Kothet's Story, A dremora in Skyrim, and his housecarl. Options

[ghastley]

Kothet was a (dead) character in the Gweden Brothel mod. He was the Dremora Valkynaz who owned Prizna, before she killed him and escaped. I resurrected him to be the test character for the Dremora Hearthfires mod for Skyrim, and he hung around a bit longer than expected.

Since a Dremora in Skyrim normally only wears a special version of Daedric armour (with reduced stats) he can't use most regular armour, so his story reflects that limitation, and the gear he does use is the same as the houscarl can use in my mod, which was of course added to the game as wearable by a Dremora.

The housecarl's combat style and equipment are set by the mod to complement the abilities of the player character, so a mage, defined as a player who has higher magicka than health or stamina, wil get an archer housecarl. An archer ( a non-mage with Marksman skill above one- or two-handed) gets a melee housecarl, and others get a mage. Kothet's preference is two-handed, although he starts off using a one-handed weapon with a spell in the other. The spell-book offers three choices of housecarl - male, regular female, and sexy female. The last of those wears skimpier outfits, and has the sultry voice rather than the commander voice.

Kothet's story is already well under way, and I'll start to post more episodes here once I finish posting Clark's. There's a link at the top for those who've forgotten about Prizna's interview with Clark. I linked to the copy here, not the one on my site with the nude picture of her.

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1 - Helgen

I can understand the Stormcloaks deciding to hide in my cave. The entrance is well-concealed, which is why I chose it. And it stays that way, if I'm careful how I enter, and don't leave obvious footprints outside.

I can understand how the pursuing Imperials found them, too. What I can't understand is why the Imperials think I'm one of them. Seriously, how many Stormcloaks have horns?

I'm not talking about helmets here. My horns are on my head, just like any of the Kyn. But we are few in Tamriel, so maybe they've never seen a Dremora before.

Whatever they were thinking, we all ended up on the same cart headed for Helgen. I presume I was vocal about the Imperials' incompetence in including me, because I don't remember much about the journey, just waking with a sore head as we approached the town. By that time, I'd given up trying to make our captors actually think. They were military, which would generally mean that thinking was for officers only.

---

I know this because once, I was an officer. In Mehrunes Dagon's forces, I led the attack that took Ganonah, the city the locals call Kvatch. Which is why I got the blame when it was taken back, even though I wasn't there at the time. I was the officer, so I should have forseen the possibility, and not left the place under the command of a subordinate . Even though Dagon himself had sent me elsewhere, on an assignment beneath my station.

To make matters worse, the woman I'd been given as a reward for my success at Ganonah had turned on me. Admittedly, I'd probably been unfair in the way I treated her. Anger at Dagon can't be directed towards him, and she probably got the worst of my frustration. I was on guard duty - me, a Valkynaz, on guard duty! - inside the gate we'd opened near Bravil. That's where she killed me. A mere woman struck me down, with shock spells to weaken me, and a final blow from a mace! I was so proud of the way she did it, but of course, unable to tell her until I was restored.

And then, equally, I was in no position to do so, because I was somewhere else in Tamriel. I have no idea how long I was in the heatless flames of Oblivion waiting for restoration, but I expected to be restored in the Deadlands, in familiar territory. Clearly I'd lost even more of Dagon's regard by being slain by my own woman, and he'd sent me to guard another gate, this time from the outside.

I'd only been there a few hours, when the fire in the gate suddenly ceased, meaning the gate was closed, and I was stuck in the mortal world until Dagon decided to recall me. Given his recent actions, I did not imagine that happening soon.

---

Two centuries later, I'm still here. Each time I die, I'm restored to Tamriel, not the Deadlands. So stripping off my armour and wrestling a bear wasn't as much use as I thought it would be. It just lost me some useful equipment, and I had to replace it with lesser things that mortals had made. Since then, I've learned to make my own.

When these Imperial clowns have finished with me, I'll need to make some more, as they took everything when they put us on the carts. Since I'd just crawled out of my bedroll when the Stormcloaks arrived, I wasn't even wearing my armour, and they gave me some crude sack-cloth things to cover myself.

I can see Helgen gates now, so it looks like we'll be there in a few minutes. Hopefully there will be a competent officer in charge, and I'll be released.

---

The horse-thief the soldiers had rounded up with us didn't have any confidence in officers, and tried to run as soon as we got off the carts. He died in a volley of arrows.

There was a legionary calling the roll of prisoners, and lining us up for the General. I'd heard of this Tullius, and he seemed like a man who could think. I was confident that their mistake would soon be rectified.

Obviously, my name wasn't on their list. They didn't even know it yet, because I hadn't told them. The unthinking grunts hadn't asked; it wasn't their job. The legionary asked his commander, a woman, what he should do. This was as it should be, pass the decision-making up the chain, and do not take responsibility on yourself. I expected her in turn to ask Tullius, but she decided that she didn't need to bother him with this level of decision, and arbitrarily condemned me to join the others in line for the block.

Part of me admired her confidence in her own decisions, but most of me just wanted to kill her. I stared at the Captain, learning her features so I would know her if we met again. No, when we met again. Even if I had to return from the dead to kill her, and of course I would do so.

I was the second to the block. It had me thinking that I might even be returned before all the executions were complete, and how beautiful would be the justice if I could place her head on this very block in my next life. But then the dragon came, and everything was confusion.

---

I found myself running into a tower with one of the Stormcloaks. My hands were still bound, and he had nothing to cut the ropes. How he'd got his own free, I wasn't sure. We went looking for weapons, and eventually found some. With my hands loose, and an axe in one of them, I could determine my own fate.

And fate led my nemesis to me. The same Captain led a small group of Imperials into the chamber, and my Stormcloak allies helped me deliver justice. I took her armour, adjusted the straps to suit my very different shape, and put it on. Her ample chest meant that she wore a size large enough to protect a male, but it wasn't quite the right shape. I discarded the top half, even though it was plate that might have melted down. There was no smelter or forge here.

Ralof laughed when I tried it on. "We'll no doubt find you some more as we go further in," he predicted. "Probably not plate, but the regular Imperial armour isn't too bad. Of course, I can understand you not wanting to be mistaken for one of them. Especially not for a woman!"

I felt the thought he hadn't expressed. The hope that I wouldn't get the chance to take any Stormcloak amour. He didn't want to find any fallen comrades on our way out.

---

Some did fall, but they were crushed by the collapse of part of the buildings just after we passed, and out of our reach. I managed to add a basic long bow and some iron arrows, from an Imperial archer, but didn't bother to trade any armour. His covered more, but was thinner. We both picked up some potions, lockpicks and minor items as we passed through the cave beyond the dungeons. Some of those arrows went into fighting spiders and a bear.

Ralof and I parted company at the exit to the cave. He was going to head for another small town called Riverwood, where his sister lived. I was more inclined to try and head back towards my cave. I'd survived well enough in Tamriel by keeping away from the people, so going into town wasn't my first choice.

But I wasn't familiar with this part of Skyrim, so I ended up finding myself in the same town I was trying to avoid. It seemed that all the trails on this side of Helgen lead to the same place.

---

I went into the general store, hoping to trade some of the Imperial military junk I'd picked up for something a bit less tied to one side of the Civil War. I walked into the middle of an argument betwen the shopkeeper and his sister about something that had been stolen. Since he didn't seem to want to discuss trade until that subject was dealt with, I found myself agreeing to look for the missing item. I really had no intention of going to look for it, but his description intrigued me. It seemed to resemble a Clannfear Claw, something I hadn't seen for decades. I wondered if it actually was one that had been gilded as a trophy.

I got a decent trade for my goods, so apparently my agreement had put him in a good mood. His sister pointed out Bleak Falls Barrow on the hills at the other side of the valley as the likely place it had been taken. The map I'd bought put it on one of the trails that crossed the hills towards Whiterun, and I had to pass near that city to get back to the Rift and my cave. It was a bit longer that way, but why not take a look?

I suppose I was also looking forward to the prospect of some combat. There would be bandits this way, the ones that had stolen the claw at least, and the other route was a well-used road that would be relatively boring. I headed for the hills.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Jul 18 2016, 06:07 PM

[ghastley]

haute: Kothet regards a "good view" as a strategic advantage, rather than something aesthetic, which is why he likes his new home.

Acadian: She's not really afraid, it's more revulsion. This ruin will help her work it out.

Renee: At least Kothet found some advantage in her dislike of spiders.

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Previously: Kothet went to Nchaund-Zel to look for dwarven metal to advance his smithing, and found spiders. His housecarl doesn't like those.

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11 - Nchuand-Zel

I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't want to go back to Nchuand-zel, but we had unfinished business there. And I knew that we'd be meeting Frostbite Spiders all over Skyrim, so the sooner she got past this spider problem, the better.

Fortunately, Calcelmo's workers had already made a good start on eradicating all signs of Nimhe and her brood. The first time we saw any webs was when we got to the door where we found Alethius' body. When I opened that, beyond it was a clean Dwemer hallway, with no sign of spider at all.

She shuddered, and took a deep breath, but the expression on her face brightened considerably. We were out of spider territory, but what were we into?

The first of the Falmer was waiting on a bridge ahead of us. I'd been proceeding slowly, just in case there were still spiders to be found, and I saw him long before he detected us. I drew my bow and crouched. One carefully aimed shot dropped him over the edge, into the water below.

Creeping silently forward, I spotted another waiting a bit further ahead, and repeated the process for him. I looked back, and saw that she'd followed me out onto the bridge, and was looking down to see where the Falmer had dropped. Heights didn't seem to have the same effect on her as spiders.

From up here, I could see a number of doors leading into other parts of the ruins. Somewhere behind any one of those, the lost expedition of mages could be huddled in hiding from the Falmer, or more likely lying dead. Without any indication of where we should start, I opted for the door on the top level. But first there was another Falmer to deal with, on the ledge near the door.

I readied another arrow, but she'd caught up with me, and seen the Falmer, too. A couple of firebolts, one from each hand, quickly dropped him. My arrow wasn't wasted, however, as the noise of the firebolts brought another Falmer up the ramp to investigate, and he wasn't expecting to be shot the moment he appeared.

When we got to his body, I took a look down the ramp to see if there were any more below. I wasn't intending going down there yet, but it made sense to make sure we wouldn't be followed. Nothing was moving, so we proceeded to the door.

Before we met any more Falmer, I found some dwarven metal scrap lying around. From clearing the dig site the day before, I'd discovered which was worth taking, and which were just too heavy to be worth the effort. The solid bars were twelve times the weight of the plates, and only yielded double the ingots, if that. The struts weren't worth carrying either. Large and small plates, and the bent scrap, seemed to be what we wanted.

Sorting through the pieces almost made me miss the Falmer creeping in, but my companion had been watching diligently, perhaps looking out for spiders. A firebolt flew past me, and I pulled my warhammer from my back in time to crush the skull of a Falmer that was rushing at me with a raised sword. Another firebolt finished the archer behind him.

We had a choice of two paths forward, and I chose to go down a level first, mostly because I could see there was nothing down there. I expected more Falmer around each corner,

It wasn't long before we found the corpse of one of the mages. But before we reached it, I heard "an expression of displeasure" from behind me, and noticed a frostbite spider coming towards us. The creature seemed to explode before it got half-way, and it wasn't anything either of us had done. I suspected it had triggered a trap of some kind, and quickly looked around for more. Just in time, too, as I was about to step up onto the platform at the top of the stairs, and there was a circular mark on the floor that looked ominous. I stepped back, and tossed a piece of scrap metal onto it, and was rewarded with the same kind of explosion that had killed the spider.

The explosions brough a couple more of the Falmer out of hiding, but we were ready for them. Stromm had a journal that described some of the expedition's problems with the Falmer, but suggested that they had split up, and were working in different sections of the ruin. That seemed like a bad idea to me. It clearly worked out that way for Stromm.

I ignored the chest as a possible trap, and concentrated on collecting smeltable scrap. Nothing else appeared to impede us, until we retraced our steps and tried the other path. As expected, Falmer were waiting along the passage, and the group of four proved quite an obstacle.

Beyond them, another Falmer had a spider pet with him, but only a small one, and they crush nicely beneath a war-hammer. I caught a look of approval when I did that.

There didn't seem to be any way out but the way we'd come in, unless we wanted to jump down into the water. Since I had no idea how deep it was, I didn't think that was a good idea. So we back-tracked out to the ledge, and took the ramp down.

We had to swim across to the door of the next section, as the entry ramp was now beneath the water. As expected, we found the same mixture of dwarven scrap and Falmer waiting for us, but this time, we encountered something new. As I passed what looked like a sealed vent on the wall, it opened, and a dwarven automaton, resembling a spider, dropped out and attacked.

This kind of spider didn't have the same effect on my companion as the live ones, and she rushed to engage it. I found that the metal ones crunched just as nicely as their cousins, although it took a bit more effort with my war-hammer. Metal is a bit harder, after all.

There was another dead mage, alone again, in this section. He had a diary too, so I added it to my collection. This one was apparently Erj, and he was here for treasure, rather than scientific reasons. Perhaps that was why he was prospecting on his own; and why he was now dead.

Leaving the ruin and going back out to the next ramp, we found another body. Krag had had the sense to stay with the guards, and set up camp away from the Falmer, but it appeared that they'd been overwhelmed in the night. At least one of the guards lay dead just a little beyond him. His journal made mention of Erj staying behind to try and pick locks in the Armory, which was presumably the section we found him in.

Standing near Krag's body was a giant metal man, in a frame that looked like it would feed power to him if it were active. Since Krag and the guards had been content to camp with it watching over them, I felt no unease. I wouldn't like to have to fight one, if it ever was activated. One arm was a war-hammer larger than my own, and the other an axe of similar proportions.

I picked up a book from on top of one of the bedrolls. "Sithis", it was entitled. Reading it explained some things about alteration I hadn't known before, so I took it with me. Such books often fetch a decent price.

We hadn't found the fourth mage yet, the leader of the expedition. Krag's journal didn't make it clear if he'd been with them when they camped for the night, but then it hadn't mentioned anyone other than Erj. Stromm might have been with them, and fled back to where we found him, or he might also have lingered behind as the others moved ahead.

But it wasn't too far to go before we did so. We'd encountered both Falmer and Dwarven Automata in this "Control" section, so it wasn't suprising that one or the other had killed him. His diary made it clear that Stromm had been left behind to study the area we'd found him in. Staubin made reference to a student being with him, but we'd not seen a second body. It also revealed that he'd escaped the attack that had killed Krag, and gone into this part of the ruin to try and re-activate the Dwarven guardians. That told me that the attackers had been Falmer, and why the guards had trusted the centurion wouldn't be a problem.

I now resolved to carry out Staubin's objective, and set the automata against the Falmer. If nothing else, they'd wear each other down, and not prove a threat to Markarth, or Calcelmo's workers just outside the ruin.

There was quit a lot of scrap metal in this area, and the Falmer were busy trying to convert the guardian automata into more. The latter, of course, were trying to exterminate the Falmer vermin. We let them battle each other before mopping up the survivors, and I gathered metal as we went.

The lever in the room beyond looked like it was the one Staubin was trying to reach. I looked around to see if any of the huge centurions were waiting to stride out of their frames when I pulled it, but saw none. I did pick up everything worth taking before I pulled the lever, just in case.

The door ahead lead back out to a ledge above the ramp where we'd entered. I could see that the centurion we'd passed was now active, and battling a Falmer or two. We decide to move on quickly before that skirmish was decided, one way or the other. If that metal monster lost, I didn't want to face anything that could defeat it!

It didn't lose, and came after us. Fortunately, it was down to a fraction of its health, and an arrow from me, and a firebolt from my companion, sent it toppling over the edge into the water below.

Ahead, on the bridge where we first came in, a Falmer was fighting a Dwarven Sphere. This was a closer contest, and we watched it play out before adding our contributions. The sphere produced a small plate that would be useful.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Oct 14 2016, 09:46 PM