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

[Renee]

Btw, as I read your updates, Renee, I always gets an urge to play the game myself. I just love the way you write!

Aw, hey thanks. That's the idea for all of this; I just try to document my roleplays in story form. Kahreem is based on one of my cousins, from when I was a kid / teen. He was a pathological liar, but back then us kids didn't really care much, he was fun to be around. I can still remember the time when he was trying to convince us that (1) he was a black belt in karate ... at age 14. (2) for awhile he was going around saying Carl Lewis came to his high school, and lost to my cousin in a foot race. Yeah. He would always say things like this with a straight face too, I don't know how he did it.

But most of all, I remember he was constantly talking to himself (while allowing us to hear his thoughts) and he was just so hilarious during those times.

Well, hopefully you won't be locked up in your cottage for too long. I got a new Fallout 3 character too, by the way. So Mirocu better get to Tenpenny fast to meet her.

[Lopov]

Having no idea where to go, he tries the door immediately in front of him. Locked.

"Uh, been awhile since I've been here."

How appropriate that Kahreem got rid of Lachance and claimed his coat, it'll come very handy in what's ahead of him.

[mirocu]

Well, hopefully you won't be locked up in your cottage for too long. I got a new Fallout 3 character too, by the way. So Mirocu better get to Tenpenny fast to meet her.

Was just at Tenpenny but she wasn't there


And no new Kahreem of da Weet? Now that I have four weeks off you better cook something up for me, Renee!

[Renee]

No Kahreem yet, but I promise he'll be up next week. Believe me, I am just as full of anticipation. It was cool to take a break from writing though, this summer's been ... well, ya know. But Kahreem, next week, I promise!

For now, here is some Sarah Phimm. It's been over a month. Last we saw, Farnacas Collins and Count Hassildor wanted her to go to a place called Fire Cave, just north of Cheydinhal, so she could retrieve a couple of very rare artifacts. I wanted to write it all up tonight, but what you see below took about 4 hours to write up because I game in real-time, and write as I game. She didn't get inside Fire Cave yet, but NEXT time she definitely will.



Loredas, Sun's Dusk 17, 4th Era Year 5

Play Time:: 83:53:21

Days Passed: 83


The night was in the depths of its slumber, Dervera Romalen in the depths of her sleep, when a sheepish, red-haired anomoly, who'd formerly been both a scullery maid and a cook, broached her way into the Newlands Lodge, the rowdier of Cheydinhal's two inns. Dervera herself was awoken by this 'red-haired anomoly', annoying the Dunmer. But in the business of hostelry, one which Dervera had chosen many years ago, coin was coin, no matter the hour it was earned.

"Welcome to Newlands Lodge," she started, as cheerfully as she could. "The best place to drink in Cheydinhal, not counting the chapel ... ha ha. I'm Dervera Romalen."

"Pleased," said the red-haired woman, a Breton for sure. Dervera noticed this woman was wearing expensive golden armor.

"This is a dark elf bar," Dervera continued, making sure that all the rules and guidelines got laid down. "Cursing, spitting, and screaming? No problem. Fighting's okay with me, only the guard objects, and they'll fine you or lock you up. Not my call."

"Well, you shall be delighted to know, Dervera, that I plan to partake in none of these sorts of activities. I'd only like to purchase one of your rooms for the night."

Dervera was feeling irritated by this red-haired woman in expensive armor for some reason, and she knew it showed upon her face. But there was nothing she could do about this. Coin was coin. She realized the room around her seemed abnormally bright, as though the Breton had a light spell going, or perhaps she was wearing some fancy sort of amulet. Was it really necessary to create so much light?

"Just go AWAY!" she scream-whispered.

Coin was coin though, and Dervera only had to deal with her latest customer for mere seconds. After renting her a room, the dark elf was then surprised as watched the red-haired Breton, who merely plunked herself right in front of the Newlands Lodge fireplace, and then did not move for over an hour.

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

-The day before-

During the previous days, Sarah Phimm had pondered and wondered, what might become of her if she chose to simply flee?

If she did not go to Cheydinhal, instead getting upon her broom and flying to some remote location? ... Maybe an abandoned cabin somewhere? But that option seemed like a bad idea, no matter how she tried to figure it. For one thing, as a vampire she would need to feed, which would eventually send her back into populated areas. Another problem would be that she would soon get lonely. Although shy and retiring, Sarah had always liked being around lots of people. She also liked the safety that Tamriel's many walled towns offered, even as a vampire she still needed to feel secure, and protected.

Because of all these reasons, Farnacas and Hassildor would eventually find her. They apparently had eyes and ears, in many locations all over Tamriel. So she finally decided to just go with their wishes. Fly to Cheydinhal. Maybe with her will o'wisp companions (plus the Dunmer who she was supposed to meet) things would go rather smoothly.

She flew to the Imperial City first, spent the night in Tiber Septim Hotel. Though Farnacas had cautioned her not to feed for several days, Sarah couldn't help but try to find some victims. But her stay within the city was short, and no victims were found. Fearing that her vampirism would advance to Stage 4, she finally downed both the bottles of maiden's blood given to her by Hassildor. These did not set her condition all the way back to Stage 1 (closest to being human), thankfully.

Before leaving the Imperial City, Sarah walked to the Goddess Store, where she cautiously bought a set of gold and red-colored armor: a finely-crafted elven piece up top, and an "Artemis" chain skirt down below. Sarah had never worn armor before, and was surprised to find that both these heavy pieces didn't feel so heavy once they were upon her person. To finish up her outfit, she also bought a pair of chrome-colored boots. This armor set cost just over a thousand gold, but it wasn't like Sarah was paying for it. She'd merely raided Farnacas's treasure coffin, once again. Sarah would need this armor to protect her obviously, but the fact that every piece she bought was made of some sort of metal meant that none of these pieces would burn up, assuming Fire Cave actually contained lots and lots of fire, and fire priests and beings.

Before leaving Goddess Store, Sarah Phimm casually dropped her cheap old barmaid's clothes right upon the floor.

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

Loredas Sun's Dusk 17, early evening

The Dunmer man who Sarah was supposed to meet found Sarah first, waking her from her rented bed in Newlands Lodge. "Are you Sarah," he asked. "You certainly look like the description of her."

The Dunmer's name was Jas, and he was all dressed up in expensive golden armor, just like Sarah. He also was carrying a very large weapon upon his back, which Sarah thought might be silver. Jas explained that he was not a vampire, but that he had waited until just after sundown to introduce himself to her, so that they could get going toward Fire Cave with due haste.

"Well I suppose we should just get this over with," Sarah told him.

"CAPITAL!" gloated the Dunmer.

"I should explain firstly to you though, that I have a couple of will o'wisps which followed me here from the West Weald. They are my friends, and shall help us as we invade this cave."

"Will o'wisps? How in Nirn did you get some of those to follow you here?"

Sarah explained as they left Newlands Lodge, and then Cheydinhal, how these magical beings had been allied to her somehow through the 'spirit world,' which Jas seemed to accept. The only issue between Sarah and Jas after that moment was the Dunmer kept hinting that he wasn't so happy with all the arrangements of their venture. Sarah could tell he was a bit abrasive as he spoke, and wondered if she should offer him some money. Turns out, money indeed would cheer him up. No problem. Sarah was only too glad to part with even more of Farnacas's gold. As long as she didn't have to do all of this on her own.

Since Jas had already scouted the cave's entrance, he was able to put a marker upon Sarah's map. The two of them walked together through a vast field of grass, getting attacked once by a lone orc marauder. While Jas fought the man with his large, silver axe (which Sarah noted had some sort of draining magic within it) Sarah was able to zap the orc with her Vampire's Touch, an ability which absorbed some of her enemy's health.

"Huahh! Argh!"

The orc was tough, but he didn't last more than a minute. After this, the pair walked east, until they found the worn path which would lead them eventually to Fire Cave.

When they finally found the place, Sarah was glad. She could sense that the sky above was starting to lighten just a tad. Running back to Cheydinhal was not an option at this point. The cave's entrance was cut right into a boulder, right at the foot of the mountain too.

... and once inside, Sarah and Jas found themselves dumbfounded. There's supposed to be fire in this cave? Well where is it? ....As they snuck in, neither of them could smell any smoke, or hear any flames. Matter of fact, the place seemed downright deserted.

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

Goddess Store

Golden Armor

Fly by Night

Fire Cave Companion guy

Ready to Roll

This post has been edited by Renee: Jul 30 2017, 01:48 PM

[Acadian]

Thanks for the opening reminder of where Sarah is in her saga. Nice to see her getting properly equipped (with style) by the Goddess Store. When Sarah spoke of her wisps, two names came to mind for them: Willow and Whisper.

Great screenshots too!

[SubRosa]

The golden armor is a great fit for Sarah Phim. It is almost - dare I say it - Heavenly?

Now I have this song in my head as Sarah flies by night.

[Lopov]

The golden armor suits her perfectly, there is indeed light emanating from it.

The shot of her flying above the Imperial City is great.

[Renee]

Acadian: Yes, that opening text is not only to let you folks know where Sarah is at (quest-wise) but also to remind ME of where she is at! ... That's awesome... Willow and Whisper.

Lopov: That light is from a light spell, added by the Vampire Power mod. This mod allows all sorts of cool features, and the light spell lasts for hours, meaning that as she's flying, it won't suddenly go out in the middle of her flight.

SubRosa: Yes, I was also thinking of Rush when I named that flying pic.

There will only be 3 or 4 more Sarah episodes before her story concludes, just so y'all know. But don't be sad. I think you all will dig what is to come.



Mid-Year 25, 3rd Era Year 434

The Ultimate Heist Part III

Days Passed: 303

Level: 13


The Redguard thief who would have become a household name by now (if anybody ever managed to figure out his real name) now creeps along in the Imperial Palace's cellar. The air is cool, the space is dark. And surprisingly, a single guard patrols down here, circling endlessly around the entire perimeter. And why? ... Why is there a guard down here? The upper portion of White Gold Tower is already well-guarded, with a locked door leading down into the tower's cellar area. And that door had been secured with a rather complex lock, too.

"So why the guard?" Kahreem mutters. "As though they expect that if somebody breaks in, they've really got to staff the place heavily, night after night?"

It makes no sense. Kahreem begins to search the area, which is round and very spacious, with all sorts of crates and barrels and ... wine racks. He scuttles over to the first rack he sees, and smiles. It is packed with his very favorite beverage, to his surprise. Lots of it, too. He can't help but grab a couple of these bottles, and begins glugging one on the spot! And of course, just after he does so, the sound of clank clank CLANK begins from somewhere unseen. Next thing he knows, Kahreem is virtually bumped by one of the palace guards.

"Phew."

It is a close call. If he weren't wearing his special robe + hood + magical ring, he would have been caught for sure. Time to get to work. Unsure of where to begin, he begins by searching every nearby container. A barrel full of middle-class clothes. A sack full of rotted food. A cupboard with a couple carrots, a plate of rice, and yet another bottle of the cheap stuff. He can't help but filch this item, too.

On the far end of the room, the Redguard really gets shocked. "What the--?" There are several items over here, all of which are extremely LARGE. There is an hourglass for instance, but it's the LARGEST hourglass he'd ever seen! Even an ogre or a minotaur wouldn't be able to pick it up. He also sees a giant crystal ball, a huge club (just like the club he'd left the sewers with long ago), and a chair which is so big, the guard who walks by it would need a ladder just to sit upon its seat.

Kahreem approaches the hourglass first. Upon its base, he reads that this is the Glass of Time, referred to in those notes the Grey Fox had given him. He places both hands upon this gigantic object, and is surprised to see its glass change a reddish color.

Fokke!!! ... Now to find the Old Way, whatever that is.

He begins circling the cellar going back the way he came, freezing in place every time the guard comes near. There seems to be nothing which resembles any sort of 'Old Way.' He gets an idea though, to try equipping the Boots of Springheel Jak, and then jumping upon the giant chair. Maybe this is what his magical jumping boots are for? He makes it upon the chair with ease after putting these on. And that's when he sees it. A narrow opening ...

"STOP! YOU VIOLATED THE LAW!"

"Ah no. Not now?!?."

"Pay the court a find or serve your sentence...your stolen goods are now forfeit."

Kahreem cannot give up now. Not in the middle of a covert mission like this one. He shakes his head, hoping he'll still be able find out where to go next.

"THEN PAY WITH YOUR BLOOD!"

Turns out, the opening he sees goes nowhere. He tries jumping off the chair, across the hallway, and then tries to grab his way into the opening, but it's all an illusion, and there's nothing to grab onto. As the guard now clambers his way into position, Kahreem has no choice but to run. He runs around the entire cellar, with the guard chasing him all the while CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! ... he tries jumping upon the giant hourglass. Maybe he can find some other opening?

But this is not going to work. As the guard below catches up, and then begins to swing his silver sword, Kahreem bolts from the palace's cellar area. With any luck, he won't get clobbered to death as he makes his way back upstairs. An expert (by now) in how the rules and laws work, Kahreem knows his bounty can't be too high right how; he had merely been caught trespassing. Not in the act of stealing itself. That's 5 or 10 gold, tops.

As he makes his way back up the stairs, he realizes all he'll have to do is wait somewhere unseen, maybe until the guards' next shift change. "And then I'll be back!" he promises, as the guard behind him keeps swooshing his sword around, inches behind!

This post has been edited by Renee: Aug 6 2017, 04:39 AM

[Lopov]

CLANK CLANK CLANK always makes me laugh.

This room with large items is so creepy, I only had two characters that went down there but there's something unsettling about that place.

Why should Kahreem return to the basement? IIRC he did there what had to be done.

[Acadian]

STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!

Yikes, the wine-drinking Redguardian thief managed to get found out despite his nifty and magical attire.

Not surprised that, by now, Kahreem is a master of the Imperial criminal justice system and can not only calculate his own bounty but its 'cool down' as well.

[Renee]

Thanks you too, I mean two! I think the next Kahreem story will be even better.

As we last saw: Sarah Phimm is in a place called Fire Cave, and has been tasked with finding a couple of rare artifacts for Count Hassildor of Skingrad. She has found and entered the cave with a Dunmer man named Jas, and two of her will o'sisp compaions. Sarah and Jas are surprised to find that (so far) there isn't any fire inside of Fire Cave. Matter of fact, the place seems deserted.

Sundas, after midnight, Sun's Height 19, 4th Era Year 5

Days Passed: 85



Deep into darkness, Sarah and Jas stood still, and waited and listened. The place they'd found was certainly labeled as Fire Cave (according to an Imperial-added placard outside the cave's entrance) but so far, they hadn't seen any fire at all, nor anybody, or anything of a threatening nature.

"Phew." said Jas.

"Well, you are the expert here. What shall we do?" Sarah asked.

"Excuse me for breathing a sigh of relief just now. But I was fearing that indeed this place might have more activity. I am glad I was wrong. Adventuring can be nerve-racking, you see. Deadly and dangerous."

"Surely so. This I gathered, believe me."

"And to answer your question Sarah, yes. We press on. Forward, and onward! That is what dungeoneering is all about, you see. We didn't come all the way here for nothing, did we? Always press on, if you can."

"Well, I am in agreement with this," Sarah answered. "Yes, let us continue."

The path ahead was dark, and made an obvious descent. Sarah decided to cast her light spell, while Jas made a small clucking noise after she did so.

"What? Have we something of dispute?"

"Not smart," answered Jas. "The light thing. Your spell. Not smart."

"Well why not?"

"Now if there are any enemies down below, they'll know of our presence long before we approach. Can't you vampires see in the dark?"

"See in the dark? Well, I cannot speak for all of us, but I certainly cannot."

"I see. Well. When does the spell lose its effect?"

"Lose its effect?"

"How long will it last? Thirty seconds? A minute?"

Sarah blushed. "Well I'm afraid it'll last much longer than that. Could be hours before it wanes off."

"Hours?!?

"Look. I cannot see in the dark. And I am afraid. I did not want to go delving off into this cave, understand? We have my two will o'wisps to protect us. We shall be fine."

"Hmph."

The four moved deeper into the cave. Jas told Sarah it'd be best if she crouched down, and moved her feet in more of a tip-toeing sort of manner. Measures like this might keep them from being detected, he explained.

"There's nobody down here, though!" Sarah scream-whispered.

But suddenly, they knew they weren't alone. Up ahead were (what sounded to be) a nest of rats. And also, a very large bonfire was roasting quietly in the next room.

"Heh, finally a bit of fire. So that's how the place gets its name!" Jas joked. "How quaint."

"Just one measly campfire?" Sarah asked. "Well I concur!"

/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|

The rats they encountered were not hostile. Sarah's will o'wisps floated along behind her as they entered a rather grand chamber with a high ceiling. Sarah looked at her magical, floating companions for a moment. It was impossible to tell what sort of mood (if any) or emotion these creatures might possess, but even so, Sarah could swear they were bored.

The chamber they were in climbed upwards, to the left and to the right. Sarah chose to climb to the right. She stopped crouching, and stood fully after her climb. There was no reason to keep sneaking around, she'd decided.

"So Jas--?"

But Jas was not there, anymore. Where had he gone? Sarah decided not to wait for him. As a vampire, she'd become more worldly about certain things. Going into strange caves and ruins had become more of an everyday possibility over these past few weeks, especially since such places occasionally offered her shelter from daylight. And this cave didn't seem so bad.

Jas caught up to Sarah as she moved down a corridor of rock.

"Not so bad so far," Sarah said to him.

"Well, perhaps. Some caves of Cyrodiil are packed with nothing but nuisance creatures. This place seems to be--"

That's when they heard it. A booming sort of growl,* coming from deeper within. Sarah and Jas both crouched downward at the sound, and froze in place.

"An ogre," Jas whispered. "Not to worry. I can handle him."

"You can?"

They moved forward and the creature's growls grew louder. Suddenly there it was, just up ahead, and it appeared at first as a very large silhouette. Jas grabbed his magical sword, and rushed toward the giant, while Sarah did the only thing she could at this point, which was touch the thing with her vampiric hands, and drain some of its health away! The two will o'wisps also joined in, going dark and then swarming around the ogre from both sides, making strange, arcane sort of noises. Their magic was pulsating energy all over the room. Sarah could feel what they were doing, and was glad they were her friends, and not the other way around. The ogre howled and growled as he lost his health. Before Sarah knew it the monster was falling to the ground, which caused a huge cloud of cave-dust.

"See? Not so bad of a fight!" Jas beamed at the vampire. He seemed eager. "Come on!"

Up ahead, there were a couple of creatures which walked low. One of them threw a flare spell at Sarah, which she ignored completely, of course.

"Scamps. Hate the things!" Jas told her, before rushing ahead and smashing into them. Again, they didn't last long, and before they knew it, they'd come to a small chamber, which contained just one door.

"After you," Jas told her, holding it open.

"As you wish."

/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|

And there it was. Or rather, there they were. Up ahead. Several small fires, dazzling across the cave's floor.

Instinctively, Sarah and Jas crouched again. Moved forward just a few steps. But there were no enemies and so (once again) Sarah put her guard down, and stood fully. Began to walk forward. The cave's temperature increased dramatically as she did so. And there was more smoke in the air, too. Sarah looked behind her, and noticed that both her will o'wisps seemed as though they were done, refusing to go any further. Matter of fact, they left this second portion of the cave, entirely.

And Jas was walking toward Sarah, with a grim look upon his face. "Ahh ... uhh.." he started, unsure.

"What is it? You appear troubled."

"I assumed it was all a ruse," Jas told her. "But the legends are true! This cave is full of fire! Look at it!"

"I can see. 'Tis not so bad though, is it?"

"Ahh." Jas made a small noise in his throat. "I am afraid that even with my standard Dunmer resistance to fire, and my secret amulet, that I cannot withstand what I am seeing up ahead."

"You are giving up?"

"I am sorry. But you'll just have to do this on your own."

"You're leaving?"

"Rrrrun while you can!" said the Dunmer, and he said this seriously. Before Sarah knew it, he was gone.

"I... I cannot believe it! So now what?" she asked herself. "Is this it? Should I press onward?"

Sarah decided that indeed she should. Maybe there might be enemies up ahead, but a cave full of fire was something she just could not resist. The very thought put her mind at ease, and in fact caused her to smile feverishly, She put one foot ahead. And then the other foot. And the other. And the next. As she moved, the cave's temperature began to climb to hearth-levels. It felt like walking into a large, stone oven. Sarah realized that Jas was right. There was no way he could withstand such enormous heat.

But she could. And she would. The feeling of such intensity for Sarah was like candy to a child. As she approached the first set of flames (which were escaping from some small crevices, right out of the ground), she reveled in their heat. But these were mere sparks compared to what was ahead! So she kept going. The fires she found in the next chamber were indeed much greater. She could contain her entire body within them, from head to toe, which pleased and dazzled her.

And that is when she saw them. The atronachs. Two large beings, made entirely of blazing brightness. Sarah had never seen a flame atronach before, although she had heard of them.

"Ah look-see, my friends!" she called. "I am Sarah, and I am of thee essence, as you can see!"

But the atronachs were definitely NOT her friends. Immediately, they began bombing her with dynamic flaming energy. *PSSHKH!!* *PSSSSHEK!!!* ... any ordinary human, elf, or beastfolk would be screaming in pain at this point, but Sarah merely shrugged. And welcomed their heat.

And continued onward. More fires were up ahead. The atronachs did not appreciate Sarah's encroachment into their territory though, and began to attack her physically, slamming her with their firey palms. Though Sarah cried out a couple times as they slammed her, she also noticed that they did not do very much damage. Good thing she had decided to splurge on her golden armor!

She tried to move on, but the atronachs became impatient, and would not give up. She tried scaring them off, by draining some of their health, but this was futile. Finally, she had to use one of her greater vampiric powers to put them down, something she did not want to do to such magnificent creatures.

Deeper within the cave, the fires became even greater. Smoke was also billowing; even Sarah could not really see where she was going. All around, the sound of other atronachs began in the thick clouds of smog and soot. And then.... there they were... the actual fire priests. She heard them calling out before she saw them. "Ohhh, what's the matta?" one of them cried. "Getting tired?" "hah!!!" Weapons were being drawn, the sound of fireballs and flare spells began!! As if they could do anything about the intruder in their midst! Sarah smiled.

By now, there was so much going on, so much misguided, rampant activity, Sarah Phimm cast another spell; one which would temporarily cause her to vanish from sight, so she could continue to search her surroundings in safety. ** The room she was in was large, but eventually she saw that its center was dominated by an ordinary stone altar, similar to the ones Sarah used to see in chapels. As the commotion continued all around, Sarah approached this altar, which was heaped with all sorts of items. Blades, knives, gems and jewels...

But the items which had been placed most obviously were just two: a couple of amulets. Even with everything going on around her, she could see they were magical, and very finely-crafted, and quite old.

As a pair of priests managed to figure where she was standing, they drew their blades, and made their attempts.

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!!!" one of them screamed, while the other one lunged with his weapon.

She was surprised though. It seemed the priests had begun to fight each other, for some reason.. This caused a moment of amusement. Indeed, they had all began to gather in some sort of melee. Some of them were still attempting to attack Sarah, but the bulk were completely ignoring her, and going for what should have been their friends and allies. Sarah saw her chance. She merely grabbed for the first of the two amulets, and then grabbed for the second. She was invisible, after all. Even if they kept on attacking her, if she ran out of the place at full sprint, there's no way they could see where she'd gone. Too much smoke in the air.

But...Sarah didn't have to run. She didn't have to do anything, matter of fact. Suddenly, the fight was over.

"My goodness."

The entire place had gone quiet! Something about the magic within one of the amulets she had grabbed caused all her enemies to perish. Just like that. All of them fell to the ground, as though the amulet she'd snatched up held some sort of magic. Maybe the amulet's magic needed to be imbued within the altar. It was as if they could not exist without this magic.

"And the fires!"

Half the fires were gone, too. More than half. Their roaring was gone. The cave's blinding light had dropped to much lower levels. Though there were a few fires leftover here and there, all of these were smaller essences. And much of the smoke Sarah had blinded her way through was also gone, or at least, diminished.

All alone inside Fire Cave, but without the comforting conditions she'd first experienced, Sarah didn't feel as though she should stay around much longer. The fire priests and their atronachs had fallen, but what if they had some sort of reinforcements, waiting in some other magical plane?

"Oh no. I must leave this place at once!"

Sarah Phimm began to wonder if it were daylinght outside? Hopefully not. But if the sun was out, at least she now had the very amulet which could change this to darker, dimmer weather. Assuming her new amulet worked at all, of course.

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

Fire! .... FIRE!!!




This post has been edited by Renee: Nov 21 2023, 07:02 PM

[mirocu]

Hmm, a lot of CLANK CLANK CLANK but no GULP GULP GULP?


-Who are you and what have you done to Kahreem??

[Lopov]

This one is my favorite story Sarah's story so far, and now the one when she finds the undead being in the Summitmist basement is moved to the 2nd place.

I'm glad you included a video because it allows for better "show" as pics would. There were some huge fires in that cave. I like it that at first the cave seemed ordinary, a few rats, an ogre, but nothing special, but then its core was discovered and Sarah was left on her own to deal with whatever lies ahead.

The amulet of rain works like a charm as does her broom - nice ending.

[Acadian]

What a grand adventure! My fave bit was when Sarah encountered the flame atronachs. I had not thought of that before but it is so fitting that her first reaction would be to consider them as friends - sisters of the flame. Too bad they didn't want to play nice. It does bring up the brilliance of Sarah having her own summoned flame atronach though.

[Renee]

...

This post has been edited by Renee: Aug 29 2017, 12:03 AM

[Acadian]

A nice little peek into Ocato's thinking as the shifty weet bandit carries out a wild goose chase search.

[Renee]

Thanks Lopov and Acadian. Yes, the basement zombie lady was one of my faves too. I think my favorite "all imagination" story was when she was a child, and showed up in the orphanage.

Yes, I think Sarah will try to find a pet flame atronach at some point.

Early morning, Mid-Year 26, 4th Era 434

Days Passed: 304
Days Jailed: 116
Current Bounty: 5

Hours Slept: 3880
Hours Waited: 424
Jokes Told: 241




"Excuse me, but he empire doesn't run itself, you know. Submit a complaint to the usual department and I'm sure someone will take care of it."

"Oh, you are referring to me? No sire, I have no complaints. My name's Moojavi, and I have been hired to have a look at all of your walls here. Looking for secret panels and such. You know, places where THEY could get through, and attack you, the way they attacked Uriel."

The goldenrod sitting before him, High Chancellor Ocato, looks at the Redguard who'd stumbled into White Gold's massive delegatory chambers, and sneers. He doesn't believe the Redguard's story at all. But he also does nothing. He takes no further action. And it's because so many things are out of his hands. He had no idea what it would be like, taking over the throne several months before, and how truly BIG the empire actually is, and how many people would be involved in running it.

He thinks back to the days when he'd first shown in the Imperial City, stepping lithely off his royal mount, surrounded by a barrage of wizards. The crowd had been dressed in grey, in commemoration of the old duffer, except for one fellow who was wearing blue. Ocato had informed the crowd of the Emperor's demise ("It is regret that ....') and then realized he hadn't needed to do this, because that's why everyone was in the streets, wearing grey. Even so, after his speech and some waffling, the crowd had responded with predictably drama. A baby had cried, a woman had screamed, and an old man had groaned.

What had they expected?

All of that is in the past, though. As the Redguard before him gets to work, searching the room's walls for secret panels, all Ocato can do is watch. As High Chancellor, Ocato was in charge of many big things, but not so many little things. Perhaps some other delegate had indeed hired the Redguard who was now walking the chamber's perimeter.

"All done," he calls over. "Nothing here. My magic ring would definitely have detected any anomalies if there were any. And before you ask, my answer is that you are safe. No problems found. There is no way NO WAY they can get you in here. The Mythic Dunmer, or whatever they're called."

Chancellor Ocato glares at the Redguard.

"I won't be expecting any sort of pay at this time, but if you would so kindly see to it that--"

"Just.... LEAVE!"

The Redguard does so, bowing before his greatness before departing.

*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#

Early Evening

"Aww fokke!!!"

It is later on, several hours later, when Kahreem reads the Grey Fox's note again.

"I'm supposed to be looking for this stupid 'Old Way' in the Imperial Sewers?"

Yes you are. Kahreem punches the air at all the hours which have been lost so far. And which sewer system is he supposed to be looking in? He's been down there before at least once. The area below the Imperial City is just as vast as the city itself. He begins at the Elven Gardens District's sewer grate. Climbs his way down into darkness. Lights a torch. Bumbles around for a few hours, dealing mostly with rats and mudcrabs.

But then it gets really tough down there. Goblins, hate the things. Several of them. Even one of them is too much for Kahreem. He fights the first one he finds, using poison on his dwarven mace, but Kahreem is no match for this sewer-dweller. Kahreem is also wearing robes. True, the goblin can't see him very well, but after taking a few hits from the goblin's weapon, the Redguard realizes he's going to need to be better fortified if he wants to survive.

He can't just sneak around, he decides. He'll need to light his torch to fokkinge see. And he can't light his torch without alerting those enemies. What to do?

He runs out of the sewers, heading back for the safety of the Elven Gardens District. Once he's aboveground, he decides he'll take a trip to Slash 'n' Smash, The Best Defense, and whatever other weapon and armor shops he knows of. Not that these shops are open. It's well after midnight by now. Bit with 70 lockpicks on his person, "shop closed" doesn't really have much meaning.

He finds a leather shield in Slash 'n' Smash, and not much else he can use. Disappointing. He tries The Best Defense, breaking only one lockpick on this establishment's 4-tumbler lock. Has better luck here. After just five minutes of looting and suiting, he leaves wearing a full suit of steel and iron, helmet included.

"All I need is a better fokkinge shield,' he says, boots clanking.

"I see you're a follower of the Grey Fox too!" says an elven voice, once he's back outside. This voice startles him.

"Wha-- you can see me? ... Oh. It's you, Carwen."

"What?"

"Haven't seen you in awhile. What's been going on here in the Imperial City?"

"Calindil runs a nice place at Mystic Emporium."

"And? ... Uh ... so nobody has been talking about my latest quest, have they?" he asks, expecting some ecstatic, extended answer. Maybe all members of the Thieves Guild are talking about Kahreem, lavishing themselves in partial truths, and partial rumors. Maybe some are jealous, that their underground star hasn't risen as far. Maybe some are ecstatic, that 'one of theirs' has been making supreme progress in the world of the night.

But the Redguard gets nothing for his curiosity. "Shadow hide you," Carwen answers, and walks away.

Kahreem of Weet shrugs, and heads for Stonewall Shields.

This post has been edited by Renee: Aug 29 2017, 01:24 AM

[mirocu]

Poor Ocato. Sitting there all alone every day and when finally he gets some company it's a Weet bandit

[Renee]

Ha ha yeah, mirocu. You know? Ocato must be all kinds of confused later on too, after he begins to put two and two together, so to speak.

Today's Sarah is rather short (for me, lol). From last we saw, she managed to take the two amulets Count Hassildor wanted from Fire Cave, which killed all of its inhabitants. From there, she spent the day in Cheydinhal (feeding on one of its Better City NPCs after she woke), and then she flew to the Imperial City for a day. Now, she's back to the safety of her manor-home.

Middas, Sun's Dusk 21 early eve

Well, I have made arrival back into Skingrad, safe and sound. And have with, the Amulets which my sponsor, Count Hassildor of Skingrad County, seeketh. In awe and astonishment, I can relay that the particular piece Hassildor has promised to me does indeed perofrm perform as stated. Thusly, from sun-light can rain pour, as I place upon my neck the Amulet of Rain. Hassildor has vowed that I shall have this piece, and I do aspire that he still holds this vow with validity.

From Cheydinhal I made one hasty dash, taking mad flight upon my

Sarah Phimm put down her magical pen, as the sound of footsteps made their approach. By now, Sarah had heard these footsteps many times. Though the maker of these steps was (for Sarah) hard to find, he had a habit of making his housemate quite easy to find.

"You....you are back!"

"That I am," the redhead said warily. "And how fares thee on this fair evening?"

Farnacas made some sort of face, something Sarah could not read. "I see you are wearing one of Hassildor's two amulets," he finally said. "Do you have the other one?"

Sarah nodded, and showed the man the fire-resisting amulet. Though Hassildor had said he'd allow Sarah to keep the rain-causing jewelry, he wanted the fire-resisting piece back. Which was fine with Sarah. Even if she wanted it, what use would she have for something which would help her resist something she could already resist, and fully, at that?

"I am very impressed with your attention to this matter, Sarah. Those fire priests did not stand a chance, eh? 'Tis what I am hearing from your Dunmer companion out in Cheydinhal."

"Oh? He iterated those very words?" Sarah asked, surprised. Should I tell him of the Dunmer's sudden flight from Fire Cave?

"Now, just in case you're wondering, that was a one-time event, Sarah. You won't ever have to do anything else like that, ever again."

"Oh, well I am relieved to hear this! 'Twas not my intention, to become the sudden adventuring type!"

"Now, we do have something else we'd like to involve you with. Something just as important, but in another way."

"Something else?" Sarah said, her tone of voice concerned.

"Oh don't worry," he said with a chuckle. "We're not going to ask you to fly across all of Tamriel, to go fetch us another clutch of rare items."

Sarah gulped.

"But we would like to involve you in this other matter, which as I said, is of just as great an importance."

"I see. And .... and what is it?"

"Well, I think it'd be much more pertinent if we just showed you what it is. Yes, I think that would be best. But we think you'll enjoy what we're going to present to you tonight. Are you ready? Would you like to accompany me up toward the castle once again?"

Sarah nodded, doubtful.

"Oh come on Sarah. I promise you'll be delighted."

"Very well. Let us depart then."

The pair of vampires left Summitmist, and climbed toward the castle. And as Farnacas led her into the count's chambers, Sarah gasped, her eyes going wide. "Noooo!" she cried aloud. She swooned, then looked worriedly at her two evening hosts.

This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 4 2017, 02:35 PM

[Lopov]

It may be short but it's a cliffhanger for sure...