I have to admit, at first the feather/burden combination sounds like they would just cancel each other out. But think the way it is supposed to work is that it makes the blade lighter for Rales to hold, yet hit with more mass. I think I would have just gone with a Fortify Strength instead.


This I particularly enjoyed:
The sound it made leaving its scabbard almost sounded like a sigh, as if the blade was relieved to be out of its confinement,

Very creative, Rales.

Am I reading it wrong, because to me it sounds like feather on Rales and burden on whomever or whatever it strikes? That, to me, is a very cool enchantment! Although now having said that, I don’t see how you can get around the charge that a ‘cast on strike’ weapon requires. Perhaps ‘Rosa has the right of it, after all.

I love the description of the act of enchanting a weapon, and mentioning Zerina’s shield was an especially nice touch. I also like the incorporation of one of the best books in the game, Poison Song. Your writing has improved tremendously since we all left the Imperial ship with Rales. I must admit that I am a little envious.

Yeah, I suppose SubRosa was right. If it needs to be a constant effect, burden won't do the job because it will still run out of charge.. Hmmmm... forgot about that little detail. I will edit it into fortify strength in stead cause although it's a nice idea, on 2nd thought it's flawed. Ah well

@Destri: My idea with the feather/burden was as you said it but Sub/Rosa poked a hole in it. Go figure, the writer of Interregnum envious of lil ol' me

Well, the nice thing about being late to the races, is that I got to read the edited version of Rales' new sword. Remko, you are brilliant! I love the way you conceived of tuning the sword to Rales, then using his blood to help execute it. I was hoping the successor to Wretched would get the attention it deserves and you have not disappointed. Now. . . don't forget, that wonderful blade still needs a suitable name.

Yes indeed, take take of 'Rina'.

Guys; I have been thinking the story over and came to the conclusion Rales and Zerina are after answers more than anything. There is only one path I can put them on, the path to Mournhold. Unfortutately, I haven't even started playing Tribunal yet. So I am sorry to say, the next update could take a while.
I don't want to UESP the whole quest cause that wouldn't allow me to have my own view and opinion on it. It would be too dry if you know what I mean.

I could write a chapter of them visiting Caius and Rales doing some Legion work but the legion work is more a side note than really contributing to the story so not really sure about that.

You and I have talked before about the really long term plans you have for the happy couple. For other readers, let's just say that Rales and Zerina are 'permacharacters'.

However, at this point for your mid term plans, I shall have to yield to your judgment since I have not played MW. What you say makes sense though. It sounds as if you want to play through the parts first, then write them. Makes perfect sense. Keep us posted here.

Whatever feels right for the characters is what you should do, Remko. Have fun with Tribunal.

You know me; I can't cut things short so I didn't. Besides, there are still some trials to go through, let's carry on shall we?


Nearby the exit of the Divayth’s tower, we came across a gigantic golden door and my curiosity got the better of me. A frantic pull and push on the intrically decorated doorknob proved it locked tight. Fyr waved his hand dismissively when I asked him about it and threw me a small golden key.
‘Go right ahead opening that door. To be honest, I can’t even remember what is behind it,’ he absentmindedly added.

The lock opened effortlessly and silently the heavy door swung open to reveal a Dunmer woman behind it. She shielded her eyes from the sudden cascade of daylight into the dank room. It reeked of old sweat and human waste. Zerina wrinkled her noise as the smell assaulted our senses. The girl, who introduced herself as Delyna Mandas, abashedly excused herself.
‘Thank you for letting me out Sera. Sorry about the smell but I can’t even remember how long I was locked up in there.’
I winked at her. ‘Quite a long time, judging the scent.’

She looked down at her bare feet. ‘I guess I could use a bath,’ she said with a small voice.’ Then her mood brightened. ‘You are here to get me out?’
I looked at Zerina briefly. ‘Well, I was just curious what was behind this.’ I said while tracing the patterns on the door with my indexfinger. ‘But I suppose Divayth won’t mind. After all; he doesn’t even remember you were here anyway. So, why were you locked up in here?’
‘One of the mad wizard’s daughters,’ I chuckled silently at her interpration of Divayth’s personality. ‘locked me in here because according to her I was a Redoran spy.’

‘And?’ I inquired although I already knew the answer. Redorans do not spy, that’s the Hlaalu way. ‘Are you?’
‘Of course not,’ she answered insultedly placing her hands on her hips. ‘I am the daughter of a noble. My grandfather - Maybe you’ve heard of him, Llerar Mandas?’ I shook my head. Although I was a member of the Redoran I didn’t know all the nobles and councillors yet.
‘My grandfather wanted me to request the Telvanni Master Wizard for an audition.’
‘Why?’
‘No one in Vvardenfell knows more about diseases than he does,’ she said. ‘Llerar wanted to consult him about the Blight Diseases that has been rapidly spreading. And more in particular; about the Corrpus disease.’ She lowered her voice conspiracally while her eyes darted from left to right. ‘Some say the Holy Tribunal has weakened and that they can’t keep the Blight out of Vvardenfell anymore. But of course, this rumour is considered heresy and is fiercely denied by the Ordinators and the Temple.’

‘So, have you spoken to Divayth?’
‘No,’ she answered frustratedly. ‘That wench locked me up before I even got the chance.’
‘You’re not going to like this, but I know that Divayth hadn’t been able to help anyway. In fact; he has devoted years in creating a cure but so far has failed…’ I let the last part of the sentence trace off. I had almost disclosed things we better keep silent. Delyna luckily hadn’t noticed I didn’t really finish the sentence.

‘There is no cure for Corprus,’ I said. ‘At least not yet.’
Delyna sighed defeatedly. ‘I will bring my grandfather the bad news then. Take this in gratitude for my release,’ she said while taking of a delicate necklace as soon as we emerged outside the tower.
‘It’s not very valuable but should you two ever find your way to my father in Ald’Ruhn or my grandfather in Ebonheart, I am sure they will properly reward you for rescueing me. This locket will be proof of your kindness toward me. Farewell kind strangers.’
‘It was our pleasure,’ Zerina said while softly placing a hand on her shoulder. ‘May the Lady of the Moon and Stars always guide your steps.’

And with these words our paths parted; Zerina and I headed north west, back to the Urshilaku camp and eventually back to Caius in Balmora and Delyna vanished in a flash after a short incantation - I assumed she teleported back to where ever she was heading. I was sure both Nibeni and Caius would be most interested in hearing how I had contracted the dreaded Corprus disease and how I was “cured” of it with a terrible - or; as Divayth called it, interesting - side-effect.

***

‘You look- Well, different,’ Nibeni and Sul Matuul agreed. Zerina and I had entered Nibeni’s yurt earlier and had walked into the Ashkhan and the Wise-Woman in an intimate embrace but it hadn’t bothered them at all. The couple leisurely finished their lovemaking before Sul rolled off Nibeni and lazily laid himself next to her as if we weren’t even there. Dunmer were reknowned for the lack of prudeness but it appeared the Ashlanders lacked any form of it. Even my own Zerina had often surprised me with spontanuously dropping all of her clothes - leaving them for me to pick up after her - when we were wandering around the Ashlands during summertime.
‘What if someone sees you?’ I remember asking shockedly and - admittedly - pleasantly surpised at the same time. Seeing her like that moved me to my core and stirred something in my lower region. She had simply shrugged laughingly.

‘We all look the same underneath our cloths, don’t we?’
‘More or less,’ I had agreed and eventually we were both naked as the day we were born. It was some getting used to for me but I had to agree; it felt good shedding the burden of civilisation. In the back of my mind I knew we could be in trouble if we would run into an enemy or a predator but a levitation spell negated that threat, we added a shield spell in case of an archer or a spellcaster.

This post has been edited by Remko: Jul 5 2010, 05:13 PM

Raaaales back! And with Zerina in tow!

I enjoyed the latest installment, though finding the Dunmer lady behind that locked door was a little jarring. I'm sure it's not your fault, but rather some of the weird stuff I've heard about Morrowind quests.

That last bit about attitudes about sex was worth a smile on my part. I'm a bit prudish by nature, but hey, as long as you're comfortable about it I'm not going to quibble! Besides, I enjoy beefcake as much as the next woman (assuming the woman next to me is straight!).

Rales and Zerina are back! I like how you took the Delyna quest and changed it up a bit. The encounter is now one more piece of evidence that the Tribunal's power is slipping, and that of Dagoth Ur steadily rising.


nits:
‘Ofcourse not,’
Of course got squished together here.

As always, I am completely unfamiliar with the quest here, but relish hearing it from my guide Rales.

Anytime Rales and Zerina are traveling together, it is all good.

Nice characterization with the girl behind the door, and fun to hear about Rales and Zerina running around like little wood nymphs - oh. . . no. Wrong kind of elves! I understand Zerina perfectly though; Buffy loves waterfalls for example, but they make her clothes fall off.

It has only been a week and you are back. Such is your passion for storytelling!! Bravo.


To put the word levitation into the part where you talk about naked men and women in the buff was very devious. It couldn't be an accident, no?

@Everyone: Thank you all for the kind words. To be fair; I put in the part of the nakedness to voice my own disapprovement of every little thing be censored nowadays. That's why I put in the sentence:
Oh, and because I thought it would be fun. Gotta love writing.

@Winter Wolf; Errm, well, I hadn't looked at it that way... with levitation I did NOT mean bodily funtions

@Hautee: Yeah, the girl behind the door was one of the game's weird little things but I tried to make some sense out of why she would be locked up in there (don't remember the game's explanation). I kept how long she had been locked up there a bit vague on purpose, but don't be disheartened, I will get back to it. (MW vets will remember the importance of her in a Redoran house quest) I considered letting it out but it was too much of a nice opportunity to show the Blight is affecting the whole of Vvardenfell rather than just the PC and that other people are concerned about it too and actually do something about it rather than just moan. I also thought it would be a nice way to link the mainquest to the Redoran house quest line. (lord of Milk anyone?)
As a sidenote, I do not run around naked myself

The story continues;

I will always remember the look on the first bandit’s face we encountered like that. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t live to tell the tale. He insisted on having our valuables, especially the necklace - the only thing she never took off except when bathing - I had given to Zerina in Vivec. I had tried bribing him - I still preferred spending some gold rather than having to end a life, even it was a criminal - but he refused and had attacked us. Like Zerina who never took off her necklace, I still had my katana - Zerina had dubbed it MoonShard because according to her the blade reflected the light as dimly as Masser did - strapped around my waist.
He was the first to fall to the effectiveness of the Daedric blade and Yagrum’s enchantments on it. It was as effective as it was terrible, just like Wretched had been. Maybe even more so.

I nodded in acknowledgement of Nibeni and Sul Matuul’s assessment.
‘I have fulfilled the second trial, wise one,’ I said. ‘”Curse of Flesh” was indeed referring to the Corprus disease.’
Nibeni and Sul Matuul eyes spread and their faces paled while the moved away from me.
‘You have Corprus?’ Nibeni asked me frightenedly.
‘No, wise one,’ I replied patiently. ‘Well,’ I added thoughtfully, ‘ technically I still do but the ill effects have been undone by Lord Fyr. It can not be transferred from me to anyone anymore either.’
Sul Matuul's face was puzzled. ‘What do you mean Clanfriend?’
‘It means that nor age nor disease can still touch me.’
Nibeni immediately grasped the terrible truth in those words.
‘You,-‘ he said hesitantly. ‘You are as the ancient Master Wizards of the East? Immortal?’ Her face, displaying the deeper understanding of the situation, snapped to Zerina and looked at her intensely for a brief moment. It seemed women often didn’t need words to understand each other.
‘You are from the east too,’ Nibeni said to Zerina noddingly. ‘It will be- ah interesting to see what happens when you two ever have children.’ She waved her hand in a vague manner.

‘Now, you have fulfilled the second trial, you will need to find the Lost Prophecies. I have heard of priests that doubt the teachings of the temple and scorn the persecution of so-called heretics. You need to find these dissident priests and find out what they know about the trials of the Nerevarine and the Lost Prohecies. The word is lost among the tribes but the settled Dunmer have books in which it might still be found. Go with haste. Eat, sleep, make love but leave next thing in the morning. She pointed towards a new yurt. ‘We have taken the liberty to construct your own yurt so you two don’t need to use mine,’ she winked. ‘Sleep well.’

‘Rales?’ Zerina whispered, her head resting on my chest.
‘Hmmm,’ I replied sleepingly, still basking in the afterglow from our love game.
‘Have you ever considered the alternative of our decision concerning having children?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean; we decided not to have children before the end of this Nerevarine business.’
‘Oh, that. Can’t say I have, my love.’
‘You do know, if you do not make it, I will be left all alone,’ she said softly.
I was starting to see where this was going. ‘You mean…’ I left the sentence unfinished.

‘Exactly,’ she nodded, her hair brushing my chest with the movement. ‘I want your children so I have something from you, should you…’ her eyes filled up with tears and her voice became thick with the sudden emotion. ‘should you…,’ she broke down in tears and I embraced her tightly while whispering reassuring words into her hair. Deep down, I knew her argument made sense although I didn’t dare ask what would happen if not I, but she would perish. Would I allow to put herself at risk should she get pregnant? Would it even matter whether or not she was with my child? I didn’t want to lose her, period. The answer was simple; I would just have to make sure that we survived.

‘Ok,’ I finally whispered. ‘Let’s have a child. I am tired of letting this prophecy controlling our life’s path anyway. I am tired of being a leaf in the river, I want to be the rock withstanding the stream again.’ I hadn’t a clue whether or not she would be able to conceive right away or needed some ritual to enable her fertility again first but that night we made love countless times as though it was our first - or last - night together. I was sure that if she was indeed fertile again, that night she would have conceived.

This post has been edited by Remko: Jul 5 2010, 10:31 AM

He he - it never occurred to me that you might run around nekkid yourself!

Anyway, this is a sweet little chapter. The discussion of children is a great way to show the age-old quandary. Life is so much simpler when there are no wee bairns underfoot, but at the same time those rugrats are often an affirmation of something wonderful between a couple (though some may disagree on that point!).

I'm glad you are continuing the adventures of Rales and Zerina, and not skimping on their relationship in the mean time!

One nit: Waste refers to trash or bleak country (Riders of the Wasteland, anyone?), while waist refers to the body part that usually carries a belt. That's all.

So this means that you walk around naked, rather than run...

As haute said, a very sweet chapter between Rales and Zerina. I can fully understand Zerina's desire to become pregnant. Children are an affirmation of life, and a commitment to the future.

nits:
Nimeni asked me scaredly.
A typo in Nibeni. Also scaredly is not an English word. Frightenedly is. You might consider replacing that last part with a little more showing though, such as saying "asked me with eyes wide in fear"


It seemed women often didn’t need words to understand eachother.
A very true statement! However, each other got squished together here.


I have heard of priests that doubt the teachings of the temple and scourn the persecution of so-called heretics
That would be scorn.

Moon Shard.
I knew you would not disappoint with an appropriate name for Rales' new weapon. The fact that the name was chosen by Zerina was a wonderul touch.

Speaking of. . . what a sweet interlude with the endearing Rales and Zerina during the latter part of this.

Great to see this continued I like the morrowind main quest and it's fun to read about. Reles and Zerina keep developing as characters too which is good, they're both well rounded now (even if they do have potentially disasterous habits in the ashlands (cliff-racers anyone?)). As ever I'm interesed to see what happens next.


Nah I'm betting on swimming


This post has been edited by Olen: Jul 3 2010, 04:13 PM

How could I skimp out on Rales And Zerina's relationship? It's the driving force in my story. I love writing about them.
actually, I was re-reading my last few installments and realised they needed "icing"
I hope I didnt't cross a line of decency but I made the part of Sul and Nibeni a tad more spicy to emphasise their lack of prudeness/shame. The thought dawned to me that in small tribes the tribespeople would be living so close on one another 24/7, privacy is non-existing.

I also added some minor details in the earlier installments, basically from the point Rales contracts Corprus.

And I love reading about them. They are my favorite part of the story too. But then again, chick talking here. Seriously though, love and lust are very powerful emotions that we all have. Not all stories need a romantic element, but having it does add more depth to the characters.



You have nothing to worry about. That was far from indecent. As long as you refrain from describing things "gleaming wetly" I think you will be fine!