First and foremost- welcome back! It is a delight to see that the passage of time has not dulled the snarky gleam in Adryn's eye... Um... that is to say, happy you are back and as wonderful as ever.

Just a couple of quotes, as the Quot-a-Matic ™ has been pouting in a corner for several months.



For that alone, Ajira deserves many hugs. The relationship you have drawn between the two outsider, budding alchemists is simply wonderful.

"...beautifully flowering plants in intricately painted pots which I happened to know were both non-native and alchemically useless... In short, the usual hallmarks of people struggling with the burden of having too much money and positively crying out to be liberated from it."

Applause first for the descriptive writing and second for Adryn's reaction to ostentatious displays of wealth via bad taste. And of course, the practicality as well. (Plants that are only good for decoration- what a waste!)







Oh that is simply excellent- both for the poignant reminder of Adryn's less-than-happy childhood AND for the verse.

The "count all the pots and pans" is from a mod? I could have sworn Trey once barely dodged having to do a silverware census....

Seeing more of your story is a treat. Thank you so much for continuing.

This post has been edited by treydog: Jun 23 2013, 04:07 PM

Catching up:

6.2


This whole paragraph is a showcase for what I love so much about your writing! Priceless! As is this next section:


Had to quote the whole thing, and when she wiggled her fingers I was remembering what you said earlier about carrying the joke too far and lost it reading that part! That gave it an edge over and above the scene itself, which already had me rolling! Loved this!



OMG, the whole section on the teleportation had me in stitches, these quoted lines killed me! This chapter is absolutely going onto the list of my favorite chapters, and there are many of them in your story so far!


6.3


SPEW! Teleportation Girl's predilection for romance and those flowers - and this:



This has to be the best example I've ever seen of the most perfect dialogue tag ever:



Galbedir's envious jealousy had me in hysterics in this whole chapter, every single line by or about her, - and then Adryn letting it slip they'd shared a room, and Galbedir's reaction to that - it didn't even matter if she was jealous IF Adryn would have chosen someone besides her or IF someone else would have chosen Adryn before her - because it was probably both! SPEW!!! ROFL !!!

Then to barely come off of that with a working PC still from all the spewed drinks - you hit me with this:



This has always been one of my favorite stories, and this is exactly why, you so subtly represent these little bits of human nature, I love that! LOVE this story! Throughout this whole story you have way more chapters on my "all time favorites list" than chapters that don't make it to the list. This chapter is definitely going on it, I LOVE this chapter! AWESOME WRITE !!!!!!

You've made my day, haven't laughed this hard in almost a year! I'm still catching up, have to take a break from reading and get my Sunday chores done. I will be back to finish catching up as soon as possible.

The whole exchange between Adryn and Trebonius was hilarious. It’s great to have you back!

Welcome back! The exchange between Adryn and Trebonius was hilarious! I did notice that he didn't call her "Girl" or "Girlie" or some such stupid thing. And Bully for her for keeping her mouth shut! I was amazed.

Trying to find out what happened to the Dwemer oughta keep our Adryn busy for a while. At least until she figures out a way to get out of this one! I don't doubt it!

6.4


I loved several things about this chapter:

First, the worry over the gossip after Ervesa sent the ingredients and reward - this whole situation has kept me laughing for two chapters now!

Next - This:



Like running and hiding from their teasing and suspicion won’t raise and peak their interest even worse - this was killing me, thought it couldn’t get better ... then it did.

Adryn’s inner musings about her fellow guildmates had me choking! I absolutely LOVE how her mind runs!

Then - didn’t think it could get any better, and it did - Adryn’s dilemma over the soul gem! OMG, I thought I would die laughing, could visualize an angel on one shoulder and devil on the other with her inner arguments one way or the other - Huge HUGE write, I loved this chapter !!!



6.5




I have missed Ajira’s personality these last few chapters, but in this one line you brought it all back so perfectly!

From what I gathered, I think Ajira knew what Adryn was struggling with, I loved her answer to it.

And the reward finally! I remembered Adryn wondering about the reward, lol. I just love it when these two are together, you have created two wonderful characters here! Awesome Write !!!

The entire scene with Cassia was priceless, especially when she froze mid word, that was written so well I had a visual image in my mind as I read - loved that you didn’t stint on the details with that scene, it totally made the beginning of this chapter!

It gets better when Adryn starts walking through and noticing the posh living quarters the Vivec Mages enjoy, I especially love the little veers into her past life that Adryn’s mind takes:



She may have only been a thief because she had to, but she must have been very good at it the way her mind works - Love that about her!






Did you make this verse up? I LOVE it !!!!!


I am so glad you kept this chapter intact, there is absolutely no place it could have been divided without harming the content for the reader.

By your “Notes” I see you did write that verse - that is HUGE! You should send that to Bethesda and have them put it in one of their in game books!

This chapter was stunning, Awesome, and absolutely goes into my list of top favorites. Awesome, Awesome Write !!!

Wow, I'm glad people enjoyed the verse! I felt really awkward about it (and almost gave up on it more than once because it was hard enough to find lore mysteries that orphans in Daggerfall would've heard of, let alone get them to rhyme /o\) so I'm really glad it's gone over well.

@treydog - Thank you! I'm glad you like how Ajira and Adryn's friendship is developing, it's one of the things I very much enjoyed writing! And haha, I often struggle with description so it helps to really try and see how Adryn would view things - and Adryn Does Not Understand the point of potted plants that don't yield ingredients. *g*

Re: silverware - I swear I thought this was in the Less Generic NPCs mod, but it's possible I'm wrong; computer issues mean I haven't really been able to play Morrowind in a while.

@Grits - thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed Adryn meeting Trebonius, I grinned myself silly writing that bit.

@haute - thank you! And to be honest, I think Adryn was just too stunned to respond. If Trebonius had given her time to recover... well, her reaction would not have been pretty. Probably for the best he didn't! I don't think he's very patient with things like that.

@mALX - wow thank you!! I am really blushing here, you know I'm glad you liked the gossip session...s and assumptions flying around! I take it as a major compliment coming from you, since Maxical's story manages that kind of thing so well. *g*

Re: the reward - I actually realised myself after I'd written the first few chapters that I'd forgotten! Hence a quick fix. In all honesty, I think Ajira may have forgotten herself - she did get pretty sidetracked by mushrooms at first, after all!

Re: Adryn's thieving skills...

Last time, Adryn popped into the Vivec guild where she met the guild guide and then met her head of guild. Who immediately asked her to perform a small, trivial, easy task for him - figure out where the Dwemer went. Adryn's reaction could be summed up as . She's still reeling.

Chapter 7.2

*****

The Archmage wandered away. I stayed standing there, too stunned to move.

"Ah," came a dry voice from my left. "I think I know that posture."

I whirled around to see an elderly Dunmer woman slowly making her way down the outside stairs.

"Tell me," I begged her, "the disappearance of the Dwemer is one of Tamriel's greatest mysteries, right? I'm not imagining things? I'm not losing my mind? Zurin Arctus himself tried to explain it, right? Right?!"

Most people would probably have been rather taken aback by this. She just looked resigned. "And that frame of mind. I assume you have just spoken to Archmage Trebonius."

"Yes. He gave me a task. Is it that obvious?"

"One learns to recognise the signs." The woman pinched the bridge of her nose. Whatever the Morrowind version of chopped blue mountain flower petals boiled together with crushed dragonfly wings - my favourite headache remedy - was, she looked like she needed it. "My name is Malven Romori, a Wizard in the Mages' Guild here. I strongly urge guild members to come to me if they have any problems, as Archmage Trebonius... prefers not to be disturbed with minutiae."

That had to be the most discreet rewording of "we don't know what in Oblivion we did to deserve getting saddled with this man, but we try to keep him away from innocent bystanders" I'd ever come across.

"He does like to assign duties to junior members, however. And," she fixed me with her gaze, "I would like to remind you that Archmage Trebonius is in fact the leader of this guild and is owed respect and obedience. Now if you would follow me, I can... assist you with the details of them."

I would have protested at this point - she couldn't possibly expect me to actually solve the mystery of the Dwemer - but something about her tone made me follow her quietly. Oh, and the fact that a mage with a headache was a mage more likely to start throwing around Destruction spells out of frustration. I'd learned this one from experience.

Malven led me into a room with a large table, then closed the door. "Right. Pull up a chair." She did the same herself. "Now," and her voice took on a despairing tone, "what did he ask you to do?"

"Solve the disappearance of the Dwemer," I said helpfully as I settled into a chair.

"Solve the disappearance of the Dwemer. Of course." The expression on Malven's face said that even a dose of the extra-concentrated, heavy-duty version of my headache remedy I'd made for Ingerte's migraines would not be enough right now. "Perfect job to assign to someone, that. It's not as if it's one of the greatest mysteries of our time." At least I wasn't the only one who could see how ridiculous this was. "Although it could be worse."

I blinked at her incredulously. "Worse? How?"

"Well - as I said earlier, Archmage Trebonius is the Head of Guild and hence owed obedience."

"Wait, don't tell me you actually expect me to-" Nine, please don't let Trebonius be contagious.

"What, solve the mystery of the Dwemer?" Malven snorted. "Of course, and right after that you'll find proof of the Underking's real identity. Or figure out a way to make those blasted interfering Telvanni leave us alone, I'm sure." Her tone indicated the latter was as impossible as the former. "No, what I mean is that although the task is impossible you should at least give the appearance of working on it." Her tone grew stern. "I won't have people ignoring the Archmage. It's bad for morale and undermines the dignity of the guild."

I managed to bite back the question 'even more than Trebonius does by himself?'

"And when it comes to that, the disappearance of the Dwemer isn't such a bad task. Dwemer scholarship is a thriving field, you know, so it's a good area for a new member to get involved in. Our own Edwinna in Ald'ruhn is one of the foremost experts, and always looking for interested apprentices. If you do some introductory reading - try Jobasha for books - and then ask her if you can study with her, I'm sure she'll be delighted to have you. Which means that if Archmage Trebonius asks, you can honestly tell him you are looking into it."

Put that way, solving the Dwemer question was a sight better than Cassia's pots. But... "I'm an alchemist, not a Dwemer scholar," I protested.

Malven raised an eyebrow. "Are you? Well, secondary interests are a good thing to acquire - you can't advance far in the Guild if you don't branch out - and our alchemists aren't of the academic standard Edwinna is."

I wanted to protest on Ajira's behalf, but had to remember her attempt at a formal report.

"Consider that you might instead have been asked to chain dreugh to the canton and make them tow it to a 'more reasonable climate'." Malven's long-suffering expression made me suspect that that example wasn't hypothetical. "No, a background in the Dwemer will serve you well in the future, Apprentice..."

"Adryn," I introducted myself. "And it's Associate, actually. Not Apprentice."

"Associate?" Malven blinked. "But you are involved in tasks for the guild, correct?"

"Well, I've been helping Ajira - the alchemist at the Balmora guild - with her work. Collecting and studying ingredients, selling when she was busy writing reports..."

"And you're still only an Associate? I'll have to ask Ranis what she's thinking." Malven frowned.

I shrugged. Membership in the Mages Guild was still new enough to me that I wasn't all too worried about rank. "Well-"

I was interrupted by what sounded like a small explosion from the main hall, shortly followed by Trebonius' booming voice. "Ah, not that one either! No matter, I'm certain I'll get it this time - and surely we didn't need that statue anyway!" All of a sudden, the scorch marks in the hall made a great deal of sense.

Malven's brows drew together in a scowl. I suspected fantasies of murdering a certain Archmage were going through her head.

"It looks as though I've left the others alone too long. Associate Adryn, I hope I will soon be hearing about your developing interest in Dwemer scholarship. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

After Malven had left to go repair more of Trebonius' disasters, I edged out of the room. Originally, I'd been planning to seek out the Vivec alchemist - Craetia, wasn't it? However, my experiences in the last half an hour or so had led to me formulating a new plan. This one being to get out of this guild hall as quickly as possible before I could get blown up or roped into more impossible tasks turned extracurricular activities by a certain monkey with robes and an unfortunate skill at Destruction, I mean Archmage.

I immediately set about putting it into action.

*****

Next

This post has been edited by Kazaera: Jun 30 2013, 12:28 AM

Poor Malven!



Reminds me of certain professors I had in vet school!

I enjoyed how you described Malven's demeanor and "gave" her a headache. Of course, given the surroundings and her body language, such a malady would be inevitable!

*

Hopefully they won't even remember Adryn had even been there at all in ten minutes? ROFL !!

This reminded me so forcibly of "The Madness of King George" - hugely well done, from the Archmage to Malven's longsuffering indicators!



Loved this line!



I'd say that wasn't an easy struggle, lol. This next one had me choking:



ROFL !! "If anyone does anything productive, promote them quickly before they get away!"

I don't know if it is because they have to spend too much time covering up for the Archmage, but the whole Vivec Mages guild seems to be in crisis, lol. What I'm wondering is, if you do end up as Archmage in Vivec, do they magically clean up the Guild hall (sort of like how they did in the Anvil haunted house quest)? Lol.



BWAAHAA! I loved that end !!!!

When reading, I usually stop and copy out the quotes that strike me, then comment at the end of the chapter - can't do that reading your story because too much strikes me for quoting and I don't like to stop reading long enough to quote - so I hope I didn't miss any, lol. Great Write, you are making me want to try Morrowind just so I can see these quests! Awesome update!


*

In a thoroughly delightful update I loved this line the most.

Catching up, slowly but surely.

I realized, that despite reading and becoming a fan of your work early on. I never actually took the time too comment. While it may seem self-serving, comments really a big part of what can give a writer the motivation to continue on and visibly show that they are enjoying their work.

For my lack in the regard, I am sorry.

So, I shall write a slightly longer than usual comment to somewhat make up for my offense.

You're writing is simply stunning, thus far. You describe situations in such a way that really brings them to life, in a game setting that many of us are already familiar with. Adryn...is a character indeed.

The humor you bring to this, is simply astounding, and if your friends aren't constantly laughing at the jokes you say, they simply must not be human.

Well written, well read, well done!

I knew I was missing one - I loved this too, missed it in my quotes. Adryn's loyalty is there, but she knows when her ammunition isn't going to hold up for battle, ROFL! Loved that line!

@haute - When I thought about it, I figured that the only way the Vivec guild could have not imploded yet with Trebonius as its head was via another high-ranking guild member running around after him cleaning up all his messes. I also figured that that must be one godawful job! Hence, Malven. I'm glad you liked her. *g*

@mALX - thank you! Yeah, the Vivec guild is basically in a constant state of siege, and the siege is from within. I think if you become Archmage and manage to get rid of Trebonius, Malven hires the cleaners with a sigh of relief and then goes and takes a long holiday, lol. (The scorch marks aren't there ingame, but I see them in my mind's eye!)

@Grits - I'm glad you (and mALX!) liked that line! Yeah, Adryn is very loyal but still in touch with reality and willing to back down from a battle she knows can't be won, lol.

@Black Hand - *blushes* thank you! And don't worry about not commenting much - obviously I take great glee in every one I get, but I know that people have other things going on and it can be difficult... I'm not nearly as good at commenting on other people's works as I'd like myself!

I'm really glad you're enjoying, and especially that you find I bring game situations to life - that's really a large part of what I'm hoping to achieve with this story!

Re: jokes - I wish! Alas, writing has the advantage that you can mull over your jokes at your leisure - you'd be surprised how often something along the lines of '(something funny goes here)' pops up in my drafts. Also, I have a speech disorder - it doesn't really bother me but, to quote from a certain movie about someone with the same issue, timing isn't my strong suit!

Last time, Malven Romori told Adryn how to go about *cough* solving the disappearance of the Dwemer *cough*. Now, Adryn meets Vivec! The city, that is. Not the god. I'm not sure the latter would go very well.

Chapter 7.3

*****

Thankfully for my temper and continued health (in the form of refraining from screaming insults at my head of guild), I managed to make it out of the guild hall without further incident - unless you counted pausing for a moment on the threshold.

The Vivec guild building bordered on a plaza, maybe a little larger than the square in front of the guild in Balmora. That wasn't in itself shocking, but what had given me pause was that we were still indoors. The plaza was inside a cavernous hall lit by torches and magelights. The ceiling was formed by an enormous dome, its apex so high it was hidden in darkness. I'd never seen anything like it before - whatever building we were in must be gigantic.

A brief look around turned up a building belonging to the Fighter's Guild and two armorers, but nothing that looked like a bookshop, so I followed the steady flow of people heading towards a set of massive double doors and the daylight streaming through them.

When I stepped through, I stopped and stared.

Ahead of me was a covered archway, leading onto a parapet with a low wall at its edge. A very wet parapet; the weather had apparently taken a turn for the worse since that morning. However, even through the rain I could make out a building further ahead - no, building was the wrong word. Building gave one entirely the wrong impression of the scope of the thing. I'd seen smaller castles. And - I squinted through the falling rain - there was a second to its left. Third, really, since I was quite certain I was standing in another right now. And that blurry outline back there might be a fourth-

"Stop standing in the entranceway like a slug, n'wah. People are trying to get by," a strangely muffled voice said from behind me.

I turned around-

Really, what was it with this country and armour that doubled as carnival gear?

The man was wearing a full set of armour that was elaborately detailed and decorated, made of some dark metal but with ornate designs worked on it in gold leaf. Like Ervesa's giant insect costume, someone had taken the concept of a 'helmet' and run with it to the point of insanity - albeit this time in a different direction. Ervesa's bug eyes and mandibles had been replaced by a stylised mask depicting a golden-skinned, rather severe-looking mer, bald save for a gigantic plume - or was that a mohawk? The mask covered the entire head, with only two small holes for the eyes. By all rights, it should have looked utterly ridiculous, yet somehow I didn't feel like laughing at all; the sight of red eyes glaring out of that immovable painted face was surprisingly intimidating.

"Deaf, too. They get worse and worse every day. Move it, outlander, or I'll move you."

Or maybe it was just the attitude.

"I'm moving, I'm moving," I said hastily. Really, he was being unreasonable - I'd been standing to the side, not directly in the doorway, and it wasn't particularly busy right now anyway. I decided to keep that idea private - even I could tell that that wasn't something one should not say to a man with a mace and a bad mood.

Instead, I took a leaf from Ajira's book: I decided to try my hand at being cute.

"I'm really sorry if I was in the way," I made my tone as sweet as possible. "I just got here from the Mages' Guild. I've never been to Vivec before and was just admiring the view. Say, I don't suppose you could help me?" I widened my eyes, remembering the sad kitten look. "I'm looking for-"

"Do I look like a tout?" the mer, who I was coming to think of as Master Grumpy, snapped. "A gondolier? A Hlaalu, maybe? Someone willing to run after n'wah and scrabble in the dirt for the coppers they throw? No? Then why in the name of the holy Almsivi do you expect I'd be willing to-"

I blinked in the face of such naked hostility. All right, apparently cuteness only worked if you had fur. For dark elve- er, Dunmer (I had the sneaking suspicion that if I said the words "dark elf" around Master Grumpy, it would end in tears - mine), it seemed to be counterproductive if anything. Or maybe it was the helmet? Another one for Adryn's alchemical reaction theory of helmets: where steel caused rigid belief in honour and chivalry alongside general stupidity and giant insect armour managed to preserve intelligence but led to giggling, poetry, and sending poor unsuspecting people flowers, carnival masks caused uncontrollable rage.

"Right. Er. Sorry. Didn't mean to offend you," I managed to interject into his rant, inching backwards all the while. "I'll just be going now."

Out of lack of better options, I headed back the way I'd come.

Back in the plaza, I stopped and thought for a bit. Well, I made my way to an out-of-the-way corner first; I could still feel Master Grumpy's eyes on me, and I didn't want to do anything that could be viewed as blocking traffic.

Actually, heading back to the Mages' Guild wasn't such a bad idea, provided I managed to avoid its head. Almost everyone I'd met in the guild thus far was friendly, and therefore hopefully not as inclined to bite my head off if I asked for directions. Moreover, maybe someone could teach me that spell I'd seen Eddie using to keep himself dry. I wasn't particularly looking forward to heading out into that downpour unprotected.

Thankfully, Trebonius was nowhere near when I stuck my head around the door. Instead, an Altmer with her nose in a book was manning (merring?) the desk at the entrance. Sirilonwe, as it turned out she was called, was quite friendly despite my interrupting her reading, and very understanding of my desire to keep both eyes out for a certain Archmage. She even showed me a space behind a large, overgrown potted plant in the corner that she said was easy to flee to at a moment's notice and meant you were effectively invisible to, say, a certain senior mage who might poke their head in from the main hall. Testing this, I noted the cushion on the ground and the well-thumbed book, presumably for those occasions where Trebonius decided to stick around for a little longer.

After considering what life as a native guild member here must be like, I found myself suddenly, inordinately glad that I'd attached myself to the Balmora guild.

Once I was satisfied with the safety measures Sirilonwe taught me the "Rainshield" spell for fifteen drakes, which was less than I'd been expecting. According to her, it was such a popular spell that it had been made as simple as possible. It was definitely very easy to learn - after my experience trying to understand Almsivi Intervention I'd been worried I'd humiliate myself again, but I got the spell on my second try. Maybe I should look into Alteration spells? The only other one I knew was a water walking spell, and I thought I was quite good with it.

When I asked, she gave me directions to Jobasha's - or rather, she tried. Despite my best attempts at listening my concentration failed after she reached the sixth corner, and judging by the length of time she continued talking after that I'd probably be better served looking for it on my own. She also gave me a warning, one which would have been very useful to have heard ten minutes ago. "Be careful with the Ordinators - the guards here, the one wearing masklike helms. They don't like outlanders and they make that very obvious indeed. It's best just to keep your head down and steer clear." Master Grumpy was a guard? Who in their right minds would hire him as law enforcement? More to the point, his attitude was typical? Time to be on my very best behaviour.

I stopped myself from telling Sirilonwe I'd managed to figure the bit about Ordinators out on my own, thanked her and made my way back outside before my luck in the realm of Trebonius-avoiding ran out.

This time, I left the plaza through the other set of double doors, giving all of Master Grumpy's friends a wide berth along the way. I made my way to the end of the overhanging roof, where I closed my eyes and focused on drawing a thin stream of my magicka out of my body... out... into a shell around me... and make it stay-

The magicka I was holding twisted, then cut itself off from my grasp as the spell snapped into place. I opened my eyes to look at the faintly glowing purple bubble surrounding me, then took a few careful steps out from under the roof.

Water hissed against my shield, each drop launching a ferocious attack with all its power only to beat fruitlessly against the spell and finally drip to the ground in ignominous defeat. I grinned. I was Adryn, vanquisher of rain! No mere jumped-up mist could defeat me! No spell was too difficult to learn! No weather, no carnival escapee guards, nothing could keep me from Jobasha's now!

I set off into the rain.

*****

Notes: Back when I was trying to work out Adryn's various skill levels, I said it was hard to describe her Speechcraft skill purely through in-game mechanics - the closest I came was that it was a little as if her Speechcraft was very high but she hit "Taunt" instead of "Persuade" by accident around a third of the time.

Her interaction with Master Grumpy is an example of her hitting Taunt.

Also, now that Adryn has met her first Ordinator and been treated to the full "we're watching you... scum" Vivec experience, I feel the need to link this wonderful fanart I stumbled across: Ordinator and little Dunmer

Next

This post has been edited by Kazaera: Jul 3 2013, 03:21 PM

"We're watching you, sssscuuuummm!"

A phrase I've become all too familiar with, as the majority of the character's I've played have rarely been anything but members of factions that don't get along with the Temple too much.

Interesting notion of having a simple shield spell in place of an umbrella, they don't have any in any of the Vanilla Games as I recall. It does however bring to mind a mod by user "Pluto" called 'The Sable Dragon' a bit of time ago in 2009 I believe, in which a character has you go fetch an umbrella for them.

While humorous, her reaction of successfully casting spell is all too reminiscent of the Morrowind success/fail version of spellcasting.

"Hmm. Angry Nord I've hit with three arrows so far, is coming straight for me with a huge battle axe. Being that I am aware of their 100% resistance to frost in Morrowind, I'll just bust out with the ol' 'firebite' spell that I have an 87% chance of casting and make short work of that yellow bar!"

*Cast* *Fail* *Wah-wah-waaaaaAaah*

*Nord swings. Hits*

"And now, half my health is gone, and the hit was so strong I've collapsed to the floor..."

*Nord swings once more, taunting."

[Your last save game is "Quicksave" would you like to load it?]

"Well.......F--"

Why, oh why, did you not simply get a levitating ring, Black Hand? Nord with battle axe = good probability of victory by using the third dimension. In the paraphrased words of Gandalf, "Fly, you Fool!"

Well, Kaz, I can definitely say this brings back memories of my first trip to Vivec. Heck, first time I got there I spent so much time traveling around the Foreign Quarter I forgot there was the plaza and I started worrying that I had lost the Mages Guild transport back to Balmora. Not a fun ten minutes.

I'm glad to see that Adryn isn't doing anything to quickly ensure her imminent expulsion at the hands of Farce-Mage Tremblingbonius. Shor's lunar stones he annoys me. But I guess that's part of the deal. Still, the subtle demands for decorum in the good of the guild remain valid. Besides, there isn't any rule prohibiting a member from ducking into a hidden alcove created by tasteful interior design when the Farce-Mage approaches.

The Ordinators are, as always, a delicious treat that require pretty much no help in disliking.

Though there is one thing I'd like to point out to Adryn in her new weather-impervious spell casting self:

Ever hear of this garment called a cloak? It's great. Comes with a hood, pockets on the inside, and it can be enchanted. TO FLY!

Not having played the game, I didn’t know it was an Ordinator you were describing. As soon as Sirilonwe said that I started rolling, remembering our conversation about them, lol.

Also loved the seat cushion and well worn book hidden behind a potted plant, I see that spot getting a lot of use in there (and pictured several people racing each other to reach it first when the Arch Mage was coming, lol).

Another great chapter, I am loving this story!




This post has been edited by mALX: Jul 1 2013, 08:12 PM

@Black Hand - that brings back memories!

I sometimes play Redoran + Temple characters, and it's astonishing to discover that Ordinators can actually be not just polite but helpful. "Greetings, I am at your service," "How may I help you, citizen?" - you can help me by explaining exactly what species of alien bodysnatcher you are and whether you plan to conquer the whole of Nirn or just the Temple!

Also, the shield-spell-as-umbrella thing was one of my attempts at figuring out how magic would influence Tamrielic life outside of combat - since I figured that, people being people, there'd have been a lot of work into using it to make life easier and more comfortable. And for Jerric, Grits came up with the idea of having the 'umbrella' spell be an adapted waterwalking spell instead, something that made me go "man! I wish I'd thought of that!"

@Captain Hammer - I'm glad this is bringing back Vivec memories, and hope this next bit does so too! It was definitely taken directly from my experience first playing the game, lol. And am glad you liked my treatment of Trebonius...

Re: cloaks - but but cloaks can get wet! And they look much less impressive are much less comfortable than just keeping all the rain well away from you! The flying, mind you... that has potential. *g*

@mALX - yep, that's an Ordinator. This is... yeah, pretty much how you feel they think of you. (SCUM.) I'm glad you enjoyed!

Last installment, Adryn encountered her very first Ordinator, successfully avoided Trebonius, learned a new spell and set off to explore Vivec. Now, she's found herself met with some obstacles...

Chapter 7.4

*****

Some time later found me leaning against a wall in one of the so-called "Waistworks" with sore feet, mostly depleted magicka reserves, and decidedly lower spirits. Apparently, although no spell nor weather nor guards could defeat me, my own sense of direction (or rather, the lack thereof) was more than up to the task - especially combined with what I could only refer to as architectural sadism on the part of whoever had designed this place.

The building, or rather 'canton', we were in had several floors. The topmost was the plaza I'd already been in, all the others were a warren of narrow corridors and arched wooden doors hiding shops and housing. Everything was kept scrupulously clean, which also meant all of it looked exactly alike. Well, they could probably afford to pay an army of cleaners - they must save a fortune on vermin extermination. I imagined any rat that found its way here would immediately turn tail and run, squeaking the rodent equivalent of "too confusing! I'm going home!" all the while. The fact that people voluntarily lived here just goes to show that we can be remarkably stupid sometimes.

To make matters worse (why? They were bad enough already!), the floors were connected via a bewildering maze of stairs, ramps and the occasional ladder, half of which went outside for - as far as I could tell - the sole purpose of making certain the unfortunate newcomer spent as much time either getting drenched or expending their magicka to keep from getting drenched as possible. If people in Windhelm built this way, half the city would freeze to death in the winter!

I'd spent the last few hours repeatedly casting my rainshield spell as I wandered in circles, somehow finding myself more rather than less lost every time I ended up somewhere I'd already been. The only break I'd had came when I spotted a sign for an apocethary and promptly wandered in.

I'd ended up having a nice chat with Aurane Frernis, the owner. Although she was a Breton, she'd been born on Vvardenfell and didn't know much about ingredients from elsewhere other than the few that were imported. We worked out something of an information trade on that basis (one where I thought I'd come off better, since I doubted Aurane would have occasion to use Nordic barnacles anytime soon). Her shop seemed to be having a slow day, so I managed to pick up quite a few useful tidbits without interruption.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. In this case, the end had come while Aurane was talking about golden kanet. Thinking of the bouquet awaiting me back in the guild, I'd asked her to refrain from telling me about its alchemical uses - Ajira and I were looking forward to finding those out on our own, after all - but she knew a lot about where to find it.

"...grows widely in the Ascadian Isles and parts of Azura's Coast, but I prefer to get mine from the Sheogorad islands - they make for slightly stronger potions. That said, the varieties of gold kanet in the Ascadian Isles are quite heterogenous, and it's quite possible some of them are just as potent. There's one that grows near Bal Ur, called 'Roland's Tear', which I've been meaning to test for absolutely ages... come to think of it!" She brightened. I didn't. I had a horrible suspicion as to where this was going. "You could go collect some for me. It's really not very far from Vivec, I'd go if I could leave the shop alone that long. I'd reward you well."

For once, even the word "reward" didn't make me even remotely inclined to agree. Any possible daydreams of fat purses were ruthlessly strangled out of existence by the horrible memories of exactly what had happened the last time I'd gone on a harmless, easy trip to collect some gold kanet.

"No!" I yelped.

Noticing Aurane's unimpressed stare, I quickly followed that up with, "I mean, I would, but it's really far too dangerous and-"

"Oh, pish," Aurane waved her hand dismissively. I scowled at the gesture. Clearly, this was someone who had no idea of the horrors flower-picking entailed. "It's harmless. The flowers grow well away from the Daedric ruin, and people say the Dremora hardly ever stray from that-"

Daedric ruin?

Dremora?

Needless to say, at that point I'd quickly manufactured an urgent appointment I had to get to - so sorry, entirely forgot, absolutely no time to go battle Dremora for the sake of alchemical research today, perhaps you should inquire at the Fighter's Guild instead? And a few minutes later - and ever since - I'd been back in the corridors, the endless maze, the quite possibly a plane of Oblivion I'd accidentally wandered into (it would explain the Dremora.)

"-I feel sorry for him, but Shor knows it was impossible to make a decision in that environment-" That accent was decidedly familiar. I looked up.

Two Nord women were moving along the corridor at a brisk pace. A few hours ago, back when I was still young and innocent, I might have tried to follow them in the hopes of them going somewhere useful. Now, however, I knew better. Apparently all the natives could walk through walls. At least, this was the only explanation I had for the amount of times I'd tried to tag along with someone only to be standing alone in an empty corridor. Or there'd been the time outside where the mer had headed straight for the parapet and then levitated up to the next level, leaving me gaping behind.

(Technically, I supposed, I could do the same for getting to the lower levels with my amulet. However, I hadn't reached the point of throwing myself off high places with only an untested magical artifact of dubious provenance between me and certain death. Not yet, at any rate.)

"Well, don't worry," the taller one was saying. "There are other enchanters. One wouldn't want to go to the Telvanni canton, true, but the Temple or the-"

Wait, there was an enchanter around here? Speaking of untested magical artifacts of dubious provenance, in particular the turning of such into shiny coins...

"Excuse me, did you say there's an enchanter's shop nearby?" I asked.

The one who'd just been speaking stopped, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Why, yes. It's-" I braced myself for a long list of bewildering directions culminating in 'walk through the nearest wall'- "just down this corridor. Go past this corner and then head straight, you can't miss it."

"Really? Thanks so much!" I beamed at the first comprehensible directions I'd heard all day.

"But wait, there's-" I was too busy rushing down the corridor to make out the rest.

Indeed, a bit further along there was the same sort of sign made out of cloth I'd seen outside all the shops here hanging against a wall, with a symbol denoting what it sold along with the same spelled out in Daedric letters. I couldn't see what was on it, however, as a Breton had decided this was the perfect spot to lean against and take a break.

Well, he wasn't an Ordinator, and the Nords had been friendly enough...

"Excuse me, is this the enchanter's?"

The Breton leapt away from the wall with alacrity. "Fair lady! Flower of Morrowind!" He swept into an extravagant bow that put me dreadfully in mind of Eddie. On the bright side, it meant I could finally see what was on the sign - yes, written below a symbol I didn't recognise was 'Miun-Gei, accredited enchanter. Will buy and sell enchanted items and scrolls, custom work available'. Someone had pinned a piece of parchment next to that. It read, 'Soul gems not supplied. Customers must bring filled soul gem for commissions. No exceptions.'

"Can you find it in your generous heart to spare a coin for a struggling actor?" The Breton finally came out of his bow, cap in hand. I groaned at the sight. It must have been on the ground in front of him - if I'd spotted it, I would have tried to sneak past.

"No," I answered him flatly.

He gasped dramatically, clutching the front of his shirt. "Ai! You wound me, fair maiden! Those harsh words - like a dagger through my heart! Yet I am sure that buried beneath such a stern countenance lies a gentle soul-"

Yes, this was definitely Eddie the Second. Except this time I found myself sadly devoid of allies, scout and silt-strider alike.

"-as fair and kind as Inzoliah, and I her most devoted servant Malvasian-"

Wait a minute.

"Inzoliah and Malvasian? Didn't they try to kill each other over money?"

The man's eyes lit up. "Ah! A connoisseur! A patron of the fine arts!"

Did he just say patron of the fine arts? If knowing basic character and plot details of one of Tamriel's most popular plays counted as such, the state of theatre must be much worse than I'd thought.

"No, I just haven't been living under a rock," I snapped.

Not-Eddie ignored me. "Surely one so cultured, so sophisticated as you will be able to understand my artistic vision! Theatre troupes throughout Tamriel perform A Hypothetical Treachery as a black comedy. Pah, I say to that! That idea is bland as barley soup, outdated as the plays of Baloth-Kul. What if one were to perform it as a tragic romance - Inzoliah and Malvasian the star-crossed lovers, kept apart by cruel fate! I am sure it would receive great acclaim..." His shoulders slumped. "If only I could find a troupe willing to attempt it..."

He appeared quite distracted with his misfortuntes. I approved. It gave me the chance to make an unnoticed escape into the enchanter's shop.

*****

Notes: I have to admit Adryn's experience trying to navigate Vivec for the first time is pretty directly taken from my own. It took me HOURS to figure out how to get to the lowest part of the Foreign Quarter canton without levitation. Add that to the fact that I'm trying to scale Adryn's world appropriately (i.e.: there are in fact more than fifty people in the Foreign Quarter canton) and she was doomed from the start.

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This post has been edited by Kazaera: May 16 2020, 02:41 PM

Forgive me for not posting sooner.

Though I've never played Morrowind, I quite enjoyed Adryn's encounter with her first Ordinator. I'm surprised she managed to bite her tongue in half!

Then exploring Vivec and trying to make sense of it. It cracked me up! I loved it - reminded me of Sante Fe and Taos where the streets run every which way with no sense of rhyme or rhythm. Downtown St. Paul is similar, due to the fact that it is built in a hole in the ground (with a river running through it). My brother always said St. Paul was built by drunken Irish. So maybe Vivec was built by drunken Ordinators?

@haute - Thank you! Adryn is showing an unprecedented ability to keep her mouth shut so far although her attempt at actual diplomacy did backfire. I think so far it's mostly been surprise that's kept her from letting her mouth get her into trouble...

Re: getting lost - lol, I might actually have the opposite problem! I'm European and tend to find cities built on a grid system immensely confusing. Give me one with nice curvy roads so that I can actually tell them apart any day! And drunken Ordinators are definitely a potential explanation here, I'd say. Or possibly Vivec (the god's) sense of humour.

Last installment, Adryn discovered that finding her way around Vivec was rather more difficult than she'd been expecting. She did manage to find an enchanter's shop, although she was accosted by an actor at the entrance.

Chapter 7.5

*****

I shut the door behind me with a sigh of relief at having a barrier of solid wood between me and Eddie the Younger, then looked around.

The small room was crammed. Next to stacked crates were shelves which were laden with all sorts of objects, from a long spear to a child's tunic to a stack of scrolls in one corner. The one thing they had in common was that they all gleamed with magic. The light combined with that of the numerous magical lamps of all shapes and colours to make me squint and wonder whether migraines were an occupational hazard for enchanters.

If they were, it might explain this enchanter's appearance. Behind a wooden desk stood an Argonian who looked distinctly frazzled. I should admit at this point that I didn't know many Argonians and their body language was notoriously different from that of the warm-blooded races, so that estimation should probably be taken with a grain of salt. All the same, I'd never seen one with such a drooping head-frill before, and I guessed the fact that his scales were pearly blue on most of his body meant that the ones on his face should not be that unhealthy-looking pale grey colour. To say nothing of the way his beard-tendrils kept curling and uncurling.

"Er, hello?" I tried.

He jumped and stared at me for a moment, then collected himself. "A customer! My apologies, my apologies. I am Miun-Gei, enchanter. My specialisation lies in magical lighting," well, that explained the headache-inducing surroundings, "but I have a large variety of items available in other areas as well. What brings you to my shop?"

"I'd like to sell this amulet," I said, undoing the clasp at the back of my neck and handing it to him.

"Ah! Give it here- yes, yes-" Miun-Gei lifted the amulet up and inspected it closely. "A Slowfall enchantment, yes? Nicely done, anchored tightly into the stone - emerald, a good choice for such work. Now, as for the faceting-" He hummed slightly, reaching for a magnifying lens on the desk. I had to smile when I realised that his frill was perking up as he talked - talked to himself, really; he seemed to have entirely forgotten I was there in his enthusiasm.

"O noble sir! Spare a coin for a struggling actor?"

Eddie II's voice barreled through the door and shattered the companionable atmosphere like an angry kagouti. Miun-Gei dropped the lens, which fell back onto the desk with a loud clunk.

"Oh, curse that buffoon," he muttered, one hand reaching up to tug repeatedly at one of his head-spikes as if for comfort. Then he shot a glance at me and let the hand fall. "Many apologies, honoured customer. Please do not mind these- minor interruptions-"

"Don't worry, I tangled with that man on the way in," I said sympathetically. "Take your time."

"Take your time, yes..." Miun-Gei repeated absently, attention once more fixed on the necklace. "A Slowfall enchantment. Quite strong, with a very large reservoir of magicka - no rat's or nix-hound's soul went into the making of this. Dreugh, perhaps? Or a scamp? Let us see..."

He muttered several arcane-sounding syllables, causing sparkling white light to grow around his free hand as I watched in fascination. I'd known that there was a spell which enchanters used to discern the exact details of an enchanted item, but this was the first time I'd ever seen it in action.

"They say ♫ the Iliac Bay ♫ is the place to barrel around ♫ without a bit of apparel on-"

Sweet Stendarr's mercy, now the man was singing.

The spell fizzled with a pop. For a moment, the spines of Miun-Gei's frill shifted forward into what I recognised as a threat position, his lips peeling back to reveal a row of very sharp teeth as he hissed. Then he relaxed with what looked like a major effort of will.

"No matter, no matter! Miun-Gei shall try again!"

Miun-Gei closed his eyes in concentration, cupping the amulet in one hand-

I cringed, instinctively raising my hands to cover my ears, as the unmistakeable sound of a shawm penetrated the door. A badly-played shawm, at that. I hadn't spotted the instrument among the actor's possessions on my way in. I'd have to see if I could when I left, because I was relatively certain that using my Firebite spell on it would qualify as a civic duty.

Miun-Gei stood still as a statue for a moment as his second spell fizzled. Then he let the amulet fall onto the desk and dropped his head in his hands. I'd heard that Argonians lacked tear ducts and couldn't cry, but judging by the sounds he was making they could at least manage a very good impression.

"Um," I said hesitantly. "Are you all right?" I'd known people who could work through the sound of a Nord wedding, but I'd always been the opposite - noise my friends could happily ignore left me flinching and covering my ears. It looked as though Miun-Gei was the same.

"No," Miun-Gei said, voice muffled. "Miun-Gei is not all right. Miun-Gei has not been able to make a single sale since yesterday because of that, that buffoon. It decided in front of Miun-Gei's shop is the perfect place to set up and 'show off' her 'acting skills'. And now Miun-Gei cannot focus long enough to inspect new items, to give customers an overview of its wares, to barter."

I took a moment to parse that speech. Apparently Miun-Gei had the ever-so-slightly idiosyncratic approach to gendered pronouns that you sometimes heard among his race, the one that made me seriously wonder about the Argonian life-cycle.

"Have you tried talking to law enforcement?" I suggested, trying to take my mind off certain possibilities involving egg-laying which I really didn't want to think about in too much detail.

"The Ordinators? They came and said it was a 'permissible' level of noise." Miun-Gei sounded gloomy. "I am not certain whether they allowed it because Miun-Gei is an outlander and they do not care about outlanders, or because the noise is really not that bad. Miun-Gei is... it overreacts, sometimes." That last was said in a sing-song tone that made me think the Argonian was repeating something he'd been told. I felt a sudden burst of sympathy.

Miun-Gei raised his head, although he didn't meet my eyes. "Many apologies, honoured customer. One way or the other Miun-Gei will not be able to trade today, she fears."

"I understand," I said. "It really sounds as if you need to take a break - somewhere quiet - for a bit. Is there anything I can do to help?"

I snapped my mouth shut, but the traitorous words had already escaped. See, this is what happens when you indulge in sympathy for other people - outbreaks of altruism. Worse, Miun-Gei was visibly brightening. Apparently he had something in mind and hadn't noticed my recoil.

"The buffoon is looking for work in theatre, he says. He believes besieging my shop will find it a troupe. Thus, if an employer is found, it will leave and Miun-Gei will be able to do business again. Miun-Gei would be very, very grateful if the honoured customer looked for someone who wishes to hire an actor. If this succeeds and the buffoon leaves, there would be a reward."

Well, that wasn't as bad as I'd been expecting. The magical word "reward" had been spoken - although I really did plan not to let that override my common sense again - and it wasn't as if asking around would be difficult. Except... "I'd love to help, really," I said, exaggerating somewhat, "but I'm getting lost every time I turn around. I can't find anything, let alone someone hiring actors, in this maze you call a city."

"Oh, of course, you are new here." Miun-Gei winced as the shawm struck a particularly flat note, then continued gamely. "Miun-Gei has not lived here that long either, but he learned an easy trick for getting around. It is this: when you need to go up or down a level, use the ramps on the outside of the cantons. Only go inside to search once you are on the right level. It is much less confusing that way."

I blinked. With the rain, I'd tried to stay inside as much as possible. I hadn't considered that this might be adding to my difficulties.

"Thank you! I'll-"

A particularly loud blast of 'music' from outside had both of us cringing. Miun-Gei gave the door a desperate look. I decided that curtailing the usual farewell pleasantries was allowable in certain situations and this was definitely one of them.

A short time later, I'd managed to shake off Eddie's long-lost twin again and stood outside. Although the clouds still hung thick and grey overhead, the rain had finally stopped - luckily so, as I wasn't feeling up to casting the rainshield spell many more times. My magicka reserves were feeling rather low, and the last few hours had been so full of stress, more stress, and running around that the rate at which I was recovering magicka could be more accurately summed up as 'not'.

Ingerte's face swam into my mind. She'd always said that she really didn't care if I hated my birthsign, trying to make myself into an Atronach-born by stunting my magicka regeneration through stress wasn't the answer-

My stomach growled, providing a very useful distraction. I looked down at it ruefully. Apparently I needed to find a nice quiet place to take a break for more reasons than refilling my magicka pool.

I just hoped that Miun-Gei's advice worked, or else I'd probably end up starving to death in the maze of corridors and having my corpse spat upon by Ordinators.

*****

Notes: The song Eddie starts singing is A Less Rude Song from the game. Somehow I suspect that he was singing something else when the Ordinators came round.

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This post has been edited by Kazaera: Jul 10 2013, 08:38 PM

I hear you! My character has the exact same problem!

Hilarious!

Loved the description of the Argonian's body language/facial language/spike expressions to show us his state of mind throughout the tale.