The drums of war! That will certainly put her niece’s scandal on Elisef’s back burner. And an internal power struggle in Solitude in which Elisef shows her stuff pretty impressively – reasonable decisions and forcefully enacted.

Laprima also shows herself to indeed be of noble blood as she volunteers for emissary duty to Dragonbridge.

Bearclaw certainly does not live up to his name as his lack of courage and support for his Jarl in the presence of Tullius’ mouthpiece pales in comparison to both Elisef and Laprima.

So Chamany's in jail. Well, if it's any comfort, that's how most TES protagonists got started.

But it looks like he's got bigger problems than just being a convict. Someone wants drugs, or drug money.

Yeah, it always starts off looking lucrative. Like you'll all be on easy street after this score. But it's never that simple in actuality.

Laprima's in a more comfortable situation at least. But what's this surprise that Tricky has?

Ah, a luminosity device is the sort of thing magic ought to be used for. Flashy pyrotechnics have their place, but this sort of thing can change a society.

Unfortunately, I ran into the same issue as SubRosa regarding the note. But with what happens next, I'm guessing that it was telling her of her husband's arrest?

Hm, what kinds of legal advocates does Solitude have, I wonder?

That's right! Her husband's misdeeds could affect her status in Skyrim, as well. Things get so tangled with family, particularly when you're in a society like Tamriel's.

Archery does sound nice about now. I liked the little mini-fantasy she had. Certainly would be preferable to the reality.

Okay, she's laying down the law. Good!

The last chapter did make it seem like Chamany wasn't overly concerned with the arrest. But the bigger issues might be court gossip. Nobles have it better than most, but they don't have it easy by any means.

Not surprising that Laprima assumes the shout has something to do with her husband's misadventures. Must be a relief that they're not the subject of conversation.

Whiterun sacked! Okay, so did the Dragonborn side with the Stormcloaks? This is ominous.

And now they have to figure out how to deal with refugees from the city. Jarls are ostensibly in charge of their cities, but I do wonder how much authority they actually have at the end of the day. Certainly both the Empire and Ulfric are pretty comfortable throwing their weight around.

Ah, so Tullius is in charge.

"Furlongs of trouble." I like that turn of phrase.

Interesting. Chamany's going to be a weight around Laprima's neck, especially in court. But if she proves herself useful, she might be able to dodge that, or at least minimize the damage. And all that training with Sirdasa might indeed pay off.

Devices that droned music? So is that the soundtrack we hear in-game?

Laprima may have done this a bit impulsively, but I can see Elisif's perspective here: she can't get Bolgeir to do the job, and she needs someone who represents the court's power. Laprima hasn't been idle; Elisif might not know everything Laprima's been up to, but she knows Laprima has gone out of her way to do something other than sit around. So yeah, Laprima's not a bad choice at all.

Heh! Nice outburst. She has the authority, so she may as well exercise it.

I like that she saw herself as the betty netch.

Falk's being a jerk. He's correct--but ultimately, so far as Elisif's concerned, it doesn't really matter too much as to why Laprima volunteered. Just that she did.

I do comments tonight. Tomorrow morning I post the story! Just works out better that way.

@SubRosa Florens: Ha ha yup! It's the BIG secret being kept for probably close to a year now!

I get a few things wrong in your story, mostly events and a few people, so no worries. My problem is I tend to blurt stuff sometimes without thinking through. Apologies for those moments.

Yeah, just imagine the dynamics in that room: Elisif versus Tullius, yet neither leader wishes to be in the same room as the other. Instead they send representatives back and forth. Like a passive-aggressive struggle for leadership. Anyway, all of that came from a random comment I heard from a Solitude guard. Guy said "Elisif is just a puppet" and oh boy... let's see about that!

I didn't do research on that part though, now that I think of it. Is there a battle in Dragon Bridge? I can't remember! I don't think there is, though. *goes to UESP* RIGHT. Dragon Bridge is not mentioned, so phew. I didn't step on any lore!

Gonna turn the Quote-a-Rama on..



Naw, probably won't go that far. The main focus is on Laprima and her life, the war is just for background. She won't become a soldier, for instance.

Ha ha yeah FUDDLES! .. Kahreem used to say "fokke" all the time, so that is the Imperial's version of F.U.

Nope, that wasn't a mistake! Nords in Skyrim say chahhge, not really pronouncing the R so much. Feel free to point out nits in the future, though. I missed an ending quotation mark in that last chapter, for instance.


@Macole, Vampire Hunter: Yeah. So I started TSOLD (The Saga Of Laprima Donnaugh) in winter of 2022. All this time, I've known she'd eventually get out of Solitude, but originally she was supposed to get Kidnapped!

That's right. Original story had Chamany getting killed, Laprima getting accused for this (and thrown in jail) and after Elisif got her out, she'd then kidnapped into Fort Hraggstad. And then I was gonna set it up so that she had to fight her way out of Hraggstad. 🏰 But my original computer with ALL my notes on it went kaput in 2022. And in a way this is good. I like the rewrite much better.


@Acadian the Paladin: Absolutely, and War... War changes everything. ⚔ Though (like I said) Laprima herself won't get personally touched by it so much, I do plan on roughly following the events my two CW characters took part in: Sir Vyvoor (Stormcloak and Dragonborn) and Claire Voyance (Imperials' side).

So right now we're up to Battle of Whiterun. Next would be the Battle of Dunstad and some sort of Rescue from Fort Neugrad, events which won't register in LPD's life at all. Other than: I do have a rather brutal mod which adds random battles between Stormies and Impies throughout the countryside. I haven't decided if I'll make it so Stormies ignore or attack LPD, but they WILL fight any guards my gal is with, assuming she's traveling with Imperial-faction'd soldiers.

Bearclaw is eager to go anywhere outside the palace, as long as he gets no further than the Skeever! 🍾


@WellTemperedPianoPlayer: Ha ha true! If I were to play Chamany Lacroix as a videogame character now I know how he got into jail!

I make 'luminosity devices' for all my games: Oblivion, Fallout 3 (where they're just normal light switches) and now Skyrim. Took me over two hours to make the one for Skyrim because it's not just scripting, you also have to make the proper properties for each item. So one stone of the device enables three chandeliers as well as a bunch of invisible lightbulb markers (which I gave a blue color in the Creation Kit). The other stone disables them. 💡 I like making it so character bedrooms can be as dark as possible when they go to bed. 🌙



Nothing in the base game, of course. But Daggerfall does allow us the choice to have our crime tried before a judge, so I'm thinking something like that. The advocate (in my mind) doesn't have much say, really. He/she just makes sure the perp knows what's going on, legally. All guards are psychic, even if they're not as blatantly so as they are in Oblivion. Guilt and innocence doesn't work in the same way as it does here on Earth.

Small spoiler: Chammy won't have it so bad in jail. He'll have privileges and such.



Oh yes. Glad one of y'all mentioned this! Laprima's had enough with the lies and the excuses.



In my tale, Sir Davor Vyvoor (pictured above in Acadian's section) is Dragonborn. I had a DB for fun early in my Skyrim days, but Vyvoor is my canon DB. 🐉 Dragonborn (and dragons) will get mentioned in the next chapter.



Okay, let me explain that. In all Bethesda games (except Arena) I turn the music off. Only exception is in castles and palaces, or a few rich people homes such as Umbacano in TES IV. I actually PHYSICALLY pause the game just so I can turn music on and off.

A few of your other insights regarding Elisif and Laprima shall get answered in the next chapter.


Lopov: No Lopov. Lopov! I hereby SUMMON THEE to appear this week! Shee-zamm!!!

ALL: The next story is kind of long and I thought of breaking it into two. But I'm also really eager to get my posh gal outside of Solitude, and it'd be awkward if she's doing what she'll do at the end of this week's chapter and then all the sudden she's outside.

Alright, I go to bed now, and post the story later.

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___________________

.Zenithar Himself

___________________

It’s funny, how Luck sometimes plays a small, yet grand, unknowing part in our daily lives.

-Take, for instance, the luck involved with what’d become known in the Blue Palace kitchen as The Caper of the Missing Forks. Millicent ‘Risky’ Gertrude, younger sister of Trinia ‘Tricky’ Gertrude, was obsessed with stealing random pieces of silverware, but mostly forks, and only a small amount of these tined instruments. Despite being at her current age of eight, she had a knack for knowing when too much was too many.

“Awww, you’re gonna get in BIG, humongous trouble!” -- A typical warning from her sister Tricky.

But because of Risky’s innate caution (she never filched handfuls at a time), discovering if anyone was guilty of the missing cutlery never became top priority. Maybe these pieces were simply getting misplaced by staff or royalty. And it wasn’t as though her juvenile efforts would place the Blue Palace’s bankrolls into foreclosure, right? So it was not until some months later, when Risky had already become bored with such petty thefts, that one day the palace’s cook realized the issue seemed to have resolved itself. Counts of silverware at day’s end began to equal those at day’s start.

By then, Risky had an entire hoard of forks and other metalware, stashed behind a loose stone, located just beyond the dresser beside her bed.

On the day the town’s masons came through the palace, looking for areas to patch and caulk, dust and pebbles which’d discreetly settled below walls, and other telltale signs which indicated repairs need be made, a large rat was running amok within the children's bedroom. An exterminator (a magician who eventually zapped the rodent) was called instead. The masons weren’t too eager to examine the orphans’ bedroom after that. Which meant Odar the Cook continued to notice silverware counts continued to be short during the Year 201 and into 202. Especially forks.

--There was also the time when the local gang of Haafingar Forsworn partially uncovered who had really been responsible for the latest enormous batches of skooma pervading Skyrim as of late. Initially, the name ‘Chamany Lacroix’ was not known to them; the only description they had to go by was ‘a dark-haired man with a handlebar moustache’. This initially caused the rouser who’d gone into Solitude’s tavern (dressed not in the usual Forsworn garb of furs, skulls, and bones, but clothing which allowed him to blend) to mistake Barre Bakkh, the Skeever’s cook and libations expert, as the man they were looking for. The initial plan was to somehow capture the moustached Nord, or somehow extort money from him.

But by then, information revealed that Bakkh couldn’t possibly be the one they were after. Because the grand importer of moon sugar products was supposed to be an inhabitant of the Blue Palace, according to the skooma-sucker whose word was being trusted. The server behind the Skeever’s counter never went anywhere near the palace; he was never sighted beyond the town’s market area to shop for meats and vegetables. Nor did he don upper-class clothes.
So this was another example of Luck. Barre Bakkh (and Chamany himself, initially) dodged the proverbial missile by that much.

By the time they finally were about to snatch the tosser they were after, it was too late. Sir Chamany LaCroix was already being apprehended.

---And so it was with Lady Donnaugh. Even after gaining her newfound assignment of Solitude Ambassador, she continued to worry. She tentatively made her way into her temperamental aunt’s bedchambers just minutes after being contracted for Dragon Bridge, fearing that Elisif the Fair was about to be anything but fair. Such a measure had to be done, though. Let’s get this over with.





“Whiterun,” the jarl stated somberly.

“Aye. Fills the heart with trepidation,” Laprima answered quietly.

Elisif continued: “Always had a feeling something was amiss with Chamany,” she said casually, changing subjects before her expensive wall-mirror, fussing her hair a bit. “Just … a notion, I suppose. Moments when the man just seemed too charming. Too gregarious, perhaps. No offense to your potential romance-seeking abilities, niece.”

“Mm. About Chamany. Might we broach upon the subj–”

"Can you hand me that sachet?” Elisif interrupted with an open palm. “That’s a dear! Thank you.”

Lady Elisif, unconcerned? Can this be? Falk Firebeard had warned Laprima that ‘the Wrath of Elisif’ would’ve commenced, were it not for this business with the Stormcloaks and Whiterun. Yet here was auntie, rummaging about her room; any sort of ‘wrath’ faraway and absent for the moment.

“I… So listen," Laprima blurted. "I was also involved, Aunt Elisif.”

“Involved?”

“With the import, that is.” –’Tis the right thing to do; she mused, urging herself to continue. -- “Chamany got caught, and is being regarded as prime villain from what I’ve been hearing from the dungeoneers of Castle Dour. But I was also involved. On the Mongrel. That ship I rode upon. There were all these crates and barrels...”

“Nonsense, Laprima.”

“Sorry?”

“I said nonsense,” Elisif turned to face her younger relative. “Stop it, please. Just… stop.”

Laprima stopped.

Aunt Elisif (rather than Jarl Elisif) stood before her niece, her tone confidential (rather than commanding). --- “Listen. I can only take a guess as per how it must be, the love of your days locked behind bars, unknowing of his fate. But do not be foolish,” she said slowly, placing her hairbrush on the counter. “I will not accept any wishes you have toward any sort of co-implication with that… with Chamany Lacroix, for any reason. Are we clear?”

Are we clear? Niece Donnaugh did not reply.

But then, auntie was gone. The woman silently transformed her posture. Solitude’s jarl had returned. “Now. To the task at hand. Tomorrow. YOU are going to have an ambitious day on the morrow,” Jarl Elisif announced, glancing back toward her mirror. “A day like none other. For: Dragon Bridge; they must be allowed the choice of safe harbor. Understand? And this shall be your role, as just accepted.”

Laprima nodded, half-reluctantly. "Can you at least ensure that he will not be executed?"

Auntie returned, Jarl stepped away. "I can do that, yes. Despite his enormous mishaps," her voice squeaked. Obviously she was holding back. "I can personally guarantee such a thing, Laprima. There shall be conditions placed upon him surely by the magistrate. But I can make sure that his life shall remain intact, should he remain within whatever conditions are enforced."

"Ehm... thank you."

“This war, if it is indeed to continue, is bigger than any foibles Chamany committed. You must comprehend this,” Elisif burnished her upper eyelids with fresh shadow. “Am really proud that you have stepped toward the mantle in this regard, that you wish to represent our fair city.”

“Right,” Laprima said. “Represent.” And maybe it’s for the best, she thought.

Because Chamany himself warned that it’d be better if I stay unincarcerated. ‘They do not know of your assistance with the importing of skooma’, he said to me, in so many words.

Elisif continued: “Make sure you gain the relevant papers. I’ll have Ophelia drop them off into your quarters.”

“Splendid. Thank you.”

“Hmph. Chamany,” Elisif chuckled sadly. “Who would’ve ever thought the magnificent skooma culprit would be him?”

Beyond this statement, Jarl Elisif moved decidedly past Laprima, returning toward the court. And so it was done. The matter of her betrothed man’s arrest was closed, and Laprima was convinced that maybe it should stay this way. Because as Chamany himself stated (in so many words): what good would it do if both of them were jailed?

---So this, in a way, was Laprima’s daily dose of Luck. Pure Luck, as if Zenithar himself had blessed the young adult now standing alone in auntie’s bedchambers.



Laprima was exhausted by then, of course. She’d gotten maybe a couple of hours of sleep the night before, before being awakened by that child. It was already afternoon by then; too late to head to work. And how could she serve customers with her mind so heavily roiled in thought?

Tomorrow would be a big day, her first official excursion outside of Solitude, so she could take part in some very Official Business in the hamlet of Dragon Bridge, a place she’d never-ever seen before. She was wearied. And yet, too nerved-up for any sort of rest.

After a few moments of dawdling in her personal bedroom she decided on a change of clothes, clothes which weren’t so obviously noble. She grabbed one of Chamany’s hoods to cover her face. – If only I possessed a pair of man’s trousers she thought, refusing to search her fiance’s wardrobe further. – Along with a bulky overcoat. Then surely, I sha'n’t be noticed. She donned one of the sets of gloves she’d purchased at the Raiment. Rich woman’s garments, which could potentially give her disguise away. But they’d just have to do.

“Taarie will surely complain about my attire should she make sighting of me,” Laprima smirked. “Fuddles to her, if so.”

Next, she picked up the shortbow given to her by the Shrew, along with the quiverful of arrows, which she strung around her shoulder. Off she went, headed straight to Castle Dour’s training plaza.





THUNK! went the very first arrow a quarter-hour later, piercing the training target toward the end of Archer’s Row.

….THONK!!! went the second.

And CLONK! as a third arrow of wrought iron slammed the same target. Such a release! As she’d expected, shooting into a dummy was already proving to be a great way to temper her enormous anxiety. A great way to relieve the stress and worries which’d concerned her over the past twelve hours or so.

She was breathing in and out with inspiration, her facial expression fierce as a warrior's, picturing Sirdasa the Huntress. As she pulled the bow's string, Laprima was using the 'two fingers and thumb' method taught by the Shrew. Apparently there were several ways to position which fingers and/or thumb held the back-end of the arrow. Sirdasa also mentioned there were separate methods of archery preferred by the wood elves of Valenwood, as well as the Khajiit of Elsweyr, though she hadn't gone into details. Apparently she'd taught Posh Lady the easiest, most common technique, often utilized by soldiers: nock the arrow's posterior side into the string, draw the bow partially. Aim. And finally, draw more firmly before loosing. A partial draw was recommended because it would not tire the archer's arms, back, and shoulders with maintaining constant tension, while also aiming.

Laprima notched and stretched a partial draw. Moved backward a few paces, so the target was further away, not so easy to hit. Aimed, pulled with more tenacity, and...



Straight into bull's eye!

“Nice shot!” one of Dour’s Finest commented with applause, just as she thought someone would. Truthfully, archery seemed a lot easier up here, on a flat stone surface with perfect visibility. Snowfall and other precipitation absolutely nil. Nearby fire pits keeping the plaza warm. After a few more successful looses, the entire garrison of soldiers present at the moment were taking notice.

“Try strafing a bit,” one of them suggested with a downhome accent, indicating he could’ve been any random neighbor of the Donnaugh household in the Imperial City.

“Strafing?”

“Ya know, movin' side to side,” the soldier said. “Not that a lady such as yourself shall ever need concern, but as archers wrangle into combat against other archers or spell-casters, it’s advisable to be able to strafe left and right, avoiding projectiles aimed your person. While, of course, still being able to hit your same targets. For …. obvious reasons.”

So Laprima began to do just this. She imagined the dummy as a moving target as best she could. Notched an arrow; aimed her piece. Closed her eyes momentarily (to simulate occasional blind spots such as trees and rocks) and then loosed more arrows. At first, of course, she missed the dummy entirely, or inadvertently hit the wrong dummy. But eventually she began to get the hang of it.

“That’s the proper way of the archer!” one of the soldiers bellowed with a salute. “Don’t let our Watch Captain see you. He’ll be trying to recruit an actual dame into our troop!” he nudged his partner, while a few of the garrison chortled their bellyfuls.

“Well, if the gauntlet fits,” Laprima muttered under her breath.

THONK!

—-------------------------------------------------------------

Straight to Target

"Archery increased to 20" (she now needs to sleep, so she can level up to 3 after multiple shots)

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

Notes: I installed Training Dummies Provide XP, which allows the PC to gain melee, casting, or Marksmanship experience outside of actual combat.

Training with a dummy is something I've never tried before. But it helps a lot! Especially since I prefer combat in 3rd person.
.

It seems Elisef is wise enough to insist on not knowing the sordid details of Laprima’s involvement in Chamanay’s skooma smuggling and is not going to boot her from the palace. I’m proud of Laprima for voluntarily stepping up to her noble duties and serving as the Jarl’s official envoy to Dragon Bridge.

She’s getting to be quite the Bowgirl and I expect that will serve her well outside the walls of Solitude and with the possibility of war ahead.


It seems Elisef is wise enough to insist on not knowing the sordid details of Laprima’s involvement in Chamanay’s skooma smuggling and is not going to boot her from the palace. I’m proud of Laprima for voluntarily stepping up to her noble duties and serving as the Jarl’s official envoy to Dragon Bridge.

She’s getting to be quite the Bowgirl and I expect that will serve her well outside the walls of Solitude and with the possibility of war ahead.

Sounds like some Risky business here.

A large rat is on the loose? Call the Fighters Guild!

Haafingar always makes me think "Half Finger".

Rule #1 is never talk to cops Laprima! Even Elisef knows that there are things she does not want to know.

Hmm, the storyteller in me is hinting that with Cham being an outlaw in prison, and the city about to fall under siege, there just might be an opportunity here. It might be that in the trying times to come Solitude might have need of a charming rogue who is well-placed in the underworld, a thief, and a spy, and scoundrel? Perhaps Chamany might have some part to play in the city's defense? One that might earn him a pardon?

And some archery practice. Laprima might need those archery sills in the near future.

Hello Acadian. I actually think Elisif might suspect Laprima was also involved, and maybe her "wrath" would've shown up, had circumstances been different. Maybe if Whiterun hadn't occurred she wouldn't have had anything much to do, and would've asked more questions.

But as things stand, she was in a bind. It's her desire to help the people of Dragon Bridge. Niece stepped up at the right time, and so the jarl decided to go with the flow in this case. She's inclined to think the best of her relative, as long as niecey does what she says she's going to do.

I was hoping the fact she's chosen Archery would bode well with you!


Hullo SubRosa, ha, I forgot all about the Fighters Guild rat quests for new guild members! Dang. That would've made for some Lol moments.



Nice. Very astute. In fact his influence behind bars will probably increase in the long run. I actually had a different plan regarding how he could possibly get out of prison. That won't happen for a while, if it ever does (this season).

The thing about this story, as well as Goblin Lady, Vicious, and all the other stories (and probably Teresa and Buffy's tales) is there is some variability involved. I know what's supposed to happen in the dialog & quests, but the random encounters are an unknown. For instance, she's about to head to Dragon Bridge. Will she need to use her bow for protection, even though she'll be traveling with guards? I don't know. But she (and I) both intuit that it's better to be proficient at some sort of weapon skill in the long run.

I'm hungover again. So the story will either get posted pretty soon, or maybe I'll take a nap first. I'm pretty psyched to get this story moving, though.

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______________________________

.Here our Lady Approaches

______________________________


. Tirdas, 16th of Sun's Dusk, early morning


Laprima awoke early, surprised she’d been able to gain any sleep at all. She rolled out of bed. Grabbed her journal. Wrote a few scattered notes about a dream she’d been living just moments before, a dream in which she was waiting with a group of others for some sort of vessel to come.

Vessel, that’s the word which came to mind. A large, shiny container of some sort, perhaps made of metal, in which everyone present embarked upon. Embarked. A good way to put it. She scribbled into her journal. Once inside the ‘vessel’, she realized everyone was packed in tight, which made her uncomfortable. Some folks were sitting upon benches, while she was forced to stand. The vessel headed south, then turned to the east upon a road of sorts. Suddenly (in the way of dreams) she realized that she was on the wrong vessel. She was supposed to embark upon a separate vessel, aimed the opposite way. Whatever that meant. A moment of panic ensued.

“Good morn to you, Lady Laprima,” a young page, a girl (but not Tricky) startled. “Just wanted to let you know they’re already ready already for you!”

“Graci. Give a few moments please, while I prepare and become properly dressed.” …Really need to have a lock affixed into my door…

“I'm Paige. Might I be of any assistance? I know how to twist hair into a Colovian knot!”

“You may.” And what a good idea. Better to not have her coif mussing all over the place, blown about by wind and matted by possible deluge. Laprima was planning on wearing Chamany’s hood for the journey, but what if she wanted to take it off at some point? Like, what if the sky was actually sunny?

She sat before her bedroom dining-table while the child began scrambling her hair. Upon the table, someone had placed the scroll which was to be taken to Dragon Bridge. Which made her curious, of course. What had been written upon it? But the scroll had been stamped, sealed with wax, which meant it was to remain furled until given to Commander Maro, or someone designated to break the seal. See, already she knew she’d be good at her new(est) job.

“All done, milady. Ciao!”

“Graci, lass. Have a coin, and have a biscuit.”

“Ooooh!” And out the door she went.

Laprima was now alone. Unexpectedly, a moment of pure and absolute dread fell over her being, like a boat-anchor dropped into sea. Not exactly the Darkness, not exactly the odd moments of terror she’d felt during her school years, but a certain doom and gloom for sure.

What exactly is it I am doing?

Worry and doubt zinged her nerves, a dozen thoughts at once. Why in Oblivion had she volunteered for this? Surely, doing so had been a rash decision, mostly caused by her desire to (subconsciously) sidestep the trouble she feared she was in. She’d been wondering if she was about to get deported, or thrown in jail just like Chamany. Because of this, she hadn’t been thinking rationally. And just look at what she’d gotten herself into.

The Heartlander actually shuddered.

But then, she calmed herself. One notion at a time, thought she, while packing the scroll into her handbag. She could do this. She could make this journey, and present before whatever court Dragon Bridge had in store. In fact she’d better do so, with Elisif the Fair’s entire entourage now expecting affirmative results. And truthfully, part of her was looking forward to getting outside the town and discovering a new one; was looking forward to the adventure of it all.

So firstly: what should she don for the journey?

After shooting arrows the previous day she then’d gone to the Raiment. There she bought several new frocks and garments, all of them common and inexpensive, which made Endarie snootier than ever.

“Oh, let me just drop everything,” the town’s premier clothing merchant chided, nose upturned. “I don’t mind, reeeally.”

“Then eradicate thy lippy comments, fashionista.”

Not that it mattered. She could’ve bought the most expensive items in the Raiment, and the store’s pompous high elf would continue to lay out her thinly-veiled insults. Laprima hadn’t been going for fashion or folly this time though, she wanted selections which would keep her warm, yet would also be presentable before the leaders of Dragon Bridge. Hmm. Maybe she should bring two outfits, the second one fancier, to be worn before the village’s council. Perhaps some commoner’s garb might be seen as an insult to the Dragon Bridge court. Aye that. Such things could and did happen, at times.

Laprima also visited Solitude’s Fletcher, surprised to learn the town had its very own dedicated archery shop. Here she purchased some arrows of steel at 2 gold apiece, because several of the cheaper arrows given to her by the Shrew broke. Surprisingly, the Fletcher (as well as Solitude’s smith) did not sell any gauntlets lighter than steel. She’d been hoping for some fur or some leather to keep her hands warm and safe, while not encompassing them into stiff and heavy metal. Ah, well. Gloved hands for a proper aristocratic female it would be.

She got dressed, packed a second, more elegant outfit for Dragon Bridge, picked up her bow and her quiver, grabbed into her nightstand for a few potions. Grabbed a handful of coins. Left her room behind.

And walked into court, magical music droning from places unseen. “Morning,” Bolgeir Bearclaw greeted, his Nordic accent thick, barely cultured. “Jarl Elisif has nawt arisen just yet,” he said with a wink and a smile. “Take the opportunity to just mosey right through, I’d say.”

Laprima smiled too. Said nothing. Because moments of small relief such as this one were best shared without words. Truthfully though, it'd be best to get moving. Best to get to Dragon Bridge before dark; Jarl Elisif could be a talky one, for sure.

“Just wanted ta also say that da guards you are to sojourn with have been stationed in da lobby,” he pointed. “Just down da stairs. Dey shall travel with you, as for safety’s sake.”

“Graci,” she answered. “Many thanks.”

She clomped down the stairs, eager yet nervous about the day to come.





“And lo. Here our lady approaches,” one of the assigned guards nudged the other as their charge strode near. “Told’ja it was her. Which means, you owe me a pint once we’re down in Dragon’s Bridge!”

“Yea, sure,” the other guard answered, rolling his eyes. “One pint it shall be.”

“You was there yesterday,” the first guard said to Laprima. He was taller than his partner, and from Cyrodiil for sure. Both of them were wearing a mish-mash of light and heavy armor, most of it bearing Imperial crests and badges, she noticed. The first guard carried a sword. His partner, the one who owed a pint, also carried a sword, but complimented his weapon with a proper shield. He was Nordic, wore a fully-masked helmet and hood, while the first man's head was bare. Despite their Imperial garb, they seemed unconcerned about the contingent of Stormcloaks camped just outside of town. Or maybe they didn't even know about the Stormies.

“That was you, shootin’ up at Castle Dour.”

“Surely I was, yes.”

“Say, you was pretty good, for a lady, that is. And I mean… a Lady, as in, with a capital L to start. We had no idea you was royalty.”

“Not true royalty,” Laprima answered, already hoping there’d be no need to explain the difference. “Ehm. So how about today, let us perhaps pretend we’re all equals, eh? That I am just one of your set. I imagine it’ll be easier not to become distracted by the usual nuances of Class and rights-of-way and such if we do so, eh?"

But the second soldier, the Nord was having none of this. “Oh no, oh no,” he wagged, putting two and a half fingers to the area where his lips would be, if his face wasn't completely covered by metal. “You may be an adequate shot up on Archer’s Row, but you needn’t lift a finger with Peters and Mansonn (he pointed to his taller partner) at your side, a-right?”

“Right,” the man named Mansonn, the one who was owed a pint, agreed. “Not a finger. Or two fingers. Or even three. Or how ‘bout all ten of ‘em?”

Hmm.

Nobility and royals sometimes went around carrying bows and arrows, the ‘Lady’ realized at that moment. This was a sight not completely unseen down in Cyrodiil. However, upper classes usually only did so if they were going off hunting. Only did so if they were headed to some safe and nearby wilderness, hoping to bag a fox or a rabbit. Never for protection, or any sort of defensive measures against men or monsters, by the Gods no!

Still, she was not to be deterred. Laprima refused to leave her weapon and quiver behind. She was a Lady, yes; which meant she was ‘a woman of high social economic class or position’ according to the terminology of the day, but this did not mean she would just blindly follow typical social mores. During that first time she’d visited Sirdasa they had been attacked by a wolf, as well as a dog-sized canine of some sort. And the Shrew had alluded to the fact that there were greater threats deeper into wilderness, if one were to trek that far. So there it was. She was not taking chances, despite their insistence that she leave it all to them.

"Just kiddin'. If that's what our Lady wishes, for her to be considered equal to lowly guards such as ourselves, then it shall be done. But if you is one of us, that means you gotta buy us BOTH a pint once we get down to Dragon Bridge. Uh, it's tradition. For new soldiers, that is. To buy each of their garrison pints, first round."

"Surely," Laprima smiled. "I have not a problem with any of that, although I do suspect this 'tradition'," she moved her fingers to mime quotation marks, "might just be a bit of made-up cattle dung, eh?"

"Pshawww!" the guards nudged each other. "A quick one, our Lady is. Anyhow, let us commence."

Mansonn and Peters led the way.

The trio left the palace, striding swiftly through town. Weather was gloriously sunny, but who knew how long this would last? As they walked by Bard's College, another moment of panic: I am supposed to attend rehearsal today, she realized.For the play. What shall be said about my absence?

…Of course, there was absolutely no question which path she should take; this business with Dragon Bridge took priority, far and beyond and obviously. But what of her role in Headmaster’s Trial? Her role was a ‘bit part’ according to the other actors, but still.

Too late. She considered stopping into the college so she could alert them to her upcoming absence. But that would steal away precious time. Especially if that mouthy fellow Viarmo got involved in the conversation. The sun was already perched high into sky, and she wasn’t sure how long this journey would take. Laprima did ask the guards to halt twice though, first so she could buy some meats and apples from the outdoor vendors, and secondly so she could continue her quest for warmer gear.

Enough with the Raiment, this time she tried Bits and Pieces, the town's general merchant for all things. Here she was delighted to find a helpful face behind the counter, without the attitude! Furthermore, Laprima purchased a travel cloak made of linen, which she donned over her shoulders. The cost? Just eighteen coins. Bits and Pieces didn't have any gauntlets for sale, damnit. Otherwise, she was ready to go.

Uh oh, maybe not just yet. Because here she comes...

“Huh, look at that,” Taarie the elf quipped, observing Laprima as she emerged from the shop, wearing her newly-bought cape. "You, a denizen of the Blue Palace, wearing the clothes of a commoner? Well, I'll be."

"Make up thy mind, am I supposed to dress more poshly because I 'might be headed to the Blue Palace'? Oh! Here's something to ponder. I shall be spending my coin at Bits and Pieces, now on. Got this cape for just eighteen gold. Eighteen! Have any thoughts or insights regarding that?"

Taarie rolled her eyes. If she could turn her nose any more diagonally, she might just fall over backwards.

They neared the town’s inner gate (the Skeever to their right), and stepped through. "What was that all about?" asked Mansonn, the Imperial.

"You wouldn't know, would you? Consider yourself lucky. Perhaps she doesn't accost fellows as she does women of supposed leisure, such as myself."

"Huh. Wouldn't know anything about that, you're right!"






They walked past the town’s outer gate then, headed down the hill. Sirdasa’s camp would be roughly a mile to the left. For once, it seemed as though the Weather Gods of the Great Skies seemed to be cooperating for a change. The sky stayed sunny! Laprima removed Chamany's hood.

“Say, have you heard? They say one of the Stormcloaks is Dragonborn,” Mansonn said with a tinge of what sounded like a combination of fear and awe.

“Dragonborn?” asked Laprima.

“Aye. Means the man was born with the soul of a dragon, or some such. Don’cha know about the dragon attack near Whiterun? They say the man they calling Dragonborn was able to fight it off, by shouting it to death! Which only a Dragonborn can do. Ulfric Stormcloak himself is said to be Dragonborn as well.”

“Ulfric,” she replied. “He’s the man who shouted High King Torygg apart.” Now the term made sense, sort of.

“Aye, Ulfric, sleazy doofus at the helm of Windhelm, yet he’s one of them. An unfair match. Torryg had no chance! And so like I said, there’s a Dragonborn on the side of the Stormcloaks. Which could mean…” Mansonn left the sentence unfinished. “Anyway. Wonder if we’ve got one in our ranks,” he continued. “A Dragonborn, that is. Hope we do.”

“As do I,” the second soldier, the one who owed Mansonn a pint, added. Laprima found herself unable to recall the second soldier’s name.

Suddenly, both the guards were on the alert. They both drew their weapons, so Laprima grabbed her bow, though she couldn't yet see what they were concerned about.

"Something up ahead," Mansonn said ominously. "Be ready with that bow, Lady Donnaugh."

Lady Donnaugh nodded, her face grim. But she also made a quick mental note. She was certainly now being considered as one of their set, not just some denizen of the Blue Palace in posh clothings. All for one, one for all, as the saying goes.


—---------------------------------------------------

Laprima got a new 'do

Yet another child invades her bedroom

Assassin's Creed Laprima

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

Notes
1). Laprima leveled up to 3! I boosted Stamina and gave her a point in Archery called Overdraw. Already she'll do 20% more damage to any opponents.

2). Paige (actually called herself ImPaige) was one of the Aussie gals I used to chat with in Xena's chatrooms under the name Xenaclone, way back in 1997 when the Internet was young, wild, and mostly unmoderated. ImPaige and a lot of others in the chats were proud of Lucy Lawless of course, all of them being from Australia or New Zealand. ImPaige and I eventually had a virtual, online marriage.

3). I did Laprima’s hair in-game (well, the child did, wink-wink). Was told about ShowLimitedRaceMenu by a kind fellow over in Nexus's forums, which is yet another script fragment found in the Creation Kit. It works in-game just like the Face Sculptor in Riften’s Ratway. Yay.

4). For this chapter I used my very own mod idea: Traveling with an NPC. This allows the NPC to lead, while the PC follows. I came up with this idea over a year ago, because it wouldn't make sense if Laprima leads the party, if she's never been to their destination before.
.

Laprima had a dream about taking the subway, which turned into a nightmare because she took the wrong train!

So now Laprima has a Page, named Paige. Very appropriate. And she knows how to do hair. That is a good start.

That is a really sweet story of your time in the wild days of the early internet, back when it used to be used to bring people together.

She is having some quite understandable second thoughts, given that she is about to set out for what might soon be the front lines in the war. But there is no backing out. The die has been cast. Her place at court is dependent upon her behavior now.

With the navigation of fashion snobs and attirical attentions attended to, off we go!

Uh oh, what is this up ahead? Dragons? Or Dragonborn?

Somehow didn't see these updates! Sorry!

I like this intro bringing in two other characters. This sort of thing helps the place feel more alive, and Risky seems like an interesting character.

So Risky's still stealing silverware well into 202. Sounds, well, risky.

Yeah, the Forsworn uniform (if that's the right term) would probably attract too much attention.

Definitely a close call for Bakh.

Okay, so it looks like Laprima's trying to come clean. Chamany's at fault, but being his wife means she can't distance herself as much as she'd like. Being open about this is probably easier than hiding it, especially given her position.

But it seems Elisif just wants to move on from that. Which makes sense, I think. She controls the situation in court (mostly), so she can make the problem go away if she wants.

Chamany didn't seem too worried. Was he in more danger than he thought? Or is Elisif simply running with this to make it seem like she's doing a big favor for Laprima?

Probably wise to not look through Chamany's wardrobe. The pockets might have contraband, and that would not be helpful.

Looks like she's learned well from Sirdasa.

Laprima's right about training being much different from the real thing. Not to say that training doesn't help, but it only goes so far. Smart of her to take advice from the professionals around her.

And Archery up to 20! Good work.

I just got back home from my trip, so I'm a little beat. I'll finish the next chapter tomorrow or Tuesday. Glad to be catching up!

I hope it's not a Dragonborn. The way the two guards were talking I'd be concerned.

That's an interesting mod you have there. It might be fun watching the Ladies drag me around from shop to shop.

Sounds like a classic anxiety dream that Laprima had, though the talk about vessels couldn't help me think of the beginning of Morrowind.

"Well, not even last night's storm could wake you. I heard them say we've reached Morrowind, I'm sure they'll let us go."

Anyway, back to Skyrim.

Hm, does a Colovian knot go well with a Colovian fur hat?

Oof, that moment where anxiety hits Laprima rang very true for me. Always sneaks in when you're on your own. Now for the doubt and recrimination. But ultimately, this is the only way she can take control of the situation, and I think she realizes that. Even if it does feel like she's burying herself deeper.

"One notion at a time." Very good.

I'm surprised Sirdasa didn't tell her about the fletcher. Sirdasa's definitely familiar with the place, though not necessarily as a buyer...

Smart to pick a nice outfit. This is a diplomatic mission.

I like the description of the armor. The mix of Imperial and normal armor is a good metaphor for Solitude's political situation.

Smart of Laprima to insist on bringing her own weapons. You can never be too sure.

Heh, a few beers is a cheap price to pay.

Taarie's being quite irritating here.

Hm, the Dragonborn being a Stormcloak is ominous news indeed. I'll admit that when I played, I sided with the Empire partly because the game seemed to be going out of its way to make me want to side with the Stormcloaks. I can be contrarian, sometimes.

All right, looks like we'll soon see how well this arrangement works out. And neat story about Paige!

Paige is another fun castle kid! By ‘biscuit’ did Lady Donnaugh offer her a savory perhaps buttermilk one or was she referring to the British / Australian usage of the word (cookie)?

For Mara’s sake! The Radiant Raiment really needs a Quinn. . . .

A cloak was a wise purchase methinks.

Uh oh, trouble ahead?

Look at this, 4:48 in the morning. ⌚ Wish I could get half as motivated about cleaning out our storage room...

Indeed Florens, she's on some sort of public transport. It's a reality bleedthrough, similar to what I tried to bring up during Silverlight's sermon. My character's stepped into an alternate reality, similar to ours, which turned into an anxiety dream, due to what's been pushed into subconscious.

I made a Facial Reconstruction Artist (as Elisif would call it) long ago when I began this story. The FRA dwells within Radiant Raiment as we speak; I named her May Bellene. Laprima and Chamany were supposed to get married, and then I'd transform Laprima's gothic looks into something more plain-Jane, as my goth gal transforms into the High Fantasy equivalent of a surburbanite.

And then the story would've partially focused on Laprima as she deals with her aunt's wishes, trying to balance them with her own as a twentysomething in a brand-new town. None of that ever happened, because my original computer died 2 years ago and the entire story is different now. Anyway, I assumed changing looks in-game would be this incredibly difficult process (because this is Skyrim's Creation Kit, in which everything is more difficult) but adding a looks-changer was one of the easier things.



It was kind of awesome, right? I try to explain to younger kids what it was like: not as many visuals and videos, but also sort of wilder. What I miss most are the lack of pop-up ads. And talking to folks on the other side of the world was such a novel thing, as well, because it was New!

The Aussie gals looked up to Xenaclone, because she/I had discovered a secret. A lot of trolls would show up in Xena's chatrooms, and I mean, these idiots would really go out of their way to destroy our pleasant chats, talking about how big their p3n1ses are or whatever. The 'net was full of just random idiocy like this, I bet you also witnessed your share back in the day. But most of these dolts chose not to register their stupid names. So while the trolls would start trolling, I would open a second Internet Explorer window (edit, actually a second monitor. I worked nights at a place which rented computers), and register their name mid-chat. This caused them to *POOF* suddenly lose the ability to speak.

...I was Xenaclone! Banisher of all Flamers and Trolls! A-yee-yee-yee-yee!!!

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

It's okay, Clavier. I recently joined AFK Mods and Emma's site (the same Emma who made Vilja). People don't comment on each others' stories and posts as much at those sites, instead there's a heavy use of Notifications. So that's something I love about Chorrol; we actually mostly "talk" to each other.

One of the very first NPCs in the beginning of this story is from that same Forsworn group; the guy who greeted Laprima when she first walked into the Skeever, that is. He walked into the place still wearing Forsworn gear, which I suppose could actually be okay, as long as he doesn't do anything drastic. I haven't followed through on that angle of the story, but it might go there in the future.

Indeed. As I replied to Acadian last week, things would've been different, if this business with Whiterun hadn't come up. Elisif wouldn't've had anything much to do, in that case. Since the entire court had been alerted to Chamany's arrest, Elisif would've been motivated to grill her niece, if only for something to do. Everyone present would've been expecting the jarl to go into some sort of tirade. So my gal dodged an arrow, there.



Cham's not worried because he feels safer where he is. And he also knows a few things about how the Justice system works; he's been in trouble before. In fact, I've come up with some new ideas on Chamany's end which are actually gonna be fun to write!

Exactly, we've all had those anxious moments in life, that's what that is.



Sure, that's fine. I played the Civil War on both sides; Sir Vyvoor (my Stormcloak guy) appeared as Dragonborn in my vision of him, and in my own personal canon/lore the Stormies ultimately won. ⚔ Even though I think Ulfric is a douchebag, the idea of the Empire getting bent to the will of the Aldmeri Dominion is even douchier, imo. Were it not for them, maybe I'd be more in favor of the Empire.

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

macole: Oh, the ruckus up in front of them? No, that's not the Dragonborn (or A Dragonborn). I do have a mod which adds extra Adventurers and Travellers upon my Skyrim's roads, which has one of those Mod Configuration Menus, so that I can add as many Adventurers and ordinary Travelers, as many Robbers and as many Dragonborns as I want. I think I did add just one DB into my game. Not sure if I've ever come across him or her. But the disturbance up ahead is not DB.

Traveling With An NPC will never appear on Nexus (I'm too afraid of breaking other peoples' games, so I write tutorials instead) but it is fun in a way, because NPCs tend to sometimes take different routes to a variety of places. Such a thing might be reaallly difficult to pull off in Oblivion though. NPCs in TES4 have a tendency to go flying off into the wilderness at the slightest wolf or boar, right? Next thing, your Field Hippies would have to be found via console commands!

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

Acadian: Yeah, writing up dialog for children is fun. They say things in a different way than adults. Which can be charming, as long as they're not being little brats. A lot of the children in Fallout 3 ARE quite bratty & annoying. But in TSOLD and Skyrim itself, they're mostly fun little diversions, dialog-wise.



Probably a sweetroll. 🍪

Ha ha ha, yeah, Quinn is at least nice most of the time!

Alright, let's see what happens next. Gosh darn it's early. Where's my coffee?

.
_______________________

.A Sodden Act of War

_______________________

Tirdas, 16th of Sun's Dusk, mid-afternoon


The trio came to a halt. “Something up ahead," Mansonn stated ominously. "Be ready with that bow, Lady Donnaugh."

“Aye. Am so.” She realized her heart was racing, even though she couldn’t see whatever or whomever or whichever was there.

“You ever killed anyone?” Peters, the Nord, asked. "Or shot your bow at anyone?”

Laprima thought of concocting some sort of ‘explanation’ just then. Something to validate why she’d insisted on bringing her weapon along. I had an uncle down in Cyrodiil who fought the Great War, whatever. Maybe Chamany could’ve come up with something just then. But for her, this was no time for misdirection. She’d never been so good at fabricating tall tales on-the-spot, hence her arrest down in Cyrodiil, after getting caught after-hours in the Market District’s long-established Red Diamond.

“Ehm, um, well, uh… actually, I have not.”

Mansonn and Peters would see right through a lie, that’s what she was thinking. So don’t even try. She’d appeared on their turf (up at Archer’s Row) just the day before, out of nowhere. Was not a soldier, was not a guard. Maybe they could already intuit her lack of combat experience.

“Alright,” Peters continued. “Real quick. Not the same as shooting targets and dummies. For Mansonn and me, we’re trying our best to disable limbs, sever muscles, break apart bones. Slow’s ‘em down; sometimes the battle’s already done if we can do any one of these things."

"I see," Laprima replied. Her blood, my how it stirred within!

"For you, as an archer, you’re gonna want to go for central mass.”

“Central mass?”

“Means the main part of their bodies. Their torso, their shoulders, their chest. It’s best you aim for their center, see? Because that’s the greater target for you, from a distance. Hands and arms and legs are movin’ round too much.”

She nodded.

“Bows pack a wallop, if they able to pierce through armor, that is. That’s what you going for. And unlike our weapons, once an arrow's inside a body, it usually's gonna stay in there, becoming a distraction as the fight continues. We can place a slash or a blow, but then it's over until we connect again, hopefully. Therefore in a way, archers have powers us swordsmen do not."

"Right."

"Have no worries, Lady Donnaugh. They are belong to us.”

Laprima nodded. “'They', you say. So there are people ahead? Are they Stormcloaks?”

“Nay. Looks like a couple’f road bandits. Typical scum. Waitin’ for someone unsuspecting to come along so they can rob and pillage.”

“Bandits?” Laprima asked, incredulous. “But Elisif and the others said the way to Dragon Bridge is well-guarded, well-patrolled!”

“Welcome to life on the roads of Skyrim."

"I must admit a pair of ruffians this close to Solitude does seem brazen," Peters added. "Anyway, enough with the lesson, It's killin' time.”

“Alright.”

“One more thing," Mansonn added. "Make sure to flank ‘em...which means, aim at them from the sidelines, not directly behind Peters and me. Basically, try to hit them with arrows, not us!”

“Right.” Her heart was hammering with such ferocity, she could hear its beats punctuating her breath. ...huh...huh...huh..

Impromtu lessons over, the party moved forward, tentatively so. One step, two steps, three, and four. Laprima nocked an arrow. Recalled a smidge of Sirdasa’s advice just then; something like ‘it’s best for archers to sneak upon their prey.’ If so, it was then possible to affect them with greater damage. Enemies were unable to prepare for incoming missiles, if they didn’t see them coming.

Laprima hunkered down, preparing for a sneak-attack.….But both the men were already rushing forward.
The fight had begun! --- There were two of them: a male and a female, both donned in furs. The male bandit brandished a weapon, while the female cast some sort of spell.

"I'll slit ya belly open like an old woman's purse!"

Armed with just a short blade, the man swung his weapon at Peters. Silly measure, really, the Nord soldier was easily able to block this attempt with his shield.

"Do your worst!"

Both soldiers ganged upon bandit-man, while bandit-woman zapped a shock spell upon the soldiers! As she did so, she was in a stance which kept her feet from moving. The witch was standing mostly still, an obvious target! Laprima took advantage of this, nocking an arrow, taking a full second to aim and get into a stance of her own, before loosing her projectile!





Afterward she stood still, transfixed and watching; too curious about whether her arrow would strike; or had she missed? Too enthralled, waiting to see the woman's reaction to nock a second arrow.

... What seemed to be an hour later (one of those moments when time slowed...), bandit-woman stumbled! She'd been hit!! Laprima could barely see that she'd shot the offending female. My very first.... Solitude's newest archer felt a moment of apprehension for just a split second, before remembering to notch a second arrow, for the fight was still ongoing. ... And someone else was shooting as well; Laprima saw another arrow fly towards the witch, high over her head. One of Solitude's gate-guards (or perhaps an ordinary citizen) was shooting from behind.

By then, the fight was already half-over. Her guards had downed the first bandit, and were running toward the second. Laprima fired again, but the witch skirted wildly across the road, dealing with the soldiers with some unexpected, fancy footwork as she tried to avoid. Mansonn and Peters began slashing at the mage with their swords! Because of all this, Laprima's second arrow missed. Flew off into the snow.

"I cannot best you!"

Eager to assist, Lady Donnaugh rushed toward the melee, nocking her third. She aimed desperately, but Peters was in the way. Flank us... she did just that, running a half-circle around the men so she could properly aim. But by that point the fight was over. The witch-lady in furs crumpled to the ground with a sad little yelp, whatever life she'd led before this moment, whether all of it was nefarious or not, over and done for.

“Anyway,” Mansonn spoke nonchalantly, “as I was saying. Hope we got a Dragonborn on our side.” The Imperial was calmly cleaning his sword into a nearby snowbank, changing the snow from white to red.

"Aye," stated Peters. "Would only be fair, that."

“Huh? Sorry?” Laprima grimaced, flustered. Hands shaking, mouth gone dry, eyes darting, nerves tingling with an overload of adrenaline, next arrow already notched and ready, apparently unrealizing that the battle was finished. Time had stopped, just like it had two weeks prior, when the Shrew had attacked Posh Lady in the woods. "A Dragonborn, on our side?"

“Of the war, I mean,” Mansonn answered, speaking patiently. “If the Stormcloaks really got a Dragonborn, it’d only be fair if so did we, us Empiralists, that is.”

“Oh. Right.” He's continuing conversation from where it left off! Laprima noticed a wide swath of Mansonn's armor was the color of crimson, an injury had been gashed into his side. Without a shield, he'd been more seriously wounded than his partner. Didn't these fellows know how to heal themselves?

The archer offered both soldiers some potions, but they refused.

“Anyhow, ready to continue onwards?”

"Ehm, a'right. Sure."

But before she did, she couldn't help but check bandit-woman first, the witch who'd just been throwing shock magic from the side moments ago, just to see. And yes, one of the steel arrows she'd bought casually the day before from Solitude's Fletcher was right there, stuck deep within the mage-woman's shoulder.

Well, what did you expect? thought she. This was caused from you, Lady Laprima, caused during a sodden act of war.

She was mesmerized, almost in a hypnotic state as she stared down. That was mine. I did not kill the woman outright of course, at least three others had assisted. But I did have something to do with her demise, for sure. A part, which ended this poor woman's life.

"Aye, you'll never forget this moment," Peters stated, causing Laprima to jump as he broke her reverie. "My first, I was just a lad of fourteen years. Had to take down a drunken ruffian who'd been tryin' to steal our livestock," he said somberly.

"I... ayuh... I..."

"But you'll get used to it," the Nord continued. My advice: don't spend too much time getting sentimental. It would've been them or us. That's the reality of Skyrim's roads."





By then it was mid-afternoon. There were perhaps four hours of daylight left. Sensing Mansonn was especially more hurt than Peters, Laprima made sure to travel nearer to the Imperial's side. She became more alert, studying the road ahead for trouble. If she could see something before they could, some enemy or creature, she'd try to be readier with her bow. Maybe she could impart the first shot, injuring whoever or whatever or whichever before the fight even began.

Unfortunately, their next encounter involved an individual who sighted Laprima before she could sight him. A man, but a Khajiit this time, wearing what looked to be studded fur. He'd slipped out of the bushes so fast, the archer barely had time to grab her bow and nock a fourth arrow.

"Hand over yoor valyabals!" the Khajiit said, "or I will GUT yoo like a *OOF*!"

He'd been quicker than she when it came to ambush, but she'd been faster at arms, her arrow slamming the road-robber before he could finish his taunt. By then, the guards (who'd not even noticed the initial confrontation) had begun to react. Peters came rushing to slam the road-robber's back!




Realizing she was too close, the archer reverse-stepped quickly. The Khajiit wielded a pair of daggars, and begun dual-slashing at Laprima with both of them.... swip! swip! swip! almost like a dancer. Out of nowhere, the fight became fast and furious, with the robber refusing to turn away from her, despite repeated blows from both guards.

This time, her guards weren't getting as damaged, while Laprima herself was taking the brunt.

"You'll pay for that!" Mansonn cried.

Twip! went her bow, causing the robber to stagger with second impact. Both guards were dealing blows upon the stupid Khajiit, who continued to ignore them.

It'd taken another twenty seconds or so before the three of them could take down the robber, alluding to the fact that some enemies could be much tougher than others. Again, Laprima was flustered after the fight. She was more seriously wounded this time, so she took a few moments to gather her breath, and cast the beginner's healing spell she'd learned during youth.

"Would it be prudent for us to walk off the road?" she asked her companions, drained and exhausted and scared, her breaths hyper with agitation. "I know of someone who's got a camp, somewhere's down the hill there. We can take some time for respite..." she stammered.

Mansonn disagreed. "Dragon Bridge is just down the slope," he promised, and it was. In fact, now that he'd pointed it out, she could see the village's tallest roofs, poking just over the next rise.

"Right." The Heartlander breathed relief, her mind reeling and alert, still upset about being caught totally unaware by the knife-wielding kitty. "Let us go there, then."

This had probably been an average day for her protectors, but one heck of a day for her.





—---------------------------------------------------

Peters in Action

Bandit-woman zings her magic -- (Notice the arrows. One of those was Laprima, the other, some random NPC)

My archer's first Kill-Cam!!! -- (whoa, who shot Laprima in the arm?)

Welcome to life on the roads of Skyrim!

Good advice from the soldiers, to always aim for the center of the mass. I just wish the NPCs would take their advice about not shooting me in the back.

A quick and brutish fight, and it is right back to business.

I wonder who the extra archer was? Does Laprima have a secrete guardian following her?

I see Laprima has noted something I have as well. It's often safer off the roads than on them!

Great advice from Laprima’s guardsmen. Aim center of mass with ranged weapons; that way if you are a bit off you should still hit your target somewhere. Taught to warriors and police all over the world. The rest of their advice was spot on as well. And, I see, Laprima quickly learned to instantly nock her next arrow the moment the current one leaves her bow. You handled her dealing with the realization that she contributed to killing another person very well. Fortunately, Lady Donnaugh is wealthy enough and fights rarely enough that breaking out a hunting knife for the bloody job of recovering her arrows is not something she really needs worry about.

During her second encounter, she learned that firing first makes you the primary target for your intended victim. And she has learned the challenge of trying to support your melee comrades when they are engaged while avoiding friendly fire. Overall, she has acquitted herself well.

Notifications are a mixed blessing. On the one hand, you can get acknowledgement from people who like what you wrote, and who might not do anything if that option weren't there. On the other, it's sometimes frustrating to just get a bunch of "likes".

So I actually joined Emma's forum a few years ago, thinking I might share my fanfic there. But the 'fic section looked pretty deserted, so I ended up not bothering. You're having some luck with it I hope?

Okay, onto the story.

Yeah, I imagine it can feel a bit awkward to carry a weapon for self-defense when you've never actually used one for self-defense. And I'm sure these guards are much more experienced with such things, so it's good they're sharing some training with Laprimma.

Heh, yeah I don't imagine the patrols go far beyond sight of the city. As per the norm for Tamriel.

I like how Laprimma's quite nervous going into combat. Guards are no, this is intense.

Oh yeah, Sirdasa's advice: "If you're playing Skyrim, do a stealth archer build." Granted, she worded it differently.

Tamrielic bandits seem to be on the reckless side. But good on Laprimma for scoring her first hit!

The guards resuming the pre-battle conversation shows how hardened they've become.

Understandable that Laprimma would have mixed feelings about taking a life, even if it was in self-defense. Peters is doing his best to help.

Laprimma reacted fast to this new bandit! But she didn't get through unscathed. Lucky for her, Dragon Bridge is near.

This chapter had a lot of action!

Typical veteran guard reaction. "Tis but a scratch, I'll be right as rain (in a hurricane) after a pint o' ale or two."

Really like how you wrote "loosing her projectile". Bowmen loose, musketeers shoot. It's a pet peeve of mine.

I used to have an active account at AFK. I think they did some updating and the last time I tried I wasn't able to logon. I haven't visited Emma's site in a long time either.

This week was a stressful one, so that today's chapter literally is only half-finished. Maybe it won't get done, we'll see.

Hello macole.

Typical veteran guard reaction. "Tis but a scratch, I'll be right as rain (in a hurricane) after a pint o' ale or two."

Ha ha ha ha, that's Monty Python, right? The Dark Knight. So darn silly. Brings back memories of my father watching late at night, India Pale Ale in hand. Or a Sapporo. Maybe I should insert a reference to Spanish Inquisition at some point.

Truthfully, I didn't add any healing potions or spells to the two guards' inventories (didn't even cross my mind), and Laprima isn't experienced yet to heal others. I did add a script to them both this week though, which is supposed to add a Grand Potion of Healing to each of them after each fight, which may or may not work properly. We shall see. If it doesn't work, uh oh.

I can't promise I won't use the word "shoot" in reference to bows, just because after a while we begin running out of terms to describe the same actions as we write.



Hello Clavier,

Oh yes, The Saga of Janet Telia is being told over at Emma's. This was a story I posted way back in 2017 here at Chorrol, but it was mashed in with a bunch of other stories in the Fallout Wanderer thread. And I've been wanting to dedicate Janet's tale into her own thread, but it'd be redundant to re-post it here at Chorrol, since the story's already been told. I'm gonna post Sarah Phimm's tale (Oblivion) there as well; that was another story which is buried. I like Emma's so far.

By the way: (whispers: It's Laprima, with one M! ) Srrry!

Yeah, I imagine it can feel a bit awkward to carry a weapon for self-defense when you've never actually used one for self-defense. And I'm sure these guards are much more experienced with such things,

Add to that, I've never rolled an archer before in Skyrim. I've had plenty of fighters, mages, spellswords, a nightblade, one cleric. My non-story game right now, just for kicking back after work, is Celeste Yael, a healer. 🧙‍♀️ Which means she literally does not fight most of the time, she heals up the two warriors she travels with. But yes, it also made sense that the guards would realize they're with a Novice, so there's a need to educate her a bit.

Sirdasa taught Laprima one facet of using a bow (stealth-attacks) but did not cover them all. Because how could she know my gal was going to be doing what she's up to now?

The guards resuming the pre-battle conversation shows how hardened they've become ... This chapter had a lot of action!

I like this part, too. I'm not very "good" at writing action scenes, not very confident, I guess. If I were to critique my own work, the transitions back and forth from my gal's perspective to the guards to Laprima's thoughts (etc.) are a bit clunky. But maybe I'm too close to the story, and nobody else really notices. We're doing all of this ourselves, right? No editors, no outside rewrites, at least not in my case.



Hullo Acadian. ☕

I changed our very-familiar term 'center mass' to 'central mass' in the story. Trying to keep modern Earth terms out of High Fantasy. But yeah, that's something which occurred to me as I was writing & editing last week, how for archers, it's best for them to aim for the greater, least-moving target.

Cool, thanks (in regards to how I wrote up combat). I figured you'd know best how to describe Marksmanship as we engage into that perspective, so that's quite a compliment.

Fortunately, Lady Donnaugh is wealthy enough and fights rarely enough that breaking out a hunting knife for the bloody job of recovering her arrows is not something she really needs worry about

Hmm, (no spoilers, Renee...!)

But true, she won't need to recover arrows unless she really has to. Hold that thought...



Yo, SubRosa.

Good advice from the soldiers, to always aim for the center of the mass. I just wish the NPCs would take their advice about not shooting me in the back.

True, but I'm tellin' ya. As a gamer who's traveled around with plenty of NPCs over the years, the way to (try to) avoid this is constantly be aware of where they are, in relation to where our toons are. I usually let them take initiative as fights commence, and then position my character in such a way that he or she's not in anyone's way. It's 'in-the-moment' strategy of course, and things don't always go right.

But yah, I understand your points, too. Plenty of gamers loathe traveling with others!

Exactly. It's such an inside joke, when guards in Oblivion would say "STAY ON THE ROADS"!



As stated, I might need to post a rerun, this week was brutal. Dealing with my mom's dementia and some other issues. I lost a couple days of work running around with her, trying to get some stuff fixed. But I don't wanna lose momentum in this thread. So I might post an old story, we shall see.

.
_________________

.Dragon Bridge

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By the time they approached the village nightfall was near, but there was still enough daylight to get a glimpse of Dragon Bridge before all went dark. … And Laprima Donnaugh, Solitude’s newly-appointed ambassador, was astonished. Maybe because of the place’s name: ‘Dragon Bridge’. Such a name had conjured images of a stately, magnificent location in the Heartlander’s mind. Turrets and fortifications and at least some opulence. Perhaps not as well-designed as Solitude though, hence Elisif’s lifeline for safe harbor.

But, the reality! Place wasn’t much more than a furrow in the road. Wooden cabins and shacks. What sounded like a tavern to her left, a wood mill and smithy on the right. Nothing grand, not even close to adequate (in protective terms, at least). The tiniest burgs she’d passed through down in Cyrodiil: Pell’s Gate and White Rose and the populace which was growing around Fort Ash, for instance, had morphed into fuller-functioning little towns over time. Here in Dragon Bridge, there didn’t appear to be any balustrades, no walls of protection at all, a glaring lack of stone-usage. This was a hamlet which’d not stressed the need for serious protection over the years and decades, since there hadn’t been an upcoming war to worry about.

But as things stood now, a troop of just a dozen well-armed invaders would have no problem at all barraging right in; taking the place over in just an hour or two, assuming the village’s residents actually chose to fight.

There appeared to be no garrison. No guards! Well, a single guard wearing Haafingar’s colors did happen to stride toward them, just then. Just… one. No wonder Elisif had been so concerned with evacuation.

Yet, Laprima could also see some pride, here. The architect in her could see that at least they were upkeeping their little hamlet with pride and care. Banners, recently hung. Walls and platforms, diligently cleaned and washed. No holes or aberrations in the walls of their homes, no rotting wood. No rubble or trash heaps at all, which meant they were actively disposing their refuse, somehow. Maybe throwing what couldn’t be burned into the river she could hear gurgling somewhere nearby. Place wasn’t like the unkempt town of Bravil, for instance, with dung in the streets, garbage piled up high in some areas, stench of sweat and skooma in the air.

“Help you?” asked the guard, a Nord from downhome. He carried a torch, and did not have Bolgeir Bearclaw’s heavy local accent.

“We are from Solitude,” Mansonn stated. Best for the Imperial to speak first; Stormcloaks in disguise, we are not. “Come to bring message from the Blue Palace.”

“Ah, the delegates,” the guard replied. “We’ve gotten word you might be headed our way, and here y'are. Step this way, toward the Four Shields.” The guard pointed toward Dragon Bridge’s inn.

“Hmm. Time for that pint, Peters,” Mansonn grinned.

“Yeah, alright,” the bet-loser pouted. “Gonna get ya next time, rightly so,” he added without much enthusiasm.

<—----<<<

As they stepped into the warmth of Four Shields Tavern, Laprima realized how chilly she’d become. So much had happened during their day-long journey; for once she hadn’t paid much attention to temperature. One thing for sure, the choice of clothes she’d bought and selected for the trip had done their best to keep her from freezing. Still, she was cold. So she gathered herself before the tavern’s roaring fire pit, thawing her hands, arms, and face.





Nice and warmed, now it was time for her to put on a brave face. She’d been flustered at the Khajiit’s ambush; really getting angry that she’d been caught off-guard by that covertly-stepping cat, especially since she'd been trying to be more alert at the time. But truthfully, combat was not her forte.

Today had been her first attempt at being an archer during an actual fight, so of course she wasn’t so good yet. She’d be better at court affairs. Though she had never presented before a group of others in an official manner, she’d witnessed the process several times down in Cyrodiil. She’d (hopefully) be better at presentation than she was at marksmanship! -- Courtly Graces, the talent was called, in a tome she'd read in school. She would speak clearly before the leaders of Dragon Bridge, keeping the arrogance of General Tullius out of the story, acknowledging the plight of this vulnerable village, while trying not to insult them about their lack of security. Being a good ambassador or emissary was all about the subtler facets of speech: tone of voice, body and facial cues, mixed with moments of dramatic impulse when such things were pertinent. It was almost the same as a bard telling a story, in a way.

“Welcome to Dragon Bridge, Faida’s the name,” said the woman behind the tavern’s counter, probably a half-Nord by the way she spoke. “Something different about you," she glared, "hope you aren’t here looking to cause any trouble.”

“Oh, not at all. Am here from Solitude. In fact, might you point the way toward Dragon Bridge’s court, or statehouse? So the letter I am carrying directly from Jarl Elisif can be delivered, and with haste?”

“Court or statehouse?” the innkeeper laughed. “What does our humble home look like, the Palace of Markath?” ... She took a moment to slap her knee, and then changed to one of those why aren't you laughing with me? sort of looks on her face. Faida then became more serious, while polishing a cup. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to chuckle, just… we don’t got nothing like that here.”

“I understand. 'Tis alright. Apologies for presuming.”

“So you are the delegate,” Faida noted, “come to bring word from Solitude, eh?”

“I am.”

The innkeeper smirked. “Well, as I was saying, we haven’t got anywhere proper to deal with court matters around here, any official business is attended to these days at our lumber mill.”

“Lumber mill? Well that’ll do. That’ll do just fine,” Laprima said, keeping her countenance from flinching. “As long as our message is conveyed.”

…The moment she had fussed, concerned about bringing an elegant dress to wear before the court she’d been imagining, seemed for naught. Fact is, it seemed any such elegance might go wasted upon what looked to be a villageful of rubes. Better to meet such folk on their own level. Maybe they’d not take her as seriously, should she appear before them in fancy, frilly clothes. She'd had plenty of experience in this regard by now, of course. Laprima was the Skeever's newest barmaid, after all.

“Anyhoo, if you wait around here long enough, our current village chief, if we can refer to the luggard as such, is likely to stride in at any moment. He’s in charge while Gaius is gone.”

“Splendid,” said Laprima, receiving her plateful of bread, and bowlful of soup.

“Now. Are ya gonna rent a room, or shall I lay out a set of extra bedrolls on the floor, somewheres?”

<—----<<<

As promised, a man walked into the Four Shields not long afterwards. He glanced around a bit, before zeroing on Laprima. "Hei til deg," he began. "Are you the one from Solitude?" The man was tall, with prominent facial features. It smelled as though he'd been drinking.

"I am, aye."

The man introduced himself as Trøst, Dragon Bridge's temporary leader. He explained that Gaius Maro had gone off to some other location, due to the upcoming skirmishes which'd been happening as of late here in Skyrim. A war, it was definitely brewing, and Maro (who was also a commander) was needed somewhere else.

"Those bloody Stormcloaks!" Trøst said angrily, shaking his fist, causing the Heartlander to take a step back as his feet stumbled, the man nearly falling right before her. "They'll pay for their transgressions! Gonna send them all back to Cyrodiil!"

Laprima cleared her throat, then explained the plea from Elisif, that the peoples of Dragon Bridge could head to Solitude if they wished, where they'd be welcomed with open arms until whatever outcome of the war concluded.

"I'll just take that from you," the village leader gruffed, snatching the carefully-scribed missive from Laprima's hand. Courtly Graces? Apparently not needed for this occasion!

"Sure, just... I shall await thy decisions," the ambassador said awkwardly.

"Er, sorry," Trøst said, looking a bit sheepish. "That was rude of me. As ya can see, I'm currently three sheets to the wind, as the saying goes. Didn't expect I'd have to get all... delegatory and such." He hiccuped. "Hmm. Or is that four sheets? Ah bugger. Some such eggxpression like that."

Laprima said nothing, which was the extent of how far she would utilize her ambassadorial skills this evening.

"Make yourself comfortable," Trøst suggested, attempting a smile of comfort. "Gonna discuss with the others down at the mill. We'll let you know our decision on the morrow."

And off he went, to discuss terms at Dragon Bridge's lumber mill. (And probably return to his previous evening's plans, glugging ale until he went cross-eyed, falling onto the nearest floor.) That done, Laprima was looking forward to a night of rest. The bed she'd rented for twenty gold was just a stodgy, creaky single, which had been used by countless dozens of travelers over the years. But at the moment she could care less. She was doomed to fall into a warm bed, any bed not crawling with vermin that is, while owls hooted outside, and Masser and Secunda rose from their day's slumber.

<—----<<<

Trøst returned the next morning (rather late in the morning actually....) as affirmed. Now that it was daytime, the man appeared much more presentable. No longer drunk, anyhow. He explained that most of the villagers had been alerted to the jarl's offer, and added that already there were a few folks who wished to accompany Laprima and her guards back to Solitude.

"Most of us shall stay," he added. "Bacause these are our homes. We shall take our chances against the bloody Stormcloaks!" he roared, allowing the entire tavern to hear. "DOWN with the Stormcloaks, aye?" This caused a few of Four Shields' current patrons to join with eager cries of agreement.

..."Here, here!"

"... RIGHT you are..."

..."Down with the Stormcloaks!..."

Trøst informed that not everyone felt comfortable staying behind, however. A few would be joining the Solitudians as they trekked back to town.

"Many thanks for your time," he said sadly, offering a firm hand for shaking.

And that was Laprima Donnaugh's first foray into the world of rueful assistance.


—-------------------------------------------------------------

Trøst

Laprima Lopov'd

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

Notes: Amazingly, everything just worked during today's chapter, quest-wise that is. No issues at all; even the timer script I added to make sure Trøst came back to the tavern (although as stated, he wasn't exactly prompt!) I may be actually getting good with the Creation Kit these days.

Dragon Bridge is hardly a fortified position. Though granted, they do have the bridge itself. Theoretically you could throw some up-turned wagons and logs from that lumber mill across it, and build a barricade. Which probably would not last too long against a fireball. So not really the ideal place to fight an army.

IRL, back in the 1700s and earlier this sort of state business would often by done at the local inn or tavern. Judges would hold trails in them. The army would recruit in them. The mail would be delivered to them. They were the centers of communities, rather than simply places where people got drunk and puked.

Trost is so liquored up that he wants to send the Stormcloaks back to Cyrodiil? I think he forgot that they are from Skyrim?

Drunken encounters aside, this seems to have been an easy enough mission after all. At least the part here in Dragon Bridge.

And they are going to fight it out, mostly. I have to admire their pluck, if not their prudence. I suspect that the ones who go back to Solitude are the smarter ones. After all, one could put that pluck to more effective use behind high stone walls and put up a better fight than at defenseless Dragon Bridge.

Nice that Lady Donnaugh’s delegation finds the village of Dragon Bridge unmolested by Stormcloaks so far. I’m sure she found the warm inn a welcome respite from a cool evening. Not surprised that Dragon Bridge has no dedicated building or office for town business. She is right that the village is not readily defensible. Nor, I would submit, is it worth fortifying with a force that would dramatically exceed the size of its small population and split the garrison at Solitude. Elisef was wise to, instead, invite the townsfolk to partake in the safety of her walls.

Laprima was well-prepared for her emissarial duties, but her courtly graces were not needed here. I find myself hoping that a good number of Dragon Bridgers take up Elisef on her offer and, as SubRosa said, save their pluck for a battle they might be able to win.

Laprima looks fabulous in that ‘Lopov’ shot you provided!

Glad Emma's is working out! And sorry for the misspelling!

Neat idea with the healer. Are you using a mod to travel with the warriors? I know Skyrim has companions, but I vaguely remember only being able to travel with one at a time. It's been a while.

I'm not big on writing action scenes either. It's hard to keep track of who's in which position.

And my sympathies regarding your situation with caring for your mom. It's a really good thing you're doing, but I know it can't be easy.

Here we are at Dragon Bridge!

Laprima's got a point, actually; Dragon Bridge isn't as grand as the name would suggest. Though maybe that's appropriate when you consider how darn frequent dragon attacks become after a while.

Yikes, doesn't sound like Haafingar's prepared at all. But at least the place is well-kept.

The Four Shields sure sounds cozy after a long hike through cold weather.

Interesting. Laprima's now to the point where she's assessing her own combat performance. This suggests she's a quick learner, even if combat's not her forte.

Oof, court etiquette sounds stressful. But that's realistic, because it usually was.

Laprima's perspective might be a little snooty, but she is picking up on an important point: finery isn't persuasive to some crowds. And from what I know of the Stormcloaks, they'd likely have more respect for someone in rough, sturdy clothing.

Hm, how do you pronounce Trøst? Regardless, it sounds like he's pretty overwhelmed with the situation. I suppose I can't blame him. Also, did he say he wanted to send the Stormcloaks back to Cyrodiil? Would that be back to Windhelm?

Looks like Trøst wants to stand and fight for now. Wonder how much of a fight he can really put up.

Gonna reply comments tonight. Story tomorrow. Still haven't done the gaming parts yet, yikes. That's gonna be fun.

@SubRosa: Hey, that's true. They could just block the bridge. Supplies would get cut off from that direction, but there's still supplies coming from Solitude's docks, assuming the Stormies in the woods are dealt with first. I like that you're speculating!

Wow, I had no idea taverns were places of conduct as well as places to get [censored]faced. Maybe I did know this though, somehow. It kind of makes sense, in a way, as taverns are places a lot of adults gathered.






@Acadian: Indeed (regarding warming up before the fire). When she went to visit Sirdasa, each of the three or four times she'd wind up getting nearly frozen to death due to the Frostfall mod. ❄ However I've got Frostfall set so if combat happens, this temporarily freezes (ha ha) whatever's behind the mod which lowers a character's core temperature. So those fights were dangerous for her, dangerous for her companions, but this was blessing in the sense that it was the first time I didn't get any warning messages due to being too cold.



Mm hmm, some of them will! You'll see.

Thanks! (regarding Lopov shot). Lopov is having a tough time, btw. He's had surgery on his eyes 2x by now. Hopefully the 3rd surgery will fix whatever is wrong.


WellTemperedClavier: It's okay.

I am using a mod to make the sodiers travel with her, it's called Laprima's World.esp and the "soldier" part is based on my very own idea: Traveling with an NPC, which I began working on over a year ago. My healer travels with NPCs (an NPC leads the party, although I can also make the party follow my character if things go awry). This mod idea will never go on Nexus; I feel most folks would either dislike Traveling with an NPC or they'd get bored. But what's going on in Laprima's game is a modified version of what's going on in my healer's game, only diff is Laprima's an archer, not a healer.

Thanks (regarding mom). Was another tough week, not as bad as last week though.

Nobody has brought this up, but (regarding Laprima's thoughts on Dragon Bridge) it's possible some folks might conclude she's a bit of a snob, and maybe she is, in a way. But it's really her very first time seeing what places outside of Cyrodiil are like. Solitude, with its many walls, is merely another Cyrodiilic town in a way. So she's shocked at DB, but is wise enough not to run her mouth too much in regards to her opinions.

In the future Laprima might get to use her Courtly Graces in a more proper way.



Not sure, actually. I put some word into an online translator: English to Norwegian, and what compiled was the word Trøst. I don't even remember what word I put in, but when translating back to English, apparently the word translates to "solace".

All: Story should be up some time tomorrow morning. Ciao.

.
__________________________

Kyllä, me Olemme Niitä

__________________________

. Middas, 17th of Sun’s Dusk, mid-morning

Outside the Four Shields the Weather Gods were hammering the point home: Yes it is still winter, and yes the snow is falling. They were getting a rather late start as well.

And there indeed were a few folks huddled and waiting. The evacuees. Leaving their homes behind, moving into the big city on the hill. Laprima did not know what to say to these folks, how to begin. But there appeared to be five in all: an adult male with gray hair, a couple adult females (one who was tall, a virtual giantess in fact, the other one short), and two children: a boy and a girl.

The man walked toward her, so she spoke to him first. “You are the ones coming with us?”

“Emme puhu kyrodiilaista,” he said, gesturing toward his mouth.

“Ah,” said Peters, the Nord guard. “These are true Nordics, from deep countryside. These folks, they don’t speak the common language. Probably spent their whole lives interacting only rarely with the outside world, outside to them, anyway. Not sure why they'd be here in Dragon Bridge.” He turned to face the group. “Kyllä, me olemme niitä, joiden kanssa matkustat,” he told them.

“What did you say?” asked Laprima.

“Just said: ‘yes, we are the ones you shall travel with’.”

“Thank you,” Donnaugh did a little curtsy before the refugee group, common politeness. “Ask them: are they ready to commence?”

The gang of five appeared literally to be carrying the clothes they were wearing, a pack upon each of their backs, and whatever was in each of their hands. The man was carrying a pitchfork, for instance. One of the women, the giantess, had a large sword sheathed behind her shoulders.

“Have they got any livestock, a horse or a mule?” Laprima asked Peters. “Animals can carry much more, if so. Tell them we are willing to wait.”

Peters communicated the ambassador’s words, and then stood patiently while the men and women of their group conferred for a minute or two. “Meidän on lähdettävä kiireesti, meillä on lapsia. Muut seuraavat eläinten mukana,” the man addressed Laprima’s translator.

“Alright,” said Peters. “He’s telling us they want to leave more hastily, because Myna here has children,” he nodded toward the shorter woman. “Others will sojourn to Solitude in upcoming hours, or days. They shall possibly bring livestock.”

“Splendid. Well let us get moving.”

With that, the party of eight trooped off, walking the road to Solitude.





Laprima and Peters led the way, striding fast. Mansonn lagged behind a bit, immersed within the migrants. Overnight, the two guards had done their best at repairing their bruises and lacerations with standard gauzes and ointments, but neither of them was entirely healed.

A contingent of three figures wearing gold-colored armor stood just outside town. With them was a man shod in rags, wrists bound together. The sight shocked Laprima, but nobody else flinched. "Was odd," she stated to Peters.
"Thalmor," he answered. "They are elves, mostly high elves, who've sided with us."

"Well, not entirely true," Mansonn stated, catching up to the frontrunners. "The Thalmor are indeed aligned with us, but only because they've inserted themselves into the fray via forceful measures."

"True," Peters replied. "They got their own headquarters up the hill. That much I know. But it is like they are op'rating their own game. Not so much interested in returning the Empire to its former glory, but more like they gots their own agenda. Whutever that may be."

Laprima felt curiosity on the subject, but said nothing. She refused to become distracted by conversation. Their task was to get to Solitude safe, and she felt particularly edgy and wary, watching the road for trouble. She noticed that the group of Nordics they were accompanying were absolutely silent. Even the children. All of them, stoic and watching. These folks had lived through adversity before, it seemed. They had weathered those storms; traveling toward the big city with minimal possessions was yet another of these.

The group walked past an intersecting road which branched up the mountain. Nothing to see, nothing to fear so far. Here was the spot where the Khajiit had tried to rob her the day before; already his corpse was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the wolves and vultures had gotten to it.

After an hour or so, they passed the approximate area where Sirdasa lived by the riverside, Laprima recognized the terrain. Snow had stopped falling at some point, but the sun remained hidden. Another hour passed, everyone trudged on. Laprima began picking flowers which grew by the roadside, which was a bit of indulgence; a habit she found hard to avoid. Normally this might've been a problem, as gathering thistle and mountain flowers meant a loss of alertness. But they had traveled most of the way by then, Katla's farm not far ahead.

Ironically, her desire for decorative flora saved some trouble.

"Peters! ... Mansonn!" she scream-whispered, "... up the hill!"

The guards had strayed too far ahead by then however, could not hear her warnings. On the hillside road were two individuals who had the same look of affront and menace as the bandits from the day before. Already, they'd noticed her presence, already they were moving toward! So Laprima hunkered down, grabbed for her bow; this, then that. The process had already become instinctive!





Next thing, everyone was involved! Everyone except the two guards, anyhow. Mansonn and Peters were slow to act, while all three of the grown migrants rushed into melee.

"Is this what you want, huh? You want summa this?!" one of the bandits taunted.

"Jeg skal ta deg ned!" cried the giantess as she brandished her greatsword.

Lady Donnaugh nocked an arrow, but then had to carefully avoid hitting the three farmers who were now deep in the fray. Limbs and shoulders ... slashes and parries.... the elder man used his pitchfork to skewer one of the opponents while the children vacated the scene! By her count, Laprima was only able to pierce the bandits a couple times with carefully-aimed arrows, but it was more important that she not hit anybody on her side, and thankfully, she did not.

As before, the battle was fierce, and happened so quickly it was over before she knew it. There were two important facets of difference, however, things which Laprima herself barely noticed until later: 1). The process of transforming from common road walker to potentially-deadly archer had happened more seamlessly. 2). She didn't spend any time at all mourning the fallen, as she had the previous day after bringing that shock mage down. Without really realizing it, she was surely becoming battle-hardened.

Good thing was, the journey was nearly done. Though she had no idea what time of day it might be, at least there was still plenty of light to see by. Katla's Farm passed by on their right, which meant the gates of Solitude were just ahead. Laprima worried that perhaps Tullius would already have a bunch of his men barring their return. They’d be standing in place, a half-dozen or so ready to block the evacuees from entering. But there was no contingent of guards in any such formation. Only the pair usually stationed at each side of Solitude’s entryway. These fellows nodded and waved at the incomers. "I'd be a lot warma and a lot happia with a bellyful of mead," one of them joked. Nothing more. Perhaps Tullius's threats against Elisif had conceded.

And now that they were here, Laprima was not sure what to do; where to take the group of migrants. Nobody at the palace had gotten this far with instructions. But she needn’t have worried. Once inside the town’s inner doorway a representative of the Blue Palace approached the group, and explained that she would take them somewhere temporary, yet also safe.

Lady Donnaugh was relieved. Sometimes, everything did go right! A huge worry off her mind, as she’d already developed a bond with the Nordics. She hugged them and gave each child an apple from Solitude’s markets.

By then she was really wanting to see Chamany. So she forced herself into Castle Dour’s dungeon, despite being bone-tired from walking all day. And what a surprise! The man was still locked up of course, but otherwise seemed to be doing well.

His cell was brighter than the last time she’d visited, because the guards had allowed him plenty of candles. He also now had a dresser, a small desk, several books stacked about, and what looked to be a few empty bottles.

“They allow you to consume wine?”

Her visit was brief, only because she was struggling to stay awake. The next morning she woke early, then waited for Elisif to make her way into court. Laprima was wearing grubby clothes, already looking forward to heading back to the Skeever, already wanting to return to everyday normalcy.





"You have done a great service and have exceeded expectations," aunt Elisif chirped. "Just to let you know, Laprima, already I have plans to send representatives to other locales here in Skyrim, for a variety of reasons. Some of these tasks shall be delegated this way and that despite the onus of Tullius, but I'd prefer to hand over any of the more official matters to you. Because it was you who were able to relocate even a few poor souls into hallowed shelters. So perhaps, if you'd like to travel again, these appointments shall be yours."

"Really so?" Laprima, now looking forward to transforming back to her usual job of serving wench, cleaning spilled drinks and backtalking that ne'er-do-well Gisli (who, let's all remember, is Erikur's sister) was incredulous. Could she really be called upon to attain much loftier pursuits, in the name of spreading whatever words need be delivered, all across the land?

"In the meantime, there is some compensation," the jarl said, pointing to a fist-sized pouch on a nearby table. "We are not sure what is to come in the nearby future, already there is word that the Legion has taken Fort Neugrad for instance, which means a win for our side. But for now, you may return to your everyday duties."

"Uh. Many thanks."

"Perhaps this war shall soon be declared, and all these worries shall come to naught."

If only this were to come true! With those words spoken, Elisif's niece headed off to work, where she the usual small conflux of tavern goers were ready and waiting for breads and ales.


—---------------------------------------------------

Fighting two more - (guards are nowhere to be seen!)

Return to Solitude

Quest Updates

Chamany, Living Large in the Bighouse

Back to work

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

Notes: I used separate quest & dialog structures for the guards and the migrants, a heck of a lot of work in addition to the actual story, but there weren't any major calamities. Amazingly, nobody lost their lives (except those two bandits). But it's partially because the road had already been cleared of scumbags the day before.

Forsooth!

And it’s off to Solitude with her pair of guards and small ragtag group of refugees.

The highlight of this bandit attack was how resourceful both Laprima and her refugees were at defending themselves without help from those two negligent guards. The guards had one purpose and dropped the ball.

Regardless, Ambassador Donnaugh successfully escorts her charges to Solitude where she is quickly (and thankfully) relieved of their care and feeding.

Elisef is appreciative and even hints at more such missions for her niece.

Will the True Nords please stand up. Well, here they are.

Is that Finnish you are using for their language?

The Thalmor. *hiss* I am with Peters here. The Thalmor have their own agenda, and it isn't for anyone else's benefit.

A nice day of picking flowers turned deadly pretty quick, as is wont to occur in Skyrim. Laprima is a lot more cautious and courteous with aiming her arrows than any of my companions ever were!

Well, that worked out well for everyone but the bandits. So well I see that Laprima has gotten herself a promotion to full time ambassador! Congrats!

Finnish and Norwegian for the giantess, nice touch.

Do you use a translator?

The Thalmor are giving the Altmer a bad name. Why the Psijics put up with them is beyond me.

Oh, neat! Yeah, it's cool that TES lets you change things around that way.

Laprima being a bit of a snob makes sense, given how she was raised. Social gulfs can be enormous, especially societies like Tamriel. Even the most progressive-minded noble would be affected.

Hm, the snow will make evacuation a lot more complicated.

Ooh, I like how the rural Nords speak their own language. I don't blame Bethesda for defaulting to a continent-wide "Common" tongue. It'd be a huge pain in the butt to try and include different languages. But realistically, there'd be a lot of linguistic variety in Tamriel.

Out of curiosity, did you hammer out the details? The repeated "emme" makes me think you did (and kyrodiilaista must have something to do with Cyrodiil).

At least the refugees seem pretty hardy. Suppose as rural Nords they'd have to be.

I'm surprised Laprima's not warier around the Thalmor. The Great War wasn't that far back. But she does have a job to do.

Okay, looks like a reprise of the bandit encounter. But I think Laprima's better prepared this time.

Ooh, interesting twist. The refugees are pretty tough and they aren't going to put up with a bunch of highwaymen. Laprima's big challenge might be not to hit them by mistake!

And sure enough, she's becoming more accustomed to this life.

Looks like she did her job. And it looks like she's also going to learn the hard lesson that doing her job well doesn't mean an end to her labors; it just means they'll pile more on her back! But she can take some satisfaction in knowing she improved her status in court and also helped some people in need.

Hey, looks like we've got a new story in Fan Fiction: Winstad Manor! Looking forward to delve into that sometime today or this week. Firstly though, time to continue LPD.

Yes, Sir Acadian?

The highlight of this bandit attack was how resourceful both Laprima and her refugees were at defending themselves without help from those two negligent guards. The guards had one purpose and dropped the ball.

Absolutely. I have no idea what the heck happened there! They were all about defending their charge on the way to DB; maybe the fact I boosted their Health back to nearly-full with the console (trying to simulate some sort of medical attention, because I forgot to throw healing potions into their inventories when I created them). had something to do with it.

More important though was Laprima's reaction to the brawl, simulated by me pushing buttons and operating movement mushrooms. It felt awkward at first, trying to use a bow in this game. I've had archers in Morrowind & Oblivion for years now. Skyrim, it's still pretty new. On top of that, she's having to aim while trying not to hit anybody on her side. But the process went a little smoother this time, just a little bit.


I need coffee. ☕ My niece danced this past weekend (she's 11, does competitive dancing) and afterwards we all went out to B'more and I had a bit too many. Yes, 'Rosa Florens.

Is that Finnish you are using for their language?

Pretty sure it's Norwegian, but it might be Finnish. I opened up Bing's version of Google Translate. I wanted somebody here online to help make sure everything is accurate, because sometimes those translator programs aren't able to capture all the nuances of language, but [ahem] he refused. Even so, the goal was to add some breadth to Skyrim as portrayed in this tale, making it seem like not all folks in Tamriel speak the 'common' language.

Yeah, the Thalmor suck. Pretty great antagonists to fight, though. They say funny things such as "You cannot comprehend the power I wield!" as they try to take us.

Indeed, Laprima is now Elisif's favorite ambassador, or delegate, or whatever she's now become. As well as a server, and a half-dozen other pursuits. Basically, a Jill Of All Trades in the making!


How you doing, macole? Hey, you still got that nehru jacket!

Do you use a translator?

Oh yes, I do. Have some coffee. ☕ But yeah, I do. In the original tablegames from way back there was more than one language, remember? And this was also truth in Daggerfall's gigantic list of skills.

I can remember being a kid watching Star Trek, and then in the summer of '77 watching the original Star Wars, going back to theatre 3x actually, as we all became obsessed with the original Star Wars! Occasionally there was an individual, or a robot, or a creature which spoke some language other than English. Which only makes sense.

But then later there were Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Empire Strikes Back! and other sequels. In both these series everyone speaks English, from what I recall. Which kind of was disappointing (to me) because it's like the producers are making sure everything is catered to the English-speaking audience; diversity be damned. Well, on the one hand I understand some watchers of TV and movies find it tedious to read subtitles which go along with the translations. I promise not to 'dumb down' Laprima's tale in this way, although it'll be rare she'll come across anyone who doesn't speak the common language.


Hello there, keyboard player.

Out of curiosity, did you hammer out the details? The repeated "emme" makes me think you did (and kyrodiilaista must have something to do with Cyrodiil)

I did not; I used a translator. Have no idea how accurately it worked, because I only speak English, with very minimal grade-school Spanish and some German. But I know from chatting up various ppl here online from other countries that those translators don't always capture nuances and such. But wow, you're right. Seems the translator did translate Cyrodiil to Kyrodillaista!

Hardy's a good word. Wherever those Nordics are from, we can assume they haven't got a garrison nearby to assist them protect their farm or homestead, they've had to defend their own turf.

And it looks like she's also going to learn the hard lesson that doing her job well doesn't mean an end to her labors; it just means they'll pile more on her back!

This is what we want though right? And also what Laprima wants, in a way, as it turns out. I mean, she could happily continue serving customers at the Skeever and for the rest of this story, but even from her point of view she's wanting bigger things.

Looking forward to Burnt Sierra's Winstad Manor.

.
_________________

Jill of all Trades

_________________

During upcoming days and nights, our protagonist returns to her previous, non-venturous life. The vaunted moments of fear, moments of trial, and moments of ultimate attainment quickly fall into the category of bookended events, as if they never happened. Memorable, yes, but also far and away from everyday pursuits.

Nevertheless as hinted, eventually comes the time when such things, they shall change. Let us peruse.





Turdas, Sun’s Dusk 18: The barmaid returns to her day job. Other than a couple new faces, a pauper who tips rather grandly, and a drunken laborer who tries to get frisky, her shift is unremarkable. On this day she pays another visit to Chamany, whose cell is now a little brighter, his bookshelves a little more filled, and his floor a little more populated by empty wine bottles.


Fredas, Sun’s Dusk 19: The prospective actress makes her way back to Bard’s College, where she fears she’s lost her part in the college’s upcoming play. But her worries are for naught. Headmaster’s Trial has been canceled. The play’s leading actor decided at some point to step up and join the Legion; he's headed off to war. Though the actress is disappointed, she also understands the truth. Elisif could need her assistance at any point. Therefore she cannot spread her time too thin, especially now.

Play terminated, the noblewoman spends the rest of the morning (into afternoon) taking another Speech lesson from Giraud Gemane. Hundreds are paid, yet she still maintains thousands, most of which is locked in a dresser in her room. She’s got a bit of guilt concerning this hidden stash of money, most of which was earned while committing one of Skyrim’s grandest crimes in the Year 201. But she’s long decided that she can’t just forfeit all this coin. And at least (she rationalizes) she’s doing good things with the funds, spending her wealth wisely. Putting money toward speechcraft classes, warm clothing, and more arrows for her quiver. Not squandering on worthless endeavors, such as skooma, liquor, or boorish activities.

She makes a mental note to donate some of her riches to the refugees of Dragon Bridge. Perhaps she can even begin a trust; a repository of monies earmarked to assist anyone from outside of Solitude within dire straits. She's confident her very own aunt would certainly add to this trust, if she hadn’t already considered such a thing.


Loredas, Sun’s Dusk 20: The archer decides to sleep in rather late, then returns to Archer’s Row. The day is Loredas. The Skeever already has a barmaid who works weekends. So she spends most of the day hitting targets, instead. As she does so she gets plenty more tips, advice, and stories from the soldiers at hand.

She learns new terms from them, such as ‘draw’ (the act of pulling an arrow into the bowstring and then maintaining tension before loosing), ‘rest’ (the area on the bow’s handle where an arrow’s shaft guides through, hopefully improving accuracy), ‘grip’ (the actual part of the bow she’d hold with her left hand), ‘serving’ (the central portion of bowstring, where arrows were notched). Thicker serving meant the string would last longer, but would also limit the impact each arrow might have, once it pierced its target. The soldiers of Archer's Row, they taught her these things.

There’s also the term ‘hand tremors’; tiny vibrations felt in one's hands and fingers while drawing, then maintaining tension. Sirdasa, had tried to explain how to avoid hand tremors, just without using fancy terms, by partially drawing at first, and then pulling the arrow more firmly once aim and stance had been established. After an entire afternoon of shooting, the strength in the novice archer's arms increases while the amount of tremors within her hands also increases. Especially true, assuming she does not take a few moments of respite between each shot.


She also learns of legendary Third Era archers, who've resided throughout Tamriel's past.

1). Ana Khannda, the House Hlaalu Dunmer who’d become known for being one of the few to complete the Seven Graces of Tribunal Temple in Morrowind, and several other grand accomplishments. Ana was rumored to be so good at shooting, it was rare she’d worry about enemies getting too close. She wasn’t really ‘famous’ or as well-known as some others; mostly her name would only be mentioned by those well-familiar with the history of Tamriel’s archers.

2). Aerin of Valenwood (otherwise known as Lady Saga), the great ranger-adventurer, who often backed her marksmanship with a variety of magics. Saga had the ability to summon bears and rats, for instance. Could make herself invisible, was an expert naturalist, and tamer of animals. She rode upon a deer! Saga also had a survivor’s instinct for the outdoors, could live in wilderness for weeks at a time, subsisting only on leaves, mushrooms, nectars, and other such products of flora.

3). Buffy the Bowgirl, a Bosmer well known for her assistance during the Oblivion Crisis, though she wasn’t the one who’d directly assisted Brother Martin defeat Mehrunes Dagon. Buffy used spider silk for her bowstrings, and could also back her archery with a variety of magical effects. An example: she knew how to cause enemies to turn against each other, frenzying or controlling them from a distance, until only she and perhaps one goofed-out opponent remained standing. The Bravillite could make herself disappear should things really turn nasty, causing a channfear (a small Daedric being with a nasty ability to reflect damage) to appear in her place. On top of this, Buffy's bows were imbued with a magical effect which assisted draw, limiting hand shock. Because Buffy herself wasn't actually that strong.

All three gals were known to've been experts at alchemy as well, and often laced their arrows with poisons. Since Laprima had already delved into the world of the potion-mixer a bit, here she is ahead of the game.

The soldiers of Archer's Row mention several others, but it was those three who strike the imagination. Perhaps because their stories and methods were so unique

She listens to the soldiers of Castle Dour, by now they know who she is: she's the queen's relative, the one who traveled with Mansonn and Peters, right? Archery is wonderful, they say, as long as the shooter’s able to take his or her foe down from a distance. At some point though, it is also good to have something else, some other plan to fall back upon should things turn for the worse, just as the three elves mentioned had done some two-hundred-odd years ago.

For most archers, of course, the answer might be carrying a secondary weapon: a one-hander sword or a mace, to slash ‘n’ bash those enemies who survive initial impact, assuming the archer actually injures with a faraway missile. Lady Donnaugh feels that these sort of options are not for her, however. The idea of up-close-and-personal melee combat … blood and guts splashing everywhere… yukk!

So, perhaps she too should consider backing her marksmanship with some form of magic, just as those legends from ages past had done. This could become especially necessary, might she find herself not in the company of protective guards. Because one thing was for sure: Laprima Anne Donnaugh is considering Elisif’s offer. Is looking forward to stepping toward the implied challenge such an offer entails. Which means plenty of time traveling the roads, roads which bandits and monsters and hostile animals call home.

So… magic. But which school of magic? She already knows a bit of Restoration, but what else? Alteration? Conjuration? Destruction? Illusion?

Once upon a time there was a sixth school to choose from: Mysticism, so called because it was least understood. Over the centuries, Mysticism had become blended with the other schools, as its derivations became better known. But gone were some of this school's most famous effects. The Grey Wizard for instance, mysterious man who'd become Arch Mage down in Cyrodiil, then its Champion against the Oblivion Crisis, could walk on water, could detect life from great distances if desired. In Morrowind, prospective magicians could learn how to mark a spot, and then teleport instantly to that same spot later in time. And so on.

Apparently such things were no longer possible. This storyteller is getting ahead of the true sequence events, however... Here, let's get back on track.


Sundas, Sun’s Dusk 21, midnight: The magical apprentice sleeps a few hours, then wakes herself in the middle of the night so she can confer with Sybille Stentor. Turns out, the palace’s vampire-in-plain-sight also happens to be its sole merchant of wizardry, who sells magical tomes from all of Fourth Era Skyrim’s major disciplines. Sybille is also an expert trainer in the School of Destruction, and offers to teach a thing or two from this school.

"Would you like to become a devout disciple of Destruction?" Stentor queries.

The apprentice considers the notion over a cup of cooling tea, then decides against it. Thing is, Destruction is pretty much the same as archery, in the sense that both disciplines utilize best from a distance. Something which can be affected more closely shall perhaps be needed. According to Sybille, Destruction had at one time included plenty of touch-style magics. Touch an enemy with a spark, or freeze or broil the enemy with one's own hands, and down they'd hopefully go. It'd also been possible to absorb their health, their agility, perhaps their strength, and so on. Touch spells were popular during the Third Era, yet are no longer in vogue in the Fourth, at least not here in Skyrim, with just one exception. As far as Sybille knows, there is one old master, and aged Dunmer, who still teaches touch spells, as well as some of the fancier methods from the Mysticism school, for those determined enough (and wealthy enough) to seek her. Only problem: to get to her, students needed to trek to the College of Winterhold first, which is located far, far away from Solitude.

The apprentice spends a moment picturing the bandits they’d encountered, the cat-burglar who’d tried to rob her, the wolf and the lynx Sirdasa had taken down, not to mention Sirdasa herself. She still owns the magical blade given to her by Sybille. And she knows she can potentially poison this blade and use it for closer-styled combat. Still, she pines for other options.

So, no to Destruction, and no to the idea of blades, except perhaps as a very final choice after others had failed. “I do like the ideals Illusion can bring,” she finally decides after listening to her mentor a bit. Why, just a couple or three or four weeks ago, she’d been fantasizing turning herself invisible, so she could sneak by her watchful aunt, avoiding all those awkward moments of public conversation. “You are saying, I might find fit to make myself disappear if I engage into Illusion magic?”

“The notion is possible, though not until after many months of practice,” Sybille answers. “Maybe years. But aye, plenty of magicians have eventually attained to the point of disappearing into thin airs, then escaping their foes altogether.”

Many months, maybe years. The information dismays the magical apprentice.

“However," Stentor continues, "as an early affect pertaining to this school you shall also gain the ability to calm your opponents, and possibly cause them to turn on one another, and these sorts of dissuasion are easier to obtain.”

Hmm. These were just the things those three great archers from Yesteryear were able to accomplish: Ana, Saga, and Buffy. Which edges Laprima's decision.

“Conjuration might also be an appropriate option,” the court wizard adds with a wink.

At the moment however, Laprima’s not entirely thrilled about ‘conjuring dead things’ to fight the living. The idea simply doesn’t appeal.

She’s also not interested in spreading her potential magical prowess too thin. Best to stay focused upon just one school, thinks she. So she purchases two spells from Solitude's court wizard: Candlelight and Calm. Candlelight, which can be cast over and again in her own time, lighting up her room if desired, allowing magical progress while not in the presence of enemies. And Calm, so she can potentially cause enemies to drop their aggressive pursuits. Both of these are common and generic effects (for that's another facet of Fourth Era magic compared to Third, most wizardry these days is similar enough, gone are the days when bizarre and complicated effects were studied and utilized, such as that bowgirl disappearing while enemies closed in, causing a lesser Daedra to seemingly take her place).

The apprentice buys her new spells, then delights at illuminating her room as she practices one of them.


Sundas, Sun’s Dusk 21: The ambassador gets her next calling. On this day, which just happens to be exactly one month after her twenty-first birthday, Solitude's jarl calls her top delegate to the throne.

“Laprima! At attention! Your services are next to be needed in…”

And so continues the saga of Laprima Anne Donnaugh, Jill of all Trades, her plight unfurling before her.

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

Notes: 1). Thank you Acadian, for allowing the use of Buffy's name and methods in this week's chapter.

2). The Grey Wizard was a PS3 character who started off as a scribe and who (in my head-canon) wrote a lot of the scrolls we find in TES: IV's random loot. He eventually became my Arch Mange and CoC long ago on PS3. I'll try to find a picture of the old geezer.

3). Usually my process after dropping the latest story is to delight in reading one of yours: usually Rosa's or Clavier's. But I'm too sick right now! So I'll catch up some time this week. Ciao.

So the barmaid and young mystic archer enjoys a stable routine before once again being called to duty by her Aunt Jarl. I expect that new calm spell will come in handy as she travels for dealing with foes that get too close. She is certainly devoting herself to the craft (mystic archery).

Thank you for the flattering mention of my bowgirl and the small part she plays in inspiring Laprima.

So it is back to ordinary life for Laprima, with some hiccups like the canceled play due to the war.

And some experience points spent on her archery. And even some archer history. I smiled at the mention of past characters such as Ana Khannda and Lady Saga. And Buffy!

In Oblivion my archer characters often relied on blocking with the bow and using Touch Destruction spells for when things got too close and personal. They could deal out the most damage for the least cost. But that doesn't work in Skyrim. There are no touch spells, and you have to empty your hands to ready a spell, so you cannot block with the bow at the same time. I found summoning an ally before a battle to be the best option. Or doing so if someone got too close and running away to let the summoning get into it with the enemy.

So Illusion it is then. Time to get invisible.

Hey, we all make mistakes, but I made a whole slew of them this time, which I just corrected. Was thinking maybe I'd just let them fly, and if I hadn't dedicated a part of the chapter to mentioning someone else's character maybe I would've. But it kept bothering me, all these nits! So I gave the entire tale a once-over. Much better now.

Will catch up to the stories of others some time this week!

Renee:
A well-reasoned approach to selecting a school of magic to which you will devote your study.

I did miss my favorite School of Magic, Mysticism, in Skyrim. For me Mysticism was the greatest of the magic schools and Skyrim’s magic felt empty without it.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

True, 'Rosa. I forgot we can block with bows. That would've been a good thing to do when she got attacked by that Khajiit, who was right in her face the whole time (ignoring the guards)! Yes, the whole method for Skyrim is different, in the sense that we have to have something going on with each hand, spells included, blocking included, everything included. It's pretty awkward, considering in Oblivion we could use an entirely different key or trigger or whatever for casting spells.

It's all because of the Shout key. But the good thing is, on PC, those characters who aren't Dragonborn can use this key for some other function. In LPD's game I can 'turn on' headtracking for instance.

I did consider your characters, too btw. The only one who I know might be an archer is Teresa, but I wasn't entirely sure, and I didn't want to do any injustices by guessing. I mostly know Buffy from numerous posts Acadian made in the original Bethsoft forums, during which nubies would show up and ask questions about archery.


You're welcome, Acadian. Yes, that's the thing about this story in comparison to just about all my others, there's a baseline of activity which Laprima has become attuned to, and can fall back on. I could actually just play her game as a barmaid roleplay, negating all the action and ambassador stuff if I wanted, and be rather satisfied with this. Problem is, this wouldn't make much of a story after a while.

So then there are some other pursuits such as Alchemy and Archery which progress more towards things she'll occasionally need to implement.


Thanks Vampire Hunter. Halfway through editing last week I realized my gal is a JOAT in a sort of way! Not so much with the game's list of Skillz but with other stuff, some of which is officiated in Fantasy Trip as well as Beth's official 18.

There was a lot of turmoil back when Skyrim was released about the lack of a sixth school of magic, as well as no Spellmaker, no Levitation, no Mark & Recall, etc. but none of this bothered me. I simply 'explained' it through Skyrim's magicians aren't as adept as those in earlier eras.

Thanks, I am feeling better. No messing around with drink or skooma this weekend! 🍾


ALL: I made some mistakes last week, beyond all the grammar mistakes, not that there's any huge consequences. Candlelight is part of the Alteration school, not Illusion. It's because Light spells were always Illusion in earlier editions. 💡 Also, Laprimaâ€'s birthday is the 29th, not the 24th. Oops. The 24th was her first day in Skyrim, so she's been in Skyrim for an entire month by now.

This upcoming chapter, I'm not as satisfied about as some of the others. I could've written it an entirely different way which would've been more efficient. But it's done. Might as well post it.

.
___________________


.An Odd Curtsey


___________________

“Laprima!” the jarl announced, just as the younger woman entered the palace’s court. “At attention!”

“Aye, madam. I am here.” Already the oddly-mixed feelings of dread and curiosity she’d been anticipating, they were also here. And Lady Donnaugh certainly knew why.





“Well firstly, apologies in advance, dear niece. As I must firstly state that the events to come shall not be easy, for any of us, for all of us. Sending our own flesh, our own siblings, our own relations off into the countryside, such things are not simple….

“But… as you know. Due to unfortunate circumstances pertaining to the upcoming war, the matters to be divulged are wont to intrude upon all our daily routines. Yours, mine, all of us here.”

Niece Donnaugh nodded.

“Speaking of daily routines, I can see you are ready and dressed for the Winking Skeever.”

Laprima nodded again, a little too vigorously this time, betraying subconscious sentiments. “Mmm hmm, I’ve got my sculleries on, surely. Are a change of plans to be needed?”

“Not immediately, not as of right now, no. But soon.”

“Alright,” Laprima answered, thinking of the moment’s irony. Because here she was, dressed in the grubby clothes of a wench while standing before Haafingar’s leader, who also happened to be her mother’s only sister. Niece had defied her aunt nearly a month ago so she could work at a place of commoners! At the time, this had been such a controversial thing. – But now here she was, still wearing one of her barmaid outfits. Headed off to work, yet being interrupted so she could further the plans which could potentially affect at least a portion of Skyrim’s strategic arena.

“Well, you know what it is I am about to request,” the jarl stated grimly. “And believe you me, I wish such things, they hadn’t been destined to this point. So let me ask firstly, would it be prudent, Laprima, that you are surely, inwardly prepared to travel the lengths and breadths of Skyrim? - A portion of our great province, anyhow. Before arriving at the next locations upon our roster? So that our message might be duly conveyed?”

Niece nodded again, taking in the unexpected moment of silence which followed. One of those moments many of us take, once we realize we’ll be looking back toward this exact point in time from the future. Palace’s air, it’s cool. Magical music soothing from places unseen. The eyes of court attendees, watchful and waiting. Ears, straining to witness whatever is to be stated next. Court’s scribe, scribbling shorthand into one of the court’s official rosters. She took the moment in, practically able to view it from outside the flesh.

“Splendid. The journey upcoming shall be more perilous than the journey to Dragon Bridge,” Elisif cautioned. “Well, at present, let me just inform that you, and those whom you are to travel with, guards, that is, should not need to deal with Stormcloaks at all. We’ve gotten word the rebels are headed off to Fort Dunstad next, which is nowhere near to where we shall send you.”

“Alright,” the younger lady said.

“However, this does not mean the roads are completely fair and safe,” the jarl acknowledged. “There are still bandits and hostiles and such, from what’s been stated after your trek to Dragon Bridge, and many apologies for my negligence on the matter. So…. because of this, extra precautions have been taken. Your guard detail for instance, it shall double.”

“Much appreciated. But ehm.. am I to travel with the same guards as before? Mansonn and Peters?”

“Perhaps you shall. Really not sure.”

“Not to fuss, but those two, they did not know how to heal themselves! Nor did they carry any potions to assist their ailing bodies after being attacked not once, but twice. The fact they were able to arrive and depart, to and from… and from and to… was just a matter of luck. They were both so cut and so injured once we arrived in Dragon Bridge. Quite badly so. … Is just, a notion of concern upon my mind.”

“Understood. Well as I was saying,” Elisif continued. “I have not command over such things; the guards provided shall mostly be of Castle Dour, and as you may expect, Tullius is reluctant to spare any of his troops at such a time. So we’ll receive whomever he allows, I suppose.”

Laprima said nothing, but made a mental note. Perhaps she could brew a few batches of healing later on. Either this, or she could buy some potions from Angelline, which she’d disperse to her companions before setting off.

“But the good news,” the jarl continued, “is Tullius and I have come to better terms. As in, he’ll no longer be trying to enforce his will over ours,” she snapped her fingers with a bit of sass. “Which is to say, I am to continue communicating, providing outreach and possible support to other portions of Skyrim at times, sending off messages and such, which you shall be needed to deliver, and with haste!” ...aste.. aste… aste... Elisif’s voice echoed. “And this shall be so, while General Tullius delegates the military.”

“Grand. Am glad the two of you have arrived more congenially,” Laprima performed an odd curtsey. “Well then, where are we to sojourn next?"

The answer was more complicated this time, as it would require travel to more than one place: Rorikstead, then Riverwood, then Falkreath.

Jarl Elisif and her court wanted to initially focus upon several smaller locations, hamlets and villages on the west side, before messaging the larger town of Falkreath. All three places were similar to Dragon Bridge, in the sense that they were unwalled and offered limited protection (in comparison to Solitude), although Falkreath at least had a proper garrison. Elisif’s aim (as stated) would be communication most of all. She and General Tullius would be requesting declarations for which side of the war the folk of these places were truly subscribing to: Empire or Stormcloaks? Such knowledge would become helpful; funds and support could be better allocated.

First location: Rorikstead, a farming village which’d been established for many years, at least since the Second Era, although it hadn’t been named Rorikstead back then.

Rorikstead was established many dozens of miles south of Dragon Bridge, and was part of Whiterun Hold, not Haafingar. Whiterun itself had already been captured of course, but Elisif remained persistent on the matter; contact with Rorikstead must be accomplished. Rorikstead and Whiterun were also many dozens of miles away from each other. The idea was that hopefully, the small village was not under heavy Stormcloak control yet, which meant the Empire might still be allowed to insert some influence.

Solitude’s message would be sent directly to the village’s actual leader, a noble named Rorik, who wouldn’t be off to war as Dragon Bridge’s Garrus Maro had been. Rorik was an elder, after all; too old to fight. He’d been firmly sided with the Empire in past times, and had even fought against the Aldmeri Dominion during the Great War, well before the Thalmor had corrupted the elves’ side.

Laprima’s quest would be to gather information: was Rorik still affirming his original position? Or had he now chosen to support Ulfric and his rebels? And there were other details the ambassador would need to present, things which had nothing to do with the war.

The second location to reach would be Riverwood, a milling town also located in Whiterun Hold.

…. Which, by now, Laprima was visibly nervous about, grinding her teeth with involuntary bruxism. “Two journeys in a row within Stormcloak territory?”

But by Jarl Elisif’s account (backed by the words of Falk Firebeard and others present), this shouldn’t be a problem. As an ambassador, Laprima’s affiliation and presence would be considered neutral. In theory, she should be able to go in and out of enemy lands, gathering and spreading information without consequence. The Stormcloaks were already doing similar things after all; already they’d sent a couple emissaries in and out of Solitude to confer with its leaders.

“Let me give you words of advice,” Elisif offered. “Don’t waste your time fighting blind-minded thoughts of despair. You should be fine, Laprima. You’ve got our word.”

“Alright,” the younger noble stated, somewhat relieved. “If others are doing such things, guess I haven’t any qualms, I suppose.” …And if there are any moments of distress, I can just use one of the new spells just learned to bring complacency to those with a tiff…

“Gracious, you have our many thanks, and full support,” Elisif’s voice tinkled like a bell. “Oh, one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Have you knowledge on how to ride a horse?”

Laprima smiled, almost a smirk of a smile. “Was one of the perks of being a noble’s daughter, barging into Chestnut Handy Stables since the age of eight back home! Kept bothering the orcs and stablehands who ran the place when I was a youngster, until finally they relented. Allowed me a steed of my own, an undergrown foal. Er, with my parents' blessings and coin, of course.”

“Magnificent. Well that is good. Because this upcoming notion, it shall ease thy mind, perhaps. Ophelia, draw up a commission,” the jarl snapped at the court’s scribe. “It shall be, that Lady Laprima Anne Donnaugh shall gather her own horse, to better travel with haste toward her eventual destinations.”

“Many thanks, aunt Elisif.”

She would depart on the morrow, Jarl Elisif the Fair decided after conferring the rest of her court, and not a day later. For today, Lady Donnaugh could do whatever she wanted, perhaps one final shift at the Skeever if desired. But since she was being allowed her own horse, perhaps it’d be best to get to know the animal, first. Horsemanship was a skill like any other: archery or spell-casting or potion-mixing, and so on. Difference was, horses were living beings who responded best to those who they were already familiar with.

So this is what she did. Strode out of town in her scrubby tavern clothes so she could meet her gifted steed, a palomino. Upon doing so, introducing herself via a series of gestures and coos and such, then arranging the horse's tack and saddle to her liking, she was pleased to learn the beast was already well-trained, and well-behaved. It did not spook right away, like some horses.

Laprima tried to think of a name for her new horse as she rode it and led it up and down Solitude's entry hill, but for now she was coming up blank.


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

Notes: 1). Laprima leveled up to 4 during last week's session! Pretty sure I gave her that first point of Speech. A rather useless "perk" (I hate that word in regards to Skyrim... it's such a Fallout term) because that first Speech point allows us to get better prices during 'haggling', in a game in which haggling is obsolete. And LPD is already wealthy... But eh. Speech is going to be an actual important skill later in her life. She'll need to Persuade some others for sure.

2). This story was going to be longer, and was going to include some more travel / possibly more action. But maybe it's better the travel parts get held until next week. Ebb, and then flow.

Sorry for the late response!

The fact that the machine translator figured out a good-sounding version of Cyrodiilic creeps me out a little bit, not gonna lie.

Hmm, wonder how quickly the adventurous stuff will fall away for Laprima. Sometimes people end up getting a taste for it.

Wow, the lead actor signing up really brings home the fact that there's a war on. All hands on deck.

Heh, guilty or not Laprima is being smart about the money. And it's good that she's thinking about the less fortunate. She learned a lot from her trip. Also smart that she's getting instruction from the soldiers for archery.

Neat history lesson! I know Buffy's from Acadian. Are the others from lore? I'm a little vague on Tamrielic history outside of a few areas.

Ah, I suspected Laprima would want to get more involved.

Even if fast travel made it redundant, I do kind of miss the personalization of spells like mark and recall.

Winterhold's a goodly trip from Solitude. But I like that Laprima's seasoned enough consider some of the ins and outs of such a journey.

It's cool how you wove the gameplay changes into the story. Magic does feel a lot different by the Fourth Era.

Alright, Elisif's calling her in. Must be important.

Laprima has some good points regarding Mansonn and Peters. That kind of recklessness might work on short trips but would be a problem on longer ones.

Ooh, she might be going to Falkreath. I always kind of liked that place. It gave me a Twin Peaks/Gravity Falls vibe; think it was the fact that it was in the middle of the forest and was spooky in a less overtly menacing way than Morthal.

Huh, is the old name for Rorikstead "Lainalten"? That's what the UESP says it was called in Arena. The names in that game were pretty generic (but then again, so were the towns).

Hm, hope the Stormcloaks respect Laprima's neutrality. Though I suppose they generally would. Bothering ambassadors doesn't usually help anyone.

Okay, so the adventure's kicking into gear. And it fits because Laprima's way more comfortable with that kind of thing. She's really undergone a remarkable transformation; she was initially a somewhat aimless noble following her no-good husband around. But as he falls away, she comes into her own. And that's through her own efforts. She got the job at the Winking Skeever and involved herself with the Bard's College. She befriended bandits and soldiers and learned from both. That all shows a lot of initiative, so it truly feels like she's earned all this.

I love Laprima's observation on how pearl-clutching her having a menial job was a month ago. Yet now that is the least of anyone's concerns now. The world changes.

Cool, it is another diplomatic mission for Ambassador Laprima. Let's just hope she can avoid any Imperial entanglements... Oh wait, she's on the side of the Empire. So I guess she does not have to worry about Darth Vader attacking her consular ship at the beginning of the movie.

Glad to see Laprima taking into account the difficulties she and her guards - her henchmen? - had the last time. Now she is looking ahead for ways to ameliorate such issues in the future by taking direct action.

And it is off into enemy territory to do some politicking. As the well tempered instrument noted, usually diplomats have some sort of status even in a war. But not always. She might come across some blockhead who thinks they will be a hero by bringing her in, only to find themselves in hot water afterward when it turns into a big stink. That happened the US Civil War when a Union ship captured two confederate envoys off of a British ship. It caused a huge international incident between the US and Britain, and in the end Lincoln had the confederates released and sent to Britain.

Well, this next ambassadorial tour sounds much more ambitious than her short trip to Dragon Bridge. Healing potions seem like a great idea. And horses an even a better idea. I don’t suppose her guards will be mounted as they probably should be.

You’ve done a great job tying Laprima’s growing repertoire of skills and abilities to being ‘born of necessity’ as the challenges she faces grow.

Hola amigos, getting a late start this weekend. How is everyone this weekend? Let's start with some cake.

Acadian: That's a good word: tour. Yes, she's gonna be touring. In my own playtesting with my healer's game (starting last year), I did a similar, shorter trip from Bannered Mare to Dragonreach in Whiterun, before she embarked upon the rest of Skyrim. So from the perspective of this story she needed to go to Dragon Bridge because it's nearer than the other locations, while from my perspective I was doing a lot of bug-testing and such.

Aw, 'great job', thanks! In particular I hope the fact that she's gone from Ale Server to Ambassador, dealing with potential issues while traveling, is convincing enough that it doesn't feel 'tacked-on'.


SubRosa: Indeed, a lot has changed in a month. It's amazing how little time actually passes, in both of our stories, eh? Yet a lot of things do occur.

Laprima's affiliation is actually neutral as far as Factions and such are concerned, since she has not actually joined the Empire. So I don't foresee her getting outright attacked by Stormies, chances are they'll give their usual warnings: "I'm warning you, BACK OFF!" 🤺 However, some of the people she is traveling with are part of CWImperial factions, so uh-oh. Overall, I think the guards are gonna have more problems with bandits and conjurers and such. The only Stormies they'll meet are those random encounters of 3 Stormcloaks traveling with a prisoner. That's what I foresee, anyway.

I have no idea which direction they'll take. Laprima (backed by me, the player) is not leading the party, the main NPC she'll speak to is the actual leader. I can make the NPCs wait or follow or rest, but during most of the travel it'll be Draper who is leading. And NPCs sometimes take wacky directions to get to places. But chances are he will decide to walk right through Robber's Gorge. Which'll be "fun".

The actual politicking is also going to be interesting. There will be Bioware-style choices, Persuasion attempts and so on. Things could go easy, or they could go south. I appreciate your Civil War insights from real-life. The guy who convinced me to join the gaming group in high school is a Civil War expert.


Finder WellTemperedClavier: Hey it's okay! Better late than never (sounds like my motto for this weekend). Yeah, AI makes me nervous, too. We're all supposed to be dazzled by it, put all our trust into it. It freaks me out. But I needed to use Google Translate (or Bing's version of it) because a certain Chrorrolite refused to help me with a 'real' translation even though he speaks the language, or close to it.

Aaaanyway, as I'm writing this tale it has to be explained how she's coming into knowledge for Marksmanship and such. Like, how could she instantly become knowlegable about all this stuff? So I like to think the guards are the ones educating her.



The others are two other characters of mine: Ana Khannda is part of Thieves Guild and House Hlaalu, and Lady Saga is my main explorer from TES 4. She's not really a follower of guests and though she is part of Mages Guild, she does none of their quests. She mostly just explores all the places I never got to with the rest of my gals & guys.

Indeed. When Skyrim came out a lot of folks complained about lack of Spellmaking and all the other stuff which is 'missing', trying to get other gamers to boycott Skyrim etc. until this got 'fixed', while I simply enjoyed my game. Found RP reasons to explain the rest. Think about it though, Nords are not too keen on magic! So it makes sense there's been a downslide. That's how I see it, anyway.

If you want to know, there are a few things which did bother me though. #1: Not being able to start a new character from a save point at the end of the tutorial (I was a console gamer in my early days) !!!! I rolled 15 to 20 characters, each time I'd have to rush thru the opening tutorial with the sound turned all the way down, while roleplaying my character had a 'dream'.

#2 was a lot of the utility stuff. TWO hotkeys instead of 8. The Favorites system sucks on consoles. It literally is clunky to pause the game every time we need to access something which is not one of those two hotkeys. No Attributes also annoyed me, because it means there are hardly any starting differences at the beginning. Everyone is 'the same', besides the way they look.

Anyway, from a development standpoint, Mansonn and Peters where my efforts at bug-testing! 🐜 I learned a few things about them, such as if the NPC is not a magic-user, always make sure they've at least got some healing potions in inventory!!!

YES.. wow. Falkreath is quite similar to Twin Peaks!

Ah, thank you for providing that name: Lainalten. Didn't see that during my own research. I'll be able to use that name when she actually gets to Rorikstead.

Aw, thanks for kind words of support & encouragement. Am really glad you've been posting Daria.

.
________________

.One For All…

________________

Tordas, 25th of Sun's Dusk, early morning


This morning’s sequence of events were similar enough to the events of the week before.

She awoke from a half-remembered dream. This time she was in a room, sitting upon a bed, surrounded by forms she couldn’t comprehend; though for sure she'd been sitting cross-legged on a bed. Staring at a picture which moved. Yes, a moving picture, placed within a frame and on a small stand, displaying images which constantly changed. A small glass window was in the wall to her left. This being a dream, Laprima was not entirely in control of what she was doing, and unable to understand the series of sights she was viewing. But she sat transfixed as the picture morphed and glimmered, just like the diorama of the sick girl she’d viewed in that magical chalice. The one Chamany showed her weeks ago.

And then suddenly, all within the dream went dark! The lights, the moving picture, the room she was in, all of it became mere shapes. The term ‘blackout’ occurred in her mind, whatever that meant. Only ambient sunlight streaming through the nearby window continued to illuminate, keeping panic at bay. Could any of this have to do with the Darkness she'd faced since her brother's disappearance?

She awoke to the sight of yet another lass in her room, really need to have that lock installed, who offered to assist and arrange. Found herself dealing with the same moments of dread and anxiety as she dressed and got prepared. Moved hastily toward court. Here, Falk Firebeard described the new guard detail she’d be traveling with, while the rest of the court witnessed. As promised, Laprima’s posse had doubled; there’d be four soldiers to travel with this time rather than two. All of them were to be found waiting, in or near the Winking Skeever.

Outside, the weather was fair. Morning sun, warming the air. Such a wonderful presentation to begin the day, Goddess of Weather, although who knew how long it would last! After gathering some food from the market and double-checking the possessions she’d need, Laprima met the foursome: three men and a woman. One of the men had striking facial features matched with golden skin. A high elf; an Altmer. He was enshrouded within dark robes rather than the armor worn by the three soldiers, his head cowled by a hood. And the woman was tall. Tall, and large.

"Hoy there," called one of the soldiers, an Imperial. Like Mansonn, he was suited in the typical light-duty armor assigned to every Solitudian trooper, it seemed. Boiled leathers which had been dyed burgundy, fastened by straps and grommets, donned over a cuirass of chainmail. The man's head was topped by an open-faced helmet made of metal. Warm-weather apparel, for sure. To Laprima, his armor, short sleeves, and leggings didn’t look as though they’d be enough to face down Skyrim’s cold, but what did she know? Perhaps the man was just fine.

"Hail to thee. I am Laprima Anne Donnaugh. From the city, as you might’ve gathered from my accent,” she performed a bow. “Many more of us here than first expected, eh? Anyhow, am headed toward Rorikstead. And are the four of you to also accompany me?”

"Aye we are, and hail to you, milady. I am Pierre Draper," said the Imperial, a Colovian. Rather than a Heartlander’s drawl, Draper spoke with the flat and casual inflections uttered by the majority of those from Cyrodiil’s West Weald, and Gold Coast. “I go by just Draper, though.”

“Splendid, Draper. And whom else have we got here?”

“Three others shall travel with us to Rorikstead. Firstly, we've got Rokkr Van Haggar, my Nord pal since childhood."
Draper made a face to the soldier standing beside him. Van Haggar was not wearing a helmet, allowing a coif of blonde waves to cascade around his jowled face.

“Pleased to meet you,” Rokkr said.

"Well, I sometimes call the man Red,” Draper explained, “as in… are you ready? Red Rokkr.”

“Oh you did NOT!...” the Nord nudged his pal with mock-affront, feigning embarrassment. Apparently, this was an inside joke between the two.

“Am lucky to have Van Haggar at my side,” Draper pushed back, “even though he can be a painful bugger at times.”

“Painful bugger, eh?” Laprima smiled, thinking of her own best pal from Cyrodiil: Siouxsie, wherever she might be. “Well in any event, am very pleased to meet.”

“Also here is Sixpenny,” Draper motioned at the Altmer wearing dark robes.

Laprima’s gaze turned toward the elf. She managed what she hoped was a graceful expression upon her face, but felt a moment of… unease?.... concerning his presence. Perhaps the way he was standing there, staring back with what looked to be expectation. Like a pretentious statue from a reenacted battle scene.

Confirming her discomfort, Sixpenny spoke. “Behold the future!” he gestured with both arms to the sky. He then cast a spell which illuminated the plaza, meant to dazzle everyone present. “For I am a special envoy of the Aldmeri Dominion, with the talent to back my words. If you’d like, I can show you why.”

“Ehm, right,” Draper interjected. “Perhaps later on, you may show us all. There shall be plenty time for such things, I can assure.” He made a gesture to placate the elf. “Sixpenny is not officially from Tullius,” the Colovian informed the Heartlander. “He shall be representing the Thalmor side of the line, as we traverse the countryside. Always wise, these days.”

“Indeed! Always wise.” Sixpenny crossed his arms while his silly spell fizzled. “And let it be known that all of you should feel relieved and even relegated by my presence. For my services to assist this ragtag assemblage, my superior abilities, my long-trained magical talents honed during many years of…”

“That’ll be enough, sir,” Draper interrupted a second time, a bit of annoyance in his voice. “Lady Donnaugh is new to all of this. Probably overwhelmed a bit, am I right?"

“You may call me Laprima. No need to be so formal.”

“Right, Laprima then. All of us have a diverse array of talents, elf. Lady Donn-- I mean, Laprima, has got a bow and quiver, for instance. By the way, I already know of you,” Draper gestured with both arms, mimicking an unseen arrow being drawn into an invisible bow. “Quite a shot up at Archer’s Row, from what I’m hearing. Always good to include at least one dedicated archer alongside of warriors and casters such as ourselves.”

Draper faced the group. “Suffice it to say that all of us have talents, for sure. We’ll need to work these talents cohesively as a group, alright?”

“Sure,” Laprima answered.
“But of course,” Van Haggar replied.
“Hmph,” Sixpenny grumbled.

"And finally, our newest recruit: Tårn." Draper motioned toward the woman standing shyly toward the plaza’s left side. Recognition dawned, now that Laprima was getting a better look. "She's a Nordic from the countryside. Can barely speak a word of our language. But she's able and she's strong. Good with a blade. Our watch captain inducted her on the spot yesterday when she applied."

"Hei," Tårn said with a bashful wave. Like the other soldiers, she was suited in light armor, though her gear looked to be mostly thick tiles of tanned leather rather than the thinner burgundy breastplates worn by the males. Being so large, perhaps she was lucky Castle Dour was able to provide armor which fit at all.

"Well I do already know Tårn," Laprima waved back to the woman who was easily a head and two shoulders taller than anyone else present. "She is one of the evacuees, brought last week from Dragon Bridge."

“Ah,” answered Draper. “That explains it. Chances are if she’d joined the Legion last week she’d already be out in the field somewhere. So we are grateful to ‘ave her.”

Sixpenny the mage muttered something under his breath while Rokkr Van Haggar spoke up. “Well, shall we get us a drink first?” he asked the group with a sly hint of something in his voice. Rokkr asked ‘the group’ but looked mostly at Draper. “You know, christen the moment with some ale or some mead... or, uh, shall we…”

“Perhaps we should just go,” Draper finished. “Drinks, they’ve got that too in Dragon Bridge, ya know.”

“Drats,” the Nord grumbled. “Was worth a shot, at least.”




Outside Solitude’s gate and down the hill toward its stables, Laprima’s horse stood patient and waiting. The Heartlander patted the horse, arranged her rucksack upon the animal’s left haunch, grabbed ahold, and with one fluid movement, mounted his saddle. She then looked at the four faces below.

“Oh. Are your steeds located somewheres nearby?”

“Hah! Listen to this!” Draper chuckled. “Steeds?”

“Guess she missed the part when they assigned members of infantry rather than cavalry,” Van Haggar joked.

“Wait. You are saying…”

“We ‘aven’t got horses,” Draper answered. “Such luxuries as steeds and mounts have already been assigned to those off to war, especially for the officers. Buggers for us, but what can be done?”

“What can be done?” Laprima would show them what could be done. “Let us return to the palace! Surely I can then requisition the proper permissions and–”

“Save it,” Draper replied. “We’ll be fine. Probably better off to be walking upon land all the while. Can be tough, keeping a horse going through treacherous terrains and such. Plus, I prefer to fight while on my own two feet.”

“Horses,” Sixpenny scoffed. “Beasts of burden? More like a burden of beasts! Back home on the Isles we’d all cast spells of levitation when the accord for transit to and from was required. No need for feeding and upkeep and all the banal mucking and drudgery such animals necessitate.”

“Excuse me?” Laprima spoke. “Not all of us have knowledge of such advanced magics. Me? I’d rather prance upon my horse! Watch me do so, fact of matter.”

“And that is your right,” the elf replied. “Roughen thy backside with rough-riding, for all I care. As for me? I shall be stepping my boots anywhere else but behind thou foul steed.”

“Shut yer trap, you bloodless twit,” Van Haggar snapped, which caused Draper, the group’s apparent peacemaker, to speak up.

“All of us shut our traps,” said the Imperial. “All of us now, we need to focus. Remain cohesive, a’right? For the journey ahead, we all know by now how quickly things can turn awry, especially if we aren’t united against whatever opponents we might find ahead.”

The rest of the group nodded and muttered agreement, including Tårn. Though she could understand very little of what was being said, Solitude’s newest recruit gathered the gist of it all.

“Our common goal here is to arrive alive into Rorikstead, so Laprima here can deliver the message from our side, and perhaps in some small way, do her part to stifle whatever small part of the war is to commence. Understand?... Say it with me: One for all!”

“...and all for one,” the group (except Tårn) replied. Even Sixpenny joined in, although with reluctance.

“Hmm," Draper put his palm against his head. "Must have some cotton in my ears. Did not hear that. So.... louder.
ONE FOR ALL!”

“...AND ALL FOR ONE!”

This time the giantess's voice could be heard, struggling to properly pronounce. She had no idea what was being said of course, but the implication was clear. First, they quarrel, thought she in her natural language, until the man with the metal helm brings them focus. Now, they conjoin wills. Though the rest of the group could have no way of knowing, today would not be Tårn's first time at what roughly translated to 'command-work' in her tongue.

The group set off to Dragon Bridge, hoping to arrive before nightfall. Laprima dismounted her horse, which still did not have a name. Because one thing was for sure. She would not be riding upon a hooved beast while her company walked. How posh and uppity would that be?

“Let us sojourn,” she said to no one in particular. She whistled at her unnamed horse, which’d already been trained to follow.




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Draper

Van Haggar - (Tried my best, I know he looks fugly! I'm gonna try again to make him look a bit more... like Sammy. Maybe I'll get Sammy's true hair through mods! But for now I have to figure out how to load Apachi Hair.esm alongside of Laprima's World.esp. The CK yelled error messages at me when trying to do so!)

Sixpenny

Tårn

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Notes: 1). Sorry Acadian, the group is not riding on horses riding on horses, at least not yet! This might sound lame, because I know Gritsy (for instance) was able to get Darnand and Jerric and maybe more of her group on horses. But I have to be cautious for now. Chances are this could lead to all kinds of problems with NPCs riding off to the middle of some river just to kill a mudcrab, getting separated and so on, and I can't be dealing with messes like this as this story commences. So Perhaps such a thing will come in the future, especially as the group pares down to less members (which I think will happen).

2). I switched back to Photobucket for picture-links because Imgur's got too many issues lately. Let me know if there's any probs with PB too.

What an interesting little band Laprima has in her support! They all seem to have their abilities, though it is most fortunate that Draper seems to have the leadership to pull them together. Tarn is rather mysterious but I have a good feeling about her based on her demeaner. Thalmor in the Third or Fourth Era make me nervous though and this Sixpenny might bear watching, as I expect his loyalties don’t exactly lie with the Empire. You handled the horse situation well. One horse for the party though can still be helpful for carrying some of the group’s necessary supplies.

Interesting how Tårn figured out who was in command of the expedition’s military forces. But there seems to be more to the tower than meets the eye.

Laprima had a dream in which she was watching television!

So it's Don Draper and the Sammy Hagar I love that you got his old Red Rocker title in there too!

Sixpenny sounds like is 4 cents short of having his own tower south and west of Megaton. Oh, he's Thalmor? Boo, Hiss!

So Tårn is one of those Old-School Nords from Dragon Bridge. I will just imagine that she is being played by Gwendoline Christie.

It is a motley, rambunctious band that Laprima has with her. I suspect that traveling with them will be an adventure all its own, even without the added dangers of bandits, monsters, or Stormcloaks.

The odd thing about Maryland. We barely had a winter, but now that it's spring it's been actually pretty chilly. But this won't last. Usually by May it's too warm for me to get into Skyrim. Yet I have a definite conclusion I've been wanting to come to at the end of this season! So I've been writing ahead of the story rather than staying as "close" to it week-to-week.

Thanks Acadian, indeed they do have their talents but also their idiosyncrasies. Not a whole lot of this is being planned. The soldiers are a given at this point, but then I remembered Tårn at almost the last moment before writing that up. Hmm. What would happen if she joined their party?

A magic-user is also a good way to mix things up, but I didn't plan on him being 1). Thalmor or 2). an arrogant nuisance! All of that presented itself during writing + editing. So now the story's got even more of a plot than originally envisioned!

In fact the horse debacle was this. I've got Immersive Horses, which allows us to whistle at the horse (causing it to follow) and use the horse's inventory to expand our character's carry capacity, along with a half-dozen other features. The problem is IH refused to recognize Laprima's horse as "HER" horse, because I added this horse in myself, rather than using the vanilla game's official manner of purchase. So even though the horse is owned by Player in the Creation Kit, the stupid mod wasn't recognizing this. In the end this turned out okay. I came up with the idea of making a special ring. Laprima puts it on, the horse follows. She takes it off, now it stays put. But I also can't imagine the headache of trying to get NPCs on horses so for now there's just her horse, which is currently more of a pack mule.

-=---------------------------------------------------------

Very good, macole: Tårn = Tower.

I just picture her getting to Solitude and then what? The rest of the adult countryside Nords perhaps huddle around the children, perhaps find themselves taking up menial tasks to keep busy, but Tårn herself seems more dynamic. She seems as though she's got a past which involved village protection. Perhaps she always wanted to join a larger force to make her talents solid.

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Yes, 'Rosa, well really that was my dream, but for some reason it fit that she could've had the same dream. The very first chapter of this story was also my dream, which I had way back in 2017. That one was actually more medieval though. I was lying in a hay cart while my friends were off to some sort of gala event, an outdoor party or something, and I was hiding from them. There wasn't any technology in that dream, no TVs or metro cars or whatnot. It's like I was more in 'her' world.

I tried my best making Sammy look like Sammy. For now he's wearing a helmet.

NICE! I'm actually glad somebody's booing Sixpenny!

Gwendoline Christie, just looked her up. Still have never seen Game of Thrones after all these years, but yeah, she looks statuesque.

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WellTemperedClavier: Is the keyboard player just .... done here? Shoot. If so, I'm gonna miss your habit of really digging in. Not just the bigger, obvious plotline stuff, but the littler nuances, too.

In any event, this comment is honorary for you.

.
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.Gang of Five

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Morndas, 22nd of Sun’s Dusk


As they walked the road which ran along the base of the mountain, Laprima predicted the day’s weather would morph from pleasant and sunny to overcast and chilly, almost as if on cue. But for once she was wrong! Though the air persisted cold with occasional wind, Magnus remained up high. And no one could complain about that.
Another facet she did not foresee was that her party of travellers would continue as a gang of five. In fact, they soon gained an extra person: Mansonn, who came bounding after them...

"Ah, here y'are! ... Thought I'd missed you!"

Today Mansonn was carrying a different weapon, a warhammer, which looked almost as large as the man himself! He still wore Solitudian armor just like the others, except without a helmet. -- So now, she traveled with five individuals: three soldiers from down home, Sixpenny the Thalmor mage, and Tårn.

A large gale of wind blew through the trees, causing them to pitch wildly about: sssssss... ice crystals permeated the air all around. Brrr.

Attempting smalltalk, Laprima polled the group. “Makes you miss Cyrodiil, does it not? The sun high above, yet the air's still quite brisk. And when the wind gusts like that, Magnus cannot compete for warmth at all, eh?” Though she asked aloud to no one in particular, it was a question mostly addressed to her fellow natives of Cyrodiil. Tårn could not understand the common language, and Laprima didn’t much care for whatever Sixpenny had to say.

The soldiers made noises to the affirmative, but otherwise didn’t have much opinion.
"Puts hair on the chest, uh, for us men, that is...." stated Mansonn.
“‘Tis what we signed up for,” Draper groaned.
“Wouldn’t be Skyrim without some rain, some snow, some cold,” said Van Haggar.
Sixpenny the mage made no reply. Which was fine with everyone, come and think of it.

An hour passed, or thereabouts. As they walked up the slight hill and past the area where Sirdasa’s riverside home was located, a certain pattern of formation emerged. Sixpenny and Tårn strode faster than the others; they were essentially leading the pack. Then came the male soldiers with Laprima, and finally Laprima’s unnamed horse, loyally following his new master. Tårn was up front because she was long-legged, with a naturally-spacious stride. Sixpenny was often at the helm because… well, who knew? Perhaps he was especially eager to cast one of his fancy spells upon the first potential opponent they came across, then brag about how he’d ‘saved’ the rest of them from disaster. Or perhaps he was the least encumbered by gear; mages often carry most of their stuff inside invisible 'bags of holding', correct? Or, perhaps he acting as a teenaged child; eternally embarrassed to be seen in the company of parents.

Hmm. Maybe the reason was not officious at all. Perhaps he was simply playing the part of Vanguard, proud to be at the fore, as if to say 'Here am I! And please gaze upon this fine group of soldiers I travel with!' Correct? Hmm.





Occasionally, a second pattern began to emerge. Tårn would get far ahead of everyone, turn afoot, and then rush back to where Laprima was, her eyes wide and watchful. As if making sure Solitude’s ambassador was being as well-guarded as possible. But really, it seemed as though she was watching over the entire group: peering up ahead, then from checking from behind. An interesting strategy, not utilized by the men. In addition to this, Sixpenny would sometimes come to a simple, dead, stop. Put hands on hips, as if waiting for the others to catch up.

“Just so ya know, there’s a rumor about the mage,” Draper muttered to Laprima, once Sixpenny was safely out of earshot.

“A rumor?”

“Yea. We was talking about it, us soldiers up at Dour, that is," added Mansonn. "Something ‘bout him failing some sort of contingency up at Northwatch Keep, which is their main embassy here in Haafingar. I mean, for us soldiers, making blatant mistakes and not attaining equivalencies and such might be cause to put watch over us, or at worst, maybe we’ll be stuck performing some drudgery. For them, the Thalmor that is, penalties are harsher.”

“Perhaps why he’s got such a chipper attitude,” Van Haggar chuckled, his laughter a golden wheeze, like a pleasant breeze on Anvil's sunny coast.

*Ahem!* The Heartlander cleared her throat. "So what you are saying is: him becoming a member amongst our party could actually be some sort of punishment for mishaps? Somebody up at this embassy said: ‘you have failed to accomplish X, and therefore we shall demean your position to a group of Cyrodiilians being structured by Lady Elisif. Behest Sixpenny, for you have failed your contingency. For this, we sentence ye to assist Elisif’s newfound ambassador troupe to travel the roads?’”

“Ayup, well that’s the rumor, Laprima. Keep in mind, just a rumor.”

Van Haggar quipped: “But where there’s smoke, there is often fire.”

Laprima shook her head. “Well, I must say, the man’s disturbing attitude, and whatever else is going on with him, does come across as larger than just plain-bound arrogance. It seems exaggerated, the way he carried on upon first-meet, does it not?”

“Could be. Keep in mind, Thalmor never travel with us human-types,” Draper said. “This is something which is just not done so far here in Skyrim. They’ve been keeping well to themselves, performing their own agendas for the most part. Though they are supposedly our allies, and you will not see their types attacking us Empirialists, that’s as far as it goes.

“Got to admit though,” he continued, “it is rather comforting having a magician along, even if the man is disagreeable.”

"Wait what?" Mansonn balked.

“Agh…Agh!!” Van Haggar made a stifling sound. “Pierre…. Andrew… Draper. I will never forget you just made such a statement.”

“Us warriors are not supposed to even admit such a thing,” Draper explained to Laprima. “We are supposed to shun those who follow the magical schools, but there it is. I prefer to remain open-minded. Truth is, diversity never does hurt.”

“Best of both worlds, eh?” Van Haggar smiled. “I understand the idea, I suppose. But still. Will…. Never… Forget… that you, a strength-bound warrior such as myself, just said what you did.”

“And that is why you are… the Red Rokkr.”

Their charge wanted badly to know what the oblivion Van Haggar’s nickname was about, but kept her mouth shut. Enough with the smalltalk. In fact, all four of them fell silent as they trooped along.

….Tårn performed another one of her ‘get too far ahead/rush to the rear of the pack’ behaviors.
...Sixpenny came to one of his many-odd halts, began fiddling with the hem of his robe a bit.
….Lady Donnaugh sneezed.
...Mansonn stumbled on a stone a bit.

….And that’s when their first and only encounter occurred.

This time it wasn't a posse of bandits or a lone cat-burglar, it was a wolf. A very large wolf, similar to the creature Laprima and Sirdasa had fought several weeks ago. Perhaps since there'd been so many travels from Dragon Bridge to Solitude or vice versa, most likely enemies were being dealt with as of late. Because it seemed: here's a dire wolf which would normally be among a pack of others, but perhaps he'd gotten separated, the rest of his pack scattered or eradicated.

In any event, the snarling beast did not last long. The archer was even able to get one of her two-gold arrows of iron slammed into the animal's hide toward the end of the fight.





Needless to say, all six of them made it to Dragon Bridge, safe and sound. Here, the innkeeper and others present were happy to see Solitude’s ambassador return. Faida offered Laprima a bed for free, which the noblewoman declined. She’d pay her way just like any other patron. Fifteen coins? Here you are.

Apparently, a few other Dragon Bridgers had trickled out of the village and had headed to Solitude during the past week, but most of the burg’s residents were still here. Familiar faces, and so on. Several of them wished to celebrate by plying the ambassador with free alcohol, but for her this was to be no cavalier visit. Desiring to keep her mind from inebriation, she accepted fruit drinks and water from them, nothing more.

Feeling that perhaps the party’s sole Nordic might be lonely after an entire day of non-verbal communication, Laprima took some time to speak with Tårn, best she could. Turns out, the woman did indeed know a few words of the common language. “Me have for you, drink?” she said for instance, referring to the grape-berry combination given to the Heartlander. “I like,” or, “You want here, sleep?” and so on. Though conversation was rough, at least some effort was being made to include the swordswoman. Laprima also learned a few words of Tårn's language.

At one point during the evening, just as everyone was turning toward their beds and bedrolls, Sixpenny managed to catch Laprima on her own.

“So, you are the jarl’s daughter? Of actual royal blood?” he asked.

By now, Laprima was exhausted. Ready for sleep. Not willing to correct the Aldmeri mage about the difference between royalty and nobility. So many folks got this wrong! - But she did take the time to say, “not her daughter, her niece.”

“I must apologize, for acting so out-of-turn earlier upon first meet,” Sixpenny said, truly sounding remorseful rather than relegating. “It’s just that, well, I did not wish to come across as subservient to the soldiers you’ve been assigned.” He took a sip of his drink. “You must understand, Lady Donnaugh: us Altmer, we need to stake our territory when amongst men. Set our boundaries, and such. To not do so, well, could lead to the possibility of us being bossed around. I saw the need to avoid such possibility.”

“Well, many thanks then, I suppose,” Laprima allowed, wondering where this might be going. “Appreciated.” Because there was something in the elf’s voice, something in the manner in which he was now presenting himself.

“You know, if there ever is a time when you might consider… attaining Thalmor regardance, the possibility of moving aside certain walls, opening certain doors, for yourself, that is.” Sixpenny’s brows were raised. “Well, the option is to be regarded. Especially for a woman of your position.”

“I see. Well as stated, many thanks.” She yawned. “Agh, sorry. But I must mull over this, these words thee speaketh. I cannot make any decisions as of here and now, as I am about to fall into slumber. But I do promise to mull such a thing. So much… appreciated…."

The Thalmor agent turned his head so he could grab his drink without spilling. “You see…” he began…
But by then, Laprima had already pretended to fall asleep.

"Well, there it is," Sixpenny said quietly. "First step has been taken. And there shall be several more, before our plan shall come to fruition. Hmph."

He took a swig of the bottle within his hand.

“Bleagh!” he coughed, face gnarled up like a knot of wood. “Nords, I say! They can not comprehend the proper methods of brewing mead.”

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Wolf Encounter

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Notes:
1). The part where I describe Tårn rushing back to Laprima while Sixpenny would come to a dead stop was the result of some accidental, experimental scripting. It started in my healer’s game, Celeste Yael, when I noticed some NPCs would get too far ahead of the pack, so I made a script which caused one of them to turn and rush back to Celeste. I really loved this effect! Because it seems like one NPC is concerned about straying too far away from the pack.

2). I made a special ring for Laprima + her horse, which is hotkeyed. If she puts it on and is also outdoors, her horse follows. Takes if off, he halts.

3). Mansonn showing up really was a surprise. It's because he's in the same Renee-made faction as the other soldiers, which causes them to travel together. But still, that was unplanned. Another mystery is that Peters didn't show up. Not that we'll need him. The party becomes more rambunctious and difficult to handle if it gets too big.

Party Of Five. Laprima will be played by Jennifer Love Hewitt.

I like your picture of the pack on the road.

So Sixpenny might be in the doghouse back in Thalmorland? That would not surprise me. Unless he volunteered for the mission. It might also be that he feels he has something to prove, so he wants to get out there in the middle of things whenever he can.

So Sixpenny wants to recruit our Lady Donnaugh? I wonder what he is up to? Nothing good no doubt.

neither did we. I have some very good sub-zero gear (I like playing in -10F and a foot of snow) and didn't get a chance to wear it this year. So sad.


The only thing I will say is that when the community is in danger of being overrun where do they seek safety? The impregnable strength of the tower abides when no other can. I see strength in Tarn that may reveal itself. Or not, it is your story after all.