frank Frazetta cover art. Unfortunately, most of the available hair is long both front and back, and she needs it long only at the back. I may end up patching pieces together from various mods to make my own.

And I have a question for those who've been here before: do the changes to make the player character less bat-faced also mean that all the NPC's get the same treatment? If so, I'll have to see if Unique works for it all.

ghastley, to un-vamp Serafíne’s face I copied her human face files and renamed them in Data/textures/actors/character/female as the following:

femaleheadvampire.dds
femaleheadvampire_msn.dds
femaleheadvampire_s.dds
femaleheadvampire_sk.dds

That did not change the NPC vampire faces. Upon reflection I can’t be sure the other vampire faces weren’t also changed. I just don’t remember. I was also using a few vampire mods, but I’m pretty sure her non-gross face was the result of my Serafíne’s Face mod.




I'm glad I put my tea down for this one!!

@Grits - what a funny scene of underwater traveling. If you hadn't shown that pic, I probably wouldn't know there's an actual dragon mound underwater.

@Renee - good that Claire's attack at Fort Amol was successful. I think the final battle for liberation of Skyrim awaits her soon.

--

Playtime: 206 hrs, 45 mins (got inspired by Renee's update to check this)
Days passed: 193
Savefile size: 14.5 MB

Lucius Caro, the Dragonborn, opened his eyes.

He felt...odd.

Though his magical hourglass was telling him that he was sleeping for nine hours, he had a feeling like he's been away for much longer. Perhaps weeks...or even months. Nonetheless, he knew where he was and where must he go. He was in the Winterhold Inn and his destination was Alftand. He already was at Alftand a day or two ago and gained entry to Blackreach but since he was too exhausted and running out of food, he retreated back to Winterhold. Feeling slightly dizzy, Lucius put on his trusted stahlrim armor, enchanted with powerful restoration magic, which he found on Solstheim on his mission against Miraak, the first Dragonborn. He bought some food from the innkeeper and then headed out where he was greeted by a huge snowstorm, common for these parts. Putting a trusted brown hood on his head, the Dragonborn began his walk towards Alftand and onwards to Blackreach, to find the Elder Scroll and thus gain knowledge about Alduin's defeat. His thoughts shifted to Lydia, his Thane and girlfriend that was patiently waiting for him in Whiterun, keeping order in the hold while he was away. He began wondering whether he loves Lydia as much as she does him but quickly shoved these thoughts away. Now was not the time to think about women but about dragons.

"Is there any difference between the two actually?" Lucius chuckled at his own thoughts as he ascended the slope just behind the Jarl's longhouse, leaving the snowy village behind.

Gritsy: Ha ha yeah! You see that eh?

Lopov: Nice. Welcome back Lucius. May you soon fastend your lips to Lydia once again. Fasten. Sorry.



Claire & Co. have gotten to the point that their next stop is supposed to be Whiterun, for the Big Finale, I suppose. And I got the urge to just stop her game right here for awhile. I'm going to do the Stormcloak side next. I have to create a new character (who's going to be a Nord guy, though I don't know his name yet). I figure one of these sides is going to win, but I'm not sure which one, yet.

This is an endless topic in Skyrim & Lore forums: which side is supposed to win? It seems most gamers give the edge to the Stormies. The empire dies in the next TES installment. Hmmm....

I will actually return to White Wizard's game for awhile. I feel like being with a magician.

Thanks. I'm not sure what if any future at all awaits him with Lydia.

I checked dates when I created Lucius and when I took a break from his game, and coincidentally I created him on the 12th of November 2014, took a break on the 12th of April and returned today - 12th of December. Looks like 12 is his lucky number.

I'd say that White Wizard is a good choice as your main character for the coming winter.

Wow, no kidding? My goodness. It's funny when weird stuff happens like that, you know?

BWAAHAA!!!







WOO HOO! I'm ready to sit in Santa's lap and tell her what I want!









Nice screen of the month!

~ The Christmas Day Massacre ~

Buffy and Superian were traveling through the forest west of Half-Moon Mill. More specifically, halfway between Bannermist Tower and Knifepoint Ridge. Up ahead through the trees she saw what looked like a blackrobe mage casting spells. As she got a bit closer, there were numerous figures running around and fighting. She drew her bow but held Superian steady for a time to let things settle down. As the activity ahead seemed to stop, she rode closer – only to be attacked by a pair of Thalmor.

After dispatching them, she dismounted to recover her arrows. That’s when she noted several more corpses in the area. Curious, she cast her detect dead spell and it seems half the nearby forest lit up with the glows of dead bodies! She checked them all and this is a fairly accurate account of what she found:

- 3 Thalmor, one of them with an execution warrant for her.
- 4 Bandits.
- 3 Stormcloak soldiers.
- 3 Necrodudes, one of them with an execution warrant for her (doubtless from helping Azura recover her Star).
- 1 Blackrobed ‘fire mage’.
- 1 Flame atronach.
- 1 Refugee (one of those annoying dudes who interrupts you by stuffing some trinket in your inventory and demanding that you keep it for them).
- 2 Foxes.
- 1 Goat.
- 1 Partridge in a pear tree.

It certainly seems that particular ‘spawn point’ went hyperactive today.

!!

That is hilarious! That is the kind of thing that can only happen in a Bethesda game. Which is a compliment. Other games don't allow for that kind of spontaneity in the game world.

I see that Buffy is still leaving a trail of disaster in her wake.

Yes, yes, I know that she just sat on Superian and was keeping it calm, but we do not believe that for a second. It is like a lovely lass who walks down the street and a car accident happens, sure it is not her fault, but we all know that it is.

Oh my goodness, Acadian! What a battle that must have been. That’s hilarious. I’m glad Buffy managed to stay on the edge of that one!

That sounds great! That must have been fun to watch.

Oh noes, the goat died as well!

They should have constructed a graveyard at that place.

Since I have the laptop with me on vacation, I'm playing Oblivion again. I found that either I hadn't made a Vampirella outfit for that game, or hadn't loaded it on the laptop, so I made another.

Oblivion Vampirella has just been to Kvatch to get the MQ going, as she'd like to open the city gates and recruit Prizna for Gweden. I'll post a screenshot once I get back and can put it on my server.

Vampirella sounds fun. I wanna be on vacation.



Turdas, 12:55 PM, Heartfire 4, 4E 201

Level: 10
Gold: 824

Playtime: 29:06:48


"Skyrim's a hard enough land if you've got a roof over your head."

"I am in agreement, Brel. And I should stop beating myself over the situation."

Indeed. The 'situation' involved a Nord who'd been calling himself 'Taz the Slayer'. Isaac and Brelyna had met Taz back in Whiterun, inside the Bannered Mare. He'd claimed he wanted to go trekking, and seemed to know where Fellglow Keep was located. He was also a big, brawny warrior type, and uninterested in picking sides among Skyrim's warring factions. Taz the Slayer hadn't wanted any gold either, another plus in his favor. For all these reasons, Taz had seemed perfect. Isaac the White allowed him to come along. He gave the Nord some healing potions, and a Talos amulet to wear round his neck (since the man carried a shield).

Despite all these factors, Taz had not lasted long. He'd survived a few random skirmishes from Whiterun into some brush territory. He'd helped take down a sabre lion for instance, but during the first actual fight at Fellglow, he had fallen.

He'd done fine against a couple of lowly-skilled mages, but when a fire atronach had shown a few minutes later, Taz made the mistake of attacking this beast head on, despite the fact that he hadn't taken the time to properly heal himself before engaging in combat again. All of this weighed upon Isaac's conscience.

And now, he was thinking. Pondering, here inside of Fellglow. Many mages inside Fellglow Keep had fallen, and Isaac had managed to free the man who'd stolen those books in the first place. But this man, another mage by the name of Orthorn, had fallen as well.

"Brelyna?"

"What is it?"

"Suppose there were a way to .. now listen to me, here. But suppose there were a way to summon a man? A warrior, in fact."

"I'm a mage, not a spell-writer, you know."

The idea seemed simple enough. And it would absolve Isaac from any chances of future guilt. No more hired goons. No more messy arrangements with money, or items, or loot. Brelyna had been a fantastic companion so far, other than some occasional wordiness from her. But wouldn't it be nice to be able to summon a warrior, instead of hiring one, who'd possibly die like Taz the Slayer? Like Orthorn? ... Or become grumpy about payment, or lack of ale, or whatever may be?

"It's high time we get in there and find our fortune!" Breylna had said, apparently not taking Isaac seriously.

How did one learn to summon though? How did one learn to write any sort of spell? .... The great days of the Third Era, when spell-writing was at its peak, were long over. Many nowadays didn't even bother to write anything new; everyone preferred to just buy a tome. Or scavenge one from loot, if he got lucky. But some of the mages in Skyrim had to know how to still write.

"There seems to be a need for something new," Isaac explains.

"I'm right behind you."

"But are you with me? Here, let me explain as a riddle."

"Okay, what?"

"I can summon a wolf, who dies in one shot. I can summon an atronach, who fires flames at my locks. Is there any between? For now it would seem, that the need for an advocate has been nocked."

Brelyna smirks. "They say Ravencrone of Morthal has studied draugr, undead, and all manner of summoned creatures."

'I think we should pay a visit to court wizard in Whiterun next, after we find these supposed stolen books."

Neat story. I like how it shifts from Taz's backstory and his untimely demise to Isaac's pondering about summoning an actual warrior. Not that Brelyna is listening to him.

But I didn't know there's a mod which adds Taz to Skyrim.

What fun to hear such well-known Brelyna phrases in action! Ah yes, summoning a disposable warrior. Isaac is wise to start small. After all, one of Buffy's early spells was not to summon a chicken but to turn a person into one.

So the book thief didn't make it, eh? No big loss I figure.

Ha ha Buffy could turn a person into a chicken? Good lord!

Yeah, poor book thief did not make it. I thought he would. I don't think there was an option to give him any healing potions though.



My next trick is Foghorn Leghorn and Daffy Duck.

Sundas, 6:05 PM, Heartfire 4

Location: The Arcanaeum, inside of Mage's College


"There are few places where one can pursue my type of work, without persecution."

"And after you hear my pitch, you might consider your 'type of work' quite contrary, and of controversy, indeed."

Isaac the White meets Phinis Gestor, Conjuration trainer and vendor at the Mage's College of Winterhold. And tells him of his idea. At first the elf scoffs. Then he gains interest. Before the hour is over, Phinis becomes sure that Isaac is on to something. The question though: was this idea a good one?

"Let me show you," Isaac says, pointing toward the floor. He casts his spell. Phinis's jaw drops.

A few days earlier, Isaac had been back in Whiterun, returning from Valtheim towers with Brelyna. He'd returned from this trip with a wild sort of idea: was it possible to summon a warrior? ... He'd brought this idea to Farengar Secret-Fire, who'd also scoffed. And snarked, and insinuated, and mocked. Matter of fact, Farengar had done just about everything to make the man with the huge white beard go away, but the man with the huge white beard had persisted. He had not given up.

"So, you wish to master the arcane arts?"

"You have the knowledge, you must have the knowledge of spell-writing, as those who dwelt in the Third Era also had. I beg of you to teach me this knowledge."

"Very well. I may teach you these skills, for it has been awhile since a student of the craft has come begging compulsively at my feet. I admit, it is not a completely unwelcome feeling."

Finally, Farengar relented. What do I do to make this insolent man leave me be? ... But he'd also been curious. It had been awhile, years as matter of fact, since he had written a new spell. Why should he? Why should anyone? Skyrim already had an effective repertoire of spells which had long been proven to work without fail.

And now, days later, here in The Arcanaeum, Isaac casts the spell he and Farengar had worked on for days.



"A chicken. You have summoned a chicken?"

"Completely useless for combat, yes I know. But it's not the chicken that's for show. I want to cast warriors, myrmidon, and fighters. Might you possess interest?"

Phinis explained that casting a warrior, an actual flesh-and-blood warrior, might be possible, as Isaac had just demonstrated that it's possible to summon an actual feathers-and-blood chicken. But the life forces involved in bringing a man, an actual person, would make it very difficult to implement. And this is not to mention the unethical nature of this concept.

"You know," Phinis says, "why not just buy my spell? I have spells which will allow you to summon the atronach of your choice: whatever your preference of destructive magic may be."

"So I buy your spell and now I can cast something which will pelt me with fire? Or shocking-magic? Or lumber noisily within some confined lairs?"

"I have spells which raise the dead to fight for you. I can sell you these spells at an affordable price."

"Bah. Such is the magic of warlocks and witches. And I have not desire for this sort of reputation. But hmm ......... raises dead?"

And so was born the idea which would make Isaac the White quite the topic around the Mage's College.

This left me chuckling. Not only the conjure chicken spell but the possibilities that Farengar overlooked. Can you imagine the horror of a 'Conjure Braithe' or 'Conjure Heimskr' spell?

w00t! Time to start calling up the dead! Might I suggest Undead Summoning for all your necromantic needs?

Yay, Isaac the White is writing spells! Just like back in the third era. Congratulations!! I think that making spell mods for characters is so personal it's a bit like having them write the spells.

For excellent existing summoning mods I second SubRosa’s suggestion and also suggest Nature Summoning if Isaac the White wants to summon Kynareth’s creations. I use both and love them.


edit: forgot the link. D'oh!

All big discoveries have to begin with something small, right? And in Isaac's case it's with the chicken. The mod from SubRosa looks like it'd suit Isaac.

Thanks to all, and thanks for the link Miss Florens.