20240816 TAS – Mapping Mayhem, Better Cities Bravil

A few days after mapping the steps to Leyawiin and spending a strange night at the Arboretum Hotel, My Ladies and I were splurging, having dinner at The Tiber Septim Hotel when Kaleah leaned forward and glared at me.

“What do you mean, you got lost? How can you get lost?” Kaleah said rather loudly.

“Well,” I began trying to explain my way out of an embarrassing situation. “You see, it all began like this…”

*****

The day of step mapping started out much like the previous mapping sessions. I left the Arboretum Hotel after breakfast and caught up with Councilor Osciuro as he entered the Arboretum. Of course, he was happy to hear that I was ready to map the steps to Bravil. Like the previous mapping sessions, I was given a coded letter. This one to be delivered to Aryarie of the Bravil Mages Guild, upon reaching Bravil. Watchman Jannus Mercium arrived to tell me that the target to reach Bravil was 6 steps in less than two hours. We left immediately.

Entering the Imperial Palace, we took the third stepstone to the right of the entrance. The first three steps went as anticipated. It was when we landed at the Ayleid Well near Sardavar Leed things turned sour. Under heavy attack from the inhabitants of Sardavar Leed, I activated the wrong step.

For some reason or other the watchman didn’t follow as I ended up in An Unknown Cave alone. The watchman, I’m sure, will find his way back to Councilor Osciuro back in the Imperial City Arboretum.

This Unknown Cave is small. Not much to look at here except for an interesting tower-like structure. The tower’s door beckons to the archeologist in me to investigate.

The door opens to an Unknown Lovers’ Hideout. A cozy little place, poorly furnished but the bed was clean. It seemed safe and being tired I lay down on the bed to take a nap

Waking refreshed I left the hideout to return to the stepstone and left the Unknown Cave.

*****

“And did you bother to set a Mark so we could all go see?” Kaleah asked sarcastically.

“Um, No.”

“You big dummy!” shouted Kaleah.

“It’s as I’ve always said,” commented Elenya. “You need us to keep you balanced and thinking straight.”

Her arms folded across her chest, Kaleah declared, “If you ask me, he’s been spending too much time with that angel!”

Pym made several rapid hand signals.

"Yes Pym," Elenya agreed. "Perhaps we should send him to Fiona for a potion."

Thoroughly admonished by my ladies for losing their chance to see the Lovers’ Hideout, I continued on…

*****

Well, I know I should have come right back to the Arboreum after losing Watchman Jannus Mercium but I felt adventurous and used the stepstone once again.

This time I found myself standing in the small, Cave of Lost Siquise. As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting a pair of ghouls rushed me from out of the darkness. The two ghouls fell easy enough to the Light of Dawn but why take chances? I called Twinkle and the Midas Angel to help clear the cave tunnels of the ghoulish menace.

Combing Siquise for whatever I could find of value yielded little, mostly chests containing one or two items of low value. But one large chest with a very high level lock, made exploring Siquise worthwhile. The large chest was packed with stuff including a rare MOO Rune Skull of Earth.

Packing the Rune Skull away in the Midas Chest, I decided not to take any more chances and used the recall spell to send me back to the Arboretum.

Another night spent at the Arboretum Hotel and the next morning back at it again asking Councilor Osciuro to map Bravil. This time it all went smoothly. The hotel desk clerk didn’t try any funny stuff (darn), Watchman Jannus Mercium didn’t get lost, and a route to Bravil was mapped within the time allotted.

With Bravil in sight, Watchman Mercium left shortly after arriving at final destination to inform Councilor Osciuro of our success. In turn, I headed to Bravil to deliver the letter to Aryarie.

(Better Cities – Bravilian Maid)

Filthy, sleazy Bravil has never been one of my favorite places to visit. My dragon-spirit armor doesn’t like the mud of the Bravil streets. It clings to metal like grease making the armor hard to clean properly.

Not far from the gates of Bravil I passed by the Silverhome on the Water inn. A rough little place known for its late night barroom brawls, I paid it no mind. Standing on the walk just outside the inn’s door, a young Imperial woman commented on the excellent fit and finish of my leather kit.

That stopped me in mid-stride. Turning, I addressed the woman, “Hello.”

“I know who you are,” she said in a silky-soft voice. “The stories about your adventures just missed something, I see. Your handsome countenance.”

“If you’re talking to me, then thank you,” I said.

“Right. Bravil is no shiny spot for a girl like me. But where is my hero coming for rescue?”

“Rescues are one of my specialties,” was my reply.

"Don't you know a more quiet place?"

Standing in the muddy street outside a one of the rowdiest Bravil inns, I could think of none. “I usually stay at the Mages Guild when I visit Bravil,” I said. “Perhaps, you can suggest a one.”

“I am actually not so easy to have,” Yana’s soft voice taking on a more predatory purr. “But, not to take my chances would be a very regretful decision. I got a home right over there. It's maybe not like the places you are used to seeing, but has a very, very private atmosphere. Just follow me...”

Remember all those times I spent laughing at the naked Nords? Well, I just fell for the oldest trick in the book. I let some sweet-talking tart talk me into escorting her home and lead me to her magical bed.

At that point everything went blank. When I woke up, I found myself sitting naked in a cave on a small island in the middle of the Niben just south of Bravil. She had robbed me of everything I was carrying.

Standing there naked I summoned the Midas Chest and grabbed something to put on. Intent on teaching the freelancer some manners, I made my way back Yana’s house in Bravil. The strong lock on the door opened easily to my Unlock Everything spell. I was in.

Yana was not there. The house was empty, but I could hear or feel the Dragonspirit calling, pulling me to a secret door.

Opening the locked secret door with the Unlock Everything spell, I descended down to the basement. There in the large room filled with stolen loot, I found a chest that held all of my missing things.

By the looks of it, Yana has been operating unfettered for quite some time. If I didn’t have more important things to do, I’d go find Yana, drag her back here, turn her over my knee, and persuade her to give up her evil ways. Instead, I packed everything in her treasure room that wasn’t bolted to floor into my Midas Chest.

Before leaving, I left a note telling her that Gweden Farm will not tolerate unauthorized competition that impinges unfavorably on our honorable and respected brand. If she wanted to retrieve her loot she would have to appear before officers of Gweden Farm to discuss recompensation for damages incurred to our reputation. I signed it “X – Vamp Hunter”.

From Yana’s house I went straight a way to the Mages Guild to deliver Councilor Osciuro’s message to Aryarie. With the mission accomplished I cast recall to return to the Imperial City Arboretum

*****

“X – Vamp Hunter”, you really signed it “X – Vamp Hunter”?

“Yep, thought the title fit. Besides, I doubt we’ll ever hear from Yana again.”

It’s a good thing we were finished with dinner; the Ladies knocked the table over as they fell out of their chairs roaring with laughter.

Ooh - the Jandaga having adventures on his own! And promptly falls for the Naked Fae trick...

More stonestepping, this time to (eventually) Bravil.

Wow, the Yana incident really does strengthen the Ladies' case that the Jandaga should not adventure without them.

How do they get to Silver Sky Temple? - I like how you included little details of each place they stopped.

Goodness, the Goddess Store yet again. What would the Field Hippies do without that mod-added establishment. Just imagine. Wonder if they'd go crazy if they were stuck with Black & Gold dresses, or Shirt with Suspenders + Tan Pants for their only options.



*snicker!*

Smiling Faces song, not a clue. I'll Bing it. Says it's the Temptations.

Arboretum Hotel is a nice place. Suranie's glitch does sound as though it could provide for some fun RP. Like Jandaga isn't busy enough.

Jandaga's getting talked up by one of the BC wh0r3s, I see. That surprised the heck out of me when I began modding Oblivion 10 years ago. But it's also distracting. Like if you say the wrong thing to a Lady of the Evening you could wind up getting 'stuck' somewhere.

But it's just funny she's talking up a guy she can't really see, since he's fully suited in psychedelic armor.



Yup. Happened to my skooma dealer too, long ago.

Wait, is Yana Better Cities, or Gweden Brothel?

Yes, it is the Temptations

Silver Sky Temple hovers over the Niben near Water’s Edge. First encountered in chapter 20181024 Hentai Mania II (before I started posting here).

The Eastern Woman Orica is standing just off the road near Water’s Edge, she will teleport you up to the floating island. After the first time there is a location marker you can use to teleport to the temple. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I flirt with Orica. She has such a lonely life standing there all alone, hidden behind the bushes.

The Jandaga meets Yana. The Jandaga didn't want to wear his armor that day. Cleaning Bravil's filthy muck off is just disgusting.

Yana is one of the Bravil’s working girls from Better Cities. A bit of RP imagination reveals a business rivalry between the independent operators of Bravil and the Gweden Brothel conglomerate. Of course, the Jandaga has to protect his investment.

20240822 TAS – Mapping Mayhem, I-SL - Inquiring the Light

The morning after the dinner at The Tiber Septim Hotel, the Ladies spent the day at the Universitum Arcanorum while I left to finish up the stepstone mapping for Councilor Osciuro. There are only two more routes to map, Chorrol’s and Anvil’s, then the task is complete.

Councilor Osciuro arrived in the Arboretum shortly after 10:00 AM. Watchman Jannus Mercium followed close by. Approaching the councilor, I told him that I was ready to map the route to Chorrol. As has been the custom, Councilor Osciuro gave me a letter to deliver to Angalmo of the Chorrol Mages Guild.

When Watchman Jannus Mercium arrived, he informed me that the target for the Chorrol route is 2hr 30min in less than 8 steps. We best get started. Arriving at the Imperial Palace we start with the first step to the left from the entrance.

Everything went smoothly. Well, sort of. At an Ayleid Well there were two good stepstones, I chose the on my left which resulted in getting lost and exceeding the time limit. I had to go back to Councilor Osciuro and start over.
This time, correctly taking the stepstone to my right I manage to complete the route in only six steps.

With the walls of Chorrol in sight, Watchman Mercium declared the mapping of the route to Chorrol a success and returned to the Imperial City to inform Councilor Osciuro.

With the watchman gone, I was left to deliver Councilor Osciuro’s letter to Angalmo. I wonder what that page full of seemingly random numbers is saying. I don’t think it is an invitation to a fancy dress ball. Anyways, I deliver the letter, Angalmo thanks me, and I leave the Mages Guild to spend the rest of the day trading in much of the loot I have stashed away in my Midas Chest.

Leaving Fire and Steel, I’m walking up to Arborwatch when I spot Nareyla, the Golden Saint stationed in Chorrol as the Stranded Light Guild, standing near the Great Tree. Remembering that I had offered to help Phintias with interviewing the Daedra of the Stranded Light, I engaged Nareyla in conversation. I just have to be careful with the questioning. Like Zerreshju, I would want to avoid painting the Stranded Light in a bad light.

After a few minutes of pleasantries I asked what one would think to be to most obvious of questions, “Why don’t you wear armor?”

Isn’t that the thing most people of Cyrodiil would be curious about? No one ever thinks of an Aureal, a Golden Saint without the golden armor and yet here Nareyla walks around Chorrol without armor. In fact, I’ve never seen her in the traditional Golden Saint armor or armor of any kind for that matter. She gave a long answer explaining why and how the Guild Guide job provides her the opportunity to serve the population without having to be in a constant war mode.

After spending the night at Arborwatch with the Pinder sisters, I returned to the Imperial City’s Arboretum. Councilor Osciuro and Watchman Jannus Mercium are there and I make it know that I’m ready to take on the stepstone route mapping of the final city, Anvil.

Watchman Jannus Mercium tells me the task must be completed in 2hrs and in less than 8 steps. I haven’t thought of it before but why the time and step restrictions? It’s almost like they already know how long these routes should take? What is going on here? Is this some sort of test?

This route was pretty straight forward. It was also a two for one deal. Starting with the first stepstone to the right of the Imperial Palace entrance it only took it only took 5 steps to reach Anvil.

As a bonus, the fourth step landed us outside the walls of Kvatch.

One more step and we could see the walls of Anvil.

This presented the only difficulty with mapping this route. The Unique Landscape of the Gold Coast made getting close to Anvil difficult. There are a few boulders to navigate around. Choose the wrong path and Watchman Mercium will get lost.

Watchman Jannus Mercium caught up with me after I reached the gates of Anvil. After declaring that the route was achieved Watchman Mercium left to inform Councilor Osciuro of the results leaving me to deliver the letter to Carahil.

Carahil is nowhere to be found.

“Don’t you remember,” someone at the Mages Guild said. “Randonil was installed as head of the Anvil chapter, when Carahil took the late Caranya’s seat on the Council of Mages.”

Oh yes, I remember now, part of the Gweden Brothel “Getting Randy” affair. This does pose a problem. Randonil knows nothing about the coded message. He can’t read it. So, who am I supposed to deliver the message to now? Guess I’ll have to find Carahil in the Imperial City.

Leaving the Mages Guild, I walk over to the wharf to visit with my old friend Norbert Lelles. A little friendly chit-chat takes the mind off the frustrations of the day. I even let Norb talk me into putting my Champion of Cyrodiil mark on a few shirts so he could get a bit more on their sale. Who said Norbert Lelles is simple minded? It’s all an act, if you ask me.

Later, walking along the docks near the castle, I meet Erriallus. The Maomer is still swimming in the harbor looking for a ship to carry him south. I ask him what he knows about the missing love letter.

Erriallus doesn’t know much about the book other than it was in a chest that they were bringing to Cyrodiil. He doesn’t know what happened to that chest. If someone saved the chest it wasn’t Oraggel or Paoles. Erriallus then told me the gruesome details how he last saw Paoles fighting a giant shark which had swallowed Oraggel.

I must say, I had a bit of trouble with the grilled shark that Rosalind and Claire served up for dinner. Was it my imagination or was that shark steak deliberately avoiding my knife and fork?

I think I need a nap.

Whew! Finally, Chorrol and Anvil finish the steppingstone exercise. I also wondered about the 'targets' assigned to the exercise.

'Was it my imagination or was that shark steak deliberately avoiding my knife and fork?'
- -

You made me go and check if Carahil was moved or cloned by my quest. It looks like it's the same Carahil, so nothing should be broken. But I don't recall if you've now unlocked another quest. She might have more work for you.

Thanks for the warning. Funny you should mention having more to do. Something just caught my eye.

I've been playing Oblivion since it was released. The Ayleid Steps, Gweden Brothel and a few other mods have been included in my install since within a few months of their release. I am just now getting deep into TAS and GB. I have no idea where these stories are taking me, I just follow the flow.

I am thinking that if I had gotten to the Ayleid Steps Mapping Mayhem before Gweden Brothel Getting Randy everything would have worked out just fine. It's just one of those scheduling things I wasn't aware of. Do this before that and all is well. Do this after that then it's... setstage and move on.

I don't understand the time restraint thing. "The task must be completed in 2 hours...." I'm not saying you have to try to explain it, in fact I kind of like the question mark. I just want to ask: is getting such a task done within such a specific amount of time stressful? Seems it could be, especially with the pile of other quests Jandaga's got on his platter.

Hmm, I think it's time while traveling they're discussing, after the steps have been put in place. Not actual time while mapping the steps. Gosh my head is spinning.



I think so too.

In the game story what makes sense to me is that the Councilor is trying to find the fastest route to each city. It could also be that they are testing the hero's knowledge of stepstone use.

From a game mechanic it keeps you from wondering aimlessly about all day. At times it can be rather annoying especially when the watchman runs off and fight monsters encounter inside Ayleid ruins.

The Jandaga has reached Level 43
STR 79, INT 83, WIL 107, AGL 79, SPD 79, END78, PER 68, LUCK 87

20240904 Gweden, OOO Shadows in a Struggle for Power - Narind

A relaxing evening and a good night’s rest at Benirus Manor I awake with the puzzling thought that all of the recipients of the Osciuro’s coded letters were Altmers. Odd, isn’t it?

Well, when one is faced with a seemingly unsolvable question it is often helps to forget about it by doing something else. Free your mind and sometimes something unrelated will trigger an answer. I decided to pay a visit to Gweden Farm. I need to inform Tsarrina about the free-lance competition in Bravil. There also is the small matter of my share of the profits.

The news of the owner entering the building spread quickly throughout the complex.

“And he’s not wearing that prickly armor that nips, like it’s alive, at anyone who touches him.”

Surrounded by the Girls of Gweden, eager to demonstrate their talents worthy of the coveted Associate of the Month Award, I find myself being pressed against a table. Bracing myself against the onslaught, my hand reaches out to the table steady myself. My hand slips a bit almost causing me to fall. Glancing instinctively at my hand, I find my hand resting on a copy of the Black Horse Courier. A quick glance at the bold headline "Women Rescued" showed me the way out of my embarrassing predicament.

Holding the news sheet high above my head I shouted, “Excuse me, what is the meaning of this! While I do appreciate your warm welcome I am here on business. Where is Tsarrina?”

There were many “Uh Ohs” and finger pointing as the ladies of Gweden faded away to far corners of the complex. Given some space I skimmed through the article. As I suspected, "Women Rescued" was about the working girls of Gweden Farm.

When confronted with the article in the Black Horse Courier, Tsarrina explained that it had been a slow week and the girls were getting bored when a young reporter came by. Thinking that a little advertizing would help increase traffic, Tsarrina allowed the reporter to interview the girls.

Tsarrina made it clear that she had finale say in what was published and didn’t allow anything that would degrade the high-class operation here at Gweden Farm.

“He was very thorough, spending at least an hour interviewing each girl, some of them twice. And it did bring results,” Tsarrina said as she handed me my share, 35,640 gold coins, with a smile.

Turning to leave, I opened the door to find an Imperial Courier blocking my way. With a lovely warm smile that could melt the coldest heart the courier slapped a letter from the Elder Council in my hand. The courier stood there waiting until I had finished reading the letter before marking her journal and leaving.

Apparently High Chancellor Ocato has read the Black Horse Courier article too. I’ve been summoned to speak with him about matters related to the article, "Women Rescued".

“A summons!” I yelled. Turning back to Tsarrina, I waved the summons, “See what you’ve done! It will probably take every last coin of my share of the profit to buy our way out of whatever this is.”

The Gweden staff did their best to easy my fears by showing me copies of their interviews. With only pausing for dinner, I spent the rest of the day and most of the evening reading, The Gweden Report.

The interviews are really quite good. They don’t put a bad light on Gweden at all. I found a spare bed and fell asleep feeling good about the whole thing.

Waking up feeling mellow, the next morning I decided to take my time getting back to the Imperial City and the meeting with High Chancellor Ocato. A little hunting trip so to speak would do wonders. Besides, I need to gather beast souls for that Kvatch Arena.

Hunting east of Gweden Farm, it wasn’t long before I spot a black bear. Readying the special soul trap spell, Sanguine Howl of the Arena, I began the hunt. The bear led me a merry chase. It was near the Jobe Stone when I was finally close enough to hit it with the touch spell and kill it.

With the soul of the bear secured in the Soul Cage, I looked up and noticed that I was standing in front of an Ayleid ruin (OOO quest Shadows in a Struggle for Power) not found on the official map. Now if a newly discovered Ayleid ruin doesn’t brighten up the day for the Archeology Guild Headmaster nothing will.

Narind, an OOO Ayleid ruin with two mid-sized levels, inhabited by Eregor’s corrupted Valenwood Bosmer Rangers from Valenwood and they weren’t too pleased to see me. Without the aid of my Ladies, I summoned the Sisters of Insanity and the impressive Markie to assist me. I’ll say that the female Markynez Lords would give Silanu a run for her money.

An interesting feature of the first level was a remotely operated iron gate. A push block which I assumed would open the gate could be seen mounted on the wall just out of reach on the other side of the gate. I would have to go back to the main corridor if I were to continue my search of Narind.

After finding the iron-gate, making my way to the Ayleid stone gate of Narind Vadosel was pretty straight forward. That is, if you discount having to battle through 10 of the corrupted Rangers.

Narind Vadosel’s stone gate opened to a balcony overlooking a large room. This was a virtual dead end. There was no other exit from the balcony other than jumping down to the floor below, which I did.

The only way forward from this room was through the catacombs (I don’t know what else to call the HH shaped pattern of rooms). Six Rangers lay in wait there for me. I left them lying there when I climbed the staircase up to a walkway spanning a catacomb floor.

The walkway was trapped.

After navigating the falling blade trap, a short hallway opened to a large room. With Twinkle lighting the way I managed to avoid running into a falling floor trap.

On the far side of the trap, outfitted in their dark braided armor, eight smiling faces greeted me. One in particular stood out from the rest. The captain of the Rangers, Lareil drew her two-handed sword ‘Morning Glory’ and cast a chameleon spell.

Some days I think it would have been best had I just stayed home in bed.

Leaping across the falling floor trap I drew Light of Dawn and executed one of those power moves everyone dreams of.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH… I sliced the air into tiny bits.

Again, the Sisters of Insanity came gleefully to my rescue, but they were having a rough time with the sheer number of corrupted Rangers. To help speed things along, I summoned a Markynez and a Midas Angel to the party. While my summoned warriors took care of the corrupted Ranger auxiliaries, I focused on the easy-on-the-eyes but hard to see, Lareil.

Once all the corrupted Rangers were pacified, the three Daedra and the Angel began fighting over the spoils. I looted the body of Lareil, taking her sword and other items of value. Proceeding into the adjoining room I left my four summoned warriors to their squabbles.

Bathed in a green light, the next room was quiet. In its center, sitting high on a pedestal was a large green glowing gem, the Heart of Wild Woods.

“Touching it, an immense sensation of joy overwhelms me. Visions of pristine forests, crystalline waters, and mountains of majestic beauty fill my mind. Turning, I find a giant wolf smiling at me. The vision vanishes. Is this a blessing from Jephre?”

There were two items of note found among the items on the stone alter; the beautiful sword Royal Whisper and a strange note from Eregor to Lareil, one of his top lieutenants. Over and over, Eregor praises Lareil then in the same sentence threatens severe punishment for failure. Why do Eregor’s followers stay when treated like that?

The letter to Lareil also refers to a pledge of allegiance Eregor has made to Molag Bal for a promise of power contained in the "Vessels of Graithlan's Soul." The same Dread Artifacts we have heard so much about. Eregor names "Yeleri" in the message. Could this be the name of his command post?

With the Heart of Wild Woods tucked away safely in my pack I located the way out of Narind Vadosel. Yes, it was the remotely activated iron-gate found in the upper level. I then left Narind.

Once out in the open air, the Heart of Wild Woods stirred violently in my pack. Bursting forth into the open air, the green gem transformed into a ghostly giant green wolf. In a flash the wolf sped away west-by-northwest.

I am certain that the heart of Wild Woods is Jephre’s messenger, encouraging me to find Yeldri and put an end to Eregor’s nefarious plans. I thought of following but knew that I could not keep up. So what am I to do?

As I’m pondering the question a Bosmer bowman comes running up chasing a deer. She shoots a deer and stops to harvest it. Not realizing who she is I walk up to her I ask her name.

“Alawen,” she answers. “Now leave me to my business, stranger.”

Curt and straight to the point, she made sure that I knew I was not worthy to talk to the master marksman trainer. She’s right on one point though, I have some business in the Imperial City to attend to. Who knows, perhaps I can get some information on Yeldri while there?

Nice, thanks for posting his stats! Jandaga's got a lot of Willpower, phew!





Nice to see Gweden inspires new Black Horse Courier editions.

... and just like that, the Elder Council wants your elf's attention ✉️

HH pattern room can indeed be considered catacombs, although the Ayleids themselves might've had some other intention. From our perspective, catacombs are fine.

Love your description of combat. SWISH SWISH RAWR!!!

Alawen reminds me of glargg's Wild Elf. 🧝

I'm sure High Councillor Ocato probably wants a Gweden branch opened in the Imperial City. Or at least some consorts for the Elder Council.

And a previously undiscovered Ayleid Ruin!

Yay, Alawen!

20240917 Gweden – Red Dragon Club, Ayleid Steps – Mapping Mayhem

Leaving the area of Narind I continued north by northeast toward Skingrad, hunting beast for the Kvatch Arena as I traveled. Wasn’t having much luck. All I seem to be finding is boars and bears.

“You know, you’d have more success if you traveled the brush country instead of over the road,” I told myself. “Geez, you got to get back to the Ladies. You’re sounding more and more like Kaleah every day.”

Oh well, I made it all the way to Skingrad without seeing anything worth capturing.

Some time ago, following one clue after another, I found Shulassa the Outcast Khajiit’s ring but never did anything with it. I’ve been a little busy with other things and the ring got lost in the bottom of my pack. Now that I’ve returned to Skingrad, I decided to go over to Two Sisters Lodge and hand the ring to Shulassa.

It's a rather mundane ring, no enchantments, and nothing special to look at but Shulassa became very excited when I gave it to her. The ring belonged to her grandfather. Returning it was the best treasure Shulassa could have ever received.

As thrilled Shulassa was to have her ring back, the Outcast Khajiit was fearful of her future. No job, few marketable skills and a mounting debt at the Two Sisters Lodge left Shulassa feeling hopeless. Wishing to help, I told her about Gweden, hinting that should Tsarrina take her on then arrangements could be made to reduce her debt.

The Gweden prospect excited Shulassa so much that she immediately left for Gweden.

Leaving the Two Sisters Lodge, I headed over to Rosethorn Hall for the night. The big aggressive looking Quurunae was pacing about in front of the Mages Guild. I stopped and asked how she likes living here, recording her answer for Phintias.

“At first it was strange,” Quurunae answers. “Mortals screamed and ran away. It’s been better now that people understand I’m not going to tear them into little delicious pieces.”

I got a couple pages as she continued on explaining how she likes not having to be in a constant war with everyone and everything. Good stuff, Phintias should like it.

After a quiet night at Rosethorn Hall, I used Rosethorn’s Stepstone to take me to the Imperial City Market District.

Dressed formally in my best Arch-mage robe, I went looking for High Chancellor Ocato. The High Chancellor was sitting in the Elder Council chamber when I found him. His message mention something about a Red Dragon Club here in the Imperial City. Knowing nothing about the Red Dragon Club, I’m not sure what I was expecting in this meeting. I certainly did not expect the High Chancellor to ask me to take over operations of the Imperial City’s failing gentlemen’s club. Noting how I dealt with competition; Desann’s Palace, Bravil’s freelance street walkers, and the House of Earthly Delights near Chorrol, High Chancellor said I was perfect for the position.

Even though I may be familiar with the ruthless business side of operating of a house of pleasure, Tsarrina is the one who really manages the daily operations. I’m really just the owner of record and recruitment officer. To top it off, the Red Dragon Club is just a front for the Elder Council’s spy operation Yep, Ocato expects me to restart the too.

I told Ocato that I’d be happy to accept the assignment. Um, what else could I do?

Leaving High Chancellor Ocato and the Imperial Palace, I stood facing the gates to the Talos Plaza District. The Red Dragon Club is supposed to be located somewhere in that district. I decided to go look for it and see what I’ve gotten myself into.

I found the Red Dragon Club down an easy to miss gangway. The door was locked, I wondered why? Red Dragon must be a very exclusive, key-holding members only kind of club. A brief tour of the club to meet the staff told me that red Dragon was severely understaffed. All that was left of the staff was Miranda the day-time bartender, Tilasa the night-time bartender, Shurgak gro-Magub an Orc bouncer, and Taminwe an Altmer female who proudly claimed to have aced the practical test during her job interview.

One look at the tall goldenrod and any doubt that she would excel in her cover job quickly vanished. At the moment though, her primary job came to the fore. Ocato had given her an assignment and a messaged for me when I arrived (how could he be so certain that I would take the job?). Something is going on down in Leyawiin and Ocato wants us to find out what it is.

Well, I have a few things to do before taking a trip to Leyawiin. Taminwe will have to wait till I’m ready.

Don't you tell me none o' your lies, altmer 'cause all you know I've told ya
Don't sell me no alibi mister 'cause all you've got I've sold
You better leave that midnight sneakin' to the one who worked it out
I don't wanna hear no back talk speakin' go on and shut yer mouth
And everything's gonna work out tight if you act like you been told.

So don't try to lay no boogie-woogie on the king of rock and roll.

Don’t know why I hurried over to the Arboretum just to wait for Councilor Osciuro to arrive. When he finally did arrive, Councilor Osciuro was very appreciative to hear that a fast travel route to each of the cities had been recorded.

As Osciuro was paying out my reward, he in an off-handed manner asked how I happened to discover the Network Activator room. Distracted by the monetary transaction at hand, I told him the story. It was then that Councilor Osciuro’s attitude took a turn.

Claiming authority as a representative of the Elder Council, Councilor Osciuro, demanded that I turn over the Network Activator room key to him. When I refused Councilor Osciuro threatened to order me assassinated if I refuse to cooperate.

“Look,” Councilor Osciuro threatened. “I hate to be blunt, but I have to tell you that you are risking your life. Give us the key or you leave us no choice. The Steps Network is much more important to us than your life. Give it to me now. There is no alternative.”

“No alternative? Oh, I think there,” I replied. “I know the Ayleid's secret.”

It’s hard being stern and imposing when you’re more than foot too short, but I did my best. “See me standing here in the robes of the arch-mage, Osciuro? Just hours ago, I spoke to High Councilor Ocato in the Eder Council chambers. He made no mention of you. In fact, he appointed me to head the empire’s intelligence operation (a minor stretch). You should take care; your position is suspect. The RDC has its eye on you.”

Councilor Osciuro was taken aback on learning that I know the Ayleid's secret. It was almost disturbing to watch as his face drained of all color. Osciuro spouted a line of gibberish ending with “This is utterly intolerable!”

Like a dog with its tail between its legs, Councilor Osciuro gathered his robes around him and quickly fled the Arboretum. I guess he needs time to confer with others to decide what to do with me. I can do nothing but wait.

Leaving the Arboretum I went to find my Ladies. A night of good food, a little wine, and intelligent conversation is just what I need. I wonder what they bought this time.

"My advice to Jandaga is STAY ON THE ROADS. The wilderness just isn't safe anymore. We've had sightings, you see. Boars and bears..."

Cool, another lady finds her way to Gweden.

"I told Ocato that I’d be happy to accept the assignment. Um, what else could I do?"

I love that line!

Sweet, a song! --- Hmm, "Don't sell me an alibi, mister" is ringing a bell. 🛎️ Fraid I don't know the answer though. Maybe ghastley might, so I won't Bing or Google.

Man, what the heck? Councilor Obscuro .... what a pr1ck. Yeah, wonder what those hippies bought... this time.

I do find it rather disturbing that the so-called "Imperial" spy network is employing exclusively Altmer. The arm of the Aldmeri Dominion is long indeed. I believe we see an invasion being prepared.

A brothel as the front for a spy network? That's interesting. Ocato could choose none better than the Gweden Brothel Tycoon though to run his Red Dragon Club.

Threatening the Jandaga? Had the ladies been there, I'd wager Osciuro would have been carried out of the Arboretum inside his robe as a body bag.

I had to google it. The title's in the post - "Don't try to lay no boogie-woogie on the king of rock and roll" bu Long John Baldry.

1971 was a tough year for competition in selling albums, so it wasn't easy for "It Ain't Easy", and that probably accountes for my not recalling it. Even with Rod Stewart and Elton John producing, and Ronnie Wood on guitar, it was up against Carol King's Tapestry, Janis Joplin's Pearl, and Led Zep IV and many others.

Yes, the song is Don't Try to Lay No Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock and Roll written and first released by Jeff Thomas in 1970. I was rather surprised to find that it’s been covered three times; Gator Creek, 1970, Crow 1971, and Long John Baldry 1971.
The Long John Baldry version was the one I heard first and is my favorite. The 3-minute monologue and the jump in tempo into the actual song sets it apart from the others.

I've been involved with tearing up the basement floor and replacing the cast iron drainpipe. My time for play has been rather limited lately. Hope to get back on a better schedule soon.

Why, tearing up the basement floor and mucking about with cast iron sewage pipes sounds like playing... Not sure why you chose that particular video game though, but hey, there's no accounting for taste...

20241103 OOO Shadows Struggle for Power, Inquiring the Stranded Light

Awaking early in the Arch-mage’s quarters the morning after my encounter with Councilor Osciuro I felt a presence peering over my shoulders as I was observing my devotions to Luminai.

Yes, I know that with the defeat of Umaril, I really don’t need the healing powers of the little shrine we found in one of the lost spires. It’s just that doing so gives me a sense of comfort that’s hard to explain. Luminai’s grace was so helpful for such a long time that placing my faith in the lost goddess feels right. What harm can it do? Never was much of a follower of the Eight, err Nine anyways.

“Well,” Kaleah demanded. “The shops are empty, and we’ve been hanging around the university for weeks with nothing to do while you... You’ve been down in the basement playing with drainpipes, patching foundation cracks, painting the basement walls and floor, and arranging for the roof to be replaced. Don’t you think it’s about time to get up and do important things?”

“Are do we have to get the flaming haired witch, Fiona to entice you to step outside the university walls?” asked Elenya.

The thought of the witch Fiona was enticing. The Ladies are right I better get moving. And knowing how the floozy works it would be another week before I’d be able to travel. So, I packed my bags and we left the Arch-mage’s quarters to begin our journey to Mir Corrup.

Traveling across country, the trip had been quite pleasant for most of the day. We crossed the Corbolo River near Crayfish Cave and as fate would have it, we came across the ruins of Fort Facian.

Kaleah stopped me to say, “Feache, the Arctic Bear mentioned this place. One of his captains holds an artifact of Graithlan, the Dread Helmet.”

That was reason enough to put our journey to Mir Corrup on hold and open the doors of Fort Facian. The first level wasn’t difficult just a few undead and a couple OOO Raiders. It was when we entered the Vaults of Horror when things got dicey.

In a small room, the daughter of the Arctic Bear and nine Raiders stood in our way. We tried telling Sheil Hestarius that we already had this discussion with the Arctic Bear and there was no reason for her to continue the debate. Just hand over the Dread Helmet and we’d be on our way.

Feeling a bit put out upon hearing of her father’s fate Sheil Hestarius and her Raiders attacked. Their initial rush knocked us down for only a moment. Recovering quickly, we struck back.

It took some doing but we prevailed in the end. Although it might have ended differently had Sheil’s lieutenant had arrived in a timely manner. Like a typical Nord, not known for their smarts, a MOO faction marauder outfitted in heavy stalhrim armor came barreling in as the Ladies were looting what was left of the previous advisories.

Torbik Asgarik learned a serious lesson. You do not interfere with the Ladies while shopping, err, gathering loot.

The action over, we proceeded to the next room and there it was. Proudly proclaiming the glory of Y'ffre, the Dread Helmet sat on a coffin at the head of a skeleton of an unknown warrior.

A thick green vine wrapped around the helm like a boa constrictor. So tightly the vine clung to the helm, the plant seemed to set roots into the blackened steel and was now a living part of the helmet.

Elenya confirm my suspicion when she slowly reached out to touch the Dread Helmet of Graithlan. A strange look came over her face as she caressed the green vines rooted to the helm. Then with a smile our sweet druid turned to us and solemnly announced, “The Spirit of Nature resides within.”

We gathered it up and tucked it away in the Midas Chest for safe keeping until we could deliver it to the Archeology Guild. I’m sure Sova would like to study this fascinating artifact.

Tired and hungry, we found a corner where we could rest. As we ate a modest dinner we read the note we found on Sheil Hestarius. In the letter her father, Hlorfor, the Arctic Bear, praised Sheil and encouraged her to work with her brother Faran Hestarius who is now in Fort Flecia. Working together Hlorfor emphasized, the brother and sister pair would become the greatest power in the land.

Looks like we have one more group of Raiders to deal with.

The next morning, we continued our journey to Mir Corrup. Later that day the Eternal Guardians stood their post, as if frozen in place, barely giving us a glance as we passed through the gates of Mir Corrup. You could see their eyes shift underneath their helms and that was all.

Wondering what it would take for the Eternal Guardians to take action, I asked Kaleah, “They never change, do they? What would it take for them to act?”

“Any actual physical action, no matter how slight, against the walls of this city would bring instant 10-fold retribution from the Eternal Guardians”, she said. With a laugh she added, “So don’t go slapping the granite, you just might get spanked.”

Tired and hungry with a powerful thirst, the Ladies and I make way to the Red Navel. The inn was packed which is what I was hoping for. There are interviews to get for Phintias and a busy inn is always a good place to find talkative subjects.

Entering the inn I set my sights on the Red Navel proprietress, the de-winged Daedra Seducer Velerya. Stepping up to the bar I discreetly informed to Velerya that her flowers had been placed on Martin’s tomb. A strange look crossed over her face. I swear if she wasn’t a Daedra Seducer I’d say she was misty eyed and about to cry.

As amazing as the thought of a Daedra Seducer crying was what happened next floored me. As a reward for delivering flowers Velerya offered me her Betrothal Ring (Fortify Magic 100, Reflect Damage 20%, Reflect Spell 10%, Restore Magicka 5pts.).

Can you believe it, a Betrothal Ring? Laughing, I turned to Kaleah and asked if she had ever heard of such a thing. When I saw My Ladies standing there, feet planted firmly, arms akimbo, and a “this is no laughing matter” look on their faces, I quickly went quiet.

Turning back to Velerya I began probing for a good question. Considering that we know Velerya has had at least one serious relationship with a mortal it felt only natural to interview her about Mortal and Daedra Relationships. Of course, Velerya had a lot to say about the satisfaction and frailty of relationships with mortals.

Odd how Velerya’s voice quaked as the seducer ended her interview with, “Every rose has to wither, enjoy their perfume while they last.”

Turning away from Velerya, Kaleah pulled me aside and said, “Do you understand now? A Seducer may be good at what she does, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have a heart.”

The female Dremora, Setuva was in the Red Navel. Female Dremora are rarely seen so we asked Setuva why are there so few female Dremora?

"Daedra aren't born,” Setuva began. “Our form is the form of our spirit. It may change. It is not set in stone. Few Dremora are aligned to a feminine form, due to our society being what it is. There are and always have been some female Dremora. It's just that we are no Xivilai, wearing just a kilt. Fully armored we would be hard to spot, you see.”

Setuva paused a moment, then with an amused tone added, “Except for that one you call Markie. Wherever did she ever get that busty skimpy armor? I’ll never know. Young and impulsive, the way she jumps when you summon is nearly obscene. You’d think that she’s trying to impress a Prince into taking her into his personal guard. Oh, listen to me go on about this like a… whew (fanning herself) it’s getting warm in here. You’re not a Prince, are you?”

The Ladies smiled. I could feel Pym’s hand at the small of my back as Kaleah and Elenya pointedly told Setuva, “OUR Jaanu is not a Prince! He’s a good aelf. WE take care of him!”

At that, Elenya, Kaleah, Pym proudly ushered me out of the danger zone, err, the Red Navel. From the Red Navel we walked up to the little bar on top of the great mushroom cap that served as the Mir Corrup’s central plaza.

Telerdri, the Golden Saint of the Mir Corrup City Guard was patrolling the Plaza. Note pad in hand I stopped her and asked for an interview. I had prepared a question “Any Quarrels in Mir Corrup” to get her reaction to her duties in Mir Corrup, but when my eyes locked on her pink “Suzanne Somers’ Chrissie hair” my mind revolted.

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I blurted out, “What’s up with your hair?”

Before I could retract and ask the better prepared question, Telerdri replied, “Oh, don't ask. It is embarrassing. Tesserayiel's idea, "Don't wear your helmet, that makes people uneasy.", and Kanaane added "you could also be mistaken for the Eternal Guardian!" So at first I just didn't wear a helmet. Then Velerya began pointing out that my hair looked like a stack of hay that was hit by a falling star. So she sent me to Beramkne to get my hair done. Result? Oh dear. At least mortals laugh now instead of cowering in fear... I liked it more when they cowered in fear.”

Elenya looked at me with pity in her eyes and asked, “This embarrassing question hurts her so. Couldn’t you ask her something less embarrassing? Asking about quarrels in Mir Corrup, as you had originally planned, would have been the best choice?”

“You’re right,” I said. “But who wants to read about Altmer, Maomer, Ohmes, Ohmes-raht, and a few Daedric beings living to close to each other in perfect harmony.”

“Well, you can make it into an earworm and change the world, even if it is only for a moment.’” Elenya said as she began to sing, “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony…”

Thirsty we ordered drinks at the concession stand before leaving the Plaza. Stepping off the Plaza ramp, we ran into Priennta, the Mazken of the City Guard, as she was leaving the City Guard house. This presented us an ideal opportunity to get an interview from a Mazken’s point of view. Priennta was on free time, not scheduled to go on duty for some time yet, so I asked, “What do you do in your time off?”

“Having time for myself is strange,” Priennta replied. “New. Not bad though. I can understand why mortals like some time for themselves, and why our guild masters want us to imitate their behavior.”

She went on awhile, explaining her view on free time. How on one hand she enjoyed time to herself and on the other hand how it gave her an uncomfortable feeling. When the interview came to an end, Priennta walked over to the Red Navel leaving us with plenty of time to visit Mir Corrup’s Stranded Light Outpost.

Entering Mir Corrup’s the Outpost expecting to find Beramkne; we mildly disappointed to find only the Dremora, Krazzt. But an opportunity lost is an opportunity gained. We sat down with Krazzt for an interview. Remembering Krazzt from the Grace of Courtesy shrine located in the Puzzle Canal of Vivec City my question to him was "How did you end up here?”

With a few interruptions as he continually tried to sell me a silver sword, Krazzt told his tale.

“I am not sure,” Krazzt replied. ”Some Xivilai picked me up, as I was roaming through the mountains. Some time ago, a few weeks or years, the puzzle canal in Vivec City was flooded, since being abandoned for quite a bit longer. After the Nerevarine came, no one pestered me with silver swords anyway any longer. Do you need a silver sword, by the way? I've got lots to sell! Well, the Xivilai told me I could go here, and wouldn't need to be burdened with silver swords any longer. I can't recall the time before the swords. And fresh air is better than damp fog filled with the stench of silver swords.”

By the time Krazzt had completed his story Beramkne had arrived. When I approached Beramkne for an interview, the first thing the big blue Xivilai did was to award me with a flawless sapphire for hushing the anxious kitten, Jo’beala. The items I supplied for Karashivuel’s gift hamper were great choices. After accepting the reward for helping Jo’beala become more comfortable with the surroundings at Merendin, Beramkne consented to sit for an interview.

I had three questions prepared: "How's it to work for an Aureal", "How do mortals react to your presence", and "Who is your best friend". The first two questions, while possibly interesting to the average reader, they didn’t seem to fit Zerreshju’s requirement to portray the Stranded Light in the best light. I gambled on “Who’s your best friend?”

Beramkne gave a thoughtful answer indicating that she didn’t have much in common with many of the other Daedra in Stranded Light. There are two individuals she considered as “best friend” possibilities. Karashivuel was one since she pleaded her case and won her a chance to live in Mir Corrup

The other name Beramkne kept secret. She would only say that it was “A mortal, who realized only a lot later what I was. He's still kind of reluctant, but I think he begins to accept us for what we are”.

A mortal “secret best friend” now that’s the kind of stuff that’ll tug at the readers’ heart strings.

The day had come to an end. As we walk to the Tower I wondered who Beramkne was talking about.

Awesome, Jandaga is back. All done with the home improvements? Did you install a sink which goes plink...plink....plink.. to remind you of Daggerfall's day as you game?

Kahleah mentions the real-life improvements!

Vaults of Horrow.. uh oh. They want him to part with the Dread Helmet, yeah right. That'll happen.

Good gosh the Betrothal Ring is powerful.

Oh, listen to me go on about this like a… whew (fanning herself) it’s getting warm in here. You’re not a Prince, are you?”



Yikes, she does have Chrissy's hair! Chrissy was the best blonde on that show btw, my favorite anyway, but she was also the most demanding. She thought she was the one carrying Three's Company. Wanted all this extra money, a ridiculous amount compared to Jack & Janet.

“I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony…”

Don't know the original artist but I remember this became the Coca-Cola jingle.

The interview is interesting. Priennta's view on her new lease on life is illuminating. "Who is your best friend?" sounds like one of those questions we need to answer when we forget our username. Secret best friend, at that.

About time the Jandaga finished all that boring basement stuff and got back to 'venturing.

A vine covered living helm - wow!

Good progress on interviewing those daedra. Interesting stories and thoughts they have.

Agreed. What I would like to know though is who he's been hiding from. Is it the Dark Brotherhoood or Morag Tong? Or perhaps someone a lot more mundane like Chancellor Ocato? Or... no! it could not be! Surely not The Ladies????

Lena Wolf: You can run but you cannot hide... for long.
Gonna buy a tank and an airplane
When they catches up with me
Won't be no time to explain
Ladies thinks I've been with another woman
And that's enough
To send them half-insane

Acadian: It's the boring tying up loose ends part near the end.

Renee: There is a slop sink with a drippy faucet already. Maybe that's why I've never fixed it? It reminds me of the late '90s in my first house, when playing Daggerfall in a basement with stone walls. My computer sat in a converted 4x6-foot coal bin room. Dark dank and dusty, there was a laundry faucet that dripped just as you say. and the wind screeched through the old coal shoot, sounding just like the Daggerfall skeletons. Good times, for sure.

What is Real-life and what is the fantasy. Now you got me thinking of doing cave drawings all over my clean freshly painted white basement walls.

20241115 OOO Shadows Struggle for Power Fort Flecia, Inquiring the Stranded Light

After a restful night at the Mir Corrup Tower we left Mir Corrup. It was a nice sunny day, a truly idyllic day for traveling. The Ladies were having a grand time chasing butterflies and playing Chakram. The object of the game is to toss a small disk and ring one of the Dragonspirit pauldrons spikes. Points were scored by which spike was ringed, each spike assigned its own value. Bonus points for bouncing one off my helm. Of course, they always go for bonus points.

They love me, I know but sometimes the peaceful solitude of working alone in the cellars calls me… BING… and they wonder why.

Like mother always said, “Put your helmet on! You never know when some giant squirrel is going to bing you on the head with a big acorn.”

By late evening when nearing the Imperial Bridge Inn we found Fort Flecia. Remembering that name from one of the Arctic Bear’s letters we decided to investigate. The ruins of Fort Flecia consist of only one small level. We had just entered and had descended down one short flight of steps when we were given the choice of continuing straight ahead or go through the large double door to our left. As my ladies can tell you, I can’t resist finding out what’s behind closed doors. Through the door I led my team of intrepid explorers.

If the Arctic Bear’s son Faran Hestarius was sent here to deal with goblins then I can only say he wasn’t doing a very good job. There was an intersection very near the entrance of the small fort. Here we turned left, stepping through a large doorway into a small room with a treasure chest.

This hallway led us to a split-level room where five goblins were preparing a falling log trap. The shock at seeing us sent the goblins into a fighting frenzy. Showing that famous attitude, they attacked us outright before we could even say “Excuse me we’re just passing through”.

During the ensuing battle with the goblins, the falling log trap was triggered, sending the stack of logs crashing to the floor. The resulting noise of the sprung falling log trap and the commotion of the fight with goblins brought the OOO Raiders led by Faran Hestarius to investigate.

Not wanting to be left out of the Fort Flecia negotiations, the Raiders came prepared to vigorously argue their claim. Not bothering with formalities, Faran and his eight Raiders got right down to business. While Faran’s arguments were well presented they weren’t strong enough. The negotiations didn’t last long.

Looting the ruins of Fort Flecia we wondered why all the fuss over this ruined fort. Other than a letter to Faran from his father, the Arctic Bear, there wasn’t much here to make it worth the effort. So, why bother? And if Faran is the heir apparent of the OOO Raiders as the Arctic Bear claims in his letters to Faran, why send Faran here to fight goblins while his sister is given the seemingly more important task of recovering the Dread Helmet in Fort Facian. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

“My Feache, there can be only one leader.” Kaleah explained. “Encourage sibling rivalry and may the strong survive.”

She may be right. A fight between brother and sister could forge a more powerful fighting force under one strong leader or it could just as easily result in a civil war destroying the Raiders as a force of power. Then again, should brother and sister learn to work together, the Raiders would become a force unequaled in Cyrodiil. Alas, we’ll never know now that nothing remains of the Arctic Bear’s Raiders.
After a night of rest, we continued on our way to Merendin.

With our arrival at Merendin another round of interviews with the Daedra members of the Stranded Light began.
Kanaane, a Golden Saint, entered the reception room to take up her late night receptionist duties. Thinking that it would be interesting to know Kanaane’s expectations for the future before joining the stranded Light I asked her if she had dreams before joining the Stranded Light.

My poorly worded question sent Kanaane in a direction I hadn’t expected. The Mazken replied, “An evil question! Even if you may not understand why. We meditate. We drift along. But we do not sleep. Sleep to us is the closest thing to mortal's death we know.”

Then Kanaane explained how everything began to change once she lost the Magicka of her home. How she and the other Daedra began to feel hunger and tiredness. Their bodies voiced their needs to be sustained. It was a big change for them.

Kanaane went on further, “My first dreams were nightmares. Memories of the Void. Being lost in a black sea, without light, without sound. Without smell, without taste. It took me some time to gain back some meditative qualities of my rest; to dream and not experience old memories again. Then it dawned on me. We are strangers in this world. Even if we have been here before, we weren't the same as we are now. Through our new limitations we can grow. Change. Expand. Does this make any sense to you?”

“By her reaction,” Elenya, in her Romani accent, pointed out in her Romani accent. “You realize that wasn’t the best question, don’t you? Not the worst but certainly not the best.”

“You should have asked about her time in Morrowind,” Kaleah offered. “It is an interesting story of how Sheogorath sent her to find out what Azura had planned, and how the ALMSIVI cult would react. While she found out Azura's plans, she was unable to do anything them. You were always one step ahead. The heart of Lorkhan was freed, Dagoth Ur and the false gods destroyed, and all she could do was watch. Working with the Telvannis, she tried to prevent further damage, which inadvertently resulted in her banishment to the void.”

“Kanaane was in her cave at the time of your battle with Dagoth Ur mixing up potions to combat Dagoth’s plagues. The violent reaction of the mountain at the time of Dagoth Ur’s defeat cause Kanaane’s cave to collapse. A boulder bashed her skull in, sending her to the void.”

“I’m surprised Kanaane doesn’t remember you being there,” Kaleah concluded.

“Well, that could be expected,” I said in Kanaane’s defense. “I did look a bit different back then, and I guess you can say she possibly suffered some brain damage. Then there’s that banishment to the void thing to deal with.”

It was 2:00am and everyone else was asleep except for the Maormer, Ahtize. Remembering the last time we were in Anvil, Errallius had mentioned the name Paoles.

When asked Ahtize told us what she knew about Paoles. According to Ahtize, Paoles landed on Valenwood's shores and was prepared as a “big roasted slaughterfish".

Just thinking about it makes me shudder. Needless to say, the Ladies and I didn’t sleep well that night.

But, Ahtize went on, “Luckily I warned Wrenek to stay away from the shore if he gets drifted westwards. I don't know what has happened to him, though.”

Wrenek? Who’s Wrenek?

With a heavy sigh I realized there were more shipwrecked Maormer whose whereabouts needed to be investigated. Which means, another round of bouncing back and forth between Anvil and the island south of Leyawiin just to talk to the two Maormer, Errallius and Tiridar.

It’s late, time to find an empty bed and call it a day. We’ll make plans for a trip in the morning.

Don’t walk around in the forest without your acorn warder hat.

I too wonder what, if any, big secrets Fort Flecia holds to warrant such vigorous guarding by goblins and raiders.

Nice of Elenya to offer her advice after the Jandaga already asked a less than ideal question of Kanaane.

And more Maormer to rescue it seems. . . .

20241126 I-SL Lost Mates - Inquiring the Light
Morning came and during the quiet time of my meditations a thought came to me. Why not summon Errallius and Tiridar here to Merendin then the whole situation of the Lost Mates could be quickly hashed out. With Kaleah, Elenya, and Pym assisting we figured out the numbers and an urgent moveto request was sent to both Errallius and Tiridar.

Once Errallius and Tiridar had arrived in Merendin, we sat down with Ahtize to find out who knows what about the fate of the remaining members of the lost Maormer ship. By lunchtime we had determine the fate of the last four crew members.

Tiridar confirmed that Wreneck was captured by Akaviri pirates. Knowing something about how Akaviri pirates treat prisoners, she presumed that Wreneck was dead.

Ahtize added that Deshri chased after the pirates seeking revenge. Ahtize didn’t know how it turned out but called Deshi’s action a suicide mission.

Errallius claimed that Suhliv, a bright but annoying kid, used a waveform spell to get free of the wreckage and then swam south. He didn’t know what happened to Suhliv after that.

According to Tiridar, she traveled with Vrendre for awhile until they met a couple of dreughs. Vrendre attempted to talk with them, but it didn’t end well. Tiridar fled as the dreugh tore Vrendre apart.

Now I know what happened to the fourteen members of the sunken Maormer ship. I just need to go through my notes before going back to Sirelle in the Shivering Isles. Sirelle is also involved with the missing love letter. When we go see him, we’ll have to remember to pick up the letter.

Lunchtime at Teshekru’s little café wasn’t too busy when we sat down at the table. With some time to talk, I posed a question to Teshekru, “What are your desires?”

Caught off guard Teshekru paused for a moment…

She’s going to say “You”, I just know it. My wishful grin faded away when I glanced at Kaleah. With her eyes fixed on Teshekru, and her fingernails, err talons, tapping out 'Ride of the Valkyries' on the table; I heard Kaleah mumbled, “She better not say, you.”

Teshekru answered, “Taking a walk in the afternoon sun. Watching stars at night. Spend an evening with friends in an inn. Play games to pass some time. Talk about whatever is on my mind. Enjoying a feast. Drink some mead. Dance through fog and rain. Most of all, after everything I went through after Mehrunes Dagon's invasion of Shade Perilous, I desire some peace. I fought my battles. And paid with my blood, home and everything that once was dear to me. Now I just want to have a new life. Without being thrown into the Void or into a soul gem. Is that too much to ask?”

“No,” Elenya said overcome with emotion. Taking Teshekru by the hand Elenya sympathetically added “It’s not too much. Balance must be restored.”

Not sure what Elenya meant but we all agreed that Teshekru’s answer will surely draw favorable responses from Phintias’ readers.

As we were finishing our lunch, Zerreshju sat down at our table.

“I have a feeling that you want to ask me something,” the Mazken said.

How did she know? I didn’t know, but seizing the opportunity I asked, “Just out of curiosity, how do you find stray Daedra?”

“Empathy.” Zerreshju replied. “From the lowliest Scamp to the highest Aureal commander, these creatures have feelings and thoughts. They aren't mindless killers and monsters, even if they may appear as such. I must confess, it took some thousands of years for me to understand that. To understand that there is something redeemable in any creature with its own will. That is a trait mortals and Daedra share. If I learn about any daedric being stranded here, I try to imagine how they would cope with their situation. And through that I find them. Hardest part is getting them to their senses. Most are frightened, paranoid, aggressive. They need to calm down. And then we can take care of them.”

Wow, Zerreshju is claiming that she can reach out and establish an empathic connection with another. Demonstrating to the citizens of the empire that daedra have feelings other than ‘kill, kill, kill’ is a must for Phintias’ book.

Walking over to the training room, we spotted Karashivuel sitting on the bench waiting her turn at the practice dummy. Approaching the imposing Xivilai we brought up a subject that Phintias had mentioned to us some time ago.

On one trip to Merendin, Phintias saw Karashivuel eating dinner. It smelled so good Phintias asked what she was eating. Kara told Phintias it was Breton Gut Ragu. The name and the stereotype impression of Xivilais set Phintias back a bit. Phintias turned green and left Karashivuel to her dinner.

But he couldn’t get the intriguing smell out of his head. He had to know all the abhorrent details. So, when he asked us to take interviews for his Stranded Light book, he embarrassingly asked if I could get Karashivuel’s recipe for Breton Gut Ragu.

“Ha,” Karashivuel laughed. “What an idiot. It was just noodles.”

Kara had pulled a fast one on Phintias. The Ladies and I laughed almost as loudly as Karashivuel.

After the laughter died down, I asked Kara why did she team up with Tesserayiel? Kara told me that they had known each other long before being stranded here in Mundus. As Zerreshju alluded to, it was the terrible fear of sleep that bonded Karashivuel and Tesserayiel together. They leaned on each other to find the nerve to sleep. That bond continued after they had become accustomed to their new environment.

“She gave me comfort,” Karashivuel said. “And so, if she needs me, I give her comfort. Today she may not need me anymore, but I will be here for her. Wherever and whenever she may needs me. We are like ships that sail through the night.”

Our interview with Karashivuel had come to an end leaving me with a better understanding of Daedra. Although, I find their great fear of sleep baffling. Kaleah has never mentioned it. Come to think of it, I have awoken in the middle of the night to find Kaleah laying there, eyes wide open staring at me. I’ll have to ask her about it sometime

Looking around the training room I noticed Do’leandra over at the practice dummy. It’s enjoyable watching the lithe kitten move as she works her sword magic on the dummy. When she noticed me, she stopped and called out, “I have something for you, fellow agent. Take this gift for helping provide a safe haven our retired agents.”

Do’leandra handed me the Sigil Stone taken from the Oblivion Gate outside of Gideon in Black Marsh just east of Leyawiin. Taking the sigil stone in hand I could feel the power emanating from it. My Ladies reached out to touch it. Kaleah stayed her hand inches away from the stone before withdrawing.

Turning away from the stone she refused to even look at it. In a hushed voice she whispered, “Put it away, they’ll see me.”

Pym uttered a word of astonishment when she touched the stone. She then jerked her hand away and became silent once more.

Only Elenya rested her hand firmly on the Sigil Stone of Gideon. After a moment, a please look came upon the Cute Elf’s face. She removed her hand and said, “I may be wrong, that Moonshadow witch Fiona would know for sure, but I think this sigil stone will give weapons ON STRIKE enchantments of; Damage Fatigue, Disintegrate Armor, Disintegrate Weapon, Paralyze, Shock Damage, Silence, and Weakness to Magica.

Or, enchant armor with ON SELF enchantments of; Fortify Magica, Shock Shield, Frost Shield, Fire Shield, Reflect Damage, Reflect Spell, and Spell Absorption.”

“Good Goddess! Why couldn’t I have gotten this years ago?” I exclaimed upon hearing Elenya’s analysis. “Life would have so much easier.”

Thanking Do’leandra for the gift I wondered how she managed to obtain such a stone. I got the feeling that she was the only one of her pride to survive the operation. So, I asked Do’leandra if she closed the Oblivion Gate and how did she do it.

“Come back when you’re not so crowded,” Do’leandra purred. “You and this one can share experiences.”

We left Do’leandra to her sword practice and walked to the reception room in search of the last remaining Stranded Light Daedra member left in Merendin, the leader Golden Saint Tesserayiel.

As we approached Tesserayiel, Kaleah whispered in my ear, “Do not ask her about Morrowind and definitely avoid any reference to her disastrous visit to the Imperial City. Remember how she was standing outside the Imperial City’s Market District Gate when you first met. Do not mention it.”

Taking Kaleah’s advice, my question to Tesserayiel was, “Aureal and Akatosh, any connection?"

“The golden dragon, and the golden saints? Is there any connection?” Tesserayiel asked incredulously. “Of course not! We are daedric. Alduin is, for the sheer irony of this kalpa, aedric. And thus I have a chance. The real question is, is there any connection between Mehrunes Dagon and Akatosh? The color is just a coincidence, coined by Magicka. Same reason Altmer are golden. No, we Aureals have nothing in common. I try to protect, not destroy. I hope that someday you will understand what I mean.”

Thinking about what Tesserayiel said, I can see a connection between Mehrunes Dagon and Akatosh. They both deal in destruction. The ravages of time may take longer time for entropy to destroy than a fireball the end result is the same, what is has been changed and no longer exists.

Kaleah touches my forehead and says, “My dear Feache, you’ve been thinking too hard. You need to relax and get some sleep.”

Hmmm, she’s right. It’s late and I’m tired. I let the three lead me off to find a bed.

An urgent moveto request? Like a console command?

. My computer sat in a converted 4x6-foot coal bin room. Dark dank and dusty, there was a laundry faucet that dripped just as you say. and the wind screeched through the old coal shoot, sounding just like the Daggerfall skeletons. Good times, for sure.



My computers are in my bedroom, which is all cozy and whatnot. That'd be wicked to game in a more dungeon-like environment.

Kahleah's claws are out! Yeah, what is you thinking, Jandaga? Teshekru's answer sounds so much like a Match.com profile. "Walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, bubble baths, Kenny G and Summer Kennedy albums...." OH... "I paid with my blood..." there we go.

Breton gut ragu.

"Good Goddess!" Faeche is tired. Whoops. Feache is tired. Indeed, the Jandaga's got so much on his plate.

Who knew? Daedra like sunset walks on the beach, are empathic and eat noodles! Perhaps they even like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.

I think Kaleah’s advice after the chat with Tesseraviel was spot on. Makes your head hurt.

20241207 I-SL - Inquiring the Light

The morning after interviewing the members of the Stranded Light, I was feeling pretty good about our progress. So much so that during breakfast I suggested that we now enough interviews to fill Phintias’ documentary. Why don’t we deliver the interviews to Phintias?

Oh, that caused a stir. Excitement grew among my Ladies as they discussed their plan of attack upon the shops of the Imperial City. I stood transfixed as I tried keeping up with their rapid-fire jabber. I smiled, thinking that this is going to be a trip to remember.

Then everything changed. A familiar dark brown voice rose up behind me. Soft as brown velvet, the fragrance of lavender filled the room as its words flowed through the air like thick sweet molasses. For a very brief moment
I wilted under the warmth of the voice.

“Amado Mio.”

“Uh oh,” mumbled Elenya. “I sense a tilt in the balance.”

The weakness to charm quickly vanished. I turned to greet Fiona, the fiery haired kuuvarjo tonttu witch.

“You’ve been gone so long,” Fiona said as she rushed to smother the Jandaga in her warm embrace. “It is good to see your resistance to the passions remains high.”

“Barely, sometimes it’s a struggle.”

”Hmmm,” Fiona softly breathed close to my ear. “We must continue our advanced passion resistance training, hmmm?”

“’But first,” Fiona said, pulling away. “What you are about to do is known to me. Take my advice; it is too soon to deliver the interviews to Phintias. Kaleah knows this to be true.”

Pointing to Kaleah, Fiona commanded, “Show him, sister.”

A small jewel studded handbag formed in the air. Releasing the gold GS clasp, Kaleah reached in and pulled out an ancient well-worn tome. Strange symbols, TES4Edit, were stamped on its binding. Fanning through the pages she stopped and pointed to an entry.

(TES4Edit was auto translated from lokharic font; a font that resembles Daedric letters.)

So that’s how she carries all that stuff.

“My Feache, the tome says that 21 members of the Stranded Light are Daedra,” Kaleah said. “You are seven short but if you're very careful with the questions conduct you only need 5 more interviews for Phintias’ best reward.”

Five will be tough. I know where four more Daedra Stranded Light members are located; Urenvre resides at the Bruma Outpost, Firstande the self-proclaimed Queen of Baliwogs is located at the New Sheoth Outpost, Firukuruzk is an officer in the Bruma City Guard, and then there is Frondre the Guild Guide in Cheydinhal. Who the other three are and where they are at? I’m guessing the Shivering Isle.

The chance of going to the Sheogorath’s realm was a concern to Kaleah. Having taken s several successful trips to the Shivering Isle, Kaleah had a feeling of pending disaster should she venture into the realm of a Daedra Prince once again. So intense was the feeling of foreboding that Kaleah decided that she and Pym should pass on this trip to the realm of Sheogorath.

Sensing my apprehension Kaleah said, “Don’t worry so, my Feache. Many times over you have proven yourself more than capable on your own.”

“That’s not what worries me,” I said with a side glance in the direction of Fiona.

“Ah, hahahahahahahahaaa,” laughed Kaleah. “Like I said, my sweet little Feache, you are more than capable of handling all obstacles. I leave you in good hands. Now scoot and do what needs to be done.”

Waving good-bye to Kaleah and Pym, I used a Stranded Light Transport spell to deliver the three of us; Elenya, Fiona, and myself to the Bruma Outpost. Whether Urenvre was surprised to see us when we just popped in unannounced, I’ll never know. By her reaction this sort of thing happens all the time.

We sat down with Urenvre. Her history is very interesting. Urenvre was summoned to Kvatch to help someone kill rats in their basement. Instead of using a short time conjuration, the mage used a spell that bound Urenvre permanently into this world. After the task was done Urenvre didn't feel like stabbing herself in the heart. So she stayed, even though it meant spending all her time and effort to avoid being discovered as a Mazken. That suited Urenvre just fine. She much preferred to not spend any time on driving people down the golden road. It just wasn’t her cup of tea.

Knowing that, I thought it would be interesting to know if she would like to go back to her old life. Her answer surprised me.

“That's a very mortal question,” Urenvre responded. “Kvatch doesn't exist anymore. I was exposed as a Daedra. There is no possibility for me to go back. We can't hold onto fleeting things. If they're gone, they're gone. That is something you have to accept and not pondering over and over again.

Talking it over with Elenya and Fiona I suggested telling Urenvre that she doesn’t have to kill herself to go back. There’s a portal open to the Shivering Isle that she could easily take to get back.

“Amado Mio, she is at peace here,” Fiona said. “Her answer elicits sympathy. Phintias’ fame will ascend to great heights.”

“It was a good question,” Elenya said in agreement.

Interview ended, answer recorded, we left the Northern Bruma Outpost and made our way to Bruma to find Firukuruzk.

Firukuruzk is another Xivilai that rebelled against the oppressive yoke of Mehrunes Dagon. She came to Bruma thinking it to be the most logical choice since in her opinion the more sensible humans lived in Bruma. Where else could she have gone to? Bravil? Cheydinhal? Imperial City? More than likely, they’d banished her before she could say, "I surrender, I come in peace!"

Still, being sensible and a bit more tolerant didn’t keep the forces of Bruma from throwing Firukuruzk in jail, as she was when I found her. After helping secure her release and obtain a position in the Bruma Guard I often wondered what her feelings were about coming here.

The interview question to Firukuruzk was "What have you hoped to find here?"

“Peace of mind,” Firukuruzk replied. “Not the answer you have expected, maybe? I knew I wasn't welcome here. I knew I could suffer a more terrible fate than what has actually happened, thanks for your help again. However it was the right thing to do. I couldn't stand anymore what's going on in Lord Dagon's armies. We were treated like dirt, even though the Dremora are eventually responsible for the Battlespire disaster. And then I realized, it will go on like this. Always and forever. Mundus may be a hell for us, but at least here I've got a chance to break the cycle. Yes, Mundus is pretty terrible for us. Nothing that makes life great is allowed here, so I have to adapt. A lot. It was worth it.”

Firukuruzk took the long way around to say that finding peace of mind here in Bruma was an arduous journey but worth the effort.

The rest of the day we spent visiting with our Bruma friends at Olav’s Tap and Tack.

Early the next morning, or should I say late the following day, we left for Cheydinhal to find Frondre. Assigned as Guild Guide to the Cheydinhal Mages Guild Hall, Frondre, the only male Mazken I know, was found roaming around outside the Mages Guild.

Seeing a male Mazken is such a rarity that I was led to ask, “"Why have you left the Isles?" He had an interesting story to tell.

“There wasn't any choice involved,” Frondre replied. “Pinnacle rock was hit by an earthquake, and, well. A boulder hit me, so I was banished to the void. Before I could return a conjurer intervened and pulled me to Mundus. She was later put into jail, and luckily no one recognized me as Mazken. So I was freed. Until Karashivuel found me. Oh dear. When she gives you a choice, you really have no choice at all. More I will not say.”

A second interesting observation from Frondre was on the role Mazken played in Tamriel’s history. He told that while his kin is usually not involved into the affairs of Mundus he couldn’t rule out one or two more eccentric Dunmeri have been Mazken. Nor could he rule out that a few more lunatic rulers have been influenced by someone like Keneriel.

For our next stop we used the Stranded Light spell to carry us to the New Sheoth Outpost just outside the gates of Bliss. A disaster was nearly avoided when the teleportation dropped us inches away from Sszisskor, the Clannfear runt that follows Firstande everywhere she goes. Sszisskor, shrieked as it leaped out of the way.

Startled, I shouted at Firstande, “What's up with the Clannfear?"

“It's in love with a baliwog, stupid thing!” Firstande, the Xivilai self-proclaimed Baliwog Queen shouted back. “A queen is way over its limits, but it is too stupid to understand that. So, it won't go away.”

Ah, Firstande Queen of the Baliwogs. Laughing at the thought, I mumbled out loud rather sarcastically, "What does the Queen know?"

Firstande heard me and without taking offense calmly answered, “Just about everything! Just ask and be blessed by an answer that will shake your worldview downside up! Of course, question and answer have to be in Baliwog speech. Such little details are important. Words are just a vessel for wisdom, and the vessel must fit. Human speech is just not fitting. It can't hold true knowledge. It is like a shadow of truth, then. Grmuuurbl brrooorl gruuuf? Hrmooorbl bruushl llarrgl!”

“Twas brilliant how you maneuvered Fristande into giving the most helpful response.” exclaimed Fiona.

“Yes,” agreed Elenya. “No sense talking logically with this one. She’d probably make sense out of ‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe.’”

Weary of trying to follow the obviously insane Xivilai’s baliwog ramblings, we left the New Sheoth Outpost. Once we were back at the Cellar in Bliss, Fiona mixed up a pitcher of pina colada while Elenya fixed a platter of fettuccini alfredo, and we settled down for dinner and quiet evening in Bliss. Thankfully it wasn’t raining.

Ah yes, the mysterious TESIVEdit. More interviews it is to be then. These interviews really reveal some interesting daedric insights and tidbits.

Bg2408, the author of Integration - The Stranded Light, did a pretty good job of giving the Daedra characters some personality other than ‘kill, kill, kill’.

Hrmooorbl bruushl llarrgl!

Oh no, another one speaking in Baliwog!

20241213 I-SL - Lost Mates, Receiving a Love letter

After a night in Bliss we left the city and headed south to find Sirelle to inform him of our findings concerning his lost shipmates. There was also the matter of the missing book that the Maormer were to deliver to M'kendri, in Mir Corrup.

Traveling with a druid and an alchemist can be an adventure in its self, especially when they look like Elenya and Fiona. Watching the two run about hither and yon inspecting every strange plant in search of rare ingredients made for an enjoyable walk south. It also lengthened the duration of the trip by a considerable amount.

At one point, Elenya came caught up with me to put her collection in the Midas Chest. With my attention focused on Fiona’s short shift playing peek-a-boo, Elenya had to give me a poke to get my attention as I was embarrassingly focused on Fiona’s short enchanted shift playing peek-a-boo.

I was at a loss for words when Elenya sang,

Are you having any fun?
What you getting out of living?
Who cares for what you've got if you're not having any fun?
Are you having any laughs?
Are you getting any loving?
If other people do, why can't you? Have a little fun

That broke the fantasy.

“I… um... err…yeah,” I said sheepishly. Turning to face Elenya I realized how short I am as I was starring at a tonttu shoehorned into a bustier cuirass and chainmail loin clout. “Gulp, I guess so.”

“See how she stops now and then to make sure that you are watching,” Elenya instructed. “She does it on purpose.”

Lifting my gaze upward to see her smiling face, “Yes” was the only answer I could muster. But to myself I added, “And so do you.”

“Use Nature's gifts wisely,” Elenya advised. “Respect her power, and fear her fury.”

Then with a strange look in her eye, Elenya gave me another poke with her elbow before running off to collect ingredients that Fiona had missed.

It was around 7:00 in the evening when we arrived at Sirelle’s Water Camp. We found Sirelle sitting on his raised platform mixing potions. After exchanging pleasantries we asked about M’kendri’s missing book.

Claiming that he deserved a hazard pay bonus due to the pirate attack, Sirelle demanded a ransom price of 10,000 gold and a roast leg of baliwog. The Ladies and I haggled with Sirelle over the obvious attempt of highway robbery to no avail.

Tired of the fruitless negotiations, the ladies and I left Sirelle to relax on the beach. Elenya found a spot where the moss grew thick and cushiony. There we made our bed for the night.

In the morning after devotions to the Lady of the Fae we went once again met with Sirelle. We were resigned to going back to Bliss to obtain a smoked baliwog leg but before we did, we wanted to tell Sirelle results of our investigation of his lost mates.

Out of the fourteen, six were either confirmed or presumed dead. Sirelle want to know the details so referring to our notes we satisfied his curiosity;

1. Tardier, alive and well at Fort Ocean moth,
2. Aralias, alive and well swimming in and around Anvil harbor,
3. Active, alive and well at Mere din,
4. Sunlit, last seen using waveform spell swam south,
5. Decry, presumed dead, last seen embarking on a suicide mission clinging to the Akaviri Pirate ship seeking revenge
6. ‘the Twins’, swam or dived back home,
7. Maralite, last seen swimming north,
8. Vrendre, killed while attempting to parlor with dreughs,
9. Wrenck, pierced by a large splinter captured and made sport of by the Akaviri pirates,
10. Paoles, dead – washed up on the shore of Valenwood roasted like a slaughterfish by the natives,
11. Oraggel, dead – eaten by a giant shark,
12. Ssenskri, dead – killed by an underwater netch.

Though saddened to hear of the losses, Sirelle was gladdened to hear so many had surveyed. Um, except for maybe Suhliv or as Sirelle called him, “the obnoxious little brat who gets away with everything”.

Sirelle offered a reward of ambrosia and a jeweled amulet. Seeing the meager offering Elenya and Fiona took the shoulders back, fists on hips wonder woman pose.

What! I spent all evening yesterday arguing over paying ransom money for M’kendri’s book and not one peep from either of you. Now today you want to get all huffy over a perceived slight in the reward offering. I just don’t get it.”

Protest worked though. An intimidated Sirelle upped his offer to include three glass weapons, and an enchanted Sea Robe. The Ladies still were not satisfied. They pressed on firmly until Sirelle offered to give us M’kendri’s missing book the so called Love Letter, free of charge.

He said it was because I had investigated the whereabouts of his lost mates but I know better.
Glancing at my two Ladies, they were beaming brightly, puffed up with pride as if they had survived the burning blade, tamed the savage heart. The thought that I’d marry both women crossed my mind.

“You already have,” Fiona snickered.

“Don’t you remember?” chimmed in Elenya.

Did they read my mind or was I thinking out loud? The realm of Sheogorath was beginning to have an effect. We’ve got to get out of this place as quickly as possible. The suggestion to leave the Isles immediately for the sanity of Cyrodiil was like bouncing a ball off a brick wall. It got nowhere. The Daughters of the Kuut (moons) had other ideas. They wanted to tour the Isle.

At first I objected saying that time was getting short and I must hurry, but, they insisted grabbing me by the hands they pulled me down to the beach.

“Come on Jandaga, don’t be shy.” They teased as we neared the Emean Sea. “We’ll have a party, a Vampire Hunter’s birthday party, but first you have to catch us.”

I watched as they took off running across the Emean Sea toward the shores of the Madgod’s Boot. I could hear their laughter teasing me to give chase. A moment’s pause to weigh my options… um, to study the quarry... oh what the heck, I admit I like to watch gazelles run.

There really was no choice but to follow. It wouldn’t be good to leave the ladies to wander off alone across the dangerous waters of the Emean Sea. And who's to say what treasures lay at the end of the day.

Better have a little fun
You ain't gonna live forever
So while you're young and gay, still okay
Have a little fun

What might have been a routine errand run to Shivering Isles was rendered anything but in the company of Elenya and Fiona as they run, frolic and pick flowers.

’ “Use Nature's gifts wisely,” Elenya advised. “Respect her power, and fear her fury.”
- - Lovely to hear Elenya quoting Kynareth’s scripture!

The angry wonder woman pose once again succeeded in overcoming a stingy bounty!

“We’ll have a party, a Vampire Hunter’s birthday party, but first you have to catch us.”
- - Ahah! I see what you did there!

I wanna peek-a-boo Fiona's shift.

No idea what the song is. Half of Sirelle's mates are no longer around. Is that fixed or is that variable? Like there's a chance to save them?

"Wonder Woman pose"

"The realm of Sheogorath was beginning to have an effect." -- Ah so that's what it is. This chapter is pretty wacky, macole. Wackier than usual! ... "Vampire Hunter's party!"

Wow, two songs this time. Again, no idea. GHASTLEY!!!!

Renee: It's just one old song, older than me. Think of the latest VW commercial or listen this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5hzEXSf7P8

I've been having severe migraines lately and wacky things tend to happen.

There is no chance to save the lost mates

Acadian: I gave Elenya the Jaheira voice from Oblivion Sound Sets by Bruce Vayne's.
Feet firmly planted, hands on hips, and astern look in the does it every time.

OH yeah I've seen that VW Bus commercial probably two dozen times by now. I'll make sure to pay attention to the song as well, now that you mention

Sorry to hear about migraines, sucks getting older.

20250102 a trip through the Shivering Isle searching for Stranded Light recruits

After delivering the results of our ‘lost shipmates’ investigation to Sirelle, I was thinking of leaving the Shivering Isles for the rationality of Cyrodiil. But Elenya and Fiona somehow persuaded me into taking her on a tour of the Mad God’s realm.

I can understand why Fiona has an interest in seeing the Isle, her sister Claire was with Elenya and me a couple of years ago when I first paid a visit to the Stranded Light Bliss chapter house. I knew then that sooner or later Fiona would tire of Claire’s gloating and demand equal time. It’s a one up thing between the two sisters.

Tired of Claire’s “Look what I got that you don’t” attitude, Fiona can now say “I got it too, so there!”
But why Elenya, the straightforward no nonsense level-headed Elenya, she’s been here before. What is her interest in the Shivering Isle?

Let’s be honest, although I thought it best that we should return to Merendin I must admit exploring unknown regions of the Shivering Isle held an enticing sway. In Merendin, I kept hearing snippets of a place call Zendria and of other potential Stranded Light recruits living somewhere in Sheogorath’s realm. No, talking me into a tour of the Isle wasn’t hard, I just couldn’t let them know.

A strong leader does not change his mind like a girl changes clothes. No way! He's stalwart, he needs to be convinced, won over with overwhelming arguments, and umm, a little flirtation never hurts. I just let them practice their persuasive skills awhile before agreeing.

So, when they took off running across the Emean Sea toward the shores of the Madgod’s Boot, I waited the appropriate amount of time before giving chase. I could have caught them too if I had wanted, but what’s the fun in that. Slipping and sliding, splashing waves of water at the prancing water nymphs was a lot more fun.

The surface of the Emean Sea was our dance floor.

And we danced! Our cares, swept away for the moment by chance. And we danced, and danced, and danced. Like the waves of the ocean, we danced…

Until we reached the western shores of the Madgod’s Boot.

Tumbling onto the shore we lay there laughing until the skies grew dark and it began to rain. Seeking shelter under a large Dementia Mushroom Tree, we sought to wait out the storm. When the storm continued past night fall, we huddled together and slept.

The next day with the sun shining we set of on Elenya’s and Fiona’s guided tour of the Shivering Isle. Really the two field hippies should ask for their money back because half the time I didn’t know where I was going.

Hiking northward we soon found the town of Fellmoor, a small Water Root Pod farming community.

The first Fellmoor resident we met was Kishashi, a Khajiit water root pod farmer. Kishashi told us how she and her friend Ranarr-Jo are looking for a hero to save them from the overseer Cindanwe. We were rather sympathetic to the plight of the slaves until she started talking about the plants she was harvesting.

Monsters that sleep below the waters, Kishashi called them. She has this fear that plants are monsters waiting for the time when they can rise up and consume everyone in the Shivering Isles.

The Ladies and I looked at each other in bewilderment. Too much craziness going on here, we decided to leave Fellmoor.

As we walked along Fiona asked about vampire sightings.

“Amado Mio, this is so much fun,” Fiona said. “Claire is always talking about how she stood at your side fighting vampires here?”

Elenya gave a ‘better change the subject’ warning cough which I didn’t catch.

“Yes,” I replied. “I remember now, it was on the road to Pinnacle Rock where Claire, Elenya, and I ran into a whole clan of vampires.”

That instantly changed Elenya’s attitude. Drawing her sword she blurted out, “Jandaga, we must ensure the blight is purged from the land!”

Ah ha, that’s why Elenya wants to prowl the Mad God’s realm. She seeks to bring her idea of balance to tilted land. Impossible but if it makes her happy it’s ok by me.

“Ok, we’ll make a quick run down Pinnacle Road and see what we can find.”

Reversing directions we head south cross country toward Pinnacle Rock.

It was getting dark, good vampire hunting conditions, when we neared Pinnacle Rock. After a slight pause to let Fiona see the Mazken stronghold we started walking north along the Pinnacle Road. Throughout the night we scoured the area in search of vampires or any signs of recent vampire activity.
We found a total of two. Dusted one, the other got away.

After a night of chasing the elusive vampire we found ourselves on the eastern shores of Sheogorath’s realm. With dawn approaching we looked out over the eastern sea to see what could be a camp platform standing on a good-sized island.

Walking across the water, we discovered the Blood Bay Island campsite. The place was filthy, but it did have two bedrolls. I tried but didn’t get much sleep as the two keiju princesses took turns trying to determine which bedroll was most comfortable.

Short hours later, feeling barely rested enough to continue our sojourn we left the Blood Bay Island camp. Heading north, we hopped from one island to another until we came across the stump of a giant Dementia Mushroom Tree. Buried beneath the exposed roots we found the entrance to Swampgas Hole.

Swampgas, what a name for a dungeon hollowed out of the rotting root system of a dead dementia mushroom tree and what was the first thing I did? Step on a gas pod, of course. Luckily there were no enemies around while we recovered from the paralyzing effect of the gas.

An army of gnarls populated the first two levels of Swampgas Hole: Chasm and Burrows. Fiona and Elenya were gathering withering moon plants while I was gathering amber from the hollowed limbs of the mushroom tree roots when the gnarls attacked.

Well, that set the Ladies off. With my assistance, the dedicated gardeners Elenya and Fiona drew weapons and began pruning the giant walking trees. For two levels, bark chips filled the air.

Things changed when we stepped through the door to Swampgas Depths. An angry hive of elytra: workers, soldiers, drones, a noble, and a matron fought in vain to push us out of their nest.

Along with the elytra a Grummite Magus Deathdealer patrolled the Swampgas Depths. This was no ordinary grummite. He was a powerful veteran fighter denoted by the three aureal skins he was carrying.

“Disgusting creature,” snarled Elenya. “Flay a Golden Saint for trophy, disgusting.”

“Yes,” Fiona said in agreement. “Hmm, wonder what effect it will give if dried and powdered?”

“Shield and damage intelligence,” She announced after a brief examination.

I don’t know about that but for a Grummite to hunt Aureals now that’s cause for concern.

We continued north. It was raining when we reached Runoff Camp, a small encampment of three buildings just east of New Sheoth. Seeking shelter from the rain we decided to rest here for the night.

A choice of six bedrolls and three separate cabins, I was certain my Ladies would be able to find something suitable. Wrong, they had to pick the one I’m in to fight over. Sigh, another night of little sleep. And the Ladies wonder why I’m always so tired in the morning.

How wonderful to have a dance across the water spell! Based on how much rain they're finding in Dementia, it sounds like a dance between the raindrops spell could be handy also.

A tour of the Isles? 'Nature could make a home here, if properly cleansed and balanced.' Or. . . maybe not.

20250110 I-SL – Mount Shroom, RumpleSI - Surprise

“Well, come on sleepy head it’s time to get up,” intoned a soft warm voice with a moonshadow elf accent.

“Hope you enjoyed the New Life celebration, but it is time to get going,” said another voice, more silvery in tone.

My eyes slowly open to see two glowing elvish faces smiling down at me. Blinking twice, the vision of the faces remained. “What kind of dream is this?”

“No dream,” they said. “Now get up, get dressed and let’s get moving.”

On our way again, we climbed up high in the Jester’s Spine Mountains to where we could see the whole of New Sheoth. It was an impressive view of the city on a clear day.

A little further along we were back down on the road.

Heading north we are amazed at the difference between Dementia and Mania. The brilliant colors of Mania, takes reality and makes you think all the world's a sunny day. Whereas the drab palette of Dementia takes away all hope, by showing reality in the stark contrast of black and white.

When we came to a fork in the road, not having gone that way before, I decided to take the east fork. The road led us to the small town of Hillcrest. Not seeing much of interest in Hillcrest we continued our way to the coast, where we again turn north.

It was beginning to get dark when we reached the northern shores of Saints Watch. Thinking of stopping to rest at the first suitable spot, we kept walking. Hours later, first suitable became any open flat space would do. I don’t know how my princesses would take it but I was ready to throw a blanket on the rock-strewn beach.

As we were removing the sharpest rocks from a spot on the beach a light atop the hill caught our attention. Could it be a house? Surely the occupants would offer hospitality to weary travelers of a gentile nature.

Climbing the hill, we approached the gates of an ancient ruin. Two Aureals stood guard.

“We know of you. You may not enter Brellach, Hall of Honor,” the Golden Saints said. “Begone from here. To Pinnacle Rock with you, Psycho Killer.”

“Strange, at Pinnacle Rock they called me Psychedelic Warrior and told me that I belong here.” I argued.

“Then you are soulless and doomed to wander aimlessly doing the deeds of Tamriel,” the impassive voice of the Aureal guards reverberated through the air. “This is not Tamriel. Begone, we say.”

Leaving Brellach, Fiona leaned close to whisper rather loudly so the Aureals could hear, “Those two tarnished dolls don’t know much, do they?”

With no place to rest safely we continued walking along the Saints Watch coastline, until we spotted something floating in the Enjaen Sea or is it the Emean Sea. We’re so far north it could be either. Well anyway, the vague outline of an island with a campsite rested on the horizon.

The thought of a campsite led to thoughts of bedrolls and sleep which reminded me of how tired we were. The tiredness that we had been fighting off for hours and the perils of walking across a body of water at night, were the only things keeping us from seeking out the possible shelter. The decision was made camp for the night and investigate the island in the morning.

Morning came and the island was fully visible on the horizon. From the smoke rising from the top of the tallest mushroom tree, we assumed it to be a mushroom house like the one we grew in Mir Corrup.

Casting a water walking spell “Sea Stride” we ran over to the island. As we stepped onto the shore of the little island, we noticed a small table with a goblet set between two candles. An Ohmes-raht approached. The monk M’san-Dar warned us not to touch the Goblet of Flames.

He went on to explain, “Yes! See the Goblet on my small altar between two candles? That's the Lord of the Drinks, filled with the fires of Mount Shroom. Except that it's nearly empty now. And what's left will be released a fiery doom upon the land, destroying all life. The Goblet of Flames must be cast into the Fires of Mount Shroom again! Otherwise we all are going to die, die, DIEEE! “One Drink to blind them, to find them all in darkness and incinerate them."

Due to a recent broken leg, M'san-Dar has been unable to climb the maze of accessory shroom trunks to toss the Goblet of Flames into the fire burning atop Mount Shroom, the tallest mushroom on the island. Sounds simple enough.

Then M'san-Dar warned me not to try to take the Goblet, because doing so would probably incinerate the entire realm.

So, all we have to do is figure out a way to carry the goblet to the top of the shroom without picking the goblet up? Nothing is easy in the realm of Sheogorath!

Let’s first find the way to the top. It was easier said than done. Outfitted in my best athletic and agility enhancing gear I began climbing the maze of accessory trunks. Several attempts were made before the way to the top was found. Standing atop Mount Shroom I pondered the question how to get the Goblet of Flames up here without picking it up.

Telekinesis? Nope. From the top of Mount Shroom, my best telekinesis spell would not reach the Goblet of Flames. Clambering off the shroom, I pondered how to carry the goblet.

With using all the fire shield enchanted items in my pack, I can get 100% fire protection. What I need is a seer to show me if that would work. Joining hands with Elenya and Fiona, we perform the ritual. I’d feel more confident in success of the seeing ritual if all my Ladies were here, but Elenya and Fiona are two powerful sorceresses in their own right. We should be good.

The vision worked. The results though were not good. While I survive the fiery explosion M’san-Dar and my sweet Ladies are incinerated by the Goblet of Flames.

The words to an old game come to me. Water quenches fire. Or is it fire boils water?

“You had it right the first time,” Elenya said. “Water quenches fire, fire melts frost, and frost freezes water.”

Yeah, all we got to do is dunk the goblet in a big bucket of water. Only the problem remains, how do we pick it up?

Telekinesis? Yes! Casting a telekinesis spell on the Goblet of Flame, I pick it up and toss it in the sea. With a prayer to my Goddess, I dive in after the goblet and without hesitation pick it up. My prayer is answered. The Goblet of Flame fizzles. Its fire snuffed I’m able to safely carry the goblet to the top of Mount Shroom.

Climbing the chosen accessory trunk to the point where I have to jump from one trunk to another, a new problem arises. I did it before but for some reason now I can’t. I keep failing the jump and falling to the ground.

It’s that goblet. Holding on to it has put me off balance.

It took more than a few bumps on the head and a little encouragement from my Ladies before I realized a simple solution. At the spot where I have to jump, I could hear the fiery-haired witch screech, “Fly my pretty, fly!”

Encouraged, I cast the Midas ‘Wings of an Angel’ spell and flew to the Fire of Mount Shroom.

Tossing the goblet into the fire isn’t as easy as it sounds. Miss the brazier and the goblet will roll off the shroom cap and fall to t he ground below. Good luck trying to find the goblet if it rolls into the sea. Thankfully Elenya and Fiona where there to chase it down.

Having filled the goblet, I was a bit worried about picking it up again. Shouldn’t have been, other than being warm to the touch picking up the goblet was safe. To cheers of Elenya and Fiona I flew the filled Goblet of Flame down from the Fires of Mount Shroom to M'san-Dar.

“Wheee, we’re not all going to die! M'san-Dar shouts in glee. “A celebration is in order!”

Several questions race through my mind. Should I ask for a reward for accomplishing the task or mention the fantastic view from atop Mount Shroom? I chose neither.

Seeing M’san-Dar’s joyful reaction, I told him how glad I was to help. For that response the monk offered me a drop of the flaming liquid. The potion, Drop of Mount Shroom, I handed to Fiona to analyze and duplicate if possible.

After M’san-Dar’s celebration; one of a very few monks I’ve ever met that couldn’t bake a decent loaf of bread or have a cask of excellent wine sitting around, we decided it was time to leave. Darn, a hunk of bread and butter with a glass of wine sounded so good too.

Before leaving the island of Mount Shroom, we made a short tour of the island. At the far end of the island, we found a memorial statue of a Xivilai named Jesmin. Wondering what its significance was, we asked M’san-Dar if he knew anything about it. M’san-Dar had little to say about the statue.

Leaving the Island of Mount Shroom, we walked across the sea to the main island. Traveling along the shoreline we head in a westerly direction. Not sure how long we had been walking but it was late evening when we saw a light glowing atop a nearby hill. Thinking of a possible place to spend the night we turned toward the light like a moth to a flame.

Of all things, here we are standing in front of an Oblivion Gate! (Rumple Mod SI)

The competition between the two sisters = Why does Claire gloat so much?

"And we danced" = some '80s tune. MMm, I want to say The Kinks?? Nope. The Hooters! That's what my search just resulted, anyway.

Really the two field hippies should ask for their money back because half the time I didn’t know where I was going.

Wow, really? Probably they didn't even notice. Indeed, plants surely COULD BE monsters waiting to devour the unwary in this silly landscape.

A vampire "got away"? That's odd. They're usually so eager to drain us, especially at night. Off-topic now, but in my Cyrodiil, vampires at night can be really freaking dangerous. One of characters decided to walk from Skingrad to that bandit camp south of Miscarcand at night, only they got attacked by a swarm of bloodsuckers. It really sucked, not to make a pun. They had to flee back to Skingrad in that case. Got separated. One of them is Essential, the other two are CM Partners, who have a habit of teleporting behind my character as she fled. So nobody got killed. But yeah, never again.

Swampgas Hole, yeesh. Oh yeah, walking trees, seems they've come across some gnarls.

Yeah, those ladies seem pretty eager to destroy whatever rest the Jandaga requires at night. Maybe he should travel with a bunch of guys next time.

The contrast between Mania and Dementia really is stark, isn’t it?

Golden Saints = Tarnished Dolls.

A seer ritual to forecast the results of possible endeavors – handy!

Wow, finding a place to spend the night is getting to be a Main Quest!

Jandaga's Quest for Rest, perhaps. You get extra points for a Good Night's Sleep!

Renee and Acadian: All that's needed is a script to count number beds and bedrolls slept in. Bonus for every companion in a double bed.

20250120 Shivering Isles, RumpleSI – Surprise, I-SL – Zendria

“It’s an Oblivion Gate, here in the Shivering Isles,” I exclaimed. “Dagon can’t handle Tamriel so he’s going to try his hand at Sheogorath’s Realm. Ha! Perhaps we should let him try.”

It’s been a long time since we’ve entered a gate, we had a short debate whether we should close the gate or not. In the end we decided to enter the blazing gate of fire.

Why? Curiosity got the better of us, I guess. Is the Lord of Change planning to invade Sheogorath’s realm? We just had to know.

Don’t know what I was expecting to find once we stepped through the gate. Some grand prize, a hidden treasure perhaps? It was rather disappointing to find that inside this Oblivion Gate everything was pretty much the same as all the other gates we closed. Make your way to the central tower, fight a small army of Daedra, climb the central tower and snatch the Sigil Stone. All in all we’ve dealt with worse in other Oblivion Gates.

Nothing unusual until we reached the Sigil Stone then something unexpected happened. Reaching out to take the Sigil Stone, as I touched it the Sigil Stone was replaced by a Heart of Order that I was carrying. If that wasn’t shocking enough, the Sigil Stone turned Heart of Order transformed into a large Focus Crystal.

“What the… something strange is going on here,” I said. “We better get out of here, fast.”

Must have been listening to too many bards singing their epic sagas of glory. You know the ones where the final location; dungeon, fortress, castle, or mountain is destroyed in climatic fashion. Just like how Akulakhan collapsed after I defeated Dagoth Ur.

Running as fast as we could, we raced down through the tower and exited to a changed Deadlands. Everything had turned ashen grey.

“What blight has fallen upon the land?” Elenya exclaimed. “Even in these dead lands, Nature must be respected. Her servant claims right of retribution.”

Dear Elenya, she never has understood that the realm of a Daedra Prince operates on the whim of the Prince. Nature is very different here. I better get her out of here less we spend the next 1000 years fighting the impossible task.

Quickly we returned to the Oblivion Gate and returned to the Shivering Isles.

“We have upset the order of things,” Elenya stated matter-of-factly. For emphasis she added, “Again!”

“I know,” I said apologetically. “Perhaps we should have made Haskill made aware of Oblivion Gate and left it alone."

“What?” Fiona asked incredulously. “And miss out on all the rare ingredients. I don’t think so.”

While deep in thought as to what had occurred in the Deadlands, we wandered off in the wrong direction. Taking an easy route along the ridgeline, we traveled further east than intended. Turned out well though, we stumbled upon the ruins of Sheogorath’s Retreat (mod: RumpleSI).

(OK, something about this place feels out of place. I don’t know what’s going on. Using a form finder mod, I identify objects that appear out of place).

Surrounded by the crumbling walls of Sheogorath’s Retreat stood a trapdoor pedestal. The trapdoor to Sheogorath’s Retreat was locked, requiring a key to open.

“You’re thinking of unlocking it, aren’t you?” Elenya asked.

Her tone was more of curiosity than of her normal sarcastic tone, I noted.

“But you’re always commenting about upsetting the balance and order of things.”

She gave an odd kind of laugh and said, “Silly aelf, spontaneity is the spice of life.”

Sliding up alongside me, Fiona’s soft silky voice tickled my ear, “I know you want to.”

Double teamed, I gave in. We may never come back this way and I’ve got to know. Drawing the mystic sign `~ on the trapdoor and I said the word “unlock”.

The trapdoor opened allowing us to climb down to the room below.

Good goddess, I can’t believe what I’m seeing! In the center of a round room stood a circular bed chamber. The bed chamber was furnished with an ornate queen size bed. Dressed only in the skimpiest of lingerie an Aureal and a Mazken stood on either side of, ready to serve.

Behind me I could hear the muffled snickers from my Ladies.

“And you thought you had the cathouse market cornered,” Elenya laughed. “You’ve found the quintessence of bordellos.”

“Well, I guess even the Sovereign of Shivering Isles needs a little comfort now and then,” I shrugged.

Noticing the seating arrangement along the wall of the bed chamber I added, “With an audience to play his mind tricks upon, no less. Just what I would expect from the Prince of Madness. Let’s get out of here.”
We backed out the way we came in. Once outside, we hurried away from Sheogorath’s Retreat.

Traveling southwest from Sheogorath’s Retreat, we hadn’t gone far when we discovered Dreamwalk Camp.

A nice campsite setup with two camp platforms; one platform is furnished with three bedrolls and the second with tables chairs suitable for dinning. The platforms are connected by decking that overlooks the Isle of Flame Bay. From the deck, one can see out over the bay as far as the Emean Sea.

Standing alone on the deck the sun set, my thoughts began tracing back through all the events that have led me to this point in time. As I tend to do at times, I dwelled too long on the sad events. Not really sad times per say but times of indecision. Should I have done this instead of that, kind of thing? Would it have made any difference? I don’t know.

When all the stars are falling down
Into the sea and on the ground
And angry voices carry on the wind
A beam of light will fill your head
And you'll remember what's been said
By all the good men this world's ever known

The stars had come out, blazing in all their ethereal glory, then like a beam of light, Fiona approached. Sliding her hand into mine her dark velvety voice caressed my ear.

“Amado Mio, Elenya will have dinner ready in a moment. I brought a bottle of my latest vintage to share, in hopes of a night such as this.”

“Ah ha,” With an obvious false indignation, Elenya’s voice caught me from behind. “Caught ya!”

Startled, I about jumped out of my skin. Both ladies burst out laughing.

“Well,” Elenya took my other hand, smiled sweetly, and said, “Come, your dinner’s ready. “

Romantic interlude.

After spending the night at Dreamwalk Camp we followed the mountain range south until we saw another set of ruins. We had found the entrance to Milchar Tieras. We also found, outside Milchar Tieras, a chest containing a Two Headed Septim. Just the sort of thing Una Armina of the Museum of Oddities might be interested in...

With little interest in entering Milchar Tieras we turned west and continued until we reached The Laughing Coast. With a good portion of the day left we turned south toward The Fringe.

It was a quiet uneventful journey south along shoreline of The Laughing Coast. At one point we did see a grouping of trees growing up out of the Emean Sea. Optical illusion? Maybe. We continued on.

When we reached an inlet where we could see the walls of The Fringe, we walked across the water to the far side. There, near Archer’s Rock, as we were smoothing out a spot for the night, we noticed a boat tethered to a large rock on shore.

My Ladies wanted to go for a boat ride before settling down to sleep.

“Please," they pleaded. "Just a short ride? The stars are shining brightly, their light dancing cross the waves like a thousand fireflies. It’s so romantic.”

On and on they went until I relented. “Ok, ok, a three-hour cruise and no more.”

Laughing and clapping their hands Elenya and Fiona jumped into the rowboat. I followed and reached down to find the oars. There were none.

They must be on shore. Turning to look for the oars, I was startled to see we were no longer tethered to shore and were swiftly moving out to sea.

“Uh, oh!”

Uh oh indeed! Another unexpected adventure for the Jandaga.

“What blight has fallen upon the land?” Elenya exclaimed. “Even in these dead lands, Nature must be respected. Her servant claims right of retribution.”
- - The Druid is strong in this one.

I'm surprised the Jandaga didn't recruit those two lovelies for Gweden.

The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew the Minnow would be lost!

Wow, that gate looks eerie, with all the green magic, especially. Cool, he gets another sigil stone. Oops, nope it isn't. Yikes.

Must have been listening to too many bards singing their epic sagas of glory. You know the ones where the final location; dungeon, fortress, castle, or mountain is destroyed in climatic fashion

Love the way that is written.

Elenya chastises your elf while Fiona wants rare ingredients! Poor Jandaga. Every decision he makes is possibly wrong in someone's viewpoint.

Drawing the mystic sign `~ on the trapdoor

Oh lordy, it's a bed. Wonder what'll happen next.... Nope, I was wrong.

Today's song = no idea. Notta clue.

Wha -- wha--- happens during "romantic interlude???" Hmm, maybe shouldn't ask. I'm too young.

The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew the Minnow would be lost!


Gilligan's Island, final answer. ONe of my favorite shows in elementary school.