The story of Ann Thraxx, a survivor of Kvatch Options

[Lady Saga]

Good day fellow Chorrolmates. I am Lady Saga, and today I'd like to talk about the saga of Ann Thraxx.

I originally posted all of the text of posts 1 and 2 over at Bethsoft's Oblivion: general area. Forgive the crudeness of some of the early text, for I was not originally writing Ann's tale as a true story yet. In Post #2, this starts to change. Post 1's text was originally in the Where are you Now #7 thread, and Post 2's text came from my own thread in OB: General.

This character is probably my deepest Oblivion roleplay to date. Originally I wanted her to be "Renee Gade III", which means she'd be some sort of heroic figure. But as Ann Thraxx evolved, it was apparent she's going to have a story much different from what I had originally conceived.

Although I'm on PS3, I performed a couple little tricks which I like to call pretend-mods. I used another character's game save, so that Ann never had to go thru the Tutorial part, then I fast-traveled her to just outside the Imperial City...Chestnut Handy Stables, to be exact. I had no idea why her game started here, though. That was not made known to me, yet. I also didn't know who Ann was, exactly. All of this becomes apparent during the massive text below.





Name: Ann Thraxx

Race: Imperial

Sex: female.

Class: peasant (custom).

Starsign: Atronach

D&D alignment: Chaotic Neutral


Ann Thraxx the wayward peasant has just arrived at Chestnut Handy Stables outside the Imperial City. She arrived here by carriage, and it is nighttime...dark and rainy. She's wearing nothing but one of those horrible Cyrodiilic bras and some sack cloth pants. No shoes, no shirt.

Ann has heard there's a place to stay in "some house on the Waterfront" * so she's walking there now.

* I think there's a free bed in one of the houses on the Waterfront. if there is, no problem. A "friend" told Ann there's a place she can stay. But if there is no free bed, Ann will have no place to stay.

Her family is no more, and she is sad. I'm thinking she was a farmer of some sort, perhaps, and lost her farm. Her husband got killed perhaps, and Ann is right now in serious depression, serious culture shock. She's been to the I.C. before, but never actually lived here. She's used to the wide open plains of the West Weald.

She is poor, but she is also fortunate to have 58 gold in her pocket, along with a soul gem and a few minor things which can be sold. How she got all this stuff? We shall find out, won't we?

Ann Thraxx arrived at the Abandoned Shack, which is anything but abandoned! It was about 6am Cyrodiilic time, and Hillod the Outlaw and a dark elf male (forget his name) immediately rose as Ann walked in the door. Oops...

"Please, I didn't mean to startle you" she said to the dark elf. "I am Ann Thraxx. I have been sent here and was told I could spend the night. I've lost my home and my family..."

What was interesting was the dark elf's greeting had something to do with losing his job or being out of work or something. This fit right in, so that Ann and the dark elf had a short conversation about finding work.

The situation in the Abandoned Shack was awkward as the 2 males stood around staring at Ann. This isn't what she expected! Ann "got to know" Hillod and dark elf, and gave them more than half of her 58 gold (she basically bribed him so she can stay in the Shack). But the guys wouldn't leave!

Ann took a short walk outside, deprived of sleep and getting dizzy. She found a couple beggar beds which were open, but there's no way she's gonna stoop that low.

Finally she made her way back to the Abandoned Shack. It's now 8 am and Hillod + the dark elf are both gone. Finally.

Ann sets off to sleep. When she wakes, she's going to see about looking for work in the Imperial City.

.

This post has been edited by Lady Saga: Apr 12 2012, 07:45 PM

[Lady Saga]

.... several days earlier ......

Heartfire 6, 3rd Era, Year 433, 6:50 am

It's dark and rainy. Ann has been standing outside Chestnut Handy Stables all night. With nothing better to do, she had been waiting for a chance to have a word with the owner of the place. Or steward. Or whoever runs the show here.

"When exactly dos't Chestnut Handy open, me lady?" Ann asks.

"Anytime now..."says Restita in response.


She looks off to the west. And up above. The clouds are dark today. Dark and ominous. And it's one of those days during which looks as if the entire day will be just like this. Dark, rainy and ominous.

Ann feels a certain dread. She's here for a job, you see. A job tending to the horses. Once again, she feels it might help her cause to be amongst them, and officially have something to do to keep her mind away from her past.

Daydreaming for awhile, Ann looks away from the clouds, the rain upon her face streaming away. Her clothes are soaked, but this is okay. One of the tenets for holding a job as a stablehand, after all, is the ability to work in all types of outdoor weather. Is she qualified for such a task? Certainly so.

As she now steps back under the awning, she notices Restita is gone. Probably off to tend to her small herd. Ann smiles. She smiles at the thought that possibly she too might join Restita, helping her with those gentle beasts.

She and Restita would become friends. Ann senses this could happen. They would become friends, and it would be one of those friendships which would last a long time. This makes Ann smile; visualizing herself with Restita, the two of them playing together, perhaps. And hey, maybe even she and Brelus would find themselves in pleasant company as well. Brelus is a grouchy man, Ann thinks, but stranger things could happen.

Ann tries the door to the stablehouse, and finds it is unlocked.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Cozy and dark, this place is. She sees several bedrolls. Cabinets. A table. Some chairs. Typical Cyrodiilic quarters for the lower-class, for sure.

Ann notices all this as she walks in. ... And there's a figure sitting upon the chair, a figure eating bread.

She walks up, and suddenly freezes.

...smack smack smack .... gulp ...

"I'M WAITING!"

says the orc, Snak gro-Bura. Is this the owner of Chestnut Handy? Ann thinks. Is this the one she's supposed to speak to?

As Ann musters up all her courage, she suddenly falters. And stares. she stares at what seems to be an entire spitoon foaming up around the orc's mouth. An orc eating. Orcs haven't got the same mannerisms as humans and elves do, Ann thinks.

She tries not to grab her stomach in revulsion. Put it to rest dear! she can hear her dead Marcus saying in her head...just do not focus upon such things. And do'st thou job! ....Easy as pie!

Everything always came so easy to Marcus. But now, Marcus is not here.

"Um...I am Ann. Ann Thraxx. Of Kvatch. I am here about your horses. Might I take some of thou'st time, um.....stable-orc?" Ann says, feeling dreadfully frightened.

Unlike humans and typical elves, orcs had a habit of losing tempers very quickly, and unapologetically. In the "melting pot" that Cyrodiil had become over the past few centuries, all races had merged, as well as a few species here and there. The orc? Well, let's just say the orc is the one who seemed most like an "orc", and had not become as "Cyrodiilized" as other races.

"The Chestnut Handy Stables used to sell horses. But now they're gone. All gone. Yep. They're gone. URRRP"

"GONE? What dos't thou mean 'gone'?"

Ann suddenly looks to what she thought was bread, and sees it's actually a very dark selection of meat.

Dark meat.

No bread

And an orc.

Suddenly, it all makes sense. Ann can barely ask the question she's meaning to ask, but she also has to ask it.

"Are you....are you eating them? You are! You are eating the horses!"

"I almost walked into that one. Of course not! That would be wrong! Orcs don't eat horses!"

"But... but you DO! You HAVE BEEN. You HAVE BEEN EATING HORSES.". Ann suddenly explodes.

The thought is difficult to comprehend!

"Enough talk." says Snak. Snak! What a fitting name...

"I...I ...." Ann stammers...

...before she knows it, she's landed a blow

"OOH!! HELLP!!! SOMEBODY HELP!!!!"

"You WILL.... NOT ...EAT MY HORSES!!!!!'

...each syllable placed with a blow from Ann's fist, as the orc now reciprocated!

"YOU! ...you DISGUSTING PIG! ....I SHALL TELL THE GUARDS WHAT YOU ARE UP TO!" Ann screams!


It alll happens so fast! Ann lands a right hook! Then a left! Then another right! Fighting this AWFUL orc just as she had seen unarmed fighters doing back in Kvatch's Fighter's Guild!

Suddenly another figure burst into the rooom....

"Break the law on MY WATCH will ya?"

it's an Imperial Guard, here to take control....

"I'll be confiscating your stolen goods...OH! And no gold to pay your fine, hmm? It's off to the lockup then!"

"But SHE HAS BEEN EATING THE HORSES! ARREST THE ORC! IT IS THE ORC WHO HAS BEEN EATING THE HORSES!"

Ann's world suddenly turns upside down. The guard, who (as trained) had been so concillatory a moment ago now drew his sword...

"THEN PAY WITH YOUR BLOOD!"

"What...WHAT?

As the guard draws his sword, it's not Snak he's after, it is Ann

"But.... NO!"

Fearing for her life, some sort of survival code now takes over. Ann rushes out the door. Runs to the north of the building, where Restita is also coming for a row.

"NO!!! I didn't mean...it's the ORC!! IT is the ORC you want, not ME!"

"HUah!!!!"

As the guard takes a deftly quick swing, Ann's back exploeds with pain.

"AHHH!!"

It hurts so bad! Wow, it hurts! Ann has no choice now but to run.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
She runs back the way she came! Runs and runs and runs, just as shd did several days (weeks?) ago when Kvatch was overrun. When she gets back to the Market District area, she realizes she is safe. No guard is back there. No angry horseflesh-eating orc, either. But she feels weak; as if half her health is now gone.

She's shivering and shaking. Crying and upset. And she has not a choice in the world.

Heartfire 7, 11:18 am

As Ann walks up to a guard, she blurts out.

"I am guilty. And I can-not bear the burden of such a guilt. Please taketh me to jail".

Ann says this because she had been raised as such. Do NOT steal. Do NOT commit assaults upon your fellow, even if such a fellow a bloody orc. She cannot comprehend how that bloody orc can get away with her misgrievances, and not have to do jail time. But this is no reason for Ann to run.

"Well now...what have we here? Caught in the act and no gold to pay your fine. I'll be taking your stolen goods. Now come along peacefully, or I'll have to get ... nasty."

Feeling lower than some of the mushrooms she had picked recently (and sold to Thoronir), Ann gives in. She must. She has no other choice.

"Serve your time peacefully, and pay your debt to society", says the guard with a gleam of honor in his eye.

------------------------------------------------------------------

At some point, the spider had started to move again. Ann's mind had been drifting, and she had missed when this seemingly undramatic moment had occured.

As Ann watches the spider, she seems to emit absolutely nothing to the outside world, as a flame which has recently died no longer casts its vital light to those who might witness.



This post has been edited by Lady Saga: Jan 3 2020, 05:34 PM