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]

Acadian: Well, there's alive, and there's "presumed dead", and they could be the same.

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Previously: Kothet got in the way of an arrow meant for Vittoria Vici, and being armoured, with no ill effect. Now he gets to meet the Emperor.

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32 - Katariah

The party going over to the Katariah was smaller than it would have been before the arrow incident, but Zahra and I had earned our place among the guests twice over, now. We were among the few permitted to keep our weapons. Although, how you disarm a mage is beyond me.

The reception on board was sumptuous, and with fewer guests than originally planned, it was much easier to meet everyone. Titus Mede II indicated that he'd like us to stay after the others left, and he'd discuss the situation when everyone had gone.

Vittoria and Asgeir were of course the first to leave. They had a honeymoon to start. The other guests all had to leave together on the next boat back to the docks, which left just Zahra and myself.

We followed the Emperor back to his cabin at the stern. He shooed out the guard, telling him we had matters of state to discuss. "And I can pour the wine myself, you know." As soon as we were comfortably seated, he did so.

"Tamika's?" I asked, after my first sip. "This brings back memories of guarding a gate outside Skingrad. The one Dagon left me at, when they all closed."

The Emperor was impressed by my knowlege of wines, but Tamika's Vineyard was one of Tamriel's finest even before the Oblivion crisis. Her planting of vines on the area scortched by the gate was a stroke of genius, and the wine from that patch was famous above all others. The effect had faded over the years, and this wasn't one of that vintage, but it was still distinctive enough for even me to tell the difference.

---

My assessment of his strategy with the Civil War proved to be accurate. He'd constrained Tullius by limiting his reinforcements, to make sure he could contain Ulfric, but not defeat him, or provoke a larger uprising. Now perhaps, it was time to draw down the Legion presence further, and maybe recall the General to a front where he'd be happier.

"But what of the dragons?" Titus asked. "I'm sure Tullius will cite those as a reason he should stay."

"They don't represent a threat any more," I replied. "Without Alduin, they're independent, and frankly care nothing for the affairs of mortals. They can be induced to take sides when it benefits them, but I don't see anyone having the knowledge of their desires to do so. If anything, they may be a reserve asset against the Thalmor, whose aims definitely do not seem to concide with the dragons'. And I may be able to gain their respect as the conquerer of Alduin."

"Your main threat seems to come from your own people," Zahra added. "Kothet and I are certain that archer at the wedding was sent there to assassinate you."

"Oh, you don't have to tell me. I'm only too aware that my succession is being plotted all the time. I have no legitimate heir, so everyone and his dog feels they could take my place, if there were to be an accident."

"Then I'm surprised that you're not taking more precautions," Zahra continued. "A guard using a Detect Life spell, or better yet, a ring with that enchantment, should be with you at all times."

She demonstrated the spell. "If there is anyone around, you see them, even through walls, like that guard outside your door."

"I sent the guard away. If there is someone outside, they shouldn't be there."

As we watched the glowing shape, it approached the door, and silently opened it. We saw the glow enter the room, but nothing else. Zahra cast another spell at the glow, and revealed ... a naked Bosmer woman carrying a dagger, with a bow and quiver on her back. She froze when she realised we could see her. Zahra and I were between her and Titus, so she'd never have reached him if she tried.

"Oh, she's beautiful!" exclaimed Zahra.

"No, that's not beautiful," replied the Emperor. "Beautiful is for putting on pedestals, and standing back and admiring. Most of the ladies of my court are like that. The further back you stand, the better.

"No, this young lady is what I'd call pretty. The kind of looks that make you want to get closer. In her case, extremely pretty."

He turned to address the newcomer. "Why don't you put those weapons down on the table there, and find yourself a robe in the closet? We have a lot to discuss, don't we?"

"And I'll take whatever you're using to give you chameleon," Zahra added.

Titus poured another glass of Tamika's for the Bosmer. "What's your name, pretty young lady?"

"Gaenathilwen, or G'wen for short. But you can call me 'failure', because this is the second contract I've messed up. I was supposed to kill Vittoria as a warning, and then you."

"You haven't completely failed yet," Titus replied. "I have need of your services, but not quite in the way you'd expect."

He explained what he meant. The Emperor can't just step down without naming a successor, and frankly there wasn't anyone else fit to take the job. "The Empire would actually be better off with an internal struggle to replace me than if I picked sides. Concentrating the remaining power of the Empire in anyone's hands now would just encourage them to waste it."

"So I need to go away and leave them to their own devices, and that apparently means I have to be considered dead. So you will report your success, even though it didn't exactly happen. No body to confirm it, of course. You'd have dumped that over the stern into the river. The mudcrabs will strip a corpse in a couple of hours, and the bones will wash away in no time."

"So all we need to figure out is how you killed me. I'd like it to be something special, out of the ordinary, and a topic of conversation. That will help convince people that it's true."

"I think she'd have poisoned her nipples," replied Zahra. "You wouldn't have been able to resist that temptation."

"And I'd have died happy," Titus laughed. "That's a great idea, as it also accounts for why she got rid of my body. Poisons leave traces that a competent mage can identify. That can help track down the source of the poison, and thus the assassin, or her sponsors."

"Why did you come looking for me naked anyway?" he continued. "I know I have a bit of a reputation in that regard, but I don't think that was what you had in mind."

"I had to swim out to the ship, which got my leathers totally soaked. When I noticed that I was leaving a trail of drips that anyone could follow, I left all my wet gear down in the hold. I figured that with full chameleon, nobody was going to see me, so why not?"

"And with those rings of yours, I can leave this ship with Kothet and Zahra. But don't worry, G'wen, there are plenty of places for you to hide here, before you get away. I had a lot of them constructed so I could disappear if this ship was ever boarded, and even the crew don't know most of them. You'll be safe until the hunt dies down, and quite comfortable, too. I wasn't planning to suffer while I was confined, after all."

"What are you intending to do, if you're not Emperor any more?" G'wen wanted to know.

"I'm going to become a pirate. I have a ship waiting off the coast, and we'll be harrassing the Thalmor supply lines to Skyrim and High Rock. Keeping them in check that way will be more effective than the big confrontation everyone expects from the Empire and the Legion. That threat is still needed, though, to tie down their main forces on the borders."

"Can you trust whover gets control after you to see it that way?" I asked.

"No, but without a decisive advantage, they'll have no choice but to sit it out. If they find a way to defeat the Thalmor that I haven't seen, that's all to the good, but I doubt that will happen. And likewise, the Generals won't let them do anything too stupid, and let the Thalmor win. It's that inevitable stalemate that's making me want to go do something about it."

We continued discussing the arrangements, and firming up the details of the fake assassination, to make sure we had a story that was watertight. G'wen would be reporting most of it back to the Dark Brotherhood, who'd been given the assignment. She also had to try and contact the person who'd made the request in the first place, as the Emperor would prefer that they'd have their plans disrupted, too. "If you get to kill him, he can take my place for Sithis, can't he?"

G'wen wasn't used to wearing just a thin silk robe, and she kept having to wrap it back around herself, whenever she noticed that it had fallen off her breasts. Half the time she didn't, and she was quite distracting. Perhaps that was why Zahra's robe, which was usually magically fixed in place, was also falling open from time to time.

The Tamika's could possibly have been contributing, too, although none of us were drinking that much. We needed to be coherent to make our plans, after all. But we did all feel quite relaxed.

Zahra was pointing out that the two of us had to have left before G'wen arrived, as the Emperor would naturally have employed me as his taster, just in case. As an immortal, the poison would have been an inconvenience, at best. "You know you'd like that job," she laughed.

"But would you let me take it?" I asked her.

"Do I get to choose? You're the one who summons me, aren't you? You do what you like."

"What I like is a contented housecarl. So your opinions matter."

That was what she wanted to hear. "You go ahead and taste G'wen, and I'm going to taste Titus. It's only fair to her."