Buffy's Book of Short Stories, Somewhere in Time Options

[Renee]

I like the way this works...

I closed my fingers around the pendant and my fist glowed briefly. “This should work fine. I’ve set Wylandriah’s essence to my clairvoyance spell.”

And also the part when she draws the silk bowstring. That whole part when she's nocking the arrow .. I didn't know preparing a weapon could sound so elegant!

[mALX]

I didn't remember the Clairvoyance spell, and never used it so didn't know how it worked! That is so cool, this makes me want to fire up Skyrim and try out that spell!

I don't know if that "Divining" is in the game or not, but it makes sense that a mystic mage might have a kind of ESP like that; what a nice touch!

Buffy the Sniper!!!

This reminded me of something Grits was talkikng about a while back; about a random quest that popped up saying one of her NPC's she added (either Jerric; Darnand; or Abiene - can't remember which) was kidnapped.

I got a kick out of the city coffers dialogue, lol. Awesome Write!

[Lopov]

Now that a Bard's Tale is concluded, writing about something more action-paced is definitely a wise move. As mentioned before, you incorporated a clairvoyance spell in this story in a clever way. A lot of effort was put into Buffy "slaying" bandits outside the lair, which is my favorite part. Looking forward to her trip to the cave.

[Grits]

Aw, thank you, Jensa still has a piece of my heart.

It’s a good thing Wylandriah’s kidnappers sent a ransom note, or everyone would have thought she was off with her spiders. How many soldiers does she require, ha! Buffy is the perfect deadly infiltrator for the rescue.

Anuriel’s mannerisms from our Buffy’s-eye view emphasized the high in High Elf, that was really neat.

I love the way Buffy showed her bow and Muffle spells working but earlier explained Clairvoyance to Anuriel. Both ways provided the explanation right in the flow of her story, beautiful. The sneaky sniper action is awesome, and no doors were kicked in during the making of this story. I’m looking forward to Part 2!

[Acadian]

ghastley- Thanks! I do like the clairvoyance spell as it feels all ‘mystic-like’. I loved Clark’s rescue of Wylandriah recently in your fic thread!

mirocu- Thank you. You’ve really hit the nail on the head with your concern that things are going so well. When Buffy is ‘in control’ of the situation, has plenty of range and stealth on her side and things go according to her plan, she can be pretty lethal. When any of that begins to unravel, she can get into trouble very quickly.

hazmick- Thank you. As a stealthy mage, we pretend that muffle particularly cuts down on the noise and flash of magic use. We also pretend it has ‘friend or foe’ divination built in so that foes have trouble seeing her magicks when muffle’s active but allies see (to avoid hitting/shooting) her just fine (as well as explaining why her stealthy screenshots have quite a bit of flash/color to them – lol).

SubRosa- Wylandriah is a gem in her delightful absent-mindedness. Thanks for your kind words on how Buffy used clairvoyance. Yay, Hecate approves!

Renee- By describing Buffy’s use of her bow as elegant, you have stolen my heart! That’s exactly how I think of her tactics – but only as long as everything is going according to her plans.

mALX- Divination was a whole school of magic in Dungeons and Dragons; I use it as a more generic term to include her detect life/dead spells etc. Although this quest is purely fictitious, it is very similar to radiant quests that can be assigned by either the Companions or the Dawnguard. Thank you!

Lopov- Thanks! Buffy is a methodical planner and patient stalker. It suits her as a sniper - and is kind of necessary because she is both frail and easily flustered when panicked or things begin to go awry. My thinking is the same as yours; after so much singing and such, I felt a dungeon crawl was in order.

Grits- I know I’ve told you many times, but the way you hone in on things that I hope come through, and your warm encouragement are magical in their ability to inspire Buffy and I. Thank you so much.

*

In our last episode, Buffy had accepted a quest to try and rescue Riften’s kidnapped court mage. She learned Wylandriah was being held in a nearby cave and managed to dispatch the outside guards before slipping into the kidnappers’ lair.

Now, the conclusion of this short story.

* * *

The Case of the Missing Court Mage – Part 2

Once inside, I slipped partially into a Bosmer-sized crevice near the entrance. All senses were heightened as I allowed my eyes to adjust from the brilliant sunshine outside. Water dripped faintly. A rat squeaked in the distance. The mild scent of smoke carried in the cool still air. Light from the burning wick of a tallow-filled goat horn sconce was visible farther down the stony corridor ahead.

Slayer required a slight magicka drain to sustain its presence. Though less than my regeneration rate, it was enough to preclude casting other spells while the bow was summoned. I allowed the weapon to dispel.

One hand emitted detection magic for a few seconds, allowing me to note the distant red glow of what appeared to be a sleeping bandit to the left of and above where the corridor seemed to go.

Creeping forward, I stopped at the edge of the sconce’s circle of light to check foe locations again. The sleeping bandit had not moved, but two more red glows now appeared. These newly revealed foes appeared to be seated on the ground near each other.

As I passed the light source, a handful of frosty mist extinguished its small flame. I then continued deeper into the cave, magically pulsing the air every few steps to update foe locations. Ahead, I could see the corridor opening into a dimly lit cavern.

Upon reaching the stone chamber’s threshold, a fresh check for inhabitants now revealed my objective. Well beyond the three kidnappers was the seated blue glow of a non-hostile figure – likely Wylandriah tied to a chair.

I pulled the rocky walls closer and ghosted along the perimeter just far enough into the chamber to evaluate its interior. It was a medium-sized cavern, poorly lit by a campfire that hosted two of the kidnappers. The pair sat cross-legged, passing a bottle of mead between them. I could make out some of their words.

“This waitin’s gittin’ real old.”

“I figgers the gold’ll be worth it.”

“What if them snowberries in Riften don’t pay up to git their wizard back?”

“Gro-Balzer says if they don’t, we can have some fun with her afore he returns what’s left.”

Near them was a natural ramp that led up to a ledge. I couldn’t see up there but imagined that to be where the third brigand was sleeping. Looking beyond the campfire in the direction where I had seen Wylandriah’s glow was a rock wall. I smiled as my eyes fell upon a pull chain.

I then selected a firing position that afforded the maximum range this cavern allowed and a clear view of both fireside bandits, as well as the secret door hiding Wylandriah.

Optimizing stone and shadow, I patiently crept into position. Mentally rehearsing my intended actions, I tried to think through what could go wrong and how I would respond. Satisfied, I conjured Slayer, fitted an arrow to its bowstring and drew.

I loosed, grateful that the bow also controlled its recovery – ensuring a nearly silent hiss instead of a loud bowstring snap upon shooting. As my first arrow slammed into its target, the bandit was carried several feet back. His nearby comrade leaped to his feet and stared at the body as my fingers snaked a second arrow from my quiver and nocked it to begin Slayer’s draw again. After a moment, he turned and shouted, “Wake up, boss! Looks like we gots a cutthroat in our-.”

His final words were silenced by my second arrow, even as I was reaching for my third.

“What in the name of Malacath’s goin’ on down there?!?” The booming voice, reference to Malacath and distinctive clatter of heavy armor confirmed a great deal about the threat – presumably Gro-Balzer the ringleader - charging down the natural ramp before I could see him.

Halfway down, the orc surprised me by leaping over the edge and landing heavily near the campfire. As he briefly paused to glance at the two corpses, I loosed - grateful that Slayer’s magic could pierce the stoutest of armors. A heartbeat later, my arrow deeply penetrated the orc’s breastplate.

My first experience with a charging orc long ago had thoroughly terrified me - as had every such encounter since. Indeed, terror is exactly what gripped me as the orc remained on his feet after Slayer’s attack which would have killed a lesser foe. He stared down at the wound to his chest for a moment, then lifted his gaze to search for its source. His eyes swept across my hiding spot, then snapped back to lock with mine!

Cursing myself for allowing surprise and fear to distract me, one hand frantically shot over a shoulder into my quiver.

I was nocking my arrow when the orc raised a sword larger than I and charged.

Knowing how quickly an angry orc could devour distance, I aborted my partially-drawn shot. Bow, arrow and quiver evaporated as both hands filled with magic. By the time my paralysis spell was in the air, the speeding monster was nearly upon me. His mass filled my vision as the spell’s green aura blossomed. I dove to the side, narrowly avoiding being driven into the wall behind me by the momentum of the now paralyzed orc.

I rolled to my feet and summoned Slayer, even as the clatter of armor colliding with rock was still echoing in my long ears. I figured I had time for two, perhaps three, shots before the orc could move again. He jerked solidly as my arrow pierced his backplate. My next arrow thudded into a corpse, yet I frantically nocked and began drawing another.

“He’s dead, Buffy,” said Acadian gently. “You can stop shooting now.”

I severed magic to Slayer mid-draw. My empty hands then began to shake as I stared at the dead orc.

Safe for the moment, I sat down before my unsteady limbs no longer allowed me to stand. My heart was racing.

“That monster was nearly four times your size, Buffy. You have once again displayed the courage of a dragon.”

“He almost crumpled me like a butterfly, Acadian. I was terrified.”

“Courage is not the absence of fear; rather, it is action in the presence of fear.”

“I remember, my paladin.” One hand snaked downward and, after a moment, I reported, “At least I didn’t pee myself this time.” After Acadian chuckled, I added, “C’mon, we’ve got a mage to rescue.”

I got to my feet, dusted off my buckskins and headed for the far end of the cavern. As I activated the pull chain, a portion of the rock wall groaned and scraped aside. “Wylandriah? It’s Buffy.”

From the small compartment ahead, I heard her familiar voice, “Did we have an appointment? No. . . was it a delivery? I can't remember."

“It was the latter,” I replied. “I’m here to deliver you back to Mistveil Keep.” I summoned my hunting knife and cut the leather lashing that held her to the chair. It took an unlocking spell to open the null iron wrist manacles that prevented her from spellcasting. “Let’s get you home, Wylandriah.” She followed closely as I began to lead her out of the cave.

“Now where did I put those spiders?"

I smiled. “We’ll keep an eye out for fresh ones on the way back to Riften.”

"I have to remember. . . ward first, then summon."

“Sound advice, as ever, my friend.”

[Darkness Eternal]

The Case of the Missing Court Mage – Part 1

Winterhold . . . cold, cold place. And looks like ransom is still a thing in Skyrim . . .

I like how Buffy uses magic to be able to track down. The Wylandriah's essence in the amulet was a very good touch with the Clairvoyance spell. Wow. Never thought of that. Like Ghastly said, it is much more realistic than an arrow on the map, and takes less time than tracking someone, say, by prints or smell . . .

Buffy's marksman skills shine here, and she's a good shot. I was waiting to read about some action, and she did not dissapoint. Now that the outside force was taken care of, we all wait eagerly to discover what is within the kidnappers' lair.

The Case of the Missing Court Mage – Part 2

Slayer. Love that name. Straight to the point, huh.

So, again she takes out to unlucky and fated bandits. First the ignorant one, and then his knuckle-headed pal.

Buffy made good use of the paralysis spell, and I had a good laugh of her relentlessly loosing her arrows in the Big Bad Orc. Just one more, just to make sure, right? Hehe. Poor thing, the adrenaline of being crushed and facing such a foe is both exhilarating and terrifying.

“Courage is not the absence of fear; rather, it is action in the presence of fear.

Words of wisdom from Acadian. I'm sure Buffy will take this to heart.

[mirocu]

Once again Buffy delivers, pun intended


Indeed the old paladin is right; courage isn´t being without fear but rather doing the right thing even when it´s staring right at you, making you feel smaller than ever.

I like Buffy´s careful considerations before doing something. Anything can go wrong but with a backup plan at least you have a chance. Well done, Buffs!

This post has been edited by mirocu: May 27 2016, 04:34 PM

[ghastley]

How do you tell the difference between a totally paralysed Orc and a dead one, if you don't have an Acadian to tell you? You can't cast a detect life without dispelling your bow.

I liked the reminder that the detect spell distinguishes friend and foe. And works anywhere in the cell, even if there's a moveable wall in the way.

[mALX]

From the moment that Orc leaped down this story took off! This is what I've been waiting for; Buffy is at her best in the really tough combat where she is one shot away from peeing her self,

Awesome write on that fight scene, I knew she would make it and still couldn't tear my eyes from the page! Loved this update!

How do you tell the difference between a totally paralysed Orc and a dead one, if you don't have an Acadian to tell you? You can't cast a detect life without dispelling your bow.

I liked the reminder that the detect spell distinguishes friend and foe. And works anywhere in the cell, even if there's a moveable wall in the way.

Ooh, I like the sound of that spell! It would have saved an adventurer in a Cyrodiil Ayleid ruin if I'd had something like that,

[SubRosa]

Buffy is definitely the picture of a l33t commando here, with her cautious sneaking and clever use of magic. Not to mention the time and care she takes to prepare herself before she starts the fight. Even still, Gro-Some-Balls the Orc quite nearly made mincemeat out of her. That was a good writing, as it showed that in spite of how good Buffy is at doing this, she is still not an omnipotent Mary Sue. She is a real person, who just happens to be really good at doing certain things. But she is still someone we can relate to.

“Courage is not the absence of fear; rather, it is action in the presence of fear.”

This is so refreshing to hear. Lately I seem to be watching a lot of movies where people talk about being fearless, to the point of stressing how important it is to have no fear. I just cannot help but roll my eyes whenever I hear that. The person who is not afraid is not going to live very long. It is fear that keeps us from doing mortally stupid things, like jumping into the lion cage at the zoo to pet the kitties. Not to mention it is fear that turns on our adrenaline, and gives us the energy to keep going when our lives are in real peril. Without fear, our species would not have lasted long. It is only when you allow fear to control you that it is bad. The rest of the time it is a superpower.

Now it's time for a delivery! Back to Mistveil keep. Maybe Buffy will find those spiders along the way...

[Lopov]

The first sentence made me chuckle because of the Bosmer-sized crevice part - good opening to the story.

I really like it that the first half of the story isn't about spotting bandits with Buffy's eyes, instead she relies solely on her magic and can discern whether enemies are seating or standing.

The battle with the Orc ringleader is also written very well, there are some tense moments as the brute is charging for Buffy and she saves herself in the last second.

Is this quest about saving Wylandriah vanilla or mod-added?

[ghastley]

Is this quest about saving Wylandriah vanilla or mod-added?

They do happen in the vanilla game, if you join the Companions. I have actually had "rescue Wylandriah from Broken Helm Hollow" It's a radiant quest selecting an NPC you've already dealt with, and placing them in a bandit camp near their usual location.

[Grits]

Gro-Balzer, nice!

I enjoyed seeing Buffy’s careful scouting of the bandit cave, especially the part where she mentally rehearsed her actions and backup plan once she was in position. I can imagine the hours of training that led to Buffy’s swift spell swap and dive to the side in the face of the angry orc. The pace of this part was beautiful, slow and cautious until Buffy loosed that first arrow, then breathless as gro-Balzer’s leap and charge changed everything.

I’m most often looking over the armored shoulder of the guy who jumps off the ledge. It was terrifying to see that charge from Buffy’s view, and imagine the slow swirl of green magic that gave her a second chance with her bow. I loved Acadian’s words about courage.

Buffy’s magic was delightful throughout. I love those practical spells that keep her backpack light. Thankfully Wylandriah seemed untraumatized by her adventure. That fog of distraction served her well. I suspect that she didn’t fully realize the extent of the danger, and the plans those bandits had to entertain themselves. Her familiar lines coming from within that chamber really made me grin!

Thumping extra arrows into the dead orc seemed like the appropriate response from my crew. One small elf went in to do a job that would have taken who knows how many guards, and no friendly blood (or other fluids, lol) was shed. Well done, Buffy!!

[Acadian]

DE- Thank you! Over all, the two part story was fairly representative of how Buffy blends bow and magic to help compensate for her frailty and complete lack of melee ability.

mirocu- Buffy does not have the quick thinking instincts of a skirmisher; that is why her tactics are so methodical and she is always trying imagine plans for when things go wrong. Thank you!

ghastley- Acadian’s direct contributions are small, but he actually is an integral part of how Buffy does business. And Buffy finds him handy to have. I’ve grown to quite like the challenge that Skyrim’s detection spells only work while actively being cast. This has led to Buffy ‘pulsing the air’ for threats every few steps while sneaking as a matter of habit. I did change the spells to detect anything of rabbit or larger size that has magicka; hence, her spell can locate living, undead, daedra, even the steam powered dwemer automatons. She has a separate spell for locating truly dead (no magicka) corpses.

mALX- Aww, thanks! I thought you would appreciate some Buffy in combat stuff for a change!

SubRosa- Thanks much for the kind words. I do think of Buffy as elegantly lethal – as long as she is in control of the situation. But I also wanted to show how close she can get to being squashed like a butterfly when things unravel on her. Given how focused her skills as a glass cannon are, it doesn’t take that much for her to get into trouble.

Lopov- Hee! Buffy’s self-conscious about her size, but it does indeed make her a small target. This quest was pure fiction but, as ghastley kindly mentioned, quite representative of ‘rescue a kidnapped victim’ radiant quests that can be given by the Companions or Dawnguard.

Grits- Thank you. Buffy tries to compensate for her lack of skirmish instincts by imagining bad situations, devising plans in advance and relentlessly drilling them to the point where, hopefully, they’ll help when she might otherwise panic-freeze. I’m glad that Wy’s charmingly disconnected dialogue was able to fit into the story. In fact, you are right that her absentmindedness simplified away the possibility of Buffy having to deal with a ‘trauma victim’ and helped keep the scope of our story under control. Heh, Buffy getting panic-stuck on full-automatic hasn’t happened since her flare spell kept bouncing those first two rats around in Oblivion’s tutorial dungeon for several seconds after they were dead.

*

No short story this week. Buffy and I have completed the draft of a major project, but I’m going to wait three weeks before beginning to post it. I have my spring pilgrimage to visit Acadian Sr scheduled next week and want to wait until that is behind me and I get caught up from my absence before embarking on our next adventure.

Speaking of our next project, it seems that turning Buffy’s quill loose to roam with abandon for a time really did help get some things out of her system. Shortly after we began posting these short stories, Buffy’s interest returned to her bigger story arc. I attribute that to embracing Buffy’s current Skyrim mechanics and applying them even when in the southern provinces. Regardless, while creating short stories, we have also managed to fully draft Book 2. It picks up right where Book 1 left off and covers Buffy’s time of recovery and discovery in Valenwood.

So. . . in late June, I will let this thread ‘rest’ for a time, probably moving it to our sub forum and begin posting Book 2. At one episode a week, that will take about six months. In the meantime, Book 3 is well underway and should be fully drafted long before we finish Book 2. Book 4 is. . . well, I do consider Buffy’s story to be neverending. . . .

[hazmick]

Enjoy your visit to Acadian Sr, I hope all is well on that front.

Haa-Rei and I are very much looking forward to another Buffy book!

[mirocu]

I for one love these little snippets from Buffy´s life and I hope the smaller, stand-alone episodes will make a return some day. They suit me just fine. As for Buffy´s bigger story arc and all... Well, I fear I will feel left out as I haven´t followed it as much which is of course a reason I enjoy her snippets instead. But we´ll see. Maybe I can jump in and make myself at home anyway. After all, the story is about one of my best friends



Have a happy trip and all the best to Acadian Sr!

[mALX]

I'm so glad you are going to see your Dad; even if it means missing Buffy (and you) for the next couple weeks


l

[Renee]

Those silly rascals. Don't they know they'll never be able to get away with their capture?

Mentally rehearsing my intended actions, I tried to think through what could go wrong and how I would respond

Lady Saga and Bjorn Tubewyyld (my two archers) also do this. Like, if there's two enemies, they will rehearse shooting one arrow, quickly aiming the second, and shooting that one too. And what will happen next?

This post has been edited by Renee: Jun 4 2016, 02:42 PM

[Darkness Eternal]

Well, we'll be here when you get back, Acadian! I hope you have a good time!

[Grits]

I am very excited to hear Book 2 is so close, and what comes after is underway! A neverending story sounds wonderful.

Safe travels! May you find Acadian Sr well and enjoy your time together. We’ll be thinking of you often while you’re on your spring pilgrimage.