Oasis chapter 3, In the enemies lair. Umm, mushroom. Options

[jack cloudy]

Oasis chapter 1
Oasis chapter 2

Ok, a new chapter. Let's just see where this goes. I've decided to do a small costume change, the old look got boring.



,,Ah, there you are, Evoker.” I hadn’t even put a step inside the hall, and already the Steward wanted something from me. It made me wonder how they ever managed before I joined.
She dragged me over to Galbedir’s office and waited till the woodelf had left before finally opening her mouth.

,,Tell me, Evoker. Have you by chance come across enchanted weapons or armour?” She asked. What kind of question was that, those things were all over the place.
,,Sure, are you looking for anything specific?” I answered while wondering just what might be so important.

,,Then you must be aware of the fact that no enchanted item seems to be able to hold its charge since a few months back. Only small items, like rings or amulets seem to be safe from it. It is as if something is draining them. Now, I have a very important mission for you.” Ok, so enchanted items couldn’t hold their charge anymore? That sounded familiar.
,,Let me guess, find out who did it and kill him.”

,,No, that would be too hasty. I am convinced that the culprit must be a member of house Telvanni. So I want you to go and join the house. You’ll be our spy on the inside.” Hold on, join Telvanni, the house of psychopathic mages?
,,Are you nuts?! I am already with the mage guild! The guild doesn’t like the Telvanni and the Telvanni doesn’t like the guild. And on top of that, I’m an outlander, how am I supposed to survive longer than ten seconds in their midst?!” I yelled at her face. Now really, this was the most stupid idea ever.

,,Calm down, Evoker. I don’t want the guild to hear this. Now to take care of things, you will be banned from the guild. After your assignment is completed, I’ll get you back in with your old rank, or maybe with a promotion. Skink’s hall in Sadrith Mora will serve as your link with the guild. It is right in Telvanni territory. I want you to prepare and pack. Tomorrow, you’ll leave for the hall in Sadrith Mora. Use the guild guide. Skink will further inform you.” I walked out of the hall with a very confused, and angry look on my face. There went my career as a mage, and I might even lose my life. I could only hope that those Telvanni weren’t as crazy and brainwashed as in mage guild jokes.

Back at my house, I took the time to work out the details. I would be dropped in potentially hostile territory and my only excuse was that I was kicked out of the guild and now wanted to join the enemy for revenge? That was the worst coverstory in history. I decided that a more thorough thing such as a disguise was needed. I had plenty of stuff to dress up with, so I just had to choose.

My new identity would preferably look somewhat magish, so I took Tarhiel’s robe out of the closet. Telvanni supposedly liked shiney stuff, so I replaced my Orcish armour with the new Glass armour I stole from Ghostgate. A Glass staff to walk around with, and my identity was set. I also geared on a Glass longsword for when things got rough. Using a weapon I was unfamiliar with was asking for trouble. I spent the rest of the night removing the markings on my new gear that said who the previous owner was.

Next morning, I got up very early and ate my breakfast enroute to the guild. A quick transportation later, and I arrived in Sadrith Mora.

First thing was to join the house and work my way to the upper ranks. With the skills I had gained during my mage guild career, I would have no problems passing the tests for promotion. That left making friends and making myself known as a loyal house member. How do you do that with a bunch of lunatics?

Sometimes when you don’t know what to do, the bold and direct approach might be the best. So I walked right through the middle of town to the council hall. And any guard who dared to stop me would get a sword in that ridiculous helmet.

[Agent Griff]

Great start to the story! You gave me a feeling of adventure as I rarely get, infiltrating House Telvanni. Exciting. Keep up the great work man!

[Kiln]

Great job at inventing your own quest, doing such really gives you and the reader something new to look at and that is always a good thing.

[treydog]

Man, how have I missed this great story for so long? I love the sense of humor you bring to it and the creative way you alter the main quest to fit Oasis' ...um... peculiar perception of the world. Brilliant material.

[Taillus]

Wow I am utterly speechless. That was an amazing update! Keep it up!
What a way to start chapter 3.

PS - Rest in Piece Tarhiel, the ground was not soft enough for thee.

[Tellie]

Hmm....a good start for chapter 3...but remember, in house Telvanni, watch your back all the time....now if you wish, you may include Telina in your story...I dont ming, as long as you dont do anything....vulgar with her.

but beware...some Telvanni might read his mind, so he have to be carefull around them. But anywhoo, cool idea to infiltrate the house...risky...but col...PM me if you want to include Telina...so that we can make the proper arrangements.

Like the start.

[jack cloudy]

Thank you all.

Treydog, the reason why you missed it till now is simple. There are just too many good fan fictions around here.

Say, did anyone ever managed to save Tarhiel in whatever method?

Telendil, thanks for the offer, but I believe it would be better if we keep our stories separated. It would become a bit of a mess. How often can Fargoth lose his ring and how many fake Nerevarines does the emperor send to Caius? He would need to get himself a bigger house that way.

Anyway, I squeezed in a little update for you all to enjoy.




,,What do you want, Outlander?” By now I was getting used to it, but this outlander stuff was still annoying. Fine, if you weren’t polite, then I wouldn’t be polite either.
,,I want to join the house.”

The Dark Elf looked at me from head to toe. This was probably going to be just like the mage guild.
,,You, a Redguard? Wouldn’t you be better suited for House Redoran? House Telvanni prefers members who are skilled in the arts of magicka.” Knew it.

,,No, there are too many Redguards there. If I wanted to see Redguards, I would’ve stayed back in Hammerfell. Now can I join or not. Hurry up with your decision before I grow impatient and put a fireball in your face.”
,,Fine then, you are now a member of the house. Here is a book that describes the current councillors, their mouths and where they live. Normally, you would get your chores from the mouths, but they are in a meeting now. I suggest that you seek out master Neloth in Tel Naga, here in Sadrith Mora. Now get going, I am busy.”

So much for that, I had really expected that joining the house would be harder. Oh well, a big mouth and a few threats never failed.

Tel Naga was like all Telvanni buildings, only on a much bigger scale. I went inside and took a small look around. Being a powerful wizard, Neloth was most likely at the top of his tower and surprise, they never heard about stairs or ladders here. That left Levitation as my only solution.

Master Neloth was impossible to miss. I just had to look for a very old Elf with a ridiculous robe.
,,What, who are you? It doesn’t matter. I am furious. Sinise Thindo, the apprentice of Archmagister Gothren, is wearing the robe of the Drake’s pride. That is insulting. Surely the robe belongs to someone who is more worthy of wearing it. Go and fetch me that robe. Do whatever is necessary. Now get out of my eyes.” Wow, this was one hotheaded Guar. Did he just ask me to kill someone for a stupid robe? I slowfalled down to the exit and then made my way to the harbour. According to my book, I would have to go to Tel Aruhn for the robe.

Tel Aruhn was rather close by, so I decided to waterwalk from island to island instead of taking the boat. It was rather funny to see the helpless Slaughterfish underneath my feet. They proved good practice for my staff.

Tel Aruhn was another oversized mushroom. Pretty cool as a house, but I would really appreciate it if they build some stairs in it. All this levitating was bound to give me a headache.

Anyway, I made my way to the room of the apprentice after asking for directions and arrived soon enough. Just my luck, our lovely apprentice was wearing the stupid robe. No matter how crazy these Telvanni might be, I doubted that she would just take of the robe and hand it over to me. This called for a more drastic approach.

I used my amulet of Shadows to blend in with my surroundings and then moved up to the apprentice without being noticed. One hand on her throat followed by a bit of squeezing and she slumped to the floor, unconscious. I took of the robe and got out of the building before the spell wore of. The trip back to Tel Naga was without incidents.

,,What, who are you? Wait, that is the robe of the Drake’s pride. Give it to me. Here, have ten septims as a gift. Now leave me alone!” Ok, a hot temper and a short memoryspan. This was getting better and better. And worst of all, this guy actually tried to make me kill someone for practically nothing! Ok, these Telvanni were definitely psychopaths, and even worse than in mage guild jokes. I spent the night in the inn. With a bit of luck, those mouths would have finished their meeting and then I could work my way up the ranks.

There was one interesting detail. I had been sent here to find the person who was draining all the enchantments, but even the robe of the Drake’s pride was drained. Maybe the bad guy wasn’t a Telvanni after all.

[Agent Griff]

As always a great update with a well devised story. I liked how Master Neloth wanted Luper to kill someone for practicaly nothing. Typical for Telvanni. Keep up the great work!

[treydog]

About Tarhiel- never saved him myself, but you can if you cast a Slowfall or Levitate on target spell. He gets annoyed and stomps off, though.

I forsee fun times for Oasis amongst the Telvanni. Between their paranoia and his psychosis, it could get really interesting.

[jack cloudy]

Another update. I hereby apologize to anyone who is a fan of the Telvanni that features in this update, but I just couldn't stop myself.



I woke up by the sounds of screeching. Instinct told me to roll out of my bed and rise up from the floor with a thrust from the dagger I kept under my pillow. The dagger simply slid through the thing without causing damage. Oh great, was this the way they woke up Redguards here? Didn’t matter, the ghost didn’t survive long against the flames that erupted from my hands.

I probably wouldn’t be able to get much sleep, so I dressed up and walked over to the counter.
,,Ok, I want my money back.” I said to the clerk.
,,You do? Sorry Outlander, but that is not the way we do business here in Telvanni territory.” The clerk responded with the bored tone that was common in his profession. I grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him over the counter.
,,Listen, you piece of mud. I did not hire that room to be attacked by a freaking ghost. Now you can either give me my money back and speak with Archmagister Gothren if you feel the need to complain or you can end up as a pile of ash right here on the floor. Do you understand?”

He understood it and I got my nice ten septims back.
,,And one more thing. I am a member of the house so I can pull a few strings to have you….removed from here if you decide to bother me again. Have a nice day.” I said and left the inn.

I made my way to the council hall and went inside. The woman who hung out near the entrance told me that I could now find the Mouths in a room downstairs. Judging by what little I’d learned about the organization of the house, these mouths were all as powerful as a mage guild steward, maybe even more. They received orders from their masters who spend their days in their oversized mushrooms, but no one seemed to look if they actually followed those orders.

I put my foot in the room and saw how all the Mouths fell silent and began to stare at me. Just like the mage guild. Say hello to the new Redguard Battlemage.
,,What, is there something wrong with my hair? I’m the new guy around here if anyone wants to know.” I spoke to them. That got rid of the paralyzation spell that seemed to have taken hold of them and they all went back to their conversations. Except for one woman who ran towards me with some clothes in her hands.

,,Welcome to the house, Hireling. I am Felisa Ulessen. I would appreciate it if you brought these clothes to my patron, mistress Therana in Tel Branora. You can also have these scrolls of Almsivi intervention. Just in case she gets….excited. I will reward you well with your service to the house.” Ok, so I had to deliver a bunch of clothes in exchange for the friendship of one of the Mouths which would make my spywork here a lot easier. This was too easy.
,,I will depart at once.” I said and turned around on my heels. I nearly forgot to take the clothes with me.

Tel Branora was a boat trip away and I arrived in a place that reminded me of Hla Oad. The same kind of buildings. Luckily there were no slavers wandering the streets in plain view, or I might have gotten aggressive.

Tel Branora itself was just outside the harbour and another of the really huge mushroom towers. Seeing as the big boss around here would probably be all the way at the top, I went in and started to climb upwards, levitating when there was a big shaft. If I was ever forced to live in one of these things, I would tell them to build a decent staircase.

The smell of rotting Kwama eggs reached my nose when I neared the top of the tower. The whole room seemed to be decorated with those. Whoever this Therana was, she definitely had no taste when it came to decorating. She also seemed to lack a nose.

When I finally entered Therana’s room, it was clear why she had no taste for decorating. She was completely nuts. Right now, she was rolling over the floor while trying to imitate a Nix-Hound. I pitied Felisa who had to call this…thing her master.

,,Umm…Mistress Therana?” I tried but didn’t receive an answer, unless that Cliffracer imitation had any meaning.
,,Excuse me, your Mouth asked me to deliver these clothes to you. Hello, is there anyone inside that head?” Now there was a Scrib crawling around. This was just great.

There was also a slave in the room. He looked like he was feeling cold. Therana probably wouldn’t notice, so I gave him the clothes to wear. He was grateful. Maybe I could buy the poor Khajitt someday and set him free.

But that wouldn’t happen after all. Therana seemed to snap out of her madness just long enough to conjure a fireball that I wouldn’t be able to repeat myself and hurled it at her slave who was dead within seconds. She continued her play afterwards. My first plan was to avenge the Khajitt by putting my sword through the back of her skull but that would only get me killed by the guards. I left the room and made my way to the kitchen.

Ajira had made an attempt at teaching me alchemy, with disastrous results. One of my potions had us vomiting through half the day and nothing the guild came up with could make us stop. I still carried a sample of it and this would be the perfect time to use it.

,,Excuse me? Are you the cook here? Mistress Therana sent me. She wants you to put the contents of this bottle in her diner. Not a few drops or anything, just pour the whole thing in it. I have to be going.” I handed the bottle over to the cook and made my way back to the harbour. It wouldn’t kill her, but I knew from experience that vomiting for hours was not pleasant. Too bad I wouldn’t be able to see it.

[Tellie]

Heh heh...I like the way you managed to show Therana as the really pshychopath she is....in one moment she is a cute little kitten or child or something...the next, she turns out to be a killing machine who wishes you dead for wearing ger skirt....

AS always great update, you manage quite good to show the madness of the Telvanni...thats propably the reason Telina joined...she is just simply not...normal...

Thanks for another update...and no I was not offended by the way you inscripted the Telvanni...just dont do that to Telina....she would get angry...I think.. heh heh

[Agent Griff]

Great update. What more can I say? I liked how you portrayed Therana and her 'excentricity' (that's madness for rich folk). I liked the animal imitations that she did. Well, keep up the great work!

[jack cloudy]

Therana is quite funny. I'm still thinking whether I should kill her someday or not. I joined Telvanni cause of their houses. Mushrooms rock! Anyway, an update. It might just be me, but I've got the feeling that Luper acted a bit different than usual.




,,You came back? I hope that mistress Therana didn’t ….complicate your task.” I had to give it to her, she always managed to remain polite when talking about the thing that was her patron.
,,I would normally reward you, but I am rather busy with a slave rebellion in the Abebaal egg mine. I need to send someone right away to teach those slaves some manners.” Felisa continued and began to walk away. Slave rebellion?
,,Hold it, I have some experience with slaves. I could go there for you.” This manner teaching thing didn’t sound good. If she sent me, I bet I could figure out a plan to get the slaves of the island without killing them.
,,Fine then. Tell the guards that I sent you. If you come back, I’ll see to it that you receive a proper reward.”

So I got on another trip to Tel Branora. This was getting rather expensive, but at least I managed to get a discount by helping out with sailing the ship. Once I arrived in Tel Branora, I found out that I would have to do some island hopping to get to the mine. I was really grateful for my skills in the school of alteration. Walking on the surface of the water and clubbing Slaughterfish was much better than swimming and getting torn to shreds.

The guards didn’t seem to notice me, they were a bit too busy with something else.
,,Trying to escape, aren’t you? Stupid lump of fur! Now you will know what it means to suffer. You will die a slow death, slave.” One of the two guards yelled at the poor thing and kicked again. Ok, that was the last drop.

,,Let the slave go. Now.” I said with the most threatening tone I could muster. That got there attention. After one last kick, both guards stepped forward with their hands on their swords.
,,And what if we don’t Redguard?”
,,If not, you will die and I’ll make sure that your death will be much more painful than you could ever imagine, filthy Kwama-Cliffracer hybrid.”

They both started laughing and didn’t seem to notice that the slave was slowly crawling away. Just a little bit more, and the poor thing would be safe from the upcoming battle.
,,You may be a Redguard and dressed up fancy, but you can’t best both of us at the same time. Now you will die, N’Wah.” That was the last thing he would ever say. The biggest fireball of my life hit him right in the face and put his head on fire. Not the prettiest sight.

I followed up with a small bolt of restorative Magicka. The flames died out and the damage to his face was repaired just enough to allow him to live, see and hear. I then rushed forward and parried the sword of the second guard with my own while using my other hand to swing my staff against the back of the burned guard. The guard slumped to the ground with a broken spine. Not death, but the lower part of his body was paralyzed and as such, he was limited to crawling.

The second guard backed of in fear as he realized that he had chosen the wrong Redguard to mess with. But pure rage filled my heart, and I wasn’t about to stop till he laid in the dust. That came soon enough after a rapid exchange of blows. In the end, I slid open his stomach and paralyzed him with some magicka. I then tied him up with some of the tough plants that grew on the island. After that, I went to the guard whose face I’d burned and tied him up also. Finally, I made a small cut on his chest with my dagger.
,,I won’t kill you, but the Cliffracers will surely be attracted by your blood and come to feast. That is the price you will pay for mistreating slaves.” I said and entered the mine after having healed up the slave.

Once in the mine, I was greeted by an Argonian who had peeked through a hole in the door and watched the battle.
,,I do not know if you are on my side, Outlander, but you are not with them. For that and your skills in battle I have decided to tell you why we rebelled. Mistress Therana forced us to work in the mines. More, she always wanted more eggs. One day, I was brought to her room. There I saw what she had done. She had used the eggs to decorate her room. She wasted our work in the madness of her soul. It was then that I decided that I would not work any longer for her cause.” That was a good reason I could understand. I’d seen both the eggs and the Telvanni myself.

,,I was sent here by Therana’s Mouth to end your rebellion. That is what I shall do. Gather up the slaves and have them gather around me. I shall then send us all to the hall of the mage guild in Sadrith Mora from where you can receive passage to the Argonian mission in Ebonheart. The Twin Lamps will surely bring you home.”

To do that, the slaves would first need to be freed from their bracers. I joined their search and found the key in a crate near the Kwama queen. Before recalling to Sadrith Mora, I checked up on the two guards. At least ten Cliffracers were munching on their remains. There would be no clues as to what had happened. I recalled both myself and the slaves to Sadrith Mora where I enlisted the help of Skink to get them to Ebonheart. That was the end of the rebellion, only it was ended differently than Felisa had expected.

I told her instead that the mine had been empty when I arrived and that the guards had been killed by the slaves. What was left had been largely eaten by a band of Cliffracers.
,,I see. That is unfortunate but the rebellion has ended, which was why I sent you there. Outlander, you have only joined the house a short time ago but you have already proven yourself. I’ve heard that you navigated the Telvanni towers with skilful use of levitation spells. I hereby reward you with the rank of Oathman. I will also teach you a skill that will hopefully make sure that your slaves will be more obedient. And you are free to use one of the beds here in the council hall.” Ok, friendship with a Mouth and a large number of freed slaves. All on one day. I was rather proud of myself.

[Agent Griff]

I liked the update. Isn't Luper becoming a bit too Uber? I mean, you know, killing those guards single handed and breaking one of them's spine with his staff. I know Telvanni Guards are weak but shouldn't they be more powerful. They do summon stuff to fight for them. I also liked the slave disscusion. Well writen.

[Taillus]

wow.... Oasis flat out owned those guards, and for being Uber like Griff said. It is all in the storytelling. I think it had to do with Oasis losing it because of how they were treating the slave. Regular people can do superhuman things when they feel they have to.

I really liked it, and while it would take a higher level to do the same in the game, it was just a bit of storytelling pizzaz and I am glad that he left them like that as food for hungry cliffracers as all slavers should be.

Great update Cloudy keep up the great work.

[treydog]

Good work describing Therana. I also enjoy the way Oasis is his own man- he accepts orders, but then he completes the task in his own way. I also liked your for the slaves- it always annoyed me in-game that you removed their bracers and then just waited for them to wander off. A true abolitionist would certainly do more- just as Oasis did.

[jack cloudy]

Thanks for the comments. Taillus is right, Luper did lose it a bit. For those people who believe that the Redguard is too powerful, (I'm one of those) Imagine a berserking, adrenaline rushed Redguard who is really pissed.

But Griff had a point, it was a bit too uber. So I gave him a small price to pay.




I was a whole lot less proud when I looked in a mirror before going to bed. What I first believed to be just some tired muscles turned out to be muscles that had been used a bit too much. My whole body ached all over and especially my left arm hurt. When I broke that guard’s spine, I nearly broke my arm in the process. I also had a few minor cuts and scratches. And finally, my armour was in pretty bad shape. If this glass stuff hadn’t been so hard, I would’ve been dead. Maybe I should’ve used my head and hit them with fireballs till they dropped instead of freaking out like a berserking Orc.

I used some magicka to take care of my physical state, but my armour would require a smith and quite a lot of money. I dropped my suit of at the local Telvanni smith. It would be fixed by morning. After that, I took a well-earned night’s rest.

The next few days I spent with small chores to improve my standing as well as learning a few minor spells. Most of those spells were meant to be used on disobedient slaves, but I expected that my targets would be free people. As for my investigation into the drained enchantments, that turned up pretty empty. As I expected, the culprit wasn’t a Telvanni. If it was, I wouldn’t be seeing attempts to charge enchantments all over the place. Some of those attempts met with fatal results, such as when one mage attempted to channel his own magicka directly into a staff. The life was sucked right out of him.

I did learn a few things about the Telvanni themselves. Unlike popular belief, the Telvanni weren’t all psychos. In fact, most of them were just ordinary people who preferred a quiet and safe life. Most of the psychos were the councillors. It was probably due to their age, none of the councillors were young. Except for one.

Felisa, who had become a good friend of mine directed me to this councillor, saying that she would love to see me attain the rank of Mouth. Aryon was the name of this councillor. He was the youngest by far and in Felisa’s own words, unique. He lived in Tel Vos. I still remembered that place from when I was looking for a Wise Woman to meet Skink.

One boat trip later, and I arrived at the home of master Aryon. The unforgettable sight of a Telvanni mushroom growing in the courtyard of an Imperial fort rose up before me. I asked the first guard I could find to the chamber of master Aryon.

,,I hope you know how to fly, Redguard. His room is high above the ground in the organic part of Tel Vos. Look for a door facing north. You’ll have to levitate to reach it.” No matter how much this Aryon liked Imperial architecture, he still felt the need to live somewhere where some stairs would be highly appreciated. I took the flight in steps. First I levitated to the roof of one of the towers on each corner of the fort and then I flew to the door of Master Aryon itself.

Master Aryon was indeed much younger than the other councillors I’d seen, though I tended to avoid those. When I entered, he was busy reading.
,,Oh, I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I am Master Aryon, what can I do for you?” He said when he finally noticed me. He then looked me over from head to toe.
,,Hmm, a Redguard dressed up in Glass Armour wearing a blue robe. I take it that you are Luper Alkad, a Telvanni Lawman? Oh yes, I know all about you. Now what can I do for the mage guild?” He continued.

I was in shock and speechless. All these days, and not a single Telvanni ever uttered that question, nor did they ever show that they knew where I came from. I took a few steps back so that I could both watch Aryon and his guard at the same time.
,,Now now, don’t be afraid. I do not intend to worsen relations with the mage guild. Things are bad enough as they are, especially with what is happening right now. I have a proposal, want to hear it?”

He didn’t looked very aggressive. That could change in an instance, but the chance of me surviving a confrontation with a councillor and his guard was rather small. I knew that councillors had to be constantly on their guard for assassins and the like. He would know how to fight.
,,Alright, what do you want?” I responded.

,,As you may have noticed, the Telvanni councillors aren’t particularly….observant. I believe that with our current leadership, house Telvanni is doomed in the upcoming war. I might tell you about this war later, but first I want you to go to Baladas Demnevanni and convince him to join the council. Together, we might give the house a chance. If you do this, I shall become your patron to consolidate your position in the house. On top of that, I will aid you in any way I can and I shall prevent any Telvanni aggressions towards the mage guild. Do you accept?”
Die or get a huge reward and a mighty ally, tough choice.
,,I’m in.”

[Agent Griff]

Great update, and a great way to reduce Luper's uber-ness. I also liked the discussion with Master Aryon. The Mages Guild part was very unexpected and I liked it. It left me, surprised. Keep up the great work and good luck with Telina in the Clash of the Titans. My hands are already full with that demon of man called Taillus.

[Kiln]

I like the way that the character entered house Telvanni just to become a spy and now he's developing ties with its members and enjoying his influence on the townsfolk. I also liked that the character has realised and accepted that the Telvanni are just normal people, other than the councilors of course.

I always liked Master Aryon, something seemed calm and intelligent about him and I really think you've captured it, as well as the other characters. That said, keep up the great work and I'll be awaiting the next part.

[Tellie]

Ah...so you did involve the Baladas quest after all....you better step careful around himmy friend...he can be angry sometimes.

But well, a most welcome update, and I also liked the way you restrained Oasis, from the uberness, with giving him wounds and such.

So please,continue writing by all means, I love the story, sp dont give it up.