I get the sense that Summer Bolete is her favorite fungi. Green stain mushrooms are her least favorite, but she still eats these if she finds them. I've got Basic Primary Needs, so all of mine have to eat something, you know? I find it really neat that she's the only one who won't starve, no matter how remote she is, because she's constantly surrounded by nasty stuff she can scarf down.



Turdas, Evening Star 20, Year 434

"What?"

"Well hello, Selena."

Snaat Rayag the dark elf skooma dealer had strolled calmly into camp, hoping no problems would occur with the guards who were so persistently present in Kvatch's lower-hill encampment. He could never be too sure. Had somebody seen him mount a horse which wasn't his? Had he pissed off the wrong person by attempting to ply his trade where it wasn't welcome? Such things were constantly on his mind, right after any sort of profits he might obtain.

"I'm afraid I have some rather unpleasant news for you."

"Go on."

He was now down to ten bottles of skooma, down from his original twenty, not that this was any sort of problem. Finding honest citizens who'd buy his bottles was a challenge, but any time he found himself within a lair full of bandits, he'd have some guaranteed sale, or sales, assuming some ruffian was not stupid enough to try to take him down. Such things had happened though. Such was the life of a man who walked around with lots of possible gold in his pockets.

"Your ... uh ... friend. Or partner. However you'd like to put it. He apparently became infected with porphyric hemophilia. In short, he became a vampire, and lived just on the other side of this hill, with other vampires."

"Serves him right for deserting me."

"Indeed."

"But now I have no-one to take care of business for me. I never was a good negotiator. I'd happily give it away to someone deserving."

"Ahh, you must have forgotten my little proposition, eh? I know of a place, not far from here, down by Anvil as a fact of matter, that you can relocate to. You'd have all the benefits a woman of leisure should partake of: food, wine, men, even ... a little of this, perhaps," he says, showing Selena what was left of his stash. "There's an Argonian who has a sort of vision who lives at the cottage near Anvil. Her name is Tsarrina. What say you?"

"Now a proper brothel would be just what I need. And you recommend Tsarrina as a competent madam? I think I'll like it there!"

"Well then. Let us get going, eh? And oh, here is some gooooold to start things off."

"I appreciate the gesture."

And there's the story of how Snaaty managed to convince his first lady, one who had been stranded, poor, and desperate, that she could have a better life.

This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 6 2015, 02:36 AM

A brothel for Snaaty? I dare say, these updates just got PG18


--------------------------------------------

Reports from the Dunmer in Shivering Isles

After the last visit he said he would never come back to the Isles and for a long time he upheld that promise. But something happened this year. He knew he had unfinished business there and he felt they could no longer continue to be that way. Something had to be done.

So the Nordic Dunmer returned, and for days he has been re-exploring, collecting, fighting and helping people in the Isles in various ways. For example, Mirili Ulven has finally gotten her Elytra. About time it was, she´s been standing by the Gate on the cyrodiilic side for quite some time now, waiting for the fellow Dunmer to return and help her as he had agreed to.

After that he saw to his other businesses. He had found more Amber and Madness Ore to add to his collection, and he also had ten pieces of Heretics and Zealots clothing, both robes and hoods. Not to mention various interesting clutter, all of which were be added to the Shivering Isles cupboard in his Bravil home.

But something was wrong... If all that were done, why was he still there? What else did he have to do? What more did he need to search for? The only answer he came up with was.... nothing. Nothing at all. He had no more reason to stay there, so why did he? Why was he still there when all his businesses were taken cared of? Did the Isles try to keep him, making him yet another deranged citizen who would roam around without a shred of common sense left..? That thought alone was enough.

Night was falling steadily and the sky was clouding up, but his mind was made up; he must return to Cyrodiil! He went from where he had found himself, in Crucible, up through Bliss and out through its gates. From there he took an immediate left and after reaching the Hills of Suicide he went straight south, following the narrow road. He then came upon the big road and followed it all the way back to the gates to Passwall. No time to spare, he had to get out!

He made a brief stop at the Wastrel´s Purse but the proprietress had nothing of interest to sell, and so with the nightly sky clearing up, revealing its wonderful colours yet again, Lothran made his way to the glowing gate and his ticket back.


There was the now familiar flashing light and he felt his body being pulled through and before he knew it he found himself on the other side, and he could yet again look upon the beautiful land that had become his home; Cyrodiil. The colours of the sky were gone, but he could not think of a more beautiful sky; all was quiet and the only things up there were the stars.

He made his way down the small footpath and when he reached the Niben Bay´s clear water he took off his shoes, cast a water walking spell on himself and started walking across it towards Bravil. He never stopped once, he couldn´t afford it until he was back behind the walls and inside his comfortable home.

After closing the door behind him he sat down on the chair next to the fireplace and finally he could breathe deeply again and relax for the first time in awhile.

The Nordic Dunmer was home in Cyrodiil again, and the Shivering Isles had to do without him. Lothran would not become a permanent resident there. Not now, not ever.

This post has been edited by mirocu: Sep 7 2015, 03:33 PM

Renee – Congrats to Lady Saga! Buffy stuck her second statue in a chest in her apartment and forgot it's there. She found and turned in the rest but silly elf keeps searching for the forgotten one and I find it too amusing to whisper to her where it is. Ahah! I see someone has perhaps installed some ghastley goodness to the Anvil area! Snaat Rayag the pimp?

Mirocu – Glad that Lothran returned from the Isles before it claimed his sanity. It is a wonderful place to visit – but only for a visit. Besides, it won't be long before an autumnal nip is felt in the air and the snowsong of Bruma calls him north for the winter.

Renee, sounds like the Snaat Rayag is off to a good start with his brothel, and Selena is off to the house of great views and crimson draperies. Belated congrats to Saga on completing the collection! I can’t blame her for saving the green stain shrooms for last. ‘What shall I nibble upon this evening? I know, something that’s called Stain…’

Mirocu, like Acadian said, how nice that the Nordic Dunmer returned to Cyrodiil in time for his seasonal migration.

Acadian, any mention of dear Buffy warms the heart. I know another blond who will probably never see all ten together, because one has been forgotten in plain sight.




This post has been edited by Grits: Sep 7 2015, 04:37 PM

Maxical actually turned in all 10 statues, but after Umbacano was entombed in Nenalata permanently, she ... er ... retrieved them, and all 10 are on display in her Skingrad home now, lol.

Thanks for your kind words, guys


It´s always the same when Lothran is in the Isles; suddenly an overwhelming urge to get back home flushes over him and without further ado he rushes back home again.

Still need to sort out all his new souvenirs, though..

That's an unusually long story about Lothran. I enjoyed reading about his return to the Isles but also about his urge to return to Cyrodiil. It's good to have him back.

@Renee - and so begins Snaaty's pimping career, this time for real. Got any pics of this wh...girl?

Wow... mirocu - I don't remember the last time I saw that long of a Lothran story.

I admit that I sort of saw the ending coming

--------------

So I've been playing enough again lately to make an update worthwhile. I spent a bit of time with a few characters - mostly Rydri and Belladonna, and Cressida for a bit (she's almost retired at this point). Lately though, I've been spending a fair bit of time with Elenin the Altmer.

For those who don't remember - here she is outside of (Open Cities Reborn) Leyawiin.

She's the Altmer I created a while back and immediately loved. She has the basic quality that I look for in all my characters - an interesting and expressive face. I just looked at her and knew that she had a deep and complex life, and that's exactly what I want in a character. Then it's just a matter of figuring out what that depth and complexity consist of, and that's honestly most of why I play this game at this point. I never do backstories or anything like that - all of my enjoyment comes from just getting to know characters - piecing together their personalities just like I piece together the personalities of the real people I know - one little revelation at a time.

She's sad. That's the first and most notable thing that struck me. She just has this very deep and haunting sense of grief about her - particularly in her eyes. She lost someone close to her - family possibly, but more likely a lover. And he was the owner of that enormous claymore strapped to her back - it's not the sort of thing she'd otherwise carry. She does use it a bit, when she's pressed, but she much prefers magic - mostly destruction offensively, but a bit of everything really. She really isn't very good with the sword, and seems to be sort of intimidated by it. When she does use it, she mostly just flails around with it - it's big enough and heavy enough that pretty much all she has to do is connect with it, and she can mostly manage to do that sooner or later. I keep wondering if she's going to invest some effort into actually getting skilled with it, but she doesn't seem all that interested. She just likes to have it with her. It's an important link to her past.

She's tremendously nice, but a bit reserved. In fact, she's the first character I've played who turned down Arnora (the woman in Bruma who wants help recovering stolen gold). That option's always been there, but for one reason or another, the rest of my characters have always been at least somewhat willing to at least hear her out, and then they end up sucked into the scheme. But the whole thing just didn't sit right with her, and she walked away.

She doesn't know it yet, but she's going to become a paladin. That came to me early on, and I've had Pimpskinny's awesome Paladin Mod? installed on her game pretty much from the beginning. It hasn't kicked off yet though, since it starts after the end of the Order of the Virtuous Blood, and she's been out doing the mages guild recommendations. She just finished them up though - Leyawiin was the last - and I left her last night as she was making her way back to the IC to check in at the AU.

As you can see in the picture, she wears a robe - currently the 5% tan Robe of Deflection. She started out in a robe, but she got interested in armor fairly early on and tried some out for a while, but it just didn't suit her and she's gone back to a robe. When she gets access to the AU, I'm going to mod in a better robe for her. Since she's an Altmer, she could use some elemental resistance, and I reject the gameplay limitation of one enchantment per defensive item - she has the skills to put multiple enchantments on weapons, therefore she has the skills to put multiple enchantments on clothing. That I have to actually do it in the CS is just a bit of trivia. I'm thinking, to mirror the limits of her current skills, she'll end up with petty-soul versions of fire, frost and shock shield, which should help her out a bit without being overpowered. As the game goes on and she gets access to better souls, she'll upgrade the robe (I do the same thing with weapons whenever I play a character, like her, who uses the same weapon all the way through - in-universe, they're upgrading their own enchantments, but in reality, I just periodically replace the old version with a new one).

So with all that, what I've gotten so far is that she has some terrible tragedy in her past - likely the death of a lover who was the previous owner of that sword. She's very kind but withdrawn. It's likely that the tragedy involved the undead somehow, and that's going to figure heavily in things when her paladin destiny is revealed. She's a very skillful mage already, and is only going to get more so. I still don't know if she's going to actually get any good with that sword, but she's likely going to keep carrying it anyway. She likes books. She has a lot of sympathy for people in trouble and an immediate aversion to aggressive or rude people. She's really liked a few of the people she's met in the mages guild so far - especially Ardaline and Agata. And every time I look at her, I'm struck by how beautiful she is, which I find particularly noteworthy for an Oblivion Altmer.

I'll try to put together an actual story for the next one.

Ok guys, I´m sorry. Geez


Yeah, I´m not that good when it comes to twist endings

gpster: Yes she does look kinda sad, sort of mournful. But she also looks bright and focused. I know what you mean about getting attached to our creations.

Whoa, there's a paladin mod for TES4?



Long? I'll show you long!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lady Saga

Morndas, Frostfall 4, 4E5

Level: 14
Class: Ranger
Playtime: 506 hours, 23 minutes, 6 seconds (yea, I just included seconds).

Days Passed: 434
Gold in Bank: 18,532


"You ... you are the one. The lady who made sending of that mysteriously scribed parchment I received in Pell's Gate?"

"So you are the best vampire slayer of the Order? I expected you to be... Well, it doesn't matter, really. I hope you can help me? I'm Kendrel Vando."

"I am Aerin, from Valenwood. Pleased to have making of your acquaintance. Well, I am not of surety that my slayings against vampires are 'the best', as you have mention. But I could indeed find desirings to make assistance."

"I'm the daughter of Ano Vando. I think you've heard of him, he's the best vampire hunter in all of Tamriel. No offense."

"Offense? Bah. 'Tis not as though there is some sort of contestments about."

"I'm his armorer and his squire, and I came along with him from Morrowind, following the trail of this weird bunch of vampires. Weirder than average."

"Weird? In what manner?"

"These vampires are not like the others, they aren't all about blood or feeding," answers the dark elf. "They want to change the way the world is, and not in a good way... So, my father demanded that I stay here until he finished this, because he thinks they are too much of a threat to risk taking me along, and now I know that if I went looking for him by myself, he would be mad at me. And there's nothing I fear more than my father's anger."

The Bosmer from Valenwood, who had been living on and off here in Cyrodiil, waits for Kendrel the Dunmer to continue.

"So I hoped you could help him out? If they are so dangerous, maybe my father couldn't handle them either. Would you help us?"

"Of surety, this shall be so."

"Not much of a talk-y person, are you? Well, I'm glad you will help me. I'm more concerned than I've ever been."

And she sure is a blabb-y one, thinks Saga.

"Even my father never looked so worried! Father told me to stay put and lay low until he gets back, but he's been gone .... He told me he would write as soon as he got to Skingrad. But that should be been quite awhile ago....He told me that if something happened to him, I should contact your Order and get in touch with you."

"And indeed, you have done so."

"He's not dealing with run-of-the-mill vampires, and he doesn't know the land very well, nor do I. He'll be at my family's manor..."

"Which is where?" Saga asks, feeling impatient to throw herself into the bed she had just rented, here at the Tiber Septim. She'd spent the day dealing with baddies in Homestead, dealing with baddies on the road to Weye, and now wanted nothing more than to just sleep sleep sleep....

"I'll write down directions for you and perhaps you could find him there. When you do, please write to me as soon as you can."

[YAWN] Apologies. Much rest I have need of. But yes, this is so. This shall be so, that I shall make promisings to scribe in return, Kend--"

"Now please go, before I talk your ears off."

"Be seeing you, Kendrel. And nice making your acquaintance," Saga says, almost literally ready to fall dead-asleep right there on the floor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Non-roleplay version: Lady Saga was planning on leaving Cyrodiil again, but apparently she's just accepted some cool-sounding vampire quests. The above dialog comes from the Vampire Hunting -- Order of Virtuous Blood? mod.

This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 11 2015, 01:03 AM

More it's that no matter what else Lothran does, the one thing we can be certain he'll do in the end is go home.

Lady Saga - The vampire slayer


Yes, that is indeed true

How cute she is!

I just noticed that scamp stalking her. I hope it's one she summoned!

What's the orange bar measuring? Does she need more juice?

And she has the Empire Greatsword! Persephone is using that in Oblivion as well.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Sep 11 2015, 08:07 PM

@mALX - I think so too.

@ghastley - Sharp eyes. I didn't even notice the scamp.

The shot was taken just before she went into Darkfathom Cave - that's an Everscamp. And the orange bar is for encumbrance - it's from HUD Status Bars?. It's set to fill up as her inventory fills up, so when it's full, she can't carry any more.

And as long as I'm here, but only briefly since I still don't have material for an actual story - Elenin got into the AU, got her staff, made a bunch of new spells (shock/fire/frost on touch, shock/fire/frost on target, frost/shock AOE and turn undead/fire) and bought the waterfront shack. As I hoped, when she was moving stuff from the sacks she'd been using in the Market District to the waterfront, she was stopped in the Temple district by Ralsa Norvalo and ended up doing the Order of the Virtuous Blood, the completion of which triggered the Paladin mod. So she's now gotten the first hint of her destiny and the real meat of her story is going to start.

When she found out she could (and should) free the souls of the undead, she first went back to Memorial cave and redeemed all of the undead and vampires she had just fought. That pleased her, which is exactly what I was hoping - she's probably the most melancholy character I've played, and it was nice to see her feeling more positive. I wasn't quite sure what she'd want to do next though, so I left her parked just outside the door of Memorial cave.

Here is a song for Elenin, one I think she shares with Persephone.

I never tried to bring you pain
It's the nature of this game
But you know it won't be long
And I see you can be strong
One day it will work out fine
You just need to take the time
to remember those you left behind

Lothran took a stroll down to Leyawiin yesterday. The weather was all nice and dandy until he reached the gates of said town, then it began to pour. Not uncommon for these parts, though





Gamer´s note: All I did last night was just that; took Lothran out for a trip from Bravil to Leyawiin. And when I looked at the clock I had gamed for one and a half hour Sure there were a couple of fights on the way but that´s it. Remarkable yet not uncommon for most of us I´d say

Mirocu, glad Lothie enjoyed his walk. That sounds about right for me too. I have the time scale set so it takes generally all in-game day to travel from one city to the next. Unless there's a waterfall on the way. Or a dungeon. . . .

.... or a bandit camp, or a skooma lair ....

Yah, how time passes. What timescale do you use, mirocu? Off-topic, but I've been playing Sims 3 lately, and one of the things I"m missing in that game is the ability to slow time down. I've got Oblivion set to 10, while Sims 3 is more like 30 or even higher.