The Gweden report, A story of the story of the stories. Options

[ghastley]

Until I complete the other mods, there's not a lot to add to their stories, so I thought I'd tell the tales associated with Gweden while I work on them.

That mod's anything but linear, as you can do the individual quests for most of the girls in any order. That meant I'd have to come up with a narrative that links them all together and creates a sequence. Rather than take the easy way out and describe it all from the Player-character's viewpoint, I thought I'd try a different approach entirely.

So I'm going to write a story, about a reporter writing a story, about the stories of the girls who work at Gweden. They'll tell them to him one at a time, and there will be a bit of extra narrative added beyond what actually happens when you play through each of the quests they're describing.

The Champion is arbitrarily male as before, and of no specific race. Because of the requirements of the mod for some of the quests, he's also the Madgod, Master of the Fighter's Guild, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Arena Champion, and Archmage, although I'll try to play those down as much as possible. All of those things are less important to his employees anyway. He's the boss, and he did something special for each of them, or they wouldn't be there.

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Prologue

"Listen up girls," Tsarrina began. "This one expects you've all heard the news by now. The Oblivion Crisis is over, and the Gates are all closed. Martin Septim is no more, and the Elder Council is running things ."

"Our boss is now the Champion of Cyrodill, and so everything he does is front-page news in the Black Horse Courier. They're sending a reporter down here to do a story about this establishment of his, in the next few days."

"This one doesn't want it to be just another story about the boss. He's getting a bit tired of that himself. This one wants it to be our story. Your story."

"We probably won't make the front page, as it appears they're sending a junior down to do the interviews. But that should work in our favor. He'll be young, and you'll all appreciate that. Especially Juliana. This one wants you to be ready if he's really inexperienced. The rest of you are to make the best impression you can. We can get some really good publicity from this."

"Should we start shopping for new clothes?" asked one of them, hopefully.

"No, you won't be needing those much," Tsarrina chuckled, "but make sure anything you do wear is is the best you have. And by that, this one means the most effective, not the most expensive. Unless it's both. Dark-eyes, get your uniform starched up and crisp. Cybeline, that red velvet number with the plunging neckline that you keep for special occasions. This is a special occasion."

Everyone looked at Prizna. She just laughed, and Tsarrina had to grin, too. "This one does not expect you to start wearing clothes now."

"This one wants you all to be ready to tell him how you came to be here, and what part the boss played in that. It will keep the stories relevant to his assignment, but they'll be about you as much as they are about the Champion."

"We'll make use of the old farmhouse as the interview room. It's nice and cozy in front of the fire there, and we'll put some comfortable chairs either side. We should keep the main rooms in the Lodge open for business. There's no point losing any trade while he's here, after all."

"Will he be staying at the Count's Arms while he's here?", asked Maeva. "I can walk up with him in the mornings if he does."

"No, we'll keep him here at the farm," Tsarrina decided. "He'll use the main bed in the farmhouse, and this one doesn't want him sleeping in it alone! You'll each get a turn to tell him your story. Make sure you also get a turn to show him what you can do."

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Future pieces will have each of the women telling her story of how she came to be at the Gweden Brothel, or the reporter putting the report together. I'll add a postscript article from the Black Horse Courier about Cousin Miranu's miraculous potion at the end, which should take a post or two to cover it. I have most of the stories drafted, as they come straight from the mod itself, but I'm still working on the wrapper narrative, and haven't finalized the sequence of the individual tales yet.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Oct 7 2016, 04:47 PM

[ghastley]

Just an interlude to wrap up the Gweden part of the story before I move on to Miranu.

By the way "Summary" is the title because that's what the reporter needs to do, not just because I do too.

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Summary

The young reporter from the Black Horse Courier had a problem. His normal practice was just to turn in his notebook and let the editor decide what would appear in print. That might not be such a good idea this time.

He'd been sent here to write an article about the Champion of Cyrodiil, but he hadn't even seen him, and all his notes were about the women.

For example, there were his notes on how to tell the girls apart in the dark. Dark-eyes had scales, and Shulassa fur, so they were easy. Size and shape did it for most of the others, especially Silanu. But Prizna had been totally right about all the Daedric women being the same perfect shape. For them, it was all about more subtle differences. Prizna's skin was warmer, so that was simple, as long as there was someone else to compare with. It took him quite some time to discover that Goldie would squeal with pleasure if you kissed her just there. Nelrene liked it too, but she did so more quietly. Once he'd guessed correctly and they opened their eyes, the glowing red, blue or gold made it easy.

How long had they played that game? He hadn't written that down. How could he write in the dark? Even if he wasn't way too busy!

And then there was the note that his favorite flavour was Virgilia. That wasn't in his own handwriting, but it was a very good forgery, enough to fool the Khajiit brothers. He suspected Virgilia had written it herself.

That reminded him of another benefit he'd got from this assignment: The words "Khajiit" and "lick" would no longer conjure up thoughts of that stupid Argonian in Leyawiin and his dumb jokes!

He wasn't sure if the references to "polishing" would make sense to everyone. How well-known was that book, or the play it was taken from? When he re-read that part it looked like he was bragging, so he decided to leave it out completely. She'd been exaggerating just to make him feel good, hadn't she?

He'd been at the farm for long enough to see that Tsarrina was very good at matching the customers to the specialities of the girls. Silanu to those who wanted discipline and correction. Nelrene to those who didn't quite take it that far, but still needed to be told what to do. At the other end of that scale, Selena was eager to please, and she'd do anything the customer asked, and better than they expected!

Sugar took on the "vigorous" types. She liked it rough, but she'd give as good as she got. They'd put a Restore Strength and Endurance potion beside the bed when she had a customer, and it wasn't for her, except indirectly.

Darwen and Cybeline were very acrobatic and flexible, and gave good value to the more athletic customers. Darwen was also the dancer, who'd set the mood for everyone with her gyrations.

Dark-eyes and Shulassa catered to the clients who wanted "something different". They didn't get Khajiit customers, except for Ma'iq visiting Tsarrina. It just wasn't part of their culture. Argonians were also rarely seen at the farm, and those that did come were as likely to go with someone other than Dark-eyes. But she had her Lusty Maid role, and she really enjoyed that game.

Prizna, too appealed to the adventure-seeking types. Most of them had never seen a Dremora before, and certainly never a naked female one! She'd also helped close an Oblivion gate, which left many of her customers in awe. So did most of the things she did to them.

Juliana remained the first-timers specialist. Any of them could make a man out of a boy, but Juliana could make him a regular customer!

Maeva and Freija were the archetypal Nord good time girls, the kind you'd want to cuddle up to on a cold evening in the mountains, ... or any other time. They were also the ones who'd take control if things got too boistrous on party nights. Nelrene's background as a guard would come out then, too, and Sugar could help negotiate the peace with her axe.

Virgilia wasn't a jiggly giggly schoolgirl any more, but she could play the part perfectly for anyone who wanted that fantasy. (She was still naturally jiggly, but the giggly part was all an act). Meena could play the eager young ingenue just as well. It wasn't that long since she'd been a virgin, and she still remembered how to act like one. As a Breton, she was naturally small, which helped the illusion.

And Goldie did her smoldering "are you good enough for me?" act to perfection. Nobody ever failed, but she managed to give her clients a feeling that they'd achieved something momentous. Ego-boosts like that were good for everybody's business.

And they all thought the Champion of Cyrodiil, their boss, was the perfect employer. Tsarrina was held in almost equal esteem for the way she ran the place and kept both customers and staff happy.

He'd been given enough gold to rent a room in Anvil for two nights. He'd been here a week, but he hadn't ever reached Anvil, so he still had all that. He decided to use it to rent a room at Brina Cross on his way back instead, and transcribe his notes selectively to a fresh book. He wouldn't get interrupted and distracted there.

He wasn't going to discard this one, of course. He had enough material here for a novel. One that would make "The Real Barenziah (Daggerfall Edition)" look tame. Now where could he find a publisher that he trusted?

Getting back to the Courrier article, if he didn't write about the women, what did he have left to write about? They'd all been rescued, or at least helped out of a significant problem, by the Champion, but in one edition, he couldn't tell all their stories. Certainly not as well as they'd told them to him. Especially as there were things you weren't allowed to print, and others he'd never be able to put into words.

He felt that he owed Tsarrina a lot for her generous gift of the girls' time. He also knew that was exactly what she wanted him to feel. She was a shrewd businesswoman, and had orchestrated his whole visit to suit her purposes, but he wasn't complaining. She'd get the sort of article she wanted, if he could just get the right words together. It suited his purposes too.

He had to make all the men want to come here and hear the stories first-hand, and all the women want to be rescued by the Champion. He should find a way to mention the Daedra, because you wouldn't find their like elsewhere. There was so much he wanted to write, and so few words you could get onto one broadsheet.

"Women Rescued" was a good headline. Especially with the Champion of Cyrodiil named in the sub-heading as the rescuer. He could point out the large number of good deeds as a reason for not giving all the details. He did need to mention Tsarrina's name, and maybe quote her somewhere in the article.

Prizna had made a real impression on him, which was clearly why Tsarrina started with her. It had taken him a while to realize that she didn't just party naked, she fought that way, and she'd closed the Oblivion Gate by the Champion's side without any armor. Reminding the readers that the Gate had been threatening Bravil would just add to the mood he was planning for that part of the piece. Just mentioning that there were two more Daedra women, of different races, should be enough.

And they weren't the only unique thing about the Champion's establishment. There were others to mention, like the Unicorn the Champion had rescued along with its rider. And a real Lusty Argonian Maid. Well, maybe she wasn't a real Maid any more, but the rest was definitely real. Silanu was also unique, in a big way, but she'd asked him not to reveal her hiding place, in case any of the Mythic Dawn were still around.

He reminded himself that all the races of Cyrodiil - and beyond - were represented here. He should use that to make the point that the Champion was everyone's champion, and here was the proof. That should keep the brothers happy.

He could attribute Gweden's fine taste in wines to the Champion too. Tsarrina wouldn't mind, he was sure. Tamika and the Surilie Brothers would appreciate their names appearing. He should show them the draft article on his way back.

He could mention the view of Anvil bay at sunset, and how the view inside the Lodge could be just as awe-inspiring. And on the subject of Anvil, he'd better provide a map to the place, so people would know how to get here from the town. That could be printed on the back.

But he'd have to write it tomorrow, because right now, a little blonde Breton wanted his attention, and he thought she deserved it in full.

This post has been edited by ghastley: May 24 2012, 04:24 PM