Really like that gown (or whatever) Jandaga's got on in this chapter.

Ha ha, no 3some for him tonight! Except now he's being kissed! What a tawdry chapter 20230219 Alyeid Steps, Murder Masquerade – Gweden Brothel, Outcast Kajiit is!

Today's song is ringin' a bell, as usual. 🔔 Sister Golden Hair, hmm. No idea. It'll come to me. I keep getting confused with goodbye Sister Disco, though.

Wow, Jandaga is shorter than most, guess I never noticed. But he is Bosmer, right? So odd that male wood elves are short, but females aren't (without mods or commands).

Uh oh, somebody's been muhdehed! Help! Help! Come quick, we've got a murderer!

The Archmage robe he wears in the Imperial City and when doing official mage business is from Nexons Armory at Oblivion Nexus
https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/31340

The song by America - Sister Golden Hair

Bosmer? I wonder sometimes. He’s too nice don’t you think?
The idea of the Jandaga was born when I first read the Daggerfall book “The Faerie” many, many years ago. He is neither Man nor Mer, he is in fact one of the Illyadi: a Sylphim. My Morrowind race mod names his race as Gwylsre.
He can pass as a Bosmer or a short Breton if it weren’t for his ears, eyes, blue blood, and an odd skin and hair condition; they change color with age (game).
You may have noticed that he is somewhat confused in his dealings with the ladies. That’s because he is only 250-years old, somewhere between 16-19 in man years. He may not be emotionally mature for another 250 or more years. Horrible to think being stuck in those awkward years for so long.

OH yeah, sorry. I forgot he's not one of the 10 official races.

America! Dag-nabbit. 🇺🇲 I don't know their music too well, except the Horse with No Name is them, I think.

Macole - is it Thursday for you already? How's the eye?

Thanks for asking.
It is Thursday morning. I woke up to a bright sunny day. Operation went well.
I must have blink because I don't remember a thing after the anesthesiologist said, “I going to give you some medicine.” That’s always been a disappointment with operations; I don’t get to watch. Why do they call the operating room a theater if you don't get to watch the production?
Now as the dilated pupil returns to normal distance vision has improved greatly. Everything is so bright and clear I didn't realize how dark things had become. I think I’m going to go mop the kitchen floor. It looks terrible.

I am so happy for you!

Don't worry so much about the missed performance at the theatre. I had a minor surgery once that ran for 90 minutes instead of the planned half an hour, with the anaesthetic stopping working half way. It was only a local anaesthetic and surgery was to my shoulder, so although I was awake the whole time, I didn't get to see much besides the video feed. It was fun at first, but got a lot less attractive once the pain kicked in. The doctors kept asking me my name, kept making me do maths like "what's 2+2? 7+8? 11-6?"... It's best if you're not there to do the maths lesson, I think.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Feb 23 2023, 08:16 PM

20230228 Alyeid Steps; Murder Masquerade, The Daring Dunmer – Fighters Guild

It was closing time when we arrived in the Imperial City Market District and Calindil had just locked up. We stopped him to politely chat for a few moments. I tried to work being in Skingrad when a murder occurred at Two Sisters Lodge into the conversation but Calindil didn’t bite. Not even when I mentioned that I needed a few things and that I would be back earlier tomorrow. He just bowed, said “Thank you” and went on his way.

“He was sweating,” Claire said as she ran her fingers down my spine. “Wonder what he is hiding in that shop of his?”

My back arched involuntarily as I felt the sharp tingle of Claire’s long nails through the armored layers of my Nexon robe. Jerkily I nodded in agreement. Pym pointed at the Mystic Emporium, grabbed me by the hand, and pulled me to the door.

Recovering my wits, I gave a quick look around to make sure the street was empty before I cast the unlock spell on the door. Again making sure that no one could see us we enter Calindil’s shop. Silently we searched the first floor. Finding nothing of interest we snuck downstairs. There we discovered two Ayleid step stones. They looked broken so we passed them by. In one corner of the basement we found robes that looked like True Descendant Cult robes. Even more damning was a manifesto proclaiming the return to glory of the Ayleids. The manifesto was signed by R. E.

Questions arise. Who is R. E. and how deeply is Calindil involved? We left the Mystic Emporium as silently as we entered.

The next day after lunch we went to visit Calindil at his shop again to question him about his visit to Skingrad. This time though we were armed with the knowledge of what he has hidden in his basement.

Good Golly Miss Molly, what just happened? Claire and Pym were their most charming and distracting selves while I thought I was forceful and straight forward with my questioning. Yet, Calindil turned it all around somehow making us out to be the ones not to be trusted. The whole thing went off the rails right from the start when Calindil addressed me as “Sir Knight”. (I think I‘ll have him fined 500 S. and add a permanent 10% increase to his magic shop license fee for that slight.)

Calindil implied that we were a bunch of incompetent boobs by telling us that if we really wanted to find out about the Stepstones we should be looking elsewhere. Then he ushered us out the door with the following reproach.

“Have you not seen that Imperial Watch poster out there in the street?” Calindil asked curtly “It could have been written with you in mind. Go and have a look at it. Please.”

The door slammed shut behind us and Claire asked in a silky smooth voice, “Well Mr. Smooth Talker, what do we do now?”

It was a test of will. The buttons and buckles on my robe struggled to stay closed and my knees felt weak but I managed to keep it all together. Damn, with a voice like that how did we go wrong?

“Look for a poster I guess,” I replied. Finding one right around the corner from Calindil’s shop I asked, “Here’s an interesting one, what do you think?”

“No, no, positively no!” Claire declared as she and Pym pulled me way from the Arena poster. “Don’t even think about it. Um, maybe later but until then, NO!”

Walking along the street we read every poster and bulletin we found. None seem to warrant the attention that Calindil thought was needed. Then we saw a wanted flyer offering a 300 Septim reward for any information concerning Hlavene Irennu who had gone missing while exploring Ayleid Steps. The flyer directed us to talk to Captain Tertia Aurum the Imperial Legion Ayleid Steps Overseer.

It took us the rest of the day to chase down Captain Tertia Aurum. Tertia would like our help. She asked if we would go to the Cheydinhal Fighters Guild and speak to Norb gro-Rukhol. Captain Tertia thinks Norb knows Hlavene Irennu’s last known location. Captain Teria would like us to report back as quickly as possible.

So now we have a dilemma. What do we do first; go to Skingrad and then on to Cursed Mine as planned or go to Cheydinhal?

Placing her hand on the center of my chest Pym intently looked me in the eye.

“Yes Pym, you’re right. Hlavene Irennu may still be alive and in danger while Cursed Mine will be there whenever we get to it.”

Knowing the danger that awaited us there we steeled ourselves and left immediately for Cheydinhal.

At the Fighters Guild Hall, Norb gro-Rukhol couldn’t tell us much. He had dinner with Hlavene Irennu at the Imperial Bridge Inn. She was engaged in the latest adventuring craze called “Stepping”. After dinner Hlavene went on her way looking for a stepstone submerged in the water near a chapel somewhere west of the inn. So the trail takes us far south.

As we turned to leave Burz gro-Khash stopped us “Hey Meat. Yeah, you shinny boy. I’ve heard of you Psycho something or other. Well I got a contract and you’re the best available so you’re it. Go to Water’s Edge, Biene Amelion needs help retrieving a family heirloom.”

“Come on my Shinny Boy let’s do it,” Claire teased playfully. “It might be fun.”

Sounds good. We rushed back to our house to gear up for the trip. We didn’t rush fast enough. Our luck at avoiding the dangers in Cheydinhal had run out. Vilja intercepted us just as we reached gate of my house.

“Oh, it’s about time you’re finally back. I’ve been waiting for days. Where have you been?” On and on she went for the longest time before I could get a word in edgewise.

“Heneri hasn’t sent word that you’ve finished your training yet and I need to go to Skingrad before Heneri will pay the reward she promised,” I told her. “Just stay here until I get back.”

Oh, okay.” Resigned, Vilja settled down in front of the fireplace with a double pint of mead.

Pym, Claire and I left quickly before Vilja could have time to think about being left behind.

Jandaga had to cast an Unlock on Mystic Emporium? Is that because the time was after-hours or do you have Frostcrag Spire installed?

Okay, I see. It's "closing time". The Unofficial Patch supposedly fixes the Frostcrag Spire bug, anyway. Bet they didn't lock that door when they left. And then Calindil is going to wonder why he left his door unlocked all night (since nothing was taken, apparently). So now we know why this "glitch" shows up on the first place. No wonder he keeps locking his doors, even during daylight hours.

Wow, look at that poster. 🖼 What is the significance of posters?

Yeah, get away from the Vilja Vortex... before it's ....


ahhh!!!!

'She was engaged in the latest adventuring craze called “Stepping”.
Oh, that'll go viral via the telepathic guards!

So the Jandaga Shiny Boy and his ladies are off to Water's Edge on a FG quest. After an artful dodge of Vilja that is.

I love this sentence. Here, let's hear you say it again, but a little louder...

Qu'est Que C'est
Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better
Run run run run run run run away
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh....

20230306 Alyeid Steps, The Daring Dunmer – Fighters Guild – OOO Path of Iron

The journey south was uneventful and went quickly. Magnus was setting when we reached the Silverfish River. It’s getting dark and we’re tired so we turned upriver to spend the night at the Imperial Bridge Inn where Norb met Hlavene. The beds at the Imperial Bridge Inn aren’t much to be desired but they’re cheap. If only it hadn’t rained all night we might have gotten a decent night’s sleep.

I couldn't tell
If the bells were getting louder
The songs they ring I finally recognize
I only know
Hell is getting hotter
Devil getting smarter all the time
And it would be nice
To walk upon the water
To talk again to angels
On my side

It seemed that we had just fallen asleep when it was time to get up and get going. The rain had ended and it was still early morning when we left the inn. According to Norb Hlavene Irenna was looking for a stepstone just west of the Yellow Road, in the water near a chapel.

Magnus, which had been shining brightly when we crossed the Yellow Road, was getting noticeably dimmer as we followed a little used path westward. The brush and ferns along the edge of the path seemed to be squeezing tighter around us the further along the path we went. We all felt the wrongness as we wondered where this path was taking us. Pym stepped in closer to me.

We soon found out as a moss covered stone wall began to peek through the brush. Cautiously, we approached a heavily rusted gate. On its own, the gate swung open beckoning us to enter the burial ground within.

The place was creepy (I don’t remember ever coming here), deathly quiet, and yet there was this low murmur going on. It was there when you couldn’t hear it distinctly but when you tried to focus on it, it was gone. Brambles clawed at our boots as we passed by. Reaching down to brush the prickly vines away to our horror instead of thorny briers we see wisps of smoke, like ghostly hands rising from the ground clutching at us. Along with Pym, Claire now gathered in close behind me.

“I don’t like the feel of this place,” Claire stammered. “Elenya should be here to right the balance.”

Back to back to back we pressed forward in a triangular defensive formation. With me in the lead my steadfast Ladies pushed me onward through the graveyard until we came to the chapel. The closer we got to the chapel the stronger the feeling of wrongness became. Cadlew Chapel had become a very sour pit in the stomach.

My first instinct was to run, run, run, run, run, run, run away but a calming voice stopped me. The soothing ethereal voice of Ria Silmane resonated in my mind. “Psychodelic Warrior, the Mother of All Creation has need of a place to rest. Cleanse this chapel.”

Entering the chapel, three necromancers met us for the Turdas noon service. Service didn’t last long. Three necromancers quickly fell prostrate in prayer due to our preaching.

Afterwards, Claire the golden haired sorceress and Pym my little söpökeiju took up a collection for the poor. Poor dears have to have funds to get their boots cleaned..

As my Ladies took everything that wasn’t nailed down I lost my self dreaming what could be done with this place. The Shrine of Nir and Saint Ria Silmane, had a nice ring to it. I’m certain they will be pleased.

A tug on my arm brought me back from my dreaming. Pym was reminding me that we were searching for Hlavene Irennu, the Daring Dunmer. We left Cadlew Chapel and walked down to the river. The stepstone is supposed to be in the water. Standing at the edge of the dock I searched the water before me and didn’t see a thing.

Sometimes all it takes is a push. The Ladies roared with laughter as I hit the water. They were right though, the stepstone had been right under my nose.

“Found it,” I called up to Claire and Pym. “Jump on in the water’s fine.”

Once Pym and Claire were in the water we linked up and I used a welkynd to activate the stepstone. The step took us to Lost Aldaras. Like most of the lost Ayleid ruins the steps have taken us to Lost Aldaras was not very large. The ghosts and other undead we encountered did little to hinder our exploration. That couldn’t be said for Hlavene Irennu. Deep in Lost Aldaras, after defeating a nether lich we located Hlavene’s body on a raised platform surrounded by the remains of several zombies.

Hlavene Irennu wore a jade ring inscribed with her identifying mark. We took it as proof of having found her body. Captain Tertia Aurum will want to see it.

With no other way out of Lost Aldaras we returned to the stepstones. Both stepstones were broken. Hoping that we chose the less broken of the two we used a welkynd stone to activate a step. We arrived safely in the depths of Bawn Latta.

Working our way through Bawn Latta to Bawn and then through Bawn to the exit wasn’t difficult. After all we’ve been through over the years seldom is anything really difficult anymore, tedious maybe but rarely difficult.

We did find one item of note; the shield to Melus Petilius’ Heaven’s Fury armor kit (Oscuro’s Oblivion Overhaul, Path of Iron quest). Picking it up, I placed it in the Midas Chest.

Exiting Bawn we found we were just south of Bravil. The rising twin full moons illuminated a nearby camp. Appropriately called Bawnwatch, I think. It wasn’t hard to talk Pym and Claire to spend the night on the little island. After a hard day of fighting necromancers, ghosts, zombies, litch, and other such beasties, they were as tired as I was.

“I’ve camped here before,” I told the ladies. “The gentle sound of the Niben lapping the shores of this little island lull us to sleep in no time.”

“We’ll see,” Claire mused as she fluffed up the bedroll as she began to sing to a familiar tune, “Brrraziiiil …”

For a moment, Pym had a shocked look on her face before she succumbed to the sorceress’ song and danced a hot little salsa around the fire.

Did I say, relaxing? Ha! Was I wrong, when the moons are full the Fae can dance all night long.

This post has been edited by macole: Mar 6 2023, 11:39 PM

Good warnings on Creepy Cadlew Chapel.

SopoKeiju = cute elf/fairy, amirite?

That was funny that the step was right below the dock.

Poor Hlavene.

Dancing all night under the twin full moons to the music of Bravil! Link

Yes, you are right.

20230312 Fighters Guild, Amelion’s Debt

The dance of the Full Moons or the Eyes of Nir as some call them, came to an end when Magnus poked his head over the eastern mountains. Our spirits renewed we prepared to leave Bawnwatch camp. A good omen for our trip south to Waters Edge, mushrooms were already rising in the ring we had dance around the fire.

“We are going to have a beautiful day,” I told my Ladies.

Half a day later we arrived at Waters Edge and knocked on the door of Biene Amelion’s house.

Expecting the usual ragtag agents from the Fighters Guild, a look of shocked amazement crosses Biene’s face when she opens the door and sees us. ”It’s you! The Fighters Guild sent… you!”

She falls to her knees crying and singing praises to the gods for sending her the Champion of Cyrodiil and the Hero of Kvatch to right the wrong done against her. She also rattled off several other titles; some I Knew and some I hadn’t heard before now. I’m just glad Kaleah wasn’t here to hear Biene call me The Seducer Tamer. I have no idea how many months I’d be paying for that one.

Lifting Biene up I look her in the eye and reassured her that everything is going to be OK. Biene Amelion calmed down and began to explain her predicament. She needs help retrieving a family heirloom, her grandfather’s armor, from her family’s ancestral tomb she suddenly stops, breaking out in tears.

She sobs for a moment before continuing. Her father was a gambler, a very bad gambler. He had run up a huge gambling debt. Now the bookies want their money. Unable to pay, her father was dragged away in the middle of the night. He hasn’t been heard from or seen since.

“He’s been sold off to Morrowind to die a slave in the ebony mines. I just know it.” Biene cries.

The debt is now on her and Biene has been told she will suffer the same if she doesn’t pay up. Afraid to leave the house Biene needs someone to retrieve her grandfather’s enchanted sword and cuirass from the family ancestral tomb. She hopes the sale of the enchanted items will bring enough gold to pay off her father’s debt.

At first… well she looked so hopeless and the way she called me her “last hope”… I thought that I’d just give her the money and leave it at that. But, there were these whispers behind my back.

“He’s just a sucker for the “maiden in distress” act. Falls for it every time,” Claire whispered to Pym.

Changing my mind, I agreed we’d do our best retrieve the family heirlooms for her. After Biene gave us directions to the Amelion Family Tomb, we left. It wasn’t too far away just north of Leyawiin and a short walk on the water to the other side of the Niben.

“Amelion’s Ancestral Tomb, we shouldn’t have any trouble with this one,” I told the Ladies.

Would have been true too if it hadn’t been for the snus vine. Like kudzu it covers everything. We searched high and low, up, down, and all around. Where’s Elenya when you need her? Elenya with her druidic magic would have been able to force the vegetation to turn over its treasure.

It took some time rooting through all the greenery but we eventually found the sword and cuirass Biene wanted and more. We had the complete set of grandfather Amelion’s armor.

Curious as to how the armor looked Pym had to try the it on. I don’t think she likes it very much. Not that it looks bad; the cuirass just doesn’t seem to fit right and the chainmail pinches.

With the sword and armor in hand we walked back to Water’s Edge.

Biene was waiting anxiously for our return. She was relieved to see that we had returned with her grandfather’s armor and sword.

"You've found them? Fantastic! I can't tell you what this means to me." She cried. “You're a lifesaver."

Her only concern now was; how to sell the items? There is no one in Water’s Edge wealthy enough to pay enough for her to pay off the debt. Bravil or Leyawiin would be good choice. But it would be a dangerous walk to either city for a young girl all alone with no one to protect her. That, I couldn’t let happen.

“Here, take this,” I said handing her more than enough gold to pay her debt.

"Why... thank you! Biene exclaimed. “This will be enough to pay off my debtors. Please, keep the sword and armor until I can pay you back. Thank you again."

“No, you keep them,” I said placing the armor and sword on the table. “Keep them handy. You might need them someday.”

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I don’t know what else to say. If there’s anything I can do to repay you,” she said in a satin soft voice as she slowly ran a finger along the golden dragon embossed on my cuirass.

“Sire, we must be going!” Claire cautioned.

“Sorry, but I’ve got to go. Maybe some other time.” I said knowing there would not be another time.

"I'll never forget this," Biene said as I turned to leave.

"Well I'll be," Claire mumbled. "He got out alive."

Quickly, two very determined Ladies ushered me out the door before I could change my mind. As the door closed behind me I could hear Biene lament losing the “Prince Charming” ticket to a lifetime of riches and a way out of the Water’s Edge dump.

(Long, long, long time ago when I was young (cough, 56, cough) and first played Oblivion I finished the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild. Like Bruma in the Mages Guild, what happens at Water’s Edge left me feeling very sad. Unlike the Mages Guild, the Fighters Guild is not necessary for me so this is as far as I go with the Fighters Guild.)

Seducer Tamer?

Amelion's Tomb, it's been so long, I can't remember which one of mine did that quest (probably more than one). I agree though. Jandaga could've just given some coin over. He's not about to give up some adventure though.

Whoa, look how thick that vegetation is!



Oh my gosh!

I also like that he/you are going as far as this within the Fighters Guild. Sometimes you just gotta know when to leave it.

Snus vines surely do make for a pretty dungeon though, right?

The Jandaga’s a sucker for a damsel in distress it seems. I thought he was just going to buy the armor from Biene to flush her up with septims for the debt, then resell the armor. But he also let her keep the armor! Well, okay, it is a Biene family heirloom and all.

20230321 Vilja – Ayleid Steps, Retracing the Steps #10 Berevacht – SNUS Dungeons, Cursed Mine

Standing on the edge of the road that passes through Water’s Edge my first thought was to go back to Cheydinhall and report our successes. Claire argued that we should go to Skingrad first. Pym was silent on the subject but she got her view known by glaring at me as she stood close to Claire. Thinking it over I decided that we should go to Skingrad first.

It was pouring rain and not wanting to spend the day traipsing through the forest in the rain I used a teleport home spell to send us to Cheydinhal.

How does that spell go? I know all I have to do is think it but I like to sing. The Ladies like to hear my singing too.
Why sometimes they get so overwhelmed that they throw articles of clothing at me. I've become very adept in dodging things like steel gauntlets, boots and chainmail bikinis. I just wish they didn't didn’t smart so much when they hit.

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home where my thought's escapin'
Home where my music's playin'
Home where my love lies waitin'
Silently for me

The colors of magicka swirled around us until *POP*

Ooops! That didn’t work like it should. There I was in Benirus Manor, standing next to Kaleah.

“Well, look who finally decided to pop-in to say hello,” Kaleah said with a stern look on her face.

Before I could plead my case Kaleah flashed the biggest brightest smile and snatched me up in a great hug. “My precious Feache, tell me now what mischief have you gotten into while I’m not there to guide you?”

All in all the mix up turned out to be for the best. The day was spent relaxing and telling the tale of our Adventures in Babysitting… (Claire and Pym are suddenly peering over my shoulder and the heat is near unbearable.)… Ayleid Stepping and how we tried to coax the heir of Kvatch to take up the throne.

The next day as I made preparations to find Cursed Mine, Pym informed me that she had decided to stay in Anvil. I half expected that. During most of last evening whispers, like a plague of locust flew among Kaleah, Pym, Elenya, and Claire. They thought I wouldn’t notice. They’re up to something, I just know it.

It was after dinner by the time Claire and I were ready to leave. Linking arms, I began the spell that would transport the two of us to Rosethorn Manor. I was certain it would work correctly this time. Everyone in the house wished us a safe journey and we vanished...

And there we stood, in the center of Rosethorn Manor’s master bedroom.

The next day after breakfast we leave to find the Cursed Mine. Eyja hands us a sack lunch for our journey, couple of her delicious Shepherd's Pies.

First thing we did was stop by All Things Alchemical to deliver the spotted lavender sprigs to Falanu Hlaalu. In exchange, Falanu prepared a jar of the beauty cream for me to take back to Heneri. Making a comment about whiskers as Falanu handed me the jar labeled ‘Madame Melinda’s Beauty Crème’. Something about the name of the cream and Falanu’s odd comment bothered me.

Wasn’t Melinda’s beauty cream at the heart of all Vilja’s troubles in the first place? Something tells me this is not going to end well.

Leaving Skingrad with the beauty cream we headed west in the direction of the Cursed Mine. Not knowing exactly where the mine was we stumbled around for awhile until we came across a doorway to Cursed Mine Breakdown Chambers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clair had wandered, as she is wont to do, off the path the Jandaga had taken. There behind a grouping of large boulders Claire noticed what she thought to be a stepstone.

“Sire, I think…,” Claire called out trying to get the attention of the Jandaga. Too late, the Jandaga had already entered the Cursed Mine Breakdown Chamber. “…it’s over here.”

"Silly Feache," Claire said with a shrugged of her shoulders. Devotedly Claire followed her Jandaga.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What have we walked into? There’s a war going on between Amazons and Skooma Smugglers. Not that we minded so much. A faction dispute does make it easier for us. Hiding in the shadows Claire and I watched for awhile before making our move to pick off the survivors.

Ever wonder why this mine is called Cursed Mine? I never had given it a thought before but now I think I know. The first clue came when we searched the foreman’s desk. The foreman had written a note describing some of the strange occurrences in the mine. He was thinking of closing the mine and re-opening it as a haunted adventure park.

Clearing the bricks away from a door allowed us to enter the Cursed Mine proper. Proceeding along the mine shaft we came to our second clue. We had entered into what could only be called a glowing vortex room. Carefully we made it past the swirling wall of clutter.

Once clear of the swirling ring of clutter we discovered an out of place Grumite totem pole. Further down the mine shaft, past the totem, a bright white light emanated from what looked like a door. Mesmerized by the call of the white light we approached and unwittingly stepped into a portal.

“Sire, where are we?” Claire worriedly asked.

“SNUS!” I cursed. “I have no idea. Somewhere on the Other Side, I’d guess. Look, there’s a white glow in the corner on the far end. That could be the way out.”

You know, we’ve seen so much during our travels that little surprises me anymore. Then something like this happens and I’m dumbfounded. Here we are standing on a small planetoid floating in the vastness of the void as four moons quickly circle overhead. From where we stood, looking down we could see three whirlwinds churning up sections of the arena floor. Nasty looking creatures could be seen patrolling about the swirling junk.

Not finding another way out of this aetheric realm nearby it became apparent that we would have to take our chances and cross the arena floor. Only two wraiths and a lich stood in our way.

Claire engaged a wraith while I took on the lich. The duel with the Lich turned out to be extremely difficult. We found out later that it was powered by the Heart of the Cursed Knight. Claire easily dealt with the first wraith and rushed to join my fight with the lich.

Unfortunately Claire was intercepted by the second wraith. A short minute later just as I was about to dispatched the lich, I heard Claire scream. Calling for reinforcements it was now my turn to rush to Claire’s aid.

The glow at the far end of the arena floor was not an exit. It was the glow off the long sword of fire laying on the Tomb of the Cursed Knight that lit up this corner. That’s a nicely powered sword but being overly cautious about picking it up and we leave it on the altar. I also thought about returning the heart we collected from the lich to the skeleton of the Cursed Knight.

I was about to do so when Clair spoke up, “Remember Benirus. Place that heart with that skeleton and there could be hell to pay.”

Disappointed in not finding an escape we searched other areas of the realm for an exit back to Cursed Mine. We collected some nice loot as we did but otherwise found no way out.

A common treasure seeker would be trapped here to become perhaps one of the bodies flying in the whirlwinds but, as Claire places her hand in mine, we have a way out. The teleport home spell.

Take me home aetheric roads,
To the place I’m thinking of,
Rosethorn Manor in Skingrad,
Take me there, Aetheric roads.

And we are returned to Rosethorn Manor

This post has been edited by macole: Mar 27 2023, 03:44 PM

What an adventure!

Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze

That teleport home musical spell sure comes in handy!