Renee – I think it is fun that Kahreem knows both Dyan and Saga. And that he recognizes that his thieving expertise isn’t optimized inside a dungeon full of dudes with swords. Good thing that Kahreem is a fast runner.

Lopov – Great to see some words to go with your new woodster after your teaser screenies. Yup, hard to hide those big ears! Merry Hoppers indeed! Gosh, it didn’t take Manuin long to land in jail. Maybe the jailors know Kahreem?

Oh my gosh, Lopov, not one but two twists at the end! That was a lot of fun. I’m with Urag, “What a story!”

Renee, with Kahreem’s knowledge of Cyrodiil’s correctional facilities he could consult with Quill-Weave on her stories of outlaws and lowlifes. This update was full of that tense excitement of creeping through the dark, wondering how you’ll find your way back out. Neat to see Kahreem’s advanced sneak skill in action.

Lopov part 2, I love Manuin’s spirit. He sounds like he is going to be fun!

Thanks Grits!


Cool I was hoping somebody'd catch this! It's like he knows of them, and knows of their better adventuring skills, and feels like he'll never compare to them. And he doesn't!

Thanks for a warm welcome to Manuin!

Now let's see what was going on with him after being released...

__

Lovely Countess Alessia Caro enjoyed her evening strolls through Leyawiin under a watchful eye of her bodyguard. As befits a dutiful Countess, she first paid a visit to the chapel, then enjoyed a small talk with priest Avrus Adas about how the Emperor’s death is a thing to be worried about, afterwards it was to Mahei and Numeen’s house for a glass of Tamika’s – she didn’t really like Argonians but Mahei and Numeen were of noble birth and as such they were worthy of lovely Countess’ presence.

Ever since her visit to the chapel Alessia Caro had someone following her and not even watchful eyes of her bodyguard spotted him. Manuin, the Bosmer Acrobat, may have failed to steal from the Count’s private quarters but stealing from his lovely wife would be even more challenging, and as such, Manuin decided to empty the Countess of whatever she had in her pockets. As soon as she left Mahei and Numeen’s house, walking behind her watchful bodyguard, Manuin silently ran behind her and swiftly put his hands into her fine silk pockets. Before the Countess could even react, Manuin’s hands were already out of her pockets, holding more than just a few septims.

‘Much obliged, Countess’ whispered Manuin, bowed humbly and disappeared in shadows between upper class houses. ‘This should be enough not just for a bed at the Five Claws Lodge but for a supper as well,’ Manuin realized after counting his night yield – 25 septims. ‘Since my friends abandoned me and took my goodies, one has to make something for a living, right?’

Earlier this day, when Manuin was released from the prison, he made haste to the island east of Leyawiin but just as expected, the Unowned wasn’t there anymore. His accomplices sailed onwards without him. And while Manuin suspected that Jumps-To-The-Other-Side might wait for him, Flawless Felix definitely wouldn’t.
While feeling angry at first, Manuin by now thought that maybe it was for the best. He’s never been to Cyrodiil before and on the first glance, many houses were just waiting to be robbed. Besides, he already gained attraction of someone called the Gray Fox who wanted to meet him in the Imperial City. Manuin didn’t know who this individual is but he heard rumors about the guild of thieves operating in Cyrodiil.

He kept the Gray Fox’s note but he didn’t intend to rush to the Imperial City. As long as each noble’s pockets were as full as those of Alessia Caro, he could sleep and eat for free at the Five Claws Lodge for quite some time.

I see Manuin's jail time did not reform him. Indeed, he wasted no time getting intimate with Countess Lovely's silk pockets.

Manuin's still miles from reforming. As can be evident from what followed...

__

“Come quickly, we’ve got a burglar!”

“A burglar? Most certainly not, Sir. I’ve merely been inspecting your… fine armor. Handcrafted?”

But Jeetum-Ze, the Argonian battlemage of the Blackwood Company, certainly didn’t believe the grinning Wood Elf. Not a word. He spotted the visitor (as the Wood Elf called himself), with his hands in his pockets!
“I’ll be leaving now,” said Manuin, because the situation was getting difficult – all Blackwood members were slowly walking towards him. He hurried past them down the stairs and out of the guildhall. However, once outside, he grinned even more, when he looked at the brand new silver shortsword at his belt.

"Just call me Manuin, beauty,” he said after giving it a few swings.

An hour later Jeetum-Ze realized that someone replaced the silver shortsword in the hard-locked display case with a common steel dagger.

“Grrr…that Bosmer!”

__

“By Azura! Can’t a man have some privacy in his own house?!”

Tun-Zeeus didn’t like what he was seeing – some Wood Elf which lately appeared in the town, was silently walking through his bedroom. It was only four o’clock in the morning but Tun-Zeeus was an early riser.
Without a word, the Wood Elf made haste out of the Argonian’s house.

“Bosmeri these days,” said Tun-Zeeus, shaking his head while locking the door behind the night visitor.

__

“We have a burglar! Guard your purses!”

Before Gundalas could properly stand up, Manuin already jumped down the stairs and rushed outside. ‘Such a shame. I bet that the key in his pockets would open the heavily locked cupboard on the ground floor. At least he didn’t notice that some armor’s missing. Will come in handy for what I have in mind.’

Since Manuin was getting a bit too acquainted with shopkeepers and some other residents of Leyawiin, he decided that it’s better to leave the town once he brings the cursed Sheogorath’s staff to the Darkfathom cave. Normally, he doesn’t help damsels in distress unless they’re pretty but he was promised a valuable ring from Rosentia Gallenus for getting rid of four everlasting scamps.

A nighttime crime spree! Lock up your silver swords!

I think Manuin's 'time to leave Leyawiin now' instincts are sound.

I like that he swapped some cheap weapons for that silver one. See, he is a trickster, just like I said!

I'm confused though. So he started in Leyawiin, and then walked north, got thrown in jail (Cheydinhal) escaped to Bruma, but got locked up again for several months. And now he's back in Leyawiin?

It is fun playing a thief in this game. I think Wyrd said awhile back that he couldn't play a thief in TES4, it's too sunny and cheerful. But I like RPing a thief because it's sunny and colorful.

Sounds like a neat quest, that she can now actually serve guests. I figure that none of your other characters stayed in one place as long as Sarah does.

Regarding Manuin - there's always a huge time delay between what's going on in my game and what's going on in his stories. The stuff we talked about over PMs (his arrest in Cheydinhal, followed by the one Bruma) hasn't been yet posted on Chorrol.

@Acadian - nighttime crime sprees can be fun, there's completely different vibe in cites at night when all streets are devoid of any life except occasional patrolling guard. It feels good playing a thief for a change, and just as Renee says, I think that RP-ing a thief in Cyrodiil is very interesting.

Manuin heard about this once-to-be-build-settlement from a group of settlers camping by the Crest Bridge. But their tents were occupied and as much as Manuin liked rain, when there was too much of it, he sought shelter as well. But the peace in the house under construction didn’t last long. He spotted some figures running through grass, first there were just two but more were running in the direction of Cropsford from behind.

Then he remembered – goblins! Settlers warned him about them but now it was too late to hide – they spotted him and the first pair which consisted of archers, attacked Manuin from both sides. They weren’t hard to bring down, neither was a mace-wielder that followed them, but the last one was more than a mere goblin, he was a war chief and as Manuin soon knew to his cost, he lived up to his name. He left a few cuts on Manuin’s chest and face and made his burlap vest even more tattered than it already was, but when he leaned a bit too forward, Manuin took advantage of war chief’s inattention and shoved his silver shortsword straight through the chief’s neck.

Cropsford obviously wasn’t a safe place to stay so Manuin decided to seek shelter from rain in the goblin cave, it had to be somewhere nearby. He picked up an iron bow and matching arrows from fallen goblins and went searching for the cave.

Renee, I’m so impressed by your quest-making! I can tinker around the edges with mostly cosmetic stuff in existing mods in the CS/CK but that is about it. So when you said Sarah can ‘serve’ the customers, I initially wondered if you were talking about a prostitution mod.

Lopov, Yup, I figure resting up along those goblin trails crossing Cropsford is probably not a good idea. At least Manuin’s putting that new silver sword to good use! And a new bow! Going into a goblin cave for shelter. . . well, that is a course of action I guess. Maybe they got stuff to steal. If he survives.

This was side-splitting! Hilarious!






This post has been edited by mALX: Feb 28 2016, 01:49 AM

It was more than a mere goblin, eh? Hope his eyes didn't shoot mere glances. I can totally see Maniun shooting a bow... he is a sneaky / trickster-looking sort. Damn, he's getting around Cyrodiil, that's for sure.

Acadian: Yeah, I don't know why but I really love quest-making, just simple stuff though. If I wanted to I could hunker down and make a waitress/roleplay mod. I could put it up on THE Nexus. It'll never happen though. I'm learning how to make quests for Skyrim too, so I can make some things happen for my new Bjorn guy. The CK has different rules though, and uses an entirely different "language" (Papyrus) than the CS does. Kind of annoying because I'm already so used to CS-speak, but I'm starting to get the hang of Papyrus too.

mALX: Aww thanks!

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Fredas, 8:09 am, First Seed 15, 3rd Era 434

Days Passed: 201
Days Jailed:62

Kahreem awakes and rolls out of his bed, tossing aside his soiree of bed sheets. Remembers what's happened over the past 24 or 48 hours, maybe more. And then smiles. Savilla's Stone is still in his night-sack. He must have some sort of bounty by now, but no guards had bothered him when he'd arrived to Cheydinhal, the night before. And nobody awoke him in the middle of the night.

...And he still has a bottle of Cheap Wine, ready to go. Life is good. As he takes his first sip of the day, a calm comes over him. He won't stay in town any longer than he has to. The Grey Fox has promised him payment, after all. So off to Bruma it is.

8:43 am
With typical fashion, the Weet Bandit just cannot leave Cheydinhal without making a grand announcement. Today's 'grand announcement' involves 'borrowing' a black horse. He waits until the dark elf stablehand has turned away from him, and this is when the moment of truth occurs. Good. She doesn't see him, and neither does today's guard. Off to Bruma.

11:28 am
Two bandits spot the Weet Bandit, and give chase. Ha! Maybe they know who he is, that he was once one of them. They both grab their weapons upon seeing him riding toward. But this situation is easy.

Bandits, like most enemies, were desperate for gold, in these difficult times. But it was really quite easy, no more than trying to figure a methodical puzzle. If Kahreem'd use himself and horse as bait, he could lure these two ladies (both bandits are ladies) all the way to Bruma. But things would never go that far. Pretty soon he'd come across a soldier patrolling the road. As the Redguard rides up, being chased by two outlaws, it'd be the outlaws who'd lose, and Kahreem wouldn't have to bother fighting at all. The soldier's horse would then be up for grabs; trained not to go anywhere when dismounted.

Spic and span.

12:22 pm
And all of the above is precisely what happens, though by the time the soldier is found, he has to deal with four bandits, not two.

Kahreem sits a moment, watching the guard tussle with the bandits. Always love a good fight.

3:00 PM
Roxey Inn. Can't resist. And yes, they have beer, ale, and the very cheapest of wine.

5:39 pm

"THIEF! You won't get away with this!"

Long story short: he'd met up with a marauding orc, her dog, and an imp. All three of these enemies were chasing him. After finding another road patrol, he'd tried his horse-swapping trick once again, since the horse he'd ridden upon had taken some damage. His plan had originally been to spend the night outside of Sercen, but this plan would obviously no longer be viable.

The sun begins to set, as Kahreem of Weet climbs the big, old hill toward Bruma.

This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 28 2016, 02:39 AM

Aw, it's Sarah!






Uh... ???

Kahreeem getting methodical all of a sudden?

How nice that his horse theft has gone unnoticed for a change. And now he has his very "own" black horse.

Kahreem better not touch the house by the East gate in Bruma, or there will be..... trouble



I love how he continues to switch horses like that

Kahreem seems to have taken a lesson from the old Pony Express - ride the horse till it almost drops then hop onto a new one.

How did it happen that Manuin’s imprisoned in Bruma? Let’s see what occurred a few days ago – Manuin was traveling to the Imperial City but since he was often accosted by highwaymen and other perils of wilderness, he figured that he’ll get sooner to the town if he commits a minor crime, and even better, he’ll get to jail under protection of the Imperial Legion. The plan worked only at half – he was arrested for being caught pickpocketing a bottle of Surilie’s Wine from a passing legionnaire at the bridge south of the Imperial City but instead of taking him to the capital’s jail, the legionnaire led Manuin to Cheydinhal.

Though his bounty at that moment was very low, Manuin didn’t feel like spending another night in jail, so he snatched the dungeon key from a patrolling jailor and made his way out of the cell, but as soon as he made it to the barracks, three guards jumped on him and he had no any other option but to silently return to his cell – his bounty increased to 6,000 septims which meant that he’ll be in prison for two months more.

Manuin didn’t like this option – he tried to steal the dungeon key once again but this time the jailor caught him. Manuin made haste out of the castle, not forgetting to pick up his belongings from the evidence chest, hurried through Cheydinhal, evading killing blows of a plethora of guards running behind him, and jumped on some paint horse, conveniently stabled right outside the main gate.

He managed to lose his pursuers in the Jeralls and found a hideout in the servant quarters of Lord Rugdumph’s Estate. Not for long, though. When the night fell, Manuin sneaked into the Rugdumph’s manor to “meet” owners of the property but as he was borrowing some stuff from an upper class chest, two Cheydinhal guards barged inside and they didn’t come to visit Lord Rugdumph.

Manuin was breaking the law on their watch and the Wood Elf figured that even if he escapes again, he’ll be caught. Again. But much to his surprise, they didn’t drag him back to Cheydinhal, instead handed him to the first legion patrol which then led him to Bruma. For a series of jailbreaks, resisting arrest and theft of the paint horse he got altogether a little less than six months in prison.