Today in Cyrodiil, spoilers version, TES: 4 Oblivion character accounts & stories Options

[macole]

Hey, what is mumbly-peg?

There are many ways to play. Here is a sample https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRZ_Ni45G80.
As a kid we used to play closes to the peg wins at Boy Scout camp until the moms found out and declared it to be too dangerous. You can make it more or less dangerous depending on whether you use a peg in the ground or your feet as the target.

This post has been edited by macole: Jul 29 2023, 09:29 PM

[macole]

20230803 OOO – Nayon Camp, Ayleid Steps – Lost Olisode
It was late when we stepped out of Fort Cuptor. Tired, I stopped for a moment to think before turning north. At the northwestern point of Lake Canulus we came across Camp Nayon. It appeared deserted. Bottles of beer and sacks of food were scattered everywhere.

“We’re in luck,” Kaleah said. “This camp seems to be abandoned. My Feache, how did you know to come here?”

I didn’t really, just made a mistake in direction. That’s what happens when you’re tired.

“Fortuna smiles on those who believe,” I replied and quickly redirected the conversation. “By the looks of it whoever they were they left in a hurry and recently too.”

A note we found on a table confirmed it. The Nayon group of Morrowind slavers (OOO) had received orders from Master Lerys to avenge the attack on Camp Seran. March immediately on Drowned Hopes cavern, the orders read. Butcher all there, afterwards regroup at Seran. After restocking their orders were to do the same to Deep Cover.

Oooh weee, the Oscuro slavers have gone on the war path. I know where Seran is. It’s a camp south of the Panther River and east of Welke and Marsh Punk camp. I’m not sure where Drowned Hopes and Deep Cover are.

Well since no one is here the tents are free for us to use. Not needing sleep, Kaleah took watch as I chose a bedroll for the night. With a star studded sky as my blanket, I lay watching Kaleah gazing out over Lake Canulus.

Softly, (well for Kaleah it was softly) she began to sing a hauntingly beautiful melody of intense love-sick longing, Pana Cand Nu Te Iubeam.

Were my eyes playing tricks on me in dim light? Like a cobra rising to the flute of the snake-charmer, I could swear that the tall rushes along the banks began to sway in time to her singing.

I fell asleep wondering, “Longing for what?”

Early the next morning, we gathered our loot and struck out for the shysters, err, markets of Bravil.

It was a beautiful day for traveling overland. Kaleah, I could tell, was acting rather melancholy. Something was bothering her but she didn’t want to talk about it. When I asked she’d just look forlorn at me and say everything was fine. I swear, if a Daedra could cry she’d shed a tear.

A beautiful day should not be wasted on sadness. There was only one thing I could think of doing. Hoping to lift her spirits, I sang hoping the magic would ease her heart.

I've been a poor man and I've been a king
I've had my life and the world on a string
I've traveled many roads, but I'm so far from done
I have been hopeless and I've had my faith
Some things I've lost and some things I have saved
All of these moments showed me the way that I've gone
Good to know, there's so much to live for

Sometimes a bud needs a little warmth to bloom. Kaleah took my hand and chimed in.

Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh, what a day to feel alive

The rest of the morning we skipped along singing and laughing like we were walking on a yellow brick road.

Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn
Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn
Vor uns liegt ein weites Tal
Die Sonne scheint mit Glitzerstrahl

Time went by quickly and before we knew it we were standing on the banks of Niben Bay.

The Niben Bay, just south of the mouth of the Silverfish River and Nenalata, is at its widest. Bravil can be seen directly across the water. Too far for swimming, I cast my water-walking spell and stepped out onto the calm water to walk across the bay to Bravil when Kaleah stopped me.

“Look, there!” She exclaimed, pointing at the far shore south of Bravil. “The golden tree!”

Yes, I could clearly see the golden tree. Could it be one of the clues for Ervvin’s 11th puzzle?

Only one way to find out. Keeping our eyes fixed on the golden tree we walked across the bay to a small island.

There they were; the dead tree, the tower burnt, and the golden tree which oddly had turned green to closer we got to the island. Some sort of deception Illusion Magic at work or was it simply just the fading sunlight that did it?

Now all we had to do was to find the stepstone. Three stepstones later we stood in the darkness of Lost Olisode.

Something is wrong here!

No, it’s not finding skeletons, ghosts, mummies, and liches. That’s pretty much a given these days. It’s the ruins itself. The whole place is tilted! It’s like we’re climbing up the side of a steep mountain.

Lost Olisode must have been built on the side of a mountain and swept away in an avalanche. What’s amazing is that Lost Olisode ended up tilted and not totally destroyed. It is funny though to kill a skeleton and watch it slide across the room, down to the far wall.

When the undead were finally laid to rest, we gathered up every Welkynd stone we could find and looted all the Ayleid chests of their valuables. The important stuff taken care of, we went back to the room with the stepstone.

Here we had a problem, there were two stepstones. To leave Lost Olisode we had to decide which one to activate. Neither stepstone looked to be working properly so it was a toss-up as to which one to use.

Tossed a gold piece in the air. With no idea where we going to be transported, we activated the step the coin landed closest too.

Thankfully, we were deposited at the Ayleid Well near fort Blueblood. An easy walk to Leyawiin but since it was dark and we were tired I sang the Take Me Home, Leyawiin spell.

Ah, nothing like a comfy bed at home when you’re tired.

This post has been edited by macole: Aug 3 2023, 06:58 AM

[Acadian]

Slavers on a rampage slaughtering the bandits who inhabit camps and dungeons? Is that a problem?

Poor Kaleah. The Jandaga can be so clever yet sometimes so blind. . . .

Finally home to a real bed in Leyawiin.

[ghastley]

OK, so Kraftwerk were familiar, but the other one I had to google.

So where did you find Jake Reese? He wasn’t even born when Autobahn was released, and your usual quotes are “vintage”.

[Lena Wolf]

So where did you find Jake Reese? He wasn’t even born when Autobahn was released, and your usual quotes are “vintage”.

He was born in the '80s, that makes him vintage, if not antique.

(Explanation: if you look on eBay, you find amazing things. Like this: "My mum's antique sewing machine, bought new in the '80s!" That's 1980s, not 1880s.)

[ghastley]

Antique is something different. I think it refers to the finish.

My grandfather was a cabinet-maker, and specialised in making brand-new antique furniture. If someone had a set of four dining chairs from the 18th century, and needed two more to match, that would be right up his alley. Of course the few of his pieces I have are genuinely antique now.

[Lena Wolf]

Well, by definition "antique" is something that is at least 100 years old. So a plastic sewing machine made in 1980s does not fulfil the requirement whichever way you look at it. My point was that to someone who himself was born in late 1980s, something like that would have come from the time before he was born automatically meaning it was way way way way old...

What you're talking about is reproduction of antique pieces. The reproductions themselves are not antique though (unless they are indeed 100 years old by now).

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Aug 3 2023, 11:26 PM

[macole]

OK, so Kraftwerk were familiar, but the other one I had to google.

So where did you find Jake Reese? He wasn’t even born when Autobahn was released, and your usual quotes are “vintage”.

I’m a notorious commercial watcher and jingle collector. A bank (Ameriprise Financial 2015) was running commercial that had the light and bouncy hook in it. Drove me crazy. With only the Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh to go on I searched YouTube until I found a couple of candidates.
Jake Reese - Day To Feel Alive and Phillip Phillips – Home
Liked them so I DLed both. Also did the same with Dirty Vegas - Days Go By - Nisson and others.

Kraftwerk Autobahn... now that was date music in the early seventies.

Thank goodness I may be old but I'm nnot antique... yet.

This post has been edited by macole: Aug 3 2023, 11:35 PM

[Renee]

Gosh, no wonder your mom got concerned after discovering mumbly peg! Y'all were playing with knives!

OOO slavers! Oscuro would be proud.

Ha ha yep. I don't know what the first song is, but I remember Kraftwerk from when I was a kid. My family moved to Germany for a year. Funny fact: that German electronic music band inspired all those hip hop artists from the early 1980s. Somehow. I think it had something to do with the spasmodic beats their electronic drum machines created.

Was Kahleah able to water-walk as well? Or did she swim?

This post has been edited by Renee: Aug 4 2023, 06:31 PM

[macole]

Renee: In game, Kaleah walks on the water whenever I do. There is a glich in Oblivion where swimming NPCs sometimes will continue swimming in the air after leaving the water. I caught Kaleah doing that once and that how I think of her crossing lakes and rivers.

20230810 Shopping in Leyawiin, Ayleid Steps – Lost Laife

It was late, nearly noon when I awoke. Kaleah was already dressed in her southern city attire and ready to go.

Business first though, we had a working breakfast with J’Dato, the Khajiit monk and head of the OVB Leyawiin chapter house. During breakfast J’Dato filled us in on current OVB official business. He sat on the edge of his seat listening in rapt attention as Kaleah and I told him of the vampires in Varsa Baalim. We thought it best to leave out the part where we acquired Mehrune’s Razor.

“Thirty-one vampires!” J’Dato shouted jumping out of his seat. “In one place! How do you find them? Here I’ve been thinking things have gotten boring.”

OVB business taken care of Kaleah and I left for Best Goods and Guarantees and The Dividing Line. The rest of the day was spent haggling over the price of our goods. Afterwards we had dinner at The Mermaid Inn on the wharf. Nice little place with the best gumbo in Cyrodiil. The heady spice helps to cover up the wharf smell.
We left Leyawiin the next day heading northeast toward Merendin. Yeah, we could have taken the road but I like walking through the black wood. With fern leaves wider than my body and standing taller than my head, every step is an adventure.

At one point, through the lush foliage we could see the white towers of the Ayleid ruin Veyond to the north. It was around then that we stumbled upon an Ayleid Well. The jungle was so thick had we been looking for this well I doubt we would ever have found it.

Kaleah stopped, pausing for a moment. Gazing intently to the north she said, “If Elenya was here she could read the jungle better and know for sure but I feel that the alignments fit Ervvans’ puzzle for the last of the twelve Lost Ayleid ruins.”

Trusting in Kaleah’s feelings we studied the Ayleid Well closely. As with other Ayleid wells we have seen, it had four stepstones set the prime directional lines; north, south east, and west. The north stepstone had green speckles indicating a step in good working order. Puzzle solution or not, a working stepstone is high temptation. Unable to resist the call of the unknown I took Kaleah’s hand and activated the step.

When our vision cleared Kaleah and I were standing in a dark and quiet corner of a dimly lit dust filled room. We were slightly surprised that we had found the lost Ayleid ruin Laife so easily. Unlike many of the other lost ruins, there were no intermediate steps leading to Lost Laife. Although Lost Laife appeared empty I had this feeling that empty it was not. Dust that should have been settled thickly on the floor was floating high in the air which could mean only one thing. I fixed my helmet on my head.

With extreme caution I proceeded through the room to the far side. Something moved along the wall. Twinkle finally arrived to shed some light on the situation.

Oh buggers, I had stepped into the middle of an Argonian zombie and skeleton conga line.

An arrow zinged over my shoulder just inches passed my ear. Loosing an arrow from the dark corner at the far end of the room, Kaleah took out the lead zombie. She’s gotten better with her Shadow bow over the years. I remember when she would … BANG!

Yep, that’s my girl. Smiling fiercely, I picked myself up off the floor and finished the thought; “hit me in the back”.

You can talk about Cha Cha
Tango, Waltz, or the Rumba
Jandaga’s dance has no title
He jump in the saddle
Holds on to de bridle
(Jump in the line, rock your body in time) Somebody help me!

With Light of Dawn, into the line of zombies I jumped. Chunks of rotten flesh flew everywhere. Rounding the corner I came face to face with the choreographer, a lich. Responding to my call for help, the Angel came to my aid. Not to be out done, so did Markie.

Those two have a very competitive relationship. Oh, they work well together when there’re enemies to deal with but when the enemies are gone they fight amongst each other like two children fighting over a favorite toy. I just don’t understand.

Touring the rest of Lost Laife we met three more liches and their zombies. The last lich we encountered was accompanied by a banshee. Having met banshees before, I knew what to expect and how to deal with it. Ear plugs!

Go out yonder, peace in the valley
Come downtown, have to rumble in the alley
Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in

The banshee came at me wailing. The rumble didn’t last long. I sure was happy it wasn’t my death her keening foretold.

The rumble over and no more dances on the ticket, Lost Laife was as quiet as a tomb. That gave us all the time we desired to loot the numerous Ayleid chests. A many of the chests were closed with very hard locks. The recently acquired Latar Andavar staff which can unlock very hard locks would be handy right now.

With Latar Andavar, I wouldn’t have to run around half naked in order to cast the Open Very Hard Lock spell. The only problem was Kaleah. She was carrying the staff and she held it up for ransom.

We found some good stuff; 20 welkynd stones, an ebony sword and, a Rune Skull of the Shaman. All very nice to be sure but now and then you come across something truly wondrous. In one small container we found a very rare rechargeable purple welkynd stone. I just have to figure out how it works before selling my stock pile of welkynd stone.

Ecstatic at our find, we returned to the entrance stepstone and left Lost Laife.

This post has been edited by macole: Aug 10 2023, 07:23 AM

[Lena Wolf]

Oh wow - a rechargeable Welkynd stone! I wonder if there is a catch...

[Acadian]

An unexpected discovery as a trek through the swampy jungle near Leyawiin yields another stepping stone which in turns, take the intrepid duo to a new (for them) Ayleid Ruin. Those liches and that banshee sound like they could be pretty tough for the unprepared.

A rechargeble welkynd stone. Gee, that could make stone stepping much more convenient. Like Lena, I wonder how it works?

[Renee]

The part when Kahleah fires an *plink!* arrow *argh!* in his back made me laugh! Not funny really, but it's the way you wrote that up.

Hmm, no idea what today's songs are. I think the first one could be "If you like piña coladas..." whoever that song is by. But that's just a random guess.

[macole]

The part when Kahleah fires an *plink!* arrow *argh!* in his back made me laugh! Not funny really, but it's the way you wrote that up.

Thank you. It's been a sad week. Your and everyone else's comments are much appreciated.

Hmm, no idea what today's songs are. I think the first one could be "If you like piña coladas..." whoever that song is by. But that's just a random guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMXBJW1PuU8
Harry Belafonte - Jump In The Line

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00VkP7v-VaM
The Band - The Shape I'm In

[Renee]

Oh no, sorry to hear that, macole. Some weeks are sad, that's true.

[macole]

20230825 I-SL – Moonlight – Mycelium Sanctum
As we walked back to the stepstone that brought us to Lost Laife, Kaleah voiced the question that was rolling around in my mind.

“A purple welkynd stone? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Looks like one of those, lava something or other, lamps you used to have. Do you think it can it be used to work the stepstones like a common welkynd stone?”

“No, I don’t think it’s a party lamp,” I replied. “Does it works on the steps? That I really don’t know. We’ll have to figure that out.”

“Well until you do you better be careful,” cautioned Kaleah as we approached the exit step. “It could be like those nasty dark red welkynd stones. And you better not show it to Fiona or Claire. Those two moon-touched floozies will want to make gaudy trinkets out of it.”

With a look at all the ring and the fancy headdress Kaleah was wearing, I opened my mouth to ask, “Did Claire do the bangles, bobbles you’re wearing?” Thinking better of it, I asked her to take all the welkynd stones I was carrying so I could test the purple welkynd stone.

Still holding on to the purple welkynd, I touched it to the stepstone. (It took some time but I have come to realize that you don’t have to crush the welkynd on the step. Just touching a welkynd to a step will do. The welkynd stone will be absorbed into step and either activate it or as sometimes happens, fail to activate.)

Nothing happened.

As I’ve seen Claire do many times when she’s enchanting a gem, I took the purple welkynd in my hands and stared deeply into it. The enchanting enchantress Claire says she can read lines buried within a gem stone to determine a gem’s potential.

Having no idea what I was supposed to see, of course I saw nothing. No lines of power on which to lay an enchantment just an intense purple glow down deep in the center. Then there was a brief flash of purple light. The feeling I get when reading a magical tome washed over me.

That’s it! I’ve learned a new spell, a spell to charge the purple welkynd.

Now I’m ready to try again. Using only an unbelievably low 11 magicka, I cast the spell to charge up the stone and touched it to the step. It worked! Only one problem, the Ayleid step I activated instantly put us face-to-face with an angry oak moss gnarl.

The purple welkynd stone was still in my hand. In a panic I used the purple welkynd on the stepstone. It failed.
Kaleah reacted differently. She readied her bow and loosed an arrow. The gnarl’s reaction to the fiery arrow gave me time to regain my composure. I drew Light of Dawn and together we defeated the angry gnarl.

The gnarl, now charcoal, lay quietly allowing us to determine our location. We determined that we were somewhere between Field House Cave and Fort Telemon in the Blackwood. At a good pace Merendin is only a half day away. With luck we could make it to Merendin before sunset.

On the way we discussed the purple welkynd stone. Five uses are possible with a fully charged purple welkynd stone. Fully charged, it has the same failure rate as regular Welkynds (5-15% with reliable and deteriorated Steps respectively). Partly charged it may work as well, but the failure rises; chance for a 20% (one-fifth) charge is no less than 75%. The advantage is that discharged, it stays in your inventory and can be recharged again and again.

Magnus was setting when we arrived at Merendin. Kanaane, sitting at the desk when we entered the reception hall, was thrilled to hear that we had acquired the mushroom tower spore pods she had requested. She marked locations on the maps where she wanted them planted, one near Bruma and one near Bliss in the Shivering Isle.
With that out of the way Kaleah and I found a couple of empty beds for the night.

On the morning of the 22nd of Second Seed 3E435 I decided to make some inquires on the quest Do’leandra tasked me with back on the 5th of Rain’s Hand 3E435.

A sea of tan grass, endless to sun's resting place.
To dawn a stronghold destroyed by a clash between Pahmer and He-Who-Knew the tongue.
In the shade of the early morning hills in wedding dresses.
Far south the great tree lies caged, like snow in a circle of water.
Build by the Concealed-Gone-Wild long ago, at its entrance the price awaits.

(Possible bugs. Note the words Pahmer and Price; bugs or deliberate attempts to throw the reader off track? The word Pahmer which I assumed to be the Khajiit “Pahmar”, is not used for the dialog topic. The word used as the dialog topic is “Partmer”. Confusing. Price could be a spelling error or not. The price could be having to defeat the holder of the “prize”.)

Going by the riddle Do’leandra gave me, I have an idea of where to look for the Rinrijra Krin agent. The mention of a “Great Tree” tells me to go to Chorrol but while I’m here I might as well find out what others think of the riddle.

The riddle mentions 5 puzzling items; topics that come up in conversation; The Great Tree, Concealed-Gone-Wild, He-Who-Knows-the-Tongue, Pahmer, and To Dawn.

Concealed-Gone-Wild:

Do’leandra, the Khajiit told me that it was a secret weapon against the Bosmer during the Five Year War. Put a Pahmar-raht in a box and then wait for Bosmer to come along and open it. Doesn’t seem to be of much help.

Karashivuel thought Concealed-Gone-Wild had something to do with an invisibility potion and suggested going to Braveel and consult an alchemist in that city of shady dealers.

Ahtize replied with a cryptic question, “What once was concealed or hidden, but is now wild?”

He-Who-Knows-the-Tongue:

Karashivuel told a story of how she once met a man able to use a kind of "tongue magic". He destroyed legions of Clannfears with just a word until someone cut his tongue out.

Teshekru told me that everyone who has experienced a passionate kiss knows a tongue or two. She doesn't know who could be described in the riddle. Maybe one of a famous pair of lovers? With a knowing look Teshekru added, “I can see it in your face that you’ve encountered more than one talented tongue amongst the company you keep.”

Jo'beala thinks that "he-who-knew-the-tongue" could refer to a Greybeard, or someone who met a Greybeard once. Greybeards are Nords proficient in "tongue magic". While there are lots of people who have met a Greybeard, only one ever stepped into Cyrodiil: Hjalfi Early-Beard.

The Great Tree:

Jo’beala mentions a great tree in Valenwood.

Tesserayiel told me that Nareyla said something about a revered tree in the city she now serves as Guild Guide. That would be Chorrol.

According to Kanaane the greatest tree is the Tree of Shades in the Shivering Isles.

Pahmer/Partmer:

(Possible bug here. In the riddle above the word is Pahmer which I confused with the Khajiit Pahmar, is not used as the dialog topic. The word used as the dialog topic is "Partmer".)

Zerreshju points out that Partmer is not an elvish word. I must be mispronouncing the word Pahmer which is in the riddle. Neither Partmer nor Pahmer are elvish words, so Partmer or Pahmer may be a simple misspelling of another word.

Ahtize suggested that Partmer could refer to the “left handed elves” of Yokuda the Ra Gada speak about?

Teshekru mentioned that the citizen of High Rock are sometimes described as being "part mer", due to their heritage being an intermingling of Direnni Altmer and Nedes. Then with a wicked little grin she adds, “Intermingling, hm. That would be a nice diversion around here, wouldn't it?”

To Dawn:

Tesserayiel thought Dawn might reference a Mythic Dawn hideout.

Do’leandra surmises that it might be a direction where the sun rises. The east.

Karashivuel suggested that "Dawn" could also mean "beginning". Nirn's structures became stable after the convention at the Adamantide Tower, in today's High Rock.

All that information leaves me confused. I thought I knew what to do, where to go but now I’m lost in the ozone. I think I’ll go eat some pie and take a nap.

A dream caused me to bolt upright. Suddenly the answer was clear. So simple, why had I not seen it before? The four lines of the riddle are like the four points of a compass.

To the west, the desert sands of Hammerfell; “A sea of tan grass, endless to sun's resting place”.

To the north, where according to one legend the dawn of Tiber Septim’s, also known as Hjalti Early-Beard, career began with the razing of Old Hrol'dan, taking it back from the Witchmen (Pahmer/Partmer) of High Rock; “To dawn a stronghold destroyed by a clash between Pahmer and He-Who-Knew the tongue”.

To the east, the snow covered Valus mountains; “In the shade of the early morning hills in wedding dresses”.

To the far south in Valenwood where Falinesti, the walking tree city of the Bosmer has stopped; “Far south the great tree lies caged, like snow in a circle of water”.

Finally in the center built by Ayleids sits none other than Lipsand Tarn where the prize awaits; “Build by the Concealed-Gone-Wild long ago, at its entrance the price awaits”.

And Do’leandra has already given me the key! Leafing through the pages of my journal I found the passage supporting my conclusion.

***************************
20220131 Lipsand Tarn Sun’s Dawn 20,
Entering Lipsand Tarn, we suddenly became aware that this is the place we were looking for. Sugar Moth an Ohmes-raht Rinrijra Krin agent and vampire, declared that we should not have come here and attacked.

He was right you know. It would have been much safer for him had we not shown up. During the fight Sugar Moth dropped a small chest. Not having the required key to open it, we left it alone. We made a note to report this to the Stranded Light.
***************************

Not wasting time to tell anyone, I dressed quickly then raced to get outside so I could teleport to Lipsand Tarn. Entering Lipsand Tarn, I Eagerly ran down the long entrance staircase. There on the first landing I found the locked chest still sitting where I had left it. Do’leandra’s key opened the chest to reveal a package of a strange white powder. Returning to Merendin by way of the Midas Astral Gateway, I delivered the package to Do’leandra.

Do’leandra thanked us for our aid in disrupting Rinrijra Krin’s refined moon sugar smuggling operation. As a reward she named us Agents of the Desert Walkers and presented me with the Elsweyr’s Eye amulet (reflect damage 10%, reflect spell 10%, fortify magicka 100 points).

Speculating on what the Rinrijra Krin planned to do with this dangerous powder, Do’leandra mentioned the possibility of taking drastic measures to stop the Rinrijra Krin. Extremely tired, I’m not sure what I agreed to but Do’leandra was purring like a kitten as she wailed away at the practice dummy with her sword.

I’ll sort it out after I take a long nap.

[Acadian]

Moon-touched floozies!

One nice thing about long pointed ears is that they can hold lotsa earrings. Oh, and Kaleah’s got horns to put more rings on!

Ugh, a puzzle/riddle quest. Hate ‘em. The Jandaga does a first rate job of soliciting opinions, sleeping and dreamsorting it all out though.

[macole]

20230905 I-SL – The Grey Maybe – Conclusion of Integration the Strand Light primary adversary.

Dreams, the portent of the future when the crystal is misty and the cards are faded.

Emerging from the steaming waters of the bath I stepped into the soft embrace of a dry robe. The attendants led me to the masseuse table. There they worked their magic to remove the finale remnants of muscle tightness the hot waters could not.

Hair oiled and braided, dressed in a dragonling scale kilt belted at the waist I stood with shield and spear in hand, like a Sylphim hero of old.

Singing continuously, my attendants painted my body for war.

“You’re unstoppable,
You’re a Porsche with no brakes.”
“You’re invincible,
Yeah, you win every single game.”
“You’re so powerful,
You don't need batteries to play.”
“You’re so confident,
Yeah, you’re unstoppable today.”

Now dressed in my armor, shield and sword raised to the firmament, my attendants fell to the floor in awe of the resplendent figure standing before them.

“I put my armor on, show you how strong I am.
I put my armor on, I'll show you that I am.”

The dragon spirit bound to the armor, roared.

I awoke bursting with confidence and satisfaction from completing the Moonlight quest for Do’leandra. Only, the vision that had been planted in my brain by the dream hinted that there was more to do. That’s when I noticed that all my Ladies were standing silently nearby. That could mean only one thing.

A victory meant it was time to go shopping. I had been warned but I had failed to see.

The Ladies stood silent as Tesserayiel stepped forward with authority. Looking down at me she said, “Destiny has approached. Time to forge a new fate.”

She was right. I could not avoid it any longer. It was time I faced the tainted Xivilai, Ulasza

Defeating Jyggalag’s disciple in her own realm where she would be at her strongest would not be easy. The real troubling part was that this was something I would have to do on my own. Exposing Kaleah to the double threat of the daedric realms and the insidious effects of Order Taint was out of the question. No matter how much she protested I would not allow it.

For much the same reasons I can’t take the Cute Elves and the Moonshadow Elves with me. If you know anything about the Sylphim elves you would know that they are sweet natured, loving, and intensely loyal to those they call friend but orderly they are not.

Fickle faeries, the humans call them. Exposure to a realm built on Jyggalag’s strict sense of order would have disastrous consequences for the Cute Elves' and the Moonshadow Elves' psyche. Even should we be victorious they would slowly wither way and die.

And what about Pym? I have no idea how Pym will be affected. It is quite possible Pym would suffer the same fate as the Sylphim.

The big Xivilai, Karashivuel made sure that I still carried the special colossal black soul gem she had given me and the Dagger of Disjunction. The black soul gem to capture Ulasza’s soul and the dagger that would aid in dispelling Ulasza’s warding enchantments.

Pym stepped forward and offered her sword, The Assassin’s Blade (256hp, drain WIL and END). Likewise, Maeva offered the sword of Umaril. Elenya presented me with her staff with the advice that lightening is your friend against a Xivilai. The Moonshadow elves Fiona and Claire, laden me down with potions and charms.

Kaleah looked me sternly in the eye and ordered, “Fortuna return him to us victorious.”

Ready to go, I cast Karashivuel’s spell to take me to Ulasza’s realm in the void.

Arriving in the grayness of Ulasza’s realm of order, a Dremora approaches to declare I don’t belong here. Tell me something I don’t know. The Dremora begins to inform me how to defeat Ulasza when he suddenly cries out. Struck by a bolt from a tower off in the distance the Dremora dies.

I learned that Ulasza is heavily warded against all manner of attacks. Six wards are governed by six apparitions; Uriel Septim, Hannibal Traven, Lucien Lachance, Tesserayiel, Brother Martin, and Sheogorath. Find an apparition, receive a portal key. Pass its skill check, dispel one of Ulasza’s wards. (If there is anything more frustrating than solving riddles, it’s skill checks.)

I was surprised to find Sheogorath in a void pocket governed by order.

I must have failed most of them for nothing was working for me. I felt powerless against Ulasza and her enchanted Daedric Chainblade.

Using either of the two enchanted daggers Mehrunes’ Razor or Dagger of Disjunction meant using a hit-and-run tactic. That puts me within range of that cursed chainblade. In the tight quarters of the tower, one misstep and it was curtains.

Mehrune’s Razor dispelled Ulasza’s summoned warriors easily enough but did little in the way of damaging Ulasza herself. With the Dagger of Disjunction, it took a lot of hits to dispel one ward. Ulasza was knocked to her knees a few times which I assumed indicated a ward had been dispelled, before she chased me down with that big sword. One hit and I was barely able to make it back to the portal and escape.

Likewise, the Assassin’s blade and Umaril’s sword both failed me. Not that the two swords didn’t do damage it’s just that all the damage seemed to be reflected back at me. Again, I was left near death struggling to get back to the portal and escape.

If it hadn’t been for all the charms and potions, I was encumbered with I may not have survived.

For the nth time I stood on the final portal. Facing Ulasza’s tower again I hesitated.

A soothing voice filled my mind, “Courage my love. While there is great strength in numbers, there is great power in one, for the strength of the will of one may gather numbers to it."

Activating the portal, once again I faced Ulasza in her tower of doom. This time I had a new plan. Do what I do best; I called forth my little army; the Sisters of Insanity, a Dremora Lord Markynaz, and an Angel.

Knowing what was expected of them, my army keeps Ulasza busy while I approach her from behind and use the most devastating touch spell in my arsenal.

It took some time to accomplish. I had to continually re-summon my warriors as Ulasza defeated them. I was running short on magicka and replenishing potions I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep this much longer. At one point Angel had Ulasza distracted, I was able to get in position and attacked with the spell, Translocation Madness Wave.

*****
Somewhere in the Great Void beyond the reach of Time, two equally match brothers, engaged in a conflict neither could win, paused their eternal battle.

“Did you feel it?” one said to the other. “A slight fold in the fabric of the void.”

“Yes,” the other said to the first. “A wave of madness. What does it mean?”

The two extreme rivals glared at each other for a moment before returning to their struggle. Nothing else mattered.
*****

At my touch Ulasza was instantly sent flying over the tower walls into the void. Falling to my knees, clasping my hands over my ears, I fought to keep her excruciating screams of torment from echoing in my head.

After what seemed to be an eternity the screams faded away. Karashivuel’s special colossal black soul gem glowed warmly for split second, notifying me that Ulasza’s soul had been captured.

With the filing of the soul gem, I was automatically teleported back to Merendin’s reception hall. The party celebrating the victory over Order had started. It was a joyous occasion for everyone except for Karashivuel, she was mourning the loss of a wayward sister.


edit for spelling

This post has been edited by macole: Sep 6 2023, 03:43 PM

[Acadian]

A robust set of preparations for an epic battle with Ulasza. Starting solo but with plenty of gear to help, the Jandaga discovers Ulasza's an imposing foe indeed. I'm glad he remembered that, though his elves were not with him, he could indeed summon others to occupy his foe. Victory at last!

[macole]

20230914 I-SL – Depoisoning the Well

The party was winding down. I was sitting there alone watching everyone dancing when Do’leandra sat down next to me. After some polite small talk, she flicked her eyes back and forth, touching my arm she leaned close, and whispered, “I need you.”

My interest piqued, I excitedly replied excitedly, “Whatever can I do for such a pretty kitten?”

“Drastic measures to stop the Renrijra Krin, this one spoke to it about,’ she purred. “It’s come to that.”

“Oh, I see.” Rather disappointed I asked, “What do I need to do?”

Do’leandra laid out her plan to disrupt the Renrijra Krin’s skooma trade by breaking the users’ addiction to skooma. Make them “sober”, she called it.

To do this we would need a sample of S’drassa’s experimental skooma cure. Then I would have to harvest one each of a long list of ingredients Do’leandra; a Heart of Order, an Alocasia Fruit, Daedra Silk, Void Salts, a Scamp Skin, and finally I need to find a portion of Ambrosia.

Once all the items are acquired, I should take them to Sinderion in Skigrad who will brew an improve skooma cure potion. With Sinderion’s potion in hand I will have to sneak into Smiling Camp, acquire the key to the locked chest holding the Renrijra Krin’s refined skooma, and pour the Sinderion potion into the Renrijra Krin’s skooma. The users will drink it, their addiction will end, demand for skooma will collapse, and the Renrijra Krin’s illicit smuggling operation will cease or at least severely crippled.

“Simple,” she purred.

*************

The Ladies were gathered in a corner. Kaleah points to the Jandaga as he is talking to Do’leandra and says, “You see why we have to watch him? He falls for that damsel in distress act every time. He has absolutely no resistance.”

“Perhaps I could enchant his armor with charm resistance?” Claire offered.

That started a long debate which was eventually voted down, unanimously. Seems that each the Ladies, for one reason or another, like being able (they think) to wrap the Jandaga around their dainty little fingers.

*************

When I look up to the sky
I see your eyes, a funny kind of yellow
I rush home to bed, I sunk my head
I see your face underneath my pillow
I wake next morning, tired still yawning
See your face come peeking through my window

Understandably we got a late start the following day. During breakfast I informed the Ladies that I would be traveling to the Shivering Isle in search of some ingredients for Do’leandra and to plant a mushroom spore for Kanaane.

Having never been to the Shivering Isle, Fiona offered to accompany me. Being a vintner and brewer of potions, she saw a chance to acquire new and rare ingredients to work with. Hey, that sounded good to me.

Kaleah poked Elenya and said, “You had better go along to make sure that the Fiery Haired Witch understands the business at hand is collecting ingredients.”

So it was that after dinner, three of us left for Bliss. By means of the Midas Astral Gateway, we were soon standing in the cellar hideaway. The afternoon was spent giving Fiona and Elenya a tour of Bliss and Crucible.

Elenya was impressed but Fiona went absolutely wild harvesting the exotic plants that grew along the streets. I have no idea if she even knew if what she collected was even useful. Striking color and an intriguing smell was all it took for a plant to be stuffed in her pouch.

After an early dinner at the Choosey Beggar, we rushed over to Crucible to catch the 8:00pm meeting of the Duelists Society on the rooftop of Sickly Bernice's Taphouse.

It was well after 10:00pm when we left Sickly Bernice’s Taphouse. As we were heading back to the Cellar Hideaway we ran into Arriasha the tattooed Ohmes living in Bliss. Introducing Fiona and Elenya to the Krazy Kat, the conversation turned to what brought us to Bliss, exotic ingredients.

Arriasha told us that she had a non yummy heart and would trade it for a yummy heart. Non yummy hart hurts her teeth.

I had to turn her offer down. I took non yummy heart to mean a Heart of Order. We already had a Hart of Order and don’t need another. What we do need is an Alocasia Fruit, some Daedra Silk, a Scamp Skin, and a portion of Ambrosia.

Arriasha couldn’t help us with any of that. She did point out that Fiona had collected a nice basket full of Alocasia fruit.

Back in the cellar hideaway, I prepared for bed only to find what I thought to be an overly large bed fit for a king to be already taken.

Next morning, we left Bliss to find the plot of ground Kanaane suggested for the mushroom house. Kanaane’s directions were spot on making it easy to find. With the spore planted, like tourists we took some time roaming about the realm of Sheogorath.

Fiona sidled up next to me. Her eyes flashed as she cooed, “This land of split personalities is too crazily intense. It excites me.”

“There’s a time for everything, a wise man once said,” I deflected. “And everything under the sun is in tune but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.”

“It’s just a question of balance, my Jandaga,” Elenya maintained.

After few hours of walking under the shining light of the insane god and talking crazy talk, the Ladies’ wanted to know what we were going to do for dinner. Not wanting to suffer through another plate of Shivering Isle cuisine they didn’t object when I cast the spell to take us to our Bruma home.