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> The Gweden report, A story of the story of the stories.
ghastley
post Jan 18 2012, 02:50 AM
Post #21


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Our reporter needs a rest. However, he may not get much.

---

Juliana Galena

Tsarrina decided that it was getting a bit late for more interviews, and the reporter should have a quick tour of the place before he turned in for the night.

First, she took him across the yard to the main Lodge, so he could pick up a snack in the dining room and meet some of the customers. They were all busily engaged chatting with the women, so he just took an apple from the table, and followed Tsarrina into the next room and up the stairs.

The upper floor was one big dormitory, where the women could sleep, eat a quiet meal and generally relax between clients. Each of them had a well-appointed bed, and a chest for her personal possessions. Few of them were locked, and Tsariina showed him a few of the momentos they kept.

Prizna's held a solitary Daedra Heart. Was it Kothet's? Virgilia's held that skimpy armor she'd told hiim about.

Tsarrina's own room was on the same floor, with a double bed in it. But they were just looking right now, and she quickly closed the door, and took him back downstairs. Nobody was using the bed in the main room, but a lot of negotiating was in progress. A Bosmer girl was dancing in one corner, and attracting quite a lot of attention. She might have just taken something off, as there were approving sounds coming from the crowd. He wished he could see better.

They left the women to their haggling and went back over to the farmhouse.

"This is the original building this one bought when she came to Anvil," Tsarrina told him. "At first there was just one level of basement, with three beds. That was quickly filled, even with Maeva sleeping at her own farm, and the boss had a second level dug out beneath it."

They'd gone down to the first level while she was telling him that. It was just a single room with the beds around the walls, and a few tables and chairs around. The beds weren't as plush as the ones in the newer building, but they looked comfortable enough. Each had its private chest, and there was maybe a little more space for each of them over here. Tsarrina told him that many of the women preferred the coziness of the old place, even if the new one was a bit better furnished.

The lower level was just a little larger, with four beds in one room and a big stone bathtub in another. The tub looked large enough for two. There was a chest against the opposite wall to keep clothes dry in case there was any water splashed around. The damp floor suggested that happened a lot. There was a drain in the corner, and several buckets of water, some with steam rising from them. A table with some candles, and some bars of soap, one of which had a rather suggestive shape.

Tsarrina led him back upstairs, where he found a very pretty Breton woman sitting on his bed waiting for him. Tsarrina introduced her as Juliana Galena, and then left them alone together. Juliana wasn't wearing much, just a thin wisp of lace blurring her details, and some ribbon to keep it in place.

Juliana waits

"I'm pleased to meet you," she said brightly. Then a huge grin broke out on her face. "And I can see you're pleased to see me."

He tried to explain to her about professional detachment. How he wanted to keep himself out of the story he was writing, and not form any personal opinions.

"Looks to me like it's not working," she giggled, pointing.

Juliana then showed him her idea of detachment, detaching all his clothes, and hers. "It's the same for us," she told him. "Most of the men who come here need to pay for it, because they're not likely to get it for free. We have to put our opinions aside and act like professionals, too.

"So when we get someone like you coming here, it's a welcome change. We can forget the business side, and have fun. Why don't you just do the same?"

He had to agree that she was making a compelling argument. And there was no way he could put this in his article for the courier anyway!

---

---

If you want to learn to swim in a hurry, dive in where it's deepest.

He had second thoughts about those words as soon as he wrote them. It was an accurate description of his experiences the previous evening, but perhaps in more ways than he'd intended.

This morning was full of double-entendres . He'd said he felt like a new man. "I want one, too," she'd said before pouncing on him.

He liked Juliana. Apparently it was her special task to start things off with a new customer, or something like that. And he was a customer, even if he wasn't handing over any gold. They were getting repaid with a favorable story in the Black Horse Courier. An honest one, he reminded himself, these girls really were that good, at least Juliana was.

He'd leave last night out of the story, he decided. The girls' own tales were interesting enough and nobody needed to know about him.

But back to Juliana. She was on top of him now, and if she didn't quit doing that, he'd never get any reporting done. He reached over for his notebook, and announced that if she was going to do her work, he'd do his too. She didn't exactly stop, but she slowed down enough that he could write legibly. He crossed out that first line and started again, just writing down what she told him in her story of the Champion of Cyrodiil.

I was working Chorrol at the time, dividing my time between the Grey Mare and the Oak and Crosier. Most nights, if I didn't have a customer, I'd sleep at the Grey Mare.

I'd eat my meals at the other place, just because I like the spicy dishes Talasma serves. They remind me of the food in the south, where my sister and I come from. Luciana didn't get any further North than Bravil, and works in a tavern there, behind the bar. She's probably doing other work, too. A bar's a good place to do business.

One evening, while I'm eating in the Oak and Crosier, Modryn Oreyn comes over to me. I'm a bit surprised, because he's not the type that needs to pay for it. But it's not for himself, it's a new recruit to the Fighter's Guild. Now that makes sense, because I do have a reputation for being good with the first-timers.

This new recruit turns out to be Viranus Donton, the younger son of the Guildmaster, and Oreyn's trying to "make a man of him". He thinks a session with me will make a difference. Well, he was right about that, but it wasn't quite the difference he had in mind.

For a start, Viranus turns up at my room with another young man. He and Edouard are both ambidextrous, or whatever the term is, and I'm getting double-duty tonight. I don't think I showed them anything they hadn't already tried, but I learned a few new tricks from them!

I wasn't complaining. Not only was that more fun than I'd had in months, I got paid triple! Each of them paid me and I got another payment from Oreyn afterwards.

Well, it wasn't all good news. Just after that, I noticed an itchy rash down there. No idea when I picked it up, but there was a good chance Viranus and Edouard had it too. I decided discreet was the watchword, so I didn't take it to the chapel healer. I got a recipe from a book and made up a cure myself.

I wanted to let Viranus have some of the potion, but I couldn't get near him. His mother keeps him in the house most of the time, except when they're both over at the Fighters Guild. I needed someone else to act as a middle-man.

By the time I found someone, the potions had gone off, and I needed to make up another batch. I didn't have any more of the ingredients, either. Dreugh Wax and Ogre's Teeth aren't easy to get, unless you're Fighters Guild, maybe, and I couldn't ask them for obvious reasons. Aloe Vera's plentiful in the South, but there wasn't any left for sale in Chorrol.

Well, you can guess who agreed to help me. We're in his establishment now. He was a Fighters Guild member himself, and had all the access he needed to Viranus. Plus, he was travelling south on a contract, so he could look out for the ingredients. How's that for convenient!

It was a while before he came back with the bad news. He had all the ingredients for me. He'd killed the Ogres and Land Dreugh himself. But there wasn't any point in making up the potion, because he'd found Viranus and Edouard dead in Forsaken Mine.

It wasn't the Itchy Pox that took them, either. They'd been killed by Trolls, or possibly by the Blackwood Company, who'd interfered in their contract. His next job was to find out which it was.

I was devastated. Those two fine young men dead! I couldn't stay in Chorrol now. There was too much there to remind me of those two boys. So at his suggestion, I came down here to Gweden.

I love it here! No itchy pox, and such nice customers! Especially you.


He put his pen down and asked her "Off the record, can you show me some of those new tricks you mentioned earlier?"

"Only if you've got two" she giggled.

He opened a drawer beside the bed and took something from it "We can improvise."

-----------

In the game, there are two ways the player can complete the quest to recruit Juliana. One is to give her the ingredients, wait a day for her to brew it, and then deliver it it Viranus. The other is the one she tells here, if he's died in Forsaken Mine. This one makes more sense of why she'd join.


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Acadian
post Jan 18 2012, 03:49 AM
Post #22


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I wondered right up until you announced it whether Juliana was Luciana’s sister and sure enough, she is! And she even looks like it in the screenshot.

You did fine justice to the game’s treatment of Luciana, Viranus and Edouard here.


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Grits
post Jan 18 2012, 11:27 PM
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Ambidextrous! biggrin.gif

Nice to hear about Viranus and Edouard having some fun together. Finding his journal always makes me sad.

I like Juliana. She has a positive attitude.


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ghastley
post Jan 24 2012, 02:07 AM
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Acadian: A few references to the vanilla game tied in to this one, too, and I took the opportunity of linking in to my Bear Riders, too.

Grits: More Fighter's Guild, (and more senselessness) in this episode.

----

Darwen

"Darwen!" Tsarrina called down to the basement, "Put some clothes on and come talk to the reporter, will you?"

"Is Darwen the Bosmer girl I saw dancing last night?" asked the man from the Black Horse Courier.

"Quite likely" replied Tsarrina. "She does like to dance".

Darwen entered the room like she was walking out onto a stage. She had a dancer's slender figure, with small, high breasts. Her subtle curves were like a sneak attack on your sub-conscious. So when she moved, it was hard not to watch her.

She sat still, so the reporter could concentrate on writing.

Dancing is fun, sex is fun. When I think of work, I think of hunting.

Everyone hunts deer for food, but the only quarry worthy of a true hunter is a bear. I'd hunted bears all through Colovia and the West Weald, selling their pelts, and sometimes fangs .

But then someone told me there were bears in Skyrim that were white like the snow, and I'd never seen one of those. I took a trip up there to see for myself. I did see a white bear, but there was a rider on its back! She told me that in that part of the mountains, it was illegal to hunt the white bears, as they were much too valuable as mounts. Nothing comes close to a sure-footed snow bear for riding in the icy mountains!

So no hunting for me. I traveled back South again, looking for black or brown bears, and I found Bruma. I made that city my base for while. I hunted in the mountains all week, and returned to town to sell the pelts at Nord Winds on the weekend. To start with, I stayed at the Jerall View Inn, but it was a bit expensive for my simple tastes, and a bit dull, too.

So I tried Olav's Tap and Tack. which had a much livelier crowd. Before long, I felt really at home there and started to relax and enjoy the company. My problems started when a travelling minstrel dropped in and started to play his lute. I can't just listen to music, I have to dance!

Well, all the men wanted to dance with me, so they were buying me drinks. More drinks than I'd have bought for myself. I don't remember much about what happened after that, but when I woke up the following morning, my head hurt, and I wasn't in my room at Olav's. I'm not sure whose house it was, because he'd already gone off to chapel and left me sleeping.

I put on my clothes and checked my purse, in case I'd been robbed. There was more gold in it than I expected to find! So I thought this would be a good time to pay Olav some advance rent on my room, before I wasted it.

Olav took the gold, but he wanted more. He said things had got broken while I was dancing the night before, and I had to pay for the damage I'd caused. Since I couldn't remember most of the previous night, I couldn't argue.

Most of the gold I got for the bear pelts the following week went to pay for those damages. But I had enough left to rent the room for the weekend, and have a meal and a couple of drinks by the fireside. Olav brought me a new drink to try, a mulled ale full of spices that was really tasty! He told me that one of his other customers had bought it for me.

I was just starting to notice how strong the mulled ale was, when the singing and dancing started up again. A few more of the women had joined in tonight, so I wasn't the only one dancing with the men. Olav had banked up the fire, so with all that exercise, it was getting quite warm in the barroom. Skjorta had her blouse unlaced, and pretty soon I'd taken off my fur armor, and was dancing in my underwear. Nobody seemed to mind, and we all kept dancing and singing until I passed out again.

Same deal as the last time. I wake up with a hangover in a strange bed, wishing I'd been awake for the best part. Olav wants the damages paid for again, says he's already got Skjorta's share, and mine's just a bit more than I have in my purse. I went and asked Skjorta about it, but she didn't remember any more than I could. At least it was her husband Olfand that took her home, or she'd have a worse problem than me!.

The next weekend I'm a bit more careful. I buy my own drinks and try and stay in my chair when the dancing starts. It doesn't work. I can't watch other people dance and not join in. I don't notice that my tankard never gets empty, or that the contents are getting stronger. This time I wake up in my room, but I'm completely naked, and my clothes are down in the bar on the floor. My tankard's still on the table, half-full of brandy, just like I must have been. Once again, I've been paid for the fun I presumably shared, but it's not enough to pay off Olav, so I'm still in debt.

I asked Skjorta if she'd help me by watching my tankard, but she's just not reliable. The following week she passed out before I did, and the inevitable repeated itself.

You're probably wondering why I kept returning to the Tap and Tack. Partly that was because I was in debt to Olav, and I wasn't going to leave town until he was paid off. But I also wanted to find out who was spiking my drinks. I wanted to tell him he didn't have to do that, and I was much better sober!

Then one Sundas, a stranger came into the chapel where I'd gone to nurse my usual hangover. He'd watched me dancing in Olav's bar, getting totally naked, and passing out on the floor. He'd talked to Olav while I danced. Olav spilled the whole story to him. I'd never broken anything; that was just a ruse to keep me coming back and dancing for him. Olav had been the one adding to my drinks, and he'd made even more gold pimping me to the men once I got legless enough. If my head hadn't been pounding, I'd have gone and killed Olav there and then - as slowly as possible.

The man had a better idea. He told me about Gweden Farm, and suggested I move down here. I didn't really owe Olav anything, and the bear hunting was just as good on the Gold Coast as anywhere else.

But the thing that really swayed my decision was the prospect of a warm bath. That was something you don't get too often up in Bruma. Tsarrina has a tub in the lower basement, and for a few gold pieces you can share it with one of the girls. I was down there when Tsarrina called. That's my second favorite "special duty", after dancing, of course.

I still take a bit of time off to go bear hunting once in a while. Tsarrina's always worried when I do that, but it's not dangerous if you have a good bow. And it's because I know my bears that I got involved with the pirates down in Leyawiin. The boss is also the Master of the Fighter's Guild, and they had a contract to stop arms shipments to the Black Bow bandits. He went down there himself to investigate, and came across a white bear pelt.

He brought it here and showed it to me. I'd seen the white bears in Skyrim, and I knew any white pelt had to be contraband. I'm a good tracker, if I say so myself, and I persuaded the boss to take me to where he found the pelt. We followed the trail of the smugglers, from a small dock on the Topal Bay, to a cave near Leyawiin that he knew was a bandit lair.

That confirmed the bandit connection, but we needed to tie the pelt to its source. He told me he'd found it in a rowboat. That was likely to have come from the Damsel, a ship in the docks that he'd been watching, but he had no proof. We asked around in town, and discovered that he hadn't found the only white pelt. Someone had just sold another to Gundalas. He didn't know the strange Khajiit, but the beggars did. She was the captain of the Damsel!

That was the piece of the puzzle we'd been missing, so we went on board to investigate. The boss was expecting to find an Argonian named Wave-Walker in charge of the vessel, as he was the one that told him about the rowboat. He was a member of the Blackwood Company, and he'd been hired to guard the ship, while the crew was away. But we couldn't find him, and the doors and hatches were all locked tight.

Except for one. There was a balcony door on the outside of the captain's cabin, They'd either forgotten about that one, or didn't think we could reach it, We went over the stern railing and entered the ship that way. The captain attacked us immediately, and we had to fight more of her crew on the decks below.

Wave-Walker was locked in a cabin on the lower deck. We also found the bodies of two Argonians in the hold, who'd obviously been tortured to death. Apparently the pirates had been working for both sides. They'd been smuggling weapons in for the bandits, and bodies out for the Count, probably dumping them at sea.

The boss had an idea. The Blackwood Company was struggling to reform itself as a proper hired security outfit. He'd killed off the previous leaders himself, when he destroyed the Hist tree they'd been using. The new head, Jee-Tah, was trying to run things honestly, but they had a bad reputation to dispel. The Fighters Guild was getting all the contracts, once again.

The idea was to turn the Blackwood Company into a naval patrol, hunting for pirates and smugglers. They had a number of good sailors in their ranks, and now the Damsel was available. They didn't really need a contact for the work, they could make enough income from any contraband thay confiscated. Now he'd found those dead Argonians, he had some leverage if the Count objected, too.

The Blackwood Company would no longer be in competion with the Fighters Guild this way. They'd handle anything off-shore, and leave the land jobs to the Guild.

Jee-tah liked the idea. Wave-Walker could captain the ship, and he'd run things back at base. Handle the financial side and record-keeping. The boss suspected he got sea-sick, but he didn't say anything.

Wave-Walker brought me back to Anvil in the Damsel. I wanted to bring him and his crew here to meet the rest of my team, but he was eager to go back and start patroling the Topal Bay.

Now I come to think of it, I'd bet he thought I was in the Fighters Guild, like the boss. Silly Argonian!






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mALX
post Jan 24 2012, 02:20 AM
Post #25


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GAAAAH !! You've got a thread that I didn't notice - will read and catch up - and sorry about that.


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Acadian
post Jan 24 2012, 02:34 AM
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Nice tie in to the white bears and it was clever the way our hero resolved the Blackwood/Fighters Guild competition in Leyawiin. smile.gif

Darwen was fun!


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Grits
post Jan 26 2012, 11:02 AM
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Whew, I’m glad that Darwen is now getting senseless in the correct order. I like how the bears and Blackwood Company tie in to Darwen’s story. How funny that Wave-Walker thought he was going to meet a bunch of bear hunting fighters at Gweden.


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mALX
post Jan 30 2012, 05:58 PM
Post #28


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*

First off, this concept is Awesome & fun, but I expected that already coming from you.

QUOTE

One sip told him it was Tamika's. He liked these people already.


Love that line !!!


QUOTE

"Would I lie?" he countered. "To you, I mean."


ROFL !! Coming from Maiq - lost some coffee on my monitor over that line !!

Tsarrina's segment is my fave so far, this one had me rolling !!! The Legion is the first customer - yes, I absolutely picture that happening !! - Add to that word of her place spread without her ever putting foot in town and the Legion bringing supplies for discounts - again, Yes - You always manage to hide obscure realisms into your plots, Love that !!


Maeva - great candidate, ROFL !!

QUOTE

Prizna got up again and took the other chair, but not before rubbing herself against him a few times.


SPEW !!! ROFL !! I could picture this whole scene, but that line had me rolling !! As did the below quote :

QUOTE

"This is very good. I think he deserves a reward, don't you, Tsarrina?"


QUOTE

humped him senseless ... He was lucky it was me and not Mazoga


SPEW !! As always, your unique humor and wording is going to cost me a new keyboard, ROFL !!
And again, below :

QUOTE

"Looks to me like it's not working," she giggled, pointing.

Juliana then showed him her idea of detachment, detaching all his clothes, and hers.

...He'd leave last night out of the story, he decided

...Itchy Pox


Ooh, your ridable bears join the brothel?

Love this, as I do all your mods - and Great Write (as always) !!!


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ghastley
post Jan 31 2012, 01:05 AM
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@Acadian and Grits: More tie-ins in the next episode, mainly to a certain Alchemist in Skingrad. No bears were harmed in the making of this episode.

@mALX: Glad you've caught up.

----

Silanu Hlaalu

"Silanu is a special feature of Gweden" Tsarrina stated proudly. "Not only does she have the largest breasts in all Cyrodiil, but she's the strictest mistress of discipline you'll meet anywhere."

The reporter from the Black Horse Courier was inclined to think that her outfit was one of the wonders of the world, too. It seemed incredible that such thin leather straps could support what they did.

Silanu laughed. "If it's hard to believe, then it's usually magic. A lot of women are using Illusion magic to just make theirs look bigger, but I have a different story to tell."

---

When I was young, I was jealous of my older sister Falanu. She was getting all the attention from the boys, because her breasts had grown and mine hadn't started.

Do you know my sister? She's an alchemist, and she runs the All Things Alchemical shop in Skingrad. You do? Then you know she's a well-proportioned woman and I had a lot of catching up to do.

It didn't help that she was also a "wild child" in her youth, and way more active than most of her peers, if you know what I mean. I saw how much fun she was having, and I wanted my share. Well, I really wanted more than my share, like my sister was getting, but you get the point.

This was all when we were still living in Morrowind. Dunmer society is quite accepting of its young women playing the field before they're ready to settle down, and Falanu got invited to all the best orgies. I got left at home, because I wasn't big enough for that yet.

I was convinced that "big enough" was a reference to my breasts, not my maturity, so I was determined to do something about it, or them. I persuaded a mage I knew into casting a spell to make them grow. I should have just had her cast an Illusion spell to make them look bigger, but she did an Alteration spell. Perhaps it was so I wouldn't be pestering her for a repeat when it wore off.

Anyhow, they started developing, just as if I was a few years older. And they kept on going. At some point the spell-induced growth stopped, and my own natural growth took over. I ended up with both, and double-sized breasts. Apparently I was going to be quite large anyway. Fortunately, the spell had included a Feather effect, so they're no heavier than a normal pair.

Well I did get invited to the orgies once I was bigger, but they found out how young I was and wouldn't let me do any of the fun stuff. That's when I got into whips and teasing and that sort of thing. If I had to say no, I wanted to enjoy doing that. By the time I was old enough to say yes, I was attracting too much attention, and I wanted to say no, to most of them anyway.

When we left Morrowind, we settled on the Red Ring Road and Falanu opened her Alchemy shop there. I had a room in the basement where I could entertain my clients.

They tended to be the well-heeled gentry who had plenty of servants to order around. It seems that that kind of man finds relaxation in handing control to someone else for a time. He's used to getting what he wants, when he wants it, and it's all just too easy. I'm never easy, but I'm well worth the trouble.

One of my regulars was a nobleman by the name of Tertius*. He was an illegitimate son, but he didn't know who his father was, or if the first two sons were legitimate or not. He had an untraceable stipend that kept him comfortable, if not in luxury, and wasn't going to risk it by trying to find out more about his father.

He was a big healthy man, and I like big. Perhaps because he was so strong and commanding in his regular life, he liked me to spank him. I even had a special riding crop made with a weak shock enchantment, to make it tingle more. We had such fun together, I think I was falling in love with him. Not very professional, but so what?

So one day, he's bent over the chair in my room, I flick the riding crop across his backside, and he keels over dead! I can't believe it. If a man's heart is weak, it's much later in the proceedings that he'll have a problem. Besides, Tertius isn't a man with a weak anything.

A man I know only as Tertius' servant comes bursting into the room, screaming that I've killed his master. Falanu is as horrified as I am, and we're all panicking. To make things worse, the servant shows me a letter that was taken from a messenger on his way towards Chorrol, where Tertius lived. It's addressed to the illegitimate son ... of the Emperor!

The servant decides that I need to run away before the Legion Patrol finds out, and tells me I should go back to Morrowind while they try to cover up the crime. Before we know what's going on, the building is on fire, and I'm on a horse galloping up the road towards Cheydinhal, and the Morrowind border, with the servant leading the way. At the border, he sends me off to an address near Silgrad Tower. He turns back the way he'd come and I never see him again.

When the Emperor was assassinated, and the news reached Morrowind, I decided to return. There was obviously a bigger plot going on, and Tertius' death must have been part of it. I found Falanu's new shop in Skingrad and joined her there. Soon after, we had a visit from the Hero of Kvatch, who's now the Champion of Cyrodiil, and the proprietor of this Lodge.

He'd heard I was back in Cyrodiil, and he wanted to meet me. Someone in town had told him to ask Falanu about the large chest, so he had. Falanu sent him up to my room, probably thinking I had a customer.

I showed him the letter, and told him about the events at the old shop. He explained to me that the letter was meant for Martin, not Tertius, and the messenger they'd intercepted was on his way to Weynon Priory to have Brother Jauffre send it on. I could tell that he was intrigued by the story, and he wanted to find out more.

He went to the burned-out shop and found my riding crop, and that convinced him I was telling the truth. It still held a part of its feeble charge, and anyone could tell it wasn't a murder weapon. The fire was a troubling detail too. A blaze attracts attention, not deflects it, so it didn't make sense to do that.

Next he went to Chorrol, to ask about Tertius. There he was attacked by a member of the Mythic Dawn, a man called Eugal Belette. It turned out that he was the one who'd taken over Tertius' house in Chorrol after he died. There was a letter in his basement that tied him in to the plot to kill Tertius, and suggested that the servant I'd met was yet another agent.

Falanu remembered the servant hanging around the well at the old shop whenever Tertius was visiting, so she gave him the key to the well, and he went to take a look. He came back with another letter that proved what had happened, and that I was innocent. Or at least, that the Mythic Dawn was responsible for the murder. It was addressed to the assassin, and told him how he was to bring about Tertius' death.

He'd be in the room with us, under a spell of chameleon, so we couldn't see him. He was to cast a spell on Tertius that drained his health and made him weak to both magicka and shock.That tiny charge on the riding crop would become enough to finish him.

They thought they were killing the Emperor's son, and pinning the blame on me! Anyone could see now that it wasn't true. Except that if I hadn't used the riding crop, Tertius might still be alive. I hate them for that part.

I was still concerned that everyone might think I was part of that Mythic Dawn cult, so I came here to stay out of the way. This is a place that knows how to be discreet.

I still miss Tertius, and there aren't so many nobles to spank this far from the city. But they pay well, so I bring in enough for Tsarrina to let me stay. And I feel so much safer with all the others here. You've already met Prizna, haven't you? She's fought Daedra bare-handed, and bare everything else. How can I be afraid around people like that?


The reporter looked up from his notes. She'd mentioned her sister Falanu quite a bit in this story, and he could see that he'd have to get more detail from her on his way back to the city. He'd met her for the first time on his way to Gweden, and she'd struck him as a little "unusual". Especially some of the things she'd said when he was in her shop. Could Silanu enlighten him a little about what she meant?

Silanu would do that, but it would have to be strictly off the record. Some of the things her sister did weren't exactly legal, even it wasn't quite as big a deal as it would have been back in Morrowind. She'd get together with him later, when he'd finished his report about the Champion, and had more time to spend with her. It could be a long story...

----

* - Tertius means "third son", hence the musing about the prior two. It also suggests he wasn't considered by his father as being important enough for a proper name. Unless his oldest brother was Primo.

I used an image of Silanu as a load screen for when you enter the Gweden Lodge.

Load Screen

This post has been edited by ghastley: Sep 27 2017, 11:33 PM


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Acadian
post Jan 31 2012, 02:49 AM
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Falanu’s. . . little. . . er. . . big?. . . sister! And another story involving Cyrodiil’s Champ. Silanu seems like she would be well-suited to duty with the northern white bear patrol? Tsarrina seems to have quite a large crew working at Gweden!

Nit: ’Anyhow, they started developing,’


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mALX
post Jan 31 2012, 03:12 AM
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This one had me rolling from beginning to end.

Spew! The riding crop survived the fire, ROFL !!

The plot to kill the Emperor's illegitimate son via riding crop, ROFL !!!

The final straw was the load screen at the bottom, I lost it !! LOVED this chapter !!!


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MyCat
post Feb 1 2012, 03:53 AM
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QUOTE
and wasn't goiing to risk it by trying to find out more about his father

Nit: Most people only use a single 'i' in "goiing".
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Grits
post Feb 2 2012, 03:41 PM
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Silanu puts Alteration and Destruction magic to excellent use here. biggrin.gif

I still miss Tertius, and there aren't so many nobles to spank this far from the city.

laugh.gif That just struck me as an especially humorous dilemma. Not the part about Tertius, of course.


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ghastley
post Feb 7 2012, 12:50 AM
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@Acadian and MyCat: Nits duly picked. There seems to be an unwritten law that whenever you do a last minute edit you introduce another error in its place.

@mALX: It was that or Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick, and I don't have his permission to use him.

@Grits: Yes, Silanu has become a bit specialized, but I did add a customer for her in the mod, so she's not totally idle.


----

Cybeline

"Cybeline, tell the reporter how the Champion brought you to Gweden," Tsarrina asked the Altmer.

The tall girl smiled wistfully, as she remembered how it had all happened.

I was walking around a corner in Bravil, when I bumped into a well-dressed Imperial. I was quite a bit taller than him, especially as I was wearing high heels, so he planted his face right in my cleavage. He was polite enough to take all responsibility for the accident, and equally ready to admit he'd quite enjoyed it.

"It must have given you quite a shock," he said " I think you should sit down for a moment, perhaps in that tavern over there?" He offered me the support of his arm, and I accepted.

He was dressed in green velvet with gold trim, very opulent-looking. I didn't know who he was yet. "Probably a noble", I thought. "I hope he likes me!"

I was just a commoner, and I worked as apprentice to a skillful seamstress. I was learning to sew a straight seam, make simple lace and piping, that sort of thing. My employer also had me model outfits for her customers, particularly the men who were buying for their wives and mistresses. I was young and pretty, and all Altmer are tall and elegant. I was also not shy, even when I was modelling the more intimate garments.

She had the idea of letting me wear examples of her dresses, whenever I went into town. Then perhaps the women would see them, and want to look like me. If they dared to wear them, of course! Some of them were cut very low, like the one I was wearing on this outing. It was also one of her more expensive designs, and quite concealed my station, if little else.

He told me his name was Gellius, and I told him mine. He hadn't mentioned his family name, so I still didn't know exactly who he was. He showed his good taste by ordering a bottle of Tamika's 415. I was sure we were going to get along fine by the time we emptied that!

Much later in the evening, we left the tavern to head for his bed. Things were going just as I'd hoped. Then he turned us over the bridge towards the Castle! No, he can't be related to the Count, he's got such a nice personality.

The following morning, he asked me more about myself, and I had to tell him the truth. He was disappointed, as he knew his father wouldn't let him marry a commoner. I told him, quite honestly, that I'd never even considered marriage. I would perfectly happy as his mistress, especially if he was always as good as last night!.

He thought for a few moments. He wanted me to come and live in the Castle, so I really ought to become one of the staff. He'd ask his father if there was a job I could do. That seemed like a plan, but I had to get the dress back to the shop. I'd return later, to see what he'd worked out. He had a better idea. He'd buy me the dress. He really liked the way it looked on me.

I pointed out that I still had to return to the shop, whether I gave the dress back, or paid her for it.

So an hour ot two later, I was back at the castle, still wearing the same dress. Count Regulus liked it too. I could tell by the direction his eyes kept wandering.

He told me I could have a job in his court. I'd have a bed in the servants' quarters until he decided on more permanent arrangements. I could take my bag down there now while he talked further with his son about what sort of position I'd have..

I went down and changed into a plainer dress. Half an hour later, a guard came to fetch me. He took me up to the private quarters and opened the door to the Count's chamber. He pushed me inside and closed the door behind me. I soon found out what position the Count had in mind for me. Several, actually, and none of them comfortable. My dress was torn, and I was crying, as I clutched the remnants across my breasts and fled from the room.

When Gellius found out, his reaction wasn't what I expected. He wasn't angry with his father, but at me for not resisting his advances. I realized I wouldn't get any help from Gellius where the Count was concerned.

I got the job I'd been promised, but it was sweeping floors, and other drudge work. I was expected to sleep with the Count whenever he wanted. I tried to run away, back to my old job, but the guards wouldn't let me leave the Castle.

Gellius was obviously deeply affected by his father's treatment of me. He grew more and more remote, and started drinking heavily. Soon alcohol wasn't enough, and he moved on to skooma. His bed was no longer my refuge, it was just another part of my jail.

I was sweeping the floor in the dining room off the Great Hall when a stranger came up and spoke to me. He'd heard around town about the Count and how he treated his servants. Was it true?

I looked around to see if a guard was listening. When I was sure we were alone I told him all about Count Regulus Terentius and his disgusting demands. I probably embarassed him when I showed him where I'd been bitten.

He wanted to help me leave immediately, but for some reason I felt I had to give Gellius a chance to redeem himself first. Perhaps without the skooma, he'd again be the Gellius I'd fallen in love with He wasn't mean to me, like his father, just distant. There was still hope, wasn't there?

I knew Gellius kept his skooma in a chest behind his bed. I was only allowed in the room when I slept with him, so I didn't know how to take it from him. The stranger did. He slipped on a ring, and disappeared!

A few minutes later, he re-appeared with three skooma bottles in his hand. He'd give me three days to see if Gellius could straighten himself out, and then he'd come back to collect me.

Of course Gellius just got more skooma. He didn't care about me any more. He didn't care about anything. But there was still a problem with trying to leave. I knew the guards had orders not to let me leave the Castle, and I didn't have one of those rings. He let me wear his, but the guard's eyes still followed me. I knew it wasn't strong enough for me, and my weak skill at sneaking. They could still hear me, perhaps.

There was another chance, though. I could wear a robe and hood that covered me completely. The guards would see me, but they wouldn't know who I was. And if I looked like a noble, they wouldn't dare ask me to show myself. They were too afraid of the Count's bad temper to risk it.

So I just needed a silk robe and hood. And steady nerves. He could leave the first two in a sack in the servant's quarters for me, the third I'd have to supply for myself.

Two days later, the sack was full. I was happy they were red, as I always look good in that color. The silk accentuated my curves, which meant the guards wouldn't be looking at my face. This could work!

I started to creep out of the room, and then stopped myself. I had to think like a noble and stride out confidently with my head high. No, with my head down and my hair across my face. I wished I had longer hair.

In the end, I just walked. I couldn't decide what was the optimum strategy, so I didn't have one. That was probably for the best. The guards glanced appreciatively in my direction, and probably thought me stuck-up and aloof when I didn't look back. I headed over the bridge and across to the Lonely Suitor.

The stranger was waiting there for me. He had some normal clothes for me to change into. While I was doing that, he asked me what I would do, now I was out of the Castle. I replied that I couldn't stay in Bravil, as the guards might take me back. I didn't know a trade, as I'd not finished training as a seamstress, and the Castle had only taught me to be a drudge and a sex-slave.

"Regulus hasn't turned you off sex, I hope"

I wasn't sure if I was being propositioned. I was in the middle of changing, and everything was on show. He might want a reward for rescuing me, should I prove that I wasn't turned off?

I just laughed and assured him that that was impossible, and carried on getting myself dressed. He didn't try to stop me, even helped with the buttons at the back.

"Then I do have a proposition for you" He told me all about Gweden Farm, and Tsarinna's band of girls, He asked if I'd like to join them.

"As long as Regulus Terentius isn't a customer" I said.


She was wearing that dress. The one she'd worn when she met Gellius. She asked him to stand up close to her, so he could see her from Gellius' viewpoint. He put down his notebook and did what she asked. He wasn't so shy about looking at the girls now, and Cybeline was easy on the eyes, especially from that angle..

However, he wasn't expecting her to slip the material aside and show him how the bite marks had faded. She nearly put his eye out doing that!

----

I just started making an addition to the mod, that's in part based on writing this series of tales. Assuming that the Black Horse Courier did write an article about Gweden, it would probably get noticed by the Elder Council. The Red Dragon Club, a retreat for gentlemen in the Talos Plaza District, was run by the late Ormelius Goldwine before the Kvatch invasion took him out of play. The Elder Council needs the services of a few loyal women for various acts of intrigue and diplomacy, and the club was a fertile recruiting ground, as well as keeping them busy between assignments. The CoC would be the perfect person to step into Goldwine's shoes as proprietor.

I'm undecided whether any of the current cast should move to the city, or just pay the odd visit. So far I've just added the door to the end of an alley, and built the interior (below ground). I'll post some screenshots as soon as I have the staff uniform finished.

It will need a quest or two. I'm thinking of maybe busting the skooma trade in Bravil, although as seen above, I wouldn't wish dealing with the Count on anyone.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Feb 7 2012, 03:38 AM


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Acadian
post Feb 7 2012, 02:24 AM
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I do believe this may be my favorite of the stories so far. It fits beautifully into the game, has love gone awry, adventure, courtly intrigue, damsel in this dress distress and of course, the hero. I love how you portrayed Count Bravil and how his skooma-sucking son turned out so poorly – even tragically.

'It was also one of her more expensive designs, and quite concealed my station, if little else.'
This is beautiful in both its imagery and cleverness!

The Red Dragon Club sounds fun. A touch of noble intrigue between the sheets, as it were?


Nits – you are so right. I find exactly the same thing. It is the last minute edits that always seem to bite back. tongue.gif Anyway, I did notice a couple tiny ones:
'I was sure we were going to along fine by the time we emptied that!'
Missing a word? Perhaps ‘get’ in front of ‘along’?
'Much later in the evening, we left the taven to head for his bed.'
Tavern, of course.


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ghastley
post Feb 7 2012, 03:49 AM
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I did a quick render from 3DS MAX of the basic outfit with a quickly-sketched texture (just diffuse, no normals yet) and I think it has promise.

Red Dragon Club hostess

A bit of work on the dragon (especially the head) and I can start to populate the place!

This post has been edited by ghastley: Aug 4 2016, 09:57 PM


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mALX
post Feb 7 2012, 05:10 AM
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GAAAAH !!! Now we know who drove Gellius into his Skooma addiction!! ROFL !! Loved this latest addition.

I agree with Acadian, the Red Dragon Club sounds like fun !! Also, you could connect it to Gweden Farm with a transporter portal like the Arcane University uses so the girls could travel back and forth quickly for service vs sleep, lol.


PS: Love the screen of the headless lizard dragon (or is it two-headed?), ROFL !! Nice outfit for the Red Dragon Club !!!

This post has been edited by mALX: Feb 7 2012, 05:12 AM


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King Coin
post Feb 7 2012, 05:17 AM
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I enjoyed this little story of Cybeline. She thinks her dreams are coming true, and then crushed!


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ghastley
post Feb 9 2012, 09:18 PM
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I'm hi-jacking my own thread here, but the background for the Red Dragon Club is going to be spying for the Elder Council. Their main concern after the Oblivion Crisis is the succession, and finding a new Emperor. I'm assuming the fact that Uriel sends you off with the amulet towards Martin is that he's the only direct heir left (albeit illegitimate).

But I can't find anything about any siblings of Uriel VII and any cousins etc. that might still be around. Maybe I should ask Brother Arturo who he's going to check out next? Or does anyone here recall any genealogy I'm missing?

I just added a new section of sewers to connect the RDC to a grating just outside the city walls, so there's a back way out for anyone who needs it. Just need to add a few customers, and shoot the publicity stills.


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Acadian
post Feb 9 2012, 09:39 PM
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Fact: Uriel's eldest son, Crown Prince Geldall Septim was assassinated right before the Emperor at the age of 56.

Consideration: Surely his age would support having produced an illegitimate offspring of his own?

Fun: One might think that the Guild of Prostitutes would definitely but discretely keep records of any. . . royal liaisons. You know, for future. . . business purposes. Or perhaps one of the older guild leaders would recall rumors regarding any of her sisters that hit the big time and attained the rank of courtesan and more. . . noble access? Just food for thought. wink.gif


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