Denelle the Deuce spent her sixteenth birthday looking for work. Brynjolf’s organization was full of hard cases, and their boss offered her a job that would get her instantly killed. Several of the merchants wanted things gathered, but the things mostly came from the bodies of deadly creatures. Some man in the Bee and Barb asked her to cross the Black-Briars. Then the Argonian proprietors threw her out. She tried to use her last coin to buy some luck, but even the beggar Edda wouldn’t take her coin. (Which was strange.)

Out of desperation she went into the Scorched Hammer.

Asbjorn had shaved his head, grown a beard, and doubled in size since he left the orphanage. His work kept him busy indoors, and in all of the times Denelle had slipped out into town she had never caught a glimpse of him. But this man had Asbjorn’s pale eyes and sweet smile.

“Have you met Balimund?” he asked her. “I'm his apprentice. He's teaching me all about being a blacksmith.”

“I’ve met him.” Denelle chewed her lip. “Do you remember me? I was only little when Balimund took you away.”

“Aye. You’re not much bigger now. But you could learn to craft with hides, I’d wager. Ask Balimund to show you. He has a kind heart.”

Balimund spent some time showing her how to work the forge despite his obvious doubt that she could manage it.

“Well, you show a little promise,” he finally told her. “I’m not gonna lie, your work isn’t worth the leather it’s made of. But keep at it and you’ll improve.”

“All right. Thank you, Balimund. And I’ll keep an eye out for those fire salts you need.”

He must have noticed her dismay. “Say, you’re a Breton. You’ll be better at alchemy than smithing, I’d wager. Speak to Hafjorg down at Elgrim’s Elixirs. I’m sure she’ll show you the basics. Maybe you’ll have a knack for it. I never could get the hang of it myself.”

Hafjorg was happy to let Denelle read their books and use the alchemy table. She even had a job for her.

“Be careful, dear,” the old woman advised. “The road to Shor’s Stone can be dangerous.”

Denelle spent the afternoon gathering alchemy ingredients outside the city walls under the watchful eyes of her wolf familiar. As the sun set she began to shiver. Everything she owned was in the rough sack at her feet, and she still had nowhere to sleep that night. She wasn’t welcome at Haelga’s Bunkhouse or the Bee and Barb. None of the merchants trusted her enough to offer shelter. Even Beggar’s Row was closed to her.

She shouldered her bag and headed back into the city. Tomorrow was another day. She would go to Shor’s Stone and prove she could be trusted. But tonight she would have to find some corner in the Ratway.

Poor Denelle, what is a Deuce to do? Given her name, I wonder if she is going to drive one of These to Shor's Stone?

I'm assuming Denelle can't do business in Riften 'cause of the Thieves Guild. That's a questline I've started a couple times but never finished, but I've heard it starts getting more and more interesting (after the shopkeeper bullying part) which intrigues me.

Lord Haaf-Mersey has that minor quest from the smith Brynjolf: He's supposed to collect 10 fire salts. He's probably already done so; problem is he keeps leaving them all over Skyrim, so the quest never gets finished.



This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: May 10 2013, 02:50 PM

I love it! Denelle IS a little deuce coupe! She’s stripped down (carries only a hide shield and dagger) and hopped up (most points in stamina), plus she’s a redhead and we know that the red ones go faster. She made a dash for Kharjo's amulet in a mostly outdoor bandit stronghold that really surprised me. She had no intention of killing all of those people. And why bother when you can just run past them?



That’s exactly right. The TG quest Taking Care of Business pissed some people off. It works well as mistrust of a recently released orphan who has probably been picking pockets for Brynjolf whenever she had the chance. (The orphan Samuel has dialog about slipping out while Grelod naps to “make a livin’” on the streets.) Denelle could technically still rent a room at the Bee and Barb, but since they gave her the “hit the road” and “There’s the door, why don’t you use it” dialog we’re playing that she’s not welcome. The game would also let her sleep at Haelga’s, but the NPC dialog says no. And if she took the TG bed it would mean she was accepting their insta-death quest. So it’s the Ratway for little D!

I agree with your decision to follow the NPC dialog instead of the lack of game consequences. Makes sense.

I also could not get past Taking Care of Bizness. That was with Khahkhayre, though, and he wasn't really as much of an evildoer as I had thought he might be. Mycharonna is my other character who started TG, and she botched the very first part of the quest (stealing the ring) but she might find herself interested in checking out the Ratway/TG at some point. We'll have to see. Maybe she will start TG, get asked to bully shopkeepers, and she'll be glad to do it.

Both Pseron Wyrd and Lopov have told me TG gets really good. Makes me want to check it out more definitively.

I wrote this a few days ago. I was about to get sick (which I didn't know) and do not even remember writing most of this! ... It's entertaining, but you can tell towards the end I was losing focus!



Tirdas, 9:07 AM, 2nd of Mid Year

Lord Haaf-Mersey

Days Passed: 289
Level: 41


"You shoulddd have seen me at tha height of my addvenddduring career. I was feerless, and took too many reesks. But dat's whad it was all aboud."

Snow falls thick from the sky, and although it is morning, it is hard to tell if this is truely so. On days like this, there isn't much difference between morning, noon and afternoon up here in The Pale.

Lord Haaf-Mersey and his new wife Mjoll the Lioness walk single file out of Dawnstar. Occasionally the Lord raises his hand, casting a spell which is unseen to his other half. oooooooooooo... 'Clairvoyance' it is called. It's a spell which back in the 3rd Era would probably be found in Tamriel's long-lost Mysticism class. But now it's considered Illusion.

...And Haaf-Mersey is glad for this. Mjoll the Lioness hasn't got much of an aptitude for magic, so she cannot see what his spell actually does. And he does not want his new wife to know he is calling upon forces of magic to steer him towards his latest location.

The Lord is trying something new today: a new route back to Winterhold, eschewing roads he has traveled so many times in favor of a walk through packed snow. So he is especially glad when (after awhile) his spell starts to fail him. It tells him to go one way, then seems to change its mind and sends him towards the opposite.

"Blasted to Oblivion!"

He is glad Mjoll can't tell what is happening, magically-speaking. He fears embarassment at the very thought!

"Contemptuous wizardry, cannot one rely simply upon banalities of essence?!"

After awhile, the Lord gives up, and stops casting his magic. Sometimes, one must use his own wits to travel by, especially if he (and she) happen to not be travelling upon a road.

...The Lord gets frustrated, then a brainstorm occurs...

As his clairvoyance spell loses focus, the Lord realizes there are visable shadows falling on the ground, caused by Mjoll and he. Haaf-Mersey remembers his military training (from his Cyrodiilic youth) and orients himself so that their shadows fall behind them. NOW he knows he is headed east, since it is still morning. ... The shadows which fall behind happen to be a long ones, too. The longer the better. When the shadows start to fall directly under their feet, the Lord knows it is about Noon, shadows will no longer be useful, and this means all travel must stop.


"One trick, the natural lights of Kynareth, whose spritis shineth with grace upon these cast-about stones, shalt guide us towards our fate," he says to Mjoll happily, knowing she'll barely be able to understand him.

Lord Haaf-Mersey, the Crusader from Cyrodiil, has just found a very important item, one which will change the fate of Skyrim itself. He and Mjoll need to make it back to an obscure ice cave near Winterhold, where a madman named Septimus awaits.

"My maadher was a sdddrong woman. She's da one who instrudddcted me on my swordfighting techiques. Can you imageen?"

Lord Haaf-Mersey rolls his eyes. Good thing he's leading the pair, and therefore she cannot see this.

As a former adventurer, Mjoll the Lioness has plenty of stories to tell, and he's heard all of them. Many times. He's heard how her "fahhder took her into Morddowind" when she was just a child, and that "da cleef racers made for excallent sport". He has heard how she "once was nearly rubbed by a cut-puhse on da road", but when she "drew Greemsever, I think da poor man soiledd his armors!" Oh, and let us not forget how she's "Nevah been a sell-sword", and "nevah traddded her skills for pay," and "always addveddured on her own terms."

"M'lady Mara, give me strength," the Lord begs as the pair near an Imperial stronghold.

After getting married, Lord Haaf-Mersey returned home to Lakeview Manor, and was surprised when his new wife refused to accept becoming a steward for his property. Now that Mjoll has been traveling about again, she's not accepting a docile, easygoing life in Falkreath Hold, merely tending to gardens and reading books.* She is not wanting to obey him, and give up adventuring. Since Marcurio was no longer staying at Lakeview, this meant that his adopted daughter Lucia would now have to live alone, ... at least until he finds whatever solution there may be to find.

*



"I mees da cold air. Walking the breadddth of Skyreem has always feeled my heard with excitemend".

"We walk the breadth of Skyrim now, you twit", the Lord comments under his breath.

The pair make it to Winterhold a day later. Once inside the Frozen Hearth, room rented and bellies full, Lord Haaf-Mersey picks up the Elder Scroll he has retrieved, and tries to read it.

Once again, his efforts are in vain.

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: May 10 2013, 11:31 PM

Today our vampire hero, Raven Meridius, saved her people by destroying the extremist Harkon. I'll write up the aftermath of the battle and her new station as leader of the clan

This post has been edited by Darkness Eternal: May 14 2013, 05:53 PM

Sweet! I can't wait for LHM to take on Harkon.

That's exactly how I felt whenever one of my characters traveled with Mjoll. And good gracious, LHM married her! His marital dilemma is very entertaining.


Congrats to Raven, DE! I've never had a character survive that questline on the vamp side (yet). I'd like to get to know those NPCs better.

I reloaded my last save and Rped Raven's victory. I never felt the ending of the questline was truly complete. Though the vampire character is made leader, nothing truly dramatic changes. The clan might see you as their head, but they still offer the same snide comments -_-

But the remaining side-quests are very fun indeed! Raven had a blast!

~ Raven's Promotion~

"Lord Harkon defeated. I never imagined I'd see the day. My congratulations on defeating Harkon. Clearly, you are the superior vampire. You are the new Master; we bow to your power."

Lord Harkon has been defeated, and his extreme tyrannical plot to bring eternal darkness into the world has followed him into grave. His killer(and ultimately his successor) now plans to bring a new vision into motion and she will start by tying up the loose ends. Garan Marethi confirmed her thoughts on how to begin this dark course.

“The Dawnguard will, no doubt, soon become even more of a nuisance now that Auriel's Bow has been recovered. We need to strike a crippling blow against them before they muster more men against us. They've holed up in an abandoned fort in the Rift. Killing their leaders should discourage an all out war with us."

Raven had a face of exquisite beauty. Lustrous black hair, the color of night, framed her elegant attributes. Her pale white skin was smooth and polished and flawless as alabaster. Fiery eyes burned as red as rubies and bright as liquid fire. The smooth points of her incisors peeked from her red lips. A black cloak draped her lithe body, and two deadly katanas hung from her sides as she marched to secure her final victory. The heart of her people.

She stood at the balcony of Castle Volkihar, overlooking the court with Serana at her side. A crowd of servants and clan members gathered below, murmuring amongst themselves at their new leader.

Raven spoke out loud. “This has been the most trying of times, but we have survived this far. Lord Harkon was our ultimate test—it was the last gasp of extremism and shameful ideals. Though your former lord is no longer here, this clan will survive and it will continue to do so under my hand. We are a clan that will never return to the corrupted visions that have plagues us so deeply. The direction of this course is clear; I am eternally devoted in preserving Our ideals and Our way of life.”

She paced back and forth, hands behind her back and inspired voice loud and clear so that it echoed throughout the castle in a booming voice of sheer authority. “The Dawnguard are relentless. If they are not destroyed to the last creature, there will be a war without end. To sterilize their base of operations shall be my first task as leader of this clan. There will be no living being left behind. Not a single heart left beating. I will topple the Dawnguard leadership, in their 'secret fortress” in the Rift. And I say to you that when they are all eradicated, the remaining vampire hunters will be hunted down and defeated to the last man and woman. We shall tackle the scattered murderers and bring their ridiculous crusade to its fated end!"

The clan clapped and nodded. Raven smiled and lifted her hands enthusiastically. “You must do your part. Become my eyes and ears. Travel to the corners of Skyim and bring the sword to vampire barbarians. Strike down the animals who taint the name of vampyre and bring chaos to our door. Bring order and security to our superior kind! This is my command!”

Her hand touched one of her swords, and she turned to Serana. She felt daylight coming. "Dawn is rising, but for the Dawnguard the eternal night has just begun."

This post has been edited by Darkness Eternal: May 23 2013, 06:38 PM

ahh dang. I haven't got to the end of DG yet, and so I forced myself not to read this! Trying not to read spoilers. I'll remember this post, though, and come back to it later on. I'm pretty sure my crusader is nearing the end of the questline

.

Hey everyone. Allow me to share something I wrote up a week or 2 ago. It was a mess until I just edited it, and it is called....




"I've never seen Mjoll this upset about anything. This city really gets to her".

Said Aerin, Mjoll the Lioness's mysterious live-in partner. This statement had caused Lord Haaf-Mersey to stop, and take pause. Upset? Why would she be upset? The pair (Aerin and Haaf-Mersey) had found a moment alone in what is now solely Aerin's house, here in Riften. At least, this is what Haaf-Mersey had been assuming.

"Could it mayhap be the very thieves and cut-purses who dwell deep within thus bowels of Riften, which causeth distemperance towards our precious Mjoll?" Haaf-Mersey asks Aerin.

The Lord is genuinely confused. Some time after getting married, Lord Haaf-Mersey returned home, and presented his new wife, Mjoll the Lioness, with her 'gift': the home he had built with Marcurio. Lakeview Manor. The Lord had thought that Mjoll would be excited, that she would 'take upon residence', gladly decorating the place with curtains and candles, and fawning over her new step-daughter Lucia. But Mjoll had done neither. When the Lord had asked her what she thought of the place, she had merely spoken:

"I'm itching for a fight, let's go!"

And so it was. Mjoll refused to give up adventuring to become his Steward. She had refused to choose a docile, easygoing life tending to gardens and herding chickens, watching over Lucia, keeping her safe as Marcurio had previously done. She would have none of this! ... On the subject of Marcurio: he had left Lakeview Manor (after some very poignant threats from Haaf-Mersey) but before this Marcurio had become increasingly annoying over the past few months, goading the Lord to take him back on the road again and again.

Marcurio the Wizard missed travelling around Skyrim, ridding its evils, and Haaf-Mersey couldn't blame him. But at least Marcurio had offered to become a Steward on his own, and then lived up to his offer, his promise to protect the Lord's manor house. From danger. From bandits. From vampires.

Marcurio had offered to become steward of all Haaf-Mersey had worked for, and then followed through on his offer. But Mjoll? She had flatly denied him.

"I must go", says Aerin, after not answering Lord Haaf-Mersey's previous question.

Aerin leaves his home to loiter around Riften once more. And the Lord thinks this is just as well.




The day is sunny once again in Riften. The sun always seems to shine here, Lord Haaf-Mersey notices. It's one of the reasons why he likes this village, despite its seedy nature, and an underground establishment which he and Marcurio had visited a few months earlier. Although Haaf-Mersey had his suspicions, he could not prove that The Ratway was anything other than a very dark tavern, located far beneath Riften itself. If there indeed is an equivalent to a Thieves Guild headquarters here, there was nothing he could do about it.

But all of that is in the past. For now, Haaf-Mersey strolls in the sunshine, savoring this day. In the near future, it'll be 'back to work', and he will need to visit Castle Dawnguard once again.

"How can a humble serveant of Talos help you today?"

Lord Haaf-Mersey stops in his tracks, suddenly noticing the woman who has passed him. She's a monk, dressed in robes, and smelling of sandalwood. And he's never noticed her before.

"Ye speakth of Talos?" he asks.

Her name is Nura Snow-Shod. A humble servant of the Eight or the Nine. A priestess. As Nura stops and turns back to him, Haaf-Mersey considers her. Could he have feelings for a priestess? Could a priestess be the one who would 'take upon residence' at Lakeview Manor?

... It would be nice to have not just a woman, but one who is devoted to the Nine protecting over his establishment. Mjoll and himself? ... What of Mjoll and himself? ... Mjoll had proven selfish, indeed, and as the Lord engages in conversation with Nura, he finds himself considering her fully.

But then, she speaks.

"He's dda proddector of man. Da dddragon of da north. He's da paddron saint of all mortals. And ddespite da Nords and their treaddy, he will always be..."

Lord Haaf-Mersey doesn't catch the rest. He was momentarily intrigued by her, but now he loses interest. Her voice. It reminds him of his wife. And anyways, this priestess of Talos has not seen the light in Haaf-Mersey, not even as he wears an Amulet of Mara upon his chest.

She is not the one.




"Did we have an appointment? I forget. ....A delivery? I can't remember."

Riften's court wizard Wylandriah moans and frets, as Lord Haaf-Mersey visits her special room to do some buying and selling

"I'm in the middle of some delicate experiments," she informs him.

"What has thee such of pre-occupation, m'lady?" he asks, considering her now.

A priestess of Mara would not do, but what about a court wizard?

"Someone actually interested in what I'm doing!?" she gushes. "Well allow me to explain... My experimentation involves a magical construct and a re-agent, that will help the construct maintain a field of perfect harmony," she answers quickly.

Her words confuse Lord Haaf-Mersey. Being a non magic-user* he has no idea what she is talking about. ... But he is intrigued anyways. She is one of intelligence, as the light of Julianos shineth within. ... In other words, she is the opposite of his wife, Mjoll. Could the lady I so seeketh bear practice towards the arts of arcane sorcery? the Lord thinks.

"I know not of what ye speaketh, m'lady".

"You don't have to because it's utter nonsense," she says, seeming human again. "It's never going to work, anyways" she pauses ..."No no no. What I need to do is reverse that draw the harmonic energy of the re-agent into the magical construct. It was all there before me! Why didn't you tell me?" she blames.

"Tell ye?! ... That I should tell ye of thine mis-doings and business of yore? That I should speaketh thine language of arcanity, and dwell within such constructs of mind? 'Tis not of mine business, court wizard!"

"It's because you were absolutely right not to get it. It's a fundamental rule of wizardry!"

The Lord gives up, completely lost. He shrugs his shoulders, and has no idea what she is talking about.

"What's not to get? It's as simple as Travens first Axiom of Magic, or was it Tolfdir's Decree on Specialization?.... I'll need to look through my journals once again..."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," offers the Lord.

"Yes I could use some help with that. An assistant, perhaps? No no no .... maybe a familiar? No .. too messy. No no I mean organization is not my strong suit at all. Perhaps if you could .. gather a few things for me?"

"Gather a few things?" the Lord asks, dumbfounded.

Ladies of interest here in Skyrim often show their interest by giving an initial task to the men who intrigue them, the Lord suddenly realizes. With this thought, Lord Haaf-Mersey realizes he is not interested in Wylandriah, the court wizard of Riften. He is not interested in helping her "gather a few things", just to satisfy his own curiosity on whether or not she would make a suitable wife and steward. He can already see what a confusing woman this would make in his life.

People here in Skyrim could barely understand him (and his highish ways of speaketh) most of the time; what would it be like to be married to someone who confused him just as often?

"So. You wish to master the arcane arts!" she says brightly, as Haaf-Mersey puts the Amulet of Mara back into his pocket, once again.





"Such a shame, I thought we were gedding along so well! I'll head back to Reefden, in case you change your mind."

Mjoll had walked off sadly a few days earlier, still honoring the man who had shown her the world. She had walked outside of her own (and Aerin's) house, which means she had kept her word. She went to Riften.

Lord Haaf-Mersey considers his decision to end their marriage now that he is here in Castle Dawnguard, a marriage which had lasted just a few short weeks. He thinks his decision sound and pertinent, for he feels that after a bit more searching, he has finally found the one for him.

"Yes yes I haven't got all day" she says impatiently.

Her name is Ingjard. She is a strong woman and a Nord, and resides here in Fort Dawnguard. A vampire hunter. Perfect!

"Ye have desires to make travels with me, not just to procure the end of many a blood-sucking fiend, but also in service of The Nine?" Haaf-Mersey asks, hoping for a "yes".

"Lead the way," Ingjard answers.

And this is the way Lord Haaf-Mersey and Ingjard first met.

Oh my! I was rolling when the Talos lady reminded LHM of his wife. I think of poor Marcurio sitting listless in the tavern pining after adventures with LHM. Too bad he was so mouthy.

Good hunting to the Lord and Ingjard! May his Amulet of Mara find its way out of his pocket once again!

Poor guy XD that's what happens when you marry someone you're not sure about XD

Jerric and Darnand (Marcurio) found themselves idling in Whiterun. Jerric relaxed by the fire while Darnand sat at his desk going through their correspondence (Quest Log).

“Look at this,” said Darnand. “A new museum is opening in Dawnstar.” He opened the pamphlet. “Oh.”

Jerric reached over and grabbed it.

Silus Vesuius Presents
The Museum of the Mythic Dawn
A History of the Cult that Toppled the Septim Dynasty
Inside of his very own home in the great capital of the Pale, Dawnstar
Free and open to all citizens of Skyrim

“I suppose…” Darnand said, but Jerric was already out the door.

On the way to Dawnstar they got caught in a major snow storm. The stopped in at a lighthouse so that Darnand could warm up.

What they found inside did not improve Jerric’s mood. After he destroyed the nest and put the unfortunate family to rest, he pushed on through the night to Dawnstar. Darnand followed.

They reached the museum under a grey dawn.

A man in Mythic Dawn robes introduced himself and invited them inside. Then he asked them to help restore Mehrunes Razor.

Jerric killed him immediately. Thankfully Darnand (Marcurio) did not start a war with the Dawnstar guards when they barged in to make the arrest. Funnily enough they only charged him 40 Septims for his crime. I guess they didn’t like Silus’ idea either.

That's the only quest I've found where you can get daedra hearts.

Aravi dealt with him a little better. She walked away.

Jerric's no man of small passion though.

I have often got the 40 septim charge for killing people too. I think you only get the 1,000 for murder if you kill them before they can fight back. Otherwise you seem to get the 40 for assault.


You can get them in the Azura's Star quest too, if you are quick enough to loot them from the dremora before Azura yanks you out. You can pick up a few samples in a few dungeons as well, I think Nightcaller Temple might have two.


Most of my characters walk away as well. I think Eris is the only one who took Silus up on his offer, and that was only because she was a dagger person.

Now that was a good quest! Didn't expect it to go that way though, Grits. Mythic Dawn? Mehrunes Razor? Hell no! I see why he went that route

Brings back memories of the Mythic Dawn!

Aravi found part of the razor in some dungeon down south and eventually brought it to him, but she hasn't had any interest in 'recovering' the other pieces.