The Saga of Laprima Donnaugh Options

[Renee]

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Clavicus Vile

When the dream began, she found herself lying in a cart, lying in hay, lying still, half-hiding from the others. Part of her wanted to be out there with them, while another part felt quietly content to stay right there. Right in that haypile. Staying still, and keeping quiet. It's this latter, secondary part which attained.

The scene was heavily pastoral. Lots of trees, green with foliage. Sunlight and blue skies. A few puffy clouds, a perfect sort of day. The sounds of others around her. The cart she was in had been drawn off to the side, placed in shadow. The horse which had brought it here must have been tethered somewhere else. As she lay in the cart, she began to feel rather lonely. Sad, and lonely, despite the others cavorting nearby.

They were there for her. All of them, gaily awaiting her presence. Dressed in finery. The women wearing whites, pinks, and light blues. Maids and maidens. The men, dressed more somberly, but the sounds from their revelries were no less delighted and cheerful.

Where is she? Where is Laprima?

Someone was calling. A man, sounding a bit tipsy with wine, perhaps. Yet his voice contained an edge of concern. And then, the voice of one of the ladies...

We should go find her! She's probably near! She's going to miss out!

She sank lower, hiding within hay. She could hear them coming, getting nearer, occasionally calling out to her. She cowered. Not with fear, but with some sort of distress. Lonely she was, and part of her did want to join the others.

She scrunched within the hay as footsteps approached and circled the cart. She held her breath. Eventually, the footsteps moved on. Small relief; she exhaled. They hadn't discovered her. So she took a chance. Got situated upon her arms, and raised her head about a foot, attempting to peer over the cart's side. As she did so, she noticed there was a knot in its wooden planking. For no reason at all (other than, this is a dream, and in dreams we sometimes do strange things) she pushed upon this knot, and the knot fell out, leaving a hole. She squinted her left eye, viewing outside of the cart, only to see vague shapes of the departing couple, heading off into a cabin. Still calling out, still calling her name.

...And that's when she noticed the man with the dog.
...He stood off to the side of the meadow, nearer to the woods.
...He stood in shadow. He wore a jerkin of white and black. He beckoned to her.

You there! I can see you, he said quietly. Despite using a soft tone, she could hear his voice clearly, in the surreal way which dreams can magnify. I can see you, and I mean no harm. Why do not you approach me?

She felt a stab of fear. How can he view me, hiding within this cart? But then, she relaxed. For the man was merely a boy. A boy she recognized from her youth. And this boy was her brother.

Laprima! he called. Come hither, posthaste!

And so she did.

She rose from the cart, took a moment to brush stray strands of hay from her clothings, and then ran swiftly toward her brother, skirts ruffling below. She noticed that the dog which had been there a moment ago had vacated, or vanished. She looked to her brother as she drew nearer. And her brother smiled up at her in his typically mischievous way. A smile she hadn't seen since they were, in fact, both children. Her previous feelings of loneliness were gone.

You should depart! her brother said to her, dancing around her with gaited elan. Head on! Depart hence toward Solitude! And do as they say! ... These folks you see in their fabled costumes, all of them here, are of nothing to you! ... To us! .. They mean nothing! ... A wretched lot! ... So onwards must you go! ... Your man, he awaits your presence! And you shall be in high company! Just dandy! Just peachy!

She felt elation at his words. Her brother, right there before her. 'Whatever is to come, would be fine,' he was telling her, seemingly tapping within her thoughts, her hopes, her fears.

Elija, she said to him.

Yes, sister!

She was weeping by now.

Her hands raised to embrace him. But just then, a flash of emotion overcame her. A mixture of revolting sickness, and sweet delight. She recoiled, stumbled backwards in disgust...

Laprima Donnaugh awoke, bolt upright, her eyes teary. Her bed quarters around her, her 8 year-old feline dozing by her side. She'd just had a dream. Her thoughts were racing, so she consciously made an effort to remember all she could. ... Her brother .... A cart ... Some people walking by in gay costume ... A dog by the side of the forest ... Slowly, she pieced it all together. After a minute or so, she sat up in bed, inked her quill and began to scribble words quickly in her journal.

After she had recalled all she could, she realized she was in agreement with her brother. She would head to Solitude.

This post has been edited by Renee: Jan 24 2022, 02:42 PM

[Renee]

Phew, here we go. I apologize that these last few chapters were pretty long. Maybe I could've trimmed a bit of fat away. On the other hand, it's those little details (which seen inconsequential to the actual story) which (sometimes) flesh the story more. 📘

But I wanted to get the story to a certain point, and we're pretty much at the start of that point! Hee hee! NOW the fun stuff begins, folks.

And I had something else I've been meaning to say all week, but now I'm forgetting it. Ah, it'll come to me later.

I agree, Acadian, yes it could've gone better. With Laprima it's sort of like with Taneesha (Vicious). Both of them are young, both of them are in a phase of life in which they're trying to figure things out. Sometimes they make good choices, sometimes bad.

I will say this though: From now on, Elisif will play less of a role in the story than she has been. 👑 Bet you didn't see that coming, eh?

LPD’s first day on the job was fun. I love how you incorporated so much of the game’s existing banter into it.

I've probably known about this chapter for about a year, so yeah, I've been looking forward to actually writing it. The quest which guides all the Skeever dialog took me a LONG time to write. I spent all of December trying to get it to work. It's a simple quest, yet working in the CK is not always so simple.

That would be awesome if January and Laprima'd meet, SubRosa. I don't know enough about Jan's activities to make a real attempt at dialog or anything like that, but perhaps there will be a moment when they pass by. Sort of like when one of my OB characters would pass by a "platinum-haired Dunmer" on their way to Bruma.

I love how as Elisef is deflating like a Betty Netch over how Laprima has lowered herself by working in a place like the Skeever, everyone else in the court is extolling the virtues of its food and drinks. They got wicked lobstah, amirite?

Ha ha you're probably right! 🦞 Funny thing is: in the game Elisif has actually stopped showing up for "work". Ever since the last chapter when they had that near-argument, Elisif hasn't been on the throne as Laprima's passed by. This has been going on for two days now. And it has nothing to do with any quests or scripts or AI.

Oh yeah Clavier, well Laprima's definitely a student at heart, for sure. School gave her focus during her younger years, it's the one thing which added structure into her life, while her childhood crumbled. So as you will see, she often jumps at the chance to engage in learning. Not for the sake of being smarter, but because she likes the "safety" that surrounds intellectual pursuits.

Oof, now that can't be fun to hear from a patron. Does the Winking Skeever have a bouncer? Hopefully a well-armed and well-trained one? This guy might be trouble.

That's one of the in-game followers who says this, as Lena Wolf points out. He always sits at this one table until someone hires him. When Laprima walked up, he was hoping she'd pay his fee so he could escort her somewhere, perhaps.

Good point. Prices in Skyrim do seem pretty pricey, even comparing to modern-day earth. Then again, maybe it's because of some mods I've got in my gameworld. I can't remember how vanilla prices compare. But for instance, in my game (with mods) a bowl of soup is about 14 gold. Which is pretty darn high compared to Earth.

Thanks so much!

Lopov, glad to have you back. Good thing you showed up now, and not April. By April/May, there'll definitely be a LOT to catch up to.

Ah, the nightstand. I was actually experimenting with the Creation Kit's Enable() function, which I totally figured out how to work. Later on in this story when Chamany says a certain bit of dialog, it actually causes her nightstand to appear in her room (along with a bowl of moon sugar, but we won't mention that). And this is a feature I'm going to use several times in this story.

Thank you Lena, you're awesome. Have some cake.

Dang. I still can't remember what I've been wanting to mention all week....

This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 18 2023, 03:11 AM