Buffy - Book 3, We're Having a Crisis Here! Options

[Acadian]

Welcome to Book 3! As ever, Buffy’s tale of continuing adventure remains one that is character-driven with more focus on her journey than the destination.

Buffy is a Bosmeri child of Tamriel, raised in Bravil and trained at the Arcane University. Her bigger story arc will eventually and magically cross temporal boundaries, enabling her to travel between Eras.

Near the end of Book 1, Buffy helped the man she loved, Savlian Matius, free his city of Kvatch. They were successful, but the terrible cost included Savlian's very life. It was a physically and emotionally broken elf who retreated in grief and despair to her ancestral homeland. Book 2 picks up shortly thereafter and chronicles Buffy's journey of recovery and self-discovery through Valenwood. Book 3 takes place in Cyrodiil and will see the Oblivion Crisis finally yield to the dawn of a new Era – even as Buffy accepts the challenges of walking an ancient path of her own. The small elf has traditionally danced between darkness and light; in this book, she must ultimately and entirely commit to one or the other.

Books 1 and 2, in their staggering entirety as well as an executive summary concise enough to comfortably be read in one sitting, can be found on our sub forum. That said, enjoying Book 3 does not really require more information than is contained right here in these few introductory paragraphs. I have taken care to have Buffy review significant aspects of her past as they become relevant. More specifically, I want new readers to feel comfortable just jumping right into Book 3 without feeling obligated to read Buffy’s previous books first.

I estimate that at one episode per week, Book 3 will require roughly seven months to post. My fervent hope is that you find our humbly-offered efforts worthy of your time.

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~ Part 1 – Welcome Back to Cyrodiil ~

Episode 1

The few determined streaks of early sunshine that managed to penetrate the forest merely teased my right shoulder with their fleeting warmth. Superian’s visible breath drifted up and back to join with the misty fog of my own. Kitsune – my vixen familiar – loped along easily but alertly beside us. The sound of hooves on the Green Road’s worn cobblestones was comforting, but could mask the subtle sounds of approaching danger from the sensitive long ears that all three of us possessed. My sharp eyes, augmented by twin rings of detect life, moved constantly, even as I also relied on the long noses of my precious mare and fox familiar to detect the scent of foes.

Numerous small life signs on the road ahead brought us to a stop. I urged the mare forward cautiously until the forms of half a dozen vultures and several jackals squabbling among themselves came into view. Enough of the armored head and reptilian body remained to identify the carcass they feasted upon as that of a clannfear.

Kitsune teleported up to her spot between my lap and the pommel of Superian’s saddle. The carrion feeders were larger than she and we had no interest in fighting them. We skirted the edge of the road, and those tasked by the Nirn Mother with cleaning her forest briefly gave ground. The unmistakably large tracks of a grizzly bear in the soft ground just off the road told the story. Soon enough, the hungry arguments of the scavengers and acrid smell were behind us. Kitsune leapt to the ground to resume her easy lope alongside Superian.

Cyrodiil had become a much more dangerous place since my return from Valenwood a few months ago. Oblivion Gates had begun appearing with disturbing frequency. Most of the Daedra remained close to the gates that spawned them but some roamed - leaving terror and death in their wake.

The Nirn Mother had responded to the flaming blights within her forests. Grizzly bears, like the one responsible for the tracks I had just seen, were not shy about attacking Daedra.

Spriggans were now more numerous. They and their black bears struggled to protect and restore the forest. They also diligently planted vines near closed Oblivion Gates that could, over time, heal the charred land and even consume the jagged stone detritus left behind.

Thoughts of Oblivion Gates drew my mind to a dear friend, Sir Mazoga. The last I had seen of her was when she and her mate, Sir Agronak, left Kvatch with Martin Septim in tow. Since then, the only word I had of the orcish pair came from reading about how successful they were at slaying Daedra and closing Oblivion Gates. Their squire, Fanador, had become quite the prolific scribe when it came to recording the heroic deeds of his knights.

Well before the sun reached its zenith, it was swallowed by a darkening sky. As we cautiously continued, the road’s next curve allowed a better view. Fear and anger grew within me as I saw the flaming arc of jagged stone that stood before us in the distance. Ominous streaks of red lightning pierced the sinister clouds that hung above this portal to the realm of Mehrunes Dagon.

Had this Oblivion Gate been out in the wilderness, I would have given it a wide berth and moved on.

Alas, such was not the case here.

Heaving a troubled sigh, I whispered to the spirit of the old paladin who dwelled within me, “Acadian, I know the message Kud-Ei gave me last night from Boderi Farano directed that I report to the University straightaway, but this gate is close enough to the Green Road that it poses a serious threat to any who might attempt to travel between Bravil and the vulnerable villages and inns south of Pell’s Gate. I-I can’t leave it open.�

“I share your trepidation, Buffy,� replied Acadian, “but I am proud of your choice.�

While maintaining a good distance from the gate, I circuitously maneuvered Superian up onto a ridgeline that provided adequate range and cover. After carefully selecting a concealed spot among several trees, I dismounted Superian and unshouldered Slayer – my bow.

Kitsune and I crept just clear enough of the trees to gain a commanding view of the gate. Sure enough, I could see a pair of scamps and a single Daedroth patrolling just outside the gate.

There was no banner planted in front of the flaming portal to indicate anyone was inside attempting to close it. Such warning precautions had become necessary. Whether Mehrunes Dagon realized it or not, the very sigil stones that powered these gates had incentivized their destruction. They were prized for their ability to powerfully enchant items with neither training nor access to specialized altars. Bands of intrepid adventurers had grown wealthy closing gates and harvesting the valuable stones. Some of them had undergone the Legion’s gate-closing training program conducted at the Arena, while others had simply gleaned what knowledge they needed from the authoritative writings of Fanador as he described the exploits of his lieges.

“Well, here goes, my paladin. We’ve got to clear those sentries first,� I whispered. “I hope I know what we’re doing.�

As soon as the emerald swirl completed its journey from my fingertips, the Daedroth roared a challenge to the scamps who answered with a barrage of fireballs.

As the Daedra battled, I nocked an arrow.

When the burned and wounded Daedroth stood victoriously alone, I drew my bowstring. The weapon responded by assisting me to fully achieve and maintain its heavy draw. I was able to leisurely aim, then loose. Slayer also helped control the bowstring’s recovery, resulting in a quiet hiss instead of the loud snap normally associated with releasing an arrow. My missile lethally penetrated the monster’s chest.

A scan of the area detected no pink glowing life signs nearby.

I knew I had to move fast, as the Oblivion Gate would soon spawn replacement sentries.

Superian quickly and surely carried me directly down the side of the ridgeline. When I could feel the heat from the portal’s flames, I dismounted and summoned my elven hunting knife. I cut a green branch to a length that matched my height then affixed the small green Mages Guild pennant I carried. I then planted my banner near the gate. It would suffice to warn any who approached that a guild mage was inside. Those foolish enough to enter such a marked gate could expect to die when whoever was inside pulled the sigil stone. We had originally learned this lesson the hard way when Menien Goneld did not survive the closing of Kvatch’s gate.

I checked that my waterskin was full, wishing I had two of them. After augmenting my twin detect life rings with a third ring to help resist the heat of the Deadlands, I asked, “Acadian, would you recall our dragon-mare to safety within us?�

“Vensahliz, I need you,� was my paladin’s simple incantation. Vensahliz was Phantom’s name in dragon tongue, meaning wind-phantom-ice. Phantom was Acadian’s ice dragon mount. Though they both perished serving Kyne during the great dragon war at the end of the Merethic Era over four thousand years ago, their spirits lived – Acadian within me and Phantom within Superian. In order to return to Acadian, Phantom transformed the body she shared with Superian into the essence of their combined spirit. The mare evaporated into a pale blue vapor which made its way to my fingers. I closed my open hand to absorb her.

A moment later, Acadian announced, “She is safely with me now.�

With a glance from me, Kitsune disappeared. Satisfied with the preparations, I took a deep breath. Before I could change my mind, I slipped into the flaming portal.

Even as the dry heat began to permeate my buckskins, I sought a place of hiding among the rocks. The layout of this piece of the Deadlands seemed blessedly simpler than that which Savlian and I had navigated at Kvatch. I moved quickly to the sigil tower, relying on my detection magic and stealth to avoid several roaming Daedra.

Working my way up the tower, I used illusion spells to start several fights among its guardians. The ensuing distractions served to focus their attention away from me as I manipulated any doors or switches necessary to ascend.

The top of this sigil tower was guarded by a storm atronach and dremora warrior. After my magic coaxed the two into combat against each other, I sprinted to the sigil stone and grabbed it.

As the tower rumbled and began to collapse, intense white light forced my eyes closed and I felt myself falling and spinning. After a few terrifying seconds, I bounced off the cold ground of Nirn and scrambled to my feet.

[Acadian]

Previously- When Buffy arrived at the Oblivion Gate threatening Leyawiin, she found the city guard struggling to contain things. The county’s forrester had already entered the gate and failed to close it. The guards were untrained for the task, the Fighters Guild was deployed to Bruma and the White Stallion Knights were busy with other gates. Rather than allow Leyawiin’s guard commander to lead untrained soldiers into the Deadlands, Buffy volunteered to close the gate herself.

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ghastley- We’ll see that Buffy’s solo survival advantage inside a gate is her experience and arcane training. Though most in the Legion are indeed Imperial, there are a number of exceptions in Buffy’s world. Astute of you to note that Jovanah is indeed not an Imperial name – we’ll learn her race in today’s episode. We’ve used Nords and Bosmer as Imperial Legion battlemages at the University. And Buffy’s heard of a Redguard Legion veteran named Julian of Anvil.

SubRosa- As I verified my nomenclature for chevaux de frise, I was thinking that you would appreciate it. Buffy’s Tamriel would be a cleaner and better smelling place if Buffy knew the Cleanse spell that graces your fiction! This will be the last Oblivion Gate we have planned for Buffy to close, so we’ll linger inside this one for an entire episode.

Grits- Jovanah did charge right into that gate like a Nord on Jerric Juice! We’ll learn her race in today’s episode. Thank you for your kind recollections of Savlian. We are beginning to see that Buffy’s grieving is moving beyond self-pity. Her reflections of Savlian going forward will be more along the lines of cherishing memories, recalling the things she learned from him and, when required (as it will be when she gets to Bravil), aggressively defending his legacy.

Rider- Oblivion certainly did throw gates in the way of gathering allies for Bruma! Fortunately for Buffy, others are simultaneously soliciting aid from the other nobles. My hope is that by limiting Buffy’s recruiting efforts to two cities, we can more fully develop the situation in each without risking repetitiveness. Unfortunately, Jovanah lacked the wisdom from years of experience that served Julian so well for the deadly work of closing Oblivion Gates.

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Episode 13

Upon entering the Deadlands I lifted my fist and spilled a cloak of invisibility over myself. Scrambling to the top of a large boulder to better survey this realm, I crouched stealthily before my spell expired. A clannfear charged below me and right out the gate. Caelia’s guards would deal with him.

I could see the sigil tower at the end of the path straight ahead. Although the number of patrolling Deadra were few, the trail’s length was flanked by some sort of slender sentry towers.

The first challenge, however, was a rift in the Deadlands cutting directly across my intended course. I slid down from the boulder and made my way to the edge of the chasm. The gorge was as deep and wide as where the Larsius River passed beneath the bridge leading to Bravil’s main gate. Except here, shifting rock had destroyed the bridge, and the river below was angry lava. I lamented to Acadian, “Too far to jump, even with a running start.� After scanning the horizon to my left and right, I frowned and added, “Going around would require nearly a full day and almost all my water.�

“Are you not skilled in Alteration and Restoration?� offered the paladin.

“By Kynareth's wings, you’re right!� I stowed both bow and quiver inside my mage satchel then cast several spells. With nearly a third of my weight feathered and my ability to leap dramatically augmented for a short time, I took a running start and jumped from the edge of the gorge.

The feeling was both exhilarating and terrifying as I sailed over the deadly lava below. As the rocky ground on the other side rushed up at me, I realized I hadn’t thought much about landing. Upon touchdown, I gracelessly collapsed into a ball and rolled several times. Scrambling to my feet, I quickly checked for hostile glows. Seeing none nearby, I healed a few bruises then retrieved my bow and quiver.

I could better see the sentry towers now. Each was roughly twice the height of an Altmer and topped by some sort of small mechanism.

In the distance, I spied a scamp. When the emerald spell I cast swirled into its target, my newly recruited assistant sprinted toward me. I studied the sentry towers between us, noting that none of them reacted to the small Daedra’s passage. As the creature neared, I rewarded its service with a lethal arrow.

“I think we’re in luck,� I said with a smile. “It seems these sentry towers are either inoperative or not sensitive enough to notice a small target like me or a scamp. I hope.�

“Either that,� replied Acadian, “or they are able to distinguish Daedra from Bosmer.�

I frowned and sighed. “You’re probably right.� I cautiously approached the nearest of the sentry towers. Sure enough, the top of it began to whirl ominously and glow.

I dove to one side, pulling the bow in close to my body as a fireball narrowly missed me. Rolling as I hit the ground, I was quickly on my feet and behind a protective boulder. Fireballs continued to harmlessly strike the stone shield between me and the fire sentry at a regular interval that I counted out to be six seconds.

The spell that grew in my right fist was a powerful one to ward against magic. Combined with my father’s Bretonic gift of magic resistance and the ring of resist fire I wore, I hoped it would be enough. Regardless, the spell’s brief duration would require speed and timing.

As soon as the next fireball hit the boulder, I cast and ran. Once in the open, I set my course for the shelter of another large rock slightly farther along the path. Another fireball passed close behind, but the next one found me just as I leaped to safety. Thankful for my precautions, I passed a healing hand over my slightly singed elven rump.

After scanning again for foes, I repeated the cast and run process. I learned and improved as I went, resting at each stop to allow my endurance and magicka to recover.

I was well into my second waterskin by the time I found myself safely hidden in a narrow gap between two large rocks at the base of the sigil tower. Assisted by my detect life rings, I studied the movements of three Daedra that patrolled around the towering dark structure. Once I understood their pattern, I exploited a narrow window of time and scrambled from the safety of my stony crevice to the tower’s entrance, and inside.

No challenges or glows of life met me on the other side. After magically warding the door behind me, I cast numerous weak, but persistent frost spells into the ceiling and walls where they lingered – effectively illuminating the entire large chamber. The pale blue glow from my spells revealed several corpses littered about the stone floor.

One was human.

I knelt by what I could now see was a Redguard clad in the bloody leathers of an Imperial Legion Forester. After gently passing a hand over the woman’s face to close her blankly staring eyes, I quickly searched her body and pack. Among the personal effects that I stuffed into my satchel for delivery to Caelia, was Fanador’s book on how to close Oblivion Gates. Guilt tugged at my heart as I realized she had tried to use the same stealthy tactics that Savlian and I did inside the Kvatch gate. “I’m sorry, Jovanah. Stealth without magic would not have let me succeed either. That you made it this far is testimony to your determination and skill. I will honor you by finishing what you boldly started. Farewell, sister. May the Nine ease your path to a peaceful rest.�

I stood and quietly admonished myself, “Focus on the task at hand, Buffy, lest you join this brave forester.� I took a long pull from the second waterskin before continuing.

The screeching challenge that welcomed me as I entered the next chamber prompted a panic-casting of my invisibility spell. As I slid to one side to vacate the spot of my last visible presence, I quickly assessed the threat. I yielded my cloak of invisibility to command the nearby angry clannfear with illusion magic. My new ally quickly charged the twin flame atronachs who also guarded this chamber. The distraction allowed me to sprint up a ramp to the only door besides the entrance and slip through it. Thankfully, this room was empty and I quickly warded the door behind me.

The next level once again required recruiting a temporary Daedric distraction, but the chamber above that was ascended without detection.

Climbing a ramp that led to yet another door, I quietly slipped into the next area and, again, warded the door behind me. The ample light coming through the translucent red-domed roof, and humming of a sigil stone confirmed that I had arrived at the tower’s pinnacle.

Two glows guarded this level and I stealthily crept close enough to evaluate them while remaining unnoticed. Between the ramps and teeth-like stone pillars, it took a few moments for my moving foes to reveal themselves as a dremora mage and frost atronach.

I studied them while debating how best to proceed. Invisibly running for the sigil stone? Hoping that perhaps the slow swirl of a command spell could catch one of the moving targets and turn them against each other? Possibly using the superior speed of an arrow to kill the mage first?

My options suddenly became very limited when the black-robed dremora moved closer and looked around suspiciously. “I sense a disturbance in the tower’s force.� Her voice had an otherworldly echo to it. Black-gloved fingers opened to spill pink magic that I knew all too well. “I see the glow of your life force, little mortal. Welcome to the place of your death.� Her hand spiked toward me, releasing a burst of dark red magic.

I answered with a spell of my own but hers traveled much faster. A feeling of panic rose as I felt the link to my precious magicka sever and watched her easily sidestep the slow swirl of my illusion.

I sprinted for the other side of the large circular room, making several erratic turns to complicate her spell targeting. A bolt of lightning flew past, barely missing me. I had also inadvertently strayed close enough to alert the frost atronach. I dove behind a pillar. The column of stone shielded me from both the crackling spark-filled explosion of the mage’s next spell, and the booming chill of the atronach’s frost magic.

Protected for a brief moment, my hand dove into the pouch at my waist and emerged with a potion. Spitting its cork from my teeth I guzzled the dispelling elixir. Even before the empty vial hit the ground, I felt the relief and power of magicka once again surging through me.

Keeping the pillar between the mage and I, illusion magic swirled from my fingers to the atronach. After it struck, the ice monster turned, and its next spell was directed toward the dremora spellcaster.

Since the mage could both divine my location and curse my magic, she represented the far bigger threat.

When I stepped out from behind the protection of the stone pillar, my bow hosted a fully drawn arrow. My readiness to quickly slide from side to side to avoid the mage’s spells was not needed, for as I saw her hand thrust a fire spell at the atronach, I loosed. Her corpse had barely hit the ground when I cast yet another illusionary swirl toward my remaining frosty foe. He answered with a ball of icy fog.

As our slowly moving spells passed each other, I easily sidestepped his. The atronach, however, made no attempt to evade mine. As it blossomed into his chest, he turned to flee in terror.

I sprinted to the angry pillar of flame in the center of the chamber, atop which was suspended the buzzing and humming object that powered this horrid realm.

Grasping the sigil stone, I was engulfed in the familiar blinding light and roaring protest of collapsing stone. I surrendered to the sensations of swirling, tumbling and falling that I knew would return me to Nirn.