I like the mixture of Maxical being thoughtful and analytic and totally scatter-brained in the same post. When she's thinking tactics for fighting, she knows her stuff, but on other topics, she remains delightfully uninformed.

I have a feeling that Maxical and her new spell are going to further her reputation for major accidents. At least this one probably doesn't cause "extensive property damage" when she gets it wrong.

I can imagine that when dealing with a baby razorback boar there are a few folks for whom the important word is “baby,” while the rest of us can only see a RAZORBACK BOAR!! Oh my goodness! What a sweet and hilarious story, thank you for sharing it!



That struck me as particularly funny! Maxical picked him a great present, he loves it!

It was fun to hear them talking about Janus. Maxical has a very humorous way of telling things.

Maxical is sharing a tub with the delicious Eyja?! And Gils is missing it!! Good grief, now she knows a spell to undress people and one to undress herself. I can’t wait to see how that works out for her!! What a fun episode, with the promise of mishaps to come!

Thank you for pointing me in the direction of the summary! I've had an unexpectedly busy week but once I've read the summary I will continue reading the story from where it was left off, that way I have a much better understanding of exactly what I'm reading, although I've pretty much understood enough already

Thank you mALX!!!!

I agree! Sylvester the 200 pound razorbaby!

I gaped at him, stunned. “How do you remember the tiniest details of a conversation over a week ago, when I could swear you didn’t listen at the time?”
Because he’s the Emperor! He sees things lesser men cannot. At least that’s what Baurus says.

“Well, first he insisted he was considered quite handsome by many. I think by many he means Hal-Liurz. She dotes on him, and has large enough breasts to be considered a multitude.”
Well it may be that Hal’s cups runneth over, but she can’t fit a sword, bottle of wine and bottle of brandy all in the front of her cuirass like our much more modestly mammoried magnificent Maxical manages to do! Between poor Hal and Eyja, poor Maxical was held captive between the Argonian’s sea swelling breasts and the threatening lungers of Eyja’s trying to leap from her skimpy outfit.

I loved Maxical’s comparative assessment of Janus and Malan.

Uriel is wise to divest the sisters for now, given the hold Malan has over them.

I confess that at first mention of the golden tub, my thoughts flew straight to Alix the Mouse; however, Maxical and Eyja put it to much better use. What a delight the interaction between them was! Poor Maxical – Eyja’s built for comfort and Maxical’s built for, well, massive unintentional destruction.

This was just such a fun read! I love how you are using Maxical to develop Eyja into such a fun character.

Aww, Uriel gets his birthday gift! A nice beautiful sword, too! So the "prostite Eyja" is teaching Maxical the ropes. Um, her nudity/undress spell is a nice touch! Did Sanguine teach her that? Haha. Nice touch between Janus' personality and Malan's one. One is a gentleman and the other is a..chaotic gentleman? I don't know why, but I loved the fact that Maxical heated the bath water with a fire spell! It was very creative and a nice touch! Maxical's over-use of oil was very predictable, it makes so much sense she would do such a thing. I found the comparison between Eyja and Max intruiging in a non-perverted sense. So Eyja strikes me as the large volumptous women we see in old Roman paintings and Maxical, erh, is the lithe girl with the mosquito bites on her chest? . Ending was great, so blood-selling is a quick way to make coin. A person willing to be cattle? I did recall something like that posted in another chapter, nice of you to refresh our memory.

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@ King Coin - ROFL !!! Not too creepy to loot, just explore? I think you are right, lol. Thank you so much KC !!!

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@ Ghastley - Thank you so much Ghastley !! I really appreciate your kind words !! Oh yeah, I see big trouble ahead with her having a spell like that, lol. Technically it is the “Basic Instincts” mod, which adds a spell that strips anyone’s clothing off. The first day I DL’d it I went all around Cyrodiil stirring havoc because they run after they become naked. Well, then I happened into the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary to strip down Vicente and caught Ocheeva with it - and discovered a WHOLE nother side to that spell that I didn’t know it had !! Thanks again Ghastley !!!

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@ Grits - You are right, too. A nine pound razorback is just a cute little piglet. At 200 pounds + and with tusks curving out it is a whole different story. They are hugely intelligent and a lot of fun to train because they will do anything for a potato chip or vanilla ice cream. But as adults they are really dangerous when mad, and they have terrible tempers. I used to dress him in baby clothes, then kid clothes, then adult clothes. When he got huge it was just a bandana and his leash when he went on walks. I used to tether him on a 30’ chain when camping, no one would dare come near the RV, lol.

I loved your comments, thank you so much for your kind words !!! PS - you get to see that pic I PM’d you in this upcoming chapter, lol. Thank you so very much Grits !!!

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@ Rihanae - Anytime, Rihanae !! It is a long story, and that summary should ease some of that (plus it has pictures!), lol. Thank you so much Rihanae !!!

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@ Acadian - First off, YEAH !!! You are back !!! Thank you so very much for your kind words, Acadian !! And you were missed !!!

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@ Darkness Eternal - I kind of was struck by the idea that a vampire using the services of a prostitute might want to also feed on them to hide their vampire features - and enjoy some warm (albeit tainted tasting) blood rather than feed on stagnant cattle blood - it just seemed so right to me that they would do it and pay well for the service.

Malan had been feeding off the Khajiit women to keep down his frenzy for Maxical’s virgin blood, but now that they are gone there could be trouble, lol.

Your whole comment absolutely made my day, Thank you so much Darkness !!!!


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Chapter 152: Bird Trouble



My curiosity overcame good manners. “Eyja, what is it like being with an ancient? Is it different than being with a man?”

“Oh Maxical, you’re not thinking about Janus are you?”

“Ew, no. It is just that you said he was your regular client, it just got me curious. I mean, I’ve seen his fangs and stuff.”

“You get used to that, after a while it doesn’t bother you anymore. If the price is right I could get used to looking at a mudcrab.”

“Bwaahaa. Is it any different though?”

“I don’t know how to explain it to you. If they live as a vampire, there is a vast difference. Hassildor doesn’t, so there was no difference there.”

“How can he not be living as a vampire? He has fangs and pink eyes, I‘ve seen them.” I soaped up one of the sponges and started washing up before the water chilled again.

“That is the vampire features, not the nature. The nature is the beast within them. Every now and then the Earl of Imbel hires my services, his nature is always out. He’s Breton, but he’d put a Dunmer to shame.” Eyja raised her eyebrows twice. “And he doesn‘t grumble afterwards how lacking your best efforts were like Dunmer do.” She rolled her eyes.

“I sometimes wonder if Dunmer don’t fake their pickiness. I mean, they bed everyone that asks, but then talk about how terrible it was later to anyone who will listen. Gils complained loudly to Owyn after every time he bred someone that he‘d have been better off using his hand. Almost like bragging, you know?”

“I know. They keep those damn mysteries like a sacred secret, I’ve tried to buy them before. Even Dunmer living in a hovel won’t sell that knowledge no matter how much you offer. You‘d think they‘d be happy to.”

“Sharing them with anyone but their first wife is breaking tenets, that’s death to both the man and the woman he taught them to.”

“But who would know they told?” She signaled me to hand her a sponge and soap cake.

“Anyone who bedded you afterward, I guess. Fathis could tell after just one kiss. Eyja, is there some kind of trick to pleasing ancients like the mysteries for Dunmer?”

“Not that I know of, I never asked.”






***


“Weren’t you curious?“

“Now that you’ve brought it up I am. Why would you want to know that?” She began soaping her breasts. I squinched my eyes trying to keep them from bugging out, but finally gave up the struggle to keep from ogling at the sight.

“Dear gods, I’ve bathed with women all my life…it just never looked like this before.”

“BWAAAHAAA! So tell me why you want to know.”

“Huh? Oh, no reason. Cats are curious about everything. Knowledge is power. If you know an enemy’s weaknesses you can exploit them.”

“You are smart to think that waaaay…what the hell is that?” Eyja pointed up at the glass domed ceiling above us.

“GAAAAH! It’s Malan or Jak! Dear gods, he’s coming right toward us!”

The bird was plummeting fast, too fast to stop in time when he reached the dome. He crashed into the glass directly above our bathtub. His tongue was hanging from a gaped open mouth and his eyes seemed to be bulging from his head at us right before he appeared to pass out in a dead faint.


Janus Hassildor in bird form spying Eyja bathing


Eyja jumped up, gasping. “What made him fly into the glass that way?”

“I think he fell out of the sky seeing you washing your breasts. I told you it was a sight.”

“Are you saying that bird is a vampire?”

“Yeah. It must be Jak, I think he is either sickly or a drunk. He staggered around clutching his stomach at the Arena, and again last night. I’ve never seen what he looks like as a vampire, but I’ve seen Malan. There is nothing puny about him. He is very healthy, and quite…er…built.”

“You’ve actually seen Malan face to face? Tell me about it.”

“When we get out of this tub. I feel like a fat worm when those birds are above me. In comparison you may look like a smorgasbord of them.”






***


“Yes, lets.” Eyja tried to help me up, but both of us had to clutch each other to keep from falling as we began slipping and sliding in the oily tub. “Good gods, it’s too slick to stand! You used too much bath oil!”

“Look, he is coming to. His eyes are bulging dreadfully and he looks ill, do you think he is burning from the sunlight?“

“Maybe, I didn’t even know they transformed to birds. Look, he’s fainted again. Let‘s get out of here quickly.” Eyja helped me out and we both grabbed towels from the stack.

“I need to go tell Uriel what is going on, are you coming with me?”

“I’m supposed to be resting, but I don’t know how Uriel expects me to sleep with a giant bird over my head. I may go down to Evangeline’s and sleep.”

“Maxical, if there are vampires nearby you’d better stay close to me. BWAAAAH! He’s gotten down on the ledge, he’s trying to come inside! Wha…what happened?“

“Nissy greased all the ledges so no one could access these windows. He slid off…oh look, he is trying to fly back up but his wings and feet are heavy with the grease.”

Eyja pointed. “Look, the bird nearly fell over the wall into the next district.”

“Elven Gardens. He must be going to Luther Broad’s for relief, he staffs hookers. We‘ll need to get a shade for the dome if you are going to be in here bathing.”

“BWAAAHAAA, oh you are bad. We are going to get along just fine, I can see that.”

“He’s gone now, and I’d sure like to practice this spell you taught me.”

“Better not, you’re in Uriel’s good graces right now after giving him that sword. He really loves it, you should have seen him with it after you left. His good mood won‘t last if you get into trouble.”

“Okay, I won’t since it‘s his birthday. I’m glad he liked the sword.”

“Besides, he’s working hard to get your man here for you. He’s learned the trick to getting along with you.”

“Baiting me because if I’m angry first it gives him control over his own temper?”

“Yes, how did you know? He is enjoying it hugely.”

“I know. And we have been getting along surprisingly well since he started doing it. Before that I wasn‘t sure if I should sleep soundly in case he chose to choke his Champion to death in her sleep.”






***


Eyja went back in with Uriel so I could sleep, as if I could. The day was passing too quickly, and no word had been sent about Gils. The more I thought about what Sir Damien had said earlier, the angrier I got and the more tense I was.

Eyja said Uriel was working hard to get Gils here, somehow I doubted that. Uriel didn’t care who bred me, as long as someone did. It didn’t matter to him that I cared who.

I cast chameleon immediately when Eyja left for Uriel’s quarters, and began checking around for Sir Damien. He was no where in sight, and a Life Detect spell didn’t show his tall form anywhere.

Evangeline wasn’t in her room, and the pram was gone as well. Dear gods, was she strolling around with a mouse in a pram out in public? She was. I didn’t need to catch the glimpse of her I did out the window to know, it was on the joking lips of the Palace Guards as I passed. I was really beginning to worry about Evangeline.

I hurried out of the Palace, keeping my eyes peeled for Sir Damien. I don’t know how he had seen me leaving Evangeline’s before, but I wasn’t taking any chances on him catching me again.

Before pushing through the heavy gates to the Arena district I could hear the sounds of mages in battle and those horrible screams of vampires dying. Uriel was right they were battling day and night.

Beneath my feet the ground shook slightly with a low rumble. They had to be blasting the sewers, herding them to the Arena and into the sunlight. They could seal that heavy metal grate off nights to keep the vampires trapped below, and open it during the daytime so if they emerged into the Arena proper it would be to burn in the sunlight and be attacked by the army. They must have that tunnel entrance to the Bloodworks sealed off too, but what about Pork Chop? Were they leaving him out there as a meal for the vampires?

And Gils had no magic, I hoped he was ranged with a bow or Ocato was keeping him well supplied in Cure Disease potions if he was sending him out there with just a sword.

Ocato’s horse was standing outside the Bloodworks with his reins dropped to the ground, but as I approached Ocato himself emerged through the door and hurried to the horse. The Bloodworks door slammed shut before I could get past the horse, it blocked my way. Ocato tossed the reins lightly over the horse’s head and held up his leg for some underling to toss him into the saddle.

The temptation was too great. He reached down to check the girth and slide his foot into the stirrups and I slapped my hand down hard on the horse’s rump. Surprisingly, Ocato held his seat in spite of the horse’s sudden lunge headlong down the grassway.

A woman’s tinkling laugh sounded close by my ear. My first thought was, ‘AHA! Captain Renault!’, but I glanced around and there was no one there at all. A hand grasped firmly on my arm as if I wasn‘t in chameleon, but no one was there.

“GAAAAAH!”






***


“Shut-up, you idiot! We’ll get thrown out of here if they catch us!” A female voice hissed and the hand dragged me into the bushes.

To my shock it was not Sir Damien this time. “Eyja?”

“Yeah. I saw you creeping out of the Royal Quarters in chameleon, thought I’d see where you were going. Where are you going?”

“Er…nowhere? I mean here. But how did you see me in chameleon? I didn’t hear any magic being cast.”

“I wear a Detect Life ring at all times. You want one?”

“Sure! Thanks, that‘s a good idea.” Sir Damien must wear one too, that explains how he saw me in chameleon earlier.

She plopped a ring in my hand and I slid it on. Eyja appeared as two large round plump glowing pink blobs beside me.

“Dear gods, all I can see is your breasts in the magic detection!”

“I’m squatted, you idiot! So tell the truth, you sneaking down here to see a man?”

“Yeah, my husband. I haven’t seen him since the war started. Er…I was just seeing if he is okay.”

“You’re voice sounds pretty upset, are you okay?”

“I’ve been better, I guess.”

“Maxical, are you in some kind of trouble or just trying to stir some [censored]?“

“A bit of both.”

“Then tell me what’s going on here, are you trying to see if he’s cheating on you?” She stood up, so I did too.

“Yes. Please don’t tell Sir Damien about me being here. He said my husband was up Captain Renault’s butt so tight that Ocato needed a pry to get them apart to fight the vampires. I just was…er…verifying the truth.”

“Foxy said that?” Eyja’s voice sounded surprised.

“Maybe he worded it differently, but technically that was what he said.”

“Captain Renault is a [censored], a real [censored] [censored]. Not in a good way, either.”

“That’s what I think of her too.”

“I’m coming in with you. Maxical. I hope it’s not true, for your sake.”



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This post has been edited by mALX: Jun 22 2012, 08:19 AM

Maxical and Eyja getting some girl talk in during the bath. That’s cute! And Maxical’s still ogling!

Eyja’s effect on Janus was hilarious!

“He’s gone now, and I’d sure like to practice this spell you taught me.”

“Better not, you’re in Uriel’s good graces right now after giving him that sword. He really loves it, you should have seen him with it after you left. His good mood won‘t last if you get into trouble.”
Good thinking Eyja. Looking out for Maxical already. Or just doesn’t want to deal with a grumpy emperor either.

Evangeline sounds like she’s gone a little insane.

Tinkling laugh? Did Eyja follow Maxical? She did. I’m pleased she’s with actually; she might help curb the inevitable chaos Maxical will create.

‘Eyja raised her eyebrows twice.’
This brings back such cherished memories form Maxical 1.0. Only this is better because I am imagining the mayhem that Eyja can cause with Maxical in tow!

“I wear a Detect Life ring at all times.”
Hee! I know someone else who sees her world as pink glows.

Very nicely done scene in the bath with the girl talk.

The picture and bird overhead were hilarious!

I love how you paired Maxical up with Eyja! If Maxical continues talking (and she will of course), I bet/hope Eyja will sort out the FauxFoxy in short order. There’s so much more goodness to Eyja than big boobs and a tinkling laugh.

I so hope Gils is not up Captain Renault’s butt! For the love of Akatosh, that wench doesn’t even have a tail!

At the risk of sounding like a broken record – um, not saying that you’re old enough to remember records, mind you – this continues to be just so much [censored] fun to read!

Great girl chat in the bath! Eyja soaping up reminds me of my voluptuous college roommate. It was hard to believe she could pack all that into a tennis dress. (And the fact that she could run at all surely broke some law of physics.) Three women and one tiny bathroom meant jockeying for position in there on a daily basis. The only way to feel good about yourself after a shower incident was to challenge her to a spelling contest.


Woo hoo, Janus the bug-eyed bird falls out of the sky!! I love it! That picture is hilarious, I laugh every time I think of it! The bath oil mishap was hysterical, and then Janus nearly battered himself to death before falling out of the sky. Very smooth!


Eyja knows Maxical already! These two are awesome together. I am loving their adventures! And I’m glad Eyja is with Maxical right now, with the threat of Gils having crawled up somewhere that he doesn’t belong.

Motto: "Knowledge is power. If you know an enemy’s weaknesses you can exploit them.”

The bird(owl?) and or Janus Hassildor oogling them was hilarious. I would of the done the same if two women were taking a bath . +10 for a peeping Tom Janus. Rona would be dissapointed.

"Dear gods, I’ve bathed with women all my life…it just never looked like this before.”
Haha..does Maxical feel intimidated by Eyja's large bewbs? They must indeed be a sight for her eyes to threaten to bug out like Hassildor's! This is so comical and I love it! Poor Janus. *Insert one-handed skill increase joke here*.

On a more serious note, I liked some lore in this: That is the vampire features, not the nature. The nature is the beast within them. Every now and then the Earl of Imbel hires my services, his nature is always out. He’s Breton, but he’d put a Dunmer to shame.”

Her services, eh?

Once again I can't help my self to picture the hilarious scene of Maxical and Eyja slipping and slidding as they tried to leave, and Janus trying desperately to fly.

A tiny concern, what is Captain Renalt exactly? The censors seemed to hide out the words, obviously, since they are vulgar. But you never tried to bypass the censor? Just a question I had. The mods don't seem to have a presence around here as I imagined.

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@ King Coin - Thank you so much KC !!! Setting Eyja over Maxical to keep her out of trouble is like letting a lit match guard the gasoline. Eyja's chaos is usually more deadly than Maxical's, but hers is precision and deliberate where Maxical's is accidental/incidental.

Uriel's way of not letting anyone know what anyone else is doing leaves Maxical not knowing Eyja is supposed to be guiding her, and Eyja's task is to do it without Maxical knowing she is. I don't see that going well, lol. Thanks again, KC !!!

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@ Acadian - Your comment had me rolling !!! First off, I am so glad you remember Eyja's own brand of havoc from Maxical's first story - she can turn a place upside down just as well as Maxical can, but in her case it is always deliberate, lol. Thank you so very much Acadian !!!

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@ Grits - ROFL on your college roomate !!! I am so glad everyone got as big a kick out of that picture as I did - I found that picture online and had to use it - that scene was written around it.

I know it didn't come out in that chapter (but it will in an upcoming chapter) - that bird could only be Janus Hassildor, he is the only vampire capable of making that face when in bird form, lol. As soon as I saw that picture I knew it had to be Janus ogling someone naked, and Maxical was just not enticing enough - it had to be Eyja (or just two women together naked in a tub), lol.

Thank you so much Grits !!!

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(and thank you Foxy for your Awesome email comment, you had me in hysterics !!!)

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@ Darkness Eternal - I just spewed Pepsi all over my monitor at your "one handed skill increase" joke. You were right about the Romanesque style of Eyja's build, and Maxical's intimidation by being in a side-by-side comparison with her.

Captain Renault = (in the very beginning of your Oblivion game doing that tutorial dungeon before Uriel Septim dies - Captain Renault is the bossy female Blade that is the first to die after you leave your jail cell.

I really appreciate your comments on the vampire lore/world building, Thank you so much Darkness!


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This post has been edited by mALX: Jun 27 2012, 07:14 PM

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Chapter 153: Breaking Into The Bloodworks



“Sir Damien said they were having this torrid sleazy affair in the bathing room, that’s the second door on the right.” I squatted down to creep more quietly.

“Foxy said torrid sleazy affair?” Eyja sounded surprised.

“Not exactly in those words, but he may as well have.”

“Lead the way.” Eyja squatted down and wedged closer to me till her rounded breasts were brushing my arm.

“Geez, are those things going to be knocking against me the whole way? I’m trying to sneak here.“

“You want me a little further back?”

My pink form gaped at hers. “Yeah, a little. Er…if I find my husband, we may want to spend a little time being private.”

“Don’t worry about me, I never have trouble finding fun in a room full of men that have been away from their women for a week.”

“Oh. Well just stay away from any Dunmer till I make sure they aren’t Gils.”

“This Gils is someone you met at the Arena, right? He’s not the singer, is he?”

“Yeah, he‘s the singer.”

“Lucky you.”

“Not yet, I‘m hoping though.”

“But didn’t you say it was your husband?”

“Yeah well, we didn’t get around to it yet with the war on and all.”

“Wait a minute! Didn’t I read in the Courier that you and Fathis Aren were married?” Her pink form stood up.

“Yeah, I married them both by accident.”

“That’s some kind of accident! What are you, on some mission to get every Dunmer in Cyrodiil? So, how was it with Fathis? I‘ve heard women beat down his doors.” She squatted back down and nudged me.







***


“I don’t know, the war broke out before we could…you know.”

“Are you kidding me? Married to two Dunmer and didn’t have either?” The pink form stood back up.

“Tell me something, Maxical. How do you marry the two most eligible Dunmer in Cyrodiil and are still a virgin?”

“It’s a mystery to me.“

“BWAAHAA!” She squatted down and then flew straight back up. “Hey, wait a minute! Maxical, were you telling the truth? Are you really a virgin? I thought…I mean, some girls lie about it.”

“Can we just get in there? You‘re making me seasick going up and down that way!”

“You don’t understand, Maxical. You can’t be here if you are! These ancients will smell you, you’ll be in danger! Once you lose that you should be safe, but…”

“Why do you think I’m here? I mean, other than to use Captain Renault’s whip on her if she’s with my man.”

“You really have her whip? Oh, I’m going to enjoy getting to know you.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think she’d miss it. She had a whole wall full of different ones in her bedroom, spiked dog collars and stuff. Oh, and since you like boots so much, hers have spurs on them and steel plating on the toe.”

“I may have to write that down…”

I stood up. “Eyja, they could have mated two or three times by now, can we just get in there?”

“I’m waiting for you.”

“Then let’s go!” I squatted back down and moved to the door. As soon as it opened from within I eased past whoever was walking out. I didn’t look to see if Eyja followed, just made my way into the bathing room.

The bathing room was packed with mattresses set up barracks style now. Many of them had men still in all their armor sleeping on them, as if they may be called up any time from a sound sleep.

My eyes went to the corner Gils and I had shared. There were two mattresses still pushed together there, but I hesitated to go smell them until I knew he hadn’t been with her on them.






***


We were barely halfway in when the door opened and a Redguard came in, the same one with the laughing eyes that had come here with Captain Renault when they first took over the Bloodworks.

He walked directly toward us as if he could see us and I froze in place, holding my breath tightly so he‘d not hear the sound of breathing. He stopped within feet of us and just stood there for a second before beginning to remove his armor and drop it on the floor. Thank goodness, this must just be his mat. Still, we’d have to wait till he was asleep to move.

He was too close to us not to hear our breathing, so I kept holding my breath. My lungs were beginning to feel like they may burst if I didn’t take a breath soon, I knew when I finally did it would end up being loud from holding it so long. Maybe it would be better to take the chance on moving while he was taking off his greaves…

“PAAAAH! Dear gods, [censored] [censored]! Look at the size of that [censored] [censored] thing!” I gasped. A snort echoed from behind me, I assumed from Pork Chop‘s pen.

Eyja clamped her hand over my mouth, then bopped me hard on my head. “You idiot!”

“OW!”

“Who’s there?” Baurus moved cautiously toward us, the massive sword that had shocked me into outburst making jiggling movements and slapping his thighs as he moved.

“Holy [censored] crap, it‘s moving! [Censored]! Dear gods, [Censored] [censored]!“ Another snort sounded.

I saw Eyja’ pink form stand up, then she dispelled her chameleon. “Hey, ain’t you Baurus? It’s me, Eyja. Remember me? We met at Olav's Tap and Tack in Bruma? Sorry about that, my idiot friend here has never seen a Redguard naked before.” She raised her eyebrows twice at him before moving her eyes back down to his enormous appendage. “You must be quite…proud.”

“The horse probably was proud too before Baurus stole that from it, [censored]!.“ I was still gaping.

“BWAAAHAAA!” Eyja shrieked, dispelling my chameleon without any indication to me that she was going to.

I was caught gaping, and Eyja screamed in laughter. Another snort sounded behind me, Pork Chop must recognize my scent or voice since his pen was the only thing back there.

“SHHH! Eyja, how did you get in here? You can’t be in here at all! You and your friend…oh, hey, I know her! It’s that white cat that was naked in here when we took over the Bloodworks! Eyja, you’ve got to get out of here.”






***


Eyja silenced him by whispering something in his ear, signaling me to move away. I cast chameleon and made my way down to what used to be Gils’s mat and felt around while Eyja flirted outrageously with Baurus. Gils used to keep his things under his mattress or in the alcove behind the mirror. There was nothing under either his mattress or the one I used to sleep on beside him. I moved quietly over to the mirror and slid it aside.

Inside was Gils’ stack of dirty magazines. I pulled each out, tipping them upside down and shaking them. Sometimes Gils hid stuff in them that was important to him. There was flyers for all his special event fights, and several dated drawings he’d made of memories that were special to him.

There was a drawing from my first day at the Bloodworks, the day we met. Another was our first kiss on the banks of the Rumare. Behind the stack of dirty books was the rolled up deed for that mansion in Anvil he’d bought for us, and a drawing I’d never seen before.

It was Azura between the two moons, the light coming from her toe and shining on a white Khajiit with red hair kneeling on the lush green forest floor. He had captured the night he started me in the drawing, everything exactly as I’d described it to him. Surely he wouldn’t have done that if I meant as little to him as Sir Damien said?

There certainly wasn’t any mementos of anyone new in there. I pulled the dagger Uriel had supplied me from my waistband and cut a hunk off my hair at the bottom of my pony-tail, tucking it into the artwork and rolling it back up. I made sure to lay it differently than how I found it, so he’d know it had been tampered with.

Eyja was definitely keeping Baurus’s eyes busy. She kept scratching at her breasts…dear gods, I hope there weren’t fleas in here.

I tiptoed back to Gils’s mat and lay down on it, breathing in what should have been his familiar scent…but it wasn’t there. Maybe they had to share mats when shifting each other. The scent was of dirty armor, Gils never went to bed dirty. My mat smelled the same as Gils’ had, dirty armor and war.

I glanced around the room at the sleeping men, their closed eyes sunk in dark sockets…exhaustion. All sleeping in dirty armor. There were some packs set up beside the mats in use, none of them belonged to Gils either. Was he sleeping in another area? A search of the entire Bloodworks showed no sign of Gils anywhere, not his pack…no moonsugar on my tongue. He wasn’t here.

When no one was walking by the storage room I gapped the door slightly and squeezed in. It had the same high air vents bringing daylight in as the bathing room did, but was on the east side of the building. Once the sun was overhead or to the west it got very little light coming in.

The walls in the storage room were dark stone instead of the shiny light colored tiles of the bathing room, and none of the candles in the sconces were lit in here. I was hesitant to take the chance of being caught by lighting any. Even with my Khajiit night vision I could barely see in there till my eyes became accustomed to the dimness.






***


The storeroom was probably the only place left in the Bloodworks that had the same look and feel as it had before the war. The crates of equipment stacked just as they had been…no, not exactly the same. The stacks of unused mats in the back was gone. Every one of them must be in use in the outer rooms, it looked like a barracks the way they had the Bloodworks set up.

The familiar scent of the Bloodworks was gone since the army had taken over, but in here it smelled the same as it always had….musty old equipment, neatsfoot oil, steel and leather. I’d been in here many times before, and somehow just being able to touch something that symbolized a time when I was happy…it felt like home to me in a way the Palace never could.

I propped an old broken iron shield up under the door handle so no one could walk in on me and started glancing over the familiar, wishing this was all a bad nightmare that I could wake from…wishing when I left this storeroom everything would be back the way it was before all this started.

The spot where the unused mats had been was now a cleared space in the far end, blocked off except by a narrow path between stacks of crates as if someone had deliberately moved them to obscure that area from the sight of anyone in the doorway. That was odd. I turned sideways and slid between the blockade to see what was hidden there.

The first thing that caught my eye was my own glass armor, the one Fathis had bought me in Anvil. I nearly cried seeing it again. Part of me loved the armor, but I hated it too. It was a memory of everything that led up to me being here now.

Fathis was seeking Gils to kill him when he bought it. I wore it that morning the war started, wore it to tell Fathis I was ending it with him. Fathis was killed nearly in front of me while wearing it…and everything that passed since. I loved it because it was the last thing Fathis bought me…hated it for everything it stood for since. I pulled the cuirass out to see what was behind it and nearly cried again. It had been leaned against my pack. My sheath and sword were on the floor, pushed up against the wall behind that.

Just seeing my things together, here in the Bloodworks…it seemed so long ago that everything had been normal, and my worst worry was saying the wrong thing in an interview with Hassiri.



*

And Maxical discovers the ominous absence of Gils.

’The familiar scent of the Bloodworks was gone since the army had taken over, but in here it smelled the same as it always had….musty old equipment, neatsfoot oil, steel and leather. I’d been in here many times before, and somehow just being able to touch something that symbolized a time when I was happy…it felt like home to me in a way the Palace never could.’
I really liked this because of your rich use of smell to create the atmosphere and transition to Maxical’s rumination of what this place meant to her.

That's just funny right there that is... ...

Eyja makes me think of Christina Hendricks character in Firefly...Or maybe that's just my wishful thinking... ...

Love it!!...

Completely insane story this is... ...

Brilliant!...

Nice one!!...

*Applauds heartily*...

As Acadian mentioned, I also really like how Maxical’s Khajiit sense of smell played into this chapter.


This part felt very true to returning to a place that used to be home (even under considerably less dramatic circumstances). It’s hard to face the things that have changed, but the things that are still familiar really tug the heart. Also, how Maxical to brace the door first.


Never mind about saying the wrong thing when confronted by a bare Blade. Perhaps all of the crouching was a bad idea. But really, it was touching to see Maxical grieving for what has been lost while still searching for Gils. Before she had too many husbands, and now she might not have even one.

Also, I was very tired the first time I read this chapter, so when I got to:

Her pink what did WHAT?! Oh right, they’re in Chameleon with Life Detect rings.

This was the first thing I saw coming over here to read!

“Tell me something, Maxical. How do you marry the two most eligible Dunmer in Cyrodiil and are still a virgin?”

“It’s a mystery to me.“
Lol! I thought of the Dunmer mysteries too. Was that intentional?

Baurus! Wait what’s he doing? MAXICAL!

That was sweet of Maxical to leave some of her hair for Gils. The drawings, especially the one of Azura, should ease her fears some.

Oh, I’m happy Maxical found her things again. Loved how you described her feelings for the armor, and the room. She deserves some small comfort in that.

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@ Acadian - Thank you so much, Acadian! I thought of the smell of a stable tack room for that, lol. It is one of those scents I haven’t actually smelled in forever, but just thinking of it brings the scent back vividly (sort of like thinking of my grandmother’s house and how it always smelled on Thanksgiving day, lol). Thanks again, Acadian!

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@ McBadgere - Welcome back McB !!!! You have been missed! I modded Eyja in my game so she is beautiful, but since you brought up Christina Hendricks I will use her pic for Eyja instead - Awesome suggestion! Thanks so much, McB! (and so glad you are back!)

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@ Grits - Thank you so very much Grits! You caught everything I hoped would come across to the reader, that is as good as it gets! Lol on the “pink form” - I was going to cut that line because I wasn’t sure if it would be understood (by my Mom, who doesn’t play the game, ROFL !!) You had me rolling with that comment, (and your “Blade” one too) - so I’m glad I left it in, lol. Thank you so much again, Grits !!!

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@ King Coin - I am tickled you caught that “Mystery” line - yes! Maxical intentionally said that referring to the Dunmer Mysteries (trying to be funny), lol. Thank you so much for your kind words, KC !!


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** This chapter has a cameo mention of Mrs. Treydog, the famous artist. Thanks Trey dog & Mrs. Treydog!



Chapter 154: Memories And Malan


For a long time I sat in there, digging through my pack just to hold my things and know they were still there after everything that had happened. At the bottom of the pack was my wedding ring from Gils. I slid it on, moving Fathis’s to the opposite hand. No sense having Gils get mad at me right off by seeing Fathis’s ring where his should be.

My scrolls and the bottle of Cure Disease were gone from the pack, but they were the only things missing. I hoped Gils was using the scrolls to duplicate the Cure Disease, hoped he remembered seeing how I‘d done it that day the prisoners attacked me in here. But if he needed it, that meant he had been in close combat with the vampires.

I was not leaving here without my things. I changed right there in the storage room, leaving behind the Palace armor as a clue to Gils where he could find me if I didn’t find him first. The armor from Fathis had been repaired, even the scratches had been sanded with a fine paper and buffed. There was no doubt in my mind Gils had done it. I know his work, know him…that was something Gils would do.

Uriel had given me the sword I was carrying, I tied it to the outside of my pack and buckled on my own sheath and silver longsword that Alix had given me as a child. The Legion dagger I just tossed down, and tucked my silver dagger that had been found on my mother’s body into my waistband.

Everything I’d ever known, lived or breathed on Nirn had changed around me in the last almost two weeks. Having my familiar things back was the closest I’d felt to still holding onto a piece of my life through it.

There were only a few mats left in the storeroom, two were stretched out to air. The other mat was rolled up and tied in heavy twine as if it was to be used in the field. A makeshift tag dangled from the twine binding, I glanced at it and gasped. It was penned in Gils’ handwriting, and just like he always wrote on his dirty magazines it read ’Property of Gils’. Gils‘ mat! It was just like him to keep his mat separate, he wouldn’t want to sleep in someone else’s fleas or dirt.

I yanked the tie off and rolled it out, grabbing the pillow that fell out and burying my face into it to breathe in Gils’ scent…but it was my own scent I breathed in. This was my mat, the one I had slept on in the corner of the bathing room with Gils. Why was it rolled up in here? More importantly, why was another mat pulled up close to Gils’s in our corner of the bathing room?

My stomach twisted sickeningly. Gils may have moved mine in here so when the war was over I wouldn’t smell another woman on it. Sir Damien may have been telling the truth. Dear gods, I hope not.

In my heart I wanted to run, leave here and never learn the truth. The thought of Gils being with Captain Renault made me feel physically ill, but it would be mental torture to never know if he’d chosen another while I continued to wait for him.

Above all, the Emperor’s security was in my hands. The distraction of wondering about Gils could mean failing Uriel. I had come this far, painful or not I needed to finish this.






***


The thought hit me then, Gils may be sleeping in Owyn’s office. If there were fleas in the bathing room, he would. It was a risky move if the vampires were being driven out into the daylight in the Arena, but I was going.

If it was still out there, I wanted to get Fathis’s sword too. I had dropped it out in the Arena that day when I was climbing up to the mezzanine. If I ever lived long enough to own a house, Fathis’s sword would be on prominent display in it.

Eyja was busy enough with Baurus that neither took notice of me sliding the bolt on Pork Chop’s door. I emptied the stale food from my pack onto the bottom of his cage in case they hadn’t been feeding him. He raced over grunting loudly and was scarfing it up as I slid out into the Arena proper.

There was no way of knowing if Gils was among those fighting vampires in the Arena, they all looked alike with the armor and helmets. Invisible or not, the vampires smelled me. I saw the jerk of their heads toward my direction as I shot over to the Blue Thunder chute. I hurriedly climbed the footholds all the way to the rooftop, then crept across the angled boards to the Clubhouse mezzanine on the other side.

The breeze rolling across the top of the Arena was wafting my scent downward to the opposite side of the Arena, the side I was heading toward. The vampire’s heads turned and looked in my direction, the distraction costing them their lives. The Legion charged in while their attention was caught.

The Clubhouse mezzanine looked empty, but just in case I stayed on the roof till I was directly above the stairwell where I’d last seen Fathis two weeks ago. I lay on my stomach and craned my neck to scan the mezzanine before climbing down. That Detect Life ring Eyja gave me showed no pink life forms below. As quietly as I could in full armor, I clutched the roof support and slid down to the mezzanine below.

The huge double doors of the Mrs. Treydog exhibit room were standing wide open, the painting of my golden armor was gone. Malan probably took it using this war as a cover for his theft, the history books were filled with the treasures he had stolen.

A scrap of crumpled paper lay on the floor just inside the door. My curiosity got the best of me, I picked it up and spread it open. Dear gods, it listed mortality rates for his troops by each district in the Imperial City! I tucked it in my pack, Uriel could use that. On the desk was a parchment pad. The page of writing was gone, but the parchment below showed indentations. I took it as well, and glanced around for any more.






***


Reaching under one of the display tables to grab another wadded parchment something caught my eye, it was an odd bit of cloth. The air suffocated in my lungs and I nearly fainted. It was Fathis’s sheath, the one he had been wearing when he was taken down by Malan’s army. How did it get up here?

Malan had come down that stairwell when he was impersonating Fathis, he must have had Fathis in this room to undress him! I pushed the sheath, wedging and angling it inside my cuirass and shirt so it lay against my skin. Other than my wedding ring, it was all I had left of Fathis.

It didn’t take long to find the place Fathis had lain while Malan stripped him. Crusty brown drag marks led to a place on the inner wall, where dried blood had pooled.

...More blood…Fathis’s remains…

Any sound could draw the vampires but a scream was choking my throat to come out, I could hear it moaning inside me. I dropped my sword and pressed both hands tightly over my mouth as hard as I could, rocking back and forth over the stain I so badly wanted to touch because I knew it was his…to bury my face on it and let my tears bring the blood back to life.

I never heard footsteps, never saw the pink glows moving toward me. When I felt the hands touching me I never reached for my sword. I don’t think I cared at that point if they came to kill me, the pain could never equal what was already inside me.

A line of pink glows blocked the doorway, and someone lifted me from the floor. Without being able to see him I knew it was Malan. I was beyond caring at that point.

My screams were not from fear, or really even rage at these men that I knew had taken Fathis. Not right now, anyway. The grief was too raw for anything else, had been held in too long. All I could think of was the pain, that all left of my Fathis was that blood stain and that I would never see him again.

I felt Malan slipping Fathis’s ring off, felt calming spells being cast over me and welcomed the relief they brought. My mind felt like it was coming back from somewhere else, a place I may not have made it back from without help.

“Malan, make it stop like you did for my mother’s death. Sing the pain away, please Malan. I won’t survive it if you don’t.”

Malan answered in Khajiit. “Tch, don’t say those things. You speak that over yourself and it weakens you.”

He signaled his army out and locked the doors as they shut them, then sat down in the overstuffed executive chair behind the desk still carrying me.

Malan didn’t sing the ‘Jack be nimble’ song this time, instead it was a variety of old songs from his homeland. I don’t know how long he held me and sang before the crying stopped and my swollen eyelids felt so heavy they drooped in exhaustion.






***


It was different this time, no memories of trauma easing from my mind like when I was seven. Instead I think he used a spell of some sort carried on his voice as he sang, one that buffered the pain where it found it in my mind and heart. As if he’d heard my thoughts Malan spoke.

“Aye, ‘tis a spell. This won’t take it from you, Maxical. Just eases it while we’re here together. There is no cure for grief, if there was I’d have used it myself these hundred years. It never goes away. I don‘t have a Dagoth-Malan to ease it for me, but you do. I’m but a thought away if you need me.”

“Thank you, Malan.”

“What else is there?” Malan said the ages old Morrowind Dunmer traditional response.

I knew it so well from Fathis, he even said it that last day here...right after finding out Gils and I were married. Two weeks later, Fathis gone and the man that killed him saying it to me. What could that mean, the gods were mocking me? Or was Fathis giving a sign that he was somewhere still watching over me?

Part of me wanted to ram the words back down his throat for daring to talk like Fathis after killing him. Part of me wanted to close my eyes and hear them said again, but picturing Fathis saying them in a happier time…not in the pain I’d caused him.

“Why, Malan? How did you find me, and why does it feel like we‘re connected somehow?”

“Aye, there’s a connection between me and you. It started eleven years ago, then centuries before that. My nature sees things beyond your mortal realm’s capability. I can’t tell you why, not now. How I know, you just confirmed it with your own lips.”

“Malan…the memory of when I was seven, it was real, wasn’t it?”

“It was real.“

I wanted to ask what he had done with Fathis’s body, but couldn’t. Inside I was grateful Malan…or whoever…had removed his corpse so I didn’t find it here. That would have put me around the bend, no doubt I’d have fallen on my sword had I seen it. As it was, the sight of those bloodstains would haunt me the rest of my life.

“Maxical, are you listening? I need to talk to you about something now. You put yourself in danger coming here, you know it. Will you let me bring you somewhere safer?”

“No, I can’t. Uriel said you might try tricking me about your promise to give me free choice. If I come with you, you could say I made the choice.”

“And I would have.” He smiled down at me with mischief dancing in his bulging eyes.


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Picture of Eyja - Thanks McB!


Eyja (thanks, McB!)


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This post has been edited by mALX: Jul 2 2012, 08:48 AM

It must feel good to have her armor and weapons again, rather than borrowed stuff. Small comfort. I’m assuming that Gils moved her bed out so that should she return, she would have a clean bed that some stranger hasn’t used.

Oh god, Maxical has a total break down and is taken by Malan!:O Here’s the vampire that is causing all her grief and she doesn’t lift a finger against him, instead she seeks comfort from him! Arrgh!!