Pretty sure a cure quest comes up in our journal. My second character (whose name has been forgotten by me) visited Fort Carmala after delivering the Amulet to Jauffre. Back then I was literally new to the game. Did not know about UESP, did not know Bethesda had its own forums, none of that! Yet I remember learning there was a way to cure her vampirism. She'd gone the entire 3 days, with me being clueless about this. Became a vamp, and it was too stressful for me at the time. Literally, I'd only been playing a few hours!

It was actually one of my first bits of spontaneous roleplay actually. I couldn't handle dealing with no daylight at the time, biting necks and so on, so that character wound up committing suicide-by-guard, attacking an Impie right in the middle of the Temple District. .... and it's a good thing I chose this route, too. I was on PS3, with the GOTY version. I had no idea the cure quest is broken with that version.

7 Morning Star, 4E203 - The lich

"Three days!" Geralt woke up on a dirty bedroll in yet another fort ruin. "Three days I've been chasing around necromancer forts, dodging zombies, fighting invisible enemies, shattering walking bones! I'm getting too old for this." It was another morning after a hard day's battle. Or rather he assumed it was morning - there was no daylight in the fort. At least now, after he reduced zombies and necromancers to piles of body parts, the fort was quiet for a while - until the undead rise again. That wouldn't be for a while yet though, and Geralt took the time to attend to his injuries.

Getting scratched, bitten, cut up and impaled was nothing new for any seasoned witcher, and Geralt had the scars to show for it. But fighting zombies was different - the wounds would always fester, and even a witcher's superior regeneration wasn't able to stop it. Fortunately the fort had a lot of healing potions and salves, because believe it or not, necromancers suffered the same festering wounds if things went wrong with zombie making. So, after a hearty breakfast on the necromancers' provisions, he dipped into their medicine chests, not trying to ration any of it. Even though he had cleared that fort, as well as two other forts, he still didn't find anything revealing the identity of the necromancers' leader, although he was certain there was one somewhere nearby. He felt that until he found the leader and dealt with him, fresh necromancers would move in and the problem would remain...

And whose body did he find in Windstad Manor? That could not have been the leader, Geralt was quite certain now. Questions just kept piling up.

Thinking these thoughts, Geralt decided to make another sweep through the fort. Without the distraction of unfriendly occupiers, he could focus on searching every chest and box, every nook and cranny in that fort, as well as in the other two. This was going to be a long day...

...

"Ah-ha!" In fort number two he suddenly noticed a gaping hole in a wall in a dark corner. "That's what I missed!" Geralt brightened up, quickly scrambling towards the hole, yet trying not to touch any of the zombie parts covering the floor. The hole led into a cave tunnel which ended with a sturdy wooden door. "Locked!!" He swore, getting out his lockpicks and setting to work.

After a good half an hour of swearing, and having broken half of his picks, he had to admit defeat.

"This lock is too advanced, I'll need to find the key," he sighed. "There must be one, surely."

That meant going back to searching through everything and anything in the fort.

...

"Now, look at that!" A rusty key fell out of some items he was shaking. Back at the locked door, Geralt was in for a disappointment however - the key didn't fit. He tossed it into a corner with a flowery swear, spent another hour or two searching the fort, was just about to go to fort number three... But a little thought at the back of his head told him that perhaps he'd been a bit premature throwing away that key, perhaps it would unlock something... With a sigh, he retraced his steps, only to spot the key under a pile of zombie parts. "That figures," he grunted. Wrapping his hand in some necromancer  robes, he carefully moved away mort flesh, trying to avoid touching it at all costs. Grabbed the key, wiped it off, stashed it away. Fort number three would be next.

...

"That's just another dead end!" Geralt had been searching through forts all day, he was tired and hungry, and still he didn't find anything of importance, or anything that his rusty key would unlock. He slumped into a chair, picking up a bottle of mead from the table, started drinking, raising the bottle higher and higher and tilting his head...

And then he saw it - an upper gallery. He gulped, nearly getting the mead up his nose. It had to be it - that gallery had to contain something, as that was the only space in that fort that he hadn't searched yet.

But how to get there? There was no staircase, no ladder and no stepping stone nearby, yet from the opposite end of the room Geralt could see that the gallery had a corridor going into the depth. Did he have to enter it from the other side? But how to know what it was - which fort, cave or tunnel? That seemed like a puzzle he could not solve. No, there must be a way. If that gallery was important to the necromancers, they would have a way up there... Wait... necromancers were mages, and mages loved portals.

...

"Ugh!" Geralt shuddered, emerging on the gallery. "I hate teleporting!" He promptly decided he'd jump back to the lower level rather than go through the teleport again.

The gallery indeed had a corridor going into the depth, which had a door that was locked.

"Naturally," Geralt smirked. The day was continuing the way it had started. But then, remembering the rusty key, he decided to try it before wasting the rest of his lockpicks on the lock. It fitted. Readying his sword, Geralt pushed the heavy door, expecting more zombies.

Nothing. The short corridor was empty, except for another door.

Not ready to stop just yet, Geralt pushed the second door, which wasn't locked. It opened onto another section of the fort, filled with fresh and willing necromancers...

...

"That's enough!" After several more hours of hacking and slashing bodies in various degrees of decomposition, Geralt had had enough. "I've had it with this filth!" Somehow the necromancers in that section were stronger, and their zombies deadlier. Was he going in the right direction?

But anyhow, the fort was now quiet, and Geralt settled for another night on a dirty bedroll. He only hoped it was a necromancer that used to sleep on it before, not a zombie...

Tired and nearly falling asleep, he spotted a book by the bedroll, a book that didn't look like a manual on corpse preparation. Opening it, he found it to be Jorgen Rammstein's book on the dungeons of Skyrim. "Just what I need - a bit of light reading," Geralt smiled to himself, finally relaxing.

"Know that the musty air of old caves is infused with spores that make you confuse one dungeon with another. The further in you go, the more likely it is that you are getting confused," Geralt read. There was also something about the dungeons getting harder and harder with each subsequent level. Or was it just because the adventurer was getting more and more tired?

"Those damned spores!" Geralt was running out of fresh swears. "Why did I go through that door? Why did I not look around first?"

Cursing himself, he returned to the short corridor with nothing but two doors. Nothing? Was he sure? No, because he hadn't even looked!

A little box under a pile of stones held another key. That key looked significantly more impressive than the rusty key he'd found earlier. It could have been Ayleid or Dwemer, something very ornate and clearly belonging to an advanced lock. "Like the one in fort number two," Geralt smiled to himself. Finally, progress.

...

It was well past midnight, and may be even past the following dawn when Geralt got to the locked door in fort number two. The ornate key fitted, the lock clicked. He pushed the door, then hesitated. Did he really want to go through there? He'd been up for at least thirty six hours, he hadn't eaten anything,  he was tired and his reflexes were slowed... But he also felt that he was nearing the climax of his necromancer hunt, and there was no question of rest. He just couldn't.

Pushing the door more decisively and drawing his sword, he entered the cave.

...

The stench of zombies was everywhere. Nearly every cavern had an altar or two with freshly cut decomposing corpses on it. "Are they required to wait until the body starts decomposing?" He wondered. The bodies on the altars were not moving however, and his attention quickly switched to the ones that were.

Past the zombies he found their masters. These necromancers were older, more seasoned and better skilled than the ones in the other sections. "I'm getting close," Geralt thought. The undead diversified - it wasn't just zombies and skeletons, wraiths made their appearance too. And then finally - a lich.

The lich was half-walking half-floating in the best part of the cave that had a smooth stone floor and was furnished with luxurious furnishings. Evidently, liches too preferred quality beds. Did liches even sleep? Geralt started to ponder that, but a sudden drain of his strength reminded him it wasn't the time. The lich had summoned a skeleton - a high level skeleton, Geralt noted - and was shooting curses from his staff as well as from his wrist. He had a sword on his belt as well. "Not your common lich!" - was all that Geralt could think when he got bashed over the head with something heavy. Apparently, not all necromancers had been cleared.

...

"This one isn't a human or an elf!" Geralt heard voices in a fog. "I've never seen anything like it! Argonian eyes! Is he a hybrid?"

"He could be, just watch his reflexes," another voice agreed, and Geralt felt a sharp pain under his knee causing his leg to jerk.

"And still he isn't out," the first voice sounded worried. "I'm running out of embalming fluid!"

"Amazing," the second voice agreed. "Still bleeding." Sharp pain of a fresh cut finally woke Geralt up. He opened his eyes slightly to see what was going on. He was lying on an altar and two necromancers were fussing over him, jars and bottles everywhere, mostly empty.

"What in Oblivion did they pump into me?" Geralt thought, mentally shaking off the slumber, but trying not to move so as not to alert them prematurely.

"He is a witcher," the third voice approached. It sounded hoarse and strained. "A mutant. He is a human, or was a human once." Geralt saw the red robe of the lich. "They don't succumb to the usual treatment." Red burning eyes stared into Geralt's as the lich lifted Geralt's eyelid with a bony hand. "He's still awake!"

The alarm in the lich's voice was Geralt's cue - a heavy axe was already falling onto his neck, as the necromancers quickly decided to go for a headless zombie with Geralt.

Roll! The altar didn't have restraints - no need. There was a sword on the floor, no matter which, Geralt grabbed it, stabbed whatever was approaching, not being able to see properly, as the blows were now coming thick and fast, sword, axe, mace, hammer - the necromancers had it all. Geralt rolled, dodged and stabbed wildly.

After a while the stream of blows thinned, and Geralt quickly finished off the remaining necromancers. The lich wasn't there, but also it wasn't the cavern with the luxurious bed. Looking around properly, Geralt found his swords, swallowed some potions and prepared for the real battle.

...

Once again the lich was half-walking half-hovering over the smooth stone floor in his "chamber". A skeleton stood at the ready with his weapon drawn. The lich raised his staff...

But this wasn't Windstad Manor, there was no need to hold back fire. Geralt's fireball knocked the skeleton off its feet and it vanished, another fireball hit the lich squarely in the chest, and although it interrupted its casting of a new skeleton, it didn't seem to harm him otherwise.

"Yes, a witcher," the lich croaked. "Knows some rudimentary magic - Witcher Signs, they call them. That was quite a good one though," he seemed to be talking to himself, making mental notes, while sending a few fireballs towards Geralt, which Geralt dodged. "Wonder what other Signs he knows?"

"He is toying with me!" Geralt was getting angry. He wasn't a mage, it was true what the lich had noted - Witcher Signs were only rudimentary from a mage's point of view. A fireball, a shock trap, a force shield, force push and a command spell - that was all. And this lich seemed to be immune to all of them. Of course Geralt also had a witcher's silver sword.

A dance ensued. A cut here, a stab there, and the lich seemed to jerk every time Geralt landed a blow. The lich switched to his sword as well - a claymore that he wielded single-handed, just like Geralt wielded his... The similarity was chilling.

A lich half-floating over the ground, gently turning away from his opponent's sword. A man pirouetting all around the lich, dodging and attacking, twisting, turning, rolling away, coming back and landing blow after blow, all aimed at preventing the lich from casting. A high level skeleton would tip the scales to the wrong side.

Silver was precious. Far more precious than its cost, and that meteorite dust mixed into it that had Geralt fight a dozen monsters for, it was so worth it. With every blow, with every little cut the lich weakened.

...

An ancient lich in a red robe lay on a smooth stone floor covered in Geralt's blood. The lich's red burning eyes were extinguished. This wasn't just a lich - this was a Revenant, the real owner of the Windstad Manor.

Picking up his journal to study later, Geralt finally stepped out of the ruined fort into the crisp morning air - whichever day it was. He walked through the moors towards Morthal, noticing a spider here, a chaurus there, all the usual moor creatures. The air was sweet, devoid of the stench of decomposing flesh. The zombies had gone.

...

"You look dreadful!" Alima clasped her hands seeing Geralt walk into town. "Quick - we have a spare bed in the house, you need healing!"

"Dibella be praised," Geralt smiled at her, accepting the care and attention. Everything else could wait.

10 Morning Star, 4E203 - Cheydinhal house extension - Governess - Mephala - Engorm

"This is now one of the better houses in the city," Garrus was congratulating Lena and Lucien on the completion of the extension to the Wolf Sanctuary. "And with the other building works complete, it is your own house now, rather than an extension of your office." He looked at them and smiled. "Are you planning to have more children?"

"We..." Lena blushed.

"Yes," Lucien said at the same time. "I hope," he looked at her. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves - the first one has not been born yet."

Indeed, it wasn't time yet, but they were glad to have the works completed well before the extension was actually needed. Besides, they still had to find a suitable governess - Lena refused to stay at home longer than necessary.

"If you are looking for a wet nurse or a governess," Garrus seemed to have read their minds - "Tivela Lythandas' 'cousin' Nilara Rothalen just came to live with them, arriving from Morrowind. I don't know all the details, but Tivela is not thrilled with having a younger woman under her roof, but apparently she could not refuse."

"Nilara Rothalen, you say..." Lucien was trying to remember something. "I've heard this name before."

"Crimson red hair, violet eyes... quite young, for an elf," Garrus prompted him. "Might have crossed paths with your organisation."

"Oh, you are well informed!" Lucien laughed. "Now I know who she is. Thank you - she might be suitable, but we'll need to talk to her first."

"Of course," Garrus smiled.

...

"Nilara Rothalen is an assassin," Lucien said to Lena later, when they were alone. "Tivela, her 'cousin', was briefly with the Dark Brotherhood in Morrowind before she married Rythe - and this was the reason why they came here. She was only an initiate, and the Brotherhood let her go on the condition that she would provide shelter to a Brother or Sister in need of it. Nilara was careless with one of her contracts and killed a member of Morag Tong who was sent for the same target, so she is now hiding from them, and the Brotherhood sent her here."

"But would she not bring the danger right into our house?" Lena objected.

"The danger of Morag Tong? It is already in our house, with Rayenna now being among them. At least Nilara is skilled and knows what to look for. I shall request her formal transferal to our Sanctuary - even if we do not employ her as our governess."

"Are you sure about Rayenna?" Lena looked worried. "You didn't say anything when we were in Anvil last."

"That was a few months ago," smiled Lucien. "She hasn't been seen at the Sanctuary since, and the lighthouse cellar has been locked up, with no one coming or going. We asked Ulfgar for the key, he was reluctant at first, but then his curiosity got the better of him. No one had been there for months."

"That does not prove anything," Lena objected. "I was gone for two hundred years, remember? What's a few months?"

"True," Lucien had to agree. "But we have to assume the worst."

Lena agreed with Lucien's arguments, but at the same time, if Rayenna did not in fact join Morag Tong, Nilara would indeed be bringing new danger into the house... It was impossible to decide without knowing all the facts. Which assumptions should she believe?

...

Lena approached the shrine of Mephala with an offering of a nightshade.

"What do you want of me, mortal?" Mephala's disdainful voice sounded from the statue.

"I have a message from Sanguine for you," answered Lena, hoping that Mephala would hear her out. "Regarding one of his followers."

"Go on."

Phew... She wasn't being sent away, yet. "Sanguine believes that he would be better suited for your service than his."

"Why is that? Does that follower harbour plots of murder?"

"No, but he secures sexual favours through deceit and coercion. And then takes more than what is offered."

"Ahhh..." Mephala fell silent, and Lena started to worry her offer wasn't enough. But after a while Mephala continued. "Bring him to me and we'll see."

The worshipers at the shrine were watching Lena with interest.

"My Lord means bring that follower here," one of them clarified. "Then we'll summon My Lord again."

"Yeah, I got that, thanks," Lena smiled. "I didn't think the Lady meant Spiral Skein."

A round of laughter followed that comment as Lena rebuffed that novice's trap - not only did she know that Mephala chose to appear female, but she was also aware of Mephala's Realm. Lena shrugged her shoulders, giving the followers one of her looks - this isn't my first Daedric Prince, you know.

...

"Engorm - good to see you!" Lena approached the shrine of Sanguine, greeting the very Bosmer who crossed her last time she was there.

"You again!" He bared his teeth. "Looking for another audience with My Lord?"

"Oh, I don't need to come here see him," Lena brushed it off, Engorm scowled, the other worshipers listened intently, keeping their distance. "I am here for you."

"Ah, I knew you would fall for my charms sooner or later," Engorm smiled broadly, the other worshipers giggled. "Well, what are you still doing with those clothes on?" He winked.

"You misunderstand," Lena smiled pleasantly. "I want a private audience," she tugged at her belt tentatively.

"Well..." Engorm's smile looked a bit forced, perhaps he sensed that something was off. "If you insist... There is a cave nearby that we use for such things," he pointed at a mound behind him. "Shall we?"

"Shouldn't we prepare first?" Lena got Cyrodilic Brandy out of her pack. "Get in the mood and all that?"

The sight of the bottle caused the others to throw caution to the wind and rush to get to the drink, but Engorm didn't move.

"Got another one? We won't get anything out of that." Lena produced another bottle, offering Engorm a filled goblet. He drank, with some hesitation - odd for a follower of Sanguine, and Lena saw that her plan wasn't working as well as she had hoped. Still, there was no other way but forward.

"Let's go," she put her arm around his waist and led him into the cave.

...

The first cavern was lavishly decorated with rugs and tapestries, and had a large bed in the middle. Lena unclipped her weapon belt and removed her boots under Engorm's watchful eye - he was more interested in seeing to the removal of the weapons than in discovering what was under them, she noticed, slightly hurt. "But no, he prefers men," she reminded herself. "Don't take it personally." She poured more brandy and this time Engorm drank without hesitation.

"I can offer you exactly what you want," she said in a languid voice.

"Oh yes, or so you would think," Engorm's speech started to slur, but he was still watchful. "I've seen it all, girl, there's nothing under that robe that would surprise me, is there?" He looked bored.

Lena tried her best, but Engorm was just not focusing on her, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings. The brandy wasn't having as much of an effect on him as Lena had hoped it would - clearly practice reduced his sensitivity. He was making her work for it. "Perhaps I should be more direct," she thought, looking around. One side of the cave looked odd, like it could have a hidden door in it, so Lena cast around for a switch.

"Let us skip straight to the interesting part," she dropped her robe and pulled the switch in one motion, then leapt to Engorm and sliced the belt of his own robe with her hidden blade. She wasn't naked, but he was, he gasped at her tight black negligee firmly securing her pregnant belly - her assassin's gauntlet wasn't the only thing she was wearing. "Come," she said, pulling him into the secret chamber.

She didn't know exactly what was in there, but if the rumours were true, she knew what to expect. The smell of blood and other bodily fluids was strong but not unbearable, and Lena noticed that Engorm found it exhilarating and - finally - intoxicating. She quickly strapped him to one of the devices - she had no time to figure out what was what. A whip lay on the table, she took it.

"Or do you prefer the blade?" She looked into his bewildered face. "Didn't I say I could offer you exactly what you wanted? I didn't lie."

"But normally I'm the one with the whip!" He exclaimed, still looking confused.

"What would Sanguine say to this, I wonder?" Lena looked around, playing with the whip. "Oh, you've even got an Iron Maiden! Complete with the elixirs," she gave him a look of appreciation. "I think we'll start with that. Ah - an aphrodisiac." She lightly nicked his skin with her blade and dropped the elixir into the wound. "Feeling better, I see," she looked him over with satisfaction. Now she was getting somewhere.

Engorm was normally the one administering these treatments, it was his own private paradise, it was his game. He did not kill his victims - oh no - but if some of them suffered from ruptured hearts, it was only because their pleasure was too intense to bear... and so was his, at that point.

"But we make love!" He protested, following Lena's whip with his eyes. "Or at least... I make love to them!"

"I am not sure if they see it that way, especially once the elixirs wear off," Lena said thoughtfully. "But you will be able to decide for yourself later today, I have no doubt." She nicked his skin a little more forcefully, dropping another elixir. "Euphoria. You will enjoy anything I do. Anything." Engorm moaned, his hands cuffed and unable to reach where he wanted. Lena sat on a chair in front of him looking bored, and started reading a book.

...

Engorm's body was covered in small nicks where Lena was dropping various elixirs for him to experience. She made sure to keep his heart from overloading - a rupture was not in her plans. It has been several hours since they went into that cave when the other worshippers decided to look in on them.

"What on Nirn is this?" They stopped at the threshold of the secret cavern, not daring to enter.

"Oh, haven't you seen this room before?" Lena turned to them, smiling amicably. "It's Engorm's private audience chamber. We are just having an audience."

The worshippers ran off, gagging and downing more Cyrodilic Brandy. Lena sighed. "I suppose I should inform Sanguine," she said to herself, summoning Dessos.

"What..?" He started, unsheathing his blade, the smell of blood making him think it was a battle.

"No, no - nothing of the sort," Lena rushed to stop him hitting Engorm. "I am sorry to call you to this, but Sanguine needs to see it. We are at his shrine, and this is Engorm's idea of a good time. I've been just helping him to appreciate it more fully," she turned to Engorm who was still moaning ecstatically in his bonds.

"This isn't Sanguine's way," Dessos looked around with disapproval. "Wait here."

A few minutes later Sanguine walked in, followed by the other worshippers who saw him appear near the statue.

"What in Oblivion is this?" He turned to Engorm who only moaned. "What have you done to him?" He turned to Lena instead, looking rather angry. An angry dremora was bad enough, an angry Daedric Prince was best avoided, even if he was a little drunk. Lena swallowed.

"I am sorry for not telling you before I started, but I had to be sure," she stammered a bit. "I didn't know what I would find here, exactly. I gave him some of his elixirs, I've done nothing else! He is not dying," she added hastily.

"I can see that," Sanguine softened a bit, having examined Engorm closely. "This... room... should not be at my shrine! You two," he turned to the other worshipers who cowered before him - "see that this is removed." They nodded vigorously. "And you..." He turned to Lena with a sigh, but still angry. "Now Mephala's remarks make sense! You should have told me. What are you going to do with him? But I think I already know." He shook his head, his anger vanishing. "Get out of here," he turned to the other worshippers who quickly ran off, then taking the whip out of Lena's hands and dropping it into the corner with contempt, he led her into the front cavern and closed the secret door. "That smell is getting to me," he said, sitting down and gesturing Lena to do the same. "Why are you doing it in this way?" His eyes were hard on her, even without anger.

"I need a favour from Mephala," Lena looked into his eyes and tried not to divert hers too quickly. "So I needed to impress her. I heard rumours of Engorm's exploits, and I didn't like him last time we met, so I made him my victim. This is only half of it... The other half is the favour itself. It will require... some nerve on my part."

"And a lot of luck to stay alive, but the sound of things," Sanguine shook his head again. "All right, I see. Don't tell me, keeping me in the dark is clearly a part of it." Lena nodded. "Just promise me to call Dessos when things turn dire - it's not worth dying for."

"Thank you," Lena whispered, a weight off her shoulders. "Dying would be indeed completely counter-productive." She smiled, stroking her belly.

I am up to the part when L and L are planning to rid Riften of its Thieves Guild. But they're sparing Maven Black-Briar because she supports the Empire. Just curious why. Not that they should or shouldn't, that's all part of the story/roleplay. But I'm just curious why, from Lena's point of view (and maybe Lucien's as well).

I like the way you use hyphens during dialog. To separate what is being said from who is saying it. Helps break up the text a bit, which makes reading a little easier on the eyes. Like a little pause, there.

Lena using bandages to heal Lucien is something we also had during my long-ago table-gaming days. It wasn't all just magic; eventually we (my gaming buddies & I) decided to add a "Medicine" skill to our game. This way, healers would not be 100% reliant on magic.

Oh yes, Skyrim's in-game "terrain" map can be pretty frustrating! Whoa...she got Brynjolf.

Up to page 7 / 128.

@Renee - We're sparing Maven in Riften because if she's removed, the new Jarl will support the Stormcloaks. Although that does not determine the outcome of the Civil War, it is still a feather in Ulfrik's cap, and at least for a time Imperials will have a hard time in Riften. Since Lena and Lucien are both from Cyrodiil, and since Hauk is with the Legion, they don't like Riften to fall to Stormcloaks even for a time. Maven is of course corrupt as they come, but the other candidate is not any better. Given the choice between two corrupt politicians, they choose one that is closer to their side of the Civil War. Besides, she isn't with the Thieves Guild herself, and so is not a direct target for the task of removing the Thieves Guild. It is not possible to eliminate every thief on Nirn - there would be no one left.

Regarding bandages, to me this is a continuation of the Alchemy skill. I play with a Battle Fatigue and Injuries mod that makes you and all NPCs sustain damage to attributes that can only be cleared with sufficient sleep, although casting Restoration spells can ease it for a time. So when Lucien appears from the tunnels casting Restoration spells, he is temporarily healing his wounds, but ultimately he'll need alchemy and sleep to really recover. And of course for someone to suck the poison out of the wound, or else that would keep eating at him. I think poisons should be much longer lasting than what they are, just like the real thing - a sharp poisoning to begin with, and then an ever festering wound chipping away at your health for a long time, unless you take an antidote (cure poison).

Brynjolf - he had it coming. We hated him from the moment he came up to Lena claiming that she hadn't done a day of honest work in her life. Pffft. Look who's talking. Lena is no thief (stealing sweetrolls doesn't count ).

Cool. So it's like they spared Maven to go for the greater outcome, I get it.

I like the sound of that injuries mod. What's it called?

Like I said: Battle Fatigue and Injuries. It is highly configurable, and I did make changes to the defaults, but I didn't modify the mod itself.

Awesome, thanks. I use a realism mod which makes lack of food/water/sleep cause attribute losses so adding Battle Injuries will really make my game edgy!

20 Morning Star, 4E203 - A favour from Mephala

"Well, mortal, you are still alive, it seems," Mephala looked Lena over. "Some bleeding here and there, but that's to be expected. Your child is still alive, too, do not worry - I wasn't trying to kill it. I promised, didn't I?" Lena could only moan in response - she was still gagged. "All right, I let you rest a bit. I'll come back later."

Mephala left the room. Lena was bound to a large bed, she was cuffed and gagged. Her bonds were loosened slightly now so that she could lie more comfortably. She wasn't wearing anything besides the bonds. A xivilai approached, bringing her wine and cleaning her wounds. Nothing serious, it seemed.

...

"I wish to summon Mephala," Lena stood at Mephala's shrine a day earlier. "I brought the worshipper that we talked about." Engorm, previously a worshipper of Sanguine, was standing behind her. His hands were bound and his feet were tied only allowing him small steps - he didn't come willingly.

"Ah, mortal, you return!" Mephala spoke through the statue. "And you brought me the other worshipper!"

There was a flash of light and Lena and Engorm found themselves in The Spiral Skein. The cavern was dark, and glowing mushrooms stood out all the better in the gloom.

"What is this?" Engorm looked around, frightened. "Mephala's Realm?"

"Indeed, mortal, previously a worshipper of Sanguine," Mephala approached them and spat at the mention of Sanguine's name. "I have plans for you. This is your new home." She snapped her fingers, and a Xivilai stepped forward from the darkness and led Engorm away. "As for you..." She walked around Lena, looking her over. "What is it you want? You need something from me, I can sense it."

"I offer you this worshipper and hope that you would hear me out," Lena said cautiously. "I do have a favour to ask of you. And only you." She looked into Mephala's eyes and tried not to blink too much. The Prince's eyes were deep blue, with moving swirls of lighter blue in them, like whirlpools in a bottomless ocean. They seemed to pull Lena in... She blinked and steadied herself, waiting for Mephala's answer.

"You have some nerve, mortal," Mephala said approvingly. "But are you prepared to pay the price for my favour? It will not be granted freely."

"Anything but my life," answered Lena. "For the favour concerns it. Or rather, the life of my unborn child."

"I see," Mephala nodded. "You wish me to protect your child - and you by extension - from Morag Tong, no doubt?" Mephala smiled, feeling sure that she guessed right.

"Yes," Lena nodded. "There is a Redguard woman - Rayenna - who will likely turn to Morag Tong with the purpose of killing my child, and possibly me. While I can stand up to her for my own life, my child is too young to do the same. Rayenna must be prevented from murdering it."

"I should ask you how you know all this, but I won't waste time on such pleasantries. You have clearly given it some thought," Mephala looked at Lena with approval. "I can delay Rayenna's actions for a time, but I will not stand in the way of her plans forever. Do you accept my offer?"

"How long is 'for a time'?"

"A month to start with. And if I am pleased with your first payment, you may come back to prolong my protection," Mephala smiled contentedly.

"So, you know of Rayenna. Is she with Morag Tong already?" Lena asked, trying to sound neutral, but her anger was coming through.

"That is another favour!" Laughed Mephala. "But all right, I'll give you that information freely: yes, Rayenna is mine, even if your Brotherhood does not know it yet."

"I see," Lena swallowed. "In this case, I accept your offer, provided my child remains unharmed while you are taking the payment."

"Promised," Mephala smiled and snapped her fingers. Another Xivilai came forward from the dark. "Take her to the chamber, get her ready. Do not harm her or her child - be careful with that, mortals are fragile," she said to the Xivilai. "I shall be there shortly."

...

After three sessions with Mephala, Lena was still bound to the large bed, still gagged, and bleeding rather more. Her skin was bruised and cut in places. None of the wounds were life-threatening, but all of them were painful.

Mephala got off the bed, looking satisfied.

"It will do for today," she said and snapped her fingers. A Xivilai stepped forward from the darkness. "Untie her," she turned to him. "Let her wash and give her her clothes back. No, you can't have her - I promised she should live," she answered a question in Xivilai's eyes. "She would die under you. You can have another." Mephala stretched, letting the Xivilai rub her body. "Then send her back to the shrine in Mundus." She kissed him with a long, passionate kiss, delightful yet familiar - they've known each other for an eternity already.

Lena was hurting in so many places, it felt like pain all over. But she was alive, and not knocked out, she heard Mephala's words and sighed a sigh of relief. Mephala turned to look at her.

"Ah, you did not pass out," she smiled. "Well done, mortal, you pleased me. Come back in a month - I shall be waiting."

Mephala left the room while the Xivilai started to untie Lena's bonds. A little later she reappeared at the shrine, to eager glances from the worshippers. But she wasn't going to tell them of her deal with their Prince.

Roach was grazing on the meagre grass of the Valus Mountains, and Lena felt that she should at least take Roach into the valley. She mounted, even though riding a horse was particularly painful just then...

At the first sight of green grass, she dismounted, patting Roach on the back. "Cheydinhal is that way - straight through the forest, you'll manage, won't you?" She looked into Roach's eyes, and the horse nodded and took off. Lena summoned Dessos. He appeared, ready for a fight as usual, but one look at Lena told him all he needed to know.

"Take my arm," he said, and when she did, he opened a portal and stepped through it.

...

"You are a mess," Sanguine smiled at Lena offering her another sweetroll. "Mephala doesn't joke. At least you are alive. Both of you."

"That was the deal," Lena winced at the pain, as Dylan was rubbing oil into her bruises. "Protection for my child."

"That explains why you are bleeding where you are bleeding," Dylan looked up, shaking his head. He too knew her body intimately. "And I have no oils for that."

"It will pass," Sanguine nodded. "Of course, as long as you are pregnant, Mephala won't touch you there, if that's the deal. But what are you going to do once the child is born? I assume it isn't a one time payment but a subscription?"

"Subscription," Lena smiled at the phrase. "Yeah, monthly. I don't know, I'll just have to bear it, I guess."

"Going to the Wellspring that often isn't advisable," Dylan shook his head again. "And what Mephala likes to do... well... it can easily prevent you from ever having a second child."

Lena looked worried, then shook her head.

"Let's not talk about it right now. My son is not due for another three months."

"Your son?" Sanguine looked at her with suspicion. "How do you know it's a boy?"

"Mephala told me," Lena sighed. "Well, she's very thorough... She didn't exactly stay away..."

"She!" Sanguine got furious. "Have your seen what 'she' actually has on her body? She! Indeed!" He got up, clenching his fists and pacing around angrily.

"Yeah, I know full well what 'she' has on her body..." Lena could not resist the humour of the situation. "You could say, I've just had a hands-on experience!" She laughed. "Except that my hands were tied, of course."

"Well, at least your spirit is not bruised," Dessos joined in, helping Dylan with the oils. "You mortals are so fragile, I always say. Especially females. How is it that you are still alive?"

His hands were careful, he was touching her lightly. It felt more like a caress than a massage. Perhaps it was a caress.

"We are strong in a different way," Lena smiled. "Truth is, I don't know. We just make do with it."

The four of them were lounging by a lake on a carpet of soft grass. It was early evening. Two Dremoras and a Mazken were tending to the cuts and bruises on the body of one Breton woman after her encounter with the Daedric Prince of Sex and Secret Murder, for where else would she go after such a painful event but to the Daedric Prince of Pleasure... Sanguine went by many names, and he wasn't always kind to every mortal. He wasn't a "nice guy" - but hey, he was a Dremora. To Lena however he represented all that was good, as ironic as it might sound. He was good to her, period. He was good to all of his lovers. Sanguine did not believe in celibacy. But that evening none of the three men around Lena made any advances beyond a caress, and she was completely at ease with them.

25 Morning Star, 4E203 - The quiet life

After her ordeal with Mephala, Lena needed a bit of rest. She returned to Cheydinhal and was spending her days lazying about the house, catching up on sleep, taking long baths and slow strolls, and generally allowing her body to recover. Lucien noticed the change but didn't say anything, acting as if Lena's demeanour was common to her, which of course it wasn't.

"You seem to be taking a break from everything," Garrus commented one morning, meeting Lena slowly strolling through Cheydinhal gardens. "Haven't seen you relaxing like this for a while... well, never actually. You know the chapel has pretty good healers, in case you're feeling the strain." He lunged to steady Lena who stumbled on something and nearly twisted her ankle. "Here's a bench, why don't we sit down for a moment," he added, smiling.

"I... thanks, Garrus," Lena smiled uneasily, accepting Garrus' assistance. "I guess I am feeling the strain." She held a hand to her side, supporting her belly. "I prefer fighting monsters," she smirked. "Although I am still not absolved from it."

Garrus turned, giving Lena a long look.

"Not the goblin kind, though," he said thoughtfully. "Well, if there's anything that the City Guard can do to improve your safety... You know."

Lena nodded - Garrus seemed to have figured out what she was going through, even though she was sure he didn't know the exact details. She hoped no mortal did.

"I am not ill," she smiled. "I'm just..."

...

That evening the dinner at the Wolf Residence was subdued. Both Lena and Lucien seemed preoccupied, there was something each needed to say, yet dreaded saying it. Eventually Lucien took the lead.

"You seem a bit under the weather these few days," he started cautiously, shooting Lena a sideways look. "Some say the last three months of a pregnancy can be the hardest."

"Yeah, it is getting a bit harder now, but..." Lena took a deep breath and decided to say her piece then and there. "I want to go home, Lucien. Home to Bravil and the Shivering Isles. The Shivering Isles, mostly. I am not doing very well."

"Then you must go," Lucien sounded relieved, although not completely. "If you want me with you, say it." Lena shook her head. "I thought so," Lucien nodded.

They ate quietly for a while, then Lena became restless again.

"But it doesn't mean that I..." She started speaking anxiously, looking at Lucien with worry.

"I know," he interrupted her firmly. "In a way, I've known you longer than you've known me," he smiled, taking her hand. "Although much of it was admittedly in your absence. You will be back, this time the same as before. And while you are gone, I shall be away too."

"You..?" Lena looked up in surprise.

"There is something I need to take care of," Lucien said somewhat evasively. "In Morrowind." He paused, taking a sip of his wine. "The time is pressing somewhat, it needs to be done before the child is born, but I felt uneasy about leaving you here. So if you go to Bravil and the Shivering Isles, so for the better."

"Rayenna?" Lena thought that Lucien would be planning something.

"It concerns her, yes," Lucien smiled. "But there are other things, too. We need to make sure that the Brotherhood in Morrowind does not take her move to Morag Tong as a provocation. We need to avoid another war of assassins."

"Yes..." Lena sounded hollow, having suddenly realised why Hauk went to Morrowind too. "But assassinating her won't be easy."

"And I don't expect to get to her, not now that she's under Mephala's protection," Lucien said, watching Lena's face closely. "So, you knew this," he noted. "I see. I thought as much." Lena nodded slowly, and Lucien continued. "No, Rayenna is out of our reach for the moment. Which is why Hauk is talking to Eno Hlaalu and I need to go to Mournhold." He paused again, watching Lena. "You will be safe from all of this in the Shivering Isles," he added, smiling softly.

I've been catching up; Mephala is definitely not a very nice playmate. Are we going to see a bit of Mournhold now?

We are. I am so engrossed in making the Skyrim mod, that I haven't been playing at all, so it might take a couple of weeks. But I'll be returning to Morrowind - Hauk has a job to do finding Rayenna, and Lucien is going to Mournhold to speak to the Morrowind Listener of the Dark Brotherhood. This part is not actually in game, they have only very limited line on Dark Brotherhood there. However, I have Mournhold, and I am excited to explore it because it is both in Morroblivion and in Tamriel Rebuilt. I do hope they don't collide. And if they do, I'll have to make a patch or find an explanation... It's all Mephala's fault, obviously.

I gave Mephala a darker and more hands-on role than what you see in Oblivion and Skyrim Daedric quests, or even in Morrowind. Mephala is not just the Prince of Secret Murder, but also the Prince of Sex, and I am sure it isn't the nice variety. It is all based on the lore pages, so should be reasonably conflict-free... just may be a bit more explicit than what you normally read.

30 Morning Star, 4E203 - Scorpio

Lena finally got to Crucible in the dead of night. Dylan was no where to be seen, she stopped by Sickly Bernice's for some food, then was about to go straight to her house when she noticed a familiar face in a dark corner of Bernice's dining room. No, it couldn't be! Must be a trick of the light, she figured. She looked again.

"Hello," she approached a mage in the corner who was paying no attention to her, absorbed in his book. "This trick won't work again, Scorpio," she sat down next to him.

"Hi, Wolf," he smiled at her. "It's been a while."

"You are back."

"I never left."

"Not true!" Lena exclaimed hotly. "You disappeared in the Rift, you wouldn't come and wouldn't let me find you!"

"You would have never left Gransys, I had to do something," he objected. "It was time for you to return to your world, your life."

"That again!" Lena looked cross. "I was happy with you."

"I am not mortal," he objected. "And that wasn't a life. Always repeating the same thing. We knew it by heart in the end."


"That's true," Lena nodded. "I am grateful to you, you know." She leaned to him and he pulled her close. "Look." Lena produced an amulet shaped as a hand that she was wearing on a long chain under her clothes. Scorpio took it, and the mark on the palm of his hand glowed brightly.

"The jeweller who made it told me about it," he nodded. "And about your plunge into the sea afterwards. He blamed me for your suicide, you know. The same as the rest of them."

"But you knew I would not die," Lena pressed her cheek against the top of his arm. "Otherwise you wouldn't have done it. What did you think I'd do when you disappeared?"

"Something stupid," he grinned. "Like attacking a flock of harpies or jumping off a cliff."

"But an arisen can die! Many of them have died! Why was I any different?"

"You were not of that world."

Sickly Bernice was watching them from behind her counter. She couldn't hear every word, but she heard enough. She walked over to them.

"This handsome young man has been waiting for you for weeks now," she looked at Lena with reproach, shooting an appreciative glance at Scorpio. "You should come more often, Lord Sheogorath," she smirked. "You mustn't abandon your flock."

"The Prince is back on his throne, and I distinctly remember losing that title," Lena objected. "What is going on, Bernice?"

"I'm just saying," she sat down at the table with them and poured herself a goblet of wine. "Enjoy it while you can! Wish I could..."

"Bernice!" Lena looked stern.

"All right, all right, don't bring out the torturer - he's enjoying it too much," Bernice shook her head. "You need to go see the Prince. Do the whole thing again. The Knights of Order are back."

"I've seen them," Lena nodded. "We've fought a lot of them with Dylan - poor Dylan, he took all the heat... Speaking of which - where is he?"

"Passwall," Bernice said with disgust. "The Fringe cannot decide whose side they are on. Typical."

"Strange... I haven't seen him when I was passing there today," Lena mused.

"No, he'll be down the catacombs," Bernice shook her head with sadness. "Grummites, you know. They are working with them."

"Whom?"

"The Knights of Order."

"Impossible!"

"But true!" Bernice was adamant. "There's a lot more to grummites than people think. They've got aquanostrum, for one." She drew herself up.

"No, they use the natural spring to rear their young," Lena shook her head. "But anyway. It can't be happening again, surely?"

"Oh yes, you'd better go see the Prince," Bernice got up, taking her wine with her. "Lord Sheogorath."

Scorpio was watching the exchange and smiling to himself.

"I was right to make you return. You are wanted here," he said.

"But what of you?" Lena looked into his eyes, but they were calm, devoid of emotion. "You wear that mask well, but I know better." Scorpio smiled at that, his eyes springing into life.

"It's what's expected of me in Gransys. 'Pawns have no emotions, no will of their own' - remember?" He winked at her.

"Yes, well, I think we debunked that story pretty quickly," Lena smirked. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh, you know how it is for us - my arisen had died, so I was dismissed into the Rift," he shrugged his shoulders. "They don't allow new arisen to pick pawns who'd already been claimed."

"Where do you come from?" Lena suddenly realised she didn't know. "I mean, the dragon comes every fifty years, creates another arisen, who then needs a fresh pawn, and this has been going on for ever and a day. There must be new pawns for this to work."

"We... well... we are not daedra," Scorpio looked at her sideways. "We are not created and we are not immortal in the same way. We are people who had been cursed." He rubbed the mark on his hand and it glowed brightly. "We all had lives before... we can have lives again... but it is rare."

"You mean you are from Gransys?" Lena looked at him round-eyed.

"Yes," Scorpio nodded. "But I lived a very long time ago. I spent an eternity in the Rift before you picked me."

"And now?"

"Now? You know the fate of a pawn whose arisen had died!" He smirked. "You are dead to Gransys."

"Well, you are here," Lena pointed out. "How did you do it?"

"The same way as those pawns did it that we met in the underworld in Gransys," he sipped his wine. "I left. It's not true that we have no will of our own. It took a while, but I found the portal you came through, and here I am."

"You've been to other worlds," Lena realised.

"Yes, this wasn't the first portal I tried," Scorpio smiled. "And I didn't know what your world looked like. I've been to Albion, too."

"No!" Lena turned bright red.

"Yes," Scorpio grinned. "Dumpling."

"Oh gods..." Lena moaned, shaking her head.

"Not to worry, I am still your friend," he grinned again. "And I hear you are married again."

Lena nodded. "This time it's for real though."

"Yeah, I heard the stories," he nodded. "But the child? They say it's not his."

"Who says that?" Lena sat up, shooting an angry glance at Bernice.

"Yeah, Bernice and the rest of them," Scorpio confirmed. "They wager it's from your other friend, the battlemage."

"Hauk... yeah... they are probably right," Lena agreed, in a much quieter tone. "I just don't know."

"They say it's a Nord's child - they can tell by the shape of the belly," Scorpio didn't seem to believe it himself.

"Nonsense," Lena shook her head. "Nonsense, and you know it."

They chatted all night, Lena had completely forgotten about sleep, and even Bernice decided to forgo the slumber in favour of eavesdropping. Finally faint sun rays started coming through the windows and Bernice put the coffee on.

"Oh thank you!" Lena accepted a cup with gratitude. "Did you enjoy our conversation?"

"I..." Bernice was taken aback, but didn't blush. "Whatever do you mean? I'm a sick woman!"

"Quite," Lena grinned, then turning to Scorpio she added: "Oh never mind them, they mean well."

...

"Was there any particular reason you came here or was it just your regular time out?" Scorpio asked Lena when they finally left Bernice's Taphouse.

"Nothing special," Lena shook her head. "I come here regularly. Of course I'll need to go see the Prince now, you heard what Bernice had said. And other things will come up as well, no doubt. Where are you staying?"

"I bought a house in Crucible," Scorpio smiled. "I'm staying. Gransys is dead to me."

"That's nice!" Lena hugged him right there in the street, and all passers by stared. Displays of emotion were for the Maniacs! "Dementia for you, then?"

"Remember Bitterblack Isle?" His smile was sad. Yes, Lena remembered. It was the place many pawns went to after their arisen had died, a place of despair. Compared to Bitterblack Isle, Dementia was overly manic.

"Plus, Bernice likes you," Lena grinned. "Handsome young man."

"She's too young for me," Scorpio retorted. "I don't date women under five hundred."

"Five hundred what?" A passing Seducer guard overheard their conversation. "Years mean nothing when you're immortal," she smiled at Scorpio.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything," he smiled back. "I'd date you any time, darling."

"Find me later," the Seducer gave him a big grin and continued her patrol.

"Well, well!" Lena chuckled. "You've been busy!"

"I like them," he grinned. "They are friendly. Not like the Saints next door."

Lena and Scorpio looked at each other, each reading the same in the other's eyes. They were glad to walk the same world again. Their romance was over, but their friendship remained. They knew each other's secrets, sins and desires, and it was fine. Their bonds were stronger than that.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scorpio was Lena's companion in Gransys - Dragon's Dogma. He finally made it to Tamriel to be Lena's companion there, when he's not busy dating Seducers, that is. He is an elemental sorcerer and brings new spells with him which he might teach Lena some day, once her mastery of the elements is high enough.

Scorpio is one of Lena's Companions to be released at a later date.

31 Morning Star, 4E203 - Lord Sheogorath

"So, who is it going to be this time? Thadon or Syl?" Prince Sheogorath was squinting at Lena when she came to see him. "Although I know the answer, of course," he smiled.

"I would rather not kill either of them," Lena suggested hesitantly. "Especially since you are going to recreate them afterwards anyway."

"What? A break with tradition?" Sheogorath cried out in indignation. "You must earn the respect of the people, and get either the Mazken or the Aureals to serve you, and you can only do that by becoming the Duchess of either half!" He looked furious. "I explained it last time already!"

"But My Prince..." Lena's voice was shaking a bit. "Must we follow the same path every time?"

"Yes, we must! Always have done!" Sheogorath was still angry. "Who are you to break with tradition, anyway?" He glared at her. "Oh, wait, yes, the one Champion who actually got things done..." He reminded himself. "Better than those clowns... or clouds... whatever." Suddenly he smiled radiantly, his anger gone without a trace. "So, how do you propose to get the Mazken to serve you then? For it will have to be the Mazken, of course, what with your special favourites and all," he winked. "Well, woman, speak up!"

"I gave them Cylarne..." Lena started cautiously.

"Cylarne - yes, and then lit the Great Torch for Mania!" Sheogorath objected. "What were you thinking?" He glared again.

"But I am of both sides, I cannot choose," Lena gathered her courage. "And it is pointless for me to replace the Duke or the Duchess because it won't last since I'm supposed to replace you in the end." She looked straight at him, noticing that his eyes were smiling.

"One of both sides, yes," he said softly. "As Lord Sheogorath must be."

"My Lord, if I may," Haskill suddenly joined the conversation. "Perhaps this Breton should do other tasks to prove her worth again."

"An excellent idea, Haskill!" Sheogorath beamed. "He does get them from time to time," he added quietly, turning to Lena. "That's why I keep him around. That, and the parties, of course." He shot a sideways glance at Haskill, who rolled his eyes. "He loves that, he does," Sheogorath smirked. "But enough of that! So what shall we have you do? If you are going to break with tradition, then do it right! Do something different! Go! Do it! Chop-chop!" He flicked his hand.

"Do what..?" Lena stared at him, perplexed.

"Prove that you are still Lord Sheogorath," he replied quietly. "What would I do in your place? Figure it out and do it. Come back when done. Then we'll see."

Prince Sheogorath sat on his throne, quietly smiling at his Champion, certain that she would rise to the challenge and step into his shoes once again, and fill them. All she needed was a gentle nudge in the right direction.

...

"The Prince wants me to do something to prove my worth as his Champion," Lena was saying to Scorpio over lunch at Bernice's. "But he didn't say what," she sighed. "Last time he had a whole series of tasks all planned out, but this time it's up to me." She poked her smoked baliwog leg with suspicion. "The Greymarch is just beginning, he's still the Prince, he's still here, but I need to prepare to replace him when the time comes. Which is when exactly? How much time do I have? It is all so confusing," she complained, lifting her eyes at Scorpio and finding him grinning. "What's so funny?" She asked defiantly.

"You are," he smiled. "You know exactly what to do, yet you convince yourself that you don't."

"What..?"

"Things have been different here lately," Bernice joined in, having listened to the conversation in her usual manner. "Some of the new residents are quite mad," she shook her head. "Why Sheogorath lets them in, is beyond me!" She rolled her eyes. "Of course he might not have. Everyone can get in now, since you killed the Gatekeeper - again!" She glared at Lena.

"But I had to..." Lena started hesitantly. "Wait... What are you saying?" She gave Bernice a long look. "Rebuild the Gatekeeper?"

"That's the obvious bit, yes, but that won't stop the Greymarch," Bernice nodded. "Gosh, woman, even I can see what needs to be done!" She threw her arms in the air in desperation, quite an unusual display of emotion for a Demented like herself.

"See, it's that obvious," a little voice in Lena's head piped up. "You must be finished well before your child is due, and even before your next visit to Mephala," the voice continued. "Do I really need to spell it out to you? You're supposed to be Me!" The voice added with anger.

"Yes, My Prince," Lena replied out loud, making Scorpio and Bernice look up. "I've got three weeks," she added, looking at Scorpio. "Everything needs to be finished in three weeks. Come on, we've got work to do." She got up decisively, beckoning Scorpio to follow. Then dashed back to the table to pick up her half-eaten smoked baliwog leg. "Finish this on the way," she nodded to Bernice, patted her belly and really marched towards the door this time.

...

When Lena and Scropio reached Passwall, they found it changed. Obelisks of Order were everywhere, not looking orderly at all, Knights of Order were rushing back and forth fighting everyone they could find, and grummites... well, grummites were no where to be seen.

"Of course not, what did you expect?" Scorpio raised an eyebrow when Lena commented on it. "They are only animals!" He shrugged. "What I would rather like to know, is whom are these Knights fighting?"

Sounds of battle were coming from just ahead, but they could not see what was happening as several obelisks were blocking their way. Then a bone arrow flew past Lena's ear nearly grazing it.

"Jayred Ice-Veins!" She exclaimed, rushing forward. "We must help him!"

Jayred had climbed onto the roof of a nearby house and was shooting arrows at the Knights of Order below, while the knights were attacking the obelisk that had risen near the entrance blocking the door...

"Not very clever, are they?" Jayred shouted, grinning. "But tough! Too bad they've got no bones under that armour... Hey, watch out! They've seen you!"

His words of warning were drowned in the clanking of metal, now that the knights saw Lena and Scorpio approach and figured that'd make for more rewarding sparring partners than the obelisk they'd been attacking. However, they were no longer at full strength under Jayred's arrows, and soon they were reduced to piles of shiny metal.

"What is going on?" Lena turned to Jayred as he climbed off the roof. "Your eyes!" They were grey and cold, just like the shiny metal around them. "What happened?"

"We've been turned, the Fringe fell to the forces of Order," Jayred shrugged his shoulders. "Except that turning my eyes grey won't make me join these tin soldiers," he prodded one with his boot. "I was lucky to be outside when they descended. Most people are trapped in their houses - look, there's an obelisk blocking every door!"

"This is actually good news," a voice said from behind. "This way they won't get killed." Dylan appeared from the rubble. "I sent word - the Mazken should be here soon."

"But not soon enough!" Scorpio exclaimed pointing at a fresh group of knights running towards them. "Here they come!"

Lena tried to circle around them looking for an obelisk that brought them forth, but couldn't see anything active - all the obelisks in the Fringe were passive, static things, no more dangerous than any rock. The active obelisk must have been hidden. She had to talk to Dylan, see what was going on, regroup, think it over... But there was no time for any of that, the knights kept coming in waves, and each of their crushing blows could easily kill her on the spot...

The battle was fierce. Jayred quickly climbed onto the roof and was raining arrows onto the knights, while Dylan and Scorpio took the heat of the melee combat, allowing Lena to do something stealthy. Except that none of her usual methods would have any effect here - you could not assassinate a knight with a stab through the heart because they had no beating hearts, they were immune to poison and impervious to most magic. In addition, Lena's growing belly made her movements slower than usual, and she didn't have armour capable of protecting it. There was only one thing for it: climb onto another roof and shoot arrows at them. She couldn't match Jayred's skill of course, but as they say, every little helped... And so she summoned a daedroth.

The daedroth roared as he cast his woad, shaking tip to toe. "Go get them, Toothy," Lena encouraged him under her breath, focussing on regaining her magicka for Toothy's replacement. As the daedroth starting thrashing through a group of knights and metal limbs started flying in all directions, Scorpio took a step back, seeing his chance to strike. Scorpio was a sorcerer, but his spells required concentration, something he couldn't muster in the heat of a melee battle, so he let his axe work instead. With the daedroth effectively taking his place, he tucked the axe into his belt, planted his staff into the grey soil before him, and started charging his spell.

...

"What was THAT?!" Dylan was looking around, prodding some of the metal bodies with his boot. Not shiny, they were corroded and charred by a massive explosion that blinded everyone for a second. An explosion that should have killed them all, knight, mortal and daedra, but that somehow only struck the knights... Toothy the daedroth took a few more swipes at the collapsed knights, crushing some of the pieces into dust. Then he too stood still until Lena dispelled him.

"That was one of the bigger ones, wasn't it," Lena rushed to Scorpio who was sitting on the ground holding onto his staff. "Here, drink this," she handed him a bottle of mead. "Sorry, I haven't got the proper potions," she added apologetically. Scorpio accepted the bottle with a nod, still too weak to speak. "The stronger the spell that he casts, the more energy it costs him to cast it," Lena explained it to Dylan and Jayred. "It's not just magicka that he uses, but also his physical strength, so right now he is exhausted," she added, handing Scorpio another bottle and a loaf of bread.

"Mead will set him right," Jayred nodded his approval.

"We need to find the obelisk though," Lena looked at her companions with worry. "Otherwise the knights will just keep coming. Yet I haven't seen anything active around here - these are all just rocks!"

"It's inside Xeddefen," Dylan jerked his head in the direction of the ruin. "I've been patrolling it these past few weeks, saw several obelisks growing there, and there was that sound... like what you hear around the active ones. Didn't see where it was coming from though, it could be underground."

"We'll have to go there to deactivate it," Lena's face was set in resolve.

"Delve into a crumbling ruin, avoid the grummites, try not to get impaled onto a rising obelisk, find the source of the strange noise, fight waves upon waves of Knights of Order, then somehow manage to overload an active obelisk while avoiding death by electrocution courtesy the local Priest of Order... Why, that's a job for Sheogorath's Champion," a hoarse mocking voice sounded behind them. "You do that. We'll just stay here and await your return."

"There is no need to be so haughty, Grakendo Udico," Dylan turned to a group of Mazken standing behind them. "This is exactly what Wolf will do."

"In her condition?" Grakendo measured up Lena's belly with a glance. "Mortals have a tendency for disfiguring afflictions."

"You see, not all of them are actually friendly," Lena said to Scorpio, rolling her eyes. Then, turning to Grakendo Udico, she added: "Yes, this is what I'll do. Again. I distinctly remember you being rather more polite last time."

"Last time you were our Duchess," Grakendo pointed out. "This time we are only here because one of ours sent word," she squinted at Dylan. "Even though he isn't a warrior and is officially expelled from the Order. Why My Lord even lets him walk this Realm--"

"Enough!" Lena decided to take control. "We can discuss it later. The Realm is under attack! Is it not your duty to Your Lord to protect it?" She glared at Grakendo. "So do it! While I and... err--" she shot quick glances at her companions, "While we go and deactivate the obelisk somewhere inside Xeddefen," she finished firmly.

"Well, if you put it this way..." Grakendo started another sentence, but a fresh wave of Knights of Order appeared from the dust cloud ahead. "Prepare for battle!" She shouted, addressing her troops and dismissing Dylan all in one glance. Jayred leaped to the rooftop, Scorpio shook off his tiredness rising to his feet, and Dylan took the lead putting himself between a charging knight and Lena's belly.

Dylan, Lena and Scorpio flanked the raging battle and ran towards Xeddefen.

They are in Fort Dunstad, which is a fun place to visit. Oh wow. They are in Dawnstar Sanctuary.

In Silverdrift Lair Lucien calls her "Dragonborn". Did she do all the Main Quest in Skyrim, or she just has DB powers like shouting?

Yeah that is true--when bandits in V say "That's close enough!" what better invitation is there to ignore them?

Up to page 7 / post 132

Never did the entire main quest - got bored. In this playthrough she went up to High Hrothgar where she was told to go fetch a horn, so then she went to fetch a horn but found Delphine's note instead. If only the Dragonborn could get in there, it makes Delphine Dragonborn, right? Makes no sense. So she went to see Delphine who promised to explain everything as soon as Lena proves she's Dragonborn. "I have nothing to prove to you," says Lena and leaves. Delphine is a Blade through and through, it's amazing that no one can see it. Hauk had figured it out as well - "Never seen a maid command the ale to stop fermenting," he noted. And Lena had had enough of Blade business back during the Oblivion Crisis, and didn't want to see another Blade ever again. So she never went back to Delphine, which of course means this is the end of the main quest for this playthrough.


Wow! You're catching up!

1 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - Xeddefen

"Finally! I've been waiting. What took you so long?" Shelden stepped from behind a false wall in a dark corridor inside Xeddefen after Lena, Dylan and Scorpio put down the last of the Knight of Order in the room.

"Excuse me?" Scorpio turned around, his axe at the ready. "And who might you be?"

Shelden was visibly taken aback by such blatant ignorance, so his reply was uncharacteristically muted.

"I am Shelden, the Mayor of Passwall of course," he mumbled, eyeing the axe. "You must be  new here!" He concluded, brightening up. "And obviously you need my help!" He added excitedly. "Of course you need my help!" He drew himself up and put on his usual aura of superiority. "Well, I am glad to provide it. I shall escort you out of this place. Follow me!" He turned towards the dark corridor littered with piles of metal that just before was the Knights of Order. The sight of so many fallen knights seemed to have shaken him, because he turned around again to look at Lena and Dylan. It seemed he only just noticed them.

"It's all right, Scorpio," Lena decided to diffuse the situation. "Shelden is one of the residents." Shelden perked up at that and was about to object to the "one of the residents" designation, but Lena didn't give him a chance. "Shelden, you can follow us. Stay behind us and try not to get killed - these knights mean business. We need to find the main obelisk before we can leave though. Or you can stay here and wait until it's all over - it might be safer that way."

"Stay behind and wait for the whole thing to collapse around me?" Shelden shook his head vigorously. "No, thanks," he added firmly. "Have you seen the state of the masonry? Why do you think this is a ruin in the first place?" He glared at Lena. "It is only kept together by grummite egg mounds, but since the grummites are no where to be seen, I'm not staying either!" A column suddenly collapsed next to them, illustrating Shelden's point.

"Suit yourself," Lena shrugged. "I'm not pulling you out like last time."

"Last time--" Shelden started protesting, but the others were already too far down the corridor to hear. "Hey, wait for me!"

...

Xeddefen was exactly as the Mazken commander predicted it to be, minus the grummites. Obelisks were suddenly rising under their feet, Knights of Order were everywhere and the buzz of lightening was heard in every corridor, yet the main obelisk must have been deeper in still. Fighting through endless waves of Knights of Order while trying to avoid getting crushed by falling rubble and collapsing masonry was both tiresome and disheartening. But the buzz of lightening seemed to be getting stronger, which meant that they were moving in the right direction - towards the main obelisk.

"It cannot be much further, the noise is almost deafening here," Dylan noted when they finally sat down for a rest. "We should take a break and prepare for battle," he added, handing out cheese, bread and ale to his companions.

"Prepare for battle?" Shelden looked at him as if Dylan had just said something crazy. "Battle? And what have we been doing so far then?"

"Getting to the main battlefield," Dylan grinned, speaking over Shelden's continued objections. "Look, Mayor, we can debate afterwards. You know what's coming - you've done this before!" Dylan's deep hoarse voice covered Shelden's, and Shelden had to give in, rolling his eyes in defiance. After all, Dylan was a daedra.

...

A huge obelisk shut down with a screech, and the lightening powering it gave out the last spark. The floor was covered in scratched and battered metal limbs and weapons, no longer as shiny as they had started out. Four people were wading through it knee high.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here," Dylan helped Lena climb onto higher ground. "With the obelisk shut down, the walls will start collapsing around it - they were only held in place by the same current that kept the obelisk open." He pointed at a column that was about to explode, with cracks visibly running through it. "Try not to get squashed!" He shouted, pulling Shelden from under the falling stone just before he could be flattened. "Mayor."

They ran for their lives. Caved in corridors had plenty of evidence of similar collapses in the past, as this was not the first Greymarch in the history of the Shivering Isles. Shelden seemed to be either out of breath or out of common sense because he kept falling behind, and Dylan and Scorpio kept urging him on, with variable success.

"What are you doing?" Scorpio shouted. "You will perish here if you stay behind!"

"I will find a way out!" Shelden shouted back. "I am the Mayor! I know this place! I don't have to follow anybody!"

Lena only shook her head. She found it hard to navigate the debris, to dodge falling stones, to duck under wrought masonry, all while holding tight her belly and trying to protect it from any accidental bumps. "Next stop - Cutter's Weapons," she promised herself. "The elf must be able to make me some armour. Surely, I am not the first heavily pregnant woman in an epic fight, am I?" She smirked to herself, wondering just how many heavily pregnant heroins came before her. All sensible women were spending the final three months of their pregnancies in the comfort of their homes making baby clothes. But then again, Prince Sheogorath would not have picked a sensible woman for his Champion.

"Ah! You are the worst escort ever!" Shelden's angry voice brought Lena back out of her considerations on pregnant heroins. Shelden's constant falling behind finally got him cut off - a falling grate blocked his way. Now he would really need to find his own way out.

...

The Fringe lay in ruins with metal limbs and Mazken bodies covering much of the ground. The fighting must have been ferocious on the surface as well. Lena, Dylan and Scorpio climbed out of a hole in the ground and walked towards Passwall. All was quiet, no more waves of Knights of Order were emerging from Xeddefen. Yet sharp screeches were heard every now and again - some of the obelisks were retreating into the ground, until the next Greymarch.

"Well, Passwall survived it again, thanks to my efforts and leadership!" Shelden had found a way out too.

...

"What do you suppose we should do next?" Lena moved her eyes from Dylan to Scorpio watching them consume one grilled grummite egg after another. The obelisk blocking the door to the Wastrel's Purse had retreated and Drewen was serving all those things she prepared while being locked inside - the noise kept waking her up and she found cooking to be a welcome distraction.

"Gosh, that elf can cook when she wants to!" Dylan commented, shooting her an appreciative glance. "Do what, sorry?" He realised suddenly that Lena had asked something.

"This wasn't very different from last time," Lena mused. "Sheogorath wants me to do something different to prove my worth again," she explained, noticing Dylan's confusion. "So I figure retaking the Fringe wasn't it. There's got to be something else."

"Bernice hinted at rebuilding the Gatekeeper," put in Scorpio.

"But that's exactly what I did last time after retaking the Fringe..." Lena sounded unsure.

"That doesn't mean it shouldn't be done this time again!" Dylan objected. "Without the Gatekeeper, there's too much riff-raff getting in."

He had a point, that chore needed doing. So Lena decided to stop worrying whether or not it was different enough and just take care of it next, especially since Xaselm was literally around the corner.

"I'm not sure Relmyna will be thrilled to see me again," Lena sighed, "but what needs to be done, needs to be done. We'll go tomorrow," she added decisively. After all, they earned some rest first.

2-4 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - Relmyna

"Well, look who's here again!" Relmyna squinted as Lena entered the room. "Former Lord Sheogorath. What do you want?" She glared and bared her teeth.

"Relmyna, we have a job to do, the same as last time," Lena was hoping for a civil conversation. "We need to rebuild the Gatekeeper."

"We?" Relmyna glared. "You killed my baby, you killed both of them!" She exclaimed with grief and anger. "So you can rebuild him! Or use that thing inside your belly to take his place!"

Ouch. Before Lena could register what she was doing, she flew at Relmyna, knocked her on the ground and had her dagger at Relmyna's neck. Stop! Stop. As much as she hated the woman, she needed her to rebuild the Gatekeeper, and Relmyna knew it and grinned.

"Well, Assassin, why did you stop?" Relmyna said mockingly.

Lena got off her and put her dagger away. She was burning with rage and restraint - she was trying to restrain her rage resulting in a huge internal battle. This job was going to be tough.

"Let me handle it," she heard Scorpio's voice in her ear. "Take Dylan and leave the room."

Lena obeyed.

...

The doors of Xaselm were made of thick iron and bronze, but even so flashes of light and high pitched noises were coming through. After some time, Scorpio returned, scorch marks and fresh scars covering his arms.

"We need to go to the Gardens of Flesh and Bone to collect a few things," he said calmly. "But I suppose you already knew that. It's the same as last time."

"Relmyna?" Lena ran her eyes along Scorpio's new marks.

"Alive and well," he smiled. "We need her. Oh, and this... I'll tell you later."

As they were making their way out of Xaselm, they bumped into Nanette Don walking down the corridor, lost in thought.

"Oh, hello!" She greeted them joyfully. "Back again?" Her smile was somehow strained. "Relmyna is further in."

"We already spoke to her," Lena replied, scrutinising Nanette's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Nanette protested. "Why do you ask?" Then, casting a quick glance at Scorpio's scars, she asked with worry: "Relmyna..?"

"Alive and well," Scorpio repeated. "All you have to do, Nanette, is show her that you've mastered her methods."

"I would not dare!"

"You must."

"I can't!"

"Then why are you here?"

This was a fair question. Nanette gave Scorpio a sharp look, then turned and continued her way into the depths of Xaselm.

...

The Garden of Flesh and Bone was in Passwall, so they retraced their steps. The sun was already setting - this was enough excitement for one day. They hoped that Drewen had cooked something again.

"What did you do?" Lena asked Scorpio at dinner, but he wouldn't tell her, saying that he'd rather enjoy his meal.


The Garden of Flesh and Bone was a dungeon like any other, with the usual dangers strewn inside. They had to collect four items, and it took them through every corridor and tunnel, sometimes repeatedly.

"This Garden is different somehow from what I remembered," Lena was saying when they sat down for a rest. "More Flesh Atronachs, may be."

Neither Dylan nor Scorpio had been there before, so they couldn't answer, but somehow each of them doubted that the Garden had changed.

"May be it is you who had changed rather than the Garden," Dylan suggested. "You know that Flesh Atronachs make no difference. So what's troubling you?"

"Nothing," Lena suddenly got defensive, surprising even herself. "May be it will become clearer later. Better tells us what you did to Relmyna," she turned to Scorpio.

"I treated her the way she treats others," Scorpio shrugged his shoulders. Horrified looks on Lena's and Dylan's faces made him laugh. "What did you think I'd do?"

"But you are still alive and largely in one piece," Dylan put in.

"As are most of Relmyna's subjects," Scorpio nodded. "You know what her interests are, don't you? She studies flesh. She thinks it's the fifths element."

"So Flesh Atronachs..." something dawned on Lena. "They are her invention, aren't they?"

Scorpio nodded. "She doesn't kill people to resurrect them afterwards like Necromancers do. She transforms them while they are still alive. Using surgery."

That sounded painful and revolting, and Lena pushed away the bowl of stew that was before her.

"I've had enough to eat," she grimaced. "So, did you cut her up?"

"No, I joined her in the study of pain - another of her interests, and of course related to the flesh," said Scorpio, continuing with his own stew. "Look, if you can't stomach it, don't ask. As you say, I am still largely in one piece, as is Relmyna. Her purpose is not to kill but to torture, and I gave her a taste of that. I don't think anyone else did. Of course she responded in kind, she is an exceptionally powerful sorceress - much exceeding my abilities. I am surprised that she allowed me to do what I did at all. She must be a masochist in part as well as a sadist. So there. Now you know. Finish your stew."

This lecture was delivered in a matter-of-fact tone that made Lena shiver. Yes, Scorpio had many facets to him, and his immortality meant that suffering could continue forever. Suddenly Lena realised why so many dejected pawns made their way to the Bitterblack Isle - a place of pain as well as despair. Pain had become their normality, and they stopped seeking diversion from it, instead they embraced it.

"I am glad you came here instead," Lena said softly. "Bitterblack Isle was terrible. Dementia is nothing like that."

"Even if it has one or the other sado-masochist in it," Scorpio smiled. "Yes."


The following day saw them collect the remaining items from the Garden of Flesh and Bone and head to Xaselm. "Best get it over with straight away," said Lena, finding it sickening to look at the bits of flesh and sacks of blood in her pack. Relmyna was going to use that to create a new Gatekeeper. No, they didn't actually come from her womb, although Lena suspected that the seeds for the Garden of Flesh and Bone did. "Sickening," she said under her breath, supporting her own pregnant belly.

Entering Xaselm through the back door, they found themselves right in Relmyna's laboratory.

"Oh hello!" She greeted them with an unexpected cheer, not taking her eyes off Scorpio. "Back for more?"

"No, we are back to make a new Gatekeeper," Lena replied, stepping forward. "You leave Scorpio alone!"

"Or what, little girl?" Relmyna sneered. "I could kill you on the spot. Or remove that bulge on your front."

"Now, now, ladies, stop it!" Both Dylan and Scorpio lunged forward seeing the flash of Lena's dagger and the sparkling of Relmyna's lightening. With hostilities averted, they really had to focus on the job at hand.

"Normally it's Sheogorath who chooses what goes into the new Gatekeeper," Relmyna pointed out. "But I haven't seen him in a while... Not since... oh..." she seemed to be lost in thought, which must have been pleasant, as she started smiling. Then, returning from her reverie, she added with a scorn: "But since he is not here, you will have to do."

"Why can't you choose the parts yourself?" Lena asked, suddenly realising that she never gave much thought to the ritual of creating a Gatekeeper.

"A child must have two parents," Relmyna rolled her eyes. "Even one born from magic," she added. "Didn't you realise that you had killed your own child with the last Gatekeeper? You created it with me, you were its parent!" She watched as Lena stood dumbfounded and terrified by this revelation. Relmyna's study of pain wasn't limited to its physical manifestations, and she knew very well that mental pain was far superior.

Lena pushed away the pain and the guilt. She couldn't have been an actual parent to that monster, could she? It was just Relmyna's trick, that's all. And the new Gatekeeper had to be created, regardless. She shot a glance at Scorpio noticing him watching her face. "I can do this," she told herself. And then she recalled Sheogorath's words: "Figure out what I would have done and do it." He would have fathered a monster with Relmyna, and make that monster - his child - to be fated to die in the hands of his future champion, a champion who would then have to father another monster fated for the same thing... And if that champion died prematurely, it would have to be Sheogorath fathering monsters over and over again. And now it was Lena's turn.

"Let's do it," she turned to Relmyna. "I am Lord Sheogorath."

6-7 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - Another emergency

"So, you figured it out," Sheogorath smiled at Lena when she stood before him in Crucible, having defended the Fringe from the forces of Order and rebuilt the Gatekeeper with Relmyna. "Well done. Yes, of course it's like last time - how did you think I knew what you were supposed to do?" He winked. "It's the same thing over and over again, every time. With some variations... like now." He nodded at a Mazken and an Aureal approaching the throne. "What is it?" He turned to them. "Not both of you this time?"

"My Lord, the forces of Order have broken into our Sanctuary and cut off the Wellspring!" The two missionaries exclaimed in chorus. "We are doomed!" They looked definitely panicked.

"See, this is what happens if you don't take sides," Sheogorath turned to Lena. "Had you replaced the Duke or the Duchess, only one side of Madness would have been affected, but now both of them are in trouble! It's all your fault!" He looked furious.

"No, it isn't!" Lena retorted, not fooled by Sheogorath's fury. "It's the forces of Order doing it! Not me! Definitely not me! I'll have nothing to do with Order!" She exclaimed hotly, surprising even herself.

"Well, you aren't exactly orderly, I'll give you that," Sheogorath chuckled. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

"What is there to do?" Lena smiled at him. "Go and free their Wellsprings, of course. Starting with..."

"Mazken!"

"Aureals!"

The two missionaries exclaimed simultaneously.

"Mazken," said Lena. "But you knew that already." She looked at the uncharacteristically joyful faces of the Mazken guards in the throne room and equally uncharacteristically dejected faces of the Aureals. "Oh, don't worry, I won't desert you. I'm only letting you wait because you're tougher," she winked at the nearest Mazken, and the Mazken nodded.

Out in the yard, Lena turned to Dylan and Scorpio.

"Dylan, you'll need to sit this one out. You are not coming with us," she said quite decisively.

"Why..? What..?" Dylan was taken aback.

"While the Wellspring is blocked, any Mazken killed remains killed, right?" Lena glared at him. "And you are asking why?"

This wasn't quite like that, to be fair, but yes, with the Wellspring blocked, there was a risk for the fallen Mazken to actually be permanently destroyed. And Lena was not prepared to take that risk with Dylan.

"Run ahead and tell the Mazken to prepare," she turned to the messenger. "I'll join you shortly - I know the way."

There was something she needed to do before yet another battle.

...

"You want what?" Cutter's eyes grew so big, Lena thought they were in danger of popping out of the sockets. "There is no armour for pregnant women!" She exclaimed with desperation. "Pregnant women don't fight!"

"Well, but look here, Cutter," Lena tried to reason with her. "I'm sure you've heard what's going on, you read the papers, don't you? Or at least frequent Bernice? Then you know we're in for a series of epic battles, and I happen to be the Champion. Please? I need something to protect my child!"

She stood there, in Cutter's smithy, hugging her belly for the full effect.

"Well, I suppose I could come up with something..." Cutter softened, measuring up Lena's shape. "How soon do you need it?" Then looking up at Lena, she read the answer on her face. "Yesterday, right? Literally. Ok. You'll have it by the morning," she said dismissively. The Mazken would just have to hold out until then.


As usual, Cutter surpassed herself and produced a "pregnant woman's" Madness cuirass, much to Lena's delight and gratitude. With that, she and Scorpio set off for the Pinnacle Rock - the Mazken Sanctuary.

"It's a disaster!" The Mazken Captain met them at the door. "They've captured the Commander and are about to block the Wellspring! Then we'll be all petrified! Forever! Death! Death!!! Noooooo!"

Leaving panicking Captain behind, Lena gestured Scorpio to follow her inside.

"I've been here before - Dylan took me to the Wellspring a few times. It's easy enough. We go in, find that Commander, then go further in, and there in the depths there's the Wellspring, blocked by some Order crystals, no doubt. Lots of fighting before us, so get ready."

"What's that about being petrified though?" Scorpio squinted at her.

"Pay no mind to that," Lena shrugged. "They think that if the Wellspring gets blocked, all Mazken will immediately be petrified - turned to stone. Nonsense. The only Mazken that get petrified, are the ones standing right by the Wellspring, everyone else continues like before. There is a risk of being permanently killed if they fall in battle though. The risk we mortals face every day," she added with a shrug.

"Right," Scorpio nodded. "Good thing I'm not mortal."

The first wave of Knights of Order was upon them.

...

Going through the corridors of Pinnacle Rock was as straightforward as Lena had said, but even so, the Knights of Order made it anything but easy. The battles were intense, the Knights were tough, and Lena and Scorpio were getting tired.

"Where is this Commander?" Scorpio was peering into a dark corridor, something was flickering in its depths. "If she is not completely overjoyed to see us..."

Another wave of Knights interrupted him. It is said that every disaster has a silver lining, and in this case it was shimmering ever brighter right ahead of them. A wall of Order Crystals stood in the middle of a hall, with sparkles of lightening jumping from crystal to crystal. The crystals formed a cage, and a Mazken warrior was inside.

"There she is," Lena smiled at her. "Wait, there's a trick to these crystals..."

She walked around the room searching for something, while Scorpio held his axe at the ready - he expected another wave of Knights of Order to jump out of the crystals any minute. But that didn't happen. Instead, Lena found the "trick" and the crystals just crumbled.

"Impressive, mortal," the Commander stepped over the shiny rocks. "How did you know what to do?"

"Oh, it's... well..." Lena hesitated. "I've done something similar last time, it's the same as..." Last time Lena was helping the Aureals with exactly the same predicament.

"WHAT?!" The Commander flew into a rage. "Don't you dare say that! It's nothing like... Arrrghh!!"

Scorpio froze on the spot, not understanding what just happened. The Commander was glaring at Lena and Lena looked guilty, shuffling her feet and blushing a little.

"Well, would you like me to put it back up?" She finally said, sighing and looking at the Commander. "And then try to find a definitively different way to crumble that wall?"

"Well..." The Commander was cooling off. "That wouldn't be very productive, would it? Only a mortal could come up with such a stupid idea, really..."

"Err..." Lena decided to move things along. "Shouldn't we hurry to the Wellspring?"

"Yes, of course!" The Commander exclaimed automatically, her sense of duty pushing everything else out of her mind for a moment. "It's that way..." She turned to show the direction, but Lena had already grabbed Scorpio's arm and was running down the corridor. "Hey, how do you know where it is?" The Commander cried out, running after them.

"Been there before!" Lena shouted back. "Got the cure..!"

Another wave of Knights of Order put an end to that discussion.

When the dust settled, the Commander was looking pleased with herself and evidently decided to forgive Lena her earlier transgression.

"Why did she get so angry before?" Scorpio whispered in Lena's ear.

"Last time I did the same thing for the Aureals," Lena explained, also in whisper. "Their Sanctuary has exactly the same layout as this one, their Commander was captured in a cage of crystals exactly like the one here, and their Wellspring..." She looked around to make sure that the Mazken Commander was still out of earshot. "Their Wellspring is housed in exactly the same way as the one here. It's Sheogorath's duality, of course they are one and the same, or rather two sides of the same coin. But they won't hear about it! Not even a suggestion of a possible similarity between the Mazken and the Aureals can be tolerated..." At that point the Commander turned towards them, and Lena loudly concluded: "Shall we go then? We're done here, right?"

...

The next section of the fort held the Wellspring.

"It's right through there..." The Commander started pointing down the corridor, when suddenly she froze... No, she was petrified.

"It's blocked already," Lena gently touched the Commander's arm, feeling only stone under her fingertips. "The forces of Order have blocked the Wellspring," Lena turned to Scorpio. "This is what the Captain outside was so afraid of. Well, it's up to you and me to deal with those Knights and Priests now."

She cast on a shield, drew her sword and summoned a daedroth. Scorpio took a few steps forward, peering into the darkness where shiny shapes started appearing. Then quickly he stepped back, hiding behind the daedroth.

"Buy me a minute, will you," he shot a glance at Lena and she nodded, hunching forward her shoulders and gathering fire in her left hand. The daedroth shook casting on his shield, then lunged forward. The battle was on.

The Knights of Order were making a lot of noise when their metal limbs hit the stone floor and walls of the fort around them. They were also making a lot of noise while running, dodging and attacking - sometimes hitting other Knights instead of Lena and the daedroth. It was a complete chaos, with sparks and bursts of light flying everywhere, but Lena's objective was not to advance but to hold the line, protecting Scorpio behind her. He didn't need much time, it would only take a minute...

"Falling anvils, really?" Lena laughed, realising just what those falling rocks were reminding her of. The Knights got an anvil each, hitting them with a great force and knocking them on the ground. The daedroth gleefully stomped on the ones that weren't quite dead.

"A trick I picked up in Antaloor," Scorpio grinned, sipping a restorative potion. "Just as effective as rocks but so much more fun." He corked the bottle, looking serious now. "Quick - get that Priest while he's down, more Knights will be here in no time. I'll start on another spell..."

"Falling Sigil Stones this time?" Lena's eye twinkled.

"You'll see..." The sorcerer was entering his trance.

Great job! Falling anvils, sounds like a Midas Magic spell. Iwould have liked to have seen that one.

It is actually from Two Worlds II - one of the more advanced spells there. They also have falling rocks, but hey, who wants rocks when you can have anvils! Scorpio brings this spell to Oblivion - he will be eventually released after thorough testing of his mettle.

They are in Fort Dunstad, Lu and Lena. Yes, so true about the goblins keeping rats for pets .... and sustenance. Quite a parallel that these bandits also keep skeevers, probably for the same reasons. Not like there's any lack of them around, right? Much easier than trying to take down a mammoth.

Yikes, they're in Dawnstar Sanctuary! How does Lena feel about Astrid?

Wait, I'm looking at the wrong post. Hee hee, yeah I am. Okay. I'm up to the part when they're in Windhelm, inquiring about the murders. That's one of Skyrim's quests none of mine ever got around to doing. Maybe that'll change this winter.

Okay, NOW they're back in Dawnstar Sanctuary. Did you do some refurbishing in there?

Geralt lives in Lakeview Manor by the sound of it. I like that place. Or maybe Geralt just happens to be there, and Lena owns it. Ha, he's getting a unicorn. Funny.

Up to page 7 / 135.

Hey Renee! I think skeevers probably don't taste as good as a mammoth though. But hey - bandits are cheap.

That murder quest in Windhelm... Yeah, we solved it, witnessed the murder, and the guard was literally standing right there and doing absolutely nothing! No wonder they've got necromancers running amok.

Dawnstar Sanctuary: yeah, I tidied it up a bit. For one, they needed a double bed... There wasn't one. I didn't want them to use the floor... Hehe.

How Lena feels about Astrid? No love lost there. Astrid is essentially an imposter, certainly from Lena's point of view. Not in vanilla TES5, but this is not a vanilla TES5 story. In our story DB is not dead and Astrid's group is not DB. This is how I felt about it when playing TES5 anyway - it didn't feel right at all. Lena actually agrees with their mage - Festus Krex - he thought that without the structure and discipline of the original DB, their group was nothing but a bunch of lowlife murderers. He was right.

Lakeview Manor: yeah, it's nice. I like the location, too. Geralt is staying there, but it's Lena's house really. I'll be making a player house in the equivalent location in TWMP Skyrim Alive - it didn't make it into this release, but it will be added later. Wouldn't want to give it up!

The unicorn reference

Mm, that's what I figured. The Dawnstar Sanctuary in your gameworld has been given the Lena Wolf treatment.

Yes, my character who did DB in Skyrim despised Astrid for some reason. I don't really remember all the details. But my character (here she is) loved Babette and Cicero. Babs because my character always wanted children, yet could not bear. And Cicero because even though he's really annoying, he's at least quite lively. My Listener would "listen" to Cicero mumble and rant to himself for hours, while watching Babette sleep.

Congrads on making all the work you've been doing with TWMP, too. Really proud that a Chorrolite has been involved with that.

7 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - The fight

Fireballs were falling from above, hitting each and every Knight of Order in the area. Lena was sneaking between them, leaving them to their fate, trying to get to the next Priest instead. The Priest was out of reach of the rain of fire though, standing all the way at the back, behind tall obelisks of Order. Seeing his Knights burn up and crumble infuriated him beyond reason - he was shooting lighting in every direction without any particular target, and Lena tried to make sure not to become one.

"Kill the Priest, then quickly stuff three Hearts of Order into the obelisk," she kept repeating to herself as a mantra. That was definitely easier said than done. The Hearts had to be harvested from fallen Knights, which was easy, except for the part of making living Knights into fallen ones. Putting each Heart into the obelisk caused it to produce several fresh Knights for you to fight. The third heart would shut down the obelisk, but unless you had done it all quickly, the Priest would have been revived again and would try to reactivate the obelisk. And finally, even after both the obelisk and the Priest were out of action, the Knights would continue fighting until you killed each and every one of them...

Lena cast invisibility and quietly approached the Priest from behind, her Sufferthorn with paralyzing poison at the ready. One stab through the heart would kill any man, but Priests of Order were immortal as long as their Obelisks functioned. Yet, that magic-infused poison-coated dagger used from behind would be sufficient to knock out the Priest long enough to overload the obelisk with hearts and break the cycle. And should he wake up too early, the paralyzing poison would keep him down. In theory.

In practice it was all a lot more difficult, and it took Lena several stabs with her dagger to get the Priest down, which shaved off precious seconds from the paralysis duration. He would wake up any moment now... well, so be it. Lena dashed to the obelisk and started on the hearts.

The first heart produced three fresh Knights of Order who immediately rushed towards Lena. There was no time to cast two spells, so she cast invisibility and moved away. Confused, the Knights stopped, searching for something else to charge at. There was no time to lead them away... So Lena put the second Heart into the obelisk, dispelling her invisibility and instantly becoming the target of the three existing Knights and five fresh ones... Oh. Several swords hit her armour as she cast invisibility again.

Just one more heart to go...

At that point the obelisk produced a sharp lightning beam reviving the Priest of Order. It would take a few seconds and the cycle would start again! Not waiting for it, Lena threw the third heart into the obelisk which broke off the beam, but not before four fresh Knights of Order emerged from the lighting cloud. The Priest was on his feet too. A bit shaky, but alive and angry, he was charging his spell targeting the obelisk, trying to reactivate it...

"No, you don't!" Lena charged at him, drawing her sword this time. No time to cast a summoning spell - the Priest had to be interrupted before the obelisk would reactivate fully, and with its cap starting to lift up already, it had to be now!

Bzzzt!

Darkness.

...

Lena wasn't sure whether her eyes were open or closed, or whether she was alive or dead. Was this the Fade? She couldn't tell. The air around her seemed to be infused with lightning and shining, blinding flashes of white light. So many reflective surfaces... was she in a hall of mirrors?

Slowly the buzzing around her reached her consciousness and woke her up. Her eyes were open and she seemed to be alive. The shining reflective surfaces around her were the polished facets of the limbs and bodies of many Knights of Order, immobile and inactive. A huge ball of lightening above an obelisk was disappearing under the cap that was now moving down. "The Priest!" Lena remembered, scrambling to her feet. She had to prevent him from reactivating the obelisk. She looked around... yes, there he was, on the floor.

The Priest wasn't dead, but at least he was down. He could not be killed as long as the obelisk was active, and that was exactly the problem - the Priest and the obelisk kept reactivating each other. With the obelisk shutting down, Lena had to keep the Priest down as well, but he was stirring already. Wasn't this what happened just before she went down?

Still shaky from her own knock-out, Lena had no energy for a paralysing spell, and no time to coat her sword with a paralysing poison. This whole fight would restart in a moment...

A sudden frost permeated her body, she got hit with a frost spell, but who cast it? The Priests were masters of lightning, not frost, and the one before her was more concerned with reactivating the obelisk than with fighting. Frost... Lena felt a sudden surge of energy and hunger. With one leap, she fell onto the Priest who was about to cast his spell. Her fangs craved blood.

...

"This fight is too hard for you, mortal," Lena startled, hearing the Mazken Commander's voice just behind her. Mortal? Not quite, but the daedra looked down upon the immortality of vampires. "But I thank you anyway," the Commander continued. "You freed the Mazken Wellspring from the forces of Order!" Lena let go of the Priest's neck, using his robe as a napkin, and turned to the Commander. She didn't remember freeing the Wellspring, only fighting the Knights... But if the Commander was restored to her lively shape and biting language, then she must have freed the Wellspring somehow. "I grant you the power to summon a Mazken warrior to help in your battles!" The Commander continued in a rather solemn voice. "The Mazken will serve you now, Lord Sheogorath!"

She gave Lena a curt bow, turned around and marched off, leaving Lena standing amid the shiny remnants of the forces of Order. A tall figure in a Madness cuirass worn over a robe was approaching from the gloom of the corridor ahead.

"Glad to see you regain your strength," Scorpio said. "And sorry about that frost spell... but without it you were fading."

"Yeah, this fight was indeed too hard for me," Lena nodded, suddenly realising that her vampirism did not recede even though she drank mortal blood just now. "What happened? Did you free the Wellspring?"

"Yes," Scorpio was checking Lena's pulse. "You were doing all right with those hearts, but you lost a few moments, it seemed, and the Priest was waking up before you could get to him. I called up the lighting storm hoping to confuse them all as well as knock them out, but the Priest was immune to that... I couldn't get to him, so it had to be you."

"And you triggered my vampirism with that frost spell," Lena smiled at him. "That certainly gave me a kick!" She chuckled.

"You took down the Priest, the obelisk shut down, and after another lighting storm to clear the remaining Knights, I went and rang the chimes that crumbled the cage around the Wellspring," Scorpio concluded. "Then of course the Commander was here to thank you."

"While I was still feeding," Lena laughed. "Although that doesn't bother them at all."

"Job done, I'd say," Scorpio looked relieved. "Except... why are you still a vampire?"

"I shouldn't be," Lena agreed. "I'll have to feed again, sometimes it takes several goes. Or may be I'll keep it for a while - it is rather helpful in a fight, and we still have the Aureals' Wellspring to do!"

"But not before you get a good rest!" Scorpio took her arm and started walking towards the exit. "We'll return to Crucible, have a good dinner at Bernice's, then a proper night's sleep, and only then..."

They kept talking all the way to New Sheoth, where the Mazken guards greeted Lena with the new found respect for her as Lord Sheogorath.

8 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - A repeat of the day before

"I'm coming with your this time, end of story," Dylan was quite adamant at breakfast with Lena and Scorpio. "Resorting to triggering vampirism is going too far, especially in your condition," he added, pointing at Lena's pregnant belly. "And with the Mazken Wellspring restored, you cannot have any objections!" He concluded hotly.

"All right, all right," Lena was quite taken aback. "Sheesh... Let's just hope the Aureals will let you in, that's all."

...

Brellach was the Aureal Sanctuary and it had suffered the same fate from the forces of Order as the Mazken Sanctuary: it was invaded and the Wellspring was about to be blocked. The task of freeing it was nearly identical to the task of freeing the Mazken Wellspring that Lena and Scorpio accomplished the day before. The fighting had been heavy and fierce, probably too heavy for Lena, because she couldn't quite get those obelisks shut down and Priests killed without the extra strength and agility of a full-blown vampire. But every time her vampirism was triggered, it was getting a little more difficult to get it to recede again, so even though she fed on living blood since, she was still a vampire, which could not be good for the child she was carrying, as Dylan pointed out.

And so Lena, Scorpio and Dylan stood in front of the gates of Brellach, ready to undertake its rescue.

"He is not coming in!" The Aureal Captain glared at Dylan. "It is already a transgression to let a mortal in, but we'll make an exception for you as Sheogorath's Champion," he turned to Lena. "But no Mazken scum will drag his filth into our Sanctuary!"

And if his words weren't enough, he promptly attacked Dylan and a good old brawl followed.

"Hey!" Lena tried to put a stop to it. "HEY!!! By Sheogorath, STOP IT!!!"

The Prince's name worked its magic and the Captain and Dylan let go of each other's throats.

"Look here, Captain," Lena decided to try diplomacy. "Your Wellspring is about to be blocked by the forces of Order who have already invaded your Sanctuary and captured your Commander, right?"

"Y-yes," he nodded, looking worried. "How did you know about the Commander?" He squinted at Dylan.

"No, Dylan didn't tell me," Lena said decisively. "Sheogorath told me," she lied. It worked, and the Captain gave her his full attention. "It is not going to be easy to defeat them, and as soon as the Wellspring gets blocked, all of you will be petrified and won't be able to help," she added, stressing the word "petrified". The Captain winced and reluctantly agreed.

"Well, when you put it this way..." He eyed Lena's pregnant figure. "A mortal Champion, especially one with such a disfigurement, would require all the help she can get..." He eyed Scorpio as well, but seeing his robe, turned away in disdain. "And your only other friend is a mage! He'll be of no use in battle, I reckon." Scorpio raised an eyebrow and gave a little laugh, but didn't say anything. "Well, all right," the Captain sighed. "But don't make it into a habit!" He glared at Dylan. "This is a one in a lifetime exception, you hear me?!"

And before Dylan and the Captain could start another brawl, Lena grabbed Dylan's arm and hurried to enter Brellach.

...

Lightning was still fizzing around shiny metal objects on the floor that used to be Knights of Order. As soon as Lena, Scorpio and Dylan entered Brellach, they got attacked by a large group of Knights that were guarding the entrance hall. Dylan rushed right at them, Lena followed just behind him, and Scorpio stood back for a minute summoning a lightning storm. As soon as the storm hit, the battle was over.

"No use in battle, indeed," Dylan smirked, bashing in the last half-dead Knight's head. "But it must have been hard on you to take the heat every time," he turned to Lena. "Especially when you had to juggle those hearts trying to shut down an obelisk."

"Yeah, it was tricky," Lena nodded. "This time it will be a walk in the park," she smirked. "Come on, more shinies are just ahead."

...

"We've been betrayed!" The Aureals Commander screamed with rage when the crystals forming the walls of her cage were shattered. She glared at Dylan, then lashed out at Lena: "Traitor!" Her sword made a clanking noise when it hit Lena's Madness cuirass and was repelled by it. It seemed Cutter didn't just put her skill into that cuirass, but also her allegiance.

The Commander's outburst was quickly subdued by the combined forces of Dylan and Scorpio, and Lena had to jump in to prevent them from killing the Commander.

"No, you can't!" She bellowed and everyone froze, not quite expecting such a booming voice from a little Breton woman.


"What..?" After the shock of Lena's bellowing scream, came an eerie sound, quite loud but not overpowering, sounding here, there and everywhere... "What was that? Who said that?" Dylan and Scorpio let go of the Commander, and the Commander sheathed her sword, more concerned by the sound than by the would-be traitors before her.

"We are no traitors," Lena said calmly. "We are here to rescue your Wellspring from the forces of Order. I am Sheogorath's Champion."

"But I heard a dragon," the Commander turned to her. "That was Alduin's call."

"Not Alduin's," Lena shook her head. "I am Dragonborn."

"Oh." The Commander measured up Lena with her gaze. "Previous Dragonborn were more impressive," she added in her usual haughty tone. "Well, mortal, you freed me, and now you will assist me in freeing our Wellspring. You may bring your... companions," she added, throwing disgusted glances at Dylan and Scorpio, then lingering on Dylan, she breathed in, ready to utter a new objection to this "Mazken scum" no doubt, but Lena already started marching down the corridor, with Dylan and Scorpio following. "Hey, how do you know where it is?!" The Commander shouted, running after them.

"Done it last time already," answered Lena, without stopping. "But you chose to forget that bit," she added after a moment. She'd had enough of daedric insults.

...

"Well, that's the Aureals out of the way," Lena sighed with relief when the Commander and a few Aureals around her turned to stone in the next section of the fort. "The forces of Order have finally blocked the Wellspring, so it's up to us again to deal with them," she added, turning to Dylan and Scorpio. "At least we know what to do."

"The same as yesterday," Scorpio nodded, taking up a position in a dark corner.

"But this time I'll take the heat so you can run around the obelisks," Dylan readied his mace.

Lena was just going to summon Dessos as well, or may be a Mazken warrior, or at least a daedroth, but just like the day before, a wave of Knights of Order was upon them before she had time to make up her mind. Too many choices can make life difficult at times. So, without thinking, she summoned a clannfear - a spell she had practised so many times, that it came to her almost like a reflex. The clannfear let out a high pitched shriek and tore through the Knights of Order like a hot knife through butter. Lena threw the last glance at the chaos behind her, made sure that Scorpio was well out of sight, cast invisibility and focussed on locating the nearest Priest and his obelisk.

...

"That wasn't nearly as hard as yesterday," Scorpio came out of the darkness when the last Priest of Order and his obelisk was dealt with. Dylan was finishing a few remaining Knights that weren't quite put out by the fire, frost and lightning that Scorpio kept raining on them.

"No anvils today?" Lena looked around in slight disappointment.

"That spell takes too much energy to cast," Scorpio shook his head. "Elemental magic is far easier, and I had to cast a lot of it today," he kicked some shiny bits out of the way. "They are less susceptible to it than to the brute force of a falling anvil, but it still works well enough," he smiled. "Shall we ring the chimes and remove the blockage from the Wellspring?"

"Not yet," Lena winked. "We are in no rush."

Dylan laughed with gratitude and Scorpio spotted a bench and dropped onto it, his tiredness obvious now. "No rush indeed!" He nodded smiling, reaching for his last restorative potion.

Lena left them to sit and relax and proceeded to check every Priest on the ground. Was any of them still alive? "Yes, you will do nicely," she finally found one that was deeply unconscious but still breathing. She hadn't fed for over a day, and with all the running around and fighting, she was famished as well as tired. Hoping that this time she would not be interrupted, she bit his neck.

...

"Ah, you look better!" Scorpio smiled at her when she returned to their bench, her cheeks pink and her eyes amber.

"It was time to put vampirism back in remission," Lena nodded, "and those Priests weren't supposed to survive anyway. Let's ring the chimes and free the Wellspring, I've had enough of this place."

...

"...and the Aureals will serve you now, Lord Sheogorath!" The Commander finished her speech of thanks, and Lena, Dylan and Scorpio could finally leave for New Sheoth.

"So, what's next?" Dylan asked, shaking off the "golden mud", as he put it.

"Now we return to Sheogorath just in time to watch him transform into Jyggalag," smirked Lena. "I'm sure he'll wait for us to actually see it. Quite a spectacle! He'll break his cane in the process, and his cane is not just a walking stick, it's an enchanted staff, and I'll have to get my own. That's more dungeon delving and fighting, with a few twists along the way. And then, soon after that anyway, I'll have to face Jyggalag in a duel. If I fail to defeat him, this Realm will crumble, as it has done many times. But last time I won, and I intend to do it again," she concluded firmly. "So, get ready for the show."

11-15 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - Symbol of Office

"You again!" Dyus looked bored. "I already told you how to get Sheogorath's Symbol of Office! What are you doing here, anyway?"

"You told me last time," Lena sighed. "History is repeating itself - there's another Greymarch going on, and I am the Champion again."

"Oh, I hadn't realised it's already another era," Dyus sighed too. "I must have dozed off for a few centuries... It's not easy being a Chamberlain to a Prince that is never there."

"But... Why are you still here?" Lena suddenly realised she never understood why Dyus was kept alive. "If you used to be the Chamberlain to Jyggalag when Jyggalag was a proper Prince, then why did Sheogorath not kill you when he took over?"

"You aren't as smart as you should be," Dyus clicked his tongue. "If I was dead, who would have produced Sheogorath's cane for you? Eh? That Haskill isn't up to it!" He snorted.

"Tell me about Jyggalag," Lena said suddenly. "About the time before Sheogorath. I know it was the other Princes who created him, but I don't understand why Jyggalag keeps resurging."

"Well..." Dyus smiled and shifted in his chair. "If you must know..." He was about to start his tale when a suspicion made him reconsider. "Actually, why do you need to know this? Just get on with your saving-the-madness business! Jyggalag will vanish again, whether you defeat him or not." He squinted at Lena.

"It's not the madness that I am saving," Lena shook her head. "Although being Sheogorath's Champion undoubtedly qualifies me as mad, I like to think that I'm not crazy," she smiled at her own pun. "I'm doing it because of the people who inhabit the Shivering Isles. It's their home. They are - as orderly people like to put it - not right in their heads one way or the other. They are different. They don't fit in the societies that they come from. But here in the Isles different is normal, eccentricity is expected. If Jyggalag wins the battle, the Isles will crumble and everyone living here will die. It is for them that I fight."

"That doesn't explain why you need to know about Jyggalag," Dyus wasn't convinced.

"I don't need to know, I want to know," Lena tried again. "Is it that the Daedric curse had failed and the other Princes didn't manage to fully transform Jyggalag into Sheogorath? Is it because they've done it on purpose so as not to allow madness to take hold? Or..?"

"None of it and all of it," Dyus' expression softened. "Sanity is considered to be middle ground to everything - a perfectly sane person is moderate in every aspect of his life. He is as grey as my robe," Dyus smirked. "I used to think of myself as perfectly sane... as did Jyggalag. But look around you. The obelisks are perfectly symmetrical, mathematical even... The metal is perfectly smooth to the point that it shines... The Knights of Order are all exactly the same..." Dyus' glance became wistful. "Does that sound like middle ground to you?"

"It's another extreme," Lena nodded. "Then the duality of Sheogorath is not just in Mania and Dementia, but also in life versus order... life versus death."

"Death?" Dyus jumped in his chair. "You equate Jyggalag with death?"

"His Knights' hearts do not beat," Lena looked thoughtful. "His Priests are under a coercion spell of some kind, and the people that they convert, come under that spell too. They give up their lives. They are still breathing, but I've seen zombies with more creativity."

"Ah," Dyus was smiling. "So, what is life?"

...

This discourse with the Keeper of the Library of Jyggalag took the better part of the day. Strictly speaking, Lena didn't have to come to him yet, she could have simply gone to collect the two ingredients that she knew she needed for her Symbol of Office of Sheogorath, but since Dyus had to make that cane, she thought it polite to see him first.

"Would you like to be released from this place?" She suddenly asked, remembering how Dyus had complained of being imprisoned there.

"Released?" He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, the official tale..." he smiled. "I complained of being imprisoned here, didn't I?" He chuckled. "Well, it is officially true. In reality however I could walk out those doors any moment, but where would I go? And more importantly - why? The world outside is too chaotic for the likes of me. No, thank you, I quite like my 'prison'."

"Then you belong in the land of Sheogorath," Lena smiled.

...

The two items that Lena needed for her Symbol of Office were the Eye of Ciirta and a Branch of the Tree of Shades. Ciirta was supposedly the only survivor of the previous Greymarch, and she had seen with her very eyes that Sheogorath was not there to defend his Realm when Jyggalag appeared. However, she had no idea that Sheogorath and Jyggalag were one and the same, and so she proclaimed that Sheogorath had "run off" and abandoned them. With that mighty knowledge she founded an anti-Sheogorath cult, and her eye would therefore form a nice topping for Lena's Symbol of Office.

But this was the last time around, and it made sense then. Now things were different. Ciirta was by no means the only survivor of the previous Greymarch because Lena had defeated Jyggalag in a duel and the Realm did not crumble. Everyone survived! Except Ciirta who died by Lena's hand, so that Lena could have the eye for her Symbol of Office then.

"I bet there's another Ciirta though," Lena was musing on her way to the Howling Halls. Fanatics didn't need the basis of their cult to be true, they just needed it to be catchy. She had no doubt that some woman calling herself Ciirta would be there claiming to have seen Sheogorath running off and abandoning his Realm. "So getting her eye simply equates to rooting out a nasty nest of cultists," Lena concluded. It was almost too sane for the Isles.


The Howling Halls was filled with heretics - deniers of Sheogorath. There were quite a few of them in the Shivering Isles, and the most fanatical ones seemed to have flocked here. Their fanaticism however also made them blind to the possibility of being removed, one by one, by Sheogorath's Champion. Lena remembered the difficult battles she got into last time; these heretics were formidable fighters, and their magic was very strong. There were two ways of going about getting Ciirta's eye: the hard way and the clever way. The hard way was fighting the heretics, the clever way was to confuse them, get straight to Ciirta and minimise the fighting. After all, put on one of their robes, and they would think you were one of them... Up to a point, as Lena found out on many occasions. The heretics weren't complete idiots, after a while they attacked you anyway.

No, Lena didn't like either of those ways very much, and so she chose the third way: quiet assassination. Yes, there were a lot of heretics to deal with, but Lena had enough poisons for all of them. What better opportunity to practice her chameleon spell - she was still nowhere nearly as good at it as Lucien.

She proceeded methodically from room to room using the same strategy: cast on chameleon and stay out of sight; cast frenzy on a group of heretics and wait until they start fighting; then shoot poisoned arrows at them, one per person, so as not to attract attention. Beware of their summons. Keep to the shadows. Finish off any survivors with a dagger from the dark.

Finally she found Ciirta. Not the same woman as last time of course, but she was the leader of these heretics and that's what counted - her eye would do.

...

With the heretics eliminated, Lena returned to Crucible for some rest, after all she had been out in the field for over three days. Dylan and Scorpio were not keen to let her go on her own, but she insisted that getting her Symbol of Office was a task for her alone, in particular the task of getting a Branch of the Tree of Shades that she had to do next.


The Tree of Shades stood in Milchar. It was a very large ruin filled with the usual monsters, and although Dylan or Scorpio could very well have helped Lena to get through those areas, she decided to do the whole thing on her own. She spent the previous day making poisons for the creatures and potions for herself, while Dylan insisted on going over her gear and having Cutter polish out every last dent on Lena's armour, even though Lena had protested that she was going to a fight and not a fashion show. "You are going to want to be sneaking in heavy armour," Dylan shook his head. "It must fit you perfectly, or you'll be heard from miles away." This was a good argument, she had to admit.

Going through the halls of Milchar, Lena was mentally thanking Dylan for his diligence.

Finally, she reached her goal - the Grove of Reflection. The Tree of Shades spread its branches there, just cut one off and leave. But Lena knew that it wasn't that simple. Any minute now... she readied her Shadowhunt with a poisoned arrow knocked on.

There was a hollow sound and an assassin in Madness armour appeared in the centre of the grove, readying her own Shadowhunt... But Lena shot first, then summoned a daedroth while the assassin was momentarily staggered by the shot. The poison was silencing her, so no second daedroth appeared.

Lena knew the assassin's weakness: she wasn't strong in a head on melee combat, and her Apprentice birthsign made her vulnerable to magic. But she had a bag full of poisons and antidotes, as well as some shielding jewellery, and Lena was determined not to allow the assassin to use any of that. Another arrow with silencing poison followed, and the daedroth started pressing the assassin into a corner. A shock bolt or a fireball would be helpful too, Lena thought, as long as she stayed away from frost spells as those might trigger the assassin's vampirism, and that was the one advantage that Lena did not wish to face - a vampire's invisibility spell could not be silenced.

But there was no time for an arrow and a fireball, Lena had to choose, and decided for another arrow with an electrocution poison - her specialty. The daedroth was keeping the assassin busy, preventing her from drinking potions or poisoning her own weapons.

Then - puff! The daedroth was gone, banished to Oblivion.

"I've got poisons too," the assassin grinned, knocking on an arrow. "I've had a few weapons poisoned in advance, Sister."

A sharp pain tore through Lena's shoulder - the arrow got her under the pauldron. She felt her blood boil with poison, then cold braced her, and she thought she would faint... what kind of poison was that? She wondered.

"Excellent stuff," the assassin came closer, watching Lena convulsing with pain on the ground. She unsheathed her Sufferthorn, also glistening with poisonous coating. "I like the paralysing effect, makes it so much easier to get things done. Here, let me finish it."

But before the tip of the assassin's dagger could make contact with Lena's side, just under the arm, at an angle to get her heart, Lena was on her feet leaping away in an unbelievable jump that left her astounded and the assassin confused. Lena touched her teeth - the fangs had returned. Evidently, paralysis got wiped away by resurging vampirism.

The battle was quickly ended after that. Hidden by the Embrace of Shadows, Lena approached the assassin from behind and put her own Sufferthorn through the assassin's side, just under the arm, at an angle to get the heart. It was all over. Lena bent over the assassin's corpse, putting a hand on the belly - there was no heartbeat inside. "The clone isn't perfect," Lena reflected, as the new life of Lena's unborn child had not been duplicated. She took the assassin's new weapon - Shadowrend - and claimed a branch from the Tree of Shades.

...

"Well, well! The vampire returns," Dyus greeted Lena with a smile. "You were a vampire last time as well, I remember. Got triggered fighting yourself, did it?" He took the Eye of Ciirta and the Branch of the Tree of Shades and busied with making the Staff of Sheogorath for Lena.

"Yeah, she is a nasty piece of work," Lena grinned. "But she forgot to avoid poisons with frost effects. And there was no child in her belly."

"Ah, that is interesting!" Dyus turned around, nearly dropping the staff. "We didn't consider that the Champion might be pregnant! Most interesting indeed! I would need to adjust the calculations..." His eyes glazed over in thought, and Lena hurried to bring him back from his trance.

"Yes, later! Don't drop that staff!" And when Dyus got back to it, Lena remembered something: "What do you mean - we will have to adjust the calculation? Who is we?"

"Sheogorath and I, of course," Dyus smiled. "Why do you think he keeps me alive?" He winked, handing her the finished staff. "Now, you know what to do with it - dip it into the Font of Madness to activate. Go on, I've got work to do..." And with that he walked off into what used to be the Library of Jyggalag, and Lena got the distinct impression that the Library was still there, simply veiled rather than destroyed.

She got her staff, so she left too.

Page 7, post 135: I like this title, A Woman's Scorn! Wow, Lena's being spied upon by Rayenna, whoever that is. Doesn't really matter though, I bet Rayenna won't make it to the end of this episode. Oh wow, you're giving an entire backstory to this scorned Redguard. What a pleasure.

"Rayenna met Lucien on many occasions - she made sure to create them." -- that's intense! Hmm, and she thinks Lena is just in her 20s, as well.

Up to 137.

17 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - The Duke and the Duchess

"So all I have to do now is dip this stick into the Font of Madness," Lena grinned pointing at the staff she got from Dyus - her Symbol of Office of Sheogorath.

Scorpio picked up the staff, twirling it in his hands. Dylan watched, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"And of course the Font will have been clogged, or blocked, or defiled, or otherwise made unusable, right?" He smirked.

"Well, we don't know it yet, officially," Lena winked. "But last time there was a bit of a problem, yes."

"And this time we're coming with you," Scorpio concluded firmly. "Where is it?"

...

The Font of Madness was located by Sheogorath's throne in the Palace in New Sheoth. The entrance to the source was concealed behind the throne, guarded by a Mazken and a Golden Saint. Nothing could breach this double security, could it? And yet...

"The Font of Madness has been taken over," Haskill informed Lena, Dylan and Scorpio when they approached the throne. "This is like My Prince said: because you didn't take a side this time, both the Duke of Mania and the Duchess of Dementia are against you. It's doubled your troubles," he added with some excitement.

"I thought as much," Lena nodded.

...

The root tunnels leading to the source of the Font of Madness were normally peaceful, the vegetation tended to by domesticated gnarls. These gnarls were still roaming the tunnels, minding their own business. But there were also other creatures there, and they were attacking everything and everyone, including the docile gnarls.

"So how do you tell a docile gnarl from a mad one?" Scorpio was examining two dead gnarls which looked exactly the same.

"The mad one attacks you," Dylan grinned. "They are the same otherwise."

After some time the Knights of Order made their appearance and the fighting intensified. Finally the tunnel opened onto a large cave with two platforms in it - the Pool of Mania and the Pool of Dementia. As expected, the Duke and the Duchess in full Order regalia were presiding over their respective platforms, surrounded by Priests of Order and innumerable Knights of Order. This was going to be tough!

"The traitor is here!" Bellowed Thadon. "Kill them!!!" He didn't need to issue that order really because by the time he stopped shouting, the fighting was already in full swing. Syl stood quietly on her platform, propping herself up on her Nevershatter, watching the fight. Her time would come later. Where Thadon was optimistic about the odds and the possibility of the winning that battle, Syl expected unpleasant surprises, setbacks and losses, but that did not reduce her determination. If anything, she had more resolve than ever - she would see it through, the traitor would be stopped. She would do it herself, if need be.

The first round of fighting saw an army of Knights of Order reduced to a smouldering pile of metal parts, with a few Priests from either side falling to Scorpio's magic, Dylan's arrows and Lena's backstabs. Suddenly, Thadon called off the assault.

"You know you can't win, right?" He said softly, looking straight at Lena. "We're both here this time, Madness falls to the forces of Order!"

"Does it?" Lena smiled at him. "Grey eyes don't suit you, Thadon. I preferred your eyes green and your robe less... err... metallic," Lena smirked. "Is your mind clear of greenmote now? Surely, that can't be good!"

"How dare you speak to the Duke of Mania like that, traitor!" Syl couldn't keep her calm. "You will die here!" She gestured to her Priests of Order and they resumed their attack. Another round of fighting followed.

...

"All right, all right, stop it!" Thadon called a pause in the fighting again after several more Priests lay dead in the waters of the Pools of Madness. "This is sheer madness! You shouldn't be fighting us, you should join us! Together we'll overthrow Sheogorath once and for all!"

Scorpio was watching this outburst with curiosity but Dylan felt his anger rise in him - Sheogorath was his Prince, his Lord and his Creator, and he would not have anyone call for Sheogorath's demise, and least of all some Maniac who flipped to the forces of Order. "You'll pay for that!" He bellowed and lunged towards Thadon, his mace aiming at Thadon's crowned head.

"Mazken scum!!!" Thadon bellowed back, sending some shock bolts towards Dylan and knocking the mace out of his hand. Without his mace, Dylan simply fell onto Thadon, they dropped on the ground and started wrestling, rolling around in the dust.

Surprisingly, Syl called off the remaining Priests who were ready to intervene, walked over to Thadon's platform and joined Lena and Scorpio to watch the wrestling. Everyone seemed to be too perplexed by it to continue fighting.

Thadon's crown rolled around the platform and came to rest at Lena's feet. Lena picked it up and put it on. Syl watched her, then broken into a smile. "You wear your enemy's crown - only a Demented would do that. I always knew you were one of us," she said, touching Lena's Madness armour. "As are your friends," she shot a glance at Scorpio who too was wearing Madness armour. "The next Sheogorath will be Demented," she concluded with satisfaction.

"The next Sheogorath?" Lena raised an eyebrow. "You do not expect Jyggalag to persist, then?"

"Don't listen to Thadon," Syl smirked. "He's a bit... over-enthusiastic." She looked at him fondly as Dylan was working his skin into the colour of his own. "You've done a good job last time overall," she raised her eyes to look at Lena. "But I wasn't there to guide you and when I returned, Dementia was full of colour! That Sheogorath was too Manic, it took me a long time to put everything back where it belonged. But this time you will relinquish control to me immediately and I'll see to it that colour is wiped out from the Shivering Isles! Dementia will rule!"

"Syl, you are forgetting yourself," Lena said coldly. "I am Lord Sheogorath. I am in charge."

"Then you die, traitor!!!" Syl bellowed, swinging her Nevershatter at Lena, who only just managed to dodge. Scorpio shot a fireball at Syl, pushing her back, the Priests of Order joined in and another round of fighting engulfed them all.

...

"All right, all right, you win!" Thadon was trying to cover his face with his hands - he had long given up attempting to defeat Dylan. "It's enough!" He half-moaned, half-screamed.

"Say you take it back!" Dylan raised his fist, ready to land it on Thadon again.

"Take back what? Yes, I take it back! Whatever! All of it! Just stop!" Thadon was pleading.

With all but one Priests of Order dead, Syl called a pause to the fighting, and Lena walked over to Dylan. "That's enough, I think, you got him," she whispered in his ear. "We don't need to actually kill them," she added softer still. Dylan nodded and got up, still glaring at Thadon who let out a great sigh of relief.

"Hand over your Nevershatter," Lena turned to Syl. "We need to end this."

"Indeed," Syl replied, smiling, but something in that smile put Lena on guard. Syl raised her hammer, as if to hand it to Lena, and when Lena stepped towards her, Syl swung it forcefully, aiming at Lena's head. Lena dodged - she had expected it.

"I'll cut your heart out again, if I have to," Lena hissed, tossing a fireball. Syl recoiled, but swung the Nevershatter again. Lena dodged again, drawing her sword. They started circling each other, every now and again Syl would attempt another swing, Lena would dodge and lunge with her sword in one motion, Syl would dodge Lena's sword with agility unexpected in a small woman wielding a heavy hammer. But then, Syl wasn't just any woman, and she aimed to wear out Lena who, although not wielding a heavy weapon, was wearing heavy armour, the type of armour that wasn't designed for jumps and dodges. Syl was right - Lena was getting tired.

"Figure out what I would do, and do it," Lena heard Sheogorath's voice in her head again. But Sheogorath was gone, transformed into Jyggalag, surely, he couldn't be speaking to her? Perhaps it was just a memory. Not dwelling on the origin of the voice, Lena focused on the words it spoke. What would Sheogorath do if he found himself loosing a stalemate?

He would cheat.

He would appoint a champion.

He did appoint a champion.

Lena summoned a daedroth. Now, why did she not think of that earlier? Syl shrieked and jumped back, losing her focus long enough for Lena to step behind the daedroth and for the daedroth to cast on his shield and step forward.

"Do you want help?" asked Dylan, helping Lena to get off Syl's platform. "I thought you didn't want to kill her."

"I don't and I don't," Lena smiled. "The daedroth with loose interest as soon as Syl is knocked out."

...

With both Pools of Madness cleared of the corruption of Order, Lena, Dylan and Scorpio returned to the throne room of the palace and Lena dipped her Staff of Sheogorath into the restored Font of Madness. She then took her place on the throne and the Mazken and Aureal Commanders pledged her their loyalty. Any moment now a messenger would burst in announcing the appearance of Prince Jyggalag in New Sheoth... Did Lena have enough time for one more task in between?

"My first order as renewed Lord Sheogorath is..." she started saying.

"My Lord, the forces of Order are attacking New Sheoth!" An out-of-breath messenger burst in from the courtyard. No, it seemed she didn't have time for another task.

...

The battle in the courtyard of the Palace in New Sheoth was epic, as was befitting any battle with a Daedric Prince. Sheogorath was gone, the Prince in the courtyard was Jyggalag proclaiming loudly that no mortal or daedra would stand in his way. Mortal courtiers ran back for cover, while daedric guardians ran forward to face the many Priests and Knights of Order that accompanied Jyggalag on his march. Even Dylan and Scorpio involuntarily took a step back for a moment.

Prince Jyggalag looked exactly the same a Knight of Order, except that he was at least four or five times taller than any of them. How do you defeat such a metal giant?

"Aim at the joints," Lena winked to her companions. "Every hit counts. He will fall eventually," she added with certainty.

The battle was fierce, as expected. The obelisks in the courtyard were producing endless Knights of Order who were engaging equally endless waves of Mazken and Aureals. This time Lena didn't bother trying to close the obelisks - they would freeze as soon as Jyggalag fell.

"You hold the staff but you are no Daedric Prince!" Jyggalag bellowed insults at Lena, but she just ignored his words and focused on hitting his knees - this was as high as she could reach. She was also doing her best to avoid getting hit as she feared that one strike with Jyggalag's sword would spell her end. This was a game of cat and mouse, and the cat was winning at first, having impaled Dylan fairly quickly and having sent Scorpio flying into the corner of the courtyard with a single strike. But Lena kept close to Jyggalag's ankles, in the blind spot of his sword.

Finally, one of Jyggalag's legs faltered. He stumbled, bending backwards, but then steadying himself and continuing the fight, albeit with a limp. Lena redoubled her strikes, switching to his other leg. The battle seemed to last forever.

...

"Enough! I am beaten," Jyggalag's voice sounded hollow as his huge hulk collapsed on the courtyard lawn. "You win. Again!" He sounded surprised, Lena noticed.

...

The courtyard of the Palace in New Sheoth was covered in bodies. Lena walked between them, looking for Priests of Order who were mortal, for any unfortunate courtiers or citizens who got caught up in the fighting, and for Dylan and Scorpio, who were not mortal, but whom she still dreaded to find dead.

She found Dylan first. A great wound in his chest had stopped bleeding, but his heart wasn't beating - his heart had been sliced in two with Jyggalag's sword. Dylan was dead.

Of course, Dylan was a daedra, so he would be reborn, and Lena kept telling herself that, and yet... Dylan was dead. He was lying on the lawn, his eyes closed, and he wasn't breathing. Lena broke down in tears, dropped to her knees and found she couldn't get up.

...

"He will return," Scorpio said softly in her ear. "He will be reborn. We had cleared the Spring." Of course Lena knew that. It were not the words that comforted her, it was the arm that Scorpio put around her shoulders and the fact that at least one of her friends didn't fall in battle. Lena turned to look at him through her tears. He looked bruised, he was wounded, but he didn't fall.

...

"What are your orders, Lord Sheogorath?" A Mazken guard approached Lena as she and Scorpio stumbled into the Palace. No rest for the wicked, as they say. A ruler has to rule. Lena straightened her back.

"First of all, find Thadon and Syl below in the Pools of Madness and take them to the dungeons." The guard nodded, but Scorpio raised an eyebrow. "What?" Lena smirked. "They did revolt against Lord Sheogorath, remember? They will now receive their punishment." Then, turning to the guard, she continued: "After that, clear the courtyard. Bury the mortals, remove the daedra... however you normally dispose of daedric bodies until they are reborn." She realised that she didn't know the ways of daedra and wondered what would happen to Dylan.

"They will be reborn in their bodies which will be repaired in the Wellness Springs," the guard replied, noticing Lena's confusion.

"Good," Lena nodded. "Then..."

She walked with the guard, giving orders. Scorpio stood back, letting Lord Sheogorath assume her familiar role. The Greymarch was over.

1 Morning Star, 4E203 - Home, at last

"Finally!" Hauk dropped heavily onto a chair in his house in Balmora, exhausted. "What a mess!"

The new year 4E 203 had just started - it was 2 a.m. and Hauk was not only tired, but also wounded, bruised, hungry and ill. He was really getting quite enough of the Blight Disease and the variety of common diseases so easily caught from anything and everything in Morrowind, it seemed. He didn't remember it being quite so bad during his visits before... Could it be that his age was catching up with him? He shook his head and downed another Cure Blight Disease potion, which, in itself was a story and a half.

...

The last two weeks went like a blur. The last thing he could remember clearly, was him arriving in Gnisis with the purpose of joining the Imperial Legion to establish a credible cover. For a Legion veteran of thirty odd years that he was, the notion no longer seemed ridiculous - he'd done it several times throughout his service. Optio of Special Division... No, he was to be a fresh recruit once more.

General Darius understood the real reason for Hauk's joining the Legion, and he also knew of Hauk's recent involvement with the Blades. However, a credible cover required that Hauk went through the motions convincingly enough, and not just for the locals, but also for fellow recruits. It would not do if some Spearman started spreading rumours that the new recruit wasn't all that he seemed to be - an ageing Nord in need of funds. And so Hauk performed a few tasks in Gnisis, none of which seemed particularly suited for a new recruit... Get a land deed from a recent widow, which turned into a murder inquiry; rescue a rich pilgrim from the ashlanders without killing anyone; rescue a tax collector from imprisonment without drawing the ire of a powerful mage; investigate a cult plotting to murder the Emperor... These tasks were more suited for an Optio of Special Division than a fresh recruit, but the others didn't know the details, and Hauk's quick advance to Agent didn't surprise anyone. At which point General Darius thanked Hauk for his services, saying that the next rank would be Champion, which Hauk firmly refused.

With the cover established, Hauk considered his options. He was out of poisons, he had caught Blight Disease several times but had to continue going, resulting in greater wounds and more severe battle fatigue than he would normally have experienced. "Is that what being a Bosmer feels like?" He wondered. Bosmers were not considered heavyweights when it came to fighting, a few exceptions notwithstanding. The problem with Blight Disease, besides its debilitating effects, was that Hauk could not find any potions to cure it, and had to retrace his steps to a shrine to get a blessing. He even used a scroll of Divine Intervention at some point, expecting to be teleported to Gnisis, but somehow ending up at Fort Frostmoth on Solstheim, then spending a day sailing back to Khuul in the company of a half-frozen Argonian. "Why do Argonians insist on coming to Skyrim?" Hauk thought watching the slow movements of Basks-In-The-Sun. "Even his name tells you he shouldn't be here..."

Finally back in Gnisis, Hauk went straight to the Imperial Shrine to get his Blight Disease cured. But when he inquired about some potions against it, he was told that alas, those were not available. "I have plenty of potions to cure common diseases though," the alchemist beamed at him. "But not against the Blight - we have a... ah... disagreement with the Telvanni," he added with a grimace. The Telvanni. That had to be Hauk's next stop.

But first... The trek to the other side of Vvardenfell was long and tedious, full of blighted creatures and people and devoid of shrines that could cure the disease, so before he went any further, he had to be able to stock up on these potions. "I'll have to call in a favour, there's no way around it," he thought.

...

"That should do it," Hauk stood over the corpses of three "friendly" smugglers who turned very unfriendly the moment Hauk attacked them. Murder in Morrowind was the business of Morag Tong, but with his reputation and especially after his meeting with Eno Hlaalu previously, Hauk expected to be watched. If so, a representative should be contacting him soon enough, just making sure that the murdered smugglers were not subjects to a writ, and to remind Hauk to stay out of Morag Tong's way. Checking the corpses, Hauk's attention was caught by an impressive bare bone spine and ribs worn by one of them. "Oh, a Trollbone cuirass!" His eyes lit up. "Rare even in Skyrim! So what is it doing on this Dark Elf?" He pulled at the cuirass and the slender body of the elf slid out of it with ease. "It was too big for him anyway," Hauk grinned, trying it on. The fit was perfect.


Picking up a few other useful bits and pieces and uncorking a jug of shein, Hauk settled on one of their hammocks fully intending to wait for the Morag Tong representative awake, but then falling back and falling asleep within minutes.

...

"You sleep soundly for a murderer," a quiet voice said in his ear. Hauk opened one eye and saw a face with a black hand tattoo looming over his. "Hello." Azarath Salvel smiled, picking up an unopened jug of shein and pulling up a crate to sit on. "You called?"

"Indeed," Hauk sat up, grinning. "I thought you'd be watching. I need a favour." Azarath looked up but waited for Hauk to continue. "I have to travel across Vvardenfell to the other side, and the area is filled with blighted creatures. Yet the alchemists at the Imperial Shrines or at the Mages Guild here cannot sell me any potions against the Blight Disease because they once again managed to quarrel with the Telvanni. So I was wondering..."

"Whether Morag Tong could help restore the supply lines?" Azarath looked at him shrewdly. "We can do better than that. It is high time to make that potion less of a mystery. Next time you go to an Imperial alchemist, you will find them hard at work brewing the potions to cure Blight Disease - each and every one of them will find the recipe under their pillow. The Telvanni have kept it a secret long enough."

"But not from Morag Tong," Hauk chuckled. "Thank you."

Azarath inclined his head with a smile.

"Next time just one will do," he jerked his head towards the corpses at the back of the cave. "We are watching." He got up and walked out, vanishing from view even before he reached the door.

"I'll see you later, Brother," Hauk said into the empty tunnel.

...

With the supplies of potions restored, Hauk decided to take a detour to Maar Gan where he was supposed to locate a propylon index for a mage from Caldera Mages Guild. Then he would head South, stopping in Caldera to drop off the index and finally continuing on to Balmora for a bit of rest. His guar was in good shape, and Hauk did not expect the journey to take too long.

Leaving Gnisis early in the morning, he took the road that went past a large fortress - a Dwemer building housing one of those propylon teleportation nodes. Hauk was admiring the stark architecture when suddenly...

"Damn and blast!" He was thrown off the guar with a fireball, leaving him scrambling to get back to his feet. "Damn you, madwoman!!" A woman in netch leather armour was throwing spells at him while at the same time hacking at his guar!

...

"Poor Henk," Hauk stood over his dead guar a few minutes later. "He didn't stand a chance. But that madwoman... that was some spell!" He bent over the dead woman next to the guar, trying to see whether she belonged to a cult or a tribe of some sort. Her spells were far more powerful than anything Hauk encountered so far in Morrowind.

"You killed her! Now you will die, m'wa!" Two more women of similar appearance ran downhill from the direction of the Dwemer building, each throwing those powerful spells.

"Damn you!!!" That was all that Hauk could manage, as he went down heavily, knocked out by two spells at once.

"Huh? Serves him right," the women nodded to each other, retreating.

But a true Nord never backs down, and as soon as Hauk came to, he summoned a flame atronach and went after the women. He didn't even think to recover his health first, and sure enough, he was soon knocked out again. And again. Eventually he remembered to drink a healing potion and to use stealth against these impertinent women with their overwhelming spells. Cloaked in invisibility, he took them out quietly one by one, and peace was finally restored.

Sitting by their fire to catch his breath, Hauk was looking at the Dwemer building on the hill, with its impressive architecture. It was already late morning, and without his guar, Hauk didn't feel like walking all the way to Maar Gan. "Return to Gnisis and take the silt strider from there," he thought. But Dwemer architecture was too intriguing to pass up... "Not a usual Dwemer ruin with its towers, no, this one is quite different," he thought. "I wonder what it's like inside..?"

...

"Phew! Daedra," Hauk shook his head, looking at a collection of daedra hearts, clannfear claws and scamp skins in his travel sack. He also found a key between the ribs of a skeleton, but no lock of any kind anywhere, and was wondering what that key was for. He decided to keep it on him for now. It was time to travel to Maar Gan.

...

The silt strider was rocking softly as it moved, and Hauk quickly nodded off. The incessant chatter of the silt driver was also to blame for that. Finally, he stood in Maar Gan overlooking the town from the raised silt platform. Was there a place to eat and sleep there? He wondered. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something big where nothing big was supposed to be - high in the air right behind him. Turning around, he saw a Dwemer airship.

"Whaaa--?" He wondered aloud.


"Have you not heard? It just appeared out of thin air! No one is coming near it!" The silt driver exclaimed with excitement. "Here - even the Black Horse Courier wrote about it!"

"The Black Horse Courier wrote about something that happened in Maar Gan..?" Hauk couldn't quite believe it, but sure enough, the driver thrust an issue of Black Horse Courier at him. In all fairness, it did not mention Maar Gan, just the Dwemer airship. "...and no one has got the stones to go aboard," Hauk read. "Hmph..."

...

"Blimey, you're a tough Dwemer ghost!" Perhaps there was a reason that no one had claimed the airship so far. Hauk found himself fighting a ghostly shape of a Dwemer Sphere Centurion that was a lot stronger than similar constructs that he met in Dwemer ruins. But eventually the Centurion was defeated. "So, how do you drive this thing?" Hauk wondered, looking around.

The ship had several compartments that must have felt spacious to a dwarf, but that Hauk found rather cramped. However, the ship had everything one could want, and the bed in the Captain's quarters was certainly big enough... "Sleep here tonight and think about it tomorrow," Hauk concluded. After all, it was 2 a.m.


Hauk slept well and by the time he awoke, he got so used to the sounds of working machinery, that it no longer registered with him. He hopped off and went in search of the propylon index that was supposed to be found in the local Temple Shrine. The priests wouldn't hear about selling it ("How dare you, it's an offering!"), so when full of indignation they retreated into the depth of the shrine, Hauk simply took the index. "So this is why the mage didn't come for it himself - it's up to me to do the stealing," he thought, but did it anyway. No guard came to arrest him, so Hauk shrugged his shoulders and left.

He spent the rest of the day figuring out how to drive the Dwemer airship and eventually sailing to Caldera, with just a few mishaps along the way.


He arrived late at night, parked the ship by the Northern Gates and went into town, hoping to find an empty bed at the Fighters Guild. Why did he not sleep on the airship again? Perhaps he should have.

The Fighters Guild was buzzing with activity even late at night - no one seemed to sleep in that town. A great big yellow barricade blocked his way inside the building, but he climbed over it and got to the dormitory upstairs. There it became clear why everyone was pacing downstairs and not sleeping, even though it was already well past midnight: the beds had the worst bed bug infestation making them unusable. The source of that might have been the yellow barricade or possibly one of the beds that had all sorts of foodstuffs under the mattress...

"Stop! You violated the law! Your stolen goods are now forfeit! Pay the fine or go to jail!"

"Umm... What..?" Hauk raised his eyes to a grinning Imperial Legion soldier that nevertheless meant business. "Stolen goods? What goods?"

"Whatever you took from under that mattress," the soldier explained, looking rather unsure. "You probably don't want to eat that anyway. Hand it over. Your fine is 15 septims - are you paying it or shall I escort you to the dungeons?"

"You are going to escort me to the Fort anyway, aren't you?" Hauk handed over 15 septims with a sigh. "All right, let's go. At least I'll sleep at home tonight."

The trip to Fort Moonmoth near Balmora was remarkably swift - Hauk suspected teleportation. He paid his fine, took the opportunity to get a blessing to clear his diseases, restocked on potions against the Blight, and after a short quick march he finally reached his house in Balmora, forgetting to check whether the guards had also removed that stolen propylon index from his possessions. Perhaps it was that and not the dubious food from under the mattress at the Fighters Guild that earned him the fine. In which case he would have to return to Fort Moonmoth to get it back from the Evidence Chest...

"What a mess!" He shook his head again, opening another bottle of mead. Mead! Not shein, not mazte, not even Telvanni Bug Musk that came so handy a few times and didn't taste half bad... Mead. He'd need go see that Nord trader again. And buy another guar. And check on that propylon index. Return to Caldera. Fetch the Dwemer airship. Back to Balmora to report to Caius Cosades. Then join the Telvanni on the other side of Vvardenfell...

Hauk dreamed of lush meadows in Cyrodiil, sleeping in his chair, not having managed to get to bed.

Urgh, too bad Hauk can't find potions to cure Fight like a Bosmer Blight Disease.

WooHoo! An airship! What a neat way to get around.

She's going to choose between Hauk and Lucien, huh. I hope she chooses Hauk eventually, although Lucien might get mad. :mad

Her description of her friends turning on her after she contracted vampirism... how sad. That also is true that she wouldn't just get welcomed into some already-established coven or cult. Whoa...

She becomes mortal again, but she is OLD. Yeesh. Almost like, what's the point of returning to humankind!

Up to page 8/142.

“The fit was perfect.” Autofit, a skill or spell known by even the poorest tailor. There may be a seam tear now and then but for the most part big or small the garment automatically adjusts to the wearers' size. The fit is always perfect.

I don't know whether it was meant to be like this or whether it's an oversight in Morroblivion, but the fact remains that Cure Blight Disease potions were only available from very few traders that you meet much later in game. I think they were all Telvanni, as well. So Hauk had to fix this. He had enough feeling like a Bosmer. A Bosmer minus the agility, I should add.


Oh, I think I know this spell! Doesn't the incantation go something like L-Y-C-R-A?


Yeah, that's how we felt. The reactions of NPCs reflected her appearance, so yeah, she got cured but she didn't get restored to the way she was.

2-5 Morning Star, 4E203 - New tricks - Nebula Isles

Hauk took a day to recover from the maddening two weeks he'd been having. He found his Balmora house broken into with some things missing. Oddly enough, it was food, ingredients and alchemical equipment that vanished, while his spare weapons, gems and scrolls were untouched, as was the money that he had left in a jewellery box. Well, that house was never going to be a perfectly secure spot, but the thief sure had some strange tastes, Hauk smirked. They took only what they needed... almost like what he would have done under some circumstances... another agent, perhaps? Or an assassin?

There was no point dwelling on it though, he needed to replace the equipment and refill his stores, and then brew some poisons and potions. That took the rest of the day, and feeling tired, Hauk delayed everything else till tomorrow.

The next morning he finally remembered the ordeal with the propylon index and rummaged in his pack, only to discover it gone - it was confiscated by the guards when they arrested him. So it was that index and not the dubious food from under the mattress in the Caldera Fighters Guild that earned him that arrest. Fuming, he wondered what to do next - he needed that index, which was now stored in the Evidence chest at Fort Moonmoth, no doubt. It was becoming increasingly clear why that mage in Caldera needed help retrieving those indexes - there was nothing hard about it, no delving into dangerous ruins, but instead it required stealing, stealing and stealing. "May be I should just forget about it," Hauk wondered. But that would be admitting defeat - not something Hauk enjoyed doing. "Ok, I'll make one more attempt," he promised himself.

...

"You should be wearing your Legion uniform when talking to fellow Legionnaires," he was told when he joined the Legion in Gnisis. "Except if you outrank them, then they won't dare to contradict you," the Orc that instructed him, added with a grin. But the mission of retrieval of an illegally appropriated propylon index from an evidence chest was a sensitive one, even if he was outranking the Legionnaire guarding the chest. "Best wear my Legion cuirass," Hauk told himself, then realised that the cuirass was still in Gnisis... and he was in Balmora. "Rats," he swore. That required a trip back to Gnisis. "Well, if I'm going that way, I might as well..." he remembered a few more things he needed to do that would take him in that direction.

...

"Yes, that will do nicely," the Dwemer airship was still parked by Caldera's North Gate when Hauk got there late in the afternoon. Although he found the airship to be a little awkward to steer at first, and even drove it into rocks and got stuck in narrow ravines, he eventually figured out that the trick with such a big vessel was to go higher - above the ravines, the rocks and even the Ghostfence. "It has its uses," he nodded to himself, thinking also that it would be a much better place to store his spare Legion uniforms, too. He boarded the ship and sailed to his next destination - the house of Sjorvar Horse-Mouth, a fellow Blades agent charged with watching the smugglers. Sjorvar also had a small herd of riding guars, and Hauk needed a new guar after his old one got killed.

"Sjorvar - how goes it?" He greeted him, climbing down the rope ladder of his airship. "Met any new smugglers lately?" He grinned.

"Some," Sjorvar grinned back. "Nice ship you've got there," he grinned again. "Read about it in the papers. Appeared out of thin air, did it?"

"Something like that," Hauk nodded.

"That is peculiar," Sjorvar gave him a long look. "Seeing how there's also a new ship in Gnaar Mok. A sea faring ship, you understand. Trade with Riften via Kogotel. That isn't a new concept, but we never had such a big galley doing the smuggling before. Because why would an honest trader sail to Gnaar Mok of all places?" Sjorvar raised an eyebrow as if expecting a reply, but didn't get any. "I bet it's the manor on the Nebula Isles," he continued. "A shady business all around."

That was a lot of new information that warranted an investigation, Hauk thought. He didn't even know there was such a thing as the Nebula Isles, with or without a manor house on it. So, he bought a new guar, signaled it to follow, boarded the Dwemer airship and headed West to Gnaar Mok.



Arriving in Gnaar Mok, the first thing he saw was a large Imperial galley moored on the Western edge of the village. A new jetty was built especially for it, it seemed. A Dunmer wearing rich Imperial clothes, a long cutlass with a jeweled haft on his hip, was going in and out of the House Hlaalu manor just opposite the jetty. "That'll be the captain," Hauk told himself. "Do you take passengers?" He inquired.

"Indeed!" The captain beamed at him. "We sail regularly between here and Kogotel, it takes two days or so and will cost you a mere 400 septims. Interested?"

"Another time, perhaps," Hauk thanked him but made a mental note of this new connection. It could come in handy indeed. From Gnaar Mok to Kogotel, then on to Riften through the Rift Pass, and from there Skyrim was his oyster... mudcrab... whatever.


All this walking and talking made the time pass rather quickly, and the guar was grazing happily on the lush grass of Gnaar Mok. Hauk was about to continue on to this mysterious Nebula Isle but then thought better of it. "Wasn't there a hut around here where I could sleep?" He recalled staying in Gnaar Mok before. Indeed, the hut was still there and it was still unoccupied, and having bought some food and drink at the market, Hauk decided to delay everything else until tomorrow.

...

"Nebula Isles?" One of the locals was looking at Hauk with suspicion. "What of it?"

"I heard talk, is all," Hauk answered non-committally. "Was curious."

"It's a small group of islands just West of here," another local joined in. "No secret about it! Been there since forever."

"So how do you get there?" Hauk tried to appear slightly bored.

"You swim," the first local grinned. "Or you try to find a fisherman to ferry you over there, if you're scared of the slaughterfish in the water," he added with a smirk. Then, having taken in Hauk's Trollbone cuirass and a long claymore on his back, the local changed his tune: "We don't tend to go there, sera. Not a good place, that one." Then, making sure that the guards were out of earshot, he whispered: "It's supposed to be House Hlaalu. But it ain't anything like here. It was House Hlaalu once..." The other local swallowed hard, and neither of them said anything more on the matter.

Hauk thanked them, bought some more food and drink and decided that it was now imperative for him to investigate the Nebula Isles.

But of course he didn't intend to swim. He had an airship! Taking the guar along, Hauk boarded the ship and sailed West, turning slightly South as he saw a large manor house on a sandy island. The area was quiet and nothing seemed amiss... But Hauk's gut twisted, he sensed danger nonetheless, and it wasn't coming from the mudcrabs.


The place was eerie quiet with no one about. The waters were clear and warm though, the nature was peaceful - even the mudcrabs were peaceful. Hauk took some time to look around.


Finally, he spotted a fisherman, who didn't have anything interesting to say. The larger part of the island housed the manor, the smaller one had a cave entrance - an egg mine, Hauk thought. He started with the manor.

Entering a lavishly decorated hall, he was greeted by a well-dressed housekeeper who neither welcomed him nor stopped him, and he found it odd. She was perfectly willing to chat about the latest events and swap rumours, but she remained mute on any questions about the manor or the isles. Proceeding further into the house, Hauk found an equally lavishly decorated central hall with a roaring fire and a dinner table laid out for four. He looked closer at the food - rat meat and corpse weepings. How strange. Not touching any of it, he continued the survey of the house.

In the upper floor wing he found a large bedroom and a secure storage room with chests full of riches, yet without any locks. There was a Redguard butler outside who eyed him with suspicion but equally didn't stop him. Exploring the house further, Hauk found a richly decorated swimming pool with strangely quiet people, a shooting range on the back terrace, a zoo in the cellar... "Be careful, don't approach!" He heard someone yell when an adult kaguti, an alit and several wild guars attacked him all at once... Be careful indeed. He tried to leave, but the animals followed, so he returned to the zoo and fought on until all the animals were killed.

"Oh, finally," a Khajiit smiled at him, somehow completely unharmed. "Someone had to do that." No further explanations followed, and Hauk was getting more and more perplexed.

Then finally in the basement there was a glimpse of an answer: a Corprus stalker came from behind the crates and landed a few swipes on Hauk before Hauk could react. A vicious battle ensued, with Hauk receiving several deep wounds and getting infected with Black Heart Blight. With a sigh, he uncorked a bottle of Cure Blight Disease potion, then went through all the crates, sacks and chests in the basement. Plenty of potions, plenty of ingredients, wines and spirits were there, and not a bottle of anything to cure the Blight. What was going on?

With all the fighting and looking around, time was passing quickly, and it was already dark. Too late to explore the rest of the island, Hauk thought. He returned to the dining room with the roaring fire, not forgetting to bring something suitable to eat from the basement - he was not eating rat meat and corpse weepings laid out on the table. Making some room, he settled for a couple of kwama eggs and some dried hound meat, perhaps not his favourite, but safe enough, washing it down with mead from his pack - he didn't trust any of the drinks in that house.


It was already nearing midnight, and Hauk briefly considered returning to the Dwemer ship for the night, but then decided that his investigation of the Nebula Manor would not be complete unless he slept in the house. Not the safest bet perhaps, but what could possibly go wrong?

The butler in the upper wing greeted him with suspicion again but didn't stop him, and Hauk found the bedroom empty, the candles lit and the bed made, as if waiting for him. He took a deep breath and lay down.

Perhaps it was the food, the mead, the tiredness or the strange incense hanging in the air, but Hauk fell asleep immediately.


...

Hauk was walking through a desert. Antaloor? He remembered sandy dunes of the Savannah. No, the sand around him wasn't yellow, it was grey. It wasn't sand, it was ash.

Burned trees appeared in the distance, the soil turned black, the air darkened. The shape of a tar scorpion moved between the trees. The Swallows.

A woman screamed, then all was silent. A pale-faced man in a dark robe went past, then vanished.

"Damn the Sight," Hauk swore. The man and the woman weren't there, what Hauk was seeing, were shadows of past events - horrific, violent events that took place there many years ago, turning a lush tropical island into a wasteland known as The Swallows.

Strange gurgling noise was coming from the ground under his feet. "Vidons," Hauk thought, unsheathing his claymore, ready for battle. Beings with neither a heart nor a soul, they came through the earth, surrounding you before you could react. Several dark figures emerged, but Hauk was ready, summoning a Flame Atronach and swinging his claymore in a wide circle. One shade fell, several vanished, and the battle was over as suddenly as it began. "Strange," Hauk was looking around tensely, not quite believing it was over. "Vidons don't normally retreat." He bent over a corpse on the ground... It was grey, and instead of the usual Vidon armour, it wore a dirty loincloth. Its chest was open and strange flesh tentacles were growing from its face. Hauk jerked upright, startled. That was no Vidon.

Moving slowly through the black forest, Hauk was seeing many shades like the ones he'd just fought, but none of them attacked. They appeared, walked in an erratic pattern, stumbling between the trees and rocks, then vanished into thin air. They all had strange fleshy tentacles growing from their faces, and some had a hole in the chest where the heart should have been.

"They aren't here," Hauk realised. "It is my Sight. These are Corprus victims from times past, perhaps from the time of the last Nerevarine," he realised. "But that one stalker was real. Corprus is back." That, of course, he already knew. What he didn't know, was where he was and how to get out of there.

"I went to sleep in that luxurious bed in the Nebula Manor," he recalled. "Perhaps it was a foolish idea."

Still liking that airship. And now Hauk has a guar mascot/copilot. Of course, it took bumping a few rocks to figure out how to fly that thing.

Nebula Isles? What a mysterious (and rather bizarre) place. I'm hoping he is just in a dream at the end there. . . .

8 Morning Star, 4E203 - A naked Nord

"This one's already been done!" A coarse voice said in Hauk's ear. "Is he one of us?"

"He can't be and he isn't," another coarse voice replied from further away. "Have you been drinking again?"

"No, Master, I swear!" Some thuds followed, some muted screams and some pleas, then finally all was quiet again.

"He's been done, he says," the second coarse voice said in Hauk's ear. "He can't have been, they just brought him in three days ago..."

Sharp pain in Hauk's eye knocked him out.

...

"Well, well, the sleeper awakes!" Hauk opened his eyes and saw himself lying on a cot in an ash cave, surrounded by people with blistered and festering skin. Some had strange bumps on their faces. "Hello." A tall Nord helped him up. "Haven't we met before?"

"Hlormar?" Hauk noted that the Nord was still naked. "What's going on?"

"Bloody witches!" He swore and spit. "That witch - she didn't just take my stuff, she infected me with something... Corpsus whatever... Now look at these sores!"

"Corprus?" Hauk gave him a long look. "The witch did that?" He shuddered, remembering that he too had touched that witch. "But what are you doing here?"

"When the sores started to appear, no one would talk to me any more," Hlormar explained. "Then one priest told me there was a clinic on the Nebula Isles. I came here, they keep promising me the cure, but the sores are only getting worse, and now these strange bumps on my face appeared..." Hlormar looked worried. "I know I'm not the brightest Nord around, but d'you think they're lying to me?"

"I think they are," Hauk nodded. "We need to get out of here. Somehow."

Hauk looked around. People in different degrees of decomposition were stumbling along the cave tunnels, tentacles of varied lengths were growing from their faces, they were shedding flakes of some hard resin... Suddenly, a dark shape appeared among them, taller than any of them, it had a long sword, it grabbed one of the stumbling people, pushed the head back, thrust his sword into the person's chest, carving a large hole in it. He extracted the heart and dropped the rest of the flesh on the ground. The heart was beating in his hand, he lifted it and vanished. There was no blood, and the victim with a hole in his chest continued stumbling around like before... Did he even notice what just happened? The others certainly did - they rushed to pick up those bits of discarded flesh and devoured it on the spot as if they were starving...

"What was that!?" Hauk exclaimed in horror.

"What was what?" Hlormar looked at him, raising an eyebrow. The cave tunnels were quiet, there was no rush for the discarded bits of flesh, there was no person with a hole in his chest... "Are you one of them? A Seer?" He squinted at Hauk.

"One of whom?" Hauk squinted back.

"You must be," Hlormar was still squinting with suspicion, but then shook his head and smiled. "Don't worry - I don't want to know, really. What were you saying about getting out of here? Do you also know how to cure this Corpsus disease?"

Hauk didn't have any answers. A shock bolt came out of nowhere and knocked him out.

...

"Honourable Master, I have a disturbing report," Dagoth Oryn bowed. "The Nord that had been brought in three days ago - he had already been done."

"What..? How?" Dagoth Bahryn sat up, the tentacles on his face shaking.

"Yes, Master," Oryn took a step back. "We were hoping your wisdom would enlighten us..." he bowed again, the trunk on his face reaching down below his knees. "We examined his eye - it isn't Our Lord's creation... Yet it works..."

"Nonsense!" Bahryn croaked. "Show me!" He clapped his hands and the slaves brought in Hauk, unconscious on a stretcher, setting him down onto a large slab - an altar or an operating table. Dagoth Oryn and Dagoth Bahryn bent over him.

Dagoth Oryn opened the eyelids around Hauk's right eye. "Look - this isn't his own eye," he said cautiously. At first glance, the eye looked normal, but Dagoth Bahryn cast a spell, and it revealed magic inside it.

"How do you know it works?" He asked.

"He's seen the sacrifice today," Oryn answered with worry.

"Then who is he?" The two tentacled men left Hauk alone and moved to a large desk on the other side of the room. "A new Nerevarine..?"

...

Wake up, Nord, for you have been chosen.

A powerful voice echoed in Hauk's head, bringing him out of his blackout.

"Get out, Azura," he grunted. "I am not your Nerevarine."

Azura did not answer, and Hauk sat up, finding himself back in the ash cave. He spotted Hlormar in the far end of another cavern, going through some crates. "Looking for a potion to cure his Corprus, no doubt," Hauk thought. Leaving Hlormar to his rummaging, Hauk decided to have a better look around the caves. He wanted his armour and his blade back, too, but somehow knew they would not be there. They were probably left behind "...in the cursed Nebula Manor!" Hauk slapped his forehead. Of course, he took off his gear before going to bed. Finally looking down to see what he was wearing, he realised that his state of undress wasn't far from Hlormar's - or from any of the other people, for that matter. He just had a pair of linen trousers on, and had no weapons or armour.

...

Hauk realised that the best way to move in that cave was to emulate the others - to stumble from place to place, rolling his eyes as if in a trance. The others did seem to be in a real trance, however, but Hauk was looking for a way out. People with trunks growing from their faces were walking purposefully here and there, usually followed by people without faces wearing wrist irons. "Ash slaves", Hauk thought. He was clearly in a Dagoth stronghold. The Corprus victims "lived" there, with the term used loosely, as their minds had been all but gone already. "They are soldiers or cattle, as the need arises," Hauk guessed. "This is a breeding pool... They release them from time to time to spread the disease and stage a panic somewhere. Hlormar... he will turn into one of them unless I get him cured!" He suddenly realised and jerked upright, momentarily attracting attention of one of the people with trunks on their faces. Hauk caught himself and returned to rolling his eyes and stumbling.

Finally, he noticed a door at the end of a long corridor. It was dark and seemed not in use. He pushed the door - it wasn't locked. "Lucky or just the opposite," he braced himself for the unknown.

...

"Welcome, welcome!" A richly dressed Khajiit stood on the other side of the door. The room was dimly lit with red lanterns, making that extra illumination around the front of the room more noticeable. "It's been a while since we've had the pleasure to welcome a Nord! This way please!" He waved amicably, inviting Hauk to follow. It was a corridor, so Hauk didn't have much choice. "Here, you won't be needing these..." the Khajiit grinned, cutting the belts on Hauk's garments and removing them in one motion. "This way - take the central stage!" He nudged Hauk forward, then pushed him, gently at first, with the claws out afterwards, making Hauk step up onto a well-lit stage. Music was playing and the girls on the neighbouring stages were dancing to the tune. Hauk's head felt heavy - there was something in the air...

...

Hauk woke up on a large luxurious bed. His head was spinning. He sat up - he was in the same room in the Nebula Manor where he went to sleep previously. Stains on the sheets told him what took place there. A young well-groomed Imperial was snoring gently on the bed next to him, but hearing Hauk move about, he woke up. "Hello," he smiled. "They've finally delivered!" He clicked his tongue. "I'll have you every time."

The speed with which Hauk jumped out of bed, grabbed his gear, pulled it on and ran out of the room, surprised even him. "A breeding pool indeed!" He spit, remembering the ash caves. "They either make you into a Corprus stalker or into a slave of a different kind!"

Finally he stood outside, and the warm humid air and gentle sunshine calmed him a bit. He remembered Hlormar. "I cannot just leave him there," he shook his head. "I need to find those ash caves and get him out," he decided. "It must be here somewhere - they carried me around, didn't they?"

He spotted his guar grazing on the meadow, and his airship, still hovering by the shore. For a moment, he had the urge to jump aboard and sail away - as far away from those cursed isles as possible, preferably forgetting the events of the last few days, or at least of last night... But the image of Hlormar rose before his eyes, and he sighed and turned back to look for the entrance into the ash caves that had to be there somewhere. "The path to the Wastes of Oblivion is paved with best intentions," he told himself. He didn't know how to cure Corprus, he heard there was no cure, since that wasn't a disease like any other - it was a magical affliction created by Dagoth Ur himself. It wasn't something you could catch easily, either. He hoped that what Hlormar had, was "only" the Black Heart Blight.



~~~~~~~~
Acadian - Nebula Isles is a real place in Morroblivion! (And Morrowind, of course.) But it gave me a different impression than what the author intended, I think.

The pics are in... It appears that some people at Club Dagoth were taking snapshots. But what happens in Club Dagoth, stays in Club Dagoth. Mostly.

How's the line-up tonight?

Boys, you've got to try harder!

Yeah, may be... Which one though?

Can I buy you a drink?

That's the spirit!

And who is this?

Not another naked Nord!

Just to be clear: these are NOT poses! These are actual screenshots of an actual game. Nothing staged. It's a part of a mod I made that plays the story told in the last two posts. Plus of course the saving of Hlormar which Hauk is about to start.

What a confusing place! Nebula Isles seems like it could be a joint endeavor run by Sanguine and Peryite. Yet Azura whispers is Hauk's ear.

I'd be thinking about jumping back on that airship too!

I know! Club Dagoth is insane! And all the customers are old hand modders... Like Tel Shadow, the author of the original Nebula Isles... But it's Club Dagoth, so the Sixth House - the baddies of Morrowind. All I did is added the caves underground, which is only logical. Well, and a few twists to help the story along.

2-20 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - An old friend

Hauk opened his eyes and jerked upright in bed, which made his head hurt violently. An old friend was sitting cross-legged at the bottom of the big bed in the Nebula Manor, and it was the last person Hauk expected to see.

"Ah, finally, you're awake," the man put down the book he was reading. "Head still hurts?"

Hauk nodded, which produced new waves of searing pain, and he groaned.

"I was in the area, thought I'd say hello, asked around. You were seen headed this way... Your airship isn't exactly inconspicuous," he added with a smile. "But the Master tells me you're going for the stupid Nord cover," he winked. "Going back into the caves would certainly fit that profile."

"Hlormar?" Hauk managed to speak.

"Still in there," the other man shook his head, his sleek black ponytail brushing against his robe. "You are in no condition to go after him though. We need to get the drugs out of your system first. I booked this place for a week."

"You booked..?" Hauk rubbed his eyes to have a better look around. No, it was still the same room in the Nebula Manor, but the bedsheets were clean this time.

"The same way your previous customer did," he said evenly, watching Hauk.

"But we didn't..?" Hauk started, he wasn't sure of anything any more.

"Of course not!" The man exclaimed in surprise. "Do you remember anything?"

"From last night? No," Hauk carefully shook his head. "I remember waking up here with this young Imperial next to me, realising what had gone on from the stains on the sheets... I grabbed my gear as fast as I could and got out. I don't actually remember anything that happened with him either, although it seems to have been amicable enough... in a way..." He moved around feeling for sores, but his body didn't hurt, except for his head. "But Hlormar was still in the caves. So I found a way in, fought some ash zombies, was looking for Hlormar... Then... Oh gods..."

"Then you walked into one of the traps and got taken back to Club Dagoth," his friend finished the sentence. "Only now your gear isn't here - you had it on you, so they stripped it off. It's back in the caves."

The gravity of the situation was becoming painfully clear.

"So how did you..?"

"Book you?" The man smiled. "Won you playing dice with that Imperial. Oh, he's still alive, just out of funds. You are very popular with the club's clientele, you know. To see you dance, I mean. It's not often that they get a real Nord with actual battle-earned tattoos on stage," he smirked. "And I notice some new lines since last time I saw you without a shirt on..." He followed the lines on Hauk's chest with his eyes, pausing at the red star under the left arm. "Is that where..?" He raised his eyes in question.

"Yes," Hauk nodded, fingering a deep scar under the tattoo. "She wanted to smooth out the scar for me, but I refused." He paused in memory. "They say you keep the appearance of your body in Sovngarde. This is more than just a battle scar..."

This was the spot where Hauk got stabbed, the dagger piercing his heart. He died, but Lena couldn't accept it. She went after him - went into the Void to get his soul to return. Hauk had returned from the dead. That scar was not like the others.

"How is she?" Hauk raised his eyes to meet Lucien's. "You didn't just leave her on her own?"

"Shivering Isles," Lucien met his gaze. "It was her idea, and I was glad of it. I have business in Mournhold - we cannot afford another war of assassins."

Hauk nodded, agreeing that Lena would be perfectly safe from everything in the Shivering Isles, even if she had to see through yet another Greymarch.

"So... How long was I..?" Hauk suddenly realised that he had completely lost track of time. "What month is it?"

"Sun's Dawn," Lucien was watching him. "I don't know when you got here first..."

"Early Morning Star," Hauk's voice sounded hollow. "It's been weeks."

...

In the days that followed Lucien tried to get Hauk to rest in order to purge the drugs from his system. That wasn't easy. The manor house had everything you would find at a good resort, and Lucien secured a steady supply of Imperial food and drink from Balmora - he didn't think that Hauk should put any more trust into nix hound meat or kwama eggs. But Hauk was restless, feeling guilty for abandoning Hlormar to his fate - who knew how far Hlormar's disease would have progressed in the meantime.

"You cannot help him until you are fit to do so," Lucien kept insisting. He was quite skilled at Restoration, it appeared, that being a part of Dibella's training that he had received in his youth. Under Lucien's watchful eye, Hauk finally got clean and fit again, and the various Blight Disease variants that he'd been infected with, stopped resurging. All the money that Lucien had won from the other Imperial were now paying for their stay at the Manor, renewed for another week, and then another. "We will stay here as long as necessary," Lucien was firm. "I am sure you and Hlormar will both need rest once you get him out, too. This place is as good as any." Hauk tried to object that neither he nor Hlormar would want to stay there any longer than necessary, but Lucien was not to be contradicted, and finally Hauk gave up. "It is perfectly safe with me here," he insisted. He was right, of course.

...

"See, I can take care of myself now," Hauk held his sword to Lucien's throat, then put it away. They've been sparring on the veranda. "If I can stand up to you, ash zombies will give me no trouble."

"As long as you aren't drugged or suffering from the Blight," Lucien agreed. "I suppose." They walked back to the armoury where Hauk picked up some weapons and armour to replaced his own gear. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No!" Hauk looked up sharply, then softened. "No, Lucien. Just hang around Club Dagoth, and should you see another tattooed Nord on stage..."

This time Hauk had backup.

...

The ash caves were the same as before, and Hauk found that he remembered some of the passages. First of all he decided to go after his gear. There were plenty of crates, chests and barrels dotted around the caves, all containing various armour, weapons and clothing. "Stripped from the other victims, no doubt," Hauk thought. Eventually he found his own and geared up, leaving the temporarily borrowed stuff in its place. If he was to contract Black Heart Blight again, his strength would be greatly diminished, and he wanted to avoid getting over-encumbered.

The next task was to find a safe exit that he would lead Hlormar to, and to try and clear the passages of ash zombies, at least somewhat. There seemed to be an endless supply of them, and Hauk suspected a broodmother to be hidden somewhere in the depths, but decided that going after her at that point was too reckless even for his "stupid Nord" profile. Some tunnels had more ash ghouls and dreamers than others, and Hauk suspected that such heightened security indicated the direction to the central shrine - the direction he firmly avoided.

Most doors in the caves were not locked, which was exactly how he walked into Club Dagoth and got trapped there. He couldn't remember which door it was, they all looked the same... But by luck or gut feeling, he avoided another dance, but found two locked doors instead. One or both of them had to be the exit, all he needed was the key.

...

"Hauk? You are back?" Hlormar greeted him and hope lit up his eyes. "I thought they got you..."

"They did, but a friend got me out," Hauk nodded. "I haven't found a way out yet, Hlormar. I'll have to stay here until I do. If you come with me now, you'll perish."

Hlormar tried to object that he could fight too, thank you very much, but Hauk pointed out his sores and the foul smell coming off him, and Hlormar had to admit that his strength wasn't what it used to be. He'd been eating corprus meat too, there was nothing else to eat there... "No, you keep it," he refused wistfully when Hauk offered him some of the mutton jerky from his pack. "I'm ill already, but you must avoid eating corprus meat. Who knows how long it'll take you to clear a way out."

Indeed, it took several days until Hauk found a corpse in a remote corner of a cave. The smell was horrific, but the corpse had a key, the first key Hauk had seen in those caves which he already knew quite well by then. The key fitted a door leading out.

Hauk stood outside, inhaling fresh evening air, exhaling odours of rot and decay. Then he turned around and went back in.

...

"By Talos! We are out!!" Hlormar was breathing deeply. "But what now? These sores look even worse by daylight..."

"Well, you may not like it, but you'll have to trust me," Hauk started cautiously. "We'll have to stay at the manor until we get you cured..."

He was right, Hlormar didn't like it. Didn't like it one bit! He shouted and complained and protested, while Hauk just stood there, waiting for the simple facts of life to sink in. Eventually Hlormar had to concede that he was in no condition to go anywhere, covered in sores, smelling like a corpse and still being completely naked... "And my axe. They've got my axe," he remembered. "I've got to get it back."

...

"Who is that man?" Hlormar jerked his head towards the library where Lucien was buried in books. "Your friend?"

"He's an old friend... from the War," Hauk answered evasively. "That was before your time, I reckon."

"Yeah, I wasn't born yet," Hlormar nodded. "He looks younger than you though."

"He's part-elf. He's much, much older."

That was as much information as Hlormar was going to get out of Hauk. He sighed and focused on checking every crate and chest in the manor in search of his gear.

...

A few days later Hlormar woke up realising that he felt different. His skin wasn't itchy any more, the sores were gone. The potions and spells that Lucien was showering him with, seemed to have worked at last.

"By Talos! You did it!" He burst into the dining hall, finding Hauk and Lucien at breakfast. "I'm cured!!" He dropped into a vacant chair and started devouring a kwama egg before him. "And they say there's no cure for the Corpsus Disease!"

"There isn't," Lucien watched him, laughing, "You had the Blight, not Corprus. Pretty bad Blight that took a while to clear, but just the Blight nonetheless."

With his axe found, Hlormar was eager to leave, but Hauk and Lucien managed to convince him to get dressed first. "Oh to be young," Hauk was shaking his head.

"Look, I don't know how to thank you," Hlormar turned to both of them. "I've got nothing to give you. But if you ever want a friend in battle - I set up camp not far from Sjorvar's house before I came here. I'm headed back there and that's where you'll find me. Thank you. Talos be with you. Or whichever god you half-elves half-Imperials consider your own," he added, nodding to Lucien. Then it dawned on him: "All that healing... and..." he took in Lucien's manners and appearance, too. "By Talos! Dibella be praised."

And with that he waved them goodbye and finally left the Nebula Manor.

23-25 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - Whatever it takes

"It can't be all that exciting for a battlemage like yourself to spend your days guarding the cells," Hauk approached Solea Nuccusius who was on duty guarding the evidence chest with the propylon index that Hauk wanted back.

"We serve the Emperor wherever the Legion sends us, Agent," Solea stood to attention and clicked her heels.

"We serve the Emperor!" Hauk echoed the oath, straightening out himself, and the golden horses on his breastplate caught the light, producing a halo around him. He had spent hours polishing them the day before to get that effect. Presentation was everything. Solea was impressed.

"We don't get a lot of challenging assignments here, and the Champion always says that guarding prisoners requires skill," Solea was still standing to attention, trying to get the horses on her own breastplate to catch the light, but that wasn't happening.

"But... the cells are empty, aren't they?" Hauk marched up and down the corridor peering into each of the cells through the visor in the doors and making sure that the polished steel of his pauldrons was dazzling. The supple leather of his cingulum was following his movements, and the steel tips clicked gently against the steel of his greaves. He may not have been a young man any longer, but he knew how to carry himself.

"We have no prisoners just now, Agent," Solea was watching him, starting to wonder where this was going. They didn't usually get inspections, and Agent wasn't that high of a rank, although higher than her own. As a Trooper, she sometimes indulged in drilling Spearmen and new recruits and impressing them with her Elemental magic and her Atronachs. Returning to her guard post felt less of a chore after that, especially considering the duties that lower ranks were given. In a fort that size, cleaning the latrines was a major operation.

"I have a small request which is more in line with your specialisation as a battlemage," Hauk was facing her. "I was recently transferred from Cyrodiil, and I discovered to my surprise that something in Morrowind interferes with my magic slightly. I wonder if you could help me get a grip on my Atronachs?" He beamed at her.

"I... but of course, Agent!" Solea was pleased and relieved - it was nothing shady, this Agent simply wanted to keep his slight impairment private, she'd seen it often enough - the Red Mountain did interfere with magicka flow. You could swing your sword the same way in every province, but magic required adaptations. "I get off duty at six," she smiled. "Meet me in the yard by the training dummies."

...

The training session was very business-like, with the other Legionnaires flocking to watch a display of fire and lightening from not one but two battlemages, with an occasional Atronach making an appearance too.

"Flame Atronachs are generally more powerful here, while Frost Atronachs take damage from the lava so close under the soil," Solea was commenting, watching Hauk dismantle her Frost Atronach with his claymore.

"Ice shatters while flame does not," Hauk winked, sheathing his blade. "What is the Legion's stance on summoning higher daedra here? Dunmer sensitivities might be opposing that."

"No, we don't worry about that," Solea gave him a long look. "Why? What can you summon?" Her professional curiosity was tickled. This older Agent might have been through the War... Facing the Aldmeri must have been something else!

"Well, I usually stick to beasts," Hauk answered matter-of-factly, producing a clannfear. The spectators gasped and stepped back. "Clannfears are fast and furious, effective against mages and warriors alike." He charged it, and after a short hesitation, the clannfear turned on him, making him jump and roll to avoid its attacks.

"Spearmen, join in!" Solea barked at two young soldiers watching the show open-mouthed. "Flank it!"

Catching themselves and grabbing their weapons, they attacked the clannfear, only to be flung to the far corners of the yard by its powerful head swing.

"Come on, get up, and quickly!" Solea was in her element. Champion Larrius Varro appeared on the doorstep, and a few people in the crowd exchanged glances. He approached the training ground where Hauk was still engaging the clannfear, trying not to hurt it but to allow the Spearmen to attack. Larrius watched for a short while, then quickly drew his sword and charged, burying it deep in the clannfear's side. The summon was banished.

"Don't charge it head on - it will throw you off," he lectured the Spearmen. "Didn't Trooper Nuccusius tell you to flank it?"

...

"Solea is a tough cookie," Hauk was thinking aloud on his way back to Balmora later that evening. He wasn't giving up yet, but he so far had no opening not only to touch on the topic of the propylon index in the evidence chest, but to engage Solea in any personal conversation. "She suspects something," he decided. Well, there was nothing else to it but to try again later.

...

"Agent! Back again?" Solea greeted Hauk with a smile when he appeared near the prisoner cells the next day. "Anything else I can help you with?"

"Yes, actually, there is something," Hauk decided on a direct approach. "But I'd rather not talk here. May I invite you to dinner tonight? The Eight Plates in Balmora serves Imperial food."

"Do they now?" Solea gave a little chuckle. "All right. Civilian dress. See you at eight." She smiled, nodded and clicked her heels. Hauk felt dismissed.

...

The Eight Plates served Imperial food if you asked "nicely", that is paid three times it was worth. Hauk didn't flinch.

"So, what favour did you want to ask of me, Optio?" Solea smiled, once the obligatory exchange of pleasantries and small talk was over with.

"Ah, you've made inquiries," Hauk smiled back. "Very well, then you know I have to maintain my cover. I am a member of the Mages Guild and the item which is currently in your evidence chest is needed for one of the assignments there."

"Folms Mirel found himself another helper, I see," she smirked. "Oh, we get these indexes on a regular basis! I wish he'd employ the Thieves Guild to get them for him - they are better skilled at stealing than the laymen who get caught with them." She smirked again and sipped her wine. "You are not very good at this game, Agent," she added, using Hauk's official Morrowind rank.

"No, that's not my game," Hauk looked straight at her, his eyes hard and cold. "I don't steal, normally. I need that index in order to progress with that task, and I am asking nicely."

They sat there, facing each other. They didn't move or blink. A guard sitting at the bar turned around when the innkeeper pointed them out to him. "A pair of Legion officers, those are," he smirked, returning to his drink. "Leave them to their business. That's nothing to do with us."

After a few minutes Solea broke the tension. She smiled a most charming smile and raised a toast of the excellent Tamika wine that Hauk paid dear gold for.

"I shall help you, Optio Serck-Hanssen," she said brightly. "Let us drink to the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Hauk raised his glass also, but asked cautiously: "And what do you want in return?"

"Adventure," Solea said simply. "It's rather dull guarding empty prisoner cells at Fort Moonmoth, as you can imagine. I want excitement, I want spice back in my life. I wasn't always a guard. Show a girl a good time, then we'll see." She smiled and winked, and for a moment Hauk wasn't quite sure what she meant... but what choice did he have?

"To a beautiful friendship," he seconded her toast.

I have had some moments like this through the eyes of my characters! It's like you're all jazzed up to get into a rumble.

They are at Malada. Last time I was there was in fact with Joan, who is also doing Umbacano's quests. I remember intuiting the trap somehow. Something about the way the place is laid out inside.

(That's it, I am seriously playing some Oblivion today. Joan's game. After Morrowind. 11/11/22: It'll be a Joan double-header today.)

Claude's such an idiot. Immediately he flees. Hmm, maybe not such an idiot, then.

WAit, but it's almost daylight! Won't that make her ... oh wait. I think in Oblivion vamps can tolerate sunlight if they're in stage 1, right? Phew.
'
WOWWWW she's following the horse! 🐎 Damn, never thought to try that. Did you know, Lena, that only bay horses will stay put if we dismount a stolen one? I discovered this one day. I think it's because bays are based on the horses Imperial Legions ride. Legion horses technically haven't got a stable to return to, so they'll just stay where they're put if we dismount.

Nope, didn't work. That's still a good idea to at least try.

Vampires can tolerate daylight at any stage, depending on what you call "tolerate". They burn up, but if you cast healing spells often enough, you don't actually die. Not like puff - explode or anything! And of course she immediately drank some blood - that put out the fire. Yes, at stage 1 vampires don't take sun damage - that's the whole reason for feeding frequently.

26 Sun's Dawn - 3 First Seed, 4E203 - An Agent in the making

"Your next task is information gathering," Caius Cosades picked up a couple of scrolls from a shelf. "Yes, again," he added with a smirk, noticing Hauk's poorly concealed raised eyebrow. "Welcome to the Blades, Agent," he grinned. "What else did you think we did? Protect the Emperor? Oh, that's the Bodyguard Division. But after their blunder with Uriel Septim... Well." He shook his head, remembering the scandal that ravaged the Blades back then. "We focus on intelligence now. So, go to Vivec and speak to these three people," he passed Hauk a scroll. "Do try to stay discreet, will you? Leave Solea at home."

"Whaa---?" Hauk was more than surprised at that remark, but quickly realised that he should have known better. Balmora was a small place, and Fort Moonmoth was even smaller, so of course by now everyone knew every detail of his and Solea's conversation at the Eight Plates the day before. Including all the parts that didn't actually happen.

Caius watched Hauk with a grin. "Larrius was livid. Did you know she was his girl?" He laughed at Hauk's reaction - no, he had no idea. "Well, she used to be his girl, more likely. He had her guard the jail for too long, keeping her from harm and all that, but a girl like Solea gets bored quickly... Well, why don't you ask her about that yourself."

Hauk opened and closed his mouth a few times - the Spy Master was clearly far ahead of him, and all without leaving his house.

"What do you recommend, Master?" Hauk asked humbly. "You know why I need that index."

"I know. And generally you took the right approach, except for Larrius... Well, he'll calm down. What are you doing about his little story?"

"His... Oh!" Hauk had already forgotten about a veiled request that Larrius made in a form of a little story about a "good officer" and "bad people" - he wanted Hauk to organise a bloodbath for the members of Camona Tong in Balmora. "Nothing, I'm doing absolutely nothing about it," he shook his head. "In my view it is entirely pointless to remove five foot soldiers from an organisation that spans the whole of Morrowind. They will be replaced before I turn around, and it will put me on a bad footing with the Fighters Guild."

Caius squinted and nodded. "Good. So, do as Solea asks - show her some adventure. Plenty of Dwemer ruins and ash caves around here to delve into. Oh, and there's a house near Vivec that you can use - the Willow Flower Cottage." He winked and Hauk shook his head. "You want that index," Caius reminded him. "We need that teleportation network set up. Yes, I know all about Folms' project and what he asked you to do. And since thieving is not your strong suit, chances are you'll need Solea's help with evidence chests again and again... So keep her close and friendly. That's an order."

...

Generally Hauk enjoyed adventuring. Delving into a new ruin, fighting monsters and automatons, ridding he land of bandits and other scum - it was fun and did some good to boot. Solea turned out to be a pleasant companion, even though their acquaintance started with some tension and subsequent order from Caius put Hauk on edge. But after a few days dungeon delving without anything untoward happening, he started to relax.


"A Daedric Shrine or a Dwemer ruin - where shall we go first?" Their stroll through the Ascadian Isles was rife with decisions.

"Daedric Shrine," Solea pointed at the bizarre structures. "We are here already. I wonder who's the Lord here?"


"Only one way to find out."

There were worshippers and daedra outside, well concealed between the pillars of the shrine. Eventually they all fell to the two Imperial Battlemages however, and Hauk and Solea focused on finding the entrance.

"There must be a door here somewhere, all shrines have an interior," Hauk was saying, passing the door several times without seeing it. Eventually they were in, greeted by more worshippers and daedra. After a few levels they were wondering where the central chamber might be.


"It could be through here, or may be it's just another level," Hauk turned to Solea. "Ready?"

It was the central chamber. If the fighting in the corridors was tough, fighting here was unbearable. Hauk cloaked in invisibility and let his clannfear take the heat, joining in with his poisoned claymore in between the healing. Solea however wasn't very good at illusion, but her shields and her bound armour absorbed most of the damage, while her fire and lightening turned the shrine into a plane of Oblivion. Finally, all was quiet again.

"Well, have you figured out who is the Lord here?" Hauk went through the offering on the altar.


"I've got an idea," laughed Solea. "I am keeping that ebony broadsword, by the way. And that ring of Sanguine Transcendence. The rest we offload."

She also kept the fancy robes, blouses, skirts, shoes and jewellery that she removed from the priestesses, folding them carefully and stashing them in her bag. Yes, she carried her share of the general loot too - fair was fair. The next day their bags got a lot lighter, their purses a lot heavier and the shops in Suran became much better stocked.

"Finally, adventurers!" The shop keepers were cheering. "That makes a change from the usual farming folk that we get here!"

Passing through the central plaza, Hauk thought he saw a familiar face. An Orc vixen was pacing back and forth without any particular purpose.

"Oh, hello!" She greeted Hauk. "Back again? This is a real magnet, this town," she grinned.

"Hello," Hauk squinted, trying to remember her name. "Err... What's new with you?" He smiled.

"Oh, there's nothing new here," she sighed. "Same old, same old. But I saw a mudcrab by the water recently..." she grinned and winked. "It made for a decent sandwich."

"Say, this town does have an inn," Hauk realised that last time he couldn't find one. "Why did you tell me last time that there wasn't one here?"

"Did I say that?" The Orc raised an eyebrow. "I might have done. You looked like you needed cheering up, so I figured Desele's place would do the trick. Was I right?" She grinned again.

"No, I ended up sleeping in that back corner by the water," Hauk scolded. "Desele was all fully booked!"

Solea was listening to this exchange with much amusement. She liked Suran, she decided.

...

They spent the night at the Suran Tradehouse - this was what the Dunmer called an inn. It had long narrow rooms, and after a short negotiation and a bit of winking, Hauk managed to get the bigger room that had a double bed. He didn't feel like sleeping on the floor after all that fighting.

In the morning they decided to go East towards that Dwemer ruin that they'd seen earlier, or whatever else would turn up first. Solea was positively buzzing. She was running ahead, coming back, running left and right, with speed and agility quite unexpected in someone wearing heavy armour. Imperial Legion armour wasn't too heavy, that was true, but still, it wasn't just clothes.

"All right, all right, stop!" Hauk caught her arm. "Just how much skooma did you ingest last night?"

"Skooma? None," Solea giggled. "But have you seen what those Argonians had on the table upstairs?" She pulled her arm out of Hauk's grip. "Those sweet little cubes..." and she ran off laughing.

Fortunately, they were standing by a cave entrance, and when Hauk pointed it out to her, she nodded and they went in.

...

Six smugglers inside literally didn't know what hit them.

"I fought mudcrabs more fearsome than you!!!.." A laughing mocking voice of a young Imperial woman resonated in the cave, and even Hauk's clannfear had trouble keeping up with her. He just let her run around - the moonsugar effects would eventually wear off.


...

"When do you want that index back?" Solea asked as they were finally sitting down having supper by the fire. "It's quite safe in that chest for now, but eventually it will be returned to its rightful owner. Once I get a moment to investigate who that rightful owner might be," she winked.

"Oh, I would not dream to make you appear corrupt!" Hauk exclaimed, realising that he never thought of the bureaucracy connected to handling stolen items. "Isn't there a way around it?"

"Of course there is," Solea nodded. "It can always be stolen again." She chuckled, watching Hauk swallow with unease. "I don't mean by you, that won't lead anywhere, as we have seen. Don't you have a favour to call in with the Thieves Guild? No? All right, I'll think of something," she added with a shrug. "Plenty of poor sods willing to spend the night in jail for a small contribution."

Hauk always knew that corruption existed everywhere, after all, wasn't he guilty of it as well, with his attempts to retrieve stolen property from an evidence chest? But Solea's comments hinted at much deeper corruption within the Legion than he was comfortable with. Perhaps the rumours of Legion corruption in Morrowind were not exaggerated after all...

"Yeah, there's plenty of corruption here," Solea noticed Hauk's unease. "But this is small fish. A stolen item that was stolen by its previous owner is not a big deal. Like I said, we get these indices regularly, they have a way of changing owners without being paid for. They are valuable, but only Folms Mirel can really do something with them, and if that's where this index is going, I'm willing to play along. Is corruption for a good cause still corruption or a mere give-and-take?" She smirked and raised her glass, signalling that matter settled.

...

They spent the night in the cave - the smugglers had made quite cozy arrangements in there. In the morning they found Telasero - one of the ancient Dunmer strongholds that had a propylon chamber.


"So, this is a propylon chamber," Solea was impressed. "You can just feel the magic in the air..." She walked around, touching the pillars, but nothing happened. You had to have the correct index to activate them, and even then, it was doubtful that it would just work. Hauk stood back and let her explore them on her own.

"Teleportation makes my skin crawl," he shrugged his shoulders when she remarked on his lack of enthusiasm. "You won't see me using this network, even if I am helping Folms to set it up." He didn't elaborate any further, and Solea thought it wise not to ask.

It was another day of fights and adventure, tiring and satisfying, and they didn't feel like walking all the way back to Suran.

"We can stay in Vivec," Solea suggested. It was just across the water.

"We can get lost in Vivec," Hauk corrected her. "But there's a cottage quite nearby that we can use. Let's go."

...

"I have things to do," Hauk said at breakfast at the Willow Flower Cottage. "Would you mind if we get back to our jobs for a bit? I promise to find some more ruins to explore later on."

"I don't mind," Solea smiled. "Perhaps it's best I show my face at the fort before they send out a search party," she smirked. "Give it a week before coming back though - Larrius doesn't cool off quickly."


Hauk sat up at that comment - he forgot all about Larrius Varro and his claim on Solea. Perhaps he shouldn't have taken her to the Willow Flower Cottage after all.

"I thought you knew," Solea raised an eyebrow. "Well, it doesn't matter. Larrius can get over-protective at times, and there's little privacy at the fort... Not until you're married, but he never mentioned that," she sighed. "Intimacy in a prison cell is far less enjoyable than here." She smiled and took another sweetroll. "And I appreciate all the Imperial food. I really missed that." She stared at her sweetroll, hovered over crib jelly, then dismissed it decisively and took some cheese instead. "Enjoy it while it lasts," she added, seemingly talking to herself rather than Hauk. Then, raising her eyes to him, she smiled and asked: "You are a Nord, but you are not from Skyrim, are you? Do you miss Cyrodiil too?"

"I do," Hauk admitted. "I'm from Wolf's Borough - a..."

"...smallish town between the Imperial City and Skingrad, I know," Solea beamed at him. "I'm from Skingrad. That Tamika you got us at the Eight Plates, that wasn't a common vintage. Thank you."

They didn't want their breakfast to end - an unexpected connection was brought about by the things they both missed.

"Do you want me to have a word with Larrius?" Suddenly Hauk felt some responsibility for Solea's fate.

"About what?" She looked up in surprise. "Me? No," she laughed. "I was very much taken by him to start with, true, but it's been over a year, and all he's interested in, is occasional intimacy in a prison cell. I think I can do better than that," she said proudly. "Thanks for reminding me. That's why I asked you to stay away for a week - I'm going to tell him to find another girl." She smiled brightly. "Then, when you're done collecting all the indices, I'll put in for a transfer. Perhaps even a promotion. A Champion doesn't call all the shots, you know," she winked. "I think I'm ready to be an Agent."

Hauk nodded, smiling. He was sure she was ready.

3-5 First Seed, 4E203 - Vivec City

After Solea left, Hauk took out the notes that Caius handed him, lest he forgets what he was supposed to do in Vivec City. Speak to three of Caius' informants, get the details on the Sixth House Cult and the Nerevarine Prophecy. "Why does Caius need to hear all this again?" Hauk wondered. "He should have all this information from the time of the last Nerevarine Crisis in the Third Era." Hauk shook his head, but orders were orders. He made a plan - the last thing he wanted was to get lost in Vivec. The Willow Flower Cottage where he and Solea had spent the night, was just outside the Telvanni Compound, and Hauk needed to go to the Foreign Quarter, St. Olms and the Temple Compound. "All over the place," he sighed. "This will take several days."

...

"I shall be happy to tell you everything I know about this, but not with these goons listening in," the Argonian assassin gave Hauk a meaningful look. "I am with Morag Tong too, but they don't seem to get it."

Hauk looked around - three aggressive looking Dunmer were surrounding his informant from all sides in the Black Shalk Cornerclub, while the bartender retreated into the furthest corner, barricading himself behind the counter.

"This is nothing to do with you, outlander, we're just talking to this filthy lizard here," the nearest Dunmer glared at Hauk. "So get out while you still can."

"I always thought that Morag Tong valued discretion," Hauk bared his teeth. "I wonder what Eno will say when I mention to him that three of his... err... Blind Thralls, is it..? are bothering one of his Thralls?"

"He's with Morag Tong too?" The Dunmer swallowed hard. "There'll be trouble..."

"Perhaps it's best we leave this outlander and his lizard alone," another Dunmer whispered to the first one. "Seeing how this Nord has the Grandmaster's ear somehow..."

"Perhaps he's just bluffing," the third Dunmer joined the others in whisper. "I say we cut them both down."

That whisper was rather loud, so even the bartender heard it and put another keg of ale between himself and his "customers". Hauk shot the Argonian a glance and put his hand on the hilt of his dagger. The Argonian did the same.

"Leave it be," Hauk said menacingly to the three Dunmer. "This isn't a bluff." He summoned a clannfear that materialised with a shriek, then stuck its head under his arm, nuzzling him affectionately. The three would-be attackers took a step back.

"All right, all right, take your lizard... err... lizards... and go!" The first Dunmer shook his head, his eyes wide. "Gee... you're not worth the trouble!"

...

"Nice dog you have," the Argonian grinned when he and Hauk entered the safety of Jobasha's book store. "I wish I could learn that trick," he sighed. "I've heard of you battlemages... thought fire and ice was all you could do..." He seemed to be talking to himself there. "Just like the Aldmeri..." he shivered - that was not a pleasant memory. "But anyhow, you didn't come here to talk about me," he caught himself, looking at Hauk brightly. "Here are my notes for Caius. The same as last time. It does seem that history is repeating itself." He smiled, and Hauk couldn't help but think that Argonians had a whole lot of very sharp teeth...

"Thank you," he replied courteously. "I hope this will make more sense to Caius than it does to me."

He stashed away the notes and went to look for his next informant.

...

"That kitty is hiding in the sewers," Hauk was told when he quietly asked about his Khajiit informant at the St. Olms Canton. "She's hiding from that taxman over there," the Dunmer winked. "Not that the Guild is known to have ever paid any taxes, but this one likes to try to collect some..." he grinned and made a rude gesture indicating that any such attempts by the taxman were doomed to fail. Hauk thanked him and looked for a way to the sewers.

The sewers of St. Olms were like the any other sewers anywhere else - dirty and smelly, with rats and mudcrabs making home there.

"Ouch!" Hauk felt a sharp pain on the back of his leg, that also somehow knocked the air out of him. "Whaaa---?" He grabbed his dagger and turned around expecting an archer... and faced a rat. The rat attacked again, jumping up to his chest, pushing him over on the ground and biting his face! Its breath was almost as foul as the stench of its fur, and Hauk felt like he was suffocating... He hit the pavement with the back of his head and now everything was going dark... and wet...

...

With a jerk Hauk sat up, spitting dirty sewage water. The rat that had knocked him out, was pacing a bit further away, but all the splashing and spitting attracted its attention and it was leaping towards Hauk again.

"Oh no, you don't!" This time Hauk went for his claymore, taking a moment to extract it from the wrapping he used to make it less obvious. That took too long and the rat was on top of him again, before he even managed to get up. It pushed him into the water head first, making Hauk gulp in more of the dirty slop, biting him again and knocking him out...

...

"That's got to stop," Hauk told himself sternly as he came to and was trying to control the rate of vomiting so as to not to alert the rat too early again. "What kind of a rat monster is this?"

The rat was pacing on the other side of the water and hadn't yet noticed that Hauk was on his feet again. He was shaking and shivering, his magicka was depleted and wouldn't come back, and black sores started appearing on his hands... "Black Woe Blight or some such," he decided. "Wonderful."

There was no time to look for a Cure Blight Disease potion just then because the rat finally noticed him and was happy to take another bite out of his face. Gathering all his will and strength, faltering as they were, Hauk charged at the rat swinging his claymore, and finally got it after five or six swings...

"A blighted rat," he pushed the body of the rat into the water, colouring it brown rather than red. "More filth in its fur than life in its body, but when they're close to dying, they become exceptionally strong," he remembered another such encounter on Molag Mar. "I probably got several Blight variants now, and a bunch of common diseases for a good measure."

His shaking was becoming uncontrollable now, with the diseases taking hold, so he sat on the stone floor and focussed on finding the right bottle in his pack - the last thing he needed was to drink poison by mistake.

"You will not leave here alive!!!" A very angry voice was approaching fast, punctuated by loud footsteps of iron boots hitting the stone floor. Hauk felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and all went black... again.

...

"Seeing is believing - that is the curse," a pale man was looking into Hauk's eye, his face so close to Hauk's, they nearly touched. "The operation was successful, your other eye is unaffected," he concluded with satisfaction, withdrawing. "You will come to regret this, but remember - I had warned you, but you insisted."

"Thank you," Hauk sat up, watching Eric put away surgical instruments and his discarded eye - the one that Eric replaced with a magic one. "Do a lot of people have the Sight here? I never noticed anyone to have different eyes."

"Most Scavengers have the Sight, but not because they had the surgery," Eric turned to look at Hauk. "We got it when that explosion happened..." his face darkened. "Those of us that survived. But to answer your question - the replacement eye looks exactly like your old one. There - see for yourself," he pushed a trolley with a mirror and the dish with Hauk's eye towards him. Hauk looked in the mirror - his reflection was a bit pale, but otherwise normal. The new eye looked exactly like the other one. The old eye however... Hauk glanced at the dish in passing, but something wasn't right, he looked again... The eye in the dish, the eye that Eric had only just removed from Hauk's skull, was black and shrivelled, like that of a mummy. Hauk looked at his hands - they were covered in black sores. He looked around - the walls of Eric's laboratory were covered in black slime, Eric's face had black sores too...

"What happened?!" Hauk jumped up from the stretcher. "This wasn't like this last time!"

"This isn't last time," Eric smirked. "This isn't Antaloor and I didn't just remove your eye. Seeing is believing, isn't it?"

"There are many rooms in the house of the Master. Be easy, for from the hands of your enemies I have delivered you," a strong but not overpowering voice filled the room.

Hauk turned around and saw himself still lying on the stretcher, dead, surrounded with lit candles. He touched the body, and the body drew breath, opened eyes, and rose. Then the room was gone, the world filled with piercing white-gold light, and another powerful voice filled it:

"Wake up, Nord, for you have been chosen."

...

Hauk was still shivering, he was sitting on something cold and the air was damp and smelly. Sewers. He remembered the rat and - more importantly - someone angry running at him with a sharp weapon. He opened his eyes slightly and surveyed the area, but everything appeared quiet and he didn't see or hear anyone nearby. A faint glow as if of a setting sun was shimmering in the far end of the sewer corridor.

"Azura," Hauk thought, remembering also that the angry person had delivered a crushing blow to his shoulder just before he passed out. He moved his shoulder carefully - it felt fine, without any trace of the pain. He fingered it now - he wasn't wearing any armour - but even his shirt wasn't cut. "Mended, more like," he thought. "Well, thank you, Azura, but I am still not your Nerevarine," he said aloud. The glow brightened and he thought he heard a faint laughter, but may be he was still a bit delirious. Shaking his head to clear the fog, he took a better look around and spotted a body wearing a full suit of heavy armour, with a heavy claymore lying next to him - he appeared to have been singed. "The angry person," Hauk smirked. "Serves him right." Finally he had a chance to find and drink a Cure Disease potion, both for the Blight and the common varieties. It was time to go find his Khajiit informant.

...

"Are your ears clogged?" The Khajiit squinted at Hauk impatiently when he repeated his request for information for Caius. "Khajiit is too preoccupied with the taxman. Khajiit won't talk until the taxman is gone."

"Khajiit is using the Nord to get rid of the taxman," was what Hauk wanted to say to her but didn't - Caius' specific orders were to remain courteous. With a sigh, he turned on his heels and went to find the taxman.

...

"She took the gondola and went to the mainland," he lied to the taxman. "No, really, agent, that Khajiit is gone."

"Oh, what a disappointment," the taxman sighed but his eyes twinkled. "No point hanging around here any more," he said with a poorly concealed joy. "I should have been off to the mainland ages ago!"

Hauk nodded and turned back to the sewers, confident that even if the taxman saw where he went, he would not follow.

"Ah, you got rid of that agent, did you?" The Khajiit greeted him with a smile.

"You're a sneaky one, aren't you," Hauk grinned. "Overheard everything? Now let's see what you've got for Caius."

The Khajiit didn't have any written notes, so Hauk had to memorise everything she said... which was what he knew already from history - the legend of Nerevarine was well-known. "And I went through all this trouble for that?" He wondered what the point of it was, but anyhow, that task was completed. His last informant was a Temple Priestess and he hoped that getting her to talk would prove easier.

...

When Hauk finally stood outside, the sky was covered in stars, Masser was no where to be seen, and even Secunda was shrouded in shadow for the most part. It was too late to go looking for the Priestess, and feeling tired and hungry, Hauk decided to find a place to sleep instead. There were some bedrolls on the upper level under the arcade, and not feeling like eating yet, he stretched out on one of them and fell asleep.

A tall figure with a golden mask was speaking to him, but he understood not a word. The figure smiled, and seemed pleasant, but when he reached to touch Hauk, Hauk was terrified and tried to escape, but couldn't move. Hauk tried to cry out, but couldn't make a sound. The figure kept smiling and talking, but Hauk felt sure he was trying to cast some sort of spell on him...

"Hey, you alright?" Hauk was awakened by another visitor to the Great City of Vivec spending the night on a bedroll inside the same doorway. "You were thrashing," the woman looked at him suspiciously, but seeing Hauk wake up and not turn violent, she added with a smile: "I like your tats. You have such a tasty... err... well-toned chest. Get that shirt off, I want to see the back!" She pulled on his shirt, but Hauk smelled skooma on her breath and thought it wise to decline her attention. It was dawn already anyway.

...

The final informant - the Priestess - was easy enough to find, and she didn't require anything for her information. She told of some dissident priests that the Temple was hunting down, and of a book that made them into dissident priests, and that Hauk should get that book for Caius. "Try a shop specialising in rare books, they will likely have a copy," she suggested. Hauk knew just where to go.

...

"Jobasha has many rare books in his store," a Khajiit in pauper clothes greeted Hauk. "Have a look."

"Jobasha?" Hauk squinted. "Didn't you close up this place and move to Elsweyr already? We spoke in Corinthe a few months ago. Come to think of it... Your friend the Argonian assassin was there too..." Hauk turned to the Argonian who gave him a broad grin.

"Yes, well, Jobasha can tell you about this..." Jobasha looked over his shoulder, watching the guard pacing the front room, and signalled Hauk to follow to the depth of the store. "Jobasha closed his shop here in Vivec City, true, and took the funds to finally open his shop in Corinthe," he nodded, looked over his shoulder again and lowered his voice. "But then Jobasha got a request from Caius that his services were once again needed in Morrowind... and so Jobasha returned, selling the left-over books again. And his Argonian friend came with him too, of course." He paused, fingering a few books on the shelf. "Jobasha misses Elsweyr. Tell friend Caius that Jobasha would like to be excused at the earliest opportunity." And with that he handed Hauk the book that the Priestess was talking about and escorted him gently out of the shop.

...

Once again Hauk stood outside, looking at the Cantons of Vivec City rising around him. He felt overcrowded. He couldn't wait to leave. The silt strider was just outside on the mainland, and Hauk took it, grateful to be free of the oppressing city, of disturbing dreams, unwanted attention, blighted rats and sewer water in his belly. He hadn't eaten for two days, but decided it could wait until he was back in Balmora. Caius be better well pleased with what he got.

I like that she has a monthly payment for Battlehorn Castle. I do this sort of thing in some my games, too.

"Most Unpleasant Sisters" And they get all capital letters, too.

Uh oh, secret's out about Lucien + Lena. OH yeah.... this is all about that ... witch who wants to sling mud on Wolf. Rayenna.

It's ironic the Bruma Mages Guild has gone necro. I still have a memory of my very first mage, who was an evil sort. She went into that very guild wearing a necromancer's robe and Jeanne really took offense. "TAKE THAT THING OFF!!" she scolded. This was on PS3 too, so no mods affected her words.

Anyway, Jeanne either has it coming to her, or Traven does.



I love that! He's disgusted at her for some reason! TES4 has so much personality, right? But it goes both ways. NPCs can either love us or hate us, or somewhere in between. Maglir sounds as though he's putting on a face. Like he says words which wound enthusiastic but his facial expression contradicts this.

... .just like real people, sometimes.

As per the discussion on robes: They also don't restrict magic in any way, whereas armor does. There might also be a slight advantage with less weight (compared to ordinary clothes) although I don't remember exactly.

8/154

Yeah, I think we can guess who started that rumour...


Quite. In vanilla there's only one way and everyone in Bruma Mages Guild is slaughtered. I didn't like that. Given that Necromancy must have been their specialisation before it got banned (because theirs is the only Guild Hall without a specialisation), I think it would be logical if Mannimarco would have first offered them to return to practising Necromancy again. Of course Mages Guild doesn't go killing people! Never thought they did, even if that's what the Necromancy Cult preaches. And Jeanne is always talking about having important friends in high places, so I think she's the kind of person who is likely to follow where power is, which is in this case with Mannimarco. Anyway, I didn't think she fancied being killed, because that would be the alternative. Of course she'd choose to revert. So that's my version.


Regarding weight, that depends. Some robes are pretty heavy, others are light, and clothes also vary a bit. It doesn't make much difference on average. So yeah, mages could also be wearing any other clothes, and many of them do.

3 Frost Fall, 4E172 - An agent and an assassin

It was the year 172 of the Fourth Era and the Great War between the Thalmor Dominion and the Empire was in full swing. The elves were winning, too, but not easily. It would be several more years before that bloodshed would stop, and many would argue that despite the much touted victory of the Dominion, they really lost the war because so many elven lives got cut short - lives that should have lasted a thousand years were cut at a mere hundred, if that. Of course, just as many humans were killed, but humans would quickly replenish their populations, while elves... Well.

"Kill me now, I told you all I knew," an Altmer was pleading with his torturer. "Animal."

"Heard of me, have you?" A Nord turned around from his notes. "Then you know that I'm not done yet. There are still a few blanks I need to fill in."

"But I don't know the answers..!"

"We'll see."

The ruins of an old fort somewhere in Skyrim were cold and damp, with only one chamber being warmed by a fire. A pot of stew was gently bubbling on the coals, but the dominant smell was that of nightshade extract and cinnabar paste - an unlikely combination.

"Time for your medicine," the Nord brought a vial to the Altmer's lips. "Drink up."

The Altmer shut his lips and tried to turn away his head, but the Nord simply slapped him, knocking him out, opened his jaws and carefully poured the potion into the Altmer's mouth, who swallowed by reflex. "Wouldn't want you to choke now, would we," the Nord muttered to himself, making sure that the Altmer indeed didn't choke. He would regain consciousness soon enough. Nightshade and cinnabar mixture was the Nord's speciality - it took away the victim's life force, yet strengthened his endurance. The Altmer was there for the long run - it could be days, weeks, months even. The Nord always got what he wanted. "You don't know the answers, may be," he was looking through his notes. "But you know who does, and that's good enough too." The Legion wanted information, and Animal had his methods.

The start would always be brutal and bloody, aiming to shock and to scare and to imply what was to come, unless the victim cooperated. No one ever escaped from Animal's care, and a quick death was the best anyone could hope for - or at least, such was Animal's reputation. Not true, but it served his purpose, adding to the initial scare once the victim realised who his torturer was.

Once the nightshade and cinnabar treatment had started however, there was no escape any longer, even if the victim did manage to move somehow, having lost already not just the toes, but feet, legs even... Animal was thorough.

...

A wolf guarding the entrance to an old fort gave a yelp when a dagger found its heart. "Damn it," the assassin swore under his breath - wolves never roamed alone, and the pack would be there soon, having heard their brother's cry. The assassin quickly entered the fort, shutting the heavy door behind him - the wolves would not follow him, but the person inside would hear their howls and be on his guard. "Damn the wolves," the assassin swore again, realising that he needed to change his tactics. He would not be able to kill the Animal's victim unnoticed.

...

"Wolves," Animal woke up, hearing the wolves howl outside - he always picked a chamber with a window or a shaft to the surface, and always left meat for the wolves outside. He didn't need a guard dog - Skyrim had wolves.

He got up and checked his sword - he was ready to meet the visitor.

...

The assassin straightened up and simply walked through the old fort, dispatching rats, spiders and an occasional undead as he went. He made noise and hoped that Animal would not ambush him or attack on sight, but if what he heard of the man was true, he expected a civil reception. Finally the light of a fire flickered somewhere ahead, and the assassin sheathed his sword and removed his hood. An outline of a man's figure appeared against the light, he hadn't drawn his sword either. This bode well.

"Talos be with you," the assassin said as he approached. "Animal?"

"The same," the Nord nodded. "Speaker?" He raised an eyebrow, realising who stood before him. "I didn't think they'd send a Speaker. Your client won't fight back," he smirked, jerking his head towards the Altmer, barely conscious in his chains.

"No, and the client isn't the challenge," the assassin smiled. "You are."

Almost imperceptibly, Animal moved to draw his sword, then changed his mind - the assassin hadn't drawn his. Clearly, the strategy was negotiation.

"Come in," Animal made an inviting gesture towards the fire. The stew was now on the table, there was wine, bread, cheese, fruit - the place was set up as a long-term residence. Laboratory equipment and a large pile of nightshade flowers and cinnabar caps occupied a well-lit corner indicating continuous use. A desk with some scrolls and journals was tidied up to protect sensitive documents from accidental glances by... whoever, rats included. There was a bed and a few bedrolls, too. The assassin looked around, taking it all in, and thinking just how much it resembled his own private quarters, except for the "resident" behind the gate - this one was still alive, while the assassin was used to undead in his fort.

"Nice place you've got here," he smiled. "Set up for the long haul, I see."

"We serve the Emperor wherever he sends us," Animal replied, straightening up and nearly clicking his heels by force of habit. The Altmer looked up at the mention of the Emperor, but one glance from the Animal dissuaded him from spitting. "He's not the first and won't be the last, and I needed a base. I've had enough of lugging all that equipment around every time I get a new lead," he jerked his head towards the laboratory corner. "I just bring them here instead."

"And the wolves get the spoils afterwards, I see," the assassin grinned.

They sat down for dinner, as the assassin had had a long trip behind him and hadn't eaten in over a day - Animal's fort was as remote as it was well hidden in the forests of Skyrim. There was no rush - the prisoner would die anyway, soon, if it was up to the assassin, or not so soon, if Animal got his way, but death was coming to him, regardless. The two death bringers were eager to get to know each other, now that they had time.

...

"He isn't going to tell you anything more of value," the assassin stood in front of the prisoner, examining his ever fading life signs. "Anything he says now is going to be conjecture, just so you stop hurting him."

"I am no longer hurting him, there's no need," Animal was examining the prisoner too. "He's in enough pain already, and if he bleeds any more, he might just expire. And I'm not done with him yet. He knows more."

The assassin shook his head, turning to Animal. "It's pointless, Animal. What are you missing?"

"The name of his replacement."

"He can't know that! They appointed his replacement only after you took him!" Was the assassin getting angry?

"He knows his superiors. He can guess. I'll pick up everyone he names," Animal insisted.

The assassin sighed. "My contract is to kill him, not to keep his secrets. I'll tell you what you want to know."

Hearing this, the Altmer looked up, piercing the assassin with his gaze, all of his life force focussed into it. He opened his mouth to say something, then changed his mind. "Thank you," he whispered. Death was finally coming for him.

A sober conversation between the Animal and Assassin takes place before the unlucky Altmer.


I liked how you opened this episode with commentary about the war of attrition and how humans really do outbreed elves. In support of Buffy’s take on lore, we’ve put some thought into that over the years. In Buffy’s world, elves’ fertility cycle is twice a year vs the monthly human cycle. Further, their odds of conceiving from any given coupling are notably less than humans, the loss of baby or mother during birth is more common and it is almost unheard of for elves to conceive twins. Despite the advantage of several centuries of fertility, rare indeed is the elf who can deliver more than one or two baby elves during their long lives.