Omgosh look at that huge demon! Like some monster straight out of DnD. 👿

Back with the gang in Benirus. Why did Claire want him to go back there?

Rosalind speaks like Moon Zappa! Off-topic now, but I recently fell into a Moon Zappa hole. Youtube randomly displayed for me an interview with the grown-up Moon Zappa, and how she talks about how she wound up 1). being awakened from bed in the middle of the night to record those silly voiceovers by her father Frank, and 2). providing Frank with his first Top 10 radio single. And the story's pretty incredible. Some of those voiceovers were just made up on the spot! "Gag me with a spoon" wasn't a real valley girl quip, for instance, but it became one.

Question is: does Rosalind really speak like that in the game? I feel this is either a mod-author really taking some liberties with Cyrodiilic speech, or macole really taking some liberties.

This is a silly scene, either way!

No, Rosalind doesn't speak like that in the game. It's just me taking some liberties. Sadly, after the initial introduction Rosalind's dialog is very limited. A few greetings and good-byes and that's it.

20230517 AyleidSteps-Captain Tertia Aurum – I-SL Mystery of Mir Corrup

Morning of our departure came, Kaleah took me in her arms, spread her wings, and away she flew leaving Benirus Manor dwindling behind us.

Basking in the invigorating unfiltered aetheric light of Magnus, I looked up to Kaleah and said, ”Just like old times.”

Like rolling thunder far off in the distance Kaleah laughed, “You’ve been roaming around in the dark dungeons far too long. You’ve let your battery run down. Have you forgotten the light powers your magic?”

Ah yes, there is that. Been that way ever since the Daggerfall days. Only difference is that now-a-days here in Cyrodiil where everything is so bright, even in the deepest dungeons, it doesn’t seem to matter much. But, as Kaleah reminds me there are consequences for spending too much time in the dark.

We land in the center of the Merchant District of the Imperial City

“You know we could have just taken the stepstone in Benirus Manor to get to the Market District.” I said.

“Yes, we could have but then everyone would’ve wanted to come along,” Kaleah laughed again. “Some things are best done with fewer people involved.”

Shopping at the Goddess Store came to mind. Cheaper for me, that’s for sure. Except Kaleah headed off in the direction of the Elven Gardens District. A sudden anxious feeling came over me shaking to the core of my wallet. The bank, she’s going to the bank. Uh oh, this could get expensive.

To my rescue someone called out, “Vampire Hunter, a word if you will.”

Turning at the sound of the familiar yet near forgotten title, I found Captain Tertia Aurum striding toward me.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been addressed that way,” I said.

“Hunter,” Captain Tertia continued. “I’ve made some inquiries and my good friend, Roland Jenseric raves about your unique skills. Pray tell your findings on Hlavene Irennu?”

Remembering the task that I had agreed to perform for the Captain I gave her the details on finding the Dunmer, Hlavene Irennu dead in the Ayleid ruin, Lost Aldaras. For proof I handed over Hlavene Irennu’s ring.

Noting my skill and experience in navigating the steps she pumped me for all the information that I could give concerning them Ayleid step system. Her aggressive interrogation left me questioning the Imperial Watch’s motives. Only way to find out is to play along.

When Captain Tertia Aurum was satisfied, she paid me the 300 septims for finding Hlavene’s remains. Then before leaving Captain Aurum mentioned that should I stick around the Imperial City for a few days, the Imperial Watch Special Step Detachment may have another assignment.

Hmmm, not really feeling the pinch for money at the moment I told Captain Aurum, “We have a few things to do but we’ll be back in a few days. Look us up then.”

Once Captain Tertia Aurum was gone I turned to Kaleah. “Well, let’s get a move on to Bruma and find out what Kiyana thinks is so important.”

With a deep sweeping curtsy Kaleah laughed and teasingly cried out, “As you wish, my valiant hunter.”

Then she clapped me on the, ahem, shoulder. Taking her hand I cast the Take Me Home spell.

It was early afternoon when we arrived at my Bruma house. Kiyana is a nighttime cat, sleeps all day and parties at Olaf’s or prowls the streets at night. She was still sleeping when we arrived. We woke Kiyana up from her slumber and she passed on the information she overheard at Olaf’s.

Some Nord prospectors had come across a sarcophagus a short distance west of Cloud Ruler Temple. They were attacked by a vicious pack of wolves that acted very strangely. Werewolves they kept saying. Thinking the place to be cursed, the Nords fled leaving the sarcophagus undisturbed.

“Thank me later,” Kiyana said with a yawn and went back to sleep.

Kaleah and I left for Cloud Ruler Temple. Reaching the main gates of the Blades fortress we turned west and continued on along the snow covered trail. Kiyana’s information was good. As we approached the Blade’s Eternal Fire shrine, we could see below us what could only be Molvirion’s sarcophagus.

Carefully so as not to attract the attention of the wolves, we could see half way down the slope, we dropped down near the sarcophagus. Opening the sarcophagus we found Arenar’s amulet that along with the ring could hopefully be used to convince Molvirion to become the count of Kvatch.

A second item, Molvirion’s frost bitten finger was also in the sarcophagus. If the amulet and ring don’t work magic on Molvirion then we could use the frostbitten finger in a ritual to raise the body of Adria, Molvirion’s lost lover. Necromancy at its best is still something I’d rather not do.

“The path leads us south once again, my Feache,” Kaleah said.

“So it does,” I agreed.

It was getting late and after talking it over we decided to the return the way we came, stopping at Cloud Ruler Temple for the night. I think the deciding factor in the decision was the howling of a wolf pack below us. On the odd chance that it was a werewolf pack, why take the gamble.

The Blades of Cloud Ruler Temple welcomed us with fanfare, dinner, and a bedroll in the general quarters.
During dinner, to help us with the ‘Mystery of Mir Corrup’, Captain Steffan told us what little he knew about Jills. To help explain Jills he handed us an obscure document titled The Nu-Mantia. The Nu-Mantia speaks of the Jills as the servants of the Dragon that mend minutes without volunteer.

After dinner, I picked up the Nu-Mantia to read. The document, so full of half truths and ludicrous linguistic phrases, put me to sleep before I was halfway through it.

This post has been edited by macole: May 18 2023, 05:58 AM

Macole, what happened to your Imperial City? Where's all the smooth white stone, what's all that dilapidated plasterwork? One would think they are in Crucible!

Nice using Kaleah Air to get to the IC. Wow, they actually recovered those baubles without having to fight werewolves.

Lena: I think it is the weather lighting as there have been no changes made to the I. C. stone work. It's always been green marble.

20230524 Hanasaku Touken - Vila – Fighters Guild – Kvatch Rebuilt

Morning came and before we left, Kaleah and I talked Captain Steffan into allowing us to view the fabled Hanasaku Touken weapon collection. Opening the case and with great respect to the touken of each blade, I examined the weapons.

Some say these are weapons of the Tang Mo of Akavir. If so, how did they get here?

After placing the weapons back in the case we bid Cloud Ruler Temple good-bye. Taking the northern trail through the mountains passing the cold and lonely Frostcrag Spire we made our way to Cheydinhal. We hadn’t been in Cheydinhal for more than a minute when a familiar voice came up behind us.

“Well there you are. It’s about time you got back.” Vilja greeted us.

Proudly Vilja declares she’s learned new spells. With a sweeping wave of her arm she announces that she has learnt how to cast a paralyze spell. Fearing a demonstration Kaleah quickly steps in front of me, extending her wings like a protective shield. The look Kaleah gave Vilja would have frozen a normal person where they stood but Vilja just goes on yakking like nothing has happened.

Just think, Paralyze… in the hands of Vilja… oh that could be dangerous. May my Goddess protect me should I ever step in front of Vilja while in battle.

After calming things down, Kaleah and I left Vilja to deliver the beauty cream Heneri. Heneri paid the promised “reward” with a potion, Melting Daedra Heart Essence, -10 point personality. Oh joy, just what I need, a potion that will make one so repulsive that no one will want to have anything to do with you. On second thought, it would be perfect on those days when the Ladies get to squabbling and all you want is to be left alone.

As a bonus for warning her of adverse side effects of the beauty cream, Heneri also gave us several bottles of assorted strong potions. She told us that she is aware of the side effects and is planning on running a test. I don’t want to be around to see that.

There are additional spells that Heneri has offered to teach Vilja. But, due to the strain of working with Vilja, Heneri says she needs 3 days to recoup before resuming the arduous task of teaching Vilja.

A stop at the Fighters Guild to report the successful conclusion to the latest assignment was next. Guild Hall Master Burz gro-Khash chided me for paying the girl’s ransom. “You’ll never get rich that way,” he said. Never the less he promoted me to the rank of Protector.

After managing to get away from gro-Khash without being assigned a new contract, we returned to my Cheydinhal house. What little was left of the day was spent with Vaves Andas in the Cheydinhal OVB chapterhouse catching up on Order of the Virtuous Blood business. The report is good. Vampire activity is way down, almost non-existent in fact.

The following morning after breakfast we left Cheydinhal to give another go at convincing Molvirian to become the count of Kvatch. Being a very nice morning, we stopped at the boat dock while on the way to the Nibenay Basin
Gate to take one last look of the city lake.

It’s such a peaceful feeling just to stop and gaze out over the little lake. It has change a little bit over the years. The foliage has grown more lush and colorful, and the water is bluer than when I first visited Cheydinhal but it has always reminded me of Shaw’s Garden back home. Ah, got things to do and we better get going.

It was late afternoon upon reaching Molvirian’s cottage and we find Molvirian keeping vigil at Adria's grave. He looked a wreck, like he hadn’t eaten or slept since we last saw him. It also looks like he’s been defending the gravesite. A body of a giant rat and what could be harpy feathers lay on the ground nearby. Well, well, he may be suffering from grief ridden depression but the wimp can show some gumption when properly motivated.

Molvirian sees us approaching and falls to his knees lamenting his lot in life.

“Get up, you simpering oaf!” Kaleah commands.

Showing no patience for Molvirian’s plight, Kaleah lifts Molvirian up by the shoulders and stands him in front of me. Hoping to awaken memories of his past I offer him the amulet and ring. The sight of the artifacts appears to have shaken Molvirian out of his depression. We can sense a change in him as he mentions how he had forgotten about the ring, and that he misses his wolf.

Now that Molvirian has come to realize that he is Arenar Goldwine heir to Kvatch, I tell him that Kvatch needs its leader. Accepting his new responsibilities the now Count Arenar of Kvatch shakes off Kaleah’s hold and sets out on his journey to Kvatch. Perhaps we’ll stop by in a week or so and see how he is doing.

“He may no longer be the simpering wimp we had first met but I still say, you would make the better count,” Kaleah stated matter-of-factly as we watch Arenar walk resolutely away from us.

“Perhaps so,” I replied. “But, the Men and Mer would never accept you and the Ladies and I would not tolerate that and besides, it just wouldn’t be any fun.”

With a smile Kaleah said, “I hear tell that when the wind is right one could smell Telvanni mushrooms down by Bothia’s Shrine. Want to go find out if it’s true?”

We both laughed and took the path south.

Wow, the change is quite extreme. I think you might also have higher resolution than me. Compare side by side: your picture and my picture.

Yes, I use very high textures. In 2017 when I put this game together I had just built a new PC with a high end graphics card which I pushed to the max with a boat load of 2K and 4K textures.

But, why such a dirty moss covered look to the walls of the Imperial City? Well, having just gone through the Oblivion crisis there is no money left in the coffers to pay for maintenance. The empire is broke and laid off all of the street cleaning crew.

TES IV is a very bright game world, this is true. Kahleah's got a very astute point there. Daggerfall's dungeons especially...





Yeah, I was gonna say: you used to be Macole - Vampire Hunter in the old forums. Interesting that Jandaga also carried this title at one time as well. The part when he falls asleep because while reading that text also cracks me up.

Uh oh, it's Vilja. Yeah I have heard about her yakking. She's supposed to be really well-done by Emma (yakking and demanding and such), and you've definitely captured this. Ha ha. "Due to the strain of working with Vilja, Heneri needs three days..."

Anyway, interesting quest going on there. Why is Molvirian a wimp?

Vilja is high maintenance all right. I can see where Heneri would need some time to recoup after hanging with Vilja for awhile.

It’s interesting the various paths Kvatch took depending upon the Elder Scroll consulted. In Buffy’s world, the Count had a wife – Countess Odalys Goldwine. The Count and his court mage had her magically frozen and locked in a vault when the Deadra takeover of his city became imminent. Savlian Matius and Buffy discovered her as they freed the city and managed to bring her out of the deep freeze. The process had taken its toll however and she never fully recovered, remaining sickly until her death a few years later. She nevertheless led the city well through most of its renovations. Of note, she turned the old Arena into an entertainment amphitheater for plays and concerts. She also had a statue built to honor the Hero of Kvatch (Savlian Matius who was killed defending Buffy during the final push to free the city). After Countess Odalys’ death, the Council appointed the Champions of Cyrodiil (Sir Agronak gro-Malog and Sir Mazoga) as Count and Countess of Kvatch. Somewhat related, the Arch Mage was so impressed with how Sigrid acquitted herself during the Battle of Kvatch that he designated her as Guildmagister of the city's Mages Guild chapter.

In Daggerfall during the chargen you have an option to apply disadvantages. My Daggerfall Jandaga was created with the disadvantage Light-powered Magery - Lower Magic Ability in Darkness (Decreases the maximum magicka.). That’s why paying attention to magic use while in dungeons is critical. Unless you’re in Cyrodiil where you don’t have to worry about such things.

The Jandaga is still a member of the Order of the Virtuous Blood, current rank of Vampire Hunter. It's a title he values highly.


Thanks, but um it is all in the way Emma wrote the dialog. I reworded it a bit. Heneri really does complain that getting Vilja to learn anything is torture and she needs three days to recover from the strain. Emma did an excellent job of painting Vilja as a big dumb blond Nord.

When we first met Molvirian he ran off at the first mention of the possibility of him being the count. Kaleah took a disliking to him when she heard that. She considers Molvirian as slow in deciding on a course of action and when he does decide he then needs a push to get started.




That sound like a good way to it. The amphitheater is something I would like to have. Kvatch could become the cultural center of the empire.

20230605 I-SL Mycelium Sanctum, Shenara Hleras’ Hut

Linking arms we left Molvirian’s cottage skipping south along the trail to where we could not tell. Not too far south of Molvirian’s cottage past Rickety Mine and Kemen we crossed the steps leading up Hero Hill. There on the steps we met the wanted criminal Zirain Avalone (MOO Wanted Faction).

At first I didn’t know what to make of Zirain. Kaleah was fighting a harpy when Zirain appeared on the steps loosing arrows at the harpy or so I thought. After the first couple arrows missed the harpy, striking Kaleah, I realized my error and took Zirain Avalone out of action permanently.

Standing there looking like a pin cushion, a stern faced Kaleah icily commented on my quick response in dealing with Zirain Avalone. At first I thought, “Uh oh, my time with this Daedra fantasy girl is over.”

Then she started to laugh, “You should see your face! Come on let’s get going.”

After collecting another trophy for the morgue we continued south through the Valus Mountains. From the steps of Hero Hill, up the southern slope we climbed, winding our way around boulders the size of houses until we stood atop the ridgeline high above the valley below.

There we came across a most puzzling sight. A large boulder protruded from the mountainside like a sore thumb. In front of it were two Ayleid stepstones. One was half buried while the other was fully exposed, neither appeared to be in good operating condition. On top of the boulder was an OOO chest.

Standing looking down at the misplaced chest my mind zoomed out west, back to our first visit to Lipsand Tarn and the tales Pa told me of birdmen that once lived there long before the Altmer arrived. Could this be another Birdman launch pad?

As I imagined a Birdman stepping out onto this rock, spreading his wings, and soaring high above the valley below I opened the chest. With such high hopes of finding some fey artifact no matter how small or insignificant I was disappointed to find only a hefty pouch of gold coins. That left me wondering, why would OOO put a chest in a place like this?

Seeing my disappointment, Kaleah rested a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. “It’s been a long time since we last found any trace of the Fey.”

“Yes,” I replied. “The Altmer and the Cyrodiilics have done a grand job of eliminating any trace of the Fey and the Birdmen. Ever wonder why that is?”

Night fell as we stood there pondering the chest’s origins. The dark cloak of night called to the multitude of stars to come out to dance and play in the sky while Magnus turns his enlightening gaze elsewhere. With no moon in the sky, traveling the Valus in the dark would not be wise. To stay on the safe side we spent the night there.

The morning came and we awoke to find going forward required climbing straight up or to drop straight down. I decided to back track and find an easier way to climb to the top of the mountain in hopes that we would be able to walk along the ridgeline. It was rough going and took most of the day but we did manage to find a way to the top of the mountains.

“Why do you always insist on doing things the hard way?” Kaleah asked. “I could have easily flown us here and you could have just levitated as you sometimes do or use that Midas angle wings spell to fly along with me.”

“It strengthens the will,” I explained. “Father used to say that perseverance of will allows one to push beyond his otherwise physical and mental limits. He considered willpower to be the most important attribute.”

Traveling southward along the ridgeline of the Valus Mountains, we eventually found ourselves standing high above Boethia’s shrine.

“I don’t smell any mushrooms, do you?” I asked.

Testing the air Kaleah responded. “No, but then it could be the wind isn’t right?”

‘Then we’ll have to go down and ask around,” I calmly stated.

The worshipers at the shrine had no idea what we were talking about. All they did was complain about how we invaded their secret place of worship. When they demanded to know how I knew about their secret site, they refuse to believe it when I told them it was marked on every map that I had ever seen.

Leaving the Shrine of Boethia, we search a wide area south to southeast of the shrine for any signs of Telvanni mushrooms. After several hours of fruitless searching we found ourselves standing in a valley looking up at Hame feeling thoroughly dejected. Where else can we look?

Talking it over with Kaleah we came to the conclusion that there was an area high in the Valus Mountains, west of Mir Corrup that we haven’t explored. Fortunately, we were standing near the entrance to the Lost Road tunnel leading to Mir Corrup. Into the tunnel we went. Exiting the Lost Road tunnel at the northern end we turned west, zigzagging our way across the Valus Mountain range.

The first thing we discovered was another OOO chest. This one was set between what I took to be as Goblin warning totems. The chest held nothing of an archeological interest. Just another question as to why it was here.

Shortly after finding the goblin chest we sighted what could only be a Telvanni mushroom house. Just think, the Telvanni mushroom house that we have been trying to find for nearly a year was practically a stone’s throw from Mir Corrup. Had we explored the area around Mir Corrup a little more thoroughly we would have found the mushroom house then. That would have saved us a huge amount of time. Makes one want to scream just thinking about it.

Though no one answered when we knocked, the door just swung open, beckoning us to enter. So we stepped in to see if anyone was home. Shenara Hleras was upstairs meditating. We waited until she was finished and then I tried to strike up a conversation.

Typical Telvanni, Shenara Hleras is one rude, sharp tongued, antisocial, old mage. It took some serious negotiating just to get her to talk about what I wanted. She kept interrupting with insults laced with insane, n’wah, and s’wit. When I was able to get through to Shenara that the Stranded Light desired to grow two Telvanni mushroom houses she demanded that I get certain supplies. First of which would be a working mind.

Kaleah bristled at the implication. Realizing that we were locked in a Telvanni duel of WILL I cleared my mind, put on an unreadable poker face, and politely showed her what kind of mind she was dealing with.

Fold 'em, let 'em hit me, raise it, baby, stay with me (I love it)
Love game intuition, play the cards with spades to start
And after she's been hooked,
(Mum-mum-mum-mah)
(Mum-mum-mum-mah)

An eon passed in seconds. Shenara Hleras gave a slight near imperceptible shiver. Oh my goddess she’s going to laugh at me. Had I over played my hand? A single bead of sweat appeared between her red eyes, rolled slowly down her nose, and dropped silently on the rug. Shenara cracked.

“Wh, wh, why sh, should I help you?” Shenara stammered.

Playing on her primal beliefs I explained (demonstrated) the power of magic.

“Yes, you have some good points,” Shenara said rather robotically.

Negotiating then began in earnest. So for the modest sum of 6 varla stones and 55 welkynd stones we got two spores primed for house growing. Not a bad deal considering she started off wanting the outrageous price even considering the recent inflated value of welkynd stones of 250,000 septims.

“Well played, My Feache,” complimented Kaleah. “But, the shriveled up old s’wit, didn’t even acknowledge she was dealing with the one true Archmagister, emeritus. I should’ve ground her into…”

“Now, now,” I interrupted. “No need for that. We may have need of her again. For now I think we need to go to Merendin and find out where to plant these spores.”

Hero Hill. I have a vague idea where that is. Somewhere northeast, as I recall. And more stepstones. How many of these do you reckon have been found, so far?

I see one of those Reverent Shades in the background of the chest picture! I can remember first time we saw one of those; it was in front of the fort Istrius, although I didn't know where (or what) it was. Man, that blew my mind. Such a magical world. WHOA look at taht night sky!!!

He's traveling with Kahleah, now. Is there any advantage to this over say, traveling with Pym or one of the others? In other words, what does Kahleah bring specifically that the others do not?

That is true about the chests in the middle of nowhere. I can remember there was some guy in the old forums complaining about this, like, he started an entire thread to complain about how illogical it was for some chest containing meager treasure to be dragged deep in some ruins, or out in the woods somewhere. And it was like.. dude, it's a FANTASY game.

The part when he tries to out-stare the Telvanni matron by singing yet another song from our times had me giggling! -------- Don't know that song at all, though. No bells ringing for me this morning.

Ssshhhh... She's his wife!

Stepstones: I've activated around 130 stepstones. I’ll have to do some digging but I think I read that there are around 170 steps all together.
Hint: The title of the song is in the preceding sentence.
Kaleah: She laughs in the face of danger (using companion sound set cssCalisto_csscal8_00000D0C_1).
She can fly, providing another RP mechanic for fast travel.
In times of severe inclement weather or to provide a safe haven at night she can use her wings to envelope the two of them in an impenetrable cocoon.
Chests: The oddly placed chest adds to the adventure. They allow you to add your own reason why.



Uh oh, who told? Love with a Daedra is complicated and could cause a commotion among the Field Hippies.

I remember a certain book... "A match", was it?

What a spectacular night sky over birdman rock!

Telvanni and their smelly old mushroom houses. . . .

Yikes, didn't know they are married!

But I was asking more about what sort of abilities Kahleah's got, which aren't shared by Pym or any of the others. Like... why would Jandaga ask Kahleah (or anyone) to join him but not the others? Because I notice he tends to roll with somebody for a while, and then somebody else.

Thanks for explaining, macole.


This post has been edited by Renee: Jun 6 2023, 01:32 AM

Acadian: may be the oldest but still best night sky mod ever, IMO.

Renee: Kaleah is with me at this time because I intended to reach Merendin where Kaleah will provide moral support an upcoming battle. Who better to lend aid when fightin Daedra than another Daedra.
Kaleah has couple other useful traits; a heightened sense of smell especially useful in detecting vampires and she is my conduit to UESP and the Nexus. When stumped she can supply guidance.

Married? It’s not the formal Mara thing. Being a Daedra and Faerie thing it would be totally against all the tenets of the Nine to accept such a union. I had a dream that worked out all the details. Now, shortly after waking I can’t remember how it works. Just a couple of things remain. One: there is a firm bond between the Daedra, Kaleah and the Fae Aelf, Jandaga. Two: (secrets the ladies won’t let me tell).
Kaleah lifts the Jandaga up by the shoulders looks intently at him with smoldering heterochromic eyes and says, “I am yours, you are mine, we are what we are, and that makes it hard.”

20230613 Dragons, Sundercliff Watch
(Addendum: when convincing Shenara Hleras to help there are three skill check options you can take; Lore, Magic, and Misc.
Lore: I fail every time. Blame it on my character’s racial disagreements with the accepted lore of the Nine for being unable to answer the questions advantageously.
Magic: is successful but my answers left me with 1 point of infamy. Some NPCs no longer think I’m such a great hero, such is life. I feel that would be appropriate since I travel with a Daedric Seducer or Succubus which I would think would cause some concern among the population. I didn’t go back and redo.
Misc: successful without taking a hit on fame but I decided to keep the Magic result.)

We left Shenara Hleras’ hut, trekking north to the top of the Valus Mountains. Once we reached the ridgeline we turned south. Trekking through the high country at this time of the year was enjoyable. Few wild beasts or villains bothered us as we walked and there was only one mild snow storm that forced us to take shelter under Kaleah’s wings.

Navigating our way along the edge of one dangerous cliff I commented, “Someone needs to cut a safer trail through the Valus.”

“I’m sure the Imperial Land Office has a Trails of Cyrodiil project on file,” Kaleah replied.

On the second day, enticed by a fairly gentle slope, we turned slightly westward leading us down out of the mountains. It was a nice quiet hike down the mountainside toward the valleys below. At one point the slope leveled out in a wide rocky flat. Crossing the wide level area I thought this would be a good place to build a mountain hunting lodge.

A roar like distant thunder echoed up the mountain side from down below.

“And just what will you hunt, dragons?” Kaleah asked.

Not long after that we were walking in the land of dragons. As we passed by Abandoned Mine, we stood face-to-face with the maker-of-thunder, a great shadow dragon. An adult shadow dragon, teaching her two younglings a few hunting techniques, had decided to use us as the objects for the demonstration.

Of course we objected to being used in such a manner. The fight took us from one side of the coulee to the other. When it was finished and the dragons had learnt their lessons, we were looking up at the ruined walls of Sundercliff Watch.

Worn out from the fight I thought Sundercliff might provide us a suitable place to rest.

“Now you know we usually have to spend a day exterminating these places to make it suitable for resting,” Kaleah laughed as she checked the string of her bow. “Think this one will be any different?”

A step inside Sundercliff Watch, Kaleah stopped me from going any further. Lowering her voice she said, “I don’t like the smell of this place. It reeks, reeks of death ancient. We should leave.”

What? The normally unwavering Kaleah showing signs of unease at entering a ruined fort, that gave me cause to pause. Yes the place was dank with a heavy musty smell and it was dark, even with Twinkle at my shoulder but it was quiet. I was about to disagree with Kaleah when we were attacked by what we later learned was a Drothmeri soldier. That changed everything. Kaleah now will not leave until she extracts her just retribution.

The Drothmeri soldier, then another, and another go down easily as we advance along through the ruined fort. After several encounters with Drothmeri soldiers we are hindered by a large locked door. When we try to open it, a voice on the other side yells out, “What’s the password”.

Noticing an Abandoned Knapsack sitting on the floor near the door we search through it to find a small diary… What a dummy! He wrote the password in his diary and left it by the door. Who would do such a thing?
Password accepted, we’re allowed to access to the inner portion of Sundercliff Watch. Stepping through the double doors the steward sitting at a desk with two guards at his back looked up at us. It was a déjà vu moment.

"Ahh yes, we've been expecting you. You'll have to be recorded before…” Steward Vaske began. “Wait, you don’t look like… you’re not new recruits. Guards kill them!”

At the command, the Drothmeri soldiers sprung into action. Over matched, the Drothmeri fell easily. Kaleah and I took some time to look around. A note found on Steward Vaske’s body gave some insights as to what is going on here. Arch-Mage Frathen Drothan is raising an army led by Commander Adrethi with the goal of bringing an end to the Empire thereby freeing Morrowind from Imperial enslavement.

The note was signed, Death to the Empire. Arch-Mage Frathen Drothan.

The note also mentioned the capture of an assassin sent by King Helseth of Morrowind. Apparently not everyone in Morrowind agrees with Frathen Drothan.

Turning to Kaleah, I pointed at the signature on the note.

“Arch-Mage… phfft,” I spat. “I warned Uriel that playing the Mages Guild and the Telvanni against each other would only lead to trouble. Now we got rouge mages leading a revolt. What has happened to the organization I left behind?”

Kaleah laughed and sang a little song reminding me that it was my decision to leave it all behind and retire to Lyithdonea in the Azurian Isles.

Where, oh where, are you tonight?
Why did you leave me here all alone?
I searched the world over, And thought I found true love.
You met another and Phfft! you were gone.

My ranting turned to laughter and together Kaleah and I advanced deeper into Sundercliff Watch. Sadly the few
Drothmeri that had the misfortune to stand in our way never learned just what was so funny.

The fun came to a sudden halt when we opened the doors to a large subterranean room. Standing there speechless, we looked out in amazed disbelief at the village set deep beneath surface of Cyrodiil.