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Posted by: Renee Nov 22 2020, 04:41 PM

Clavicus Vile

When the dream began, she found herself lying in a cart, lying in hay, lying still, half-hiding from the others. Part of her wanted to be out there with them, while another part felt quietly content to stay right there. Right in that haypile. Staying still, and keeping quiet. It's this latter, secondary part which attained.

The scene was heavily pastoral. Lots of trees, green with foliage. Sunlight and blue skies. A few puffy clouds, a perfect sort of day. The sounds of others around her. The cart she was in had been drawn off to the side, placed in shadow. The horse which had brought it here must have been tethered somewhere else. As she lay in the cart, she began to feel rather lonely. Sad, and lonely, despite the others cavorting nearby.

They were there for her. All of them, gaily awaiting her presence. Dressed in finery. The women wearing whites, pinks, and light blues. Maids and maidens. The men, dressed more somberly, but the sounds from their revelries were no less delighted and cheerful.

Where is she? Where is Laprima?

Someone was calling. A man, sounding a bit tipsy with wine, perhaps. Yet his voice contained an edge of concern. And then, the voice of one of the ladies...

We should go find her! She's probably near! She's going to miss out!

She sank lower, hiding within hay. She could hear them coming, getting nearer, occasionally calling out to her. She cowered. Not with fear, but with some sort of distress. Lonely she was, and part of her did want to join the others.

She scrunched within the hay as footsteps approached and circled the cart. She held her breath. Eventually, the footsteps moved on. Small relief; she exhaled. They hadn't discovered her. So she took a chance. Got situated upon her arms, and raised her head about a foot, attempting to peer over the cart's side. As she did so, she noticed there was a knot in its wooden planking. For no reason at all (other than, this is a dream, and in dreams we sometimes do strange things) she pushed upon this knot, and the knot fell out, leaving a hole. She squinted her left eye, viewing outside of the cart, only to see vague shapes of the departing couple, heading off into a cabin. Still calling out, still calling her name.

...And that's when she noticed the man with the dog.
...He stood off to the side of the meadow, nearer to the woods.
...He stood in shadow. He wore a jerkin of white and black. He beckoned to her.

You there! I can see you, he said quietly. Despite using a soft tone, she could hear his voice clearly, in the surreal way which dreams can magnify. I can see you, and I mean no harm. Why do not you approach me?

She felt a stab of fear. How can he view me, hiding within this cart? But then, she relaxed. For the man was merely a boy. A boy she recognized from her youth. And this boy was her brother.

Laprima! he called. Come hither, posthaste!

And so she did.

She rose from the cart, took a moment to brush stray strands of hay from her clothings, and then ran swiftly toward her brother, skirts ruffling below. She noticed that the dog which had been there a moment ago had vacated, or vanished. She looked to her brother as she drew nearer. And her brother smiled up at her in his typically mischievous way. A smile she hadn't seen since they were, in fact, both children. Her previous feelings of loneliness were gone.

You should depart! her brother said to her, dancing around her with gaited elan. Head on! Depart hence toward Solitude! And do as they say! ... These folks you see in their fabled costumes, all of them here, are of nothing to you! ... To us! .. They mean nothing! ... A wretched lot! ... So onwards must you go! ... Your man, he awaits your presence! And you shall be in high company! Just dandy! Just peachy!

She felt elation at his words. Her brother, right there before her. 'Whatever is to come, would be fine,' he was telling her, seemingly tapping within her thoughts, her hopes, her fears.

Elija, she said to him.

Yes, sister!

She was weeping by now.

Her hands raised to embrace him. But just then, a flash of emotion overcame her. A mixture of revolting sickness, and sweet delight. She recoiled, stumbled backwards in disgust...

Laprima Donnaugh awoke, bolt upright, her eyes teary. Her bed quarters around her, her 8 year-old feline dozing by her side. She'd just had a dream. Her thoughts were racing, so she consciously made an effort to remember all she could. ... Her brother .... A cart ... Some people walking by in gay costume ... A dog by the side of the forest ... Slowly, she pieced it all together. After a minute or so, she sat up in bed, inked her quill and began to scribble words quickly in her journal.

After she had recalled all she could, she realized she was in agreement with her brother. She would head to Solitude.

Posted by: treydog Nov 22 2020, 08:43 PM

It is wonderful to have new Renee writing! And what in intriguing and lush start, filled with descriptions, and tension, and mystery. (Gets the popcorn and settles in for the story).

Posted by: SubRosa Nov 23 2020, 07:05 AM

This felt like a dream from the start, which is neat.

Uh oh, methinks that fella with the dog is going to be trouble. Especially given the name of this episode.

Posted by: Acadian Nov 23 2020, 02:26 PM

I'm so pleased to see you finally posting something in the fan fic forum! I know you have been apprehensive at that but we really don't bite. In fact I suspect most of us are primarily interested in encouraging whatever the objectives of the writer are; after all, the primary goal here is to have fun and enjoy this supportive outlet for your creativity.

Speaking of creativity, this was a wonderfully mysterious introduction that built a nice sense of anticipation as to what will happen next. The dream was a nice way to go, since it affords plenty of freedom and lends itself to raising more questions than answers. Given your 'Dreams' thread, I chuckled as I imagined this is what some your own dreams feel like.

Given the title, man + dog, I am wondering the same thing as SubRosa.

Posted by: macole Nov 23 2020, 05:35 PM

A good beginning left me looking forward to reading more of this adventure. Running off to Solitude on the suggestion of a dream is good but I’m a bit apprehensive about the brother and his dog. Be wary Laprima, I’m not sure Elija is who you think he is.

Posted by: Renee Dec 7 2020, 04:25 PM

Hey, thanks you all. Sorry I've been quiet.

SubRosa: As you intuited, that fellow with the dog IS going to be trouble for her. I hope Chorrol.com stay open throughout the 2020s, as it's going to take some time to tell the rest of her tale.


macole: Thank you so much. Hopefully this story will have a different 'feel' to it compared to my writings outside of fan fiction. I am glad you are holding down the fort in the Oblivion Spoilers section and I plan to write more Kahreem (maybe Joan of Arkay) there some day.

Acadian: Yes, here's a true Fan Fic story, I hope. I've been planning this for several years now! .... I wrote the above a while ago (over a year ago, for sure) after having a dream of my own, in which I was hiding in a hay cart from party-goers, so Laprima's pilot chapter is amended from that.

Nowadays I tend to think of Fan Fiction as a 'best work' sort of scenario. I only want to put my best in this forum. Goblin Lady came close, you were right about that. I would say Vicious on the other hand is sloppier (her tale is supposed to be a bit vulgar and shiftless) and I like writing Vicious tales on-the-spot as I'm gaming, whereas with Laprima there will be more imagination involved. THAT to me is the main difference between fanfics versus mere updates--imagination becomes more prevalent, right?

treydog-- Your story with Athynae and Athlain inspired me a few months ago. Now that it's colder, and I play Skyrim when it's colder, here we are. Unfortunately your popcorn may have gone cold by now. Sorry about that!


All-- This is a Skyrim story, and it will continue it after I finally b34t Skyrim's main quest. Finishing the MQ has to happen first; that's the goal I set for myself. Not with Laprima, but with another character of mine. So it might be awhile before Chapter II gets written, but it's coming.

Laprimma Donna was an independent beauty parlor located near me, mostly where we'd get our nails and hair done for some special occasion. I went in there once. Got the inspiration to use its name for some reason for my lady up above. I was torn between Laprima Donaugh and Hera Ticch, but I think Laprima works better. Donaugh is an actual Irish surname, and as we'll see, Laprima has some 'Irish' in her (...what equates to Irish in the land of Elder Scrolls).

Posted by: macole Dec 10 2020, 06:56 AM

I have an earworm that has been singing Dion’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzvgrDZqrZY the past few days ever since I read this so I have to toss in my two-cents worth. When looking for something to equate to Irish I’ll point to the Bretons in High Rock. There’s enough counties in High Rock to cover every Celtic tribe and then some e.g. Irish, Manx, Cornish, Welsh, Scottish and of course Bretons. Then there is the Daggerfall book The Faerie. It’s somewhat out of favor these days but somewhere in the chain are the Irish Aes Sidhe.

Posted by: Renee Dec 11 2020, 03:55 PM

Hey look at that, There's some Dion. Haven't heard some Dion since I was a kid, I think.

I don't remember what race Laprima is, pretty sure she's Imperial. She's supposed to be royalty, but I don't want to get too far ahead of the story just yet.

Posted by: Renee Jan 22 2022, 02:34 AM

Nope, she is Nord. Matter of fact, here is her stat sheet. Yeah, I make one of these for all of mine.

Laprimma Donnagh

Created: 12:14 pm October 29, 2017

Race: Nord
Sex: Female
Class: Nightblade (customized)

Age: 20

Birthsign: The Lady

Alignment:
Tendencies:

ST: 8.00
DX: 8.00
IQ: 16.38

Skills: Alertness (1), Charisma (2), Horsemanship (1), Knife (1), Literacy (1), Scholar (2), Speechcraft (2), Silent Movement (2), Thief (2), Thrown Weapons (2)*

Spells: Heal Self

Note: the skills and spells above are what Laprima comes to Skyrim with pre-knowledtge.

* Thrown Weapons is tentative. There is a good thrown weapon mod called Throwing Weapons but it includes grenades. If we can remove these it should work.

Scholar would normally be given 3 IQ points, but it includes the ability to "know any language", which Laprima has not studied. She has studied all manner of Tamrelic lore, the Gods, culture (including Skyrim's).

Posted by: Renee Jan 23 2022, 06:16 PM

.
They weren't supposed to happen to her, the events which are to be told in this upcoming story.

She had the life of a princess. A life which many spend their days reposed and dreaming of. Coddled and virtually cuddled with riches. Servants and assistants. A man to wed on her horizon. Had she stayed in Cyrodiil, had she not followed the mischievous, dream-given advice from her brother, would any of the changes-to-come actually become?

__________

Solitude


The day was half over and skies were fair over the town of Solitude, when a ship arrived at the town's docks. Once it had been properly moored, activity then ensued. Sailors and longshoremen began their tasks; unloading crates and barrels, folding the ship's mainsail into its boom, busying themselves with tacks and hull-work. Bells clanged in the distance as they worked.

Very few of those who arrived to Solitude on this day had traveled to Skyrim permanently. One of these travelers moved slower than the rest. A young lady, a noblewoman, poshly dressed in clothes of golden weaves, a hat of fur upon her head. The lady looked upward, upward toward the town, which seemed as though it'd been built an entire mile over the sea. She then gazed this way and that, seeming confused as to which way to go. Finally, she asked one of the wharfmen something. One of the wharfmen answered. His answer took roughly a minute, as he patiently explained some details. The lady seemed satisfied, so she began to walk briskly away.









High above her, high above the boats and Solitude's docks that is, a conversation ensued.

"Has the ship moored?" asked Elisif the Fair, high queen of Skyrim.

"Indeed it has," replied Falk Firebeard, Elisif's long-trusted steward. "As of eleven hours and thirty, its anchor has dropped, and its sails are being stowed."

Elisif fidgeted. Adjusted herself upon her throne. Smiled. Gazed lazily to the right. Her fingers touched her temple, rubbed for a moment. A look upon her face. Falk Firebeard knew that look well. It was Elisif's look of concern.






By now, the lady in golden weaves had arrived to Solitude's entry gate. The journey from ship to town hadn't lasted long, yet it had been somewhat confusing. This could be inferred by the way the lady paused, before continuing to walk, several times as she came up the hill. She passed by a soldier, who said something to her. The lady listened to the soldier a moment, then continued to walk.






As Falk knew well, Elisif the Fair was one of the only Jarls in Skyrim who never slouched upon her throne. She never slouched, because she felt it to be of utmost importance to present herself to her city in a proper, delegatory way at all times. Dignified, yet anticipating. Especially after the events of the past few months. Many things had happened, many bad things had occurred in her beloved country during these months. It was important to maintain a solid, steady presence under such circumstances. Regality had been set aside during these months for greater reception.

But today would be a brighter spot in a slew of darkened affairs. Today would be a day of celebration! As the Blue Palace's magical musical devices swirled soothing music throughout, all of her court was present. Falk the Steward at one side, Bolgeir Bearclaw, her trusty Nordic Housecarl, at the other. Sybille Stentor, the court's sage and wizard, was also milling about. As were a smattering of guards and servants. All of them waiting for the moment to come.

"I .. I cannot wait to see her," Elisif confided to her people nervously. "Elated, dare I say! ... And well, I just hope everything has gone well."

"I am sure it has," Falk replied in his thick Nordic accent. "I am sure she's made it here just fine, milady."

Falk is often right about things like this, thought Elisif the Fair, while seconds and minutes passed by. As she and her court continued to wait, the lady wearing golden threads walked into The Winking Skeever, Solitude's inn. She then inquired which way she'd need to go, to find the Blue Palace.
.

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 23 2022, 07:53 PM

I love the remark that Elisef never slouched on her throne.

My everyone is anxiously awaiting the Primma's arrival. I wonder what they are expecting from her?

Posted by: Lopov Jan 23 2022, 08:02 PM

Nice touch about mentioning ringing bells in the background down in the docks - very true.

I also liked it that the actual conversation between the wharfman and Laprimma was never directly written down, instead we could deduce that she got enough directions to find her way to the town.

Elisif is concerned and elated at once, I wonder what is her opinion of Laprimma.

Posted by: Acadian Jan 23 2022, 09:31 PM

A tantalizing arrival in Solitude that raises as many questions as it answers. It certainly makes me want to continue reading and find out what happens next!

Posted by: Renee Jan 29 2022, 03:54 PM

@Rosa-- Yes, Elisif the Fair never slouches upon her throne, this is true. I read this at UESP, I think. Whoever edited the article on her noticed all the other (awful) jarls tend to slouch.

@Lopov -- Exactly! (About her name not being mentioned yet). I know it's sort of pretentious to write this way, like it's some huge mystery who is walking from the docks, but I'm trying a bunch of new things as her story gets written. I really like the way Chapter 2 moved along with this sort of vague & subtle mystery.

@Acadian-- You have no idea what is to come, this is true. Creation Kit / quest stuff, and so on. It gets rather complicated sometimes, as well as the actual story, which is partially fiction, and partially in-game/real. So I just hope it all works!

I rolled Laprima way back in 2017! I had all these ideas for her story, all of which have been written down on Notepad pages. Some of what you read last week, today, and next week was written way back in December of 2020. Let's see what happens next.

Posted by: Renee Jan 30 2022, 03:43 PM

.
________

Arrival




As Solitude's court waited for her arrival, the poshly-dressed lady who'd traveled to Skyrim entered The Winking Skeever, Solitude's inn and tavern. Dim lighting, the smell of good food. She gazed around a bit. A few patrons were sitting at tables, while a bard played her lute in the Skeever's dining area. Across the room, an innkeeper stood behind his counter. The poshly-dressed lady walked to him. She asked him a question, and the innkeeper took some time to answer. Seemingly satisfied, she ordered a drink, then sat at a nearby table.

A few moments later a man's voice called to her. "Oy, come with me wench!" he said. The voice was coming from a nearby hall. So she stood, turned, and looked round the corner. The man was walking toward her. He wore garb which perhaps looked out of place, here in Solitude's cozy tavern. Fur and bones for armor, with two skulls hanging from his belt.

"Shh!" he spoke quietly. "I overheard what you said to the barkeep. Here. Take this," he said, handing her a note. "Chamany said for you to have it."

The lady took the note, saying nothing.

"Head on to the Blue Palace, they all are waitin' for you. You never saw me, a'right?"

And the man in strange garb was gone.

With this note in hand, she finished her drink, and quickly left the tavern. Back outside, she turned to the left, and began walking briskly away. But something was happening across the courtyard, something serious, which caught her attention. A group of townspeople stood before the town's public podium. Something grim was going on, and the townspeople were watching it.

The lady stopped walking. Turned and moved back to the courtyard, to stand and watch with the others.

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

Inside the Blue Palace, Elisif the Fair continued to await the presence of her highly-anticipated guest. As she did so, Falk Firebeard began to shuffle a bit. He'd been standing for over an hour, and was becoming restless. To pass the time he began to speak.

"Has she been to Skyrim before?" he asked.

Elisif's face went momentarily taut, as though her thoughts had been scattered. "She has not."

"Gracious. When is the last time you saw your niece?"

"Oh my." Elisif thought for a bit. "Not since she was a lass, I'd say. Maybe ten, eleven years' past. I was still living in the Imperial City. This was before Torygg and I met, of course. I was about twenty-five or so. Laprima was ten or eleven. We were at some sort of gala celebration, in the White Gold Tower itself. All of us dressed in our very finest. And Laprima went to hiding, or some such. She went missing, that is. None of us could find her. We were all worried of course, looking and searching all over. The little twerp was supposed to join us for supper!" Elisif began smiling as she recalled.

"So what happened?"

"Finally found her. She'd gone off exploring the tower's crypt, wretched place. Her pink little dress was all smudged with dust!" Elisif giggled a moment as she remembered. "Oh, the dawdlings of children..."

"I see," Firebeard said, absently rubbing his sidearm a bit. "Yes, 'tis good we do not remain as lads and lasses, perhaps. Imagine the world if we were all so careless. Well... many thanks for sharing."

"Many thanks," a few others murmured.

Next it was Sybille Stentor who spoke. "Are you at liberty to tell us why she is locating here now?" the court wizard asked abruptly. "In these times of possible warfare brewing about, perhaps this was a bit of a risky move. We know she and Chamany wish to be wed, soon. They could have done so within their homeland, where the lands are safer." Sybille paused, letting her observations be pondered. "And why did Sir Chamany arrive here a month ago, without his bride-to-be?"

Such a set of questions might seem like a set of unwelcome challenges to the authority of Skyrim's new leader; indeed, one of the court's servants nearly dropped her serving tray as the wizard's words sunk in! But coming from Sybille, whose job it was to know and scrutinize and possibly see all likely, upcoming events, for better or worse, the jarl seemed mostly unfazed.

"Are you suggesting Laprima could be in peril?" Elisif asked.

"It does seem odd," Falk said before the wizard could answer. "I must admit, especially the fact that she chose to come to Skyrim upon a literal barge, a cargo ship as a matter of fact. Why not ride upon one of the royal arks instead?"

"Yes, the Katariah has made the journey from Cyrodiil to Skyrim plenty-a-times," Bolgier Bearclaw added, his voice not as sure as those of the others.

"Maybe she wished not to be noticed as she arrived," Sybille spoke, answering her previous question. "This seems so, I believe. A rather mundane journey this would be, without the luxury of fluffings and her well-apportioned cabin. No Cyrodiilic brandy, no caviar'd slaughterfish eggs as she travelled. But her reception would not be heralded at all when she got here, see? ... Because maybe she does not want to arrive here as a noble. Maybe that would be ... embarrassing for her?"

Sybille began nibbling upon a bit of brioche, congratulating herself, it might seem.

"Makes sense," Firebeard agreed. "She arrives, the ship arrives, that is. The dock bursts alive with workingmen, milling about. No reception. No blasts from the bugles. No revelry at all. And niece Donnaugh arrives without fanfare."

"Perfection," the court wizard replied, wiping a crumb from her lip. As always, it seemed she hadn't really eaten the bun she'd nibbled upon, only chewed it a bit with her incisors. "An arrival without fanfare. I applaud the miss."

"We applaud the miss," Firebeard pumped the air triumphantly with his fist. "By the graces of the Eight."

"By the graces of the Eight," murmured Elisif's court.

Silence fell for a few moments, with only the Blue Palace's soothing music keeping the sudden lull of chatting voices from becoming awkward. Until finally...

"What's taking so long?" Elisif asked. "Falk. Are you sure you sent word to the guards that my niece is to be here on this day, Frostfall the twenty-fourth?"

And Falk Firebeard did not have an immediate answer to his lady's query.

It was as if the entire world had shifted a bit, an earthquake had occurred beneath their feet perhaps, the palace's walls had begun to crumble perhaps, the entire natural stone arch which held Solitude over the sea had begun to break apart perhaps. Because for once, Falk Firebeard did not have an immediate answer to his lady's query.

"I uh..."

"Well, listen. It is fine. It is not of any worry or concern," Elisif said soothingly. "Let us not become fussy. It is not as if Laprima has fallen prey to maliciousness, right? Just ... we shall do it now. We shall call the guard now. GUARDS!" she hollered, while Falk began to sulk.

"Yes, milady," answered one of Solitude's finest. He had appeared so quickly up the stairs, it was as if he'd been listening to their words all along.

"Head down toward the docks," Firebeard commanded, taking over. "See and inquire if our lady's niece has arrived. Her name is Laprima."

"Yes, milord."

The guard began to move downstairs just as quickly as he'd come. But before he could get far there was a bit of commotion, coming from the palace's entry foyer. The Blue Palace's doors were heard opening wide, and the sound of footsteps began to echo toward the court.
.

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 30 2022, 07:46 PM

This mysterious skull man is certainly mysterious, passing the Prima secret notes.

Oh, so she is Elisef's niece! Now some things make more sense.

And now the mystery of Sir Chamany is revealed as well.

Uh oh, here comes... someone. Laprimma? Only time will tell the tale.

Posted by: macole Jan 30 2022, 08:45 PM

Did the guards get the message of Laprima's expected arrival and what of that mysterious letter from Chamany? Hmmm, I wonder.

Posted by: Acadian Jan 30 2022, 09:15 PM

This is fun, as you gradually reveal tidbits of information - and this episode included several new morsels. Still loads of mystery and unanswered questions.

I'm enjoying the mix of the familiar (Winking Skeever, public execution, Elisef's court) with Laprima's tale yet to be told.

Posted by: Lopov Jan 31 2022, 07:21 PM

Nice, each story is more interesting than the one before. You're really making a big event out of Laprima's arrival to Solitude, I guess that we as readers are anticipating her as eagerly as her aunt.

Chamany! What a cool name. I had a character in Skyrim named Chamany as well.

Posted by: Renee Feb 19 2022, 04:46 PM

Hello, I'm finally back. New computer's on the way. My old auxiliary computer went kaput last week, and its hard drive is where all my stories are, but fortunately I am in the habit of emailing story text back and forth. This means I've had access to the next two chapters, only needing to write in a few missing parts.

SubRosa-- that guy who gave Laprima the note started because I was trying to learn how to make an NPC force-greet my character. It took a surprisingly long time for me to learn this (as Creation Kit stuff, even the easiest stuff, often does). In the process I began to make a little story around that guy. He's the one who basically kicks in Laprima's "main quest".

macole-- We're about to see if the guard is successful at finding my lady, and other things indeed. Since you know what it's like to be immaculately frightened by a videogame, I am going to try to throw a little Daggerfall into Laprima's tale here and there.

Thanks Acadian. I'm having fun writing this one, but in a different way than a lot of past characters I've been with. With Kahreem, Joan of Arkay, and several others for instance, I'm writing the story as it goes along, following whatever Bethesda quest(s) they're involved with. With Sarah and Vicious and Goblin Lady, I make my own quests, but most of those are short-term stuff. Nothing too grand. With Laprima though, I've been compiling ideas for the past FOUR years! I basically meant to start gaming with her way back in 2018. Yeah. So, there's a lot of directions and ideas her story can follow.

Lopov -- Yeah sorry, I borrowed the name Chamany because I got stuck for a name, and I've always liked Chamany. It sounds sort of French. I know he was one of your first Skyrim characters. This is not supposed to be the same guy, though.

Me -- So to recap, not much has happened so far. Laprima has arrived to Skyrim, while Lady Elisif, her aunt, awaits, along with the rest of the court. For some reason, Laprima took a detour into the Winking Skeever, where she was handed a note from a stranger. This note was from her husband-to-be, Chamany LaCroix, who seems not to be present in Solitude as of yet.

Posted by: Renee Feb 19 2022, 05:39 PM

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___________

Aunt Elisif






On Frostfall the twenty-fourth and roughly mid-day, Laprima Anne Donnaugh walked toward the Blue Palace, and breathed a sigh. The most difficult parts of her journey were over and done.

The trip from Bravil to Solitude had taken thirty-three days. She had traveled upon a three year-old freight ship called The Mongrel with a crew of seventeen others. Some of The Mongrel's crew had told her she'd been wise to sail with them during Hearthfire and into Frostfall, when weather was still fair. Had they begun during winter months, the seas would have been rougher, and skies would have been darker. Other than a few days of near-freezing weather as the ship crested the Sea of Ghosts north of Skyrim, the cruise had mostly been pleasant.

Laprima reflected a bit as she walked down an avenue, approaching the palace.

Skyrim so far did not seem so harsh, like most folks in Cyrodiil (all the Heartlanders especially) said it was. Skyrim's air (so far) was brisk, but not brutally cold, as she'd been fearing. Very unlike the warm summer weather she'd left behind.

And Solitude so far seemed like a safe and picturesque place to live. ...Well, a man had just been beheaded near the town's front gates, and for everyone to see. His head had been lopped by an executioner, who'd swung an axe taller than Laprima herself! But other than that, her first impressions of the town were good ones. Perhaps the man was some sort of monster. Perhaps he had deserved his punishment.

Still, Laprima shuddered, before coming to an abrupt halt. That man, whoever he was, his life had just ended. Maybe he had gotten what he deserved. But what a thing to witness, on one's first visit to an unfamiliar town.

She began walking again, thinking back. Life had been rough these past couple of years; she had had to do a few things she hadn't been proud of. But lately, everything seemed to be improving. Coming to Skyrim was a good decision, she finally concludes. Everything was falling into place.

Laprima took a moment to stand before the palace's entry doorway, taking a deep breath before continuing into the building. But she did not show up and enter alone. A group of others had also arrived with her, purely by coincidence; two men and one woman.

The first man wore earth-colored clothes and was balding, with a slight beard. What remained of his hair was reddish. The second man was dressed in a suit of hardened armor, with a gallant-looking headpiece of bronze and turquoise. His eyes were alert. This second man seemed ready. He had dark hair with a dark goatee. While both men were well-dressed, the balding one appeared to be a commoner, a townie, while the second seemed more the adventuring, traveling type.

Finally, the woman, who was an elf. She was wearing a drab, blue-colored robe, and had a rather eccentric head of blond hair, like something a pack of hornets might feel comfortable living in. At first sight, Laprima guessed the elf to be a user of magic. Not a full-fledged wizard, but perhaps a student, an apprentice, of magical pursuits.

Laprima, the two men, and the robe-wearing elf took in their new environment, while the palace's doors shut behind them. Soft music swirled atmospherically, just as it often did in many of Cyrodiil's upper-scale environments. And...despite its name, seems the place's interior was not entirely blue! Most of the Blue Palace's walls, floors, and decor were more of a dingy beige, accented only occasionally with a blue tile here, a bluish stone arch or railing there.

Beyond the initial room they were in was a larger chamber. The four newcomers glanced at each other awkwardly, as if to decide which one should proceed toward the court first. Because obviously, it seemed this was the reason all of them were here.

The balding commoner man began moving first. But a moment later he halted. One of Solitude's guards came rushing toward the group of newcomers, walking fast, nearly sprinting. He took a moment to nod at the group before bustling straight out the front door, entirely missing the lady Falk had tasked him to find.

“Let us try again,” The balding man said, striding forward a second time. The adventurous-looking man followed, the robe-wearing elf with the wicked hair was next, and Laprima came last. The chamber they walked into was larger, two stories tall. Before them were two staircases, half-spirals which led upward. The balding man moved up the left set of stairs after a smidge of hesitation, as though he'd been here before, so the others followed. Laprima chose a different path, taking the right staircase instead. At the top of the stairs was the Blue Palace's court. Seems they were all in the right place.

Laprima Anne Donnaugh peered across the room at her aunt, Lady Elisif the Fair, and felt a bit unsure.

Elisif the Fair, High Queen of Skyrim, sitting upon her throne surrounded by minions, all who look pensive and important. Despite the fact that Elisif had recently been widowed, her husband apparently killed (murdered, some were saying) by one of Skyrim's jarls, the queen herself still managed to emit a regal presence. Assured, yet expectant. There she is, on top of her domain, Laprima thought. Which caused her to feel a little doubtful, a little apprehensive. Was she really doing the right thing by coming here, being here?

"Welcome folks," Elisif spoke, her voice light and sopranic. "I welcome all of you here, that you may find fit to address this court in manners which suit you. Now, who shall go first?" She smiled politely.

The balding man paused a moment before approaching.

"I swear to you, unnatural lights are coming from that cave!" he blurted, not bothering to explain who he was, or what exactly he was talking about. "There are noises and lights! We need someone to investigate!" He had seemed so confident as he'd walked up those stairs moments before, yet now he blubbered, sounding rather frightened.

"Then we will immediately send out a legion to scour the cave," the High Queen replied with calm authority. Despite the fact the commoner had not introduced himself or clarified his story, it seemed Elisif already knew. "We will scour the cave and secure the town. Haafingar's people will always be safe under my–"

“Your eminence,” a woman wearing robes staunched, interrupting Elisif mid-sentence. “My scrying has detected nothing in the area." Like the elf who'd ascended the stairs, Laprima noticed this woman also bore an aura of magic. Unlike the elf though, this woman wore a hood, hiding her hair and most of her face. "Dragon Bridge is under Imperial control. This is likely superstitious nonsense."

As the robed woman spoke, Laprima twitched. Widened her eyes and focused. Because there was something about the woman-in-robes who'd begun to speak seemingly out-of-turn. Something there, which grabbed Laprima's attention. And it wasn't that she'd so rudely spoken over her aunt.

"Perhaps a more ... tempered reaction ... might be called for?" asked another of Elisif's court, a man with dark red hair, and a beard to match. Unlike Elisif, who spoke with a cultured, Colovian-raised voice, this man was definitely from Skyrim. His accent was thick. Laprima found she could barely understand him at first.

"Oh, yes of course, you are right," Elisif replied. "Falk, tell Captain Aldis I said to assign a few extra soldiers to Dragon Bridge."

"But--" started the robed woman.

"Sybille, please!" Elisif's voice rose a notch. "We'll not hear any more of your attempts at scrying. Not on this matter. I am forthwith granting extra soldiers to go and inspect the area. Commence. This shall be done."

Delegation, right then and there. The robed woman who'd interrupted her aunt with her 'scrying' advice had just been overridden. Impressive, yet elegant. Laprima, as a member of a noble family down in Cyrodiil, had been raised amongst powerful people all her life. Though she herself had never wielded any sort of power, never held a position to mandate important decisions, and maybe never would, she always took notice of the way things were done from up top. How they were done. Some rulers handled their courts better than others, was her opinion. And it seemed her aunt could handle hers with the best of them.

"Thank you Jarl Elisif," the balding man from Dragon Bridge bowed a bit. "But, w-what about the cave?"

"I will have someone take care of the cave, Varinus," the red-bearded man to Elisif's left commented. "Now, rest easy. You are dismissed!"

The Blue Palace's music swirled softly. While Varinus the commoner from Dragon Bridge left the court, the adventurer with dark hair and magical elf who'd climbed the stairs behind him both stepped forward. Both offered their assistance. Both of them had listened patiently to Varinus, and both of them decided they’d like to do something about the village’s plight. Adventurers, both of them, for sure then. The man was named Lucius, and the woman named Crystal. After gaining acceptance from the queen, Lucius and Crystal also departed.

Finally it was Laprima’s turn.

"Greetings to you," Elisif called to her, a little impatiently. "A little busy we are now! As you can see, we’ve had a few local problems to solve, and now we await the presence of my niece. No offense to you dear, but might you draw your concerns from this court at a later arrangement?"

Laprima Anne Donnaugh moved toward her aunt, her face tinged.

"Aunt Elisif, do you not recognize your niece?" asked she.
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Posted by: Lopov Feb 19 2022, 07:20 PM

Great portrayal of the conversations taking place in the Royal Palace with an unexpected ending, as the anticipated guest doesn't even get recognized!

Nice Lopov-ed pic of the Blue Palace as well and thank you for a reference to Lucius Caro.

Posted by: SubRosa Feb 19 2022, 08:05 PM

Gosh, poor Laprima sure is anxious about meeting her aunt. It seems like there is more going on behind the scenes than you have revealed yet.

As Lopov noted, I liked the Lopov shot of the Blue Palace.

Posted by: Acadian Feb 19 2022, 09:34 PM

Finally we get to hear some of the inner thoughts of our protagonist as she reviews her journey from Bravil.

Great job 'showing' us the inner workings and undercurrents in Elisef's court by how it deals with Varinus' concerns.

How funny that, after all Elisef's anticipation, she indeed does not recognize her niece! Well, I understand it has been a long time after all.

Posted by: Renee Mar 1 2022, 04:52 PM

Thanks. That was a complicated scene which built up in my imagination over the past few weeks. Basically, when the Wolfskull Cave quest progresses into the Blue Palace's court (with the guy from Dragon Bridge stating his case) our character is supposed to be there. Laprima won't be doing that quest, so I began to think 'who else might be here' instead? I chose one of my toons (https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/ad208/xenaclone/.highres/Image0085.jpg) and one of yours.

I did not know buildings can be Lopov'd.




Absolutely there is more going on behind the scenes. I am glad you picked up on this, it means I wrote the story effectively.




Yes again, that was a complicated scene to write. It's just like in real-life though, right? Little blunders here and there, mis-communications, and so on. In fact, the scene, as I wrote it originally in 2018 or so, had Laprima simply walking into the court and her aunt not recognizing her. But that would be kind of lame, I wanted to add all the other stuff which occurs during our usual first meet with Falk, the queen, Sybille, and so on. I wanted to add all the things she thinks about (with the execution and so on). This is Fan Fiction after all, right?

Next chapter (chapter 5) should be up in a few hours. This next one is also rather complicated. Finally with Chapter 6, I should hopefully be able to just start actually gaming with my toon. 6 should go up this weekend, as I'm seeing it'll be cloudy and/or rainy

Posted by: Renee Mar 5 2022, 11:58 AM

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Rectifications


"Laprima," Elisif blinked rapidly several times. "Laprima!" She rose from her throne. "My grandest apologies to you dear! It has... well it has been so long!"

"Yes it has," Elisif's niece agreed, grinning softly.

"I do apologize!” The queen’s voice was lilting now. “It has been years since you and I have laid eyes. And we have been so formally busy with inquests today!"

"It is fine! Really, aunt Elisif."

But the queen persisted. “By gracious. Last time I saw you, you were but a child! I cannot say this without embarrassment, I admit fully before the court, I did not recognize you. Do you forgive me?”

"You have no need for apologies," Laprima answered as her smile began to fade.





As they spoke, their voices reverberated between dozens of strategically-placed surfaces; the floor, the ceiling, between multiple walls, planes, jambs, and crevices. Because any good court where aristocratic topics were discussed would not be as good without a series of variegated echoes.

Laprima had come to Skyrim wearing a frock of embroidered golden furs, with a hat to match, anticipating cold air. But it wasn't so cold here, not in Solitude anyway. So she removed the hat, revealing a mass of dark hair. Laprima’s hair dropped and drooped, finally settling into a mixture of iron-straight, and curvy curls.

"How is this? You can see me now?"

"Oh, do come here!" But Elisif did not wait. She abandoned her throne. Rushed over to embrace her niece. "How was your journey? Were the seas rough?"

"It was a little rough,” Laprima's little grin returned. “The journey was lovely, in its own sort of way. I did not think I could ever become any sort of seafarer. Yet here I am."

By now she was feeling more comfortable, all she’d needed was to actually converse with her aunt. As moments passed, her level of confidence rose a little. What had I been so worried about? Everything was going to be fine.

The palace’s music swirled. Elisif lowered her voice, so that the others might not hear. "But you came upon a … freighter?"

"Well, yes."

Aunt Elisif held Laprima at arm's length for a moment, before finally letting her go. "I don't understand. Well, we don't understand."

But before Elisif's niece could explain, the court’s wizard spoke. “Not that it is any of our concern, but we were thinking perhaps you had taken that ship so as not to cause a fuss upon your arrival." Sybille said, her voice a tad raspy. "As you are of a noble’s status, you might not have wanted the usual panoply a woman of your … elevated status might elicit?”

Laprima’s face twitched a little. Her eyes focused. That wizard, she thought. Something about her. But she was distracted. Could not draw whatever conclusion she seemed to be headed toward. “Well…yes,” she answered slowly, “I was just wanting to travel as a citizen. To just be one of the crew, I suppose. As you say, I did not wish to cause a fuss. I am a noble's daughter, yes, but this does not mean I must always live so grandly.”

Laprima and Sybille stared at each other for a few moments. Laprima trying to deduce, and Sybille already knowing. A series of gentle lutes played softly in the background, as the two ladies' eyes locked.

Elisif broke the silence. “Come on now!” she exclaimed enthusiastically. “Laprima! Let me show you to your quarters. Follow me, please!”

“Yes of course.”

“Falk, Sybille, Bolgier, you may go.”

At once they dispersed. Falk, the red-bearded Nord man with the thick accent, Sybille the court wizard, and a man Elisif had not addressed until now stalked off, to whatever else they had planned for the rest of the day.

Laprima Donnaugh followed her aunt. They exited the court from its right side, made a sharp turn, walked across a portion of a hallway, and into an open room somewhat to the left. “This room is…Sybille’s,” Elisif explained.

“Really lovely architecture,” the niece commented.

“You'll be quartered next to Sybille, but do not let this bother you dear. Sybille can be difficult sometimes, but, ah. Here we go.”

Before the queen was a door made of oak, with a knob and fastenings of heavy iron. “This door is locked,” she explained. ”But here,” she said, handing her relative a key. “Take this, please. And let's have a look inside!"

“Thank you.”

She twisted the key, which unlocked the door. The two stepped inside Laprima’s new room, which was similar in decor to Sybille’s. Main difference was, Sybille the wizard did not have her own door.

"This place is yours for as long as you, and Chamany, would like to stay.”

"Oh, well thank you. This is lovely."

Once they were inside, first thing she noticed was her room did not have any magical music playing from somewhere unseen. Not that this would be a problem; Laprima was silently glad.

Aunt Elisif closed the door softly behind them, then turned to her niece. Now that both of them were inside, something about the queen had altered. Laprima noticed this immediately. Elisif's face went from sunny and cheerful, to wry and serious.

“So Laprima dear. Let us get some things straight right away.”

“Hmm? What? What is it, aunt Elisif?” she asked innocently.

But Laprima Anne Donnaugh already knew the answer to that.

Elisif chuckled a bit. “Listen to this. You sound just as when I last saw you in White Gold Tower.” The aunt smiled, shaking her head a little. “A mere child, hiding off into the crypts.”

Laprima said nothing. There was nothing to say. Because my goodness, Aunt Elisif already knew.

“We are not playing children's games here, Laprima,” the queen continued, walking a neat circle around her niece, her face pinched. "As you may have surmised by now, I know all about your actions down in Cyrodiil. I know about the thefts, I know about ruckus, and the lies, do NOT think you’ll be given a soft ride now that you’re out of Cyrodiil, do you understand?”

Elisif the Fair stopped her discourse. Gathered herself. Her face softened. “Well, goodness. I just rose my voice at you. I am so sorry dear, for that little outburst.”

“No, it is alright,” Laprima muttered, her shoulders sagging. “Listen,” she spoke softly, choosing her words carefully. “I – I have done some things I am not proud of. I made some mistakes. I fully admit this. And, I was hoping you might not have heard these things, way up here in Skyrim. But you have, you have heard them," she said sadly. "News travels far, apparently." With these words spoken aloud, Laprima nodded. "But I am here now. I am here, in Solitude. And I am prepared to make things right,” she said quietly, her eyes beginning to water.

“Oh Laprima, don’t do that. No, don’t do that!” The queen handed her niece a scarf. "I did not wish to make you upset."

“No, it is alright. I am glad to be here in your company. And glad to know you have accepted me, despite my past.” She wiped her face with the scarf, righting her shoulders. “I shall try my best to cause amends, I promise. I am just lucky to be given a second chance.”

“That’s uplifting to hear," her aunt answered. "When a girl is obedient and sweet, the world cannot help but love her. Now, would you like me to give you a little tour of Solitude?" she smiled. "Just the two of us?”

“Yes. Sure, let us go,” Laprima answered.

"Then let us commence."

Elisif turned to the door, began walking toward it, but then stopped. “Just one more thing.”

“One more thing? Yes, what is it?”

“Your face, uhm, your maquillage,” the queen answered. “So dour, and so pale. Stark black mascaras against a pale white foundation.”

“My face is dour and pale?”

“It’s just that, well, you are about to embark into marriage with Chamany, wherever he may be. You are about to be wed, within a matter of weeks.” Elisif placed a hand upon her niece’s wrist, standing close. “And perhaps it might suit you better to present your man with a … uhm, a freshened appearance."

“A freshened appearance." Laprima's replied, a mixture of emotion upon her face. "And what have you in mind?"

“Oh it’s just a suggestion, dear. We’ve had a problem lately with vampires in Skyrim, sad to say. There’s word these monsters are spreading into our outlying villages, and even walled towns such as Whiterun. The menace will be dealt with, should they ever appear in Solitude. This I can assure. This I can promise.”

Laprima Anne Donnaugh said nothing. My aunt says I look like a vampire, thought she. She tried not to let her shoulders slump again.

“Ach, do not fret. We have a fantastic and lovely facial artist here in town. We have wardrobe shops! We have anything a lady of our status could ever want," Elisif the Fair was back to being sunny, smiling, and radiant. "Come with me. Let’s go on the town.”

The pair walked back the way they had come, their footfalls reverberating softly. Because any good court where delicate footfalls were to be heard would not be as good without a series of variegated echoes. As they left the Blue Palace, Elisif chattering on about wardrobes and weddings and 'maquillages', Laprima began to realize something about her aunt. She was serious about this.



At that very moment and several miles down the road, Chamany LaCroix, Laprima’s husband-to-be, was riding slowly away from the village of Dragon Bridge, on a young and sturdy mare. He hoped to make it to Solitude by nightfall.
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Posted by: SubRosa Mar 5 2022, 07:34 PM

I love the mention of the variegated surfaces and aristocratic topics.

It sounds like Laprima is not quite as much a prima donna as her name might imply. She took an ordinary freighter to just live the normal life of any commoner for a little while. I imagine it was quite an eye-opening experience!

It sounds like Laprima was a wild one down in Cyrodiil! Getting up to shenanigans and the like. I wonder if she will be joining the Thieves Guild?

Chamany keeps coming up. Where is he, I wonder? I sense something is afoot...

Elisef thinks Laprima is too Gothy!

Posted by: Acadian Mar 5 2022, 09:26 PM

Neat episode! We continue to learn more about the characters – particularly Laprima’s not so savory past. Elisef quite shines here as she displays great polish and tact in her court but does not mince words of what she expects once alone with her niece.

Maquillage. By Julianos’ little teapot, I had to ask Buffy what that meant!

I wonder if Laprima will get the treatment from those two snooty Altmer who run Radiant Raiment?

I agree with SubRosa on Chamany - not quite sure what to think yet. Sybille, on the other hand, clearly seems one to exercise caution around.

Posted by: Lopov Mar 9 2022, 01:15 PM

Each story that you post, is a cliff hanger of sort.

Looks like that news of Laprima's deeds back in Cyrodiil reached even her aunt's ears - love the contrast between the dialogue as they talk in front of Elisif's advisors compared to when they're alone.

Like others, I don't know what to think of Chamany's arrival. I sense a big mystery / secret behind the events that are taking place.

Posted by: Renee Mar 12 2022, 06:52 PM

Thanks you all. Sorry if this story is lacking the usual action which by now would be found in one of our stories. But like I said, this one is sort of different from the others. Maybe even a bit pretentious, but I don't care. Because it's leading to a definite point, for sure.

@SubRosa -- Nice, about the variegated echoes comment. I have no idea where that came from, but as you'll see, that aspect is not random Renee nonsense. I just did not see how that stuff about reverb and echoes fits until this next chapter.

Wow, you think she'll join the TG? Heh heh...

And yeah, it's funny how with some characters they live up to their names. Vicious is definitely Vicious, for instance. But Laprima Donnaugh is not much of a prima donna, right? She might be perceived as such at some point.


@Acadian -- My character's tale this time has a bunch of actual backstory, as we'll see in a few.

Yes Buffy might know that word, as she is obssessed with fashion as I recall. Maquillage is one of the words which popped up when I put "makeup" (as in facial makeup) into Thesaurus.com. I did not want to use the word makeup because it sounds too 'modern' and Earth-like.

And yeah, we're going to have some fun with the snooty folks who run the Raiment shop. I haven't written that part yet, but I can already sense it'll be fun to write.


@Lopov -- Yes, there is something wrong about the Chamany situation, glad you picked up on this.

The part when Laprima gets dressed down by her aunt was based on real events. Me at work, getting yelled at by a boss, but ONLY when the other co-workers were not around. Bleh.

Ler's see where this goes next.

Posted by: Renee Mar 12 2022, 08:50 PM

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The Past and the Present

Laprima and Elisif left the Blue Palace mid-afternoon, Elisif cheerful and elated, Laprima curious yet cautious. Their soles and heels clicked and clacked over Solitude's cobblestone streets. "Such a merry day!" Elisif called to the sky, while her niece inwardly groaned.

At this point in the story, let us take some time to glance into Laprima's upbringing.

Elisif's sister was named Alicia. In the Fourth Era's Year 179, Alicia married a land baron whose name Reiley Donnaugh. Due to some luck and some clever acumen with acreage deals, Reiley by then had made a small fortune. As Cyrodiil's wilder areas became rid of their vermin and monsters, more land was sold. The countryside's goblins and monsters in some locations were pushed away by men and by mer, which meant Reiley's funds only increased. Within another year Laprima was born. Within three, they had a son named Elija. Elija Donnaugh would be in their lives another five years, until he disappeared in the Year 190. By now Laprima was ten years of age, her younger brother was nearly eight.

At the time of his disappearance, Elija and Laprima had been playing a game they, and other neighborhood children, called 'Dare'. The idea of Dare was similar to the popular kid's game hide 'n' seek. One player (or several) would hide somewhere, while others would try to find them.

The game was initially played indoors when they were young, and not in school. But over the course of a year or two, they'd begun to hide from one another outdoors, in the streets of the city's Talos Plaza District. When some of the pack were nearing teenage years, the game had broadened to include the entire Imperial City. Hence, they were daring each other to keep pushing for new boundaries. New places they could try to hide from each other. The day Laprima had gone hiding into White Gold Tower's crypts, she'd merely been looking for a new place to dare the other kids, even though she, herself, was just nine.

As they continued daring one another into new territories, they were also facing a series of fears. Fear of getting caught by adults, but also fear of things irrational. Fear of the dark, fear of confined spaces, fear of spiders, rats, and other vermin. In this way, the game was not just a game. The 'hide' part of hide 'n' seek had become much more, as the phrase "I dare us to go..." had taken over their childhood.

It was on the day they broadened Dare to the Waterfront District that things had gone horribly wrong. The Waterfront, where thieves, vagrants, and killers were rumored to dwell. Elija, at just seven years of age, had chosen to brave the area with a hide, but had never been found. He'd not been found from the others who'd been playing, nor later as guards and adults took up th search. The boy simply vanished. His disappearance was investigated of course, but not a mere trace of him had ever been located. People on the Waterfront were not exactly known for loose lips. Even after a reward was promised, those who did speak to officials were unable to tell them exactly what happened.

And that was it. Laprima was despondent from the age of ten and deep into teenhood. Depressed, forlorn, her best friend for a long time was her cat. She was mostly uninterested in anything other than her studies, to which she pored lots of attention, and mostly excelled at. She 'grew up fast', as the saying goes. She was now unable to see the games of young children as anything other than entertainment which could horribly go wrong.

But her schooling went well. She attended classes in the city's Aristocratic District, earning good marks in the subjects of Philosophy, Social Issues, and most of all, Architecture.



Despite having grown up as a 'rich girl', Laprima became interested in visceral designs. Housing and buildings which would be inhabited by peasants and commoners. Laprima had an eye, a talent, for blending some of the layouts and compositions she had grown up with, and streamlining the materials needed to create interesting constructions, at least during her classes this was so. She spent hours building models on her own time, attracting attention from superiors. Cyrodiil's population was likely to expand over the next decade or so, and there were words about a brand-new town being built to accommodate, southwest of the city itself. A new town meant new houses, and new buildings. Laprima Anne Donnaugh, barely eighteen years old, applied to be considered a position within the new town's Faction of Architecture.

But no student who's had such severe tragedy in her life can continue toward excellence without consequence.

On the surface it seemed Laprima had become a dutiful student. But to the wary, one might've noticed her brooding. Flashes of anger, followed by days of remand and silence. But most of all, her walks about the city. Starting from the age of twelve she began strolling the Imperial City's streets, unattended. Sure, the guards by now knew who she was, what she had suffered, and therefore they'd keep an eye on her. But as time progressed and she got older, she became adept at avoiding them, and other adults as well.

Day after day she began retracing their steps, until she finally felt ready to approach the Waterfront itself. As she did so, young Laprima made sure to carry a knife. In essence, she was playing the game of Dare all over again, daring herself though, rather than daring others.

As a member of a class whose goal it was to design buildings, Laprima also became interested in locks. How they worked, and why one lock held better than another. She then became obsessed with locks. As she spent time building her little models in class, she also began inquiring, then studying, lock mechanisms. Their tumblers, their barrels, their key designs.

Eventually, her appearance also changed. Laprima, along with a few classmates who'd been present on the day her brother had vanished, began to embrace what they called their 'darkness'. The world was a sad and violent place, and it seemed all the adults in their lives could not see how or why this should matter. They'd spend long hours discussing their lives, and how they lived in a city which was not as pleasant and safe as they'd been brought up to believe. Laprima and her group began powdering their faces white, while painting their lips, brows, and eyelashes black. Some of them would blush themselves gray instead of white. Some of them would even dye their hair black, though Laprima herself was already blessed with a coif the color of a raven's feathers.

It was Laprima's classmate Siouxsie who coined the term for their new look. She considered them all to be gothics, partially due to the fact that half of them were also studying the gothic-styled architecture which had been so popular during the Third Era. Laprima and her classmates appreciated this term, 'gothic'. And as gothics, they'd live and rule forever.

Laprima and Siouxsie became fast friends. Siouxsie extolled Laprima for her smarts, while Laprima admired Siouxsie for her ideals and bravery. Both of them began engaging in deviant behavior, as a way to alleviate their darkness. They started pilfering items from shops during daylight hours: clothes, gems, whatever they desired. Together, they also wondered if their hauls could increase at night. With Laprima's newfound knowlege of lock designs, it was only a matter of time before one idea followed another, and nothing but trouble was to follow.

In the month of Frost Fall, Year 199, Laprima Donnaugh and a group of gothics were caught by guards in the city's Market District, just after Laprima managed to pick the lock to the long-established Red Diamond Jewelry shop. Laprima's apprehension caused consternation within her family, of course. Despite her arrest it was only a matter of time before Laprima tried again, and was caught again.

This time she was jailed for five days, yet denied it all. Hence the lies and the ruckus mentioned by Laprima's aunt did indeed occur. And for awhile, it looked as though poor Laprima would lose her place in society, as her family debated ousting her from their cozy Talos Plaza home.




Now in Solitude, walking along with her aunt the queen, Laprima wondered for the thousandth time if she'd made all the right decisions. What would have happened if she's merely stayed back home, and finished her studies? Had it been wise to come to Skyrim instead? Would she ever be able to go back into Cyrodiil, the past forgotten, old pages turned?

"This is going to be such fun!" Elisif gushed as the pair headed toward Solitude's shops. "Are you not glad to be here?"

Laprima smiled her soft little grin. "I am, yes I am," she said to her aunt, while inwardly groaning again.
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Posted by: Lopov Mar 12 2022, 09:10 PM

An enjoyable and very interesting peek into Laprima's past, where it's revealed how she got skilled in sneak and picking locks, while also learning the tragedy from her youth, that deeply marked her for the rest of her life. Wow.

Posted by: Acadian Mar 13 2022, 01:18 AM

Ahah, so SubRosa was spot on labeling Laprima's style as goth!

And as Lopov said, interesting info on her life back in Cyrodiil and how she ended up starting down a dark path. Hopefully, her Aunt can brighten things up some for her. Though, I suspect we're in for some more groaning.

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 13 2022, 02:03 AM

I love their game of dare, that is not just hiding and seeking, but also pushing the boundaries of their world. I am sure that could never end badly though...

I wonder if we will be seeing Elija in the future? Perhaps sporting a pair of fangs?

Laprimma being an architect is a cool entry point to thieving. I just finished watching the old TV show Prison Break. In it a structural engineer gets himself thrown into prison so that he can break his brother out. The first season is all about him using his engineering knowledge to defeat the prison's systems and layout.

I wonder if Siouxsie is a Bean-Sidhe!

Posted by: macole Mar 13 2022, 06:30 AM

The trouble with hoping for the turning of old pages and the past forgotten is that even if no one else remembers, you do. Try as you might the hardest thing to do is to hide from yourself.

Posted by: Renee Mar 27 2022, 02:31 PM

@ macole-- that's thoughtful and sweet of you to say. Very true, as well. Some of us, we beat ourselves up so much, yet it's not so obvious to those around us.

@ Rosa-- I had to look up Bean-Sidhe. Siouxsie indeed could be somewhat similar to what I google'd up just now. But the other thing is, she's also exactly what her name implies from pop culture. Not that she'll have hits on Skyrim's New Wave charts, but ... well... you'll see. Siouxsie is already in Laprima's gameworld, sort of.

Prison Break sounds interesting. I'm going to see about checking that out (please be on Netfix or Hulu....)

@Acadian -- Absolutely I got some inspiration from our real-life goths. Back when I was younger I had several friends who were goth. Heck, my own sister had a goth phase in high school. Goths (in the States) have a reputation for being pretentious and "fake", but every one of my goth friends back in the day were quite genuine and lovely. Then again, when I was younger, I was somewhat of a hippy, but I had no interest in cliques. If I wanted to get to know somebody I'd just do so, regardless of how they dressed.

That being said, I have no idea why I rolled Laprima in this way. I recently lost all my early notes on her, matter of fact, when my previous computer had probs.


@ Lopov-- Yeah, the thing is, at this point I'm not even sure if her aunt knows about Laprima's past, with her brother's disappearance and all. I don't think she does.

Gosh I hope I can finish Chapter 7 today.

Posted by: Renee Mar 27 2022, 09:04 PM

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Commitments and Commerce





Laprima and Elisif moved slowly through town, leaving the palace behind. While they did so, the queen's upbeat demeanor ticked down a notch, as she sensed her niece was not quite as enthusiastic.

"Laprima, I know this is difficult. But we must discuss a few more topics as we walk. Might this be a fair request?”

“It is,” Laprima answered. “Anything you would like to discuss, please do so.”

“I understand your schooling was going well before… Well."

“Before I went astray? Before I erred in my ways? It is alright to say.”

Her aunt nodded. “You were doing well with your studies. So I have heard.”

"I was," Laprima agreed. "And I do regret not being able to continue. Believe me, it's one of the things I've roiled within my mind again and again over these past months."

"Well please do not flog yourself, niece. Lucky for you, I possess a forgiving nature. We all need guidance at times. But you see, this is one of the reasons I agreed to allow you to come to Solitude. Because I have a belief that's all you require. Some guidance in these matters."

"Thank you."

"it's not easy being a woman in Skyrim, let me be the first to tell you this."

"Nor is it easy down in Cyrodiil," Laprima replied.

"You are especially interested in architecture?"

“I was. Well, I suppose I still am. The construction and designs of buildings are something I've just always took notice of, I guess. Even while walking into the palace earlier this afternoon, I felt some apprehension, I'll admit. But I also took all notice of all the stonework. The balustrades, and arches, the designs on the walls. ... What? What is it?”

Her aunt's face went taut. "I regret to say we haven't any sort of school or guild devoted to such pursuits, here in Solitude, nor have we the need for new buildings. But perchance, should you desire to further your education, we have several options right here within town. Why, the Bard's College is there to the right," she said, pointing to a tall, gray structure of stone.

"The Bard's College. But it sounds as if that’s a school for--"

"It is a school for musicians, singers, actors, and the like. I still remember that recital you performed for us," Elisif said with a wink. "You sang a song, accompanied by spinet and lyre, your young voice like a bell,” Elisif chuckled. "Absolutely charming. Ah, I cannot remember the song's name?"

"'Foster the Ranges,' Laprima answered. "I remember. I was so afraid I'd get booed. Hmm. But aunt Elisif, I am no singer now. I was just eight at the time!"

"Well sure, that is fine," said aunt. "That is just one idea. We also have several places to which you might find some decent employ. With what feels like a war beginning to stir, General Tullius is always looking for new recruits. Not that you'd become a soldier, by the Gods, no! But there are other ways we'll need assistance. You are educated, and Castle Dour is located just up the hill there. Perhaps you'd be interested in becoming an administrator. Or a bookkeeper. Or a--"

"Elisif, aye." Laprima looked down to her feet, trying not to brood. "I know there are possibilities, and I am eager to seek them. Why I am here."

"I apologize, Laprima. Throwing ideas round at you, when you literally just got here. It's just that I am so excited for your future. And. Well. I shall stop. Let us just enjoy the rest of this day."

Laprima agreed. She gazed to the sky, a look of puzzlement on her face. Literally minutes ago, sky had been sunny, but now it was white. The sky was white, because snow had begun to fall. And there it was, her first shiver in Skyrim. Because the air was starting to feel cold.

As the two of them strolled, they made a left turn at the end of one avenue, and began heading toward the town's market area. Some of Solitude's townies greeted Elisif, mostly by calling aloud to her, and Laprima noticed none of them seemed surprised to see their leader walking aside them.

Apparently, she'd done this before. The queen's twenty year-old niece surmised this by the way they greeted her. They did so in casual ways, such as "Nice to see you today, my lady," and "Dreadful weather we're having. Hope it soon abstains," as if their superior was any other individual. Nobody bowed, nobody curtsied, nobody tossed flowers before her feet, nobody cheered "All Hail!". This was admirable, Laprima thought; something not commonly seen amongst the small world of Tamriel's leaders.

Even the town beggar spoke to her directly. "You, you help me, right? You help people! That's what you do!"

"I'm always glad to help a friend if I can," she replied. And Laprima believed her.

Long ago in Third Era Cyrodiil, Leyawiin's Countess Alessia Caro was known to take monthly trips far and away, outside the safety and comfort of her town. Countess Caro, her bodyguard, and one of Leyawiin's soldiers would move slowly from Leyawiin to Chorrol, where Caro would visit her mother, Countess Arriana Valga. This was a dangerous journey of course, but also well-documented to be true. Though it seemed Elisif had never chanced such a trek, just the fact the queen felt comfortable ambling her own populace was something of positive note.

"Got any sausages?" the queen asked one of the food vendors. "Addvar here has the best seared slaughterfish in town," Elisif nudged her niece. "Would you like to try some?"

The two ladies ate their dinner, not at some grand table full of silverware, but right there, standing on the street. As they did so, Elisif explained to her niece that she had not officially become Skyrim's High Queen, not yet, she was technically still a jarl. For her to become queen meant a popular vote would need to be cast from all nine of Skyrim's holds, including Haafingar. At the moment, this could not happen; not with the jarl of Windhelm openly declaring himself to be the rightful ruler of all Skyrim.

But this did not matter to her people, who occasionally would greet her as "Queen". In their eyes, that's exactly who she was.

They walked almost the entire length of town, so that Laprima was back near the town's gates all over again. Here is where they arrived to the clothing shop Elisif had gushed about earlier: Radiant Raiment. "Don't mess anything up while you're in here," she cautioned her niece.

"Mess anything up? Why would I?"

"Err, you'll see."

Inside was the smell of clothes, but good clothes. Fresh leather, untarnished fastenings, stroked and cleaned furs. Radiant Raimant was run by two high elves. Both of them immediately rushed to Laprima and their queen, appearing from around a blind corner, startling their newcomers. "Ohh, what delight," one of the elves said. "Another charming customer."

"Endarie, this is my niece, Laprima Donnaugh. She'll be staying here in Solitude for a while. And we need to --ahem! -- expand her wardrobe," Elisif winked, standing up on her toes a moment. "So, what have we got in store today?"

"Let's see if we can't find an outfit that suits you," Endarie said, her brow creased, her nose slightly upturned.

The two elves stepped back a few paces to let the women shop, but they never let Laprima, or even their queen, entirely out of their sight.

"My, my," Laprima said in a low voice to her aunt. "An outfit which suits me. Is she always so smug?"

Her aunt did not answer just then. "A word of advice," she offered.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Don't buy discounted clothing."

Laprima shrugged, trying not to giggle. "Not to worry. I have my own funds, aunt Elisif."

And she did. Many people when they traveled, did so with very little coin on their persons, for a variety of reasons. Usually, they did not wish for their riches to get robbed. But Laprima had come into town with just over five-hundred gold, not knowing if she'd 'need' it or not.

"Well, hello-oo!" said the second elf just then. "Here to buy? Well if you have to ask the price, you might be in the wrong shoppe."

"Laprima, this is Taarie," Elisif introduced.

"I do hope you remain in Solitude," said Taarie. "This city could use some new blood."

Laprima spotted a dress which caught her eye, hanging right there on the rack. The dress was a mixture of dark blues and blacks, with pretty little red flowers stitched into its blouse area. Its upper sleeves were a muted tan color. But it also looked warm. By now, Laprima was well aware of the fact that yes, it does get cold and snow here in Solitude. The dark-colored dress was priced at 142. She grabbed it, removed the wretched golden suit she'd worn into town, then took a few minutes to lace herself within the new dress.

"What do you think?" she asked her aunt.

"Oh, but that is so dark!" Elisif contorted her face in mock-horror. "Are you sure this is what you wish to buy?"

Yes it was. Laprima could not help herself. She'd pick out a second outfit to please her aunt. But she was also buying this dress. She bustled back to the counter, peering at the clothing rack by the wall, again.

"Oh, let me just drop everything to help you," the first elf said. "I don't mind, really."

"Mm hmm. Well, you should not. Since we are the only patrons you've got at the moment." Laprima thought to continue her taunt into a full-blown insult. But now was not the time. It was getting late, and she was feeling sleepy. Let us get this excursion over and done with.

This time she selected an aqua-colored blouse and skirt set made of silk, which came with an overlying blue cotton midriff. 114 gold. Not her first choice, but it wouldn't hurt to try on. Laprima bought it on the spot, her total expenditures tonight up to two-hundred and fifty-six. Though this was roughly half of what she'd brought into Skyrim, and it might seem as though she should be more careful with her money, Laprima also knew money would not be a problem for her.

Chamany had made his promise after all, and his was a word she could trust. Laprima took the time to unlace and unfasten the first dress she bought, to try on the second.





"Would you look at that! Oh ... that one will do!" her aunt approved.

Good. Their shopping excursion was now over. Laprima and Elisif left Radiant Raiment, and headed back home. Home, to the Blue Palace, which the younger woman suddenly realized was indeed her new home. All that time upon that sailing ship, she hadn't even considered thinking she'd be living in an actual palace, considering it the place where she'd lay her head, not until now. But that's exactly what it was.

As they moved past the market, a group of children ran up to Elisif and Laprima. "Hey, wanna play tag?" one of the boys asked. Elisif the Fair chuckled, while Laprima could not help but notice the sky was getting dark.
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Posted by: Acadian Mar 28 2022, 08:38 PM

An enlightening walk through Solitude, as Laprima makes astute observations about how comfortable and liked Elisef is among her people.

And finally to the Radiant Raiment! I’ve been looking forward to this and you did not disappoint. Funny and faithful to the pair of pompous divas that run the place. I remember them condescendingly trying to redirect Buffy to the children’s clothing shoppe down the street. And two fine choices in new dresses does Laprima make. Along with another mysterious reference to Chamany, this time as a source of gold.

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 28 2022, 09:19 PM

"Lucky for you, I possess a forgiving nature." My how humble of you Elisef to be so noble.

My, Elisef really is being a busy-body, helicopter parent. "You should go to this college, or work at a secretary... Just you know, don't do anything you would like to."

I like her new dark outfit. But oi! the price! She should buy discounted clothing...

Posted by: Lopov Mar 31 2022, 06:44 PM

An interesting depiction of the walk through the town with her aunt trying to not be intrusive, but on the other hand she's almost dictating what Laprima should do and wear.

Lucky for you, I possess a forgiving nature.

Like she did something bad to Elisif. I like your portrayal of Elisif, she slightly reminds me of one of my former bosses, she was woman as well, and was claiming that we have lots of liberty at our workplaces, but "from the back" there was more and more pressure, how things should have been made.

The dress in the second pic is gorgeous but being a pic-freak, I'd appreciate larger pics or at least such that we can click on, to enlarge them.

Posted by: Renee Apr 3 2022, 01:22 PM

Hello. It is Sunday and cloudy outside. Still pretty cold in Maryland. I anticipate after today's chapter there will be two more chapters (10 in all) before it starts getting too warm for me to enjoy Skyrim. But good news is, if I stop playing Skyrim, I'll return to Vicious / Fallout 3 and Joan of Arkay. Both of their stories are unfinished.


@ Acadian-- Ha that's great. Glad you enjoyed Radiant Raiment, I had fun writing that. I agree, those two snooty ladies are annoying. You don't know how bad I've had characters in the past want to bump them! Maybe some day Laprima will do just that.

Laprima is a rather unique person, from my perspective. Most characters I roll start off poor and weak, for instance. Laprima is weak, but unlike all my others, her game started with a good bit of money.


@ 'Rosa-- Elisif is definitely a helicopter parent, except that helicopter doesn't fly too far away.

So far I have dumped a lot of clothing mods into my game, I think I'm up to 10 so far: Colovian Noble Clothes, Fine Imperial Clothes, Maiden Dresses of Norway (that's where her blue dress came from) and so on, so shopping at Radiant Raiment means a lot of menu scrolling in the Apparel section. Despite this, Laprima is pretty finicky. She definitely has a certain style she's going for.

Cripes, I haven't even gotten to ghastley's clothes yet!


@Lopov -- The cool thing about Elisif the Fair is a lot of the dialog she says is from the base game. "Lucky for you, I have a forgiving nature" is one of these sayings. "Don't buy discounted armor" is another, although I substituted clothing for armor.

Ah, so you have had an Elisif for a boss. Sorry to hear that!

I've got a bunch of pictures to post by now, I'll put links up some time this week.

Posted by: Renee Apr 3 2022, 05:04 PM

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Chamany LaCroix

His name was Chamany LaCroix, and when Laprima first noticed him, she realized it was actually he, who had noticed her first.

Though he spoke their language, it was obvious Chamany was from somewhere else. His voice had an accent. He occasionally got his wording wrong. He was from High Rock. Or ... Hammerfell. Hmm. Some said he was from Solstheim. Wherever he was from, he came to the Imperial City early in the Year 199. And when he first arrived to attend classes at the city's Aristocratic District school, Chamany LaCroix quickly became the talk of all its higher-education students.

The boys, some of them idolized Chamany, while others were jealous. They idolized because he had seen the world, and had participated in heroic ways outside the city's walls, or so the rumors went. They got jealous because suddenly, most of the school's female pupils turned their attentions toward him.

He was handsome, he was dashing. He was pursuing an education in Merchandise, a rather stodgy choice for schooling. Laprima could have seen her own father taking those same classes, for instance. But this also meant that (unlike a lot of the Imperial City gothics) Chamany LaCroix was ultimately interested in commerce, and commerce ultimately meant money. Not just money, a steady income of money.

And so the story went: Laprima, Siouxsie, and about a half-dozen other gothic lasses all took turns imagining themselves being with him, as in, getting scooped up to live the rest of their lives in his gorgeous castle. Or traveling the world by his side, upon two steady steeds. Or getting hot under the collar with the man behind the mausoleums of Green Emperor Way, while guards and citizens walked meters nearby. Because that was another thing, Chamany LaCroix was a man. Not some boy, not some lad.

His eyes wandered a bit, but ultimately became interested in Laprima Anne Donnaugh over all the others. She'd heard about him several days before she actually saw him, and when she’d finally first seen him in the Market District, Chamany was already walking toward her. Especially flattered, was she. He introduced himself to her with a flower in his hand. And from that moment on, Laprima and Chamany quickly became a pair.

Though he was studying to become a professional merchant, he did not come from money. His family was poor, so he said, yet he was not interested in Laprima for her family’s wealth. He planned to make his own way into the world at some point, and gain his own wealth. Laprima’s father, ever the stalwart man of business himself, approved of this.

And with Reiley Donnaugh’s blessing, Laprima and her suitor began joking about marriage. That’s how it all began, as a series of jokes. They would do this and they’d do that, until finally one day that summer, Chamany surprised them all. He arrived at her house early one evening all dressed in royals, and asked Reiley for his daughter’s hand, that Chamany and his black-haired beauty would some day join in wedlock.

Laprima was ecstatic, suddenly abloom. After spending so many years as a miserable wretch, she now had some things to look forward to. Laprima and Chamany would both return to school that autumn, where they’d continue their studies. Once that was done, what could come next? ... Young Miss Donnaugh could only imagine good things.

Just as quickly as he’d appeared though, Chamany LaCroix was also gone. As school restarted in Hearthfire, he abruptly explained he'd no longer be attending. He had found a job, one which was too good to pass up. School would have to wait. Instead, he would head south to Bravil, where his first venture at being a merchant was to unfold.

“Eh, why do not you come with me?” he had asked.

And later, Laprima could not entirely fathom why she had not. But she hadn’t, at least, not just then. She had stayed behind in the Imperial City, back in her classes.

Chamany had promised to return soon, but after two weeks of no word from her man, she became despondent again. Saddened and bored, even her friends could not bilk the poor girl out of her slump. And that’s when her trouble with criminal matters had begun; all of which was a way to alleviate Laprima Donnaugh from her own, personal darkness. From destroying herself.

~~~~~~

Morndas, 25 Frostfall, 4E 201

Laprima awoke the next morning in a large, comfortable bed, unsure where she was. For about ten or twelve seconds, she struggled to remember. She'd been having a dream, and it had been a gripping one.

Finally, she recalled. She was in Solitude, inside its Blue Palace. Today would be her second day in Skyrim.

As far as she could tell, she was alone. Chamany had not shown last night, nor was there any sign of him being there at all. Not to worry she told herself. Nothing to get upset over. He has some very important dealings to attend to. All of this was true. She knew it was; she's the one who'd been helping along, after all. And now that she was here in town, she was to stay quiet while he got things sorted.

Laprima could stay quiet, yes she could. But this didn't mean she could stay content. She reached into her leather satchel, and removed the note given to her by the strange man the day before.

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Dearest Laprima. I hope your journey to the cold world of Skyrim has caused to make pleasure in your heart. I am not in town as of now, as you may have expect. Please make way to the Blue Palace. I shall be there soon.

~Chamany~

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"How soon is soon?" Laprima asked her empty room. Chamany was not here yet. What was she to do all day? Certainly not stay inside the palace! Laprima imagined spending more time with her aunt Elisif, and groaned.

She was hungry, so she reached into her satchel, and grabbed a green apple. Walked to a nearby chair, had a seat, she munched her breakfast. By the way sunlight was slanting through her room's windows, she guessed it was late morning.

She began to daydream, as she gazed about her room. Sturdy with stone it was, but also quite drab. Too much like all the other chambers in the Blue Palace. Its walls, ceilings, and floor were a series of yellow, slates, and grays. Not a whole lot of blues, which she found ironic. This would have to change, if she were to continue living here. Perhaps she would hire a couple of painters once she got situated, and her funds became--

And there he was.






"Greetings to you, Laprima." Chamany walked into the room. She'd been so lost in thought that for a split second, she hadn't even realized.

"Chamany!" She nearly stumbled off her chair. "You have arrived!"

"Well, look who is here," he said with a smile. "Laprima, you did make it to Solitude. How was your journey?"

"The journey was lovely." She mirrored his smile with a grin of her own. "The seas were a little rough, I suppose."

"This is good, this is good."

They neared each other. But before they could embrace, Laprima could not help but ask. "And the shipment..?"

"Eh, the shipment is already, eh, delivered," he said. "It has made its way, away from port. Eh, do not fuss, do not worry. Soon, we have the wages we seek."

"Alright. This is good."

"And now I have you. So grateful I am, Laprima."

He smelled of good things, like flowers and sandalwood, she noted. "And now, look at you..."

For the next hour or so, Laprima and Chamany engaged in activities which this writer is declining to describe, other than to say, she is glad for her creation, glad for the moment, at least. During their tryst, Laprima worried a couple times that perhaps her aunt might burst into their chamber. That she'd interrupt, without knocking. Her aunt would walk right in, and then she'd announce they'd all be spending the rest of the day with her, to visit the town's 'facial restorationist'. Or go for a tour of Castle Dour. Or something else just as disturbing and melancholy.

Fortunately, nothing of the sort occurred. Surely Aunt Elisif was aware of what they were doing, Chamany would have walked right by the court at some point, while the queen was in attendance. If so, this meant that Elisif was aware. But also respectful. Or maybe just busy, with all sorts of administrative, courtly details.

"So, allay my curiosity," Laprima said later, as she and her fellow were a-lay on her bed. "What exactly was in that shipment?"

She knew the answer might shock and surpise her. But she didn't know it would also disturb her.
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Posted by: Acadian Apr 3 2022, 08:50 PM

A delightful delve into what Laprima knows of Chamany and his mysterious background. A wonderful job of describing his ‘not from here’ language/accent, then showing us perfectly in the note from him that Laprima read to us.

I might be mistaken, but I grow a bit concerned that there is so much that we – and Laprima – do not know about Chamany. Not just his past, but also the details of his current business dealings. I hope he’s not selling filled black soul gems to daedric cultists or some such. Ahah, it looks like we may learn much more about that soon as you leave us with a cliffhanger.

Posted by: Lopov Apr 5 2022, 07:58 PM

And there he arrives...the mysterious man of Laprima Donnaugh. I like the fairly detailed backstory of how they met and just as Laprima is deep in her thoughts, there he is, standing before her. He was an anticipated guest for a long time but as it's customary for this story, his arrival opens up even more questions and mysteries.

So what did they do at the end, I don't get it? Can you explain it in a more thorough way, possibly with pics?

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 5 2022, 08:35 PM

Chamany has an ominous last name. I wonder if a certain profession runs in the family?

Wow, a whirlwind school romance and marriage! Then off to Bravil on business, but without the Prima. I think that might be a mistake on her part. He is going to get up to shenanigans on his own. Smuggling? Assassination? Something is up.

And there he is, acting kind of sus about this "shipment". Uh oh, a disturbing shipment? Is he selling draugr on the black market?

Posted by: Renee Apr 10 2022, 01:37 PM

Thanks Acadian, you are so kind. And your instincts are right to be concerned about the newcomer. Something wrong with that picture right?

Ha ha funny you mentioned cultists. We were just talking about cultists, right Lopov?

Hey, I love gaming, but I hate the fact that some of my toons have a better love life than I do! I roll my eyes during love scenes in movies. Sometimes I fast-forward them.

Actually SubRosa, her boyfriend's last name of LaCroix was borrowed from https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61fi6pf2VCL._AC_UX569_.jpg, that British TV sitcom, darling. I needed a name, and first thing which popped was that AbFab designer brand.

Posted by: Renee Apr 10 2022, 02:58 PM

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Revelations
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"Skooma?!"

Laprima shook her head, unbelieving her fellow's answer. "You are saying I rode to Skyrim on a ship packed with skooma?" Her brow furrowed. "No. This cannot be. The crates, I glanced on them. I took in their scent from time to time. They smelled of tea. And you said to me..."

She looked to one of her room's walls, puzzled, nibbling at one of her fingernails.

"...And I was told..." she said slowly.

Finally, it dawned. The crates smelled of tea because the skooma would have been packed within layers of tea. This was a way of hiding the smell. She little about the drug, but one thing she'd heard is skooma had a distinctively sweet odor. But if it were packed within pounds of aromatic herbs ...

Now it all made sense. Chamany's abrupt departure from school two months before. He'd been claiming he'd found the ideal job, a job which promised enormously grand piles of riches, with not a whole lot of work. Bravil would be their departure point, Bravil, the place where skooma and a variety of other moon sugar products were an everyday commodity.

Also, there was the way she was chosen, appointed really, to be the one designated to ride along with the shipment. -- Watch over them, Chamany had told her. And especially, you must try avoid your other shipmates, that they do not, eh, tamper with the goods.

At the time, Laprima had assumed the shipment of 'tea' she'd been tasked to look over would net them a few hundred gold, maybe a thousand. Because it was just tea. They couldn't make much money from shipping tea unless a lot of it was moved, and Chamany was moving quite a lot. So, a few hundred gold, maybe a thousand. Not so bad for her man's first stint of employment. Everybody had to start their business somewhere, after all.

But now, rethinking it, she realized there had to be a lot more currency involved. Much more than a few hundred gold, maybe a thousand. There were a lot of crates, after all.

Laprima laughed for a moment, mostly at herself. How daft have I been, all this time?

When he'd first arrived in her room over an hour ago, Chamany had brought a rucksack with him. Now, he reached for it. "Ah, 'tis alright, Laprima," said he. "I am sure you have many curious thinking about the shipment. Hmm. Best way is to just show you, I suppose."

He grabbed something out of his sack. "Take a look and here, this is for you." He handed her a small glass phial, which was dull reddish in color.

"Is this what I am thinking it to be?" she asked.

"And what is it, do you think?"

Laprima uncorked the phial and sniffed. She'd never smelled the stuff before. There was a pungency which wafted out of the small bottle which was unmistakably unique, strong and sweet.

"The sight of you brings joy to me," she said to her man. "I am glad we have finally reunited, you and I. But I do not understand this, this skooma. Is it in such great demand, here in Skyrim?"

"Ah, but this is not just any, eh, typical skooma for the every day," he explained, "this is very best skooma on market. Straight from the swamps of Black Marsh, did it come."

"Black Marsh?"

"You see, the skooma that is here in Skyrim," he wagged his finger in the air, "is not so good. They make in Skyrim skooma, yes, but is very .. eh... what we say? Is very weak. They water it down. Not like this brew, from the Black Marsh."

"Chamany, but this is not legal!" Laprima clapped her hands to her face. She smiled, but smile trembled a little. "I am now a smuggler! I have brought into Skyrim, a mixture forbidden by the laws of our lands!"

"Yes you did, Laprima."

"But what if my aunt Elisif should discover this? After all the promises I've made to straighten my path! After being caught heisting Red Diamond Jewelry, and getting locked in jail! I cannot now be involved with these pursuits!"

"But it is not like this, Laprima," her fellow said calmly. "Your aunt, she will not know. The skooma you make delivered, it has moved by now, far away from Solitude. And because of your bravery, we are going to be very rich."

Chamany looked like he was going to say something else, but instead he paused. Put three fingers to his lips.

"Well, I am going to be rich. You are already so. But I, I did not come from such means."

Laprima said nothing, unsure of how to answer.

"And as I say when we meet last year, I must gain my own. I must make my own way in this world, and have, eh, make wishes come true."

"Mm. Well you have done so, surely," Laprima said, lost in thought.

In her head, she performed a quick bit of rudimentary mathematics, thinking of all those crates, each one packed with hundreds of small, reddish bottles, just like the one in her hand. How much did each of these bottles fetch? 20 gold? 40? She recalled that one of her classmates back in Cyrodiil had been a skooma sucker, or so he'd said. Like her, he had also come from wealth. Unlike her, he regularly bragged about his family's money, and also once claimed to spend quite a bit on his supposed drug of choice. 40 or 50 gold each, was her recollection, which seemed about right.

How many bottles were in each of the multitude of crates which had been on The Mongrel?

"But eh, let me show you why this skooma is better. I wish for you to try with me."

"Huh?"

"Here, I shall try and then you. You try. Eh?"

Before she could think or fathom or launch any sort of protest, Chamany pulled another bottle out of his sack, uncorked it, and downed the sweet brew, all at once. ... He then moved a half-step backwards. And sighed. His eyes glazed, while a large smile crept across his face. "You try it, eh?" he said quietly.

So she took her own bottle, and sipped a bit of it.

"Eh, no, no. You must quaff it," he encouraged.

"Quaff it?"

"Must drink it all," he explained, before lowering himself to sit on the floor. His face by now looked purely content. He continued to smile. He laid himself on a rug, staring up at the ceiling. He looked at peace to Laprima. No convulsions, and no other malevolent effects.

So she drank (she quaffed) the entire phial, just as he had.

Its taste was similar to its aroma, except a tad more bitter than sweet. As for the way it made her feel, this was something unexpected, entirely different from what she thought it might be.

When she was a youngster, her brother missing two years by then, she and her friends once tried some of her parents' liquor. There was a stash of Cyrodiilic Brandy along with plenty bottles of wine, and yes, they became tipsy after drinking some of it. But it took a while for this feeling to take effect. Maybe a half hour or so.

Skooma, on the other hand, affected the drinker right away.

First were the colors. Earlier in the morning she had been wanting to see her room changed to become more unique; she was thinking of having its walls painted blue. But now, her walls were blue. They were purple. They were any color she imagined them to be! ... And those colors were coming fast.

Her mind galloped, she struggled to keep pace with her thoughts. Time had absolutely no meaning. Neither did space, as her spirit seemed to free itself from flesh. She saw herself standing in her room, hundreds of feet above the water, and she, filling all that space. A sense of omnipotence, a sense of omnipresence. As if she was anywhere, and all places, all at once. Her entire life sped within her head. First memories, her childhood, the years of darkness. Laprima, back in the Imperial City as a child, playing with her pals in the city's streets.

Her heart, it pounded within. She took a moment to dance slowly across her room. Her body like air, instead of flesh; it was as if she ruffling on a cloud. She spun and twirled this way and that, and it seemed the whole of Nirn twirled and spun along with her.

She needed to sit, so she plopped upon the same chair she’d been on before. Eating that apple, which now seemed like it happened days ago. Acutely aware was she of placing herself on this chair. Pine wood and cushions, which rested upon a floor made of granite, which had been constructed upon a gigantic natural formation of rock, high above the Sea of Ghosts. Laprima Anne Donnaugh, rays of sunshine all around, just as supreme as one of the Gods.




But just as quickly as the brew had taken mighty effect, it also succumbed. The colors went mostly away, except for a dim pinkish hue. Her vision became blurry. She stood from her chair, walking around her room, nearly stumbling a couple times. By now, Chamany had joined her, rising up from his place on the floor.

"Cham-an-ay," she breathed slowly into his shoulder.

"See what skooma can do for you?" he asked.

"What is this?" She realized she was numb, wobbly, and faint. "Oh, we must lie down."

Slowly she rolled onto her bed, feeling the richness of its sheets and blankets and pillows. Here she and Chamany laid and sighed, until Laprima's stamina waned, and she eventually fell asleep.

~~~~~~

Four hours later...

Laprima awoke, bleary and wasted, unable to entirely focus. Her tummy made a small noise. Very hungry, she realized she was famished. Hungrier than she'd perhaps ever been. As she moved out of bed to check her satchel for an apple, she realized that's all she had eaten so far this entire day. An apple. One green apple!

She checked her room's windows, and they were dark. "Oh my! Were we asleep?" she asked Chamany, who was standing bedside. "Has day turned into night?" They had spent the entire day inside her room.

"Is good, yes?" he answered. "Those Khajiit. They know well, how to do it," he winked.

"Hmm. Well, I do not know about this," she replied, recalling as much as she could about the afternoon. The lights. The colors. The magnificence of it all. "I cannot deny it was quite a journey. I saw many things. It was as if my very soul was ... revealed today. But now," she rubbed the side of her head. "Now, I feel insipid. I am queasy, Chamany."

"Ah. It was your first time," her man said, holding her. "Here, you must now take, and eat," he said, handing her some purple flowers.

"Oh. And what are these? Not skooma, I am hoping? I cannot partake of more skooma."

"No skooma. These are alkanet flowers, from Cyrodiil. As the skooma is used, always eat the alkanet after is all done," he suggested. "For the skooma, it does great things, but the mind, it suffers greatly, as well. For those who do not, eh, follow skooma with alkanet, they become dull-witted."

"Chamany, we have no need for this!" her voice rose. "I do not intend to partake of that foul brew, ever again!"

"Yes, yes, is alright," he said, kissing her forehead. "You need not partake, if you, eh, choose not to. Is alright."

Laprima smiled a small smile. "Thank you."

"But now, I must grant you your reward."

"My reward?"

"While you did sleep, our payment was delivered," he explained. "For the shipment. Is just over seven thousand gold."

"Seven thousand?"

"I split even. Seven thousand for me, and seven thousand for you. Please check inside the dresser," he said, pointing to one of the room's wardrobe cabinets.

So she did. And goodness, there they were: several dozen pint-size bags full of coin.

Today had been a day full of surprises, amazements, and disturbing information. Now, at the sight of her earnings, Laprima did not know what to think, and how to react. She was awed by the sight of so much coin, right inside one of her room's dressers. And this coin, it was hers. Perhaps this money had been earned through non-legal ways, but she had to admit she did feel rather astonished to see her wardrobe full of riches.

But she was also spent, as the events of the day (and all its revelations) had been draining. So much had happened these past two days. There was her first experience with a moon sugar product, but there was also her confusing arrival, during which she'd witnessed an actual execution. There was meeting her aunt after so many years, and then dealing with her aunt's confounding, but subtle, demands.

And now, there was gold. Lots and lots of it, too.

Long ago when she was a lass, she had discovered the place where her father kept a lot of his funds, which was in their home's cellar, under a pile of ragged sacks. If a thief broke into their home, under those sacks would be the last place to look, the premise for his hiding place seemed to be. Back then, Laprima had laughed about this. How ironic, to spend so much time making a living, only to hide it all into some dark, dingy room full of miscellaneous junk.

But now, the noblewoman realized. As well-off as she'd been raised, she had never earned one piece of it, herself. Well, this had certainly changed.

She looked over to Chamany, but he was already in bed, and already snoring lightly. Her tummy rumbled once again. Time for that second apple. But two apples in one day would not be enough, so Laprima decided she'd go walking through the palace, looking for something more substantial.

She left her chamber, and walked into the room she shared side-by-side with Sybille Stentor, the palace's court wizard. To her right was Sybille's bed, and nobody upon it. To her left, a wooden bench, with a robed and hooded figure sitting right there. Sybille Stentor, the Blue Palace's court wizard, and Laprima's new neighbor. But the wizard was facing the opposite way, so that Laprima was viewing the back of Sybille's hooded head.

Laprima approached the magician, walking around the far side of the bench so she could view Sybille's front. The pair of ladies then stared at each other for quite a few seconds, grim-faced and forbidding, A minute passed, it seemed. Laprima's tummy rumbled again.

"Why hullo there, Laprima," the court wizard said in her low, slightly raspy voice. "Aren't we up, stirring and about at the witching hour, hmm?"

Something about her, the newcomer from Cyrodiil mused. There was a bench, opposite to the one Sybille sat upon. Laprima sat on this opposite bench. She stared some more, before coming to conclusion.

"I know now what you are," she finally said to the wizard. "And do not concern yourself with worry. Your secret is safe with me."
.

Posted by: Acadian Apr 10 2022, 08:25 PM

Oh, this is likely to not turn out well. A dealer who uses is doomed to failure methinks. I hope Laprima swears off both the dealing and using right away before the logical and predictable consequences of continuing occurs.

And Chamany does not acquit himself well at all, misleading Laprima regarding those crates and now pushing skooma at her.

Yet another cliff hangar now as Laprima discovers something compromising about Sybille?

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 10 2022, 09:09 PM

I love how you are using the old trick of packing your drugs in coffee to throw off the drug-sniffing dogs.

Laprimma was a drug mule!

Laprimma is tripping balls! It kind of makes me think of acid, from the hallucinations and sense of euphoria. Hopefully she will have a good trip, and not a bad one.

Laprimma is now rich! I wonder what she is going to do with her ill-gotten gains?

And Sybille... Wow, Laprimma figured it out? I hope she can indeed, keep a secret.

Posted by: Lopov Apr 10 2022, 09:55 PM

Uh oh, Laprimma may be rich, but I'm not sure if Chamany is a good company for her.

Regardless, she had her own contact with the "dark side" in the past and it sounds like she does like the ka-ching sound of 7,000 septims - well, it's hard to blame her.

Another cliffhanger, this time with Sybille - did Laprimma figure out her true nature? But what if Sybille overheard Laprimma's and Chamany's conversation?

Posted by: macole Apr 11 2022, 06:27 AM

Dear Laprima, be sure to travel with a competent Sky Pilot or a trustworthy Straight-man. Chamany sounds like neither.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Apr 15 2022, 08:48 PM

This certainly took an unexpected turn.

I started reading this and was getting an expectation that the story would mostly be about court intrigue and second chances--only for it to suddenly veer into Breaking Bad! But I like that. It's clear that Laprima's in way over her head here. The kinds of petty crimes she committed in Cyrodiil won't prepare her for stuff on this level. Her aristocratic background gives her some protection, but I have no idea how much.

Her interest in architecture is also a good detail. In a good game, you can tell something about a place just by the nature of its architecture, and Solitude says quite a lot. The grand buildings and lofty perch sell the idea that this is an important place with a lot of authority--exactly how the Empire's showcase Hold should look. Likewise, it's great that Laprima noticed the Blue Palace's interior being rather bare compared to the exterior. Solitude is focused on image to project Imperial power--but some of this is superficial, perhaps reflecting the Empire's precarious state.

Also I like how you managed to tie goth subculture into Tamrielic history. For any goth in any reality, making friends with Siouxsie is quite a coup.

Posted by: Renee Apr 17 2022, 12:20 PM

Spring has sprung in Maryland. The weather is really nice lately. This means two things: 1). I'm going to be outside more often and 2). this might be the last Laprima of Spring 2022. I stop playing Skyrim when it starts getting warm. So maybe this'll be the last one, or maybe there will be one more, we'll see.

@ Acadian-- YES!!! Yes, exactly. Drug dealers never seem to use their product. The ones that do screw things up. I'm not saying this will happen to him, but yes... astute observation, there. Chamany also misled his girlfriend, and got her involved in something she'd normally not consider. Tsk, tsk.

@SubRosa -- Beverly Hills Cop. Axel Foley discovered the cocaine was packed in coffee! Which he'd seen before in his home turf of Detroit. (Pretty sure he was in Detroit.)

The skooma scene is a combination of speed and acid. We had pink hearts in high school in the '80s, really bad stuff for a teenager to be dealing with. They'd pick you up, and you'd be UP, but then they'd also let you down just as fast. That crash was horrible! .. Laprima just dealt with a crash. And yes, the visuals were LSD or shroom-inspired.

@Lopov -- From her perspective, Laprima is torn about her money. She's delighted, because she's going to realize she doesn't need to mooch off her relatives anymore. But the money is also "dirty". So she doesn't know what to do about it, yet. But I think she'll keep it.

Because from my perspective, it'll be fun to have a rich character!

Whoa.


@macole-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0JMCaKwOUY Just you wait and see, sir.


@WellTemperedClavier -- Ah thanks. And glad you have joined us in Fan Fiction, and can't wait to read your story as well. Daria's a doll.

I rolled Laprima in 2017, and over the years came up with a bunch of ideas for her story. But the problem was, I couldn't get to her because I hadn't finished Skyrim's main quest yet! I really wanted to get the MQ done first. But I'm a slow gamer. So this didn't happen until last year, January 2021, by then I had dozens of Laprima ideas written on a Notepad page.

So yeah, some of the ideas come from all that time, but others (like her interest in architecture) show as I'm writing.



I know, right? Have some cake, Clavier.

Next story should be up in a few...

Posted by: Renee Apr 17 2022, 01:32 PM

.
_______________

Visions Unveil





"You are a vampire."

Laprima stated this quietly, hoping if anyone was awake at this hour and within earshot, they'd likely not hear. For her words would surely cause Sybille Stentor some distress, should anybody discover the court wizard's secret. At best, Sybille would lose her status. She'd lose her comfortable existence within the palace's walls. She'd be shunned and banned and forced to leave. At worst, she would be killed. Just like that man who'd been executed in Solitude's public square the day before.

"I am not so deeply trained in magics," Laprima explained, "but I have always had a talent for viewing the auras of others, especially if these auras are magical." She nodded slightly. "I can see your aura now, and it is indeed tinged with mana. But its coloration is discrepant. I could not perceive initially, what exactly is the nature of your being. But now I know. And as noted, I shall keep your secret."

The Cyrodiilian waited for some sort of reply from Sybille, but the wizard did not speak.

"Long ago and in my province, one of our counts of Skingrad was also discovered to be just like you, although it took quite some time for his, uh, secret to be disclosed. Until then, he was able to maintain his court through the processes of underlings. Those who sought him were told he was an extreme recluse, or currently ill, or some other such untruths. He did then appear here and there, although only upon nightfall. But you... you are present and able even during daylight," Laprima said with wonder. "How can this be?"

The wizard did not reply.

"How long have you been able to uphold this veiling, Sybille? Are you somehow clouding the minds of others so that they cannot discern?"

Half of Sybille's head was covered by her hood, so that Laprima could not read the woman's facial expressions so well. But the magician's jaw did seem to adjust in some small way. Going somewhere with this, we are.

"Not that this is any of my concern, but if we are going to be rooming next to one another, I thought it'd be prudent I reveal my thoughts."

"Did you now?" the wizard finally spoke.

"I did. You ... are a vampire. A fathomer of night. Although somehow, you are able to exist amongst the rays of sunlight."

"And you ... are a smuggler," the wizard replied rigidly, also keeping her voice low. "You are a smuggler of illicit substances."

"No ... I, no!" Laprima denied. She tried to keep her face neutral, while steeling herself against a flash of anger. Chamany!

"I know this because I am a seer," Sybille replied, ignoring her collocutor. "It is my livelihood to know all that concerns. It is the very reason I am allowed my place within the Blue Palace."

Now it was Laprima's turn to stay silent. She'd stay silent, in an effort to determine all she could for the moment. How did Sybille Stentor know? How did she find out? Had she been listening at Laprima's door somehow, earlier in the day, to the conversation between Laprima and her man? ... Or maybe she had been in the room with them, when Chamany had spoken about his trade, and his dealings. Vampires could make themselves invisible, after all. Had Sybille had been in Laprima's room the whole time?

"I can see my words disturb you, Lady Donnaugh. Even now, you are searching for some explanation of my knowledge. Well, here it is. I can only say that I have gleaned these things even before Chamany did arrive. He arrived, and he has managed to evade discovery as he's plied his wares, and dealt with his cohorts."

Sybille the wizard/vampire raised a mug to her lips, and took a sip. Whatever it was she was imbibing, Laprima did not want to know.

"And then you came. You, a noble woman who rode aboard a common freight ship instead of a vessel befitting of your stature," Sybille chuckled. "I may play dumb on occasion, such as, that whole Wolfskull Cave debacle which occurred yesterday. I attempted to keep them away from that wretched place, as mortals have no business dealing with the forces of Daedra. But do they listen to their own seer? Hah! ... Such nonsense, Laprima. Your own aunt is to blame, after anyone gets harmed while they deal with what's inside the cave. And some sorry fellows and matrons will get harmed. This I see, this I know. Hah!"

Laprima decided to bluff. She decided to not respond to the wizard's accusation. What sort of proof was there of wrongdoing? The deal was done, the money collected. If Chamany was right, the skooma itself was long gone. "Do they know of your vampirism?" the Cyrodiilian asked, attempting to lead the conversation's focus astray.

Sybille smiled, then laughed quietly for a moment. "They know not of my being. Of the many years I have lived an un-life, right under their noses," she sipped her mug. "It is not easy, of course. I must occasionally make myself gone from the palace, if I am to ... maintain my well-being."

With the pressure of impending trouble turned away from her, Laprima felt triumphant. "And as I said, this will stay our little secret," she winked. "For I shall never tell."

But her success at steering their words was short-lived.

"You have nothing to worry from me," Sybille said firmly. "Listen, I know what you have done. You and Chamany have brought a large shipment of illicits into Skyrim. I know these things. My appointment within the court is to assist the lives mortals daily. This is my livelihood. But here's something which you might not already know, Laprima; I care little for the lives of mortals. What you and your lover do to further your ambitions here in Skyrim is not of much interest to me."

Laprima made no reply. Defiant she was, but no longer angry. Still, the questions remained: How could she know? How did she find out?

"Besides, were you to reveal to your aunt what I am, I could make the rest of your days here in Skyrim, or anywhere else, very unpleasant. I can do many things to those who choose to slight me. Or my court. So know this. And behave and beware. And I shall perform the same gratitude."

"As I said," Laprima replied, refusing to acknowledge the wizard's threat. "I do promise to not reveal your secret, Sybille. But I am no smuggler. And neither is Chamany. He is a man of business, who founded a mighty deal on a shipment of foreign teas. And I am his soon-to-be wifely assistant. I was tasked with riding upon The Mongrel as an additional precaution, so that those aboard the ship might think twice, if they were to try to pirate some of our brand for themselves."

Just then, she paused her words, to suddenly ponder a thought. Sybille did know, Laprima realized. She knew about this from the very moment I walked into court yesterday. She knew, yet she'd told the court I'd arrived on a freight ship to avoid the flourish and attention I would have received had I been on a noble's ship. She had spoken for Laprima, perhaps in an effort to help the royal newcomer avoid scrutinization.

But still, the lady from Cyrodiil remained defiant. "I am no smuggler," she repeated. "What sort of proof have you of this, anyway?"

The vampire looked down to her mug, at whatever liquid it might still contain. "As stated already, I know because I am a seer. And I can see many things. I do not need to prove the things I already know."

Laprima said nothing. Her tummy rumbled for the fourth time.

"You'd better attend to your nascent hunger there, woman," Sybille suggested. "But before you go, I have one more thing to say to you. Well, two more."

"Oh? And what have you in mind?"

"I highly suggest you follow your aunt Elisif's advice. About your appearance. Especially if you are to continue a life of smuggling, and other such wanton behavior. It might be worthy of you to obey her wishes, for then you shall be able to ... ehm ... blend in with the masses a bit. As of now, you look rather tawdry. So obey your aunt. Not doing so is near-impossible, anyway," Sybille said knowingly. "Lady Elisif always gets what she wants."

Laprima felt another flash of anger, but gave the vampire nothing. "You mentioned two things? Well, what of the other?"

"There was someone from your past. Somebody close to you. A loved one who I'm seeing has vanished, or deserted your life."

The noblewoman blinked.

"You have lived many years unknowing of what happened to him," Sybille continued slowly, drawling her words a little. "Whether he met his demise..."

"Elijah!" Laprima nearly screamed, eyes immediately watering. "Yes! Elijah! My brother!" By now she was openly crying, unable to hide her emotions from her vampiric neighbor. "He disappeared when we were children! What is it you see about Elijah?"

"In my scrying, I have determined that Elijah, he is not deceased. That you and he shall someday again cross paths. That he may even be searching for you, here in Skyrim, and at this very moment."

Laprima sat dumbfounded. "Well, where ... where do you see him?" she wondered in amazement. "Is he well? Is he within a loving circle? Is his mind also filled with darkness, as is mine since the age of ten?"

Sybille Stentor smirked, before finishing her mug, and standing from her bench.

"As you stated yourself, 'What sort of proof have I got of this, anyway?'"
.

Posted by: Acadian Apr 17 2022, 04:17 PM

A wonderfully done game of cat and mouse between the two ladies. Laprima, the novice to court intrigue versus Sybille who likely has centuries of courtly experience augmented by supernatural abilities. That Sybille emerges with the upper hand here is no surprise. Damn that Chamany! Nevertheless, an uneasy truce may prevail. It will be interesting to learn more of the mysterious fate of Elijah.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Apr 17 2022, 05:12 PM

Huh, so I somehow never found out that Sybille was a vampire!

Sounds like she's a potential ally for Laprima. Both of them have their secrets, and neither would really benefit from revealing the other. And as vampires go, Sybille seems reasonable... at least so far. Though one wonders if she has an ulterior motive.

(I say this not because Sybille's a vampire, but because she's a fixture in court, and people in those positions always have ulterior motives)

Certainly hope there will be more to this!

Posted by: Lopov Apr 17 2022, 07:47 PM

What a thrilling and wonderful conversation at the same time, I think that I read it in one shot without even blinking. Phew, awesome, really! I had a hunch that Elijah might be mentioned or even appear again, because he deserved a prominent place in Laprima's backstory.

So now that the secrets of girls' are known to one another, they better remain at friendly terms. Oh women!

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 19 2022, 12:48 AM

Well now, we are all getting to know one another, the vampire and the smuggler.

Now Sybille is sounding like my mother. "You look rather tawdry." ugh.

Laprimma certainly has a lot of men of mystery in her life. First Chammy, and now her brother Elijah.

Posted by: Lena Wolf Apr 19 2022, 10:35 AM

I got surprised by that scene, I must say. Going by the effects assigned to skooma in vanilla Oblivion, it is more like Speed or Cocaine or a similar stimulant, not a hallucination-inducing substance. But of course you are free to imagine whatever you like there! So then skooma from Black Marsh makes you see things...

I'm enjoying your story, even if I don't comment every time. Others beat me to it, and I don't feel like repeating things...

Posted by: macole Apr 19 2022, 04:35 PM

Now that's the Sybille I know and love; dedicated to her court and always 10 steps ahead of everyone. I think their little face-to-face went well. Maybe, Sybille went rather easy on Laprima but I'm not betting a red nickel on Chamany.

Posted by: Renee Apr 25 2022, 10:14 AM

Hey. So this is going to be the final chapter of Spring 2022, and I appreciate everyone's attentions. Have some cake. I realized something about Laprima Donnaugh the other day. As a character in a story, she is my most highly-developed. But as a character in the game of Skyrim, she is completely undeveloped. Still Level 1, with absolutely zero progress of skills!

Yes, Laprima sees Sybille sitting outside her room, and decides she needs to reveal her thoughts, but is surprised to learn the court wizard is able to keep up with the revelations, and is miles ahead, in fact.

With some of these NPCs so far: Sybille and Elisif especially, I tried to do some research at UESP and The Imperial Library. How old are they? Where did they grow up? and so on. There isn't much to go on with these two ladies, so it's hard to say if there are years of courtly experience, or centuries. In the game, Sybille is portrayed as bumbling (at least in the opening Wolfskull Cave scene) but I prefer the idea that she's got some better experience. How else would she wind up as a member of Solitude's court?




That is something which could go both ways. I don't want to reveal too much, but Sybille's relationship to Laprima could certainly become Ally, and I think in some ways it will. They will never be Friends though, because both of them now possess cards in the deck which they can use to play against each other. Sort of like if two scorpions meet. They are both wary of each others' stings now.

There will be more, but not for about 6 months or so. I have a weird thing about these games: I only play Elder Scrolls games if the weather outside is cloudy and/or rainy, while Fallout is for sunnier days. I only play Skyrim if it's less than 60-65 degrees F, and that means no Skyrim until October or November. I just feel silly playing a game in which it is cold, when outside it is actually warm and spring or summer-like. But I'll play other games--really keen to get back into Morrowind for instance.




I had a hunch, too. Honestly I did not know Sybille knew about Laprima's brother until just before I began writing two weeks ago. The story originally (in my head) ended with the wizard saying the bit about Laprima changing her looks, as per her aunt's wishes. Then when I began writing it, the final part about her bro *POPPED* up.

That was great that you intuited Sybille already knew about the smuggling, and that she might have learned this after eavesdropping. How did you do this? Hmm, maybe it was just the fact the wizard was sitting right outside her door so quietly.



Sorry to hear that.



Yes, this is true! In Morrowind the primary effect of Moon Sugar is Fortify Speed, and in Oblivion it is Damage Intelligence, which is why Chamany gives Laprima Alkanet (this restores Intelligence). I tried to do some research reading actual in-game books, to try to learn what skooma actually feels like. There isn't much to go on, that I've found anyway, so I did embellish a bit.

I read your story too, but also don't always comment, just because I sometimes feel bad for falling so far behind. I also do leave bookmarks here and there, I'd be lost without them!




Nice, glad you have come to these conclusions. In fact with Chamany, he was supposed to already be found killed. That's how I saw the story going years ago before I started actually writing. He was supposed to be found dead the very next morning.

Working with scripts in Skyrim is a b1tch though. I wanted him to get killed via script, and finally wrote something which compiled okay in the Creation Kit. Did not work in the game though. But maybe this is a good thing. The story's more intriguing than I originally conceived.

I will post the story soon, and later this week I'll also post some picture links. Ciao.

Ah dang... "You have posted a message with more emoticons that this board allows. Please reduce the number of emoticons you've added to the message" ... Always something.

Posted by: Renee Apr 25 2022, 11:27 AM

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_______________________

Her Future in Skyrim

_______________________

Tirdas, 26 Frostfall, 4E 201

Laprima awoke the next morning in a large comfortable bed, unsure where she was. For about ten or twelve seconds, she struggled to remember. She'd been having a dream, and it had been a gripping one. Finally, she recalled. She was in Solitude, inside its Blue Palace. Today would be her third day in Skyrim.

Her usual routine back in Cyrodiil had been to wake early, paint and rouge her face, have a bite to eat, and get on about her day, preferably with haste. Unlike her dearest friend Siouxsie Ballion, Laprima did her best not to lollygag. Often, her days were pre-planned and organized. Being a student had helped of course, but even on days when there were no classes, lying around in bed while waiting for sleep to reclaim was never on Laprima’s agenda. Doing so was a near-guaranteed way to attract the darkness.

But now, here in Skyrim, she noted new circumstances. Two important facets of difference.

First, her lover was here, and by her side. Chamany LaCroix. She had left her home behind to join him, all while dealing with a fair amount of guilt, and an enormous number of questions. Had deserting friends and family and school been the right thing to do? Laprima was still unsure. So many things had changed within the last three months; she had uprooted her entire life, and all she had known since childhood. But at least Chamany was here, now, and by her side.

The second notion to consider caused her a few moments of consternation, as she laid a few moments in bed: the court wizard’s parting words from the night before. About her brother. Whom Sybille Stentor had claimed was alive and well, somewhere here in Skyrim. How can this be? … Was Sybille’s information to be trusted?

Laprima had tried quizzing the wizard for more, asking questions, probing for answers. But Sybille remained vague. Did you learn about Elijah from aunt Elisif? she had asked. … Sybille would not answer directly; she would only ramble a bit about her abilities to “see” and “scry”. Finally, the wizard claimed she was growing tired. She’d laid to rest, and refused to discuss the matter further.

And now that Laprima pondered this more, it seemed impossible Lady Elisif could have informed Sybille about Laprima’s long-lost sibling. For the queen seemed unaware of Elijah’s disappearance, had not even asked how Elijah was doing. It was as if she’d completely forgotten Laprima had a younger brother. And this was fine with the Cyrodiilian. Laprima had not been eager to discuss the darknesses of past with her fussy, over-exuberant aunt.

So. How had Sybille Stentor gleaned this sort of knowledge? Was her ability to see and scry something to be relied upon? … Laprima Anne Donnaugh, rather perplexed.

For the moment, she decided to believe the wizard’s foretellings. She decided to release her worries from captivity. And this, she quickly discovered, felt enormous and beneficial. A closet of fears and gloom, now open and ready for sunlight. She smiled and wondered and felt the darkness which had pervaded her life for so long diminish to a corner. So. How had Sybille Stentor gleaned that sort of knowledge? Was her ability to see and scry something to be relied upon? Laprima Anne Donnaugh could not answer firmly yet, but for the moment, she did not care.

Chamany awoke. The couple then did the sort of things which new couples do during their first morning together in bed. Afterwards, she glanced at the way light was slanting into her bedroom, and determined it was still early morning. Wonderful.

Her first day in Skyrim had been confusing, her second was full of surprises. For her third day, she would get out and do something, something which would be considered her own. There was no way she'd spend her entire third day dawdling within her room, or even the palace. She would explore all of Solitude, thought she with impetuous ardor. Even her nit-picking aunt would (perhaps) be less of a bother!

Two days before she’d been wondering if she’d made the right decisions, leaving her home for Skyrim, following a man whom she really did not know. More and more it seemed the answer to these questions was the word “yes".

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Posted by: Lena Wolf Apr 25 2022, 11:59 AM

Skooma is a potion and not an ingredient, so it's not just the first effect that you need to look at, but all effects. You always get to experience them all, regardless of your alchemy skill. It is similar to wine, in this respect. In Oblivion these effects are: Damage Intelligence, Drain Agility, Fortify Speed, Fortify Strength. In Skyrim it is also a potion and is definitely considerably watered down (Chamaney got that right!) - all it does is Restore Stamina by 25 points, which is miserable, really. Even the Hag's Stallion Potion in Markarth was more effective. In Morrowind Skooma has the same effects as in Oblivion, except that Intelligence is drained rather than damaged. But of course Chamaney's skooma was from Black Marsh, so it could totally have a rainbow around it as well.

Have you tried Felldew? I mean obviously if any of your characters ever tried Felldew? I think you mentioned to have never gone to the Shivering Isles yet... Well... Now there is a hallucinogenic for you!

Sorry to hear that Chamaney was supposed to get murdered. I'm getting quite attached to the guy... Hehe.



Feel bad? Don't. There is no obligation to follow a story as it is being written. I've been reading some stories written years and years back, I find it is actually quite nice to be able to read a story at your own pace. Yeah, bookmarks are your friends, that's for sure!

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Apr 29 2022, 08:27 PM

Sad to see that Laprima's adventures seem to be coming to a (temporary) close. Still, it's probably good for her to enjoy the optimism and take a break!

Posted by: Acadian Apr 29 2022, 08:51 PM

I like that Laprima has decided to deal with her situation optimistically. I hope she enjoys her summer and look forward to more of her story when the weather allows.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 29 2022, 09:57 PM

So first level Laprimma is off to explore on her own! Perhaps hijinks will ensue. Even if not, I will be looking forward to seeing her taking up the quest to find her mysteriously missing brother when you return for the next season.

Posted by: Lopov May 1 2022, 09:30 PM

It's been three days in the life of Laprima only and it feels like quite an adventure already. I'm looking forward to the continuation of her story, whenever you feel ready to do it.

Great pic as Laprima thinks of her future in Skyrim.

Posted by: Renee Oct 29 2022, 10:22 AM

Thanks you all. Today is Laprima's real-life birthday. I rolled her 5 years ago on October 29, 2017. Thought I should return to her for a surprise visit.

To recap, not much has really happened yet physically, this story's more cerebral. Laprima Anne Donnaugh arrives to Skyrim from the Imperial City, and the city is where she grew up. Laprima's mother is related Lady Elisif of Skyrim in this story, making Elisif Laprima's aunt.

Laprima's brother disappeared at the age of 7, which screwed up Laprima's childhood, and caused her mother (Elisif's sister or half-sister) to become catatonic. Though Miss Donnaugh was ultimately able to do well in school, she eventually got into trouble, as her mind could not entirely forget the past. She and her 'gothic' friends began pilfering small items in various shops in the I.C. as an attempt to alleviate their "darkness".

But her juvenile crime spree did not end there. Laprima learned to pick locks in one of her classes, and one night was caught breaking into Red Diamond Jewelry. She got in trouble (probably a warning) for the first arrest. Pretty soon, she was caught again. After spending 5 days in jail, her wealthy father almost disowned her.

She eventually fell in love with one Chamany LaCroix, who is a foreigner (it seems), and also was one of her classmates in the city. They began planning on getting married. But Chamany soon left for Bravil, dropping school. He'd gotten a "job opportunity he could not pass up." He asked his fiancé to follow him to Skyrim (where his first job opportunity would take him), and eventually she did.

Laprima arrived to Solitude on a freight ship, which caused some consternation with the nobles of the Blue Palace, because everyone was expecting her to show up on the Katariah, or some other boat fit for a noble. So the big question was: why did she arrive on a barge?

The answer: Chamany LaCroix, who'd arrived to Skyrim first, had already been living in Skyrim for a month or two. Chamany convinced his fiancé to ride upon the ship while he made arrangements here in Skyrim for a gigantic skooma deal. Basically, he tricked his own fiancé into riding along with this shipment of illicit drugs, while he set things up with whomever he's dealing with. Laprima is not pleased about this, yet she's also been paid a huge amount of coin, over 7000 gp, for her unknowing efforts. From my perspective, she's my only Elder Scrolls character who's started off rich.

There's a couple twists in this story, both of them related to Sybille Stentor, the Blue Palace's court wizard. As a seer, Sybille already knew what was going on with Chamany from the moment he arrived. She also claims that Laprima's brother (Elijah) is alive, and is somewhere here in Skyrim.

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



It's really sort of difficult writing in the style her tale demands, I must admit! It's not like Joan, where half the tale is basically already written (just follow the quests) or Vicious, whose voice and story ideas I can draw from real-life co-workers and situations. Laprima's story demands something else.

I was sitting there last night in front of my laptop with "On her fourth day" for what seems like an hour. Finally, my housemate turned on the TV and began watching. Poltergeist was on one of our 800+ channels. 👻 "Oh, you're writing, should I turn it off?" she asked. Actually, no, don't do that. Sometimes random distractions from other media seem to do the trick. Pretty soon I was auto-writing the poetic stuff *schwoop...*

Went to bed around 10 and had a bunch of scattered Laprima dreams, which I barely remember. But a bunch of words kept floating into consciousness as I'd wake and fall back asleep. So here it is, 5:31 AM. Let's see what I got.

Posted by: Renee Oct 29 2022, 11:25 AM

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The Forces which Beckon

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Middas, 27 Frostfall, 4E 201


On her fourth morn in Skyrim came the next dream. Droplets and snowflakes. Discs in the sky, obscured by cirrus and cumulus. A path which wandered and wound. Far away, distance high upon rockface. An opening, cluttered crates nearby. Inhabitation. Arrangements, portending, portending, becoming. Deep into caverns, inhabited by beings who dwell within darkness. Structural cruxes, cedars and pines. Fastened and sound. Yet copious darkness.

Dwelt within darkness, darkness yet brilliance. Darkness, portending. Darkness, arranging.

Flickers of light, laughter, crying. The shadows of friends. Past peoples, elated. Her folks all around, yet also not present, not here, not now. Calling, bellowing, deep into night. Malevolence and dignity. The beast, he's nearby. His figure, familiar. Somehow, familiar.

Asleep she was, and having a dream, yet how could this one be so real?

And there she heard him. "Laprima!" There he was. Avian cries, the sound of a dog. Was that really her brother? Really, was it Elijah?

Someone was coming. Airy contusions. The smell of damp, the chill of burrows. Threatened, he lingered. Someone, here, somebody coming.

And all along in the background was the incessant barking of dogs, the howling of hounds, the baying of wolves, the cries of canines, the --

Laprima Anne Donnaugh awoke from her nightmare, bolted upright in bed. Addressed the sudden uneasiness of combined worlds for a moment; that one slipping away into this. Her heart was racing. Her skin tingled. Her hair half-covered her face in a dark, sweaty mass. Shafts of sunlight illuminated the room, her room. And where in oblivion was she?

"Laprima, you are with us?" Her aunt before her, aunt Elisif the queen, peering, smiling, and radiant. "You are alright?"

Her fourth day in Skyrim, today it began. Her usual routine after having such a dream was to scribble all she could remember into a special journal designated for such things, which was an effort to document and arrange those night experiences into written thoughts, missives she could then study, and try to make sense of. But this was impossible now.

"We've got lots of lovely things planned for you today," aunt Elisif began, as she fussed about the room. "I have personally arranged a visit with one of the magistrates of Castle Dour once you have gathered yourself ready. My court shall soon be in session, which you are completely welcome to attend, if you'd like. Oh, and there is also a chaplain who'd like to meet you. Personal friend, he's in charge of our Temple of Eight. And once court attendance is over, we can perhaps place a visit to that facial specialist I was gabbing about the other day," Elisif winked. "See? Lots of lovelies planned for you today, my dear niece. When you feel ready, of course."

As she had no choice but to rise and begin her day, the forces which beckoned could only dwindle aside, powerless and impotent in the light.
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Posted by: Lopov Oct 29 2022, 09:09 PM

What an ominous dream! I had a feeling already at the first mention of her missing brother, that he's going to play some role in her story to come, whether in dreams or in person.

I enjoyed this short but also ominous prelude to the coming Laprima's season.

Posted by: Acadian Oct 29 2022, 11:59 PM

Thanks for the nice recap of where we are now in Laprima’s story after her summer break.

Ominous is right, Lopov. Very unclear what it all means and by the time Laprima finishes executing Elisef’s plans for the day, she will likely have forgotten some of the detail of her dream.

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 30 2022, 01:22 AM

That was a creepy dream, that seemed to combine Laprimma's chagrin at having been unwittingly used as a drug mule (the empty crates), combined with the sense of someone coming. I wonder if that is her long-lost brother, who might be a werewolf?

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Nov 2 2022, 01:09 AM

Good to hear from Laprima again!

Dreams usually feel impressionistic to me, and your description gets that across. Lots of elements, particular sensations, particular moods--but not necessarily gelling into anything specific. So that felt true to life.

Looks like Elisif is still unaware of the various issues Laprima's dealing with, which means Laprima has to put on a happy face while melting down from the anxiety. Not a fun situation to be in, and that happy face gets draining after a while.

Posted by: Renee Jan 21 2023, 06:34 PM

January 21, 2023, here we are, folks.

Thanks for kind comments. Yes Lopov, the dream part, it's like I wrote that while subconsciously setting up some sort of rhythm. Like, poetry. 📕 I used to know how meter works in poetry, but that was last studied way back in English class in high school. I've forgotten how it works, but that's the feel I was going for.

It gets explained better here... as I explained to Lopov. A few months ago.



But I was watching Poltergeist with my housemate Karen (yes, she's a karen) as I wrote that. The weather was October-chilly, all this crazy stuff was happening on TV. "They're here," the little girl said when the aliens arrived. It kind of set up a bizarre writing state which will probably never get repeated.

Wow, ominous! What a great word, Acadian and SubRosa. Hmm, werewolf! Nice speculation there. 🐺 It's hard to say where all of this is going. I had a whole bunch of notes written up on my computer which died last year. Who knows what the heck was on there? I had all sorts of crazy ideas.

Truthfully, some of these ideas were probably bad, though. Like, I wanted her to have a pet spider and stuff. And everyone would get freaked out about this. Anyway...

Yes, Laprima is back, Clavier! - and yes, I am glad you have picked up on all her conflicting thoughts for sure. Laprima being new to this town, with so many emotions and worries and fears, but also moments of happiness, as we'll see.

Now, where did we stay?

Posted by: Renee Jan 21 2023, 08:17 PM

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Her Fourth Morn in Skyrim

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Middas, 27 Frostfall, 4E 201

Her fourth day in Skyrim, today it began. Laprima spent an hour or so dawdling in bed before slipping off into that odd state which exists between sleep and dreaming for a few minutes. Finally she awoke, to the sight of her fiancé waving goodbye. "I am off," he called to her. He appeared to be happily rested, wearing a dark outfit which made him look as though he belonged. "I shall be done throughout the day," he said, getting his words confused once again.

"Much appreciated," Laprima answered quietly, smiling softly. "Although, I do believe you'd just been meaning to just say 'gone', not 'done'."

"Ah-ha ha," Chamany Lacroix chuckled a bit. "I try, I do try to say words in your language the way which is right. You know this, yes?"

"Yes, I know this."

"Well. I am off. And do pro-mise to, eh, to fetch for us a nightstand," he said, performing a little bow. "Perhaps...down by the docks there are some furnitures we can purchase."

"Ach! Well that would be lovely, Chamany! And such great recall you do have! I am gratified that you have made a priority to even make cite of this," she said, pleased. The pair of lovers gazed at one another for a moment, unable to stop grinning like madness. Because...the nightstand...

The nightstand was something she'd mentioned as they lay in bed the previous night, discussing their bedroom arrangements. Her new room had four dressers, which Laprima and Chamany decided they'd split: two for him and two for her. It also had a sturdy barrel for trash, three wooden tables (a round table for dining, and two smaller ones for small plants and decorations) and two chairs. But there was no place to contain the smaller items of life: the notes, the jewelry, the random knickknacks which get picked up or left behind day to day.

Really, it was the fact that he'd remembered such a thing, casually mentioned and without any sort of haste. This was one of the many small moments which caused small rushes to flourish within her. She supposed this was how it was supposed to be for any young couple; nothing unique going on here. But still.

Her man left in a hurry, like he really had to be somewhere. Other than finding that piece of furniture and arranging a few bureaucratic notions for himself, Laprima was not entirely sure what else his day would entail.

But she knew what her day would consist of.

An hour ago, Elisif had barged into their room, just after Laprima'd had that dream about the dogs. Elisif explained that she'd already seen fit to let a few citizens here in Solitude know that her niece was now living in town, and would be needing to find some sort of occupation to keep her busy. -- So today's agenda? It was certain. It was already planned. Never mind the fact that Lady Donnaugh would rather go back into some sort of schooling. Never mind the fact one of her dressers now contained a few burlap sacks filled with just over seven thousand gold; half the amount obtained through her fiancé's illegal smuggling of dozens of crates of skooma. Never mind the fact that because of this, technically she would not actually need to work, perhaps for several years.

Of course, Queen Elisif knew nothing about any of this. Nobody did, other than Sybille Stentor, Solitude's court wizard. And it was not as though Laprima was proud of her husband's efforts. Coming into Skyrim, she knew she'd be dwelling in a palace. She knew she'd not have to worry about scrambling some place to live. But other than this, she'd been looking forward to starting off poor.

...Hmm, well not exactly poor poor. Perhaps a better way of putting it: starting from nothing. Like most young folks her age, who find themselves moving off and away from their family. Her entire life so far had been coddled and comfortable. It would be nice to begin at the bottom. Or at least, as close to the bottom as somebody who'd inherited her own quarters in a stone palace could begin.

She gazed to one of her windows, studied the light which filtered through.

From her previous architecture classes, she remembered that the windows in her room (and probably within most of Solitude) would be made of all sorts of translucent materials: thin meshes of bone, quartzes and cheap crystals, hammered and melted and scythed out carefully into narrow sheets. Or clear minerals such as fengite. Most of Solitude's windows, she'd already noticed, were not made of clear glass, as had become the style down in Cyrodiil. Therefore, they could transmit light, but were not designed to actually see through. Glass was more expensive, which was no excuse for a palace, of course. In many cases, those other window materials made for better protection, but they could only diffuse naked sunlight.

Still, it seemed by now it was mid-morning, which was perfect.

She got up out of bed. Shivered a tad. Her room was cold. Not a frigid sort of cold, and perhaps the air in her quarters would not be so bad to somebody who'd grown up here in Skyrim. But to a warm-weather Heartlander like herself, clearly she was not used to this sort of atmosphere, yet.

"Perhaps I can arrange for my own personal hearth to be delivered at some point," she muttered.

She strode to one of her dressers. Selected a quilted outfit which looked as though it'd be warm enough. The outfit was not really her style, its top was a frightful bluish-gray, all bulked and puffed for climate reassurance. But it fit well. It also immediately staved off the draught.

As an added bonus, her nitpicking aunt would also probably approve.

"Oh, dreadful."

At the bottom of the dresser were three dull-reddish phials. Skooma. Were these phials supposed to be for her? Or had Chamany accidentally dropped them in here, despite the fact that she'd vocally disapproved of the mixture's use the day before? - She shook her head. "Absolutely not," she scoffed.

Laprima picked them up. Later on, while visiting the Bard's College, she would spontaneously decide to drop all three of them over the college's wall, which overlooked the Sea of Ghosts. But for now, she merely picked them up, just in case a servant (or even her nosy aunt) happened to glance inside.

She put her boots on. Grabbed an apple from the main table in her room, and spotted the note which had been left there.

Just the friendliest of reminders that today we are going to have a look at some jobs for you!

...her aunt's words read.

Don't delay, dear!

"Delay? I shall not," Laprima said absently, once again feeling that odd combination of dread and folly. She folded the note, looking for a better place to put it. Ah. Here's exactly why she needed a nightstand, or some other sort of compartmentelized space she could organize items like this.

Instead, she placed it into the trash barrel.

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https://i.imgur.com/sabGlRk.jpg
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Posted by: Acadian Jan 21 2023, 09:29 PM

A touching moment with Chamany as LPD enjoys that he remembered about the nightstand. I still can't trust him though - too many secrets, and his smuggling has already compromised LPD with Sybille. I hope her day with Elisef goes well.

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 21 2023, 09:45 PM

The Prima Donna is back!

Elisef seems like quite a busy-body, sticking her nose into LaPrima's life as she does.

Well, here is hoping for the best, and maybe Laprimma will find something that interests her in her aunt's To Do list.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Jan 22 2023, 05:28 AM

Boy, having a drug dealer husband does complicate matters.

I will say, it's a good sign that Laprima understands she isn't really starting from nothing. It's one of those fine distinctions that can get lost if you're privileged like she is, but she has enough awareness to avoid this. Her situation is less luxurious than it was back home, but it's still a good sight above what most people have.

Also, I like the details on the architecture. The weirdness of windows in TES always demands some explanation. Could you really get a translucent sheet from bone, quartz, and crystal? I'd also never heard of fengite before, so thanks for mentioning that!

Okay, so she's tossing the skooma into the sea. Pretty classic way of getting rid of contraband. But I have a feeling there'll be a lot more where that came from, and she won't always have such a convenient means of disposal.

Posted by: macole Jan 23 2023, 12:07 AM

From pictures I've seen, fengite or alabaster windows are beautiful.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabaster#/media/File:Orvieto083.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window#/media/File:MorellaSantaMariaWindow.jpg

https://www.tiliapublishinguk.co.uk/ourshop/prod_6432082-Alabaster-window-Capernaum.html

Posted by: Renee Jan 26 2023, 11:41 PM

Hey amigos, I am posting this week's story a couple days early. Gonna have a busy weekend, and it's supposed to be sunny the whole time, anyway. 🌞 As you may know, I only game & write Elder Scrolls when it's dreadful and depressing outside.

@Acadian the Paladin: Yes, absolutely, I don't really trust the guy either. Thing is, in my original ideas for this story Chamany would've already been killed. He was supposed to get killed, and Laprima would've been accused for this. But then as the story unfolded last year I couldn't get the scripting to work right (quest stuff), so I had to come up with a workaround solution. Turns out, now I'm glad he's still with us. I enjoy his personality. And the new ideas I've got going on for him I think are much better, I think.

Seriously though, it would've been kinda lame, my original plans for him.


@Florens: Yes, she's back! And things are moving write along (ha ha c wut i did their?) I hope you find Laprima's adventures and story to be worthy of the Fan Fiction forum.


@Clavier: Mm hmm, you said it. In our terms here on Earth, Chamany wouldn't exactly be a bad boy. He's not a Matt Damon or a Charlie Sheen, you know, he doesn't go around doing devious things (well...) for the sake of showing off. But he's also nowhere near a choirboy. In his own mind, he thinks what he's doing is right. He's just trying to get ahead, like many of us. He doesn't see what he's doing as "wrong".

And Laprima herself doesn't really know the guy, yet. She just met him the previous summer (it's now fall in her world). They've known each other for just over a year now. It's her first real relationship.

The part when she'd been wanting to start at the bottom is interesting, yes. Though she's not exactly filled with guilt about growing up with money, she did have a desire to show up to Skyrim without any extra assistance. But no matter how she's tried, she cannot fight the fact that she's still rich. 💰 Wouldn't that be a nice "problem" to have.

Any architecture part of the story catches me off guard, by the way. As I'm writing this story I am dipping into her thoughts, like many of us do while roleplaying. Any architecture part is unplanned. Because me? I don't go around thinking like that at all in my daily life. But my noble gal does.

-- Probably the same for you, as you don't go around thinking about fashion tips, eh?


macole: thanks so much for providing those links! I was actually doing to do this myself, dig up the Wikipedia pages I found about the history of windows, so now I don't have to.

Posted by: Renee Jan 27 2023, 01:24 AM

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Gainful Employment

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"Be quick," Sybille Stentor said coolly, as Laprima emerged from her own room. "I have little patience for mundane concerns."

Morning was about half-past, yet Solitude's wizard was in the midst going to bed, arranging her sheets and blankets before she lay down. Laprima quietly took note of this. Other than night-workers and graveyard guards, who else gets ready to sleep while everyone else is just starting their day?

But Laprima said nothing. She walked softly through Sybille's room, and closed its main door. - Her secret is safe with me. - She had promised her vampiric neighbor this two nights ago, after revealing she knew what Sybille is.

That was the easy part of today's early morning excursion, now came the hard part.

She rounded the corner while the Blue Palace's music droned peacefully. Strode forward a couple paces, until she could glimpse the very edge of the palace's court. Her aunt was here, for sure. Laprima saw Elisif’s felt-fabric shoes placed firmly in front of the throne she sat upon. Laprima had hoped that perhaps somebody would already be here; somebody in need of the court's services, that is. If so, her aunt might already be engaged in conversation. But such was not the case!

The younger woman looked longingly to the top of the staircase, located roughly ten feet away. If only I could make myself invisible, thought she.

"Good morning, Laprima!" Elisif trilled, before Laprima fully walked into the room.

"Good morning, to you," Laprima answered sheepishly. Everyone was here, all of Elisif's courtroom staff, that is.

"And how did we sleep last night?" asked the queen. "How was your third night in Solitude?"

"Oh, I rested finely."

"Well," Elisif began in her sopranic voice, "looks like we're having a slow day here so far here in court, although later we've got a couple messengers coming in from out of town, who we're planning to meet with. Did you find my note?"

"I did," answered the niece. "And thank you for the reminder," she said, aiming to keep any hint of sarcasm out of her voice.

"As I said earlier while you were ... ehm, well, earlier," the high queen smiled awkwardly. "I have arranged some possibilities for employment for you, bestly of all at Castle Dour. One of the legates from the castle just happened to stop into court just a little while ago. Had some words with her. And it sounds as though they could use some help. How is that?" Elisif stood from her throne. "Does this sound fair, dear? In her words, you're as good as hired, pertaining to whichever sort of jobs they’ve got available."

"It does sound quite splendid," Laprima lied, trying her best to sound as though she were interested. "Very splendid. You have my many thanks."

"Oh, well don't sound so enthused, my young niece," the queen said casually, making the younger woman wince. "I've pulled quite a few strings to get you in, believe me. Not like any fool or lass can just walk into the castle and find themselves with offerings. Trust me, there are many others who've been pushed aside for such an opportunity."

Pleasant melodies of harps and strings played from unseen magical devices, reverberating softly throughout the court, while Laprima Anne Donnaugh stifled her anger. "I apologize," she said, looking at her boots. "Guess I have been a bit reluctant about all this. Forgive me, aunt. It is all so new to me, being in this strange new town.”

"Oh! No! Listen! ... I fully understand, dear!" The queen smiled, tilting her head upwards like some sort of bird. After a moment, she laughed. Brought her gaze back down so her eyes could pierce. "I can remember when I was your young age, living under even lesser conditions than you, because, well, I hadn't met Torygg yet. Hadn't become a member of the Grand Council yet, and so on. Have you ever mucked a stable, Laprima? ...That's where began, at your age. Anyway, back in those days..."

Laprima braced herself for what seemed to be the start of a woolgathering moment. As the high queen began sidetracking to reminisce, speaking of things which occurred two decades past, niece carefully broke eye contact with her aunt. Risked a quick glance toward Falk Firebeard, Elisif's personal steward. The steward made two nearly imperceptible movements with his head: first left, and then right. Laprima then gazed over toward Elisif's housecarl. She didn't know the man's name, but he quickly rolled his eyes. It was as though both of them were silently telling her they'd all been here before.

"...do make haste," Elisif continued, her voice tinkling like a bell. "Because there's little time for idle minds."

Laprima nodded. "I shall try my best," she promised grimly. "I promise."

Though all of this was somewhat embarrassing for her, the next set of words her aunt spoke did pique Laprima's enthusiasm.

"Oh, and later on if you'd like, you can come sit in during the court. I know you'd enjoy that, eh?"

Niece had been trying hard to maintain composure during the entire conversation so far, but on this subject aunt Elisif was right. "Yes, I would...I do look forward to witnessing a couple court hours," Laprima said, really meaning it.

There had always been something about the power and command of royal rulership which intrigued her. Every count and countess down in Cyrodiil handled their courts in different manners. Some were better than others. The current count of Bravil, for instance, was as much of a pushover as a child being swayed by candy, while the countess of Chorrol ruled her domain literally with an iron fist, which she frequently wore while on her throne. Those who needed to convene with her (those who weren't within her favor) sometimes walked away in tears, they'd been so dressed down.

So, as much as Laprima tried not to cringe while in the presence of her aunt, she had to admit Elisif the Fair commanded her court with grace and dignity, but also competency. Capability. And fairness. Hence her name: Elisif was quite fair as a ruler, from what niece had seen so far.

Could there be any chance that perhaps I could simply become an affiliate of the palace’s court?

The thought crossed Laprima's mind, but she immediately dismissed it. Not only would it be a nuisance, sitting beside her aunt all day, but wouldn't it be better for her to suss out her own choice of employment?

Elisif handed Laprima yet another note. "Here, you can try any of the locations on this list, my dear. Any of them are fine," the queen said, distractedly. “But like I said, wouldn’t it be exciting, becoming a member of Castle Dour’s staff? Wouldn’t it be–”

The queen looked a slight bit away from her niece, suddenly distracted. A man wearing regal-looking armor was clomping up the stairs by then, here to speak to his queen.

Splendid. Now I shall escape.

Laprima unfolded the note. She turned, and slowly descended one of the palace's entry staircases, reading while she walked. The note contained a list, hand-written in the queen’s delicate scrawl.

1. Castle Dour: Speak to any of the Legates about Administrative work.

2. Bards College: Headmaster Varmo shall welcome your gift for song!

3. Temple of the Divines: Freir the Priestess has been contacted, concerning your arrival.

Please utilize these connective facilities, Laprima

~Elisif

"Connective facilities." Lady Donnaugh ground her teeth softly as she exited the Blue Palace.




Light snow was falling from a sky the color of silver. The first destination on Elisif’s list was just up the street and to the right: the Bards College. Not that Lady Donnaugh had any hope of becoming a singer, a storyteller, a player of instruments or anything such, but it wouldn't hurt to at least go into the place. See what was in there. Maybe meet the headmaster, see what he had to offer. Perhaps he could point her to something worthwhile, which would not concern song or dance.

Laprima's thoughts turned once again to architecture as she neared the place.

The college, like many other buildings here in Solitude, was made of a variety of random rocks and stones, mostly large, heavy ones, which could yet be carried and manipulated by a strong person with both hands. These had been sealed together in a typical slapdash manner with mortar. Mostly the stones which composed the college's walls were igneous, probably dredged up from local rivers, or pulled out of mines. Some had been broken into specific, mostly rectangular shapes, while others were fitted and affixed just as they'd been formed by nature. Not a pretty design, by any means. But solid workmanship, able to withstand wind, magic, or any sort of inferno.

"Dean Inge says a bard can never have enough practice," said a lady with dull reddish hair, standing just outside the college's door. "Would you like to hear a song?"

Laprima smiled, surprised. "Well, yes. Sure. That'd be precious," she said, really meaning it.

"Thank you. I'm just beginning my lessons. But Inge, Dean Six Fingers himself, says I'm quite good with a flute."

The lady said these words, but for whatever reason did not play her flute. Laprima waited an awkward moment before starting to speak. But the lady spoke first. "Thanks for taking the time, she said. "People never want to talk to me." And with that, she began walking slowly away.

Laprima stood astonished, unsure what to say. The prospective flutist (whoever she was) walked into the college. Not quite sure what else to do, the noblewoman followed.

"Welcome to the Bards College," said a high elf with hair the color of wood as Laprima walked in. "I'm the headmaster here, how can I help you?"

Headmaster Viarmo had been standing just inside the college's doors. He'd walked upon her so fast, it was as though she'd just been ambushed.

Should I reveal myself to be the niece of High Queen Elisif?

Laprima had this thought, before coming to a split-second decision that she should not do this. Because it just seemed...wrong? Relying on connections in high places? Well, this did not seem the right thing to do. Because now was the time when she should be discovering how to do all of this on her own, she suddenly realized. She should be making her own choices.

"Yes, well, I am new here in Solitude, sir,” she started. “I just dropped within the college, as I’ve heard so many great things about it. This is a place of learning, after all. Back home in Cyrodiil, I had been taking some classes in the Imperial City's Aristocratic District before moving here."

"Always a pleasure to meet a prospective bard," Viarmo answered in his rich alto voice, not making the connection between 'back home in Cyrodiil' and 'Elisif's niece'. "You should be aware that many apply, but we accept very few people..."

From here, Viarmo informed her that to truly join the college she’d have to perform certain tasks, which Laprima immediately decided she was not wishing to pursue. She had no desire to really become a bard after all, and it seemed as though there weren't any other sorts of schooling offered here. Yes she had once been a singer, but that was way back, when she was still a child. Still in the Imperial City, her brother still roaming around in their little young lives.

Laprima was just about to make some sort of excuse so she could be on her way, when the headmaster continued.

"Elisif has forbidden the Burning of the King Olaf festival, a longtime Bards College tradition. We need somebody to change her mind."

"Do you now?" Laprima asked. Was this man already aware of who she is? Didn't seem so.

Viarmo explained how they needed somebody to convince the high queen to allow the festival to continue, somebody who was apparently new in town, and not yet known to be a Bards College member. At first, Laprima was interested. Because: what a coincidence! - How ironic would it be if she'd be the one who'd do this? - And such a task did seem quite doable. Elisif was not a pushover, but deep down, neither was Laprima. As the headmaster continued with details about his plan, the young noblewoman could already see herself getting into a debate with her aunt about this long-ago King Olaf. Found herself looking forward to it, in fact.

“This does fill my mind with intrigue.”

But when it was explained to her that first, she'd have to locate some sort of verse which'd been hidden in a cave called Dead Man's Respite, Laprima decided this sounded like it'd be too much for her to accomplish. Dead Man’s Respite, the place was called? – This sounded like something which should be assigned to an actual adventuring type: a mage, a warrior, a rogue. Not an emotionally-precarious member of nobility, whose main moments of adventure in her young life involved riding one of the horses of Chestnut Handy Stables from the Imperial City to the village of Weye, and back again.

She realized she'd come in here mostly because it's a college, a place where folks could potentially learn. Over the past few days Laprima realized, in fact, that she missed being in classrooms. If she had stayed back home instead of moving to Skyrim, she’d be deeply embroiled in the thick of learning right about now, instead of being pushed around by her immediate elder into things she wasn’t interested in.

"Be careful. You might just find more in Dead Man's Respite than King Olaf's verse!" Viarmo warned with a smirk.

No, definitely not, thought Laprima. No way this was going to occur.

On the other hand, her visit to the college wasn't entirely fruitless. After speaking to a few more bards, she met an Imperial named Girraud, who told her he did offer walk-in type classes at most any time. For two-hundred fifty gold, he could train her in the ways of speech and persuasion. Laprima had just over three-hundred on her person at that very moment, with plenty more to spend in one of her bedroom’s wardrobes.

“Surely, I would love to gather about a thing or two.”

Girraud pocketed her coin. For the next six hours he taught Laprima what seemed to be an entry-level discourse on the basics of language structure. Some of the things he spoke of, she already knew. But she didn’t care. Because it was nice to be doing something of her own decision. And maybe aunt Elisif would approve.




By the time she left the college it was getting to be late afternoon. Soon it'd be dark. Laprima had toured Solitude before: two days ago with her aunt, and yesterday on her own, so she already knew where to find Castle Dour. The castle was located at the top of a small hill, an avenue of stone leading through a tall stone arch, which wound up in a large plaza where soldiers often sparred and practiced.

But after walking the avenue toward the castle while snowflakes continued to fall, the sky above completely sunless, she found herself feeling more and more depressed. Despondent, even.

She arrived at the castle's main door, yet found herself unable to go inside. Tried to picture herself walking into the place. Greetings, I am Laprima Donnaugh, relative of High Queen Elisif, and I have arrived to discuss the possibility of gainful employment… For some reason, she felt as though going inside the place and then explaining who she was would be like experiencing some sort of small death.

Instead, she began to wander. Sadly. How alone she was, so far away from friends, from family. Her brother was supposedly somewhere here in Skyrim, if she were to believe the old blood-sucking crone she’d be living next to day to day. Her husband-to-be had proved himself to be lovingly doteful, but he’d also tricked her into smuggling a large shipment of illegals, which was not something she’d taken lightly.

So she wandered. She made a left, and walked across a short path which led to the town's smithy area, now closed for the day. Straight ahead was a ramp which led downwards, Laprima followed this ramp. Now she was in the town's merchant district: a trader on her left, an apothecary on her right. She continued forward. The clothing shop where she'd found those fabulous dresses two days ago was located to her left, but Laprima's feet weren't taking her there.




By now, it was really getting dark, and the air was getting cold. She could feel this coldness too, even while wearing the bulky, quilted suit she'd put on that morning to avoid it.

She walked toward Solitude's tavern, the Winking Skeever. Inside, the promise of warmth and good times. Plenty of food and drink. An old man with a balding head was standing to the left of the tavern's door, tilting a mug to his lips and swaying on his feet, obviously drunk. He took a large gulp of whatever was inside his mug as Laprima passed by.

The Winking Skeever. It was the first place she'd visited, on the very first day she'd arrived. She’d been confused at how to get into town after wandering away from Solitude’s docks. Once inside, that strange man with the skulls and bones on his belt had given her a note from Chamany, directing her further into town so she could safely get to the Blue Palace. While leaving the Skeever she’d then witnessed an execution. For better or worse, her very first memories of Skyrim were here.

She walked inside. Walked straight to the bartender, whose name she already knew to be Corpulus. "If you need a good rumor or two," Corpulus said, "I think I can oblige."

"My name's Laprima, and I am new here in Skyrim. Might you, perchance, be desiring any help here in the Skeever?"

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https://i.imgur.com/1T592UG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GhNaFUa.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7e4aOvR.jpg

Notes: When it says she gets cold, this is actually real. Frostfall! New characters being moved around while they’re new to Skyrim actually do suffer the cold.
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Posted by: macole Jan 27 2023, 06:48 AM

Viarmo, how did he ever get to such a position as headmaster. Why he couldn’t even sway a young girl with his words.

Perhaps Headmaster Viarmo should have introduced the quest by making it sound a little more intriguing by dangling the forbidden fruit hook to it?

“So you want to be a bard, eh? A singer of songs or a teller of tales? Both hold magic.” Leaning in closer Viarmo whispers, “Or do you want to feel the real power when the two merge?”

Ah yes, a barmaid; an alchemist bard with practical experience.

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 27 2023, 06:44 PM

Laprima is trying to avoid her aunt, without looking like she is avoiding her aunt.

I see Elisef is the sort to go on about the old days. And she is still young yet! It sort of reminds me of Lincoln, in the movie Lincoln. Except when he did not want to answer a question, he would go off on a long folksy story about someone he had once known. Except he was entertaining, because the actor playing him has charisma.

So Castle Dour it is then? I wonder if that means she will be working for the Imperial Legion? Or for the city guard?

Oohhh, Bard's College. That sounds fun. January joined that one. While she is not a performer, she loved the whole storytelling aspect to it all, as well as doing research that involved smiting draugr and the ghosts of dead kings.

Given how she notices these things, it sounds like Laprima might be suited to becoming an architect.

I guess she won't be joining Talsgar out on the roads, singing songs and living a life of adventure.

The Winking Skeever? Is she going to become a waitress? That would probably not be what her auntie was expecting!

Posted by: Lena Wolf Jan 27 2023, 08:02 PM

"As long as you have a great attitude towards our patrons," says the screenshot. Does that involve wearing a tavern outfit? Definitely not what auntie had expected!

Posted by: Acadian Jan 28 2023, 12:38 AM

Well, the good news is that fair Elisef didn't accompany LPD's job hunting excursion. The bad news is that I can see an imminent Elisef diary entry along the lines of 'Don't let my niece out of the palace unaccompanied!'

I sympathize with LPD though and agree that the Winking Skeever trumps the other options on Elisef's list. I recall that Buffy learned as much or more about performing musically from Lysette as she did from the College of Bards.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Feb 3 2023, 03:37 AM

Laprima's almost in an enviable position. Everything's being set up for her.

Except... she doesn't want this. And I get why. Independence must be a big draw, considering the life she's lived. Always playing to the beat of someone else's drum gets wearisome after a while.

Of course, it's not easy. Not only is the court happy to help (with all the attached strings that implies), they have so many different ways in which to help! All of which Laprima will have to dodge or avoid.

There is wisdom, I think, in finding her own path. Particularly regarding her husband's proclivities. If he gets caught, she'll likely face a lot of blame (or even be pinned as the scapegoat). As such, it makes sense for her to try and allies outside of the court so she at least has somewhere to run to if things go wrong. And improving speechcraft is never a bad idea.

Posted by: Renee Feb 4 2023, 02:55 AM

So I know this tale seems a little stale, it seems like quite the medieval soap opera, right? But just wait... it gets more potent.

Nuh-uh, no way. Wouldn't matter how much fruit gets dangled, macole. 🍇🍒🍌 My gal's not an adventurer, at least not yet. Even if she turns into one, I doubt she'll want to go into that sort of dungeoneering. "Hey, why don't you head into this cave by yourself, a-ha-ha-ha!" ... No way she's going to do this.

I had the temptation to tear into Bethesda's quest and make it so all she has to do is speak to Elisif to finish the quest. But honestly, it's a bad idea to mess with Beth's quests. Bad things can happen, and once they do, you can never get rid of them! All my normal, non-story Skyrim games on PC so far have little stuff which doesn't work right, due to me screwing up in the Creation Kit.

So I'm going with Laprima's initial wish. The story won't need the visit to that silly cave visit, trust me.




Yes, Lincoln. I never saw the movie, but I know the guy really had an excellent soul. Was why he was one of our best presidents.



Problem is nobody in Solitude teaches architecture. And in a way this is good. The story might get realllll boring if all she does is go back to class.

She is going to continue training at Bards College though. That's going to be fun. In fact, her Speech training is (so far) the only skill-up she's had.



I love how you pick up on little clues and notions, 'Rosa.


OH yeah, you'll see!

Well, probably not the actual Innkeeper outfit.... this is a Renee story, after all. So that means: Laprima's going to be stylin' when she goes to work, methinks.


Wow, really? She was also at the Bards College? I wonder how many of ours have been there.

Such a shame there aren't more quests. It's the least-developed guild in the (vanilla) game.



Right. If we can go back to the Paris Hilton scenario again, it'd be like if Paris simply lived off her family money... and nothing else.

Laprima, Quinn, and Paris all have their own minds.



Very nice.

The story is at a weird sort of crossroads at the moment because of things to come, which none of you all can see, yet. But the neat thing is ALL of you have gleaned some of what will happen with Laprima herself. Call it intuition, call it foreshadowing. I love trying to figure out your all's stories, too.

Let's see what happens next.

Posted by: Renee Feb 4 2023, 04:56 AM

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Anonymous Woman

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"Ah, so you're you looking for a job, eh?" Corpulus the innkeeper was sitting in front of his bar, as though he were a customer instead of the owner. He half-turned to get a better look at her, yet remained seated. "Lady, you are in luck. And so am I, ha! Have you ever worked in a tavern before?"

Here it was.

Thing is, Laprima had walked into the Skeever blindly. Hadn't prepared a resume, didn't have any references citing a list of past accomplishments, nor had she tried to think of anything witty to say in an attempt to impress. Not that it mattered much; so far in her twenty young years of existence she had never been employed anywhere. She had little idea how prospective citizens looking for work went about this sort of thing. Was it better to be truthful? Or was it better to bilk a standard of lies? - Laprima Donnaugh, a member of Cyrodiilic nobility since childhood, decided to be honest.

"Well, I am afraid I have never worked a day in my life. But I can learn quickly."

"Hey, that's not a problem, I could use a second barmaid around here. Had a gal who was working for me afternoons, but haven't seen her a few days..."

"I hope this shall not be a concern, ah, that I haven’t any knowledge. I am a student at the Bards College you see, and as you know, the loans for classes can rack upwards rather quickly."

"What say you start tomorrow?" asked Corpulus. "And don't worry, there ain't much to it! As long as you've got a great attitude toward our patrons, you'll be fine."

What a surprise. "Thank you, sire. So very much for your time." Was it always this easy to procure an occupation in the real world amongst commoners? An occupation which did not require long hours of schooling, that is?

"When you arrive, your immediate superior won't be me, by the way. It'll be that fellow over there."

He pointed toward a back room, where a man with dark hair and a yoke-like mustache was stocking supplies. The second bartender was standing several paces away in a darkened area. For a moment, Laprima did a double-take. The man looked a heck of a lot like Chamany.

"You can start tomorrow, as I said. Shift goes from late morning until the dawn. Any tips you earn, err, any extra money given to you by customers that is, you can keep for yourself. But you’ll be paid forty once your shift ends."

“Thank you.”

“And now that you work here, feel free to pick up any food or drink items lying about. You can keep those, too. Or throw ‘em away. You'd be surprised how often people leave their purchases behind, sometimes untouched, a-ha-ha-ha! … But, as you can see, normally I’d have another barmaid working these hours. Place is kind of a mess without her."

That was it. Now she would have something to do, and perhaps she wouldn't have to strut into that dreadful castle every day.

Regarding Castle Dour, Laprima realized she'd gone entirely on intuition, regarding her decision to avoid the place. She hadn't given the castle a try at all. And why not, young lady? she imagined her aunt asking. Lady Donnaugh wasn't sure. Something about the thought of walking in there with the full graces of the palace to prop her way. It'd just seemed sodden. Like sodden earth, tamped down and ready to be trampled. Why did I not even enter the place? She found she could not even give herself an honest, rational answer.

But, the question: Would aunt Elisif approve of her niece’s new vocation? Hard to say, but Laprima was thinking the immediate answer would be ‘no’.

For now, this potential problem did not matter. She would be doing something forthright with her time, and she’d be a member of ordinary society while doing it, working amongst Solitude's dock-workers, merchants, seafarers, and townsfolk. No more breaking into jewelry stores after hours, only to find herself in jail after getting caught. No more worries about being ousted from the Donnaugh heritage. No more unknowingly watching over gigantic shipments of illicit substances. So there it was. If her aunt had some concerns about the lowly status of her niece’s new position, that’d be a woe they’d both have to live with.

…And the best part? Nobody would know who Laprima is. Nobody here at the Skeever would know of her past troubles, or her current, lofty position as a member of Blue Palace royalty. She’d just be an anonymous young woman, trying to get by.

"So exciting when new folk come into town," said a dark-haired Imperial wearing cotton threads, with a ceramic stein in her hand. "I bet you've had plenty of adventures."

"Oh, well I'm afraid I've never had any adventures," Lady Donnaugh fumbled for words. "Well, except to come here," she finished lamely. Plenty of adventures. This was twice in one day she'd been mistaken for some sort of swashbuckling maven.

Laprima took in her surroundings. Warm lighting, candles all about. The heavenly smell of roasting food. Sour aromas of ale and mead. A bard with a lute was singing in a high, yet pleasant, soprano's voice, while several listeners clapped and hollered. Everyone was jubilant, everyone was in a good mood.

She had done the right thing, and felt as though she were in the right place. Laprima experienced a feeling she hadn't felt since leaving her classes a few weeks earlier: a feeling of accomplishment. Though she did not officially start working until the following morning, immediately she began busy-bodying about: clearing tables of empty bottles and flasks, and scoring a sweetroll for herself, which she began nibbling in a corner, while watching the bard play another song. She realized she was famished. Once again, she had gone through most of the day and the start of nightfall without eating.



She arrived back at the Blue Palace some time after midnight. Even at this late hour there were several palace workers milling about: mostly guards. Her aunt was not here; Jarl Elisif was probably asleep. As always, the palace’s music played pleasantly.

Laprima walked upstairs, and into Sybille's room. Sybille Stentor was awake and alert, sitting bolt upright upon one of her room’s benches, as though waiting. She turned to her neighbor. Laprima and the court wizard gazed frostily at each other a moment, yet had nothing to say. Eventually, Laprima slipped into her own quarters.

"Good to see you have returned," Chamany was here, still awake, in bed. "Ah, but you are coming late to home."

"Mm, yes. This is true." It had been a long day. Laprima by now was feeling very tired. "And how are things with you?"

"Have you seen Aunt Elisif this evening?" her man asked. "I believe she was for you, looking."

Laprima groaned. "What is it now? Does she wish for me to suss her latest assignments? Or perhaps change my ghastly appearance? You know, perhaps we should figure a way to change the lock upon our door."

Her husband-to-be laughed. "I know she does not always say the things you wish to hear. But ah, she has some ideas which can be of eh, benefit to you. We can use to her ideas, you know, to be for our gains."

Whatever that was supposed to mean, she was not sure. And she did not want to know. She was too tired.

"So, how was your day?" she asked. "I was quite busy myself, and I'll tell you all that occurred in a moment. But you first. Tell me your day?"

"Oh, there are many things I must, eh, keep eh, running about, you know?" he grinned. "Arrange-ments, dates, and so forth. These people of the Solitude, they keep me busy. You under-stand, no?"

Turns out, she did not under-stand. "What sort of things? Might you find fit to tell me? To give your lady some sort of clue, at the very least?"

"It is ... very, eh, how you say? Très compliqué," he said. "I must come. I must go. I must arrange, and meet with others. Is very hush-hush. No much talk. You under-stand, yes?"

Turns out, she did not. "So, this is to say, you will not answer my query with a full reply of your own?" She smirked. "Yes?"

"Oh come now, Laprima. Do not be like that. There are certain things, mmm, arrangements, one must keep to oneself. These need for me to arrange, you see. And when I have arrange these things, then I can move on. And I shall. Move on, that is."

Laprima shook her head. This was not going anywhere. And did it need to, at this very moment?

"Well. I have trekked the unimaginable," she said slowly. "And attained what was thought to be unattainable. I have also arranged something, Chamany, I arranged myself employment here in Solitude."

"Lovely, bravo! Bravo to my dearest!" Her man was clapping. "And where have you found yourself this job?"

"I am working at the Winking Skeever, amant," Laprima answered proudly. "Serving drinks, and cleaning up the place. Yes, that is right. You are looking straight at the Skeever's newest barmaid."

"Well, this is eh, wonderful? Yes. Very wonderful, indeed..."

Other than wondering why she'd need to be working when they'd just gained their huge windfall of coin, Chamany LaCroix had no questions. And Laprima didn't feel like telling him about the constant diatribe of Aunt Elisif, and how she hoped they could somehow compromise on the issue of occupations. She was too tired.

The pair of lovers spent the night doing things which this writer won't mention, other than to say she is proud her creation has become more content. After a bit of time, Laprima and her 'amant' fell fast asleep. Just before doing so, Laprima wondered how her aunt would take the news of her new job.



The next morning Laprima made sure to get up early, at first light, in fact. She'd be expected at her new job by late morning, and she was eager to make it there on time. Or better yet, make it there early.

Chamany was already gone, doing the things (arrangements) he needed to do, for whatever reasons he needed to (arrange) do them. A man of mystery. Laprima remembered some words said to her by Siouxsie Ballion, her best ladyfriend back in Cyrodiil, who'd by then already gone running with a couple boys. Keeping some mystery in a relationship was healthy, Siouxsie once told her, as though Siouxsie herself was herself a longtime master of relations. It keeps things interesting.

Ach. But now was not the time to wonder about her man. She had somewhere to be, clear on the other side of town.

Laprima got out of bed, bracing herself for those few moments of chill as she swapped her nightgown for a dress. She selected the black maiden's outfit she'd first bought at the clothing shop, before remembering her aunt would disapprove. So she chose the one of the other dresses she'd found, instead. The blue one. She put her boots on, and was ready to go. Walked into the room next door, in which Sybille Stentor was arranging her blankets and pillows for another long morning of rest.

Laprima nodded as she crossed through, before bracing herself for the wrath of aunt Elisif.

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https://i.imgur.com/pJydjfL.jpg
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Posted by: SubRosa Feb 4 2023, 07:08 AM

I am sure Laprima has been in plenty of taverns before, does that count as work?

Ugh, student loans, I feel you Laprima.

Is her real boss going to be her Chamany? Is he moonlighting from drug-dealing, I mean keeping up an honest front working at the Skeever? Is that where he sells the skooma?

Chamany sounds very, how you say, French, in the way he speaks, eh?

Posted by: Acadian Feb 5 2023, 09:17 PM

Well good on LPD! She opted for getting a job with no stringpulling or external influence. A good chance to see a side of life it sounds like she is not that familiar with.

Gosh, every encounter with Chamany sets off red flags in my head. While LPD's new job may be a good one for her, I can’t help but feeling the opposite about her man of mystery. The same man who provided Sybille some potent extortion ammo.

Can’t wait to see how Elisef deals with her neice’s chosen employment. I like Elisef so I’m hoping she’ll be supportive. . . but we shall see.

Posted by: Renee Feb 6 2023, 09:06 PM

Oops, meant for this to say "dusk", not dawn. Not that it matters much. Corpulus is the one who says this, his mistake, not mine.

Because what he's saying is that she's going to work seventeen hours in a row. So yeah, that's incorrect.

Posted by: Acadian Feb 6 2023, 10:46 PM

Ahh, thanks for the correction. I noticed that hers seemed like quite a long shift.

Posted by: Renee Feb 11 2023, 02:20 AM

@SubRosa--She definitely has been in a few bars and taverns back home, that is true. I'd imagine she's been in at least some of the places in the Imperial City. They probably have different names now, of course, since it's been 200 years.

Student Loans. Yep. And no, Cham is not her boss. Just a guy who looks pretty much like him. ... Oooh the urge to post spoilers....

@Acadian-- Thanks much! You and Rosa really pay attention!

I love what you said there, the part about everything about her faux-French boyfriend setting off red flags. 🇮🇩 OooooOOOO the urge to post spoilers!!!!

Posted by: Renee Feb 11 2023, 04:49 AM

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'Tis only a Barmaid

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Turdas, mid-morning, 28th of Frostfall, 4E, Year 201


"No, the merchant stalls haven't got those, trust me," Elisif the Fair chirped to someone in the next room. "If you want the best threads in town, Radiant Raiments is the way to go. So take my advice, don't buy discounted clothing."

Splendid. Elisif was engaged. Someone is already here, speaking with her. Perhaps I might make myself as a rodent, and squeak right by.

But such was not the case. "Good morning to you, dear!"

Laprima stopped. Took a breath. This would only require a minute or two. First thing was to follow the same policy she'd taken with Corpulus the day before. Be honest. Be completely honest. She'd done this the night before in the Winking Skeever, which landed her her first job.

Laprima turned to address the court.

"Yes, I did manage to suss some local employment."

"Ooh, well why don't you grace me with a story, dear." Elisif sat back, as though she had all day.

Grace HER a story? ... But there are others present! - It'd be more like telling the entire court. And the Skeever's newest barmaid did not have time for that.

"Firstly, I did stop within the college. They've got classes, and I decided to pursue an introductory bard's course after speaking with Girrarud…"

"Classes!" Elisif, immediately ecstatic. "You enrolled yesterday? Why, that's wonderful, dear!" - Elisif was beaming for all the court to see: Falk Firebeard, Elisif’s steward, a couple of guards, and one of the palace’s servants, all of them were here to witness their leader’s elation. How proud was she of her niece. It was as though Skyrim's unelected high queen was ready to parade her young relative all over town.

“Aye, I did enroll, many thanks. Girraud is quite the tutor, I must also add.”

"Most magnificent, my dear. And how did we do at Castle Dour?"

Totally honest. "Well about Castle Dour. I spent so much time at the college, why, never did I trek inside the castle."

...And with that, now I must go...
...But such was not the case.

"Laprima, that is fine. I am just brimming with gaited elan, that we have discerned at least part of your calling here. The College of Bards! … Does this mean you are going to return to your singing?”

“Well, I’m afraid not. Haven’t got the pipes for that sort, as I did during my childhood days,” she said with a gesture.

“Oh, well that’s magnificent, dear. So many fortuitous chances to exceed here within the mighty high city of Solitude."

"I do concur, my dearest aunt. And with that, I must--"

"You can still head over to the castle today..."

"--turn about and..."

"Now, have you any need for ... financial assistance?” the queen asked, wringing her hands a bit. “Ehm, concerning you'll be taking classes?"

Well, it shan't hurt to explain... "I am fine money," Laprima answered. "But if I do have a need for any assistance, I shall present my cause to the court."

"Really? Your financials are fine, you say?"

Uh oh. Seems that last bit caught Jarl Elisif's attention. Now she had that look of puzzle upon her face.

Here it was.

"About the castle. I haven't anymore a need to appear there, my gracious. For I have procured myself employment somewheres other." The younger woman paused. Took a breath. "At the Winking Skeever. This is to say, I shall be starting there as a barmaid, beginning later this morn."

"Laprima!"

Voice raised. Reverbs and echoes bouncing throughout the palace’s many variegated surfaces. Elisif shuffled upon her throne, then quickly righted her body. Her eyes jumped about. Left, right, down. She rifled her hands through her hair a bit, opened her mouth. Began to say something in reply, but then stifled her words. Everyone could see this, plainly so. Jarl Elisif the Fair, at a loss for words. How rare a moment was this?

But then, she composed herself. Lowered her voice. "You drew employment at the tavern? But ... why? ... I do not understand.” Her upper body straightened, while her face lost its previous contorted demeanor; confusion now gone. “The Winking Skeever, it's a commendable establishment, surely. The comestibles and libations are superb..."

"Aye," spoke Elisif's housecarl. "Best boar’s head and cheddar this side of Haafingar…"

"...But I was thinking we had agreed you'd show much more proficiency at the castle," Elisif finished.

"Excellent service," Falk Firebeard commented. “The Skeever’s home-brewed mead, spectacular…”

"Aunt Elisif, there was never any mention of me going into Castle Dour,” Laprima spoke, her voice warbling a bit. “The castle was a notion upon your list. But I shall not be going there for any endeavors pertaining toward occupations."

Something shattered, somewhere deep in the palace. Other than this, the lull which followed Laprima's firmly-spoken words was palpable. Because suddenly, no one was speaking. Niece and aunt, smashing heads. Was this about to turn into a full-fledged argument?

"Well alright." Elisif mumbled, her posture sagging a bit. "I suppose there's nothing more I can do, dear." She was looking at the floor.

And that was all. Solitude’s jarl and possibly Skyrim’s next high queen, losing composure. It was as though a betty netch had just deflated right upon the palace's throne.

"Many thank-yous for all your concerns," Laprima pensively replied. "I must be going now. The time... I must be there by--"

"I understand," the queen said, putting her palm in the air, conceding. Honoring defeat. "You are dismissed."

And it was done, for better or worse. Would there be some sort of trouble about this new development between the two family members in the future? Not the time to wonder about that sort of thing. Now was the time for the younger lady to bustle on over to the Winking Skeever, before she’d be branded as tardy.

"You know... I've been thinking of trying the Skeever's newest dish: lemon-dipped scampi with red capers," mused Falk Firebeard. "I think that by--"

"Silence!" the queen said quietly, trying not to scream.





Outside, the weather was grim. It was snowing softly again, but Laprima barely noticed. She tried to make haste, half-walking/half-dashing her way to her destination.

"No lollygaggin'," a guard commented as she rushed by.

Not a problem. She was in too much of a hurry. - Despite this, she did not wish to get into a full-on sprint as she made her way past the citizens of Solitude; didn't want it to seem like she was being perhaps chased by some madman! - She forced herself to slow down a couple times, picking a flower here and there. For good luck? Possibly so.

"If you're heading to the Blue Palace, you might want to ... rethink that outfit."

It was one of the snobs who worked at the clothing shop. Laprima paid her no mind. Instead, she scooted aside. Dodged any Solitudians in her way.

"Hey! Wanna play tag?"

Not a time for the games of children. The Skeever's newest employee half-rushed into the merchant's area, passed the trading shop and the apothecary. Finally, here she was at the Skeever. Just before going inside she had a look up above, trying to discern the time of day.

The sun was nowhere to be seen. It was as though Nirn's fathering orb had vacated the sky. But if she had to make a guess, she was thinking the day was about half past.

Laprima strode into the Skeever, in which both bartenders were present, chatting before their serving area.

"Seems there's always more to be done," Corpulus said to his second bartender, the man who looked like Chamany.

"Greetings Laprima," said the look-alike. "Corpulus has already told me of your coming. My name's Barre Bakkh. Glad to see you are here." He had a Nord's native accent.

"Aye. I have arrived."

"I will be your immediate overseer," Barre told her, "as Corpulus no-doubt explained last night."

"Splendid!"

Enthusiasm surged within her, to what seemed to be almost an absurd degree. 'Tis only a barmaid's position, she reminded herself. Did it hurt to be absurdly enthused about this sort of thing?

Barre Bakkh handed her a sheet of parchment she could scrawl upon, as well as a quill. "Here you go, let's see if you can make some sales today."

Laprima was ready. She turned a half-pivot and gazed across the floor. A man was sitting roughly ten feet away, at one of the Skeever's tables. Laprima did a quick observation, making determinations. There was already a goblet in front of him. Perhaps his drink was already full. So perhaps she should try someone else. Weren't too many folks here yet, though.

So she strutted across the room, past the Skeever's bard. There was an older gentleman sitting at a remote table, half in darkness, wearing armor of iron. This same man had been seated at the very same table the night before, as though he hadn’t moved.

"Miss. Over here!" he called.

"Can I get you anything?" Laprima asked.

"By blade and by death," the man answered. "If you want it dead, I'll make it dead. All you need to do is pay my fee."

Hmm. "I see,” she replied. “Ehm, but can I get you anything? I shall be your serving maid for the afternoon."

"Nah, I'm good," he growled.

'Tis fine. She moved away from him, back toward the bard. A small group of potential customers had just walked in. Two of them sat at the table nearest the tavern's bar. "Good afternoon," said a lady wearing posh garb as Laprima neared.

"Can I get anything to fill thy belly this morn?"

"It's been my honor to perform at the Blue Palace on many occasions," said the poshly-dressed lady, as though she hadn't heard Laprima's question. "His late lordship was...quite the admirer."

Hmm. As soon as she'd gotten away from the palace, here she was being reminded of it. Did the poshly-dressed bard know who Laprima is? "Can I get you anything?" Laprima repeated.

The lady handed Laprima some coin. "Here you are. I shall have myself a coffee."

"Aye," said the barmaid in blue. "One coffee."

"Now you can say you've met the most talented bard in all of Skyrim," Miss Posh said, beaming with pride.

The barmaid ignored her. She rushed right over to Barre Bakkh. "The poshly-dressed lady over there would like a coffee," she said, trying to keep from sounding sarcastic.

Laprima's boss smirked. "Here you go," he said, taking Posh Lady's coin. "Heh, you've already got the knack."

Laprima moved semi-quickly back to the table, not too slow and not too fast. Though this was her first day on the job she’d seen plenty of serving-folk in the past, both men and women. They always had a sort of delicacy to their movements, as though they were partially dancing as they avoided chairs, tables, customers, and other obstacles. "Here you are," the barmaid handed Lady Posh her drink.

"Don't forget my name! Pretty soon everyone will be saying it, all over Tamriel!"

Laprima nodded. Sure. Right. Her gaze moved onto the man sitting next to Miss Posh...

.... who happened to be an elf with wood-colored hair: Viarmo, headmaster of the Bards College!

"I have faith, that you'll return after you've retrieved King Olaf's Verse," he intoned sternly.

Hmm. "Well I am, for now, under employ here at the Winking Skeever. Perhaps some other who is perhaps more capable at risking such an endeavor, might partake of retrieving the verse," she answered. "Can I get anything to sate thy palate?"

"Sure, I shall pay for a drink," Viarmo said, handing five coins over. "Oh, and here's a little something for yourself." He handed her a sixth, which Laprima knew she was free to pocket.

"Why thank ye!"

"I wish you luck in finding the verse," the headmaster said, as though she hadn’t just mentioned any reluctance to do so.

Laprima fetched the elf some mead, listened to his third attempt at persuading her into risking her life while heading off to some cave, and moved on.

For the rest of the afternoon her journeys across the floor became a pattern. A habit. Her new way of life. The hours passed by. One thing the Skeever's newest barmaid learned? Everyone has a story.

"I'll be sure to tack 'talk to random stranger' off my list," a rude woman named Gisli scolded, even after Laprima'd served her a drink.

"I have no business with you. Leave me," said the Argonian sitting in an alcove.

"Being old's not so bad," said a second older man. "Daughter keeps me fed, and my working days are done...."

"Ah, another new face. I'm from Hammerfell," said a young man with an Imperial accent. "I can hardly keep up with all the newcomers in town..."

The hours, they marched by. Before she knew it, Laprima Donnaugh was done with her shift.

"Underbart!" said her superior. "You are done with your day." Barre Bakkh counted out her pay: forty gold. "We knew you could do it, Laprima."

"I thank ye," she said shyly, thinking again, the resemblance to Chamany is uncanny.

Her first-ever day of work, with forty pieces of coin being the very first coin she’d earned completely on her own. The pay earned for the chores she’d done during childhood in her family home did not count, this was her first real job. Laprima celebrated by buying herself a drink imbued with fruit juices, which she savored while Lisette the bard played another song.

Later on that night as she walked happily from the tavern and back to the palace, a pair of eyes watched while a pair of feet followed.

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

https://i.imgur.com/TAd10XY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2GEmS0n.jpg -- (I'm almost positive that's Chamany behind her. He's got AI Packages which make him walk around town!)

https://i.imgur.com/7zgoGaz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Zf1uwqa.jpg (he was standing on a barstool, clapping to the music!)


Notes:
1). The part when she was finally free from Elisif and began jogging to work really did have that feel like any of us have experienced in real-life. That part of the quest is real. She’s got a couple hours of leeway, the shift begins at 11:00 in Creation Kit time, but if she shows up to work after 13:00, she’ll be considered late. If she shows up late twice, she gets fired!

2). I forgot to mention this last week, but I made a script which got added when she got hired, which causes her to be part of the SolitudeWinkingSkeever faction, meaning she can pick up any items in the bar, and not be considered stealing. Conversely, if she quits the job or gets fired, she’ll get removed from this faction.
.

Posted by: Acadian Feb 11 2023, 05:56 PM

Well, that could have gone better. . . or worse for that matter. Perhaps Elisef will wrap her head around LPD’s ability to make her own choices.

Comestibles and libations! How wonderfully medieval! I chuckled over Falk Firebrand’s extolling of the Skeever to the point of earning a ‘Silence!’ from Elisef.

LPD’s first day on the job was fun. I love how you incorporated so much of the game’s existing banter into it.

Posted by: SubRosa Feb 11 2023, 08:22 PM

I buy discounted clothing all the time. And discount spells from Edgar Vautrine. I want cheap.

Maybe Laprima will bump into January at the Bard's College one day.

I love how as Elisef is deflating like a Betty Netch over how Laprima has lowered herself by working in a place like the Skeever, everyone else in the court is extolling the virtues of its food and drinks. They got wicked lobstah, amirite?

Barre Bakkh!

But it seems that trouble is lurking in Solitude's shadows. Is Chammy following her? Or an enemy smuggler?

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Feb 14 2023, 01:45 AM

All right, let's see how Laprima's venture into normal-ish life goes...

I've always hated it when someone just asks me to start talking like that. I'd imagine it's only more difficult for Laprima because she can't safely talk about a lot of what's on her mind.

Ah, but at least her attendance at the Bards College makes for a good cover.

Oh wow! I wasn't expecting her to admit her barmaid gig. Might be a bit scandalous for the rarified court...

I'm enjoying Elisif's shock. Nice of Falk to provide some support. Or maybe he just likes the Winking Skeever that much and can't stop talking about it.

Oof, now that can't be fun to hear from a patron. Does the Winking Skeever have a bouncer? Hopefully a well-armed and well-trained one? This guy might be trouble.

Heh! I love how coolly Laprima brings him back down to reality.

Hm, I can't help wondering if coffee's pricey up in Skyrim. Figure they'd have to ship it in from the Gold Coast or from around Leyawiin or something. A posh lady is ordering it...

Looks like they still want her to do their work. Hopefully it's a bit humbling to Viarmo to be reminded that most folks have to actually work and can't go off being sketchy adventurer types.

There's usually a strong sense of satisfaction after the first paycheck. It fades in the future, but that first one is always nice. You incorporating that makes the story feel very grounded.

Posted by: Lopov Feb 14 2023, 01:00 PM

I fell behind but I'm catching up!

Today I read Her Fourth Morn in Skyrim and afterwards almost all her stories from the previous season. I did read the "fourth Morn first" and I appreciate the short summary of events that occurred in the previous season. I chuckled at the fact that the story was in fact dedicated to a the nightstand. Lots of septims can sure make the life boring if there's nothing else to do. Let's see what's next for Laprima.

Not to clutter up the thread, I'll be editing this post and adding my comments, as I catch up with other stories.

Posted by: Lena Wolf Feb 14 2023, 05:28 PM

Ah, you haven't played Skyrim then? This is Belrand, a war veteran and a mercenary. That line is meant for him to pick up customers. He's a darling really, was always my favourite companion there, to the point that I brought him over to my Skyrim for Oblivion, although admittedly I made him drop that line. (It went slightly differently in the original.)

Great story, Renee!

Posted by: Renee Feb 18 2023, 03:03 AM

Phew, here we go. I apologize that these last few chapters were pretty long. Maybe I could've trimmed a bit of fat away. On the other hand, it's those little details (which seen inconsequential to the actual story) which (sometimes) flesh the story more. 📘

But I wanted to get the story to a certain point, and we're pretty much at the start of that point! Hee hee! NOW the fun stuff begins, folks.

And I had something else I've been meaning to say all week, but now I'm forgetting it. Ah, it'll come to me later.

I agree, Acadian, yes it could've gone better. With Laprima it's sort of like with Taneesha (Vicious). Both of them are young, both of them are in a phase of life in which they're trying to figure things out. Sometimes they make good choices, sometimes bad.

I will say this though: From now on, Elisif will play less of a role in the story than she has been. 👑 Bet you didn't see that coming, eh?

I've probably known about this chapter for about a year, so yeah, I've been looking forward to actually writing it. The quest which guides all the Skeever dialog took me a LONG time to write. I spent all of December trying to get it to work. It's a simple quest, yet working in the CK is not always so simple.

That would be awesome if January and Laprima'd meet, SubRosa. I don't know enough about Jan's activities to make a real attempt at dialog or anything like that, but perhaps there will be a moment when they pass by. Sort of like when one of my OB characters would pass by a "platinum-haired Dunmer" on their way to Bruma.



Ha ha you're probably right! 🦞 Funny thing is: in the game Elisif has actually stopped showing up for "work". Ever since the last chapter when they had that near-argument, Elisif hasn't been on the throne as Laprima's passed by. This has been going on for two days now. And it has nothing to do with any quests or scripts or AI.

Oh yeah Clavier, well Laprima's definitely a student at heart, for sure. School gave her focus during her younger years, it's the one thing which added structure into her life, while her childhood crumbled. So as you will see, she often jumps at the chance to engage in learning. Not for the sake of being smarter, but because she likes the "safety" that surrounds intellectual pursuits.



That's one of the in-game followers who says this, as Lena Wolf points out. He always sits at this one table until someone hires him. When Laprima walked up, he was hoping she'd pay his fee so he could escort her somewhere, perhaps.

Good point. Prices in Skyrim do seem pretty pricey, even comparing to modern-day earth. Then again, maybe it's because of some mods I've got in my gameworld. I can't remember how vanilla prices compare. But for instance, in my game (with mods) a bowl of soup is about 14 gold. Which is pretty darn high compared to Earth.

Thanks so much!

Lopov, glad to have you back. Good thing you showed up now, and not April. By April/May, there'll definitely be a LOT to catch up to.

Ah, the nightstand. I was actually experimenting with the Creation Kit's Enable() function, which I totally figured out how to work. Later on in this story when Chamany says a certain bit of dialog, it actually causes her nightstand to appear in her room (along with a bowl of moon sugar, but we won't mention that). And this is a feature I'm going to use several times in this story.

Thank you Lena, you're awesome. Have some cake.

Dang. I still can't remember what I've been wanting to mention all week....

Posted by: Renee Feb 18 2023, 05:29 AM

Okay, I remember what I wanted to say all week.

So when I began her game last year, I used a console command to set the date. I wanted her game to start late in Frost Fall, and now I remember why. The following story corresponds to October 29, the real-life day and month I rolled Miss 'Prima.

.
_______________

Her Day of Birth

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Fredas, 29th of Frostfall

Laprima awoke early in the morning from another dream. In this one she'd been riding a white horse, galloping across scrubby-looking plains. The air was misty. Soft rain drizzled from the sky. She was headed toward a cave, located somewhere near a river with lots of stones in it. Mountains in the distance, birds in the sky. As she approached the river and then the cave, the horse slowed from a gallop to a canter, then finally eased to a walk.

And why was she here? Because somewhere deep in the cave there was supposed to be a sheaf of papers. Prose or poetry, which was wanted by Viarmo the Headmaster.

Laprima was about to enter the cave when a voice interrupted. "I trust that you'll do the right thing, and enter Dead Man's Reach," spoke an emotively-trained alto voice. Laprima jumped. Viarmo had appeared out of thin air, it'd seemed. Somehow, he was now standing right next to her. "You need to convince aunt Elisif to allow us to burn the effigy of King Olaf!" he whined.

She was just about to follow through; she was actually on her way inside the wretched place. It was at that very moment when she woke up.

"Huhnk! Oh, dreadful," she spoke aloud, shaking her head at the thought of it.

As was her habit, she immediately grabbed for her journal, inked a quill, and began scrawling as much as she could recall. A horse.... a cave... misty air, overly-grey skies... She'd been keeping journals ever since she was eight. Each one was full of her wants, her dreams, a variety of drawings and doodles, and so on. These journals also helped her stay organized for school. One of the ways she did this was to pay strict attention to dates. Which day of the month it was, which day of the week, and so on.

"Fredas, twenty-ninth of Frost Fall..."

Suddenly she realized: today was her day of birth. Her twenty-first day of birth, in fact! -- And what should be done about this? Anything? Should there be some sort of gathering, some sort of observance later on, perhaps with Chamany, and all the court?

Laprima hadn't been in the habit of celebrating these sorts of things, not since she was a young child. Not since her brother disappeared, and the Darkness began to pervade her adolescent life. But with Sybille's good news about Elijah becoming more of a reality in her mind, she'd been experiencing a turn of positivity these past three days. Things had changed for the better.

Still, maybe it was too late to really do anything by now. How exactly did one celebrate an adult's day of birth, anyway? - For children there were games, there were amusements, there were magic tricks (which weren't always tricks). But how did grown folks go about this? Seemed like things of this sort needed more planning.

"Ach." Laprima dropped the whole matter. Began getting dressed for work. Looked toward her windows, and guessed morning was already half past. "Perhaps I should merely stride my way toward the Skeever."

And that's exactly what she did. Maybe later on when she found her man, both of them could share some festivities after her shift was over.

"Chamany!" Laprima nearly squealed, one hour later. "Is that you? - Uch, you frightened me!"

Laprima had just gotten to work. Ten minutes before she'd been at the clothing store across the aveneue, where she purchased a spectacularly functional outfit fit for an alewife. Her new dress was composed of an auburn-colored bodice made from hand-stretched fleece, olive-green under-tunic, and a burgundy skirt. She'd put these clothings on, headed into the Skeever. Realized she needed to a place to store the original clothes she'd worn. Where could this be?

She headed into the Skeever's cellar, found a chest she could use, turned around...





"Well wha--" she stammered, blinking, truly stunned. "Why are you milling about down here, mon amour?"

He was wearing clothes she'd never seen before.

"Eh, yes. I am sorry to have made disturbed you," he said quietly, standing very still. "Many pardons."

"'Tis alright," she jittered. "I just. Well, why are you..."

"Oh," he said, interrupting her. "I have this to say. This is, I have found for us a nightstand, as you have request from two days ago. It shall be delivered as this afternoon."

"You have found for us a nightstand," Laprima replied while putting her arms into the air, gesturing, confused.

Her man smiled, pleased at himself for remembering to inform her perhaps, while Laprima stashed the clothes she'd originally worn into the chest she'd found. She then turned. Stared at him, hand on hip. Expecting more.

"Listen," he started quietly. "The Skeever, it is a good place. No? A place where many can make show, and have oneself some good times. One can be oneself in the crowd, so to say, in the Winking Skeever."

"I ... well. Surely." She continued to stare. Expecting him to continue. Above them, Lisette the bard began strumming her lute while singing softly, warming her voice for the afternoon to come.

Chamany smiled. "Perhaps you'd better rise to the upstairs," he whispered.

"Chamany? What's this about? Why are you... I... well I do not understand."

Her fiancé made no reply at first. "Perhaps you'd better rise to the upstairs."

The barmaid slowly nodded. Decided to do just that. As she did so; as she climbed one flight of stairs and then the next, it was as though the awkward scene of a playwright's story transpired to a pleasant, more familiar one. Laprima walked from the stairs to the tavern's proper serving area. Spoke to Barre Bakkh, obtained her daily tally-sheet. And was ready to begin her day. She strode across the floor, forgetting about her beau for now. A lady with light-colored hair was seated nearby. Time to get to work.

"Morning. Might I get anything for ye, dear?"

"My name's Gisli, but you can just call me Erikur's sister. Everyone does."

Laprima addressed her first customer, the same snob from Radiant Raiments who'd been here the day before. Seems Gisli was, unfortunately, one of the regulars. Laprima approached the snob with just a wee bit of apprehension. Here we go.

"May I get you anything?" she repeated.

"Ugh, can'tcha see I'm busy, wench!"

Other than this frightful moment, the rest of her second day of work passed by smoothly. Today was slower than it'd been the day before. For hours, nobody new came into the Skeever on Frost Fall the twenty-ninth, despite it being a Fredas. Hmm, Fredas. Did many folks not end their work-week on this very day? - Laprima thought so. So where was everybody? After a few hours of sauntering about, the barmaid finally sat down to give her feet a rest.

"Perhaps it's the weather," Barre Bakkh opined, even though the day was sunny outside.

At some point after more hours had passed, Miss Donnaugh realized two things. Firstly, she'd completely forgotten today was her day of birth. Secondly, she'd also forgotten about Chamany, her man, still down in the cellar. Though she hadn't been paying full attention throughout her shift, never did she see him come upstairs.

Laprima finished her shift with not quite the same enthusiasm as the day before. She served her last customer, an elderly Nord, and received the day's compensation. Headed downstairs to retrieve her morning outfit, wondering why her man hadn't been up to claim a table. Wondered what he'd been doing down here in the first place, apparently for the entire day.

She walked back to the chest where she'd stashed her clothes.

Chamany LaCroix was no longer here.

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https://i.imgur.com/GsZnIEY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5ino0Gv.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2zTz9b9.jpg
.

Posted by: SubRosa Feb 18 2023, 06:29 AM

Laprima is having literal dreams of being an adventurer. The funny thing is January literally just did this quest last night. I wonder if Laprima will ever make her dreams come true? Or will she be a regular Tamrielite like Daria?

Fredas always makes me think of Fred Flintstone...

I still don't trust Chamany. He already used Laprima as an unwitting drug mule. He has a habit of just disappearing and reappearing. He reminds me of the RL Carlos the Jackal. He was a terrorist who had girlfriends all through Europe, and hid guns and explosives at their houses without their knowledge.

She is looking nice and colorful in her new outift. As the kids today say, it really pops.

Posted by: Lena Wolf Feb 18 2023, 11:01 AM

Sounds like Laprima might have use of Belrand's services after all.

Chamany might be a wizard, for all we know. Adept at teleportation...

Posted by: Acadian Feb 18 2023, 09:14 PM

That bard quest just keeps resurfacing in Laprima’s thoughts. Somehow, I don’t think we’ve heard the last of that quest or the effigy burning of King Olaf.

And happy twenty first birthday!

Off to work she goes and into a lovely new tavern dress. And in the basement of the tavern she finds its namesake – the skeever called Chamany. At this point, I’m hoping LPD wises up and gets rid of that guy – he reeks of trouble.

Posted by: Lopov Feb 20 2023, 06:45 PM

I guess I've been waiting for that moment since the 1st story.

One more story to catch up on, then I'm back on the trail.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Feb 24 2023, 04:01 AM

Isn't that always the way? Right when you've started settling into your new role, in comes someone from your past to mess it up. Granted, Chamany's not exactly from Laprima's past, but it feels the same: something from her old life messing up her present.

There's simply no way that Laprima can afford to trust Chamany. I just hope she realizes this before she gets even deeper into trouble.

Posted by: Lopov Feb 25 2023, 02:33 PM

Don't trust a man who doesn't even remember the birthday of his supposedly loved one!

Posted by: Renee Feb 25 2023, 03:14 PM

The funny thing is, Chamany appearing down in the basement was a random thing. No quests at all. He's got some AI which makes him wander around, but not specfically into the basement. NPCs don't usually go down there. It surprised me just as much as it surprised my gal.


@Rosa-- Same thing with Teresa, eh? I read some Teresa of the Faint Smile last night, learned that she eventually began doing Umbacano's quests. Not to get rich, but so she could afford a house for Simplicia. And because of that, that's how she eventually became involved with adventuring.

Chamany certainly is based on some of the many nefarious men who live double-lives, but the good thing is he's not a womanizer. No girlfriends all over the place. Not sure I could write about something like that. Already too much of that as it is.

Yeah, mod-added outfits are always great to explore. So much fun. I haven't even gotten to ghastley's trove yet.


@Lena-- She might hire Belrand in the future, who knows? See, part of this story is random. We follow our character's wishes to an extent, and then use our mod ideas to structure the things which surround them.

Cham's a wizard, all right! Not in this sort of way, though.


@Paladin! -- Thanks! I almost missed the in-game date, too, yikes I would've been mad if that one got by.

As stated, Cham appearing down there was not a planned thing. All of that happened as I was merely gaming with my gal. She wanted a place to hide her dress, and next thing you know, her guy was standing right there. Stuff like that has to go into the story, in fact it added an extra, unexpected chapter.


@Scoundrel-- Elisif won't be playing as much a role now that they've smashed heads. She will appear later on in the story, but not in the same way. Relief, eh?

Are you sure he forgot her bday? 🍰


@Clav-- Oh yeah, she's definitely losing her trust in her man, but hold that thought.

This next chapter... I don't know what you all are going to think of it. Sort of nervous, actually.

Posted by: Renee Feb 25 2023, 04:59 PM

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Cannot Return to Past Ways

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Her second day ever of work should've been followed by the same simple feelings of accomplishment as the first. The day before, she'd been satisfied. She'd been proud.

But tonight, Laprima stood in the Winking Skeever's cellar, a mixture of befuddlement and ire overcoming. Because of Chamany. Who exactly was Chamany LaCroix, other than a former student, turned smuggler? -- Just four days ago, he promised he'd given up his former ways, now that both of them had lots of coin stashed. So what was he doing, skulking down here earlier? And why had his answers been so vague the other night, when she asked him how he'd been filling his days?

Part of her was feeling as though perhaps she'd committed an enormous blunder. Coming here, coming to Skyrim, that is. She'd been the daft one, falling for a man whom she thought she'd known well. Had journeying to this strange, cold land been the right thing to do? Every single day in Solitude so far, the man she loved was becoming more of a paradox.

Upstairs, some sort of commotion was going on. Lots of shoes and boots had moved onto the floor above, stomp! clomp! clump! It had been slow all day; perhaps now was the time when the place got busier. Well, of course it got busier. Everyone was done with their workdays, by this hour. The dock-workers, the shopkeepers, those who ran the smith, maybe a town guard or two, maybe Falk Firebeard, maybe even the town beggar, all of them would be here, celebrating the end of another week of toil.

She wiped a set of tears from her eyes as she packed her belongings. Began climbing the stairs, fuming. Saw herself quickly pacing across the floor so she could exit the tavern, avoiding eye contact, avoiding direct conversation. If she did it right, she'd be out the door and back at the palace, where she'd hopefully find Chamany. Then they could talk. Then, she would confront him. About all of this. Whatever 'this' is.

She walked from the stairs to the tavern's serving area.

"What--??"

She was surrounded. Chamany was here, and so was his near-twin Barre Bakkh. Corpulus Vinius thrust a mug full of drink into her hand, while Laprima's jaw went slack and she nearly dropped her bag.

"This is for your day of birth," her fiancé said with a wink. He gave her a small gift box while the tavern's inhabitants whooped and hollered.

"Drats. You trickster!"

So this is what he'd been up to earlier, Laprima assumed.

As the tavern's floor filled with patrons, Lisette the bard began singing and playing. Over half the place dallied around. There were ladies, there were gents, commoners and patricians, pantaloons and skirts, those who'd lost, and those who'd prospered, there was even a young child seen joining the grownups' merriment. Some of these folks were strangers, others were those Laprima served earlier in the day. Everyone, dancing! Everyone, smiling! - Even Gisli the snob was present. Although the bitter woman who'd previously slighted Miss Donnaugh remained in her seat, she had a slick smile on her face while doing so, as though she was amused.





Their revelry lasted an hour or so. Laprima, unsure how to celebrate her own day, became tipsy with drink. What a surprise! And her beau somehow managed to plan all of this without her knowing. Lady Donnaugh, she'd never felt such joy, not during any of her young-adult life thus far, anyway. Her previous doubts and worries, pushed aside.

But no one's day of birth lasts forever. As the partygoers began to head home one after the other, eventually Laprima and Chamany followed suit, wavering a bit on their feet while their imbibements swirled.

As they walked back to the palace, a lone figure watched, quietly from the shadows. "Curses!"

The woman they'd seen the night before, the same one who was currently engaged to Chamany, that blasted, pompous ass who'd started this all, was not walking home alone. In fact, Chamany was here, right there with her.

"I shall have to wait another night," the shadowy figure grumbled in anger.




Loredas, Frost Fall 30

Laprima awoke the next morning to find her man milling about their bedroom.

"Lovely," Laprima began. "Such a night of feasting did you and I partake, eh?" She yawned. Still lying in bed, she noticed her head had that same feeling she'd experienced long ago, when she and her ladyfriends back home would sneak liquor from her father's libations cabinet. Despite this, she was already looking forward to her day.

And what should she do on this day, this Loredas day? Corpulus had told her she could take the entire weekend off if she wanted; the Skeever already had someone who could handle the floor during weekends. So, perhaps she and Chamany could spend their time walking about town, taking in its flourishing sights.

"What shall we do today, dear? And I ask this while considering one word of caution. Which is to say, no more spirits!"

Chamany was still wearing the same strange clothings he'd worn the day before, but had added a leather-colored hood atop of his head. "Laprima," he said.

"Aye, I am she."

He sat upon one of their chairs across their room. "Laprima. I need for you to me, listen."

The hood he was wearing hung a bit over his eyes, so that she could mainly see the lower half of his face. Despite their previous night night of festivity, there was now an aura of seriousness about him.

"Alright." She got out of bed, and took a seat as well. Ironically, it was this moment when Laprima noticed the nightstand he'd promised four days ago. It was here, placed next to her main dresser.

"I need for you to me listen, Laprima. Is very important. A task for you, you can say."

"A ...task?" She shook her head left, then right. Immediately saw where this was going. "Chamany. If the thought you are grappling in any way involves skooma..."

"Oh no. No skooma," he wagged, placing three fingers to his lips. "I need for you to do something. Mm, we need for you to help."

His voice was slow. Chamany LaCroix looked tired, as though he hadn't just slept next to her for the past eight hours or so.

"Now keep you must know," he continued. "That this is just for the once. We need for you to ... eh... how you say? - Déverrouiller une porte. To make pick for a lock. I should say ... we should say, that we need for you to make pick a lock."

"Make pick a lock? - You wish for me to pick a lock?"

"Yes, yes. And just for the once. You pick a lock for me, eh? And just for the once time. In days before you come here to Skyrim, you have pick for lock in the jewels store, down in Cyrodiil, yes? Se souvenir. And now, we need for you to pick for one lock here in the Solitude, as well."

"I ... shall ... not!" she nearly shouted, a slip of anger presenting. "Chamany! I shall do no such thing!" She grabbed an apple off the table. "I cannot return to my past ways, particularly as per my standing now with Elisif."

"Yes," he replied. "This is what I think you will say. I know as this, Laprima. But before you give up to make pick one lock, I must show you something."

He handed her a heavy object, which she (at first) wanted to throw across the room, where it would shatter upon the nearest wall. But then, her eyes turned downward, if only to see what it was she'd be throwing, and shattering.

It was a crystal goblet, bluish-white in color, its glazing somewhat translucent. Although she now held a vessel which was designed to contain drink, right away she guessed this one had never done so. She passed it from one hand to the other, unsure of what exactly she was holding. As she did so, she could feel its magic, frisking astir within her palms.

"Please look, into the cup," he suggested.

Laprima rose from her seat, staring at Chamany as though she didn't know him. Who, pray-tell, is this sodden husband-to-be of mine? Perhaps now was the time to have that talk she'd mulled the night before.

After a few moments though, she obliged. Gazed into the crystal. And what she saw caused a look of stunning and then horror to flash across her face.

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https://i.imgur.com/9uIZtq7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/sscZjRj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YoyxB68.jpg
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Posted by: SubRosa Feb 25 2023, 10:42 PM

Opa! We have that here in Detroit at the Greek Coney Islands.

Party in the Skeever! Happy B-day Prima!

Uh oh, The Shadow Man is lurking in the... well... shadows. Probably some underworld contact of Cham's, or a rival.

It looks like Cham has his thieving outfit on.

Yep. Just when she thinks she is out, they pull her back in.

Posted by: Lena Wolf Feb 25 2023, 10:58 PM

Great going, Renee! And ending on a cliffhanger... I won't be gossiping until it's clear what is going on!

Posted by: Acadian Feb 25 2023, 11:51 PM

Well the party at the Skeever was a pleasant enough surprise, but not enough to redeem Skeever LaCroix.

Uh-oh, a mysterious stranger. . . this can't be good.

And sure enough, Chamany is trying to coax LPD into more crime. What does the lock he wants her to pick protect? What magic animates that goblet and what is it showing LPD?

Posted by: Renee Feb 26 2023, 04:00 PM

Oooo, sorry! About the cliff-hanger that is. Two in a row, in fact.

Problem is, the next part of the story's going to require I stay with it for a while, which definitely would've made this week's chapter too long, so it had to get broken up. Some of the chapters so far have been longer ones, and I don't want to seem indulgent as we move forward.

Thanks for the feedback, at least.

Posted by: Lena Wolf Feb 26 2023, 04:48 PM

I didn't mean it as criticism, actually. Cliff-hangers are allowed! It is a valid way to keep your readers bound to your story! I do it all the time... Well, may be not all the time, but from time to time for sure.

Posted by: Renee Feb 26 2023, 05:14 PM

Honestly I was more worried about the fact that Chamany tricked her, which caused a huge dovetail in the story with the party and all. I thought some of you would be upset about that!

Posted by: macole Feb 27 2023, 04:55 AM

I was, still am. I felt her hurt of being forgotten. I felt her elation at being remembered with the party in her honor. Yet, I know that once the euphoria of the party is over in a day or two the pain of the cruel prank will return. I never spoke to several of the conspirators again.

Oh, oh. Chamany is at it again. Don't you just love drinking from the Cup of Destiny

Posted by: Renee Mar 4 2023, 03:19 PM

As some of you may've noticed in that last story, I finally got an animation mod, which I think 'Rosa recommended a while ago: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/10870. It was last updated in 2012, and it's a little clunkier to use than Actor's Ball for Oblivion, but at least it does work. There was another mod I tried called Universal Poses which for some reason just couldn't figure out.

The "party" pics took close to an hour to arrange. Because I had to use Amazing Follower Tweaks to make each NPC a follower, lead them to the dance floor, wait until they weren't staring at some wall or whatever, use Puppeteer to make them pose (this means using the "Shout" button while aiming at the NPC, and then quickly going into Laprima's Apparel menu to select the NPC icon), and then finally use the TAI console command to freeze each one in place. After all that sometimes frustrating work, I only took two screenshots! Wish I'd gotten more.

I also wanted to find something which adds crystal balls into Skyrim so Laprima could gaze into that. Couldn't find any, though. Puppeteer has a pose which for some reason has the PC holding a goblet. 🍵

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SR: Again, quite funny that both our stories last week had parties in them. Totally unplanned, too. Just think of the odds.

"It looks like Cham has his thieving outfit on."

Funny thing about his outfits is recently I've figured out how to make NPCs "change" their clothes. So the cool thing now is, every other time we see Chamany in the game he's wearing something different.

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LW: True that, cliffies do make the reader quipped for more. They can be frustrating too, I get it! Especially for TV shows we grew up watching (well... not you personally. I know you don't watch TV). The most famous from my childhood was "Who shot J.R.?" on the show Dallas.

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Ac: That party was a late idea, too. 🎈 🎂 I think I was at work and saw something which reminded me of something, and next thing you know WHOA what a great idea. One which has never been done in a Fiction, so far as I know.

Has Buffy ever celebrated her Bday in-game?

No magic in the goblet, really. That part was imagination.

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mc: Aw, such kind words, friend. Yes, birthdays can be a weird, emotional thing, even for some of us who are grownups. I have a friend for instance. If you call or text her on her bday she gets upset, and I mean, she's yelled at me before. If you don't contact her at all that's even worse!

Anyway, next story coming up soon.

Posted by: Renee Mar 4 2023, 08:00 PM

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____________________________

I am not a writer, I am a thief.

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"So dreadful, Chamany."

"Is not so easy as to watch," he replied. "I know this."

Laprima said nothing. Her fingers trembled a bit. Within the goblet's cup a series of visions were being magically displayed.

"She is very sick," Chamany replied. "And we need potion for to make her better. The medicine woman, Angeline, she has inside her shop this potion, of this we know, yes. But ... she no give to us potion. She no sell for us. And great coin is made to be given to her, made to offer. But still, Angeline says 'no'."

Laprima could not reply as of yet, even after the goblet's little picture-show ended. Chamany took the goblet from her hand. "So for us, you will do this? In her shop, you pick just one lock, please?"

Her plans for the day had not included this sudden request, of course. When she'd arisen that morning all she'd been looking forward to was spending the rest of the day with him. But after gazing into the cup and viewing what she'd seen...

"Well, I suppose I can assist," she answered with reluctance. "If all you mention is true. It is not right that the apothecary should be so hesitant to assist."

"Many thanks. You have our many thanks."

Laprima stayed silent. Lost in thought.

"Here for you are lockpicks," he said, handing over a small leather pouch. "And find somewhere within the Angeline's potion shop is a chest, which is hiding. You find, please."

Laprima was grinding her teeth softly. Little clicking noises emitted her aristocratic jaw.

Chamany reached into the pouch a second time. "The final piece is here," he said, handing her a small decanter filled with a green, glowing powder. "You must give to potions lady this, as she speaks to you. It shall for her... eh... make distraction. Because Angeline is owner of this shop, she like to follow all around if you try to walk from her, away. Oi? You understand?"

"I, well I am not so sure that I do."

"You give to potion lady this," he said, pointing to the bottle he'd handed her. "Is glowing dust, also of magic. It make for her distraction. And she no follow at you, all over potion shop."

Laprima nodded. "You are saying, if I give Angeline this bottle of glowing powder, she will not follow me all about her shop?"

"Aye, that."

Chamany reached into a pocket where he found some more lockpicks. Gave them to her. He explained that he'd found two unused (but locked) coin-boxes she could try to break into for practice, right here in the Blue Palace. Both of these boxes were located in a remote storage area in which hopefully, nobody would discover her as she practiced.

"And for you, are these."

He grabbed into the pouch once again, handed over a couple of books: Advances in Lockpicking and Proper Lock Design. "You can read, for study," he suggested. These were common books. Laprima'd already pored both of these during her architecture class down in Cyrodiil, but that was several months ago. Wouldn't hurt to refresh her memory. If only for ... academic purposes.

"Well, I must... I must mull all this over."

But after taking a few moments to recall the horrid visions she'd seen in the goblet, Laprima Donnaugh decided to start Advances in Lockpicking. If only to ... get her mind away from those visions.

I am not a writer. I am a thief. I am a good thief. I am not such a good writer.
Anyway, I want to write about picking locks.
I read a book about designing locks once. It was good. It gave me lots of ideas...

She eventually moved on to Proper Lock Design, while her fiance laid down and slept. This Chamany! she thought fiercely. He has tricked me again! - He knows of my devotion toward study and tutelage, and my passion concerning the workings of locks. Oh, how very clever you are, my love...

How very clever, indeed. It seemed morning had passed into afternoon by the time she finished reading.

She realized she was hungry. Hours had gone by, yet she hadn't eaten. She grabbed herself a loaf of bread from the basket next to her bed. As she tore pieces away and began chewing, she decided to see if Chamany was right, about there being some doors and safes somewhere in the palace she could attempt to unlock. Just for the purposes of practice, of course.




Loredas, Frost Fall 30, late afternoon

Laprima and Chamany headed over to the Winking Skeever as the hours grew long. Here they shared a bottle of spiced wine, which the noblewoman took sips of in an effort to increase her courage.

"Perhaps you'd better go," he eventually suggested.

And she agreed. Left the Skeever, unsure if she was ready. Outside it was beautiful, full of sunshine. Nice to know that not every day in Skyrim was blustery and cold. Laprima took a moment to feel the day's warmth before striding into Angeline's Aromatics.

"Good afternoon," said an elder woman wearing a utilitarian smock over a tan blouse. The woman stood behind a counter. Dozens of phials and bottles, ewers and beakers sat upon shelves, all around the shop. Odd piles of herbs and flowers and even insects were arranged here and there.

"Afternoon," Laprima greeted.

"My name is Angeline Morrard, and this is Angeline's Aromatics. Might I ask of you a question?"

"Surely, you may."

"It's good to see a fresh face. You wouldn't have happened to have been to Whiterun, have you?" Angeline asked sadly. -- When Laprima explained that she'd just arrived in Skyrim just a few days prior and had no idea where Whiterun is, Angeline changed the subject. "So, you're interested in my potions and ingredients?"

"This is quite so!" Laprima chimed brightly, maybe even giddily. 'Tis the wine, thought she. She’d sipped upon this wine to hopefully increase her courage.

"You mentioned you are new in town?"

"Aye. Arrived Frost Fall the twenty-fourth. Say, might you perchance spend a moment, to have a look at this?"

Laprima pulled the decanter given to her by Chamany earlier that morning out of a pocket, and passed it to Angeline. The ornate bottle was filled with green dust, which glowed eerily inside. "'Tis full of magical powder, as can be seen. It has been mentioned to me that whatever essence is contained within is quite rare."

"Oh... will you look at that!" The potion lady was in awe. "Why, I've never seen such colors before..."

Chamany was right: Angeline Morrard stood transfixed, completely distracted, staring with stupid fascination at the bottle she held in her hand. As she did so, Laprima began to slip away from the counter, toeing slowly to the right. Angeline Morrard did not seem to notice this. Her eyes were locked. When Laprima was out of eyesight she ducked behind a large stone column, which she peeked around. Splendid. Angeline was still behind her counter, almost hypnotically still.





Laprima moved quietly forward, passed into a backroom, and closed its door behind her. Now she was in what looked to be an all-purpose area, partially for reading, partially for dining. Still hunkered down, Laprima scanned the room for any sort of chest. Did not see one, so she continued to her left. Down a set of stairs, into the shop's cellar. Found an old wooden chest. The chest was unlocked. Inside was a litany of miscellaneous junk. It did not contain anything close to the special potion which Chamany told her about.

Time ticked by too quickly it seemed, as the Blue Palace's newest family member scampered about the cellar. Still distracted upstairs, apparently, Angeline Morrard began humming a tune.

Laprima reversed direction. Left the cellar, climbing stairs until she reached the upper floor. One bedroom, then another, both of their doors unlocked.

"Fuddles!" Laprima whispered. "How in oblivion could Chamany have figured that this supposed potion is even here?"

Finally, a locked door. She grabbed for the pouch full of lockpicks as a trickle of sweat dripped from her hair. She had taken Chamany's advice earlier in the day. Had found the two old, unused safes deep in the Blue Palace, and had managed to unlock both of them. In the process she'd broken a couple picks, leaving her with eighteen.

Downstairs, Angeline began pacing a bit. The noble-turned-reluctant-burglar could hear the woman's footfalls somewhere below, which caused some consternation.

Fortunately (and despite the effects of the wine she and Chamany had shared still warming her blood) Laprima was able to pick the door's lock, after her very first try. Behind the door was a small room containing bookshelves, a table, two chairs, and a large strongbox made of iron. She tried the box, which was thankfully locked. Laprima inserted a dowel into the lower portion of the keyhole, the pick into its upper end. Began feeling for tumblers as adrenaline surged within. After thinking she had placed the pick into its proper position she used the blade to turn the lock.



Concerning his instructions earlier that morning, Chamany was both right and wrong. Right, because inside the strongbox there was a particular flask filled with a pinkish liquid. Wrong, because the flask was contained within this box, not inside a chest. No matter. She grasped for the flask, then moved hurriedly downstairs. Angeline the potion lady, she was still here.

"The.... colors... oh how they glow!"

"I have returned," Laprima announced to the mesmerized woman behind the counter. "Have we opined upon the nature of the glowing dust within?"

"Why...I have never seen anything quite like this."

"Aye, that. And it would become my very pleasure if you'd prefer to keep it."

"I may keep it? Oh! You have my many thanks!" Angeline gushed, diving behind her counter. "I shall add this to my collection right away."

Laprima wasted no time. Scooted back outside, and back to the Skeever. The day was over by now. Hours had passed while she'd been prowling about, at some point night had fully taken over. Chamany was no longer in the tavern, so she bought herself a bowlful of cabbage soup, wondering if an entire garrison of Solitude guards was about to come and arrest her.

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https://i.imgur.com/2QlvJYt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/HyDygpu.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RQyr6P2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RfdASUj.jpg - (Look at her eyes!)

https://i.imgur.com/nXUdcZd.jpg

Notes: She's really good at this! I made this quest with a mixture of Novice and Apprentice-level locks. My gal was able to pick half of them, first try.
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Posted by: SubRosa Mar 4 2023, 09:37 PM

Ahh, so no crystal ball, but there is a cup animation. So Laprima is seeing a vision within the liquid.

Why do I get the feeling that Cham is lying to Laprima, and never tried to buy that potion?

So Chamany is loafing around while Laprima does all the work? It figures.

Well she pulled it off all by her lonesome. I wonder what that potion really is? And what Cham is going to use it for?

Posted by: Acadian Mar 6 2023, 12:59 AM

I have the same questions as SubRosa.

You really are weaving a fascinating tale here. Despite the ever-increasing red flags, LPD continues to be coaxed by Chamany into things I suspect she'll regret. Hmm, I wonder if he has ensorcelled her the way his phial was able to ensorcell the alchemist?

Posted by: Lena Wolf Mar 6 2023, 02:18 AM

She's just in love. Women fall for this trap very frequently (not being a man, can't speak for their species). Wishful thinking is powerful magic indeed, we tend to overlook what we don't want to see... until it is way too late. Not that I would be remotely speaking from own experience, obviously.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Mar 7 2023, 03:57 AM

Fell a little behind here, so time to catch up...

Sigh. Laprima has a good point. It is odd for a supposedly reformed Chamany to be spending time here. And here's a good sign that this relationship simply isn't a good one: simply seeing him has sucked the joy from her job.

Huh, well this is a... pleasant surprise, at least? But there's definitely an ulterior motive here. I don't trust Chamany.

Good description of the party, though; gets that lively feeling across.

The morning after is when the other shoe drops. He denies that this task has anything to do with skooma. Here's the problem: I don't believe him. Sure enough, the request is sketchy. Glad Laprima is standing her ground!

Something's very suspicious about this crystal. Glad the next chapter is already here so I can keep going!

I hear you about arranging the party pics. NPCs can make it very difficult to get good shots of locations.

"So dreadful..." But what is it?

Okay, so this is reminding me of the Heinz dilemma: namely, whether or not it's ethical to steal, if you're stealing medicine that will save the life of a person who can't afford it. Obviously this is the more ethical choice, and Laprima knows this. However, the source makes it suspicious. Chamany's up to something, and he wants Laprima to take the fall if anything goes wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_dilemma

Laprima's reading up, but she's also suspicious.

Well, at least Laprima's got a knack for this kind of thing. She's certainly hypnotized Angeline. Also, I can definitely relate with the difficulty of finding a specific item in a shop full of clutter. Shows you the benefit of modern organizational systems!

Oof, okay, she got what she needed. But I think it'll be a long while before she rests easy.

Posted by: Renee Mar 12 2023, 04:28 PM

'Rosa: I tried hard to find that crystal ball, too. There's gotta be a mod somewhere out there which adds stuff like this to clutter. 🔮 Chances are it'll be part of some overhaul, though. Which I'm really trying to avoid since overhauls often change too many things.

Chamany actually does a lot of work. It's why he's so tired this morning. Thing is, none this "work" is of the legal, ethical kind. And yes, what exactly is that potion?


Acadian: Thank ye kind sir, certainly is interesting to write. Wow, you and SR are definitely thinking on the right track, concerning all these little tricks Cham is somehow able to pull.

From my perspective as a writer, the whole "gaze into the device" thing is of course borrowed from all the devices a lot of us typically hold in our hands day to day, looking into them for texts, caller ID results, or, of course, "visions". 📱


Lena: YESSSSSSS!!!!!! Definitely in love. Just like the lady who's been stalking Wolf in your tale. 💘 Gosh you know, sometimes I'm so close to this story, thinking about all its technical aspects with scripts and quest dialog and so on, that I forget the basic reason why she won't just ditch Chammy.

Here's the thing, though. She can't just get rid of him, even if she falls out of love. You'll see why, probably next week's story.


Clavier: Mm hmm, put it all together, and things don't seem so Kosher, so to speak.

Did I write that party up well? Cool, thanks! I still think SubRosa's party had better detail! Thing is, the whole party idea was a late one. Typical Renee fashion with too many ideas cluttering my head even as the tale's going to this thread.

Correct, the Heinz dilemma makes sense. Love how all those options for better or worse are laid out. I wonder how that might work with a videogame with a lot of choices (like Mass Effect, which I'm currently playing here and there).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Hearst is another example which is similar to that last chapter. Since her tale might be before your time, Patty was an ordinary citizen who got kidnapped by a gang, and then was forced to take part in bank robberies and other illegal activities. She was brainwashed, basically. By the time the gang got raided, Patty'd become completely on the side of the gang (although this changed eventually as she became a good witness during trial).

Partially what helped Patty decide to participate in the gang so fervently is a bit of a twist: during the early '70s, feminism was a huge thing. Women's rights getting onto equal ground with men's. Some of the members of this gang were women, as well as feminists.

So yeah, a bit of shady stuff going on in this story. From MY perspective though, this part of the story is a rather fun way to watch her skills level up. Lockpicking, in this case.

Posted by: macole Mar 12 2023, 05:41 PM

Try looking at https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/16525. There are a couple of Crystal balls in it which might work.
Yeah, I’m familiar with the Patty Hearst story. I can see some of that going on in this story although Laprima is a much more sympathetic character than Patty was.

Posted by: Renee Mar 12 2023, 05:55 PM

Awesome, thank you macole. I'm getting to be reeeal picky about the stuff I add into my Skyrim, as I've had lots of problems over the years with stuff which screws other stuff up (including my own content!)

Just wanted to mention one more thing before the story goes up. When Angeline was tricked during that last quest this was caused by removing her from a faction. There's a faction which all shopkeepers have, which makes them act like those annoying Fighters Guild Porters who follow us all over the FG down in Cyrodiil. During dialog a script was used to remove Angeline from the Skyrim faction which causes this. Love little stuff like this!

Otherwise, Angeline Morrard would've tailed Laprima all over the place, eventually saying that dreaded "I think you should leave!"

Posted by: Renee Mar 12 2023, 08:04 PM

.
_______________________________

And I ain't talkin' 'bout Chammy

_______________________________


No. No guards came after Laprima as she sat quietly in the Winking Skeever, slurping a bowl of cabbage soup. But this does not mean second thoughts didn't cross her mind.

And so the big question most observers might think if they viewed this scene from afar might be the very same question Lady Donnaugh was asking herself now: What did the bottle she'd pilfered from Angeline's Aromatics really contain? – Was it filled with some sort of curing agent, meant to bring the sickly girl she’d seen in the cup of that magical goblet back to full health? Or had that been another elaborate charade, similar to the trick pulled on Angeline?

She finished her bowl of soup and came to a decision. She would try a small sample of whatever was in the bottle. If it contained skooma, she would know. She'd already quaffed a phial of the brew with Chamany several days before; a regrettable experience she’d not soon forget. Skooma had a sweet odor, but a bittersweet taste. Let’s just say that Chamany would have lots of explaining to do, if this were the case.

Laprima left her seat and walked into the Skeever’s cellar. Here, she uncorked the bottle, took a whiff of whatever was inside.

“Mm, not sweet.”

To her relief, the bottle’s contents weren’t pungent. In fact, no aroma permeated her nostrils at all. She thought about dabbing some on the end of her pinky, just to see if the fluid tasted bittersweet, but decided against this. What if doing so compromised whatever magical essence the potion consisted of? - The girl in the goblet would then remain sick, and it'd be Laprima's fault.

“Alright then, Cham. You win this one.”

Though she did feel a bit guilty about the actions she’d committed within Angeline’s potions shop, her final opinion on the matter was that she’d done so for a greater good. It was Angeline who'd been the greedy one; keeping such a helpful cure within a locked safe, when somebody in the world actually could need it.

Within the hour she returned to the Blue Palace, and handed over the prize.

Sundas, mid-evening, Frost Fall 31 (The next night)




"YEW TOOK MY JOB!"

Done with her third shift at the Skeever and walking toward the palace, Laprima was startled! - A youngish woman wearing fur and holding a knife leapt right out in front of her, just as Laprima was passing Solitude's tiny 'Hall of the Dead' graveyard!




Moments before, the barmaid had been walking calmly, enjoying the darkness and the quiet noises of a town headed toward slumber. Wheezes of wind, blowing high above Solitude's walls, as well as the soft sounds of footfalls. Her third afternoon of work had been busier than it'd been on Fredas, blessedly so. To her surprise, Laprima (like most servers, in worlds all over) discovered that she preferred her new job most of all when she was hustling back and forth, trying to maintain track of multiple customers as they poured in. Lisette singing and playing, keeping the floor entranced and joyous. Because of this, Laprima walked with just over 80 pieces tonight. Both her feet were sore, yet pleasantly so.

But now, this! This...frightful woman had appeared before the barmaid, seemingly straight out of the nearest, shadowy wall. Laprima recalled those footfalls, the one she'd discerned moments ago... recalled they'd scraping minutely nearby. Who is this frightful woman before her? What does she want?

"Huh? Beg pardon?" Laprima jumped back a step.

"Then I shall repeat," said the woman angrily, her voice harshened. "You're the one took my job, yew cultured, succulent harlot!" The woman waved her knife side to side, inches in front of Laprima's nose, causing her to wince. "I was at the Skeever before yew showed in town, and now I lost my job, and it's all yer fault!"

Laprima composed herself as best she could while putting two together with two. "No!" she panted after a moment of thought. "I am afraid it was y-you who deserted. Deserted the post, that is. Corpulus told me himself. Said you ceased appearing several days ago. H-he needs someone on the floor, right?" she tried to reason. "What was he to do, then?"

"Nice try, delicate wench, nice try..."

As somebody's footsteps neared, the woman's eyes shifted. Perhaps knowing how out-of-place it'd look, one woman pointing a daggar in front of another, she removed the blade from the noble's face, placed it onto her belt. Whoever was walking nearby continued his or her stride, apparently not seeing. In fact, Laprima could hear the sounds of several folks milling about. Which didn't seem to bother her accoster, not at all.

Laprima, now able to take a full breath, noticed a few more details. Yes, the woman was wearing fur. ...Fur?! ... but not the sort of fur a towngoer would wear. Not the sort carefully cleaned and coiffed for sale inside Radiant Raiment. This was REAL fur; skinned from an animal at some point, haphazardly so, then sewed together with whatever fasteners and threads and grommets were about. The woman's hair was matted and locked, as though she'd forgotten to comb it days ago. She smelled like something rancid. Her eyes were fiery, possessed and full of rage. She had a large scar across her abodomen. Despite the fact that her arms and midriff were bare, she did not seem bothered by the night's chilly air.

"Just so we're clear, I know who y'are," the crazed woman continued, lowering her voice. "I know you. Know Chamany! And so, yer gonna do whatever I say!"

"And who, perchance, might you be?" Laprima shuddered. "And Chamany? You ... you know my Chamany?"

She asked this question while simultaneously deducing its answer. She knows Chamany because she has been in some sort of association with him, obviously and nefariously so.

"Don't care about the job. Don't need it, now that I have ya right here lookin' at me! - Been tracking behind these past few nights, wench. Followin' your footsteps, and such. Almost was gonna surprise you last night, but yer fella was with ya," she said with a smirk. "And we don't mess with Chammy, at least I do not. Some things about him I don't wanna trifle with, being the boss that he is, and so on," she mumbled. "But where is he now, huh? Where is Chamany now?"

Good question. "How is it that I can assist?" Laprima tried, her heart slowing its pace just a notch.

"Heh, ha-ha! ... 'How can I assist?', she asks. Such cultured words. Must be nice to grow up as a royal. Well listen, royal wench. Here is how I can assist, right? All I wants is the skooma," the fur-covered woman blurted.

"Skooma?"

"Mm hmm, heard that right, deary-dear. I'm one of the ones been workin' with Chamany on the outside, only we've been ousted from the clan," she explained, as though this made any sense to the clueless barmaid before her. "You've got lots of skooma, haven't ya? Lots and lots and lots. So thick... so sweet," the woman said soothingly, her eyes glazing and lost for a moment. "And I want it all, now!"

"No. You haven't got that right," Laprima answered honestly. "I abhor the brew. Tasted it once just a few days ago for the first time. - And can tell you firmly, never again shall I partake."

"Liar! You LIE! Hand it over, right now! All the skoomas you got, NOW."

The woman's voice was carrying. Clearly, she did not care at all if anyone heard her words. And perhaps she had the right idea in all this. Perhaps to any observer walking casually nearby, their conversation was nothing but an ordinary argument.

But, it had also gone too far, Laprima decided. The Skeever's newest worker was supposed to be home by now, changed out of her working clothes, lying within the sheets of her comfortable bed, or perhaps conversing with some late-goers inside the palace.

-- Somebody was walking nearby, carrying a torch which briefly illuminated the fur-wearing woman before her. Now could be Laprima's chance to get out of this. Should she make a fuss? Call for the guards help?

"Nah-ah-ah, I know what it 'tis yer thinkin', smoothie. Thinkin' of calling for help, are ya? Fine. Go right ahead," fur-skin stated casually, arms crossed. "Thing is, I know this town, and know it well. By the time somebody's comin' for to help yor sorry, ivory-colored behind, I'll be long gone. And if they catch me, guess what? I c'n do a couple nights in Solitude's jail, not a problem fer me, been in there b'fore, ha! ... I know all the town's secrets; all the places to hide, that is.

"So go ahead," she continued, "but remember this. I gots a friend on the inside, as well, inside of the swanky palace you call home, that is. I c'n get word up to high places just like yew can, the very highest, if need be, and I ain't talkin' about Chammy, I'm talkin' about someone on the inside. Someone ya don't rightly know. One word to him...or her, and yew'll be out on your sorry ass, wench."

Laprima had to consider this. Though she easily had enough coin to live somewhere on her own, and perhaps she should do so at some point, living in the palace was currently her best option. Now was not the time for sudden changes, in this town she did not know so well, not just yet. -- All these thoughts, they clambered awkwardly through her head, while she tried to decide what to do about the rancid shrew before her.

"I haven't got any skooma," Laprima said honestly, which of course was the truth. "I've got some coin, though. Might I offer some coin, instead?"

"Hmm, now this I do like," the woman in fur agreed, shrugging her shoulders. "How much have we got, hmm? ... Yeah, I c'n take that instead."

Laprima reached into her purse, handed over what seemed to be most of the money she'd earned that day. This money was nothing to her, of course. Not like she'd need it to afford rent in some hovel, somewhere.

"So, this ain't over, harlot. I like what I see." The fur-wearer did a cursory count of the currency in her hand, her face cracking a smile. "Gonna have ME one good night of fun."

"That is ... well, I hope you do."

"But I'll be back, oh yes, yes I shall," the woman said. "And when you least expect it, too. And there's more of us out there, too, oh yes. I somehow gets locked up? Someone else'll come lookin...this I can promise."

Laprima nodded a bit ferociously, her raven-colored hair bobbing back and forth. "Understood."

"As I said before, do not bother calling the guards. I cannot go into the Blue Palace, nor shall you see me enter the Skeever, but the rest of Solitude is MINE!"

And that was it. The fur-wearing skooma-user rushed off to whatever else she had planned for the night, leaving Lady Donnaugh standing in shock, wondering if she should try informing the authorities, anyway. She began fast-walking back to the palace; her finely-booted feet clopping along. Blime, there's one right there! thought she, spotting a guard to her left.

"Bit late to be wandering around, isn't it?" the guard queried. He held a torch in his left hand and carried a large sword at his side. Could a well-trained, well-armed sentry such as him really be sidestepped by a natty, downtrodden (yet toughened) user of skooma?

Laprima started to say something to the man, but by then he was already walking away.


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

https://i.imgur.com/n4wDqnk.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bjpjFIG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/JKean4e.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RVP1H1N.jpg - (Due to her successes at Speech, Lockpicking, and eating stuff {Alchemy} in-game, she's almost ascended to Level 2 by now)

https://i.imgur.com/WrwwrJs.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0fZdvlK.jpg
.

Posted by: Acadian Mar 13 2023, 12:19 AM

Tough call, but I think I’d rather be a cultured succulent harlot than a rancid shrew.
Brilliantly creative characterizations though.

Yikes! LPD is now compromised again – just as she was with Sybille. As an accessory to skooma trafficking, she risks much if she brings the palace in for help on this. Damn that Chamany for placing her in this position. The news on him just keeps getting worse and worse.

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 13 2023, 06:34 AM

I keep thinking that potion was some sort of exotic poison, maybe meant to kill the Emperor? If that is also going on. Though I don't think we have heard anything about the marriage of whats-her-face to bring the Emp to Solitude. It must be something rare and unusual, given the lengths Chamany went through to get it, including another form of poison/potion to bespell Angeline while Laprima went about pilfering.

Given my work in the computer industry, I tend to conjure different images of the word "server" than most other people do. Now I wonder if Laprima is a Hewlett-Packard, Dell, or IBM?

Well, at least she gave Laprima the compliment of saying that she was succulent...

Who is this wild Appalachian Mountain Woman that has been following Laprima? Does she work with Chamany? So apparently he is the boss of some clan? That is interesting. It looks to me like Chamany has a lot of explaining to do.

Posted by: Renee Mar 18 2023, 01:49 AM

So we've passed my gal's in-game birthday, she gets a held up for money on what is Halloween in our world, and the very next day would be my birthday.

Hello Acadian. Yes, a cultured harlot or a succulent shrew, either way the skooma addict managed to scare the heck out of my posh gal with her ivory behind. How many insults can we hurl in our creative writing, right?

Yes, absolutely. "As an accessory to skooma trafficking" is correct. It's something Laprima might normally never think about now that the deal's long done, but this wild woodsy woman's really got the pulse on poor Laprima, eh?

Greetings SubRosa, and how are we this fine evening? - Yes, that potion she scored from Angeline's Aromatics, what exactly was that? The secret got revealed to me this week as I was walking around the park (learning as I go, as usual) and we'll find out what it is probably in two more chapters.

Laprima's a server, alright. Not for Dell or HP or Lenovo but for https://skins15.wincustomize.com/2/16/216038/32/4895/preview-32-4895.jpg. 💻 Har har.

Yep, she and her friends worked for (actually with) Chamany for awhile, but they got "ousted from the clan" in her words. And dangit.... when I copy/pasted the stupid ACME image I just lost a wholllle bunch of text I was working on. Dangit.

Posted by: Renee Mar 18 2023, 02:50 AM

.
____________________________

Sometimes there is Justice...

____________________________

Morndas, Sun's Dusk 1

The next morning Laprima rose early. She would not be headed to her job today, instead, she'd be spending all day attending the palace's court, witnessing its comings and goings. Word would be sent to Corpulus of her absence.

After Elisif found her niece frightened and shivering the night before, Laprima had no choice but to reveal all that had happened: how she'd left the tavern about mid-evening and was then accosted, threatened at knifepoint by a raving-mad user of skooma. Hearing this, Elisif suggested that the younger woman stay in the palace, perhaps indefinitely. "Laprima, you needn't ever leave the Blue Palace again! Why... everything you could desire is right here: food, drink, shelter..." Though Laprima disagreed with this; there was no way she'd choose to become a shut-in, just as she was finding her way in the world, for now she decided it wouldn't hurt to spend at least one day inside.

Jarl Elisif sent a young page to Castle Dour, who went running off to see if Solitude's top magistrate could make an appearance in court. A couple hours later, the magistrate showed up. There was some discussion between him, Jarl Elisif, Falk Firebeard, the palace's housecarl Bolgeir Bearclaw, and Laprima herself about what could be done.

"A stark-raving mad user of skooma running amuck in the streets of Solitude?" the magistrate was aghast. "Wearing furs like a wild woman, at that? Well, let's see what we've got on our books..."

But after consulting with Laprima (who spoke before the entire court, of course) it was his opinion that whoever this 'wild woman' was, she could not yet be arrested.

"According to what I am hearing, the woman brandished a knife and waved it in your face, yet did not make a move to strike," he started, moseying about the floor as though he owned it. "Unfortunately, nobody happened to witness this. She then demanded skooma of you, which you obviously are not a user of, yet you then chose to offer some gold, instead. However, it was you, Laprima Donnaugh, who offered this gold, freely and without compunction. Rather than hollering the guards for help. Sorry to say, but no laws have been broken," he stated somberly. "And it is also well-known that normally, there are at least seven armed patrols walking the area's streets at night. Why weren't any of them called for?"

As the jarl and her court began to protest, the magistrate continued. "However, this does not mean we cannot be proactive. In this case, the miscalculate robber who accosted the victim should be easy to spot, should she choose to return."

"Aye, anyone going 'round wearing natty furs as Laprima's described should be taken aside and held," Falk Firebeard suggested. "That's a given. We can inform all the night's watch to be looking for anyone of the sort, and chances are there's only one vixen who fits such description. Once we nab the culprit, we can easily lock'er up. Make sure she does not return in town. Perhaps, eh, permanently."

Laprima spent the rest of the day sitting courtside, watching Elisif and her charges deal with the usual litany of incomers: a tax collector delivered some moneys, a member of the warehouse docks rushed in complaining about some recent labor rulings, what could the jarl do about this and that, and so on. Nothing out of the ordinary, until a crier appeared early in the afternoon to deliver the latest news. Apparently, a skirmish had occurred in an old Nordic fort called Korvanjund. Imperial troops had fought Ulfric's rebel Stormcloaks with the aim of retrieving an artifact called the Jagged Crown. In this case, the Stormcloaks won the battle. Bad news for Lady Elisif.

During periods when Elisif was not attending to any news or nonsense, the topic would then revert to Laprima's horrid encounter the night before. What could be done, and what were her options? - After spending several hours alongside the others, the young woman was becoming restless. She was missing work because of this, and was not very happy about it.

"Perhaps we can simply arrange for someone to walk with you to the Skeever tomorrow," Firebeard suggested at one point. "Hey, this could be I, myself, if it is alright with you, milady? I can keep you safe."

Elisif disagreed, seeing the red-headed man's ploy for what it was: he'd really be going to the tavern for an afternoon of food and drink, an afternoon away from his usual administrative duties! However, it was possible that any number of guards could be summoned to accompany Lady Donnaugh to her job. And once she was done with her shift, another could be arranged to accompany her return.

...And where was Chamany during all of this? Not to be found. He wasn't in bed when she got in the previous night, nor was he milling about their room this morning. Nor did show up later on, well after the palace's court adjourned for the day.




Tirdas, Sun's Dusk 2 and Middas, Sun's Dusk 3

On Tirdas she worked her fourth shift at the Skeever, a slower day than it'd been on Sundas. Today she earned just 44 gold. To make sure she arrived and departed her job safely, a guard was called to walk with her. But after two days and one night with no word from Chamany, Laprima was becoming worried and curious. Because once again, Chamany. Where oh where could he be? - Would the woman from the woods be able to answer this sort of question? - If so, this would cost Laprima some coin of course, but would such an expenditure be worth it, if only to learn where he'd gone? She considred this, seriously.

It was Middas, early the next morning, when she spotted the note. Which was lying right there on the table she used for bedroom dining.

"Oh, what is this?"

By the Eight! The note's outer seal was signed in Chamany's handwriting. How long had it been here? - Had it been set upon her table this whole time, yet she'd been too preoccupied and distraught to notice? - She picked it up and unfolded it.

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

Laprima,

You may notice that I have gone. Do not be sad I Must hav be
take care of many things. Be back soon.

~Chamany~

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

"So, off to wherever it 'tis you traipse off to, eh?"

Still, the note made her feel a little better. He'd at least tried to communicate. But Laprima needed some answers, and knew just who could perhaps give them to her.




Middas, mid-evening


Nervous yet emboldened, Laprima left the Winking Skeever after her usual after-work meal of soup & bread. She'd made sure to stay within the tavern an extra hour or so, then walked outside. There were a couple guards milling about, but the noblewoman made sure to avoid them. Instead she dashed across to Radiant Raiments, now closed. Stood still in shadow, and waited.

She didn't need to wait long.





"Aha, THERE ya are, and guess who's back?!"

The woman in fur was here, holding the same knife she'd carried two nights ago. Somehow she'd evaded the guards, never mind the fact they'd all supposedly been warned about a late-night skooma addict prowling the streets wearing furs.

"I was afraid you'd return," Laprima said. Despite her plan, and despite the fact that she knew all she'd need to do was hand over some coin and her confronter would leave, she couldn't help but shudder.

"Well, yew know what I want, wonderful wench. Was out here waitin' last night ya know, but you was with some protect'on. Why ain't you protected tonight?"

Laprima began to answer but before she could, fur-woman continued. "So... How'd your day go in the Skeever tonight, eh?" she chuckled. "Make me some lotsa coin?"

It was at this moment when Solitude's elder stalwart beggar got curious. Noticed the woman's heightened voice. Came walking over to investigate what was going on. "A coin or two for a vet'ran?" he asked, unaware. How ironic, thought Laprima. My hero come to save me, the town vagabond.

"'Tis fine, no worries," Laprima said to the beggar. "Leave us be, please."

"C'mon," said the woman in fur, dismayed not in the slightest by the third party. "Hand over a hundred, right now!"

Laprima was not about to give the woman any more than what she'd paid the other night, though she did have enough to pay her off right then and there. "I'm afraid I've only got fifty."

"No, I asked for a hundred, you'd best give it to me NOW!"

The woman thrust her daggar, tearing a strip of the barmaid's outfit... "Alright, alright, a hundred it is!" Laprima chattered. She reached into her purse, and counted the money, all while the beggar stood as witness, his jaw agape. Thankfully, the barmaid just happened to have enough.

"I'll be back tomorrow night, and you'd BEST be here, RIGHT HERE, or I'll tell my man on the inside all about the skooma you and Chammy brought into town, 'cept I won't mention your lover. I shall only mention yew, fancy-pants!" she drooled.

Laprima shook and shuddered. Could not go through with her plan; couldn't even work up the courage to ask where Chamany Lacroix might be.

She then watched the skooma woman casually walk away, right by a sentry standing by the town's main gate. The sentry brightened his immediate area with the torch he carried, yet completely missed the avaricious assailant he was tasked to be on the lookout for. So much for at-arms protection in the avenues of Solitude.

By the time Laprima reached the palace she realized she'd been running, actually running back home. She rushed into the palace's foyer, rushed up the stairs, and finally slowed as she merged up the hall, and into Sybille Stentor's room. Here, the barmaid/noble was greeted by the court wizard herself, who sat calmly upon one of her sturdy wood benches, obvious and waiting.

"Why hullo there, Laprima," Sybille spoke as Laprima neared. From the look on the court wizard's face, it was clear to Laprima that Sybille already knew.


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

https://i.imgur.com/8F0nZFP.jpg (she's been practicing the one spell she knows so far, just in case)

https://i.imgur.com/LggIqgM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6M9Nuxh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5mSdr6F.jpg
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Posted by: SubRosa Mar 18 2023, 03:08 AM

So what paragon of justice will Castle Dour send to ferret out this skooma addicted ne'er-do-well? Columbo? Kojack? McGruff the Crime Dog? I can't wait to see.

Wow, this magistrate is just as useless as all the guards in every video game. Methinks Laprima had better enlist the aid of a player character if she wants anything done about this wild woman.

Oooh, so the war is going on in your story. I usually ignore it in all my games. I wonder if this means that the Dragonborn is out there as well in your story, and if they joined the Sturmclerks.

Chamany is AWOL as usual. This guy is a real deadbeat.

Laprima is going to try to get answers from the wild woman? Well that takes daring, that is for sure. There is no telling what that psycho is likely to do. But it is her only real way forward I suppose. January or Blood Raven would have simply tailed Laprima, and waited for the wild woman to make another attempt at her. So pretty much the same strategy.

Well, that did not go well. Either Laprima is going to need to learn some Destruction magic, or find someone who can actually fight to take care of this wild woman. And I suppose Sybille might just be the person, since I am sure she would not mind a late night snack...

Posted by: macole Mar 18 2023, 05:53 AM

It just ain't right. A gal makes one little mistake and she's labeled for the rest of her life.

Yes, I was thinking along the lines of SubRosa. Sybille has ways of dealing with matters such as this.

Posted by: Acadian Mar 19 2023, 12:33 AM

Rather unimpressive work by the guards - especially since they are basically working on orders direct from the Jarl in this matter.

Well, now LPD has a witness. But if the witness is honest about the incident, he'll also be obliged to detail Furry's skooma smuggling statements.

I agree that Sybille could make a good ally - if she's willing. But the root of all problems remains Chamany.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Mar 19 2023, 06:37 AM

Sorry again for the lateness! Been a busy week.

On some level, Laprima knows the truth even if she doesn't want to admit it. This whole thing is just too suspicious to be anything but a scam of some kind. And she's right in the middle of it.

Whew, glad she didn't taste-test it.

Yikes, this is unexpected! Now to see what this woman wants. She's mad about Laprima taking her waitress job? Or does this have something to do with the vial?

I hear that about keeping busy. Nothing's worse than trying to look busy when you don't have anything to do.

Ah, so this is the one who walked off the job. Don't think she has any right to be mad at Laprima here.

Uh oh, she does have a connection with Chamany. Laprima got out of this, but I don't think it's even close to being over. Plus, this woman now knows Laprima has money, which likely means more trouble down the line. That's the trouble with being noble; you end up with even fewer street smarts than a sheltered nerd like myself.

Okay, it was good of Elisif to give Laprima the chance to stay. I suppose a column of armed guards following Laprima around would attract too much attention. Also, Laprima shows some courage in insisting that on going out.

The Tamrielic legal system strikes again! Since yes, you can wave weapons around all you want, but you aren't breaking the law until you actually attack.

Grim reminder that the civil war is in full swing. You know, I never actually sided with the Stormcloaks. Some of it's because it always felt like the game was trying too hard to get me to like them, and I felt contrarian. Some of it's also because my Dragonborn was a Dunmer from a cadet branch of House Hlaalu in Cyrodiil, and who thus supported the Empire.

(Also, I'm mad at Ulfric for what he did to the Reachfolk).

Hmm, Firebeard's being obnoxious, but this might be one way to get protection, as Laprima notes.

Huh, she took Chamany's note pretty well. Which kind of tells me that she doesn't actually miss him that much, even if she hasn't admitted it to herself.

This woman is pretty resourceful. Laprima's clearly in trouble. Chamany can't protect her (not that I'm sure he woudl have), and this woman's going to keep pumping her from cash. I'm sure Elisif can give some, but there's a limit to her generosity. I don't know if Sybille will be any help, but she might be Laprima's only lifeline.

Posted by: Renee Mar 24 2023, 11:34 PM

Let us return to my Skyrim medieval soap opera. I had to perform a couple tricks during that last episode, as there was plenty of trouble on the set: The skooma lady kept appearing in the Skeever for some reason (missing her actual cue, which was to only appear in the Solitude "avenues" area). When Laprima picked up Chammy's note, which indeed had been left there haphazardly, this caused an invisible quest stage to update, because before this stuff kept not working! ... And so on.

It's too bad I haven't made any actual online friends who know the Creation Kit Quest window like the back of their hand. I'm getting better at it; in fact I've finally mastered script fragments this year (after 7 years of Skyrim quest-making). 🥸 But I probably annoy folks more with my "noobish" questions whenever I am forced to head over to the Nexus Creation Kit forums. And therefore I mostly am doing this on my own.


Yes, you up front wearing the "Stormcrow" T-shirt?

I've been spending more time at my mom's place lately, and she's a big fan of Heat of the Night, that TV show with Carrol o'Connor. A lot of useless lawyers and judges on that show, matched with multiple murders each episode. 📺 You'd think the show takes place in some huge city, not a little dipsh*t town in Mississippi. Anyway, all the useless law-folks in HOTN seem to have inspired the useless magistrate dude.


Oooh, so the war is going on in your story. I usually ignore it in all my games. I wonder if this means that the Dragonborn is out there as well in your story, and if they joined the Sturmclerks.

Ha ha in my gameworld Sir Vyvoor is Dragonborn, and he's a Stormie. He'll probably get mentioned next season. Because Season 4 is the season Laprima finally leaves Solitude.

I've been meaning to add peripheral events here and there: from the vanilla gameworld (such as dragons and vampire attacks) and also you'll eventually see names you're familiar with here and there. Thing is, Laprima's story, focused entirely in Solitude in this season (so far), is pretty insular. Outside events only get heard of occasionally, and from a distance.



Mm. Same goes with Lord Haaf-Mersey or Sir Vyvoor or Lucius Caro or any of our more goody 'toons. If they were involved, chances are this whole "wild woman" dilemma would already be over.


Well, that did not go well. Either Laprima is going to need to learn some Destruction magic, or find someone who can actually fight to take care of this wild woman. And I suppose Sybille might just be the person, since I am sure she would not mind a late night snack...


Hee hee, you're really good at intuiting some stuff, sometimes. She'll def do some learning. 📝 It's what she's good at, being a Scholar in table-gaming terms.

Yes, you in the psychedelic nehru jacket...



Jandaga would agree!


Yes, I was thinking along the lines of SubRosa. Sybille has ways of dealing with matters such as this.




Yes sir, let's hear from you.



True. Think of it this way though: if the guards actually performed to peak capacity and managed to arrest the intruder, there'd be no story. Then what would get written up? Going back and forth to work, phew.


Well, now LPD has a witness. But if the witness is honest about the incident, he'll also be obliged to detail Furry's skooma smuggling statements.

Oh yea, I forgot about the beggar. I meant to post a pic or two featuring him. Because that actually happened. Right when Laprima was getting held up he wandered over and began doing what he does best.

Hmm, dang. Didn't get any pics of that incident up on Imgur. Grr.

Ah, let's hear from the guy back there. Wearing the piano tie.




Hey it's okay! Hard sometimes to keep up with all that's going on in the Fan Fiction Forum, balancing our reading with real-life and so on. Personally, I don't like to "rush" my reading. Reading at work and so on. Sometimes I have to, though.


I hear that about keeping busy. Nothing's worse than trying to look busy when you don't have anything to do.

Most servers (waiters, waitresses and so on) like being busy because of money, and also the time at work flies by quicker. For Laprima though, her latter childhood was tough with her brother disappearing, and pretty much this ruined her teenage years. So she likes being busy because it helps her to forget her immediate past.



Think about the very first person Lap met in this story: the odd guy wearing furs and skulls in the Winking Skeever. Now, who is it that wears this sort of garb? - Now, think about what type of person Chamany would need to get his fledgling operation up and running all across the land?

RIGHT, fewer street smarts, very true! My gal's a quick learner, at least.



Yup! Lol.


Grim reminder that the civil war is in full swing. You know, I never actually sided with the Stormcloaks. Some of it's because it always felt like the game was trying too hard to get me to like them, and I felt contrarian. Some of it's also because my Dragonborn was a Dunmer from a cadet branch of House Hlaalu in Cyrodiil, and who thus supported the Empire.

I know. I felt really sort of saddened adding that part in. Stuff like that adds breadth, makes the world feel larger, but I also had a little trouble reading that once the story was up.

Nice to hear about your Civil War, we all've got our own method. I played the game from Imperials' side (https://i.imgur.com/F92p5bp.jpg) and Stormcloaks' side (https://i.imgur.com/NQgisha.jpg) and in my gameworld the Stormies won overall. I actually simulated this in Claire's game too. Made it so that all the Leveled Lists which add Imperial soldiers were now Stormcloak soldiers, including their armor & gear.

But that's pretty neat how you've followed your own history there. Did your cadet flee Morrowind because of the Red Volcano? 🌋


Huh, she took Chamany's note pretty well. Which kind of tells me that she doesn't actually miss him that much, even if she hasn't admitted it to herself.

She's just got a lot on her mind. If you've ever been held up or abducted or even bullied, those sort of things take presedence, so Chamany right now is on her back burner.



I got an idea, let's find out, eh? - Um, this next tale's a longer one, but next week it'll be more compact. I think.

Posted by: macole Mar 25 2023, 04:53 AM

Renee steps back from the podium, the press conference has come to an end. Those in attendance rise up like a tsunami of undeniable force. Surging forward to the podium with quills and pads of paper waving in the air they hurl a seemingly unending torrent of questions at the exiting Renee. The clamor continues until Renee has been safely escorted off stage. Slowly the crowd disperses. Many left wondering do we really know any more than we did before the presser.
With his hat pulled down to hide his long pointed ears, one lone figure in a day-glo paisley print Nehru jacket sat in the now otherwise empty hall. With his pad of paper in his lap the feather of his quill danced in the air as he spread ink across the page. His report began, “One the best press conference ever!”

Posted by: Renee Mar 25 2023, 05:04 AM

.
______________________________

...and sometimes there are just us.

______________________________


When the first concoction was quaffed, it hit like a hammer blow. A thousand thoughts rushed through the head of Sirdasa Noskal (wild woman of the woods) at once as she performed her favorite new activity.

Laaa laa O-ma-maya! Lala!!! Gaaaah .. GAAAA....O-ma-maya!!! Oh come toME! The COLORS .. you cometome!thecolorsthecolorsswarm 'round me of BLUE ofgreen ofYELLOWS!! 'SWARM ‘round me, ohhowdeft howAMBER horros DEIGNto swimtowardmeeeee...

Sirdasa’d just returned to the small campsite she'd been calling home. This was a new location for her, barely eked upon a patch of sand by the river, roughly halfway between Solitude and Dragon Bridge. She’d been staying here the past couple weeks. In her possession were four phials of skooma - No, make that three. For she’d just consumed the very first one. As the substance was absorbed within her blood and body, her eyes rolled, and her head lolled. She began chuckling to herself while her mind raced into incoherence, watching a series of colors flash across the sky, even though no auroras were streaming that night.

“It’s MINE! Oh mine, all mine…” she murmured, giddy with the rush.

A hundred gold, that’s what she’d scored tonight from the posh prima donna who lives inside the palace. One… hundred!

After taking the money, Sirdasa rushed out of town impatiently. Half-jogged a mile or so until she came to a footpath on her left. This path was hidden between a series of briars and bushes; even in broad daylight it would barely be visible to most passers. Sirdasa lit her torch, so she could make her way through without getting stuck with thorns. At the end of the path was a cave, which was well obscured from just about anyone who’d get concerned about the sort of activities going on out here.

Inside the cave were several individuals who’d been part of what was being referred to as “the clan”. Sirdasa, along with several others who’d been unable to follow the rules, had indeed been ousted from them.

One of the clan’s rules, probably the most important rule of all: clan members do not use their own products. Most of all, the new infusion of skooma which’d been imported into Skyrim just over a week ago was strictly off-limits to any clan members. This new skooma, it was like nothing ever seen by the smugglers who trafficked illicits. Nothing like the older brews which’d been the norm here in Skyrim for decades. Those older brews were wan; one dose barely stronger than a cup of coffee or tea, and very unlike the harefooted mixtures common during the Third Era.

This newer skooma? Much more potent, better than anything ever seen on the underground market. It put you on your ass. There were rumors it wasn’t just skooma in those phials, perhaps it’d been mixed with hist or felldew or greenmote, or some odd combination of all three! - Those who used it more than once often found themselves unable to do much else, other than crave for more. For a clan member to go this route meant a loss of sales, which was a no-no. Because the clan’s top members, of course, were all merchants of the Dark Trade. Who wanted to become as rich as possible.

It was here that Sirdasa failed; had quickly fallen into serious temptation. Within days, she and a few other clan members who’d gone ahead and taken a few quaffs had gotten hooked, and then kicked. On top of this, most of them did not know of (or did not pursue) Chamany’s habit of consuming alkanet flowers (or any other such ingredients or compounds) to keep themselves sane. Little did they realize that their futures were becoming dimmer with each quaff, each puff, each suffusion…

…Not that this mattered to Sirdasa now…

A half-hour ago she'd clambered into the cave, met up with one of the clan’s merchants, who recognized her well, by now. Got into a small argument over price. Eventually bought four skoomas at 20 gold apiece, which …. oooo!....would probably be enough to keep her intoxicated for two days straight! - She bounced to her camp, overly excited for the night and days to come.

Now she had it all. If she needed food she could hunt and roast an animal. If she needed rest she could crawl into the makeshift den she’d constructed out of stones and thatches. And if she needed more gold, NOW she had someone in town she could bully; the posh royal who (for Dagon’s sake) was working in the bloomin’ tavern, of all places. Don’t royals always have more money than they know what to do with? - Why stoop to that level? - Sirdasa wondered several hours before, while she was still somewhat sober.

Not that the answer really mattered. Gold was gold, and now she had what looked to be a steady source for her pockets.

…As the skooma’s initial rush subsided she laid on the sand, feeling that odd mixture of edginess and numbing, suddenly aware of the night’s chilly air, swirling all around. “Got ta … got ta… got ta buildme…build a campfire,” she rambled, her voice jittery. Once a fire was started she’d then be able to ration the rest of her cache, softly boiling the remaining brews in river water until they crystallized, and could then be smoked in her pipe.

While Sirdasa’s arms and fingers occasionally twitched and she fell into a sort of half-sleep on her beach, Laprima Anne Donnaugh, several miles away, found herself conferring with her vampiric wizard-neighbor.

"Why hullo there," Sybille greeted as Laprima neared.

Laprima made no reply. Only gazed at the wizard, who sat calmly upon one of her sturdy wooden benches. To the young woman who'd just been robbed, it was apparent to her that somehow, the wizard already knew what'd occurred.

"I feel I must impart a bit of wisdom to you now, Laprima, which has helped me survive over many years."

"A bit of wisdom?"

"Sometimes there is justice,” Sybille started, “and sometimes, there are just us. Have you any idea what such a phrase might convey to those unaware?"

Laprima sat down on the bench opposite the wizard, her mind too frazzled at the moment to comprehend. So she stayed silent.

"There are some times, when it is alright to allow the forces which have been governed as protection to attend," Sybille explained, "and other times when we must stand on our own. To stand before our own interests. Because the forces-that-be can not, or will not, do so."

Laprima nodded dully, suddenly realizing: the day before, when all the court was gathered around to discuss what to do about the barmaid's after-work encounter, Sybille had not been present. Because it was daytime. Sunlight had been streaming through the palace's windows. Sybille had retired under her usual pile of sheets and blankets, to block the light away.

"Is this one of your...enlightenments?" Laprima asked. "One of your scryings? You have seen all which has occurred concerning my latest predicament?"

"I do believe we can do something about your current concerns, yes," the wizard answered, without fully answering. "The foul thief who's beseeched thy confidence as she stalks the night's streets, she will only continue to do so unless the proper response is made. But this response, it must be made by you, Laprima. This response is needing to be dealt by you."

The younger woman shook her head. "Dealt by me?"

"Aye, this is what I am going to convey. You must take this matter upon as thy own. For Sirdasa will not give up the tirade against you. She is too clever. You may have noticed she's able to enter and exit the town of Solitude almost at will, eh?"

Laprima nodded. "She does this. Saw her stalk right past a guard earlier this eve."

"Mm hmm. Her ability to evade, her ability to hide within plain sight, to employ the phrase, is too great for most ordinary night-watch personnel. She knows this town well. Was raised within it, became somewhat of a troublemaker in her youth. Mysterious fires, her mama went missing, and so forth. But her saga goes beyond all of that. Sirdasa's skills in these matters of evasion, are exemplary. She flies like the owl, and stalks like the cat. And therefore has got Solitude within a sort of night's grasp, so to say."

Laprima nodded again. "She's explained as much. Said to me: she knows Solitude well. Knows all the best places to disappear. Did not mind at'tall the thought of incarceration for a night or two. She told me so."

"She will not give up," the wizard stated bluntly. "Not until all the coin within your wardrobe's been drained," she added, making her collocutor blush. "And no, it shall not be mentioned, the thousands you've got stashed under that pile of clothes, shall not be mentioned to anyone not involved.

"But let us stay focused here," Sybille continued. "Unless it’s desired to have Sirdasa continue to pester night after night, with the only exception being guards summoned to your side. Would this be your wish, Laprima? To always walk about town in the company of guards, unfit to guide thy own path?"

Laprima Donnaugh, ever the evasive one when it came to conversations with her neighbor, said, "Sirdasa, this is her name? For twice, you have mentioned this name! .... How is it you know of her name at all?"

"Come now, woman. Have we reverted to doubts about my abilities, once again? ... I’ve discerned her name because I have seen her, literally, and with my hidden eyes. Literally, because Sirdasa lived upon the mountaintop not long ago, in an old Nordic fort called Hraggstad, until she decided to make a go of it here in town. Got herself a job at the Winking Skeever, trying to change her ways for the better, and so on. Though I do not wish to go into full details, I have visited Hraggstad several times after sundown," the vampire said with a wink. "Unseen to the layabouts who dwell within, of course.

"But let us go to the point, Laprima," she continued. "Because pestering night after night is exactly what she'll maintain. Her demands shall increase. Several others who frequent Sirdasa's company could also join her as well, potentially so. More coin will be demanded.”

Laprima made no reply. Remembered Sirdasa’s threat that ‘others’ could possibly take the woodsy woman’s place, should she find herself in trouble.

"You may’ve noticed that once again, Chamany has disappeared," Sybille added. "I shall not reveal where 'tis he has gone. Not until this situation with the skooma woman's been dealt with."

"Cham's involved in all this. I knew it to be so."

"Do not be distracted by what seems wanton behavior from him, my dear," the wizard cautioned. "Let us take the time now to listen to what I have gleaned about this slippery vixen of the night."

Laprima ground her teeth. "Alright. So what of this woman, then? This... Sir....dasa?" - she sounded the name of the woman who'd given her fears these past three nights tentatively, as if doing so would cause the frightful maniac to appear in the room before them. "She told me she's got someone on the inside. Inside this palace, that is. 'One word to him or her, and you'll be cast out of your home', or some such. That is what she told me."

"Nonsense."

"What?"

"Nonsense," the wizard scoffed. "The woman's got a bluff, that is all. I'd know of this so-called person on the inside, if it were truth."

Laprima, suddenly embarrassed, said nothing.

"I can tell you this, however. I know where 'tis Sirdasa's been staying," Sybille started. "Currently just outside of town, fact of matter. Now, would it be thy wish to attend, to glean what can be arranged?"

"Please do, magician.”

"Firstly, take this blade," the wizard said, handing Laprima a metallic daggar which gleamed in the candlelight. The younger woman knew at once the weapon was enchanted, and probably expensive. "It is mine. It is special to me. And I shall allow you to borrow it."

"Y-. You wish for me to carry your blade?" Laprima blinked. "But I ... I cannot ... I ..."

"You can, Laprima, and you shall. Do not be silly. You carried a knife during youth. After the disappearance of Elijah."




"Aye, I have seen this. You began carrying after Elijah, your brother, vanished during childhood games. As protection. You used a blade at times upon rats and thorn beetles in the city, as practice for what might become, should Elijah's taker decide to come after you. You carried a knife back then, and shall do so now.”

Though it was late, and the barmaid had been nearing exhaustion with all that had happened, hearing words about her brother and their childhood games, words which could not have been known to Elisif the Fair or anyone one else residing within the Blue Palace... Well, this changed it all. Laprima got up from her bench, filled with a sudden sort of eagerness. Suddenly fully awake. "But you... how could you..."

"Enough, Laprima. Enough nonsense. I have explained my abilities four score and a dozen times, yet you still doubt."

Laprima’s jaw mashed, yet again. Suddenly, impatiently.

"Now, listen here, my lass. 'Tis important to understand something, right away. Sirdasa, she's as clever as a fox. For she knows how the rules work within Solitude. Knows she can brandish her own blade as much as she wishes, thrust it about and such. As long as she duss not make a move to strike, does not draw blood, that is, Sirdasa can stay just out of law's reach. You, on the other hand, cannot make any sort of dastardly moves of thy own, not within town, anyway...you cannot strike Sirdasa firstly, that is. If you do so, it shall be you who's being arrested, not her. So this weapon I give to you is purely for defense. Understood?”

The younger woman nodded, a bit reluctantly. "Purely for defense."

“Perhaps such measures will not be needed. I have allowed this blade on the chance should things go awry. But it must be conveyed with permanent measure that you will not maintain your current arrangement with the fox. It must be explained: 'I shall not give any more gold to you, Sirdasa'. Say it."

"I will not maintain my current arrangement with you, Sirdasa. No more gold for you."

As Laprima spoke these words, Sybille Stentor cast a spell, one which would cause the youngster before her more courage. The wizard was able to do so silently and successfully, without the use of hand-movements or any sort of incantations. For she had been involved in such magical pursuits for a very long time.

"Good," Sybille said, once the magic was free. "Now. Come hither. Let me teach the ways...”

Over the next few hours the wizard taught Laprima the proper ways to hold and use a knife. Taught Laprima a few things about ingredients and potion-making, and gave her a copy of The Herbalist's Guide to Skyrim, as well. Suggested that to hasten combat (should combat occur) toward Laprima's favor, Laprima should learn to create and apply poisons to the wizard's blade.

"Study that book," Sybille said. "And please, allow yourself practice at my alchemy table, any time desired."

"I shall do so," the younger woman promised, already thinking of the dozens of flowers she'd been collecting from the town’s streets over the past week, scattered all over her room, wondering if some of them could be ground into potions and poison.

"I shall reveal where the skooma woman is dwelling now," Sybille said, marking a location on her map just outside of town. "'Twill be best if it is you who confronts Sirdasa early in the evening, before she makes her way into town," she suggested. "Do not wait for her to enter Solitude first. To do so means allowing the company of witnesses. Wield my blade with confidence, only if it is needed, of course. Overcome any resistance, regarding its use. And explain to Sirdasa she cannot rule over you, no more."

"I shall do so," the younger woman promised, already emboldened by thoughts of Elijah (and an odd, sudden confidence), and how we as people only get so many chances in life.

"Enlist help from a guard on the way, if it makes you feel the situation can be furthered with utmost morale."

"I shall do so," the younger woman promised, already realizing she would not be seeking assistance. For some things, they just needed to be attempted by one, not by many.



Lectures and lessons done, Sybille Stentor turned to her bed, ready to retire. Daylight was encroaching by then, causing shafts of light to shine their way into the palace.
.

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 25 2023, 06:01 AM

I wonder if Sirdasa Noskal was one of the Skaal, and got thrown out by them because she is so... the way she is?

I smiled when she mentally referred to LPD as "the prima donna"

A new batch of stronger skooma has hit Skyrim? I can easily guess who is responsible for that. And it looks like someone is lacing it with fentanyl, because of course they are.

So she and the others committed the cardinal sin of dealing drugs. They got high on their own supply.

It sounds like Sybille and Blood Raven have more than just vampirism in common. The Raven too, comes from an age when the law was just a guideline, and people either got justice themselves, or hired mercenaries to do it for them.

It sounds like Sybille knows quite a bit about Sirdy. Ah, she became familiar with her while out for a late night snack...

Time to start playing the Rocky Theme, as Laprima starts getting fit for the coming showdown.

Posted by: Acadian Mar 25 2023, 07:42 PM

Sirdasa the wild woman. Her ex-clan’s rule about don’t use what they sell is written in blood but Sirdasa fell into the trap. Neat to learn more about her via her own addled thoughts.

Wow, Sybille’s scrying and magical skills are quite showcased here. And, whew, it seems she may indeed be an ally. After some potent preps and training, LPD may be able to take more charge of her destiny.

Posted by: macole Mar 25 2023, 09:40 PM

I remember that party! Driving down Kingshighway at night, the street lights dripping drops of brilliant colors, splashing into rainbow of a thousand droplets, running through Tower Grove Park until dawn. Yeah, I remember it well and once was enough.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Apr 1 2023, 02:42 AM

This is quite a change of pace. And that skooma packs a wallop!

Looks like she's using all that money to get more drugs. Sad, but not especially surprising in this case.

"Never sample your own supply". True here, and true in Tamriel as well.

Interesting, so something's been making the stuff a lot stronger. I don't smoke, but I've heard from folks who do that the marijuana available these days is a lot stronger than what used to be on the street.

"No justice, just us." Also true here and in Tamriel.

Sybille has a good point about Sirdrasa. The woman might be off her gourd on drugs, but she is pretty cunning. I'm not sure if one needs to be that clever to evade Elder Scrolls guards... but regardless, the fact that she is shows she's clever enough to be a problem for Laprima.

Hm, so there are some interesting parallels between Laprima and Sirdrasa. There but for the grace of the Aedra...

Okay, so Sybille's explaining things here. She clearly knows the rules. Laprima can't risk striking first, even though that gives Sidrasa a bit of an advantage.

And some training! Good deal.

Posted by: Renee Apr 1 2023, 03:48 PM

Today is Saturday, April 1st, and it's raining. Perfect spring day. But it's supposed to get over 70 degrees later on, which is too warm for Skyrim. Think it's time for some Oblivion, instead. And that's no joke.

I estimate there will be another 4 episodes of Laprima's saga, maybe 5. By then it'll be May, and who knows what sort of wacky weather we'll be having by then.


@macole-- Ha ha, hadn't been thinking of last week's comments as a press conference. I was pretending to be one of those writers who comes through the bookstore to greet readers. 📕 But that's pretty funny... "the clamour contiues..." I think maybe it'd be more like "where's the Sominex?"

I was right about the nehru jacket though, looks like. ☮ Groovy, man.


@SubRosa-- Hmm, not Skaal. Probably some of her ancestors were, though.
And yah, that was fun slipping Laprima's namesake into the story.

Yeah, fentanyl. That's the correlation between their fantasy and our reality; maybe that got picked up subconsciously. In story, the whole skooma thing is based on (guess) vanilla versus mods. The vanilla game, skooma's really weak, especially compared to MW and OB. With mods however, all of those things happen: the swirling colors, the "rush", the initial (really strong) boost to stats, but then a downplay in stats as well. Continued use causes "addiction" as well as a permanent decrease of stats, I believe.

So it's a good thing Laprima elected never to drink that crap again.

In tablegame terms, I'd say Sybille's Alignment is probably Chaotic Good with occasional Lawful tendencies. Yep, the law's pretty much just a guideline.


@Acadian-- Yes, as you well know, it's often enjoyable to flesh out characters, people in our stories. Sirdasa is partially based on a bipolar friend of mine from the west coast who was pretty messed up IRL, but also lots of fun to be around, if I was in the right mood for her antics. Her father was (is, if he's still alive) a Hell's Angel. 🏍 This friend helped me after my child was born, especially with post-partum depression and just being there (good) but she also introduced me to some really wicked narcotics. I fell into them, and eventually had to seek counseling in 2007 or so.

Anyway, that's whom Sirdasa's influenced by, partially. Bratty (in Vicious's tale) is also influenced by this chick. But with Sirdasa, I'm at the point where even though 'prima's filled with fear about the gal, I kind of really love her. Because she's so strikingly different from the usual Skyrim downtrodden NPCs.


@macole again-- You were at that party too! Somehow I think "that" party's somewhat eternal. We can all go there in our heads.

@Lopov -- No Lopov, dangit. C'mon man, you're missing the story!


@WellTemperedClavier-- Yeah, marijane these days is ridiculously potent. I actually don't get it. I'm a smoker myself, although starting about the age of 40, I no longer smoke to get stoned. I like taking a puff (usually before gaming) just to blur reality a bit. Sort of like my father, who used to drink wine, but only at dinner. He'd drink it for "the taste". I never once saw the man get sloshed.

I got that "Justice / Just Us" phrase from NPR. 📻 I was istening to a program about the rights of minorities in America while driving my car. Soon as I heard "Sometimes there is Justice, sometimes there are Just Us" I was like WHOOOOOAAAA, gotta use that for a chapter heading!

And yes, training. Right now, most of Lap's skillups have been through training: first Speech, then Lockpicking, and now Alchemy. During this next chapter she finally ascended to Level 2!

Let's see what happens next.

Posted by: Renee Apr 1 2023, 06:22 PM

.
_______________

For Ill or for Ail

_______________

Turdas, Sun's Dusk 5

Laprima didn't sleep well. Anyone who’s been threatened at knifepoint twice, and then spent an entire night speaking directly to a magically-gifted sage who just happens to also be a vampire might know how she feels. When she finally went to bed this Sun's Dusk morning it was already daytime.

After a few hours tossing and turning and a fitful dream or two, she gave up her quest for rest, got out of bed. Had a look at her windows, guessed morning had already turned to afternoon. Too late to head to work; not that she’d be presentable for customer service. Instead she got dressed, had a bite to eat. Decided to have a look at the book given to her by the wizard: The Herbalist’s Guide to Skyrim.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Those avoiding this northern province due to claims of barbarism
or concerns over climate are doing themselves disservice.
In fact, Skyrim has a wealth of materials that every Alchemist would do well
to avail himself of. I have traveled extensively throughout this land,
and here are but a few of my findings...
------------------------------------------------------------------

As always, the scholar inside this former student from the City quickly took interest. Took over! She couldn't help but fall into that old habit: poring through yet another tome, studying, adding notations into margins with her quill. The Herbalist's Guide to Skyrim, illustrated and well-written, what a perfect introduction to anyone first gaining interest into the field of the apothecary.

Hours went by, as Laprima read about mushrooms and toadstools, feathers, berries, and even bugs. All of these could be ground, mashed, distilled, and sometimes brewed into potions, for ill or for ail.

Most of all, she learned about her flowers.

All the past week and into this one she’d been picking flowers from the bushes and vines of Solitude: the prettier the better. She'd gather these on her way to work, stuffing them carefully into her shoulder bag. Later, after returning to her room, the flowers were then scattered all over the floor, on her bed, and on her mantels. Some were red, some were blue, purple and pink. Laprima had no idea what types of blossoms she’d been gathering; she hadn’t studied botany in school. She was familiar with a few of Cyrodiil's variants: azaleas and alkanets, daisies and daffodils, but those were all warm-weather species.

Well now she knew. The little red, blue, and purple ones were mountain flowers. These could be ground into potions which restored mana, health, and one's ability to endure, respectively. The golden, fountain-like blossoms were dragon's tongue. She also had multiple examples of lavender and thistles.

But most curious to Laprima: the striking pink and purple ones she'd picked, and then strewn casually about her quarters. These blooms really caught her eye, so she'd collected several. After reading the book, she (horridly) learned these brilliant lovelies were nightshades! - Poisonous posies, tossed about her floor, her basket, and (...oh, no!) on top of her bed. Three of these laid upon her blanket at this very moment! She'd been sleeping under harmful plant material for over a week now!

As ever though, the academic in her coolly took over. “So if I have some deathbell, I can mix nightshade into poison…” she mused after another glance into the herbalist's book.





...Not that she was actually going to follow the wizard's suggestions, oh no, such a concept was purely for the sake of theory, of research. And yet the question arose, could such a thing actually be done?

Time to turn hours of study into practical attempts. Because unlike architecture, which required the use of dozens of models, years of planning before the actual building of full-size structures could commence, Laprima had something tangible she could work with, right here and now.

Filled with the sudden excitement of a schoolgirl, she gathered up most of the flowers, placed them into a large basket, then hauled them through the door and into Sybille’s quarters. By now it was late afternoon. The wizard was up and about, no longer stuffed underneath sheets and blankets. Splendid. Wouldn't want to wake the old seer while making lots of noise.

The scholar put her basket on the floor. "Firstly to begin, there is wortcraft," she spoke quietly, mimicking an invisible teacher. "Wortcraft involves chewing and consuming various bits of flora, which is the easiest way to perceive the properties, the effects, of such flora."

She grabbed one of the blue mountain flowers, and took a sniff. It smelled just like anyone would expect: perfumey and fragrant, just like a flower. Laprima tentatively tasted its petals. Not so aromatic. A little chalky, perhaps. She carefully made note of this in her journal.

"Alright then, class. Let us commence."

She popped the flower into her mouth, chewed it down, yicch! Fully upon the tongue and then eaten, blue mountain flowers became a sour pulp which could not be described as 'savory'. Not at all! Their pleasant aroma betrayed nothing of their taste! - "Uch!!!" - Laprima gagged a bit, briefly distracted... But then suddenly, she could feel it. Could feel the magical property contained within the flower's stem and stamens, that is, as a sort of pulse within her body, her nerves. Unfortunately the effect was there, and then gone. She hadn't fully grasped which portion of her being the flower affected. Let's try eating another.

"Oh! Well, that is.. mm, not very palatable. Siouxsie, my dear, might you fetch some water?" she asked, imagining her best ladyfriend from the City was here beside her.

She took a sip from one of Sybille's water glasses, after carefully examining it for any signs of redness. Then, she chewed and swallowed another sample. Paying attention this time, she was able to discern: blue mountain flowers affected her overall aspect of health. If she'd had a cut to her hand or her arm at that very moment, chances are this cut would be partially salved. Similar to the sort of potion she'd been offered to drink as a child, after skinning a knee, perhaps.

Laprima continued to eat at least one of each blossom from her collection, with the exception of the nightshade, adding more notes to her journal. Red mountain flowers restored her mana. The thistle? Laprima got an odd sensation of warming from these. After consulting her book, she learned thistle consumption could influence a person's ability to resist the cold. Perfect for her, since she could not foresee becoming acclimated to Skyrim's constantly chilly air anytime soon.

After a few minutes of eating and scribbling, she felt she was ready to attempt her first potion. Strode in front of Sybille's alchemy table.

"Thing is, none of these flowers in my possession have what are called 'primary properties' which match," she spoke to her imaginary classroom. "For instance, if two samples of flora both contain the ability to restore mana as a first effect, they can be combined to form a definite potion. However..." She picked a blue mountain flower and placed it next to a red one. "However, this does not mean the alchemist hasn't got the option for combining these two anyway. One can do so, apparently," she said, patting her book. "Reckless experimentation can sometimes be rewarded through positive results."

She placed the two flowers into a bowl and mashed them with a pestle. Ground them, until they became an odd-colored paste. From here she could've continued, could've scooped the paste into the alchemy table's 'retort/alembic' area. This portion of the table featured a series of boiling/distilling flasks made of blown-glass, heated by a metal implement which she later learned was called a 'calcinator'. Thing is, Laprima didn't know how to use this portion of the table, not yet, anyway. So she poured a bit of Sybille's water into the bowl, pulverizing the sticky mixture until its consistency began to smooth.




Another minute or two, and she decided the substance was as ready as it would ever be. She tried a taste of what'd been smashed and mashed. Result? Unsuccessful. Laprima discovered it did not yield any particular feeling or effect. Made a notation in her journal. By then, nearly an hour had gone by. Let's try another combination. She mixed a blue flower with a purple one. A purple one with a red one. Both of these attempts yielded zilch. Experimental failures, carefully marked within her journal. She reread a couple pages of the herbalist's book, checking to make sure she was doing this right. Another hour passed.

Was she actually following the correct procedures for potion-making? "Would it be prudent to request my superior, the one who loaned me this book?" she asked aloud.

And then finally, success! - A blue flower combined with some lavender caused irrefutable results! - Laprima felt a moment of glee after concocting her very first magical imbibement, which caused a sort of alchemical zing within her person after taste-testing. Best of all, she'd done this on her own, without the help of Sybille Stentor. Although she did not exactly know what sort of power the mixture contained, she wasted no time. Poured it carefully through a funnel, which drained into an empty phial she'd found in a cabinet under the table. Corked the mixture.

"'Voilà', as Chamany would say."

She continued to crush, combine, and cull until most of the flowers were gone. Doing so caused a bit of sadness within her once the task was nearing its end; her room would no longer be as aromatic and pretty as before. But it'd been worth it. All of this was being done for the sake of learning. Her worries about the absence of her future husband, they had vanished. Her causal fears concerning the devious diva who was still somewhere out there, plotting her next ambush? They'd fallen to the wayside as Laprima the student, the scholar, imagined herself back home in sunny Cyrodiil.

Finally, the nightshade. Six of these, still in her basket. According to the book, nightshade could be combined with deathbell or imp stools, combined into what would certainly be considered as poison, if she were successful.

“Perhaps a trip to Angeline’s Aromatics is in order?” Laprima asked her unseen students.

How ironic.

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

https://i.imgur.com/15458EQ.jpg - (meh, thought I had a better picture of this)

https://i.imgur.com/8F0nZFP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/8wUahF5.jpg
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Posted by: macole Apr 1 2023, 07:33 PM

Back in the late 60s early 70s, as the normal “straight man” (no drugs. no wine, no…well you know the one who called AR when BAD things happened) I had a standing invitation to many of those parties. Some new guy thought it a laugh to sugar cube my punch and not say anything. I nearly crash landed when I jumped out of the moving car to run through the park. The freak had a talking to but I didn’t go to too many parties after that.


I never did understand learning about ingredients by eating them. It’s like; here this is cyanide taste it see what you think. Fall over dead. Yep, it’s a poison for sure.
But, it is good Laprima is learning about poisons derived from flowers that way you can learn how to produce the antidote. So it is equally important to learn how to read the symptoms the poison produce in the victim so one can counter the poison with the proper antidote.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 1 2023, 08:47 PM

Laprima is using nightshade for bed decorations! In small doses, it is a powerful hallucinogen. It was the LSD of the world before the CIA invented LSD. Trouble is, it is easy to misjudge the dose and kill yourself with it.

Laprima gets to work on her alchemy. I sense some poison on the horizon. Her evil drug ninja nemesis is going to be in for a surprise methinks.

Posted by: Acadian Apr 2 2023, 07:44 PM

A fascinating foray into alchemy. I love the way you treated the craft, to include LPD’s tentative, experimental approach and numerous failures – all of which she documented. She is learning though, and alchemy is a potent skill to have.

Still looking forward to her pending face off with the Skooma Skeever Devious Diva.


Just so you know, LPD is not the only budding alchemist who keeps notes for future reference. Below is an excerpt from Buffy's alchemy notebook -

-Datura – Poison that is used (with great caution/skill) by shamans for hallucinogenic rituals.
-Starblossom – Burn and inhale the smoke to invoke a Naga dream wallow vision.
-Felldew, Moon sugar. Best to avoid.
-Teethcleaning powder - First I add the most important ingredient to my mortar: dried iris flowers, well known for their magical teeth cleaning properties. Then a few pinches of salt to aid with cleaning and add some coarseness. Next goes in a pinch of glow dust for whitening and sparkle, then finally some dried mint leaves for a nice taste and fresh breath. I grind the mixture into a powder and carry it in a doeskin pouch. Oh, toothbrush? Well, the handle is bamboo. One end has been split three times and each slot carefully fitted with boar bristles. The end has been notched and tightly laced with fine silk thread to hold the bristles in place.
-Menstrual cramp potions: chamomile, ginger, primrose and cinnamon
-Heart’s Day Rose Tea: Rose petals, honey.
-Teas - primrose (maybe a touch of bergamot for citrus scent)/ jasmine+ginger / combery+honey.
-My hair conditioner: It contains just a touch of ectoplasm, along with some rosemary oil and aloe vera for conditioning, glow dust for shine, and some finely ground bergamot for a nice citrus scent.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Apr 5 2023, 01:28 AM

I'd also have trouble sleeping if I'd gone through what Laprima did.

For me, at least, anxiety is a sign of a busy mind that doesn't have enough to do. It rings true that Laprima finds some relief in reading about alchemy.

Hm, poison might be an answer to her situation. But might not be the most convenient one. At least it keeps her occupied.

Heh, I like the way she mimics a teacher. Good sensory descriptions of the tastes, too. You made each one unique, in a way that fits quite well with the game.

Oh yeah, I remember you saying Siouxsie would make an appearance. I'm assuming she's a bard?

I'm starting to get Walter White vibes from Laprima...

This does put Laprima in a much better position. She's developing a trade skill, one that's pretty lucrative! It'll help her become independent, which I think is something she wants regardless of Chamany. Now for dealing with her more immediate problems. Does she want the aromatic to conceal the smell of nightshade? We'll see...

Posted by: Renee Apr 7 2023, 11:45 PM

It is Friday today. Posting a bit early. Today's chapter really packed some surprises, stuff I wasn't expecting to happen! I wrote the story starting last week, and into this one, but didn't play the actual game until this morning. And like I said, a few things happened while gaming which I did not expect. As they happened, I decided they MUST be added into the story.

Same thing's gonna happen next episode too, I think. There'll be stuff I do expect, but also things I do not expect.


@macole: So you're saying even in the sixties there were Designated Drivers, and you became one of them? ☮ Anyway, I have had that happen to me at least a couple times. Getting dosed when you don't want to be is awful, I agree.

I've always taken the act of eating poisonous ingredients (to learn their effects) as they're not poisonous enough to kill us. In other words, we're not drinking or eating the cyanide, we are eating the mold, the fungus (whatever) in which a small amount of the poison exists. Tamriel has Alchemy, but not Chemistry. They don't need to know how to discern effects through the Scientific Process, all they have to do is eat stuff.


@SubRosa: I know! Imagine putting a bunch of poisonous plants in your room. 🌿 She did indeed create a few poisons, which boosted Alchemy enough to finally place my gal above Level 2!


@Acadian: Wow, hey, thanks! Yes, that was fun to write.

And what do we have here? Buffy's list of Alchemy successes! Wow, hold on...

-Datura – Poison that is used (with great caution/skill) by shamans for hallucinogenic rituals: Did she actually make this, and the other poisons listed, at some point? Or she just knows about them?

-Teethcleaning powder - First I add the most important ingredient to my mortar: dried iris flowers, well known for their magical teeth cleaning properties: This sounds like a Buffy concoction, as well as the Hair Conditioner one! I remember she made stuff like this in Oblivion, too. The

-Heart’s Day Rose Tea: Rose petals, honey.: Nice. I'll have a cup of this as I edit. 🫖


@WellTempedClavier: How true, about anxiety being sort of a mask for being unsure.

Yeah, she's pretending to be a teacher in that last episode. I imagine she's talking to invisible students to stave off lonlieness, but this is also part of her learning process.

Siouxsie is Laprima's best friend back in Cyrodiil; they were classmates. Siouxsie will hopefully make an appearance next season.

Posted by: Renee Apr 8 2023, 04:22 AM

.
_____________________

We’ll never be Royals

_____________________


Fredas, Sun's Dusk 5


As the wild woman from the woods stirred at her campsite, the posh lady from the palace fretted, considered, and planned.

Sirdasa Noskal ran out of brews at some point the day before. Jittery and delusional, she’d been forced to spend the final twenty of gold filched from Posh Lady on more skooma. This additional expenditure wasn't in her plans; she’d been wanting to use this final bit of coin to finance supplies. She needed a new ball of twine, a new net for fishing, and so on. Sirdasa was good at subsisting from the land and river, but some items could not be constructed out here! They could only be bought from vendors.

As her original four phials of skooma dwindled the day before, she’d made a mad dash back to Solitude. Searched for that perfumed, prissy noble! But the wench was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Laprima made the trip to Angeline’s, entering the store just after the apothecary opened her shop this Fredas morning. She procured some deathbell, along with a few other ingredients recommended by the elder woman.

“Ahh, so you’re an alchemist, then?”

"I have recently gained interest in the study of herbs and potions, yes."

Being an alchemist herself, Angeline had an alchemy table, of course. Pretty soon Laprima was using it. As she combined her nightshade with some deathbell bought from the herbalist, Laprima explained that there was "a bit of a rat problem" in her home, not that Angeline asked any questions. The apothecarist was also able to identify the first potion created by Laprima. Turns out, she'd managed to create a substance which fortified the user’s abilities of Conjuration. The noblewoman had no use for such a draught, the only magic she was truly good at up ‘til now was her ability to self-heal.

“I can offer payment, if you’d like to sell,” Angeline informed the fledgling potion-maker.

Laprima declined. Now that she knew what she'd made, her plan was to place the golden-colored brew into the nightstand Chamany bought several days before. There, it could always be treasured as her first.

Final decision of the day: she decided she would not be heading to work, which meant two straight afternoons with no one on the floor at the Winking Skeever! But this had to be done, whatever ‘this’ turned out to be. This situation with Sirdasa; it had to be dealt with. She walked to the tavern to inform her superiors.

Would it be prudent to inquire about Sirdasa? she wondered over her usual bowl of soup. She could ask Corpulus and Barre Bakke what they knew about the woman who’d formerly worked under their employ.

“Yeah.... Sirdasa....” Corpulus said later on.

The man seemed embarrassed after hearing her name. Judging his body movements, Laprima discerned the bartender was also wary, now that the subject had come up. Like he’d prefer to forget about Sirdasa Noskal altogether.

“She was here a few weeks, did her job fine, stayed quiet. I heard all sorts about her, how she’s mean and how she grew up here acting all tough, and so on. In the end I decided to give her a chance. Can't say I have any complaints, really," he admitted.

"Well, I've got one. She stopped showing up about a week before you showed up," Barre informed in his thick Nordic accent. "And I must say, I enjoy your company much more, Laprima. For one thing, you just happen bathe regularly, a-ha-ha!"

Laprima wondered if she should tell them she was about to go and confront the woman (or try, at least). In the end, she chose not to. Doing so could complicate things. Let us get this matter over and done with...

A few minutes later, she exited the gates of Solitude. Today would be the first time she left the town since her arrival thirteen days ago. My, how things had changed since then. If only she’d known of the litany of events to come…

She walked the road, which angled down a slight hill. Passed by a man with a carriage-for-hire. A second road branched left, which was the way toward Solitude’s docks. Laprima continued walking straight.

“Oh... dreadful!”

Light snow began to fall, swirling all around. The sky darkened. "Blime. Is it really?" An hour ago it’d been sunny!






“If anything, this turn of weather shall certainly hasten my desire to avoid dawdling.”

The road itself was also covered with tamped-down snow. Good thing she was wearing boots. In Solitude, all the ground's ice and snow must regularly be getting melted.

She continued moving forward, walking briskly. Wishing she’d worn warmer clothes. For the air was also becoming chillier. Everything is dead! Laprima observed. The grasses by the side of the road, for instance. Everything except for the trees, that is. Skyrim’s trees remain green, though they were becoming closer to black as the day's sunniness diminished. The forest became darker. Thicker. Now that she had traipsed just outside the town’s limits, trees, grass, and bushes encroached right to the roadside.

The wind picked up just then, causing the Heartlander from Cyrodiil to shiver. She walked a little faster. And that’s when she heard Sirdasa.

“You think you stand a CHANCE?”

Laprima froze! ... Definitely, that was the woods' woman's voice, but who was she speaking to? -- The woman was nowhere to be seen, as of yet. Was she threatening Laprima? - Up ahead, the road bent to the left, blocked slightly by a large boulder and some low-lying fir trees. The Heartlander was pretty sure the voice she'd heard came from that direction.

Laprima grabbed the wizard's blade, which she'd carefully poisoned earlier in the day. Cautioned a few forward steps. Up ahead, a flurry of activity. A fight!!

Peering into the gloom, eventually Laprima could see Sirdasa, whose arms were flailing, beating and slashing about some sort of creature with her knife. The creature (whatever it was) jumped about on four legs. It seemed larger than Sirdasa, not that this seemed to matter; the scrawny fur-wearing shrew was obviously holding her own. As if she'd done this sort of thing before.

"C'mon, let's see you put up a fight!"

Laprima Donnaugh, Heartlander and noblewoman from sunny, magnificent Cyrodiil, could've simply left the scene right then and there. Could've run back to Solitude, where a series of bored guards were on duty, waiting for any excuse to draw their weapons. But she didn't. Instead, she rushed forward! --- Dashed straight towards the melee, where she struck the creature's (a wolf's) hindquarters with Sybille's blade. A flash of light danced across the wolf's fur, shock-magic, for sure. Posh Lady and Woods Woman shredded about the animal, which growled and leapt and snapped, not happy there was now a second bipedal being to deal with. After a few more slices the wolf fell to the ground, definitely dead. Though the fight lasted maybe twenty seconds or so, it seemed to Laprima as though an hour had passed.

“The heck's you doin’ out here?” Woods Woman sneered after a moment of confusion, eyes wild, her adrenaline apparently dropping not in the slightest. She bent to the ground to wash the wolf's blood from her blade, before sheathing it. “Thought we was s’pposed to meet somewheres in town!”



Laprima, breathing hard herself, said nothing. Shuffled warily a couple steps to the left, before coming to a halt. Stared hard, tried to steady her nerves. Truth was, she had no idea what to say to the woman who'd badgered her in town, at least not yet. She recalled the language Sybille instructed her to use: I shall not divulge you any more coin, or some such, but somehow these words could not be stated just yet.

“Well, it’s good you is here,” the woman in furs said eagerly. “Might be best. This way, ya ain’t gotta deal with tha awkwardness of me takin’ all yer miserly coin, with others standin’ by as witness. So…let’s git this over and done with. How much you got fer me today, hmm?”

Laprima noticed her opponent was not holding her blade. So, attempting to take whatever advantage she could, the city-dweller grabbed Sybille’s daggar from a leather pocket sewn into her dress (for she hadn’t a true scabbard in which to carry the weapon upon a belt). She held the knife pointed forward, in a hand which trembled just a bit. Her feet were planted in stance, mimicking the manner the old wizard taught two nights ago.

“A-ha-ha! What is this? The HECK you thinkin’, rich girl?”

Laprima made no reply. Stood stock still, trying to focus. Random thought which crossed her mind at that very moment: Where is Sybille Stentor?





“You really think, that you can take me on?" Wild Woman asked. "Ha! ... I’ll carve you up like a wild turkey! ... How many brawls ya been involved up ‘til now? Huh? - I been fussin’ and fightin’ since I was twelve! … You ain’t even holding that proper-like, wench!”

Laprima said nothing. A bead of sweat slowly escaped the pile of raven-colored hair upon her head, rolled slowly down her face. She was forced to wipe it away with her left hand before it absorbed into her eye. Ironically, it was at this very moment she realized that she, for once, had been unaware of Skyrim's cold for the past five minutes or so.

“So. You mean ta tell me, you came all the way out here just to fight?!” the woman said, amazed. “No. That ain’t gonna happen, girlie. Here’s my thought. You give me MY coin, and give it ta me NOW!”

“No.”

“Huh? What’d ya just say?”

“I said no. I shall not give any more coin to you… Sirdasa.”

At the mention of her name, Sirdasa Noskal blinked, incredulous. Unable to fully comprehend for a moment or two, for her abuse of skooma (along with a lack of restful sleep these past few days) was clouding her mind.

“That is right. Your name is Sirdasa, isn’t it?”

“How yew know ma name?”

“I do know it,” Laprima said, her voice trembling. “I know your name, Sirdasa. I know that you grew up here in Solitude, and that you had yourself lots of troubles during youth. You were dwelling upon the top of this mountain we stand upon now, in an old fort, along with others. And that you chose to return to Solitude not long ago, where an attempt was made to better thyself, for whatever sort of choice or inference. You took the job at the Skeever…”

The fur-wearing woman seemed astonished, as she received all this information from someone she barely knew, all which seemed undeniably true. “Who told'ja all that?” she demanded.

Laprima noticed Sirdasa was unarmed; hadn’t bothered to grab for her blade. Didn't seem bothered in the slightest about the weapon pointed at her. So Miss Donnaugh took a chance, pocketed her own blade. Now they both stood before each other, neither of them portending immediate threat. It was time to bring this (whatever ‘this’ was to be) confrontation to some sort of conclusion.

Laprima, gaining confidence now that weapons were no longer involved, was able to discern Sirdasa’s condition.

“Your pallor, Sirdasa, it is wan. Your skin’s got sores. I cannot help but realize you are unwell. And perhaps I can.... perhaps I can help.” She paused, thinking for a moment. Realized she was taking a risk: improvising her words.
Is this wise? -- Nevertheless, Laprima pressed on. "Perhaps I can make some sort of assitance, Sirdasa. Get you set into a flat, in town, where you'd be safe. Get you dressed into some proper clothes..."

“Mmm, no. I do not think so. Now you LISTEN, miss. I want my coin!” Sirdasa growled. “Don’t care about my skin… don't wanna go back in that wretched town. Don't fit in there, nah-ah. Now listen here, sister. And listen real good....”

It was at this very moment when everything changed. Because Laprima Anne Donnaugh, she became aware of how very cold it was, here in the woods. Really cold. Not the sort of chill she'd experienced in town, oh no. Back in Solitude the air was nippy at times, but Laprima had been able to face it down. Because there was always a door to walk through, a door to a shop or the tavern or the palace itself. And on the other side of these doors there was warmth. Frigid and windy on one side, cozy and comforting on the other.

Out here there were no doors. Only woods and snow and pine needles. The wind, it became almost a gale, blowing and whistling through the trees. Blowing right through her skin, it seemed, and into her bones. Laprima, fully acclimated to lush foliage and a much pleasanter climate, wondered how far away was she from town? And was the wizard's idea really going to come to some sort of fruition? Was it really? - Was Laprima Donnaugh really going to attempt stabbing and poisoning Sirdasa Noskal to death out here? Was she really?

"... ain't gonna say it again, prissy princess! 'Cause it ain't like I'm some kinda royal, livin' on my--"

"Sirdasa," Laprima interrupted. "Sirdasa, I am cold. I am really... cold. I..."

Sirdasa Noskal, ever the loquacious one when it came to threats and taunts, suddenly was saying nothing. At a loss for words. Her mouth hung agape in mid-sentence.

"Might we... I know you've got yourself some sort of campsite,” Laprima continued, surprising herself. “By the river, aye?"

The woodsy woman blinked, completely flummoxed. Unable to yammer her usual set of one-track thoughts.

"Perhaps you and I, we can continue conversing beside your fire? Actually, might we do so, please?”

As the wild woman from the woods pondered this abrupt proposal, the posh lady from the palace wondered what, pray-tell, the heck she was doing.


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

https://i.imgur.com/7114zzS.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Y3uJAml.jpg -- (notice the weather is sunny)

https://i.imgur.com/kkS4hf9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/IPq5iPE.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TPq1tc9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SMQsOsm.jpg

------------------------------------
Notes: The way this chapter originally was written, I hadn't anticipated the fight with the wolf. And this meant half the episode had to be amended. I also did not anticipate Laprima's reaction to the cold. I knew she might possibly ask Sirdasa to take her to the campsite, but the question was "Why?" Now we all know.
.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 8 2023, 05:40 AM

Laprima has a rat problem alright, a two-legged rat problem...

“You think you stand a CHANCE?”
It always sounds so weird when the NPCs are making taunts like this when they are fighting animals. Do they expect the wolves to understand what they are saying?

I cannot help but think that maybe Laprima took the wrong side in that Wolf on Shrew battle?

I too am wondering what the post lady from the palace is up to? I don't think she is going to have much luck appealing to Sird's better nature.

Posted by: Acadian Apr 8 2023, 06:47 PM

Posh Lady’s got stones, I’d say, trekking out into the snow to hunt Skooma Shrew – then diving into a wolf with her dagger. One can hope that ‘sharing combat’ in taking down that wolf might ease the animus. If they actually get to the campfire, that’d be even better. Maybe.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Apr 13 2023, 12:18 AM

Looks like Sirdasa's running out. No surprise there.

The classic RPG rat problem raises its furry head again. Wonder if Laprima will be tasked with solving it...

Not sure if the Winking Skeever's proprietor will be happy with Laprima not showing up two days in a row. But if she goes onto alchemy, it may not matter that much. Alchemy will open more doors than serving, that's for sure.

Okay, looks like her boss isn't too upset. And now she has some useful info about Sirdasa.

Thirteen days. That's quite a busy few weeks for Laprima, but I suppose that can happen when you move someplace new.

And this excursion's a good reminder for what a tough place Skyrim can be. It's a long way from the more settled lands of Cyrodiil. Good descriptions of the grim northern woods, too.

Huh, this is interesting. Sirdasa's in a confrontation. This might give Laprima more options...

Ah, Laprima's jumped in to help her rival. Now we'll see if this eases things, or if Sirdasa's still going to make life difficult. Sadly, I suspect the latter.

Believable that Laprima would have some difficulty voicing those words. It's easy to say those things in a safe environment, quite another to actually use them in a confrontation.

Uh oh, Laprima's committed herself. Not a good idea to take out a weapon unless you're absolutely sure you're willing to use it and know how. Sirdasa senses Laprima's uncertainty, too. This is bad.

Oof, and now Laprima's getting hit with how cold this place actually is. Supposedly, one of the best ways to get people can be to ask them for help. If they help, they feel more invested in you (or something like that). Wonder if that'll work with Sirdasa letting Laprima use her camp. Interesting development.

Posted by: macole Apr 13 2023, 04:26 AM

I wonder is the Donna thinking of setting up Sirdasa as a mole to get the goods on a certain someone named Chamany.

Posted by: Renee Apr 15 2023, 03:36 PM

Hello everyone. There are several things I messed up in that last chapter. Firstly, I somehow got the date wrong! The last chapter claims Fredas the Fifth, but in pictures clearly we can see it was Loredas the Sixth. There's a lot of parts moving in these last few chapters: some of them visible, some of them behind the scenes, the date thing is actually pretty minor. Still.

There was also an entire part of the story which got lost, as I edited in the wolf scene last week. Sybille the wizard was supposed to tell Laprima she'd be 'watching over her' as Lap met Sird in the woods. So when ‘prima seems to be wondering about the palace’s court wizard all the sudden, that is why.

In fact, pay attention to that wizard.

Finally, I should recount an experience I had when I was a child. It was winter. After school one day, a pack of my friends went to someone's house or something. I had no way of getting home, and both my parents were working at that point. Some other kid gave me a ride on the back of his bike. By the time I got home my fingers were freezing, this was serious frostbite, and I mean, it actually hurt. 🌨


"Laprima has a rat problem alright, a two-legged rat problem..."

Heh heee ha, you got that right!

That is very true, about the NPCs saying funny things to critters or monsters which cannot understand these words. My fave was in Oblivion, when Imperial Legions say, "FORRRR THE EMPIRE!" .... while cutting down a mudcrab. 🦀 As if that ONE crab portends the downfall of the entire Septim dynasty.


"Posh Lady’s got stones, I’d say, trekking out into the snow to hunt Skooma Shrew – then diving into a wolf with her dagger."

The wolf thing was interesting. As stated, that was not planned. As I am gaming, I have to take into account the feelings and thoughts I receive from whomever I am with at the time. From my perspective they are not just pixels & polygons on my TV screen, they are also essences of energy. I'm sure you and Buff have a similar relationship, except you've got 2-way communication with her, whereas for me I can only receive. Anyway, the fact that Laprima immediately chose to help Sird with the wolf highlights a bit of courage I did not know my gal has.

To illustrate further, I did have one story-character in the past (Sarah Phimm) who did not get involved with combat, or would only do if cornered. This factored into her story in real-time, even though it would've been more exciting for me if I just mashed some buttons, pwning AI and whatnot. Kahreem also avoided combat most of the time. He'd rather get on whatever horse he'd stolen, and ride away. 🐎


"t sure if the Winking Skeever's proprietor will be happy with Laprima not showing up two days in a row."

Ooh, that's another thing which got messed up. Not that 'prima's gonna get fired, but notice how Corpulus has nothing but good things to say about his former employee. YET, also notice how uneasy he gets when the subject comes up. I meant to expand on that, because the fact is he did have some problems with Sirdasa: cash missing from the till and so on.

OTOH, maybe it's good I didn't expand. That part (as it is) is pretty subtle.

Thirteen days is a mistake on my part. She got to Skyrim on the 24th, so it's been fourteen days! Oops.

Exactly. Easy to plan that this and that shall happen, but Laprima's no warrior, not a mage, and not the semi-rogue she'll probably become in future chapters. Not yet, anyway. First, she's gotta crank out her fears. But... again, the whole wolf thing. It's like I didn't even get the feeling my gal hesitated there in the slightest.

The fact that she's super-cold is partially due to the Frostfall mod (tolerance to the cold must be built over time), and partially my own experience (see above).


"I wonder is the Donna thinking of setting up Sirdasa as a mole to get the goods on a certain someone named Chamany."

'The Donna'. I like that!

There are quite some things happening behind the scenes (and in the Donna's head), as you've definitely intuited. Chammy will factor in here, for sure.

Posted by: Renee Apr 15 2023, 11:05 PM

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________________

Princess Laprima

________________


Loredas, Sun's Dusk 6, late afternoon


"Do what now? ... You wanna sit by my fire because you cold?"

"Aye. I think that'd be best," Laprima chattered. "At present, it feels as though my fingers ... I cannot gain a sense of them all."

This was the moment when things could go very, very wrong, of course. Laprima knew this for certain, for she was making a request so unexpected, even she wasn’t sure where this spontaneous set of ideas was going.

And during this moment, it looked as though things would go very, very wrong. Sirdasa’s eyes flitted and danced about. Her brows narrowed suspiciously. Laprima could certainly take a guess as to why.

"You are concerned," the noble shivered. "How is it I know these things of you: your name, where you lived, some of your upbringing, where you lay your head now."

Sirdasa's face twisted and contorted, like the pointed snout of the wolf they'd just killed.

"Yea, how’d you know all that?” she asked stiffly. “Well, I reckon ya coulda gotten my name on account as you been workin’ over at the Skeever.” She rubbed her chin. “But how is it you know about me livin’ up at Fort Hraggstad and all that other stuff? Huh? Who ya been talkin’ to?”

The Woods Woman glared, perhaps wondering if one of the lowlife wretches she’d been associating with lately somehow relayed personal information to the princess shivering before her. – Meanwhile, Laprima struggled to fathom an answer. Should this answer be truthful, revealing the fact that Sybille Stentor told her these things? Or should Laprima concoct some sort of story which (no doubt) would stretch into one heck of a lie, as imaginary details unfolded.

Luckily for her, she did not have to come up with an answer at all.

“Well, here's what I reckon," Sirdasa spoke, a sudden gleam in her eye. "We both gots something the other wants, mmm? You wants to come an' gather yerself before my fire before you fixin’ to freeze to death, and I ... well you know what I want."

“Fine.” The woman wants her skooma. "And I can assist, Sirdasa. Although not here. I sha’n’t hand any coin out here, not as I’m losing feelings within my fingers. … Might we please go!?"

The wild woman considered further. "Well… you did also just help me take down this animal, here,” she added. The gleam in her eye was joined by a smirk across the lower half of her face.

Sirdasa set off into the woods; apparently this was her way of invitation. Just before Laprima followed she gave a quick look around. Peered into the trees, where she thought she saw a quick flicker of something just to the right.

"Sybille?" she called.

But nobody was there. Just a wisp of snow, blowing in the wind.

… Years later, an older, wiser Laprima Donnaugh, set into a comfortable middle age, would gaze back upon this particular portion of her life and wonder why she’d chosen to prolong her meeting with Sirdasa Noskal. Why hadn’t she simply handed some coin to this lawless, chaotic user of skooma and returned to the Blue Palace, where she’d be safe forever? As always, she had enough money in her purse at the time to sufficiently placate the addict.

And the answer to this question, it was vague. Somehow, Laprima just knew. She knew and sensed what was to come.



Sirdasa moved through the woods, deftly pacing over fallen logs and dead foliage, confident with every step. Laprima trailed at a distance, much more tentatively, every other footfall causing obvious noise. Twigs snapped, the lower hem of the expensive black dress she’d bought at Radiant Raiment (the same dress aunt Elisif disapproved of) caught and tore a couple branches. In some areas the snow also deepened, causing her made-for-the-city boots to slip and stumble. This was not her territory!





Though it was still daytime, Laprima, once again, could not see Magnus’s position in the sky. But it seemed as though the afternoon had come to an end by now.

Off in the distance to their right, a series of men and women were milling about what looked to be an outdoor encampment. Sirdasa explained these were Stormcloaks: rebel soldiers who called themselves 'Sons and Daughters of Skyrim'. They’d shown up here recently, perhaps to stage some sort of eventual front against Solitude.

"They don't pay me no mind, 'less they wanta buy a slab of meat. 'Cause I been huntin' and fishin' in these parts for years,” Woods Woman said quietly, as though fearing someone might hear her state this revelation aloud. “Ain't like my poachin's hurting anybody. Jarl Elisif and your precious Blue Palace entourage can hardly eat every slab of venison, now, can they?"

Laprima stumbled, teeth gnashing. "Ehm, how much farther have we to go?"

It didn't take much longer. Within a minute, Laprima heard the sound of rushing water. True to Sybille's word, Sirdasa Noskal was living right beside the river.






Her camp consisted of a small tent made of animal hides, supported by twine and deadfall. Under the tent, a furry bedroll to lie within. There were several sacks made of burlap here, a couple of ceramic pots and metal implements there. A cooking stand made for roasting, and a small boat for travelling.

But what interested Laprima most of all at this moment was the fire.

"Gracious. Many thanks, Sirdasa."

Wood had been gathered and torched at some point, arranged into a rock-lined pit measuring a couple meters in diameter. Despite Sirdasa's absence over the past couple hours or so, the blaze was still going. Laprima wasted no time. Rushed right over to warm her hands and body. Immediately, she could feel what seemed to be ice in her fingers thawing away.

But she also watched Sirdasa carefully. Now that she was here, she was unsure how long she should stay. Because obviously, the plan she’d made with the wizard was not going to happen. Sirdasa was right; if the two of them had gotten into a knife-fight there’d be no way the noblewoman could win. Sirdasa handled her weapon like she’d been born holding it.

But there was also something else going on, which caused Laprima to second-guess her host. Sirdasa Noskal seemed to have ‘dropped the act’, as the saying goes. All her bluster, all the meanness she’d displayed in town was now gone. On some level, Laprima knew it would happen this way. Now that Sirdasa had a guest to attend to in what was essentially her home, she became a somewhat different person. Cordial, even. Still pretty rough around the edges, of course. But not nearly the snarling, menacing beast she'd portrayed in town.

“You hungry? Well, I certainly am.”

Laprima blinked. Now Sirdasa was holding her blade.

“Gonna get us supper. Problem is, my net’s broke, which means I ain’t got no way to catch anything as easy. So… be right back.”

To Laprima’s astonishment, Sirdasa took a deep breath, and leapt into the river. Dove right in, causing a splash of near-zero water! Laprima could see the Nord swimming against the current; treading under water which must be just as frigid as a witch’s teat. - How can she stand such frosty water? - After thirty seconds or so, Sirdasa returned to shore. Indeed, she had somehow managed to catch a fish half as long as her arm, and with her bare hands.

“Looks like we gonna have some trout for supper,” she said while water dripped from her hair and furs. “Want some, wench?”

Laprima nodded. The sky was getting dark. Didn't look like she'd be going anywhere, anytime soon.

Sirdasa began gutting the fish with her blade, slicing its scales this way and that. She chopped the trout into pieces with an axe. Threw a metal pan onto the fire and began frying their dinner.

The noble found herself fascinated with this entire process. “Everything you need for sustenance, it’s right here,” she said aloud. By now, Laprima had thoroughly regained feeling in her fingers. Her boots were also off, drying by the fire.

“Aye. This ain’t your pretty blue palace,” the hunter agreed. “Gotta do it right if ya wanta survive out here, wench.”

“Wench. Wench!” Laprima shook her head, displeased. “Might we let go of the unpleasantries, Sirdasa?”

“Do what, now?”

“The unpleasant things you constantly say. The name-calling. You are always calling me names!” Laprima smashed a palm into the sand, unable to hide the anger within her voice. “Well perhaps it is because we’ve never been formally introduced. My name’s Laprima, by the way. Not wench. Not girlie. Not harlot. I am Laprima Donnaugh.”

“Laprima Do-what?" Sirdasa scowled. "Well what kind of a–”

“Just… Laprima. La-pri-ma,” the Heartlander enunciated slowly. “Might you find fit to just refer to me as such?”

“Hmph. Laprima. Sounds like a name for a royal,” Sirdasa spat. “How ‘bout I just call you princess, instead? Yeah, think I’ll just call you: Princess Laprima….”

“Fine, Sirdasa. Although I’ll never be royalty, just so you know, there’s a process which must be entertained for one to become royal. And I shall perhaps never attain such position. Especially not, if Chamany and I are to wed.”

“What-ever you say, Princess.”

Dinner was served. As the lady and the hunter ate, Laprima’s fascination with Sirdasa’s simplistic lifestyle continued. Such an opposite way to live. In Laprima's world, everything was done for you. Food was always prepared, bed linens changed at least twice a week, floors got swept, magical music got played from devices unseen, and so on. But out here, Sirdasa’s entire existence was organized by just one person: Sirdasa Noskal, herself. It was something Lady Donnaugh could not entirely wrap her head around. The woman before her was crude and selfish, yes. But she was also like a character Laprima might've read about in an adventure novel during youth. A character who lived off the land, doing things her way to the utmost.

By now, it was definitely getting late; too late (and too dark) to safely find her way through the woods and back to Solitude. Laprima argued a bit with Sirdasa, tried to convince the woman not to give in to her addiction. But eventually she handed over some coin, because this was part of the half-spoken agreement between them. Laprima had been freezing half-to-death, and begged Sirdasa for help. Now it was time to pay her end of the bargain.

“Well, you ain’t goin’ nowheres," Sirdasa said, taking Laprima's money. "Do me a favor, eh? Stay here at camp while I go off for a bit. Ain’t nothing’s gonna bother you out here, no critters, that is. Be back soon, I promise.”

Coin in hand, Sirdasa Noskal rushed up the beach, leaving Laprima alone. Fortunately, she wasn’t gone for too long.

When she came back she immediately uncorked one of the phials she’d bought.

"Want some?"

Laprima Donnaugh shook her head: No. Absolutely not.

So Sirdasa smiled. Palmed the pink phial, then quaffed it down all at once, just as Laprima and Chamany had done two weeks ago. “Ahhhh! ... Ohhh lalaa!!!” … The addict plopped herself down on the shore. Began sighing and rolling about. Laughed at the moons, like some sort of primitive. Laprima sat cautiously; now getting a full view of what happens when a user of this new skooma gets taken under its influence. Sirdasa, dancing a bit in front of her fire, wavering drunkenly on her feet. Speaking in tongues. At one point, she contorted her face into an odd shape and began sobbing, even.

Laprima oversaw the entire process with detached curiosity. She was getting tired by now but forced herself to stay awake, watching over the loon, making sure their campfire stayed lit. Still, after an hour or so, she couldn’t help but fall asleep right on the sand. Sirdasa herself had passed out, after all; as the drug’s initial effects changed from inspirational and flashy, to somnolent.





The night wore on. Somehow, the posh lady from the palace was able to spend most of her time asleep. Next thing she knew it was daylight again. Daylight, and cold. For her company was too frazzled by the brew to continue maintaining the campfire’s blaze throughout the night.

As Laprima tended to the fire (learning how such things are done, in fact) she couldn’t help but take notice of Sirdasa’s condition, even as she was itching to get away from the skooma-user, and return to her usual, comfortable existence.

“Sirdasa, you really have taken ill. I cannot help but feel concern about your state of being as of now.”

“Ah, ‘tis nothing, princess. I shall be alright. Always am.” Woods Woman moaned, her body basking before the fire’s returning warmth. For a moment, Laprima could see a bit of surprise within her host’s eyes. As if she’d forgotten somebody else was there.

Laprima by now had had enough of this. She was ready to go. She could see herself away from this malaise, following the tracks they’d made in snow the day before, perhaps. To make the desire to leave even more pertinent, Sirdasa the addict looked as though she couldn’t do anything about this. At the moment, she appeared to be too weak to even stand up.

Still, Laprima, conscious of what it must be like, ailing all alone out here with a skooma hangover, couldn’t help but try dispensing some advice before she left.

“You know, there are ways to…counteract the effects you are suffering,” she began. “Chamany told me: chewing flowers of alkanet is one method of doing so. Do you know of these blooms?" she asked. "Not sure if alkanet grows here in Skyrim. But surely, there must be some other leaves or flowers you can try.”

“Ah, you speak of the elixir…” Sirdasa murmured.

“Ehm. Elixir?”

“Aye,” Sirdasa nodded. Tried to raise her head from the sand so she could get a better look at Laprima while she spoke, and was unsuccessful at this. “Was supposed to be some elixir for this…”

Sirdasa's voice droned off. Laprima waited patiently for the woman before her to continue. For it seemed as though she had something else to say.

“The alchemist …" she finally regrouped. "One of Chammy’s clan … he was workin’ on it. B’cause they knew this skooma’s good. ... Best they’d ever seen. But also bad. Bad, in a way that it makes us suckers sick. So they was workin’ on that elixir, to solve what comes after… But he couldn’t get it all mixed up, or some such. So, one of them went to Angeline, the potions lady. Wanted to know if she could, ya know, if she could help get it all mixed up proper-like. Brought his mixture right to her.”

“One of Chamany’s clan went to Angeline?” Laprima asked, already seeing where this was possibly going.

“Aye. And when that witch of a alchemist heard what they was wanting the elixir fer, she immediately called the guards!” Sirdasa hacked. “B’cause skooma’s illegal, don’cha know? Angeline, she took the elixir away, right then and there. Not knowing. B’cause this brew, it’s got a kick, alright. Ain’t nothing like it before, nor since…”

“Hmph. So I see.”

Where, oh where are you, dear Chamany Lacroix? … For now, there are even more questions which require a series of answers.

“Stay right here," Laprima said, ignoring the better judgement which screamed Just go! within her head. "Perhaps I can return sometime later to make an assistance.”



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https://i.imgur.com/YyJS0EV.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/v6uUAhB.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9xKF9Z4.jpg

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Notes: the moment when Laprima made her proposal, when Sirdasa says "Here's what I reckon..." was another Speechcraft moment. If Laprima failed this would've caused the Wild Woman to attack, instead of taking 'prima to the campsite.
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Posted by: SubRosa Apr 16 2023, 03:47 AM

I notice you are getting the Gray Face bug with your NPCs. You can fix this with the following:

1.) Create a new NPC

2.) Edit the necessary sections of the face. If there are additional textures installed in actors/character, NPC customization will result into a two toned NPC, move all the extra textures into a back up folder.

3.) Click "Okay" on the character window closing it, Highlight your new NPC in the actors list and press CTRL + F4 to export FacegenData.

4.) Save plugin.

5.) You can confirm success by checking Meshes/Actors/Characters/FaceGenData/FaceGeom/<mod name> folder &Textures/Actors/Characters/FaceGenData/FaceTint/<mod name> folder. If it is simply a change to a vanilla NPC, it will be in the .../FaceGeom/Skyrim.esm subfolder. The file will be a .nif with the same name as the base id in the construction set.

Posted by: Renee Apr 16 2023, 05:40 AM

Cool, thanks. I'll try that.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Apr 16 2023, 07:02 PM

There's always a lot to keep track of in writing. Anyone who does it knows what it is to forget a detail or two. Lord knows I've done that plenty.

Scary story about the frostbite. It doesn't snow where I live, but I know frostbite is not something you want to mess around with.

And yeah, sounds like Corpulus tries be optimistic about people, but that's hard to do when cash keeps disappearing.

I can see how your personal experience with frostbite is shaping the story here. Laprima wants to warm her fingers, of course. Still curious as to how this will turn out.

Hm, still not sure I trust Sirdasa. But Laprima needs to get shelter of some kind and fast, so I suppose she doesn't have much choice.

Interesting Stormcloak cameo here. Makes sense that Sirdasa doesn't much care about politics, though. The less anyone interferes, the better (which I suppose means the Stormcloaks are safer for her, at least for the time-being).

I'm also a little surprised that Laprima doesn't seem to be aware of the rebellion. I suppose it's not something they care to talk about at court, and she's not really involved in politics. This does give her some pretty useful information for Elisif, should she choose to offer it.

And so it happens: by helping Laprima, Sirdasa now feels invested in her.

Whoa, Sirdasa's hardcore! She could fit into one of those polar bear plunge groups.

Addict though she is, Sirdasa's still aware enough to be a pretty effective survivalist. I can definitely see how this would appeal to Laprima, given how she's been pushing against the constraints of court life. Skyrim's a rough place (as is most of Tamriel), and having these skills can be helpful.

Laprima's knowledge of alchemy could also be pretty helpful for Sirdasa, assuming Sirdasa utilizes it. But an addict needs to be the one to make the decision to change, and that's an uphill battle.

Also, we see here one of the big downsides about blanket criminalization of drugs. It's much harder for someone to get clean if they can't get help.

I really liked the way you took this story. I'd anticipated a showdown between Laprima and Sirdasa, but this is far more interesting. Troublesome as Sirdasa is, she also has a lot to offer Laprima. That she's neither full ally nor enemy makes this feel quite realistic.

Posted by: Acadian Apr 16 2023, 08:26 PM

Very nicely done how you showed us the gradual thawing of animus between these two. Sirdrasa and the Princess does have a certain ring to it.

Sirdrasa would make a Bosmer proud with her command of woodscraft. And she could make a Nord jealous with her ability to withstand the cold. If only she could kick the skooma thing. . . .

Looks like Princess is going to work some alchemy to see if she can help her newfound not quite friend.

Not sure where this is going but anxious to find out!

Posted by: Renee Apr 16 2023, 09:01 PM

I'm replying a bit early, just because of a few things I'm insecure about. I dunno, maybe if I type these things publicly I'll be able to gain some perspective.

I know Sirdasa's obnoxious, and that maybe the simple story outcome would be Laprima just killing her. This is how it was originally going to happen.

But I wanted to try a few new things, and so I opened my mind. After playing my first Bioware game (Mass Effect) these last couple months, I've really been attracted to the idea of choices: two true paths the story could take. This is something I've never done before in other tales. Goblin Lady, Sarah Phimm's story, Miss Vicious, and so on... all of those had hand-written quests, but there was only one outcome.

So I wanted to try something new. In LaprimasWorld.esp there are two choices during this Skooma Addict quest. If one choice was made, the outcome would be what we'd all expect: Sirdasa and Laprima get into a brawl, Laprima wins, and so on.

But.... the other choice got made, and it was actually made by Sirdasa herself (sort of), via an unseen dice-roll by using Skyrim's Persuasion system during the quest. I'm glad it happened this way, just because it's something new (for me). From a writer's perspective, following this second path is more of a challenge.

Anyway, there are probably two more chapters left. And there are a couple more random things which can occur, meaning that even I don't know which final outcome will take place.

Hope this helps!

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 16 2023, 10:19 PM

Ahh, the Lady Donnagh is going to confuse Sirdasa by talking to her. That's probably the last thing the Sird was expecting. I must say, it is rather refreshing to read a story in which the protagonist does not just smite the evildoers like Sirdasa out of hand. I am curious to see where this is going.

It looks like Princess Laprima is having quite the adventure, in that she is having a taste of what life is like for ordinary people. Less than ordinary people. This is actually roughing it.

The Elixir? Now this is interesting. Is that what Laprima stole from the alchemist? Ah ha! It is. We are getting to the bottom of things now.

Posted by: Lopov Apr 18 2023, 09:57 AM

Great story, Renee! I finally managed to catch up on everything. Now I know how you must have felt, when I kept posting my stories and you could only read them, when you had time, so there was always a new one, when you came to the forums.

The story took an unexpected turn and you really put a lot of details into the encounter with Sirdasa and even before, when she took her time to study alchemy. I wonder what's going to happen between the two, but I have a feeling, that Laprima is slightly faciated with Sirdasa.

Looks like, however, that the wildwoman unintentionally revealed her the true scope of Laprima's adventure at Angeline's...

Posted by: Renee Apr 22 2023, 01:46 AM

Clavier-- Yes, there's a lot to keep track of, very true! I've forgotten way more than a "detail or two". More like two dozen at this point. There are also a lot of details I consider adding along the way, but then I try to be considerate of readers and don't want to make these too long. Also: the more details which get added, the more tangents I go on.

But for example there was going to be a whole part when Sirdasa teaches Prima a few things about Sneaking and surviving and so on.

Frostbite ... it really does feel like something is biting. It hurts. ❄

Yes, there's the fact that Laprima's cold, but Sybille also casted a long-term Courage spell on Laprima! This got mentioned 3 chapters ago, but maybe I didn't put as much emphasis on that part. The spell is very low-level. Laprima doesn't even know she's under the wizard's spell, in fact. Sybille was able to cast the spell without incantations or gestures.

But during this next chapter, she begins to suspect something is not right.

Ah: Concerning the rebellion. She's a sheltered girl! - By now (in my gameworld) the Civil War would be well under way. But it affects Laprima's life not at all, other than occasional news. She's got too much drama in her own life!

I was super-nervous about this actually! Wasn't sure how ppl would react.

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

Acadian== Thanks, and yes, I didn't know how that was going to go.

Absolutely, Sirdasa's got some mad skillz. In table-gaming terms it'd be like: Bow, Cooking, Fishing, Knife, Sneak, Silent Movement, Thief, and her Cold Resistance is off the chart.

I think if she and Buffy ever met hopefully it would be in the days before Sirdasa became an addict. In her backstory for instance, she's always been a troublemaker, but at least she's got some skills Buffy could relate too. They'd probably admire each other from afar.

I, myself am actually not sure where it's going. 🕵 There are four possible outcomes the story can end with next weekend.

============

SubRosa-- Exactly. Not a tale of black and white, what we have here is closer to slate-gray. I mean... it still could happen in a black + white way next week, we shall see.

And yes, that's another thing. I've been walking around a nearby park a lot lately, so I'be been getting all these inspiration and ideas about someone who lives off the land, and is in fact almost more of an animal than a person. 🐺 Laprima comes from an entirely different world.

NOW we know what Laprima stole, right? Surprise.

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

Lopov-- How's your life, you've been quite busy! Well I'm glad you've been keeping up with the Donna's story. I've added at least a couple "Lopov" style pictures in your honor.

Glad you like it. I told you I'd be going "all out" with this one. Laprima finally ascended to Level 2 a couple weeks ago. Her upskills so far have consisted of Speech, Alchemy, Lockpicking, and a little bit of One-Handed.

Don't be a stranger, pard'ner!

Posted by: Renee Apr 22 2023, 01:14 PM

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____________

..The Elixir

____________


Sundas, early morning, Sun’s Dusk 7


Laprima returned to Solitude, her stride full of purpose. The morning was cloudy and cold as her boots clicked over cobblestones and pavement. Her finely-tailored Radiant Raiment dress was a bit torn and disarrayed after its night of unkempt suffering in the wilderness. And this got quickly noticed by someone who may be quite familiar by now.

“If you’re headed toward the Blue Palace you might want to--”

“Go stuff yourself, Taarie,” Laprima muttered, leaving the Raiment’s highbrow assistant startled.

By the time she reached the palace it was nearing midday, sun beginning to shine. Sybille Stentor would be asleep; nearly comatose under sheets and blankets. And this was a good thing, because if the wizard had been up and about, Laprima would have no choice but to confront the woman as soon as she laid eyes upon her.

“One measure of concern,” Laprima pondered. “Seems as though I’ve been played for a fool. Like a puppet from a series of strings?”

Such an insight, indeed. Now that the meeting between Laprima and Sirdasa had concluded, a few questions were rising. Such as: it was now obvious to Laprima that Sybille Stentor had persuaded the noble straight into the proverbial lion’s den (so to speak); had she done so with any sort of nefarious intent? - Sybille had also promised to be present during the meeting between the palace’s newest member and the woman of the woods, hiding somewhere nearby just in case things should go wrong. Had this promise been empty? If Sybille had indeed witnessed the encounter, why hadn’t she at least given a sign of her presence?

Most of all, it now seemed peculiar that the seer had wanted Laprima Donnaugh, a cultured noble who had absolutely no experience with direct combat, to thenceforth attempt to eradicate an individual who did.

…But beyond all of these thoughts, there was something else Laprima was intuiting. Something murking about within her thoughts which she could not quite grasp.

“Something about that wizard.”

Had Laprima been guided into danger against her better judgment, of which said judgment had somehow been nudged aside?

“How had she put it? Sometimes there is justice. Sometimes there are just us.”

That was the maxim Sybille Stentor had used. Yet now that the meeting between was over, this set of words seemed almost coached. Almost too fabricated toward…. Something. That final word ‘us’ implied more than one individual, for instance. Yet Laprima, it seemed, had been out there on her own, to meet with someone who could’ve potentially killed her.

Or had she been?

She stepped up the palace’s staircase, and into its court. Blessedly, Elisif was engaged with a couple of visitors at the moment. Laprima nodded to her aunt and graced her with a curtsey, then continued into the conjoined rooms she and the court wizard shared.





“Ah. My dear sweetroll. You have arrived.”

Lady Donnaugh, now in her own quarters, came to a surprised and abrupt halt. “Chamany,” she said, surprised. Just the man she's looking for.

He was wearing an old noble's coat, burgundy in color. His hair was disheveled, and he had some sort of scarf wrapped around his forehead, covering his right eye. “Ah. 'Tis nothing, Laprima," he grinned, pointing at his head. "Just a little rough and tumble.”

"I can see this. Ehm. Are you here now though, now and present? Have we time to take a few moments to speak, dear?"

“Aye. I am done with my …eh… my travels, for now, dove," he said. "Such a pleasant sight, to see you again. Please, come to me.”

Her fiancé smelled of something spicy. Cardamom or petunias, perhaps. He held out his arms. Took a couple of steps toward her. But Laprima stood her ground. Brows knitted. Arms folded.

“That bottle you had me fil–,” she began, before correcting herself. “That bottle you had me fetch.”

“Aye. What of it?” His smile, full of placid Cyrodiilic sunshine, clouded a bit.

“What exactly did it contain? Was it … some sort of elixir?” she asked, brows raised. “Meant to cause a skooma-user’s after-use grievances to come to an end?”

Now this was unexpected. Upon hearing these questions, Chamany Lacroix’s face changed from ‘welcome home, dear’ to plainly suspicious. As though the matter of the substance stolen from Angeline’s Aromatics was not to be known to the lady supposedly destined to become his better half. He folded his arms.

“My love. How can… How is you know what the Angeline’s potion is… is for?”

Laprima Anne Donnaugh, sufferer of a condition which we call ‘bruxism’ within our realm, ground her teeth for the umpteenth time. She became angry, and not just at him. She was also angry at what seemed to be an entire establishment. An establishment designed to cause fiends of this particular new brand of skooma to eventually succumb to sickness, while those who perpetrate the substance’s addictive qualities reap their mad profits.

On the other hand, did it not seem as though the potion; the elixir which she’d been instructed to remove from Angeline’s shop; did it not seem this elixir’s very purpose was to supposedly alleviate the after-effects suffered by users of the drug? Had the very idea of this elixir been an attempt to right any number of wrongs?

She recalled the way Sirdasa laid upon her beach several hours ago. That vibrant, resourceful woman of the woods, reduced to a moaning wreck, barely able to get up from the sand. Laprima then recalled the dozens of crates and barrels she’d watched over, shipped into Skyrim upon The Mongrel two weeks ago, each container full of hundreds of this new variety of skooma. It seemed, therefore, that there could be hundreds (maybe thousands) of Sirdasas at this very moment, suffering across the land.

“It was not Angeline who concocted this potion,” Laprima corrected him. “I know of this. I have learned the elixir was mixed and arranged by your very own clan, for those who writhe the menaces of skooma.”

“Yes but--” Chamany was confused and surprised. He hadn’t expected his raven-haired sweetheart to become any potential kind of sleuth!

“For now, let us cast aside these concerns,” Laprima said, placing her hands upon his. “For it seems as though a set of wrongs has at least been attempted toward a set of rights. And I assume… I hope, actually, that you had me gather this so-called elixir because it’d been previously, improperly prepared, or some such, eh?”

Chamany nodded, slowly. “The … eh... elixir, I need for you to steal it, so could give to my clan associate. And now, he have mixed for better. As the elixir, now does it cure away from skooma.”

“I see.” Sirdasa had been right.

“But how is you know these things?” he asked. It was the very same question she’d annoyed Sybille the seer at least a dozen times!

“I shall explain. Let us firstly see if we can put some of this elixir toward its qualities of supposed remedy. I know of someone who's been downtrodden by this ..." her face scrunched, disapproving, "this ...skooma," she gnashed. "Have we any to spare? Might you find fit to give me some of this elixir so I can assist a woman in need?”

Laprima thought he might refuse this sudden request. To her relief, this was not so.

"Aye, I have one," he said without hesitation. "Who have ... who is sick?" He reached into a pocket and handed her a small glass phial full of clear liquid.

"We must go. Come with me, Chamany. I shall tell you as we walk..."

But, another surprise. For taking time to go visit whomever Laprima had witnessed suffering the drug's effects, this was not part of his plans for the day.

"Oh, no. I am afraid I cannot," he said. "I know of these things, the great sick our skooma calls," he added in a low voice. "But I cannot as be involve with everyone's suffer, as am afraid. You take to this person, if you like. Let me know if she gets her cure well."

To her astonishment he began walking away. "Chamany!" Left Laprima standing on her own.

"I shall be at tavern. Come to visit, when ready, eh?" He swiftly exited the room.


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Posted by: macole Apr 22 2023, 04:34 PM

! What is Chamany up to? Was I too quick to judge and jump to a wrong conclusion? Perhaps so but something still tugs at me not to trust Chamany.

Posted by: Acadian Apr 23 2023, 08:36 PM

Laprima's steaming during her cold walk back to the Blue Palace. Taarie gets a ‘Go stuff yourself,’ but at least Auntie Jarl gets a curtsy. Laprima raises interesting questions about Sybille. Had she been set up and unknowingly been sent out to commit suicide by Skooma Shrew?

And what of that scoundrel of a - Oh, there he is!

‘Sweetroll?!? Sweetroll my frostbit arse!'

‘Since you caught me red handed with my efforts to put a teaspoon of elixir on a raging skooma inferno, I shall deign to give you a bottle to help your friend. Go with you? Oblivion, do I look like an escort? I got skooma sales to make.’

Grrrr! At Chamany. Sirdrasa is looking more and more trustworthy compared to Chamany and Sybille.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 24 2023, 11:51 PM

“Go stuff yourself, Taarie,”
I practically cheered to hear that!

So Laprima is back, and is suspicious of everyone, perhaps with good reason. Chamany has certainly been lying to her and manipulating her. Sybille too? What is the world coming to when you can't trust a vampire wizard?

So Laprima is going to try to get Sirdrasa clean? I am not surprised that Chamany was not willing to go with her. He makes a habit of avoiding being seen, by anyone really. Instead he lurks in the background.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier Apr 28 2023, 03:51 AM

Yeah, sometimes I wish there was an online Wiki for my work so I could make a quick reference to catch all those details. But you seem to be doing pretty well, all things considered.

Sirdasa teaching Laprima how to sneak does sound useful.

Laprima seems a lot more confident. A walk on the wild side can do that (if you come through the other end).

Ha! Poor Taarie. But Laprima clearly has bigger things on her mind. Like exactly what Sybille was planning. These are good questions that Laprima is considering.

Love this description. Cyrodiil matches Chamany quite well; lovely on the outside, but darker the deeper you look.

Laprima's developing a stronger social conscience here. But I don't buy what Chamany's selling. Laprima might not have the whole story, but he's not being honest, either.

Posted by: Renee Apr 28 2023, 06:18 PM

Time for comments and questions. This weekend's chapter will likely be the final story of 2023, unless I remember to include another update on her real-life birthday, October 29.

@macole: What is Chamany up to?

SubRosa guessed this one pretty good. Chammy's in the position of needing to protect himself from fallout. Real-life crime bosses here on Earth (mafia and such) often are household names, not just to cops and the FBI, Interpol and Scotland Yard, but to people like us. We read or watch the news long enough, we're going to learn about these bosses and their clans and families. Gotti, Genovese, Juárez, Menendez, and so on. These folks thrive on fame in a sense. In a lot of cases they enjoy seeing their names in the papers, knowing they're often insulated against capture.

Cham's in the opposite position. He hasn't got as much of a buffer, because all of this is happening really fast. It's a very real possibility that he could get caught somehow. Plenty enough ppl in Solitude know who he is and what he's done, for instance, and skooma's actually illegal in my gameworld (due to a mod, of course). 🍼

I am not going to go on a story tangent this weekend, but Laprima's intuition that there are "hundreds of Sirdasas suffering the after-effects of this new skooma" is accurate.

So Chammy wants to help Laprima, but on the other hand, he can't afford to be seen dealing with the day-to-days of every addict who's in trouble due to his product. And this is for Laprima's benefit, as well. If he gets caught, her name could definitely come up during questioning.

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@Acadian: Laprima raises interesting questions about Sybille. Had she been set up and unknowingly been sent out to commit suicide by Skooma Shrew?

Even I don't fully know the answer to this, yet. But it really does seem so, right? Partially, I think Sybille is a little bit annoyed that she's having to share her conjoined room with this newcomer Donna. Maybe it's as simple as that. Before my gal showed up, Sybille had her own space, after all. We'll have to see, I guess.

As far as Cham's concerned, there were four possible outcomes during that last chapter:

1). Cham gives her the elixir and chooses to go with the Donna
2). Cham gives her the elixir but doesn't go with her
3). Cham doesn't give the elixir, but chooses to go with the Donna
4). Cham doesn't give the elixir, and doesn't choose to go...

If he'd NOT given the the elixir, this would've caused a different outcome in this next chapter. Same goes for if he'd go with her or not. All of those choices influence what's to come. See, this is what happens when I play my first Bioware game!

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@SubRosa: I practically cheered to hear that!

Nice! That retort's for your pleasure.

Exactly. What? I can't trust my vampire wizard roommate who sleeps in the day and seems to have Solitude's Blue Palace court silently wrapped around her fang? How can this be?

So Laprima is going to try to get Sirdrasa clean? I am not surprised that Chamany was not willing to go with her. He makes a habit of avoiding being seen, by anyone really. Instead he lurks in the background.

This. You nailed it.

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@WellTemperedClavier: Yeah, sometimes I wish there was an online Wiki for my work so I could make a quick reference to catch all those details. But you seem to be doing pretty well, all things considered.

Thanks! It has been such a pleasure to have your complex story about the characters of a Mike Judge creation combined with one of my Top 10 favorite games, as well. I hope that WHEN Outlanders comes to whatever end it's coming to that you'll consider writing another story. Or adding something from your past, as well. 🖋

If this story continues into next season (assuming the world doesn't end, etc.) we shall see a much more dynamic Laprima Donnaugh for sure. Her aunt is going to need her, which in a roundabout way, will be Laprima following the events of the Civil War. She'll also probably become involved with one of Bethesda's main faction quests. No, she's not Dragonborn, and I don't want to spoil which faction this is. But it's also rather obvious, if we consider the skillups she's raised during her time in Solitude.

I really hope the world doesn't come to an end...

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@All: The final chapter of Spring 2023 should be up some time later today, or tomorrow morning. I don't know how it'll end. There will be two possible outcomes, actually, since we've ruled out Miss Donna not showing up to Wolf Woman's camp with the elixir. 🌷🌷 🌷

Have some cake.

Posted by: Renee Apr 29 2023, 05:39 PM

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. Blood from her Wrist

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Laprima tailed after Chamany as he pushed through the door. Now inside of Sybille’s room, she grabbed for his sleeve, and plucked his shoulder. Explained to him that the woman who she’d need to go visit lived in rough territory; it was imperative that he come with her, if only for the sake of protection.

“My dear, I am afraid I cannot…” he started.

The argument began and continued, all while the esteemed wizard was a-lay nearby under bedsheets. From Laprima’s point of view, the journey back to Sirdasa was being considered as dangerous. The pair of women had been attacked by a wolf, and then ambushed by a large, spotted cat, which the Woods Woman called a ‘lynx’. Because of this, the noble was hoping not to return to the forest by herself.

From his perspective, there were a bevy of matters going on behind the scenes; things his lover hadn’t been privy to. Someday soon these matters could possibly be revealed, but now was not the time.

“Fine,” Laprima said, simultaneously whispering and shouting. “You wish to not accompany your most-beloved into a potential area of danger, I shall find someone who will!”

“Ah, but why you need help the woman at all?”

"Because she is my friend!" Laprima blurted, causing herself a moment of bewilderment. "She is my new friend, the first I have gained within this wretched town." And now that the words were out, the Heartlander wasn't sure what exactly they meant. Friend? …Sirdasa? …. REALLY?

With curiosity, she waited for any sort of relevant response, concerning recent events. For instance, if Chamany'd heard about Laprima's recent robbery troubles; some wild woman wearing furs had been stalking into town, demanding coin from his love not once, not twice, but three times, would he then put these two factors together? - The woman who'd taken coin from her was also who she was now claiming as a friend?

He did not do so. Chances are he hadn't gathered this latest news, at least this is what Laprima assumed.
“You must … eh… under-stand…such these things can be of danger for me, as well. I cannot just go… my face…” he gestured. “I must keep to within the Solitude walls for some time….”

“Fine. You do just that, Lacroix. You keep yourself within Solitude. And if it comes true that my corpse shall, some hours from now, soon be discovered, half-eaten, lying within shrubs and gra–”

The lump upon Sybille’s bed tossed just then, causing them both to pause and shift gazes. Was the wizard now awake? Had she quietly witnessed any of their hush-spoken words?

Laprima’s eyes reverted, locking with his. Chamany made a gesture, placing three fingers to his lips. Their quarrel, it came to an end, at least for the moment. Miss Donnaugh then stomped a boot softly upon the floor, frustrated. She turned abruptly. Opened her door, stepped back into her room. Once inside, she waited a few seconds for Chamany to join her. But he did not choose to follow.

“Alright, then.” She breathed, trying to calm down. - Did he even listen to what I just stated, about needing to trek into the wilds on my own? - Men, they could be so dense, sometimes. This is what she'd heard countless times from ladyfriends back home; seemed there's some truth to the notion.

Well, one thing for sure: she was going to do this. She was going to return to the forest, with or without him. But she would not do so while wearing the first dress she’d purchased at the clothings shoppe. This dress, which had cost just over a hundred and forty, was now in a state of such disrepair, it would become an object of derision if she were to parade it again through town! - Its hem and skirt were torn and ruffled, in need of serious amendments. A mysterious stain had soaked itself into her left sleeve; probably a bit of the lard Sirdasa had used to fry their dinner the night before. Bringing it back to the Raiment, where the snob sisters, Endarie and Taarie, would scoff and raise their noses at their previously pristine selection of a garment, now ruined, was not going to be enjoyable.

Distracted for a moment, the noble wondered if the Blue Palace had its own darner, or seamstress.

The dress had also proved to be a poor choice against Skyrim’s blustery cold. So Laprima scoured her closets, which by now contained just over a dozen selections. She found the bluish-gray outfit she’d worn to her first day of work. Ugly thing, but at least it would keep her warm.

She changed clothes with haste. After doing so, she checked her purse and pockets for any bits of currency.

“This time, I shall not bring for you more gold.”

Laprima removed any and all coins from her person, placing them into a compartment of her nightstand. She then stalked out of her room, hoping to return to Sirdasa's campsite before the skies turned dark.

Laprima Anne Donnaugh, retracing her steps in the snow. The journey had started blessedly full of sunshine, but flakes began falling from the sky as soon as she set foot outside of the town's gates, as if the Weather Gods knew she was out and about!

She arrived at the camp by mid-afternoon, fortunately without being attacked by animals or monsters. Still, she approached slowly, unsure if the Woman of the Woods would still be here. Or if she’d even be alive.

“Ha hey, look’t who’s back!”

Last time Laprima’d seen her, Sirdasa Noskal had been lying upon the shore, barely able to rouse herself. Well, this had changed. The formerly immobile user of skooma had at some point risen. Though she did not look as vibrant as she had the day before, she appeared to at least no longer be sick. She was in the process of roasting a meal in her large iron skillet as the noble approached.

“Just in time for some greens ‘n’ rabbit haunch,” Sirdasa proclaimed with her usual wolfish grin. “So, where ya been, princess? Whatcha been up to all day?”

Laprima recounted the events of her day. Leaving out the altercation she’d had with her beau, she explained to Sirdasa that she’d managed to obtain an example of elixir, which hopefully would alleviate the woods’ woman’s woes.

“Got some right in my pocket, here. Chamany has informed that the mixture should apply with guaranteed success,” she assured. “Might you find fit to try yourself a dose?”

Sirdasa did not answer at first. For someone who was normally quite the chatterbox, the hunter's silence struck as odd. She chose to avoid Laprima’s eyes as she busied herself preparing their meal. Reached into a small barrel next to her tent. Grabbed a couple of plates made of pewter, motioning for the noble to help herself.

The pair of women then sat on the sand, Laprima silently glad to be wearing something more protective against the elements. They began munching the dinner Sirdasa’d prepared, along with a shared pot of river water, which Sirdasa informed had previously been boiled at some point.

“Have ye any desire to perhaps cure thyself of dilemma?” Laprima tried a few minutes later, finishing her portion of supper. “Cham’s claim is, the potion should certainly remedy one’s craving for skooma. You should at least choose to quaff the dose.” – If only to see if the remedy actually works as promised, she nearly added.

A few more moments of silence. Finally, Sirdasa was chowed her last bite. She tossed her plate absently into a shallow portion of the river, perhaps in an effort to wash it.

“Mm. So here’s what I reckon.”

Laprima waited patiently.

“I reckon that first, you hand over any monies ya got, so I can go an’ git my nightly fix, princess. Afterwards, we c’n talk about me drinkin’ down this elixir…ya know… after I’m rolling around and suffering and such.”

“Ehm, no.”

“Mm. What now? What’d ya just say? No?” The familiar Sirdasa sneer was back.

“I did say no.” Laprima tossed her own plate into the water. “Firstly, because it is rude that you present thyself as a knave, demanding coin of me which has rightfully been earned. Secondly, I have returned to you now in an effort to assist. Not so that you may continue as you’ve been; a notorious, scheming wreck, rather than the ingenious, survivalistic huntress you should be."

And there it was. The fear she had felt before, it returned, hot and raw inside her nerves. She was having this conversation with someone who’d proven herself to be an unpredictable rogue, after all. A virtual scoundrel, wearing tattered selections of fur from the very animals she’d felled. Nevertheless, Laprima continued this new line of thought; not that she had any other choice at the moment.

"I sha’n’t divulge any more coin to you. Cannot do so, in fact. For this time, I have purposely chosen to come to you penniless. So that we can attempt to solve the menace which has savaged thy person, together.”

Laprima waited for a response, unsure if, once again, she was about to have a knife thrust toward her face.

"You haven't ANY gold?" Woods Woman nearly choked, uncomprehending. “Why even come all the ways out here, then?”

"As stated, I have brought for you this cure. This so-called elixir. Chamany has graciously allowed for you a dose, although he could not come personally, himself..." Laprima ground her teeth, her knuckles going white at the thought. "Anyhow. This is for you." She held the clear phial before her. "Will you accept?"

A moment passed.

"Mm. Here's what I reckon," Woods Woman repeated, shifting her frame slowly. Right hand reaching downward, downward toward her scabbard. "I reckon that's one decision you just made for the worst, girlie."

And here it was: Sirdasa's blade, unsheathed and wavering, right before the Heartlander's face.

"What? Sirdasa?... No!"

"Seems I gotta teach yew a lesson, princess. Really don't wanna do this. But maybe this'll be fer the best! Maybe.... after I slices inta ya a few cuts, we's can come to an understandin'!"

Laprima blinked. Realized that a couple of tears, actual tears had welled and fallen from her eyes. "Please, Can we just...!"

But the moment had passed....

"Here we GO!"






... Sirdasa's knife, a cheap iron blade which otherwise had been quite serviceable at downing a wolf, a lynx, and then catching and cutting last night's suppery meal, swung first. ...Laprima, quick on her feet, withdrew from Woods Woman's attack within a fraction! - At the same time she grabbed the wizard's magical daggar from her pocket, and then thrust the weapon on instinct, damaging Sirdasa with a flurry of shock magic!

"...Sirdasa! ... Please!"

"You think you stand a CHANCE?"

Without realizing, Laprima gestured a healing spell, the only magic she'd mastered during youth, within her mind. This spell was now readied upon her left hand, just in case.

"DAMN YOU!!!"

The pair of ladies circled Sirdasa's tent: Laprima moving evasively, Sirdasa carrying the offensive: attempting thrusts and swings and onslaughts. Finally, her knife connected, causing a wound upon the Heartlander's forearm.

"Argh!"

By now, Laprima's mind had begun to focus. This was REAL. This altercation, this brawl, it was really happening. She could see it in her attacker's face. Woods Woman arched her back...... made a grand charge, which Laprima was able to evade.

"You're pathetic!"

This is whom I referred to as a friend?

Laprima danced her way around the tent, gaining some space between them. In reaction, Sirdasa sheathed her knife, and grabbed for her bow. Reached behind her shoulder; fetched for her quiver. Nocked an arrow into place. By now though, the princess had continued her way around the opposite side of the tent; and began using this obstacle to her advantage.

So the woman of the woods began sidestepping around her place of rest, step, clomp, step, clump...
Seeing what was going on, Laprima made sure to keep rotating around the tent, in an effort to avoid her adversary's first shot. She'd just been sliced by a knife, which wasn't her idea of any kind of fun. She had no desire to find out what it felt like to be pierced by an arrow.

...Blood was dripping from her wrist, she suddenly realized, yet she barely could feel her injury. "Sirdasa! We can speak about this!"

Apparently not. Woods Woman ignored the Posh Lady's words. Fired her arrow -- Thunk! -- which impaled itself harmlessly into the furs of her tent. She continued to move away from Laprima, up the slippery hill, perhaps realizing that distance was (at present) in her favor. She could shoot Posh Lady from afar by now, yet Posh Lady would have quite a lot of ground to cover to make a retort of her own.



Suddenly, Sirdasa was gone! She'd withdrawn far enough away that Laprima could no longer see the angry shrew. So Laprima decided to rush up the hillside, nerves on end, sideways like a two-legged crab. Adrenaline rippled within her body while her skin broke out in goosebumps.

Where was her opponent?

"I'm going to enjoy killing yew!"

These word, they surprisingly stung, even more than the wound Laprima had endured upon her wrist. -- An arrow bounced off the ground right beside Lady Donnaugh's feet, causing her to glance upwards. Ever the sportswoman, experienced with combat against plenty of outdoor adversaries, Sirdasa's next move had been to clamber atop a large boulder. The space between them now was too great to collapse, not without massive strides of bravery on her part, at least.

And then it happened. An arrow, it found her. Pierced its way into Laprima's side...

"HARCH!"

... causing her to stumble. The pain was like nothing she'd ever felt, yet she could not (at present) meditate upon it. More missiles followed. Fortunately, Laprima was able to dodge them all while simultaneously stepping her way around the boulder, and up the hill.... An odd thought just then: eventually she's going to run out. ... Run out of arrows, that is. There could only be so many of them packed inside that quiver, after all.

And then for whatever reason, Sirdasa was abruptly circling her way from the large rock, closing the distance between them.

Anger overcame the dilettante from Cyrodiil. Without a thought she badgered the Woods Woman quickly, slashed into her midriff before her foe could change weapons, causing a great burst of bluish energy to sizzle across Sirdasa's skin. Now (surprisingly) Laprima had the advantage. The hunter was too close; the distance garnered which'd allowed her to use her hunting bow a moment ago was no longer in her favor.

"I'll slit yew open like an old woman's purse!"

Lady Donnaugh attacked while Sirdasa switched to her blade. The melee then became a flurry of thrusts and stabs and parries... The tables had turned. Sirdasa, being the more experienced member of this battle, was swiftly in the process of winning!

Lady Donnaugh, the delicately-coiffed Heartlander, niece to perhaps the most powerful woman in all Skyrim. Laprima the noble, who'd previously been a registered citizen of the grandest City in all Cyrodiil, proud new employee of the Winking Skeever, reluctant smuggler of an enormous quantity of skooma into the breaches of Skyrim, found that her lifeforce was failing, crucially low. In an effort to stave herself from death she began aggressively backtracking, sloshing her way through the snow in reverse, desperately casting her healing spell for all it was worth! - Yet this could not last much longer. Her mana, it was also expending too greatly, too quickly!! - It seemed as though there was no way she was going to come out of this alive! as her pursuer continued the advance, step by step, swing by swing!

"By the Gods, please! I am growing weak!"

.... but then....

"I'll let you live... this time."

...a series of words she thought she'd never be lucky enough to hear.

The Heartlander slipped and fell into the snow, shaking with fear, sure that her demise was about to befall. But to her amazement, Sirdasa Noskal sheathed her weapon. Was calmly walking away. As though she'd simply grown bored and lost interest!

"Suh--Sirdasa?"

"Make it quick," the Woman of the Woods growled impatiently, eyeing the princess. As though the events of the past half-hour or so hadn't just occurred.

Somewhere in the distance, a hammer was pounding what sounded to be a blacksmith's anvil, perhaps. Laprima Donnaugh, heart still racing, anxiety still surging, placed the wizard's blade into a pocket of the hideous outfit she'd chosen to wear, hoping for something which would keep her warm without realizing that comfort would soon become the least of her worries.

She raised her left hand again, tentatively. Healed the rest of her wounds, all the while keeping an eye upon her unpredictable acquaintance.

"Suh... so... we haven't any more qualms about. A-about y-you taking this elixir?" Laprima reached into her purse. Grabbed the magical mixture. Offered it with a shaking hand.

Woods Woman considered this for a few daunting moments, before thankfully making a positive choice. "Gimme that!" she snatched. "Mmm," she murmured, gulping the potion down. "Goodness. My ... goodness." she said, righting her shoulders, blinking her eyes.

Indeed, it seemed as though a change had come over Sirdasa Noskal; Laprima could see this plainly and clearly.

And it was at this very moment when what seemed to be a small miracle occured: a figure, a man, came rushing towards them up the hillside.

"Laprima! ... Laprima! .... I have come for you!"

Chamany Lacroix, wearing that same odd scarf around his head, clambered his way toward them.

"I have made, mistake, a one BIG mistake, my dear," he said, out of breath. "I have come, and now can protect from you the dangers of the forest!"

"Pfft. Seems you're a little late for that," Sirdasa scoffed.

"Aye," Laprima agreed. "As I believe we have already come to an understanding. Have we not, Sirdasa?"

"Seems that way."

"Eh, think I know you," Chamany said awkwardly to Sirdasa Noskal.

"Mm, likewise. Seems you're the one that started this whole skooma-sucking mess!"

The sky was beginning to darken. As the cold air swept and snaked around the three of them, Laprima shivered. Pointed and gestured back toward camp. Maybe it was best if they all gathered around the Woods Woman's fire.

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https://i.imgur.com/YopiaOS.jpg(Wow. I really did not expect this...it was not part of the script. If the fight began she was supposed to continue until death!)

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https://i.imgur.com/Ngj6cHR.jpg 🏆
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Posted by: SubRosa Apr 30 2023, 01:39 AM

And Chamany continues to be as useless as an air conditioner in the arctic. This guy has an aversion to doing anything himself.

So now presentable, and without gold, it is off to Sirdasa's place. On her own. But will Sirdasa even want the elixir?

As I have been expecting, Sirdasa prefers steel to elixirs. This does not look good for Prima...

And now Chamany shows up when it is too late to matter. Prima really needs to dump this loser.

So Sirdasa just stopped fighting in the game? That is weird.

So I guess that means this season of the Laprima Show has drawn to a close. It was a neat look into the life of an ordinary person in Skyrim.

Posted by: Renee Apr 30 2023, 05:10 AM

Thanks, dear Rosa, you're the best.

Posted by: Acadian Apr 30 2023, 08:35 PM

Very brave of Laprima to venture back into the freezing forest to aid Sirdasa. And no help from Chamany of course.

Wow, pretty ungracious of Sirdrasa when it’s so obvious Laprima is trying to help. Methinks Laprima needs to rethink her list of potential friends. . . .

Well, it seems like all turned out okay. This time.

Oh, and Laprima? You need to learn a ranged shock spell so you can send lightning bolts after archers.

Posted by: WellTemperedClavier May 1 2023, 03:46 AM

I'm glad you enjoy my stuff! It was a lot of fun to write.

We'll most likely get to the end of Outlanders in October of this year. Exactly when it ends depends a bit on how the epilogue is parsed out (it has far more chapters than most episodes, though those chapters are typically much shorter). Beyond that, I do have a companion piece to Outlanders that I recently wrote. It's much shorter. There's also a brief Fallout-Daria crossover.

Starting the story...

Huh, so in a way it almost seems like Laprima's experiences have toughened her up beyond Chamany. Going out to see a wild woman no longer seems so scary, but Chamany's quite reluctant.

Interesting development! Laprima feels kinship with Sirdasa. Maybe it feels more genuine than some of her friendships within the castle.

Definitely don't see Laprima sticking with Chamany that much longer.

Hm, I'm sure the court of the Blue Palace would have connections with all the local reputable tailors.

So she's going to help Sirdasa, which is good... but I hope it doesn't end up with Laprima becoming an enabler.

Aw, how touching. They're actually having a friendly chat.

Sadly, it quickly turns into Sirdasa focusing on her fix. But at least Laprima's standing her ground here! Sadly, it doesn't bode well for their friendship, at least not in the short-term.

Ah, good thinking to not come with money!

Oh, dang. Now it's escalating. So much for friendship.

A lot happened here! The fight was suitably chaotic. Makes sense that Laprima would go into survival mode; sharp though she is, she's far from a seasoned combatant.

And now... Sirdasa suddenly changes her mind? What brought this about, I wonder. Maybe the elixir will do its thing, but she seemed dead-set against it a little while ago. And at least Chamany finally showed up! Quite a note to go out on, I'm wondering how this all fits together!

Posted by: macole May 1 2023, 06:30 AM

That was some ending. Truly unexpected but I can see the wild woman suddenly doing an about face.

Exhausted from by fighting, running out of arrows, frustration setting in as the quarry persists despites all her efforts Sirdasa lashes out thinking that she can drink the drink and deal with Posh Lady on the morrow.

If Laprima is reluctant to use physical force may I suggest learning a spell of assistance? I mean, the Sisters of Insanity are always ready for a good fight.

Perhaps we’ll see how Sirdasa does after a period of time.

Posted by: Renee Oct 17 2023, 06:45 PM

Wanted to add this before I forget to do so...

https://www.yelp.com/map/la-prima-donna-beauty-salon-columbia. Unfortunately the place is now closed, and therefore I couldn't get an actual picture. But it's a salon local to me, went there a couple times in the past to get properly beautified. It's the inspiration for Laprima Donnaugh's name! 🍀

Posted by: Acadian Oct 17 2023, 07:45 PM

Cool!

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 17 2023, 07:59 PM

That is cool!

Posted by: Renee Jan 6 2024, 01:50 PM

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.I Don’t Dream About Anyone

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The life of Laprima Anne Donnaugh had taken an impressive turn. She had thoroughly escaped the Darkness, her mind and her spirit no longer tense with latent worry. Though it'd be presumptuous to say she moved 'into the light', certainly it seemed her troubles were over; as of late she'd been enjoying more conventional routines. She had been trapped for years within the depths of a virtual Daedric realm, but now she was immersed in the normalcy anyone her age should have the comfort to delight.

Laprima escaped the Darkness, and thought she had escaped the muddle. But little could she know the events and the things to come.

Let us gander...



Fredas, 12 Sun's Dusk, Fourth Era, Year 201


“... Were it not for thine fate, and the fate concerning the gatherings of noteworthy parishioners, that she be placed upon this spell…. Ach, damned to pieces! Said that last bit incorrectly.”

Laprima raised her arms into the air. Dropped the booklet she'd been holding to the tiled floor of her bedroom. Sighed.

“Give this a rest, why don’cha?” Chamany groaned. “Seems, eh. Well. It seems you have been at this words for many hours, mon amour. And the hour, it is late." He made a gesture with his hands. "Just come yourself to make lie beside me, eh?”

But she was not ready to give up, not just yet. - “No! I must continue my practicing!” she muttered fiercely.

Today she was wearing a new dress made of silk, which had been brilliantly sewn and stitched in colors of white and gold. She scrunched her face while reaching to grab the booklet she'd dropped from the floor. “Almost got it, Cham. Almost!” She grinned like a loon for just a second. Because she had no idea of how maddening her newest venture would turn out. “How bloomin' without hope can this be?”

Chamany LaCroix sighed. “Well. I guess you must then continue.”

“I shall do so. And I apologize,” Laprima said. “But you must know by now that I can be quite stubborn, when the passion strikes.”

Chamany nodded. “This, you can be, which is why you are..." Another gesture. "Mon amour. For I could accept not a woman, with not her own mind.”

“Perhaps you should head off to the pub for an hour or so," Laprima suggested. "Mmm, make it two. Pretty sure I can nail my delivery by then." She looked away from him and found the page she'd last been reading from. "On your return you'll find me much more pleasant. ... Now. Where did I stay?”

Laprima struck a pose, as though seriously in contemplation, while Chamany watched.

In her left hand she held the booklet (though she was trying her darndest not to rely the words written upon it) while her right lifted slightly to the ceiling. At this moment it was as though she'd transformed, become almost statuesque. The woman was a natural. Chamany blinked. Thought for a moment of how lucky he was, that this was going to be his future wife.

”Were it not for thine fate, and the fate concerning the gatherings of noteworthy parishioners, that she be placed upon this… stand….” she corrected her previous mistake with a pause. “That ye and yer own shalt meet amongst this throne, and gather our wits, while parlaying not alone…”

“Aye. Seems for this time, we have done the words right!” her lover interrupted, clapping his hands.

“Chamany, please! ... The pub?”

“Fine. I shall be off, then.” And he was. He hauled himself out of their shared bed, stepping with a smile out of the room. "Any excuse to enjoy myself a pint, mon petit pain sucré."

Magnificent. Though she loved her lover truly, she had to admit there were times when blessings of solitude could be harbored to the utmost. Such times, they could truly be golden. Or in this case, they could be more productive.

"Where was I?"

During the previous few days of the second week of Sun’s Dusk, after convincing Sirdasa Noskal to cure herself of skooma addiction, Laprima had continued work at the Winking Skeever as though nothing untoward had happened. As though she hadn’t nearly been killed by a fur-wearing, raving-mad lunatic out in the middle of nowhere, while merely trying to help the shrew. No, Laprima remained busy. Modern life was sink or swim, modern life was do or die.

On Middas the Tenth, Laprima decided to revisit the Bard’s College. She’d taken the day off from serving, eager to learn a lesson or two from whomever was free to teach on this day. And that’s how she learned about The Headmaster's Trial, the college's newest play, which would be presented in a month. According to the handout she'd been given, getting involved with The Headmaster's Trial was easy. Giraud Gemane, the play's director, was welcoming 'actors and actresses of varying degrees', novices included. The playwright himself had said so.

But still, if she was actually going to do this, if the raven-haired Heartlander from the Imperial City was actually going to stand before the citizens of Solitude, acting and portraying before her proud Aunt Elisif for sure, along with so many others who'd become everyday faces in her life, she wanted to be good at this. As good and proficient as she could be.

“My. Aren’t ye the fettered one!” Laprima said, allowing herself a glance at the latest page. Because glancing at whatever latest page was okay, as long as the words which’d been written were supposed to be spoken by some other actor. “Locked within a patois of unbecoming, so concerned our heavenly Gods might loathe to concur. Dream amongst thyself, woman.”

“I do not dream about anyone!" Laprima's voice rose, as she imagined the group of dark-robed parishioners before her. "Except to concern myself. Now... might we gather ‘bout the spell… Ach! SPELL??? No, it is STAND, you nitwit. Laprima!" -- She mussed her hair. "Stand, NOT spell!!! Damned to Oblivion!”

She raised her arms once again. Dropped the script to the tiled floor of her bedroom a second time, gnashing her teeth!

“Just twelve lines you’ve got!” she scolded into her now-empty room. “Just twelve! You’d think she’d drive this nail into the coffin already!" Laprima said, referring to herself from afar. "Urrgh!" She then lowered her voice, eyes closed, pondering. "Acting is much more laborious than first considered.”

Still, she ploughed on. As she bent to reach and gather the booklet (again) from the floor, she wondered if she'd ever be any good at her newfound ideal: to become a noteworthy actor. Never mind the fact that she'd literally just begun learning the craft, for some reason she could not entirely see that she was pushing herself a little too hard. Perhaps it was due to the fact that getting involved with the Bard's College had originally been her aunt's idea, aunt Elisif, that is. Perhaps there was some kind of unseen mental block which was causing Laprima to not attain as-quick success, for she'd been practicing her lines for hours.

Another factor, almost a complication at this point: by now the secret was out.

Over the past few days, someone within the college had discovered her true identity; discovered she was not just some random lass with a Heartlander's accent, who'd strolled in two weeks ago on a whim. No, the dark-haired Laprima was in fact a direct relative of Solitude's jarl, she was Lady Elisif's first niece, in fact. When Headmaster Viarmo learned of this, he'd initially tried to persuade Laprima to go for the part of 'Emilia', the play's female lead, who would be opposite the role of 'Pablo', the play's main protagonist, its male lead. But Laprima was immediately bothered by this for two reasons: 1). 'Emilia' had already been granted to another actress, a young woman from Hammerfell who'd been studying at the college for close to a year, and 2). Lady Donnaugh hadn't done anything close to this for nearly a decade. She'd been onstage before, true, but not since she was a child.

"No, you misunderstand," Viarmo had argued. "I am confident, that she can do this. Just imagine the draw at the door, Giraud. Firstly, we both love her accent!"

Giraud Gemane nodded. "That we do."

"Is the way she orates not just as charming as a bell? Also: the aunt's very own niece, in our very own production. We'll easily make twice the coin!" he danced a little jig, profit in his eyes. "We'll be able to milk Headmaster's Trial for months after word gets out, well beyond Saturalia, for sure. People will journey into town from Whiterun, from Markath, just to view our latest diorama!"

"Milk, eh?"

In the end though, he'd relented. Giraud Gemane, the college's Dean of History, was able to convince Viarmo that aye, perhaps some day, Laprima might be able to handle such a lofty role. But for now, she'd be better as support. The noble herself had admitted she had virtually no experience at such things. Understood, sire?

Headmaster Viarmo did understand, reluctantly so. For Laprima, this was a small blessing, not just because she now had something fun and challenging to look forward to, but also, the headmaster finally gave up his ridiculous pursuit: he was no longer trying to send her off to some faraway cave, so she could retrieve the set of verses lost from the college. Especially now that he knew who she was. The task had now gone to someone else; a man with a silly name; 'Lord Havemercy', or some such. The man, an experienced paladin and adventuring type, had joined the Bard's College about a week ago, hoping to learn how to better deal with some of the adversaries he met on the road, but with words rather than weapons. He promised he'd get the ode back. Lady Donnaugh, she'd serve this 'Have Mercy' a drink at the Skeever for free, should he be lucky to stroll into her 'day job' soon enough.

As for Laprima herself, she tried and she tried. After some time, finally she got the drama right, not knowing that her own life was about to also become its own set of dramas.


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