Olen: Thank you. I was inspired to use the potato by Carl Sagan, who along with other astronomers has described the moon Phobos as a looking like a lumpy potato. It seemed like exactly the kind of comparison that would come to Teresa's mind as well.
And thank you for the nits. Fixed.
haute ecole rider: Thank you h.e.r. That ruin is Belda. I have been wrestling with a way for Teresa to know the names of the ruins she finds. One thought is that the name might be at the main door, in same way that we put city names on signs at the limits. Of course it would be written in Ayleidic, which would not help her much...
Winter Wolf: Thank you wolf. I am using this opportunity to rework things to go back and lay in some extra groundwork for future events. In this case with Teresa and the Ayleid ruins, which we will come to fruition in the very distant future.
D.Foxy: Would you like me to send you some of those goggles people wore during the A-Bomb tests to make reading easier...
Destri Melarg: Yaay! My favorite trumpet-playing Redguard historian is back.
I did work very hard on Vilverin, both to create a steadily building mood of tension and horror, but also to make sure Teresa's motivations remained believable. As you noted, she began with simple curiosity (and perhaps some deeper pull which she cannot explain), and was slowly drawn in further and further by the mystery. That she had become the avenger of a group of people who would have gladly killed her was something I found ironic as well. Actually, that was one reason I made an effort to really work on the evidence of Jalbert's horrors. I wanted it to be plain that while the bandits were obviously bad people, they were must minor leaguers compared to him.
The movie you are thinking of is
Son of Dracula, starring Lon Chaney. I am more used to Alucard from the anime series
Hellsing myself. In the game the letter was written to Captain Aluc Cardius. I decided to be simple and just go straight to the homage.
Cthulhu himself was Lovecrafts, he wrote
The Call of Cthulhu, in which everyone's tentacle-faced best friend makes his first appearance in literature. The entire mythos that has been created is another story however. He (Lovecraft) is more the grandfather of it all. It is amazing how many writers have lent their hand to the sub-genre of horror which it comprises.
As usual, I hate coming up with original names. So with the lakes I went to history to provide me some, and at the same time add me some local flavor as well (as will be seen in the next few chapters, when Teresa learns the history of the lakes). Yes, Hannibal is involved. Well, an E.S. version of him at least.
Was Camoran the Usurper when James Cameron tried to take over Hollywood and mandated that every movie must have at least one explosion every five minutes?
All: Next Teresa meets the person whom this chapter is named after, and begins to learn something about her mysterious relationship with ravens.
Also Tsume is not an original name. Can anyone guess where I got it from?
* * *
Chapter 8c - The Witch of Lake TrasimeneThe smell of wood smoke came to the Bosmer's nose. Looking down, she found a small cottage. It sat in a clearing at the edge of the first lake, not far from where the nearest waterfall emptied its contents into the wide, blue waters. She could see a garden behind the building, filled with vegetables of all varieties.
Her stomach grumbled at the sight. She had eaten the last of her bread during the night. The promise of another meal was all the incentive the wood elf needed to rise to her feet and gather her things. Whoever lived there would have food, she thought, and she had plenty of septims to pay for it.
She found a pathway leading down not far from the rocks upon which she stood. Following it down the slope of the valley, she imagined that she must be near the cottage when she heard a low growl in the trees nearby.
Stopping instantly, the forester fixed the symbol for her Command Animal power in her mind. Looking about herself, she found the author of the sound easing from the brush to her left. It was a wolf, covered in grey fur that lightened to a softer white under his chest. A long scar ran diagonally across his breastbone, quite old from the look of it. His lips curled up from his clenched jaws, exposing long fangs as he voiced his displeasure at Teresa.
"Hey there fella, it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," the wood elf said in a soothing tone. "Are you by yourself, or do you have any friends around?" Her eyes moved to and fro. Usually wolves traveled in packs, she knew. She had not seen one alone since her first time in the forest, over a month ago.
The wolf continued to snarl, and slowly approached Teresa. She knelt down on her haunches and looked him in the eye. She did not see or hear any other animals, so she imagined that he must be alone. She hoped so, because her bow stave was unstrung and on her back, and her power only worked on one animal at a time. Not that wolves had ever given her any real trouble in the past…
"I'm Teresa," she continued in the same soft voice. "Now what is your name?"
The wolf stopped his growling, and tilted his head to one side. For a moment the Bosmer wondered if he could understand her. He wagged his tail and opened his mouth to pant for a moment. Leaning back his head, he let out a short howl. A moment later he was trotting up to Teresa and sniffing her hands.
The forester's heart doubled its pace, but she kept still and let the predator get a good whiff of her. She had not even used her Command Animal and he was acting friendly! Careful lest the wolf's mood suddenly change, she slowly took off her gauntlets and stroked her bare fingers through the white fur under his muzzle. The next thing she knew he was licking her cheeks, and Teresa could not stifle a faint smile as she sat on the dirt and petted the wolf.
Screenshot"Well now, it seems Tsume likes you. That's unusual." Teresa nearly jumped at the woman's voice. Looking up, she found a wood elf standing on the path ahead. She wore a brown bodice edged in green over a white chemise, while a tan skirt covered her legs. Her grey eyes flashed in the morning light, and her hair was a bright shade of auburn. If she had been an Imperial Teresa would have put her age around twenty. Yet her eyes were heavy with years, and Teresa wondered if she might be at least a century in age.
The wolf leapt to his feet and trotted over to the newcomer with a wag in his tail. Walking around her legs and rubbing his shoulder against her skirts, he sat beside the older Bosmer, who let one hand drop to stroke the fur on top of his head.
"Um hello, I'm Teresa." The forester rose to her feet, pulling the gauntlets back on her hands. Then she motioned to the wolf at the other woman's feet. "Is he yours? He's certainly very friendly."
"Tsume? He would sooner eat most people he meets. You must be special indeed." The other wood elf seemed to be appraising Teresa, who had to fight to keep from blushing at the last sentence. "I am Morcant, and I don't own him. Tsume keeps me company is all, when he chooses to."
"So that must be your house I saw from up there." Teresa motioned with one hand to the ridge rising up behind her. "If you have some extra bread, I would be glad to buy it. I have gold."
The auburn-haired woman chuckled for a moment. "I can do better than bread," she murmured. Then she waved Teresa forward and turned back down the path, the wolf walking by her side. Teresa lifted her gear and scampered down the trail behind them. Soon she found herself standing before the same cottage she had seen from above. With carefully-fitted stone walls and a thatch roof, it looked both solid and cozy, with the lake to one side, forest to the other, and garden behind it.
Screenshot"You certainly picked a beautiful place to stay." The forester breathed as she took in the scene. "I think I could live in a place like this forever."
"That's funny, most people say I'm crazy for living out here by myself." The other woman stepped through the door and into her home. Teresa followed, and found herself in a comfortable abode. Large open windows let in plenty of light and a cool breeze off the lake. The wooden floor was covered in thick carpets, and the walls were hung with tapestries depicting wild animals or intricate knot-work patterns. A pair of rocking chairs sat near a wide hearth built into the far wall, and an iron pot bubbled over its flames. An oven sat next to it, along with a long table. A simple rattan bed was stretched out along the wall to the other side of the hearth, along with a dressing table and wardrobe.
"I think it's wonderful," Teresa said honestly, taking in the small, yet very inviting home around her.
The smell of cinnamon filled Teresa's nostrils. The older wood elf stepped to the table and lifted a plate of rolls laden with white frosting and dusted with darker cinnamon. The forester could see steam rising from them as Morcant held the plate up and motioned for her to try one. Taking it in her hand, Teresa found the roll was sticky in her fingers, yet tasted exquisite as she took her first bite.
"I just took them out of the oven," Morcant said, taking a bite from one herself. "I have a pot of stew on as well. You are welcome to some once it is done."
"Oh that is alright, just the rolls are fine," Teresa said, eyeing the pot in the fireplace. "I don't eat meat anyway."
"I know," the other woman said with a smile, stepping over to the wide iron pot and stirring it with a ladle. "It's all vegetables from my garden, and those I trade with the farmers down by the Blue Road for. Rice, carrots, leeks, red potatoes, onion, and celery. With some flour to thicken the broth, and basil and rosemary for extra flavor."
"You know I don't eat meat?" Teresa said, stepping closer and looking down into the pot herself. "There is a lot of stew there for only one person."
"But it's not for one person is it?" the other woman said as she stepped to a cupboard and began making tea. "I woke up this morning and found a raven sitting in the windowsill, staring right at me. He told me you were coming."
Teresa remembered the raven that had sat down on the dock next to her at Sideways. How she had just known that Martin was safe when it looked at her. Then she recalled all the other times since meeting the Emperor that the ravens and crows had guided her. Leading her to Chorrol, to Weye, and even Vilverin.
"So they talk to you too!" Teresa gasped, her eyes widening in spite of herself.
"They all talk to me dear," the older woman smiled as she handed Teresa a cup of tea. She sat in one of the rocking chairs, and at her gesture Teresa sat in the other. Tsume walked over and lay down at her feet, tucking his head between his forelegs and closing his eyes in contentment. "Raven, Bear, Wolf, Stag, Serpent, Turtle, and all the rest. I'm a Witch after all."
"You're a Witch!" Teresa almost spat the tea from her lips. The wolf, her living alone in the wilderness, now it all made sense to the young wood elf. "But you-"
"But I what?" Morcant smiled over the rim of her cup. Teresa had the distinct impression that the other woman found her discomfort terribly amusing.
"I… I don't know." Teresa muttered. "I guess you just don't look much like a Witch is all."
"What is a Witch supposed to look like?" the other woman asked coyly.
"I… I'm not sure really." the forester replied honestly. "I don't know what a Witch really is, to be truthful. I just hear about them all the time in the bard's tales, and they are usually trouble."
"I'll tell you a secret Teresa," the other woman leaned closer, and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I don't know what a Witch really is either, but everyone calls me that. I guess because I'm not part of the Mages Guild, and would rather be around animals than people. Or maybe it's because I listen to the bones of the world when they speak, and learn my magic from them rather than those pompous hypocrites in the Arcane University."
Teresa felt herself start to relax. So much of that sounded just like herself. Well, at least the part about liking animals. "The bones of the world?" she found herself asking as she took another sip of tea. "Are those gods, like the Nine?"
"Yes, in a way," the other woman explained, then pointed to the black feathers in Teresa's hair. "You should know already, you are obviously on very good terms with some of them."
"You mean the ravens?" the young wood elf wondered aloud, the fingers of one hand running over the feathers adorning her crimson tresses. "Ever since I first stepped in the forest, they have been with me somehow."
"Not the ravens," the other woman corrected. "Raven. He is your spirit-guide. One of them at least. Tell me, do you have dreams about him? Do you ever fly in them? Does he show you things? Do ravens in the waking world ever seem to guide you places? Or warn you about things?"
"Nocturnal yes!" Teresa practically wanted to leap from her seat and hug the other woman. She was not crazy after all, she thought, or imagining things. It was all real! "How come I have never heard about any of this before? No one ever talks about these, what did you call them, spirit-guides?"
"You must have lived with Imperials all your life," the other woman said dryly. "Most round-ears are afraid of everything except the Nine. Bring up the Nirn Spirits, or Daedra, and they would like to stone you. After what the Ayleids did to them, it is no surprise I suppose…"
This post has been edited by SubRosa: Nov 24 2010, 10:16 PM