20201129 I-SL Damsel in Distress
Next morning we found out that big feast was on schedule in a few days. Not overly fond of the food in the Shivering Iles we delay our departure to take part. Stuff our faces before lean times so to speak.

The feast over, we were making preparations to return to the Shivering Isles when it was noticed the number of Ayleid ruins we’ve visited did not match up with the number of statues collected. We’re one short. Maeva is going to stay here in Merendin to study her maps to figure out where we may have missed an Ayleid statue.

Casting the spell that takes us to the Midas Astral Gateway we use the gateway to return to our cellar room in Bliss. After settling in we walked over to The Choosy Beggar for food and drinks.

“Feache what’s bothering you? You’re not eating?” Kaleah asked with a look of concern in her eyes.

“Feels like my head exploded, guess I overdid it at the feast. I just need a couple drinks before attempting the food.”

A of couple unplanned days was spent in Bliss before I felt like traveling again. Travel was easy under a strangely beautiful overcast sky and we made good progress on our journey to the northeastern coast. Near the halfway point we come across an isolated altar where we find a Madness Bow Matrix and a Madness Cuirass Matrix. Those might be worth something to one of the smiths back in the Twin cities.

Continuing on we arrived at the coast. The little island where Turumerin operates the 19 Voids is now just a short walk across the water.

Arriving at the 19 Voids the meeting with Turumerin went better than I had feared. The expected battle for dominance between Turumerin and Kaleah was little more than a staring match with some fang baring, and talon flashing. Our defiant Kaleah, the succubus stood her ground against the larger, more powerful Daedra Seducer. With neither giving an inch this contest of wills went on for some time.

After several long minutes of watching the two Daedra glare at each other I interrupted their party to tell Turumerin that her sister, Teshekru had been released from soul gem captivity. Turumerin was thrilled to hear the good news.

Our rewarded was a Gear Hammer Replica.

Tired from the long trek to get here, we asked about lodging for the night. Giving us a strange weapon is one thing; providing a bed for the night is another thing all together.

Turumerin declared, “Because you have done me a great service I’ve allowed you and your companions to sit and rest here for awhile but the Apostate and that abomination (pointing to Pym) cannot sleep here.”

“What?”

Kaleah exploded and tried to leap across the bar to get at Turumerin. Pym and I caught her and it took everything we had to drag Kaleah out of the inn before an all out brawl started.

“Kaleah, what was that all about? Why did Turumerin called Pym an abomination?”

Kaleah turned away and refused to answer. The sound of teeth grinding was all the answer I was going to get.
Walking around the little island to cool off we noticed a painting propped up against the back wall. It appears to be an unfinished painting of a golden saint and a dark seducer in friendly repose. Most unusual.

An ever-burning beach bonfire provided warmth against the cool sea breeze allowing us to get a fairly good night’s sleep. The next morning instead of teleporting back Merendin it was decided to take a tour across the northern part of the Shivering Isles. Maybe we’ll find some action to help take the edge off of Kaleah dark mood.

I've done that before; studied the map of Cyrodiil to find out where that last possible statue could be. In my case, I think I simply looked at areas of Lady Saga's map which looked less-explored than other areas. I also kept a Notepad page listing all the locations she'd discovered (ALL of them) which I still keep on my auxiliary computer.

Uh oh, the Jandaga craves more drink. Well we all know what happened the last time he got sloshed.

Shivering Isles looks crazily lovely as usual. Wow. Look at Tumurein. She is stunning.

Are they doing vanilla or mod-added quests now? (I've never had a character go to SI).

Kahleah is the fiery one, yet Pym gets singled out. That's odd.

Yes, that opening sky in Mania is pretty but rather ominous.

I'd agree that the meeting with Turumerin could have gone worse.

Pym the Abomination? I'm sure there's a story in there somewhere. . . .

Renee - The 19 Voids is part of the Integration - Stranded Light mod. I too do not spend much time in the Shivering Isles. It’s a nice place to tour but the MQ is not my cup of tea. Personally I don’t like “man becomes god” stories. Secondly I don’t think it fits Jandaga’s story very well.

Acadian, Renee - Kaleah is very protective of Pym, very protective.

20201106 SI- Ebrocca

Next morning after devotions we began what was intended to be a leisurely tour of the northern Shivering Isles.

It wasn’t long before we came across an old Gnarl. Kaleah still riled up over Turumerin’s insults charged ahead to relieve her tensions. Poor old tree didn’t stand a chance and was soon reduced to kindling. Better the Gnarl than me, says I.

A little further on we discover three unusual statues on tall pedestals placed in a semi-circle around a stone brazier. They look ancient. Clean bones in the bowl posed a quandary. Where they from a sacrificial offering to whatever beasts the statues represented?

Kaleah mentions that the statues could be thousands of years old.

Just past the statues we discover a stone entryway. We enter Ebrocca, Fiele.

After avoiding a large Tortured Statue trap and fighting undead creatures we discover the body of a Dead Traveler. This Bosmer, apparent victim of the Tortured Statue trap was delivering a Love Letter from a young lady in Highcross to someone she calls Raybeam in Ebrocca. It doesn’t look like sender will never have her commitment ceremony.

Other than the where we entered there are two exits out of Fiele. One is a dead end the other leads to Ebrocca, Masse. With only one way to go we enter Masse.

Fighting undead and avoiding Hunger Statue traps we wind our way up a series of stairs. There’s another Dead Courier, this one an Argonian struck dead while delivering a Weathered Letter to a Clanfather Malifant, whoever that is. A large statue of Sheogorath at the top of the stairs awakens and strikes me with a powerful lightening blast. Severely injured, my Ladies, Kaleah and Pym catch me as I fall and drag me out of the trap’s line of fire.

Well now we know how the Dead Courier died. Once the healing spell does its job, we carefully pass the statue to find a locked door and a nearby chest. Luckily the chest contains a key we assume will open the door. It does and we enter Sepechra.

This room looks lived in. It is! It’s also a trap. The entrance gate slams shut behind me locking My Ladies out while Clanfather Ardwe Malifant attacks. The crazed crusader is formidable but his heretic robe offers no protection to my flaming blades. Twice!

Searching Sepechra yields some nice loot, a nice comfy bed, and three interesting books. The books and papers; Brief Journal, Letter Draft, and a Yellowed Copy along with the letters collected from the couriers give clues as to what is going on in Ebrocca.

We piece together a story of good intentions gone wrong. Clanfather Ardwe Malifant is building a family mausoleum dedicated to his recently departed mother (are those her bones on the slab over there). Unfortunately his chosen location in the Shivering Isles has driven him insane. He has become obsessed with adding traps and other deterrents. Sadly, there evidence of people arriving; relatives, architects, couriers, and other workmen but there is little to no evidence that anyone has left. Question is where is everyone?

Kaleah has an answer that sends shivers down our spines. “Don’t ya think there’re an awful lot of skeletal guardians running around the halls of this place?”

“That’s sick. Just the thought of sacrificing all your relatives to guard mummy’s err I mean mommy’s bones.”

Tired we turn our attention to the big bed we saw earlier. ”Big enough for three”, I said wishfully.

Two pair of steely eyes told me to find a soft spot on the stone floor. I just love the way they stick out their lower lips, cross their arms, and tap messages on the floor with their boots.

A fun trip to the Shivering Isles. Interesting story inside that dungeon. And the poor Jandanga gets to sleep on the floor. After all, I imagine the ladies need extra room for Kaleah's wings.

Has the Jandaga scaled down his party of followers? Vilja's going to be really jealous. He's sleeping on the floor at the end.

It is interesting reading about Shivering Isles quests. They seem rather elaborate.

20201208 SI- Ebrocca part 2
Morning came and I tugged at the soft, warm, velvet blanket that covered me. As I did Kaleah who had snuggled up against my back and had covered me with her wing instantly jumped up and yanked her wing free from my grasp.

“You looked cold laying there on the floor,” Kaleah stammered.

Pym was up and came over. Oh, the look on her face as she wagged her finger in Kaleah’s face.

“We took turns,” Kaleah added sheepishly.

“Thank you both for a very warm and restful night.” I’m thinking, do I need to get Vilja to keep an eye on those two.

After a bite to eat we go back to the entrance only to find the gate is locked shut. We’re trapped.

“Something bothers me. If the gate locked you out at first how did you get in?”

“Um, don’t know. After you defeated Malifant the gate must have opened briefly and whoosh here we are. We didn’t notice it shutting behind us,” Kaleah said.

A quick search of Sepechra yields three push blocks; one in each of the halls that flank the main room and one over the bed’s headboard. By testing we find the hallway push blocks control the gate. One opens the entrance and the other locks the gate. It’s nice to know how we can get out.

Curious as to what the wall push block above the bed does, I activated it. Well just call me ‘Cat’!

The floor at the foot of the bed opened up. I was about to say how lucky we were that no one was standing there when Pym jumped right on in.

Oh why not, Kaleah and I followed. Kaleah spread her wings and glided down to the bottom to join Pym while Unable to remember my Slow Fall spell, I made my way down by carefully jumping from ledge to ledge.

“Why didn’t you use your fae magic and float down with me?” Kaleah asked.

Not willing to admit my forgetfulness I said, “It doesn’t work as well going down. Look there’s a door at the end of this corridor.”

The door took us to Fiele, the chamber we started in when we first entered Ebrocca. We’re near the exit. My Ladies talk of leaving but I felt that there is more to this place and suggested exploring further.

Back in the Masse chamber we use the door we hadn’t opened. It takes us to the Dewane chamber. Along with the usual undead there are some curious traps in here.

We didn’t get far when the walls opened up on both sides to reveal hidden rooms. A skeleton guardian and a shamble attack us. A dead Wood Elf is laid out in one room. He carries a Sealed Correspondence which sheds more light on the actions of Clanfather Malifant.

The next area has a strange spectacle. Laid out in front of a large chest are Three Lovers, three skeletons holding each others' hands and with two bouquets of flowers nearby. More of Malifant’s relatives we imagine.

Further along we encounter a game of chance. There are two push blocks, one on either side of the corridor. Activating one reveals a treasure chest, the the other activates a potentially deadly dart trap. Choose wisely.

This little thing is an interesting trap. Push it to be showered with gold coins and a flawless diamond. Consider it payment for getting shot up with several darts. Collect over a 100 gold coin if you survive.

We continue on until we reach another door that leads to Descenia. A short corridor leads to a large empty room. It’s a dead end! My Ladies draw weapons and go into battle mode screaming at the ceiling. There’s nothing here I say and leave.

It takes awhile before my Ladies realize that I ‘m right and give up their search for the non-existent foe. They eventually catch up to me and we leave Ebrocca.

Aww, the ladies kept Jandanga warm overnight.

Ebrocca sounds as crazy as I'd expect for a dungeon in the Shivering Isles!

20201211 SI- Ebrocca part 3
Well rested we left Ebrocca to continue our Shivering Isle sojourn.

A little ways northwest from where we left Ebrocca we discover a much larger ruin. The skeletons are patrolling grounds posed no real threat and we entered the ruins.

Odd how the place felt so familiar the moment we stepped inside. Maybe it was the way walls crumbled to reveal crypts guarded by skeletons and Decrepit Shambles.

“Ebrocca all over again,” Kaleah said.

Turning down one corridor we come to a room with shields stacked on shelves along the walls. A push block switch is partially obscured by one of the shields. Activating the switch causes a portion of a wall to collapse revealing a hidden door. Stepping through the door we find ourselves in a Crematorium.

Two skeletons attack. The first quickly crumbled in nothingness. The axe wielding Bregor the Cremator is a much tougher foe to deal with. With Bregor out of the way we searched the place to discover a scroll of operating instructions addressed to Clanfather Malifant.

What ya know, Kaleah is right. This is Ebrocca. You think we should have come this way first?

By reading the instruction we figured out how the crematorium works to produce ashen remains. Wonder what Malifant used the ashes for. He certainly wasn’t storing them in fancy boxes for mourners to view. Could it be to power his skeleton army?

A bit more investigating uncovered a key and Gilded Urn containing Din’s Ashes. That could be worth something to someone who collects oddities.

We left the crematorium to investigate the rest of Ebrocca, Descenia. Carefully we navigated the numerous floor traps that impeded our exploration until we came to hall with three push block switches. Activated a push block the floor opened beneath us and we fell into a room with a shamble.

It was pretty angry at us for disturbing its slumber. Seeing another push block I pushed it and we all fell to the floor below. Leaving the only home it ever knew caused the shamble to break up into pieces. We suffered just a few minor bruises easily cured with a minor heal spell.

Another push block and we fell into a large room that confirmed our suspicions that we were in Ebrocca, Descenia.

“Do we have to go through the whole mausoleum again just to get out?” Kaleah asked.

Looking up at the hole in the ceiling I thought a moment…

“No, we don’t,” I declared. ” I am Telvanni Archmagister Emeritus, I know how to cast a spell!” His shout echoed throughout the empty halls of Ebrocca.

Taking Pym by the hand and while Kaleah flew up to the top I cast the Fae console magic to levitate to the top floor. With our feet firmly once again on the ground we proudly walked out of Ebrocca to greet the setting sun.
There’s a village nearby. Highcross I think it is. We’ll look for an inn there. The village turned out to be a group of small houses all locked up and shuttered for the night. With no inn available we wandered around the countryside until we found Frenzied Camp.

The campsite only had two bedrolls available. My Ladies quickly solved that problem. Staking their claims on the bedrolls they volunteered me for the first watch.

The night watch is taken very seriously. I may grouse about my Ladies getting the better bedding most of the time but as Turumerin of the 19 Voids indicated this is a very dangerous place for Kaleah and Pym.

Looking gently over his sleeping companions he recalls the pledge made long ago, “While the Jandaga breathes, no harm will come to those he calls family.”

Consolevitation magic!

Aww, what a touching thought at the end. And such a beautiful night sky in that last shot!

Is that what happened? Was wondering about this.

Creepy-looking place this mausoleum is.



That's so rad. I love that part.

Yep, that’s what happened. Remember the old Passwall spell in Arena or the Levitation spell in Daggerfall and Morrowind? TCL approximates the effects fairly well. Works best in 1st person mode. WARNING: Use sparingly to avoid quest breaking.

20201218 I-Stranded Light
There were no incidents during the night. Midway through the night Kaleah got up to take the second watch. Everyone was up for the rising sun and soon we were on our way to Bliss. About half way there we stop to take in the scenic view of the New Sheoth.

Passing through Bliss we head straight over to Crucible located in the Dementia half of New Sheoth to find The Museum of Oddities run by Una Armina. Una pays us the finder’s fee for the Ring of Disrobing and Din’s Ashes. She then gives us a tour of the museum. Funny how she stops at empty display cases to mention how there used to be something there.

Next we stopped by Cutter’s Weapons to do something with the madness items taking up space and adding weight to our packs. Cutter convinced us to use the madness ore and matrix that we had enough ore to make something. I suggested she make us a pair of perfect madness gauntlets.

Oh what a mistake. Kaleah and Pym flinched when they saw the ugly thing. Agreeing with my Ladies the ugly gauntlets were sold back to Cutter.

Returning to Bliss we stopped by the Missing Pauldron find out what we could do with amber ore and matrix we have. Dumag gro-Bonk crafted a nice magical shield. It’s a bit large for Pym and Kaleah prefers her Skull shield but the magical amber shield looks so nice we’ll keep it the moment. Perhaps someone else would like to use it.

Shopping done we returned to the hidden cellar (mod: Integration - The Stranded Light) for the night. The next morning we took the Astral Gate back to Merendin

There’s a new painting on the wall. Wonder who that could be?

Checking in with Karashivuel we learn that the Daedric Seducer Teshekru has been released from the soul gem prison. The big Xivilai informed us that Teshekru is under constant observation until her trustworthiness is determined.

Kanaane doesn’t have much more to say about Teshreku other than her portrait of Teshekru now hangs on the entrance wall. The other Daedra in Merendin have similar attitude toward Teshekru; happy that she is free but wary of her presence.

It’s the two Khajiit Ohmes-raht ladies Jo’beala and Do’leandra that express the most immediate concerns. They’re worried about the way Teshekru looks at them. They’re afraid the term cat-food might take on a whole new meaning.

Strolling around Merendin we noticed a new bar had been setup in a back corner. That’s where we found Teshekru. Kaleah stood by, silently giving Teshekru the eye as I introduced ourselves and started a conversation with Teshekru.

Asking Teshekru how she likes life at Merendin, she replied, “Better than being trapped in a soul gem”.

She only had two serious complaints. One, she felt her every move was being watched. The other was about the job she was given. Just because she once worked for Sanquine the leaders of the Stranded Light immediately assumed she would be the perfect bartender serving fantastic cocktails.

She was curious to know why I rescued her. All I could say was that I thought it was the right thing to do. Teshekru expressed her appreciation for her rescue and her hope to be able to repay her debt someday.
As our conversation continued Teshekru mentioned, “I've heard how you've helped a little Ohmes-raht finding a new place to live, far away in Bruma.”

It was just the barest wisp of a plea for help in getting away from the confines of Merendin.

Curiously, after the initial posturing Kaleah’s attitude toward Teshekru was much more positive than her reaction to Turumerin back at the 19 Voids. When asked why, Kaleah replied, “Easy. Teshekru's gratitude appears genuine. She didn’t look at you like you were some plaything to be tossed in the waste heap when she’s done with you. And lastly unlike Turumerin, she didn’t have that ‘I want to eat your heart’ smell.”

Well that's good to know. Maybe I'll sleep a little easier now. It’s been a long day time to find a bed for the night.

Cat food!

Nice to have a little appreciation from Teshekru - or at least what passes for appreciation from a Seducer.

20201227 VH-OVB Leyawiin Chapterhouse
“I found it! I found it!” Maeva shout excitedly awakening us from our slumber. During breakfast she eagerly told us how she had tracked down the missing Ayleid statue. She believes it to be in Wendir, an Ayleid ruin we passed by close enough to mark on our map but never entered.

Ah, we can investigate Wendir on our way to Chorrol but before we head north we need to take care of a few things down near Leyawiin. We left Merendin as soon as we could get our gear together.

Of course it was raining when we arriving at Leyawiin. The first thing we did was to turn in Countess Millona Umbranox’s warhammer to the first honest looking guard we saw. He just happened to be the Countess’s personal body guard. We were given a nice little sum of 1285 gold coins as a reward for finding the warhammer.

Our next objective was to inspect the new OVB Chapter House addition. Our first impression was rather disappointing. From the trap door located in my Leyawiin house we descended to a dark dank half flooded tunnel. Sloshing through the long flooded tunnel we finally came to a drier section that came to an end at a closed door.

Opening the door we entered the new OVB Leyawiin Chapter House. Yeah this looks more like it. Only thing is there’s no one here. We need to recruit some new members. That evening we mined the rumor mill and struck potential gold. The names J’Dato and Hits-His-Mark kept popping up. The two had left to explore the ruins of Fort Doublecross and have not returned.

Who knows when the two adventurers will return? We’re not willing to sit around here to find out so we’ll go find them. But, before doing that we quietly celebrated beginning of New Life Festival with the feast of Saturalia with a sharing of gifts, a roast prime rib of beast dinner, and several snifters of amaretto. Been a long time since I was last in Wayrest, it’s such a fun place at this time of year.

With the dawn of a new day and a clear head (sort of anyways) we made our way to Fort Doublecross. It wasn’t far from Leyawiin and wasn’t too difficult to find even with dense forest trying its best to conceal the doorway.

It wasn’t long after entering Fort Doublecross when we knew we were in big trouble in little china. The body of an Orc adventurer was a dead give a way. Being an OVB operation we had prepared ourselves for vampires. What we got was expected. Necromancers harassed us at every turn. Apria Donteius led an OOO contingent of necromancers and their undead forces against us.

A letter, a confession of sorts, to her brother in Wendelbek was found on Apria Donteius (OOO). In it she confides that the power she had gained from necromancy had not brought her the happiness she had sought. She seeks to meet with Master Valeth in hopes of reconciling her conflicting emotions.

Hmmm, I could be wrong but I believe we’ve been to Wendelbek. I’m pretty sure that Apria’s brother and Master Valeth are no longer capable to console her. Just in case we’re wrong, we could stop by Wendelbek and deliver the letter with our condolences.

Thick heavy timber double doors opened to the Battlemage Muster and another half dozen nasty necromancers. We barely survived their deadly lightening attacks and their life draining spells. One particularly tough necromancer named Zirinal T’rizathil (MOO) wore a very distinctive robe. Didn't do him much good though.

While looting the Battlemage Muster we discovered a Dwemer Music Box (Phitt's Artifacts). When activated it looks nice with a carrousel horse going around while it plays a wistful tune about rainbows.

At the end of the Battlemage Muster we found a trapdoor leading to the Fort Doublecross Caves. Of course there was another large contingent of necromancers to deal with. Once all the necromancers were eliminated and the area looted we realized we had hadn’t found the adventurers J’Dato and Hits-His-Mark we had come looking for.

Before going back to Leyawiin to confirm the location, we made one final search of Fort Doublecross. Eyes weary from the heavy fighting, the rooms of Fort Doublecross began look the same.

Passing through one room, I couldn’t see it but Maeva pointed to a corner of the wall and mentioned how odd it looks. As we approach the spot in the wall where Maeva is pointing the stone parts to reveal a hidden passage way.

You know, it’s situations like this when I think the Cute Elves see little arrows pointing the way.

Isn't that the way?!? One adventure spawns several more and you find yourself in another county before you can get back to your original quest. Oh well, we'll eventually get to that last Ayleid Statue.

Hey, how are you getting holidays into your game? Well. I assume that's what you mean by Festival of Life... that would be cool to have in my Cyrodiil as well.

My blonde archer Lady Saga was just in Fort Doublecross. Missed her by *that* much.

Who is that pale elf in the Umbranox hammer pic?

Off-topic, but do you have MMM in your game? I finally learned how to use Wrye Bash, and my gosh it made a huge difference for MMM. Seeing all sorts of *new* creatures and features which a simple manual install did not capture all these years.

Acadian: Yes it is. That’s why my game never seems to end.

Renee: 1. As with most things TES; Daggerfall is my reference. The Daggerfall calendar shows many dates of importance and I use it to inject holidays. Holidays are one of the many things missing from the latter games. Clicking on the date in the colored days will take you to a description of the holiday.
2. Lady Saga was there, sorry I missed her. Come to think of it, I wondered why Kaleah was dilly-dallying on our way to Fort Doublecross. She can be quite possessive at times, you know.
3.The Pale Elf is Pym, one of my companions.
4.MMM is great with OOO and I’ve used that combination for years. In 2017 I added MOO to the mix and found that combination to be over kill and took MMM out. Not to say the three didn’t work well together just that fighting MMM Yetis at level 3 was a bit much. Couple years later I was wishing I had left MMM in. On a side note: I’ve never had the courage to install FCOM.

20201231 VH-OVB Leyawiin Chapterhouse
Passing through the opening in the stone we enter the newly revealed arm of the cave. The tunnel leads us to a marble door of Ayleid origins. A short ways into the Buried Ayleid Ruin we come to a T-shaped intersection. As we decide whether to go left or right an image of a Deranged Vampire appears before us.

“Another little toy, so soon! Does it speak? Does it want to play? Does it... bleed?” the vampire asks.

When we refuse to play the Deranged Vampire says, “Well, suit yourself but I think you'll find your options are... limited.”

The image of the deranged vampire disappears. On the balcony looking down on us we could see the vampire. It turns and walks away. Was the image that stood before us just a projection while the real vampire stood safely on the balcony in front of us?

That really doesn’t matter. What matters is what he said “another little toy”. It sounds like this Deranged Vampire is holding the two adventurers captive somewhere within the Buried Ayleid Ruin. We could use a Fae spell TCLevitate to reach the balcony and give chase but we risk not finding something useful by doing so. We decide to chase down the vile creature by taking a more mundane path.

Left or right, which way do we go? One direction is a dead end while the other leads to a maze like room which appears promising. We go down into the maze, avoid the Dark Welkynd Stone trap, find a push block, and active it.

Back up the staircase we go to find a concealed door way has been opened revealing a long tunnel. The tunnel, complete with a dart trap and three swinging blade traps leads us to an empty room with a blood stained floor. Walking over to investigate the blood stain activates the floor and it shoots straight up.

It’s an elevator to the second floor! Thank the Goddess we weren’t smashed against a roof. We quickly hop of just as the elevator falls back down to the floor below. Inching around the gaping hole in the floor we made our way to an open doorway.

Proceeding through the doorway and down a long hallway we come to a stop in front of a strange Welkynd stone.
“Don’t touch it!” Kaleah says. “It’s a trap.”

The voice of the deranged vampire reverberates throughout the chamber.

“Good, I see you made it. Just in time as well. I've been trying to decide which of these little flies to kill first since they so rudely won't decide it themselves. But now that you're here, why don't you decide for us eh? Choose who dies and I'll even let you walk away, let it not be said that I am not generous.”

We refuse to play his game. If at all possible, our intentions are to rescue both adventurers. There’s a scream. Looking down in the direction of the scream we could see a prone figure laying very still on the ground. Looking down on the other side of the podium we see one of the prisoners standing in a cage. The cage bars are beginning to lower. With no hesitation we jump down to defend the surviving prisoner.

The vampire flees up a set of stairs and into a dark room. We give chase and run head long into a trap. Two Dark Welkynd Stone traps strike me with massive bolts of lightning. As things begin to go dark My Ladies quickly drag me out of the room to recover.

Dang, this ain’t no disco! We need heal up and get prepared. Putting on two rings and an amulet to provide immunity to the lightning, and by casting detect living so we can see the vile creature; we’re now ready to take on this deranged vampire.

With his advantages neutralized he didn’t last long.

When it was all over we asked the Khajiit monk if he would care to join our cause.

“I pledge the life you saved to the Order and avenge the life of Hits-His-Mark!” J’Dato replied.

We escort J’Dato back to Leyawiin and show him his new quarters. He wastes no time in making himself at home. The Order of the Virtuous Blood now has its first Leyawiin operative.

Feeling the need for food and rest, we left him alone practicing his hand-to-hand skills.

Pym is the shy one, right? Or ... much quieter than Kaleah, at least.

I agree about MOO + MMM.... it's just too much with the enemies, and I even prefer MMM's Vanilla Spawn esp. I don't want every moment of travel to be packed with yet another encounter... that gets old quick. Well, I still use MOO, but I don't use it to add enemies. Only make vampires take sun damage and a couple other features.

Okay, so you have a look at UESP to get those holidays. I'm pretty good at scripting nowadays (as long as it's not overly complicated). I bet I could make a mod which introduces messages into the game, so that only on certain days will a messagebox appear saying "Today is New Life Day!" or whatever. But maybe not. Ha. So little time.... I definitely think this is possible though.

Today's Ayleid ruin pics are spectacular. I just switched from Lady Saga to Renee Gade III, and she's the one who was doing OVB a couple years' back. Maybe she will see if there are any Order quests which still need doing. Jandaga's story has inspired me!

Taking out that pesky vampire sounds like a good thing. Clever use of the resistance jewelry and detect 'life' to help. That pic escorting J'Dato back to Leyawiin looks invitingly lush.

20210103 Naked Nord
The holidays over we left the Leyawiin home and stepped out into bright sun… err, damp fog. It is Leyawiin after all.

It was a morning of selling loot at the Dividing Line and Best Goods and Guarantees, followed by a late lunch at the Three Sisters’ Inn. It was at that we heard rumors of a Nord being arrested for being naked and disorderly. Apparently it took several guards to subdue the Naked Nord when he tried to enter the castle, demanding to see the Count and Countess.

A naked Nord? Now that brings back memories. Let’s go investigate.

The jailer in the castle dungeon takes us to see the Nord prisoner, Hrogar. It’s a good thing there were no Argonians imprisoned today otherwise we wouldn’t have been allowed the visit, Countess’ orders.

Yep, there Hrogar was, naked as a jay bird. Kaleah nudged me as I was about to ask the guard how often did the Countess come down for inspections. Instead I directed my comment to Hrogar, “Met a witch, I see.”

“What… how did you know?” replied the astounded Hrogar.

Nords are so dumb and predictable. Yeah he met a witch, lost his pant, and his prized possession a hammer was stolen. The only clue he had was that the witch had a run in with the Blackwoods Company.

It’s a short walk to the Blackwoods Company Hall. The Blackwood Company leader Ja’Fazir confirmed that Ar’ahnir had been robbed. Claiming that it was none of our concern he refused to tell us any more about it. Strolling around the common room we met Ar’ahnir.

Ar’ahnir admitted he had been robbed and would tell us more if we did him a favor first. Seems that a package he ordered from someone named Tavael has not arrived. It’s now a week past its promised delivery. Ar’ahnir would like us to go to Bravil and get the goods from Tavael.

“… and tell the elf that this has been Ar'ahnir's last order if that is how he cultivates his business relations,” Ar’ahnir added emphatically.

Bravil? There are a few things we need to do in Bravil, might as well go now. If it all goes well we could be back by dinner time.

The quickest way to get to Bravil is to speak to Yaranil, the Stranded Light Guild Guide stationed at the Mages Guild. My Ladies argued for the Universitum Arcanorum portal system. Oh no, that would take us through the Imperial City and a required stop at the Goddess store. No time for that. Grudgingly my Ladies gave in.

Yaranil, an Ayleid, has adjusted very well to her life and job at Leyawiin’s Mages Guild Hall. She was more than happy to send us to Bravil.

She was less than pleased when we told her that Better Cities Cheydinhal had placed a new wall over the secret drop site. Unable to locate the drop box we hand delivered the letter to Tyrru. She was doing some serious mumbling about security breaches and lives being in danger as she teleported us to Bravil.

Goodness, Ayleids can be so paranoid. You’d think they’re afraid that Umaril or Whitestrake is going to return at any moment and do; I don’t know what to them. What am I saying, judging by current Imperial attitudes toward Ayleids maybe Varanil and Tyrru are right to be ultra cautious.

You could say we were more than happy to find ourselves standing in Bravil and not in some oblivion wasteland.

Haha, does the sun ever shine in Leyawiin?

Naked Nord. You’ll be happy to know the quest you describe is alive and well in ESO, continuing the saga of the pants-stealing witch.

Bypassing the Goddess Shop is probably a good idea if either time or gold are in short supply methinks.

20210107 Sutch lumber, Gweden Cybeline
Arriving in Bravil we quickly picked up a couple of rumors of interest. One was that Tavael was recently killed in a brawl at the Lonely Suitor’s Lodge. Well that was an unexpected turn of events.

The other was that some of the Count’s servants aren’t too happy and may consider new employment.
Working on the first rumor we discover it is true Tavael was killed in a pub brawl. To our relief the publican Bogrum Gro-Galash had saved the package Tavael was able to give us the items to deliver to Ar’ahnir, 5 Kingly Repair Hammers with instruction papers.

Um, these “kingly” hammers look like el’cheap-o hammers with a splash of gold colored paint. Hope Ar’ahnir isn’t too upset that he won’t tell us about the witch.

From the Lonely Suitor’s Lodge we go to the castle to speak to the count about doing business with Sutch. The Count agrees to send lumber to Sutch for the price of 2000 gold. Thinking we’d get our money back in the long run we pay the highwayman his price.

Leaving the Count to his schemes we stop by the servants’ quarters to interview unhappy servants. We found one. Cybeline an Altmer who took employment at the castle, only to find the job was not as she thought it would be. The cushy job of "heir's mistress" became the household drudge, and personal sex slave of both the Count and his son.

Cybeline is not happy with the conditions but will not leave as long as there is a chance that the Count’s son will give up skooma. A test is devised to steal away Gellius’ skooma stash and see who he turns to; Cybeline or the drug dealer.

Oh just great! Now we got to play the thief. Maeva gives me a pat on the back for encouragement. “Go ahead you can do it.”

Using the magical trinkets and spells I had available to make myself invisible to the guards I managed to steal Gellius’ skooma stash. Sounds easy, it wasn’t.

(I tried several times using every combination of magical trinkets and spells I had available to make myself invisible to the guards but my best result was being spotted by a guard who said not to worry he was a friend. He then followed me around and watched as I took the skooma stashed behind Gellius’ bed. Several times I was spotted and arrested. Maybe it was my saber that gave me away?

Once I thought I was arrested again when the guards came running down the hall. I was invisible at the time when one of them yelled out, “Where did he go?” The two guards then attacked Drels Theran and Dro'Nahrahe killing them both. Really strange.)

After giving the skooma to Cybeline we spent a few days at the Mages Guild acting Archmagey before returning to speak to Cybeline. As expected Gellius turn to his dealer for comfort. Needless to say Cybeline was devastated. Now that she is ready to leave the castle she tells us she can’t just walk out, she needs a disguise.

Cybeline said, “Yes, I need something that will cover me, but it also needs to deter the guards from accosting me. Red Silk or Aqua Silk should do the trick!”

“Red or Aqua Silk robes with hoods! You couldn’t have mentioned that earlier?” Oh well, we know where to get an outfit for Cybeline so we might as well get on with it. Off to the Imperial City we go to buy a silk robe and matching hood.

What a hoot in Bravil - fun little quests involving Count Pompousness and his wormy drug-addled kid. Heh, the Jandanga needs a bag of holding in which to stash his glowing sword when trying to be all clandestiny and stuff. I wonder if an old mythic dawn red hooded robe would work for Cibelene?

20210111 Gweden – Cybeline, Naked Nord
Off to the Imperial City we go to buy a silk robe and matching hood. This time we’ll use the Mages Guild teleport system to take us to the Universitum Arcanorum. It should be just about dinner time when we get there. Spend the night in the Arch-mage’s quarters and early tomorrow we’ll walk over to Rindir’s Staffs to shop for a robe.

It didn’t quite work out that way. It was nearing lunchtime by the time we entered the Market District. My Ladies tell me you have to be charged up to shop properly so we stopped by the Feed Bag for burgers.

After lunch we hit every shop in the district along with a stop at the bank until I found a red silk robe at Rindir’s Staffs. I really don’t why we had to stop at every shop we passed on the way to Rindir’s, I knew only Rindir sold the red silk robe and hood.

Oh well, shopping done we pay a visit to the Order of the Virtuous Blood. Roland mentioned another report of a vampire attack. This one is located near the head waters of the Silverfish River.

“Feache, my fearless vampire killer, can you hear the drums’ urgent beating?” Kaleah asked with an eager tone in her voice.

“Juman’ji,” whispered Maeva as she drew runes of warding in the air.

“Hush, Maeva. Don’t mention that name. Yes, we’ll deal with Cybeline in Bravil, the naked Nord in Leyawiin, and then go hunt us some vampires.”

Pym did the Eagle Rock right there in the middle of the street. She was so excited dancing around waving her hands in the air I thought she was going to say something.

Back in Bravil we placed the red silk items in Cybeline’s sack and went to the Lonely Suitor’s Lodge to wait as she had instructed. Wasn’t much more than an hour (seemed like mere minutes) before Cybeline arrived looking pretty good in her newly acquired garments.

It didn’t take much to convince Cybeline to seek employment at Gweden. In fact by the way she was looking at all the men in the room just before she left I had the odd thought that she was going to start working right away.
We left right after Cybeline but instead of heading west toward Anvil we turned south toward Leyawiin. It was very late when we arrived in Leyawiin so we turned in for the night at our Leyawiin home and now OVB chapter house.

The next day over at the Blackwood Company HQ Ar’ahnir was glad to finally receive the repair hammers he had ordered. Living up to his word Ar’ahnir told us he and his partner, J’roga encountered the witch at a place called Marsh-Punk Camp. Ar'ahnir fears his friend is dead as J’roga stark naked and angry, chased after the witch. Ar’ahnir asked that while we’re looking for clues to the witch if we would also search for J'roga.

Hmmm, doesn’t seem to be much we can do for J’roga now, Ar’ahnir is satisfied with his hammers, and we have pressing OVB vampire business to attend to; what to do, what to do?

We decide to attend to the old business in the west first and work on the Silverfish vampire infestation and Marsh-Punk Camp later.

’I really don’t why we had to stop at every shop we passed on the way to Rindir’s,’
- - Pfft. Silly man.

“Juman’ji,” whispered Maeva as she drew runes of warding in the air.’
- -

So Cybeline will be working at Ghastley’s Gallery of Gwedish Delights!

Acadian some guys never learn

20210119 Maids1 PG version
The journey from Leyawiin was relatively quiet until we reached the area of the West Weald slightly east of the Priory of the Nine. It was getting dark and we were thinking of stopping at Desann’s Palace for drinks when we heard a dog barking. Really it was more like a dog fight rather than a howling at the moon kind of noise. Curious we headed in the direction of the uproar.

The sound of the dog barking led us to of all places my winery Shadowcrest Vineyard. I didn’t realize we were so close. The guard dog was in a fierce battle with three headhunters. My Ladies and I rush in to aid the guard dog in eliminating the trespassers.

After ensuring the tenant farmers were safe in their houses behind locked doors, we decided to spend the night here. After all why spend money for drinks when my country home has a wine cellar stock with some of the finest wines available. Plus there’re two comfy double beds.

(This is one of my favorite house/enterprise mods. It’s got everything; a dark secret, ample storage, wine racks, book shelves, and more. If the rooms were slightly larger and more open (too many doors) it would be my favorite house.)

Next morning after breakfast and checking the books with the tenants we leave Shadowcrest Vineyard.

Desann’s Palace is just a short walk past the stepped waterfalls. Delivering Augusta Calidia’s letter to Anburke could be our excuse to check in on Gweden’s competition.

A scream comes from our right when we enter the common room. A guard posted at the door seems to be quite agitated. Curiosity leads us to ask what is going on. We can understand the guard’s concern when she tells us a Dremora has broken free when the idiot jailer tried to get frisky with it.

Seeing an opportunity to find Stacey Pinder among the slave pens, we offer to calm the Dremora. We spy nearly a dozen naked drug addled slave girls as we pass through the cell block. Stacey Pinder is not among them. At the end of the cell block, standing over the bloody mess of what used to be the jailer, is the Dremora Vrolaine and she is hungry.

Vrolaine demands the meat of someone name Ruska or she’s going to start eating customers and the slave stock even though she claims they’re too scrawny to be satisfying. Oh that won’t do.

The options are not good. To kill someone to feed Vrolaine is abhorrent. To banish Vrolaine by defeating her in combat could result in many innocent deaths. Needing to think we take Vrolaine’s demands and leave without commitment. I don’t think she noticed we shut and locked the cell door as we left.

Kaleah consoles against aiding Vrolaine. She is not to be trusted and would not fit in with the Stranded Light crowd.

Maeva points to all the drug addicted slave girls locked up in the cages. “This is nothing like Gweden where no one is forced into service,” she tells me. “We must do something.”

Crossing the common room we enter the tavern to find Anburke. Even though Anburke wasn’t too happy to hear that Augusta wasn’t going to shanghai girls for Desann anymore, he did say he would put in a good word to Desann for us.

A check with the guard stationed at Desann’s door resulted in good news. Desann wished to speak with us and the guard allowed us to enter.

Desann will not hand over Stacey Pinder but he has a proposition for us. Take over management of the operation here in Cyrodiil so he can leave and start up operations in Skyrim. “Not only can you have the Pinder girl, you can have your way with all the girls.”

I think he got the wrong idea of what I meant when I said “I want Stacey Pinder.” Maeva and Kaleah are right, this place is no good. We turn down his offer and fight to end his illegal drug and sex ring.

At our refusal, the giant Argonian Desann calls on his guards to attack.

While Kaleah, Maeva, and I take on the guards Pym pokes at the invisible Desann.

After the battle in Desann’s private chamber we find Stacey locked in a cage. Unlocking the cage we thinking it best smuggle her out of Desann’s palace as quietly as possible. The use of a teleport home spell takes us directly to Arborwatch in Chorol. In return for reuniting the sisters Lucy and Stacey Pinder pledge to keep Arborwatch spotless.

While looting the Desann’s quarters we found a letter addressed to his mother, Seed-Neeus. Now ain’t that something.

Aww, gotta like a crew that leaps in to help a dog in distress.

That does indeed look like a wonderful vineyards home.

Once again, your lush landscapes look fabulous.

Gosh, that Desann's operation is disgusting compared to how Gweden runs. Your crew was right to shut them down with prejudice.

That's a lovely house mod. I know not of that one, but it sounds like it could be an Emma creation.

Are those locked-up slaves a part of Gweden Brothel?

Shadowcrest Vineyard COBL version 1.02 created by Korana in 2009 has been a staple in my Oblivion game since then. If you like segregated storage e.g. bookshelves, potion cabinets, and poison lockers this house has it. If you like crafting e.g. baking bread, cooking stew, making wine, and poisoning apples you can do it here. If you like the life of a farmer e.g. riding horses, picking grapes, milking sheep, and a loyal guard dog then search no further. It’s all right here.

Oh, did I forget to mention the bathroom with the soaking tub to ease away your aches and pains?

The drug and sex slave operation is part of a mod called Maids 1. It sounded interesting and has been in my download library for years. This is the PG rated version of the original (no sex scenes). This is the first time I've played through it and I've found it leaves a lot to be desired.

That's what Emma's Cottage is like... tons of storage and crafting and containers and actually so much stuff, it's a shame my character who uses that cottage is hardly ever there.

Never heard of Maids 1. Yikes.

Along with Shadowbanish Vineyard I have two of Emma's houses Aleswell Cottage and Fisherman's Shack near Anvil. Like your character, mine doesn't spend much time in any of the houses. He sometimes thinks that when he retires he'll spend is days fishing and sailing the catamaran he acquired in the Valenwood Isles.

20210124 Gweden – Juliana, I-SL – J’sten, Sutch

A new day in Chorrol. After breakfast we leave Lucy and Stacey Pinder to their cleaning and walk down to the Fire and Steel to dispose of some unwanted items. From Fire and Steel we went to The Grey Mare for drinks and a bite to eat.

Juliana was there so we gave her the ingredients she needed for the cure potion. The potion will take a day to brew. With some time to kill we discussed what to do next. Maeva mentioned Wendir and with no objections we collected our gear and headed south.

It was pouring rain when we arrived at the stone gate of Wendir. Into the inky blackness of Wendir we ventured. Actually it was fairly easy. No, I shouldn’t say easy. If we allowed the undead creatures to get close, creatures like the Mummy Priests and a Nether Litch were difficult to deal with. And the raising floor traps were nasty to deal with.

But, we did have one big advantage. The glow of the spectral knights and wolves, and their susceptibility to shock spells made them ripe targets for ranged shock attack. From a safe distance, Finger of the Mountain swept away many of the specters leaving us to deal with a few mummies, ghouls, ghosts, and other assorted undead.

We found the Ayleid Statue we came for, let’s get out of here. It was still raining when we left Wendir.

Back in Chorrol we spent the night at Arborwatch. Late the next day we tracked down Juliana. She had the potion ready. Taking it we delivered it to Viranus Donton. Viranus already had found a cure but he happily accepted the bottle. Good to have a spare on hand, just in case you know.

Telling Juliana of the delivery the discussion led to thoughts of future employment. Juliana quickly packed her bags and made the trip to Gweden. We think it is time we headed south too. Maybe stop by Sutch on the way to investigate vampire activity near Anvil.

Taking the trail south through the Great Forest it was beginning to get dark as we passed by Hackdirt. A short ways later we come along Entaiss’ house, now left vacant with her sad demise (Stranded Light). Not to leave a good house to suffer from emptiness we thought we’d spend the night to ease its loneliness.

The house wasn’t empty. An Ohmes-raht by the name of J’sten had come searching for Entaiss. Not finding her at home and in desperate need of shelter from the Renrija Krin, J’’sten had taken up residence until her return. Upon hearing how Entaiss died J’sten told us that he had warned Entaiss that the Renrijra Krin would seek retribution for her aiding skooma addicts in kicking their habit.

Renrija Krin? Another illicit drug operation, no doubt. Did we just eliminate one pusher just so another could take its place? Or is this the state of the empire now? Shut the Jaws of Oblivion and Get and every one turns to drugs to forget. I guess I can understand.

The next morning we wished J’sten good luck in avoiding the Renrijra Krin before continuing our journey through the great forest on our way to Sutch.

Arriving at Sutch we noticed the progress being made in rebuilding the fort. Speaking to Pai-Meel at the inn we found that the lumber from Bravil had arrived and construction was running well ahead of time. With more than enough construction workers all Pai-Meel would like to have now is a master mason to complete the construction. Maybe Master Grayson Tiberious, who is currently visiting the Imperial City, would consider coming to Sutch?

We’ll spend the night here and see about going to meet Master Graysom Tiberious in the morning.

It was during breakfast when we received word that the walls of Fort Sutch had been completed, thus saving us a trip to the Imperial City.

A busy but productive couple of days. Potion, Ayleid statue, check on Sutch. That screenshot during the trip to Sutch was fabulous.

20210129 Crowhaven, VH-OVB, Origin of the Gray Prince
When we arrived, the Crowhaven welcoming committee came out in force to greet us. Clearing out the mummies and skeletons was not an easy task. The mummies kept getting back up.

Crowhaven is dark, very dark. I call Twinkle to come light the way. “Come gentle Twinkle, be brave; hold out your light that we may not fall prey to the evil that hides in darkness.”

Kaleah looked scornfully at Twinkle, “Always so nice. You should demand obedience from inferiors.”

“And how would you react to that kind of treatment?”

“I’d break the chains that bind and… Oh!” The shocked look of enlightenment flashed across Kaleah’s face to be quickly replaced by a blushing warm smile. “Yes, I understand.”

With Twinkle lighting the way we enter Crowhaven. Finding nothing but wolves, rats, and gargoyles our initial reaction was “where’s the vampires?” Then I remember wolves, rats, and gargoyles are often closely associated with powerful vampires.

Passing through a rusty iron gate the corridor branches either to the left or to the right. To the left we see a single wooden door. To the right is a large heavy double door. We take the door on the left and continue onward. It wasn’t long before we saw a lone figure clawing at a locked wooden door.

“Vampire,” hissed Maeva pointing to shadowy figures at the far end of the dark hallway.

A MOO clan vampire, Lurius Ponius turned and with a blood curdling scream attacked. My Ladies held his attention long enough to allow me to put an end to the vile creature.

Unlocking the door with Agronak’s mysterious key we entered a small multileveled chamber. A maddening cry echoed throughout the chamber. “I haven’t had a meal in decades. You will be my feast!”

He came charging down the long hallway, raised his hand… “Blink” he was gone. The now invisibility vampire attacked. Maybe it was that shinny ruby red armor that Lord Lovidicus wore that enabled my Ladies to track him? Most of the time all I could see was faint blurring or a green glow in the air.

The mud golem Lord Lovidicus summoned arrives too late to be change the tide of battle. Lord Lovidicus will soon be dust, cured of his affliction by the sharp edge of Light of Dawn.

Preparing to loot the living quarters we’re attacked by another vampire. We’re certain that Legotan Pinelake of the OOO faction intended to mix our blood with Lovidicus’ dust to restore life of his master (I saw that movie). The effort was destined to failure since Light of Dawn had absorbed Lord Lovidicus’ life force. I just helped him fail quicker.

The journal of Lord Lovidicus was found amongst the loot. My, my, my, of all the dirty little secrets. Lord Lovidicus is the father of the Grey Prince. I’m not sure how Agronak gro-Malog is going to take this unsettling news.
Agronak’s request has been taken care of but there is still the matter of the Order of the Virtuous Blood quest that needs attending to. We backtrack to the great double door. The door opens and we enter Crowhaven Burial Halls.

There in the Burial Halls we caught the Master of the Blood Thieves and his 5 associates. Three of the associates were very difficult deal with; Naspis Gravius of the MOO faction, and two OOO faction Deadly Vampires; an Orc Deadly Vampire Crusader and an Orc Deadly Vampire Scout. Two ordinary local vampires My Ladies dealt with as I explored further.

As My Ladies fought common vampires and other undead, I was dealing with Deadly Vampires on the other side of the Burial Hall. The heavily armored yet cowardly Orc vampire attacked Twinkle while his partner turned her attention to me.

With the Deadly Vampires disposed of Naspis Gravius takes his chance. He got in a lucky hit and knocked me down. (Bummer, I must have rolled a 1). Oh well, get up and return the favor.

After chasing the invisible Master of the Blood Thieves all around the burial HallThe Master of the Blood Thieves falls to the Light of Dawn. I was about to thank the goddess for the lack of mummies when… yep, there it is. A mummy priest rounds the corner. Ok, one final mummy and now we can report to the OVB that the Anvil threat is closed.

Yay for little Twinkle, bravely lighting the way!

Those vampires come from very odd groups. Were the MOO clan cows when mortal? And the OOO must be named for the response they elicit from their foes? Oooooh! (Teasing, overhaul mods, I know.)

A fun romp through Crowhaven!

The MOO vampires very well could have been feed cattle. But, since not all MOO vampires had names my thought is the named vampires may have been former vampire hunters of high repute and as an honor allowed to keep their names.
You could be right about the OOO faction or clan names.

What surprised me was there were a couple of regular Oblivion vampires in the mix.

Lol, knockdowns were caused by missing our "Agility" roll long ago. Basically we'd roll 3 6-sided dice, and usually if a 17 or 18 was rolled (and the enemy doing a foot sweep) that was somebody falling over.

Who is wearing that fantastic metal armor? Congrads taking down yet another vampire SCUM!!

At the time I wrote that down I was thinking of a tabletop WWII game called Sniper we used to play. One day, Dennis set up to throw a hand grenade and rolled the dice. The number was a double “1”. In effect he dropped the grenade at his feet and blew himself up. We laughed about that for years.

Lord Lovidicus is wearing the shiny red armor. In the vanilla game the vampire Lord Lovidicus is only wearing pants. Oscuro’s gives him a fantastic kit of enchanted ruby red glass armor.

The vampire that knocked me down along with the mithril armor he is wearing is dynamically generated by MOO. This time he was given a name, Naspis Gravius. Sometimes the vampire is known only as Ancient Vampire Battlemage or something other along those lines.

As for armors, I do use a few armor retexture mods. It may be difficult to determine which texture mod is at play.

Lol poor Dennis.

Yes, I was wondering where you got those armor sets. One of these days I need to go on a mad clothing / armor raid over at Nexus.

I switched Joan of Arkay over from Xbox to PC yesterday. I had to! Her world was getting to that point where it was packed with cougars and other ridiculous predators everywhere. Next thing woulda been those glass-wearing bandits. I'll hopefully start posting some Joanie updates again. She wears heavy armor... I'll probably be asking you about some of the armor sets your characters wear (but the female version... since Pym and all your others are more scantily-clad).

Renee: The Apachii Goddess Store is a good place to start. Mass Outfit Redesign is my base armor set but it is not on the Nexus. I'll get a list together of my favorite companion armors mods. Until then ask and I'll try to answer.

20210205 Thieves Den

It’s a short trip from Crowhaven to Anvil so it wasn’t long before we were standing in Morvayn's Peacemakers selling used but serviceable arms and armor. The shop owner Varel Morvayn whom we’ve known for years always gives us a good price.

From Morvayn’s we take w walk down to the docks to sell some dry goods to Norbert Lelles the proprietor of Lelles' Quality Merchandise. It’s amazing how calm the otherwise fidgety Norbert becomes when he sees us walk through the door.

After visiting with Norbert we take a leisurely tavern crawl along the dock. Starting with the newest one near the lighthouse we taste our way to the eastern end of the docks. With cargo being loaded and unloaded from the ships, it’s a bit more hectic along the eastern end of the docks. The Port Authority office is at this end of the dock so I guess the longshoremen work just a little bit harder.

Standing at the far eastern end of the docks, looking out over the water taking in the invigorating salty sea air we happen to spot someone swimming in the sea. Thinking they might need help we cast a water walking spell we walk out to offer our assistance.

It’s Erriallus the Maormer (I-SL). Apparently Erriallus hasn’t found a suitable south bound ship to latch onto for a ride back home yet.

We ask if perhaps he might be interested in working for the Stranded Light as a spellmaker. He declined the offer with a suggestion to search further east along the coast; somewhere east of Leyawiin perhaps.
Since we’re already walking on water we decide to walk on around the seaside portion of Castle Anvil. That’s when we found Smuggler’s Cave. Can you believe it? Imagine that a smuggling going on right under the noses of the nobles. With a door that leads right on into the castle, no less. Ain’t that somethin’?

I tell you, if I was emperor there’d be some changes made that’s for sure.

“You emperor?” chided Maeva with a giggle. “You’re Archmage and Head Master of the Archeology Guild and can’t stand being in the office of either one for more than a day before you get itchy to get out on the trail again.”

Can’t deny it, she’s right of course. We all had a great laugh at that.

Another door leads to Dunbarrow Cove. Dunbarrow Cove is a misnomer. If it ever was a cove it definitely is not one now. It’s a large unnatural cavern with a pirate ship trapped inside it like a ship in a bottle. Only the glass bottle is solid stone.

Amazed, we stood there staring at the ship wondering how in the world it got inside this cavern. Well we didn’t have much time to ponder the question as we were attacked by crazed skeletons. The battle with the skeletons takes us from one end of the cavern to the other. Finally the Red Saber Skeletons are defeated and we enter the ships cabin.

The skeleton of Cap’n Dugal doesn’t like the intrusion and takes it upon himself to attack us. With the defeat of Cap’n Dugal defeated we ‘re able to search the cabin. We find the Smuggler’s Key and the journal of Torradan ap Dugal, Captain of the ship The Black Flag. The journal tells the tale of the rise and fall of the Red Saber Pirates, Cap’n Dugal, and the entombment of the ship The Black Flag.

The ship The Black Flag is now mine. Don’t know why I would want it though. It’s a mess. Something tells me that Dahlia Rackham of the Clarabella may be able to help with making the ship into a useable base of operations.

It is just after sunset when we return to the Anvil docks. We locate Dahlia Rackham and for 5500 gold coins she agrees to make improvements to Dunbarrow Cove.

Now for a restful night at Benirus Manor. I’m sure Claire, Yesmin, and Rosalind will be happy to see us.

'It’s amazing how calm the otherwise fidgety Norbert becomes when he sees us walk through the door.'
- - Even I remember the significance of that tongue in cheek remark, given how you get to help him during a quest.

Wow, what a gorgeous shot of the Anvil docks at night. Amazing night sky!

20210208 Thieves Den, Fighters Guild - Hrota Cave
Early the next morning just after breakfast a message arrived informing us that Dunbarrow Cove was ready. Upon hearing the news we rushed to tour the new Dunbarrow Cove.

It’s all there as advertised. Dahlia Rackham truly did a marvelous job of getting Dunbarrow Cove outfitted with unique features; vendors who stock weapons, potions and spells to aid Stealth-oriented characters, a Fence who will purchase stolen items, trainers to raise the Security, Sneak, Speechcraft, Marksman and Mercantile skills, pirates who can be recruited and sent out to pillage and plunder, and an unopenable training chest to raise the Security skill. How she did it so quickly is a mystery.

We couldn’t resist sending the pirates out to plunder. I expect they’ll hit the Valenwood Isles now that it’s not protected by the Wrecking-Stone. (I would keep Thieves Den; I like getting a fence without having to join the Thieves Guild.)

As we were leaving Dunbarrow Cove, Kaleah wickedly mentioned, “Vilja always wants to see the ships maybe she’d like being a pirate. Why not station her here to run the operation?”

Hmmm… I’m sure she’ll want to go shopping for a pirate outfit.

Returning to Anvil we go back to the Peacemakers to unload another crate full of slightly battered armor and swords. Morvayn complain mildly about the cracks and holes in the armor but in the end he took everything we had to sell.

As we were leaving Morvayn’s we happened to bump into Azzan of the Fighters Guild. He had an opportunity for us. Clear out a bunch of thieves that have been operating in the area. We should speak to Newheim the Portly for more information.

Azzan informs us that Maglir needs redemption and will be going along on the job. Maglir, of all people. Protesting made no difference, Azzan’s mind was made up and that was that. Maglir wasn’t so thrilled to the arrangement either the only plus for him was he was getting paid.

We track down Newheim in the Count’s Arms. Newheim believes the thieves are holed up in Hrota Cave. He also asks if we could recover a family heirloom that the thieves had stolen, a flagon handed down from his father. With that we headed out to find this Hrota Cave.

We sure didn’t have far to go. Arriving at the entrance to Hrota Cave, as expected we had to wait for Maglir. The straggler Maglir appears to have been pulling up the rear in more ways than one. I overheard Kaleah mumble to Maeva, “The little creep tries that again he’ll lose a hand.”

As usual we prepare for the assault. Urging caution I lead the party into the darkness. Hundred feet into the cave we hear voices. Throwing caution to the wind Maglir charged to the fore screaming his battle cry, “So we can get paid!”

Oh, come on Maglir! I may look like Nephrim heavy infantry but the mad bull rush tactic is not part of the plan. You have to survive first of all in order to get paid.

See what Maglir got us into. One of the thieves summoned a Perthan, a Spider Daedra to the fight. The thief must be fairly powerful mage to attempt controlling such irrational, disobedient, and willful Daedra as Perthan are known to be.

Despite Maglir’s rashness the eight thieves Cingaer, Dennilwen, Githriian, Idrolian, Nedhelfin, Niraegaer, Thiirchel, and Thrangirfin have been eliminated. Not one offered to surrender. Can’t really blame them for that though, life in the imperial prisons sucks.

Look, there’s a bottle of Shadowbanish wine on the shelf but Newheim’s Flagon is not on the table as it should be.

Unfortunately we’re unable to find Newheim’s flagon. (possible bug with Snus Dungeons the flagon should be on the table.)

Unable to find the flagon, we collect as much loot as we can carry and head back to Anvil. Maglir is overjoyed at the thought of collecting his pay. What’s gotten into this Bosmer? He’s more concerned about profit than doing a service for the client.

Ah, see, my Redguard thief character has heard about Dunbarrow Cave but hasn't gotten around to finding the place, yet. Gives me a reason to fire up his game again!

My Lady Saga wood elf archer hired Maglir for awhile. I agree that he's very tough, but does that 'pulling up from the rear' thing a little too much. I also seem to remember he delivers some hilarious lines as he rushed into battle.

It's a shame that Newheim's Flagon get messed up. Snus Dungeons and Better Dungeons make a marked improvement in the look of the dungeons but I've found several instances where items like the flagon are miss placed or a cave is not accessible at all.

Maglir is very slow a foot. Sometimes it's a long wait of several seconds for him to catch up. Yes, he does have some very funny battle cries.

Since the flagon was missing, I'm hoping Maglir did not get paid after all that.

Acadian: I think Maglir snatched it. I'm certain we heard a Maglir was at the Count's Arms celebrating a great achievement as we were leaving Anvil.

20210214 from Skingrad to Shadowcrest Vineyard

After collecting our pay, Azzan told us he had no contracts available for us. We’d have to go to Cheydinhal for additional contracts. Since it was rather late we said good-bye to Maglir and went home to Benirus Manor for the night.

We were standing at the door of Peacemakers when Morvayn opened up his shop. A few hours of haggling and we were on the road again. Bored with the quiet life at the Manor, Claire (armored robe from AveEarthlyDelights mod) decided to join us for awhile.

“Are you sure you’re just not tired of hearing that raving prophet go on and on, day in, day out?” I asked.

Our first stop was Gweden Farm. It’s starting to get crowded with girls but very few customers. I had thought that with Desann out of the way now, Gweden’s business at would pick up. Didn’t happen! Now it looks like I’m footing the bill for rehabilitation home for wayward girls. Maybe I just need to wait a bit.

Tsarina doesn’t have anything to say about Desann’s Palace but from her silence I get the feeling that the Palace was not shut down as we had thought. Something to check into.

The next morning we leave Gweden and make our way to Skingrad. Eyja, my maid at Rosethorn Hall served a late lunch of her famous Sheppard’s pie and a cup of mead. Feeling more relaxed I changed into something a little less conspicuous for the walk to All Things Alchemical.

Returning the riding crop to Silanu we discuss our suspicions of a set-up. Silanu doesn’t know much other than Tertius lived in Chorrol and that is where the courier carrying the letter was heading. We’ll keep that in mind next time we’re in Chorrol.

With the Mages Guild Hall nearby I thought it prudent to give a quick inspection before leaving Skingrad. Finding everything to be in order we left Skingrad through the East Gate. Further down the road we passed through Fort Haven and said good-bye to the outskirts of Skingrad.

At a point on the road near the Derelict Mine we turned a bit southerly intending to cut across country to my winery, the Shadowcrest Vineyard. Just so happens that the chosen path passes by the Ayleid ruin of Nornalhorst.

Standing atop the ruined gate of Nornalhorst Maeva reminds me that this is the Ayleid ruin where I acquired the sword, Light of Dawn. It was overrun by vampires at the time which we had to defeat inorder toclaim the Light of Dawn.

Kaleah lets me know the stink of vampires rises from Nornalhorst once again. Perhaps the Ayleid ruins needs another cleaning.

There were fewer vampires for the Light of Dawn to absorb this time around. Light of Dawn only collected around 20-vampire life forces. Still quite a haul but it certainly wasn’t easy to do as many of the high level warrior type vampires were decked out in Daedric armor.

Shadowcrest Vineyard is just hop, skip, and a jump from Nornalhorst. Even so, it was after sunset by the time we reached Shadowcrest.

Lovingly, I slaved in the kitchen cooking dinner for my Ladies. After dinner we loaded ingredients, potions, poisons, in the alchemy sorters, scrolls in the scroll chest, stacked books into the bookshelves, and placed private letters into a small box labeled correspondences. The night ended with a relaxing bath just before going to sleep.

I'm just not so sure how well Gweden will do so close to Anvil. Buffy once heard an Anvil guard say he'd rather sleep with his horse than a Bosmer!

I hate to break it to the Jandanga, but given the outfits of those he travels with, no one is going to notice what he wears.

Wow, that’s a beautiful walk out of Skingrad.

And an afternoon of vampire huntin’ before spending a delightful evening being ‘domestic’ at Shadowcrest.

I should probably update the wiki pages to indicate when the customers start to show up. Mai'iq never does, of course.

Bjarne should be there once the place has at least one on the staff. Marcel depends on you doing the brother's quest, or he doesn't exist. Veritus is Silanu's client, so depends on her quest, plus building the lodge, so he has a place to go. Randonil is clear enough, as he's a captive until that quest is done.