Have you ever walked into a place and just felt at home? I had that feeling as I gazed around, it felt as if I had returned to a beloved spot from my childhood, though I had never been here before. Marcurio and I walked to the nearest Dwemer building and opened the door, both of us ready for anything to attack. Nothing did, but the room looked as if someone had. That someone was a skeleton, so it was at least some little while ago. We looked around the room, that the person was an Alchemist was plain from all the herbs on the desk and counter. I was looking at one that I had never seen before, but recognized the noise from, when Marcurio found the Alchemist's journal and read it to me.
We cleaned up the little building because both of us felt it could be defended pretty well. We burried Sinderion and I carved a stone marker for him with magic, then had to show Marcurio the spell. It didn't take a lot of power, just a lot of control. Marcurio was always willing to learn any spell I would teach him, he was also a very fast learner.
After the building was all clean and straitened up, we cooked a meal and set up to sleep. The one thing about the Dwemers bed's they didn't fall apart, but weren't soft either though. With running water nearby, food and wood for the fire pit is the only thing we were lacking. Marcurio slept first so I sat in a chair and thought about this situation some.
Surely the Dwemer would have more than one way in and out of here. Well it's not like their would be a big arrow over the tower we were supposed to find, so we'd have to go in and out of a few. Perhaps we would find one of the lifts, they dotted the landscape up above, so a few had to come from here. With access to a lift we could get wood and food and continue to look for the proper tower. I got up and lit another of the little pot's of oil that I found in a Dwemer automaton, they weren't always the easiest to light, but once lit burned brightly and slowly.
As I sat back down I thought how much Bjorn would have loved being here. Finding someplace completely new was something he really loved to do. We had always meant to get out of Skyrim and explore some of the places he had only heard about. He always talked about the walking trees in Valenwood, how much he would love to see them or the giant mushrooms that housed people in Morrowind. The deserts of Elsweyr were such an alien concept to him that he had a hard time picturing them in his mind.
I laughed softly as I remembered the way he, Kalin and Talin had constructed a miniature mushroom village, complete with tiny stick people, cows and a couple sticks with feathers representing chickens. They worked on it for a couple week's, all the children in Solitude running in and out of the Inn to look at it. When a Dunmer merchant had come in and asked them which village it was supposed to be, the three men beamed with pride. I had rolled my eyes and laughed. It was rather amusing to see a mushroom with tiny windows and doors and even a chimney. When I had suggested they construct a wood mushroom, to make a playhouse out of it to go along with the "village", they did just that. With little carved dolls that had clothing and armor that Kalin made. Talin not to be outdone carved miniature horses with saddles and bridles. Bjorn, made the furniture and I, I caste a light spell on tiny pieces of clear rock, so that they would caste light in the darkness and placed them in tiny lanterns. We then gave the whole mess to a local orphanage for the children to play with.
Shaking my head, I let the images go and went back to figuring out the best way to explore down here. It seemed to me that I had seen a wall opposite the building we were in, on the other side of the balcony we had come in through. Start their and work our way around the big cavern clockwise? Septimus had said Tower of Mzark, which to my mind left out buildings such as the one we were in. Peek into doors and gates to see what was their, Map each place out and write down about where it was at.
With all that firmly in mind, I decided I needed at least a little bit of sleep before we went exploring. I woke Marcurio up and took his place on both our sleeping furs.
When I woke up Marcurio had made something to eat, where he had gotten the egg's from I don't know and don't really care. Egg's, buttered bread that had been toasted and roasted apple, Lovely. I went over what I had thought about last night and he said he had come to the same conclusions. So we left most of our gear in the building and I put a small rune spell on the door, anyone opening it would have a shocking surprise.
We walked strait across from the building and headed clockwise along the base of the balcony til we reached a dark area, where we found out that their are some nasty flying insects down here. The next thing on our trip was a Dwemer machine infront of a gate. I pushed the activation button and the gate opened, we both walked in and looked at the lever, smiling at each other I pulled the lever and up we went. Looking out it was very easy to guess where we were. So supplies wouldn't be a problem, if it took to long to find Mzark Tower. We debated on unlocking the gate, but in the end decided that Dwemer automatons, Falmer and their pet's were enough to deal with. We didn't need to add bandit's to the list.
I kept tract of where we were and which direction we where headed in on a large piece of paper, I am no cartographer, but I can do a reasonable map. Each building I marked. I would see about making different colored ink's with herbs and such one night while Marcurio slept, it shouldn't be really difficult coming up with a couple different colors do mark the different types of buildings. I also kept a journal with directions, Devines help the person trying to figure it out. It was more for me, so I could explain it to others.
Fighting a few Falmer and Chuarus along the way, we made pretty good time. After the last small group of Falmer, we climbed the ramp and crossed the bridge to the tower on the other side, after a peak inside, we decided it didn't look as if it might be what we were looking for. Going back the other way, we saw a giant globe, yellow in color, but obviously constructed by the Dwemer. It was over what appeared to be a large fort type structure, though it was very hard to tell in the darkness. We walked a little further and saw a couple towers in the near and far distance. We both decided that they could wait for the next day and headed back to the building we had set up shop in.
After I dissipated the rune on the door, Marcurio went inside and then came back out with a small table and the stew we had left simmering, along with some bread and mead. We both sat on the spongy like ground and enjoyed our dinner and the view of the underground river. From this vantage we could see the yellow globe in the distance and a slightly different side of the "fort".
"Unless it's no other place, I would prefer not to have to go into that Fort like building. I would be my last piece of gold that their are Falmer their and probably a lot of them." Marcurio narrowed his eyes looking at the fort.
"Not a bet I will take, I have a feeling your right. We'll just keep going the way we did today and leave that area for last. Did I see the wheel's turning inside your head, about coming back here at a later date?"
I laughed at him and said in a neutral voice, " Now what would ever give you the Idea that I might want to come back to this dank, dark hole in the ground?" He burst out laughing and I joined him.
" The same thing that makes me want to come back, cur-i-os-ity. And knowing that no one else had explored this place in a very long time."
I nodded and then said it would probably be best if we went inside before we drew the attention of every Falmer in this place. We went inside, and I spent Marcurios sleep time writing my impressions of this place, along with some sketches of things we had seen.
When I went to sleep that night, it was to the sound of the Crimson Nirnroot and picture of the giant glowing mushrooms swaying in an un-felt breeze.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Sunday, March 9, 2014
A matter of perspective Chapter 10
Marcurio woke me early the next morning and we managed to get most of the supplies I wanted from the Inn Keeper. Those that we couldn't weren't really the important things anyway. Wood could always be picked up along the shore. Plus the Inn Keeper had also told me that most of the things we hadn't been able to get, we would have to go all the way to Solitude to get.
After two days of rowing around the islands closest to shore, I climbed up one of the rocky spire's late in the evening and waited til long after dark. After looking for an hour I finally spotted what looked like lanterns out on one of the Islands due North of us. I took note of the islands between us and their most prominent landmarks, I also looked behind me to the landmarks their, so that I would have a strait line to guide me.
When we got to the Island that I had noted, I pulled out one of the long pieces of driftwood that I had gathered and walking a couple step's onto the island, caste the tiniest of fire spell's, then jammed the wood into the ice-pack, used the side of my wood ax to smack it further in, then caste a frost spell to make sure the wood was secure. Marcurio laughed and tied the boat up to my make-shift anchor.
We walked to the entrance of the cave and down the passage, long before we made it to the cavern at the bottom, we heard the voice of a man, who appeared to be talking to himself. I looked at Marcurio, who rolled his eyes, I gave him a sideways smile and we walked into the presence of the man talking to himself.
After a very rambling conversation, half of which made no sense what so ever. Septimus, because that's who it was, gave me two pieces of Dwemer artifact's. I know he gave me instructions somewhere in that nonsense, I could only hope that when the time came, I would understand it.
The trip back to shore was much quicker and Marcurio and I tried to make some sense of what Septimus had said. We understood that we needed to go to Alftand and that somewhere deep inside we would find a gate of sorts, that the round artifact would open up. After that gate, we would find Blackreach, a very deep Dwemer dwelling.
I knew were Alftand was, but we made two detours along the way, one to the Library at the college so I could tell Urag that we had found Septimus, but that he was stark raving mad. Urag said that dealing with Elder Scroll's could do that to a person, but I wasn't so sure that was the cause... he hadn't went to get the Elder Scroll, just knew where it was.
The second stop was in Dawnstar so that we could get more provisions and most important healing potions. Marcurio said he would teach me a healing spell if I didn't know any. I laughed and said I knew quiet a few healing spells, I just choose not to use them unless their is no other choice. I really don't think he understood that one, most young mages wouldn't. I sighed, "what happen's when after a really hard fight, you are exhausted and can't use any magic to heal the axe wound to my thigh, that has nicked an artery and I am unconscious and can't "heal" myself?" I saw the instant he understood what I was getting at. "You can pour a healing potion down my throat or just put bandages on it and hope I don't bleed to death."
The trip to Alftand was otherwise uneventful, a couple wolves and a snowy sabre cat, a calming spell too care of all of them and they meandered on there ways. Dwemer ruins are Dwemer ruins, the architecture is amazing, but very repetitive. I've been in an out of them for over 200 years, what I don't like is their mechanical guardians. Many a sword has been broken on them, which was my other purchase in Dawnstar, a Dwemer sword. I paid a courier to take Kruziik Dilon to the Temple in Riften, one of the Priestesses being a long time friend, I made sure to enclose a note so she would know I was fine.
We ran into plenty of Dwemer automan's doing their job of guarding the ruins. When I saw the first dead Falmer, I stopped and thought a minute. It was mid to late evening, we would soon be getting tired and it wasn't how I wished to find Falmer. I thought back to the last set of rooms and remembered an area with a floor to ceiling grate. Going back I found the gate locked, I picked it and we both went in, I stood in the doorway and caste three frost rune spells, in a half circle in front of the gate. I then shut the gate, re-locked it and laid out my sleeping furs.
Marcurio handed me some cheese, bread and and apple. I looked at the bread and cheese, then gave a rueful grin. I handed him a flaggon of water flavored with snowberries.
"Zane, I was wondering, why it is you rarely use magic, I mean obviously you are well skilled and powerful." He asked in a voice that was more hesitant than I had ever heard from him.
I paused for a moment to figure out how to answer the questions that I knew he really wanted answered, but had been to polite to ask.
" What is the difference between good and evil, in the use of magic?", I didn't expect an answer right away and I didn't get one, as he thought about it. I let the silence drag on for a moment longer and then said, " If you were an observer and saw someone attack me and I used a lightning spell to kill them, you wouldn't consider that evil, would you? and neither really would the person that had attacked me, had they the ability to answer that question. Now if that same thing happened, but instead of a lightning spell, I used a teleportation spell to rip out the attacker's heart or a healing spell to stop it, would you as an observer consider that evil?" I could see the thoughts going through his head, it was actually amusing to watch. " Most people would, I on the other hand might not, because I might feel it is worth anything to save my own life. I have never taken the life of Man or Mer or beast race for that matter, by using such spells. I did during the Oblivion Crisis, use such spells on dremora. I used the spells to save the life of my Aunt Irrillia, her unborn child, two children we found along the way and myself. I have never, used them since, because you see good and evil are all a matter of perspective."
I let him think about that as we settled in to get some rest, I knew he would have more questions the next day.
We got up the next day and ate breakfast, I dissipated the runes so that we could leave without setting them off and we headed out. I was right, as we met Falmer shortly after the next set of doors. And then it was like a gauntlet of them and their Chaurus pets. One could feel sorry for the ancient Snow Elves that became the Falmer, but I was hard pressed to feel the least bit bad about killing them.
We made it to a chamber with a couple Falmer and a Dwemer Centurion behind locked gates. Marcurio and I played tag with it, each of us hitting it once, drawing it's attention and then running to avoid it's steaming breath, then the other would hit and run. When we finally dispatched it, we went through another gate where two people seemed more intent on fighting each other than noticing we were their, so we let them fight it out. I put a crossbow bolt into the winner.
We walked up to the Dwemer device and I put the round artifact into the receptacle, as we heard movement in the floor. We both hurried backwards onto what we hoped was solid ground.
We walked down the steps and through a door onto a dark balcony, I caste a light spell and was immediately attacked by Falmer. As I fought the Falmer that came at me, through the haze caused by my light spell and the deep darkness beyond, I seemed to be seeing.... giant glowing mushrooms? Two Falmer attacking me and a Dwemer construct attacking all three of us, was keeping me from getting a good look. Marcurio was busy as well, but we got rid of our attackers at about the same time. We both walked towards the break in the balcony railing, figuring that is where any steps would be. Right as we go to the top of the step's, my light spell dissolved.
As my eye's adjusted to the darkness after my spell, I stood their transfixed by the sheer beauty of the giant cavern we were in. How to describe Blackreach to someone that has never seen it. The dark velvet of the cavern roof was dotted with some kind of glowing fungus or creature that seemed to be swaying to a breeze that I couldn't feel. In white/blues and greens with some red's for color variation, it was like the twinkling of stars set to a music that only they could hear. Their were giant glowing mushrooms and also some kind of rock that seemed to have a light of it's own, even the water was giving off a pale light that made the ripples and eddies fascinating to look upon.
Dwemer towers and buildings dotted the landscape and I wondered at the Dwemer that could leave such a beautiful place. I also knew some Dwemer scholars that would give their family fortunes to come down here to study. Once the main vampire threat was over, I could get an expedition together, some alchemists wouldn't hurt either. But a small part of me didn't want to share this place at all. All this ran through my head in an instant, next to me Marcurio was staring wide eyed and saying wow over and over. I knew the feeling.
After two days of rowing around the islands closest to shore, I climbed up one of the rocky spire's late in the evening and waited til long after dark. After looking for an hour I finally spotted what looked like lanterns out on one of the Islands due North of us. I took note of the islands between us and their most prominent landmarks, I also looked behind me to the landmarks their, so that I would have a strait line to guide me.
When we got to the Island that I had noted, I pulled out one of the long pieces of driftwood that I had gathered and walking a couple step's onto the island, caste the tiniest of fire spell's, then jammed the wood into the ice-pack, used the side of my wood ax to smack it further in, then caste a frost spell to make sure the wood was secure. Marcurio laughed and tied the boat up to my make-shift anchor.
We walked to the entrance of the cave and down the passage, long before we made it to the cavern at the bottom, we heard the voice of a man, who appeared to be talking to himself. I looked at Marcurio, who rolled his eyes, I gave him a sideways smile and we walked into the presence of the man talking to himself.
After a very rambling conversation, half of which made no sense what so ever. Septimus, because that's who it was, gave me two pieces of Dwemer artifact's. I know he gave me instructions somewhere in that nonsense, I could only hope that when the time came, I would understand it.
The trip back to shore was much quicker and Marcurio and I tried to make some sense of what Septimus had said. We understood that we needed to go to Alftand and that somewhere deep inside we would find a gate of sorts, that the round artifact would open up. After that gate, we would find Blackreach, a very deep Dwemer dwelling.
I knew were Alftand was, but we made two detours along the way, one to the Library at the college so I could tell Urag that we had found Septimus, but that he was stark raving mad. Urag said that dealing with Elder Scroll's could do that to a person, but I wasn't so sure that was the cause... he hadn't went to get the Elder Scroll, just knew where it was.
The second stop was in Dawnstar so that we could get more provisions and most important healing potions. Marcurio said he would teach me a healing spell if I didn't know any. I laughed and said I knew quiet a few healing spells, I just choose not to use them unless their is no other choice. I really don't think he understood that one, most young mages wouldn't. I sighed, "what happen's when after a really hard fight, you are exhausted and can't use any magic to heal the axe wound to my thigh, that has nicked an artery and I am unconscious and can't "heal" myself?" I saw the instant he understood what I was getting at. "You can pour a healing potion down my throat or just put bandages on it and hope I don't bleed to death."
The trip to Alftand was otherwise uneventful, a couple wolves and a snowy sabre cat, a calming spell too care of all of them and they meandered on there ways. Dwemer ruins are Dwemer ruins, the architecture is amazing, but very repetitive. I've been in an out of them for over 200 years, what I don't like is their mechanical guardians. Many a sword has been broken on them, which was my other purchase in Dawnstar, a Dwemer sword. I paid a courier to take Kruziik Dilon to the Temple in Riften, one of the Priestesses being a long time friend, I made sure to enclose a note so she would know I was fine.
We ran into plenty of Dwemer automan's doing their job of guarding the ruins. When I saw the first dead Falmer, I stopped and thought a minute. It was mid to late evening, we would soon be getting tired and it wasn't how I wished to find Falmer. I thought back to the last set of rooms and remembered an area with a floor to ceiling grate. Going back I found the gate locked, I picked it and we both went in, I stood in the doorway and caste three frost rune spells, in a half circle in front of the gate. I then shut the gate, re-locked it and laid out my sleeping furs.
Marcurio handed me some cheese, bread and and apple. I looked at the bread and cheese, then gave a rueful grin. I handed him a flaggon of water flavored with snowberries.
"Zane, I was wondering, why it is you rarely use magic, I mean obviously you are well skilled and powerful." He asked in a voice that was more hesitant than I had ever heard from him.
I paused for a moment to figure out how to answer the questions that I knew he really wanted answered, but had been to polite to ask.
" What is the difference between good and evil, in the use of magic?", I didn't expect an answer right away and I didn't get one, as he thought about it. I let the silence drag on for a moment longer and then said, " If you were an observer and saw someone attack me and I used a lightning spell to kill them, you wouldn't consider that evil, would you? and neither really would the person that had attacked me, had they the ability to answer that question. Now if that same thing happened, but instead of a lightning spell, I used a teleportation spell to rip out the attacker's heart or a healing spell to stop it, would you as an observer consider that evil?" I could see the thoughts going through his head, it was actually amusing to watch. " Most people would, I on the other hand might not, because I might feel it is worth anything to save my own life. I have never taken the life of Man or Mer or beast race for that matter, by using such spells. I did during the Oblivion Crisis, use such spells on dremora. I used the spells to save the life of my Aunt Irrillia, her unborn child, two children we found along the way and myself. I have never, used them since, because you see good and evil are all a matter of perspective."
I let him think about that as we settled in to get some rest, I knew he would have more questions the next day.
We got up the next day and ate breakfast, I dissipated the runes so that we could leave without setting them off and we headed out. I was right, as we met Falmer shortly after the next set of doors. And then it was like a gauntlet of them and their Chaurus pets. One could feel sorry for the ancient Snow Elves that became the Falmer, but I was hard pressed to feel the least bit bad about killing them.
We made it to a chamber with a couple Falmer and a Dwemer Centurion behind locked gates. Marcurio and I played tag with it, each of us hitting it once, drawing it's attention and then running to avoid it's steaming breath, then the other would hit and run. When we finally dispatched it, we went through another gate where two people seemed more intent on fighting each other than noticing we were their, so we let them fight it out. I put a crossbow bolt into the winner.
We walked up to the Dwemer device and I put the round artifact into the receptacle, as we heard movement in the floor. We both hurried backwards onto what we hoped was solid ground.
We walked down the steps and through a door onto a dark balcony, I caste a light spell and was immediately attacked by Falmer. As I fought the Falmer that came at me, through the haze caused by my light spell and the deep darkness beyond, I seemed to be seeing.... giant glowing mushrooms? Two Falmer attacking me and a Dwemer construct attacking all three of us, was keeping me from getting a good look. Marcurio was busy as well, but we got rid of our attackers at about the same time. We both walked towards the break in the balcony railing, figuring that is where any steps would be. Right as we go to the top of the step's, my light spell dissolved.
As my eye's adjusted to the darkness after my spell, I stood their transfixed by the sheer beauty of the giant cavern we were in. How to describe Blackreach to someone that has never seen it. The dark velvet of the cavern roof was dotted with some kind of glowing fungus or creature that seemed to be swaying to a breeze that I couldn't feel. In white/blues and greens with some red's for color variation, it was like the twinkling of stars set to a music that only they could hear. Their were giant glowing mushrooms and also some kind of rock that seemed to have a light of it's own, even the water was giving off a pale light that made the ripples and eddies fascinating to look upon.
Dwemer towers and buildings dotted the landscape and I wondered at the Dwemer that could leave such a beautiful place. I also knew some Dwemer scholars that would give their family fortunes to come down here to study. Once the main vampire threat was over, I could get an expedition together, some alchemists wouldn't hurt either. But a small part of me didn't want to share this place at all. All this ran through my head in an instant, next to me Marcurio was staring wide eyed and saying wow over and over. I knew the feeling.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Hunting an Elder Scroll Chapter 9
It was still well before dawn when I woke to find the blizzard had passed, knowing both Masser and Scunda would be full and up til past dawn, I fixed breakfast. I woke Marcurio, we ate then left the barrow. The land was lit up by the moon's and an Aurora, putting on a beautiful display. We walked quickly to warm up our bodies, but not so fast that we would start to sweat, something that could be deadly in this weather.
Reaching Winterhold in the early afternoon we walked strait up to the College, where we ran into a hiccup in our otherwise smooth day. One of the members was guarding the way in and seemed to want me to perform some kind of test to prove I belonged at the college. Just as I was about to unleash a levitation spell on the her, Marcurio walked around me. She smiled at him with a slight blush, the little hussy. "Oh, I didn't see you. You two go right in, I didn't know she was with you". I almost caste the spell on her anyway.
"Have you flirted with every female in Skyrim, Marcurio?"
" Now, why do you think I am here instead of The Imperial City?" he said with a roll of his eyes
I snorted and kept walking. Finding my way to the Library was no problem, I had been their countless times before. I asked Marcurio to distract the Librarian, so I kept my hood up and my head down. When Marcurio caught his attention and he started in a spiel that must of been decades old.
"Old Man, I'll take your Atronach's and raise you two Dremora Lords". I said slyly as I pulled my hood down. Then started laughing as his jaw dropped and he snapped his mouth shut. Orc's really have to be careful about that, he just about bit his lip.
He moved around the desk and caught me in a bear hug that threatened to crack my rib's. "Zane, girl, you don't look a day older and it's been.... at least 25 yrs. Where have you been?"
"Chasing vampires," I shrugged one shoulder, "That's what I am doing here. I'm searching for an Elder Scroll or a rumor of where one might be. I don't suppose you have one?"
"No, not a single Elder Scroll in my library, it could use one though. I do however have a couple book's that might point you in the right direction". He walked over to a locked book case and brought out two book's laying them on the counter.
" You remember Septimus Signus, I think he had just gotten here before you left". I looked at both book's and chose the one not Signus, after leafing though that one quickly, I picked up the book by Signus. Read through it twice and grimaced, as I put it back down.
"I don't think I recall him, but from reading his book, he sounds a few eggs short of a dozen."
Urag, shook his head and then said he probably was. He had disappeared, somewhere up in the Ice flows and hadn't been heard from in a couple year's.
" Do you know if I still have my room here or did they give it to someone?" I didn't hold out much hope, but it never hurts to ask.
" They gave your room away about 10, maybe 15 years ago, you really should come by more often". I Just nodded at him and said thank's, gave him a kiss on his cheek and walked out.
"He's a Librarian Marcurio, he'd rather my story in writing, than spoken. If that is your wondering." We left the college and walked to the Inn, where I ordered dinner and two room's. " I suppose I should write a journal and then send them to him, that he would be interested in."
" Actually, I was wondering if you planned on taking us out to the ice flows and wander around". He said as the bar maid brought us our food. I saw him slip a gold piece in her rather low bodice, well she was showing off her asset's.
" No, not wander, I did some Ice fishing and Horker hunting with a couple of families that used to live up here. There are a good many island's with cave's and such, but their are a few that I think might interest a crazy scholar, we'll start with those". I could tell he wasn't really listening, but that was ok, if I was a young man, I wouldn't be listening to me either. She really was pretty and well built.
After dinner I left Marcurio to his own graces and went outside to talk to the guards. They are always a good source of information. One of the guard's remembered the family that fished the waters, but said they had moved closer to Solitude. After a couple more questions he did tell me that he had overheard one of them tell the other they would miss the extra coin from the mage. He didn't know anymore, but called over an older guard that told me the family had taken supplies out to a mage, that was hold up in a cave. He gave directions as best he could and also told me where a boat could be found, the owner having disappeared. I thanked both men and asked if they got off duty soon, both said yes, so I told them I would buy them some ale and dinner.
I pulled an old book out of my pocket, sometime in the past it had gotten wet and the ink was smeared or just plain gone, I used it to write lists and other things I wanted to remember down, with a piece of charcoal. Just as I finished up my lists of supplies we would need, the two guards came through the door or the Inn, with a third. I motioned them over and the Inn Keeper brought all of us a round of ale and asked the guards what they wanted to eat.
"All of us got off duty at the same time, but Raic will pay for his own meal". the eldest guard said. I told them not to worry, I would enjoy their company. One of the guards asked about my armor, having noticed that My and Marcurio's armor were similar. I told them we were part of the newly formed Dawnguard and on the look out for anyone that wanted to join in our fight against vampires. I listened to them talking for awhile and joined in with stories of my own.
"Let me tell you about the Barmaid at the Inn right outside the Imperial City and how she...volunteered to join the mages guild. She was a pretty little thing, dark of hair, blue eyes and a curvey figure that belied her small stature. It seem's that guards and traveler's to the Inn alike kept coming up with coin missing, but none could figure out exactly how. Coin purses tied on the inside of clothing and sealed shut would come up empty just as quickly as mugs of ale. After a couple months of complaints and the guard not figuring it out, they asked the Mages guild to send someone around. A Little old man of a mage walked through the door, in clothing that looked strait off a merchants caravan. He spread a little coin around and rented a room for a couple days. He watched everyone for a few days, while reading various book's he pulled out of his bag's. When some coin and a precious stone disappeared from his pocket, he noticed the change in weight. He concentrated but neither saw nor felt a body around him, which would happen if one was using an Invisibility spell or potion. He whispered the tiniest spell and felt the answer, magic but not what he had thought. He got up and walked out the door and walked a little bit up the road. When he ran into one of the city guard, he gave the man a note, which he said to deliver to the watch Captain. He then strolled back down the road, taking his time getting back to the Inn.
He sat back down and pulled out his book's. About three quarters of an hour later the watch Captain and two guards walked through the door and over to where he sat. With a couple word's to the little mage, the Captain called everyone in the room together, as they stood their in a line the little old mage stood up.
"Captain, the reason I asked you to bring battlemages with you, is that your thief stole a precious stone, but it's not just any stone. This stone has a spell on it, this spell is peculiar in that it can only be removed from one person to another by magic and the holder can't remove it at all. It is in the pocket of one of the people in this room. Just have them turn their pockets inside out." as he finished his sentence the barmaid disappeared for a brief second and then reappeared. " Oh did I forget to mention, that it also won't get more than 100 paces from the caster of the spell?"
The Battlemages walked over to the barmaid and watched her closely as the little mage called his rune stone back to him. " If the Lady is willing, she may become a pupil of the mages guild, in Bruma. Otherwise the Lady can sit in a prison cell until she changes her mind".
As it happened gentlemen, she choose to go to Bruma with the old mage. In the course of time, she became a very highly respected mage in the guild. I know because I was one of the Imperial Battlemages that escorted her to Bruma. The old mage had her cast a rune spell on another stone and kept hold of it, so that she wouldn't run away. And with that Gentlemen have a good night".
I then got up and made my way to my bed and a good nights sleep.
Reaching Winterhold in the early afternoon we walked strait up to the College, where we ran into a hiccup in our otherwise smooth day. One of the members was guarding the way in and seemed to want me to perform some kind of test to prove I belonged at the college. Just as I was about to unleash a levitation spell on the her, Marcurio walked around me. She smiled at him with a slight blush, the little hussy. "Oh, I didn't see you. You two go right in, I didn't know she was with you". I almost caste the spell on her anyway.
"Have you flirted with every female in Skyrim, Marcurio?"
" Now, why do you think I am here instead of The Imperial City?" he said with a roll of his eyes
I snorted and kept walking. Finding my way to the Library was no problem, I had been their countless times before. I asked Marcurio to distract the Librarian, so I kept my hood up and my head down. When Marcurio caught his attention and he started in a spiel that must of been decades old.
"Old Man, I'll take your Atronach's and raise you two Dremora Lords". I said slyly as I pulled my hood down. Then started laughing as his jaw dropped and he snapped his mouth shut. Orc's really have to be careful about that, he just about bit his lip.
He moved around the desk and caught me in a bear hug that threatened to crack my rib's. "Zane, girl, you don't look a day older and it's been.... at least 25 yrs. Where have you been?"
"Chasing vampires," I shrugged one shoulder, "That's what I am doing here. I'm searching for an Elder Scroll or a rumor of where one might be. I don't suppose you have one?"
"No, not a single Elder Scroll in my library, it could use one though. I do however have a couple book's that might point you in the right direction". He walked over to a locked book case and brought out two book's laying them on the counter.
" You remember Septimus Signus, I think he had just gotten here before you left". I looked at both book's and chose the one not Signus, after leafing though that one quickly, I picked up the book by Signus. Read through it twice and grimaced, as I put it back down.
"I don't think I recall him, but from reading his book, he sounds a few eggs short of a dozen."
Urag, shook his head and then said he probably was. He had disappeared, somewhere up in the Ice flows and hadn't been heard from in a couple year's.
" Do you know if I still have my room here or did they give it to someone?" I didn't hold out much hope, but it never hurts to ask.
" They gave your room away about 10, maybe 15 years ago, you really should come by more often". I Just nodded at him and said thank's, gave him a kiss on his cheek and walked out.
"He's a Librarian Marcurio, he'd rather my story in writing, than spoken. If that is your wondering." We left the college and walked to the Inn, where I ordered dinner and two room's. " I suppose I should write a journal and then send them to him, that he would be interested in."
" Actually, I was wondering if you planned on taking us out to the ice flows and wander around". He said as the bar maid brought us our food. I saw him slip a gold piece in her rather low bodice, well she was showing off her asset's.
" No, not wander, I did some Ice fishing and Horker hunting with a couple of families that used to live up here. There are a good many island's with cave's and such, but their are a few that I think might interest a crazy scholar, we'll start with those". I could tell he wasn't really listening, but that was ok, if I was a young man, I wouldn't be listening to me either. She really was pretty and well built.
After dinner I left Marcurio to his own graces and went outside to talk to the guards. They are always a good source of information. One of the guard's remembered the family that fished the waters, but said they had moved closer to Solitude. After a couple more questions he did tell me that he had overheard one of them tell the other they would miss the extra coin from the mage. He didn't know anymore, but called over an older guard that told me the family had taken supplies out to a mage, that was hold up in a cave. He gave directions as best he could and also told me where a boat could be found, the owner having disappeared. I thanked both men and asked if they got off duty soon, both said yes, so I told them I would buy them some ale and dinner.
I pulled an old book out of my pocket, sometime in the past it had gotten wet and the ink was smeared or just plain gone, I used it to write lists and other things I wanted to remember down, with a piece of charcoal. Just as I finished up my lists of supplies we would need, the two guards came through the door or the Inn, with a third. I motioned them over and the Inn Keeper brought all of us a round of ale and asked the guards what they wanted to eat.
"All of us got off duty at the same time, but Raic will pay for his own meal". the eldest guard said. I told them not to worry, I would enjoy their company. One of the guards asked about my armor, having noticed that My and Marcurio's armor were similar. I told them we were part of the newly formed Dawnguard and on the look out for anyone that wanted to join in our fight against vampires. I listened to them talking for awhile and joined in with stories of my own.
"Let me tell you about the Barmaid at the Inn right outside the Imperial City and how she...volunteered to join the mages guild. She was a pretty little thing, dark of hair, blue eyes and a curvey figure that belied her small stature. It seem's that guards and traveler's to the Inn alike kept coming up with coin missing, but none could figure out exactly how. Coin purses tied on the inside of clothing and sealed shut would come up empty just as quickly as mugs of ale. After a couple months of complaints and the guard not figuring it out, they asked the Mages guild to send someone around. A Little old man of a mage walked through the door, in clothing that looked strait off a merchants caravan. He spread a little coin around and rented a room for a couple days. He watched everyone for a few days, while reading various book's he pulled out of his bag's. When some coin and a precious stone disappeared from his pocket, he noticed the change in weight. He concentrated but neither saw nor felt a body around him, which would happen if one was using an Invisibility spell or potion. He whispered the tiniest spell and felt the answer, magic but not what he had thought. He got up and walked out the door and walked a little bit up the road. When he ran into one of the city guard, he gave the man a note, which he said to deliver to the watch Captain. He then strolled back down the road, taking his time getting back to the Inn.
He sat back down and pulled out his book's. About three quarters of an hour later the watch Captain and two guards walked through the door and over to where he sat. With a couple word's to the little mage, the Captain called everyone in the room together, as they stood their in a line the little old mage stood up.
"Captain, the reason I asked you to bring battlemages with you, is that your thief stole a precious stone, but it's not just any stone. This stone has a spell on it, this spell is peculiar in that it can only be removed from one person to another by magic and the holder can't remove it at all. It is in the pocket of one of the people in this room. Just have them turn their pockets inside out." as he finished his sentence the barmaid disappeared for a brief second and then reappeared. " Oh did I forget to mention, that it also won't get more than 100 paces from the caster of the spell?"
The Battlemages walked over to the barmaid and watched her closely as the little mage called his rune stone back to him. " If the Lady is willing, she may become a pupil of the mages guild, in Bruma. Otherwise the Lady can sit in a prison cell until she changes her mind".
As it happened gentlemen, she choose to go to Bruma with the old mage. In the course of time, she became a very highly respected mage in the guild. I know because I was one of the Imperial Battlemages that escorted her to Bruma. The old mage had her cast a rune spell on another stone and kept hold of it, so that she wouldn't run away. And with that Gentlemen have a good night".
I then got up and made my way to my bed and a good nights sleep.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
The funniest thing happened Chapter 8
The next morning I woke early, not that I had slept all that well in the first place. I ordered breakfast and some provisions to take along with us. As it was well before daylight I let Marcurio sleep awhile longer. I talked with the Inn Keepers son and learned all the happenings around town. Nothing changed much here, fighting over the silver mines and over blood-lines still seemed to be the thing to do.
About an hour before dawn I went and knocked on Marcurio's door to wake him. I quickly walked away as I had learned he wasn't much of a morning person. He walked out a bit later dressed and ready to go. I urged him to eat the breakfast I'd ordered, but he turned his nose up at it, with a slightly ill look. Serve him right to drink to much, seeing the shadow exit his room, I wondered if he had passed out before or after a romp with the bar-maid, by the ill mood it might have been before.
The walk to the barrow we had been told to look for, was very uneventful, normally I would have been happy about that, but with my partner in a cranky mood, running into some bandit's or a dragon might have let him vent some of that bile. As we entered the place Marcurio took the lead and blasted ahead of him with spells, but anything that didn't die from the fire-ball he hacked into tiny pieces. He wasn't very elegant with that sword, but neither is a mud-slide and both will kill you just the same. Draugr or vampire, it didn't matter we found both umm dead, Marcurio took care of the victor. It didn't take long to get to the main chamber, Marcurio looked tired as we paused outside the door's. I raised my eyebrows at him and he looked down, I just shook my head and stepped back so he could open the door, while I readied an arrow.
I quickly let off the string and leaned against the door frame to watch the scene in front of us. You ever watch two thing's that aren't really "alive" try and kill each other? The Draugr Deathlord seemed to be having a problem, one arm was missing...well until you looked at the Master vampire and realized He had sword stuck through his back... with the arm still attached. The Master vampire must of been thinking with a dead brain cell or something because he was using a drain life spell, it wasn't really having much effect. Just as the Deathlord decided to use a Thu'um, the Master vampire decided to unleash a blast of lightning. Both went flying across the room in opposite directions. I burst out laughing, hard enough to have tear's running down my face, I went and checked on the Deathlord while Marcurio went to see about the Master vampire. I turned and looked at him and said "Well they appear to be dead, again, for good this time one hopes." He choose that moment to fall into a fit of laughter, literally, he ended up half sitting half laying in a crypt. Thankfully they former tenant wasn't there any longer.
Still laughing softly I wandered around the room looking for any loot light enough to take on the next part of our trip. Nothing really great in this one, just a few gem stones and one very nice dagger.
After Marcurio managed to get up, we walked back out to the barrow's door's. As I pushed against the door it resisted, so I pushed a little harder, when the door gave it slammed open to show the world bathed in white as a blizzard was rampaging outside. I pulled the door shut and started gathering what wood I could find to make a fire. Most of it was furniture that had seen better days a thousand years ago. When I though I had enough to last the night, plus a little more, I put together a makeshift spit and found a bowl to make stew in. I shut the doors to the inner part of the barrow and jammed a sword into the ring's, so that the dead would stay on that side of the doorway. I took another and jammed it in the door to outside. It's not that I wouldn't allow anyone in, I just didn't want a surprise.
As I sat on my bedroll to eat our dinner Marcurio asked if I had ever been married, since he had seen the amulet of Mara I kept in my pouch. With a sad smile I said yes, I had, almost 200 yr's ago.
"Let me tell you about the first time I met him." I said as I leaned back against a pillar and looked into the past. " I was in Understone Keep, Oh about 2 or 3 in the morning, amusing the Jarl's new baby with a ball of light, that I sent swirling around his head. He would "catch" it and then try and jam it in him mouth, the way babies do. As he kicked his leg's and arm's out, a shadow passed over the two of us from a Hulk of a Nord that had gotten between us and the fire. He gurgled and laughed as I looked up into the bearded face of said Nord. Who asked me where the Jarl was, my answer was, "sleeping good sir, as most people around here do in the middle of the night. If I can help you in anyway?" He laughed and said he didn't need the Jarl's nanny, but a couple good fighters. Just as I was about to make a sarcastic retort, a young Nord girl came running out from the kitchen area, with a makeshift baby bottle in her hand's. " Oh thank you so much Captain, it's hard to hold him and get this thing filled and warm." I sent another swirl of light around the babies head and told her it wasn't a problem.
As she disappeared from sight, I asked him exactly what he needed a couple of fighters for? I turned toward's him and realized that he stood head and shoulders taller than I, something that didn't happen often and usually it was another Altmer. He didn't immediately answer so I looked up at him and realized he was starring down my sleep-shirt, I refused to blush and snapped my fingers in front of his nose. Asking if he had never seen a woman's breasts before and do you know that big hulk of a man blushed solid red?
He then started stammering something I really couldn't make out. I just stood their waiting til he could gather his scattered whits, it's not like I'm built like the Lady Dibella. When he finally got his composure back, he said the the farm stead he lived at was being attacked by giants. That they normally were very peaceful, but they were coming around killing the cow's for some reason.
I asked him if he had eaten since he left the farm or slept, because I would make sure he got a good meal and a couple hours of sleep before the Jarl got up. I motioned for him to follow me and I went to the kitchen where I found the sleepy night cook and asked her to fix the man a meal, I then went in search of one of the maid's and asked her to fix the man up a bed and then show him to it and tell him that I would see him at 8 the next morning.
You see Marcurio the Jarl had lost his wife in child birth, but the little tike was well loved by all around him. The land was rather unsettled then, not that it's much tamer now, Skyrim being a very harsh land, it was hard for all the deadroth to be hunted down. That is what I was doing their at that time, I had come with Amy to her home and we found that while the majority of the deadric creatures had been banished to Oblivion, there where still some left. I had become the Captain of the guard in Markarth, most people would retire from that job, I just moved on. I wasn't completely impressed with Bjorn when I first met him...well by anything other than his size, that changed soon enough though. Get some sleep, soon as this blizzard is over we are heading to the College in Winterhold, the Librarian is an old friend, he may know something about these Elder Scroll's we are supposed to find.
That said I rolled up in my sleeping fur's and thought of the second time I had run into Bjorn, with a smile on my lip's, I fell asleep.
About an hour before dawn I went and knocked on Marcurio's door to wake him. I quickly walked away as I had learned he wasn't much of a morning person. He walked out a bit later dressed and ready to go. I urged him to eat the breakfast I'd ordered, but he turned his nose up at it, with a slightly ill look. Serve him right to drink to much, seeing the shadow exit his room, I wondered if he had passed out before or after a romp with the bar-maid, by the ill mood it might have been before.
The walk to the barrow we had been told to look for, was very uneventful, normally I would have been happy about that, but with my partner in a cranky mood, running into some bandit's or a dragon might have let him vent some of that bile. As we entered the place Marcurio took the lead and blasted ahead of him with spells, but anything that didn't die from the fire-ball he hacked into tiny pieces. He wasn't very elegant with that sword, but neither is a mud-slide and both will kill you just the same. Draugr or vampire, it didn't matter we found both umm dead, Marcurio took care of the victor. It didn't take long to get to the main chamber, Marcurio looked tired as we paused outside the door's. I raised my eyebrows at him and he looked down, I just shook my head and stepped back so he could open the door, while I readied an arrow.
I quickly let off the string and leaned against the door frame to watch the scene in front of us. You ever watch two thing's that aren't really "alive" try and kill each other? The Draugr Deathlord seemed to be having a problem, one arm was missing...well until you looked at the Master vampire and realized He had sword stuck through his back... with the arm still attached. The Master vampire must of been thinking with a dead brain cell or something because he was using a drain life spell, it wasn't really having much effect. Just as the Deathlord decided to use a Thu'um, the Master vampire decided to unleash a blast of lightning. Both went flying across the room in opposite directions. I burst out laughing, hard enough to have tear's running down my face, I went and checked on the Deathlord while Marcurio went to see about the Master vampire. I turned and looked at him and said "Well they appear to be dead, again, for good this time one hopes." He choose that moment to fall into a fit of laughter, literally, he ended up half sitting half laying in a crypt. Thankfully they former tenant wasn't there any longer.
Still laughing softly I wandered around the room looking for any loot light enough to take on the next part of our trip. Nothing really great in this one, just a few gem stones and one very nice dagger.
After Marcurio managed to get up, we walked back out to the barrow's door's. As I pushed against the door it resisted, so I pushed a little harder, when the door gave it slammed open to show the world bathed in white as a blizzard was rampaging outside. I pulled the door shut and started gathering what wood I could find to make a fire. Most of it was furniture that had seen better days a thousand years ago. When I though I had enough to last the night, plus a little more, I put together a makeshift spit and found a bowl to make stew in. I shut the doors to the inner part of the barrow and jammed a sword into the ring's, so that the dead would stay on that side of the doorway. I took another and jammed it in the door to outside. It's not that I wouldn't allow anyone in, I just didn't want a surprise.
As I sat on my bedroll to eat our dinner Marcurio asked if I had ever been married, since he had seen the amulet of Mara I kept in my pouch. With a sad smile I said yes, I had, almost 200 yr's ago.
"Let me tell you about the first time I met him." I said as I leaned back against a pillar and looked into the past. " I was in Understone Keep, Oh about 2 or 3 in the morning, amusing the Jarl's new baby with a ball of light, that I sent swirling around his head. He would "catch" it and then try and jam it in him mouth, the way babies do. As he kicked his leg's and arm's out, a shadow passed over the two of us from a Hulk of a Nord that had gotten between us and the fire. He gurgled and laughed as I looked up into the bearded face of said Nord. Who asked me where the Jarl was, my answer was, "sleeping good sir, as most people around here do in the middle of the night. If I can help you in anyway?" He laughed and said he didn't need the Jarl's nanny, but a couple good fighters. Just as I was about to make a sarcastic retort, a young Nord girl came running out from the kitchen area, with a makeshift baby bottle in her hand's. " Oh thank you so much Captain, it's hard to hold him and get this thing filled and warm." I sent another swirl of light around the babies head and told her it wasn't a problem.
As she disappeared from sight, I asked him exactly what he needed a couple of fighters for? I turned toward's him and realized that he stood head and shoulders taller than I, something that didn't happen often and usually it was another Altmer. He didn't immediately answer so I looked up at him and realized he was starring down my sleep-shirt, I refused to blush and snapped my fingers in front of his nose. Asking if he had never seen a woman's breasts before and do you know that big hulk of a man blushed solid red?
He then started stammering something I really couldn't make out. I just stood their waiting til he could gather his scattered whits, it's not like I'm built like the Lady Dibella. When he finally got his composure back, he said the the farm stead he lived at was being attacked by giants. That they normally were very peaceful, but they were coming around killing the cow's for some reason.
I asked him if he had eaten since he left the farm or slept, because I would make sure he got a good meal and a couple hours of sleep before the Jarl got up. I motioned for him to follow me and I went to the kitchen where I found the sleepy night cook and asked her to fix the man a meal, I then went in search of one of the maid's and asked her to fix the man up a bed and then show him to it and tell him that I would see him at 8 the next morning.
You see Marcurio the Jarl had lost his wife in child birth, but the little tike was well loved by all around him. The land was rather unsettled then, not that it's much tamer now, Skyrim being a very harsh land, it was hard for all the deadroth to be hunted down. That is what I was doing their at that time, I had come with Amy to her home and we found that while the majority of the deadric creatures had been banished to Oblivion, there where still some left. I had become the Captain of the guard in Markarth, most people would retire from that job, I just moved on. I wasn't completely impressed with Bjorn when I first met him...well by anything other than his size, that changed soon enough though. Get some sleep, soon as this blizzard is over we are heading to the College in Winterhold, the Librarian is an old friend, he may know something about these Elder Scroll's we are supposed to find.
That said I rolled up in my sleeping fur's and thought of the second time I had run into Bjorn, with a smile on my lip's, I fell asleep.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
A trip through Markarth chapter 7
Because the trip was partially at night, Marcurio and I took turns sleeping. I had thought about buying a horse, but Marcurio didn't ride. There would come a time when that would be a problem, as I liked moving fast. We arrived in Markarth late in the afternoon and headed to the Silverblood Inn, the Inn Keeper was the person I needed to speak with about the vampires.
Knowing that money talked, I rented two room's and asked the Inn Keeper for the information with another gold piece in my hand. He was hesitant at first but another gold piece got his vocal cords moving. Getting the information on a Master vampire, Marcurio and I sat down for an early dinner to discuss what we would be doing.
"You have potions of disease cure? If not I have a couple, I can give you one". I asked him as we sat down at a table.
"Oh yes, I have a few myself. Do you think we would need more than two each?", before I answered him the Inn keepers daughter asked us if we wished to order anything. We both ordered dinner and an ale, I also ordered a honey nut treat.
"No, one each should be enough, unless we run into more vampires elsewhere." I paused for a minute, " That's generally why I carry two or more, but the symptoms are obvious and if you catch it early enough, a potion or blessing from one of the Divines works as a cure also, as long as you don't allow it to get to far along."
"You've caught vampirism before?" he asked with an odd look on his face.
" Actually, no I haven't. I had this necklass made year's ago, it makes me almost immune to diseases. I'm not the best at enchanting, but I can make you one also, if you like."
" I would really appreciate that, I like ale to much to want to have to rely on blood to live". We both laughed at that. " I take it you have been to Markarth before?". I snorted and gave a brief laugh.
" Oh yes, I spent almost a year in this very Inn, during the Great War." I took a sip of my ale and motioned for another.
" Really, I don't think I would want to spend that much time in this stoney place, though I find the Dwemer very interesting".
" Trust me, this was not the place I really wanted to be for that much time either. On the night before I was supposed to lead some of the Reachmen to join with other's to fight the Dominion, I made the mistake of getting just drunk enough." I winced when I remembered just how drunk I had been. " I left here with a friend, but didn't even make it far out the door. He tripped over a loose cobble and fell into me. I staggered sideways and fell exactly the wrong way off the little bridge outside the door. With him landing on top of me, I ended up with my right leg broken in two places. The healers did the best at magical healing they could, but I still needed to stay off of my feet to let the bone knit properly."
"So you missed the whole of the war, staying here in Markarth?' He sounded very unsure.
" Oh no, only the first year, though it took another for my leg to fully heal. Well at least enough for me to spend half the day fighting on it. I spent time recruiting and finding good sources of supplies. Those were thing's I could do from the back of a horse or mostly anyway." I took another sip of my ale." I might have been the wrong person to try recruiting in Skyrim, at least while the Empire was fighting the Thalmor. Some Nord's make no distinctions between one Altmer and another. I got nasty looks then and I get them now. "
"It was not a good time, but I worked at it and found good friends and allies. Marcurio, you have to understand, I might not have believed in what the Thalmor stood for or still stand for, for that matter, but I didn't and still don't wish to fight my own people. Not everyone in the Armies of the Aldemeri Dominion believe in what the Thalmor want. Some are poor farmer's son's who just want adventure and don't realize what it is they are fighting for, until after they have taken the oath. Not everyone wanted to hear what I had to say and while I did end up fighting on the front lines, I was never happy about it. Their is nothing like looking across the battlefield and taking aim against someone that previously fought along side you."
Macrcurio nodded. " I can understand that, I know it's not the same, but I have had to kill vampires that were previously friends or just someone I knew. They at least had turned into monsters, I can only imagine how hard it is to kill someone that was a friend and is now an enemy just because of different points of view."
"Sometimes it isn't even that simple, as I said some are simple farm kid's that wanted adventure and don't even realize what it is they were fighting for until it was to late."
"But that is one of my trips through Markarth." I got up and told Marcurio I would see him in the morning, I wanted to talk a walk before going to bed. I walked out of the Inn and headed to the right, to were I knew the smithy was. Walking up the stairs and around behind it, I watched the moon rise and thought of the friends long since dead that had walked these streets.
Bjorn, the tallest and widest man I have ever met, he was taller than I by a head. I shook my head as I remembered walking on this very bridge with him on our way to the Silverblood Inn. We were to pick up the last two member's of our little group. It wasn't hard to find them as they were rolling out the door as we walked up to it. Two Breton's, brothers and they were best out in the wild's, fighting what ever it was you pointed them at. Left in civilized company to long, they generally pounded on each other, I would have hated to have been their mother. Talin was a mage of no small skill, Kalin carried a shield and axe.
I would have to tell Marcurio about them, he would be interested in Talin's view on some magic. I left the bridge and walked on the upper balconies, til I was at the highest watch balcony. The guard asked me if I needed anything and I told him no, just walking and taking in the view. I leaned against the guard rail and looked down on the road out.
I saw the ghostly echo's of the four of us as we walked the road out. Bjorn with that huge Glass battleaxe across his back. It didn't look huge on his back though, I laughed inwardly, I had seen him use it with one hand. Kalin and Talin, pushing and shoving each other as they talked about the bar maids. and I walking beside Bjorn, Elven great sword and an ebony bow across my back, I really miss that bow. We where headed to an Ancient Nord Barrow, Bjorn had heard bandit's were using as headquarters for their raids.
My Elven sword broke in half on that little trip, but I got Kruziik Dilon then. She's a beaut of a sword. When we got to the Barrow, the bandit's were having their way with a young Nord girl, I think that enraged the three men more than it did myself and I was mad enough, magic was oozing from my hands. All the bandit's outside were dead in a matter of minutes. I healed the girls wounds and put her to sleep, after we cleared out the first room, Bjorn went back out got her and the brothers made her a bed from all their sleeping gear. I spread mine over her to keep her warm, wishing I could heal the wound's to her mind as easily as those to body. Bjorn put his big hand on my shoulder and squeezed, I looked up at him then kissed his hand. I told the men that she would sleep the clock around, then wake, hopefully we would be back by then.
We made our way through the Barrow room by room, showing no mercy to the bandit's with in. We looted the bandit's as we went, taking only the really light stuff, leaving the rest in small piles for when we came back. In a large room we saw, what we guessed was the bandit leader, messing with a claw and door. We didn't get four step's in the room when the large door disapeared into the floor and the bandit went through. We followed him, but as nothing seemed to want to stop him he made good time, we on the other hand had to kill a few Draugr along the way. We got to the last room as a draugr raised out of a crypt in the center of the room, as several other draugr were also raising out of their crypt's.
We got set to have a fight, Bjorn smiled with all teeth showing, which for him meant he was thrilled. The brothers smacked their fists together. I pulled my bow and started firing arrows at the closest draugr. One thing I noticed about Nord's, they don't stay dead long, always seem to want to wonder around. I shot arrow after arrow until the draugr got to close and then I dropped my bow, meaning to pick it up after the fight was over. I took a quick look around and noticed that the Bandit was dead. Bjorn was fighting the same Draugr, he seemed much tougher than the others.
I finished fighting the one in front of me and then looked around for more. Talin was bent over his brother using a healing spell, Bjorn was still fighting the big Draugr so I went to help him. As I made a second swing at him he turned and slammed his sword into mind, breaking it. I readied a sun bound spell and then flung it at the big Draugr, it burst into flame and Bjorn cut it's head off.
I bent over and grabbed the sword he had been carrying, Bjorn asked if it was any good. I laughed and said it had cut mine in half, so it had to be, at the very least, better than the one I had. We looked around the room and looted some of the precious gem's and other artifact's of worth. Talin said that Kalin was still a little addled from the blow he had taken, as he wasn't all that good with wound's to the head. I walked over and delved him and found out that other than some minor brusing his head was fine, he would just be addled for a bit. We left the way we had come and picked up the bundles of loot we had made, along with the Nord girl.
As the changing of the guard intterupted my thought's, I remembered that it hadn't been til we were well on our way back to Markarth that I had remembered I hadn't picked up my bow. I felt slightly depressed as I walked back to my room. I didn't like Markarth all that much, the memories were to good and depressing at the same time, to want to relive them. Only one place in Skyrim was worse, I hadn't entered or been to the house in a very long time. I laid down on the bed and fell asleep, I dreamed of Bjorn, who I was sure was drinking and eating in Sovngarde.
Knowing that money talked, I rented two room's and asked the Inn Keeper for the information with another gold piece in my hand. He was hesitant at first but another gold piece got his vocal cords moving. Getting the information on a Master vampire, Marcurio and I sat down for an early dinner to discuss what we would be doing.
"You have potions of disease cure? If not I have a couple, I can give you one". I asked him as we sat down at a table.
"Oh yes, I have a few myself. Do you think we would need more than two each?", before I answered him the Inn keepers daughter asked us if we wished to order anything. We both ordered dinner and an ale, I also ordered a honey nut treat.
"No, one each should be enough, unless we run into more vampires elsewhere." I paused for a minute, " That's generally why I carry two or more, but the symptoms are obvious and if you catch it early enough, a potion or blessing from one of the Divines works as a cure also, as long as you don't allow it to get to far along."
"You've caught vampirism before?" he asked with an odd look on his face.
" Actually, no I haven't. I had this necklass made year's ago, it makes me almost immune to diseases. I'm not the best at enchanting, but I can make you one also, if you like."
" I would really appreciate that, I like ale to much to want to have to rely on blood to live". We both laughed at that. " I take it you have been to Markarth before?". I snorted and gave a brief laugh.
" Oh yes, I spent almost a year in this very Inn, during the Great War." I took a sip of my ale and motioned for another.
" Really, I don't think I would want to spend that much time in this stoney place, though I find the Dwemer very interesting".
" Trust me, this was not the place I really wanted to be for that much time either. On the night before I was supposed to lead some of the Reachmen to join with other's to fight the Dominion, I made the mistake of getting just drunk enough." I winced when I remembered just how drunk I had been. " I left here with a friend, but didn't even make it far out the door. He tripped over a loose cobble and fell into me. I staggered sideways and fell exactly the wrong way off the little bridge outside the door. With him landing on top of me, I ended up with my right leg broken in two places. The healers did the best at magical healing they could, but I still needed to stay off of my feet to let the bone knit properly."
"So you missed the whole of the war, staying here in Markarth?' He sounded very unsure.
" Oh no, only the first year, though it took another for my leg to fully heal. Well at least enough for me to spend half the day fighting on it. I spent time recruiting and finding good sources of supplies. Those were thing's I could do from the back of a horse or mostly anyway." I took another sip of my ale." I might have been the wrong person to try recruiting in Skyrim, at least while the Empire was fighting the Thalmor. Some Nord's make no distinctions between one Altmer and another. I got nasty looks then and I get them now. "
"It was not a good time, but I worked at it and found good friends and allies. Marcurio, you have to understand, I might not have believed in what the Thalmor stood for or still stand for, for that matter, but I didn't and still don't wish to fight my own people. Not everyone in the Armies of the Aldemeri Dominion believe in what the Thalmor want. Some are poor farmer's son's who just want adventure and don't realize what it is they are fighting for, until after they have taken the oath. Not everyone wanted to hear what I had to say and while I did end up fighting on the front lines, I was never happy about it. Their is nothing like looking across the battlefield and taking aim against someone that previously fought along side you."
Macrcurio nodded. " I can understand that, I know it's not the same, but I have had to kill vampires that were previously friends or just someone I knew. They at least had turned into monsters, I can only imagine how hard it is to kill someone that was a friend and is now an enemy just because of different points of view."
"Sometimes it isn't even that simple, as I said some are simple farm kid's that wanted adventure and don't even realize what it is they were fighting for until it was to late."
"But that is one of my trips through Markarth." I got up and told Marcurio I would see him in the morning, I wanted to talk a walk before going to bed. I walked out of the Inn and headed to the right, to were I knew the smithy was. Walking up the stairs and around behind it, I watched the moon rise and thought of the friends long since dead that had walked these streets.
Bjorn, the tallest and widest man I have ever met, he was taller than I by a head. I shook my head as I remembered walking on this very bridge with him on our way to the Silverblood Inn. We were to pick up the last two member's of our little group. It wasn't hard to find them as they were rolling out the door as we walked up to it. Two Breton's, brothers and they were best out in the wild's, fighting what ever it was you pointed them at. Left in civilized company to long, they generally pounded on each other, I would have hated to have been their mother. Talin was a mage of no small skill, Kalin carried a shield and axe.
I would have to tell Marcurio about them, he would be interested in Talin's view on some magic. I left the bridge and walked on the upper balconies, til I was at the highest watch balcony. The guard asked me if I needed anything and I told him no, just walking and taking in the view. I leaned against the guard rail and looked down on the road out.
I saw the ghostly echo's of the four of us as we walked the road out. Bjorn with that huge Glass battleaxe across his back. It didn't look huge on his back though, I laughed inwardly, I had seen him use it with one hand. Kalin and Talin, pushing and shoving each other as they talked about the bar maids. and I walking beside Bjorn, Elven great sword and an ebony bow across my back, I really miss that bow. We where headed to an Ancient Nord Barrow, Bjorn had heard bandit's were using as headquarters for their raids.
My Elven sword broke in half on that little trip, but I got Kruziik Dilon then. She's a beaut of a sword. When we got to the Barrow, the bandit's were having their way with a young Nord girl, I think that enraged the three men more than it did myself and I was mad enough, magic was oozing from my hands. All the bandit's outside were dead in a matter of minutes. I healed the girls wounds and put her to sleep, after we cleared out the first room, Bjorn went back out got her and the brothers made her a bed from all their sleeping gear. I spread mine over her to keep her warm, wishing I could heal the wound's to her mind as easily as those to body. Bjorn put his big hand on my shoulder and squeezed, I looked up at him then kissed his hand. I told the men that she would sleep the clock around, then wake, hopefully we would be back by then.
We made our way through the Barrow room by room, showing no mercy to the bandit's with in. We looted the bandit's as we went, taking only the really light stuff, leaving the rest in small piles for when we came back. In a large room we saw, what we guessed was the bandit leader, messing with a claw and door. We didn't get four step's in the room when the large door disapeared into the floor and the bandit went through. We followed him, but as nothing seemed to want to stop him he made good time, we on the other hand had to kill a few Draugr along the way. We got to the last room as a draugr raised out of a crypt in the center of the room, as several other draugr were also raising out of their crypt's.
We got set to have a fight, Bjorn smiled with all teeth showing, which for him meant he was thrilled. The brothers smacked their fists together. I pulled my bow and started firing arrows at the closest draugr. One thing I noticed about Nord's, they don't stay dead long, always seem to want to wonder around. I shot arrow after arrow until the draugr got to close and then I dropped my bow, meaning to pick it up after the fight was over. I took a quick look around and noticed that the Bandit was dead. Bjorn was fighting the same Draugr, he seemed much tougher than the others.
I finished fighting the one in front of me and then looked around for more. Talin was bent over his brother using a healing spell, Bjorn was still fighting the big Draugr so I went to help him. As I made a second swing at him he turned and slammed his sword into mind, breaking it. I readied a sun bound spell and then flung it at the big Draugr, it burst into flame and Bjorn cut it's head off.
I bent over and grabbed the sword he had been carrying, Bjorn asked if it was any good. I laughed and said it had cut mine in half, so it had to be, at the very least, better than the one I had. We looked around the room and looted some of the precious gem's and other artifact's of worth. Talin said that Kalin was still a little addled from the blow he had taken, as he wasn't all that good with wound's to the head. I walked over and delved him and found out that other than some minor brusing his head was fine, he would just be addled for a bit. We left the way we had come and picked up the bundles of loot we had made, along with the Nord girl.
As the changing of the guard intterupted my thought's, I remembered that it hadn't been til we were well on our way back to Markarth that I had remembered I hadn't picked up my bow. I felt slightly depressed as I walked back to my room. I didn't like Markarth all that much, the memories were to good and depressing at the same time, to want to relive them. Only one place in Skyrim was worse, I hadn't entered or been to the house in a very long time. I laid down on the bed and fell asleep, I dreamed of Bjorn, who I was sure was drinking and eating in Sovngarde.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
A short walk chapter 6
Leaving Fort Dawnguard with Marcurio we headed towards Riften as I had some alchemy reagents for a couple of the vendors their. I paused at the center of the bridge to take in the view of the waterfall. Marcurio looked a me couriously and asked, " How long have you known Isran, you seem to have more lee-way than he gives anyone else."
"That my friend is because I have known Isran since he was a young Deadra hunter with the Vigilant. He has always been driven. He doesn't much talk of his past. It's not pretty." I said with a firmness in my tone, I would not talk of his past, it was his. The wizard nodded and with a thoughtful look on his face asked.
"You have been to Skyrim before?" I shifted my gaze over his shoulder as I saw movement, I narrowed my eye's and saw a blur infront of a bush. I answered Marcurio, with a distracted air, pulling my cross-bow from my back slowly, but keeping it between our bodies. His eye's narrowed and I noticed his hand's glowing as he readied a spell.
" Yes, I've been here several times. I own two houses here, one outside of Falkreath, though it's been empty for about 100 yr's. The other in Solitude". He understood the nod I gave him and moved quickly to the side as he spun around, trying to catch sight of our enemy. I lifted my cross-bow, took aim and fired at the center of the blur. Marcurio followed the track of the bolt and sent a fire-ball following along after, both hit the Mist-walker squarely in the center of her chest. As she hit the ground burning up, I continued talking,
"where their is one their is at least two. The house in Solitude I have owned for about 200 yr's, the Steward keep's a house-carl there."
" Wait, the Solitudes steward? She's 200 yr's old?" He sounded surprised, but he was young. As I lifted my cross-bow again, he followed the track.
"You get the one on the left, " I said in a low voice, "No, I think she's older than that actually. And yes, she is a vampire." The bolt I sent, was the type that explodes in a fire-ball. I quickly reloaded in case that one didn't do the job, but I didn't need to bother, it died. Marcurio sent two fire-ball's after the second mist-walker, both hit, but I think the first one did it in anyway.
"You know and just leave her there? Why" He asked, "Are we not vampire hunters". We walked to the 1st mist-walker and I squatted down to look through her armor. Not finding anything more than odds and ends.
" She's really only served the Jarl for 20 yr's or so, but she has served Skyrim for much longer. Which doesn't answer your question." I paused and checked the pocket's of the next vampire, " It's a little complicated, but I feel that just because one is a vampire it doesn't make one evil. Action's often speak louder than words and her's have. Let's just say I knew her before she was a vampire and abrasive as she is, she was a good person then. She love's Skyrim and now takes the long view on looking after her people."
As I bent down to check out the third vampire, Marcurio flung a spell over my shoulder, I felt the heat as it passed. I stood and looked in the direction of the fire-ball and saw a troll. Drawing my sword, I ran at it and swung as I passed, Kruziik Dilon slicing it's head cleanly off, the body turning to ash before it hit the ground.
Before I could even put up my sword a gaint spider spit poison at us, I threw up a ward with my off hand as it came at us. Letting down the ward just as a bolt of lightening hit the beast, I swung at it, connected and gut's flew everywhere. As a second gaint spider came at me, Marcurio hit it with lightning bolt after lightning bolt, unlit it was a smoking husk, the Third one hit just as I heard Marcurio yell "Bandit's!".
The Lady Nocturnal must be giving some poor thief all the luck the two of us had, because we were receiving our share of mis-fortune on this trip. Trying to keep myself between Marcurio and the bandit's, so that he could throw out ranged attack's, was taking it's toll on me. I was slowing down slightly and could feel the burn of my muscles with each swing. I let out a curse at the Lady as I felt the pressure wave and the ground shudder as a Dragon landed, blasting one of the bandit's with it's icy breath.
This gave me a little respite as I worked my way around the dragon to where Marcurio was. "Save your magic, except to defend, til we know which way this battle is going." I shouted at him over the sounds of battle. I sheathed my sword and brought out my cross-bow, keeping tract of where I might want to shoot next. Putting in one of the bolt's that would freeze the target, I took careful aim at a rather impressive bandit wearing plate steel, just as the dragon also took aim at him, one icy breath then the dragon snatched him up and flung him up over the tree tops. It took off and flew in a circle around us, as it passed over our head's Marcurio flung a fire-ball at it and then another at a bandit taking aim in our direction. The dragon shuddered as a couple arrows and the fire-ball hit it at the same time. It flapped it's wing's a couple times more, then taking a sharp turn back in the direction of the bandit's, it seemed to shrink as it hit the ground, plowing a furrow into it and taking out some of the bandit's out in the process.
We dispatched the last of the bandit's and quickly looted them for valuables that we could sell in Riften. It was a pretty heavy haul, but Riften wasn't all that far away. I bundled everything up and made a sling for it, something easily dropped, if needed. Marcurio didn't seem all that pleased when I handed him his pack, saying he wasn't a pack mule, but an apprentice wizard. He would be a poor wizard with that attitude, I would try and help him with that.
I'm not really even sure why he decided to become a vampire hunter, he didn't really seem suited to the life. Perhap's the life as a court mage. I couldn't really help him with that one, but I would find out just what it was he really wanted. I had very few friends, I lost tract of many of them over the years, but I knew a great many had passed away. I really liked the Nord people, they are very strait forward people, say what they mean, quick to anger and will give you the sword off their hip if your need it.
The rest of the trip into Riften was quiet, we sold off all the thing's I had looted from the bandit's, then headed down to the Alchemy shop, where I sold of some of the rare reagent's that I came across, plus some of the dragon bones and scales that we had just acquired. I bought some health potions in exchange. We then went to one of the food sellers and I gave her the Ice-wraith teeth that she wanted, the Smith got his fire salt's for the forge. I sold a couple of the weapon's that, we had grabbed off of the bandit's.
After grabbing a bite to eat in the Bee & Barb, we headed out to the carriage to hire it to take us to Markarth, where the priest of Arkay had said we would find information about a coven of vampires.
"That my friend is because I have known Isran since he was a young Deadra hunter with the Vigilant. He has always been driven. He doesn't much talk of his past. It's not pretty." I said with a firmness in my tone, I would not talk of his past, it was his. The wizard nodded and with a thoughtful look on his face asked.
"You have been to Skyrim before?" I shifted my gaze over his shoulder as I saw movement, I narrowed my eye's and saw a blur infront of a bush. I answered Marcurio, with a distracted air, pulling my cross-bow from my back slowly, but keeping it between our bodies. His eye's narrowed and I noticed his hand's glowing as he readied a spell.
" Yes, I've been here several times. I own two houses here, one outside of Falkreath, though it's been empty for about 100 yr's. The other in Solitude". He understood the nod I gave him and moved quickly to the side as he spun around, trying to catch sight of our enemy. I lifted my cross-bow, took aim and fired at the center of the blur. Marcurio followed the track of the bolt and sent a fire-ball following along after, both hit the Mist-walker squarely in the center of her chest. As she hit the ground burning up, I continued talking,
"where their is one their is at least two. The house in Solitude I have owned for about 200 yr's, the Steward keep's a house-carl there."
" Wait, the Solitudes steward? She's 200 yr's old?" He sounded surprised, but he was young. As I lifted my cross-bow again, he followed the track.
"You get the one on the left, " I said in a low voice, "No, I think she's older than that actually. And yes, she is a vampire." The bolt I sent, was the type that explodes in a fire-ball. I quickly reloaded in case that one didn't do the job, but I didn't need to bother, it died. Marcurio sent two fire-ball's after the second mist-walker, both hit, but I think the first one did it in anyway.
"You know and just leave her there? Why" He asked, "Are we not vampire hunters". We walked to the 1st mist-walker and I squatted down to look through her armor. Not finding anything more than odds and ends.
" She's really only served the Jarl for 20 yr's or so, but she has served Skyrim for much longer. Which doesn't answer your question." I paused and checked the pocket's of the next vampire, " It's a little complicated, but I feel that just because one is a vampire it doesn't make one evil. Action's often speak louder than words and her's have. Let's just say I knew her before she was a vampire and abrasive as she is, she was a good person then. She love's Skyrim and now takes the long view on looking after her people."
As I bent down to check out the third vampire, Marcurio flung a spell over my shoulder, I felt the heat as it passed. I stood and looked in the direction of the fire-ball and saw a troll. Drawing my sword, I ran at it and swung as I passed, Kruziik Dilon slicing it's head cleanly off, the body turning to ash before it hit the ground.
Before I could even put up my sword a gaint spider spit poison at us, I threw up a ward with my off hand as it came at us. Letting down the ward just as a bolt of lightening hit the beast, I swung at it, connected and gut's flew everywhere. As a second gaint spider came at me, Marcurio hit it with lightning bolt after lightning bolt, unlit it was a smoking husk, the Third one hit just as I heard Marcurio yell "Bandit's!".
The Lady Nocturnal must be giving some poor thief all the luck the two of us had, because we were receiving our share of mis-fortune on this trip. Trying to keep myself between Marcurio and the bandit's, so that he could throw out ranged attack's, was taking it's toll on me. I was slowing down slightly and could feel the burn of my muscles with each swing. I let out a curse at the Lady as I felt the pressure wave and the ground shudder as a Dragon landed, blasting one of the bandit's with it's icy breath.
This gave me a little respite as I worked my way around the dragon to where Marcurio was. "Save your magic, except to defend, til we know which way this battle is going." I shouted at him over the sounds of battle. I sheathed my sword and brought out my cross-bow, keeping tract of where I might want to shoot next. Putting in one of the bolt's that would freeze the target, I took careful aim at a rather impressive bandit wearing plate steel, just as the dragon also took aim at him, one icy breath then the dragon snatched him up and flung him up over the tree tops. It took off and flew in a circle around us, as it passed over our head's Marcurio flung a fire-ball at it and then another at a bandit taking aim in our direction. The dragon shuddered as a couple arrows and the fire-ball hit it at the same time. It flapped it's wing's a couple times more, then taking a sharp turn back in the direction of the bandit's, it seemed to shrink as it hit the ground, plowing a furrow into it and taking out some of the bandit's out in the process.
We dispatched the last of the bandit's and quickly looted them for valuables that we could sell in Riften. It was a pretty heavy haul, but Riften wasn't all that far away. I bundled everything up and made a sling for it, something easily dropped, if needed. Marcurio didn't seem all that pleased when I handed him his pack, saying he wasn't a pack mule, but an apprentice wizard. He would be a poor wizard with that attitude, I would try and help him with that.
I'm not really even sure why he decided to become a vampire hunter, he didn't really seem suited to the life. Perhap's the life as a court mage. I couldn't really help him with that one, but I would find out just what it was he really wanted. I had very few friends, I lost tract of many of them over the years, but I knew a great many had passed away. I really liked the Nord people, they are very strait forward people, say what they mean, quick to anger and will give you the sword off their hip if your need it.
The rest of the trip into Riften was quiet, we sold off all the thing's I had looted from the bandit's, then headed down to the Alchemy shop, where I sold of some of the rare reagent's that I came across, plus some of the dragon bones and scales that we had just acquired. I bought some health potions in exchange. We then went to one of the food sellers and I gave her the Ice-wraith teeth that she wanted, the Smith got his fire salt's for the forge. I sold a couple of the weapon's that, we had grabbed off of the bandit's.
After grabbing a bite to eat in the Bee & Barb, we headed out to the carriage to hire it to take us to Markarth, where the priest of Arkay had said we would find information about a coven of vampires.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Looking back chapter 5
Did you ever try and keep a secret from the two people closest to you? Let me tell you, it wasn't easy. With My Aunt soon to be married to my direct superior officer, I thought it a good Idea to vacate my room, in favor of the barrack's like the rest of the troupe. They would need my room for the baby anyway. So little by little I had been removing my thing's from my, soon to be the babies, room. It wasn't easy cause If I needed something I couldn't tell Irrillia that I needed to run to the barrack's for it.
Our, that is the whole troupe's, wedding present to the blissful couple would be some new furniture. I was making them a Game board with stone pieces, Amy was knitting ( I didn't even know she could) a couple baby blankets. A new bed for them and new crib for the baby, plus odd's and ends.... all had to be put in the couples room's after Irrillia left to get into her dress.
Not everyone from the garrison would be going to the wedding, because the Garrison commander decided that some important people from Alinor should attend, including some of Irrillia's relatives. Political maneuvering, they would attend because others of higher standing were going to be their. The Garrison Commander had somehow found out about my Aunts family and he was from a much much better one. Decin made sure that the trouper's seating the guests knew to put them in the back rows.
As I changed in my old room into the dress I would be wearing I directed the troupers carrying thing in. Amy fixed my mane into something resembling tidy and fashionable. I stood their holding the sky blue dress off the floor with the train draped over my arm, while Amy put flowers in my hair and another Trouper kept track of time.... though we had a signal, a loud thunder clap made by one of the young mages, that would let me know I need to run.
Just as the thunder clap let me know I needed to run, everything down to the lace table cloths, flowers and candles were in place. Someone would light them later, when the wedding diner was almost over.
I hiked the dress up higher and Amy and I took off at a dead run. We got to the audience hall, only slightly out of breath, just as my Aunt came around the corner and the wedding music started. I turned and walked up between the guest's.... and the boring social wedding was on. My Aunt said it was expected, though she would have preferred something much more simple.
May hours later, I finally escaped to the barrack's and was able to take off the dress and remove the, now wilted, flowers. Amy laughed as I practically flung the dress off. After a couple glasses of wine it was easy to fall asleep and the next I knew Amy was shaking me awake, it was time to go.
We stood infront of the Oblivion Gate ready for anything that came out. The trouper that came out waved and gave the pass code for "everything ok". We went through the gate and followed the trouper and his "buddy" in a round about path to the door of the Tower where the rest of his patrol stood waiting, Merican walked up to Decin and they stood their speaking quietly for a few moments. I looked around at the patrol and saw not one injured trouper and none appeared to be missing. I caught the eye of one of the troupers and raised my eyebrows in inquiry, he shrugged and then wagged his hand. I nodded at him and looked at Amy, "either they don't guard the gates well or we over prepared" she whispered. "probably don't expect anyone do be stupid enough to come through." " Of course the inside may well be better defended" I whispered back.
We went in the door and sure enough, it seemed the inside of the tower was much better defended than the area around the gate. We fought many Deadroth of varying types. Only one group of "buddies" let us pass as they waited for the healers. Amy and I right infront of the healers and two more troupers right behind them. One had an arrow through the thigh, which would be treated as if the arrow was poisoned.... something the healers and mages had thought out.
The turns seemed to be getting so tight, that had we not went through doors and up levels I felt I should have been able to turn around and see Decin leading the patrol, on my tail. Finally I could see a ball of light sitting on/in an odd pedestal and knew that was the Sigil stone and we were in the last room. As we all gathered around Decin, he called out every ones name.....and all answered. He asked the healer who's job it was to keep the time, if an hour had passed, she replied that according to the time candle 4 hr's had passed. That did not seem possible, Decin raised an eyebrow and Carhathal one of the battlemages shrugged and then said, " I have tipped over my hour glass six times. Though it hardly seem's that an hour has went by".
Decin nodded and told us all to come in close and make sure we where all touching. We were an odd ring around him, the inner ring each with one hand on him and the other on the person next to them, the next ring touching the first and each other, til it got back to the ring Amy, I and the healers were in.
Decin started counting backwards from ten, at 2 I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth.... at one I saw a very bright white light behind my eyes and felt my stomach drop to my feet. The next thing I knew I was staring up at the night sky, with the smiling face of one of Merican's patrol looking down at me.
I explained everything I had seen, smelled or felt to Aunt Irrillia, who had been waiting for us to come back to the garrison, along with the Commander, who took Decin with him. I told her that I thought we would disperse into smaller groups, maybe 5 or 6 as a full patrol was a bit much to close one gate.
Irrillia informed me that two days had gone by since we had entered the gate. I nodded and told her about the time candle and hour glass, time must run differently inside the gates. I yawned and told her my body now felt the two days it had missed, along with all the meal's. I left with a kiss to her cheek, just as Decin walked through the door. I paused by Decin and with a wry grin told him " If you ever want to sneak in on your wife and child...take off the boots before you walk up the stairs". He smiled and went to greet his new wife.
For the next year Amy, I and 4 other troupers closed gates as we found them and hunted the Deadroth that had come through them. We had noticed that we found no more open gates, only the shells left behind when one was closed...but there we still Deadroth to hunt. When we finally had found no more Deadroth in our area for a month, we returned to the Garrison, to find that a man named Martin Septium had sacrificed himself to end the Oblivion crisis.
As elated as I was about the end of the Deadroth and to see my new nephew. I was also not happy to hear the way some things had been going with the Thalmor's politic's. I talked to Decin and while he wasn't completely happy, he wrote up my papers to leave their service.
I talked to My Aunt who said I though to much like my father but she understood. I knew I would miss my little nephew, but left I did.
Amy had also got her papers to leave and as a non-Altmer she decided that she wished to go home to Skyrim and see how her folk's had fared. Thus my first trip into the cold harsh land of the Nord's was to begin.
Our, that is the whole troupe's, wedding present to the blissful couple would be some new furniture. I was making them a Game board with stone pieces, Amy was knitting ( I didn't even know she could) a couple baby blankets. A new bed for them and new crib for the baby, plus odd's and ends.... all had to be put in the couples room's after Irrillia left to get into her dress.
Not everyone from the garrison would be going to the wedding, because the Garrison commander decided that some important people from Alinor should attend, including some of Irrillia's relatives. Political maneuvering, they would attend because others of higher standing were going to be their. The Garrison Commander had somehow found out about my Aunts family and he was from a much much better one. Decin made sure that the trouper's seating the guests knew to put them in the back rows.
As I changed in my old room into the dress I would be wearing I directed the troupers carrying thing in. Amy fixed my mane into something resembling tidy and fashionable. I stood their holding the sky blue dress off the floor with the train draped over my arm, while Amy put flowers in my hair and another Trouper kept track of time.... though we had a signal, a loud thunder clap made by one of the young mages, that would let me know I need to run.
Just as the thunder clap let me know I needed to run, everything down to the lace table cloths, flowers and candles were in place. Someone would light them later, when the wedding diner was almost over.
I hiked the dress up higher and Amy and I took off at a dead run. We got to the audience hall, only slightly out of breath, just as my Aunt came around the corner and the wedding music started. I turned and walked up between the guest's.... and the boring social wedding was on. My Aunt said it was expected, though she would have preferred something much more simple.
May hours later, I finally escaped to the barrack's and was able to take off the dress and remove the, now wilted, flowers. Amy laughed as I practically flung the dress off. After a couple glasses of wine it was easy to fall asleep and the next I knew Amy was shaking me awake, it was time to go.
We stood infront of the Oblivion Gate ready for anything that came out. The trouper that came out waved and gave the pass code for "everything ok". We went through the gate and followed the trouper and his "buddy" in a round about path to the door of the Tower where the rest of his patrol stood waiting, Merican walked up to Decin and they stood their speaking quietly for a few moments. I looked around at the patrol and saw not one injured trouper and none appeared to be missing. I caught the eye of one of the troupers and raised my eyebrows in inquiry, he shrugged and then wagged his hand. I nodded at him and looked at Amy, "either they don't guard the gates well or we over prepared" she whispered. "probably don't expect anyone do be stupid enough to come through." " Of course the inside may well be better defended" I whispered back.
We went in the door and sure enough, it seemed the inside of the tower was much better defended than the area around the gate. We fought many Deadroth of varying types. Only one group of "buddies" let us pass as they waited for the healers. Amy and I right infront of the healers and two more troupers right behind them. One had an arrow through the thigh, which would be treated as if the arrow was poisoned.... something the healers and mages had thought out.
The turns seemed to be getting so tight, that had we not went through doors and up levels I felt I should have been able to turn around and see Decin leading the patrol, on my tail. Finally I could see a ball of light sitting on/in an odd pedestal and knew that was the Sigil stone and we were in the last room. As we all gathered around Decin, he called out every ones name.....and all answered. He asked the healer who's job it was to keep the time, if an hour had passed, she replied that according to the time candle 4 hr's had passed. That did not seem possible, Decin raised an eyebrow and Carhathal one of the battlemages shrugged and then said, " I have tipped over my hour glass six times. Though it hardly seem's that an hour has went by".
Decin nodded and told us all to come in close and make sure we where all touching. We were an odd ring around him, the inner ring each with one hand on him and the other on the person next to them, the next ring touching the first and each other, til it got back to the ring Amy, I and the healers were in.
Decin started counting backwards from ten, at 2 I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth.... at one I saw a very bright white light behind my eyes and felt my stomach drop to my feet. The next thing I knew I was staring up at the night sky, with the smiling face of one of Merican's patrol looking down at me.
I explained everything I had seen, smelled or felt to Aunt Irrillia, who had been waiting for us to come back to the garrison, along with the Commander, who took Decin with him. I told her that I thought we would disperse into smaller groups, maybe 5 or 6 as a full patrol was a bit much to close one gate.
Irrillia informed me that two days had gone by since we had entered the gate. I nodded and told her about the time candle and hour glass, time must run differently inside the gates. I yawned and told her my body now felt the two days it had missed, along with all the meal's. I left with a kiss to her cheek, just as Decin walked through the door. I paused by Decin and with a wry grin told him " If you ever want to sneak in on your wife and child...take off the boots before you walk up the stairs". He smiled and went to greet his new wife.
For the next year Amy, I and 4 other troupers closed gates as we found them and hunted the Deadroth that had come through them. We had noticed that we found no more open gates, only the shells left behind when one was closed...but there we still Deadroth to hunt. When we finally had found no more Deadroth in our area for a month, we returned to the Garrison, to find that a man named Martin Septium had sacrificed himself to end the Oblivion crisis.
As elated as I was about the end of the Deadroth and to see my new nephew. I was also not happy to hear the way some things had been going with the Thalmor's politic's. I talked to Decin and while he wasn't completely happy, he wrote up my papers to leave their service.
I talked to My Aunt who said I though to much like my father but she understood. I knew I would miss my little nephew, but left I did.
Amy had also got her papers to leave and as a non-Altmer she decided that she wished to go home to Skyrim and see how her folk's had fared. Thus my first trip into the cold harsh land of the Nord's was to begin.
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