The Gweden report, A story of the story of the stories. Options

[mALX]

I don't know how I lost the email notice for this, but just happened to notice the yellow cross showing a new post and saw your post and no response from me. Went back to my email and dug around - no notice. It probably got accidentally deleted, I'm really sorry about that.

Holy Cow, Cyndil is gorgeous! You did an amazing job on her eyes and textures! (Nice armor too, but it would be awfully hard not to risk the wrath of a Daedric Lord by running her through enough attacks that its rating was 0 and then pickpocketing it from her when she removed it, ROFL !!!

I liked the little invisibility trick, holding hands to cover two people! What a great idea!

Boy did I ever hate those targeting towers in the Oblivion realms - nearly died from them numerous times, especially when they chase you into land mines, lol.

GAAAAH!!! Can you really set off the landmines from a distance like that? I may go back and play the Oblivion worlds just to try it out !!! Awesome !!!

You did a much better job on your Oblivion world than I did on mine, I am highly impressed by all you've done here, because I know how much hell it was trying to make even a small island or piece together a sigil tower. I didn't even trap mine, other than with Daedra !!! Amazing job, Ghastley !!!

I CAN'T WAIT to try this mod !!! This sounds totally AWESOME !!!!!!!!!!

[Grits]

Cyndil is gorgeous! I like her spirit, especially the grim, “For now.”

Minx and Clark holding hands invisibly past the daedroth was both adorable and hair-raising. I love the notion that they both were concealed by the spell but they were twice as likely to accidentally break it.

I enjoyed the walk through the Deadlands. The part where Minx sets off a bunch of mines brought sweet memories of my first CoC. Very different with an Atronach madman who charges through howling MORE POWER. That’s how I learned (eventually, after much damage) that the exploding mines don’t seem to get Absorbed.

[ghastley]

@Acadian: Don't worry about Cyndil's delayed revenge, mayhem is coming up.

@mALX: That's the best use for that flare spell you start with. It flies in a straight line, so your aiming is simple, and you can trigger the mines from so far away, you don't get targeted. The fun part is trying to figure out which one will set off the others! I just picked an existing Random Oblivion World to adapt, and it happened to have mines where I wanted to place Cyndil's gear, so they became part of the story, too.

@Grits: She'll get her wish in the next part.

Holding hands was the only way I could imagine two invisible characters coordinating their progress. It's hard enough when a companion decides to use chameleon in battle, and you can almost see them. If one of the enemy does the same, you can't tell them apart.

The mines and towers of course aren't affected by chameleon or invisibility either, so they're significant for sneakers. Neither of them are Atronachs, so they don't even think of deliberately being hit. I wasn't aware that the tower fire could be absorbed, but the mines can't. I wonder why they made it that way?

------------

Previously: Clark and Minx had just released Cyndil from her chains, and stopped her from drawing the Dremora's attention by killing her captors.

-----------

Nocturnal - Part VI

They were sneaking along the corridor towards the citadel door when they heard the shouting from the balcony two floors up. The Dremora had obviously found the empty chains where Cyndil should have been and raised the alarm.

"Stay calm, they haven't detected us yet," Clark whispered. "We're nearly at the door, and if we can just..."

But two fully armored Dremora were now standing in front of the door, effectively blocking the way out.

"Now we do it my way after all," Cyndil said, and pulled an arrow from her quiver. Shooting with chameleon in effect gave her the chance to pick her shot deliberately, and the arrow thumped into the Dremora's shoulder and spun him around. His colleague had no idea from which direction the arrow came, and he looked around frantically, wondering where the attackers were. As his back turned on her, Cyndil loosed her second arrow into the back of his head.

The first guard was struggling to his feet, badly weakened by the health damage effect on the arrow, but not yet finished. Clark's sword slipped between the plates of his armor before he could see anyone coming. The commotion in the doorway, and the opening of the great door told all the guards where they were, and a throng of Dremora rushed out of the Tower.

"Now they're gone, why don't we release a few more prisoners?" Minx asked. "We have a little time before they notice we're not out there, and I think we could use the distraction."

The cages weren't hard for a skilled lock-picker like Minx. The caged prisoners all had spells they could cast. That was why they'd been caged, instead of just being chained to the walls. Minx was unsure if releasing the Dremora woman was a good idea, not knowing where her loyalties lay, but she ran towards the door with a shock spell beginning to crackle in her hand. The Breton paused to cast shield on himself before running after her.

"They may not have much of a chance against armored men, but it's more than they had in the cages," Minx reassured them.

"Still, we should help." Cyndil wanted at least the chance of getting her revenge. She might not recognize her two tormenters in their armor, but if they were all dead, that wouldn't matter.

The three followed the prisoners out of the door. Without any armor of their own, they were using hit-and-run tactics against the slower guards, and the fire tower was adding its own random element, shooting fireballs at where they once were, and hitting anyone who got in the way. The faster prisoners could dodge better than the guards, and the battle was not as unbalanced as it should have been.

Cyndil's fast bow added to the guards' peril, although she had to be careful not to hit any wrong targets herself. Clark and Minx, still invisible, guarded Cyndil from any Dremora who might deduce her position.

When all the guards were dead, only the Dremora woman remained alive of the three prisoners they'd released. Clark healed her wounds, and she went back into the tower to try and rescue her sister Dremora from the scamps.

---

Although Clark had been able to heal Cyndil enough to get her back to Evergloam, Nocturnal still had work to do. She asked the Bosmer if she wanted to be able to forget her treatment by the Dremora, but Cyndil declined.

"Nothing happened to me that I didn't expect when I went into the gate. I knew I could get killed or captured. Maybe I wasn't expecting a resurrection, but that's not the worst part. And I need to remember why I hate Mehrunes Dagon and his minions."

"You'll not get much opportunity to act on that, now that Tamriel is closed off from the Deadlands," Clark told her. Of course, Cyndil hadn't known about Martin's defeat of Dagon at the Temple of the One.

"That might account for his bad mood when he threw me to the tender mercies of the Dremora," she muttered. "I'm surprised he brought me back at all."

"The Dremora you despise may have been responsible for that," Nocturnal told her. "They have a strange sense of honor, and respect an opponent who's shown strength and skill against them. They probably petitioned Dagon on your behalf."

Cyndil thought back to her restoration. She remembered being helped, lifted even, from a pool of some sort of liquid. There were several naked Dremora men there, dripping as if they'd just come out of the same pool. One of them had been speaking to Dagon, and pointing at her, when the Daedric Prince had interrupted him and spoken directly to her.

He'd made her an offer she could easily refuse, and in disgust at her reply, he told the Dremora to take her away "and do whatever you want with her."

They had her chained to the wall before she could get enough of her strength back to resist. "It could have been worse. At least they put me high enough up that the scamps couldn't reach. Their own women don't get that much respect."

"And I blame my own bad planning, as much as the Dremora. I didn't take enough soul gems to keep the bow charged, nor a decent back-up weapon. I wasn't prepared for the traps, especially the mines and fire towers. Having the Lord for a birth-sign doesn't suit you for those. When the spider daedra ambushed me at the blood well, I was already too weak, and with the bow exhausted ..."

"It was fully charged when we found it," Clark objected.

"That can happen," Nocturnal corrected him. "It was close to a blood well, and the magicka that feeds those can spill over. It was there for quite some time, so it would only take a trickle."

"You rely heavily on that bow, don't you?" she asked Cyndil. "I was originally intending to reclaim it, but I think it will be best if it stays with you. I still believe I judged you well, when I gave it to you in the first place. If you hadn't missed the door to the cave, you'd probably have closed the gate you entered."

Minx agreed that the cave door was easy to pass by without noticing. "We were looking for it, because you'd told us it was there. Cyndil had no way to know of its existence. And if she'd found it, she'd never have gone near those mines."

Cyndil was pleased about keeping the bow, but she wasn't at all clear what to do next. She hadn't made any plans past the Oblivion Crisis. "What's it like in Morrowind now?" she asked.

"That's something I'd like to know, too," Clark replied. "I have contacts in Helseth's court in Mournhold, but they haven't told me much so far. Had Ald'ruhn fallen already when you entered the gate? That's the only major news we've heard in Cyrodiil. There is conflict between the great houses, and border disputes with Skyrim, but that's nothing new."

Cyndil had known about Ald'ruhn. That had been one of the reasons to become involved. She'd had friends in that city. Another gate had opened in the countryside on the mainland, close to the road she was on. "I don't even remember where it was, now. I was travelling from Narsis, headed towards Blacklight, but that's a long way, and much of it's forest trails without any landmarks. I just saw the gate, remembered what I'd heard about Ald'ruhn, and decided on the spot to try and do something."

"Do you have unfinished business in Blacklight?" Clark asked her.

"No, it was just somewhere I hadn't seen yet. I was quite likely to get distracted by some adventure along the way, and never get there."

"Then I think you should stay a little longer here in Evergloam before you go adventuring again," Nocturnal said firmly. "Clark may have healed you physically, but he doesn't have strong enough telepathy to know if your mind was affected by the ordeal you went through. I do, and I can help you let the pain come to the surface and be dealt with. I don't want Sheogorath taking you from me!"

This post has been edited by ghastley: Aug 26 2013, 02:48 PM

[Acadian]

‘...pick her shot deliberately, and the arrow thumped into the Dremora's shoulder and spun him around. His colleague had no idea from which direction the arrow came, and he looked around frantically, wondering where the attackers were.’ - - Woot! One of Buffy’s fave tactics!

’She might not recognize her two tormenters in their armor, but if they were all dead, that wouldn't matter.’ - - Words to live by indeed!

A good day’s work for Clark and Minx. And Nocturnal’s got her elven archer back.

[Grits]

Kill ‘em all, good plan.

I like Cyndil’s mention of her Trollkin weakness to fire.

Minx agreed that the cave door was easy to pass by without noticing.

Argh, I know I’ve spent time searching for the damnable tunnel in one of those worlds. Or possibly more of them.

I’m glad Cyndil gets to keep the bow and Nocturnal’s favor.

[mALX]

Wait, did they bring the female Dremora prisoner back with them? What happens if more prisoners live, do they come back to Nocturnal's realm with the player?

I have had more prisoners die by not killing the enemies first and then releasing them - Dharma, Jeelius, that Redguard from one of the DLC, etc. - had to reload a save and go back, lol.

Had Ald'ruhn fallen already when you entered the gate? That's the only major news we've heard in Cyrodiil. There is conflict between the great houses, and border disputes with Skyrim, but that's nothing new."

I absolutely LOVE when you do this, always wonder if you have the rumors in your head rote or if you research them when needed - you stay on top of everything with this, don't miss a detail !!! Love that!

This chapter was fantastic, the rescue itself and Cyndil's memories of her resurrection - Awesome Write !!





This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 28 2013, 07:27 PM

[ghastley]

@Acadian: Yes, those are stolen Buffy tactics. It seemed reasonable that all Bosmers would know that trick.

@Grits: It's probably the same random world I used. It was missing the door again that gave me the idea for the setup. I just removed the Sigil Stone and fire column, and tweaked the creature spawns in a clone of Random World 7. That meant providing a non-random set of tunnels and citadel, but you'd never notice. Since this can be done after the Oblivion Crisis is over, you don't get out by taking a Sigil Stone, but have to climb back down and go through the portal again.

@mALX: In the mod, the prisoners' cages are unpickable, so that can't happen. They don't get involved at all. The Dremora guards aren't enabled until Cyndil is released, so you can't kill them in advance. My latest character had a lot of problem with them, until I figured out that you can snipe from the first balcony.

------------

Previously Clark and Minx had rescued Cyndil from the Deadlands, using some of the CoC's large collection of chameleon rings.

------------


Nocturnal - Part VII

Clark took the chameleon rings back to Kvatch, as promised. He found the Count in his study, in discussion with an elderly Orc woman, dressed in a mage's robe and hood.

"Come in, and meet Ulliceta gra-Kogg," the Count called out. "She's just arrived from Orsinium, and has a message from Marghak for you."

The message, as it turned out, was really for all of them. Chrysamere had been found, and lost again. The powerful Daedric artifact hadn't been seen since the Emperor's agent had wielded it in the events leading to the Warp in the West. "We're not sure who has it now," Ulliceta told them, "but we suspect the same Altmer that have been trying to collect everything magical across Tamriel."

Clark remembered where he'd seen the Orc's name before. She was one of the magisters quoted in Traven's book "The Black Arts on Trial". He had a copy on his shelf in Imbel Manor.

"Yes, and I believe that volume says I'm a Necromancer," she told him. "Nothing could be further from the truth, but it didn't take much to convince Traven. When I discovered that both the former Arch-mage and my accuser were dead, I got word to the new Arch-mage that I'd like to meet him. And here I am, hoping I can convince him of the true facts."

"My speciality has always been restoration, and I'm well aware of the similarity between rebuilding the living and rebuilding the dead. Indeed, my project at the time of the accusation was right on the borderline between the two."

"We've known for some time that limbs severed in battle can be re-attached, if the healer is sufficiently skilled. And we've also been aware that if you try and attach the wrong limb to the wrong soldier, it usually won't work. It was those exceptions that I was attempting to study. If we knew what determined the success or failure of such operations, we could use the dead to restore the living."

"Naturally, I worked exclusively with corpses. You can't just hack pieces off of living people to see if you can replace them with parts from a dead body. That made it easy for Mucianus to 'prove' his case against me."

"Mucianus Alias?" the Count (and current Arch-mage) asked. "I met him as a worm thrall. Not a pleasant experience for either of us. He'd apparently infiltrated the necromancers as a spy, but they'd caught him."

"I doubt that," Ulliceta responded. "I know he told Traven that he had, but I suspect it was Mannimarco's idea to start with. I was a member of the Council of Mages at the time, and Mucianus wanted to join. Since we had a full quota of members, that meant getting rid of someone, and it would weaken the council to replace any of us with Mucianus."

"Anyone but Traven, that is. He was arch-mage only because he didn't hold strong views that set anyone against him. The compromise candidate, if you will. He was neutral on the subject of necromancy at that time, until Mannimarco decided to tip his hand. He saw the opportunity to divide the Guild and took it."

"From that point on, Traven was effectively a puppet of Mannimarco. Half the mages left the Guild, and Traven just reacted to whatever Mannimarco did, after consulting with the council for long enough to lose any initiative they might have had."

"Mannimarco could easily have won, if it weren't for you. But I must give Traven his due. Once he realised that he was the problem, he got out of the way. A bit too dramatically, if you ask me, but perhaps he thought he was redeeming his reputation that way."

"So where have you been hiding?" Clark asked.

"Orsinium looks after its own. Gortwog was aware of the turmoil in the Guild at the time, and understood my research wasn't necromancy. He and Marghak found me a suitable hiding place where I could carry on working up in the Wrothgarians. Ironically, the bitterly cold weather is an asset when it comes to preserving corpses, so it's turned out to be a better location for my work. And Marghak is past her child-bearing years, so my presence as a restorer at the court isn't needed so much. When her daughters start to need the same services, they can come to me!"

"The Mages Guild is just as divided as ever," the Arch-mage told her. "And I may have contributed to that by elevating Carahil and Orgul gro-Kurak to the Council to replace Irlav Jarol and Caranya."

"That's only a problem if you rely on them for decisions, the way Traven did. They're only supposed to advise the Arch-mage, not dictate his choices. And the combination of the academic with the executive branches was always an artificial one. A university scholar and a battlemage have almost nothing in common. It wouldn't hurt for them to report to separate leadership."

"I'm not looking for reinstatement to the Council. Just access to the Arcane University and its facilities. The Mystic Archives, the other magisters and their own research results. I can work alone, but I prefer not to. Among other reasons, I need the opinions of others as to how much my work could aid the necromancers, and what safeguards it needs. I want the academic debate, not the political one, so I would just as soon give the Council a miss."

"I'll need to talk to Raminus Polus and the others at the University," he told her. "Not that I need their approval, but I'd like to know how they'd react. I suspect those that already knew of your research will approve, but there may be some jealous of your successes. In my experience, those few are the less able magicians, and we might be better off without them anyway."

Clark and the Count left Magister gra-Kogg in the study, and went to take the chameleon rings back to the treasury. "I'm already convinced," he told Clark. "Marghak's relayed her opinions through Ocato and he's had his people check out Ulliceta's story. Can you get one of those communicators for her? That way she can stay at her own research laboratory, and still be in contact with the University."

"But why did she think you'd be interested in Chrysamere?" the Count continued. "Or should I be asking why Marghak would think that?"

"Last time I communicated with her, I'd mentioned looking for Daedric artifacts. I discovered that Nocturnal is collecting them for return to their creators, and that helps the cause of the Empire by removing them from the reach of others. Orsinium had already told us about those Altmer that were seeking the Helm of Tiber Septim, so I knew they were sympathetic to that idea."

The Count recalled going back to Sancre Tor for the helm. "That wasn't Daedric, though. And it's being kept at the Palace, if I remember correctly."

"True, but it seems to be the magical quality, not the Daedric origin, that's important to the Altmer. Nocturnal's interests are only in the artifacts."

"I can't help much with Nocturnal's search. I have Azura's Star, the Ring of Khajiiti, her own Skeleton Key, and that's all. I use all of those fairly regularly, although not so much as I used to. I got the Wabbajack from Sheogorath to give to Martin, figuring that one needed to get used up. The only other one I've heard about is the Sanguine Rose. It seems that he gave it to an adventurer for pulling a prank on Allessia Caro, the Countess of Leyawiin. They cast a spell at one of her dinner parties that made everyone's clothes disappear!"

Clark had heard about that from one of the Kahjiit brothers that ran the Black Horse Courier. He'd had a tip-off that something was going to happen, and had managed to corner the countess for an interview before she could go and get dressed again. In his opinion at least, the countess did have a couple of redeeming features.

--------------

Note: In the mod, this discussion will take place between the player and Ulliceta in the Oak and Crosier in Chorrol. Since I can't control when the player does the quests, she won't name Mucianus, or refer to Traven as dead. She'll still want reinstatement, but her actions against the necromancers in thwarting their sale of Chrysamere will be the bargaining chip.

[Acadian]

I love how you highlight that there is a degree of similarity between restoration and necromancy. I know that Grits has also explored this with Abiene and Darnand. I also chuckled at the practical aspects of working with corpses in cooler northern climes. I can imagine that a necrolab in the Black Marsh would be rather. . . oderific.

I did find that it broke the flow for me to go look up what Chrysamere is. I had no idea whether it was an amulet, bread box, ball of yarn, sword or what. I do prefer to see somewhat obscure lore presented in such a way as to ‘stand on its own’. Just a few extra words woven in about the artifact would have done the trick.

I confess that the two times I have completed Oblivion's Main Quest, a highlight was seeing the artifact of that dweeb Sheo (Wabbajack) destroyed in the process.

[ghastley]

Clark doesn't know what a Chrysamere is either. He'll have to ask Nocturnal.

When she finds it with her crystal ball, she won't find a sword.

[Grits]

"My speciality has always been restoration, and I'm well aware of the similarity between rebuilding the living and rebuilding the dead. Indeed, my project at the time of the accusation was right on the borderline between the two."

Awesome. I loved this!

Mannimarco’s manipulations were interesting to read. And I was grinning about Ulliceta’s post-natal care. I wish her the best of luck separating academics from politics.

Oh, thanks for explaining in the note. I have Kanet working on the TG quests with an eye toward this mod, so I was over having to do the MG line with her. She is not any kind of mage.

[mALX]

Will the Player also have to complete the Mages Guild questline before doing this quest? (Since it mentions Traven/Jarol/and Caranya being dead). Never mind, lol - your note at the bottom explained! Ignore this, lol.

Ooh, I like your twist on the background of the Mages Guild here, and how Traven was taken into power through mechanism rather than ability and used as a tool to divide the Guild - nice!

He'd had a tip-off that something was going to happen, and had managed to corner the countess for an interview before she could go and get dressed again. In his opinion at least, the countess did have a couple of redeeming features.

BWAAHAA! Clark’s observations, ROFL !!!

This quest sounds like a lot of fun, this chapter was great! I LOVE the research/Lore you weave into everything you do, especially how you work it to your advantage in your stories/mods! Awesome Write!!!!!

[ghastley]

@Acadian: The Chrysamere quest is intended to weave in between the others for a while, so it's necessarily coming in slowly. Nocturnal will take some time to locate it, and events relating to it will be sparse.

@Grits: It was the potential connection between Marghak and her Master of Restoration and gra-Kogg being an Orc from Orsinium that started me wondering what she might have been doing, and transplants fit the big picture so well. It gave me a reason for her being accused of necromancy and everything.

@mALX: Making the mod independent of the other quest-lines is one of the hardest parts. I always want to refer things that might not have happened yet. Or using characters who might be dead.

-----------

Previously Ulliceta gra-Kogg reappeared in Cyrodiil, looking for reinstatement to the Mages Guild, and mentioning that Chrysamere has been seen, but little else about it. Before that, we'd met Cyndil, who'll do more in this episode.

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Nocturnal - Part VII (To the Bat Cave!)

Clark reported what he'd learned to Nocturnal. "And what's a Chrysamere?" he asked her.

"A legendary Sword of Heros," she told him. "Specifically, an Adamantium Claymore of unusual size and reach. It's too heavy for most mortals to even lift, although if they can, it will seem light as a feather when they wield it. It has other enchantments, too. It's such a conspicuous item, I can't understand why it won't show in my crystal ball. I'll just have to keep looking."

Clark assumed that he wouldn't get involved if it turned up. That sounded more like the Champion's work, than his.

---

Shortly after that, Amusei came looking for Clark again. Nocturnal wanted mandrake root, which didn't grow in Evergloam, as much as he could find. They grew elf cup, but you couldn't make potions to cure disease without another ingredient, and with mandrake root, you could just eat the stuff. "I found some," Amusei told him, "but I really don't know where to look. Argonians rarely catch diseases, so I don't know much about curing them."

"Did she tell you what disease they wanted to cure? And why she needs more than one?"

Clark had his suspicions. Vampires would be particularly attracted to the permanent darkness in Evergloam, although they'd go hungry for mortal blood. Except for Cyndil, there weren't any mortals living in the castle, and he didn't know of any settlements nearby.

He told Amusei that the Colovian Highlands was the best place to find it, although it grew around Bravil, too, and he'd seen it by the roadside near Anvil. In the Imperial City, or in Leyawiin, where Amusei came from, only the merchants would have any. He recalled Unna making a stash in Sky's Edge Cave, because it was hard to get up in the Jeralls.

Clark decided to pay a visit to Evergloam, and find out what was going on.

---

Nocturnal confirmed his theory. The Seducer guards had seen a lot more vampires skulking around since Cyndil had arrived. The Bosmer seemed to be a magnet for them, and they were coming much closer to the castle, which they'd previously avoided. Cyndil was safe enough inside the castle, but she was beginning to feel like a prisoner again. Having a supply of mandrake root on hand would let her roam freely once more.

Clark had some experience of fighting vampires, from his visit to Nornalhorst with the sisters. They had strengths, and weaknesses, and you could plan accordingly. They were particularly vulnerable to fire, for example.

"Do you know where the vampires are?" Clark asked Nocturnal.

"Most likely the cave to the north of here," she replied. "I've encouraged bats to live there, and given them fireball spells to try and discourage the vampires. However, there are parts of the caverns that connect to the old ruins of an earlier castle, and I suspect the vampires are able to keep the bats out of the ruins. If you can kill them off, I'll pay a bounty for each one you slay."

Clark wasn't much of a slayer, but he could combine his detection and defensive skills with Cyndil's firepower to make a decent team.

"Good idea," Nocturnal agreed. "It will certainly help her get her confidence back, and she won't feel like her presence is the problem. You'll have to share the bounty, of course."

Cyndil liked the idea too, and she was especially happy when Clark handed her a bundle of enchanted arrows. They not only added fire damage, but had an extra enchantment of light to make the target more visible in the dark caves. "Arrows of Sunlight should be the perfect things to use against vampires. I can use one of these for my first shot, and if it doesn't kill them, then ordinary arrows to finish them off."

"Take one of those arrows to the smith here in the castle," Nocturnal told them. "We should be able to make more, and they do appear to be the perfect counter to vampires."

The smith, a Daedra seducer clad only in a leather apron, took the arrow and examined it carefully. "The arrow itself appears fairly normal, but that's an interesting combination of enchantments. Not one I'd ever thought of using before. Still, I think it's something we can reproduce, given a little time. Leave this one with me, and I should be able to start making them in about three days."

"Do you have enough for now, or should we wait before going to the cave?" Clark asked Cyndil.

"Well, we don't know how many vampires there are, so I could only guess," she replied. "I was planning on taking a lot of ordinary arrows as well, so there's no reason to delay."

She had enough soul gems to recharge the bow, too. No more putting it off, it was time to go and find the cave.

---

The bats were only a minor nuisance in the first part of the cave. There weren't a lot of them, and they didn't seem to be all that concerned that there was someone in their home. But those in the deeper part were more agitated, and they soon discovered why. Clark was wearing his ring with the detect life spell, and he could see pink glows that were too large to be bats, just around the corner. He signalled to Cyndil, and they started to sneak up on the vampire. She couldn't see the glow, but Clark pointed, and she saw the shadows move. One of the special arrows soon lit up the back of the cave, and a howl of pain confirmed her target. The vampire charged towards them, trying to cast a spell as he came, but the Bow of Shadows added Silence to its shots, and his attempts were futile.

The combination of fire damage from the arrow, and health damage from the bow, was draining the vampire's life as he ran. He barely had the strength to lift his sword before he toppled to the floor in front of them.

His shout, when the arrow first struck him, had alerted the other vampires, but it had also attracted the bats. They could see fireballs flying into the darkness from the other side of the cave, and arrows and lightning going the other way in return.

They crouched and waited for the conflict to reach a conclusion. The bats weren't particularly fearsome opponents, but they were small and nimble, and hard to hit. Whenever one scored a hit with a fireball, Cyndil added to the woes of the revealed vampire with an arrow of her own. Regular arrows were enough for this supporting fire, as they still dealt the silence and health damage effect that the Bow of Shadows imparted.

When the fireballs started to come in their direction, it was clear that there were no more vampires for the bats to target. "Let's make a run for that door over there," Clark suggested.

It wasn't far, and the bats were low on magicka. The door was unlocked, so they were soon safe behind it. Safe from bats, at least. Clark's life detection wasn't showing anything yet, but it didn't have much range, and he was sure there would be more vampires further in.

"Is this part of the castle?" Cyndil asked. The walls were dressed stone, built rather than dug out. But the style was different from the basement Clark had seen.

"I don't think so, although it could be the ruins of an older castle. I'm sure Nocturnal rebuilds from time to time. ... and we have another vampire."

A pink glow had just appeared, coming their way. Its measured pace suggested the vampire was unaware of their presence, and they'd like to keep it that way. Clark and Cyndil tucked themselves into alcoves either side of the corridor and waited. They attacked after the vampire had passed, hoping to kill her quickly before she could raise an alarm.

"I'm glad she was wearing chain rather than plate. No noisy clatter when she fell," Cyndil whispered.

"That doesn't make a lot of difference, there are two more coming anyway," Clark responded.

"Do they know we're here?"

"They're not hurrying, if that's any indication. I think we may have surprise on our side if they don't see the corpse."

They dragged the body quietly into the shadows, and waited again. The two vampires, a man who might have been a Dunmer, and a woman who was definitely an Orc came through the heavy double doors and stopped. The man raised his hand and cast a spell. Clark recognized it as detect life. If they hadn't already been spotted, they would be now. He pointed at the Orc to tell Cyndil she was her target, and moved toward the Dunmer mage. His outfit reflected magic rather well, and he was hoping that the man would do most of the work for him. If Cyndil silenced him with an arrow, it would make Clark's job harder!

He obliged with a shock spell, but was astute enough to realise what happened. He summoned a dagger instead and snarled. Clark was content to block with his shield for a while. He knew that the spell had a short duration, and the dagger would soon be gone again. As soon as he saw the smoke that signalled the end of the summon, he struck with his sword.

The vampire howled, and reacted unthinkingly with another spell, which again reflected back to him. Clark pressed the attack before he could re-cast the dagger, and the Dunmer was soon dead at his feet.

Cyndil came running to him. She'd retreated back along the corridor as the Orc charged, staying out of her range as the arrow's enchantments did their job. She'd left the Orc quite a distance back toward the door. "Any more coming up?" She asked.

Clark had no more in his detection range, but they weren't very far into the ruins yet.

"We've accounted for four so far, and the bats at least a couple more. I wonder how many are down here?"
"As long as they don't start appearing ten at a time, It shouldn't matter," Cyndil responded. "It seems we can handle them in ones and twos, so it's just a question of keeping it that way."

"That's their choice, not ours. We can't control their movements, just react to them."

"No, but as long as we detect them first, we can avoid encounters where we're outnumbered. Retreat if we have to, and try to stay undetected ourselves."

---

They soon came to a large chamber that appeared to be the main hall of the old castle. It was almost deserted, and the vampires in it were scattered enough that they were able to kill each one without alerting the others.

"So where's the boss? The Patriarch ought to have been here, if there is one. This place appears to be symmetrical, and so the other wing would be just like the one we came through. The only other exit is the front door."

Cyndil cracked the huge door open and peered cautiously out. This door was lower than the one they'd entered through, and led out to a broad area between the ledge they'd cleared, and another on the opposite side. There was a good chance there would be vampires on that ledge too, and they'd have the advantage of height. She closed the door again, and gestured toward the other wing.

That was not quite a mirror of the first, but the vampire opposition was similar. One or two around each corner, none of them expecting the visitors. Finally a door led out to the ledge.

There were no bats to assist them on this side, and the two archers there noticed the door being opened. Since you can't reflect arrows, Clark was anxious to close with them quickly, but he wasn't about to rush in between them and Cyndil. He'd seen what her bow could do, and didn't want to risk friendly fire. Especially in the back.

He headed off to one side, splitting the archers' targets. Their foes' best strategy would be take an opponent each, and trust that the other could handle theirs. He hoped that it also meant that they'd split up, too. The one on his side did drop back as she fired, and he kept moving and dodging. He was nearly level with the other, who turned as he passed to aim at him. That left her more vulnerable to Cyndil, who made no mistake with her shot. The vampire's arrow flew wide of Clark, and he saw her fall.

The one he was chasing was running out of room to retreat. When she backed into the cave wall, she switched to her dagger, and lunged. Clark blocked with his shield, and methodically went about making the most of his weapon advantage. He had the longer blade, and a shield, so it wasn't at all an equal contest.
Cyndil, fortunately, left him to it. She'd gone to the edge overlooking the cavern floor, and had started firing down on what were presumably more vampires there.

"That's three less to worry about when we go out the front door," she told him. "The two up here, and I got one more down below. I think there was another down there, but he didn't stay around."

When they did go out the door, they could see bats firing fireballs at something in the distance. Perhaps it was the same vampire.

They moved along the wall, as far from the bats as possible. Now there was nobody above them, it was safe to do so without having anything dropped on their heads. A small opening in the far wall appeared to lead to another section of caves.

They pushed their way through a curtain of roots that hung down from the ceiling. "Those would keep the bats out," Clark noted. "Maybe we'll find the Patriarch in here."

The cave had apparently been a burial chamber at some point in the past. The walls were lined with coffins, held up on poles driven into the rock. Several more broken ones were scattered on the floor where they'd fallen when the supports rotted.

And at the other end a green swirl of illusion magic indicated that a vampire had spotted them, and cast invisibility. That didn't matter to Clark, who could still see his pink glow, but Cyndil wouldn't be able to see him. Clark ended that problem with a flare spell. It was weak, and wouldn't do much damage, but the flames would give Cyndil her target back. Soon the flames were stronger, and the Patriarch was a beacon of light, as one of the special arrows found him.

He closed on Clark, reasoning that he was dealing less damage, so he might be the weaker opponent. Not a bad estimate, but Clark was concentrating on defense. He made sure the vampire's back was towards the archer, and his bulk shielded Clark from her fire. And to compound his problems, the Orc tried to use a fire spell on Clark. Only once, of course.

"Now we need to take his dust back to Nocturnal as proof," Clark told his companion. "And I'll collect it from all the others on our way back. I gather there's a man in the Imperial City who'll pay over the odds for proof that a vampire was slain."

---

Nocturnal had heard the same, and she was prepared to match the offer. "I don't like them any more than he does, and any you kill elsewhere, will be ones that don't come here." She paid the two for the samples they had, a not inconsiderable sum.

Clark didn't really need the gold, but Cyndil was starting from nothing again. The life of a vampire-hunter had its appeal, she thought, especially if the dust was this valuable. "And the first thing I'll be buying is a ring of detect life. Clark's shown me the value of that!"

"Go see the Count of Kvatch," Clark told her. "We got the chameleon rings from him, and he has a collection of spare jewels you just won't believe."

Nocturnal had one more small extra for the two of them, keys to the guest suite in the castle. "So now you can reward each other."

Cyndil scampered off to check it out, but Clark had noticed Noctunal nod in his direction, and stayed to see what she had to add. "Tell me how she acts. I think she's put her resurrection and the Dremora behind her, but I can't judge the same things you can."

---

"I think she'll be all right," Clark told Nocturnal. "She's confident enough to get her own way, when she wants to do something different, but she doesn't need to take control all the time."

"Good! There were two possibilities that had concerned me: she could have become a submissive, like the Dremora prefer; or she could have over-reacted, and turned into the exact opposite. It would seem to me that she's back to normal."

"Oh, I wouldn't call her normal. Being returned from the dead seems to have given her a reason to make the most of her second chance. She's better than just normal now!"

--------------

Note: In the mod, you find the fire/light enchanted arrows in a chest near the vampire boss. If you take at least one to the seducer smith and wait three days, she'll have a levelled version of them available for sale from that point onward. I added extra levels to the ones already in the game, and they should always be at the player's level. That means if you level up in those three days, the ones she sells might not be the same ones you found.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Sep 16 2013, 02:42 AM

[mALX]

Your first post came out faulty in the email notice too, other than the comment responses it only showed this below and then nothing else:

Ulliceta gra-Kogg reappeared in Cyrodiil

This battle was great! Very easy to visualize each character's role in it and what they were seeing, Awesome Write! Ooh, the player can continue getting those arrows! Nice touch!

[Acadian]

Browser sent an incomplete post, and wouldn't let me replace it. Weird. Real one below.

- - I deleted that post for you.


‘The man raised his hand and cast a spell. Clark recognized it as detect life. ‘ - - Eeep!

A romping good time slaying vampires!

And it seems Clark helped Cyndil readjust to . . . being back in the saddle, as it were.

I find challenge with long episodes is that they run the risk of diluting goodness with too much volume to be absorbed or appreciated in one update.


Nit: ‘Still, I think it's something we can reproduce, given a litle time.’

[Grits]

She had enough soul gems to recharge the bow, too.

Lesson learned!

They crouched and waited for the conflict to reach a conclusion. The bats weren't particularly fearsome opponents, but they were small and nimble, and hard to hit. Whenever one scored a hit with a fireball, Cyndil added to the woes of the revealed vampire with an arrow of her own. Regular arrows were enough for this supporting fire, as they still dealt the silence and health damage effect that the Bow of Shadows imparted.

I just loved this whole passage. I can easily picture the fireball fight in the dark.

Clark was pretty bold, walking up to that mage to reflect some spell damage onto him! Nord Atronach approved.

Those arrows are an excellent reason to come back for a visit, and I love the guest suite reward. I’m looking forward to playing this!

[ghastley]

@mALX: It was fun to pair up characters with totally different tactics, without it being the usual "I'll use my bow/ranged spell while you run into my line of fire" that I'm getting when my current character has a follower.

@Acadian: Fortunately, this time they weren't relying on sneaking. Just keeping the battles to small numbers, and not letting the vampires use invisibility against them. And, of course, reflecting spells!

@Grits: Guards may be psychic, but they have nothing on mages when you have Reflect Spell working. They all seem to conjure weapons and attack with those. Fortunately, nobody conjures a Claymore or Battle-Axe.

---------------

Previously: Clark and Cyndil had cleared a cave near Evergloam Castle of vampires, leading to her finding a new vocation as a vampire-hunter.

---------------

Azura

"While you're here," Nocturnal said to Clark "I wonder if you could go and help my sister Azura with a little problem she's having."

Clark could see her not very successfully suppressing a smirk of amusement. Something told him that Azura's "little problem" was going to be an interesting one. Nocturnal wouldn't give him any details. Whether that was because she expected him to refuse to help if he knew, or if there was some other reason, he couldn't tell. He let her lead him back to the basement, and another portal. A pink one, this time.

---

He emerged onto the top of a small mountain. A statue of Azura, similar to the one in Tamriel, but fully nude, stood next to the platform that supported the portal. A flight of steps lead downward towards the sea.

He could see water in all directions from up here, so it appeared that this was an island, conical like a volcano, but without any sign of a crater. The sun was low, close to the horizon, but it wasn't obvious if this was dawn or dusk. In Azura's realm, it would be one or the other most of the time, he imagined.

The path was partly paved, with steps where it was steepest, and it zig-zagged down the hillside. The grass was golden, rather like the Gold Coast back in Tamriel, and the trees were in their fall foliage. With the pinkish light from the low sun, the whole landscape glowed.

Deer ran across the path at one point, but no other animals showed up to impede his progress. A log bridged a stream that cascaded down the mountainside, the spray adding rainbows to the idyllic scene.

The path ended at a door, that reminded Clark of the entrance to an Ayleid ruin, but inside was a normal cave. Naturally, everything that lived in the cave wanted to eat him, but there was only the one route down the mountain. It led him to a similar entrance further down. The path continued to spiral seaward, past the same stream and more waterfalls until it came to a bridge to another, smaller island.

Across the bridge he could see a building in the Ayleid style, but newer, or at least, less affected by decay. It looked like it had just been built, and the stone glowed pink in the reflected light of the sunset. That sunset had been in progress all the time he'd been coming down the path. How many hours had that taken? "You're not in Cyrodiil any more." he reminded himself.

---

Azura wasn't quite as naked as her statue, but her thin skirt didn't hide anything. And apart from a garland of flowers around her head, it was all she was wearing. Daedra Seducers stood either side of her throne, a much simpler one than Nocturnal used, but raised on a platform to add prominence to the occupant.

She glared at him. "I suppose Nocturnal sent you," she said. "My sister has a nasty sense of humour, sending a man when I can't ..."

When Azura noticed the puzzled look on Clark's face she relented somewhat. "She didn't explain? Then I suppose I'll have to do that."

"Some women, when they're ... you know, having fun with somebody, find that they involuntarily cast spells when they ..."

"Particularly enjoy the company?" Clark suggested.

Azura giggled. "Quite. And the spell could be any one they know. Illusion, conjuration, destruction, anything. And the better the ..."

"Emotional involvement?"

"Nicely put. Yes, the better the emotional involvement, the more magicka is released. It's similar to the release when a mortal creature dies, but a lot more to my liking! And since I'm the Princess of Dawn and Dusk, I get involved at the dawn and dusk of life. My Star captures the release of magicka at the end of life, and my Crescent captures the release at the beginning. Of course, it doesn't have to be an actual beginning, the magicka release is a bit before that happens, if it does at all."

"So you've lost your crescent, I take it?"

"Exactly, and I daren't ... er ... get into a situation where I might need it. I thought at first that it might have been Nocturnal that stole it, just as a joke. But she wouldn't have kept it this long, and she wouldn't have rubbed it in by sending you here to taunt me. Ooh! I shouldn't have thought about rubbing, it just makes it worse!"

"So just what are the consequences of not having it? If you know it's going to happen, aren't there other ways to deal with the spell?"

"You know Evergloam Castle's not the original, don't you? You might have seen some ruins around the island of the old one. I first discovered my problem at a party of my sister's. Reshaped the whole landscape, that time. So just doing it outdoors, or in the ocean, isn't enough. I could cause earthquakes, or tidal waves, or anything. Daedric Princes have almost unlimited magicka, and we don't do things in a small way. Ordinary soul gems will capture modest amounts of magicka, but you couldn't carry enough to match the crescent."

"Silence spell?"

"I'm immune, and anyway, you can't cast it on yourself."

"Voluntary mediocrity?"

"Azura is never anything but awesome! Well, not intentionally, that is. My partners always deserve my best efforts. I might as well abstain, which is basically what I'm having to do now. I need that crescent back!"

Clark was left wondering how the crescent was emptied, if the magicka was as much as she described. But that could be done more gradually, he realised. It also made sense to him, now, why she repeatedly gave away the star, but kept the crescent.

He reasoned that it wouldn't be in her realm, or she'd be aware of its presence, so it made sense to go back to Nocturnal and ask her if the crystal ball could reveal anything. He'd also like to be a safe distance from Azura in case she got impatient!

---

Nocturnal had been thinking the same way, and by the time Clark had climbed back up the hillside to the portal, she'd already located the crescent. "There," she pointed into the crystal ball. "Oh, no, you can't see anything, can you? I keep forgetting this kind of magic only works for the one who cast the enchantment."

"Anyhow," she went on, "I found the crescent in Leyawiin. That's not far for you to go, so Azura won't have to wait too long for you to get it back. " Nocturnal couldn't stifle a chortle at her sister's problem.

"A Khajiit woman by the name of Lhasi has it. How she got into Azura's realm to steal it is still a mystery. You'll have to ask her when you retrieve the crescent. She's staying at the Three Sisters Inn, and she doesn't seem to be going out much."

---

Lhasi was eating at the Three Sisters when Clark arrived. No-one else was around, so he sat himself at the same table, and asked if she knew anything about a missing artifact. Of course, she denied it, and was quite indignant that he'd asked her. "Why does everyone always ask the Khajiit when something is stolen?" He could read the movements of her ears, and knew that she was bluffing.

"There's a big reward for its return, you know."

"This one could never return it, even if she had it," Lhasi stated vehemently.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Because this one knows what she wants it for! That blonde woman, a Nord I suppose, she was using it to cheat the Khajiiti women of their birthright!"

Clark was nonplussed by this, and asked for an explanation.

"This one saw her. When the portal opened, this one was bold enough to enter and see where it lead. It was the bedroom of the blond woman, and she was ... busy. So busy, she didn't see this one enter."

"This one did not believe what she was seeing. When Azurah made the Khajiit, she made a bargain with them. They would have to wait until the moons were right before they mated, but when they did, it would be better than any other woman could know. But this one has never had it that good! And then this one saw why. There was a magical item next to the bed. This one could see the magicka swirling around it, and she knew it was the source. So when the woman slept, she took it. It didn't belong to her, that power was given only to the Khajiit!"

"And you came back through the portal with the crescent?"

"This one didn't say what she took! How do you know what it was?"

"Because Azura told me. She was the "blonde woman" you stole from. How do think the Khajiit get the best, if it doesn't come from Azura herself? You've stopped her from collecting the ... special magicka, and now all the Khajiit women will have to do without!"

Lhasi was horrified. She quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out the crescent, placing it gingerly on the table in front of him. "Don't tell anyone it was Lhasi! Her sisters will kill her, many times over! Nine lives will not be enough for Lhasi!"

She wasn't too fearful to ask about the reward, however. Clark almost regretted that part, especially as he'd just made the item appear priceless. Well it was, just not quite in the way he'd described it.

Fortunately, Lhasi's idea of a large reward wasn't all that ambitious, and he got away relatively lightly.

"By the way, where was the portal you entered?" he asked.

"It's gone now. It disappeared almost as soon as this one returned. She is fortunate it didn't close sooner!"

Clark persisted, and Lhasi told him that it had been in the basement of the Three Sisters Inn. She didn't offer any explanation of why she was down there, and not in her room, and he didn't press her further. It was likely that nobody else had seen it, which was what he really wanted to know.

---

"So you think I accidentally opened a portal before the crescent started to work?" Azura asked.

"I can't think of any other explanation," Clark replied. "Do you have to cast any spell in preparation for the 'capture', like the soul trap spell when someone uses the star?"

"Well, yes it does work that way. What of it?"

"It seems to me that you'd have to be careful to cast the spell at the right time. Too soon, and it might not last long enough. Too late, and you might ... get a portal that shouldn't have happened? And I doubt that you're concentrating on the spell, not under those circumstances."

"It's a really long-lasting spell, so the first situation won't arise. I mean, I could keep going that long, but my partners couldn't. There's only one Daedric Prince here!"

"So that just leaves the other alternative. Is it possible?"

Azura reluctantly admitted she might have leaked a little magicka out while she was casting the critical spell. "Nothing major, or harmful, but I suppose a portal's neither of those." And it was obvious why she didn't notice anything, even after. She'd been nicely exhausted, and had fallen asleep quickly.

"And now I need to reward you, and I need to make sure the crescent's not damaged. I think we can do both of those at the same time. I've been waiting so long, I'd better cast the spell right away!"

[mALX]

This chapter and this mod are both spectacular! Loved the description of Clark's journey to meet with Azura, the things he saw along the way, and his meeting with her - mostly his inner thoughts, he is hilarious!

The meeting with the Khajiit had me in hysterics, I absolutely loved this line:

"Why does everyone always ask the Khajiit when something is stolen?" He could read the movements of her ears, and knew that she was bluffing.

Lhasi's personality was adorable! Awesome Write and Mod, I am absolutely loving this mod!

[Acadian]

"Some women, when they're ... you know, having fun with somebody, find that they involuntarily cast spells when they ..." - - And I imagine Azura is not subject to the same spellcasting positional limitations that allow Buffy to control that problem.

A fun little quest to Azura’s place, then Leyawiin and back. Nice nod to the important role that Azurah and the moons play in their culture.

And Clark gets to sleep with a Daedric Prince! I’m sure Azura will be done with him by the time the sun in her realm displays the light of mid day.

[ghastley]

@mALX: I'm not sure that I didn't borrow that line from one in-game somewhere. It has been apparent with my current Khajiit character that the watch just assume he's criminal scum.

@Acadian: I think it would be correct to describe Azura as completely unrestrained and unlimited. Moonshadow does have breaks for lunch and midnight snacks, but no longer than necessary.

---------------

Previously: Clark had taken a break from Nocturnal's quests to help Azura with a little problem. But Nocturnal's still trying to find Chrysamere.

---------------

Nocturnal - Part IX

Nocturnal had been scrying for Chrysamere ever since Clark had told her about it. The crystal ball kept showing her the same location, but she couldn't see the claymore. "I'm uncertain where it is exactly. It's a large cavern somewhere, and the ball only shows me the interior, so there are no landmarks to help you. Everyone in the cavern seems to be wearing black robes, and there are undead in there with them."

"Most likely necromancers," Clark suggested. "Are you getting any clue why you aren't seeing the sword?"
"It's not clear whether they're hiding it, or they don't even know they have it," she replied. "I'll keep watching them until something shows up to help us figure it out."

---

Back in the Imperial City, Clark was shopping in the Market District. He'd just entered the alleyway that led from the Three Brothers' shop into the road to the city gate when he saw a purple glow. The same one his outfit gave off when it reflected a spell. He turned and saw nothing, but heard something hit the ground behind him.

One of the watchmen came running over. He'd seen a green light that looked like an illusion spell, and suspected an assault. Together they searched the alleyway and found the man who'd cast it, paralysed by his own spell.

"That's an elaborate way to commit a robbery," the watchman thought aloud. "Chameleon and paralysis. Must use a lot of magicka, so I expect we've got an Altmer here. Of course we won't know for certain until the chameleon fades."

He turned to Clark. "I hope you don't mind coming with us to the prison, sir. I need you to make a charge for assault. Since his spell failed, technically it wasn't one, unless you make the complaint."

Clark agreed. He wanted to know who this man was. The Thieves Guild wouldn't try to rob him, and anyone who wanted to harm him wouldn't have used paralysis. Perhaps this was a freelance thief?

When the chameleon dissipated, the thief was revealed as a Breton man in a plain black robe. He'd taken nothing from Clark, and all they found on him was a note. It indicated that anything magical he managed to steal could be fenced in the captain's quarters in the South-West tower.

"The nerve! Right above the watch's heads." The jailor was incensed by the news, and the watchman looked embarrassed. "I used to bunk in that tower," he told Clark. "They must have walked right past me. Even with them using chameleon, we should have noticed something."

"Can we take a look up there now?" Clark suggested. "The fence might be waiting there, and I have a ring of detect life that will make him plain as day."

The watchman liked that idea. Two arrests in one day didn't happen often.

---

The fence had cast invisibility, and was trying to hide behind a crate. He'd heard them coming up the ladder, as they weren't even trying to sneak in. Clark was a bit concerned that he'd try to resist arrest, but with more of the watch on the floor below, the man didn't want to take a chance.

This time, it was an Altmer, dressed in a mage's robe. They found a few stolen valuables, and another note that was a lot more interesting to Clark. It said that "the sword" was in Fingerbowl Cave, awaiting a courier to take it on to Anvil. He'd be paid when it reached its destination, not before.

So now Clark had a name for the cavern. He should go back to Nocturnal with the news, but first he should inform Taminwe. Ocato should be able ensure the thieves stayed in prison until Chrysamere was in their hands. If they were released, they might notify their superiors.

---

Nocturnal had a theory why she couldn't see the sword in the crystal ball. "You see that bolt of cloth, there beside that crate?" she asked Clark.

"No, I can't see anything in the ball. Only you can, remember?"

"Well, there's a bolt of cloth, wrapped around a plank of wood. It's always there in view, and I suspect the sword is hidden inside it. They've probably cut out the board in the middle, and wrapped the cloth around it to hide it."

"They'd soon notice if they tried to move it," Clark reasoned. "The metal sword would be considerably heavier than the wood."

"I don't understand why they need to smuggle it like this. It's not been reported stolen, so nobody's looking for it. Except for us," he added.

"Well, Chrysamere's not exactly inconspicuous, with its shining blue blade, and its size. It's an obvious hero's weapon, and anybody else carrying it is going to look suspicious, and attract a lot of attention. Since its enchantments depend on the attributes of the wielder, it's not easy for anyone but a hero to carry, let alone use."

"The only person I know who could go and get that sword is the Champion of Cyrodiil," Clark told the Daedric Princess. "But I'm sure it would be just the sword he's been looking for all his career. It's not like he'd need it, but the temptation might be too much if we ask him."

Nocturnal disagreed. "The bag of holding will let anyone carry it. It's just a matter of sneaking in and taking it. I'll get Minx to go there."

Clark wasn't happy with that idea. Necromancers were quite capable of casting detect life spells, and the ones that lived in caves were even more likely to do so. And he needed to find out as much as possible about the necromancers' connection with the Altmer who appeared to be the intended recipients of the shipment.

From what Nocturnal had told him about the sword, it made sense that the necromancers wouldn't have been able to make use of it. Presumably they were selling to the highest bidder, but in that case it was strange that Taminwe's spies hadn't caught wind of the offer. At least, she hadn't told him about it, and she usually kept him well informed. Any excuse for a briefing!

Minx and Clark needed a fighter to come along with them. Nocturnal may prefer stealth to confrontation, but these were necromancers, so Clark didn't feel at all sympathetic. Who could he persuade to join the party, that wouldn't covet the sword, but would have the skill to protect them? He thought about Freija, but it was a long way to Gweden, and she liked claymores, too. The sisters were much too involved with the Jemane brothers. He had to go to the Imperial City to pick up Minx, so was there anyone there?

Uzgash! She probably knew Ulliceta from her childhood, and would be happy to help an old acquaintance. And she had the advantage of preferring blunts to blades. But she'd left all her weapons and armor behind in Bruma. That could be a problem.

---

Minx didn't think so. The thieves guild always had a stream of items passing through its hands. There would undoubtedly be something suitable for Uzgash. "She likes a big battle-axe, doesn't she?"

"I'd better fetch her down here, so she can choose for herself," Clark replied, and left for the Red Dragon Club.

---

Uzgash picked out a huge ebony battle-axe, and swung it a few times to test the weight and balance. "This was made for me," she announced. "I prefer it without any enchantment, as they have a habit of running out just when you need them. This will wear a bit, but I can take a few repairs hammers along and fix it myself."

She passed on the armor. "I'd rather do without the encumbrance of armor, and get my defence from magic. I still have a frost shield thong that I wore as a bear rider - I only left one with Gudrun, as she wasn't expecting to ride every day. I have frost shield on a couple of rings, too. The Wrothgarians need a lot of frost resistance, and the shield part was just gravy. Added together, it's more than I'd get from a complete suit of Daedric, and I can move a lot faster."

Clark thought it made a lot of sense. Ghosts and wraiths would use frost spells, and necromancers summoned a lot of those.

Uzgash found a pair of leather boots that had a minor enchantment of spell reflection among the thieves' stash. Not enough to make them really valuable, but they'd be perfect for this job.

"No, I'm not going in there topless, although I know you'd like that. But I don't need a cuirass, just a shirt or something that won't restrict my swing." Uzgash paused, imagining what was going through Clark's mind. "The battle-axe, not those."

[mALX]

I loved the missed attack on Clark in the Imperial City, how funny that he hit himself with the spell! And they do their dirty dealings right in the Watch Tower, ROFL !!! Can't beat that, lol.

Uzgash was hilarious in this, what a great personality! Clark, (as always) was completely entertaining, and surprisingly firm in making sure Minx was protected, nice!

Loved this update, lots of humor and the plot swept forward really fast! Loved it!