Wonderful as always Minque - One thing, its not even important in a way.. I learned from my "Norwegian" teacher when it came to writing stories that if we are involving numbers in our story that all numbers from 0 - 20 should be written like, two, four, fifteen etc. and above that you use 21 42 700 000 000 etc. Hehe, thats really all I have to say...

Ditto.

Cliffhanger alert, cliffhanger alert! Nice update.

yay good job Minque

I think I promised you pics of Serene in her second dress


And another one

the last one

wow! Nice pics Minque!

Nice pics Minque

Shexay!

cool! Nice Pics

Nice update minque, I'm looking forward to reading more when I can. I like the emotion you put into the characters, it really makes them feel real, they have lives and minds of their own and I like that. I'm looking forward to reading more when I can.

At last, this is the final part of chapter 3, now there will of course be more chapters.....

”Master Demnevanni?” I whispered, my throat was sore and I could hardly speak. The mage kneeled beside my bedroll, smiling warmly at me;

“Yes my child”, he answered,” Shulki was worried about you, so she brought me here. You’ve had a nasty infection Serene, with tremor and very high fever, in fact you nearly left us so...there were need for special measures. But I´m glad you finally woke up, that means you’re going to be ok and that is very fortunate.....for us all as well as for ......” He stopped and sat just watching me.

“But....I don’t understand” I said, what day is it? I was totally confused; surely it was just a few hours ago that the slaughterfish bit me?

“It’s Fredas,” Shulki smiled, “more than two-and-a-half weeks since that monstrous fish got you; we all have been worried to death for you, me, Arius, Oritius- even General Darius was here to see how you were!, And..and I had to bring Uncle Baladas, because I was at my wit’s end.”

I shrugged, two and a half week gone from my life...just like that! I must have looked very astonished because then Baladas Demnevanni took one of the brown bottles from Shulki´s basket and gave it to me;

“Drink this, Serene”, he said, “It will get you strong quicker, and I will try to explain to you what you’ve been through.”

“That wound you got really was not hard to heal, but there was, as I already told you, a nasty infection developing extremely fast, that was why you passed out....None of the common cures remedied it; Shulki tried all she knew of, so she came to me.” Baladas sat himself down more comfortably, and I understood there was far more to this than I had suspected at first.

“It wasn’t a fair sight I spotted when coming here, you were tossing and turning on the bed, sweating massively.....and your leg....was red and very swollen. At first we tried to cool you down with wet blankets, your temperature was dangerously high...” He stopped again, put his hand on my forehead, looking satisfied.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I opened a portal back to Sadrith Mora to consult Master Aryon, one of my oldest friends; he supplied me with some very potent potions that normally cure anything rendered from beast-bites. It did no good on your condition, Serene, in fact you got even worse as time passed. Your tremor was really bad now and I feared you were going to die. “

A sobbing sound interrupted the mage’s speech; Shulki, who had been present during all this time, cried when she remembered.

“So, being at my wit’s end I got a premonition,” Baladas continued, “that somehow provided me with an answer. You must be protected by the Divines, Serene, because some faint voice told me to seek counsel with one of the greatest wizards in the whole Tamriel.....a man of great powers, living in perfect solitude far away from civilisation; Master Divayth Fyr, the Lord of Tel Fyr....So I opened another portal and arrived on the island of Tel Fyr.”

I sat up on the bed now, all ears; this was really getting more and more confusing.....I shivered and wrapped the blanket tighter around me....

“Divayth Fyr is probably, besides me,” Baladas chuckled, “the most skilled magician you can find, and he actually had encountered a similar infection as you were suffering on one of his daughters, so he had made a remedy once, but that was ages ago so he wasn’t sure he remembered exactly the recipe. He thus agreed to try and find it, as he always keeps record of his potions and spells and he was determined to find it. “

“It took time for the old Mer to search through his huge collection of parchment-rolls, and I was getting slightly nervous, remembering in what state you were when I left Gnisis. Anyway he found it and agreed to prepare the potion for me; he too was concerned about you,” Baladas smiled.

“Why?” I asked, “Why would Divayth Fyr be concerned about me? Does he know me?“ I was getting really worried now; it seemed as an awful lot of magicians and wizards knew of me and my mission here, and I was not sure how I really felt about that.

“Why, Serene, I told him about you, the prophecies we all know of, and you being part of them....well...”

“Anyway,” Baladas continued, “I got the potion from Divayth, and opened the portal back here. Just in time as I would say, you were in an extremely bad shape and Shulki was convinced you already were dead, because she could not feel your breath anymore, you were all still and your face was ash-grey. I forced the potion into your mouth and made you swallow it. Then we just had to wait.......and so we have, not seeing any sign of recovery until two days ago when we noticed you were sleeping a good natural sleep. Imagine the joy we felt, when we understood you were going to be ok again.”

I was pondering of this for a while; apparently I was playing a part in some prophecy here in Vvardenfell, how and why I had no idea, but it surely helped keep me alive anyway! Then a weird thing struck me.....I was a Redoran retainer...but those two wizards must surely be of considerable rank in Great House Telvanni. I could not grasp why some Telvanni-nobles would make so much effort to save someone like me......if it hadn’t been for that prophecy....

Needless to say the rest of the day was very pleasant; we all shared the meal that Shulki prepared, together with some Mazte and Cyrodiilic brandy to finish it up with.

When Baladas Demnevanni left he told me to be prepared, because within the following two weeks I had to fulfil the task about finding proof of the plot against the Emperor. And meanwhile, now that I was recovered, Shulki and I were expected to dance for the garrison again.

Our dancing the following evening was not as extensive as it used to be, probably due to me having been ill. I also had severe problems with my outfits; during the last weeks I’d lost several pounds so nothing really fit me; everything hung loose around my body, not very seductive at all. Arius Rulician was very attentive also; he gave me a huge bouquet of Stone flower and Willow Anther, I found this very sweet and touching and it made me feel bad about what I was planning to do to this innocent young man.

I started seeing Arius Rulician on a regular basis the following week. He also succeeded in “persuading me” to join the Talos Cult. It seemed to be a normal Cult worshipping the old Emperor Tiber Septim, the Dragonborne, but after attending some meetings I sensed something foul, it was just very faint at the beginning but it seemed as though some of the Cult-members were a bit apart from the others; I really didn’t know what to think about it.
Arius was the warden of the secret shrine in the cellar of Gnisis Barracks. He took me there to show me. It seemed as he was very proud of this important task of his, even though he apparently did not know what the shrine really was hiding. It consisted of an altar covered in a blue cloth. Upon it was a small chest, locked, and some candelabra beside it. When I asked what was in the chest he merely told me it was some secret holy artefact but that it was not meant for us ordinary members to know that, just the high rank leaders of the cult.

My chance to accomplish the task appeared the following Turdas, when Arius told me there was to be a meeting...or rather a sort of ceremony, in which all Talos-cult members were to wear black hooded cloaks, which hid their faces very well.....

I made some preparations just in case the opportunity to get into the chest in the shrine would appear; in a small leather purse I put the sleeping-potion given to me by Master Demnevanni, some ink, a quill, a piece of parchment and a good lockpick...all ready just in case..

I had no black, hooded cloak but Arius lent me his spare one, and since it was rather big on me it really hid my face very well. Arius met me in the hall the night of the occasion, put the cloak on me and led me down the stairs. We entered the room in which the ceremony was to be held, at a big round table six figures were seated, all in black cloaks; no one was to be recognised. Since I was the newest member it was my duty to prepare the brandy that was to be served. I was given a small package containing some common herbs to put in the liquor to make it more potent it was said. I was feeling rather nervous, a thin trickle of sweat ran down my spine, my hands were not exactly steady when I stood at a minor table in a corner of the room seasoning the brandy.

I stood turned away from the participants of the ceremony, mixing the herbs into the large jug of brandy in front of me.....then I carefully took out the blue vial that Baladas Demnevanni gave me at our first visit to Arvs Drelen, the one that caused deep sleep to anyone who consumed it. I quickly poured the contents into the jug, held it before me and then presented it to the cultists.

Baladas Demnevanni was right when he told me about the effects of that potion- within twenty minutes all the cultists were neatly asleep, heads on the table....except one who had fallen off his chair and snored loudly on the floor.

I was all wet from sweating; my heart beat as a sledgehammer, when I rapidly headed down to the shrine. The lockpick was doing its work nicely and when at last I opened the chest I realised that Shulki was right to suspect that the shrine was worth visiting. Inside the chest were a shimmering soul gem, three diamonds, and.....a piece of parchment! I unfolded the parchment, and my heart nearly stopped as I read the words written on it:

There are rumours that Uriel will be visiting Vvardenfell in person. If so we must act sooner than anticipated. We must watch his actions carefully and strike if the opportunity presents itself. We must also recruit more and swear them to the oath: That we shall die to put a strong man back on the throne of Tamriel.

Burn this note.

Oritus

The words were written in Daedric, I could read them but I was supposed to copy the note to avoid suspicion, and I was not that skilled in this strange language so I just took out my writing equipment and started copying:

There are rumours that Uriel will be visiting Vvardenfell in person. If so we must act sooner than anticipated. We must watch his actions carefully and strike if the opportunity presents itself. We must also recruit more and swear them to the oath: That we shall die to put a strong man back on the throne of Tamriel.

Burn this note.

Oritius

I could hardly hold the quill; my hands were wet from sweating and shaking severely. The knowledge that Oritius Maro was the head of the plot was frightening me terribly. I had to see to it that he didn’t harm Shulki.....I put my copy of the note back in the chest and put the original one in my bag. Unfortunately I could not lock the chest, but I hoped no one would really think about that...

After that I hurried out of the Barracks and headed towards Madach Trade house where I most certainly would find General Darius. No need to say that he was pleased with me, except for one little thing.....he asked me if I’d killed the traitors, by which he meant Oritius and Arius. When I denied this, he looked at me rather annoyed and wanted to know why.

“I´m a mage and healer,” I answered, “I do not kill people, I use cunning and magic instead! you got your proof, now I leave it to you.”

General Darius was a man who was accustomed to having his orders followed, so when he told me to go back and end the traitors´ lives, I said I would do it right away, but in my heart I was thinking of other options.....

I went out of Madach Trade house, tears running down my face. I could not go back to the Barracks and kill Oritius and Arius in cold blood, I had neither the courage nor any wish to do such a thing. The General had gotten his proof; as far as I was concerned he could do his own killing. My steps led me to Arvs Drelen, to the only one who could possibly help me out of this ordeal...

As I entered Baladas’ chambers a very familiar voice spoke, at first I could not see, my sight was blurred with tears but I surely recognised the hearty embrace from.....Imsin the Dreamer, of all persons!

“Renie, sweetie, ye ´ave done well.....don’t ya cry no more, yer gonna be jus´fine....listen te aunt Sonya an´uncle Baladas now.....shush now, love, an´come ´ere an´ have a lil´pick-me-up.”

I followed her to a couch and sat down, drying my face with a corner of Arius´cloak. I was given a golden reddish liquid that tasted wonderful and soon had me all calm and composed again.

“The General wants me to kill them,” I said in a thin voice, “but...but I can’t commit cold-blooded murder even if they are to assassinate the Emperor.”

“I know you can’t do that,” Baladas said calmly, “That’s why Imsin is here; she is superior to General Darius and will take appropriate actions against the traitors....and the General.”

“Aye,” Imsin stated, “I know what te do, be sure of that, but Serene, when ya first arrived I told ya te come te me for a task that would please ya...remember?”

I nodded silently and waited or her reply......and when it came I was really happy for the first time this horrible evening.....

Imsin handed me a parchment with my new orders......a letter from the Emperor’s office saying that I was to go east, to the Grazelands.....to be of aid and support to one of the native tribes of Vvardenfell.....the Ahemmusa Tribe.

I was also given a letter of introduction to the Wise Woman of the Tribe, Sinnamu Mirpal. I hesitated hearing that name.......it was familiar to me and I finally remembered.....my first evening in Balmora...The Eight Plates.....the young Ashlander that I spent that night with. And who really never left my heart....

Baladas Demnevanni offered to let me to stay with him for a couple of days before leaving for the Grazelands...to learn some useful spells and prepare suitable potions....that could be of use out there. I agreed on that but wanted to tell Shulki that I was leaving.....when she suddenly appeared in the chamber...out of nowhere as it seemed.

“Telepathy,” Baladas smiled at me, “I told you I was rather good at it didn’t I?”

Here ends chapter 3

Notes:
The part in red was originally written in Daedric....

The infection Serene caught resembles Tetanus....that´s purely intentional!

OoOoOoOh.. This is good Minque, this is goooood! (as always) Cant wait for the next chapter...

Gives a "good job" hug

Oh, and BTW Minque - if you have the Daedric font on your PC its just to write this and of course but now it came in Daedric didn't it

So it would be like this;

There are rumours that Uriel will be visiting Vvardenfell in person. If so we must act sooner than anticipated. We must watch his actions carefully and strike if the opportunity presents itself. We must also recruit more and swear them to the oath: That we shall die to put a strong man back on the throne of Tamriel.

Burn this note.

Oritius

This post has been edited by minque: Sep 11 2005, 08:39 PM

Nice update! I hope you like Russia and can update from there too.

Yeah..it looks like that on my word document, i have daedric on my pc but how on nirn did you get it on the boards....it´s not an option i reckon?

It should work by writing [*font=YourFont*]YourText[*/font*] just take away the stars..

Fuzzy Knight is Saxay for example

This post has been edited by Fuzzy Knight: Sep 11 2005, 08:08 PM

WOO HOO! Another update, good job Minky!

YAYYYYYYYYY Fuzzy....it worked ..look I edited.....Awwww you deserve a big hug!!!!!

umm what worked, it all looks normal to me...

the daedric fonts ....look the red text in the story is now in daedric runes...

uh not for me... I guess my pc doesn't know deadric...