Rashelle At Lokken, WWOLM fanfic Options

[blockhead]

Around the end of February and the beginning of March I posted a short fan fiction on a small intimate forum and there were some positive responses. This story is being posted here on the chorrol forums as I am eager to see the responses from the larger fanfic-oriented crowd here. This seems to be where the "pros" of the Morrowind fanfic world congregate,

This will be posted this in sections, serialized as it was originally. It would be easy to just post the entire thing all at once but I thought it would be more fun not to.

This story is based on the main quest of Emma's "White Wolf Of Lokken Mountain" plugin. It contains spoilers.


Rashelle At Lokken
by Blockhead

1. Arrival, Tension

Snow. The ground covered with it. The trees white with it. The late afternoon sun reflecting off of it. The landscape was that of a magical wonderland. My adventures in Solstheim had not reduced my wonder at this phenomena. I had never seen snow where I grew up and there was certainly none in Vvardenfell.

Although I was the Nerevarine and an experienced adventurer, I arrived at Lokken gawking and gaping like a tourist at the Imperial City.

The Lokken leaflet had been in my pack for some time and I had finally decided to see what it was all about. I had no great desire to hunt animals merely for sport (as advertised) but I have always liked to explore new places.

My adamantium boots crunched on the snow as I stepped out from the boat.

"You had better talk to Ragnar Fire Hair before you do anything else, lass. Without his permission, you are not allowed to be here", admonished the boatman again.

Yeah, whatever.

I paused to look around some more. Ahead lay the village, the road ahead rising up towards the mountain. Up further, to the left, could be seen the castle, covered with snow and looking amazing, like a fairy land castle in some painting.

As I slowly walked up the road I tried to stop and chat with some people but they all seemed preoccupied ... no ... afraid. At first I thought it was me, all decked out in my ebony cuirass, dark brotherhood greaves, adamantium boots, and the sword Chrysamere on my back. That and my bare arms making me look more a barbarian than a spell-sword could perhaps be intimidating. I suppose also my coal-black eyes and coal-black hair (an odd color for a Breton) marking me as Not A Nord did not put anyone at ease.

Several people had white hair. It was not the usual blond that Nords tend to, nor a light gray. It was a bright white, like snow. I had only seen such a pure white on the fur of snow bears and other animals. Something in the water perhaps?

A woman who did not have white hair (it was brown) was little friendlier. When I approached her she said "Hello there. Your face doesn't look familiar to me. I'm Silja. Welcome to Lokken. Don't expect to find much here, though. This is a poor village. Since we are not allowed to hunt in the forests anymore, it's hard for us to get by. I assume you have been invited by our chieftain, Ragnar Fire Hair, and that you have his permission to hunt? If not, you had better stay away from the Lokken wildlife."

I thanked her and walked up the road a little further before a guard named Gudmund also told me that it was very important that I see Ragnar Fire Hair first.

"I will, but first could you direct me to a trader or general store? I may need some warmer clothing."

That generated a smile and some directions the Lokken Clothier. I actually did not need the clothing. Despite my origin in warmer climes, I have an unusual tolerance, actually an affinity, for cold weather. What I was wearing now was comfortable and the only concession to cold I had was a sleeping fur in my pack. Still I had broken the ice a little bit. That was progress. It also gave me an excuse to try to talk to at least one more person before heading for the castle.

I walked into the clothing shop. I briefly talked with the woman there, Anna. She was also nervous like the people outside but gave away some more information. The people here were in fear, but from one of their own, not from me. Apparently this Ragnar Fire Hair, their new chieftain, was not liked and was a not a nice person. He had some men loyal to him and a shaman. They were also feared.

Thanking her I left and continued to the castle, stopping only once more, at the brewery. I had been in many a bar and tavern but never in a brewery and I was curious. There were big metal vats and kettles. It was rather complicated looking and awe inspiring in the manner of certain Dwemer ruins. By that I mean I had no idea how it worked.

Some chitchat there with Borka, and his wife Gwenn, yielded more information: the people who actually lived in Lokken were not allowed to drink the mead, or at least not much of it. It was reserved for Ragnar Fire Hair and for his guests. What little they were allowed was at three times the price that guests paid. I was beginning to dislike this Ragnar and I had not even met him yet.

Thus forewarned, I approached and entered the castle.

I entered an anteroom of sorts. A guard was there. He said nothing but pointed to the door on the opposite side of the room. I nodded and went to the door.

I entered the throne room. There were animal pelts on the floor and tapestries on the walls to warm up the cold stone room and to provide an ambiance conducive to the hunting enthusiast. There was a bar on the left.

A bar in a throne room: that's not something I've seen before. Convenient I suppose if one were more concerned with entertaining than the usual duties of ruling. There were four guards; one on either side of the door I had just entered and two closer to the throne at the far end of the room.

The throne was on a raised section of the floor and on it sat a large mean-looking Nord with red hair who could only be Ragnar Fire Hair.

To his right stood a man in dark robes who had to be his shaman.

My boot steps were the only sound as I approached the throne. I presented the leaflet to Ragnar.

He tossed the leaflet aside and spoke: "Who the oblivion are you? You have no business being here uninvited and I'm sure I didn't invite you."

He paused and studied me. I stared back at him. I'm sure my eyes now had the hardness of obsidian as well as the color. I adjusted the angle of the sheath on my back.

He looked tough. And huge. A great bull of a man, and Nords are already kind of big. I wouldn't want to fight him, at least not alone.

"Well, you look like you can handle yourself in the wild. There is one way that perhaps you can be allowed in the forests."

I raised an eyebrow.

"I want you to hunt and kill a certain wolf. This is no ordinary wolf. It's larger than the regular snow wolves, though it is white like they are. It has unnatural blue eyes. My men and I have pursued it on numerous occasions and it has always gotten away."

"That's not something you see every day," I quipped. Oh Rashelle, you must stop this business of talking without thinking!

"Exactly. it is obviously not natural, not of the All-Maker. It is a daedra-spawn, an abomination, a menace that must be killed for the safety of my people," he said, not picking up on my sarcasm.

I nodded, not trusting myself to not again say something wrong, and to also buy myself a second or two of time to think of an appropriate response.

This man mentioning the All Maker rubbed me the wrong way: after my adventures amongst the Skaal I had some respect for their beliefs. I somehow knew that Ragnar had no right to call on their All Maker.

"So, oh chieftain of Lokken, so long as I Quest for this White Wolf, I am permitted in the forests of your island?"

"Aye, with my blessing. Bring me his head there will be a reward."

"I shall begin at once. First I will question the guards and villagers as to sightings."

"Excellent" he said, waving me away, obviously tired of talking to me now that I had agreed to his business.

I definitely did not like this man.

As I turned away I got a better look at his shaman and I liked him even less. My magical sensitivity picked up on an evil from him that I had previously only sensed from Sixth House minions. I tried not to display my feelings: a shaman is very sensitive and notices many things. Around him it would be best to appear to be a simple non-magical warrior and not a spellsword.

I strode away from the the throne. Before I took more than a few paces I could see that the woman at the bar was trying to get my attention with her eyes.

I sauntered over to the bar. Might not be a bad idea to get a mazte anyway. I cannot not stand mead. I love snow, but the Nords can keep their mead.

"I'm Kielreen"

"Rashelle. Got any mazte?"

"Yup".

"Please".

She poured me a mazte and started to speak very quietly. Not a whisper. That would have attracted attention, but she obviously wanted only me to hear.

"he's asked you about the big white wolf, wants you to kill it, right?"

I paid and took a sip before replying.

"Yes."

"Don't. There is something strange about the creature."

I took another sip.

"Things are not as they seem in Lokken."

That much was already obvious.

"Talk to my aunt Gwenn at the brewery."

I had just been there. Maybe mentioning Kielreen would get Gwenn to say more than she had the first time. I nodded ever so slightly. Picking up my drink, I walked to one of the one of Ragnars guards.

He at first did not want to speak but I can be charming when I want to be. I asked him about the white wolf and any sightings of it. This did not yield any new information but would go back to Ragnar and would keep him complacent about my activities. I had already decided that I was not going to kill this mysterious white wolf.

After talking to the the other guards I finished my mazte, left the mug on the bar and exited the castle. It had begun to snow. I caught some flakes in the palm of my hand and watched them melt.

This post has been edited by blockhead: Mar 30 2007, 11:41 PM

[blockhead]

2.

The sun was about to set so it seemed to me the next order of business was to see about a meal and possibly to arrange lodging. On the way to the castle I had identified one of the larger buildings as the main hall so I now made my way there.

I opened the door and entered. I found myself in a room similar in appearance to that of the mead hall in Thirsk.

Two men and a woman were standing around a fire in the center of the room. The woman I guessed to be the barfly type. She was laughing. There were more people standing further away from the fire or seated at tables located against the wall. I could see at least two people with that white hair in the room.

I approached the group by the fire.

One of the men introduced himself as Karl.

He said: "The Lokken mead is really something special. May I buy a mug for you, and then we can have a chat?

"Ha! You are just planning to seduce an innocent girl like me!"

"Uuh? Me? Seducing you? I tell you what - here in Lokken, men don't seduce women. It's the women who seduce us. Now, if you aren't going to seduce me, you'd better leave, because then I will get seduced by someone else."

I nodded and walked away. I could hear him say; "Stephann - do you know what 'seducing' is?"

Trying hard not to smirk, I made my way to the bar in the back and arranged a room for the night. I expected I would only need the room for one night: tomorrow I would most likely be deep in my explorations and would sleep in a cave or something. I also ordered a meal.

In a short time I was at a small table in a dark corner, better able to see than be seen, eating. I was deciding if I wanted to explore a little bit that night, or just go to sleep right after my meal.

The woman I saw when I walked in, who I had pegged as a barfly, walked to my table and sat down next to me. This was unexpected. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She looked unhappy.

"Buy me a mead."

I chewed, swallowed, turned away from her and downed the rest of my mazte.

"Please".

Something was bothering her. She maybe wanted to talk about it. Perhaps this would be useful information.

I turned to her and nodded, then I got up and walked to the bar.

"One mead, and one mazte, please"

"She's had her quota of mead for this week."

"I realize that the mead is rationed for all but guests of Ragnar Fire Hair. I realize that everyone else has to pay three times as much for what little they get. The mead is for me, a guest of Ragnar Fire Hair. The mazte is for her", I said. She didn't believe me of course but it was enough to keep her off the hook with Ragnar.

She nodded and poured me two mugs. I paid, tipping her well, and returned to my table.

"Here is your mazte" I said as I placed the mug of mazte in front of me, "and my mead" I said as I placed the mug of mead in front of her, "now talk. First: who are you?".

She told me her name was Lisendra. She started on some random chitchat. Something was bothering her but she obviously was having trouble working herself up to it.

"Have you met Laurenna, the daughter of Wulfgar The White? She lives in her father's hunting cottage on the mountainside. Most of the time she just stands outside her cottage, staring at her old home. It's really spooky! I bet she misses her old lifestyle. Can't be easy for a 'lady' like her to live her life as a commoner. Actually, I'm grateful that I'm not a chieftain's daughter - I'd bet my life is a lot more exciting than Laurenna's. Hey, why don't you buy me another drink, and we can keep on talking,"

So I did. She drank it one gulp. Impressive in a disquieting way. My stomach cringed at the thought of that much mead hitting it all at once. I had been about to take another sip of my mazte but decided not to.

"Lokken used to be a lovely place. Wulfgar The White was a good chieftain, who cared for the Lokken villagers. We had his permission to hunt in the forests to make our living, and during bad years, he provided us with food. Sigrid, his wife, used to teach the village children how to read and write, and I often used to play with Wulfren. Well, sometimes also with Laurenna, but... I get along better with guys."

Oh, such a surprise.

As she continued I could indirectly build up a picture. Some sort of rivalry between her and this Laurenna. Apparently Lisendra had gone steady with Laurenna's brother, Wulfren, and then for reasons unclear had broken of the relationship. This obviously did not help matters between Laurenna and Lisendra.

It was now apparent that she had had more than a few drinks before approaching me.

"My life is a misery... hick... Did Laurenna say that I was a... hick... dreamy school girl? 'Tisn't true, you know... hick... I love this bloke... but I haven't seen him for a year. No-one has seen him for a year. They say he's a killer... hick... that he killed his own father. I don't believe them... hick... Oh, how I wish he was here! Then I would tell him how much I... hick... love him. But, I fear that I will never see him again... that he is dead. Hick."

Then she started to cry. This was an awkward moment. Here she was unburdening herself to a complete stranger about this man who was most likely no longer alive.

The main hall was silent but for her weeping. It was not my intent to become the center of attention. All I wanted was to eat a meal in peace. I sighed.

"OK, Lisendra", I said. "You've had too much. Time to go home."

I stood up, "Come on".

Still no one was saying anything.

"Can someone tell me where she lives?" I asked the room as I pulled her to a wobbling sort of standing position.

"First house to the left after you leave the hall" said Karl.

I nodded and we left.

She was still crying as we walked to her house.

A guard was watching as we reached Lisendra's house, so when I spelled the lock open I made it look like I was simply pushing an unlocked door open. The snow being like it is in Lokken, all doors opened inward.

I sat her on the bed.

"Thank you. I-I-I'm sorry" she said, still crying.

"So let me get this straight. You were in a relationship with Wulfren. Then blew him off, played around. Now he's gone and you wished you hadn't and that could be with him and him only".

"y-yes, I feel terrible. I wish I had stayed with him. I wish I could tell him I love him just one more time."

I tried not to be judgmental: it's not like they had been married or anything. The woman was obviously sincere in her regret. We all make mistakes.

I stayed with her a short while, just enough to make sure she was not going to be suicidal or anything like that. I put her to bed, told her to sleep on her side, arranged a wooden bucket by the bed just in case, and left.

I returned to the main hall. After chatting with Karl & the guys long enough to assure them that Lisendra was OK I went to my room.

In the morning I packed my things, left the room, and had a nice breakfast. They sure know how to cook in Lokken.

Ready for action, I left the main hall. The morning sunlight sparkled on the snow. It was really pretty.

I planned to walk around the village a little more, talking to whoever I had not already talked to, then I would hit the forests and explore, hopefully even find out the deal with this white wolf.

Paff!

Something cold and soft hit the side of my head. I put my hand to my head and felt ... snow? But it was a bright sunny morning with an amazingly clear Azure sky. Some new kind of weather?

"Tommy, you're in trouble now!", said a girls voice.

I turned and I could see some children playing in the snow between two buildings. A girl, whose voice I had just heard, started singing "Tommy's in trou-ble!"

One of the boys, presumably Tommy said, "We're sorry lady. Please don't tell."

I walked over to them and asked "what happened?"

They started laughing, even Tommy and the girl.

"He hit you with a snowball."

Remember that where I grew up there was no snow. So I had no idea what these children were talking about.

"A snow ball?"

"you know", said the girl, "like this".

She scooped up some of the snow, quickly patted it into a sphere, and threw it at Tommy, making a perfect head shot.

My eyes must have widened.

I crouched down and picked up some snow. I tried to press it into a ball. I succeeded but it took me longer than it had for her. I smiled.

"Oh wow. I had no idea you could do this."

They laughed.

"Children, where I grew up we had no snow."

"No way!"

"Way. Really."

I picked a tree trunk, threw my snowball and missed.

I made a second one and threw it. This time I hit the tree.

"Neat," I said "Thank you for showing me this new trick!"

"People always get mad when we do that. You're cool."

"Yeah, we like you! What's your name?"

"I'm Rashelle".

They all introduced themselves and I tried my best to keep all their names straight.

We had a snowball fight and we talked a bit about snow and about growing up in a land without snow. Kids see a lot of things so I got a lot of background on Lokken. Also I had a fun time. A guard looked disapprovingly at us at one point. Apparently I was supposed to be annoyed at the children.

They promised me they would not throw snowballs at adults, or at least not so often, and I went on my way.

I left the village and explored some of the wilderness. Truly some beautiful scenery and foliage, perhaps even more so than in the rest of Solstheim. As in Solstheim, I was attacked a few times by various creatures. All part of a normal day I guess.

Every one in a while I paused and threw a snowball at a rock or a tree. What a neat trick!

At one point in my wandering I found a woman by one of those Nordic burial tombs. She was by herself. Her name was Valkyriana and was distraught that her daughter, Hilde, had run off. She was afraid that Hilde had gone in the tomb.

As I entered the tomb I was certain that I would only find the child's dead body. These tombs were tough places, nothing like the Dunmer tombs in Vvardenfell.

As expected, there were draugr in there. Fighting more than two at a time is a challenge for me, but I had healing potions.

It was larger than the usual Nordic time and took a while to clear it of the numerous draugr and bone wolves in it. Somehow Hilde had managed to find her way into a distant back corner without being spotted by any of the undead. She was unhurt but understandably terrified.

I assured her that I had cleared the place out and that her mother was concerned and I then led her out of the tomb.

Mother and daughter were overjoyed to be reunited.

"Don't you ever do that again, I was worried sick about you".

They thanked me and I continued in my explorations.

I didn't find any oversized benevolent white wolves with blue eyes, just the usual snow wolf of the attacking kind.

It was nearing sunset and it had started to snow when I entered the village. I had previously planned to sleep in the wilderness but the thought of a warm meal amongst the villagers of Lokken drew me back.

I walked up and down the street, chatting with people and entering the few places I had not gone into yesterday.

"There she is Mommy, she's neat!" I heard a child's voice say in the distance.

People seemed much friendlier, more used to me I guess. The air of tension remained though. That reminded me of Fire Hair and his shaman and diminished my happy mood. That also reminded me that Kielreen at the castle yesterday had wanted me to chat with her aunt Gwenn at the brewery. I expected that I had a fairly complete picture of the situation now but I would talk to Gwenn again anyway.


--
edit: the phrase "dreamy school girl" was supplied by the auto-censor for the word I had intended. You get the idea.

This post has been edited by blockhead: Apr 19 2007, 12:17 AM