Today in Cyrodiil, spoilers version, TES: 4 Oblivion character accounts & stories Options

[Renee]

Hello people, and welcome to the Chorrol > Oblivion Spoilers > Today in Cyrodiil thread, a place where one can write all about their charcters in TES: 4 Oblivion, and include spoilers in the story. I realized that the other Today thread is in General section, and this new character of mine is going to have a lot of spoilers in her story, so here goes.

Let's meet my new one!

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Morndas, 2:12 AM, Last Seed 27, 3E433

"Pale skin.... snotty expression," says the putrid voice of a dark elf, somewhere nearby.

The captive woman awakes slowly.



"Yo're a Breton", continues the voice ..."the masters of magicka, am I right? Hmm?"

"What?" the captive calls out.

"Yo're nothing but a stuck-up haahlot, with cheap pahlor tricks. Go ahead! Try yo'r magicka in here! Let's see you make those baahs disappear!"

"You know of my magicka? And how?" the captive is now confused. She does know some 'magic tricks', but her knowledge is limited to just a couple of minor spells.

"Ohhh what's the mat-ta? Not so powerful now, are you Breton? Yo're not leaving this prison 'til they throw yo'r body in the lake! Ohhh that's right, yo're going to DIE in here, prisoner. ... Yo're going to die!

Joan of Arkay, the aforementioned 'captive', begins to remember what happened to her. The faire she had attended. The challenge of her faith by a non-believer. The subsequent argument which had turned ... nasty.

"A Redguard had then come to my assistance," she remembers. "A sweet-talker, that one. Guards made a showing, the fight did gather with persistence..."

Beyond this, Joan cannot remember the rest. How did she wind up here? In a jail cell? ...

As she tries her memory, she suddenly hears voices. Footsteps. A group apparently is approaching her cell. "...we don't know that sire," says a woman's voice; a fellow Breton. "...the messenger only said .... "

"Nooo they're dead. I know it," says a man. His voice sounds deep and familiar.

"Whot's this prisoner doing here? This cell is supposed to be off limits!"

"Usual mix-up at the watch.... I ah..."

"It doesn't matter, let's get this gate open. Prisoner! Stand over by the window," commands the female Breton.

"I .. but I ..." Joan stammers.

"We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way!"

"But it was not of my intentions!" protests Joan. "I was merely one bystander caught up in needless challenge!" her voice is strong. Resilient.

"Prisoner, stand over by the window now," says a male soldier. "Do as you say, and you won't get hurt."

At these words Joan concedes, and finally does as she is told.

"Stay put, prisoner."

Joan of Arkay is not prepared for what is to happen next, as the Emperor himself enters her cell. Emperor Septim, leader of all Tamriel. His bearing so regal, his clothing so colorful. His presence both overbearing and unexpected, fills Joan's cell. She can barely breathe. Uriel Septim VII is in my jail cell? Joan of Arkay thinks she might be in one of her bizarre dreams, only this one's much more real.

"Yooooou", says the Emperor "I've seen you. Let me see your face," he says, getting closer to Joan. "You are the one from my dreams...."

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3:20 am

"... as for what you have done, that is not what you will be remembered for..."

The Emperor rambles about how he's seen her before. He seems to know her, and obviously, this leaves Joan stunned. Surprised. Surprised at this interruption of her jail sentence. The Emperor has apparently been targeted, she learns, and all his sons have been assassinated. A secret escape route which starts in her cell is being utilized, and the entire group now leaves her cell, after one of its stone walls slides into the floor.

"Stay out of our way, and you won't get hurt," says one of the soldiers as they all slip by.

Joan of Arkay initially obeys this command, even as the secret wall does not rise back up, leaving a large hole in the wall. I must serve my sentence, she thinks I should not leave. To end one's jail sentence early would not only be considered dishonorable, it would be illegal. But did not the Emperor himself provide every reason to doubt my captors? ... Hadn't he said (in so many words) that my sentence would now be pardoned? These are not ordinary circumstances, then.

Joan can see her jail cell (the iron door itself) is still locked, and she initially thinks of calling the guards so they can move her to another cell. But after much time, and a bit of hollering, no guards come. Nobody shows up. During all of this, the dark elf still stands in his cell across the hallway, silently watching her.

"What do you make of that?" Joan calls to him. "The Emperor and his personal guards just traipsed through my cell! ... How can this be?"

But he does not answer. Perhaps he is just as surprised as she is.

"Well, it cannot hurt if I follow a bit down this passage," Joan rationalizes. "If I get caught, so be it. The door is opened, as the expression goes. And did not the Emperor himself admit he had seen me within his dream?"

Dreams. The dreams. Had the Emperor been having the same dreams as she? Joan of Arkay's curiosity is piqued at this. She now makes her way out of her former jail cell, and down a dark, sloping passage towards her destiny.

This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 3 2021, 07:27 PM

[Renee]

Loredas, 8:16 am
Heartfire 29, 3E438

Lady Saga

Level: 2

Health: 73
Magicka: 100
Fatigue: 155

Days Passed: 34

Factions: Mage's Guild
Rank: Associate


"Will you please put that thing out? No need for such, now that we are up and above, once again." Lady Saga says, a tad impatiently. "See upon the grasses, there? I have a need to view upon these grasses mine and your shadows. And feast my eyes upon the ways our shadowings point. Your torch's light will make our goings contradictory, as I cannot tell which way to direct unless I have only the day's light to go by."

Erthor, the wayward Bosmer from Skingrad, disobeys his partner's request for a few moments, but then solemnly puts his torch away.* If she would just take me back to Skingrad, all could be easily and conveniently explained! he thinks, feeling irked. The zombies were merely an experiment gone awry! ... And could I have tried such an experiment in Skingrad? Absolutley not. I needed to try my hand in the safety of Bleak Flats. But once again, I have been recalcitrant, and once again, I have been caught for my errings. But what will the Guild think? If I could just speak to Adrienne, all could be explained!

The pair have just exited Black Rock Caverns, still dripping wet from the spray of the waterfall which hides Black Rock's entrance. Saga had felt this spray directly upon her skin, as she now wears a Huntsman-styled brassiere upon her chest; her former leather armor top had been torn and beaten apart in Black Rock, and was quickly discarded. Saga has been trying her hand at armor & weapon repair, but her abilities away from the forge have been spotty, so far.

"See? See the shadows, and how they point left? We are heading towards the north. Thank you, Erthor, for putting away your torch."

Erthor makes no reply.

Well, too bad for you, sullen one, Saga thinks. 'Tis your fault you are in the position you are now: traveling with me all across Cyrodiil, instead of merely being escorted back to your home town. You were there, you had your chance to flee, and you did not take it. So now you are here. With me. Get used to this.

After their last adventuring in Black Rock, Saga has realized she needs Erthor. She needs his talents as a scamp-conjurer, especially. Over the years, her own talents in this particular area (Conjuration) have become especially weak. After her recent visit to the Chorrol Mage's Guild, Saga realized she's not even adept enough to conjure up a skeleton, anymore!** What would she have done in Black Rock when ganged upon by two, sometimes three bandits at a time?

She needs him. No question about that.

*

**

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9:09 am
So far the morning is quiet, other than the twittering of many birds. The hill they climb is covered by green and gold-colored grasses, and is rather steep, but not once can she and her partner not find a firm foot-hold as they walk. It takes Aerin from Valenwood awhile to find the stairs they had previously been taking, before being 'distracted' by Black Rock's presence. But find them she does.

"So I .... we ... are being sent to find some sort of book. An ancient tome of some sort," Saga says. "Fingers of the Mountains, or some such. Well, to think and to wit--"
.... Saga stops and turns, leaving her previous sentence unfinished, not that her partner seems to mind. She gazes back upon Chorrol, as it peeks through the great canopy of trees below.* She makes sure to take several such pauses as the pair climbs slowly up the hillside.

1:09 pm
The sun eventually starts to show, but the sound of a storm is ever-present. Saga occasionally breaks into a run, trying to make it to this place known as Cloud Top before the sun goes down, and Erthor does not seem to mind. The only enemy encountered is a solitary wolf, which Erthor and his summoned scamp easily takes down.

2:53 pm
The trees switch from deciduous to pure conifers, and the worn path becomes even more worn, rocks of granite and shale occasionally showing through the tamped-down earth. It does not take long before Saga and Erthor find their way to Cloud Top, which is little more than an Imperial ruins.

"Found the place, by the looks of it."

At first, Saga seens nothing, and Erthor does not offer much help. But as she investigates futher, she finds the burned-out torso of a man on the ground. Somehow, the book has been placed inside of his body, and Saga grimaces as she pulls this book out. She expects the book shall also be charred, but it is in good condition, somehow.

"Fingers of the Mountain", she says, somewhat awed. She tries to read it, but the book seems magically-sealed. "What thinks you, Erthor? A book placed within a charred corpse?"

Erthor, as usual, says nothing, but thinks many things.

*

This post has been edited by Renee: Dec 6 2022, 06:38 PM