The Saga of Joan of Arkay, A Morrowind Main Quest Story Options

[WellTemperedClavier]

Okay, gonna catch up today.

Does Olquar call you an outlander in-game? That is rather curious.

Ha ha! Poor Joan runs into the uniform regulation yet again, the bane of all Imperial Legion players. And while it's not that much of an inconvenience in-game, it's much more of one when you have to actually remove and replace each piece.

Oof, the report does serve as a reminder that Joan's about to get herself into a pretty messy situation.

Regardless, she knows what must be done and prepares herself for the worst.

Can't help wondering if Missun knows something about the Sixth House. Probably not, but maybe...

An Imperial soldier, on the other hand, wouldn't think twice. Definitely understand Joan's logic for hiring him. Never hurts to have another pair of eyes.

Oh, well Caryarel's shack is a nice bonus.

And here we are: near Ilunibi, with things about to take a turn.

Ha! Mario Luigi... I mean, if I ran into someone with that name in Tamriel, I'd definitely assume they were Imperial, so it fits. And he does seem to have typical guard programming.

Oof, that was brutal. Don't go swimming in armor.

But at least Tetra follows! Nice enchantment.

Morrowind gets pretty dark as a game, and I don't just mean in terms of content: it's hard to see in dark places. Those cavern tunnels can be pretty unnerving as a result.

Good introduction for the Sixth House. Captures their otherworldly vibe quite well.

All right, things are going well for Joan so far. Though did she really avoid sickness? We'll see. I'm guessing she's going to go back in for a closer look.

[macole]

Thanks for explaining how the pack guar was growing.

Your first encounter with the Sixth House went well. Joan's reaction "strike first ask questions later" was a brilliant maneuver, this time.

Sensing the imminent danger beneath the waves Sir Luigi gave up his own life to prevent Joan from being devoured by a hungry sea monster. Brave Sir Luigi.

[SubRosa]

As one would expect, Mario jumps into action. Not onto a mushroom this time, or into a go-kart, but I am guessing after a slaughterfish?

Wow, so much for that plumber...

It looks like Tetra the Guar is turning out to be a much more faithful and useful companion that the erstwhile Mario.

A difficult path lies before Joan. Down into the depths of the underworld she travels. To face the evil that lurks within. A standard part of the Hero's Journey.

I like how you are making Tetra grow little by little as the game progresses.

So Joan's first foray into the depths went well enough. Some battles with darkness before retreating to regroup and recoup.

[Renee]

Hey, I've been sick all weekend, and even worse, haven't been able to sleep much. What an annoying combination. And there's a problem with this week's chapter as well, which I'll explain in a moment.

Not sure if you and others reading gathered this, all of you being more PC gamers than console gamers, but Mario and Luigi are two of the Nintendo characters which first appeared in arcade games 40+ years ago. I needed a name as I was editing, and just happened to be near the kids section at my job! We've got this whole section full of Princess This and Action Hero That. Mario & all his buddies are there, so now I had a name.


Acadian: As we'll find out, that whole early chapter when Mario runs into the sea could've been avoided! Turns out, all Joan had to do was literally walk north from Gnaar Mok. There's a set of wooden planks which we can walk on, which lead directly from the fishing village to the smuggler's cove. But on the in-game map Khartag Point is shown on the isthmus to the north, and Ilunibi isn't shown at all. It's an embarrassing set of gaming on my part, and from Joan's perspective her feelings are going to be even worse than mine.

Still... the man shouldn't have rushed into the water. I mean, c'mon.

Levitation and a light spell are indeed handy for dungeoneering. Does the Mages Guild in Morrowind teach night eye?

Yes, Night Eye is also in MW. But its use would mean even more mana would get devoured, and Joan wouldn't want to use Night Eye anyway. She prefers 'bringing light' into nefarious locations, as much as she can, anyways.

When I gamed with Dyan phor a'Cauz years ago (Oblivion, in which mana regenerates) she'd often be using Light spells. Not only so she could see, but also to piss off all the underground baddies, who'd then start calling her "pathetic worm" and "is the baby gonna cry?"


WellTemperedClavier: Yes indeed, the high elf called Joan an outlander. Like I said, chances are that was just some dev copy-pasting text, though. There's a lot of copy-pasted text in Morrowind, despite the fact that with text-based dialog, the advantage over voiced dialog was supposed to be more content could get packed in-game.

I do believe Missun had some dialog pertaining to the Sixth House. I've noticed that as NPCs follow my character in the game, they tend to 'pick up' any local topics used by other NPCs in their vicinity, but I think he had something to say regarding the Sixth House right off the bat. If so, such info would've been another copy-paste.

... it's something the Morrowind fanatics would never mention whenever they showed into our cozy Oblivion forum to tell us how much our beloved game sucks: how much dialog in MW is copy-paste, in comparison to Oblivion, where a huge amount of topics said by individual NPCs is unique.

To go off-topic a moment, Joan really lucky finding that archer. A 'good guy' in a sea of awful corprus stalkers and such.

And here we are: near Ilunibi, with things about to take a turn.

Oo boy, you said it. I actually cheated a bit, and allowed myself to take a gander at what's to come after Joan meets Gares. It's not pretty.

Wow, thanks for the compliment (in regards to capturing the Sixth House feel).


macole: Yes, I have been making the pack guar a little bigger, each time I'm in the CS, and also remember to do so. I belive he started at 0.50 after Joan first got him (half the size of a regular wild guar). I've scaled him up to 1.2 so far.

As Joan has delved farther into Ilunibi she's noticed that not all the corprus stalkers attack her. Sometimes they walk right by and leave her alone. 🧟🏾‍♀️ Like a true Lawful Good, she'll leave them alone if they leave her alone, but she didn't know this at the time, so that first assault was a gamble.

Sensing the imminent danger beneath the waves Sir Luigi gave up his own life to prevent Joan from being devoured by a hungry sea monster. Brave Sir Luigi.

Well that's one way to look at it! Still, that whole malaise could've been avoided.


SubRosa: Okay, you've gathered the guard's name then!

Indeed, there was a moment when Joan joked to her pack guar that he'd become a better companion than most of the humanoids she's had so far.

Thanks. Like you (perhaps) and others here, we've been virtual dungeoneering ever since high school. So we know how it's done.

Hmm...

This post has been edited by Renee: Nov 5 2023, 07:56 PM

[Renee]

This week's chapter got messed up. There's supposed to be a preamble (which I wrote at work while not gaming; total imagination, in other words) and a middle section (Joan delving into Ilunibi, which I wrote while gaming), and a third section: the final showdown between Joan of Arkay and Dagoth Gares. Problem is there's some text missing, and I'm too sick still to fill in the blanks. My head's all woozy. Heh, maybe this is another advantage to writing stuff well in advance.

So this week's chapter's on hold, while I post one of my faves from the past, from 2019, in fact. Click the spoiler tab below to get a quick summary on her.


So.... this story takes place in Morrowind. I'm posting it also because it represents a more Evil side to my gaming world, which balances out Joan's striving for Good all the time. We all could use a break from Joanie, right?


----------

Some time in Frost Fall, 3rd Era Year 429


Lurius Lalelius looked up from his drink, thinking he had heard some sort of noise. Stalked around, sniffed the air, then sat down. 

Was sure I heard something.

But of course, being a bandit located in the underground lair of Zainsipilu, 'hearing something' was always a sensory effect one must take with a grain of frost salts, as the saying goes. 'Hearing something' was always a sensory effect one must approach with a smidge of caution. Even though it had been two days since his last whiff of skooma, Lurius knew how use of moon sugar products could be. Heightened awareness was both a bonus and a curse. 

"Arenwen, are you out there?" 

He called into the gloom, wondering if his underground associate had managed to calm down the slaves.

"Hmph. Where is that slave?" he joked, referring to his partner as one of the mongrels they'd managed to capture over the past few months. Mostly Khajiit who'd stepped too far off the path, then found themselves being shipped to Vvardenfell. Such things could happen to those fur-covered nitwits who...

... I was sure I heard something, he thought again, this time being SURE his ears weren't betraying. He looked down into his brandy. Looked up.

And that's when he saw her. A flash of red, inches away, and a swish of deadly-beige robes. A momentary glimpse of the Altmer who was about to end his miserable life. But not before he'd give it one last chance.

"You N'WAH!" he cried. Grabbed his weapon, while the elf before him began to retreat. Lurius wasted no time rushing after her. Left the comfort of his underground den, hoping not to face a horde of freed slaves as well as the elf. No, this seemed not to be the case. 

"I am Igodah, and today you have swung your last weapon," the elf cried out. "Remember my name in your death, snort-monger." 

Lurius continued to follow her as she continued to retreat. This will be a cinch, once I finally catch the outlander! thought Lurius, just before his strength began to fade. Silly mages, always dressed in robes, NO MATCH for my blade! he mused, as some sort of magical effect began taking effect. Bah! Magic!

"I shall rid your miserable life, outlander!" 

And that was the last thing Lurius Laleuis, former Vivec gondolier-turned-bandit would say before his legs could carry him absolutely no more. He looked down to his boots, flabbergasted and flummoxed. Tried to swing his axe. Yes, he could still manage this. But not with much force. What was happening to him?  

Igodah Gopei stopped her retreat.

"How are you feeling, 'n'wah'?" she asked, putting some emphasis into that final word, a favorite taunt of bandits and outlaws all over and under. As she said this, Lurius noticed she was now approaching within swinging distance of his piece. 

"You elves... you ELVES!" 

"Aye, I know how it feels," her voice was silky. Sultry. Like she was one of those teasers he'd sometimes encounter in Vivec late at night. "Say what you are trying to say. What is it? We're all about flash but no fury, eh? Is THAT the standard war-cry used so surreptitiously by your kind?"

Lurius thrust at the elf. Connected. Normally, such an attempt would cause a broken rib, a gush of life-essence. But though the elf cried out in mock pain, his weapon had done nothing.

The elf in beige robes then cast another spell, summoning a bonewalker. And as Lurius began to get pummeled, helpless to move his legs, helpless to cause any damage, he wondered if his days in Vivec hadn't been so bad after all. 20 gold a day at most, true, but better than this.

As Lurius slumped to the floor, last thing he saw before darkness closed in was Igodah the elf's sinister smirk.   

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

Igodah wearing Expensive Robes - (She would often wear crap like this while going into rough areas, too. She liked to 'dress up' sometimes while dungeoneering, the idea being that she's like a poisonous fish which advertizes its dangers through striking colors.)

The end of one more

One of Igodah's 'homes'

Notes: This tale was a demonstration of Igodah's favorite new spell: Damage ST 5 points for 20 seconds on Touch. Yeah.... go ahead and do that math. See what she did there?

The main diff between Joan and Igodah (why Igodah's being considered evil) is that Joan doesn't really enjoy having to eradicate baddies, she merely does so because somebody has to, and she feels called to do so. Igodah actually enjoys what she does, and goes out of her way to include torture. She'd use her Damage Strength spell, causing her adversary to not be able to run at all, and then slice them up with a weak daggar, or (as we saw) her bonelord. Bonelords don't really do a whole lot of damage in the short-term. Which means that baddie was now stuck at Igodah's whims.

This post has been edited by Renee: Nov 6 2023, 05:55 AM

[SubRosa]

Oh yes, I immediately got the guard's name. I never had a Nintendo or got into the Mario games. But he's just a cultural icon now.

Sorry to hear that you are sick. You can just take time off from here, and posting writing. There is no real deadline here. Just do what is right for you.

That said, it is interesting to see a t00n from the old days. I remember you talking about Igodah Go^Pe and Dyan Phor A'Cauze in the old days. So it will be interesting to see her in action. I did not realize that she was evil. I guess I mixed her up with Dyan, whom if I remember rightly was a paladin.

I do love taking things with a grain of frost salts.

That snort-monger will rue the day he crossed paths with Igodah!

Wow, Igodah really is an evil so-and-so, sadistically stretching it out like that. Her parents should have taught her not to play with her food.

[macole]

Renee, I do enjoy your stories and comments so please, get well soon.

That is one nasty spell. Your description on how it took affect was perfect. It is a good thing you don't use a mod that has chance for a spell to backfire on you.

This post has been edited by macole: Nov 6 2023, 04:52 AM

[Acadian]

Renee, I hope you're feeling better soon. Here:


Nice to see Igodah Gopei again. A wonderfully malicious spell she has there – giving her plenty of time to make like a cat playing with a mouse.

Buffy understands both Joan’s and Idodah’s approach to taking out foes. Indeed, she struggles between the two. Most of the time she reluctantly kills worthy foes like Joan. But sometimes a cruel streak absolutely manifests vs two-legged varmints. We remember once when she was riding and was accosted by a highwayman. She used Superian’s speed to turn and escape but the bandit took a swipe at Superian (and missed) with his battle axe. Buffy was so furious that once she had escaped and ensured her precious mare was unharmed, she stealthily returned and gut-shot the bandit with a slow acting but lethal poison and watched with a smile as he gradually squirmed to death. As a paladin of Kynareth, she tries to restrain the cruel Buffy but sometimes still falls short.

[Renee]

Thanks everyone. I do feel better, all I needed was about 10 hours of sleep and a huge, healthy salad packed with lots of stuff.

Today shall be the last Joan of Arkay story for the year 2023. It's a bit long but eh, no pressure trying to keep up. I'll probably continue writing her tale again in the spring but for now I'll try to see if I can get into some Laprima Donnaugh. 💀 Even so, I probably won't post any Laprima until 2024, unless I start to get REALLY antsy for writing & posting!


Buffy understands both Joan’s and Idodah’s approach to taking out foes. Indeed, she struggles between the two. Most of the time she reluctantly kills worthy foes like Joan.

Interesting. I knew about the Buffy Doctrine (be nice to me, and you're my friend, but be mean to me, and I'll likely kill you {in so many words}). Did not know she struggles between what I'll call righteousness and being stone-cold-blooded.

I can totally appreciate what it's like to slam some foe with a poisoned arrow and smile as they keel over. Which is weird because normally I'm a Whole Foods-shopping, pay-bills-on-time, be at work on time sort of gal. Maybe that's why we still play videogames as we're getting older, so we can play out all the twisted stuff in the back of our minds.


That is one nasty spell. Your description on how it took affect was perfect. It is a good thing you don't use a mod that has chance for a spell to backfire on you.

Backfire? So some folks can't get enough with just spell fizzle, eh, wow.

Early in my Morrowind days I was frustrated with magic, and how daunting it is just to cast a simple Bound Daggar. I went on Reddit and got plenty of tips. So that's where that idea came from.

Basically, an enemy can have 500 hitpoints, okay? But they'll never have more than 100 Strength, as far as I know. I Gotta would creep up on enemies while invisible, and then cast her Damage ST spell. As the enemy would lose the ability to run, literally standing in place, my Evil Altmer would then start to mess with them. She'd walk slowly around their lairs, looting their possessions, occasionally hitting them with a weak Destruction spell, and so on.


Oh yes, I immediately got the guard's name. I never had a Nintendo or got into the Mario games. But he's just a cultural icon now.

Oh gosh, this reminds me, I really gotta apologize about that. Of course you all know who those toons are. That's sort of embarrassing.

Thanks, hon. I enjoy pushing myself every week for 'deadlines', but yeah, there comes a time when we gotta take care of ourselves first.

Absolutely, Dyan was a total goodie; she'd be in chapel every Sundas (and in REAL time) while walking around towns barefoot and wearing cheap clothes to show 'humility'. ⛪ Toons such as Igodah and Luci Pheria were the complete opposite. That was always fun back in those days; I'd get these total paranoid feelings while gaming with evil or some of my grayer people; they'd often have bounties. Then I'd switch to Dyan's game, who NEVER had a bounty. Never did anything wrong, never got in any sort of trouble, etc. It'd be like this sigh of relief.

I remember you had a ton of characters back in the day, too: Persephone and Teresa and Hecate. You had trouble coming up with names so you'd use names from mythology. Ah, those were the days.


Well, Joanie's final story got quadruple-drafted over these past couple weeks, and it shall be up soon.

This post has been edited by Renee: Nov 11 2023, 01:34 PM

[Renee]

Dagoth Gares, the current underground minister of the Sixth House Base, gloated before one of the most-venerated pieces of tabernacle ever to represent the original (now defunct) Great House Chimer organization: the Shrine of Ilunibi.

The shrine he’d become appointed to after much pilgrimage and guidance from the unseen was much feared, yet also the stuff of legends and rumors. – Does such a sanctuary actually exist? - Truly it does, right under the feet of those who dwell along the Bitter Coast, and Gares was its faithful underground tender. Ilunibi was indeed worshiped by those who revered the inscrutably-fabulous Dagoth Ur, and Dagoth Gares, whose mind had long become corrupted by forces he did not entirely understand, was the shrine’s proud, indisputably-predominant priest.

“Someone… is alerting to our presence,” the priest mumbled in front of the shrine’s altar, which glowed suddenly with pale bluish translucencies (rather like magical snowflakes), as if portending and confirming. “A neophyte maverick? Another fool? Come to reclaim the fraudulence portrayed by the much-vaunted tales of ancient history? Another imbecile, being led along the path of falsehoods and decadence which shall direct him STRAIGHT into this den, like so many others before him? So many false bearers of our true, long-ago Lord Nerevar. Watch over me. I pray for the forthcoming moment when we shall place upon him our true infections if need be, as has befallen so many others. Or... shall we welcome this newcomer together in peace, my stupendous overlord...?”

But then… something was not right. The Shrine of Ilunibi, always alert and aware of its keeper’s mindsets, suddenly went dim. Because something concerning Gares’s current insights seemed a bit off. A bit… skewed and tainted. As though his visions were being muddled. The priest scratched at the snout which had (over time) replaced what was once a handsome, ordinary Dunmer face, pondering. Whatever could be amiss?

Dagoth Gares had once been like so many youths of contemporary late-Third Era Vvardenfell: eager for learning, eager to claim whatever in life was hopefully to manifest: children, a family, a home of sturdy adobe, a fruitful life, a garden of pretty plants: anthers and stoneflowers and golden kanets, and perhaps the courtship of some lucky Dunmer lass, whenever she’d happen to come along.

He’d been quite the bookworm during his long teenage years; studying under direct tutelage of a history teacher in Balmora’s Drenlyn Academy, a teacher who had a habit of emphasizing certain WORDS like SO, dazzling students with effervescent passion, yet also guiding them for the future with premier, imaginative storytelling. During this period of his life there was one other student, a girl nearly his age, whom he felt attracted to. She was also a bookworm; it seemed she was always walking around with some publication in hand, reading between classes, reading after school, assuming she wasn't going round with one of others in her limited social circle.

Not only was she a reader, but this particular young lady owned a pair of glasses! Extremely rare, ocular implements such as these were worth a lot of money, almost never to be seen in Vvardenfell, even among those with drakes. But Dagoth was too shy. And she happened to be of the wrong race, anyway.

After graduating, Gares became a member of House Hlaalu. He also entered a sort of seminary; a preparatory school for the Tribunal Temple. He was planning to become an ordained minister of the temple, while his Balmorian family proudly looked on.

But somewhere along, it’d all gone wrong. Somewhere along, Gares’s nightly dreams began flooding with praiseworthy images, yes, not sinister in the least (at first), but more like inspirational sights: promises and pixies and untainted pastures. This caused the young elf to question his current status in life, without him even knowing he was doing so. One day in the month of Rain's Hand he’d left the seminary, and then simply vanished. Left his family and Balmora behind. The once-so-ordinary mer had become drawn toward darkness before he even knew he was caught within its vortex…

^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

Chapter LV -- Dagoth Gares

30 Second Seed (Day 288), noon

The Crusader from Cyrodiil entered the cave for the second time. There would be this second attempt to penetrate Ilunibi’s blackened passages, and days later, a third try. Between the second and the third attempts, the crusader, a ‘she’, not a ‘he’, needed to make a round trip back to Balmora and Caldera, so she could stock up supplies, and persuade another Imperial soldier to follow her. This time, she would lead her new follower nowhere near any sort of coastal waters.

Beyond the initial cave system called 'Carcass of the Saint' was a second system (Tainted Morrow). Tainted Morrow contained a few more enemies, mostly ash zombies, which Joan learned about after consulting a field manual on fauna and flora. Tainted Morrow also held another three-way intersection, which led to two more doors. Joan chose to go straight (the leftward of the two doors), where she arrived at a third cave system: Marowak's Spine.

As she made her way deeper and further, she was using what was known as the Gibbeous Method, presumably named after a long-ago dungeoneer named Gibbeous. She’d learned this method in one of the semi-martial courses offered back in Cheydinhal. The idea was simple: strike a pattern, and then continue to follow this pattern. If the delver had two directions to choose, and chose left, and then arrived at two more directions, the next direction to choose should be another left. And this pattern continues until all leftward directions have been exhausted; the idea here being consistency.

Eventually, delvers would go as far as they could in their chosen direction, whether it'd be left or right. As they backtracked, they should then follow all of the paths not chosen, again using a consistent pattern. If all the remaining directions were rightward ones, these should be chosen until all options to go right were exhausted.

Followers of Gibbeous claimed to boast greater success avoiding what every dungeoneer feared: getting lost.

"Stendarr, guide mine path."

Still, as pathways sometimes crisscrossed and she (hours later) found herself returning to the initial Carcass system, Joan of Arkay eventually found herself disoriented and confused, Gibbeous or no Gibbeous. To truly learn the ways all these corridors and chambers connected she’d need to draw a map. Which she did not have the patience to accomplish. Because remember, she was still needing to sight and defend herself from monsters and adversaries all the while.

“‘Tis why some delvers specify in such things as cartography,” she muttered at one point.

Occasionally, she’d encounter men, mostly dark elves, who'd be wearing next-to-no clothing. It seemed these men (there were no women or children down here) were mostly uninfected by corprus. None of them were disfigured, for instance; yet they had made a decision to dwell within Ilunibi of their own free will. But why had they chosen to do so in such an exposed manner? – It was as if they'd given up all of their worldly possessions, even their clothes, so they could lurk deep within their master's glow without any further chance of reversing their despicable decisions. These were folks who'd freely chosen to bask in the glory of Dagoth Ur, according to what they babbled as Joan entered their dens, eschewing even such simple matters as protection and modesty, as they hastily flipped their former lives for... this.

^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

5 Mid-Year (Day 294)
By now, Joan had returned from Caldera with her new soldier companion, because Ilunibi's underground passages yielded a variety of underground dwellers, many of them requiring more resources and patience to fight than she’d been accustomed to. In addition to the men disfigured by corprus were horrible ash creatures, skeletons who’d been former champion types during their long-ago lives, atronachs, and daedra. This delve was becoming exhausting! And Joan of Arkay was not adverse to requesting some help.

During her nightly dreams, she'd occasionally envision herself at the helm of others, great gatherings of folks of all types, following her toward conclusions which she'd never recall upon waking. As though she was some sort of leader in these dreams.

But this was no dream. This horrid environment she was now penetrating, was much more of a nightmare, brought to wakeful reality.

Finally, it seemed she was on the right track. In a cave-section called Blackened Heart she found an area in which the path raised a sudden incline. There was one final door to cross, which led into a final system: Soul’s Rattle.

“Remain standing here,” she advised her guard before entering the door. Wouldn’t want the man to rush blindly ahead, as Legionnaires sometimes did, causing a ruckus when such might not be needed at all. “If assistance is needed I shall return.”

“As you wish, Joan of Cyrodiil.”

She could see the zest within the man's eyes: you wish for me to stand down NOW? those eyes pleaded. But procedure was to be honored at a time like this, no question. You wish to badger your way past the latest kagouti or road-bandit in the overworld? Go right ahead. But in a place Ilunibi, there was a way to approach these menaces and monsters, and there were times when the overhanded way a soldier made his or her attempts did not match the finesse Joan wanted to espouse. Plus, she was starting to feel as though finally, she was getting near to whatever truth was about to unfold.

She entered Soul’s Rattle. And here finally, a rational voice called to her. "I have you!" it said.

Yet another adversary, at first she assumed. She grabbed for her mace and gulped a fortifying potion. Cast some of the magic held within her Septim Ring, which increased possible damage she could bash with her weapon. “Show thyself, for ye too shalt perish at my baton,” she threatened whomever had spoken.

But all of this was unnecessary, it seemed.

"The Sixth House greets you, Lord Nerevar," an individual said as he rounded a blind turn. “I… am Dagoth Gares, and I welcome you to my home.”

The man before her was one of many who’d been affected by corprus. His back and shoulders weren’t hunched, but his face was completely mangled. Despite this, he hadn’t caused an immediate affront. And it seemed he was attempting to insert some warmth into his voice. "I am known as Dagoth Gares, priest of Ilunibi Shrine, and minister to the Sixth House servants."

Gares paused, confused for a moment. The figure before him, a woman, rather than the man he'd expected according to his former twisted visions, stood still, and said nothing. The woman, interestingly enough, was also not Dunmer, as so many Nerevarine purportees had been in the past. Could this be the difference between all those false claimants, and what many had imagined to be the One True Prophet, come to reclaim His Glory?

"Hmm, not much to say?” Gares began in his phlegm-occluded voice. “Well then, I must tell you: my Lord, Dagoth Ur, has informed me of your coming, although I must admit your pale skin and feminine gender are not as I’d envisioned. Anyhow, I must start by saying that I hope you have come to honor your Lord's friendship," he said. "Not betray it."

The woman, wearing golden Imperial armor, was bathed in some sort of magical effect. "It behooves me," she finally spoke. "Such heinousness. How such misdirections keep occurring, regarding who I am.” She sighed. “For hear this, sire: I am not the Lord Nerevar. I deign to accept such a lofty title, which oddly keeps being slung toward me. My name is Joan Marie, and I hail from Cheydinhal under the beloved benevolence of Arkay. This is it, and that is all. I must hope that these words shall now be gathered with measured prudence, Dagoth Gares.”

Joan halted her speech just then, suddenly realizing: here was a chance to finally take a moment of respite. Evil before her or not, she found herself somewhat glad to be having this break of conversation. To reach this inner sanctum of Ilunibi she'd had to fight a series of enemies, each one seemingly tougher than the next. Not all of them required assistance from her guard; she’d chosen to duel with roughly half these menaces on her own. The toughest, she realized, was a daedroth. She’d taken down actual daedroth!

But now it was time for the foul-faced man before her to retort. Would he continue to use words rather than warfare?

"Dagoth Ur is the Awakened Lord of the Sixth House," he explained patiently, as if trying to educate. "Come to cast down false gods, drive foreigners from the land, and restore the ancient glory of Morrowind."

The former meek student of Drenlyn allowed a moment for her to reply, but Joan of Arkay said nothing.

"He bids you come to the Red Mountain, saint. For the friendship and honor that once you shared, he would grant you counsel and power, if only you would pledge that friendship anew."

The crusader shook her head. "I am not Lord Nerevar, what must we do to come and comprehend this…?"

"And I must counter this argument. For the path to Red Mountain is long, and filled with danger, but if you are worthy, you will find there wisdom. There is a firm friend, and all the power you shall need to set the world a-right."

As implacably stubborn as she found Gares to be, Joan couldn’t help but let her inquisitive nature take control. She became curious.

Firstly, she was still not under attack. Secondly, the deformed man before her was at least trying to be cordial. She found herself wanting to hear more. – According to some of the lessons she had absorbed as she’d learned how to fight, questing and adventuring across the lands was not always about brawls, combat, and strife; occasionally there'd be moments like this one, when intelligence could be gathered, even if it did come from nefarious sources.

"The Sixth House was not dead," Gares stated, "but only sleeping. Now it wakes from its long dream, and with its Lord, Dagoth Ur, it comes forth to free Morrowind of foreign rules and divine pretenders. When the land is swept clean of false friends and greedy thieves, the children of Veloth will build anew a garden of plenty in this blighted wasteland.”

“I see,” Joan replied. “I have taken notice, Dagoth Gares, that occasionally you’ve been speaking of I, Joan of Arkay, becoming some sort of friend, have you not? But take awareness, that I've just been attacked and blighted by these very Sixth House minions you’ve chosen to surround yourself with, hmm? How can I be whom you’ve then expected?"

"Forgive the rude welcome," Gares answered with a diplomatic gesture. "But until you have declared for us your intentions, we must treat you as our enemy."

Gares explained that the Sleepers and the Dreamers (those who had been seriously infected with corprus, and those who hadn't, respectively) were indeed called to service by the Sixth House, but hadn't yet been 'blessed' by Ur's power. Which meant: they could not glean her so-called importance just yet. He then explained a few things about his past, how he’d once been a student and then a priest-in-training, along with so many others in the town of Balmora, until he’d heeded Ur’s calling. Since then, his life had never been the same. It had seemingly improved, according to his mannerisms and the way he spoke. As if skulking around in underground cavities surrounded by deformed devotees was any sort of improvement, only he could judge for himself.

But the crusader was not convinced. After many minutes of listening to the man ramble about servants and minions and his Lord Dagoth Ur and his faithfulness to the Sixth House and the bloody meaning of the Red Volcano, Joan decided she’d heard enough. All of this was headed toward either one conclusion or the other. Either the man would continue his sermon until he was satisfied Joan was on his side, or he'd drop the whole matter, and she’d possibly then be under a bit of peril.

"Lord Dagoth gives me these words to say to you, so you may give them thought," Gares pontificated for the umpteenth time. "Once we were friends and brothers, Lord Nerevar, in peace and in war…"

"Alright," Joan answered. Let us see where these words are headed.

"Yet beneath Red Mountain, you struck me down as I guarded the treasure you bound me by oath to defend." Gares said, his voice rising a bit. "Remembering our old friendship, I would forgive you, and raise you high in my service!"

This again. "Must it be, that we continue to deny to whom ye speaketh?” Joan asked, palming the heft of her magical mace. “For again, I must explain that I am not this Lord."

Again, Gares ignored, although by now he was becoming visibly upset. "But... my Lord Dagoth bids you come to Red Mountain! For the friendship and honor that once you shared, he would grant you counsel and power, if only you would pledge that friendship anew," he suggested. "I am not your Lord Dagoth...."

"Aye. These are the first words of truth spoken during this diatribe, graced upon my ears..."

"...yet I, too, would say to you... Do you come with weapons to strike me down? Or would you put away your weapon, and join me in friendship?"

Ah. Quite the conundrum. Because what if this so-called 'friendship' involved an actual era of peacetime? Could it be possible that Joan Marie might actually leave the caverns of Ilunibi, so she could return to Caius with news of good tidings?

But then she remembered what he'd done to the soldiers of Buckmoth. All those troops, murdered, with only one left standing so he could return to civilization a dying abomination!

"Lord Dagoth would far rather have you as a friend than an enemy," Dagoth grumbled. "But until you submit to him, Sixth House servants will treat you as an enemy, and try to destroy you. If you wish to be our friend, first you must go to Lord Dagoth in his citadel on Red Mountain, and make your submission."

“The temerity!” cried the Breton. “Are these the words spoken by thee being chosen to somehow persuade me into submission?" Seeing where this could possibly be headed, she readied a spell of magic within her mind. "I cannot and will not allow myself to submit to any deity, or the threats of heathens who allow themselves to become betrothed to such non-amicable personages," Joan seethed, her voice rising to match his.

Suddenly, the match began. Joan stepped quickly backwards, using the moment to gulp a potion and cast Dragon Skin, one of the spells she’d inherited just for being Breton-born. The fighting between priest and crusader was fast and furious!

Joan vaunted forward, bashing her opponent with her magical mace, causing flashes of fire to burn his skin as she fought. Dagoth countered without any weapon at all; flailing her with ungauntleted palms, although Joan quickly noticed his attack did cause some of her health to drain. She smashed the man again and again, remembering as the melee ensued to retreat at least once, so she could revive her quickly-ailing health!

Thank the Gods for Restoration!

The pair continued dashing and smashing, Joan’s Blessed Shield taking some of the brunt of Gares’s barehanded attacks. – Thoughts and fears and flashes flying all about! – Joan’s arm was bleeding… as the magic within her weapon waned (so that now she was merely attacking with bronze upon skin) her heaps of strength training, hours spent tempering at the forge, also began to wane. Her breaths began to gasp. Would she need to place an ultimate retreat into the cave’s former section so she could retrieve the services of her guard?

Thankfully, that’s when it ended. Dagoth Gares fell to the ground, his arms and body dented and bleeding, obviously wasted for good. Despite this, with his dying breath the Sixth House priest smiled and gestured in a peculiar kind of way, after which Joan immediately knew something was now amiss. Sortilege! thought she.

The Crusader from Cyrodiil knew right then she'd been cursed.

"Even as my Master wills," he said, laying upon the cave's floor, "you shall come to him. In his flesh, and of his flesh."

"We shall see about that. May Arkay guide thy forthcoming path, Dagoth Gares, should it be that you should find thyself with such fortune."

Joan swung her mace with all her remaining might, connecting one final time upon Gares's shoulder, dislocating it for good, causing the formerly handsome elf to expel his last gasp. Because when it came to moments of combat like this one, the aim wasn’t just to win, it was also to let your opponent know he had lost, even as he gazed upon his remains from the afterlife.

Her mission seemingly done, Joan of Arkay dropped her mace and her shield, overcome with fatigue. She then began the habitual process of sussing about, looking for anything she could gather and use, or sell for profit.

On Gares's body she found a scroll which had been seemingly addressed to her, or at least, to whomever’d been claiming to be the Nerevarine as of late. Again, this note rambled about matters which so desperately wanted to grab her attention: the Sixth House, Dagoth Ur, the Red Volcano, and blah-de-blah and neigh-neigh, and so forth.

Joan of Arkay, lightly-feverish and yet empowered full of dying adrenaline, read the demon's note, and then crumpled it. Dropped it upon the ground next to the minion she'd just felled.


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

Joan's Animal Camp -- (This was total luck, all these critters showing up outside of Ilunibi, yet all of them being non-hostile. Awhile back I added peaceful versions of all the non-blighted/diseased creatures, and then slipped them into Leveled Lists along with the meanies. So there's a chance of encountering cliff races, nix hounds, rats, mudcrabs, etc. as peaceful. But there's usually at least one hostile in a group such as this).

Fighting a Daedroth

Dagoth Gares's pwning

Shrine of Ilunibi

Dagoth Ur's personal note to the Nerevarine

Sunset Lopov'd

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

Notes: The list of magical effects shown in Joan's Magic menu after being cursed is long!

1). Fortify Maximum Magicka (Breton Birthsign)

2). Resist Magicka (Breton Birthsign)

3). Drain Intelligence, Willpower, Personality, and Speed (all of these are due to her being infected by corprus).

4). Fortify Strength, and Endurance (corprus disease again).

Thankfully, all these corprus effects are weak, and Joan’s two-dimensionally pallid face has not been distorted by the disease.

This post has been edited by Renee: Nov 13 2023, 09:24 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Renee, you've outdone yourself in this story! Very well written, thank you, much enjoyed reading!

I recently met another Priest of Lord Dagoth, but that one didn't feel like talking at all. It was a hell of a fight though.

[Acadian]

Haha, so Dagaoth Gares studied under DiMartani at Drenlyn Academy!

He was one wordy opponent! But finally Joan’s suspicions that she’d have to fight came to fruition. To bad she could not summon her Legionnaire for some needed help, but she did ultimately prevail. Not knowing anything about the game’s questline, I’m glad Joan stuck to her roots as a crusader from Cheydinhal. Now to get uncursed. . . .

[macole]

Dagoth Ur's personal note to the Nerevarine

What? Dagoth accuses Lord Neravar of betrayal! Did Lord Nerevar really strike down Dagoth Ur? Does this justify Dagoth’s foul retribution?
The thin threads of doubt begin to worm their way in, cracking the foundations of what once was thought to be truth.

[Lena Wolf]

Dagoth Ur's personal note to the Nerevarine

What? Dagoth accuses Lord Neravar of betrayal! Did Lord Nerevar really strike down Dagoth Ur? Does this justify Dagoth’s foul retribution?
The thin threads of doubt begin to worm their way in, cracking the foundations of what once was thought to be truth.

Yes, this is true. Lord Nerevar sacrificed Dagoth Ur on the altar of his own greatness. There are books to be had in the Imperial Library that tell that story. Dagoth Ur actually did nothing wrong back than, he was betrayed. Which explains a lot.

[SubRosa]

I really liked your portrayal of Dagoth Gares here. He is the lion that the many hopeful Nerevarines have been fed to over the years. At least until the real one comes along, and Gares is the one being eaten. And by "real" I don't mean as in the Chosen One, but simply the one good enough to win and continue on to the next challenge.

I think Morrowind did the whole Chosen One trope very well. The protagonist is not shielded by fate and thusly cannot fail in their task. Many others have been chosen before, and they have all died. Your path is not guaranteed because you have the favor of the gods. Rather it is made more tortuous because of it.

I love how you wove in Drenlyn Academy here. Daria and Jeval may have once rubbed shoulders with this fearsome monster. Before he became a Dreamer, and before he had Awoken.

Most of Morrowind's dungeons are very small and simple. Usually only one to four rooms. This one and the Urishikalu crypt one stand out as being huge. As befits their status as important events in the main quest.

And after a long descent into the Underworld, the Hero of a Thousand Faces meets their foe, and suffers a grievous injury. Classic Joseph Campbell Hero Cycle stuff.

The fight was Fast and Furious: Dagoth Drift!

Sortilege, wow, I had to look that up. Now I know.

[Renee]

Oh good, Clav hasn't shown up yet. I made an amendment to the Drenlyn Academy part, with WTC's permission, of course.

[Acadian]

Nice little new bit you added in there, Renee. Glasses, indeed!

[WellTemperedClavier]

Okay, finally here and ready to catch up!

Interesting aside with Igodah. It is funny how sometimes our in-game characters can end up taking lives of their own that span multiple games.

Also, it's cool that you used one of the bandit NPCs. I did like how Morrowind gave nearly each human/Mer/Beastfolk NPC a unique name. Suppose that might be difficult in later games and their respawning enemies.

Looks like Lurius is following standard bandit operating procedure by charging in with an insult. Also weird that he calls her an n'wah, but I guess he's been living here a while.

Ooh, and Igodah's not afraid to make her own spells. For all the flash of fireballs and lightning bolts, status effects can be so much nastier, and I like the way you show this.

And now we're getting Dagoth Gares's perspective! Quite a day for the baddies.

"Inscrutably fabulous" actually describes Dagoth Ur pretty well. He's fab, and he's very hard to know.

Oh wow! So this ascended sleeper is someone Daria knew. Maybe not as well as he'd have liked, but still someone she saw in Drenlyn every day, admiring her from afar. Adds a tragic element to this. Dagoth Gares can't be very old if he'd gone to Drenlyn at the same time. And is a reminder of just how dangerous Dagoth Ur is. Especially with how he attacks people through dreams. One day you're a normal Dunmer. Some nightmares and some weeks later... you're changed. And not for the better.

Now back to Joan. Looks like she's learned from the past attempts, in classic Morrowind fashion.

Wait, isn't there something in real life similar to the Gibbeous Method? It sounds vaguely familiar but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Ah, too bad Joan can't use the auto-map.

Joan's reaction to the Sixth House cultists is understandable. But each of them was once a regular kid like Dagoth Gares, pulled into this by a force beyond their understanding.

Okay, back again. Now she's thinking about her own dreams. Wonder when she'll put two and two together...

Probably best for her companion to stay behind. He's not likely to survive what comes ahead (NPCs can be pretty difficult to keep alive in this game).

Looks like Dagoth Gares is trying to be friendly. "Come Nerevar, be you friend or traitor, come."

Heh, and he's another Dunmer thrown by an outlander Nerevarine.

It is fitting to have a confrontation of words here. Plus, combat in Morrowind can sometimes feel weirdly anticlimactic.

For all the words and lore, Joan is who she is. She doesn't really believe in this Nerevarine stuff. She only knows that her Empire faces a problem here, and that it's her job to solve it. But peace is tempting. She'd like that more than war.

Oops, the submission thing completely wrecked negotiations.

Okay, quite a fight here, but Joan wins. And now she has corpus, which is going to change things for her... just not in the way Dagoth Ur intended.

Great update! And I hope you're feeling better.

[Renee]

Really kind of you to say Lena, thanks!

He was one wordy opponent!

Ha ha yeah he was, Acadian. And Joanie got annoyed by this!

To bad she could not summon her Legionnaire for some needed help,

Oh gosh, no. She wanted to take down the Big Boss herself, and (from my perspective) so did I. Followers mostly come in handy for taking on all the enemies Joan doesn't want to deal with. You know, it gets tedious dealing with a bunch of lesser opponents and then you gotta face the boss, so she delegates some of the work. Another plus: by the time she faces the boss her gear's not as beat up.

What? Dagoth accuses Lord Neravar of betrayal! Did Lord Nerevar really strike down Dagoth Ur? Does this justify Dagoth’s foul retribution?

Apparently so! But yeah, all of this makes little sense to me, so far. Like, why is the story written to assume the player-character is the one who's gonna figure all of this out? It's bizarre.


Much thanks, SubRosa, I worked a little harder on this one, creatively-wise.

Yeah I began thinking Gares is from Balmora, and what if he'd gone to school, and OH, how old is the guy? ... UESP has NO INFO on Dagoth Gares, other than he was once an ordinary Dunmer. If there's anything else added to him thru lore, I'm afraid I couldn't find it! -- Which means I have Full Creative License on the guy, woo hoo!

Me too. Sortilege came up as I was editing; one of those terms on Thesaurus.com.


Why is it weird that he called Igodah n'wah? Uh oh. Maybe I made a mistake! Well, he made a mistake.

Ooh, and Igodah's not afraid to make her own spells.

Have you ever rolled a magic-user in this game? We pretty much have to use the Spellmaker, not just to make OP spells but also to make more-efficient spells! ... Especially as a starter mage, some of those starter spells draw too much magicka, or they fizzle too easily, and so on.

Dagoth Gares can't be very old if he'd gone to Drenlyn at the same time

This crossed my mind! But in a way it makes sense. Young guy, a loner heading into priesthood with a somewhat malleable mind. On the other hand, it's also me having fun as a writer. I allude to Dimartani and Daria Morgendorffer without actually using their names.

There probably is a name for that caving technique, ha!

Joan's reaction to the Sixth House cultists is understandable. But each of them was once a regular kid like Dagoth Gares, pulled into this by a force beyond their understanding.

YES, glad you clued into this. Because Joanie's next chapter in Spring is going to have her feeling guilty about some of her actions.

Plus, combat in Morrowind can sometimes feel weirdly anticlimactic

Fortunately I've read one too many Jack Reacher novels in my adulthood.

See you all next Spring. 🍾