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

[Renee]

Hello people, and welcome to the Chorrol > Oblivion Spoilers > Today in Cyrodiil thread, a place where one can write all about their charcters in TES: 4 Oblivion, and include spoilers in the story. I realized that the other Today thread is in General section, and this new character of mine is going to have a lot of spoilers in her story, so here goes.

Let's meet my new one!

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Morndas, 2:12 AM, Last Seed 27, 3E433

"Pale skin.... snotty expression," says the putrid voice of a dark elf, somewhere nearby.

The captive woman awakes slowly.



"Yo're a Breton", continues the voice ..."the masters of magicka, am I right? Hmm?"

"What?" the captive calls out.

"Yo're nothing but a stuck-up haahlot, with cheap pahlor tricks. Go ahead! Try yo'r magicka in here! Let's see you make those baahs disappear!"

"You know of my magicka? And how?" the captive is now confused. She does know some 'magic tricks', but her knowledge is limited to just a couple of minor spells.

"Ohhh what's the mat-ta? Not so powerful now, are you Breton? Yo're not leaving this prison 'til they throw yo'r body in the lake! Ohhh that's right, yo're going to DIE in here, prisoner. ... Yo're going to die!

Joan of Arkay, the aforementioned 'captive', begins to remember what happened to her. The faire she had attended. The challenge of her faith by a non-believer. The subsequent argument which had turned ... nasty.

"A Redguard had then come to my assistance," she remembers. "A sweet-talker, that one. Guards made a showing, the fight did gather with persistence..."

Beyond this, Joan cannot remember the rest. How did she wind up here? In a jail cell? ...

As she tries her memory, she suddenly hears voices. Footsteps. A group apparently is approaching her cell. "...we don't know that sire," says a woman's voice; a fellow Breton. "...the messenger only said .... "

"Nooo they're dead. I know it," says a man. His voice sounds deep and familiar.

"Whot's this prisoner doing here? This cell is supposed to be off limits!"

"Usual mix-up at the watch.... I ah..."

"It doesn't matter, let's get this gate open. Prisoner! Stand over by the window," commands the female Breton.

"I .. but I ..." Joan stammers.

"We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way!"

"But it was not of my intentions!" protests Joan. "I was merely one bystander caught up in needless challenge!" her voice is strong. Resilient.

"Prisoner, stand over by the window now," says a male soldier. "Do as you say, and you won't get hurt."

At these words Joan concedes, and finally does as she is told.

"Stay put, prisoner."

Joan of Arkay is not prepared for what is to happen next, as the Emperor himself enters her cell. Emperor Septim, leader of all Tamriel. His bearing so regal, his clothing so colorful. His presence both overbearing and unexpected, fills Joan's cell. She can barely breathe. Uriel Septim VII is in my jail cell? Joan of Arkay thinks she might be in one of her bizarre dreams, only this one's much more real.

"Yooooou", says the Emperor "I've seen you. Let me see your face," he says, getting closer to Joan. "You are the one from my dreams...."

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3:20 am

"... as for what you have done, that is not what you will be remembered for..."

The Emperor rambles about how he's seen her before. He seems to know her, and obviously, this leaves Joan stunned. Surprised. Surprised at this interruption of her jail sentence. The Emperor has apparently been targeted, she learns, and all his sons have been assassinated. A secret escape route which starts in her cell is being utilized, and the entire group now leaves her cell, after one of its stone walls slides into the floor.

"Stay out of our way, and you won't get hurt," says one of the soldiers as they all slip by.

Joan of Arkay initially obeys this command, even as the secret wall does not rise back up, leaving a large hole in the wall. I must serve my sentence, she thinks I should not leave. To end one's jail sentence early would not only be considered dishonorable, it would be illegal. But did not the Emperor himself provide every reason to doubt my captors? ... Hadn't he said (in so many words) that my sentence would now be pardoned? These are not ordinary circumstances, then.

Joan can see her jail cell (the iron door itself) is still locked, and she initially thinks of calling the guards so they can move her to another cell. But after much time, and a bit of hollering, no guards come. Nobody shows up. During all of this, the dark elf still stands in his cell across the hallway, silently watching her.

"What do you make of that?" Joan calls to him. "The Emperor and his personal guards just traipsed through my cell! ... How can this be?"

But he does not answer. Perhaps he is just as surprised as she is.

"Well, it cannot hurt if I follow a bit down this passage," Joan rationalizes. "If I get caught, so be it. The door is opened, as the expression goes. And did not the Emperor himself admit he had seen me within his dream?"

Dreams. The dreams. Had the Emperor been having the same dreams as she? Joan of Arkay's curiosity is piqued at this. She now makes her way out of her former jail cell, and down a dark, sloping passage towards her destiny.

This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 3 2021, 07:27 PM

[Renee]

Now for Part III of Joan's Tutorial story. I meant to get some Kahreem of Weet into this thread (Kahreem's tales carry more humor), but for now, it's all Joanie.

I am not sure if I got any new pics or not. What happens is: I usually take them via cell camera, then I email them to myself. The pic then gets saved to a computer file, and I grab it and put it into Photobucket. Then I edit it, if necessary. Needless to say, this is a lot of steps, and I don't always remember if I've got any pics stored away or not until I visit this one computer.

So for now, no pics. But they may be coming.



Last Seed 28, 1:42 am

As she makes her way from chamber to chamber, Joan eventually starts to gain confidence, especially now that she's wearing armor. She stops crouching and starts walking, her new sword at the ready in her right hand, and a torch carried in her left. She finds food, magical scrolls, and lots of items down here, way too many to carry, so she selects those which seem most suitable. She eventually trades her leather armor for iron, for instance.

Hours go by. Joan of Arkay faces horrors she's only read about in books. Not just rats, but also undead and goblins. She had no idea what in Oblivion the first zombie she encountered actually was as it rushed towards her. It had been chasing a couple of rats, though, so she managed to destroy it with just a few blows, as it was pre-distracted. Being a former resident of Vvardenfell, she had become accustomed to its creatures and monsters. Cyrodiil's already seemed different, but no less dangerous.

She eventually winds up in a rather cavernous room guarded by several goblins. Three of these are rid by a combination of flame spells and blind sword swings. The final one is a wizard, and takes a bit more strategy. This one wields a staff which can throw lightning, so Joan initially runs back into a passage, ducks behind a wall, and throws a few fire-balls at this final goblin.

Once she has proclaimed victory, Joan carefully searches this final room, and then finds a door which leads into yet another section of underground territory. This one is much less of a cave, though; the stones here are rectangular and bluish-white. This is the Imperial City's underground, perhaps.

She thinks she hears voices ... up ahead.

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Tirdas, 2:17 pm

*pic*

"We should find a defensible spot until we find help for the Emperor," says an Imperial, as Joan finds yet another wall to step through. Yes. She had thought she heard voices, and they are definitely coming from somewhere in front of her. Joan pauses, and then makes the small leap onto the floor below.

"What makes you think help will come ..."

"HERE THEY COME AGAIN!"

Once again, there is the sound of weapons being drawn, as the guards find themselves in another battle. Hours ago, Joan was a weakling; a mouse who had no place with these people. But she's now better prepared for a fight. She decides to run to the commotion, draws her blade, and jumps down to assist.

"FAIR THEE WELL, MISCREANT!" she yells and charges.

"WHY .. WON'T YOU ...."!

"Oooogh!"

Joan sees the Emperor up ahead, but the fight itself is in another room. As the last of the red-robed enemies is dealt with, one of the guards runs behind the Emperor, and draws his blade.

"Dammit it's that prisoner again. KILL HER! .... she might be working with the assassins!"

These words weigh heavy in the air with pause. But as Joan fears the worst, the Emperor then speaks.

"No ... she can help us. She must help us."

"As you wish, sire," says one of the guards in deference and maybe a little annoyance. He sheathes his blade in disappointment, it seems.

"Yeas, I am here to assist," says Joan to all of them. "I come without harm. I have made my way past enemies of horror, fighting goblins and zombies and rats. ...least of all I can do is join the likes of you now."

Joan says this, and at the last moment realizes she's forgotten all about her former jail term. Having fights with multiple enemies in near-darkness can perhaps cause such forgetfulness, after all.

"Um. If you will have me, as such. I walked out of jail, yes, but there was an open wall for me to do so. And might we survive this ordeal, I would of certain make return, and finish up my sentence."

But the Emperor ignores Joan's words. Instead he walks to her as she still stands above him on a short wall. "They cannot understand why I trust you" he says to her. "They've not seen what I've seen. How can I explain?"

"Uh"... Joan starts to disagree. Despite her newfound iron armor & weapons, she starts feeling mousy again. The Emperor speaks directly to her, once again. This frightens her.

"Listen, you know the Nine? How they guide our fates with an invisible hand?"

"Yes! The Nine. You speak of the Nine Divines, who guide and protect us as we might fail."

"I've served the Nine all my days, and chart my course by the cycles of the heavens. The skies are marked with numberless sparks, each a fire, and every one a sign," the Emperor rambles. "I know these stars well and I wonder ... which sign marked your birth?"

"I am of The Ritual, sire. Born under the stars which confer the healing love of Mara, and Blessed Words of Arkay."

"The signs I read show the end of my path," continues Uriel. "....my death, a necessary end, will come when it will come."

"You speak of your divine end? And what of such?"

"Your stars are not mine. The Ritual shall speed you upon your star-ridden path."

"But what of you, sire?"

"No trophies of my triumphs precede me, but I have lived well, and my spirit shall persist. Men are but flesh and blood. They know their doom, but not the hour. In this, I am blessed to see the hour of my death. ... To face my apportioned fate, then fall."

"No! This cannot be!" Joan says, honestly shocked. "You know of your very end?"

"My dreams grant me no opinion of success. Their compass ventures not beyond the doors of death. But in your face, I behold the sun's companion. The dawn of Akatosh's bright glory may banish the coming darkness. With such hope, and with the promise of your aide, my heart must be satisfied".

"Go on..." Joan says, not sure what else to say. The Emperor orates his very thoughts, and to me? she thinks wildly once again. Why to me?

"I go to my grave, a tongue shriller than all the music of Mehrune's Dagon calls me. You shalt follow me yet for a while, then we must part."

With these words, the Emperor turns and walks away, leaving Joan speechless.

"You may as well make yourself useful, Here. Carry this torch and stay close," says a Redguard guard.

"Erm ... Thank you," says Joan. She already has two torches on her person, but she awkwardly grabs this third one.

Always trying to please, Joan of Arkay would have this no other way. She would carry ten torches if the Emperor or his bodyguards wished this so.

The former prisoner thinks of inquiring about her jail term once again. Should she ask about it? No, this is nonsense. The Emperor has spoken, and he wants her with them.

"Who are you, anyways?"

"We're the Emperor's body guards, our job is to get him out of situations like this.... although I admit, things are not going according to plan".

"I see. Let us carry on, then", Joan suggests.

"Hold this torch and stay close", suggests Baurus the Redguard. "Let us do our jobs".

"Will do".

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"The Emperor's in danger!"

"PROTECT THE EMPEROR!!!"

More red-robed assassins present themselves, and they are rid one by one. Joan feels a moment of pride as she herself cuts one of these miscreants from existence, right before the Emperor and his Blades.

"I've still got my eye on you, prisoner," warns one of the other guards after the short melee is finished.

....Prisoner...

.

There it is, and the debate is final, in Joan's mind. I am still a prisoner, despite the Emperor's words of consolence. So be it... I will need to make my way back to a guard should we survive this mess, then I will present myself for re-arrest. 'Tis done, and 'tis final.

4:53 pm

"Looks clear. We're almost through the sewers", says the Imperial guard, the one that had warned Joan earlier. But as the four of them press on, they find that a nearby gate is locked and they haven't got the key.

"Dammit! The gate is locked from the other side!"

"What about that side passage back there?" asks the Redguard.

"Worth a try! Let's go!"

Joan lets the guards walk with the Emperor into another room, while she stands guard, in case more assassins are in hiding.

"It's a dead-end, what's your call sir?"

"I don't know. I don't see any good options here. "

After a final check of the room she is in, Joan decides there will no be no follow attack. She joins the others

creeeak!

...but they are attacked, yet again...

"They're behind us!"

"Wait here with the Emperor", says Baurus. "Guard him with your life."

A furious battle ensues...

"GUARD THE EMPEROR" clink! clash!

"... FOR THE EMPEROR!!!"

..but just before it does, the Emperor takes Joan aside, and has another chat.

"I can go no further. You alone must stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants. He must not have the Amulet of Kings!"

"Amulet of Kings? Prince of Darkness?"

"Here, take this. Give this amulet to Jauffre", says the Emperor, shocking Joan yet again as he slips a large red jeweled necklace from his neck and into her palm. ..." He alone knows where to find my last son. Find him, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion!"

"You chose a bad day, to take up the cause with the Septims!" says somebody from the next room.

"FOR THE DRAGONFIRE!"

One assassin manages to make it into the room she is in. As Joan starts to attack him, she realizes the Emperor lies to her left, already slain. This final assassin is dealt with quickly though. By the Redguard who had previously asked her to carry a torch. ...and it is this Redguard who finds himself awkwardly alone with Joan moments later.

"Oh..no .. Talos save us!" says Baurus, before turning to her. "We've failed, I'VE failed, The Blades are sworn to protect the Emperor, and now he and all his heirs are DEAD!"

"It happened so fast, I turned for a moment, and he was already down!"

Joan realizes she might find herself at fault here. She's had some training with weapons in her past, but is certainly not as fit a fighter as the Redguard before him. Suddenly, he is on her, accusing her...

"Where's the Amulet? I don't see it on his body!"

"I have it. He gave it to me, and claimed I must go to somebody named Jeffrey.

"Strange ... he saw something in you," Baurus says, now calm and realizing. "He trusted you. They say it is the Dragon Blood which flows in the veins of every Septim..."

After some dialogue, Joan updates Baurus on the facts, and Baurus also chooses to update Joan. Not only did the Emperor give her the Amulet of Kings, he also told her about a final Septim heir. He then relayed that 'Jeffrey' is actually 'Jauffre', a monk living quietly near Chorrol in a place called Weynon Priory. Being a devout follower of the Nine, in direct service of Arkay himself, Joan has heard of this Priory, though she's never been there. Baurus tells her a little about Jauffre, then gives her a key* to "the sewers".

"Sewers?"

"There are rats and goblins down there, but from what I've seen of you, they'll be no match. Say, what sort of class have you been bred with? .... You must be a monk, right?"

"A monk? Well I'm afraid not. I'd feel my training back in Vvardenfell perhaps directed me towards the abilities of a cleric."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed. Still, I don't think you'll have any trouble with rats and goblins," says Baurus.

Suddenly, Joan realizes the other guard, the one who had called her "prisoner", is no longer around. Was he slain? ... "But what of you? ... And what of I? Am I to carry out my jail sentence upon re-emergence into society?"

"You must get the Amulet to Jauffre," says Baurus. "Take no chances, but proceed to Weynon Priory immediately. Got it?"

Joan, a loyal Cleric in service of Arkay, certainly does.


*

This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 3 2021, 07:55 PM

[SubRosa]

*

Not exactly. Remember, the assassins only got in the little room through a secret panel. The key Baurus has is to the sewer grate beyond, which is also accessible by the gate that was blocked off. You can walk right up to the gate if you just take a right rather than a left to go to the sewer. So clearly B was expecting to go through that gate, then use the key to open the sewer entrance.

[Renee]

*

Not exactly. Remember, the assassins only got in the little room through a secret panel. The key Baurus has is to the sewer grate beyond, which is also accessible by the gate that was blocked off. You can walk right up to the gate if you just take a right rather than a left to go to the sewer. So clearly B was expecting to go through that gate, then use the key to open the sewer entrance.

Ah. I see. Yeah, I see what you're saying, makes sense.

I remember there was some thread over at the home forums about Baurus being a double-crosser, that's where my realization came from.