Darnand faced a terrible decision after the Pale Pass adventure. Keep the Draconian Madstone or hand it over as he had promised in the hope of keeping a (relatively) clear conscience with a lesser reward?

After an evening at the shops and Olav’s and then a night at the Mages Guild (spent mostly studying the Akaviri Orders tablet and fondling examining the Madstone) he trudged through more snow to the castle and gave the countess her prize artifact. It gave him some peace to know that he was welcome to visit the collection whenever he returned to Bruma. Countess Carvain seems to appreciate its importance as much as he does.

He was also delighted with his reward, the Ring of the Vipereye. Darnand was born under the Apprentice and values Resist Magic enchantments almost as highly as Fortify Magicka (aka Moar Fire). The Fortify Agility charm is not one he would choose, but as a mage he has utterly neglected that attribute. Perhaps the ring will keep him from tripping over roots and stairs.

Another happy result of the adventure was enough gold to buy Volanaro’s Summon Dremora Lord spell. He can’t cast it yet, but he’s beside himself with delight at the prospect. He’s heard that Borissean of the Arcane University teaches a Summon Xivilai spell. Frankly those guys terrify him. At this point he prefers to deal with Dremora.

Yes, sometimes it's good to find an object that'll help a skill which has been neglected, very true. The Draconian Madstone seems as if it's perfect for Kanet.

And now, a man of many skills... often the wrong ones... When I last saw Kahreem, he had just been in a fight with a troll. A guard had tried to help, but unfortunately for this guard, he had also been trying to arrest Karheem for horse theft at the time. The troll killed the guard, and Kahreem took the guard's outfit. It was ironic because just before leaving Bravil, he had been wanting to do a quick search of Castle Bravil just one more time, in search of a guard's armor suit.

Middas, 7:43 PM Evening Star 5, 3rd Era, 433



It is early in the evening when Kahreem the Redguard arrives just outside of Skingrad, wearing a Bravil guard's armor. Under Cyrodiilic law, the armor is legally his. There is no law against looting from dead bodies. Yet. So Kahreem smiles as he sees the fires of Skingrad, high above on a bridge. He feels confident. Last time he was here, he had been dressed in a typical fur bandit's apparel, and was wanted by the law. But times have changed. And now, he smiles.



But his smile doesn't last. As he approaches the town he likes to define as his old stomping grounds, a guard approaches. The Redguard knows he has a bounty for horse theft, yet as the mounted guard rides slowly toward him, all the guard asks of Kahreem is to "Speak." And the Redguard does not do so.

"Lucky for me."

Kahreem realizes that perhaps his newest disguise has fooled this Skingrad patrol. And smiles again.




8:45 PM
Once inside city walls, Kahreem does not waste time. He begins the task of tracking down a beggar to speak to. He walks down Skingrad's middle section, where nobody is present. Comes to an intersection of causeways, and turns left. The wind picks up, threatening a possible storm moving in from the west, when a figure comes running toward Kahreem.

"Psst, over here! Yes, we need to talk!"

It's the voice of an elf, and as Kahreem has a look at the stature of this man, he sees it's (more specfically) a Bosmer. The Bosmer nears, and the Redguard can see that he is well-dressed. Too well-dressed to be a beggar.

"We can't talk here. Too public," says this Bosmer. "Meet me behind the Great Chapel at midnight. Don't let anyone follow you. I'll make it worth your while."

And then just like that, the Bosmer turns around and walks away.

"Well how about that."

Oddly, the Bosmer chose to tell this bit of information just a few yards away from a Skingrad guard on night-duty. Kahreem thinks of speaking directly to this guard (after all, Kahreem is now one of Bravil's finest visiting Skingrad), asking the guard's opinion on the elf who just showed up. But then he chooses not to. There's a chance, however small, that Kahreem will be recognized.

"And besides. I wonder what the fokke that crazy Bosmer was after."

He decides to continue his original task: find a beggar. But he also decides to keep track of any bell-tolls he hears. The Bosmer seemed a bit odd, but he had promised something.

"He'll make it worth my while, he said. I'd like to see what he meant."



10:45 PM-12:03 AM
As the Redguard walks the town of Skingrad, he is greeted with respect by all the guards he passes.

"How are you?" .... "Evening!" ... It's you. Hi!"

He feels as though he'd like to chat with some of them, bragging about his exploits as Bravil's only Redguard guard, and surely he can come up with some pretty tall tales. But he chooses not to do this. As he circles around Skingrad, and a soft rain begins to fall he cannot find a beggar anywhere. He even manages to find a bedroll in a dead-end alley. No beggar. Eleven o'clock tolls, and before he knows it, so does twelve. He decides to find the chapel the Bosmer told him about.

"Ahh, you came. You're sure you weren't folowed?"

"No. I mean, yeah, I'm sure."

"Good. I thought I could trust you. Nobody else in town. They're all in on it, all watching me!"

"Oh yeah? Of what do you fokkinge speak, elf? ... My name's Kasmir by the way, I'm a guard from Bravil, and I have just rode here upon my horse. It's fokkinge raining out here, and I am getting soaked, when I should be resting up in some cozy inn. Gotta meet with the count tomorrow, important delivery from Count Hassildor," he says, not realizing that 'Count Hassildor' is the count of Skingrad. Not Bravil. But it doesn't matter. The elf before him doesn't notice this small error.

"Well. Yes. I need you to do something for me. I'll pay you -- gold. You like gold, don't you?"

"I'm listening."

"Lots of gold! Here's my problem. I'm being followed. Watched. Marukhati Selectives, maybe. Not sure. I'm a threat, you see?"

"Not really."

"To their plans. I know too much!"

"You do?"

"I need you to check out some people for me, the ones that are following me. Watch them, see where they go, who they report to. Will you help me?"

"Well, let me think about it," Kahreem answers, but it doesn't take long. The elf mentioned the word "gold", after all. "Okay, I've thought about it. I'm in. I will help you."

"Very good. You won't be sorry. I'll pay you well, did I say that already?"

"Yeh you did," Kahreem says, trying to be nonchalant. "Some gold or something." In reality, he cannot believe his luck. All I did was walk into Skingrad, a place where I'd get accosted within no time during my bandit days, and this crazy elf wants to pay me gold. Maybe it's the guard's outfit I'm wearing. "Well, what do you need me to do?"

"Let's start with Bernadette Peneles. Be outside my house at 6 am, you'll see her watching me. See where she goes and who she reports to. We'll meet here tomorrow night. Oh, and NEVER contact me in public. They're watching. They can't know you're helping me."

Despite the rain, despite his fatigue, Kahreem smiles. "A spy! You want me to spy on somebody? Well, I am rather busy, supposed to meet the Count of here in Skingrad tomorrow, and all that. But I'm sure I can fit you into my schedule. Now who the fokke is this 'Bernadette Penniless'?"

"Her house is almost directly across the street from mine," says the elf soberly, "southwest of the Great Chapel. Coincidence? I don't think so."

Kahreem can't believe his luck. All he's got to do is spy on somebody from a safe distance. No looting. No stealing precious busts from some damned chapel. No sneaking through secret torture chambers. And this crazed elf will give him some gold. 'Lots of it', he promised. Kahreem can tell this man means what he says, his scent is cultured; he practically oozes Septims with his upper-class (but rambling) delivery of speech.



"I'll watch for Miss Penniless tomorrow at 6. You can count on me," Kahreem says, already able to see, smell, taste, feel the gold this man is promising.

Good to see the only Redguard soldier of Cyrodiil back in action. I really liked the conversation with Glarthir.

Grits - It´s so strange to me reading about adventures in Bruma in June!

Renee - Once again a Kahreem story, and this time he seems to be doing really good for a change! I hope his luck continues...

[singing]
Whoa! He´s a Bravil guard! He´s a legal Bravil guard!
He´s a Bravil guard in Skingraaaaad!
[/singing]

Thanks you two. I actually did a lot of gaming with Kahreem last night, and broke the story with Glarthir into two parts. It gets hilarious. I think I've done Paranoia before with some other character, but chances are it was Renee Gade II or somebody from my early days. I can't see Dyan or The Grey Wizard putting aside their questing just to help a paranoid elf, and I know for a fact Saga has blown Glarthir off.

In the meantime, I have a new character (sorta new) to introduce. I already brought her up in the Then and Now thread, and have written a bunch of tales up with her already. I was thinking maybe she'd wind up as a Fanfic, but the truth is there's too many gaps in her story already. I get lazy. So I'll just post her stuff here.

Last Seed 30, 4th Era 20

Renee Gade III
Level: 1
Days Passed: 4
Gold: 227



That is the first journal entry made by Renee Gade III. Her game includes a Xena mod, and this includes Gabrielle (Renee's best friend), and also the armor & a couple weapons Xena used on the show. All of these things (except Gabrielle) are found inside of Vilverin. A warlord named Kranix is the one who stole Renee's things, and this guy is mentioned above. Although she didn't write it, she eventually did kill Kranix, and got her things back.

That's the only journal entry she made so far, she's not really into keeping a journal.

She is (as we can see) living deep into the 4th Era, and is the daughter of Renee Gade II, who was one of my PS3 characters. RG2 was a bit of a rogue for a long time. She wasn't especially good or evil, but somewhere in between. She wound up as a Fighter's Guild member, and eventually took up the Pilgrim's Path, but was not very good at being a holy knight. RG2 eventually got killed by Umaril the Unfeathered.

I feel like Renee Gade III's backstory involves being orphaned to a charity up in Skyrim. Matter of fact, there is an orphanage in Riften in TESV, and so this is where Renee grew up. Unlike her mother, Renee Gade III is more committed to doing good causes, and is also more adept at magic. RG2 only used the default healing spell, an occasional scroll, but no other magic.

Eventually RG3 made her way down to Cyrodiil. She would have been born sometime before the year 433 (before the events in TES 4) and she's about 25 years old.

In the next story (below) Renee is now in the Imperial City. She wound up leaving Gabrielle behind in the King and Queen Tavern, which is her favorite place in Cyrodiil to stay, so far. After leaving Gabby behind, she met a guy named Winden. And hired him to help her do some quests I made up called Sewer Patrol. In Sewer Patrol, Renee is supposed to go down into the sewers (duh), rid these sewers of any nuisances she finds, and for every bit of proof she brings back to Vinicia Milissaiea, she and Winden earn 10 gold.

So this means, every time she brings up some bonemeal from a skeleton, an eye from a goblin, a finger from a bandit (etc.) she earns 10 gold from Vinicia.

ahem

Turdas, 1:28 AM, Evening Star 6

Kahreem
Level: 6
Bounty: 250

After speaking to the Redguard wearing a Bravil guard's armor, Glarthir the Paranoid feels a lot safer than he had in days. Weeks! He cannot believe his luck! This stranger from out of town, a guard from another county altogether, has promised to help! A guard will help him! .. This is more than he can say for the blonde archer with the Bosmeri accent he had spoken to recently, or the red-haired Nord who was said to be on a crusade to find the Crusader's Relics (ha! Fat chance!). Both of these ladies had turned him down cold.

"It's a disgrace!"

And so had the middle-aged man who was the Mage's Guild hottest new recruit. This man, probably a Breton, had promised to meet Glarthir behind the Chapel at midnight, yet had never shown.

"Well, at least I can rest easier, knowing that this Redguard guard from Bravil is here to serve. I may have to pay him double, if he succeeds in his task."

Glarthir the crazy Bosmer settles down to a bottle of Surilie's, and the first night of true rest he's had in awhile.



6:26 AM
The rain still falls as Kasmir the Guard from Bravil, also known as Kahreem of Weet, finds his way to the crazed elf's house. Sure enough, right next door is Bernadette Penniless's home, the elf was right about that.

"Now, all I have to do is wait."

So he decides he'll do the following: wait. He waits. And waits. Waiting for the chance view Miss Penniless in action. While waiting, he hopes he looks like he's keeping guard of the town of Skingrad; he is wearing a guard's armor suit, after all. But after hours of standing around in the rain, there's just nothing. Nothing to report. He never even witnesses a lady leaving the home he's spying on, nor does he witness anybody going in. He has no idea what the lady, this 'Bernadette Penniless', even looks like.

"A coin for an old beggar?"

"Hey, yeah, I got a coin for you beggar."

"I'm so hungry."

"Mmm hmm. Well so am I. Been standing out here for hours, keeping the town of Skingrad safe. Have a coin, beggar. Since I only earn a fokkinge Septim a day, this is actually my entire daily wage." *clink!*

"Thank you kind sir!"

"Listen, I'm not really a guard, I'm Thieves Guild. Kasper's my name," he says, already forgetting he's chosen 'Kasmir'. "Supposed to find some sort of book or something. And you look just like the sort of man who can help me."

Kahreem is surprised when the beggar begins to divulge information, or seems to at first, and without asking for any gold. "He is a skillful thief. I seem to remember something about him. Something recent. Something important. Something is missing in my hand..."

"Uh huh, let me guess. Some fokkinge gold," Kahreem answers. He then acts like it's a burden to pay the beggar off, but in reality he's got plenty of gold on his person. He is the cause (after all) of the great Silverwear Heist of Castle Bravil, Year 433.

"Theranis was drinking in the Two Sisters Lodge. He was bragging about stealing something from the castle."

"Go on".

"Unfortunately, Captain Dion was also in the Two Sisters Lodge. He arrested Theranis and hauled him off to the dungeons."

"Is that so?"

"Into the Skingrad dungeons? Not likely," the beggar answers, as if Kahreem had asked a different question. "Not unless you got yourself arrested. Of course you are a thief. Just break in."

"Well ... thank you, I guess. Guess I'll make my way to the Skingrad dungeons. Listen. There's something else I want to ask you. I've been standing out in the rain now for fokkinge hours. There's supposed to be some lady I'm suppose to watch by the name of Bernadette Penniless, but I don't see her, and do not even know what she looks like. Just between you and me, that Bosmer in the corner house set me up to it."

"I don't mean to gossip, but he is more than a bit strange. However, he's always been tolerated as the town eccentric."

"Oh yeah? Eccentric. Well as long as he's got the gold, I'm not worried," Kahreem says, beginning to worry.

"Blessings of Akatosh upon ye," 'Foul Fagus' says as he walks away, 20 gold richer.

"Yeah yeah. As you say."

As Kahreem (or 'Kasmir', or Kasper) stands watch outside of Bernadette's place just one more hour, he begins to wonder. He's glad he's got a bottle of Cheap Wine to keep him company in the rain.



7:30 AM

"Morning!" says a Breton woman wearing working clothes.

"Huh?"

Kahreem is startled by this woman, who walks by and greets him just like any other guard. She seems pleasant and cheerful, thankfully unaware that a drunken, false guard was standing before her, and that this guard is supposed to be keeping watch on HER, and nobody else. The lady turns left, stands in front of Bernadette's door, and enters it. Is this the lady he's supposed to watch for?

"How should I fokkinge know? This is crappe!"

Getting impatient, Kahreem decides he'll try her door and find out. It's unlocked, so the Redguard enters freely. And greets her in the first room he finds.

"A thousand pardons, melady. I'm Kasmesh from Bravil, on route to speak to the Count of Skingrad. It is not my usual custom to enter the home of a townlady such as yourself, but the Count of Bravil, which is where I am from as you can see by my guard's armor, may need a bit of ... ah .... information about the grape-growing season. And you look like just the lady to speak to."

"I'm Bernadette Peneles, I work for Tamika. I grow grapes. For her wines."

"Perfect! .. As I said, you're just the lady! I know all about wines, believe me. Skingrad has some of the finest."

This is a lie, one of many. He hates any wine costing more than 3 or 4 gold per bottle.

"I've lived here all my life. Grown grapes. It's all I know. Fresh air, mountains, the grapes on the vine. It's just ... beautiful."

Kahreem is impressed by what sounds like Bernadette's summary of her entire life, even though it doesn't help him in the slightest. This woman? This simpleton who claims to know nothing about life, outside of growing grapes? Spying on the elf across the street? It just didn't seem right to him.

"Listen, Bernadette Peneles. I'm also a lover of exquisite grapes, as mentioned."

"Make it quick," Bernadeted answers, her face tightening. This man, guard or no guard, is standing in her home, after all. Uninvited.

"My particular favorite is the vintage of wine from the Year ... ahh.... 392," he says, hoping to impress Bernadette. He's pretty sure it's 392 is the year, one of the best of all.

"Don't talk such rot," she answers. Damn!

"Uhh.... the Year 401?"

"You're full of it!"

Kahreem kicks himself. "I know, it was the Year 399," he says, really feeling foolish now. Any relevant connosieur of wines would know the Year 399 is THE year everybody pines over.

"Yes, yes, whatever you say!" Bernadette answers. Suddenly she's hopeful this Redguard, who had brazenly walked into her own home without so much of as a knock, is as enthusiastic about wine as she is.

"Why.... I've got a bottle right over at the 3 Sisters Lodge. A bottle of 399, that is. When I'm done my watch for the day, and also have spoken to the Count in regards to his opinion on the best conditions for grape-growing in Bravil, I'll let you know and maybe you can join me for a bottle."

"Don't try to manipulate me," she finishes, dashing Karheem's hopes.

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where I'll be."

"Just go away!"

"I WILL!"

As Kahreem does so, he decides there's no fokkinge way that Bernadette could be any sort of spy. Something about her, a lack of intelligence, perhaps. And later on throughout the rest of this dismally rainy day, as Kahreem figures out he can return to the inn, walk outside a door, and stand upon a balcony overlooking the area where Bernadette Peneles and Glarthir live, not once does he see her standing in the street, spying on the Bosmer.



11:13 PM, Turdas, Evening Star 6

"Break the law on MY watch, will ya?"

"Huh?"

Kahreem of Weet awakes late in the evening, and is casually strolling on his way to meet the Bosmer he met the night before, when a bald-headed Skingrad guard accosts him.

"I'll be confiscating your stolen goods, oh, and no gooolllld to pay your fine, hmm? It's off to the lockup, then."

"Are you joshing me? I'm just a man looking for work, sire. I heard there's gold to be made here, picking grapes and such. Fresh country air, mountains, and all that."

The Skingrad guard glares at the Redguard, the Redguard who he suddenly figures is the one wanted for horse theft in Bravil. The guard who gave chase on this Redguard had left his post, and had never returned. Although the Redguard was not wanted for murder, Dion can still take him in for horse theft.

Kahreem is glad he's not wearing his Bravil guard's suit at this moment. That would be bad, having that disguise blown.

"Ahh, fokke it. Let us go to jail, then."

"Hope you rot, criminal scum!"





1:07 AM, Evening Star 7
In a way it's not bad, being thrown in jail. Firstly, the only 'stolen goods' he had on him when getting caught were a couple of potatoes. Secondly, who even knows if the Bosmer would show up to pay Kahreem some gold? .. The man had seemed rather disturbed, and there was nothing to report to him, anyways. And thirdly: Upon Kahreem's inception, he finds he's incarcerated with another inmate. He assumes this inmate is the one the beggar had told him about earlier. The man is asleep.

"Hey, you. Wake up."



"Are you here to rescue me?" asks a Nord.

"Rescue you? Well, I can try my best."

"Just unlock the door. In a couple of hours it'll be quiet again, and I can sneak out."

"Um, okay. I only have one fokkinge lockpick, though. Chances are it'll break. But hey, I can sneak you out later."

"An excellent deal!"

"What knows you about a man named Theranis? I'm Kamir from Bravil, by the way. Thieves Guild. Shadow hide you, and all that. You tell me about Theranis, and I'll get you out of here for sure."

"You mean the thief? He was in the big cell with that Argonian. They were always whispering to each other. The Pale Lady took him a days ago." *

"Pale Lady?" Kahreem says, fearing some sort of ghost. Or invisible woman. He hates invisible people.

"Every few days, she comes for one of us. Some return, some don't. Those that are taken three times never return.. This was Theranis's third time."

"Fokke! Well then where do they go?" He asks this, realizing he's got two more foils to go, before this Pale Lady, whoever she is, comes for HIM.

"I don't know", says his inmate with a shrug. "She took the Argonian less than an hour ago, though. He put up quite a struggle. He was bleeding all over the place."

"Fokke."

"Don't let the guards catch you," the Nord warns, going back to sleep.

Kahreem tries to unlock the door, breaking the lockpick he had managed to sneak.

*

It's because of Glarthir's quest that Dion approached - as soon as you start asking residents about him, he's scripted to approach you and ask why do you keep asking questions about him. But because Kahreem's got a bounty, this dialogue took over.

I had a similar experience with Raven, when he was kicked out of the MG just before the last quest but was still able to finish the questline nonetheless. So when he encountered Falcar, a former leader of Cheydinhal hall, he was supposed to give him some quest-related dialogue but instead Falcar told him to visit the Archmage to regain his status in the guild and wasn't even hostile.

A great story, it's a mix of two quests and Kahreem getting in jail, so it has the required elements to be funny. I like it how he doesn't memorize his fake name.

Once again thrown in jail Oh, woe is Kahreem of Weet

Great story as usual, Renee

Thanks, I enjoyed writing it. Man, so I screwed up my Renee story up above, not that it matters or anything. I should have posted this one between the two stores above. Oh well.

Sundas, Heartfire 2, 4:50 PM 4th Era Year 20

Renee Gade III

Race: Imperial
Birthsign: The Lady
Class: Warrior Princess
Level: 2
Days Passed: 7

Bounty: 0
Fame: 0
Infamy: 0

"Vinicia Melissaeia, Office of Imperial Commerce. You got complaints? Of course you got complaints. Who doesn't?"

"Complaints? No I have not got anything to bother you on the subject of complaints. I have come about the job. The Sewer Patrol job. Name's Renee. Renee Gade the third, granddaughter of the famous Nord who defeated Jagar Tharn long ago. And my mother nearly defeated Umbacano back in the Third Era."

Although Vinicia is unsure to believe this incredible tale, she can see the lady calling herself 'Renee Gade the Third' certainly has the look of an adventurer. She offers this 'Renee' a job, and a bit of advice about the Imperial City itself. Vinicia had been working this job for many years now, seen the fall of the Elder Council after the conclusion of the 3rd Era, and also the death of High Council member Ocato. One thing for sure: many things may have changed, but from where she sat they had also stayed quite the same.

"You have complaints against merchants here? You file complaints with me. I fill out lots of forms, which go to a lot of people .. who ignore them. But what else did you expect? Justice? .... Go to the Chapel. Talk to Zenithar. He'll take care of everything."

Nevertheless, the Imperial known as Renee Gade III had been hired to do the job. Proof of each kill she accomplished would earn her 10 gold apiece, on top of whatever sort of loot she might find down there. The Imperial City's sewers had long been a problem, a menace beneath the very feet of the nobles and debutants who dwelled within the city. It was time something had been done about this.

"Be seeing you."

"Thank you. I shall do my best."



Morndas, Heartfire 3, 9:53 AM

The Nordic knight-for-adventuring known as Winden looks doubtfully to his brand-new boss, unsure of whether he should follow her. She wants to go down THERE?

In the years following the end of the 3rd Era, populations had swelled inside all of Cyrodiil's towns, and a new breed of adventurers had seemingly appeared from nowhere, eager for gold and a new life. Many of these adventurers were quite skilled at what they did (swordplay, magic-casting, etc.) but few of them had actually done any real lair-diving. Few of them had ever been underground, faced with traps and all sorts of monsters. The bulk of them merely stood around in bars, taverns, and inns, hoping to be hired by someone more experienced. Winden the Knight was one of this new breed. So eager, so talented with his blade. He had decided he'd join the lady in the purple gladiator's outfit who had hired him just an hour before; he hadn't even asked for any gold up front.

The 'lady who had hired him' carried a big sword, and her fancy armor was both unique and expensive-looking. She was obviously somewhat experienced at this, and exuded what seemed to be an almost daring essence, like she was fearless. But she wanted him to follow her in there? .. This was not what Winden had signed up for. He was thinking more on the lines of getting outside the city, going down in some holes, and killing some monsters. Maybe some imps or wolves. He hadn't thought she'd want him to follow her beneath the Imperial City itself.

"Hey listen, Winden. It will not be so bad. All you need to do is stand where I tell you. Stay in place. I shall be the one who goes steadily ahead. If I need your help, I will come running back to you. Okay?"

"If you say so," the Nord answers, trying his best to sound brave and potent.

The lady wearing purple armor then found a sewer grate located behind an Elven Gardens home, and entered it quietly, closing out the rainy day above.

----


Not long afterwards, and the lady (who finally identified herself as Renee from Riften) had left him at the top of a stone staircase. "Come back soon, I'll get bored," he had told her, but she ignored this early complaint and had gone on below to explore. That had been an hour ago. And Winden was starting to fidget. Bored indeed, and bathed in darkness, he lit his torch and began swinging his sword this way and that. He occasionally stopped swinging, hoping to hear from Renee, hoping she'd come back and want him to kill something, dammit. But so far, nothing.

Then all at once, some noise from below. Renee came running back into the chamber, her body lit by a spell to help her see in the dark.

"What can I do for you?" he asked in a serviceable Nord's voice.

"Come on Winden, I need your help with this one."

"Let's go."

She then crouched down and looked below, and at first Winden thought she might be finally showing fear. But then, if she is truly afraid, wouldn't she just want to leave this dreadful place? he thought. Renee's spell dwindled, so she raised her arm into the air, casting another.

"Okay, you come now. Prove your worth. Nothing but nuisances so far; rats and mudcrabs, and how in Oblivion am I going to get paid from this, I have not a clue. Where are the goblins, where are the bandits? .... But never mind. There is something up ahead. I am not sure what it is, some sort of dog-sized creature. That is why I need your help."

The pair then crept down the stairs, and slowly. Every so often Renee would cast a spell which Winden thought might be some sort of Life Detection, he wasn't sure. He did indeed notice several rats and crabs along the way which had met their doom. The two had passed through a couple of stone chambers, turned right down a curved hallway, and a few moments later his leader stopped and cast her mysterious spell again. She then grabbed a silvery circular object from her belt, which Winden had first thought was some sort of magical device. But it was not.

Renee threw this object, and it went ZIIIING! .... Winden was surprised to see it could move at lightning-speed. The circular silver object (whatever it is) flew fast ahead through the hallway before them, and just a moment later was back in her hand. But Renee was not satisfied. She threw the object again, this time showing a different reaction.

"Got it!"

Whatever it was she had injured it, so far as Winden could tell. Renee grabbed her giant blade.

"Here it comes, Winden. Get ready."

Pleased at his first task, Winden rushed ahead, found the creature (whatever it was) and slammed it with his sword. It died instantly, and Renee seemed pleased by this.

"Good work, and not bad," she said, retrieving a bone from the creature. "Hah, I will be able to take this back to Vinicia, hopefully she will pay me her promised 10 gold for this kill. Seems a bit more than your common nuisance, and you are my witness."

Winden stayed silent, hoping for more. But his hopes were dashed a moment later.

"Now, hey, I want you to stay here Winden. Just stay here and I am going to tunnel ahead. Won't be long."

Winden the knight-for-hire from Skyrim sighed. He had joined this crazy lady for no pay, and no gold? What had he been thinking?

----

4:19 PM
An unknown amount of time passed when Renee finally found a ladder to crawl up. Finally. Although Winden had survived with his new hiree, he was glad when she decided she'd had enough of "Sewer Patrol". Renee had managed to kill several goblins without his assistance, and was now looking forward to getting back to surface. Together they climbed an old iron ladder rung by rung, out of the dreadful sewers.

The ladder led through an unlocked grate, and into some sort of storage room full of crates and barrels. It didn't seem like an actual part of the sewer system (too neat and organized, plus it didn't have that sort of 'smell' they'd been dealing with), so neither he nor Renee touched a thing in here.


"Perhaps we are in some sort of warehouse basement, I have not a clue. Come along."

The pair came to a door which was locked with a 1-tumbler device. Winden had never picked a lock in his life, and Renee admitted she wasn't so good at it, but she got the thing on her first try. The door led into what obviously somebody's home.

"Drats. Where in Oblivion are we?"

A set of footsteps approached them, and within seconds a dark elf appeared from what looked to be a dining room.

"We .. we were just," Renee babbled. "Hey, you know your basement connects down to the sewers?"

But the elf ignored her, merely walked past and entered the door through which Renee and Winden had entered. Unsure of what just happened, Renee decided it best to get out of this place, this rather posh-looking home. She found a door leading out into one of the Imperial City's districts, and she and her partner left the home to get paid.

Note: CM Partners is where this knight named Winden comes from.

I love the pictures with RGIII’s story. Winden’s view of events was great fun to read!

Yaah! .. I love 'em too. I actually have a backlog of about 8 stories or journal entries, I'll have one of them up later. Pictures, too. Lord there are so many pics. Probably not as many as you take, but for me it's a lot!

11:04 AM, Tirdas, Heartfire 4, 4th Era Year 20

The rain falls hard the next day, as Renee Gade III and her knight companion Winden left the Office of Imperial Commerce. They managed to earn a total of 80 gold for her exploits in the sewers below the Elven Gardens District, after presenting several goblin eyes and a couple of fresh bones to Vinicia.

"Seems an awful small amount of gold for all that work," she had commented to her companion.

But no matter. The job was done, and Vinicia seemed pleased to know. Less goblins in the sewers beneath our sovereign feet? That's all she had asked for. She had then given a new task to Renee: clear out the sewers beneath the Arcane University. There was supposed to be a gate located just southeast of the University itself, its exit somewhere along the Niben's beach. Vinicia then provided Renee with a key, which would unlock the sewer's gate.

"Good, because I am not so good with lockpicking yet. This'll come in handy."

Renee and Winden had then chosen to leave the Market District by its south exit, meaning she was now passing through the Arena district. As they walked through the rain, they could hear the sound of the crowds cheering from inside. Even on this dreadfully rainy day, the fans were already here.

"You know. I have got some coin. There's no hurry to clear that sewer, Winden. Let us go have a look."

"Okay, if you say so."

It took a minute for her to find the Arena's entrance, where a stout and portly Bosmer stood next to a large wooden chest.

"Hello there! Welcome to the Arena! .. I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. I know all the regulars, believe me. If you're looking to join the Arena as a combatant, you need to head down to the Bloodworks and talk to Owyn, the Blademahhstah," said the blonde Bosmer.

"Well, I do not think today I will be fighting. Can't me and my partner just watch a match?" Renee suddenly realized her purple armor, and the gigantic sword upon her back, might confuse the Bosmer. She certainly looked like she was here to fight.

"If you're here to bet on a fight, on the other hand, you're talking to the right man! There are matches all day long, from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

"Really?" she asked. Many changes had occurred over the last 20 years, but the Arena was still here, and still in business. She knew her mother had fought in the Arena long ago, why not have a peek at it?

"That's a lot of chances to fill your purse with coin. So what do you say: you want to bet on a match?"

"Yes. Yeah, I do...Um and do you sell--"

"Ahhh, excellent!" the elf said, cutting her off. "I knew you were the gambling type! Well, you can bet on the Yellow Team or the Blue Team. The teams are evenly matched, so you've pretty much got a 50/50 chance of winning So, which team would you like to bet on?"

Renee looked to her purple armor, which was closest to being blue. "I will bet blue."

"Allll right then, the Blue Team it is. How much do you want to bet?"

"How about 50 gold?"

"All right my friend. You've got 50 gold on the Blue Team. Good luck and enjoy the match! Oh, and if you win, come see mee for your payout!"



12:53 PM
The rain continueed as the pair of fighters, who were expected by some to be on Sewer Patrol, now were standing high above the Arena's circular floor.

"WELCOME WELCOME TO THE ARENA!" boomed a loud voice from some unseen location. And before long, Renee and Winden were watching the spoils. "LOWERRRRRR THE GATES!"

The fight did not last long. The Blue Team gladiator carried a big battleaxe, and knew how to use it. It only took a few swings before her Yellow Team opponent, who was using a standard sword and shield, fell to the ground. Renee noticed there were several bottles of wine on a nearby table, but hadn't enough time to grab one before the match was over.

"Ha! ... She had it coming!" Still, it was exciting to be here, 30-second duel or not. There weren't as many people as Renee had expected in the Arena's stands, but all of them were enthusiastic, hooting and hollering. The folks up in Skyrim had made it sound as if a mob would be viewing. But as she looked around, she could count all of those present with just over one hand.

"Well, guess we won, Winden. Always a good thing."

Winden stayed quiet, like a good soldier.

She turned to go fetch her winnings: 100 gold in total! .. Easiest money she had ever earned. As she and Winden walked south again through the Arboretum, outside the Arcane University itself, and then down a large, steep hill, she couldn't help but continue to think about what she had witnessed. An hour went by, then two. Three hours later, and Renee and Winden finally stood before what they hoped would be the gate to the South Sewers. And all this time, Renee from Riften kept thinking in an almost repetitive fashion.

My mother had fought there. She had fought and become famous for it. .... She had traveled the land, and been killed by Umaril. .... But before this happened, she had fought in the Arena.

6:05 am, Sundas, Evening Star 9

Kahreem spends two days in jail for committing horsetheft in Bravil a few days earlier, and is released to a stormy morning.



Note: I happened to catch that pic exactly as a lightning bolt struck

He quickly removes his jail clothes and tosses them over the side of the bridge he is on. He then dresses in the clothes that he brought with him. He is glad these clothes are legitimately his, and not stolen, otherwise he'd be stuck with jail clothes on his return trip through Skingrad. He begins walking through town, but then remembers the story Larthjar the Nord told him.

"Something about a pale lady taking an Argonian away," he says, not liking the sound of where this is going.

So ironically, just as he is leaving jail he begins to head right back into it.



8:55 AM

"What seems to be the problem?"

Another thing which is ironic: once he finds himself back inside the guard's barracks, Kahreem tries to speak directly to a Skingrad guard for information about the pale lady, but the guard has nothing to say. Kahreem stands freely in the guard barracks and realizes the door to the dungeon (where he'll need to go to find more about the pale lady) is locked. As he waits for an opportune moment to try to unlock this door, the same bald-headed guard who had arrested him two days before is now in his face again.

"A little bird told me that you've been asking around town about Glarthir. Our resident 'eccentric'. I'd like to know why."

This catches the Weet Bandit off-guard. After spending two days in jail he had forgotten all about Glarthir, especially with the Nord's stories about the pale lady chasing him to sleep. Glarthir the elf probably had moved on from Kahreem and his neighbor, Bernadette Peneles, by now.

"I have nothing to say on the matter," he says to Dion.

"It is my business. Allow me to introduce myself: Captain Dion of the Count's Guard, at your service.. Now, you were telling me why you're interested in Glarthir..."

"No I wasn't. No offense, but you seem hard-of-hearing, Sir Dion. That's one thing I never told you." *

Dion glares at the Redguard. "Fine. Play it that way. Let me give you some friendly advice. Glarthir is crazy. Maybe harmless crazy, maybe not. Don't get involved with him. If he asks you to do anything.... strange... you come see me first, got it? Or any of the town guard. Let us handle it."

"Okay, I will do that," Kahreem lies. He has no intention of informing the guard at all. But now that Dion has told Kahreem all about Glarthir, Kahreem realizes something important. Glarthir had offered him gold. "You like gollllld, don't you?" he had said. And Kahreem had completed his task for Glarthir. He had spied on this 'Bernadette' woman. So Glarthir owed him something, at least.

He makes a mental note to see if the 'crazy elf' might show behind the chapel at midnight, and then begins carefully picking the lock into the Skingrad dungeons.

*



10:12 AM
He breaks just two lockpicks, but makes it inside the dungeon. Makes his way down a corridor and turns right, then follows the steps downward, where he meets Skingrad's Jailor. He tries to walk past the jailor instead opening the door that leads to the jail cells. But it is locked.

"Morning, sir."

"May I pass? It's raining outside, and I am already missing the comforts of my former jail cell."

"We'll see..."

After a stilted, off-balance conversation, the jailor refusing to let the Redguard by, the subject of money comes up, and Kahreem offers gold to the jailor. 50 gold to be exact.

"50 gold is a bit of a blow, I am a lowly grape-picker after all. Fresh mountain air and all that. But here. Take it."

"Naw, but it will earn ya two years in Skingrad's dungeon. Now get lost before I decide to report ya."

With no other option, Kahreem decides to try buttering up the guard with tales of his grape-picking exploits. Goblin attacks. The endless pursuit to produce the perfect grape....

"Such adventure. How I envy you...."

The man will not budge on the issue of the dungeons though. "You think that's funny?" he asks, when Karheem tries to make a joke about a Redguard guard from Bravil. Although he will not let Kahreem by, in the process of speaking to the jailor, the jailor softens up a bit. The migrant wine picker seems friendly enough, after all.

"Say, that man down there, the Nord I was staying with. He mentioned something about a pale lady. Scared me half to death!"

"Mina? You don't want to go asking about her. She ... um ... interviews prisoners. She isn't one to be crossed."

Mina Kahreem thinks. She has a name. She also sounds more like a person, and not a fokkinge ghost.

But this leads him nowhere. A dead end. And he has a job, a commitment, to the Thieves Guild. So before he knows it, he's got his lockpick kit out, and picks the 4-tumbler lock leading into the dungeons. It's an expert move, really some of his finest thievery, absolutely no lockpicks get broken. But ... there is a problem.

"STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM! Nobody breaks the law on MY watch. I'm confiscating your stolen goods, now pay your fine, or it's off to jail..."

The 'fine' is just 5 gold, easily affordable. After paying it, Kahreem is escorted back place he began his day: outside of Skingrad's castle, on the bridge.



But this is not a problem. The Weet Bandit already picked the lock into Skingrad's dungeons, after all. Maybe he can just walk inside. So he returns to the dungeons, walks by the same jailor as before, and is greeted by a 4-tumbler lock at the dungeon's door.

"FOKKE!"

"What seems to be the problem?"

Somehow, the answer seems to be inside the dungeon itself, Kahreem thinks. He must get back inside. But then just as he is about to pick the lock all over again, he remembers the beggars. The 'eyes and ears of the Thieves Guild', so to say. He leaves the dungeon, and returns to Skingrad, in search of yet another fokkinge beggar.

It feels good drinking ice-cold Nuka Coca-Cola and reading about Kahreem. Nice story, love the 1st shot! On a side note, I think that the jailor is the only person in the entire game that mentions Pale Lady's name.

This quest feels like a huge mystery that's going to take some time to figure on my part. Can't get down into the dungeons. This cannot be done. Beggars don't mention anything about Mina or a pale lady (I tried just after finishing the story). So I'm kinda stumped. No spoilers though! I'm not jumping on UESP, I'm going to figure this.

Why is it that whenever I read about Kahreem, the word "jail" is always present...

Ha ha ha yeah you know? I don't know what it's like in Europe, but in America a lot of wayward teens have absolutely no fear of jail. They brag about going to jail. Kahreem's not this bad, but if he lived on Earth chances are he'd be one of these teens, minus all the humor.

Tirdas, 11:06 AM, Sun's Dawn 5, 4th Era 5

"Any friend of the Society is a friend of mine. What can I do for you?"

"Perchance, might I gaze upon your selection of herbs, roots, and flowers?"

Lady Saga spends the next seven hours inside of The Main Ingredient, Ogier Georick only too glad to assist. "You bought that for a song!" he says, pleased as all. He has seen this one before. This blond Bosmer with the Valenwood accent. She had been coming in his shop now for years, always buying a small hoarde of ingredients. Lots and lots of ingredients. That's why they called Ogier's shop 'The Main Ingredient', after all.

"Ahh, scamp's skin. Dried and ready for confluence."

"I let that go too cheaply".

"Oh, do not be of dalliance, Breton. My gold is as good as any, I am of supposing. Nor am I to make bickering, as so many others of no doubting can impose. Yes?"

Aerin from Valenwood can remember long ago, when she was new to Cyrodiil. Not the adventuring, not the exploring, but her everyday life in general. She had had constant feelings of lonliness back then; it seemed nobody but Erthor would dare to join her, nobody would leave their city's walls, and Erthor had only done so reluctantly. She had been especially disappointed by nearly every Bosmer she had met; it seemed as if all of them had lost their heritage.

All of them had become 'Cyrodiilized'. That is what she had called them. Cyrodiilized. Each and every one of them seemed to have lost their spirit and verve; that certain livliness which could be felt from a native of Valenwood was gone in these 'Cyrodiilized' wood elves. But times had changed. Times had changed, indeed. The Bosmer of Cyrodiil hadn't changed, but Aerin herself certainly had.

With over 4,000 gold in Cyrodiil's new bank, Aerin could comfortably hire somebody to follow her, and Maglir (a fellow wood elf from Skingrad) had fit this bill grandly. Trained in heavy armor, sword-play, and (best of all) various destruction magics, Maglir had become .... a rather good friend to Aerin. When the two of them had a third person with them by the name of Modryn Oren, they had been even stronger. But Modryn had demanded gold at a crucial time, when Aerin was unable to locate a bank to pay him. His contract had ended, and he had left. But when Maglir's contract ended, he had stayed. He was a true friend, then.

"How goes it?"

Lady Saga, aka Aerin from Valenwood, spends the next seven hours in Ogier's shop, crushing ingredients and brewing potions. She walks out then to a rainy day, ready for more traipses among the wilds of Cyrodiil. But her business here in the Imperial City is nowhere near to being done.


6:54 PM

"Good to see you again? Shall I escort you upstairs to see my master?"

"You shall. I have a thing a viewing for him, indeed."

"Very well. Follow me."

Soft music plays in the lobby of Umbacano's manor. The lobby is sparsely, yet tastefully, decorated. Saga notices an orc stands guard at the lobby's front door, and walks past this orc with a grunt. She may have accepted the fact that Bosmer living here in Cyrodiil are as gentrified as can be, but orcs with citizenry? This is another matter altogether.

"Ahh, the treasure hunter. Please, have a sea-t."



As always, Umbacano the Altmer is nose-deep into a book. Doing research. The man seemed to do more research than anybody Saga had ever met, including those in the Arcane University.

"I have found something of interest, you might want to gaze upon. If you are not of remembrance?"

"Ahhh, my treasure-hunting friend. What can I do for you?"

"I did make seekings for this place you spoke of several weeks past. Of the name Malada. And indeed, I did make locating of the carving. This carving, as you can make viewing upon. Well, upon departing from the ruins known to us as Malada, and to others as the High Fane, I was .... ehmm.... 'greeted' by a man who attempted surprise upon my person, and when--"

But Umbacano gets impatient, and is not interested in hearing this. "Yes, you learned that it is the ruin now known as Malada," he butts her mid-sentence. "Were you able to recover the carving yet?"

"Well, as I was making mention toward, yes I do have it."

"Wonderful!" he says, making Saga feel a little elated inside. He had interrupted her sentence, but she still feels a certain elan as the elf praises: "You are indeed a treasure hunter of exceptional talents! Here is your reward as promised!"

"I ... I...."

"Normally I would give you a chance to celebrate your success, but I do have another task for you, if you are interested. A rather urgent one. "

"Of urgentcy? .. Of what do you speak?"

"This is not quite in your usual line of work, but I hope you can help me just the same."

"Yes. Please," she says, eager to see where this is going. Umbacano had just handed her 800 gold, though she was not so much in love with this precious metal as what she could do with it.

"A rival collector has an item whihc I very much want to add to my collection. But she stubbornly refuses to consider any of my offers."

"She?" Saga had expected the word 'he'. Not 'she'. Claude Maric, the man who had attacked her and her two companions. Of course, it might also be possible that this lady (whoever she is) might be of association with Claude.

"She and I have had our differences over the years, I admit. Now she is taking this opportunity to get her revenge. I believe that you may be able to persuade her to part with the item, where I cannot due to her prejudice against me. Are you interested?"

Saga nods approval. And more gold is passed her way from Umbacano. This time, a thousand gold; ten 100-pieces. The man means what he says.

"Very good. I hope you willl succeed where I have so far failed."

So am I of hoping, thinks Saga. So am I.

Umbacano then tells the Bosmer before him that a lady by the name of Herminia Cinna is also as interested in Ayleid antiquities as he himself is, however, she is not nearly as savvy and learned. The Altmer's words are laced with sarcasm, as he metions that Cinna is in possession of an artifact known as the Crown of the Ayleids. And that SHE (Lady Saga) is the one who must retrieve this item from her.

"And what of this 'Crown of the Ayleids? What of its historical factoring?"

"Reputedly the crown worn by the last king of the Ayleids. It deserves to be part of my collection."

Saga catches her tongue. And how can this stand of being? she almost asks. Umbacano has seemed to have changed before her eyes; going from the passionate, avid collector she knows to one who is a touch arrogant, and demanding. She thinks of mentioning the wrongfulness his tone of voice suddenly seems to bear, but ... she's already in too deep. Is she to actually make persuasion toward this lady named Cinna, whom she has never met?

As Umbacano rambles on about the last King of the Ayleids, Saga's mind wanders and confuses. And after listening to him for another half-hour more, she makes her way back to the Tiber Septim, where she pays for her room, has a meal of strawberries, bread, and a tomato, then makes her way to her bed, where she falls grandly into Cyrodiilic slumber.

Glad to see Lady Saga getting on well with Maglir - Cyrodiil's a dangerous place when alone.

Umbacano. . . . sounds like trouble.

Ha ha yeah, I forgot about that part. Umbacano is ... there's something about him that rubs us the wrong way. Saga met with Cinna. And Saga sensed nothing about Cinna that seems untoward, so she didn't pressure the woman too much. But it's funny because I'm just realizing Umbacano gave Saga all that gold, and my elf is choosing to find the other Ayleid crown, which is in a place called Lindai. This means she still has Umbacano's gold!

My sincere thanks to Saga for taking me back to the days of hunting Ayleid treasures! Lothran refuses to speak to me about it....

Buffy's sold nine of them to Umbacano. She has the tenth one decorating her apartment at the University.

You are welcome, mirocu. And Saga's up to 6 statues. UESP said something like I shouldn't start Secrets of the Ayleids unless Saga's found all 10 statues, but I already started this quest. Oh well. I was hoping this is something which gets 'fixed' by the UOP, but it seems the game's simply programmed this way.

She's gonna keep an eye out for the remaining 4 statues, just in case UESP is wrong.

I think it's a question of not finishing that quest, rather than not starting it. If you finish it, there's nobody to buy the statues. Just don't give Umbacano either crown until you have all 10 paid for. He doesn't stop buying them until he dies, even if you have the crown(s) in your inventory - and yes, you can have both!

Ahh, Good to know. I haven't read past a certain point at UESP, and I'm not gonna, but it sounds like eventually Umbacano's benevolence doesn't last forever. Interesting.

Well despite Umbacano's urgent tone of voice, my elf doesn't see much reason for urgency. She's not following Umbacano's orders, after all, she's taking Herminia Cinna's advice, and eventually going to Lindai. She's been wanting to go to Kvatch, actually. I did a few things there, so it should be interesting. Saga saw an Oblivion gate for the first time ('cause I fast-forwarded the Main Quest a bit, and a few gates managed to sneak into her game before I stopped this), and after seeing one, she's curious about Kvatch. So she'll go there, and what's going to happen is it will hopefully look like a ruined town. No gate, no people, just a burned-out husk of a town.

I installed a Kvatch mod, I forget which one, but this mod allows several stages of growth for a 4th Era Kvatch. It would make sense that after seeing an actual gate that my elf would naturally get curious to see where it all started, now that she knows that it's safer there than it was back in the 3rd Era.

Sundas, 11:51 PM, Evening Star 9, 3rd Era 433

Glarthir the Paranoid is rooted behind Skingrad's chapel, the Great Chapel of Julianos, as the bell tolls twelve.

Midnight. Foiled again.

Glarthir paces back and forth, careful not to make too much noise. There is no rain tonight, which means his footsteps might easily be heard. And that would be the first step, he thinks. The first step towards THEM getting a better hand on ME. This cannot ever happen! .. Still, after all his planning and all his guile, he is no closer to finding out if THEY are watching him, waiting and watching his every move....

He had approached yet another prospect tonight; this one a swarthy-skinned woman with a sly smile. She had called herself 'Eradi~Kate'. Strange name. Kate seemed eager to take the job. But then... nothing. Nobody. The bell tolls twelve, and there is nobody here. Eradi~Kate, whoever she was, had been the latest to disappoint Glarthir, as he -- OH! Somebody is here! Who could it be!

"Heyforth to you, Bosmer. And apologies for not making it here sooner. You have no idea, the demanding schedule of a guard, especially one appointed in service to Count Caro himself," he says, not realizing Count Caro is in Leyawiin, not Bravil.

Glarthir gazes upon the Redguard before him. He's returned! This ... is quite an honor. He feels elation, but keeps his exterior cool. Speaking all business, Glarthir says: "So, you saw Bernadette Peneles, did you? She WAS watching me and following me, wasn't she?"

Kahreem wonders if it's okay to lie to the elf before him, the elf wearing foppish clothes. He could lie, and possibly make lots of gold. But he's been doing good so far at not lying. Not to those who pay him, anyways. Plus, he had spent ... hours outside of Bernadette's place. And had seen nothing out of the ordinary. What if this is some sort of trick? .. What if Glarthir is merely testing me, to see if I am worthy of other tasks?

"I .. you know ... I cannot say I saw anything much with that woman. That Bernadette woman. She picks grapes. That's it, that is all. She's a grape-picker. A little dull-witted, if you ask me. I don't think you have to worry about her. Because the thing is--"

"Really ? ... That is surprising," Glarthir interrupts. "I was SURE she was watching me."

"Well, she was not. And I stood outside her place for eight fokkinge hours in the rain," he lies. He had stood in the rain maybe two before Bernadette showed up. "Eight hours, and nothing. I could have slept in my bed, elf. Slept all damn day if I had wanted. So listen. I did my part, now it's your turn to fork over some gold."

"Ah, of course. The gold. Here!" Glarthir intones, handing over 150 gold. Kahreem is surprised by this. He trusts this man much less than he trusts a beggar, yet Glarthir has come through. *clink* "Okay," Glarthir continues. "There is someone else I need you to investigate."

"Oh? There is?"

Karheem remembers the words of ... well, several people he has spoken to, all of them saying the same thing, that Glarthir is crazy. Not to be trusted. Paranoid and possibly dangerous. But the elf had just fattened up Kahreem's manpurse, just when its bulge was starting to sag. Can't ignore that.

"Toutius Sextius, do you know him?"

"I do not."

"A quiet fellow, appears harmless enough, but I've identified him as one of my key suspects."

"Um. You have? How?"

"He's a clever one, no doubt about it. Eyes in the back of his head, always seems to know when I'm watching. But that's where you come in."

"It is? ... I mean, yes. It is. Go on."

"You should wait outside his house, and see what he does when he's not watching me. I'll meet you here tomorrow night to get your report."

"Okay. Well, what of this ... Tootoolus Sexyus?" Kahreem asks cautiously. One thing about crazy folk, you never knew what might upset them. "What do you expect him to do when he's not watching you?"

"He lives in the large house between the Low Gate and the East Bridge. Alone -- suspicious, don't you think?"

"Those loners!" Kahreem replies, getting into the spirit. He can already taste the gold he'll be given. "Always the loners, those are the ones!"

Glarthir says nothing to this.

"Well, what of Bernadette? Are you satisfied that she's not the one?"

"I still can hardly believe she wasn't watching me. But it is a relief to be able to finally stop worrying about her."

"MM humm. I think this Sexyus guy is one to watch for, for sure. Ha! What kind of a man is named Tootoolus, anyways? I will let you know how it all turns out," Kahreem says, thinking of nothing other than the big pile of Septims he'll be rolling in tomorrow night. He might just throw these Septims all over the rented bed in his room, then roll around in them.

"Don't let Toutius Sexius catch you following him. He's much more dangerous than he looks!"

"Yeah, and he's an Imperial, too! Those loner Imperials! THEY are the ones, aren't they?"

But Glarthir is already walking away, smugly satisfied. Kahreem watches him go, then decides to scour the town, looking for the door of this Tootooleus man.



Morndas, 11:02 AM
The next morning Kahreem feels that he awakes a bit late. The sun seems to already be heading toward afternoon; there's a chance he may have missed this Tootoolus guy altogether. He decides he'd be best-off wearing his Bravil Guard Outfit, dresses in full guard's armor, and heads outside.



It's a glorious day outside. Cool but sunny. Kahreem checks his head, trying to remember the streets he took to find Tootous's house, when Glarthir the Crazy walks just yards in front of Kahreem.



But he knows the rule. Don't speak to Glarthir in public. So he does not do this. Instead he walks forward, makes a left, and passes the chapel. Then he makes another left, and crosses one of Skingrad's bridges. Tootoolus lives in a grand cornermanor, just like Glarthir. Feeling somewhat foolish, Kahreem picks a spot across the street from the Imperial's house, and begins standing guard, waiting for a chance to see this Tootooleus in action.

He waits. And he waits. ... "Fokke. This is what it's like to be a fokkinge guard," he says after a mere half hour.

Finally, he sees someone who might be able to help. A beggar. The beggar is standing in the middle of the street in front of Tootooleus's home, begging, of course. But Kahreem gets an idea. Chances are this Tootooleus guy might not even be home, so Kahreem decides he'll have a little friendly chat, in an attempt to find out.

"How goes it?"

"One more coin and I can get a pair of shoes," says Foul Fagus.

"Uh huh. Yeah. Shoes. You definitely need those. So how long have you been 'saving up' for these shoes, beggar? I can git a pair of deerskins for just two fokkinge Septims, ya know?"

Unfortunately, Fagus has nothing to say on the subject of shoes, caught off-guard on that one. Usually they don't get smart like that. Fagus has even less to say about the Imperial who lives in the corner house. Kahreem can't ask the guy if he's seen Fagus spying on Glarthir of course, so he merely asks the foul man if he's seen Tootoolus or not. And the beggar looks at him strangely, says nothing, but wonders why a Redguard dressed in Bravil armor is here in Skingrad.

On the subject of the pale lady, Kahreem has better luck. Fagus informs him that there's an orc who might be able to help him make some headway with this matter. He tells Kahreem to head over to the Colovian Trader, where the orc often frequents midday.

"Uh, thanks." Kahreem says, before going back to his 'post' for just one more hour. But it's too dreadfully boring, pretending to be a guard. He sees no sign of the man he's supposed to watch for, and the man's lock is too difficult (a 4 tumbler) to risk a set of lockpicks on. Kahreem decides to head over to the Colovian Trader, but then sees an orc pass right by him in the street. Could this be the orc he's supposed to speak to? .. There aren't many orcs in Skingrad.

"Why aren't you working?" asks the orc, after the Redguard catches up to him. Kahreem is careful to catch up to the orc after he has passed through one of the town's gates. Better to avoid a guard overhearing their conversation.

"Why aren't I working? Where's the fokkinge dungeon, melord? 'Tis where I was assigned. As ye can see, I've got me armor on, all polished an' ready! Yea I know it's Bravil armor ... hey .... complain to the Watch Captain, eh?"

"I need someone to slop food to the prisoners," the orc ignores. "I'll pay you 2 gold a week, plus half a loaf of bread and a glass of mead each day."

"TWO GOLD? ... I mean two gold? A week? Well, that's quite a cut in pay, I usually make a Septim a day, you see. But, times'r tough. And perhaps 'tis my calling to slop some food, eh?"

Kahreem doesn't like where this is going, but he's willing to try anything at this point. He notices the job the orc has offered will give him access to prisoners, after all. Perhaps one of these prisoners can help him find the Pale Lady, whoever the fokke she is.

"I'm having trouble hiring these days," says the orc. "So if you want the job, it's yours.

Kahreem almost laughs at this. Of course you're having trouble hiring, who the fokke would want to take a job paying less than a guard's wages? Even beggars make more gold! "Why yes, melord. I shall take this job."

"You will? I mean ha ha ... good! heh. .... Mind your manners in the castle. Stay out of Count Hassildor's quarters. And don't let me catch you in the wine cellar! The jail guards in the dungeon will unlock the cell block door if you ask them. Feed the prisoners once a day. I don't care when."

"Oh, certainly sire. You won't regret my ability to serve slop to the prisoners of Skingrad!"

"Get back to work!" the orc says, dismissing Kahreem entirely.

I guess Kahreem never realized that being a Weet bandit could be such hard work!

And we even got Eradi~Kate to make a cameo here...

Love the conversation between Glarthir and Kahreem!

Nice story, I'm looking forward to how will both of these quests conclude.

Hey thanks! .. Overall I think Skingrad is going way better than Leyawiin did. Remember all those false starts and getting caught and not being able to find the damn ring, or the correct person to speak to? Skingrad's not so bad in comparison.

Renee, when Glarthir thought This… is quite an honor I laughed out loud. Love it!

How funny that Kahreem is getting a taste of a guard’s life. Yay, he found a way in!

I think my fave quote is this: "Oh, certainly sire. You won't regret my ability to serve slop to the prisoners of Skingrad!" ... like serving slop is an ability to be proud of.

This week's regularly scheduled program, "The Adventures of Kahreem of Weet', will not be showing. Kahreem will be scheduled next week. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Turdas, 8:48 am Heartfire 6, 4th Era Year 20

Renee Gade III

Birthsign: The Lady
Class: Warrior Princess
Level: 2

Days Passed: 11
Active Quests: 4
Quests Cmptd: 2


It is early in the morning when Renee and her knight companion Winden return to the Arena, after spending the night in the King and Queen Tavern. There is nobody manning the gate yet, and the newcomer from Skyrim is not sure if she needs to speak to the Bosmer who had been here the previous day or not.

"Nobody here yet, Winden."

Renee finds herself smiling, as she thinks about what she's planning on doing today. Gabrielle, her faithful companion (also from Skyrim) had been left behind once again, this time in the King and Queen. Although Gabrielle was good, she was a little too much to have around sometimes. And having Winden, this young, eager knight-for-hire at her side, so green, yet so mean, is refreshing.

"Okay, here he comes."

The hour is mid-morning, as the Bosmer returns to his post. He recognizes Renee from the day before. Since she is wearing the same purple armor as yesterday, it's pretty hard not to recognize her.

"Ahh, another happy spectator! You of course want to bet on a fight! ... Who will it be this time, the Blue Team, or the Yellow Team?"

"See now that is where you are wrong, Bosmer," Renee says with a smirk. "I'm not here to bet on a fight like yesterday. I actually want to BE the one fighting."

"Oh! Sorry, I .... I just assumed. Well if there's anything else I can do for you, please just ask."

"As I said, I want to participate. In a fight. As a gladiator. I am ready for a match."

"If, by any chance, you are interested in actually fighting in the Arena, you need to head down to the Bloodworks and speak with Owyn, the Blademaster. Just head through the door here on my right and take the stairs down. Be on your best behavior, though. Owyn is a bit ... cranky by nature."

"Thank you."

As Renee does just as she's told, heading down the stairs on her right, she realizes bringing Winden is probably not allowed.

"Listen."

"I hope I can help," he says in his burly Nordic voice.

"Perhaps it is best if you wait here. Wouldn't want to anger this 'Owyn Junior' now, would we?"

Winden does as he is told.




9:42 am
The area she finds herself in is known as the Arena's Bloodworks. Renee hears lots of clinks and blows from below, people sparring and practicing for their big match, she supposes. She walks down some stairs, makes a right, and finds herself in a room separated into two sections. She initially does not see this "Owyn", but she finds a woman sitting nearby.

"I look for Owyn, and you are not him."

"And who in Oblivion's name are ye?" this lady asks with an aggressive tone. "If you want to bet on a match, go upstairs and talk to the gatekeeper. And if you're one of those idiots who thinks they have something to prove in the Arena, go over and talk to Owyn."

"Well. Thanks for nothing," Renee replies. Being an Imperial who was raised in Skyrim, Renee had heard her share of rudeness. "But I can find the man myself." And she does indeed. There's a Redguard standing on the other end of the curved alcove she's in.



"I'm a busy man, what is it?"

"You must be Owyn."

"I don't know who you are friend, but you've got about ... ten seconds to tell me what you're doing in my Bloodworks before I lop your arms off."

This comment catches Renee off-guard, and she finds her self giggling at the man's attitude. "Lop my arms off? Is that the best you can come up with? I'll lop your HEAD off! .. But I'd rather not do that, seeing as how you're the one in charge down here. How about I lop a combatant's head off, instead?"

"You what? You want to be a combatant? Hahahahaa! Look at you! My GRANNY could beat you, and she's DEAD!"

"Doesn't surprise me, especially if she had a mouth like yours."

"Wait, you're serious, aren't you?"

"I am still standing here, am I not?"

"What is it with you people? You walk in, want to be combatants, and your entrails end up decorating my Red Room."

Renee thinks about her mother at that moment. Her entrails had apparently not ended up 'decorating this so-called Red Room,' whatever that is.

"All right. It's your funeral. Welcome to the Arena, you filthy Pit Dog. You're free to fight, as long as you know the rules of competition.... Now let me give your battle raiment. It's the uniform of all Arena combatants. Do you want a Light Raiment or a Heavy Raiment?"

"I cannot wear my own armor?" she asks, motioning toward the purple leather she's got on, the one which had been stolen by a madman after her first night in Bruma several weeks ago. That man had paid. "Very well then. This suit that I wear is light, but I will choose heavy. So heavy raiments, then."

"Here. Wear it proudly. And keep it in good condition, would you? That way I can give it to some other suicidal idiot after you're dead."

"Ha! ......... Keep that thought in mind when I come back here to collect my compensation."

After a fumbling set of moments, when Renee tells Owyn she's ready for a match, and he nearly screamed at her "Ready? You call that ready?...." Renee did indeed get ready for battle. She finds a safe place to change from one set of armor to another, where the Arena staff (for some reason) keeps a live warthog, and then returns to Owyn. The man had chided her a bit, but otherwise, she was now officially a member of the Arena's Blue Team.

"All right, maggot. Looks like you're suited up in your Battle Raiment and all set to go. The Red Room is just over there. When you're ready to get eviscerated, just head up the ramp to the Arena. Good luck, and may Azura have mercy on your soul."

"Eviscerated? Such tough talk. Get ready to hand over that gold, Redguard scum."

Renee makes her way out of the Red Room, up a large ramp, where she would soon prove her worth.

Aaah, the joys of making friends with Owyn. Ms Gade sure has some fun talk to look forward to

That's one thing I'm good at is making funny conversations.

It’s always fun to hear about the Warrior Princess! I love her response to Owyn Junior’s lop-your-arms-off remark. RG3’s attitude and comments are awesome.


Darnand and Jerric spent a few hours at Olaf’s waiting for Bruma’s top investigator to meet them. Arnora’s name came up again while they were waiting. Darnand could tell that they were going to have to meet her after they finished helping Bruma’s law enforcement with the vampire killer caper. He hopes that the Nord might take this Arnora’s troubles on by himself. Darnand has a lot of questions for Countess Carvain about her collection. He would like to spend time in the (warm and dry) castle, not some hovel on the wrong side of Bruma.

The investigator sent them on a trek through the snow. Jerric got distracted from their path several times by the well-dressed banditry of Bruma’s hill country. (Darnand is a classic Mage class and so levels up a lot. I expect the bandits will be wearing solid gold by the time he gets a re-start.) Darnand stayed on target with his magical map. He found the ruin of the Ayleid city Rielle exactly where it should be. He gave Jerric’s back a little smirk while the Nord was cleaning wolf blood from his blade. This errand would not be wasted even if they failed to catch the fake vampire hunter. Darnand cannot resist an Ayleid ruin, and Jerric cannot resist a good smiting opportunity. Darnand anticipates returning to Rielle before they get involved in some local woman’s boyfriend trouble.

The villain Dralas confronted them in his stinking, waterlogged hideaway with what Darnand thought was a fair bit of nerve considering Darnand had an armored Nord and an idling daedroth at his back. The man’s speech lasted longer than the fight. After they searched the cave and dried out their boots they exited to find themselves in a downpour. Darnand cast his Shield spell to keep the rain off on the way back to town. He hasn’t made his custom rain spell yet since he still does not have access to the Arcane University.

After the widow Erline said the magic word and gifted them with a lovely and useful jeweled amulet they made a round of the shops and then headed back to the Mages Guild. Darnand picked up a Charm spell to save himself the trouble of sweet-talking merchants in the future. The main topic of conversation at dinner was mudcrabs. J’skar announced that he had seen one the other day. Darnand wondered where in the heck a mudcrab could be found in the gods-forsaken Jeralls, but that remark might have led to a conversation so he kept it to himself.

Darnand spent the next day at the guild hall studying their resource material and mixing up some potions. He’s not sure what Jerric got up to during those hours, but the Nord caused a bit of embarrassment by passing out on the floor just as Darnand began to talk to Volanaro before dinner. (He really just went unconscious and keeled over. I have no idea why.) Darnand got him back on his feet with the Convalesce spell he keeps in the front of his mind (hotkeyed). No one said anything about it, but Darnand decided to leave Jerric behind tomorrow when he goes to chat with the Countess.

I´m sorry, Grits. But it just feels so wrong to read about Bruma and snow now..

It's summer snow.

Good idea to leave Jerric behind. It would not do to have him pass out drunk on the Countess' carpet!

Lady Renee, the Pit Dog!


Darnand encountering high level bandits in gold armor!

Yeah, Renee's a pit dog. But she shall rise, methinks. She shall rise.

Middas, 8:19 AM, Evening Star 12, 3rd Era 433

... "You hardly seem worth talking to."

This statement startles the Redguard fully. He had just woken up, left his room at the inn, started to walk towards the chapel outside, and had not expected anybody to speak to him in such a fashion. As Kahreem of Weet glances toward the woman with the short-cropped hair who makes this statement, he realizes the woman is none other than Bernadette Peneles. Kahreem says nothing to her in reply.

.... "Out of the way, slop drudge."

That one is from a guard.

"News travels fast," says the Redguard to himself.

Within just hours of taking the job from the orc, it seems all the guards in Skingrad now know who he is. Good thing he is not wearing his Bravil guard's uniform at this moment. Instead he's got an ordinary set of townie clothes on his person. His plans for the day are to (1) do some more spying on Sexius Tootleus, or whatever the man's name is. The man Glarthir thinks is spying on him. Then, assuming Kahreem got bored with this, he would (2) head on up to the castle, where he would begin serving slop to the prisoners of Skingrad.



"My first real job," he muses.


9:45 AM
He takes his post, the same post he had taken the day before while pretending to be a guard, out in front of Toutius Sextius's house. The morning is quiet, and Kahreem sees nobody coming or going from the Imperial's house. Nobody. At one point, Glarthir himself walks calmly across the street, right in front of Kahreem. Glarthir walks somewhat in circles, in the middle of the street, as though he's confused about something. And at no point does the Redguard notice anybody following the crazy, paranoid elf. Just when Kahreem thinks the elf is going to walk away, Glarthir paces straight towards him, and glowers....

"Can't you see I'm busy!"

"Do I know you, sir?"

Glarthiir continues to glower, even though the Redguard had not spoken a word to him first. He really is crazy! ... Kahreem decides that maybe it's best to follow Glarthir himself for awhile, just to see for sure if the elf is being followed, as he claims. This would be far more interesting than standing across a man's house, staring at his door. Kahreem starts to tail Glarthir, and for the next two hours walks all over Skingrad. He does not notice anybody following Glarthir, nor anything suspicious at all. Ironically, Kahreem winds up playing the role of the very sort of person Glarthir fears: the role of a stalker.



Occasionally Kahreem sees a man walking on the street. Assuming this man looks to be Imperial, or Breton or Nordic, the Redguard then stops to have a quick chat with this person. At no point does he ever meet anybody named Toutius Sextius.


3:20 PM
Bored out of his mind, the former Redguard bandit from West Weald decides he's done stalking around Skingrad. Glarthir is crazy. Nuts as can be. There's no doubt about it. He does nothing all day but walk around in circles, and nobody is following the man except Kahreem.

Enough with Glarthir. He decides he'll head on over to the West Weald Inn for a bite to eat, after which he makes his way to the castle. This eats up two more hours. By the time he gets to the castle it's nearing 6 PM, and Kahreem fears he could be late for his very first day on the job. He has no idea when supper is for the prisoners, even though he's been in jail many times himself. It's not like slop drudges ever announced what time it was when they served food, after all.

"How fares thee?"

"Out of the way, slop drudge," says a guard as Kahreem enters the jailor's area.

"But you cannot turn me away sire, for can't you see? I am the new slop drudge. You just said so yourself. I work here now! .. So where's my key? And where are my work clothes?"

"They oughta just give you guys a key. But no. I have to keep locking and unlocking the door for the slop drudges," says the guard with disgust. "Follow me."

"Certainly. As you wish."

The guard walks down a corridor of steps which turns right, left, and left again. Kahreem finds himself in the very room with the jailor sitting behind his desk. He smirks at the jailor, as if to say you could have opened the very same door for me, and earned some gold for your effort. But now look at ya! The guard opens the door straight into the area Kahreem needs to go. He walks in.

"Man. First day on the job," he says. "Can't wait to ... uh ... slop some drudge. I mean drudge some slop. Just you wait and see guards, I'm the best slop-drudger in all Cyrodiil. That orc made one good choice in hiring this Redguard."

Kahreem then walks through the door to the prison cells, and closes it behind him.


6:44 PM

"You must be the new slop drudge," says a Nord behind the first set of bars Kahreem approaches.

"That I am sir. Now... would you care to have slop from the very top of my bucket, or the very bottom? The bottom of the bucket is our specialty today."

The Nord takes Kahreem's advice, and accepts some slop from the bucket's bottom. "Excellent choice sire, if I do say so myself...." The two begin to speak while the Nord slops it up. Unfortunately, the Nord, whose name is Larthjar the Laggard, has nothing of importance to say when Kahreem asks him anything about a pale lady, or a man named Theranis. Kahreem cannot tell if Larthjar the Laggard enjoys his slop or not.

"Don't let the gaurds catch you!" Larthjar warns.

Kahreem walks to the next set of bars, which is unoccupied, and locked with a 4-tumbler. So he walks further to a third set of bars. These are unlocked, and there is nobody inside this cell, either.

"Now what am I going to do with all this fokkinge slop?"

In frustration, he spills some on the prison's floor, and notices something strange on it. A blood trail! The trail leads to (what he discerns) to be a sort of door, right in the wall. Attempts to push this door, and it doesn't budge. Then he turns to his right, and notices a set of candles hanging from the wall.

"Seems strange. Candles right here in a jail cell, and they're unlit."

Kahreem's intuition kicks into high, and he realizes .. that the candles are actually some sort of lever. He can see this! He tries to move the candles and voila, the hidden door before him begins to open. He peers inside. Behind the door is a tunnel which curves down into darkness. The Weet Bandit cannot see what is ahead, but he makes a bold decision. He'll go back to his room at the inn, and change into his Bravil guard's suit.

"Because there's no fokkinge way I'm going down THERE without some protection. Fokke that."

You are in for a treat Renee. I think the Thieves Guild was my favorite questline in Oblivion. The last three or four quests really have an epic feel. They made me feel like I really was a master thief pulling off the heist of a lifetime.

How exciting for you, Renee. I'll echo SubRosa in commending the TG questline. It is the only questline in OB that I actually enjoy taking all the way to the end. As SubRosa said, the last few quests almost have an epic feel. And best of all, the questline is ultimately a love story. You'll see.

Part of that has to be that the last quest alone is longer than some other quest-lines.

I couldn't get enough. I had to write more quests!

Awesome. Yeah, a friend told me this part is where TG really gets good. I have no idea what's about to happen, which is really cool.

Renee, I so hope that after you finish the TG, you'll tell us what you think of the questline. I'm very curious to see if you agree with us.

Ooh! The plot thickens for the bandit of Weet!

Great stuff Renee, love that Kahreem.

After 145hrs of Hess in SR, it's time to return to OB.my newest explorer:

Gilith

Altmer
Sign; Mage
Class; Collector (of antiquities)
Favorites; strength and endurance
Specialization; magic
Majors; acrobatics
restoration
destruction
armor
alteration
mercantile
speechcraft
Since Gilith won’t be using a bow; mostly depending on her knowledge of magic, and a blade- she had taken some classes in edge fighting while at university- the GOTC has replaced marksman with alteration, and blocking with armor (which should be kept under control since she’s wearing no armor and only carries one blade).

===================================================
Gilith, a collector and dealer in antiquities, stood on the dock in Anvil watching the last of her trade goods being carted off to Lelles' Quality Merchandise over on the main wharf, and looking around for her friend Rjavyn who may by chance had seen or heard about her ship arriving, and might appear.

Rjavyn had written Gilith a letter describing the abundance of Ayleid ruins on the main land of Tamriel and suggested if Gilith had nothing better to do, to join her.

Gilith was aware of the distrustful attitude some of her peers had towards Rjavyn; first a Nord, than a self-proclaimed treasure hunter, both of which rankled the nerves of some of her fellow collectors, but Gilith considered her a friend- a friendship born of mutual respect earned while saving each other’s lives during some dangerous exploration in Skyrim where Gilith had joined Rjavyn originally for mutual security.

Noticing one of her own kind fuming on the deck of the ship across from hers, Gilith walked over to talk. She turned out to be the captain of the ship and had a little problem with Ghosts. Gilith assumed the captain had spent more time learning seamanship than magic because as far as Gilith was concerned ghosts were not all that hard to deal with; of course Gilith reminded herself that looking for antiquities had given her a bit of experience on handling ghosts, so offered her help. The captain was very relieved, so much so that on top of letting her keep anything Gilith found and could take away from the ghosts she offered a reward if Gilith could just bring her an antique crystal ball that was a family heirloom located in the bottom of the ships lowest hold. The reward would later turn out to be a very nice enchanted cutlass.

The ghosts were no real threat but the cutlasses they wielded added a few nicks and cuts to herself and her clothes, which Gilith had to take time to close up with one of her spells- she chuckled after her last “healing” thinking this was probably her most practiced spell. It did remind her that gathering some healing potions before setting out into Cyrodiil would be wise.

Later leaving a very happy Lelles whose shop was a good deal fuller with the trade goods Gilith had brought, and Gilith with some local operating capital clinking in her purse, almost ran over a messenger that was looking for her. After handing over a sealed letter addressed to Gilith in an unrecognized handwriting, the messenger stood looking at the ground shuffling his feet until Gilith handed him a bit of gold which he then pocketed quickly, gave a slight bow and raced off.

Gilith broke the seal and read;

To the Honorable Gilith,

I am deeply sorry that I have unpleasant news regarding our mutual friend Rjavyn. Rjavyn, her partner Shomii, and myself were separated deep underground while exploring an Ayleid ruin in south eastern Valenwood, and after days of searching without success and running out of food and water Shomii and I decided it would be better to head to our respective homes and wait for Rjavyn or word of her. It has been a month now (about the length of my voyage Gilith’s thought) and I fear the worst. Please feel free to call on me at my home north of the Imperial city.
Yours respectfully, Tasqmii
Follow map.
A small sketch was folded inside the letter showing the way to Tasqmii’s home.

Gilith sighed, Rjavyn was always one to take chances, and she had disappeared before, showing up when least expected, usually with a rather heavy purse. Gilith hoped that this was another one of those occasions. Shoving the letter inside her tunic, Gilith headed for the main gate into Anvil stopping briefly to watch a local artist, giving Gilith time to gather her thoughts about this setback to her plans, and getting the feelings of helplessness under control. After all she did not know anything about the mainland except for main roads and charted locations. She would just have to wait until she met with Tasqmii before deciding upon a course of action; which might be awhile. Hopefully by then Rjavyn would make an appearance.

==================================================================
The first journey

Although not a member of the Cyrodiil mages guild, Gilith being a senior mage, visited the Anvil mage’s guild hall to see if she could learn anything that would be helpful in her endeavors in Cyrodiil. The local mages seem too involved with their own world to be of much help, but Gilith did find that a new rule had been imposed in regards to being granted access to the guild’s university in the Imperial city. The new rule required receiving a recommendation from each guild hall head in Cyrodiil first. As much as Gilith would like to see the inside of the university it wasn’t something high on her to do list, rather she figured to visit each hall as she happened to be in their vicinity.

While at the Anvil mages hall Gilith officially joined the Cyrodiil guild and helped eliminate a renegade mage that had been plaguing the area, with this done a promise of a recommendation was obtained.
Gilith finally had gathered enough equipment, including a couple of valuable antiques to sell in the Imperial city, to begin her journey through Cyrodiil.
The sun was just beginning to burn off the early morning fog as Gilith left Anvil through the north gate and started up the road to Skingrad. Reaching the top of the first steep ridge and walking past the Brina Cross Inn, the site of yesterday’s fight with the renegade mage; Gilith looked ahead in the lingering light fog for the Legionnaire that patrolled the road as it wound easterly toward Skingrad. She had planned to intercept him here and accompany him the length of his patrol. Listening carefully, Gilith thought she heard the sound of hoofs clattering slowly further on, so she speeded up around a turn in the road and located the Legionnaire a short ways ahead. Gilith said hello to let him know that she was friendly and would be following, because in no way did she want one of these knights of the road to mistake her for a bandit, she was sure nothing she could do would stop them from killing her if once they chose that route.

Gilith’s long strides made it easy to keep close to Legionnaire while being able to gather various plants that grew alongside the road for their possible use as ingredients in potions. A lot of the plants were new to her, so her next visit to a mages hall would have more importance than just listening to gossip and whatever little task that must be performed to acquire a recommendation from that hall’s head mage.

The trip was progressing peacefully with only a bandit or creature showing up now and again; a mere breaking of monotony for the Legionnaire requiring a short bout with the offender, and of course a quick check by Gilith for anything of value or use. Gilith found it interesting that the creature hides and parts were more valuable than most of what the bandits carried, but still managed to find a couple of things valuable enough to justify carrying the extra weight. Just below Kvatch the peace was broken by a scared citizen who ran down from the city camp to tell Gilith that an Oblivion gate had opened by the city gate and how he was running away from this area. Gilith didn’t blame him, Kvatch seem to have been singled out as the spear head of an invasion, and apparently this wasn’t the first gate to open there. (Gilith wasn’t yet aware that it was Rjavyn who closed the gate the last time one open) Of course Gilith thought it to be good advice to get away from this area so turned and walked quickly to catch up with the Legionnaire, better safe than sorry, she thought.

When Gilith was only a few strides from the Legionnaire a giant jumped onto the road and swatted the Legionnaire’s horse, knocking it to the ground. The Legionnaire rolled away from his mount, then both master and horse rushed the giant as they regained their feet. Gilith stood there in shock as the giant smashed the Legionnaire to the ground, where he laid unmoving, Gilith was sure he was dead; no one could have survived that wicked blow. The horse dodged a similar blow from the giant, galloping east along the road leaving the giant behind. The giant began to follow and then stopped as it became aware of Gilith.

As the giant started to run toward her, Gilith jumped up the bank at the side of the road and raced uphill while looking for a way to keep this monster at bay, it helped that fear and her long legs kept her just out of reach, but she was tiring fast, a few months of academics had her a little out of shape, and she could hear the giant’s heavy breathing getting louder behind her- she was running out of time. Gilith spotted a steep slope with an island rock outcropping in the middle and aimed her route above it so if she could get a little purchase along the slope she might just make the outcrop, if not she would slide to the bottom and end up the giants next victim, which would probably be the case anyway if she didn’t try. The plan worked, just barely, another dagger length more and her outstretched hands would have missed the edge of the outcrop. Gilith hung there just long enough to see the giant trying to follow her only to slide down the slope close enough that Gilith had to draw up her legs to keep out of reach of it’s large hands.

Breathing hard, and finally standing on the outcrop, Gilith watched the enraged giant attacking the stone as if to knock her off. The giant had a few arrows sticking out of it, some she recognized as the silver arrows belonging to the deceased Legionnaire. Now that she was relatively safe Gilith began casting fireballs at the giant. At first it didn’t look like much damage was being done, but then the giant backed out of range to get away from Giliths attack. When it seemed to catch its breath the giant resumed its maniacal attack on the rocks below Gilith. As this dance between the giant and Gilith went on It started getting darker with an evening chill accompanying a breeze blowing across the hillside. Gilih was not looking forward to having to spend the night let alone a few days trapped on this outcrop with an enraged giant just below. During the lulls when the giant moved out of range Gilith searched desperately for a way out of this predicament, and that is when, appearing as a feint outline in the dim light, the Legionnaire’s horse returned to its master on the road below. The giant heard or smelled the horse and went off in pursuit. Gilith felt a rush of relief and sat down on the hard rock, the urge to put her head on her knees and fall asleep was strong, but so was the desire not to roll off the outcropping and into the clutches of the giant, which brought her head up to scan the area for any sign of her monstrous attacker.

East of Gilith’s position; perhaps along the road, but not having been there- Gilith only could guess- the sounds of fighting and glow of spells being cast indicated the possibility of the giant meeting more than the horse there. Gilith waited in the dark until it seemed enough time had passed that it would be safe to leave the outcrop, but as she was looking for a way down the sound of heavy footsteps erased any hope of getting away. And there was the giant, a few more arrows but seemed none the worse for wear. Gilith began again to cast her fire balls lighting up the night as well as the giant, thinking it was going to be a long night, at which time the burning giant fell over still as a stone. Gilith surprised and untrusting, tossed a couple additional fire balls to be sure, but no, the thing seemed dead.

Standing on soft earth next to the giant, Gilith poked it with her sword for good measure, then walked slowly down to a flat spot next to the road, made camp, and laid down to fall immediately to sleep. Amazingly nothing bothered her during the remainder of the night. In the morning after a breakfast of mutton, cheese, and an apple, Gilith continued east along the road. Being alone and in strange country Gilith walked quietly keeping watch for any problems ahead, ready to put her long legs to good use in avoidance if necessary.

It was the next large bend in the road after leaving the site of the Legionnaire’s end, when the bodies began to show up, including the Legionnaire’s horse. The giant had apparently killed the horse and then wiped out a group of bandits from a large encampment just off the south side of the road. Gilith picked up a few sellable items but quickly left the area continuing her journey toward Skingrad. It was rather anticlimax reaching Skingrad with only having to dodge one bandit along the way.

Camping inside the city walls in a wide spot along the road, Gilith finally got a full nights rest. It helped her peace of mind that a few feet from her tent door stood two of the city guards at their posts. The next morning, after breakfast of fruit and cheese, Gilith paid visits to the various merchants; purchasing, selling, or having things repaired. Then a stop at the Skingrad mages hall to buy some spell recipes, and trade some potions. One of the spell recipes was a little above her ability, but she purchased it with the Idea of having something to study to fill in those long hours of sleepless waiting, at that thought Gilith laughed quietly, not much of those since I left the ship.

While at the Skingrad mages hall Gilith was asked to find out why a certain woodelf mage hasn’t been in to visit the hall for a while. Turns out the little bugger got himself trapped by some of his own experiments, and was extremely grateful to Gilith for his rescue. When asked if this sort of thing happened often the little mage confessed that a similar thing happened before and that he had been rescued that time by a pretty dark haired Nord, after a bit he remembered her name, “Raven.” “Rjavyn,” corrected Gilith. “Ah yes…do you Know her?” “Yes,” was all Gilith answered a little peeved at this small mage who couldn’t seem to control his own experiments. After delivering the little mage to his Guild hall and securing yet another recommendation, Gilith went to her tent for a good night’s rest for in the morning she had plans to attach herself as a traveling partner to another Legionnaire patrolling toward the Imperial City.

It was a good trip, no giants, and the weather held allowing Gilith to get a good look at the country side. She was excited, Rjavyn was right, there seemed to be Ayleid ruins everywhere, and Gilith wanted to run off and explore all of them. Of course she also wanted to live long enough to be able to explore, which meant waiting until she found Rjavyn or someone else to trust to help keep her alive. Finally saying good bye to the Legionnaire at the end of his patrol and in sight of the Imperial City, Gilith was able to make the last part of her journey to Tasqmii’s home after a half day stop in the Imperial City.

I'm not sure what I did wrong on the last post to end up with two in one, it was not my intention.

Findimg Tasqmii

Walking from the front door towards the landing and the stairs leading to the beach where Tasqmii expected to find mud crabs, a nice change in menu for dinner, a movement on the road above the house attracted her eye. Even as far away as the road up there was, at least four houses high, she could tell the person looking at a paper held in front of her and then looking around, was a high elf, Altmer as some called them. Altmer in general didn’t travel the country side alone as a habit, so Tasqmii suspected who this lone elf might be, where upon she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Gilith?”

Looking at the crude sketch and comparing it to landmarks surrounding the two story house far below the road cozily tucked on a flat slightly above the lakes water level, Gilith was fairly confident of having arrived at the right place. It was then Gilith heard her name shouted from below in a questioning manner. On the flat in front of the house was someone in light blue tinted armor. Gilith not about to shout back gave a wave of her hand and continued down the path towards the house.

The person coming up the path must be Tasqmii, a beautiful Breton with shiny red hair, and visible when she got closer, pretty green eyes; this fit Rjavyn’s description of Tasqmii. As Tasqmii was energetically walking towards Gilith, Tasqmii asked again, “Gilith?” Which Gilith responded with; “yes…and you must be Tasqmii.” Tasqmii stopped a couple of strides from Gilith, a pleasant smile on her face, “I thought so, not many high elves wander by themselves around here…and you fit Rjavyn’s description.” “As do you,” replied Gilith. “Come…we can get acquainted over some mead and dinner,” suggested Tasqmii, turning in to walk beside Gilith as they headed towards the house.

It was at this point two mud crabs made their appearance at the top of the stairs that led to the beach scuttling across the landing towards them. Tasqmii quickly brought her bow to bear sending one arrow apiece into the mud crabs and with a continuous movement re-slung the bow on her back while commenting, “ahh…dinner.” The whole action took only a few seconds and confirmed what Rjavyn had mentioned about Tasqmii’s talent with a bow; Gilith was impressed.

After breaking open the crab’s shells and cutting out the best parts of the meat, the two women rolled the remainder of the carcasses over the bank, out of the way. No one ever seemed to think that only taking the best parts of a crab and leaving the rest to rot was a waste, especially since most everyone hated everything about the things except the meat. Inside the house and after a brief tour, Tasqmii insisted Gilith relax while she scurried about gathering glasses, drinks, and some cheeses and apples. “Meade or wine?” ask Tasqmii. “Wine if you please,” Gilith couldn’t understand how anybody could drink the thick, grainy Meade, whose smell reminded her rotting water soaked grain on a hot day; but she noticed that Tasqmii seemed quite found of it, being on her third mug in the time it took Gilith to drink her first cup of wine. Tasqmii told her version of how Rjavyn was separated from her and Shjomii in a dark Ayleid underground ruin in Valenwood, and how they spent days trying to find their lost friend. It was thirst and hunger that finally forced them back to the surface and to the nearest town for supplies. She and Shjomii had returned to the same ruin and spent another few days trying to find Rjavyn only to run out of supplies again, and that’s when they decided to go home and wait in case Rjavyn made an appearance.

Tasqmii stopped stirring the crab in the pot to give Gilith a sad look, “it’s been over two months, I’m really afraid that…” Tasqmii couldn’t finish what she was going to say and turned back to the pot, slowly stirring the crab meat. Gilith couldn’t think of anything to say at the moment so kept quiet and took a sip of her wine.

Gilith looked around the small kitchen on the ground floor where she was sitting in one of the four chairs at a long table shoved against the wall to give more room to maneuver. The fireplace with pot hangers and grates to cook on were at the end of the room opposite its entrance hall that paralleled the stairwell that led to the sleeping area upstairs. Gilith noticed a trapdoor in the corner next to the fireplace on the opposite side of the room from the table. Watching Tasqmii getting their dinner ready Gilith felt a twinge of guilt just sitting there, but had to admit to herself that being fairly lousy at cooking, everything would probably taste better without her muddling it up. “You have a very nice house Tasqmii,” said Gilith. Tasqmii replied without turning though Gilith thought Tasqmii’s shoulders drooped a little first, “It’s not really mine I watch it for a friend…she disappeared almost a year ago.” Gilith shook her head, and thought how dangerous this country was; especially remembering her trip from Anvil to the Imperial city, it seemed something attacked her every few miles the whole trip.

“By the way, how did you know my ship was coming and that it would land in Anvil?” asked Gilith. Tasqmii turned, “I didn’t” and smiled at the quizzical look on Gilith’s face. “I knew Rjavyn had sent you a letter inviting you to join her…so I rode to Anvil and left you a letter, and then road to Leyawiin and left a copy there just in case.” Gilith marveled at how Tasqmii made light of riding across Cyrodiil to Anvil and then the long ride to Leyawiin, where Gilith thought it a miracle she made it from Anvil here alive. Gilith would have been more impressed had she known Tasqmii had ridden the width of Valenwood and the length of Elsweyr to deliver that letter to a messenger in Leyawiin.

Though Gilith had rested a bit in the Imperial City before coming to find Tasqmii’s home; the trip from Anvil had worn her out. The combination of a full belly, two glasses of wine and the comfort of a warm fire had Gilith’s head nodding with the closing of her eyes only to jerk awake again when her chin hit her chest. Tasqmii, seeing how tired Gilith was said, “come on, I think it’s time for bed,” and showed Gilith up to one of the beds upstairs. Gilith had barely got undressed and laid down before she was fast asleep. Tasqmii, after covering her new acquaintance looked at Gilith and thought, well Rjavyn put a lot of store in this high elf, I guess I’ll just give her a chance to show why. Tasqmii shrugged and went to bed, her bow and quiver not far from her hand.

A few days later Gilith and Tasqmii left for Faregyl to see Shjomii to discuss what they could do in regards to finding or finding information about their friend Rjavyn. It delighted Gilith to see more of the country side and a relief also they met only a few bandits and critters along the way, all succumbed to Tasqmii’s arrows with only a little help from Gilith’s magic. By the third bandit they had worked out their teamwork such that as Gilith distracted them with cast spells, Tasqmii shared with them some of her well-aimed arrows. The two women collected a fair amount of skins and sellable loot; Gilith thought that it was a minimum reward for dealing with the dangers of travel on this mainland.

Welcome to Gilith! Those long legs are really coming in handy, I see. And she's making new friends already Two of her MG recommendations done already - nice work!