I am Lena Wolf, Lena's life as it happens Options

[Lena Wolf]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum - just moved from Bethesda.net which is closing. I have been writing Lena's story for the past half a year or so, she travels in Cyrodiil and Skyrim, does stuff and lives her life. This is not a novel - it has a beginning but no end, until she dies, which is hopefully not for a long while yet. It is a saga, a feuilleton - as they used to say in the old days - the story develops as it is being written, bit by bit. I hope you like it.

I have more than a hundred entries written already, so I am not going to repost them all here, unless you really want me to. They are all published in my blog: MasserAndSecunda.wordpress.com which I started as a way to keep track of things for myself and keep everything in one place.

I shall now repost a few of those entries here, so as to introduce you to the characters and some key points that get referred to later on.

The running story takes place in the 4th Era, taking off in year 4E201. I had to twist the arm of the lore a bit to correct false accounts on a few things that allegedly took place in the 200 years since the Oblivion Crisis. But we all know how easily false accounts become "historical thruths", so I have no qualms about that. 😀 And yes, a lot of people that Lena met back in the day, were still around 200 years later. Considering how much mixing has been going on in Cyrodiil between men and mer for thousands of years, most people have some Elven blood in them, so the question of life span becomes rather academic.

Thank you for reading and I hope to engage with you all! You'll see me around - and I'll be reading so many good stories that people have posted here!

Yours -
Lena Wolf


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contents

Chronology

Chapter 1 - Finding her feet (scroll down)

Exerpts posted here, see stories at Masser and Secunda for more.

13 Frost Fall, 4E201 - 16 Sun's Dawn, 4E202
Cyrodiil.
Introducing Lena Wolf, Hauk Serck-Hanssen, Lucien Lachance, Geralt of Rivia, Jowan Angwin, Fenris Bero, Garrus Darelliun.

Chapter 2 - Matters of the heart

19 Sun's Dawn - 4 Mid-Year, 4E202
Skyrim, Cyrodiil, Lena's first trip to the Fade, Shivering Isles.
Introducing Dylan, Sanguine, Rayenna.

Chapter 3 - Choice and Judgement

4-5 Mid-Year - 20 Last Seed, 4E202
Cyrodiil.

Chapter 4 - Travels and Revelations

21-23 Last Seed, 4E202 - 25 Morning Star, 4E203
Skyrim, Cyrodiil, Elsweyr, Valenwood, Lena's second trip to the Fade, memories of Temeria, Antaloor as a pocket of the Void.
Hauk departing for Morrowind (TES3 Morrowind as Morroblivion); introducing Azarath Salvel.
Geralt finding his way in Skyrim.

Chapter 5 - Bonds

30 Morning Star - 7 Midyear, 4E203
Shivering Isles, Skyrim, Gransys, Albion (Fable II); introducing Scorpio.
Hauk Serck-Hanssen, Lucien Lachance - Morrowind (TES3 Morrowind - Tribunal, as Morroblivion).
4th Era, Year Unknown - Gransys (Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen); introducing Rook.

Chapter 6 - The White Wolf

7 Sun's Dawn, 4E195 - 11 Last Seed, 4E203
Geralt of Rivia - the Northern Realms (The Witcher 2 and 3), Skyrim.
Introducing Yennefer of Vengerberg.

Chapter 7 - Shards

Last Seed, 4E203 - Second Seed, 4E204
Vermund, Battahl, Gransys (Dragon's Dogma 2).

Chapter 8 - Heartbeat

First Seed, 3E434 - 4E203
Cyrodiil, Vermund, Battahl.

Chapter 9 - The Call of the Black City

Morning Star, 3E387 - (ongoing)
Ferelden, Orlais, Kirkwall, Tevinter, Antiva, Anderfels (Dragon Age: Origins, Awakening, Witch Hunt, Dragon Age 2, Inquisition, Trespasser, The Veilguard).
The story of Wolf Asgarsen, Zevran, Anders and others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1

Finding her feet

I am Lena Wolf

I am Lena Wolf. I was born on the 17th of Sun's Height, 3E417, in Cyrodiil to a Breton mother, and therefore was declared Breton. I have never been to High Rock, so when Hadvar promised to inform High Rock of my execution in Helgen later on, it made no sense at all. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. When I was 4 years old, my mother died of swamp fever, and our Argonian neighbour took me in. She was old already then, so we called her Gran. Gran always hinted that my unknown father was not unknown at all, just that it was best to keep it quiet until time comes. Time for what? Who knows. Wait and see.

As I turned 16, Gran got older still, and one day said there was something very important that she had to impart to me before her passing. She still couldn't name my father, but, she said, when the time was right, I should go to Skyrim to find out. How was I to know when that would be? Oh, not for a while yet, not for a long while. And she died.

Freedom at 16 proved exhilarating at first and cold and hungry soon after. Having tried this and that without much success and having had enough of goblins stealing my sweetrolls, I walked into Bravil's Mages Guild hoping to steal one of theirs. Instead, I found myself being thrust at a dinner table and loaded with all sorts of food, sweetrolls included. The mages took me in, taught me magic towards which I appeared to be inclined, taught me alchemy for the body, soul and enemies, and gave me a reason to venture into the caves in search of wisp stalks. The guards kept joking seeing me returning from my expeditions with yet another rusty sword or piece of armour, but the local smith fixed them up for me and taught me a few moves. Finally the goblins were getting their come-uppence!

Fighters Guild was not for me. Yes, I dealt with the headmistress's son in Chorrol and with the cowardly elf in Skingrad, and yes, the lich took some effort and lots of Freds to defeat, but I got bored with the routine and sort of quit. Well, got busy elsewhere. Free-lancing with Dark Brotherhood proved infinitely more fun, they didn't mind my vampirism, and Oblivion gates needed taking care of, too.

That disaster sorted, life got back to normal. Of course by then I found a cure for vampirism and joined the Arcane University, right on cue to face the King of Worms. Fortunately, Uncle Sheo decided to look in on us right about then, and the Shivering Isles provided a spot of sanity in a world gone mad. I still spend every autumn there.

So what do I do these days? I live. I potter about. I keep my home free from goblins and rats. I roast dreugh for dinner. I occasionally take a contract for another Ayleid sculpture or another bag of Welkynd stones. There's always a lich in someone's basement or a bunch of scamps needing a good home. And one day I'll go to Skyrim to find that important thing, but the time hasn't come yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

28 Last Seed, 3E433 – Lena’s Story begins

Lena Wolf's story begins at 16. Being quite young and still inexperienced, that last sweetroll she stole finally landed her in the Imperial Prison, and the story of the Oblivion Crisis was set in motion.

Everyone knows how that went, so we'll skip the details. Lena delivered the Amulet of Kings and was sent to Kvatch to fetch Martin, but went to Bravil first, stopped by the Mages Guild there hoping for a sweetroll that wouldn't land her back in Imperial Prison, got caught by the mages, but not handed over to the guard but fed and accepted into the guild instead... And what with one thing and another, she got completely side tracked by everything happening at once, including closing many Oblivion gates and fighting necromancers and vampires. She didn't realise what the Porphyric Hemophilia thing was until one morning she woke up a vampire herself! The mages still treated her well like before and she could progress in the guild, but the Fighters Guild wouldn't even talk to her - "We don't want your sort here!" The same with most merchants, but not all - for example the chap at the Main Ingredient in the Imperial City wasn't afraid at all and traded as normal, so we always shop there whenever we're in town.

Lena must have killed some non-bandit by mistake because Lucien turned up at night, and there of course at the Sanctuary she met another vampire and no one was bothered by her occasional feeding (although she usually didn't feed on guild members but rather on beggars and often went hungry as it came with benefits, not just curses). So eventually she progressed far enough in the Mages Guild that the Count of Skingrad hinted that perhaps they could help each other...

By the time she cured her vampirism and got to finally ousting Mehrunes Degon out of Cyrodiil, nearly 3.5 years have passed, bringing it to Sun's Dawn 3E437. The 3rd Era was coming to an end. Then Uncle Sheo decided to look in, and a mad prophet turned up in Anvil.

The Oblivion Crisis affair had her run around a lot and win a prestigious title, and I guess she should carry that title with pride, but in truth she'd rather forget about the whole thing, as well as Martin's panicked reaction there. Some Emperor he turned out to be! Perhaps it's true that you need to grow up as one.

With the Dark Brotherhood she advanced rather far, although not quite to the top. She only joined because Lucien said that being a vampire was fine and also he knew her mother. He probably lied about that, but who knows. She didn't mind the work, I guess she is not a do-gooder. So she wasn't even considering questing for the Knights of The Nine and simply killed the prophet. Oops! He, err, ate something rotten, it appears.

But the one title she enjoyed was that of Lord Sheogorath. What fun we had! Sanguine practically moved in to the New Sheoth palace, and Hircine had the time of his life running around the countryside chasing Gnarls. Why, even Vermina melted seeing the whole population of Dementia having nightmares all on their own. Meridia of course had to lecture everyone on their lack of virtue, so we sent her packing. But then Sheo himself returned, and in his usual charming manner first joined in and then kicked everyone out, Lena included. Jygg messed up his head, I'm telling you.

As for the Thieves Guild, Lena declined their every invitation. She's no thief. Gosh, I think I found a virtue!

The 4th Era saw Lena venturing out again, from now on always avoiding to deliver any suspicious amulets, and being watchful of the Hemophilia thingy. She had plenty of dealings with daedra - no, the closure of the Oblivion Crisis did not in fact prevent the daedra from entering the Mundus in the future, but it did cool things off a bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12 First Seed, 4E195 - Flotsam

Lena Wolf returned from her stay in the Shivering Isles only to find that nearly 200 years had passed in Mundus in the meantime. She was no longer a "current" citizen, having missed the census for so long, and all her property had been repossessed by the Empire. Even her Mages Guild membership had been revoked. This was more than upsetting, and Lena boarded the first ship out of Anvil. It was bound for the Northern Realms.

The Northern Realms were kingdoms on the other side of the Great Maelstrom of the Middle Ocean. The journey was long and perilous, and even time itself was said to dilate along the way. People rarely made the journey more than once in their lifetimes, except for the ship's crew of course. Those sailors were tough, and inspired confidence. Lena was leaving.

The Northern Realms were at war. A constant war with each other and with the Southern kingdoms where Nilfgaard was building an empire. This had been going on for so long - for centuries - that people mostly ignored it, except when the menfolk got drafted to fight for the current king. The people still kept to the old country names, paying no heed to the king in charge.

Lena found herself in a small border town named Flotsam. It was a port on a major river and proved as refined as its name suggested. But the town had no resident healer, and Lena saw an opportunity. Her skills in magic and alchemy could be put to a good use, and with the help of a local herbalist she updated her herb knowledge and opened a practice.

Despite all odds, life in Flotsam proved quiet and largely uneventful. Trade flourished and there was no shortage of work for a healer. One day an old witcher walked in, badly wounded, looking to buy some herbs.

"I can't let you go anywhere" - was Lena's response. "I've got a bed free, you need to rest."

But despite Lena's best efforts augmented with the witcher's special potions, the witcher was not recovering. His wolf medallion kept buzzing - magic or danger, it was both, and he was dying.

The old man knew something though, or had seen something. He gave Lena his medallion and said that she should search for a white wolf with the same sort of trinket, and that it would make her complete once she found him. And then the old witcher died.

Wait, didn't we hear such a story before? First her Argonian grandmother telling her on her deathbed to search for something extremely important in Skyrim, and now this story about a medallion-wearing wolf?

But one day at the market Lena bumped into a fellow with white hair, and a shiver went down her spine. Yep, he wasn't looking where he was going and got her with the tip of his enchanted sword. A few choice recommendations were ready to roll off Lena's tongue when she spotted a wolf medallion around the fellow's neck. So, instead of giving him a piece of her mind, she politely enquired whether Master Witcher would be good enough to stop by her practice after hours because she needed his expert advice on a small, ah, matter. Flattery will get you everywhere, and come evening, the White Wolf turned up at her house.

"I am Geralt of Rivia - at your service."

Recalling the words of the old witcher, Lena was expecting a certain turn of events that would make her complete, at least for the night. But boy was she mistaken. The shiver that went down her spine back at the market, wasn't from any sword enchantment - it was her wolf medallion buzzing like mad near Geralt (Lena took to wearing the medallion because it went with her last name so nicely). The old witcher had re-enchanted the amulet with her essence, so it responded quite violently to another being with a similar essence. Lena and Geralt were related.

Having talked through most of the night, they got through a lot of Cyrodillic Brandy and Argonian Bloodwine, and having eliminated the impossible, the only remaining conclusion, no matter how far-fetched, was that they must be siblings. Having given up her first child with the unknown but obviously important Nord, Lena's mother kept the second child, and swore to raise her daughter in ignorance of the great heritage that made her son into the White Wolf and hoping that the little girl would be spared world-shattering responsibilities. Ha!

Since that chance meeting in Flotsam, Lena and Geralt never really lost sight of each other, although never paraded their connection either. As both of them were in the habit of regularly freaking out local world leaders, church heads and powerful sorcerers, it seemed prudent not to aggravate matters too much.

Geralt got embroiled in local politics despite his best judgement, then the war broke out for real with the Nilfgardian Empire invading the North. Death and destitution was everywhere. Lena made her way to Novigrad and boarded a ship back to Cyrodiil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hauk Serc-Hanssen

Iver and Hauk Serc-Hanssen were twins born under The Lord on 21 First Seed 4E151. They were Nords, and as such were expected to become warriors. Nords value their traditions, and Nords living in Cyrodiil do so even more, although admittedly many of them have taken in too much of the mildness of Nibenay to be called sons and daughters of Skyrim. So when the boys started showing above average abilities in magic, their parents blamed the very soil of Cyrodiil for "mellowing" their children. The Serc-Hanssens were definitively the Nord sons of Cyrodiil.

"Well, if they are going to be mages, let them be battlemages at least" - was their father's verdict. And the boys were enrolled into education with the Mages Guild as well as training with the Legion.

At twenty, Iver and Hauk had joined both the Arcane University and the Imperial Legion, and have completed their Battlemage training. Then the Great War broke out. Iver was drafted into regular forces, but Hauk was sent to Skyrim to a special unit - scouts, messengers, liaisons, logistics, that sort of thing. At least, this was the official designation.

Nobody knows what that unit actually did in Skyrim, and those who know will never tell, so it's safe to assume they were maintaining a covert front behind the enemy lines. The unit wasn't large, so it was easy to disperse it without a trace after the war. Some even claim that the unit never existed - after all, Hauk had been seen on the front lines of many official campaigns... or was that Iver? Who could tell! They were twins, after all...

After the war, Iver and Hauk left active service with the Legion and returned to the Mages Guild, doing smaller assignments, training new apprentices, and generally settling back into a civilian life style. Iver got busy with the Guild and the University, while Hauk... well... Hauk kept disappearing from time to time, for several weeks or even months on end, then suddenly coming back looking like he had spent all this time outdoors and in cold water. Hauk looked out of place among mages that never left the comforts and security of the walls of the Imperial City, so he left his Mage's Staff and a few other important things with Iver at the University and joined the Legion again. Or had he ever left?

Years later, when Travis became the Arch Mage and banned necromancy, Hauk got into an argument regarding limiting the types of spells available to battlemages - the "code of conduct" was Travis' idea and Hauk disagreed. But arguments with the Arch Mage are doomed to failure, so not wanting to be banished from the Guild altogether, Hauk boarded a ship to Antaloor and was gone for several years - enough time to cool things off. Upon his return he was made to understand that although formally he would still remain a Mages Guild Evoker, he did not need to expect any assignments or promotions from the Guild.

At 50, Hauk found himself bored with nothing to do, and no family to take care of. Neither he nor Iver ever married, but Iver was still busy with the University and with the Guild, while Hauk... he wasn't exactly too old for the Legion, but there were no wars going on, apart from the usual regional conflicts that were as repetitive as they were pointless. Would he be interested in training up some recruits? No, thank you. Well, then... exactly. They had nothing of interest for him either.

One day Hauk stopped by the Arcane University to see Iver when he spotted a new member - a new apprentice, he was told. She didn't look new, she looked like she had done it all before and was simply going through the motions. She was also making some custom spells that were much too complex for a new apprentice. Who was she? Things didn't add up.

A few enquiries with the older members of the Guild made it very clear that whoever she was, Lena Wolf was not a novice and not a youngster, despite her youthful appearance. There was mystery there, some darkness perhaps, but Hauk was not a shiny new penny either. Lena was muttering to herself about doing some adventuring to raise funds for a house... raiding some Ayleid ruins in search of ancient statues and Welkynd stones... doing some contracts for the Fighters Guild - the sorts of things that "regular" warriors would rather avoid, like fighting liches and wraiths... What fun! Hauk would introduce himself and offer to join her. Let the new life begin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5 Sun's Dusk, 4E201 - Lena and Hauk meet

Skyrim can wait. Back in Cyrodiil Lena still has a lot to do. She needs to get back her house in Bravil which got repossessed by the county under the feeble excuse that Lena had been absent for a couple of centuries. So what! She had business in the Shivering Isles - time passes differently there, and longevity is not an issue for a vampire anyway... ex-vampire... What does it matter?!

The house got taken, and there's nothing left to do but to buy it again. Which requires funds, which in turn requires some serious adventuring.

Thinking these serious thoughts, and possibly muttering to herself, Lena spent some time at the Arcane University making custom spells and picking ingredients in that lovely garden of theirs, as well as shopping in the Market District. There, quite absent-mindedly, she bumped into something shiny. Looking up and shielding her eyes, she realised that she was looking at a highly polished suit of steel armour, probably the best looking steel armour in the whole of Tamriel. Inside it was a tall Nord on the better side of 40.

Hauk Serck-Hanssen was a Mages Guild battlemage, currently doing what all soldiers do in peace times - nothing. Hauk was a Mages Guid Evoker, just like his twin brother Iver (who insisted on dropping his last name out of false sense of modesty), but unlike Iver, Hauk was not a "proper" battlemage. "It doesn't become a battlemage to meddle with schools of Illusion or Conjuration - such mind-altering magic is for vampires and necromancers!" - you'd think Arch Mage Travis would have outlawed those schools along with Necromancy, given half a chance. Hauk took no notice of this new order of decent behaviour, and as a result his assignments became far and few between.

Picking up Lena's muttering about "needing to raid a few Ayleid ruins for Welkynd stones" and "going goblin hunting in Skingrad County", he put on his most gallant expression and introduced himself - "On behalf of the battlemages, may I welcome you to the Arcane University--" and then cleverly did not say "Recruit" or "Apprentice". Because this is not how you get into the good books of a young and pretty Breton who somehow does not seem to be in her early 20s as her looks might suggest.

But instead: "Can I be of some assistance on the goblin hunt, not that you would need any, of course?"

Why, what do you know! Adventuring with a friend is so much more fun! Lena's University life just got more interesting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

24 Sun's Dusk, 4E201 - Dragons - The White Wolf

Later at Olav's the conversation was light, both Lena and Hauk avoiding the topic of dragons. Then Hauk could avoid it no longer.

"Tell me about the dragons in Skyrim."

"Well, there isn't that much to tell. I went over the border about a month ago - just before we met, in fact. You've heard about the Skyrim bandits that used to terrorise the border regions, well, I read they were finally defeated - again, so probably not for the last time. But it was safe to cross just then. My adoptive grandmother told me on her death bed that there was something important I had to do in Skyrim, but I never knew what. To do or to see or to find out - that was all unclear. I've been to Skyrim before a few times and nothing particularly important happened, so I didn't think this time would be any different.

"But this time it started strange and it continued even stranger, which is why I returned to Cyrodiil within a week.

"Firstly, as I was crossing the border, I got arrested by the Imperial Legion and sentenced to beheading - although they admitted that I was not on the list."

"That sounds a bit harsh!" Hauk interjected, although he could believe it perfectly. "Did they at least know what you've supposedly done?"

"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was captured together with Ulfrick Stormcloack - the rebellion leader. He was the one they were after, and everyone else - me and another fellow - was coming along for the ride."

"Sounds about right. So how is it that you're still alive? Although I can see now why you are not in Skyrim."

"Oh, that has nothing to do with it. Just as they were getting started with the executions, a dragon attacked and sent everyone running for cover. It was breathing fire and chaos was complete. One of those rebels was trying to pull me to come with them, but I followed an Imperial soldier instead."

"That seems like a strange decision considering that the Legion was going to execute you!"

"Not really. The Legion is methodical and prefers to err on the side of caution - better execute one too many than one too few - but they are also level-headed, and I figured they'd reconsider my sentence, especially since I wasn't on their list to begin with. The rebels on the other hand, looked hot-headed, and anyhow I did not want to get embroiled in Skyrim politics."

"So who sent the dragon?"

"No one knows. But I think no one sent the dragon. I think this was a coincidence and the dragon business is unrelated to the rebellion. They also have Thalmor patrols everywhere searching for the cult of Talos - and that too is unrelated."

"Yes, we got ourselves in a right mess with the Thalmor."

"Well, that Imperial soldier took me to a nearby village - his uncle was a blacksmith there, and they made me welcome, I don't see why. But apparently helping the guy fight the rebels back in Helgen counted as 'saving his life', although I was mostly trying to save mine."

"I bet you fought bravely and impressed him, plus you didn't put an arrow between his shoulder blades. That counts for a lot in Skyrim."

"I suppose so. They asked me just to do one thing for them - to go to their local town and inform the jarl about the dragon, ask him to send some guards to this village in case a dragon turns up there. Ok, that's the least I could do. Plus, I ran into my brother there, and figured I'd be staying for a while."

"You have a brother?"

"I do. It's a long story for another time. He stayed in Skyrim, so if we go there together, you can't avoid meeting him."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world! When are we leaving?"

"Not tonight."

"I see" - Hauk felt that there was more. More about the dragons, more about the brother, much more of everything. Perhaps the best thing was just to let it develop at its own pace. Too bad that Nords are not blessed with patience... "Well, let's get back to the dragon then. Did you go to see the jarl?"

"I did. He thanked me and mentioned some errands that I might do for him, in case I was in need of coin. Fine, life was getting back to normal. Until a couple of days later a dragon attacked a watchtower causing chaos in the jarl's palace. Of course they will never admit it was chaos, but why else would they ask me of all people to help fight the dragon? 'You survived Helgen, you know more about dragons than anyone here!' I knew how to run away from one... but sure, I joined them."

"So how do you fight a dragon?"

"How do you fight any flying creature? With arrows or spells, what else can you do? We got it down and got it killed. An I absorbed its soul."

"Whoa!!" That was something else. It wasn't just about slaying a fearsome ancient monster, it was about taking over its power too. "You are Dragonborn?" Hauk knew exactly what it meant, what it implied and why Lena needed time to get her head around it. Each Dragonborn throughout history had a mission to accomplish, and choices to make, and none of it was easy.

"Yeah, that's what I discovered." Lena was relieved that she did not have to explain what it meant. She wasn't sure herself yet. "The Greybeards called me, but I haven't gone to see them, not yet anyway. Instead, I returned to Cyrodiil to get my head in order."

"And your brother?"

"He is not Dragonborn, if that's what you're asking. But he'll be there for when I am ready to go to Skyrim to find out more."

That wasn't what Hauk was asking, and they both knew it. But should Lena drop another bomb by saying that her brother was the White Wolf? Did Hauk even know who that was? Yeah, he probably did. He seemed to know a lot of things...

"My brother needed some time for himself. He's been through a lot in the last few years, so he came to Skyrim to get away from it all for a time, to get his own head in order. Our father was a Nord - that much we know - so Geralt figured Skyrim would be a perfect destination, a perfect change of pace."

"Geralt?" Yep, Hauk knew that name.

"My brother is the White Wolf."

Things were making sense now. The famous witcher was not Dragonborn, but it took more than an average person to become a witcher at all, and Geralt was quite a character. The news of the Northern Realms did not reach Tamriel very promptly, but eventually things became known, and some of them were even true. Hauk heard of the Wild Hunt that was tormenting the Northern Realms, and of the frost and ice that the Wild Hunt left in its wake. They were said to be wraiths - but what would wraiths want with the living? Why would they abduct whole villages at a time? Hauk thought it more likely that they were beings of flesh and blood coming from another realm looking for slaves, and the frost was simply their magic. The witchers would fight them, and it was said that an apocalyptic battle recently took place. The Wild Hunt was gone. For now or forever? The White Wolf was involved somehow, some said it was he who defeated the Wild Hunt king, other said no, the White Wolf was captured and was a prisoner himself, and someone else had to free them all... Whatever of it was true, it wasn't a walk in the park, and if the White Wolf was now here in Tamriel, then the Wild Hunt must have been dealt with. It wasn't in his character to run away. "His Nord blood wouldn't let him" - Hauk thought. "He finished his mission and came to seek out his roots."

"So what now? Are you going back to Skyrim at all?"

"Yes, I'll have to, I need to find out more, at least. But there is no rush, and my home is still here."

"Yeah, in Bravil" - Hauk remembered the effort that Lena put into getting back that house.

"Yeah."

The publican had been topping up their ale and mead for a long while already. Whatever those two were discussing, was keeping them drinking, and there's nothing wrong with that. Besides, they mentioned Skyrim - what better topic could a Nord wish for under his roof?

The regulars were finally going home, but Lena and Hauk didn't feel like sleeping. The conversation still hung in the air, and they just sat there, drinking silently for a while. They were getting more and more at ease with each other, no longer needing to talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

31 Evening Star, 4E201 - Lucien Lachance

"What did Lucien want?" - Asked Hauk at breakfast at Count's Arms.

"He... I thought you were asleep!"

"I was, until he banged the door on his way out. Who else comes to visit you in your sleep?"

That was solid logic, and there was no point arguing.

"He wanted me to rejoin the Brotherhood" - Lena conceded.

"Rejoin?"

"Yes. I was suspended after I refused to kill everyone in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary."

"And you lived?" - that was most unusual. The Dark Brotherhood wasn't just another Guild, transgressions came with a death sentence.

"Oh, they were sending assassins after me for a time until it transpired that the traitor was much higher up than anyone in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary - he was a Black Hand, and he was out for revenge after Lucien personally. That's a completely mad story" - Lena shook her head. "Then I was no longer the target and they let me be. Now they decided it was time I returned to the family."

"And will you?"

"Already have."

Hauk wasn't surprised. After Lucien's visit the night before, Lena disappeared for 24 hours. She returned during the night. Lucien's ways were rubbing off on her.

"So, if you were given a contract on my life, would you kill me?"

"First of all" - Lena was getting cross - "they would not give me a contract on a friend unless this was a test or a Purification Ritual. And second of all, this would be against my principles, so I'd kill the contract giver instead, and they know it. So you're quite safe from me" - Lena smiled.

"You put friends above your oath?"

"I do not serve Sithis. I have rejoined because Lucien did know my mother - he hadn't lied. When I refused to purify Cheydinhal, he exclaimed 'Just like her mother', and I learned later that indeed their paths had crossed."

That was as much as Lena was willing to tell, that was obvious. So Hauk dropped the topic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5 Morning Star, 4E202 - Lucien's offer

I've been promised the abandoned house in Cheydinhal for keeping a cool head and sparing them all back then. I was to perform the Purification Ritual with which I would break the tenet to never harm a brother. But were I to refuse, I would break the tenet to never refuse a contract. I did not believe the "evidence" and chose to refuse the contract. Another assassin was sent to perform the Purification, and failed. I had to face the Wrath of Sithis, but it wasn't my first wraith... Living assassins were sent after me, all in vain. Then the "evidence" that I discarded, was proven to have been fabricated. The traitor was much higher up and he was after Lucien Lachance personally, which of course broke a tenet of the Brotherhood. I was cleared, but it was considered best for me to stay away. Until now.

Lucien came to see me a week ago - they wanted me back. But they owed me, not just their lives, but their continued existence as members of the Brotherhood. Would I accept a promotion? Surely, I would make a superb Black Hand. No, thank you. I do not serve Sithis, and I dare to say it - I'll kill his wraith again if I have to.

"You are just like your mother. And your great-uncle, he too went rogue." Lucien hadn't lied, I received my great-uncle's will - he left me his sanctuary near Leyawiin. But he served Sithis, and I don't. I just want a normal house.

"A house? I think we can arrange that" - Lucien brightened up. "The Count here is not keen to have an ugly abandoned house in the city, but we are very persuasive. Plus, he still remembers - less than fondly - Morag Tong from his native Morrowind. I think he would be pleased if the house was no longer abandoned. But would you be willing to allow access to the Sanctuary through it?"

As I am the only member who likes to use that door, it isn't much of a problem. New members have to earn the right to use direct access, so new members need that route through the house, but I was the last new member to join, and that was 200 years ago. I would not worry. After the traitor used a new member - me - to try to get to Lucien, Lucien has been reluctant to accept anyone else.

"Go see the Count in a couple of days. What do you want to call the house?"

"The Wolf Sanctuary."

"How befitting" - Lucien smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5 Sun's Dawn, 4E202 - A visit to Lucien

Lena knew where Lucien lived and how to get there bypassing the guards. Of course she did, she spent a lot of time there herself. It was time to let Lucien know about her little enterprise. Lucien knew what's been done already and guessed rightly that she had plans for more.

On a piece of parchment Lena wrote a list of names.

She sealed the letter and left it on the table.

She returned a few days later. There was a brand new silver dagger where the letter had been. The barrel with poisoned apples had been unlocked. A bouquet of flowers lay on the bed: goldenrod, morning glory, lily of the valley, blue hyacinth. Good fortune, my dear - yours, always.

"The choice of a lily is... unusual" - Lena thought. "I would have expected something more neutral..."

She took the flowers. She knew that Lucien would see them in the Wolf Sanctuary kept fresh and understand her acceptance. But she wasn't laying ambrosia fruit on her bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

14 Sun's Dawn, 4E202 - Death and Resuscitation - Wolf House - Prince Sheogorath

"This isn't as crazy as I thought it might be" - Hauk was saying at breakfast.

12 Sun's Dawn

Having breakfast at noon is not crazy at all if you only went to bed at 4 a.m. as they did. They brought the tongs and calipers to Tove, and he paid Lena 5 septims for each one, resulting in a very tidy sum.

"Oh I insist - for your trouble."

"That wasn't crazy after all to drag them all the way to here" - Hauk started to see sense.

After that they had a job to do at Xedilian.

"Now that I had to kill the Gatekeeper again, I need to fix Xedilian" - Lena was trying to explain it to Hauk. "It will attract people that don't belong here and make them belong."

Xedilian was overrun with grummites. They had removed the resonator crystals and attached them to their magic staves which made them so much more dangerous. At one point four Deathbringers and a Magus swarmed on Lena and Hauk from all directions and got them surrounded. Lena was using a lot of poisons but they weren't as effective on these grummites as they were on the ones in the hatchery. The battle was ferocious and Lena got knocked out - and couldn't get up. When Hauk finally dispatched the last of the grummites, Lena was still on the ground. Not unconscious but dead. One of the Deathbringers apparently kept hitting her after she lost consciousness - he was determined to live up to his title.

Hauk tried healing spells on Lena, cure poison and cure paralysis, smelling salts and aloe sap, to no avail.

"Ok then, it's the old-fashioned way again" - he thought removing her armour for CPR.

Resuscitation was successful. Lena sat up, still dizzy but alive.

"That was some battle... Thanks for bringing me back" - she said watching Hauk sorting through a pile of potions, clothes and pieces of armour that he dropped in the rush to get her heart beating again. He was still casting healing spells at her and at himself, and the sweat on his torso was shimmering in the mist of restoration magic.

"We'll need to take a break now" - he said wrapping Lena in some robes from their pack. "You need to warm up - don't bother wearing these, you'll be warmer in a wrap."

Being a Battlemage was clearly different from being an Adventurer, and having gone through the Great War behind the enemy lines taught Hauk survival skills like no training ever could. He actually knew what he was doing.

...

After a rest with some food and drink, they put their armours back on and decided to continue going through Xedilian. After all, they seemed to be nearly done.

"So this is the frog that got me?" - Lena stood over a grummite that lay where she had gone down.

"That's the one" - Hauk confirmed. "He just wouldn't quit which probably saved my own life - I would have been overwhelmed by an extra one joining in."

"I'm glad you weren't" - Lena looked at Hauk realising that were the roles reversed, she would have done everything in her power to bring him back.

13 Sun's Dawn

Xedilian was restored and the first group of adventurers was taken care of. Knights of Order appeared too, and were dispatched. Lena and Hauk stood outside again, it was mid-morning. They hadn't slept, but neither of them wanted to just now.

"What's next?" - asked Hauk.

"We could walk back to Passwall and rest at the inn there for a while" - Lena pointed West - "or we could start towards New Sheoth and get distracted along the way" - she pointed North East grinning.

"East" - said Hauk and started walking.

...

It didn't take long and they ran into another ruin and decided to investigate. Xalara housed some zealots, and obviously had to be thoroughly searched for the Fork of Horripilation.

The Fork wasn't there, but they found some substantial loot in an urn held by a statue.

"Good thing real Hungers aren't nearly as big as this one" - remarked Hauk admiring the statue. "Very decorative though."

He was definitely getting into the spirit of the place.

Xalara was a bit of a labyrinth with traps, sliding wall panels, collapsed sections and newly dug out bypasses. They kept coming out near the entrance which would normally be welcome, but in this case it wasn't because Lena was determined to search every nook and cranny for the Fork. Of course it was all for naught, but you wouldn't know it until you'd done it.

Exhausted, they decided to eat the zealots' food and sleep in their beds. It was getting quite late anyway.

14 Sun's Dawn

In the morning they set off for New Sheoth, this time intent on getting there without distractions. The landscape was swampy, but the water wasn't deep, and they didn't expect any creatures apart from baliwogs. Then suddenly Lena got knocked out.

"Whaaa-?" - Hauk heard her yelp but couldn't see what attacked her. Summoning a dremora just in case, he felt a little like that Orc adventurer that fell victim to Xedilian's magic - how do you fight the unseen?

The next moment Hauk was hit from above by a Skulking Scalon - a creature with a power to turn invisible and jump high and far. So this was what knocked out Lena - a scalon's touch also carried an electrical charge.

Hauk staggered, but his dremora swung into action, and soon the scalon lay defeated.

"Ugh, those scalons can really surprise you" - Lena was saying wringing out her skirt. The swamp wasn't deep to walk in, but it did get you thoroughly wet if you fell in.

New Sheoth wasn't far, and they didn't tarry and longer.

...

"We need to go see the Prince about Xedilian but not in these wet clothes" - Lena said as they entered Crucible. "There's a house here that we can use - it was left to me by a chap I did a favour for." There was no need to explain what the favour for Hirrus Clutumnus was.

When Hirrus left Lena the house, she went to have a look and didn't like it. Too much blood, torture tools and self-flailing in there. But now her wet clothes under her iron armour were chilling her to the bone, and she was ready to make use of the house even with Hirrus' spirit still hanging about.

They entered. Someone had redecorated. Gone were the torture tools, blood stains and cobwebs. Gone was the gloomy atmosphere - it's amazing what a few tapestries can do. It was still a Dementia house, but it was now clean and welcoming.

Dylan. It had to be.

But Dylan himself wasn't there, so Lena and Hauk spent some time in the Wolf House - as it was now known - to freshen up and rest. There was food, good wine and mead, and even fresh sweetrolls... nothing that Hirrus would have kept there.

In the afternoon they went to see the Prince. Lena put on a Red Finery dress that she had found in the cupboard. Hauk couldn't take his eyes off her.

The Prince was galant, as always, making jokes and never letting you forget who was in charge. Lena let him get on with it, not argueing or reminding him of things past. They both knew it was just a façade. He sent her to get acquainted with the new Duke and Duchess - Thadon and Syl, again? Well, yes, the same ones, or may be their twins... But they won't remember you, so don't you worry. But didn't I cut Syl's heart out last time? Yes, you did, but we don't let such minor details get in the way. Off you go now and enjoy your felldew.

Coming out of the Palace, Lena noticed that the Flame of Agnon wasn't burning - the Saints and Seducers must have been quarreling again. She had work to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

15 Sun's Dawn 4E202 - Another letter from Lucien

"Before I get embroiled in Shivering Isles politics, I need to return to Cyrodiil for a bit" - Lena was saying to Hauk at breakfast. "There are a few things I need to take care of, on my own." She looked at him somewhat uneasy.

"Of course" - Hauk nodded. "Give Lucien my regards. I'll stay here - can I use this house?"

"Please do" - Lena gave Hauk a long look. He was planning something. "But I don't think I'll be meeting Lucien" - she added.

"You'll see."

...

Returning to Cheydinhal, Lena found a letter waiting for her on the table at the Wolf Sanctuary. It was from Lucien:

Darling Wolf,

Come and see me at your convenience. We have business to attend to.

Yours -
Lucien

She went in the evening, planning to sleep at the fort if necessary, while waiting for Lucien to appear. She didn't have to wait long.

"I need you to go to Skyrim" - said Lucien pouring the wine. "There's a group there that calls themselves the Dark Brotherhood and is taking on contracts, but we don't have a branch in Skyrim and the Night Mother does not talk to anyone there. Go see what they are all about."

Lena heard of them when she went to Skyrim before, but because the Dark Brotherhood had a regional structure, she didn't expect to know any of them. Now it turned out they were imposters, which went some way to explain why they tried to kill her - and didn't know who she was. No one verified their contracts, obviously.

"How do you want me to approach them?" - she asked Lucien, helping herself to cheese and grapes.

"We'll bait them - we'll spread a rumour that you've gone after one of their contracts. They'll be in touch."

"If the Night Mother doesn't speak to them, then where do they get their contacts from?"

"From rumours, mostly. People know how to summon us - the real us - and so they perform the Dark Sacrament over and over, thinking that more is better, no doubt. Then, when no one comes, they start talking about it, and sure enough, soon afterwards someone appears."

"Your friendly neighbourhood assassin, here to help" - grimaced Lena.

"Quite. Ham or mutton?" - Lucien was taking roast off the spit.

"Mutton, please, and some of that orange chutney on top."

Two old friends sat down for dinner. Nothing unusual about that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Nov 22 2024, 07:00 PM

[Lena Wolf]

7 Last Seed, 4E202 - Nightingales

"Come with me, Nightingale" - Lucien appeared next to Lena as she came out of the Arcane University lobby.

"How did you know I'd be here?" - she gasped at him.

"Arch Mage Traven practically put out a bounty on your head" - he grinned. "He's been searching for you through the Guild channels, and we do have a few Brothers among the mages. So I knew you were on your way here from Leyawiin."

"And you loitered in the garden waiting for me" - Lena grinned at the mental picture of Lucien loitering.

"Cloaked, yes" - he smiled.

"All right, Agent of Stealth, let's go."

Lucien led her to his bolthole in the sewers under Arboretum - "Lucien's Arboretum Underground Apartment", as Lena took to calling it.

"Here - this is for you" - Lucien gave her a package when they were inside. "Now that Nocturnal wants her influence re-established, we should dress the part."

It was only now that Lena realised what was different about Lucien - his robes. Still black, still unassuming and resembling mage robes, but now complemented by dark brown embossed leather rather than plain black, and with deep sanguine trim.

"Throwing knives" - Lena pointed at the top of Lucien's boot. "Finally an alternative to the bow."

"Well, I've had them for a while already" - he smiled. "But you need to learn to use them first. There are throwing stars, too - try A Fighting Chance in the Market District. There's a lot more to Rohssan than meets the eye" - Lucien winked. "There's an additional knife pocket belt to go over the robes as well, but I find it too obvious."

Lena was trying on her new gear.

"And the enchantment? It feels the same."

"It is the same" - Lucien nodded. "The same as the Black Hand robes, and reinforced with the hood."

"So, still no shield enchantment" - Lena mused, slightly disappointed. It was clothes, not armour.

"You should be skilled enough not to get hit, if you are wearing this" - Lucien smiled. "Doesn't always work, of course, but there are other ways to shield yourself."

"Ok, Ok, I'm not complaining" - Lena grinned. "Who should we recruit as the third Nightingale?"

"We?" - Lucien raised an eyebrow. "That's your job - Nocturnal gave this task to you personally. It's your call."

"But I thought because you've been her agent for a while already..." - Lena started.

"No-no, it doesn't work like that" - Lucien shook his head. "This falls outside the Dark Brotherhood hierarchy, so we are equal on this level, as will be the third person. You don't have to recruit from the Brotherhood either."

"So..." - Lena started to understand how this worked. "You never said anything because it wasn't up to you to bring Nocturnal's influence into the Brotherhood - I am to do it, as well as to rebuild the Halls and to recruit the third person. While you..."

"I have my own tasks" - Lucien smiled. "You will learn of them in time, such are Nocturnal's wishes."

...

They sat down for dinner, and Lena told Lucien about her conversation with Corvus Umbranox and a pile of Thieves Guild "requests" that she had found in his desk. They had no interest in any of them, except the one from Rayenna.

"So it wasn't the Thieves Guild who revealed the location of Deepscorn Hollow to Rayenna" - Lucien pointed out. "Hauk thinks it was Mephala, and I tend to agree with him. Which means we should be watchful."

"But she is still a member of the Brotherhood, isn't she?" - Lena looked up. "With one of the Sanctuaries?"

"She is still in Anvil, yes" - Lucien nodded. "Sa'sinar wanted to keep an eye on her, and who could blame him. Although it wasn't his fault, a Silencer's actions always do reflect on the Speaker - after all, she was his choice." He paused. "Anyway, Umbranox' abandoned house is ours - it's one of the terms of the contract. The Countess was only too glad to see it change ownership and to ensure that no Thieves Guild member would set foot into it again. Have you searched it?"

"I've searched Umbranox' room upstairs, but the downstairs area was boarded up, so I didn't look there" - Lena admitted. "Should I have?"

"It has a basement, according to the documents... Could be worth investigating."

Lena nodded, making a note in her journal.

"How have you been feeling lately?" - Lucien asked without changing the tone.

"What?" - Lena was surprised by the question. "How do you mean?"

"Exactly as I said it. Your health - how have you been feeling?"

"Fine" - Lena answered slowly, trying to figure out what Lucien was getting at. "The same as usual. Why do you ask?"

"Your pregnancy" - he took her hand, feeling her pulse, she noticed. "You do realise you are pregnant, don't you?"

"I..." - Lena gasped. No, she didn't realise it, yet. "No... How do you know if even I don't?"

"I noticed a couple of weeks ago, in Skingrad" - he smiled. "Dibella's training had been quite extensive, and I was young back then... I studied eagerly" - he smiled again. "I can sense things like that."

"You? A student of Dibella?" - Lena recalled that Dibella had granted Lucien a blessing just recently - in Skingrad, in fact.

"In my youth, yes, following my mother. I didn't need much convincing either, considering its nature."

"But then something changed... for you are not a Priest of Dibella."

"No, I didn't take any vows" - Lucien agreed. "Other tendencies became evident..." - he was looking into the distance, remembering. "Then I joined the Brotherhood and stopped going to the temple. But I still remember what I've learned." He looked at her with tenderness. "So, it has begun."

"But..." - Lena was still digesting these revelations, both of her pregnancy and of Lucien's ways of Dibella. "But I don't know..." - Lucien seemed certain, yet she didn't feel it yet. "How long have I been pregnant then?"

"Oh I could not tell that" - Lucien laughed. "I'm not a seer. Not that long, I should think, since it doesn't show yet - and you yourself haven't even noticed. But it will put extra strain on your health - which is why I brought it up. You need to be prepared - healing potions, food and blood, have it always with you."

"Blood?"

"In case you run into a wraith or something" - he smiled - "and your vampirism gets triggered again. You have read about that in your great-uncle's diaries, I hope?"

"I..." - Lena swallowed. "I have... But I ignored it at the time. Recessive Vampirism. I assumed it didn't apply to me, since I had taken the witch's cure. But it does, doesn't it? Of course, this is what Vicente meant, this is why I've been needing blood sometimes..."

"You need to avoid going hungry for too long" - Lucien looked serious. "Hungry for blood, I mean, when your vampirism relapses. I know it gives you powers in battle, but it's bad for the child."

Lena was thinking of Molag Bal telling her that her child would be a vampire... if she allowed him to turn her into a pure-blood. But she didn't. Would she still pass her infection to her child? She strained to remember what she had read in her great-uncle's diaries, but there was no mention of children there. She hoped the child would not be tainted.

Lucien watched Lena's sombre face, correctly deducing what she was thinking. He didn't know whether or not the child would carry vampirism, and he was not aware of anyone else possessing such knowledge, so they would have to wait and see. He got up, walked over to Lena and embraced her, crouching next to her chair.

"Don't worry about that" - he said in her ear. "We can deal with it. I love you."

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

Nightingale gear is based on DBAssassin.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 02:49 PM

[Renee]

Up to 40. I agree about the bow with the four enchantments...um... Shadowhunt. How the heck would somebody create such a thing? I think the implication is there were (or are) really powerful magic-users who could do so, and our character can't possibly achieve such a level of wizardry. Not without mods!

She's hunting necromancers! And undead!

She was enjoying her new robes as well. It was clothing, so did not hamper magic, and although it did not provide any shielding

Also, repairing dents and dings from armor is not required with robes.

Ha, she pwned Shady Sam. If you have Vile Lair (I think it's Vile Lair) in your game, there's another guy who says "psst" all the time, the one who stays in Weye's inn. I actually added some Conditions to his HELLO in the CS, which will hopefully make him only say this if one of my characters has a significant amount of Infamy.

Off she goes to Cheydinhal. Done reading Page 2 today.

This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 14 2021, 01:17 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Ha, she pwned Shady Sam. If you have Vile Lair (I think it's Vile Lair) in your game, there's another guy who says "psst" all the time, the one who stays in Weye's inn. I actually added some Conditions to his HELLO in the CS, which will hopefully make him only say this if one of my characters has a significant amount of Infamy.

Shady Sam is not dead. She only wanted his hood after all, so she knocked him out. However, it seems he decided to relocate somewhere safer - closer to the Morrowind border, I hear. We'll run into him at some point, I'm sure.

The other "pssst" trader is Rowley Eardwulf in Weye, from the Vile Lair DLC, yes. We run into him later too. See how I didn't say anything!

[Renee]

Ah, I see. Yeah it is Rowley who gets on my nerves with his constant "psst" every time we pass.

Up to post 44.

This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 22 2021, 12:59 PM

[Lena Wolf]

8-9 Last Seed, 4E202 - Rohssan - Old Crow Inn - Wolf's Borough

"Come with me, Sister" - Rohssan smiled at Lena when Lena enquired about throwing knives at the Fighting Chance. She led her to the basement of the shop that was set up as a training room and an armoury. "You might like this as well" - she handed Lena a shortsword of dull metal without shine. "This does not reflect light quite as much as most metals, and unlike ebony, it is effective on ethereal beings as well as corporeal. Wraiths and ghosts and such" - she clarified. "Of course your Honorblade does the trick as well, but it's quite heavy, whereas this sword..." - she handed it to Lena - "feel for yourself."

"Wow, fast and light like a... steel shortsword?" - Lena made a few thrusts at the dummy.

"Exactly" - Rohssan nodded. "The same make as your Shadowhunt."

Lena smiled recalling Garrus noting in awe that he'd never seen a steel bow take out a massive orc with two shots... Even without the enchantment, Shadowhunt wasn't just any bow.

"So... The Blade of Woe and the Sufferthorn have the same qualities, too" - she smiled at Rohssan. "Your work?"

"Some of it" - Rohssan smiled back. "But I am mostly a supplier. The Sufferthorns come from another smith - Elven metal is not my speciality. I work iron and steel, with ebony core or silver coating, where necessary."

"Worked to a dull finish so as not to reflect the light" - Lena turned the Assassin's shortsword in her hand - "and to be effective on ethereal beings. A coating."

"There's more to being a smith than just repairing your gear" - Rohssan grinned with satisfaction. "Those fine iron and steel swords that I offer to the general public - they have ebony cores with just a thin layer of iron or steel, so you get higher durability with a reduced weight. And they sharpen better, too."

"I still have a few of those" - Lena nodded. She looked through other weapons on display, noting that each had a "durable" version - with an ebony core, she realised.

...

"Traven wants me to 'supervise' a group of battlemages and storm Silorn" - Lena was telling Hauk over lunch at The Feed Bag. "He wants some special black soul gem that's supposed to be there - and he stressed repeatedly that all that mattered was that gem. I smell a rat" - she turned over her steak with suspicion.

"He will sacrifice the battlemages again" - nodded Hauk. "We should meet with Iver, this is exactly the sort of mission he was talking about."

"But you will come too, won't you?" - Lena looked at Hauk with a question.

"Of course I will" - he nodded. "It's bound to be a trap."

...

They found Iver training in the basement at the University - he already knew about the mission.

"I've been expecting you" - he smiled at Lena. "There will be three of us, but the others do not fully understand the danger yet, I'm afraid. But if you too are coming, Hauk, that will help."

Hauk gave him one of his famous looks - naturally, and Iver mirrored it exactly. Twins.

"We'll see you at Silorn then" - Iver concluded.

...

It was late afternoon but Lena and Hauk decided to get going towards Skingrad and Silorn and stay the night at an inn along the way.

"The Imperial City Council finally released the funds to build three new bridges over Lake Rumare" - Hauk was saying as they were walking to the stables to pick up the horses. "And it is amazing how quickly these things can get built once the payment is forthcoming" - he smirked. "Have you seen them? The new bridges?"

"I was surprised by the one at Fort Homestead, yes" - Lena nodded. "Suddenly I didn't have to cast waterwalking on Roach as we could just cross the lake over a bridge! Where are the other two?"

"Fort Urasek and Fort Caracus, more or less" - Hauk pointed East and North. "And a small bridge to connect the City Isle proper with the lighthouse."

"So that you can actually cross from the City Isle to the Waterfront without going through the City and the infamous tunnel!" - Lena said excitedly.

"Infamous?" - Hauk looked surprised. "It's just a tunnel."

"Yeah, well, it's got cells and guards asking questions" - Lena wrinkled her nose.

Hauk smirked but didn't say anything. They picked up their horses and crossed the Talos Bridge towards Weye, turning South aiming to take the Gold Road. They stopped at The Old Crow Inn just at that intersection.

...

"Mmm, you look like someone who doesn't mind getting her hands dirty!" - the innkeep smiled, looking over Lena's attire. "I need someone 'taking care of', if you catch my meaning" - she winked. There was usually only one way the Dunmer wanted things "taken care of".

"Yeah, I read you" - smiled Lena. "Who is it?"

"My ex-lover" - Ladonna looked angry and disgusted. "He left me - for an Orc!!"

Ouch, that must have hurt.

"You must kill him! And her! Kill them both!" - she exclaimed, completely unconcerned by the presence of an Imperial soldier in the inn. "I shall reward you well for your trouble!"

"Ok, I'll look into it" - Lena said making a note in her journal.

"Do more than just look!" - Ladonna urged her. Here was another scornful woman of the dangerous kind.

...

"Hauk, I am pregnant" - Lena dropped the bomb at dinner.

"Whaaa-?" - Hauk looked up from his mutton. "How long?"

"Not long, a couple of months, perhaps?" - Lena looked uncertain. "I can't even feel it yet."

"So... what are you going to do?"

"Err... carry it to term?" - Lena went red.

"That's not what I meant!" - Hauk focussed on Lena rather than on his thoughts. "I am not suggesting termination. I was wondering if you were going to pause adventuring for a while."

"No!" - Lena was indignant. "Whatever made you suggest that?! No!"

"Whoa - don't start breathing fire now!" - Hauk was taken aback by the intensity of Lena's reaction. "I was just... well, never mind" - he was going to say something, but then reconsidered. "Adventuring it is."

They didn't discuss it any further, but Lena noticed Hauk talking to the innkeep who was first shaking her head, but then nodded and brought out several strong healing potions that Hauk stashed in his pack. Lena sighed - was everyone going to treat her as an invalid now? And even worse - was she going to feel like an invalid in a few months' time?

9 Last Seed

"This is quite a nice area" - Hauk pointed at a high arched wall set across the Gold Road half way to Skingrad. "Wolf's Borough. Have you been here before?"

"I might have, but I don't remember" - Lena was looking around, not recognising any of it. "I don't think I've ever really rode along this stretch of the road - I would always take a shortcut through the wilderness."

"Then let's stop and look around" - Hauk steered his horse to a pasture, he clearly knew where he was going.

"You seem to be very familiar with this place" - Lena looked at him with suspicion.

"You could say that. This is where I grew up - we lived on a farm just behind that building" - he grinned at Lena's surprise.

"What?!" - she laughed. "And you never said anything?"

"It never came up."

Wolf's Borough stretched all the way from the Gold Road to Fort Vlastarus and had several shops, farms and towers. It was something between a farm and a town.

"What happened to the farm where you grew up?" - Lena asked as they walked around.

"After our parents died, we sold it, as neither Iver nor myself saw ourselves as farmers. The new owners have changed a lot of things around, it is barely recognisable. And no, we are not going to say hello." He looked at Lena just as she was about to suggest something with a look of mischief on her face.

"Oh" - she said with disappointment. "Well... But at least we should explore that fort." And she went right in, not giving Hauk an opportunity to protest.

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

Throwing knives Oblivion, Throwing Stars aka Shurikens, Imperial City Bridges, The Xander Waterfront Bridge, The Old Crow Inn, HESU Wolf's Borough.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:01 PM

[Lena Wolf]

9-11 Last Seed, 4E202 - Fort Vlastarus - Silorn

"I am not sleeping on a slab!" - Lena was adamant. Fort Vlastarus housed a small group of vampires, and the only sleeping place was a slab. It was past midnight, and Lena had heavy wounds, so Hauk tried to convince her to spend the night at the fort - without much success.

"Your wounds need healing, you have to rest! It's either the slab or the floor - or one of these coffins" - he looked around.

"No, neither" - Lena shook her head again. "I bandaged up the worst of it - we ride to Skingrad."

10 Last Seed

It was 4 a.m. when they finally entered Lena's house in Skingrad.

"Well, now that we are here, we eat first" - Hauk said firmly. "Then sleep until you are recovered. Silorn can wait."

...

They got up well past midday, had a bite to eat and rode to Silorn nearby. The battlemages were already there.

"We asked for reinforcements, and Traven sent you? You are it?" - Thalfin looked over Lena with scepticism, completely ignoring Hauk - one Serck-Hanssen in the group was apparently already more than enough, thank you very much.

"Well, you'll have to do" - she said, resolved. "And Traven put you in charge as well - so let's hear your strategy" - she added with contempt. Perhaps therein lay the root of the problem.

The door to the ruin was magically sealed from the inside, so they had to wait for some of the necromancers to come out, thus unsealing it. Sure enough, three or four of them soon emerged, and were easily dispatched by the battlemages - Lena didn't even have a chance to unsheath her sword.

"Ok, that's done - now in you go" - Thalfin smiled slyly at Lena. "Go get that gem from some High Elf deep inside the ruin."

"What - are you not coming?" - Lena couldn't quite believe it, and Hauk and Iver exchanged glances.

"No, it's your mission now."

Gods preserve us from scornful women. Lena and Hauk entered Silorn looking for some High Elf with a gem...

...

Silorn was a straightforward Ayleid ruin with necromancers behind every pillar. They were a particularly angry sort, but none could withstand Lena's poisons and Hauk's Xivilae. The battlemages were more troublesome - Necromancer battlemages, that is, in full armour - but also they eventually succumbed. Lena was knocked out a few times and sustained serious injuries, yet they still didn't find any remarkable soul gems, so had to keep going further and further in.

"We could have done with the other battlemages now" - Hauk was saying with irritation battling two necromancers, their summons and a skeleton champion. "If it had been up to Iver, he would have come, I'm sure. But he doesn't like going against his orders."

"As no soldier should" - Lena agreed, battling her own bunch of enemies. "It was Thalfin's call. Ouch!" - a skeleton's battleaxe made contact with Lena's arm. Her strength was failing her, and she took a step back to drink a potion and cast a shielding spell. It only took a moment... but in that moment a wraith summonned by the necromancers hit her with a frost curse and Lena felt her blood freeze. Her vampirism got triggered.

"And now you pay!" - she attacked the wraith and the skeleton with renewed vigor, her strength returning - for now.

Falkar was not far away, they found him a few halls further on.

"Hello, old friend" - Lena said pleasantly, baring her fangs.

"You!" - Falkar's face contorted with rage. "You cheated - you should have never survived that well!"

"And now I'll cheat again" - Lena cast Vampire Seduction on him, momentarily confusing him into liking her too much to attack. Her clannfear rammed him before he could recover.

"You are a better mage than I thought" - Falkar whispered. "But Mannimarco is a better mage still - and a High Elf. You stand no chance against him, Breton - gem or no gem."

Falkar had an enormous gem in his pocket.

"This is what we came for" - Lena showed it to Hauk. "I wonder how a single gem can determine the fate of necromancy."

"I find it hard to believe, too" - nodded Hauk. "Traven is hiding something, we'll have to wait and see, I guess." He turned over the gem in his hand. "Well, let's go speak to the others."

11 Last Seed

It was 7 a.m. when they came out, and the sun was shining brightly in a clear sky. Lena started to smolder.

"Damned vampirism!" - Hauk noticed her burning skin. "Get back inside! Do you have blood?"

Yes, she had bottled blood, which she now drank, her vampirism receding.

"There will be still some residual sun damage for a while" - she told Hauk. "So don't panic - I'll cast some healing spells. It's good enough - let's go."

Hauk shook his head but followed. Lena was less worried about vampiric effects than he was, it appeared.

"Oh, you've got the gem!" - Thalfin looked at it in admiration. "Well, take it to Traven straight away, or all of this would have been for naught!"

"I think you are exaggerating" - Lena answered calmly. "But yes, we'll take the gem to Traven and see what he is going to do with it."

"See what I mean about varying attitudes" - Iver said to Lena quietly. "Some still think they've got a career with the Mages Guild" - he smirked, jerking his head towards Thalfin.

"Well, we haven't been dismissed from the Guild yet" - Merete joined the conversation. "And who knows how long Traven will remain the Arch Mage. Although frankly, a battlemage who can barely cast a flare, should not have been put in command here" - she jerked her head towards Thalfin as well. "But friends in high places work here too."

"Yes, she does seem very devoted to... you know" - Lena winked. "Was she hoping we'd be killed in there so that she could go in after a while and claim the gem for herself?"

"She said her concern was for us - but we are not so sure" - Merete winked back. "Come and see us at the University some time - we're mostly in the training rooms."

And with that they said their goodbyes, chuckling all the while at the fact that the three Nords among them were each far better mages than the Wood Elf that was supposed to be their leader.

...

"Skingrad and rest or straight on to the Imperial City?" - asked Hauk when he and Lena got to their horses.

"Let's ride while I still can" - Lena got into the saddle. "I want to get it over with."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:02 PM

[Acadian]

A fun but challenging romp through Silorn. That Thalfin sounds like a piece of. . . work.

[Lena Wolf]

A fun but challenging romp through Silorn. That Thalfin sounds like a piece of. . . work.

Oh yes. And completely vanilla!

[Lena Wolf]

12-13 Last Seed, 4E202 - Arch Mage Traven - Echo Cave

"Ah, you have it. Good." Arch Mage Traven smiled at Lena as she handed over the extra large black soul gem that she got from Falkar. "Do you know what this is for?"

12 Last Seed

"For something of importance, I presume" - Lena smiled back. "Considering all the fighting we've done to get it."

"Indeed." Traven looked sad. "This gem is meant to house my own soul - or at least this was Mannimarco's plan. But the gem is here now - thank you" - he smiled at Lena. "I now stand a good chance to defeat Mannimarco. I am sorry to cut our meeting short - I should not keep him waiting." And with that he turned around and stepped onto the teleport to his quarters.

"Well..." - Lena said into the emptiness of the Council Chamber. "The Arch Mage is getting ready for battle."

She returned to the lobby where Raminus Polus was pacing nervously.

"What did he say?" - he exclaimed.

"He is going to fight Mannimarco, and that gem is going to help him somehow" - Lena said watching Raminus, but he seemed not to understand it either.

"He's going to fight him with that gem?" - he looked confused.

"I know - I don't get it either."

"He's going to the Echo Cave - that's where Mannimarco is residing, isn't it? You need to follow and see what happens. There isn't much of the Council of Mages left standing, but we need to know what is going on" - Raminus looked serious.

"I agree. Some secrets are not being shared with us" - Lena returned his look. "Even though I am not on the Council of course, but still."

"You may not be on the Council, but you are embroiled in this matter as much as anyone else, if not more" - Raminus objected. "He should have told you, but he didn't - I wonder why. I shall await your return - the future of the Mages Guild may well depend on what transpires."

Lena nodded goodbye and left the lobby, finding Hauk waiting outside.

"You should go on your own" - he said after she told him what she'd learned. "This is espionage rather than fighting, so go quietly. Stay out of line of fire, let them fight it out - this trap is not meant for you, so don't fall into it."

Lena agreed - this was a stealth mission. She would ride to Bruma and then wait at the Echo Cave for Arch Mage Traven to appear - she hoped she would arrive before him.

13 Last Seed

"I need to see him" - Lena was awakened by elevated voices. She dosed off in the bushes near Echo Cave.

"I am not supposed to let anyone in" - the doorman retorted. "You'd have to kill me to get the key!"

"That won't be a problem!" - exclaimed Hannibal Traven angrily discharging a powerful shock spell. After a short battle, the doorman lay dead, Traven got the key from his pocket and entered the cave. Lena followed.

This was a large cave system with many caverns and passages filled with necromancers and undead. But Arch Mage Traven walked right past them without being challenged.

"Ah, finally - here you are!" - a voice sounded from the depths of the final cave. Mannimarco.

"Indeed, we meet again" - Traven answered almost calmly. "But it is I who has the gem."

"For now" - Mannimarco retorted, casting a strange spell. Lena wasn't sure what it was exactly, but her legs felt weak even at that distance, and she backed off some more, staying out of line of fire.

Hannibal Traven did not seem to be affected by the strange spell which must have been some sort of command spell, Lena figured. He cast a spell of his own, green light of Illusion shooting towards Mannimarco.

"You cannot charm me, Traven!" - laughed Mannimarco. "Or whatever it was! Pah!"

More spells were being exchanged, but after a while both mages realised that they could not charm, command, control or paralyse one another, so they switched to Destruction magic, with Traven lacing it with Soul Trap spells.

"My soul will not be trapped!" - roared Mannimarco, literally shaking off the Soul Trap charm. "You will need to do better than that, but you can't!" - he laughed again, sending bolts of lightning at Traven.

Fire, frost and lightning filled the cave, as both mages went down to business. They must have been both absorbing most of it, for no one could have sustained that much damage. Then the magic changed - they switched to curses and health absorption, and their faces contorted with pain, as well as rage. They could not absorb much of that, it seemed. Still, they were evenly matched.

They were fading fast now, and Traven resumed casting Soul Trap spells which Mannimarco could no longer shake off. Instead, he redoubled his efforts in Destruction aiming to kill Traven first and thus dispel the Soul Trap. This strategy worked, and soon Hannibal Traven succumbed to the shocks and burns and fell to the ground.

"Finally!" - Mannimarco was triumphant. He moved towards the other end of the cave where Traven's body lay, but he was exhausted himself, and his movements appeared jerky, his shoulders slumped.

"Oh no, you don't!" - a female voice cried from the entrance and a shock spell flew towards Mannimarco. "You won't leave this cave!"

Caranya. She ran past Lena shooting spells at Mannimarco, who turned to her in surprise but responded with spells and a dagger of his own. He was far from dead yet. Lena took it as her clue to join the battle - she summoned a clannfear, who hesitated at first but then charged with a little extra encouragement.

"Let's see how you like silver" - Lena thought instinctively, knocking a silver arrow on her Shadowhunt. Caranya was already shooting powerful spells which Mannimarco was mostly absorbing - there was no point in doing the same.

"Ahhh!" - Mannimarco hissed when the arrow hit him. This was a strangely familiar sound, but it was not the time to ponder on that. Lena quickly knocked another arrow and fired, and got hit by a curse - Mannimarco was fast. Caranya used the moment to hit him with a curse of her own, which he absorbed.

"Damn that spell absorption" - thought Lena, summoning another clannfear. "I'll have to go close and personal." She cloaked in invisibility, unsheathed her Honorblade and circled Mannimarco from behind.

He heard her, but she hit him before he could react. He recoiled. She hit him again and again, not allowing him to recover. Caranya's spells started coming through, and clannfear's ramming was unbalancing Mannimarco even further. He levitated a foot above ground, cast a shield, very much like a... "No time to think about that!" - Lena reminded herself, focussing on her swordwork. Another lunge and thrust, and he threw his arms into the air and fell gently to the ground, floating like a feather on its way down.

Mannimarco was no more.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:09 PM

[Lena Wolf]

13 Last Seed, 4E202 - Traven and Mannimarco

"And so both Hannibal Traven and Mannimarco are dead" - Caranya said, standing over their bodies. "As dead as they can be, anyway."

Lena looked at Caranya with surprise. "As dead as they can be?"

"Well, neither of them was really alive, didn't you know?" - she smiled at Lena, knowing full well that Lena didn't know it. Lena gave her a look. "Oh Ok, of course you didn't know" - Caranya laughed. "It wasn't something that Hannibal Traven would advertise."

"But now you got my attention" - Lena tried not to sound too impatient. "Do tell."

"It all started a very long time ago, in the Second Era, when Mannimarco was a student with the Psijic Order. He took to Necromancy, you see, and eventually came up with a ritual that allowed him to transcend to lichdom without having to lie on a slab for five hundred years. It still took a long time, but he could remain 'alive' while he was actually transcending. He completed his transcendence some time ago, so he was technically a lich." She paused looking at his body - an elven body, not a skeletal shell of a lich.

"But he doesn't look like a lich - his body has flesh" - Lena objected.

"Indeed - flesh preservation was a part of it, a key part. He wanted to look alive, at least to some degree - he got the idea from vampires. You don't look undead when you are well-fed either" - she smiled at Lena. "Or when your vampirism is in remittance. Molag Bal's gift is a wonder indeed."

"He got his lichdom from Molag Bal?" - Lena's eyes widened.

"Partly" - Caranya nodded. "They had a deal of some sort - you can imagine what Molag Bal would have wanted."

"To take over Mundus" - Lena mused.

"Probably, something like that."

"And Hannibal Traven?" Lena knelt over the Arch Mage's body. He didn't look like a lich either.

"The same, really. He and Mannimarco used to be friends, a long time ago." Caranya paused. "Hannibal Traven is much older than he wanted people to believe - he is as old as Mannimarco. And he too was very interested in Necromancy back in the day, but I suppose you've figured that out."

"Yes" - Lena nodded. "But then he changed his mind."

"When you know a lot about something, you are entitled to a negative opinion" - Caranya looked at Traven's body with respect. "Yes, he changed his mind, but only after he had started his own transcendence ritual, just like Mannimarco. Hannibal Traven believed that he could still live among mortals once it was completed, and by its nature, the ritual could not be stopped."

"This explains his harsh stand on Necromancy" - Lena looked at Caranya with understanding. "And a certain disregard for the lives of mages he was sacrificing - mere mortal mages."

"He might not have meant it that way consciously, but it certainly was the result - many mages dead for the sake of this old rivalry" - Caranya said with regret. "He was too obsessed with his crusade, and it was this obsession that brought Mannimarco out of Coldharbour and into this world at this time."

"So... if they were both liches, will they rise again?" - Lena looked at Caranya with worry.

"You know the answer to that" - Caranya nodded. "Of course they will, for neither of them managed to capture the soul of the other in this gem." She picked up the contested extra large black soul gem from the ground. "I suppose Traven told you what the gem was for?"

"He said the gem was meant for his soul, yes" - Lena was remembering their conversation. "I understand now why a regular black soul gem would not suffice."

"Indeed - and that was your first clue. Why would the soul of a Breton mage - no matter how powerful - not fit into a regular black soul gem? Everyone else's does."

"How long have you known all this?" - Lena looked at Caranya searching. "You were on the Council of the Guild for a long time."

"Yes, I have known it for a long time. I was on the Council with the previous Arch Mage as well, and I respected Hannibal Traven for having his own opinion on a subject that he knew well. But I disagreed with the crusade and the sacrifice of the other mages in this war. Or with the ban on Necromancy - he should not have outlawed a whole school of magic just because he did not like where it could lead. The vast majority of practitioners of Necromancy could never even dream to venture as far as Traven did - they neither have the skill nor the ability. Most people just stop at summoning wraiths and making zombies."

"Well, it's over for now" - said Lena, looking at the bodies of Traven and Mannimarco again. "What should we do with them?"

"Leave them in this cave, it is as good a resting place as any" - Caranya looked around. "I'll seal the exit to this chamber. When they rise, they'll find a way out." She picked up the gem again. "We need to remove this gem from here though. You take it."

"Me? Why?" - Lena took the gem, surprised.

"Take it some place safe - may I suggest the Shivering Isles? Or one of Sanguine's islands? You are at home in both Realms, I understand" - Caranya's eyes twinkled. "But neither Traven nor Mannimarco are welcome there."

"How did you know?" - Lena grinned.

"I've seen you around" - Caranya winked complicitly. "But I've never reached your level of intimacy with either of the Princes."

They moved the bodies of Hannibal Traven and Mannimarco onto the slabs laying them there, but removing all weapons.

Caranya sealed the exit behind them, then moved a rock in front of it too. "We don't want any casual adventurers being tempted to get in" - she winked at Lena.

They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, knowing full well that they'd meet again in the future. Lena stashed the infamous gem in her pack and set off for the Imperial City to inform Raminus Polus of the events in the Echo Cave. "'You don't look undead when your vampirism is in remission'" - Caranya's words echoed in her head. Was she still undead? But no, she was mortal again... And yet... a vampire could be extinguished, ending its immortality. So... what was the difference?

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

I have tried to put these and previous events into the respective quests from the Mages Guild quest line. I cursed a lot. It sort of worked - enough to play it without resorting to console. But I realised that making quests is too difficult for my liking.

EDIT 10 April 2024: by now I've figured out how to do it. Quest making has a steep learning curve!

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:11 PM

[Lena Wolf]

14 Last Seed, 4E202 - Sanguine's island

Lena was on her way from Bruma to the Imperial City, but she was in no rush. The fight between Hannibal Traven and Mannimarco at the Echo Cave left her with many questions about the nature of mortality, and she felt uneasy about that. They were liches, and yet they were alive... like vampires... like herself, when she relapsed. But what about when her vampirism was in remission? Dylan considered her mortal, but was she, really? And what did it mean exactly - to be mortal? Considering that otherwise immortal vampires could still be extinguished to never rise again, where did it leave her?

She knew someone who could answer these questions - Molag Bal, since both vampirism and "living" lichdom were his creations. But Lena didn't want to talk to Molag Bal, she didn't trust him to be truthful - all he wanted was to convert her into a pure-blood vampire. The only Prince she really trusted was... Sanguine.

"Whom are we fighting today?" - Dessos answered Lena's summon. "I don't see any threats" - he looked at her quizzically.

"No, no fighting just now" - Lena smiled at him. "I need to talk to Sanguine, and he said I should ask you to pass him a message. Would you please? I'm on my way to the Imperial City and then Cheydinhal."

"I'll tell him" - smiled Dessos. "Is it urgent? He's busy as usual" - he grinned.

"Not urgent" - Lena grinned back. "Tell him to sober up first a bit - I need his advice. And... company" - she blushed.

"Oh he'd like that" - Dessos nodded. "He'll be in touch. Literally."

Sanguine was perhaps the only Daedric Prince who could appear in Mundus in person without being summoned - his "inconsequential" intentions earned him disdain from the Aedra who did not bother to ban him from Mundus as securely as they banned the other Princes. Mundus did not require protection from debauchery, it seemed. And so, when Lena stopped at the Roxey Inn, she found a dremora drinking inside.

"You called?" - he grinned at her.

"Sanguine!" - she flew into his embrace. "Thank you for coming."

"You look worried. What is it?" Sanguine wasn't drunk.

"I... have questions" - Lena looked at him feeling uneasy. "Questions that Molag Bal knows the answers to, but I don't want to talk to him. I was hoping you might know some of the answers also."

"I see" - Sanguine nodded. "I can guess what it is about. We'll need privacy for that - you better come with me." And without releasing his embrace, he opened a portal and whisked Lena into it.

...

Sanguine really had lovely islands. The sun was about to rise over the water when they arrived. A bird of paradise was fluttering before their faces.

"Oh this is beautiful" - Lena sighed.

"Would you like to see thee cave?" - asked Sanguine. "You adventurers like that sort of thing."

The cave had heaps of gold, gems, jewellery, weapons and armour, mostly female, Lena noticed. Some of it was laid out on top of sarcophagi. There were several old graves in front of the entrance.

"Old friends" - Sanguine smiled at Lena's question. "Some did not want to return to Mundus. There is always a place on one of the islands though. You can take anything you like - they won't mind."

But Lena didn't want to take anything. She found an ornate coffin on the upper level with a set of Black Hand robes inside. She laid her silver dagger on top.

Back outside they found themselves on a clearing with a campfire burning in the middle and pelts and cushions strewn around it. A low table was laden with food and wine. The air was filled with faint aromas of wild flowers, berries and mushrooms, birds were chirping in the canopy, the waves gently splashing against the shore... It was hard to imagine a more relaxing atmosphere.

"Come, tell me all about it" - Sanguine got comfortable by the fire, gesturing Lena to do the same.

"It's about immortality..." - Lena started, looking into the flames. "As gifted by Molag Bal."

"Vampirism and living liches" - Sanguine nodded.

"Yes. Vampirism in particular" - Lena looked at him uneasily. "I am pregnant."

"Ah!" - Sanguine's expression cleared. "And you are worried about the fate of your child."

"I... Yes, I suppose this is it" - Lena suddenly realised the real reason for all these questions. "Molag Bal told me that if I let him turn me into a pure-blood, my child would be a pure-blood too - but of course I have no intention of doing that. He didn't say however what happens if I refuse."

"Then you remain an ex-vampire, of course" - Sanguine raised an eyebrow. "With your Recessive Vampirism."

"And my child?"

"That depends." Sanguine tried to remember something. "But mostly the child should be unaffected."

"Mostly?" - that made Lena worry. "Mostly" wasn't good enough.

"I don't know exactly" - Sanguine admitted. "I don't think anyone does - not even Molag Bal himself. Common Vampirism is a disease, he didn't actually create it - he created the pure-bloods, and they spread it further. It changed, it evolved. It diverged into many strains, as you know. It became unpredictable."

"What about pure-blood vampires - are they truly immortal?" - Lena thought that perhaps that was the distinction. "Do they rise again after they're slain?"

"Yes, they do" - Sanguine nodded. "Pure-bloods never really die. But pure-bloods lose all their humanity too."

"Humanity is such a volatile concept... I know a few daedra who have more humanity than some of the mortals..." - Lena mused.

"No need to get so philosophical about it" - Sanguine smiled. "You know what I mean - and indeed, humanity is neither guaranteed nor reserved for mortals. Or we would not be sitting here, talking about it."

Lena nodded, turning her attention to the table with food and drink. She picked up some grapes.

"All right" - she held a bunch of grapes in her hand, looking resolved. "Let's see what we've got." She plucked at the grapes. "I have Recessive Vampirism which is a disease, not a daedric gift." She put the grape down with determination and plucked another one. "When it relapses, it makes my eyes go red and makes me hungry for blood, but still it doesn't give me real immortality." Grape down, pluck another. "And if I catch Porphyric Hemophilia again and let it bloom, I'll turn into a regular vampire who is immortal..." She hovered her hand, lifting her eyes to Sanguine. "Do I stop ageing while I'm a vampire?"

"You do" - Sanguine confirmed. Lena put the grape down, plucking the next one.

"So presumably then I also stop ageing for the time when my Recessive Vampirism relapses" - grape down, she figured it was certain enough. She plucked another. "And... umm... where am I going with this?"

"That's the most important question of all, isn't it?" - Sanguine fixed her with his gaze. "Does any of it matter?"

Lena looked into his eyes and saw her answer - no, it didn't matter. Not to Sanguine, anyway. "Not to a lot of people" - Lena thought of Hauk, Lucien, Dylan, Ocheeva, Kud-Ei and so many others. Perhaps she should stop worrying.

"If your child turns out to have vampirism, you will treat it as any other disease - you will have blood in your cupboard as well as wine, that's all. Most people won't ever need to know. You'll manage. And most likely it won't even happen." Sanguine smiled as Lena's expression cleared and she started eating the grapes that she had laid out previously. "Don't let the spectre of what might happen poison you here and now."

With the mood lightened, they realised it must be time for breakfast and turned to the food and wine before them.

"Whose child is it?" - asked Sanguine watching Lena eat for two.

"Umm..." - she went red. "Either Hauk's or Lucien's." She swallowed.

"No need to feel embarrassed, not with me anyway" - Sanguine laughed. "It happens. Better two than none at all."

"It could be yours, as well" - Lena stopped eating with this striking realisation. "I don't know when it happened, exactly."

Sanguine looked up. "Well, it would be a first then" - he shook his head. "Unlikely."

"What - you have no children? With your... lifestyle?"

"Daedra don't have children all that easily, you know" - Sanguine smiled. "We aren't supposed to have children at all."

"No, yet some have - including Molag Bal!" - Lena protested. "And you are a Prince."

"And what does that mean?" - Sanguine frowned. "I am a dremora, we don't procreate. Molag Bal is not a dremora" - he said with such a finality as if it closed the matter.

"Well... I suppose we'll find out some time next Spring" - Lena smiled at him. "If the baby has horns, we'll know whom to blame."

This remark, combined with the effects of the wine, led to much hilarity and speculations on other possible causes of horns in a newborn, such as goats, minotaur or other dremora, all of which Lena vehemently denied.

"Oh, there's something else - I almost forgot!" - she got up rather unsteadily and walked over to her pack, producing the extra large black soul gem she retrieved from Hannibal Traven previously. "This needs hiding."

"What is it?" - Sanguine held out his hand. "Looks like one of Azura's botched experiments."

"It's a soul gem - large enough to capture a living lich. Mannimarco had it - to capture Traven's soul. Or visa versa" - answered Lena, her speech slurred.

"Ah!" - Sanguine nodded, turning it over in his hand. The wine didn't have as much of an effect on him as it did on Lena. "Like I said - Azura's job. She created quite a few of these things before the Star. Why do you want to hide it?"

"So that Mannimarco and Traven wouldn't get their hands on it when they eventually rise again" - Lena tried to explain, although it didn't make sense to her any longer.

"And if they do - why would that be a bad thing?" - it seemed it made no sense to Sanguine either.

"Because then one of them would permane-ne-ntly kill the other" - Lena was having difficulty with long words. "To make himself stronger, and they are strong enough already as it is."

"You know that makes no sense, right?" - Sanguine laughed. "Besides, you're drunk. But if you insist..." - he tossed the gem over his shoulder and they heard a splash as it fell into the sea. "There. Hidden. But don't ask me later which island it was - I won't remember! I've got thousands of them, and they change all the time!"

And with business now finally out of the way, they proceeded with their feast on never ending food and wine set out on the self-replenishing low table by the fire.

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

This island Sanguine calls Strotti's Everrest Island. Don't believe him that he can't remember which is which.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:11 PM

[Lena Wolf]

15-18 Last Seed, 4E202 - Mages Guild - The Old Crow Inn - Corthio

"He was what?" - Raminus Polus looked at Lena in disgust and disbelief when she told him that Hannibal Traven turned out to be a living lich. "I knew that Mannimarco was a lich of some sort, and in cohorts with Molag Bal, but Arch Mage Traven... Although it does make sense and explains a lot... especially since he changed his mind about Necromancy... yeah..." - Raminus shook his head and sighed. "Still, he did what he thought was best" - he smiled at Lena. "He wasn't evil."

"Oh no, he sought to protect us" - Lena agreed. "It's just... it would have been better to step lightly."

"And Caranya..." - Raminus looked surprised again. "Appeared just as the Arch Mage was slain, you say? And attacked Mannimarco?"

"That she did - she must have been watching" - Lena nodded. "I wonder if she would have done the same if the duel had gone the other way. Perhaps she thought the best way to restore peace was to kill both of them."

"She might have done, you know" - Raminus agreed. "Was she wearing the Necromancer's Amulet? She took it, after all."

"No, she wasn't wearing it" - Lena was trying to remember the details. "I think she simply wanted to keep it away from either of them."

"Quite possible. What is she going to do now?"

"She didn't say. I wouldn't be surprised if she returned here to talk to you."

"Oh, she'd be welcome to" - Raminus beamed. "Tell her, if you ever see her, please. The Council is all but destroyed, and we need to re-establish it, and I doubt many of the Wizards knew about Arch Mage's lichdom... I still call him Arch Mage... but of course we haven't got one now" - he shook his head. "But that's why we need the Council back, then we can elect a new Arch Mage, with all that we know now. And we'll need to decide what we are going to do about Necromancy."

"Necromancy as well as the other schools that Hannibal Traven had cut" - Lena reminded him. "Such as Conjuration, Illusion and Mysticism."

"Mysticism?" - Raminus raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't know?" - it was Lena's turn to be surprised. "Detect Life, Soul Trap and Spell Absorption all come from Necromancy or are linked to it, and are therefore banned, and with Levitation and Teleportation already banned previously, they are hardly left with anything."

"True" - Raminus nodded. "I haven't thought of that. I did know about the bans, of course, just never stopped to think what was actually left..." - he sighed. "I'll write to all the Wizards in the Guild and invite them here so we could elect a new Council and a new Arch Mage." He paused, looking at Lena. "You are not a Wizard - yet. But you must be, with all that you've done and with all that you know. Please, accept this promotion."

"I..." - Lena hesitated. "Raminus, I couldn't. Thank you - but no. I feel that my previous promotions were undeserved - I am not as powerful a mage as these titles might suggest. Warlock is more than enough as it is."

"I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I see where you are coming from" - Raminus nodded. "And of course this keeps you out of Mages Guild politics" - he winked. "Well, have it your way, Warlock."

Lena thanked him again and left - she wanted to look into the matter of the Old Crow Inn since she was in the vicinity and on her own, and it seemed to be a job for an assassin.

17 Last Seed

"So, he is dead, and his lover too!" - Ladonna at the Old Crow Inn was extatic. "And I see you've got his journal and his bow as proof!" Lena thought that although Ladonna had not asked for anything in particular as proof, it was still best to bring something along. "Here is some coin for your efforts - I trust this is the correct fee?" - Ladonna raised her eyes at Lena handing over a hefty purse. "I should have performed the Sacrament, I know, and I was going to, but then I saw you come in, and, well... I was right, wasn't I? You are a professional." She looked pleased with herself.

"It's fine, but next time please go through the official channels" - Lena smiled at her. "Saves me the paperwork" - she winked.

"Oh I understand - so tedious!" - Ladonna looked sympathetic. "Here is a key to the cellar - it is quite cozy in there, please make yourself at home. For the paperwork" - she smiled.

Lena smiled at her, took the key and went to look at the cellar. It was getting quite late and she could use a meal and good rest.

The cellar was indeed quite comfortable, with much better furnishings than elsewhere in the inn, and certainly with a much better bed than the ones that Ladonna was renting out.

The lower level of the cellar was a bit odd though - someone had been breaking through walls and digging tunnels into nowhere... Oh wait - one tunnel ended in a door! Locked, and even Nocturnal's skeleton key could not unlock it. "Damn it" - thought Lena, deciding to leave further investigation for tomorrow.

She went back upstairs and got into that very comfortable bed, looking for something to read... "Oh - what's this?" - the book on the bedside table turned out to be a journal. "Yes, this explains the digging and the furniture. And may be there's a clue about the key..." - thought Lena deciphering elaborate handwriting. But it was already past midnight, and her eyelids would not stay up, certainly not after all the food and the mead she consumed just before... This was definitely a matter for tomorrow.

18 Last Seed

Ladonna told Lena that the man who rented the cellar previously - Corthio - had a shop in the Imperial City, and Lena decided to stop by.

It was a small shop set into the back wall, and the door was locked, with grass and mushrooms growing on the doorstep. "It doesn't look to have seen much use, at least not recently" - Lena thought with a sinking feeling. This wasn't a good sign. She unlocked the door with a spell and entered.

The house was very dimly lit - someone had put out the lights. The downstairs was set up as a shop with many rare and valuable items on display, but a layer of dust was covering it all. "Not good" - Lena thought again.

The basement didn't have anything special, so Lena went upstairs. And there... yes, you could say she found who she was looking for - Corthio, or rather his rotting corpse. He'd been dead for some time.

"Well, he and you have a lot in common" - a stranger entered the room. "Neither of you respect locks."

"Is that why you killed him?" - Lena turned to the stranger, recognising him as the man she met at the Old Crow Inn.

"Yes, he wanted the artefact from the tomb that is below the Old Crow Inn, and we cannot allow that. People must respect locks" - he lectured Lena.

"What are you - the City Watch?" - she snapped at him. "Or are you hoping to kill me too?"

"Oh, that will depend entirely on you" - he smiled pleasantly. "Leave the tomb alone, and you'll live. But know that we are watching your every move."

And with that he turned around and left.

"Well, I doubt very much that you're watching my every move" - thought Lena. "You are wasting away drinking in the inn day and night, watching the tomb entrance in the basement. If you ask me, you'd be better off blocking it and removing the key. Speaking of which..."

She looked around Corthio's room and eventually found it. She did not want the artefact from the tomb, but she did not need people watching "her every move", and she was undecided what to do. Leaving the key in late Corthio's house wasn't doing anyone any favours though. "I should discuss it with Hauk" - she thought, on her way to his house. She had a lot to tell him - about the events in the Echo Cave, living liches, and now also this strange Order of Guardians. But perhaps what she really needed to take her mind off things was a good old adventure.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:12 PM

[Renee]

Post 44: the Battlemage NPC charges right into an Ayleid trap! OH yeah, that happens sometimes. I like the explanation too, that Battlemages basically don't know how to tackle territories like this with discretion. They are used to rushing into battle and blowing stuff apart, usually with some success.

I like how she can explain how stuff was 200 years ago. Gosh, wouldn't that be cool to have in our times...

She warns Garrus at the end. Garrus seems okay with Lena though.



This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 22 2021, 06:00 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Post 44: the Battlemage NPC charges right into an Ayleid trap! OH yeah, that happens sometimes.

I looked in the CS, and if that battlemage somehow survives the trap, he gets a scripted death... Talking about evil.

She warns Garrus at the end. Garrus seems okay with Lena though.

Well, Garrus is in Cheydinhal and the Count likes him - he made him Captain of the Guard. Garrus isn't just your average Captain though...

[Lena Wolf]

19 Last Seed, 4E202 - Dinner in Cheydinhal

"Good to see you around town" - Garrus was saying to Lucien at dinner. "Don't think people don't know who you are."

"I suppose I should have expected it, after all this time" - Lucien nodded. "And with most people have been here as long as I have."

When Lena and Hauk returned to Cheydinhal from the Imperial City earlier that day, they ran into Garrus making rounds in the streets, looking even more bored than usual. Lena immediately asked him to come to the Wolf Sanctuary for dinner, then picked up Lucien from the Sanctuary downstairs, and now the four of them were enjoying the roast kindly supplied by the cook of the Newlands Lodge.

"And those of us who are not blessed with your longevity still mostly know what's going on" - Garrus grinned. "And look - nobody is blowing your cover. This is Cheydinhal, Lucien."

Indeed, when Rayenna tried to fish for information here, she only got what was commonly known already. This was in everyone's interests - the Dark Brotherhood being one of several covert organisations in Cheydinhal. Everyone knew who everyone was, but what happened in Cheydinhal, stayed in Cheydinhal, or something like that.

"What does the Count think of it?" - asked Lucien. "Me walking around town, that is."

"He's glad, if anything" - Garrus smiled. "Makes it less likely for Morag Tong to show up."

They chuckled, and focussed on eating for a while.

"You look like you could use a holiday" - Lena turned to Garrus. "You looked particularly bored when we ran into you in the street."

"Does it show that much?" - Garrus grimaced. "It's been quiet - not even a drunken brawl to break up, and anyhow this isn't my job any more, my second handles that sort of matters. I suppose I did get bored. Why, do you have an adventure in mind?" - he looked at Lena with hope in his eyes.

"Hauk and I were going North and possibly into Skyrim for a while" - Lena replied, watching Garrus' face light up with excitement. "It could be two or three weeks. Want to come?"

"I'm sure I could persuade the Count that our Northern border needs a survey" - Garrus beamed. "I'll be ready by lunchtime."

"Bring a good blade - I hear they have problems with werewolves" - Hauk said matter-of-factly. "Silver or daedric."

"Or one of Rohssan's" - Lucien looked at Lena. "Like Hauk's - carbon steel with an ebony core and silver coating. Ask Borba."

The conversation turned to weapons, everyone at the table preferring blades. Lena was showing off her new throwing knives, but Hauk commented that they were not handy for someone wearing heavy armour - anything above iron reduced dexterity.

"That's the price you pay for having a full suit rather than just a breastplate like what you wear" - he said referring to Lena's iron armour. "While with a full cuirass on you can still shoot from a bow, although only just, you can forget about throwing knives - you won't even hit an ogre with it" - was his verdict. "Trust me, I tried. What you need instead is a crossbow."

A trip to Tertia's smithy was clearly on the cards.

...

"Back to Skyrim, eh?" - Lucien looked at Lena when Hauk and Garrus had left. "Do you plan to go all the way to Falkreath? It is about your father, isn't it?"

Lena nodded. "Yes, I can't quite put it out of my mind. I don't know if we'll get to Falkreath, but somehow I feel we need to look around along the border. For no logical reason" - she smiled at Lucien apologetically.

"Then do it - if only just to bring you peace."

Lena went about collecting her things for the trip. She noticed changes upstairs in the newly refurbished study - more books and scrolls, another chest, gems, daggers... "Lucien has finally taken possession of this space" - she thought with satisfaction. She heard him come up behind her.

"Will I find you here when we are back from Skyrim? Or should I fetch you from Fort Farragut?" - she asked, laying her hands on his shoulders.

"I have all but moved out of Fort Farragut" - he smiled at her. "We've opened up old Speaker's chamber in the Sanctuary - it is mine now. Ocheeva thought that after the incident with Rayenna, my main office should not be in an isolated fort, and I agreed with her. Rayenna was only interested in my private life - which was bad enough already - but what if the next intruder is after our professional secrets? We should not be risking that. And Garrus is right - Cheydinhal is safe for us."

Lucien was not intruding on Lena's house, and Lena was grateful for that. He was close, yet he didn't move in. She smiled and kissed him. Of course once the baby was born, things would have to change again, but she wasn't ready to think about it yet - she still had time.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:13 PM

[Lena Wolf]

20 Last Seed, 4E202 - Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary

Lena had thought they would be off adventuring already by lunchtime the day after their arrival in Cheydinhal, but Garrus could not arrange his leave quite so quickly, and Hauk wanted to talk to a few people at the Mages Guild, and... well... Lena was glad to just stay at home for a few days. Imagine that. She spent most of her time at the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary catching up with everyone and enjoying long swims in their new pool... A new pool? An old pool, as it transpired, but now again opened up.

"The previous Speaker had closed off some facilities here" - Vicente was explaining it to Lena: as the oldest member of the Sanctuary, he witnessed much of it. "There used to be much more luxury here before, but he had insisted that an assassin's abode had to be austere. Most people didn't agree, for this is our home, but no one dared to contradict. Have you seen any of the other Sanctuaries? Some are rumoured to be opulent... Probably another extreme."

"So Lucien didn't reopen anything when he took over?" - Lena couldn't imagine Lucien insisting on austerity.

"Oh he did, he changed a lot of things, just not all. He mostly focussed on getting furniture back in again... I did say the previous Speaker was austere" - Vicente smiled. "I still sleep on a slab - I got used to sleeping on the floor back then, but most others were glad to have their beds back."

"And then Lucien moved out to Fort Farragut. Why was that?" - Lena had always wanted to hear that story.

Vicente laughed and looked over his shoulder. "Did he never tell you?" - he steered Lena away from Lucien's quarters. "It's a funny little tale." He paused until they were well out of earshot. "He was quite a young man when he took over as Speaker here - he rose through the ranks fast and was a favourite of the Black Hand, as I understand, and quite the ladies' man, and perhaps that was connected..." - Vicente mused, grinning to himself. "But anyhow, the Speaker's quarters are at the end of the corridor behind mine, as you can see now, and when he moved in there out of the common room, they presented certain conveniences... for entertaining some of the Sisters..." - he winked. "And, well, sound does carry through these old halls."

"Yes, I see how that would be embarrassing" - Lena grinned.

"His Silencer was discontented. He was the previous Speaker's Silencer and thought that he should have been made Speaker instead of Lucien - but I must agree with the Black Hand here, Lucien was better suited for the job - negotiating with potential clients is a rather different skill from eliminating targets. The Silencer however disagreed... he complained to the Black Hand about 'rampaging orgies' at the Speaker's quarters" - Vicente rolled his eyes at the memory. "There was nothing of the sort, but nevertheless Lucien received quite a grilling. He meticulously avoided any flirtation with Sisters after that, and even moved out to Fort Farragut. The old Speaker's quarters were sealed then."

"What is Fort Farragut, actually?" - Lena remembered battling the Dark Guardians in the halls as a test of her mettle. "The Guardians in there attacked me when I had to go through it once."

"That's exactly what it is - a test" - Vicente nodded. "The Guardians in there attack anyone, not like the ones here in the Sanctuary or in the crypt."

"The crypt?" - Lena didn't remember any crypts in the Sanctuary.

"Yes, another area that the previous Speaker had sealed off and we have now opened up again. But you better ask Lucien about that" - he smiled.

Everyone at the Sanctuary seemed to be more talkative than before, more at ease, as if reopening of the pool and the crypt lifted a weight off everyone's shoulders... Strange, really, since only Vicente actually remembered those areas before they were closed off, and yet...

"It's like that business with the traitor" - Antoinette Marie suddenly looked serious. "There were rumours about a traitor for a long time - since well before you joined, you know. No one could imagine who the traitor could be, but it weighed on us... for a good reason, as it later transpired. If it weren't for you refusing that order..." - she diverted her gaze. "I don't like to think of what would have happened then."

"Yeah... it was a bad business" - Lena nodded. "So the areas that had been closed off..."

"Oh yeah - there were rumours about there being a pool and a crypt and an old Speaker's chamber, and may be a few other chambers too, but no one spoke of them, and of course it had all been sealed away... It was strange. It's like our home had secrets from us" - she smiled. "So now that it's all opened up, we are relieved, even if there are more sealed chambers to discover - but they can wait." They were standing in the central hall, and Lena suddenly noticed a new Black Door in the corner where the ladder to the well used to be. "Have you been to the crypt yet?" - Antoinetta pointed at it and Lena shook her head. "It's impressive. Our dead are above us - the exit to the surface is through there." Then she suddenly remembered it was time for her training session, and left in a hurry.

"Odd..." - thought Lena. Antoinetta Marie never missed an opportunity to gossip.

"The previous Speaker did not allow retreat" - Gogron spoke over Lena's shoulder. "The only way to fail a contract was to get killed while executing it, or else the Speaker would kill you when you were back. When Lucien took over, there were not many Brothers left in this Sanctuary, and his first task was to get recruits, Antoinetta was one of them. She failed her contracts several times, but Lucien is not like the previous Speaker - he allows you to try again. She owes him her life many times over, I think the crypt reminds her of that." Lena turned to look at Gogron, who wasn't laughing or joking as he normally would. "This Sanctuary has seen some tumultuous times under the previous Speaker. His Silencer was the same. We were glad when the Black Hand appointed Lucien to lead us instead."

"What happened to that Silencer?" Lena wondered whether it was the same Silencer who was killed just before the Purification order.

"He was killed executing a contract not long before that dreadful Purification order" - Gogron confirmed Lena's suspicion. "Say, I wonder if he had been set up... He was very experienced, you see, and there's been talk that the only way he'd go down would be if he had been murdered... by one of the Black Hand. So may be he was."

"Which would make it possible to issue that order to me..." - mused Lena. "I think you might be right."

"But you should ask Lucien about the crypt" - Gogron pointed at the Black Door. "It was his idea to reopen it." And with that he too remembered some urgent appointment and walked off.

Lena found Lucien at his desk in the newly reopened Speaker's chamber. She saw it with different eyes now.

"Oh hello" - Lucien greeted her, lifting his eyes from the papers. "Taking in the sights, I see?"

"And listening to stories" - Lena smiled, looking around.

"Ah. Well, believe it or not, it is good to have my old quarters back." Lucien didn't look apologetic. "I always regretted having to live in seclusion at Fort Farragut. Until you started showing up there, that is" - he smiled at her. "But we have no need for that now."

"Tell me about the crypt." Lena wasn't worried about Lucien's adventures so long ago. "No one would talk about it much."

"Yes, well..." - Lucien's eyes grew hard. "The reason the previous Speaker had it sealed was because a murder took place in there - one of our Brothers killed another. It wasn't discovered for weeks, but eventually the stench of a decomposing corpse permeated the entire crypt, not just the far corner where the murder took place. Then the Speaker had to find the culprit, and he tortured every Brother and Sister until one confessed. Whether it was the actual murderer or not, we'll never know, but the Speaker killed him, regardless. Then sealed the crypt."

"To prevent any further murders? That seems pointless."

"As a symbol, probably" - Lucien shrugged his shoulders. "It was a long time ago - well before I joined. But the tales are still alive."

"And the torture chambers?" - Lena realised that the torture would not have taken place in the common room or in the pool.

"I had them sealed" - Lucien looked straight at her. "I do not approve of torture of our Brothers and Sisters. There are always other ways. And I do not approve of bringing enemies into the Sanctuary, even if it is only into the dungeons. Besides, it was filled with angry wraiths last time we looked."

"The wraiths of the Brothers tortured to death in there" - Lena guessed.

"Most likely." Lucien paused, his gaze on the scrolls on the table. "Some of the old accounts in those archives leave too much unsaid" - he waved at the closed cabinets behind him. "I must assume that for every Brother with an unexplained death there is a wraith in the torture chambers." He sighed. "But the crypt is peaceful now, so we've unsealed it. The Count agreed to open up the old access through the tower in the city wall, too, and that's now the official entrance to the Sanctuary - you have to pass through the entire crypt to get to the Black Door."

"Assuming the Guardians don't cut you down first" - Lena smiled.

"Quite. And it is good for the junior members to be reminded of what it is we do, too" - Lucien looked into Lena's eyes. "And hope for the honour to be interred in the crypt when their time comes. So now your house can be a residence rather than a passage, even though assassins are still walking through the garden" - he smiled back.

"Thank you" - Lena realised just how much of it was for her benefit. "But what about the previous Speaker - where is he buried? Not in the crypt?"

"No, although he would normally have been. But since he had it sealed..." - Lucien sighed. "He was put to rest in Fort Farragut, but as those Guardians do not protect members of the Dark Brotherhood... it is a far less restful place." He looked at Lena and she knew there was more. "Whoever is interred there, will eventually rise as a Guardian as well. The Black Hand thought it was befitting after they learned of his practices of torture. Although it isn't breaking the Tenets, it does come very close to it."

"But..." - Lena realised that something was missing. "What about the Silencer? I never met him here... When was he killed?"

"After you joined, if that's what you are wondering" - Lucien gave her a long look. "Yes, he was probably murdered, and probably by Mathieu Bellamont, but we have no proof of that. He died on a contract, but when I came after that target later, the target claimed I was the first assassin to come after him... And he wasn't that much of a challenge. You're right - things don't add up." Lucien shook his head. "The body of Sarek - the Silencer - was dismembered, but the face was left recognisable, undoubtedly on purpose. We buried him in the nearest crypt - he isn't in ours, as he should have been." He paused, remembering. "As to why you never met him here... He resented me being made the Speaker, and although he followed my orders without any issues, he moved out of the Sanctuary even before me."

It seemed that the Dark Brotherhood was riddled with internal politics just like any organisation... Lena sighed at the thought. Lucien the Speaker was sitting before her, and she started to realise that his fame within the Brotherhood didn't just come from his skill as an assassin - a lot of it came from his actions for his Sanctuary, from picking up the pieces left by the previous Speaker, to navigating through the Purification crisis, then avoiding the Thalmor during the Great War, and finally reopening portions of the past that had been sealed away, while keeping the wraiths from roaming the halls... and all without losing a single member. No wonder then that this Sanctuary was a family like no other, and Lena was glad to be a part of it. She smiled and was about to leave Lucien to his work when he pointed at a lectern on his desk.

"Well, now that we are all back where we should be, Silencer" - he looked up at her. "This lectern is where I put more complex contracts - Silencer contracts, your contracts. They are not under immediate time pressure, or I would tell you about it, but of course they need doing without too much delay. Check in when you are back from Skyrim." He was giving her a few weeks' leave, but then it was back to work, Sister. Life was making sense again.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:13 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Chapter 4

Travels and Revelations

21-23 Last Seed, 4E202 - Kingscrest Cavern - Dive Rock - Uderfrykte

"Are we finally ready to leave?" - Lena looked at Hauk and Garrus with a trace of impatience. It was well past midday, and they were still in Cheydinhal, although their packs were stuffed with food and drink, and Garrus was still caressing his new Silver Ebony claymore and a steel crossbow. "All right, let's go!"

They mounted their horses and went North - Lena wanted to start at Dive Rock.

"Isn't it an awfully steep climb?" - asked Garrus. "Every adventurer passing by Cheydinhal claims to have been there, yet none can explain how they got up."

"Well, I've been there just last month" - Lena turned to him. "Roach didn't like the climb, yet climb she did, and your horses will do it too. There's a small camp there and I found a journal telling a sorry tale about some unholy beast - a Matron of some sort."

"Uderfrykte Matron?" - Hauk looked up. "Are you sure?"

"No, but it sounds about right" - Lena nodded. "Some Nord monster."

"It's an old tale, that one" - whistled Hauk. "But like all tales, there could be some truth to it. We should go see."

But before they could get to Dive Rock, they got distracted by a cave and decided to investigate, even though it was already getting late in the day.

"Well, how long can it possibly take?" - reasoned Garrus. "It's just a cave. We'll be out in an hour or two."

Kingscrest Cavern wasn't just a cave, however. It was large, sprawling, filled with beasts and partially submerged. It also contained a wilted forest.

"A forest? Inside a cave? How could this happen?" - wondered Lena looking around, while Garrus was having the time of his life fishing, or rather fighting slaughterfish in the water. He took off his ebony armour and was diving in and out of the lake punching the fish.

Then in one of the nooks of that cave they stumbled upon an Orc Adventurer.

"We go out searching for treasure to bring back to Orsinium" - he explained. "To make it great again." They chatted a bit longer, then parted ways. Or so they thought. The Orc actually followed them, and as soon as they looted the next chest, he attacked.

"Whaaa-?" - Hauk was bringing up the rear and got the hit of the Orc's claymore. "Am I supposed to be impressed?" He summoned a Xivilai and stood back letting it tackle the Orc. Lena and Garrus turned around, Lena reaching for a throwing star and Garrus readying his claymore... But none of it was necessary - Hauk already got the Orc with a shot from his crossbow. "You've got to be kidding me" - he muttered, going through the Orc's pockets. "He hasn't got much by way of loot, and all the chests here were locked - I guess he waited for you to pick the locks and then thought to get the loot off us" - he turned to Lena. "Stupid, really. But I like his claymore" - he turned over the enchanted Dwarven weapon in his hands. "And how's this?" - he pulled on the Orc's helmet making Lena and Garrus burst out with laughter. "What?"

"You look silly in that" - Lena managed to say through giggles. "Take it off." Hauk didn't need to be asked twice.

22 Last Seed

It took them nearly twenty hours to go through the cave and there was no place to rest there, so they just kept going, munching on sandwiches and sipping mead between the fights. The afternoon was growing to a close when they finally came out - the afternoon of the following day.

"There's a camp just up the hill" - said Lena mounting Roach. "May be we can rest there."

Aerin's camp was indeed very close by, but it wasn't empty, and although the Nord there wasn't hostile, he was also decidedly not friendly. They opted to take the climb to Dive Rock, after all the horses weren't tired.

"This is a beautiful view" - they all agreed on that. They read the journal and decided to have a look downhill in the morning.

23 Last Seed

Uderfrykte Matron turned out to be a mighty troll. A really mighty troll - she really made them work for it. But kill her they did, then looked around finding many bones, armour and weapons strewn around. This was one evil troll.

"Well, that's done" - Hauk said with satisfaction. "No one will be eaten by that ugly troll any more."

They headed back to Dive Rock where they had left their horses, but Lena spotted something red a little downhill. Another corpse?

"Why, but this is Herminia Cinna!" - she exclaimed in surprise. "Whatever was she doing here?"

"Who is Herminia Whatever?" - Garrus and Hauk stared at her.

"She was a collector of Ayleid antiquities from the Imperial City" - Lena explained. "She was the one who had the Crown of Nenalata and wanted me to bring a different crown to Umbacano" - she turned to Hauk, reminding him of that story. "I never imagined she'd done any adventuring of her own!"

"And obviously she should not have tried" - he nodded with regret.

They returned to Dive Rock only to find that same fellow from Aerin's camp there waiting for them.

"Is anything the matter?" - Lena asked him in surprise.

"No, nothing, just taking in the sights" - he replied rather absent-mindedly.

Lena shook her head. "Strange" - she thought. They mounted their horses and started a careful descent. The sights were remarkable indeed though, with Cheydinhal in the distance and the Chapel of Arkay standing tall and proud.

It was already dark when they got to Aerin's camp again, and now it was deserted. The wind died down and it started to snow. The stayed the night.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: May 13 2024, 05:09 PM

[Renee]

Post 45 -- The scene with the three kitty sisters is cute. Always fun listening to their banter as we speak to each one.

A voice in Lena's head said: "Just give her the money and skip the tomb visit." But Lena brushed it aside - skip the tomb visit? What a strange idea!

Skip the tomb? That is a strange idea!

The part when Garrus starts punching cracked me up a bit. It's always odd when NPCs do that. I particularly get annoyed though, when it's an archer whom my character wants to just stand at a distance and fire arrows, yet he or she rushes into the fray and is now getting pummeled by MY character as we don't expect this archer to suddenly be in front of us. Your in-game explanation (Garrus wants to save his weapon from degradation) makes sense, though.

Good she gave Biene the entire set of ceremonial armor.


Post 46: They are going to Fort Sutch. Sutch, the town one Bethesda never got around to adding back when the game was in development. There was some explanation in-game for why it didn't get added, but I forget what it was.

Whistling for horses is awesome.

Lena definitely isn't the first to feel disappointment with Traven. There used to be entire discussions devoted to him, his decisions, and his policies.

Ha, here it is! She's meeting Rowley. Wow, I love that conversation Lena has with him. Very displeased, she is.

Seems like she got rid of him, according to what she says to Lucien later. If so, all three of my current OB characters are thankful.

[Lena Wolf]

Ha, here it is! She's meeting Rowley. Wow, I love that conversation Lena has with him. Very displeased, she is.

Seems like she got rid of him, according to what she says to Lucien later. If so, all three of my current OB characters are thankful.

Yeah, that Rowley was a piece of work... Of course he had to be "taken care of", but his corpse will never be found, although the slaughterfish in Lake Rumare are getting very fat this time of year, I hear...

So now Lena is stuck with this slave at the Deepscorn Hollow, and she can't just get rid of him... that would be wrong, you see. Hmm...

Garrus is very fond of punching things, it appears. Guards are especially trained in hand-to-hand combat, I hear, for the purpose of breaking up drunken brawls. Dead criminals rarely pay their fines, you see.

[Lena Wolf]

24-26 Last Seed, 4E202 - Skyrim Temple - Greenwall - Deadlands

"So, what's the plan?" - asked Garrus in the morning when they all crawled out of the little tents at Aerin's camp. "I know you said we'd go North, but that's a bit vague... We are 'North' already."

"I don't have a plan" - admitted Lena. "'North' is as good as it gets."

They had a bite to eat for breakfast, mounted their horses and rode... North.

24 Last Seed

To take it easy on the horses, they decided to stick to the road, as long as there was one. They turned left just before the Ancestor Moth monastery and some time after came to a very long staircase going up to a peculiar looking ruin.

"That's Shivering Isles architecture, but what is it doing here?" - wondered Lena.

"Well, you know the answer to that!" - grinned Hauk, starting the climb the stairs.

Skyrim Temple was a Nordic crypt housing draugr, skeevers, necromancers and bandits, with more draugr and skeevers appearing from everywhere. The footing was treacherous on ice-covered surfaces - it was easy to slip or get stuck between the rocks, which happened to everyone many times, fortunately also including the enemies. Eventually they came out on the other side - the crypt turned out to be a passage. There they found a bandit camp, and as it was getting late and the sun had already set, they decided to spend the night there.

25 Last Seed

"Look - that way is Skyrim" - Lena stood on a platform facing North. "The Northern route goes West towards Bruma here, but this descent doesn't look too bad - we could go into Skyrim and look around."

"I thought you've been to Skyrim before" - Garrus looked at her with suspicion. "What's this about 'looking around'?"

"This doesn't go into Skyrim proper" - chimed in Hauk. "This is just the Southern edge of it. In Skyrim you'd be in the Rift, which means birches and aspen trees, but all you see here is firs - so that's just between the border and the Rift. I doubt you will find much of interest there" - he turned to Lena.

"You are probably right" - she nodded, starting the descent. Hauk and Garrus exchanged glances, sighed, whistled for horses and followed.

They rode for much of the day not seeing anything other than trees and snow foxes, but they found a road going North, which they followed. It led them to a small village called Greenwall where thankfully there was an inn, so they stopped there for the night. The locals were friendly enough, if a little suspicious of outsiders - "You keep your nose out of our business, and we'll keep ours out of yours" seemed to be the mantra. So after a good rest, Lena, Hauk and Garrus saddled their horses in the morning and rode... North.

26 Last Seed

The road meandered through the woods for some time longer, and they passed a few other small villages and a logging site, which was the biggest village so far - it housed the workers and the offices, and even had a guard tower. From there the road turned East and the sky coloured red.

"What on Nirn is going on?" - Garrus pointed at the sky. "That doesn't look like Aurora Borealis."

"This isn't Aurora Borealis" - Hauk shook his head. "It looks like there's a fire..."

"I've seen this before" - said Lena, spurring on Roach. "And if it is what I think it is, it isn't good."

The fire that Hauk spoke of, must have been really big, because the sky just kept getting darker, and now not just the Eastern quarter of it but the entire sky above them was red, with black clouds and orange shots of lightening crossing it. The fire seemed to be raging on top of a hill to their right - a hill with a staircase on its side. Garrus spotted some charred tree trunks on top.

"Whatever settlement was there, has gone up in flames, it seems" - he said, shaking his head. But Lena was already rushing up the stairs, casting fire protection spells, her sword at the ready. "Isn't she overreacting?" - Garrus turned to Hauk with surprise. "Surely, the fire would have consumed everything by now."

"I don't think it's an ordinary fire" - Hauk started casting his own shield spells. "And she seems intent on putting it out."

They scrambled after Lena who was already at the top of the hill fighting something.

"Just a snow leopard" - she shrugged at them, sheathing her sword. "There's no one here."

"Of course there would not be, I told you..!" - started Garrus, then stopped mid-sentence. They stood among burned down houses with the fire still raging ahead - all around an Oblivion gate.

"Come on" - Lena jerked her head towards it.

There may not have been any daedra outside the Oblivion gate, but there were certainly plenty of them inside.

"Wow!" - Garrus' eyes lit up with excitement. "Just like during the Oblivion Crisis!"

"Imagining yourself being the Hero of Kvatch and Bruma, are you?" - Hauk nudged him in the side. "Well, you better watch out - it's harder than it looks. Ouch!" - a fireball from a nearby spinning tower hit him and he cursed, casting healing spells. A spider daedra in the distance noticed their presence shooting a shock spell, a xivilai came from behind wringing his hands. Garrus smirked, taking up his claymore - he absorbed all the spells and was ready to engage. "Atronach" - Hauk shook his head, still healing himself. Lena cloaked and was closing in on the spider daedra - it was no time to play heroics. She summoned a clannfear and slashed at the spider almost in one movement - the spider was surprised and paused for a moment, preparing to release the spiderlings, no doubt, but Hauk's silver bolt interrupted her, and soon she fell. Of course there was still the xivilai that Garrus was dancing with, xivilai's clannfear that was now ramming Hauk, and a storm atronach that came from around the corner, and let's not forget several spinning towers throwing fireballs at everything and all. Lena tried not to get hit by the spells, suddenly feeling the full force of the curse of the Apprentice. At least there were no wraiths here - having her vampirism triggered amid all that lava would have been problematic, to say the least - she remembered vividly being burned from within every time she set foot into the Deadlands of Mehrunes Dagon back in the time of the Oblivion Crisis. But that was two centuries ago... "What is this gate doing here now?" - she wondered, but a stray fireball hit her flat in the face and she fell, knocked out, rolling dangerously close to the edge of a lava pool...

"Ouch" - she got up gingerly, trying to stay in cover from any further fireballs - the heat of lava was intense but her healing was stronger. Still, she got out of there as quickly as she could, looking for another cover.

"Are you all right?" - Hauk caught up with her. "Don't just stand there - fireballs!" - he pushed her to the side just in time, taking a hit himself. Even Garrus was getting singed - he could not absorb that many hits.

"What do we do?" - he turned to her with newly found respect. "Back out or..?"

"No, we are not going back out" - Lena shook her head. "This way!" - she pointed at a tower just visible in the red mist. Hauk and Garrus followed.

...

"So, what are we doing here?" - Garrus hoped Lena had a plan. They've dispatched the daedra on the lower level of the tower and Lena seemed ready to go all the way to the top, but Garrus could not see the point of it.

"One of the towers in this area of the Deadlands should have a Sigil Stone that holds the gate open" - explained Lena. "At least this is how it was during the Oblivion Crisis. We find it, grab it, and the gate collapses, spitting us out back in Mundus - in theory."

"In theory" - Garrus whistled. "Sounds encouraging. Has it always worked like that?" - he looked at Lena with suspicion.

"No" - she had to admit. "Sometimes it would spit you out in another part of the Deadlands... and sometimes... well, often... you would be alone... But we've always eventually found each other afterwards" - she looked at him brightly.

"Riiight..." - Garrus checked the edge of his claymore. "Well, let's get going then."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:15 PM