Now now, Blockie. Remember what Azura said? Power and responsibility. I'll keep him under control, though I can already tell that the lore will be adapted quite a bit.




The whole timewarp episode swept by without any conscious registration on my part. It could have taken a second, it could have taken a thousand years. To me, it all felt the same, too short to notice. At what I assumed to be the end of my trip, I found myself standing on a grassy hill, close to a farm. A lone High Elf stood behind a plow drawn by a Guar. The ground looked like a mess though, so unlike the hill I was standing on myself. It was cracked, filled with rocks. Man and beast struggled as they pushed the plow in a jagged line. I felt that whatever he would seed, its harvest would be barely enough to survive.

I scratched the back of my head. Why would anyone take that as his land when a perfectly fertile hilltop was a stone’s throw away? Also, why would the farmer be a High Elf? I thought the goldskinned definitions of arrogance considered themselves too high and mighty for that kind of stuff. I hesitantly made a step towards the farm but stopped when my boots clunked on smooth rock rather than grass. I looked down and saw, much to my amusement, that I was standing on top of an altar.
,,Well, that explains why no one puts his farm up here. Sacred ground and all that stuff.”

I jumped off the altar and walked towards the man and his Guar. As soon as I was in shouting distance I called out to him.
,,Hey, you there! Can I talk to you for a while?” I shouted. The High Elf looked up at me and his hand reached for a small axe hanging at his belt. A High Elf with an axe? What happened to their love of standing back and making people explode? I raised my hands in the universal gesture of goodwill.
,,Geez, calm down fella. I’m not here to hurt you. Say, you tell me where I am and I’ll help you plow. How about that? I’m stronger than I look.” I said.

The axe turned out not to be meant for me. Instead, he cut the lines tying his Guar to the plow after which he ran off with his beast in a frantic panic. Again I scratched the back of my head in utter confusion.
,,What in the? Wait, don’t tell me. There’s a big beast standing right behind me, isn’t there?” I mumbled, spinning around and drawing my sword at the same time. The only thing behind me was the altar. With more force than was strictly necessary, I sheathed the blade.
,,Hey, come back here! I’m not that scary! Or did I grow horns all of a sudden?!” I shouthed at the two figures far away. Just to make sure, I ran a hand through my hair. No horns. With a resigned shrug, I walked to the farm and then followed a muddy path which had to lead somewhere.

Ten minutes later, I came to wonder if he even knew what I’d said. I spoke third era Cyrodiilic. But Azura had said that big high and mighty Daedra like her couldn’t reach Nirn in my time. I hadn’t heard of any succesfull Daedric prince summonings either during the history lessons at the Mage guild. Nerevar summoned Azura for council regularly according to some stories, but he was a man from the first era. So I reasoned that I was now either at the first or the second era. Heck, perhaps even the zeroth era, if that was even possible. What if modern Cyrodiilic was too different from the current language to be understood?

I thought on the subject some more. Cyrodiilic was a bit of a mess, but mostly inspired by ancient Nord languages and Aldmeris, I think. Linguistic history is not exactly my strongest point. I put the subject away for the moment. I would simply try again next time I met something sentient.

Next time was roughly four hours later. The first sign of people was some heavy shouting punctuated by the clash of steel. I sighed as I realized the kind of situation I’d walked into. No matter what year it was, there would always be people trying to kill other people. I broke into a jog so I could approach the tangled group faster.

What I saw made my heart skip a beat. A High Elf woman stood with her back pressed against a tree, while a man of the same race fended off the assault of three Redguards with a simple wooden staff with steel tips more suited as a walking aid than for combat. Or at least, he tried to fend them off. Already he was bleeding from over a dozen wounds. Their nature confirmed what I could already see simply from the swordsmen’s movements. They were playing with him, like a Nix-Hound with a Scrib. I had seen scenes like this before. But never were the culprits Redguards. It went against our honour. Just why would they disgrace themselves by hounding a defenceless couple of elderly people? And again the apparent refusal to simply blast them to kingdom come amazed me. I mean, aren’t pyrotechnics the High Elf’s specialty?

My jog sped up into a sprint. I came closer, close enough to hear the words of my kin. They spoke something that felt similar to a Hammerfellian dialect. An older version perhaps? I also noticed that they all wore the same clothing, as if it was some kind of uniform. A chainmail shirt, brown pants with leather boots. A red sash. I was now close enough to call to them and be heard over the clanging of steel.
,,Hey, what’s going on here?!” I shouted, using the modern version of their language. With a bit of luck, at least the Redguards would comprehend me.

One of them broke off, the other two continued their game. I relaxed a bit. The guy who stopped behaved with the air of a leader. They wouldn’t dare to kill the old man out of fear of robbing him of his pleasures.
,,Ah, friend. It is as simple as you see. We are fighting the point-ears, as our contract says.” He spoke, spitting on the dirt at his feet. He had a dark stubble lining his cheeks and enough wrinkles to be considered thirty. I skidded to a halt two steps away. I’d just ran a threehundred metre sprint, but I was as fresh as if I’d walked that distance. From his words, I could make out he’d been able to understand my words.
,,What contract?” I asked bluntly.

,,Why, the contract with the Empire of course. This land, Resdayn. It shall be ours from that tree till the creek over there. As soon as the war ends and this land has been conquered for the Emperor. Where are you from? I don’t know your dialect. Learn some manners, you’re talking to a captain. What’s your name, kid?” The man replied and spat again, this time hitting the tip of my left boot. I deliberately ignored his attempt to anger me, even though I was becoming more annoyed by the second.
,,Morrowind. And my name is Luper Alkad. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?” I answered, still in the same blunt tone.

Now his sword went up into the air.
,,I said, learn some manners! I’m a captain in the Imperial legions!” He hollered.
,,If you don’t learn some manners, my men and I will gut you! We’re the best swordfighters in the land!” He added and then fell silent. I’d reached for the hilt of my own sword at his movement. He gestured with his free hand and the other two Redguards stopped their game to stand at their master’s side. The High Elven couple backed away, the man supported by the woman.
,,I see, you’re with them! You’re a spy for the pointears. No wonder you don’t have any respect!”

I looked at the three for a moment and then my hand dropped back to my side, leaving the Ebony saber in its sheath. The Redguards took this as their cue to laugh and spit at my feet in unison.
,,Ha, coward! You don’t dare to draw your sword and fight us? You lack the bravery to face death? Fine then, run! We’ll cut you down from behind, as befits a coward!” The leader taunted. I let out an extremely bored sigh.
,,As befits a honourless bully, you can’t back up your words with deeds. I haven’t fought Redguards in a while. Bad news, eh?” I then quipped, which caused more laughter and more shoespitting. Oh, they’d better clean up my boots later.
,,Yes, you don’t hold the skills to fight us with your sword! That’s why you haven’t drawn. You’re begging for mercy.”

I smirked, which took away some of their false courage.
,,Bad news for you. You see, lately I’ve only been fighting immortal gods, demons, untouchable assassins and elite of the elite bodyguards of gods. And I’ve been defeating each and every one of them. Simply put, you’re so far below my skills, any attempt at swordplay is an utter waste of my time.” I gloated and promptly used a trio of firelances to melt down their swords to three steaming puddles. The smirk vanished and my sword flew from its sheath faster than they could blink.
,,And this is how I deal with those who taint Redguard honour.” I snarled, disembowelling them all in a single stroke. I left them there on the ground, bleeding their lives away.

I scraped the spit off my shoes against a nearby rock. I refused to touch them in any way. I then turned to the two High Elves. The men pulled himself free from his wife’s grasp, I think they were married. He raised his quivering staff against me.
,,I’ll not let you lay a finger on my wife as long as I life.” He said. Bingo, married. I was however surprised to hear him speak in the exact same language as the Redguards. I took a better look at him as I resheathed my sword. A simple robe, a pouch with a sheet of paper dangling out, a quill tied to the side of his hat, several vials of ink tied to his belt. A scholar of languages? Why not?

,,Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” I vowed. I then remembered the allegiance the dying scum had claimed.
,,In fact, I’m not even involved with the Empire. Look, let me demonstrate where I stand.” I added and cast a simple healing spell on him which took care of those cuts in a moment. Too bad I couldn’t sew his robe the same way.

A bit of resentment for the Altmer?

I wonder ... to what god is this altar dedicated?



LOL! Priceless!

Mmm more Luper-y goodness. Keep it up!

You are a splendid storyteller. I finally read through all of "Oasis" and now caught up with "Oasis 2" (only halfway through "Agent").

1) You have a refreshing take on the Morrowind quests and a witty style that made me laugh out loud or just smile numerous times.
2) Luper Alkad has such an original personality that you won't confuse him with anyone else. I'm happy that you've decided to continue Luper Alkad's story since he's my favourite of your characters so far.
3) You describe your action scenes really well, and you slowly evolved Alkad into a "fighting machine".
4) Reading Alkad's thoughts and opinions made his decisions and actions understandable, which is nice for the reader.
5) It's quite impressive that you are able to keep so many different characters, plotlines and stories going at the same time. (I saw that you're the author behind some more stories as well.)
6) You have two rather different ways of telling a story in "Oasis" and "Agent". I think it's good to experiment and try out new writing styles.

It's fun to see you weaving two main characters in the same story, and I definitely enjoyed reading about their Mournhold adventures. But then Alkad's in another plane and speaking with Azura? This is something of a major plot twist.

And yes, Altmers do seem to have a bad rep in TES. Mankar Camoran isn't exactly helping.

Thanks for the compliments. Be warned though, this update can be a bit chaotic, what with all the lore being thrown into a blender.





The man instantly brought his staff into a position where he could lean on it. That still didn’t change the way he looked at me though.
,,Why did you do that?” He asked in a deliberately neutral tone. No gestures or pointing fingers were needed. I knew he was referring to the little scuffle I had with those Redguards.
,,They attacked you. I don’t tolerate people who try to kill those who cannot defend themselves.” I replied evenly. The man’s answer was rather odd.
,,Then do you tolerate yourself?”

He didn’t wait for me to say anything before he pressed on.
,,They are unarmed and untrained in the art of the mind. Yet still you struck them down without any hesitation and there they lie now, bleeding to a tortuous death. So I repeat, do you tolerate yourself?” Unarmed, and I struck them down. I told myself they were evil, but was there really any difference? Dagoth Ur, was he evil? Most people would say so but from his point of view, he was on the side of good, no matter how twisted it might seem. I killed Dagoth Ur, but why? Simply because a false god and a true goddess had told me to do it, which instantly made me seem less like a hero or good person. The time of killing had come to an end, yet I did not stop. I killed because I didn’t know better and justified it somehow. They killed because they didn’t know better and justified it themselves. Was I really any less evil than they were?

To put it more simply, I didn’t tolerate them because they attacked a man who couldn’t defend himself or his wife. And what did I do? I destroyed their swords so they couldn’t defend themselves and then struck them down. Like cattle. How was I any different?

Without a word, I turned and emptied my Magicka reserves into the three Redguards. Entrails crawled back to where they should be and the wounds healed, leaving only three clean scars as a reminder. Their mouths hung open in dazed confusion.
,,Go, before I change my mind.” Was all I said to them. A cloud of kicked up dust at the horizon was the last thing I saw of them. I then turned back to the Elf.
,,I guess I don’t tolerate myself. Just tell me what year it is and where I am. I’ll leave you alone after then.”

The High Elf muttered something to himself which was probably along the lines of ‘why doesn’t he know what year it is’.
,,The year is 2920, and you are just west of Mournhold, home to the Tribunal, praise Their names, ALMNEVI.” At the mention of the tribunal, his eyes shone with devotion. I noticed but was more hooked up in the details. 2920, I was sure I’d read that date on the cover of a book. Wasn’t it the one where an Akaviri became emperor of Cyrodiil or something? And what about ALMNEVI, wasn’t it supposed to be ALMSIVI?
,,Sorry for busting a promise about going away within the first ten seconds, but what does ALMNEVI stand for?” I asked the scholar.
,,Why, the names of our gods of course. Almalexia, Nerevar and Vivec.” His wife answered for him.

I must have made a really dumb expression, for she then shook her head in pity.
,,Ah, you’re an outlander. Allow me to explain. Almalexia is our Queen-mother, who cares for the people. Vivec is the great poet and scholar, as well as my husband’s patron deity. Nerevar, He leads our warriors into battle. If you ever see a man in golden armour, wielding a sword of fire, run. No one has ever stood against Him and been victorious or even survived.” She then added, which in turn told me nothing I didn’t know already except for two very critical facts.

One, Nerevar had not died at Red Mountain but was very alive. Two, Vivec would later add Nerevar’s role to his own after the Tribunal betrayed him. But, Nerevar was one of the Tribunal? It so completely turned history upside down, I had no footing left to compensate. I mumbled an indistinct farewell and then took off, heading east. I had only one foothold left. The Tribunal betrayed Nerevar. How, and when, that was what I had to find out somehow. If Nerevar was alive, then what was Sotha Sil’s role, and what was Dagoth Ur’s? I would have to find out, somehow.

I skidded to a halt as another thought struck me. I had been created to replace Nerevar. But if Nerevar lived, there would be no need for me. I would never exist? If he lived, would this mean I would just poof into nothingness? I shook my head to clear the mental fog.
,,I’m Telvanni! Temporal paradoxes be damned! It’s not as if my youth was so good. If I’m never born, my folks won’t have to die at the Empire’s corrupt justice! I’ll just warn Nerevar about the betrayal and see how history pans out. In the meantime, I have to find this dragonfire meeting.” I began to argue with myself.
,,Think, where could Nerevar be? He was, or rather, is Almalexia’s boyfriend. He’s also at the head of the armies. Almalexia has a big palace in Mournhold in the third era. So if anyone knows where to find him, it’s her and she’s probably in Mournhold. Not to mention the scholars who can bring me up to speed about the current procedures for Daedra summoning. Ok, plan made. Time to get moving.”

Ooo, this is an interesting turn of events. Nerevar lives yet Sotha Sil is withdrawn from the Tribunal... I wonder if that means that Sotha is now the betrayed one...

I look forward to seeing how this unfolds.

The hero likened to the villains? That's brave of an injured man.

ALMNEVI: That was clever. Hmm, Sotha Sil as the betrayed one, like Mallet said, or Nerevar just holding the seat warm for him in a coming plot twist...

Maybe our hero has been thrown into an alternate universe?

I still wonder about the altar he materialized on. I'm guessing that since he is akatosh, it must be an altar to him. On the other hand, it could be one to Azura, as she is the one who sent him there?

Then, maybe I am reading too much into this but I get the impression that the altmer recognized our hero ... perhaps as akatosh?

Sorry, Blockhead. You're seeing to much in the altar. I just needed a reason for Luper not to appear in the middle of a city filled with people.

And ALMNEVI is very important to this 'sidequest' indeed.




I’d completely forgotten about the war going on. The guards at the gates of Mournhold were more than eager to remind me however.
,,Redguard! Surrender immediately!” The one on my left shouted while the one on the right moved to flank me. A few dozen archers on the walls readied their bows. Two swordsmen and forty-something archers against one person? Wasn’t that overkill? Overkill if done against a normal Redguard, I mean. As it was, none of it managed to really intimidate me.
,,Isn’t it a bit early to talk about surrendering? I haven’t even drawn a sword.” I called back.

,,Don’t try to use diplomacy on me, man. I know your kind.” The guard who’d spoken first replied. I decided he was a captain of sorts, based on the red scarf he wore around his neck. Another pair of guards ran out of a small watchbuilding to join the two and finish the encirclement. Whether he liked diplomacy or not, I was going to try. It would be much easier to get an audience with Almalexia if I didn’t smear her city red with the blood of her soldiers. And since this was the past, I decided not to use my own name. That way, if I screwed up and left a goddess with a grudge, at least she wouldn’t come after Luper Alkad in the third era.
,,I doubt you know anything about my kind. Allow me to introduce myself. I am…Caius Cosades, A pilgrim from….I doubt it matters. Anyway, a small village located off the coast of Summerset.”

Four swords kept pointing at me.
,,Anyone can bring up a fancy story. Now unbuckle your swordbelt and kick it across the ground towards me. Don’t do any fancy moves, or you’ll regret it!” The captain snarled. I sighed. Talk about stubborn. I could say anything I want and it would just fuel his paranoia.
,,I’m only here to pay tribute to ALMNEVI. I have no intention whatsoever of kicking you straight over the wall and into Almalexia’s thrice-blessed toilet.” I shut up and gave myself a mental kick to the head. Great, I’d done it again. I’d let myself get carried away in my anger and had turned my brilliant diplomatic manoeuvre into the biggest insult I could make.
,,What did you say?! Men! A…..”

The time for talking had come to an end. Only bloodshed could solve this now. Only bloodshed…..or a spell which suddenly popped to the forefront of my mind. It was a spell that manipulated a person’s mind. Felissa had taught a simple version of it to me so I could keep my nonexistent slaves under control. I took that crude matrix and crafted into a larger form that took hold of all four swordwielders simultaneously. I couldn’t reach the archers up on the wall, but they were out of earshot anyway.
,,Sheathe your blades!” I ordered.

All four did as I told and I couldn’t hold back a smirk.
,,Now, good captain. What is needed for me to be allowed to enter your city without encountering any problems from your colleagues on the streets?” I asked as I nearly burst into maniacal laughter.
,,Normal protocol requires you to give up any tools of war for the duration of your stay. I can however sign some papers that will give you permission to go wherever you please, while maintaining procession of your items.” The man, yet another High Elf, answered. We then walked to the watchbuilding, flanked by his companions. A quick gesture at the walls made all the arrows vanish. Good.

Strange, I had only seen High Elves today, excluding those three Redguards. Of course, now I realized. Azura had punished a golden-skinned race called the Chimer. The punishment had occurred directly after the battle at Red Mountain. But if Nerevar was still alive now, then that punishment could have been postponed as well. It would also explain the lack of Destruction.

Several hours later, and many important looking documents richer, I finally entered Mournhold. I still carried the Ebony saber, I still wore my armour, I now had a lovely green scarf with the sign of ALMNEVI woven into its fabric, identifying me as a follower of ALMNEVI, and best of all, I hadn’t hurt anyone.

Ahhh, the resourcefulness of magic! Luper seems to be taking his revelations to heart about his violent ways. Good to see some change.

Caius Cosades?

Controlling four minds simultaneously is an impressive feat; yes, the mind is sometimes stronger than the sword.

Lol, yeah. There are two ways to look at it.
In-story: Luper remembered how utterly devastated he was the first and second time he killed someone. He now realizes that using violence without thinking about the consequences puts him at risk for turning into a monster.
Out of story: I figured I had to put further limits on Lup. If he was allowed to continue his ways, he would godmode through every guard and Chimer that even looked at him funny. It would be a senseless bloodbath.

And Caius Cosades was a coincidence. I was looking for a good name to use and that one just popped up. Hey, it works and it sounds Luperish to boot. It's perfect.

And now we stop my babbling and go on with the update.




My plans were simple, but their execution wasn’t. All I needed to do was to meet Almalexia, make her tell me where Nerevar was, then hike over to him and convince him that his gal is shacking up with Vivec and that they’re planning to kill him. Simple, but how to actually do it? I’d already decided to get face-to-face with the goddess without decimating her entire city full with fanatic worshippers. This however, brought a new problem to the foreground. I remembered that it had been awfully hard to get to Vivec. I had to disguise myself as an Ordinator first for that. No Ordinators here however, and gold-coloured skin is a lot harder to duplicate than ash-coloured skin. Not to mention more expensive. There was simply no chance whatsoever that they would permit a stranger, who was a member of a hostile race, to meet their queen. Then how should I continue?

The war, that was the key. One of the quickest ways to achieve the full trust of someone high up, was by turning spy. Was I willing to betray my own people? I thought about it and then shrugged. It didn’t matter anyway. As far as I was concerned, there was no such thing as ‘my people’. Only friends, neutrals and enemies. None of my friends had even been born yet, so I could scratch that part from my list. That left my loyalties completely free to do whatever I wished. Alright, spy it would be. It would be hard perhaps, but I would manage somehow. Now I suddenly felt myself wishing that I’d actually done some real spy-work while under good old Skooma-head’s wing. Caius had been a nice spymaster, for an Imperial Blade, who knew how to handle me. But as a result, I’d only done some public questioning on subjects any tourist would likely bring up. And after he left, I’d been anything but subtle while going about my business. Nope, I wasn’t much of a spy, despite my semi-official title as one.

The skyline of Mournhold was dominated by two buildings. One had many intricate spires and banners emblazoned with ALMNEVI. This was the temple and palace of Almalexia. The other was darker, less elegant. I figured that this was the castle. To get to Almalexia, I could go there and get the ear of the current ruler. I made my choice and strutted towards the castle. It was no surprise that the guards at the gates tried to stop me. Believer or not, I was still a Redguard and no one had great love for that detail. Not now anyway. Not later either.

,,Halt! State your business, man!” Again it was a man with a red scarf who was in charge here. I slipped into a short silence as I figured out how to reply. Blurting out more insults didn’t seem like a funny thing to do. If I had to resort to mindgripping everyone I came across, I would go nuts.
,,Business, you ask? Well, I am sure you can ask your lord all about my business and he might even tell you. But are you willing to lose your tongue?” I said slyly with what looked like an all-knowing grin. The captain stiffened visibly.
,,I asked for your intentions. If you don’t answer me, you will see the power of Mournhold’s guard. Even you dark-skinned demons fear us.” He boasted, very agitated. I flicked a finger in the rough direction of the west.
,,Perhaps some of my less-skilled kin fear you. Perhaps. But know this, my good captain. Battles aren’t only fought by muscle and steel, especially if the muscle is somewhat lacking.” I told him, then moved that same finger to tap my forehead.
,,Know what I mean?” I asked, demonstratively moving to pass him even before he had answered.
,,I see. Pass. You have our silence.” He conceded with an utter show of disgust. Ah well, no one likes a spy, not even those who hire them. Trust? Yes, if proven. Like? Never.

Inside, I was met with looks of disdain all over. The Chimer might not look like it in colour, in spirit they were Dunmer through and through. I was surprised no one called me an outlander. It was also somewhat surprising that no one tried to stop me. Apparently they put great trust in the guards at the gates. Misplaced trust. No one worth his salt should have caved in that quick. What if I wasn’t a spy? He would be the laughingstock of the century. Wait a minute, I wasn’t, I was only pretending to be one! I had to bite down on my tongue to keep from laughing and fall out of my role.

The only ones who came even close to slowing me down were the guards standing at each side of the doors leading to the throneroom. They didn’t speak or make any overly obvious gestures, apart from the halberds crossed before me. They only glanced at my sword which got the point across. With a sigh of resignation, I unbuckled the swordbelt and put it in a basket. I could understand the need to keep swords away from their lord, but it still got on my nerves. The halberds rose.
,,Don’t lose it, fellas. Last time I came here, it got stolen and boy, was I pissed!” I quipped. The joking tone was only to take the sting out of my words. I was completely serious at this point. Though I had to give them points for how they carried themselves. Professional, yet not downright rude like Helseth’s thieving captain. Man, it made me realize how far their successors would fall.

The throneroom was large, lit by torches and sparsely decorated. The eyecatcher was the throne at the far end of the hall. To get there, I had to pass between two lines of guards. The result was nice and intimidating, for a peasant. As I strode up towards the throne, for once I refused to let my eyes wander. It would be taken as a sign of weakness, of being unable to bear the sight of the guy on the throne. Speaking of that guy, I wasn’t sure what to think of him. All rulers I’d met so far had been wearing full armour, with the exception of any Telvanni, who were mages anyway. This one didn’t, instead opting for a comfortable and horribly expensive robe bespeckled with gemstones. He looked like a weakling compared to the likes of Dren and Sarethi. I began to count the stones and came to the conclusion that together they weighed as much as a decent suit of armour, as well as offering reasonable protection to light weapons. Perhaps not so much of a weakling.

Again a pair of halberds were lowered once I came close enough to the throne. I took this as my cue to keep standing. The lord looked at me and I looked back. After a few moments, he lost the staring contest and had to look away. As he did so, I could see the confusion upon his face. He wasn’t used to meeting people who weren’t in awe of him. Score one for the Redguard without a sword.

,,And what would bring you here, man?” He asked me in a dignified tone. This time, he kept his eyes levelled at my chest. While covered by a brownish fabric, the Lord’s Mail shone through the tattered threads. I made a mental note to do some sewing later. I’d learned that being a shining beacon is rarely healthy, especially on a battlefield and the like. It was one reason why generals in their shiny and overdecorated armour always stuck behind the lines. If they moved to the front, they would be cut down in moments.
,,Caius Cosades, serving under captain Lenos, milord.” I replied and snapped a salute which made me feel rather silly. Saluting people was so not me. People saluting me was more common, in the third era.
,,That is late captain Lenos. He unfortunately died during an ambush at he Argonian border.” I added.

The lord turned to the advisor standing to his left. I hadn’t noticed that Chimer yet, standing there in the shadows.
,,Is what he says true?” He asked at a loud enough tone to make me hear it. I swore inwardly. If that advisor had ridiculous knowledge on every detail of the Chimeri army, I was screwed. If he hadn’t and brought someone in who did, I was screwed. If he did neither of those, I had to keep bluffing and hope it worked out, or I was screwed. If I was screwed, they would likely order me arrested or executed. Sword or not, either arrest or execution would lead to a slaughter. Their slaughter.

Fortunately, the advisor gave an apologetic shake of the head.
,,I do not know a captain Lenos, sire. However, our detachment near Argonia has indeed been wiped out recently. There were no survivors. Perhaps he works for the enemy, although Lenos sounds Chimeri to me.” He said. Whew, actual facts backing up a lie. That was insane. The lord turned back to me.
,,You served captain Lenos. How exactly?” He inquired. This bit was easy. I’d studied it for five minutes now.
,,Intelligence.” Yeah, that was one word and it took me five minutes. But it is all about the tone. Too fast, and it is obvious it was a deliberately studied response. Too slow, and it would sound made up.

,,A spy.” It wasn’t a question, more like a confirmation. The lord let his eyes wander slowly. I resisted the urge to move and scratch my nose.
,,You don’t look like a spy. Heavy armour, a sword deposited at the entrance and you walk into my throneroom just like that. What is there to prove that you are one, and one good enough for my needs at that? Obviously you are here to be hired.” The man jumped to conclusions rather fast, but he was mostly right.
,,If I looked like a spy, I wouldn’t be one. Besides, how do you really prefer to meet me? Here, surrounded by your trusted men, or finding me standing beside your bed in the middle of the night?” I answered.

,,True, very true. I see. You are a traitor of your own kin. Tragic, very tragic. Still, I have need of one like you. Alright, I believe I can hire you.” He mumbled. I frowned, one motion that got past my guard. I didn’t correct it. My slip went unnoticed that way. But still, he went overboard too fast, just like the guard at the gate. Were the people here really that meek, or was there more to it? Maybe they were just too damn used to having gods make all the important decisions for them?
,,But what if you are a counter-spy? I must verify so I will send you out on a simple mission.” He continued and snapped his fingers. A test of loyalty, that was more like it. I’d been doing those kind of things dozens of times. Now however, I began to see why people had always insisted on giving me these things.

A page passed a scroll into my hands.
,,A permissal to remain at the Dancing Guar tavern at no cost. Go there, ask for room three and wait for further instructions which will come later tonight. Till then, you may go and prepare yourself with the supplies available in this city. The scroll also includes an letter which provides you a budget of a hundred mountains to fund your needs. Now go, I am a busy man.” I turned away instantly and walked back at a casual pace. At first my mind went over the word mountains, but then I decided it was simply the local currency. Obviously, without Septims on the throne having the Septim as currency would be a bit weird. I wondered if a hundred mountains would be a lot or spare change. I settled on spare change. At the door, I picked up my sword again and left the castle. First up on the list was the sewing. I had to repair a few things. But Velas’ cloak would remain how it was. A torn cloak was less suspicious during a war than one that looked new and fresh.

Great description of Luper's musings regarding how to gain entry to the Chimer lord. The detail with the tattered robe was realistic, considering Luper's numerous travels it must have endured quite a lot.

Looking forward to an explanation of the "mountains". Good thinking not to call it Septims.

Goody goody! Luper acting all sneaky is he now? I wonder how long this will last?

With Luper behind the steering wheel? Not long.

And for the mountains, I was rather pushed at trying to come up with a suitable coinage. In the end I picked Red Mountain. It's probably as good a symbol as any.




While the Chimer had been less than friendly and cooperative, I managed in the end to gain all the items on my list. And so it was with a mixture of satisfaction and anger that I walked into the Dancing Guar. The moment the door had swung closed behind me, all conversations hushed. I grimaced behind the green scarf and made my way to the tap without looking left or right. Damn racists. Lack of pointy ears didn’t gave them the right to be so hostile. The man at the counter looked up at me, then returned to cleaning mugs without a word. I waited for two minutes without making a sound. In those two minutes, he glanced at me five times before his eyes shot away again.

,,Ya know, I’m not leaving.” I casually remarked at the end of the third minute, having drawn my scarf down.
,,Go away. We don’t serve your kind here.” The barkeep hissed back, finally acknowledging my existence. I wondered if I was supposed to pull out the lord’s letter and wave it around in front of his nose. I had already begun to move a hand towards the parchment tucked behind my belt. Right then, a chair scraped over the floor as it was moved. I froze my movements and let out a slow sigh. I should have expected it.

,,What kind? Why won’t you give me a drink?” I asked while pretending I hadn’t heard a thing, not even the heavy footsteps drawing closer. I had to be practically deaf to not notice a thing.
,,Because I don’t want any filth to touch my mugs. That, and because you’re bothering the customers.” The Barkeep replied with gratuitous amounts of venom within his voice. My face was cast into a grim expression. The noise and violence these people were begging for would really not go well with the Chimer-loving spy I was playing. The barkeep misinterpreted this though and laughed me in the face.
,,Haha, what’s this? Think you can throw your muscle around here?” He asked.

,,You did realize I have a sword, right?” I answered with a quizzical frown. The footsteps stopped right behind me.
,,We realized. But a sword won’t help you against five axes.” A grunting voice said. From the direction, I took that the guy speaking was about two heads taller than me and nearly thrice as heavy. I turned around slowly and threw one of my grins at him. They’d kept pushing my buttons for too long. And as I thought, five overgrown Chimer with simple axes stood around me. They were probably the bouncers, specializing in intimidating anyone who caused trouble.

,,And who might you be? The local lumberjacks?” I asked and then darted to my right where I drove my fist into one Chimer’s stomach. With a loud oomph, the man released the air from his lungs and the grip on his axe. The amount of force I’d used was not enough to lift him of the floor and slam him against the wall at the far side of the room, which is what would have happened if I had shown my full Aedric and corprus-boosted strength. But still, it did what I’d wanted, making him take three steps back and dropping the damn axe.

I grasped the falling weapon with my left hand while drawing my sword with my right hand. Then I drove the axe into the counter till it stuck and at the same time I flung myself around and cleaved through the handles of the four remaining axes, just below the heads. Even before the four blades had loudly thunked onto the floor, I’d pressed my saber’s tip against the lead Chimer’s nose.
,,And you must have drunk so much you’re seeing double. I only see one axe, and that one is stuck into the counter.” I gloated, then became serious.
,,Alright, fellas. Listen carefully. I don’t care who you damn well think you are, but if you ever dare bother me again, I’m going to repaint the walls here in a nice shade of red. Now clear out and leave me alone.” I threatened. The five scurried away, one still clutching his stomach. Only after they’d retaken their seats did I turn back towards the barkeep.

,,Ahem, I’m a pilgrim travelling the world. You know how it goes. Walk around, do some sightseeing, scaring the crap out of the locals. Anyway, my uncle wrote me a letter and said that this place was nice if I so happened to come to Mournhold.” I said and dropped the letter on the counter.
,,So despite the trouble of just then, I figure I’m going to show how easy I forgive. So, can I have a room here? My uncle said that the view from room three is especially breathtaking.” I continued. A simple iron key was slapped down on the counter.
,,Up the stairs, second room on your left.” I followed the directions without thanking him or giving him a tip. He would have gotten one if he’d been helpful before I scared the crap out of him.

But still, it could have been worse. Yes, I had just used violence and liberal amounts of intimidation. But I could have sent those fools flying or fried them with a fireball. If I’d done either of that and word came out, the lord would have me executed. He could handle a Redguard who was pretty good with a sword, he could not handle a semi-immortal battlemage, not without calling in the help of his precious Tribunal.
,,Geez, I so hope my first job doesn’t involve talking to Chimer and look for traitors within his own ranks.”

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Oct 14 2007, 07:45 PM

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, OK!




LOL. Oh, I do love these lines.

I can't wait to see what happens next. I have no idea!

Ahh, a classic Luper moment. I love reading those. Good stuff!

I've finally come around to reading evrything thus far. I must say, absolutely smashing work! Luper has come a long way from the Luper I used to know, who made fun of Caius Cosades and treated him with misrespect until Caius finally got angry and taught him his place. Luper has also come a long way from being the local troublemaker to being the local immortal demi-god. Quite a journey I must say.

The audience with Azura somewhat reminded of Prince of Persia when time-travelling was mentioned. If you've played Prince of Persia or just trivially heard of it, you'll know that it involves a lot of time-travelling, both as a gameplay feature and a plot point. And after finishing all three Prince of Persia games, I can say firmly that it has the best storyline of a game I've ever played, the series also being my favourite in terms of gameplay. If you want the best banter you've ever heard between two characters who don't stand each other, play Prince of Persia 3. The banter between the Prince and the Dark Prince is just great. Anyway, back to Luper.

The whole going back in time and seeing everything as being different was also a great touch, something oft used in things like movies and other games, but not used within fan fics so far. One thing I also like is Luper's personality. My Arthago is a pretty gray character imo, I mean he doesn't have that clear of a personality. If he does, it's not as clear as I'd appreciate it. Anyway, a writer will never be truly satisfied with his work.

Keep up the great work!

This is kinda funny. Luper is the only character of mine who's personality was never made. He just kinda appeared. First as a boring angry dude, and now the anger has turned into arrogance. Anyway, I'm at a total loss here. Whatever happens, I can write it no problem. The problem is, what happens?

So I'm putting this one open for suggestions. If you were the duke, who was suddenly approached by an unknown man of a hated race who claimed to be a spy of one of your dead underlings, what kind of mission would you give him to test his worth? And how would you make sure that he really did the job and not make it all up?

I've been trying to catch up with this for a while. So far, so very good! Luper Alkad is just the kind of person I love reading about. (I have to say, the comment about him first being a 'boring angry dude' is somewhy funny. Gotta read the first part of the story after catching up with this.)

Actually, I wouldn't have posted until I caught up with this, though I just HAD to give my five cents. If I was the Duke, I would give the MoaHRWCtbaSoOoYDU (AKA: Luper) two tasks - one to make him get information I'd already know from a person I know that will not give the info out easily (both to test whenever he was loyal, and if he was good at gathering info), and second, to prove he wouldn't struggle to fight if needed, perhaps pitch him into an Arena against another of his race.