I would suggest a certain hammer, dagger, and gauntlet... but Teresa's already gone into the dreamworld, so that won't work. Even if she did, she can't take anything with her, as I'm sure she is going to find out in many Dhertee Innu-Enndo (read: Foxy)-exploitable ways next chapter.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Jan 24 2011, 03:05 AM

Good part, I like the additional background you gave the quest in terms of the magic and character backstories. As ever there's depth in everything. Henantier promises to be an interesting character when he wakes up.

I very much look forward to the next part, this quest is a piece of genius. Teresa might learn a bit more about magic too.


Shot glasses kill the smell (not enough surface to evaporate and glass to hold the fumes) and chilling whisky kills smell and flavour... of course if that was the intention it succeeds, but then why not drink cheap gutrot?

This was great how you selected and controlled your content here. In the previous episode Teresa got the quest. In this one she reports for duty and enters the dream world. Perfect. This episode really built up some suspense!

Once one knew what to look for, the serpent-folk were even easier to read than humans or elves. It was one of the reasons she liked being around them. That, and the soothing tone of their husky voices.
Oooh! I see Teresa, Julian and Buffy all adore Argonians! And for good reasons!

For a moment Teresa wondered if they were painted by the same man who had done those Nerussa had in her bedchamber. What had his name been? Rythe Lythandas?
Lovely to tie in not only a reference to Nerussa, but to one of Cyrodiil's famous painters. Almost as famous as Mrs Treydog!

"Even in school he was getting into trouble. Not picking fights or playing pranks, but reaching too far in his quest for knowledge."
I figure the pranky stuff was the domain of a certain white Khajiit!

"I understand. Don't worry, I can keep a secret," Teresa nodded, thinking about how she had carried the Amulet of Kings to Jauffre.
Pappy and Kud-Ei have chosen well. Teresa certainly can keep a secret.

"A true friend is there through the hard times as well as the easy ones," Kud-Ei said. "I would have never graduated if not for Henantier. He got me through Mysticism. I never forget who my friends are."
*happy sigh* That's our Kud-Ei. Thank you for portraying her so beautifully.

Only a total stranger - someone whom he has not only never met, but never even heard of - can escape the splintering of their mind when inside his dream."
A perfect explanation to Teresa's obvious question!

"You are a brave girl," she said. "I can see Commander Vitellus sent the right person.
*begin John Wayne voice* Yup, he shore did, little lady!

I like this line



As they say, knowledge is power...

As usual, a great chapter I can't wait to see the quest for the next one

I noticed in the Construction Set for Henantier's house what seems to be upstairs underneath his bed is "Henantier's Magic Carpet." (or something along those lines). I have done everything but walk through the walls trying to get my hands on it and find out what it is - do you know? I looked everywhere on the internet and could find no other mention of it except in the Construction set itself.

I've just had a look myself. It is listed as MS05MagicRugTrigger, but it seems to be just a static object not mentioned anywhere else. I'm guessing that it's a relic of previous quest designs.

Darn, I keep missing the posts. Still, I like reading a few at a time. Rosa, you did a great job turning Bravil from the dreary place that it appears on the outside to a town like any other. There is a simple beauty in the rough-hewn houses of Bravil and Leyawiin.

So, Teresa is now in the FG? Out of curiosity, will she go through that particular questline, or is the membership for another purpose?

This particular quest has never been a favorite of mine (it took many hours for Linara to kill the minotaurs...) but it has a surreal quality to it. Something like reading a John Crowley book, perhaps.



So true.

Geen-Rana, what a lovely, aquatic-sounding name!

"Find Henantier, and restore the broken fragments of his psyche. Only he can get you out again." The magician's voice began to fade away, as if she was moving down a long tunnel. "Be careful that you are not killed in the dreamworld, else you will never waken…"
I love the way you’ve explained and launched this quest. I found it to be the most unnerving one in the game, and you’ve given me the uneasy feeling even before it starts!

Gaaah. I was hoping someone knew something I didn't and we would have access to a magic rug !!!!

haute ecole rider: Yes, and so it begins! You sound like Ambassador Kosh!


Thomas Kaira: You know I never got very far in Morrowind. I think I might go back and try it again after I finish my current Oblivion character.


Olen: I never thought about the whiskey fumes. As to the cold though, Nordic Whiskey is always chilled, even when it is at room temperature (and probably even if you put it over a fire), that is part of what makes it what it is.


Acadian: The pranks were indeed left to a white Khajiit! I cannot imagine Henantier filling someone's bedroom with watermelons!

Kud-EI was easy to write, given the trail that has been blazed by you and h.e.r.


Jacki Dice: I worked hard on the Lorkhan line. I was trying to get an ES equivalent to humpty dumpty.


mALX & Cardboard Box: The rug also appears in the dreamworld. Maybe they were going to use it as an activator to transport between the real world and the dream? As Cardboard said, it is probably something that just never got implemented.


Linara: I have slowed down my posting schedule to every 3 days to make it a little easier for people to keep up. I do not have plans to do the FG questline with Teresa. Although in the future I might do some things with the Blackwood Company.


Grits: I have always been a little disappointed that I have never really done anything with Teresa's old roomate Geen-Rana. There has just never been anywhere to work her into things.


Next: In our previous episode Teresa met with Kud-Ei, and learned that Henantier is trapped in his own dream. Next, she journeys into the dreamworld herself.


Chapter 28.3 –Through A Nightmare Darkly

Teresa opened her eyes to find herself in a room that was filled with red light. The air was hot and dry, like she imagined a desert might feel. After blinking for a moment, she realized it was the second floor of Henantier's home. Only it had become a dark reflection of what it was in the real world.

The paintings hung upside down, and the walls themselves had changed. The wall directly ahead was comprised of the neatly dressed blocks of a castle. Yet to her right it was the rough stone of a cave. The bed lay against it, nearly upended by the rough stone growing under it. Good, familiar wood covered in daub comprised the wall to her left. Yet as she looked she could see the surface of that wall gently moving in and out, as if it was breathing.

Behind her she found the smooth, white stone of an Ayleid ruin, complete with the typical square double-door entrance of the heartland high elves, and the circular handle to open it. Like the paintings in the room, it was upside down, with the steps leading to it emanating from the ceiling above her rather than the floor.

Screenshot

Standing across the room was Henantier. He was wearing the same blue robe he did in the real world, and was enveloped in a soft green light. He cowered away from her gaze, crouching down in a vain attempt to hide behind a dresser. Teresa stepped closer to the high elf, and thought that he looked strange. That is when she realized that she could see through his body, as if he was a ghost.

A ghost of his former self, Teresa thought as she stood before him. She reached out to him and noticed that her arm was bare, when it should have been covered by the sleeve of her leather cuirass. Looking down at herself, she found that she was stark naked, except for the amulet that fell between her small, yet firm breasts. A green light rose from the moonstone set in the center of the amulet and suffused her entire body with its glow, just as with Henantier.

"What the…" Teresa reflexively jumped back and lowered a hand to cover her nether regions. She turned to the dresser beside her and tried to open the drawers, but they would not budge. Yanking even harder, the handle came off in her hand. That is when she noticed that the drawers were either fused into the frame of the dresser, or they were simply decorative. She also noted that in spite of her nakedness, she did not feel cold. In fact, she was quite warm, thanks to the heat.

It isn't real, she thought. It's just a reflection from his mind. Looking back to the high elf, she saw he continued to squirm behind the end of the dresser. Well, she thought, he is certainly not a Peeping Tovas. The way he was reacting, she might as well be a Daedric Prince!

"Henantier." she said gently, stepping closer to him. Now that she could see him better, it seemed as if he was made of mist. She reached out to touch him, but then drew her hand back before she could. If he really was a vapor, she did not want to disperse any of him.

By Raven, what a strange thought to have! she mused as she stared at the high elf.

He did not answer, even after several minutes of her quiet prodding. Worse, the closer she drew to him, the more he shirked away. He was clearly terrified of her. Just what she needed. He was the one who was supposed to get them out of here!

Teresa stepped away from him to avoid frightening him any more than necessary. Thinking back on what Kud-Ei had said, she imagined that this must be a byproduct of the dreamworld divorcing him from certain parts of his personality. Apparently his courage was one of those things. Perhaps his ability to perceive as well, as he plainly thought she was a threat.

She looked around the room. In addition to the Ayleid door behind her, she now saw another exit set in the rough stone wall to her right. This one was of ramshackle wooden boards, like the one she had seen at the entrance of the goblin cave on the City Isle. At the far end of the room she saw the stairway leading downstairs. She stepped toward it, but that brought her closer to Henantier as well. She stopped and backed away as he tried to press himself into the wall beside him to escape.

Better to do whatever could be done up here first, Teresa thought. Maybe that would help put him back together enough for her to go downstairs without him hurting himself from fright.

Turning to the Ayleid door behind her, the naked wood elf set her hand to the warm stone of its surface. Instantly she knew that it was the portal to the Test of Perception. She had no idea how she knew that. It was just there in her mind.

Just like in a dream, Teresa thought.

She focused on the symbol of her Flare spell and called the magicka up within her. Only for some reason the energy did not respond. She could usually feel it deep within her, yet now she felt nothing. It was as if she had expended all of her magicka casting spells.

This must be by Henantier's design, the wood elf thought, so he could not just whip off a bunch of super-spells during his trials and finish them with no trouble. It was intended to be difficult after all, supposed to push him.

Swallowing hard, Teresa reached for the door again and took the circular handle in her trembling fingers. You can do this, she told herself, you have been through worse and come out alive. You can do this.

She pushed the doors aside and stepped through.

Screenshot

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 27 2011, 02:57 AM

Spooky... I don't think I'd want to get trapped in this place any more than Henantier was.



Many a girl's worst nightmare, to be standing nude in front of a man and have no way of dressing themselves. It's a good thing Henantier has no mind of his own right now, but you might want to consider what's going to happen as you help him recover his mind, Teresa. I understand that such a quest is going to build a rather intimate relationship between you two, how much so is entirely up to you.

Well, a certain blondie bear makes a notable exception, of course.



Delightful.



That's right, girl, go for the Ayleid Arimer style first. I'm sure we need not remind you what drove you to that decision.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Jan 26 2011, 09:05 PM

I'd forgotten what a good quest this was. You write it very well, it has the feel of a dream where things don't make any sense but Teresa is still thinking clearly.


This one line was very good, it explains the origin of the knowledge and solidifes the idea of this being a dream. It also says something about Teresa that when presented with such strangeness she just shruggs it off as being like a dream.


Though Henantier it seems is not. I blame Kud-Ei, while she might have fixed the bug Henantier left in the enchantment she seems to have introduced one.

And here we are inside the imagination of M.C. Escher. Yes, Henantier's room always makes me think of those etchings by the master-wizard of perception himself. You have captured that feeling well in your writing.

Funny, I always go for the Test of Courage first. Why? I really don't know. It's a strange thing to be doing without the Jewel of the Rumare, and downright scary too.

But the Test of Perception always leaves me shaking, though I have done it so many times already. Yikes!

'he is certainly not a Peeping Tovas.'
This is a delightfully TES phrase!

Stringy wood elf? By Raven, you need a less, um curvaceously hourglass body mod (just joshin' ya).

You have created an eerie atmosphere here and clearly share with us what Teresa is thinking.

Yikes! No magic, no bow, no clothes. Gulp!

My word! Teresa is nude!!

I like Perception the best out of the four. Its the easiest one for me



Huh... I never noticed that! Then again the only interaction I have with Henantier is a good punch after each test...

Since you are not the first to say that, I found another body mod, and after installing only the body files (and not the clothes that come with it - since it would not work with my other mods with those), I was able to get it to work. I replaced the previous pic of Teresa nude. Now she is less top-heavy, but seems to have a gigantic butt.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 27 2011, 04:00 AM

Oh noes! I was just joshin'! Teresa is gorgeous!!!

Thomas Kaira: Actually I picked that one to write about first simply because it was the nearest to Teresa! But I am glad it may seem there is some personal preference going on as well. It is usually the one I start with when I do the quest in the game. Because you can start from it, and do the rest in order around the house.


Olen: Teresa is used to strangeness, given her recent history with prophetic Emperors, Witches, spirit guides, etc...

She is not clothed simply because you are not supposed to bring anything in with you. I decided to take that literally when I wrote this. The only things in the dreamworld are what Henantier's subconscious provides. Since he has no clue who she is, his subconscious is not putting any clothing on her. I imagine that if it had been Kud-Ei who entered the dream, his subconscious would clothe her as he normally saw her. Or perhaps as he would like to see her... Besides, it is the only opportunity I am ever going to have to take naked pictures of Teresa!


haute ecole rider: I am glad the weirdness of the dreamworld resonates. I really wanted that to come across, with the little descriptions of the wall breathing, etc...


Acadian: I used the TGND body, which I rather like. It is too bad the replacement meshes for all the vanilla clothing that comes with it conflict with something else. So I had to just use the naked body meshes and textures.


Jacki Dice: The last time Teresa got this naked in the story, she at least had Nerussa to make up for it! Henantier is not her idea of a good substitution! Tadrose Helas on the other hand...

I always find this one easy too. It is just jumping and timing and watching your step.


Next: Teresa entered Henantier's dream in the previous episode. Now she begins the first test to rebuild the high elf's mind. Note that I am changing the names of the some of the tests to ones I find more representative.


Chapter 28.4 –Through A Nightmare Darkly

She found herself standing in a void. A platform of stone blocks was beneath her, apparently floating within the inky darkness. To her left she saw another platform of floating stone in the distance, and hovering over it was what seemed to be a dark sphere, outlined by glowing blue-white energy. Leading away from there was a path of stones that also hung in the void, traveling in a wide semi-circle to the right and eventually joining with the platform upon which she stood.

Floating amid the darkness between the platforms and the pathway were several glowing crystals, shaped much like varla stones, only red in color rather than the cool silver-white of the Ayleid artifacts. Teresa looked back and saw that the door she had stepped through was gone. Instead there was nothing but empty blackness behind her.

Screenshot

The only way out is through, Teresa thought, walking forward to where the path joined the corner of the platform. The stone blocks directly in front of her were shrouded in darkness, yet in the distance beyond she could see where they reappeared in the light. Reaching down with a cautious hand, she felt for solid purchase. She found nothing but emptiness.

A trap, she thought, meant to catch the unaware with a nasty fall. Backing up, she ran forward and leaped across the dark spot, landing in a heap on the far, lit side. Picking herself up, she made to brush the dust from her naked body only to find there was none. Nor was her soft skin bruised or scraped by her fall upon the rough stone blocks under her feet.

It's all a dream, she thought. Just don't get killed.

Moving forward along the path of stone blocks, the clunking noise of machinery came to her ears. Looming from the darkness before her she saw a circular ring of stone. Floating over it were several long bony objects like fingers. Hanging from them were rusty iron pendulums, much like she had seen in Vilverin.

Screenshot

Stepping to the edge of the ring of stone, she watched as the pendulums swung back and forth around it. One swipe would cut her in half, or knock her off the platform and send her to her death in the emptiness below. Staring at the swinging blades, she noticed that they moved at different speeds. Yet each had a regular rhythm. Counting the time each took to complete a swing and then begin a new one, she found a brief window when the walkway was clear.

Waiting for the next chance, she breathed deeply and slowly. This was no different than Vilverin she told herself. She just did not have a healing spell or potion waiting if she was sloppy. She only had to concentrate, and she would not need them anyway.

So why was her heart running like a thoroughbred stallion, and her mouth drier than the Alik'r Desert?

Teresa saw her next window of opportunity and sprang forward without a second thought. Her feet moved nimbly on the stone beneath her feet, and a blade whooshed by just behind her head as she took her second step. Keep moving, she thought as she saw a second blade descending out of the corner of her eye. It fell behind her racing form as well, and with a quick dive she was beyond the third and final pendulum and onto the pathway beyond.

She paused to catch her breath. Staring down at her hands, she saw them begin to tremble. Stop it! she cursed herself. There was plenty of time to fall apart once the job was done, she thought. For now she had to remain strong. Strong for Henantier - who at least had an excuse for cowering - and strong for herself.

Looking ahead of her, she saw nothing but a wide square of stones, making a small platform like the one she had started from. That is when she noticed a faintly sweet smell in her nostrils. Sniffing the air around her, she recognized it as some kind of gas. Moving to her right, she found the smell became stronger. Moving to the left it lessened, but only for a few steps.

She moved ahead, sniffing as she went, and found a pathway between the invisible clouds of the miasma. She had to move slowly, taking her time and depending on her nose. When she finally reached the far side of the platform she felt dizzy, and had to pause for long moments to breathe clean air once more before pressing on.

The path curved to her left, where it eventually straightened out into what seemed like a corridor lit by the glowing red crystals in the air. She could see long, rusty blades suspended from a stone ceiling hanging over the hall. Those would fall when she came near, she knew, then rise again to reset themselves.

Moving forward, she studied the blades, and the gaps between them. She was thinking of how she would have to jump between one and another as they fell and rose, when the stones beneath her feet began to shift. Cacat! she silently cursed as she sprang forward. It was another trap, meant to catch her while she stared at the blades ahead!

The stones collapsed beneath her racing feet and fell into the inky void as she ran. Now the wood elf looked only at the rock directly ahead of her as she scrambled with all of the strength in her legs. With another leap she cleared the last falling block and was onto the edge of the blade corridor.

That was close, she thought. This test was all about perception, she mused, as the name said. She had to not only use all of her senses to navigate its traps, but also make sure she was paying attention to the right thing at the right time!

The blades were easy after that. As soon as she stepped forward they began falling and rising back up again to reset themselves. She simply had to take one at a time and move ahead as they rose and cleared enough distance for her to slip under them. Then pause and wait for the next one to drop, and do the same, until she was finally beyond them.

Next she found a circular room, whose stone walls were actually a series of curved pillars that rose all around, with wide spaces between each. Teresa stepped warily into the chamber, and she thought she heard a rumbling from above. Stepping back into the corridor, her heart leaped into her throat as an avalanche of boulders crashed down into the room from above.

Screenshot

She waited for the rain of stones to halt, holding one hand to her bare chest to slow her thundering heart. When she was convinced that the rocks had stopped falling for good, she cautiously moved forward, glancing upward into the inky black of the ceiling in case she was wrong. Navigating her way through the massive boulders to the far side, she found another curved path of stone before her.

Many areas of the path were shrouded in darkness once more, and Teresa carefully felt her way along to be sure she was standing upon solid rock. This time nothing fell, or gave way beneath her. As she rounded the final turn she could see the final platform ahead of her, with its glowing sphere hovering in its center.

Screenshot

She eagerly stepped forward, then stopped herself short. It was too easy, she thought, this place had tricked her before by making her think of what was far away when she should have been concentrating on what was right in front of her nose. Looking down carefully, she made out the slight rise of a pressure plate in the block of stone in front of her toes.

So this was it, she thought as she crept forward around the trap. Taking her time, she found that the rest of the pathway was littered with the same pressure plates. She had no idea what they might do when she stepped on one, but she had no desire to find out either.

Eventually she was clear of the pathway and standing on the far platform. Walking slowly to the broken stone pedestal in the center of the large square, she was wary for more snares. Yet nothing sprung or fell upon her, and she found herself standing before that strange ebony orb that she had seen when she had first entered the test. It floated in mid air, surrounded by a halo of blue-white energy. Tiny sparks of light flew from it and meandered through the air around it, like motes of pollen on a spring day.

Screenshot

"Magic is all about symbols," Raminus Polus explained to the youthful Bosmer standing before him in his study. "That is because magic is not governed by the conscious, logical mind. Rather it is a product of the dreaming mind, what we call the unconscious. So to use magic, one must understand how to speak the language of dreams, which are of course symbols."

It was no wonder that Henantier had created a dreamworld to test himself then, Teresa mused. He was going directly the source of his magical ability.

The glowing sphere must be the symbol of one of the parts of Henantier's psyche, the forester thought. Best to get it and go. Swallowing hard again, Teresa bit her lower lip and reached out for the globe. It began to make a low hum as her fingers came near. Pausing to look around to make sure another trap was not going off, the wood elf then stretched out once more and took the ball into her hands. Instantly, she knew that it was the Element of Perception.

Her sight flashed with coruscating blue light, and suddenly she was back in Henantier's room. While she tried to gather her wits, the glowing sphere pulled her forward, dragging her body behind it. She blinked, trying to hold it back, but she found that she was not strong enough. It was going wherever it wanted to, she realized, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

So she let it go, and watched as it flew across the room and struck Henantier, who was now standing. He did not flinch away, or make a sound as it hit him. He just stood there with an expectant look on his face as the ebony sphere crashed into him.

Rather than knocking him over, or punching through him, the ball of energy sank into his body and disappeared. The same blue-white glow that had wreathed the ball lit around the high elf, only to likewise soak into his body. Afterward Teresa noted that his form now seemed more substantial, and when he gazed at her his eyes were no longer filled with confusion.

"Who are you?" His voice still trembled with fear however. "What are you doing here?"

"My name is Teresa," she said in a soft voice, as if she were speaking to a frightened animal. "Kud-Ei sent me to rescue you."

"I don't know you!" he cried, shrinking away for a moment. Then he paused, squinting at her in the red light. "Where are your clothes?"

Teresa looked down at her naked body, and suddenly felt warmth blossom in her cheeks.

"I was wondering about that myself," she found herself almost laughing as she looked back up at the Altmer. This had to be the most ridiculous situation ever, she thought. How come things like this never happened in bard's tales? "This is your dream, how about you make me some?"

"I don't know how to do that…" he stammered. "This is all a nightmare, I cannot wake up from it!"

"This is your dreamworld Henantier." Teresa stepped forward slowly. He backed up, prompting Teresa to stop and raise her hands, open palms toward him to show that she meant no harm. This was bad, she thought. He does not even know where he is. There were clearly more parts of his mind she needed to collect - his reasoning, as well as his courage. "You made this place to test yourself, only you messed something up, and you broke yourself instead. Kud-Ei sent me to get you back. Do you understand?"

The Altmer shook his head, and still looked frightened as he stared at her.

She was not going to get anywhere talking to him, Teresa realized, at least not until she restored more of his psyche. "I need to go through there," the wood elf said, pointing to the goblin door. "I'm not going to hurt you, but I need to walk near you to get there.

"Why?" the high elf asked, a look of suspicion clouding his features. "What is in there?"

"More of you," Teresa breathed as she walked forward cautiously. The high elf backed away from her, and for her own part the forester did her best to keep as much distance from him as she could. Then she was standing in front of the rickety door, and just as before, she suddenly knew it was the Test of Reason.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside.

Screenshot

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 30 2011, 03:30 AM

You've captured the pitfalls and traps that characterize the Test of Perception. I remember the first time I did this, I was so terrified! Even though it's just pixels, the idea of falling off the edge into limbo left me shaking as if it was real.

Who hasn't had the dream of falling? Yikes!

And now begins another scary test!

BTW, great screenshots, especially the one with the Element of Perception!

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Jan 29 2011, 07:53 PM

Strategically placed ebony orb, nice! There are so many things I never noticed when I played this in the game, because I was too freaked out by the dark and falling! I admire Teresa’s composure.

Teresa looked down at her naked body, and suddenly felt warmth blossom in her cheeks.
Well, there’s naked, and there’s nekkid… Maybe Tadrose can help demonstrate the difference

This chapter is a masterpiece. I’m in awe!