Black oily water - ugh! Well, Kirith's been rescued. Once again. And citizenship for Clark.

A nice respite visit with Seryn back in Morrowind.

Sil acting not himself. Sure sounds like an imposter to me.

That must be great to have extra Wayshrines just pop available just because we've accomplished whatever. If only real-life were like this. Every time I forget to pick up something from the grocery, I can just teleport back...



Aww.

Quite a complex questline Clark is involved with... phew.

@Acadian Well, sort of an imposter. It's not him, but it isn't anybody else.

@Renee If you're going to the grocery. remeber to take the pack-guar.

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

Previously: Clark rescued Kireth from the Mechanical Fundament and was made a citizen of the Clockwork City. Now he's trying to find out what has happened to Sotha Sil.

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

Part 2.6 Evergloam

When Sotha Sil began his address in the chamber I flipped the switch and bathed the podium in bright light. The figure dissolved revealing Sil's shadow had taken his place. This reminded me of the events with Fyr's shadow when I arrived, and I wondered now if that had been a deliberate clue.

"Nocturnal, what are you playing at?" I wondered. Nothing made sense right now, but I didn't have time to think. The shadow was getting away, and I needed to chase after it. It was our only chance for finding Sotha Sil himself.

The battle with the shadow was brief, and at the end of it, the shadow just disappeared, leaving me with nothing to go on. I headed back to Fyr, to see if he had any ideas. I found Varuni Arvel arguing with Chancellor Gascone about what to do next. The Chancellor just walked away and left the problem in her hands, announcing that he had to leave the Brass Fortress for a while.

That obviously surprised her. She'd been certain that Gascone would seize the chance to take control himself, but now he didn't seem to want the responsibility. She remained confident that Sotha Sil would return and put things right but Fyr wasn't so sure,

I decided to go to Gascone's quarters and find out what I could. I didn't expect to find one of Nocturnal;s shrikes searching the place for something. When she saw me, she grinned, tossed her head, and disappeared.

"Did she just flash her boobs at me deliberately, or was it an accident?" I wondered. Maybe it was another clue from Nocturnal, and I should be piceing things together about now, but it all remained a mystery.

I found a note from Gascone, that was not what the shrike was looking for. It revealed that he had left the Brass Fortress already. Varuni sent me after him, directing me to an artificer who would supply a tracking aide. This turned out to be a fabricant nix-hound, who followed Gascone's scent trail down to the oily river at the bottom of the ravine. The smell from the effluvium drowned out Gascone's trail, but I was able to follow his oily footprint a bit further west.

Eventually, I ran into a couple more shrikes who were also hunting for him. Apparently Gadcone wasn't on Nocturnal's side either, but that hadn't always been the case. He'd at some point betrayed her and thrown in his lot with Clavicus Vile, and was probably headed for sanctuary at the Ventral Terminus, which was overrun with skaafin.

It was getting dark, and trying to chase him right now didn't seem too productive. I decided to head up out of the ravine to a wayshrine. Spending the night back in Vivec City would help me relax, and think things through.

---

The following day, I didn't get far along the road from the Sanctuary Wayshrine toward the Ventral Terminus when a suggestion from Azura popped into my mind. I tugged on the reins of the guar and we turned off up a side trail that appeared to lead to a blank cliff. However, when I got closer, I found a man standing by an ominous portal in a cleft of the rock.

Adjunct Daro told me that his more impetuous companion had decided to investigate the portal, and she hadn't come out. He handed me a device he called a perception tabulator, and asked me to at least find out where she'd gone, and anything more about the nature of the portal.

I didn't tell him that the shadowy nature of the portal already told me that it lead to Evergloam. I just accepted the device and stepped through.

---

"Do I need to concern myself with what this thing is picking up?" I asked Azura as soon as I could. Nocturnal replied for her.

"No, I can control what it records. It will get enough to satisfy Adjucnt Daro, and pique his interest in this place. It's all part of my plan."

"You will explain some more of that to me, won't you?" I asked.

"Of course, but let's get Daro's little charade over first."

So I wandered around for a whiie, finding items that Acolyte Variah had dropped. Apparently, Nocturnal had arranged for her to be startled at convenient moments, so she could leave a trail for the tabulator to record. And then I found Varia herself, as well as a couple of earlier venturers, standing as scarecrows in a pumpkin patch near a small cottage in the woods.

The other two had apparently entered on their own, and it wasn;t until Variah arrived that someone was left outside waiting. So now the next part of the plan could begin. Releasing them with enough of a story to tell would draw more adventurers to this testing ground. I'd have a pitch to make to Daro when I left, too.

I went up the hill to "deal with" the Shrike Commander running the show. We flirted for a while and she shut down the compulsion field, before directing me to the cottage. "Nocturnal would like to complete your briefing herself".

When I went back down, the ex-scarecrows had all fled, and the door to the cottage was open. Two big armchairs were either side of a cozy fireplace, and Nocturnal was already relaxed in one, with a glass of wine in her hand. She handed me another glass as I sat in the opposite chair.

"I don't suppose anything is making any sense right now," she began. "All you know so far is that Clavicus Vile was scheming to find the Clockwork City, but naturally, you don't know why.

"When I got involved, I didn't either. All I knew was that Vile wanted help with something big, and of course that wasn't likely to be anything I'd approve of. I decided that 'helping' was a safer bet that letting any other Daedric Princes gang up with him. At least this way, I'd have some control over what happened, and maybe turn things my way.

"Vile's objectives are only gradually being revealed. At first it was the Clockwork City, but that was just a stepping stone to Sotha Sil, and he's supposed to help us locate Arteum. You know that he was a Psijic himself, so he's well aware of its location, and has full access."

"Is Sotha Sil in any real danger from Clavicus Vile?" I asked.

"He should not be. I'm sure Vile doesn't care one way or the other, but I'd prefer to be able to put things back the way they were, Seht included. Or maybe better. You'll be eliminating one of the weak links when you deal with Chancellor Gascone.

"Seht himself is safely locked away from harm. Anyone who wants to reach him has to travel through part of Evergloam, but he's actually in a part of the Brass Fortress that's cut off from the rest. That way, I haven't broken our agreement by abducting him to my own realm, but he's still safe. And once he's reunited with his shadow, he'll be back to normal.

"Gascone was supposed to be guarding the Skeleton Key, but he sold out to Vile, and it's gone missing. You'll need to get it back at some point, as you'll need it to reach Sotha Sil. That's so that Clavicus Vile sees that as the imprisoning device, and overlooks the requirement to pass through Evergloam to reach him."

"What do you need from me?" I asked

"Two things. First, to continue what you've started here. You'll be seen as Azura's agent in this, rather than mine, so Vile won't think we're on the same side. And second, I'd like you to look out for anyone who could become my agent. I'm going to need someone competent, independent, and loyal only to me. That last part rules out most people you already know. For example Seryn has all the right qualities, but her loyalty to her tribe, and especially to you, means I can't use her."

"Is that why you have this setup here?"

"Yes, I'm certain that Adjunct Daro will help direct adventurers to this part of my realm for evaluation. The portal itself will need investigation, and then scholars will need rescuing, and so on. There should be a steady stream of candidates coming through, and my shrikes will have some fun with those who don't measure up."

"And should I expect to be heading for Arteum next?"

"It's too soon to tell. Clavicus Vile seems to have an alternative strategy in the works in case I fail here with Sotha Sil. He has Mephala working on some other scheme in the Summerset Isles. If she gets the Sload involved, then that's likely to bring in Meridia against him, as she can't abide necromancy.

"However, with everything else going on, Meridia's stretched thin on the Molag Bal front, so at best she'll be a distraction."

Twists and turns! Daedric Princes conspiring against each other while feigning alliances. No surprise there.

Yes indeed, this is a very busy update. Not to mention Clark gets a boobie flash, that's hilarious. (.)(_) Or so he assumes.

Wow, he gets to sit down and chat with Nocturnal. DON'T drink that wine!!! ... Then again, Nocturnal's demeanor has never struck me as purely evil. Nefarious, yes, shady, yes, but not downright Evil and tricksterish like Bolag or Mehrunes.

Clark has known Nocturnal since this part of his Oblivion story. Of course, that happens in the future, but before he was sent back. It may help explain my take on her motivations.

@Acadian: This isn't Skyrim. It would be twist and shout there!

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

Previously: Clark found out more about what Nocturnal is doing, but that has just added more
questions.

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

Part 2.7 - Gascone

As I rode my guar along the road to the Ventral Terminus, I considered Nocturnal's requirements. Neramo and the Dunmer siblings worked well as a team, but she needed an independent individual. Naryu, the Dunmer assassin, was inseparable from the Morag Tong. Divayth Fyr wouldn't work for anyone but himself. The various Apostles I'd met all were devoted to Sotha Sil, or else people that were going to get weeded out. I didn't have any candidates for her at present, as she'd said.

I did have Gascone to deal with, and he'd run to ground among the skaafin.

Once I got past the guard of daedra at the main door to the Ventral Terminus, I found it locked, and the voice of Gascone told me so through the speaker device nearby. Somehow, maybe from the little voice in the back of my mind, which was as likely to be Nocturnal's as Azura's, I knew there was another entrance.

So I went up the ramp to higher ground to start searching.

More skaafin were waiting up there. I wasn't surprised, just a bit delayed. And the fabricants were taking no notice of them, and just attacking me, which seemed a bit unfair. Still, I soon had another door in front of me, and it wasn't locked.

It might as well have been, as it wasn't long before I came to a dead end at a solid wall of masonary. At some point in the past, the structure had been sectioned off, and this part was no longer connected to the one Gascone was in. The only thing on my side of the wall that had any hope of breaching it was a large clockwork automaton, which of course, was powered down.

I rummaged around looking for alternatives, trying the steam valves to see what they'd do. and flipping any switches I came across. Then I noticed that the pipes were getting some pressure, and judicious use of the valves let me direct it towards the station where the automaton was slumped.

All that happened was that a cylinder started to glow, as if it had just filled and was ready to use. I picked it up and looked for somewhere to place it in the automaton, not really expecting to find one. But there was a socket that matched.

I must have done the right thing, as it started to stand up straight, and a number of skaafin materialized to try and stop it. Without any guidance from me, it flung them aside and demolished the wall, as if it had been programmed to do so before it was shut down.

I followed, using my bow to help it with the stragglers, until it seemed to run out of power just short of another wall. I looked around for any more of the glowing cylinders, but there weren't any visible. I did find a stairway that took me up a level, and I had more luck up there. Just the one core, and I hoped it would be enough.

Going through the second wall was much like the first. Skaafin arrived to try and impede our progress, and failed. Soon I was in the section where Gascone was hiding.

It appeared that Gascone was the one summoning the skaafin, as he did so again as I entered, perhaps playing his final trump. This was a more powerful one than the others, and maybe not entirely in the chancellor's control. "You summon me again? I grow tired of this, mortal!"

The Daedra didn't seem reluctant to attack me, however, it just wasn't so pleased to be aiding Gascone. And after I defeated it and talked to the chancellor, I think I understood why. He didn't have the key any more. It had been stolen by crows, before he could hand it over to Clavicus Vile. I didn't need to ask what key he was talking about. It could only be the Skeleton Key.

Why had Nocturnal let an idiot like this guard it for her? I angrily killed him, and stormed off back to the Shadow Cleft to have another talk with Nocturnal.

---

"And who else was I going to give it to?" she asked me."Anyone more trustworthy is loyal to Sotha Sil. If I'd given it to Varuni or Luciana, then Varuni would have done the research to figure out what it was, and then Luciana would have gone off trying to release Seht.

"That would have been a disaster whatever the outcome. If she failed, then the Clockwork City would be lacking a good Proctor, and if she'd succeeded, then Sotha Sil would have been returned prematurely and Vile would probably have succeeded."

"But, Gascone ..."

"He was the sort of bureaucrat that just files things away, and does as little as possible. He put it with all the other items he needed to guard, and detailed his minions to watch over them. No curiosity, so it should have just remained where it was until I needed it again.

"However, I did make a mistake at that point. I told my minions to go and get it, forgetting to add 'and bring it to me'. The crows just took it for themselves - it is shiny, after all - and who knows where they went with it. They don't remember, and it's probably been stolen from the first ones by a rival flock by now. You're going to have to find it for me."

"So Sotha Sil doesn't need to be imprisoned any longer?"

"No, it appears that Vile has decided that Mephala's use of the Sload is more promising, and he's given up here. So as soon as you've released Seht, I need to figure out how to deal with that. If I'm not careful, I'll get left out of the plot, and not know what's in store. But if Meridia gets involved, he'll need the extra help"

"What should I be doing next?" I asked. "If the crows have the key, then it's at least where Vile can't find it, if he decides he needs it adter all. I'd think you need me finding you an agent before I go hunt down the key."

"That's true, but either quest relies on luck at this point. There aren't any clear leads to finding either of them."

I decided to go back to Vivec City, and find out what Seryn wanted me to do for her. There was always a chance it would connect in to everything else.

---

Well there was a connection, and it was Naryu. She'd been given a contract to take out one of the councilors of House Redoran, and found out about their dealings with the Ashlanders. She'd tried to contact me, and found Seryn instead. And that's what Seryn had meant when she said she had a job for me.

It appeared that the pro-slavery faction of House Redoran had also been trying to sieze land from the Ashlanders. It was not clear whether Ulran Releth sided with the Ashlanders, or against the slavers, but the result was the same, and he'd been eliminated with prejudice.

Now his sister Veya was out to avenge him, and as a colleague of Naryu's, that wasn't allowed. The Morag Tong weren't supposed to persue their own personal vendettas, as it was bad for business if they killed without a formal contract. So Naryu wanted me to stop Veya, and Seryn wanted me to do the job for Veya, and avenge the Ashlanders' protector.

Ahah. Skeleton key + Nocturnal. . . begins to make some sense now.

Ugh. Crows. Hate them.

Now, Seryn’s idea sounds delicious. Any chance to kill or otherwise screw with the pompous house of Redoran sounds worthwhile. And enjoyable!

About the section which is blocked off, too bad there aren't any Destroy Wall spells in this game. :0 Still, Powering up that automaton must have been a challenge to figure.

Nice, so Clark got the Skeleton Key? What a confusing quest this sounds like. Do you need to take notes as you play? I often do nowadays. Because my memory.... Not the best.

@Acadian: Shhh... mirocu may be listening. And Redoran are making their own trouble for themselves.

@Renee: Clark almost got the skeleton key. The crows have it, and even Nocturnal doesn't know where it is now.

-----------

Previously: Clark tried to recover the Skeleton Key, but found that the crows have stolen it. While he figures out how to find it, Seryn has given him another task. Time for Clark to do what he does best.

-----------

Part 2.8 = Daedric Possession

I took the way-shrine to Balmora and went looking for Naryu. I was discreetly directed to a cellar door in a back alley, and found Naryu and Veya down there waiting for me. I'd arrived too late, and Veya had already played her hand.

Naryu still had need of my assistance. She'd not managed to stop Veya from killing her father, but she had made it look like Veya had been killed, too, so at least the Morag Tong and House Redoran would not be hunting for her. But now there was the problem with what to do with her. She couldn't say on Vvardenfell, or someone was bound to spot her.

"She'll have to be exiled, and as far away as possible," Naryu declared. "I have contacts on the Summerset Isle who could take her in and give her work. With her skills, she'd make a good bodyguard.

"I just don't understand what got into her, going it alone like she did. She probably could have taken her case to the Morag Tong leadership, and got a judgement to do it legally, but she just fired up, and went on her killing spree.

"It's just not like the Veya I thought I knew."

"Maybe it wasn't all her idea," I suggested. "There's always a possibility of Daedric possession when someone behaves out of character." I looked over at Veya, and continued "Do her pupils looks a bit contracted to you?"

"Now you come to mention it, perhaps they are," Naryu replied. "I'd put that down to shock, as she'd just come round from my knocking her out, but she should have recovered by now."

I was hoping that Nocturnal was listening in to my thoughts, as it had just occurred to me that Veya might be just what she was looking for. And if she was, I could use a little assistance.

"Is Daedric possession common?" Naryu was asking me, and I'm not sure that Nocturnal wasn't prompting her.

"Not very common, and it does require some willingness on the part of the possessed. For example, Seryn wasn't averse to letting Azura use her to speak to people several times, and even cast a spell for her once. It was clear that Azura's intentions didn't conflict with her own, and she was happy to lend a hand, ... or all of her, actually."

"Well, this wasn't Azura. Any ideas which Prince might have been involved in this case?" Naryu asked.

"Did Veya run rampage, and destroy everything in her path?"

"No, she did cut a swath through the guard, but she's quite capable of that without help"

"Then it probably wouldn't be Mehrunes Dagon. He likes as much collateral damage as possible. Property as well as people, and as much chaos caused as can be managed."

"Who else?" Naryu prompted. "Clavicus Vile doesn't seem likely. He wants the bad outcomes to be all someone else's fault, so he won't take control like that."

I offered the opinion that it could be Boethiah. "It's all about provoking combat with that one. And Veya acted fairly rationally, so I think Sheogorath is ruled out, too."

"Hmm, are there any other symptom we could look for?" Naryu asked.

I was getting prompts from Nocturnal now, and I wondered if Naryu was, too.

"Well, we don't know if the supposed Daedric Prince was trying to arrange her father's death, and just using her as an implement of opportunity, or if it's an attempt to sway Veya herself. If it's the latter, she'd be losing interest in Mundus, and other people."

"Like a lowered libido? That would be the first thing to affect a young Dunmer woman. She'd have shriveled nipples, and be drying up."

Naryu was probably projecting her own ideas here, but I let her run with it.

"Veya, take off your shirt," she commanded. "we need to see ... What do you think, Clark?"

"I don't have a before image to compare against," I pointed out.

Veya took everything else off. She was determined to prove that if she had been possessed, she wasn't now. She grabbed my hand and showed me.

"So there's a good chance the possession wasn't complete," I announced. "And that means we can do something about it. There's a ritual of re-possession that will reclaim her for Mundus, and since you and I, Naryu, represent man and mer, male and female, we have enough to perform it."

Prompted by Nocturnal, I rummaged in my pack and found a couple of hooded masks that I know weren't in there before. "You and I need to wear these, and nothing else. We have to be anonymous, as we're representing everyone."

"But I already know who you are," Veya interjected. "So how are you anonymous?"

"It would be too creepy if you didn't know who it was, wouldn't it?" I replied. "It's symbolic, which is why we don't need all races; just a Dunmer and an Imperial can stand in for Altmer, Bosmer, Breton, Redguard, Nord, and Orc. Khajiit and Argonian may be a stretch, but the principle is valid."

That seemed to satisfy her. If I'd had to take it further, I could have pointed out how Veya was clearly part Altmer, as she was tall and slender for a Dunmer, and Naryu was as top-heavy as a Nord.

---

---

"Her libido seemed to be normal," I remarked to Naryu afterward, while Veya slept. "So if we are sending her off to Summerset, she won't have too much problem making new friends."

"Except that you just gave her a reason to want to come back here," she replied. "I hope you're planning to disappear before she starts to think about that."

"I have to go back to the Clockwork City, wherever that really is," I told her. "And all I have to look forward to there is crows."

I like the way they are discussing which daedric being could it be. Really gotta keep up with the lore to know all that stuff.

Whoa. (I think you know what I'm whoaing about.)

Yeah, see if there are crows out there. This could be proof mirocu is in the game.

I confess that in the game, Buffy and I were cheering Veya as she went on her Redoran hunting spree. Some things are worse than crows. . . speaking of which, mirocu is the only TES crow that I like. Daedric involvement? Could be I suppose, although given how we feel about the great houses, I wouldn't rule out Divine intervention instead.

Time for the annual update to Clark's story - has it really been that long?

Previously: Clark found a potential agent for Nocturnal in Veya, a Dunmer who'd just avenged her brother's death by killing her father. She was conveniently about to be shipped off to hide in the Summerset Isles, which is where Nocturnal needed her.

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

Part 2.9 - Reuniting Seht

"I'm not so sure that Veya's going to make those new friends quite as much as you expected, Clark," Nocturnal told me, back at her cottage. "The ruling faction on the Summerset Isle is quite xenophobic, and Altmer look down on everyone else."

"But there are a lot of outsiders there, too. Imperials, Bretons, Nords, Khajiit ..."

"And she'll start under the tutelage of that Razum-Dar, the Eye of the Queen that Naryu has contacts with. He'll not waste the opportunity, but she'll most likely decide that comfort takes precedence over other things, and move on. That will be when I take over.

"You did a good job preparing her for me. She's got 'daedric possession' as a salve for her conscience, if she starts feeling guilt about her father, and at the same time, she has your accounts of Seryn to tell her it's not always a bad thing. Plus, I think I got you masked up before she learned your face, so she likely won't know you if she sees you again. And by that time, I'll be in a position to convince her she's mistaken.

"So now I can help her, if she'll help me."

"Help you how?" I asked

"I don't know yet. Vile hasn't played all his cards, so neither will I. And we still don't know for certain whether Meridia's getting involved, because of the Sload. If she does, then her agent, a Breton named Darien Gautier, is likely to show up. Watch out for him, will you?"

Just then, we were interrupted by the arrival of a crow, flying in through the door and landing by the fire.

"You sent for me, Mistress?" he inquired.

Nocturnal introduced me to the Duke of Crows. "Have you located it?" she asked him

"The heroic Blackfeather Court has done as you asked and found the shiny for you!"

"Then hand it over."

"We found it, but we could not retrieve it, Mistress. The Shadow has taken it."

Nocturnal didn't seem too surprised at this turn of events. "It was to be expected that the Shadow would attempt to take control of the rest of Sotha Sil. If they're reunited, then it loses out to his better judgement, and effectively gets suppressed.

"it wasn't what I had in mind when I set this all up, of course, and it does complicate things quite a bit. Restoring Seht was supposed to be a simple job for the key-bearer, but the Shadow will have turned on all the defensive apparatus of the Cogitum Centralis to protect his back.

"No doubt he'll be looking for a way to make Seht's protective custody permanent. You'll have to go there and put them back together for me."

"Can I get there from here?"

"If you're asking if this part of Evergloam connects to Seht's location, then the answer is no. I wanted the path to be easy to guard, so it's quite cut off from everything else, other than the portals in and out."

"So where do I need to go?"

"There's another gloaming gate, like the one that leads here, out on the eastern edge of Clockwork City, down in a cleft off a canyon where nobody is likely to find it. Nobody but Proctor Luciana Pulllo, that is. See if you can meet up with her and send her the wrong way. You'll need her help in the Cogitum Centralis, but we don't want her starting a fight in Evergloam."

---

I went to the Brass Fortress to try and locate her, and found her waiting for me. She knew of two gloaming gates, and couldn't be in both places at once. She wanted me to explore one, while she searched the other.

"You take the western one, and I'll go east, then. Are you sure there's just the two of them?"

"Clockwork City's not that large. Unless the daedra have opened new ones today, my daily reports only mention the two."

---

"Got that," the voice of Nocturnal in the back of my head acknowledged. "As soon as she steps through the gate here, I'll get a shrike to flip her sleep switch, and she won't even know she arrived.

"It does mean you'll have to rescue her later, but we can stage-manage that so she doesn't suspect anything."

---

The shrike laid down and played dead while I flipped the switch to wake Luciana. Before the Proctor could examine the "corpse" Nocturnal faded her out of our sight.

Luciana looked around. "This isn't the part of Evergloam where I came in," she remarked.

"No, that was the first place they'd expect me to look for you, so you were moved here," I told her. "But wherever we are now, let's get out." I pointed at the nearby gloaming gate.

---

"I know where we are," Luciana exclaimed. "This has brought us to the Mechanical Fundament, just outside the Cogitum Centralis. We must be close to where they're holding Sotha Sil!"

"Well, I hope you know the way from here, because I don't," I pointed out. "This is all new territory for me."

Knowing the way wasn't all the story, of course. The Shadow had activated the Cogitum's defensive mechanisms, which meant that the first part of the way wasn't where we needed it to be. The bridge we had to take was rotated to where we couldn't use it, so our first task was to get it back in the right position.

"And naturally the rotation mechanism is locked," Luciana remarked. "I think I can override it, if I have more power. Can you activate the Core Pumps, so I can try?"

She pointed me off to either side of the bridge, where power terminals were located. "Expect guards," I was told, rather redundantly, as they were already announcing their presence. I managed to reach the first switch, and activate the pump, and headed back for the other.

Back at the bridge, the automata had found Luciana, too, and I went to her assistance. "I can hanlde these.: she shouted. "Get the other switch!"

So I did, and when I got back, she was still in one piece. A rather bent piece, with one arm looking the worse for wear. "I need to mend this first," she told me. "And you'll have to help".

She opened a flap in one thigh and took out some tools. "One advantage of hollow legs." she pointed out. "Now you hold the ends of that strut while I straighten it out."

"Does that hurt?" I asked. Bending my arm that way certainly would have hurt.

"I do have an 'awareness of damage', but it's not exactly pain. It serves the same purpose of dissuading me from letting the damage continue, but I can turn it off for procedures like this. And most repairs are done by the factotums, while I sleep."

She paused, before continuing. "What I'm really missing is a better sense of touch so I can avoid this sort of impact in the first place. I only have that in my hands so I can modulate my grip, and a rudimentary sense in my feet to supplement my balance."

She got back to her work overriding the bridge lock-out, and soon it swung back around to where we could use it. I followed her across.

---

"It's getting rather dark in here," I pointed out. "The shadow obviously has his preferences, and they don't match mine."

"Nor mine either," Luciana responded. "But I'm out of magicka, so we need to find the light switches. You go that way, and I'll try over here."

By the time we found what we were looking for, the shadow had almost reached Sotha Sil, who was locked into a complex apparatus that held him immobile. Someone was trying to pry the metal apart, apparently with no success. And between us and the contraption was the Shadow.

"Deal with the Shadow, while I try and get Seht out of this thing," Divayth Fyr shouted.

"You'll not open that without the Skeleton Key," the Shadow interrupted, "and I have it. So Seht's going nowhere, and you should all just leave now, before I kill you."

Fyr's reaction was to abandon his efforts on the apparatus, and fire a spell at the Shadow. Luciana had regained enough energy to do the same, and I added some physical assault to the mix. Although this was only part 9f Seht we were dealing with, like Fyr's shadow when I arrived in Clockwork City, we all knew that this wasn't going to be easy.

However, Nocturnal was the ringmaster here, and she could help us a bit, so long as Sotha Sil didn't catch on. And the rest of him was there watching, so it had to be a convincing battle. There was an impressive display of light, and dark, effects around us all the time, probably obscuring much of it from Seht's view, but also hindering the combatants. Fortunately that worked both ways. The result was that we won, but Fyr was exhausted, and Luciana took a bit more damage than Nocturnal would have liked.

"Take the Key and release Seht, Fyr commanded. "Turn it in that lock. over there."

As I turned the key, the dark pool that had been the Shadow faded (brightened?) and Sotha Sil himself seemed to become more solid, and aware of what was happening. The confining bands dropped away, and retracted into the walls and floor. Sotha Sil was aware of Nocturnal's presence, and dismissed her, giving her the opportunity to let him know that Summerset was next on our agenda. I suspect she wanted him to take an interest on what was about to happen there.

"We should return to the Clockwork Basilica," Sotha Sill announced. "We can discuss events there."

---

Factotums had carried Luciana back, and Fyr and I had found our own way, not being able to take the same shortcuts the mechanicals could use. By the time we arrived, they were already at work on repairing, or perhaps deconstructing, the Proctor. Sotha Sil asked me what I wanted as a reward for my help,

In the long term, I wanted his help on Summerset, but this part of the story wasn't complete yet. Nocturnal wanted Vile's damage here repaired, and part of that was now Luciana. "Can you save her, again?" I asked.

"Altruism. A rare trait. Luciana will die. If not here and now, then elsewhere and later. I can delay her death if you wish, but to what end? Consider carefully. Luciana means a great deal to me, but grief cannot be avoided - only deferred."

Nocturnal had told me that she thought the Proctor was essential to the recovery of Clockwork City, now that Clavicus Vile had moved on. I concurred with that, even if I wasn't sure that it was what Luciana herself would have chosen. I did have an idea that might make her happier with her continued existence.

---

After I was done with Sotha Sil and Fyr, I went to visit Luciana in her retreat at the Basilica.

"Seht. Sotha Sil. Is he…?"

"He's fine. We did it, Luciana," I told her

"Thank the gears. The people … my people … they're safe. He knew. He knew this would happen. He said I would shine a light one day … do you see? Everything built to this. Everything. Every battle … every sorrow. It finally makes sense."

"You'll see Sotha Sil soon. I asked him to save you."

"You asked him that? After all the impatience I showed you? The bad temper? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've never met a more altruistic soul. Still, I'm not sure even Sotha Sil could save me this time. I feel it in my bones. This is how I end."

I said nothing, just gave her a hug. After a while, it dawned on her that 'feeling it in her bones' wasn't quite the figure of speech it used to be.

"It feels like I'm in my armour, hugging a man who's also in full armour, so perhaps not what you'd describe as exciting, but from my perspective..."

"Better than before?" I ventured.

"Much better. Thank you."
---

Cool, I was wondering when we'd get to read some more Clark. Even though I barely know what's going on in this game, these chapters are still fun!

So how does Nocturnal appear in-game? As a sultry vixen wearing all black? That's how I'd picture her. Of course, Aedra and Daedra can appear however they'd like. But that's how I'd picture her, showing herself before a mortal.

This whole mechanical part sounds complicated! Trying to picture it all... I found this after a Bing search. Looks sort of Dwemer, eh?

Well it sounds like they are successful at whatever the heck they just did. Mission accomplished. Nocturnal can go back to being the Dark Mistress that she is.

Wow, lots of moving parts here! I do remember some of the chase down Sotha Sil and deal with the shadow. Luciana is on my list of fave NPCs in ESO.

Wow, March again already! Must be time for another piece of Clark's story.

Previously: Clark had wrapped up things in the Clockwork City, and Sotha Sil was himself again. Luciana was a bit closer to her old self again, too.

-----

To Summerset

I started to wonder if my part in this was over, as we'd concluded all Nocturnal needed in Clockwork City, and she now had Veya for anything that would happen in Summerset. I was happy killing time with Seryn in Vivec City, but expecting at any time that Azura would yank me out of there and send me somewhere else. It didn't quite happen that way.

Azura did change our plans, but not in the way I expected. She told me that I needed to go to Summerset, as it wouldn't all be over until Clavicus Vile's scheme had been thoroughly undone, but I could take my time. Why not take Seryn with me, and go on a slow cruise to Summerset? I could board a ship in Mournhold, travel around the coast, stop off at a few interesting places along the way, and arrive before Nocturnal needed me. Seryn could then take the wayshrine home.

Since she was explaining this to both of us, and Seryn liked the idea, it was going to happen.

---

The war between the Alliances meant that many of the potential stops along the way were blockaded, or at least closed to commercial traffic, but we did get to visit Lilmoth, Kenarthi's Roost, and Vulkhel Guard before we landed at Shimmerene. So now I knew wayshrines in three more provinces, should I ever need to travel there again. I started to wonder if that was part of Azura's plan.

I also suspected that Azura had plans for Seryn. She hadn't ventured off of Vvardenfell before, and the Argonians and Khajiit she'd met were all merchants, not exactly representative of their races' diversity. Altmer seldom visited Morrowind, either, preferring to keep their own company.

I had been referred to as an outlander in Morrowind, but the term didn't seem to include any resentment, just that I wasn't Dunmer, so wouldn't understand the local customs. Here in Summerset, "outsider" was a term of derision, and I was clearly inferior for not being an Altmer. And unwelcome, to boot. They seemed reluctant even to let us off the boat.

We quickly made our way through town to the wayshrine, so that Seryn could return to Vivec City. When a mer ran up to us shouting about the Island springing a leak, and "let the cat take care of them", I decided to investigate, if only as a reason not to head back into Shimmerene. I took my leave of Seryn, and headed in the direction the mer had come from.

Not far up the road, I came upon the Khajiit mentioned, finishing off the last of some hostile creatures I had never seen before. The bodies lying on the road were spiny things that looked like they'd come out of the ocean, and didn't really belong on land at all.

I asked a woman standing nearby what they were, but she didn't know either. "Ask Razum-dar, " she told me, pointing at the Khajiit.

I didn't get the chance to ask, because, after smashing what looked like a large pearl radiating dark magic, he spoke to me first.

"Have you ever seen such creatures? Raz has not. Probably neither have you. You are a newcomer, yes? New to this island of High Elves? This one has an eye for such things. And you look capable. So, can Raz interest you in some cloak-and-dagger work?"

"Cloak-and-dagger work? Sounds ominous," I responded.

"Ominous? No, nothing of the sort. Well, maybe a little of the sort. Depends on how things develop. Raz has come to Summerset at the behest of Queen Ayrenn. To make sure her decree regarding the opening of the island proceeds as she directed."

"So how can I help?"

"Ask some questions. Determine the mood in Shimmerene and see how the newcomers are faring. Rumors have reached the Queen and she is concerned. So Razum-dar comes to see what's happening and fights strange creatures. Now Raz is concerned as well."

"I'll ask some questions around the city," I told him. I'd like to find out more myself, especially if this had anything to do with my being sent here.

"While you ask questions around the city, Raz can take care of some other business. It may or may not involve scratching and clawing. Let's meet near the entrance to Shimmerene when you have something to report."

I started by asking a few of Razum-dar. What was this decree he'd mentioned?

He explained that Queen Ayrenn had lifted the prohibition on foreigners entering the main island, as it hampered her from strengthening the Alliance with the Bosmer and Khajiiti, but many of the more hidebound residents had opposed it. The prohibition was relatively recent, and many had settled here before it came into effect. Of the three people he wanted me to question, only one was an Altmer. The other two were a Redguard and an Argonian.

And I wanted to know why he just decided to trust a complete stranger with this mission.

"But you are not a complete stranger, are you? You are the Champion of Vivec, and the rescuer of Sotha Sil, and Divayth Fyr informs us that Almalexia owes you more than she'd admit. You are known to be in a relationship with Azura's champion, who accompanied you here. And how does this one know it is you? Sotha Sil records his memories, and he shared an image with us when you set off on your trip here. The common folk may not know you, but Raz does."

"Besides, when those creatures attacked, everyone else fled, but you came closer. Raz would have preferred that you arrived a little earlier, but he needed the exercise."

---

I spoke with the three people Razum-dar had directed me to, or rather two of them. The Argonian was dead, and I found a note in his backpack that provided the same information I got from the live ones. Recent arrivals, "newcomers" as they termed them, non-Altmer from other provinces, were being rounded up and taken to the monastery. When I took this back to Raz we witnessed a further example, with several of the locals complaining to an official about their servants being taken away. At least one of them agreed with his pronouncement that they needed to be "sequestered" until their suitability for Altmer society was determined. "Lock up the newcomers" was a bit of an extreme way to phrase it, in my opinion.

Raz and I agreed that we needed to check out the monastery. We split up to approach it from different directions. Raz told me he'd distract the guard, so I could slip inside, and It would be best if I did so from behind the guard's back.

On the way there, a golden-clad knight appeared, from a bright portal, and almost immediately left again, complaining that the portal wasn't working. I don't understand why, but this suggested to me that Meridia was trying to get involved, but was meeting resistance. I'm guessing that thought came from Azura, but she's not confirming it. Nocturnal had mentioned that possibility, and it would mean that Mephala had involved the Sload, whatever they were. The resistance could have been Mephala's doing, but it was also possible that Azura and Nocturnal wanted to keep her involvement in reserve.

Entering the monastery went as planned, and there seemed to be few, if any guards inside. I talked to one monk, who seemed disgruntled by the new Aldarch's methods, but I found nothing of major interest on the ground level. One the floor above, however, I found a large pearl similar to the one Razum-dar had destroyed, but seemingly inert, just sitting on the Aldarch's office desk.

"Unusual knick-knack for an Aldarch's office, wouldn't you agree?"asked a voice behind me. I turned to find an elderly Altmer woman entering the room. She was here looking for a friend who had disappeared, and was about to continue her search in the undercroft. She suggested we do so together.

Immediately on entering the undercroft, we both felt uneasy. "I sense magic, dark magic," she told me. And we both saw the cages. I went to let the one remaining prisoner free, while Valsirenn examined a corpse on the floor. "What's a skaafin doing down here?" she asked.

The obvious answer was that Clavicus Vile was involved, but that was ... obvious, so I said nothing. We continued down the passageways.

It wasn't long before we encountered live skaafin, and some of the same creatures that Razum-dar had been fighting when I met him. It was now apparent that they were being summoned by the same Daedric cultists, so Vile and Mephala had already started to join forces here. There was yet another pearl here in the great hall of the undercroft, and it appeared to be the focus for summoning the sea creatures.

"I'll deal with the pearl, you keep the creatures away while I do that," she decided. Since that was the method I was about to suggest, it's what I did. The cultist that had summoned them had already escaped, so that might mean that reinforcements weren't on the agenda.

When we had time to talk, Valsirenn told me that she was a member of the Psijic Order, and she'd sent the pearl to them for analysis. I told her about Razum-dar and Queen Ayrenn's decree triggering this uprising.

"You'd best inform him about what happened here. I'll catch up with you later," she said. "Living on Arteum for a few centuries doesn't prepare you for physical action, and I need a rest."

---

Razum-dar had a room at the nearby tavern, and he'd been doing a bit of snooping of his own. None of it had turned up anything like a Daedric cult, and a life-sucking pearl, however. But he'd managed to obtain an invitation to an event at the Kinlady's townhouse, where it was likely that the decree would be discussed. In particular he wanted to know whether the Kinlady had sanctioned the Aldarch's actions, or if he was acting on his own. Since the Kinlady knew Razum-dar, and they did not get along, it fell to me to attend.

Talking to Kinlady Avenisse convinced me that she had taken the Aldarch's story about sequestering the newcomers at face value, and had no idea what was really going on. She did have a slight suspicion about him, as her chancellor had been unable to verify the Aldarch's existence prior to his coming here. "He did have high recommendation from Kinlord Mulinthel, whom I trust," she told me.

As I was about to leave, a servant brought in a note from the Aldarch. "He wants me to meet him at the Coral Forest? That's an odd place for a meeting, but I need to hear him out."

---

Raz agreed with her assesssment. And confirmed that Tilcalar did not not exist until he arrived here. "and is this your Psijic friend?"

"I'm glad i found you both," Valsirenn said. "I just saw Kinlady Avenisse sneaking out of the city, and came looking for you."

I made the introductions, and we agreed to meet again at the Coral Forest. "We should travel separately, so we don't arouse suspicion, yes?" Raz suggested.

Cool, was wondering when we'd see some more Clark. Was actually gonna make a request for some! Acadian & I have been waiting with bated breath.

I'll reiterate what I said a year ago: I don't know much of what's going on in this story since I barely have played ESO. But it's fun to read. Yeah. being sent to locations which just happen to have Wayshrines does seem mighty convenient.

Ha! It's the Second Era, yet even way back then they still referred to non-Dunmer as Outlanders, from the way this is described at least. Well, they referred to actual Dunmer as Outlanders too, in TES3. Wonder what would happen in ESO if a Dunmer walked around in Morrowind. Outsider does have a more ominous ring to it.

'Spiny things' sound like urchins.

Uh oh. The workings of Clavicus Vile are afoot?

Off to Coral Forest they go. Let's have a picture. Nice.

Welcome back to Clark!

Locking up newcomers to Summerset is not likely to please Queen Ayrenn. Nice job introducing Raz and Valsirren. I hope Clark gets to visit Arteum – it’s beautiful.

Looks like both Grits and I decided the maintenance period was just the time for an update!

@Renee - the Spiny things sort of look like urchins with legs.

@Acadian - Clark does get to visit. He's following that quest line fairly closely, with a few minor variations, because Nocturnal needs to play it that way.

-----

Previously: Clark and Seryn arrived in Summerset. Clark got involved in a local quest, while Seryn headed for home.

-----

Coral Forest

When I arrived there, I could only find Valsirenn. She was reluctant to use magical means to locate the Kinlady and Aldarch, as she was sure they'd detect that. So we set off along the beach to look for them.

"There's more of those Yaghra here," Valsirenn remarked. Now I had a name for the sea creatures, but still no explanation of where they were coming from. The Sea Vipers and Salamanders belonged here on the shoreline, but Yaghra didn't. They appeared to be creatures from the depths, and I wished they'd stayed there.

And now I could hear the Kinlady's voice, exclaiming "Murder? I want no part of that, Aldarch! That wasn't part of the plan."

"You know nothing of the plan, you fool. Let me give you a taste of what the Prince of Bargains has in store for this pitiful world!"

We stepped around the rock to see Lady Avenisse running away from the Aldarch, and another of those glowing pearls. "I want nothing to do with Daedric Princes, either."

Valsirenn ran after her, leaving me to deal with Aldarch Tilcalar. He didn't look much like an Aldarch, his robes looked decidedly more cultist than priestly, and he was wielding an inferno staff. Naturally his first move was to summon more Yaghra to assist him.

They appeared between us, and much closer to him than me, blocking our view of each other. So my opening salvo was an area spell, covering his Yaghra and hopefuly Tilcalar himself. When the air cleared, I was surprised to find them all dead.

That worried me. If the Aldarch had really been Vile's agent, I would have expected a stronger opponent. But since he usually employed Barbas for that purpose, perhaps this one was more disposable.

Whatever the case, Valsirenn was beckoning me from the shore. I smashed the pearl that Tilcalar had used to summon the Yaghra, and went to talk to her. Razum-dar had apprehended the Kinlady, and Valsirenn was returning to Artaeum to brief the Ritemaster. I should follow her, after I'd spoken to the Eye of the Queen. For that, I'd need to be attuned to the portal, so she did that, before transporting herself back directly.

I thought about that afterward. Artaeum was "home" for her, so she could return the same way I did to Vivec City. I'd never even seen Artaeum, so I'd need a different way in. I hoped the wayshrine network extended there, as the location of the portal at the Keep of the Eleven Forces seemed a bit out of the way for regular use.

Raz was talking to Kinlady Avenisse a bit further inland, towards the wayshrine she was trying to reach, and which I presumed Raz had used to get here. His attitude softened a bit when I confirmed that the Aldarch was actually Clavicus Vile's agent, and that she hadn't known that until their meeting here at the shore. The Queen would still need to know, and Raz would leave the judgement to her. He'd told me before that he and Lady Avenisse had a history that might affect his own opinions, so that was perhaps best.

So I should go off to Artaeum, while he dealt with the Kinlady, and started to investigate the Daedric angle here in Summerset.

---

As I arrived at the Ceporah Tower on Artaeum, I heard Valsirenn talking to the Ritemaster. "And there was no sign of Leythen. I don't know whether to be grateful or concerned."

"We'll find him, Val. Now go check on the pearl while I speak to our new guest." he replied, and turned to me.

"What a rare honor Valsirenn bestowed upon you. Only a select few not of our order have ever walked upon this sacred island. Val tells me your aid was indispensable in uncovering the false Aldarch's plot on Summerset."

"We discovered that newcomers to Summerset were being murdered to power the abyssal pearls," I told him.

"Unfortunate, certainly. The magic you describe sounds familiar, though I can't quite recall where I've heard of it before. I fear the pearls may be a harbinger of the threat Sotha Sil warned us about."

So Nocturnal's warning to Seht did register with him. Enough for him to come here himself. That was a good sign.

If I wanted to help with investigation of the pearl, I'd need to go talk to Oriandra, who was in the Ritemaster's study in the tower. The others would start the ritual to extract the pearls' information.

Oriandra told me that Sotha Sil had made an elixir to help with the divination ritual, and sent me back down with it. When I arrived, Iachesis had me pour it into the pool beneath the floating pearl, while the other cast their divination spells.

We were rewarded with a vision of the late Tilcalar and two associates in conference. One of those looked familiar to me, and I noticed Valsirenn peering closely at the other. The conversation confirmed that the Court of Bedlam served the triad of Vile, Mephala, and Nocturnal, but revealed nothing of what they were planning, other than the next part taking place at Relenthil.

---

It was not a surprise that Valsirenn and I were on our way to Relenthil, but Razum-dar also made an appearance when we arrived. His investigations from the cultist side had brought him here to make inquiries with the local Canonreeve. We discovered that the man's own son was meeting with a group of other young Altmer in a sinkhole near town. Raz suspected this was the cult he was tracking and sent us to take a look at the sinkhole.
Sinkholes are common in limestone areas, as the rivers often flow underground, carving out systems of caves.
When the roof of a cave collapses, the sinkhole formed provides easier access to the cave system beneath, if the drop isn't too far. If you are really fortunate, there will be a ramp of dirt and boulders.

Just as we arrived at the top of the ramp, a glowing golden figure appeared, looking much like the golden knight I'd seen failing to arrive in Shimmerene. He didn't do much better this time, disappearing again before we could speak with him. I seemed to hear "Not yet" in the back of my mind.

An Altmer lass ran out of the hole just as the golden light faded, shouting something about being attacked. We didn't get the chance to ask her who, or what, as she was in too much of a hurry to get away.

The caves we entered at the bottom of the hole had been explored even before the sinkhole formed, and we came across several places where adventurers has stashed supplies for their explorations. The entrance didn't look safe, so Valsireen took some time to shore it up, as I pressed on into the caves. I soon came across Yaghra, along with evidence that the collapse had been downward as well as up to the surface, and they had got in from below.

Valsirenn caught up with me just before we found Eldhon, groaning that he'd been stabbed. It wasn't the Yaghra that did it, but Nedoril, the son of the Canonreeve, for being "unworthy". What was more, the wound was poisoned beyond my healing ability, or that of Valsireen, and we couldn't save him.

It just got worse after that. Around the next corner, we found ourselves overlooking a pit where more of those Abyssal Pearls were drawing in Yaghra, and Valsirenn spotted a Sea Sload on the ledge opposite. She told me a little of their history of hostility with the elves of Summerset, but we needed to deal with the current situation before she could tell me more. I went after the pearls, while she tried to get to the Sload.

By the time she reached the ledge, and I'd smashed all the pearls, the Sload was gone. We found an exit and went back into Relenthil to look for Razum-dar and tell him what we knew.

So much to enjoy in this year’s update!

That was a lively jaunt along the sunny coast. I love the Coral Forest area. Clark’s account makes me want to go back for a visit, despite the occasional hostile deep-sea creature.

Valsirenn, Razum-dar, and the mysterious Golden Knight are some of my favorite characters. I am delighted that Clark is going on this adventure! Artaeum! Yay!

Wonderful to see you (and Grits as well) continuing your stories!

Delightful to see Clark working with the Psijic Order. I quite enjoyed the characters of Valsirenn and her Ritemaster in game and, of course, Artaeum (as nixad central) is spectacular.

Clark made pretty good progress toward what is going on but more questions remain.

So you've got a rather unique strategy with the story updates, ghastley. Once a year. Interesting.

"They appeared to be creatures from the depths, and I wished they'd stayed there" -- Love that.

@Grits: - Golden Knight again in this part. Well almost, again.

@Acadian: - The game's version of the story seems to be deliberately confusing at this point, so I'm staying vanilla, until someone explains it.

@Renee: - I'd better break up that pattern.

-----

Previously: Clark and Valsirenn found a Sea Sload in a sinkhole.

-----

A Sload's Memories

I'll admit I was surprised at Raz's summary execution of Nedoril, but as he put it once we were all back outside the Canonreeves's house "If it had gone to trial, the Canonreeve would probably have been found guilty as well. Treason, murder, conspiracy with Daedra ... people are going to want more than one execution."

He hadn't mentioned the need to act quickly. We didn't know what the next move was going to be. so we went back to brief Ritemaster Iachesis, and see what turned up. Just in time, it turned out, as the Yaghra had started an assault there.

In hindsight, bringing the first Abyssal Pearl back to Artaeum seemed to Valsirenn as being a bad idea. It gave the Sload a focus for the invading Yaghra, although how it got to the beach was still a mystery. Iachesis and I went through the old college buildings to the small beach behind it where the Yaghra forces were arriving. We needed to eliminate the pearl while the others set up defences should they break through to the rest of the Island.

The first part of that wasn't too hard. We'd got there early enough that not too many Yaghra were in place. With the pearl destroyed, there would not be any more, but Iachesis was still concerned. We needed to check the Psijic Vaults beneath the old college, as he suspected the target of this invasion was something stored there. In a sense, he was right. Actually he was the target, but the Sload K'Tora also needed to use one of the stored artifacts against him. The Orbs of B'Raken-Drel were the tool required to extract memories from his mind, and there was something the Sload needed to know, that apparently only Iachesis was privy to.

It was clear from the brief conversation before K'Tora siezed him, that Iachesis had a faulty memory of their last encounter. He recalled defeating the Sload in the invasion 300 years ago, but obviously K'tora was still alive. And whatever he was doing to the Ritemaster also prevented me from reaching them.

I heard Valsirenn calling from outside. She'd come through the old college from the other side, making sure it was cleared, and had heard us.

She directed me to another artifact in another part of the vault. The Ul'vor staff was kept well away from the Orbs, so there would be no interaction between them. Both had been retrieved from the Sea of Pearls after the abortive invasion had been put down, and brought here. She handed me the key to the locker, and pointed me in the right direction.

The staff had attracted more Yaghra, so there was more fighting to do before I got to it, but fewer coming back. K'Tora was still ranting at Iachesis, so apparently he hadn't found the memory he was looking for yet. We still had time.

The staff wouldn't reverse what the Sload was doing, but it could let me in to the mental confrontation, and maybe I could have some influence. It was worth trying.

It's hard to describe accurately what happened. It's like I was walking through the Sload's memories, the way he was trying to explore the Ritemaster's. Scenes played out from the past, and I was getting involved in some of the battles, probably as a defence against my intrusion. I saw K'Tora bargaining with Clavicus Vile, trading the conquest of Summerset for the Heart of Transparent Law. The Sload didn't have it yet, but he was confident he could get it.

That was a useful piece of information. Now we knew what Vile was after, even if I didn't understand what it would do for him. But he'd also mentioned Nocturnal, so maybe she could could explain.

Another scene had K'Tora commanding Iachesis to forget, presumably the outcome of their battle. The Ritemaster obviously recalled himself defeating the Sload, and now I knew that it was a false memory implanted to let K'Tora escape from the rest of the Psijic and Summerset forces.

The final one had the Sload commanding Iachesis to steal the Heart, and then forget about that, too.

At this point, Iachesis may have started to wake up, or perhaps K'Tora noticed what I was doing, but everything reverted back to the present. And a big fight. I was probably still in the Sload's mind, giving me a bit of an advantage, as I knew his moves in advance.

When K'Tora died, I somehow used his memory of the staff, or my own, to return to reality, and found Sotha Sil waiting for me, and examining the Sload's corpse. He told me Valsirenn had taken Iachesis back to Ceporah Tower to tend to his wounds, and asked what I'd learned from the memories.

I told him what I knew, with all the apparent contradictions. In particular, that the Ritemaster had hidden the Heart of Transparent Law, and that Vile and the others were seeking it. However, the Sload had both wanted the location, and had commanded Iachesis to forget it. That made no sense to me.

I love the idea of ancient vaults beneath the old college where artifacts are so dangerous they have to be kept apart from one another.


You just summed up Jerric’s experience with pretty much the whole questline. Clark is explaining things in a way that makes me finally see the pieces coming together. Maybe I should go through it again with a mage.

Wow, a lot of players involved! A sload, the Ritemaster, two Daedric Princes and Sotha Sil! And still plenty of mystery. We did learn that the sload was apparently able to trick the Ritemaster into stealing the Heart of Transparent Law, hiding it, then forgetting. So the sload wants the Ritemaster's memory of where he hid the Heart. I'm glad you're more or less following the quest here - it is complicated enough in vanilla without adding to it.

@Grits: - Fewer and less nasties in the vaults in this episode, but the new narrator is just getting started.

@Acadian: - I'm going to need some time to untangle the Summerset quest line, so this is the right time to change viewpoint.

-----

Previously: Clark dropped Seryn off at the Shimmerene wayshrine, and went off to get involved with Razum-Dar, Valsirenn and the Psijics. While he sorts out that complex mess, we'll get another point of view - Seryn's

-----

SERYN

I was going to return directly to Vivec City and our apartment, but Azura had other ideas.

She thought I needed some more experience of the lands outside Vvardenfell, and this trip had just been the beginning. So I was going to travel on to High Isle, to have some adventures of my own, without Clark.

"But I need him," I protested. "we work so well together."

Azura agreed that I needed a companion, and one that mirrored Clark's style of getting in close while I used ranged spells, but it didn't have to be Clark. Learning to adapt to someone else will do me good, too, I was informed.

She had someone specific in mind for me, and all would become apparent really soon.

---

When I stepped away from the wayshrine where I had just arrived, I heard two of the locals talking about some Sapphire Tournament that was taking place at the castle just by the wayshrine. This was a regular event, where the aspirant squires had the chance to prove themselves, and gain promotion to full knighthood. This time, there was an extra prize available - the hand of the Knight Commander's daughter.

That got my attention, especially as they said at least two of the squires were female, and the poor daughter didn't seem to be getting any say in the matter. I needed to find out more.

Down near the arch at the end of the jousting arena, I found Aurelia, the "prize", talking with another young lady in light plate who seemed to be trying to reassure her. She introduced herself as Isobel Veloise, and confirmed that she was one of the aspirants in the tourney. She asked if I would be willing to help her, as they were each permitted a second, and she didn't currently have one. Azura told me to agree, so I did.

She filled me in on the background I was missing: Isobel had grown up as almost a sister to Aurelia. Her parents were merchants, and spent a lot of time travelling, leaving young Bella with the Jourvel family. Isobel had always looked on Commander Jourvel as a role-model, who had shown that a woman could be as good a knight as any man. To some extent, that had resulted in Aurelia being a disappointment to her mother, as she did not want to follow in her footsteps, and be constantly compared to her. On the other hand, she hadn't shown any clear interest in any other career, and Isobel could see her mother's point of view, too.

She explained the rules of the tourney. Each of the Knightly Orders had set a task, so there were three possible. They involved retrieving an item, that would be presented to the order as proof of completion. Two of the items were in known locations, which meant they'd probably be hard to reach. The Hilt of Redheart, for the Order of the Iron Knot, however, would need to be tracked down, which might give us an advantage. Isobel remembered reading something in a book in the castle library that mentioned it. She didn't think the others did much reading, although most of them probably could, so they probably would not have come across that clue.

In the library we found several books lying open on the tables, and one indeed did refer to the Hilt. That probably meant that at least one other aspirant had found the clue, and might be a step ahead of us. We headed off in that direction anyway.

Squire-aspirant Langley Le Tarte was already there when we arrived. He was standing in front of a tangle of branches blocking the entrance, commanding his servant (and second) Berjo to clear the way for him. "And hurry up. You still have to cook my meal when you're done."

We decided to go look for another way in. Isobel had been here before, and recalled another entrance around the back of the rocks, a bit steeper and narrower, but hopefully not blocked. There were a few wild creatures along the way, but Isobel and I fell naturally into the same method of fighting that Clark and I had used, without even having to plan it. At the same time, it was clear that we both needed each other's help, and we were learning from working together. Azura's plan was making sense.

We found the Hilt on a stone plinth, and scrambled down the rocks near to where Langley was still issuing orders to his servant. We avoided talking to them, so Langley didn't discover we already had the Hilt. With luck, that meant less competition for the other quests.

With one item collected, we discussed which should be next. The Golden Lute for the Order of the Albatross was down in the catacombs, so we were likely to have to battle our way through undead, spiders, and who knows what else to get there. But that wasn't what Isobel was most concerned about. If we did get the Lute, the Order would also expect her to compose a poem or ditty about her exploits. Poetry was not her forte.

There was another problem when we got to the chapel. The door to the catacombs was locked, and whoever was down there ahead of us had taken the key with him. I suggested picking the lock, but Isobel would have none of that. It wasn't what a Knight would do. "Neither was locking the door behind him," I pointed out.

"There has to be a spare key somewhere. I'll look here in the chapel, you go back to the castle and ask around there. Somebody should have a duplicate," Isobel told me.

I ran into Aurelia in the hall, and she recommended that I ask one of the commander's aides. Either Dame Hendra, or Nilsmon might have a key. I got the impression that Dame Hendra was the preferred option, but she didn't explain why. So I spoke to the Dame, a small amount of gold changed hands, and I had a key.

I opened the catacombs door, and hung the key back where it should have been. If anyone followed us, we were playing fair. Isobel and I continued down the passage, hoping the dead would oblige us by staying that way.

We mostly encountered spiders, who were definitely alive, and aggressive. Nothing that gave us any real problems, especially working together. Then we heard a voice, which Isobel recognised as that of Mortens, another of the aspirant squires. It seemed to be coming from behind a locked door.

"Langley, is that you?" it asked.

"No Mortens, it's Isobel. What are you doing locked in there? Do we need to find another key to get you out?"

"No, I've got the key. I'm just trying to keep myself safe from that spider. And I may have dropped my sword when I ran back here. Could you get it for me? You'll need this other key I have to get further, so perhaps we could trade?"

With a few extra conditions to make sure Mortens could not cheat us, we came to an agreement. Once we had the sword, and exchanged it for the key. he'd leave the catacombs, and not follow us. Suggesting there might be more of those spiders seemed to make him want to leave quickly anyway.

OK, so it was a big spider, but not actually much more dangerous than the smaller ones. It was slower, for one thing, and easier to dodge. And it went down soon enough. We found Mortens' sword and went back to make the trade.

Beyond the next locked door (he had given us the right key) the spiders gave way to skeletons and wraiths. A bone collosus, an amalgam of several skeletons into a single construct, rose up from a bone pile at one point, but we soon took it apart again.

The final foe we had to face was another spectre, that of the Mad Baron that had slain Sir Brenvale, the owner of the lute we were looking for. He was the toughest opponent we'd encountered so far, but not beyond the two of us working in tandem. Isobel blocking, and my fire and lightning spells, wore him down quite effectively.

Then the ghost of Sir Brenvale himself appeared as we picked up the lute, and we thought we were going to have to fight him, too. It turned out he just wanted to serenade us as we departed, which was almost worse.

When we got outside, we had some time to talk. "So Langley is a pompous, self-centered buffoon, Mortens is a cheating coward, what are the other aspirants like?" I asked.

"Well, Snegh is a traditional Orc. His only method for dealing with a problem is to use his battleaxe, and if that doesn't work, hit it harder. Brelannal is motivated entirely by gold. If she wins the tourney, she'll probably want to sell Aurelia into slavery. We'll likely meet them at the next location, and you can judge for yourself."

"So where are we going?"

"To Erlibru's cottage, down by the shore. He loves puzzles, so I expect there will be some cunning device we'll have to solve. We've known him for years, and he taught me a lot of my healing skills. Hopefully that gives me an advantage in this one."

When we arrived, we found the other two aspirants, Snegh and Belannal, examining a magical barrier that had been erected across the only entrance to the cottage grounds. Three tall stone pillars, and a transparent green shimmering wall of pure magic between them.

As Isobel had predicted, Snegh's approach was to hit the barrier with his axe. He went flying backwards, over our heads, and landed on his back in the mud. "I'd better make sure he hasn't injured himself," Isobel said. "That didn't look like a soft landing."

As she did that, Brelannal tried her luck with a bit of her own magic. The result was that she was turned into a cat, which ran away.

I decided not to touch the barrier itself, but examined the pillars, which looked safer. There were markings on them that resembled birds, plants and things that I didn't know. This would need Isobel's local knowledge to decypher. She left Snegh groaning, and came over.

"That bird is a forest heron, they're quite common around here, and that flower is called a cat's paw. The other one is a Spriggan's veil, a cluster of leaves they shed from time to time. I would guess that we need to collect those items, and put them on those little pedestals in the pillars. Well not a whole heron, probably just one of its feathers, and a flower from the cat's paw, not a whole plant."

She pondered a bit longer. "You know, this reminds me of a story Erlibru used to read to us when we just little. I think he lifted the whole thing from that book!"

Snegh groaned again. "I'd better try and heal him some more; can you find the things while I do that?"

Before long, I was back with a feather I hoped was the right kind, and a spriggan's veil, and a flower. That really did look like a cat's paw, apart from the reddish-purple colour. Now to place them, very carefully, into the pillars.

"That did it! Now let's go in and pay our respects to the old wizard." Isobel was eager to see Erlibru again. While she chatted with him about old times, I fetched the staff, which was leaning against the wall outside.

"Erlibru says that Brelannal will turn back again as soon as we leave," Isobel told me. "and he'll make sure Snegh is all right, too, so I don't need to stay and look after him. I'll meet you back at the castle."

Isobel will indeed make a fitting fighting partner for a mage such as Seryn. Giving Aurelia away to the winner as a prize sounds a bit. . . well, medieval I guess. And Isabel’s competition sound more like dishonorable rubes than squires qualified for knighthood. I’m guessing that if Isobel wins, she’ll likely do the honorable knightly thing and give Aurelia some say over her own destiny. So we’ll hope Isobel and her worthy second win the tourney.

Looking good so far. You’ve done a nice job of portraying Isobel’s personality. Plain spoken, forthright, honorable and sweet-natured. She does carry 'lawful-good' to the point of being a bit of boneheaded – evidenced by being unwilling to pick a lock regardless of the circumstances.

Isobel! Yay! I like how fair-minded she is about the conflict between her friend Aurelia and Aurelia’s Knight Commander mother.



Seryn left the key! Very knightly. She and Isobel are a good pair. After the description of the other aspirants, it’s clear that Isobel is the only acceptable option for Aurelia.

Funny that Isobel is most concerned about the poem part. As long as Seryn doesn’t expect further poerty recitals, the two should make a great team. This was a fun tournament.

Sload are in ESO, cool. I remember before Skyrim was out, folks who didn't get the lore around sloads asking why aren't they in the game? Why can't we PLAY as a sload??? Anyway, good to know they're in ESO. Wonder what they look like. Yicch.

Yeesh. "Win the hand of the daughter..." that's so wrong. But there are also clues to follow, hmm.

"I suggested picking the lock.... it wasn't what a knight would do..." So no lock-bashing, eh? Anyway, how thoughtful for them to leave the key hanging where it should be.

A serenade is worse than fighting! But what happened to Aurelia?

@Acadian: I suspect that Seryn is aware of the possibility of judges being picky with the rules, so leaving the key is a good precaution. I liked the consistent way the game's author writes Isobel, so I'm trying to match it. Naive but learning, perhaps.

@Grits: Seryn and Isobel do have similar outloks, but from very different backgrounds. They should work well, I hope.

@Renee: Aurelia died horribly from being serenaded. Aurelia's involvement is far from over.

--------

Previously: Seryn was diverted from her trip home, to go help Isolbel on High Isle.

----------

Knight Errant

I found Isobel again talking to Aurelia near the jousting arena, this time at the other end, near a large platform where the Knightly Orders' representatives were waiting to receive the quest items. The ones I was carrying, in my role of second to the aspirant.

A herald announced us, and we climbed up the steps. We presented each of the items we'd collected: the Hilt, the Lute and the Staff, to the Orders that had requested them, and even Isobel's silly little ditty about the Lute went down well enough.

Since we'd got them all, and none of the other aspirants had returned anything, it was indisputable that Isobel had won the tourney. She received her promotion to knight, becoming Dame Isobel, from the Knight Commander herself. As expected, and greatly to Aurelia's relief, Isobel requested that Aurelia be freed to make her own decisions.

Speaking to Dame Jourvel in her office afterward, I got the impression that the whole "daughter's hand" thing was a ploy to light a fire under Aurelia, and get her to make up her mind what she wanted to do, if it wasn't going to be becoming a knight herself. I mentioned that Azura seemed to want me to become well-traveled, making sure Aurelia heard me, in case she took the hint.

I wasn't sure if she did. Mostly she seemed relieved to have escaped the clutches of Langley and Mortens. Hopefully she'd see the advantages of putting some extra distance between them and her.

Isobel was told she was now a Knight Errant, which meant that she should go travelling herself, and find some worthy quests to do. She needed experience, and there was a limit to what she could get on High Isle. At Azura's prompting, I offered to take her with me on my travels, as I had the same objectives myself.

---

I now understood that one of the reasons we'd stopped at Vulkhel Guard on the way to Shimmerene with Clark, was so I could go back there and join the Guilds. The Fighters guild, the Mages guild, and the Undaunted all had paying work for adventurers that would be perfect for us. I could also get certified for crafting writs, which would be another source of both gold and experience, as well as letting me upgrade my equipment, when I needed to do so.

The first thing we did was to get Isobel into a costume that matched her idea of what a Knight was supposed to look like. It was a traditional Lion Guard light plate, so not the heavy, clunky kind that a dedicated tank wears. More of a medium armour, which matched much of what she'd actually be wearing. She had skills for most support roles, but they could all do with a bit of development in the field, so a middle-of-the-road approach suited best.

We gave it a dye job, so she wouldn't get confused with the actual Lion Guard, making it a bit more blue and shiny, and maybe even more Breton than the original.

---

Although we joined the guilds at Vulkhel Guard, we'd need to travel a bit more to pick up some daily quests to get us started. "There are job brokers on High Isle, in Gonfalon Bay. I suppose we can do those, now, too," Isobel suggested.

"The whole idea is to travel, not go back home. But we'll go there once we have seen a bit more of Tamriel, I promise."

We joined a group of travellers going to Elden Root, as we could pick up the guild dailies there. Travelling as a group meant only one of us need to know the wayshrine there, and once we'd visited, we'd have another landmark. We would still probably need to learn more of them to actually do the quests we were getting, but we'd handle that when it arose. I had my guar, and Isobel had a horse, so we could ride when we needed to.

---

Elden Root is the biggest tree I've ever seen. The top can't be seen from ground level, it just gets lost in the clouds or haze. I was amazed by the tree, but apparently Isobel was more amazed by the Undaunted Enclave, judging by her reaction when we first went there. "Look at all these people! Look at all this stuff! I just hope we get to see a fraction of the dungeons this must have come out of."

"One at a time," I reminded her, and we went to get a daily delve quest from Bolgrul. We were lucky, and he gave us the task of retrieving stolen goods from a tower just outside Daggerfall. Isobel had been there before, so she knew the wayshrine. It was a port city, and she'd been taken along with her parents on a business trip.

There was another wayshrine just beyond the tower, so we added it to our portfolio before tackling the quest itself. "If we miss any of the stolen goods and have to come back, this one will be quicker," I reasoned.

We entered the Ilessan tower dungeon through the trapdoor, and started looking for the stolen silverware. It appeared that the bandits had shared out the spoils, as we recovered pieces one or two at a time from the individuals we encountered. Killing the boss was on our list of things to do, but we had all the silverware we were sent for by the time we found her. What she did drop for us, though, was a "companion's greatsword", of better quality than the sword and shield Isobel was using.

I noticed that I couldn't use it myself, nor would I be able to improve it, deconstruct it, or anything like that. But Isobel coul use it, and she'd trained with all weapons as a squire, so I gave it to her. In return, I had to take her sword and sheld. I'd also noticed that she had not been allowed to join the guilds with me, but I'd put that down to her already belonging to the Knightly Order. Apparently companion status was more complicated than I'd thought. It was most likely the same sort of considerations that made me a sorceror, and Clark a dragonknight. There were skills each of us had, that the other could never learn.

After we'd cleared the dungeon, collected the skyshard, (again, I could do that but Isobel couldn't), we stopped outside to discuss what companion meant. It turned out there were a lot of differences in being one. Different skill lines, different equipment, and a whole lot more. A useful one was that she could travel directly to me when I needed her, instead of us having to meet at the nearest wayshrine, like I did with Clark.

---

We traveled back to Elden Root, and climbed up the stairs to the first landing, where the crafting stations were, and the entrances to the Fighters and Mages guild halls. We went in and picked up their daily quests, to close a Dark Anchor, and retrieve an artifact of Sheogorath, respectively. I took the time to pick up the day's crafting writs, too, but decided to do them at the same time as deconstructing the surplus loot from the daily quests. Then we could turn in Bolgrul's quest and the crafting writs down at the ground level at the end.

Fortunately for us, both of the guild quests were in Auridon, and we already had a wayshrine there. We rode out of town to look for more wayshrines, and just as we arrived at the first one at Windy Glade, a nearby dolmen started up. We arrived in plenty of time to join the crowd of adventurers fighting the daedra, and the anchor was soon destroyed, and we had our first Fighter's guild quest done.

Now we had to find Toothmaul Gully, which my map told me was quite a bit further up the coast, if we decided to go that way. Alternatively, we could pick up a couple more wayshrines by taking the roads inland. We opted for the inland route, as we'd use those shrines again.

We encountered a traveling merchant on the road, and traded a few things. He didn't have any companion gear, but he bought the ones I had, that Isobel no longer needed. We also found out that Toothmaul was just around the corner at the end of the trail down to the beach. It was rumoured to be full of goblins, but they seemed to stay in the cave, and not venture out much. The merchant had never seen any outside it.

When we entered the cave, we didn't find goblins in the first part, but some Altmer fighting amongst themselves. I declined a request to assist, as I didn't know anything about what the two sides of the conflict represented. I wasn't here to get involved in their disputes, just to retrieve the artifact for the Mages guild.

There were a few hostile goblins in the next chamber, and we fought through the ones we needed to reach the exit that lead most directly to where we were trying to go. The were a couple more exits, but the crude map I had suggested they were just longer paths leading to the same place. The tunnel we'd picked had its share of goblins, and imps, but nothing major. My map suggested that the western route had significant enemies lurking along it, and the eastern one lead to the goblin chief's den. The main chamber, where all of them converged, would have a scattering of major enemies, but it was likely we could get in and out without having to deal with most of them.

By the time we emerged into the main cave chamber, Isobel and I had done about as much fighting as had in the whole of Ilessan Tower earlier. We still had to find our way across to the the chest containing the artifact, and deal with whatever was guarding it. Fortunately, there were other adventurers there, presumably on quests of their own. Perhaps some of them had agreed to help one or other side of the Altmer conflict.

So we could pick our battles, and wait for assistance with the harder ones. The strangler that we had to kill to reach the chest seemed to be on everyone's dance card, for one reason or another, and it went down from sheer force of numbers. "Now let's get out of here, and go turn this in for our reward," I declared.

I’m sure Aurelia was glad to be free of the threat of becoming the property of one of those loser squires.

I hope I didn’t imply a negative impression of Isobel. In fact, she would certainly be my second choice as a companion after Mirri. For Buffy, we just wanted a companion that was more worldly.

I like how you are embracing quite a bit of the way ESO actually works, such as the guilds, companions and even quests. It feels very familiar and comfortable.

The Morrowinder and High Isler have quite a bit of Tamriel to explore!

Interesting take on why Isobel can’t join the Guilds. I like it. Swapping gear with Isobel and carrying her old stuff made me think about a character who could be her squire. Hmm.

That was a fun trip through Toothmaul Gully. You described it well enough that I would have known it without the name.

I am enjoying these travel adventures!

@Acadian: More exploring coming up.

@Grits: Travel adventures are what Seryn is supposed to be doing, if Azura has her way.

-----

Previously: Isobel got her knighthood, and she and Seryn have gone to Elden Root to start raising their guild ranks (and get paid for it).

-----

Bathing

t had been a long day, so we wasted no time traveling back to Elden Root. Isobel wanted to wash off the stink of goblin, but I persuaded her to wait until we could use the tub in my Vivec apartment. We collected our pay from the Undaunted, the Mages and the Fighters, and went to Vivec to sell the loot and count up our earnings.

Isobel was surprised at just how hot the bath water was. "I couldn't get into that, I'd be jumping right back out again. How can you stand it?"

"Probably because I'm a Dunmer. We're resistant to fire spells, so hot baths are no problem."

"I'm used to bathing in the sea, and if it got this hot, we'd not need to cook the fish," Isobel replied.

Isobel got herself a room for the night in the same inn - with a cooler bath, she informed me. We met up for breakfast the next day and went over our accounts. The guilds paid well, and we'd made even more from selling off the things we'd picked up from chests, and crates, and dead enemies along the way. My crafting writs had paid well, too. I did a few quick calculations.

"I reckon in about a week, if we do the same daily quests, we could buy that Bosmer pod house near the Elden Root entrance. Then we'd be right next to the stables, for our riding lessons, and pretty close to the Undaunted Enclave. I can make bedrolls, and fur-pile bedding to put them on, so we could use it as a base. It's larger than my inn room, so there's space for storage chests, and other things I don't currently have room for."

"Walking distance to the Enclave sounds great," Isobel thought, "but if we can only do one delve a day, what's the point of saving time?"

"I can only get one quest, but you could go along with any of the other Undaunted who wants help. I noticed you preferred their dailies to the other two we did, so maybe you could do more of them while I'm doing my crafting writs. We both need to do the Mages and Fighters dailies for the ranking, so we can learn their skills."

And that's what we did. Snugpod effectively became Isobel's home. The Vivec apartment was mine and Clark's and that hot bath was one thing we both liked, even if Isobel wasn't convinced. Since we could travel instantly between them it was an ideal arrangement.

---

Our daily routine was first to take a riding lesson from Galolion, and then pick up the daily delve quest from Bolgrul at the Undaunted Enclave. At the first landing in the tree, we'd get the guild dailies, and I'd pick up the crafting writs. Depending on where the daily quests took us, we'd go do those, and then return to Snugpod.

Isobel would go turn in Bolgrul's quest, while I did the same for the other two. She'd ask around if anyone needed a swordswoman's help with their Undaunted daily, while I made all the items for the crafting writs up in the tree. After I finished those, I had to take them out to the quartermaster's crates near the bridge, before returning to Snugpod to meet up with Isobel. Then we'd go off and find somewhere new to eat.

Most days we both finished about the same time. Some of the Undaunted quests took you further from the wayshrines, so they took a bit more travel time than others. If I got a sealed Master writ to do, then that would take me extra time to make, as I'd have to travel to the crafting station that made that set. So it wasn't unusual for one of us to be waiting around for the other to turn up.

---

When Isobel finally did arrive, she had a silly grin on her face that told me she hadn't just been fighting in a delve. "Come on, spill the beans," I told her.

"You remember Snegh, the Orc aspirant back on High Isle? The one I said was a typical Orc, because he just hit everything with his axe? Well, I just met an Orc who was the exact opposite of Snegh," Isobel began.

"When I went to the Enclave, he was standing near Bolgrul, who was looking up at him, and giving him his daily task. He wore no armor, unless you count the metal armbands and collar, just regular cloth pants and shoes, and he carried a staff on his back. He was showing a lot of muscle for a mage.

"I was curious, to say the least. I asked if he needed a sword-wielding companion to assist in the delve, and he agreed. We headed off for Mehrune's Spite, a cave in the North of Auridon. It was full of daedra, a lot of them stinky little banekin, but with clannfears and flame atronachs as well. There were the usual cultists, but the boss we were after was a Dremora mage.

"None of it was particularly difficult, especially as I'm used to working with a mage like yourself. So we didn't work up much of a sweat. However, daedra in a confined cave still left us rather odorous, and I was eager to get cleaned up. We came out of the cave and I ran down to the nearby beach to clean my armour, and bathe.

"Bud, the big Orc, followed me. He seemed surprised that I was going to bathe in the sea. He told me that where he came from in Wrothgar, the sea had Ice floating in it, and nobody even considered going in deliberately. You'd only get hot water in the bathhouses, and generally they had separate times for male and female bathers. So he wasn't expecting me to strip off and dive in.

"I told him that on High Isle, most people bathed in the sea. Nowhere was far from a beach, and the water was nicely warm, like it was there in Auridon. And of course you bathed naked, if you were trying to get clean.

"Apparently, he appreciated what I was showing. I'd always thought I was a bit too well-muscled for Breton tastes, but Orcs think differently. He told me that some of the Orc women take it too far, and end up looking like men, but I was properly smooth. Curves, not lumps. I was tall for a Breton, and that helped, too.

"So it's my fault that he needs to loosen his pants. After a quick dip to clean off, that problem hadn't gone away. It was my duty to do what I could, or we wouldn't be able to go back to the enclave with him in that condition."

"And you would have done a thorough and diligent job of it," I snickered. "A Knight should always try to excel, right?"

Isobel laughed. "What took all the time was that he had the same ideas, and made sure I got what he thought I deserved, too."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but when we left High Isle, I was convinced you preferred women," I told her.

"Well, I grew up with Aurelia, so she was like a step-sister, and I did have a bit of a crush on her at one point. And you saw what the choice of men was like back there. Langley, Mortens, Nilsmon, and Snegh were the cream of the crop! So at that point in time, you were probably right."

"Does this mean you'll be looking for him at the Enclave again tomorrow?" I asked.

"Just that I won't mind if I find him there," she grinned. "But there's quite a few other guys I like doing a delve with. It's just that the circumstances haven't conspired so well before."

"Tell me about the others over dinner," I suggested. "I'm starving, and the tavern opposite has a special tonight that I want to try."

---

So Isobel told me about the other mages she'd been out with. The elderly Breton that had her wear the dancing girl costume so that the enemies would underestimate her. "And I expect he enjoyed the show, too," I inquired.

"Probably, but he never tried anything. I suspect he was a bit afraid of me, just like the other squires back in High Isle. We all bathed naked at the beach after our training sessions, but they soon learned that even if I did look tempting, they'd get hurt if they tried anything.

"There's another guy that likes me to wear a costume, too, but only when we're being social. In the delves, he doesn't care what I look like, but he thinks I should look elegant in company."

"So you just go delve-clearing with guys?" I asked.

"Mostly. The women are looking for a male companion, or just don't want one, because they have something to prove."

---

So now, whenever I'm at the Enclave, I'm looking around to try and guess who else Isobel knows. And noticing a few of the others in the process. There was one Reguard man that caught my eye, with a greatsword (curved, of course) on his back, but wearing a fancy costume that made him appear to be a wealthy merchant, not a delve-diving adventurer. I asked him where he got it, as I hadn't seen anything quite like it before.

He didn't remember. It could have been Hew's Bane, or Sentinel, or even Stros M'kai. None of those were places I'd ever been, but he'd never visited Morrowind, and my Ashlander outfit was just as exotic to him. He'd started his adventuring life on Stros M'kai, so come to think of it, that probably wasn't where he got the costume. If he ever had enough gold, he'd go back there and buy a big house to live in. But he spent it as fast as it came in, so that wasn't likely.

I asked Isobel if she knew any of the places he'd talked about. She'd heard of them, but not been there herself. They all had ports, so she'd been told tales by ship's captains that worked for her parents. Hew's Bane was full of thieves, but was generally safe if you stayed in the docks area. Sentinel was a major city with more than one dock area. Veloise shipping used only one of them, so she didn't know much about the rest. Most of the trade there was minerals, as so much of the kingdom was desert. Stros M'kai was pirate territory, but the Redguard king was making progress in cleaning them out. It was a small island, so that could happen quite quickly.

"But it's strange you should mention that place, because I just heard from Aurelia. She's gone there, on her travels, and had a ring I gave her stolen. She wants us to meet her there, and try and get it back."

"Is it a special ring?" I wanted to know.

"Well, yes. It's a Veloise family signet ring. I gave it to her because I wanted to show her that she was family to me. And not just like a sister. I may have understated that crush when I told you earlier.

"The problem now is that somebody could use that ring to impersonate a Veloise Mercantile agent, and really do my family business some harm, financially, or to our reputation, which comes to the same thing in the end."

Very nice job developing the partnership between Seryn and Isobel. Isobel’s good in a dungeon and the facts that she loves clearing them and is an Undaunted fangirl help.

The two have a profitable system worked out.

Buffy fully understands Isobel’s ‘water makes her clothes fall off’ habit.

Speaking of lots of water, it seems there’s trouble afoot on the island of Stros M’kai with Isobel’s family business signet ring and Aurelia. Hmm, didn’t Seryn say that Redguard she met at the Enclave came from Stros M’kai?

It was fun to hear about some of other mages that Isobel has worked with, and especially the reasons for some of the outfits.

To Stros M’kai, where the water is probably perfect for bathing!

A bathing chapter. Those are fun to write, right? Yes that makes sense; dark elves are going to want really hot bathwater, to the edge of toleration for them would be scalding for any other race.

Bosmer pod house sounds cute. Snugpod!

I love the orc finding it strange to bathe in the sea. Because I wouldn't think orcs would even have a preference, being brutal types, mostly. And Bud the orc also, oh gosh. Oh gosh, that's ... he loosens his pants. Yikes.

"And you would have done a thorough and diligent job of it," I snickered. "A Knight should always try to excel, right?"

Oh gosh. Yikes. Think I'm too young for this chapter. Unless my mind's insinuating stuff not intended by the author. Could be that, yeah.

Redguards: They've got curved swords.... Curved swords.

Hopefully the ring won't get used to impersonate, but chances are that's exactly what'll happen.

@Acadian: Isobel likes the Undaunted daily delves in particular. I may have to bend the ESO story a bit, or she won't do the pledges.

@Grits: Outfits are fun, as they have nothing to do with what you actually wear.

@Renee: What Bud needed was a cold shower, but only a warm sea was available.

-----

Previously: Various events happened while bathing.

------

Port Hunding

It wasn't too hard to find a ship going to Port Hunding. Nobody was sailing to Saintsport, because that's where all the pirates were. It appeared that the cleanup had started, but was only half-complete. Rumour had it that Headman Bhosek was a "reformed" pirate, but there were enough of the King's agents present to keep him reasonably honest.

Aurelia had been staying at the Screaming Mermaid, not too surprisingly, as it was the only inn in town. We met outside, and she had another familiar (to Isobel) face with her. "That's Captain Marso. He works for my parents," Isobel told me.

What had happened was that Aurelia had let her guard down, and a thief named Kiv had got enough information from her to let him get access to her room, and steal several of her possessions, including the ring.

"It looks like he ran off this way, dropping things as he sorted through his haul," Isobel exclaimed, picking up a jar of something smelly, and dropping it again, with a disgusted look on her face.

We took a guess at which direction he'd headed, and soon found an engraved arm band of no particular value. So we continued in the same direction, and found he'd dropped his journal, which suggested he knew he was being pursued, and couldn't spare the time to pick it back up. It also confirmed that he was heading for the docks.

He'd dropped a sweetroll on the docks, but I steered Isobel past picking it up, and rushed to ask the shipping agents if they'd seen him, or knew what ship he was on. We'd just missed the boat he'd taken, which was headed for Seyda Neen.

We didn't need to follow on a ship, as I knew the wayshrines on Vvardenfell. So we talked a bit more with Aurelia and Marso.

Coming to Stros M'kai had been Marso's idea. Aurelia had wanted an adventure, and this seemed to him like the right place. Port Hunding was pretty safe, (Kiv excepted) but the island provided opportunities for exploration and adventure that were not too scary for a beginner. And he could do some trade to justify the trip, as Dwemer artifacts were starting to emerge from the newly opened ruins of Bthzark.

Aurelia thought it would be best if Isobel kept the ring if we got it back. Now that she understood what it could be used for in the wrong hands, she didn't want to risk this happening again. She had ideas on how she could limit the damage, and she and Marso would go back to High Isle and work on those.

On our way to the Port Hunding wayshrine, to get to Seyda Neen, Isobel explained that Marso was an old family friend, as well as an employee of her parents. They always took his ship when they went on family trips, and on many of those they took Aurelia with them, as she and Isobel were such close friends. So they'd known him since they were teens. He wasn't a lot older, as he'd been quick to rise to Captain. Her parents promoted on ability, not seniority.

As we reached the wayshrine, I remarked "I'm glad we're picking up this wayshrine, as I wouldn't mind coming back here to look around. I like the exotic architecture, and the dry climate."

"Me too," Isobel replied. "Maybe it's because of growing up on one, but I like islands. You're never far from the beach."

"And we know what you do on beaches, don't we?"

---

Of course, Vvardenfel is an island, but a much bigger one. And Seyda Neen doesn't have a beach, so much as mud flats and swamps. We headed for the tavern, as that's usually a good place to start making inquiries. Before going in, we asked the woman standing outside if she knew anything about Kiv Lindres.

Galedra Athram not only knew about him, she was looking for him herself. He'd got her fired from her job at the inn, because she'd vouched for him, and then he'd pulled the same kind of stunt he had in Port Hunding, and robbed one of the patrons. He'd left a bag behind in his rush to escape, and we were welcome to look through it.
The only clue that gave us was that a man named Julles Laurdon was another likely victim, and he was in Wayrest.

"I know the wayshrine there," Isobel announced. "Another family business trip when I was younger. I can get us to quite a few of the major cities around Tamriel. If they have a port, it's likely Veloise Mercantile has an interest."

---

"I should go check at the bank while I'm here," Isobel remarked. "If Kiv Lindres has tried to use the ring as proof of identity, that's the first place he'd try, and I want to make sure he fails."

As luck would have it, we ran into Julles Laurdon outside the temple on our way there. He was about to go looking for Kiv, too, as several items of value had gone missing, and he knew Kiv had at least one of them, because he'd handed it over himself. He had found a note from someone called Goldleaf, and he thought Kiv had gone to Belkarth to meet with him. He suggested we all go there, too, and try and warn this Goldleaf about Lindres.

With four of us, there was little problem using the wayshrine to reach Belkarth, and we were soon walking up to the local inn, to go find this Goldleaf fellow.

We found him in the upper lounge, and for once we'd got there first. He'd received a letter from Kiv Lindres, telling him that Kiv was now working with Veloise Mercantile, and so he could put a lot more business his way. They were due to meet in the basement later.

"Why the basement?" Galedra asked.

"Kiv presumably needs the storage space, now he's trading on a bigger scale," Goldleaf suggested. "Seemed legitimate to me."

We told him about the stolen ring, and that we believed the basement was probably a trap. The four of us would go in his place, just in case.

We weren't wrong, Lindres had a couple of mercenaries with him, but they were bright enough to be able to count. They didn't like being outnumbered and promptly quit, leaving Lindres alone. He still drew a sword on us, but was quickly subdued.

He didn't have the ring on his person; he didn't trust Goldleaf enough for that. He told us where he'd buried it, and we'd just have to trust that he wasn't lying. We could, however, make sure that he couldn't just go fetch it from any other place he'd hidden it. Both Geladra and Julles had idea on what to do with Kiv.

Galedra would like to try an alchemical experiment. She had a potion she'd made, that should turn Kiv into a skeever for a time. Long enough for us to go dig up the ring, at least.

Julles wanted to send Kiv to a monastery, where they'd reform him. He'd be there for a year, or more, he told us.

Isobel and I were of the opinion that Kiv would just talk his way out of Julles' monastery, so we let Galedra have her way. She poured a bottle of something over Kiv, and he turned into a spider.

"Not a skeever? I must have used too much spider silk in the mixture," Galedra exclaimed.

She reassured us that the transformation should last as long as she'd told us, even if the form wasn't right. We'd have time to find the ring before the spider turned back.

---

Surprisingly, the ring was where Kiv had told us it would be. Perhaps he wanted to be sure nobody else found it, and he'd know where it was if he got the chance to go looking for it again. Isobel felt that the only safe place was with her parents.

---

As we walked back to the wayshrine in Gonfalon Bay, after leaving the ring with the Veloises, I asked Isobel what other places she could take us. I knew that Azura wanted me to travel, so perhaps I should indulge her, and see a bit more of Tamriel.

"Just port cities, as I mentioned before, and we've already seen most of them. We haven't been to Sentinel, though, want to go there?"

He'd dropped a sweetroll on the docks, but I steered Isobel past picking it up

How satisfying to have the people he’d duped all confronting Kiv. Wise decision to go with the alchemical option. I can see Kiv creating havoc at a monastery.

Ooo, Sentinel! So much to see and do there!

The trail begins in Port Hunding. Aurelia and Marso are able to fill in some of the gaps and provide a name. The hunt is on!

Knowing Isobel’s sweet tooth, steering clear of that sweetroll was probably wise.

Isobel, being a beach bunny – er – involved in her family’s mercantile business -explains the wonderful fact that she is familiar with so many port city wayshrines. Very handy for Seryn as she wants to travel more of Tamriel.

Several cities later, with Kiv learning how to be a spider, the ring is found and delivered to Isobel’s parents. Nicely done.

On to Solitude, is it?
Edit: Oops, I meant Sentinel.

@Grits: Seryn already knows about Isobel and sweetrolls. And banana muffins, taffy, ...

@Acadian: Isobel and beaches could become a theme.

-----

Previously: Seryn and Isobel went to Port Hunding to help Aurelia.

------

Tourists

Sentinel was like a much larger version of Port Hunding. Bigger docks, bigger buildings, especially the Royal Palace, where King Fahara'jad lived. The architecture was the same, just on a larger scale. Many of the buildings were eerily familiar, as the builders had used the same plans when they constructed the same kind somewhere else. So the Sisters of the Sands Inn was just like the Screaming Mermaid that we'd lodged in on the island, and the Crossroads Tavern in Belkarth came to mind, too.

We walked out to the edge of town to return to the wayshrine, and I looked out across the sands, which stretched as far as the eye could see. There were rain-catchers like the one by the wayshrine clustered in the distance, but beyond them was just more sand. Too much desert for my tastes. The few palm trees I could see were around the edge of the city or the rain-catchers.

We took the wayshrine to Daggerfall, the other port that Isobel knew. The Breton buildings were just like those in Wayrest, and it didn't help that it was raining there when we arrived, making them look even greyer. The Rosy Lion was cheerful enough, and we got offered the chance to buy a room, just like we did in Vivec City. It may even have been the same woman who made the offer. I don't remember clearly, as Clark made all those arrangements.

That got me thinking about homes, and not just exploration. I'd bought Snugpod in Grahtwood as a base, partly because it was so cheap, and partly because of its location. I asked Isobel where she'd like to live, if she could choose anywhere she knew.

"Would it mean giving up Snugpod?" she wanted to know. "That might not be my idea of Home, but I wouldn't want to lose the access it gives me to the all the Guilds."

"No, I mean what else do you want from a Home, with the capital H?"

"I'd want it to be on an island, because I like bathing in the sea. And that means warm sea, of course, so no houses in Wrothgar or Eastmarch.

"The bigger the better, but only up to a point. I grew up in a castle, and that's too big to be a Home. You only get to live in a part of one, and there's servant quarters, barracks, and stuff where other people live, so it's not all yours."

We continued discussing the idea, and soon discovered that we both preferred sandy beaches to swamps and mud-flats. We visited Khenarthi's Roost, one of the few places I knew that Isobel didn't, but neither of us liked the way Khajiiti buildings were either stone ruins, or unstable-looking wooden ones up on poles.

I admitted to her that I felt I'd outgrown The Vivec apartment I shared with Clark, and I wanted to find something bigger for us. Since he wasn't here to ask, I was getting my second opinion from her.

"Who's Clark?" she asked.

I had been avoiding mentioning Clark, because I couldn't tell her about him without also giving her the whole story, and that meant Azura, too. I wasn't sure if Azura wanted her to know about sending me to High Isle in the first place.

Of course, she was listening. A winged twilight materialised silently behind Isobel. Nobody paid it any attention, as mages summoned them all the time.

"Perhaps I can help answer that," she said. "Seryn is well-known in Morrowind as the Champion of Azura, as Clark is Vivec's Champion. The two of them saved Vvardenfell from an impending disaster. They're here in the West for a well-deserved vacation, but it seems that neither of them knows how to relax."

"I think I heard something about that," Isobel exclaimed. "Didn't Vivec's Champion clear daedra from the temple in Mournhold, too? Did Seryn have anything to do with that?"

"Yes, Clark was part of that, but no, it was Divayth Fyr with him on that occasion. There's also a lot more to the stories that you won't have heard, and I'm not at liberty to divulge. The Tribunal aren't telling, and nor is Azura."

That pretty well covered all that the public knew, and did match any facts Isobel might dig up. Vivec had announced Clark's title publicly, and Azura's method was a bit more theatrical, but just as public, when she told me. I still miss that feeling of power!

I admitted to Isobel that I wasn't sure what Clark was up to on Summerset. I did know that Azura wanted him to go there, and for me to go exploring somewhere else. He'd been back to visit in Vivec City whenever he could, which was another reason she had Snugpod to use.

"So your trips back haven't just been about hot baths?"

"Hot, yes; baths, no" I confessed.

"And he hasn't told you about what he's doing there?"

"Not much. He's mentioned a few well-known names, like Queen Ayrenn and her Eye, Razum-Dar. He has described some of the places he's visited since I left him at Shimmerene, but nothing that tells me what's really going on. Much like I'm not telling you any more about what really happened back on Vvardenfell, because it's all on a need-to-know basis for our own safety.

"And if it's anything like last time, I'm sure it wouldn't make any sense until it all plays out, anyway."

"So did Azura send you to High Isle, or were you just a tourist?" Isobel wanted to know.

"I was a tourist at her suggestion," I replied. "It was her idea, but not a directive. She'd persuaded me that I needed to travel more, and learn new skills, and that was an opportunity for both. Plus I needed a combat partner while she borrowed Clark, and you fit the bill. I don't know if she has any plans for you beyond that, as she hasn't told me."

"If she does, she'll tell you herself," the twilight added. "That's the way she does things." And she disappeared again.

We decided to go and eat our evening meal at the Screaming Mermaid on Stros M'kai, as we'd both liked the food there on our last visit. Maybe we'd stay the night there, too, and look around in the morning on our way to the wayshrine. We did want to get back to Elden Root and do our dailies for the guilds, but they didn't usually take long, if Isobel avoided beaches..

The innkeeper told us that the big house just to the south was for sale, but it wasn't just a case of coming up with the gold. Pirates could do that, and the King had enough of them. You'd have to prove yourself as honest citizens of the Daggerfall Covenant first.

That was a bit daunting for me, as I now owned property in the other two alliances, and could consider myself a citizen almost anywhere except the Covenant. Isobel, however, was a Breton, so maybe it wasn't an impossible task. The innkeeper pointed out that the honesty part was the important one, as whoever bought the house became a citizen that way.

It turned out that we were part way there anyway. We'd cleared delves, and closed anchors, and a number of other things along the way that had all been noted, The other encouraging aspect was that anyone else who wanted to buy had the same hoop to jump through, so perhaps we had the lead in any race for it.

Now our interests were piqued, Isobel and I went for a tour of the property. "It's on its own island!" Isobel exclaimed, as we walked over the bridge to the imposing front gate.

Indeed the outer walls of the property did enclose the whole island. At the very back, away from the "mainland", there was no wall, but nothing overlooked the beach except a number of large uninhabited offshore rocks. In one direction you could just see Saintsport, but the other direction was open sea to the horizon. We'd been told not to try to swim out too far, as there were slaughterfish in the deeper water, but they didn't come in close enough to be a nuisance. They would, however, make short work of anyone trying to swim in from outside the property. As private a beach as you could ask for.

The house itself had a large courtyard, surrounded by walls tall enough to cast a good shade to sit in. There were a few awnings already in place to provide more, and it would not be hard to add to them. The building was airy and open inside, effectively all one large room on two floors. There were domes at the top where heated air could escape and a very gentle breeze came in through vented walls to keep the place cool. The lack of interior walls helped this circulation, and made the interior very comfortable.

There were several towers whose only purpose was to support the exterior wall, but a larger one on the beach side of the property was big enough for one person to live in, having as much floor space as Snugpod. You could climb up that one and get a very good view of the bay.

There was a stable, a rain-collecting pool, and various other amenities, and plenty of room to add more. We liked this place. The price was a bit more than we had, but with what we'd earn doing quests to qualify for it, it was in reach.

I decided that I wouldn't tell Clark that I intended buying it until it happened. There was a chance somebody else would beat us to it, after all. And maybe I'd wait a little longer, as it would need furnishing, and I wanted to do that myself, too.

"Who's Clark?" she asked.’
- - I’ve kind of been waiting for this. A winged twilight arrives to provide the answer – clever and convenient!

Not surprisingly, the ladies are drawn back to the warm seaside charm of Stros M’kai. And it seems an unused palatial island home might be available if they can pass the quests to get it. . . .