Strange how Lothran has never seen that "Snowdrift Manor" before...

That's awesome when he becomes "famous". It is interesting how the gameworld reflects what is going on as the Oblivion Crisis ensues. My memory's pretty awful, but this is bringing back some thoughts about my Grey Wizard doing the same quests.

Edit: you got me with "her". Yea I totally thought Oberon hooks up with the Countess. Yes, levitating is illegal in your game. Heh heh..............


2:24 am, First Seed 3, 3rd Era 434

Days Passed: 189

Active Quests: 21
Quests Cmptd: 10

Skill Increases: 201
Novice: 12
Apprentice: 8
Journeyman: 1
Expert: 0
Master: 0

Bounty: 750
Gold: 224



The Redguard crouches, and stays crouched for a long time. Thoughts pass quickly at first. His heart races, and his mind dashes from one to the next. But over the course of an hour or so, everything slows down. He becomes relaxed. He eventually stands, looking around the cabin he'd dashed into. It is unoccupied, and made of good country stone. A fire roars. A loaf of bread sits on a nearby table, looking as though it's bored. Some cheese is also nearby. Both of these objects aren't bored for much longer. Bread and cheese, the dinner of prowlers.

It takes some time before the Redguard thinks enough time has passed. The man who'd been chasing him must be gone by now, and he's taken his horse with him. Fokke. The Redguard had needed that horse. The Redguard thinks maybe a trip to Cheydinhal might be in order, to ... uh ... 'procure' a new horse. Cheydinhal had the best blacks in Cyrodiil after all; none were faster, and only the Chestnuts were stronger. Something like that. Can we be honest? Kahreem doesn't want to brave the Jeralls without a horse.

"I'd better go outside. He must be long-gone by now."

And indeed he is. The guard who'd been chasing the Redguard has taken his horse, too. Fokke. The Redguard sees a figure in the distance though. Initially he thinks it's another guard, or one of those Imperial forester guys. He crouches down, hoping the figure doesn't see him, but it's too late. The figure draws his bow, aims, and shoots, but by the time he does, Kahreem is already moving, moving past the manor and cabin he'd found, way up here. He runs and runs, upward, unsure if he's being followed. Finally, he crouches behind a rock, and waits a minute or so. Maybe the man won't follow.

"I'm just warming up, you pathetic worm!"

Nope, she does. A female, not a male. As soon as he hears her voice, he stands up, and grabs his club, looking forward to a fight

"I curse you and your mother and your mother's mother, too! ... May your roots be cursed, cretin!"

"Huuugh!"

The fight lasts a small eternity. She puts away her bow and grabs a daggar, making the Redguard chuckle. Of course she's going to lose, and the Redguard lets her know this. As she lays dying a few minutes later, she makes one last effort to dislodge the Redguard with her feet, but that ain't happening, of course. It feels as if an entire week goes by, and the Redguard doesn't want to put his hands upon her until it's over. When it finally is, he loots her person, and it saddened to find she has no lockpicks.

"Hmph. How do you expect to break into a manor home without lockpicks? Well I was here first. I get the loot, then."





5:40 am
Ah, the manor house. Quite an unexpected find, up here upon the Jerall foothills. Does anybody live here? Time to find out.

It's got a Cheydinhal style to it. The Redguard stands outside for a few minutes, watching the stars fade into blue, the way he'd done many times with his bandit buddies of the past. And eagle cries out. The stars become harder to decipher from the blue blanket over his head. Finally they're gone. Time to go inside.

He curses himself then. It might have been better to go inside this place at night, rather than checking to see if that horse was gone. If anybody's living inside, surely they'll be awake by the time he gets inside. He could wait an entire day, of course. The cabin he'd found was empty, after all. But what if somebody came back? And what if it was a mean somebody?

"Well, I'll go in the manor, but I'll run if whoever's inside is too tough. Because .. well, fokke."

7:21 am
He sneaks upon the place, preparing his lockpicks, but is surprised to find the door is unlocked.

"For the love of Azura, can't a man get a little privacy?" asks an orc, a well-dressed orc. Definitely not any sort threat to the Redguard. But why fight the man? He wasn't being attacked, after all.

"Apologies, orc. My name's Owyn. I'm a little lost. My .. ahh .... was tracking some deer, yeah. Lost my horse, lost my gear, and now I'm here."

"Go on."

"You haven't seen my horse now, have you? Was a bay, it was."

"I'm not listening to you. It's because I don't like you." *

"Oh, but you'll be sure to like me. I'm a hunter, as you can see. A hunter / supplier. Best meats, free and unspoiled, if you'll choose to start liking me."

"You're a big, fat liar!"

"Fat? You think I'm fat?"

"You can't scare me."

It takes several minutes, but slowly the orc warms to Owyn the hunter, and all his waffling banter. Which is good, because the Redguard needs an ally, up here above Cheydinhal. Two allies. The Redguard meets the orc's wife next, who also greets him coldly.

"I'M WAITING."

"I can provide some coin, if you'll allow me to stay in your cabin. It's unoccupied, and I need a place to ... uh ... tan my meats. Smoke and salt them. I'm a hunter, you know." Tan my meats?

"Oh, that's just the thing!" she answers. And it is. though Kahreem's manpurse falls 41 gold shorter, it'll be good to have a place to stay, for the next phase of his plan to attack the Jerall Mountains. But first, a horse. As he begins his descent toward Cheydinhal ... surprise! He finds somebody he did not expect.





This post has been edited by Renee: Jan 17 2016, 03:13 AM

It was hidden by all the snow drifted up around it...

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 17 2016, 01:52 AM

At first I thought that this is some insult which I've never heard before but when I read the part about cursing roots, I remembered where it's from.

I've heard that line "I'm not listening to you, it's because I don't like you" before but only in NPC-NPC conversations.

I think that the Orcish Lord talks normally outside of the related quest, that's why he didn't say anything funny.

Nice story and what a conclusion - his hooved beast is back!

@Renee - I have heard Ongar say that line many times. For some reason he´s grown grudges against some people at Olav´s.

@Acadian - most of the time Oberon's at least slightly intoxicated so chances are that juggling with sigil stones would end up with stones falling on his head.

@mirocu - "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

@Renee - Oberon's fame is growing up steadily but since I never increase his personality on leveling, he still gets a lot of ordinary comments.

--

X

Asked to find a Daedric artifact for Martin and too lazy to search for it somewhere far away, I traveled to the shrine of Namira, a distance east of Bruma, four bottles of the cheapest possible wine merrily jangling on Brandy’s saddle. I didn’t believe it would actually work but the leading worshipper of Namira, some ugly Nord whose name I forgot, told me that to gain Namira’s attention, I needed to become loathsome.

I put on quite a show in front of the statue, I wasn’t just drinking wine, I was literally pouring it down my throat, spitting and cursing all along but I was used to cursing anyway so that didn’t really contribute to loathsomeness. As I was about to throw up, I heard a voice…at first I thought that I’m hearing voices just in my head but it was her disgusting Ladyship of Namira that found me attractive enough to address me.

It was hard to follow her – one half of my mind wanted to throw up, the other one tried to get the meaning behind her words but both halves became aware of the situation when Namira mentioned that I was supposed to kill some priests of Arkay, not by myself, but to cast some magic on them that’ll attract her smelly followers which will finish off the priests. And I asked myself – that’s what it was all about? I just got almost dead drunk, spilled wine over my hair and over my fine chainmail cuirass, I was about to throw up, only that some foul Goddess would ask me to get rid of priests of Arkay?!?!?!?!?!

No, my dearest statue, I disagree. I enjoy drinking, I’m vulgar, I enjoy a good tavern brawl, I like to spit and I like to curse even more, I don’t have problems with stealing, I’ve slept with too many married women BUT when it comes to murdering someone innocent, find someone else to do your dirty work. So I did the opposite – I rode quickly, still drunk of course, almost falling from Brandy’s back on more than one occasion, to the Ayleid Ruin where Namira’s followers were lurking, basking in their filth and misery.

At first I tried to warn the priests of the imminent danger but they were deaf for my words like most priests are. Since Namira could easily find another “hero” for this task even if I left the priests alive, there was only one thing I could do – a gruesome task but it had to be done. Do I need to write what happened? Probably not but I will do it for the sake of slow ones out there. I killed Namira’s worshippers. I wrote above that I don’t resort to murdering but I found it justified, not that I care too much about what others think. Of course by doing this, I lost every chance to acquire a Daedric artifact for Martin but I slept soundly, convincing myself that I saved a few priests of Arkay. It’s been a few years since these events and for the time being I haven’t faced Namira’s wrath yet.

Huzzah!

I love Oberon's recounting of Namira's quest! Yes indeed - after you get drunk how are you supposed to remember what she wanted you to do?

Oh well, he'll have to find another artifact I guess.

I think it´s safe to say Lothran would quite possibly have followed in Oberon´s footsteps, provided he was ugly enough to be addressed by the goddess

Ha ha ha I can just picture some drunk showing up, guzzling wine. It always cracks me up how Oberon feels he has to tell his version of events, because others have gotten it wrong. I bet these others have written up some glowing account of a hero at work, something like this, you know?

... and then we can look at it the other way too. Maybe Oberon is exaggerating his account of events.

Lopov, how fun that Oberon’s ‘magic trick’ with the sigil stones led to the Pale Pass experience. Oberon had me thinking about the wrong ‘Her’ for a moment! Congrats to the new Lord of Snowdrift Manor. Ugh, what an unpleasant experience with Namira. I like that Oberon recounts his acts and usual behavior without apology. As he said, he slept well that night, even though his final “Huzzah!” seemed a bit ironic.

Renee, “Bread and cheese, the dinner of prowlers” made me laugh and snort. How true! It’s no wonder that the lordly orc didn’t get into his convoluted talk with all of Kahreem’s banter confounding him.

Thanks all, it feels good getting positive comments from you guys.

As you probably noticed, I no longer post stories every two-three days, I think it's better to post them once per week, not only to allow everyone to catch up on the stories but also because I felt like I spammed them too quickly one after another. And also because my life is busier than it was in December so I have less free time.

This post has been edited by Lopov: Jan 22 2016, 06:19 PM

It seems Oberon held about the same 'standards' as Buffy. No to Namira and Mephala. Yes to Azura and Vaermina. Hopefully, the Star will serve him well!

I like how he keeps talking about his ego, yet he sees himself as a "lowlife".

So, you've finally seen Bleaker's Way, eh? What did you think? I like how he warned them about Mephala too. Lariel is a bit of a rebel.

Is he going to actually do that? Get some allies for Bruma? ... I think my Grey Wizard kinda flaked on that part. He didn't go all over Cyrodiil. Maybe it's because I was gaming on PS3 back then, and I feared the dreaded A-bomb would strike if things took too long!

This post has been edited by Renee: Jan 27 2016, 12:08 AM

@Acadian - Azura's Star is most useful, especially since Oberon uses the Penance of Faithlessness, an enchanted Daedric sword which drains health and magicka. So filling the star with souls (mostly from Oblivion) makes sure that he doesn't run out of charges.

@Renee - it felt good visiting the Bleaker's Way for the first time. I liked it that all beds in the local inn were free. Not sure if Oberon will ever visit the place again but now I at least know how it looks like.

--

XII

I had my hands full of dealing with the Oblivion Crisis, so there wasn’t much time for enjoyment. Nonetheless, I still liked to drink ale or two on occasion and visit Dynari, whenever I was in the Imperial City.

Though I’ve been offered many fast horses, I preferred my old Cyrodiilic Brandy – he was slow but reliable and by now he was a master of killing Clannfears with his hoofs, a real hoofed beast, that's what he was. My cuirass was getting more protective with each Sigil Stone which offered magic resistance – piece by piece, I enchanted it all, making myself almost completely resistant to magic by the time I faced Mankar Camoran.

When first Oblivion gate opened outside Bruma, I led Captain Burd through Oblivion and back to teach him how to close the gate, in case more spawned around the town while I was away. By that time we already knew that the Great Gate will open outside Bruma at some point, so after I was sure that the town will be safe even if I’m not around, I was sent to secure allies for Bruma. The last thing which I wanted was for some Oblivion Gate to open at the top of my Snowdrift Manor!

Before I began my journey all across Cyrodiil, I retrieved armor of Tiber Septim (himself) from Sancre Tor. It was an interesting mission but I already thoroughly answered to all good and stupid questions in the book “Lifting the curse“, so I won’t repeat myself here. Just read that book if you’re so interested about what happened there.

The first town which agreed to help Bruma, was Chorrol, however its slightly senile Countess Arriana Valga was more interested in retrieving some dumb painting than in sending aid to the town in need. Nonetheless, when I closed the gate “threatening” to Chorrol, she agreed to send some men to help.

I briefly returned north to do some business as my alter ego, but afterwards I departed on a rather lengthy journey all across Cyrodiil.

--

“Now what is the alter ego supposed to mean?” Urag gro-Shub asked himself aloud.

“An alter ego is a projection…” a diligent young mage began his answer, hoping to impress the old Orc but Urag abruptly interrupted him. “I didn’t ask YOU!” he shouted at the mage, his deep voice echoing all over the College library.

“Oh…excuse me,” shyly said the student, then looked around himself if there were any other students around. “I thought…that you were asking me because you see…there’s nobody else in the library right now.”

“No, I did NOT ask you, and that’s all you need to know. I asked Oberon. Do you even know who he was?”

“Oh, I know,” said the student and nodded proudly. “He was the Champion of Cyrodiil, the one who defeated Mankar Camoran in his fortress Carac Agaialor in the so called Paradise. Despite everything what Thalmor are saying, they didn’t solve the crisis, they’re just...”

“Enough!” Urag nodded approvingly. “Perhaps there’s more to you than meets the eye. How about you do a little research, eh? Something like a homework?”

“Of course, I’d be honored.”

“Then you’ll help me decipher the meaning behind “Oberon’s alter ego”. I know there are several other books about him, though some are far from any truth, there might be a hint, or an even explanation somewhere. Fetch me any other books about the Champion of Cyrodiil you can find.”

“Alright…and where should I search for them?”

“WHERE? ANYWHERE! Go out there and explore! There are books scattered all over this province, be it Dwemer ruins, Falmer caves, abandoned forts. They’re everywhere!”

The student dutifully nodded and hastily left the library before another storm came from Urag’s mouth.

The old librarian closed the book and weighed it in his hands. “Hmm…what are you hiding from me, Lariel Oberon?”

This time there was no answer.

Awesome. Yes, I also wondered what he meant when he said "alter ego", that had me momentarily perplexed, and then Urag follows through with the same thoughts. Interesting.

It's really cool how Lariel's hooved beast is also helping along. I usually buff the stats of my hooved beasts by the way. I open the console to give them extra health, um ... I think it's setav health XXX. By default, they have somewhere around 250 hp, which doesn't seem enough to me since it's possible a humanoid can also have this much.

But as long as Lariel keeps his hooved beast from doing anything too risky, he should be okay, right?

Oh noes! Can't have a gate opening on top of Silverdrift Manor!

So Oberon and Brandy are off gathering allies. Neat.

I agree! I really liked this little 'pause' with Urag in another time and place.

Lopov, I think it was wise of Oberon to keep Azura’s artifact rather than offering it up to be destroyed. I’d much rather see anything of “Corruption” gone from the realm!

Oh my gosh, I love that Urag sent the Diligent Young Mage on a book quest!

Morndas, 2:34 pm, First Seed 4, 3rd Era 434

Play Time: 205:04:36

"What can this peaceful monk do for you, stranger?"

Kahreem of Weet smiles. "You can explain to me how you guys were able to see and kill two wolves, and ravage that imp, if you're supposed to be .. uh ... blind."

He had managed to find the Temple of the Ancestor Moth by luck. The hooved beast Kahreem had been traveling upon was quick up here in these Jeralls, but also noisy. It had attracted the attention of every menace within earshot. It was only after running around in circles for several hours that they'd managed to find the temple, and when they had, two white-robed priests had dropped whatever they were doing so they could help the Redguard who'd just shown up on his horse. The Redguard on the horse had *burst* upon their property, and since they were the only monks he'd seen, certainly these must be the ones he's to seeketh.

"I don't understand what you mean. We can see just fine."

"I see. Well my name is Rossgard. I'm a hunter. A hunter/trapper. Hunt by day, trap by night."

"Those who live by the commands of the Nine receive blessings of Strength when they visit the Wayshrines of Tiber Septim," says the moth priest.

"Excellent. You seem like a very pious man, are you not?"

"I'm Brother Hridi, and I'm a very pious man."

"Mm hmm. Can I ask you something? Would you like to buy some furs? I'm selling them half price during First Seed."

Brother Hridi stares at Rossgard the hunter/trapper, does not reply.

"No furs? Rabbits, rats, or raccoons? That's okay. Hey. You wouldn't happen to know anything about a certain stone. Savil-- Savala-- I forget its name. But in my gatherings this morning as a hunter/trapper awhile back, I heard rumor of some sort of magical stone up here, being looked over by some priests."

"I've never heard of it. Why do you ask?"

And there it is. The denial. Even a pious man like a priest was entitled to one. Nothing a little sweet talk and gold can't get around. "We serve the retired Moth Priests from the Imperial City. The work they do leads to progressive blindess." **

"I see. So you're not blind, as the rumors suggest, but some other priests around here happen to be."

"They live in utter darkness in the secret catacombs. Of course it doesn't affect them because they are blind."

"Darkness, eh?" Kahreem shudders. "Great."

"May you always wear soft silks," Brother Hridi dismisses.

"Yes..... sure. Because that's what hunter/trappers such as myself prefer to wear when we're not hunting or trapping. Well, let me have a look at your property here. Never know if there might be a good place to put down one of my traps. Excuse me."



Kahreem asks another nearby priest, but gets nowhere with his questionings. "Who is this Savilla? A former lover perhaas? I don't know anyone by that name." He also has no idea what Savilla's Stone is supposed to be. The priests have their own temple, of course, but the Redguard is dismayed to find it's locked with a three-tumbler. Fokke! .... There's no way he's going to pick its lock, now knowing that these monks are NOT blind.



But then, a third monk walks right out of the temple. This time, Kahreem spends some quality time with the man in deadly white robes. Boasting about all the furs he's sold, telling jokes, making up story after story.

"I doubt you really mean that."

But it works. For some reason, this monk, Brother Holger, offers up some information the others refused. "I really shouldn't be telling you this, but I know you are trustworthy."

"Yes, well of course I am. That rabbit was a giant, I tell you. Larger than any seen before. Size of a dog! ... And if I manage to trap it, you'll be able to tussle with a soiree of new, soft bedsheets."

"The blind moths in the catacombs guard the stone. It's said to have magical powers. Don't tell Hiridi I said anything. I could be banished for telling you."

"Pfft, banished. You? ... But you're such a pious nam. And uh you know, maybe I can have a look at these uh ... catacombs. Might be a great place to put down one of my indoor traps. You know .... for rats. Rats have nice fur, once you clean it up," Kahreem says, trying not to cringe.

"I can't reveal that. It would be far too dangerous. I don't know you that well."

But this is nothing another handful of gold can't take care of. Within no time, Brother Holger is smiling and confident. The priests up here were not exactly showered in gold. Rumors occasionally suggested that they lived in some sort of luxury, expensive windows and expensive carpets, and lots of gold. But these rumors were false.

"Okay, okay, I'll show you. But only because you are my dear friend. Follow me. Please be discreet. And don't bother the other monks."

"Of course not. And I'll make sure to lay my traps in strategic positions, by the way, lest one of those monks trips over one."

"May you always wear soft silks," answers Holger.

"Silk. That reminds me of the time me and my hunter friends saw this giant bear. Silkiest fur you ever saw, but its meat was rather tasty too..."



This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 7 2016, 03:21 AM

Hilarious, these have to be one of the funniest dialogues up to date in Kahreem's stories!

I laughed over all hunter- and silk-related comments.