Teresa of the Faint Smile, Adventures of a Stringy Bosmer Options

[Acadian]

This was fabulously heart-pounding! Another statue, and another step closer to that home! That Thieves Bag continues to be a blessing from Mara Simplicia.

'She had just killed three skeletons, in hand-to-hand combat! Her worst nightmare, and she had overcome it, three times!'
What a wonderful job Teresa did with her dagger blocking and using her burning hand spell. Thanks, Pappy! It feels good to face and overcome those nightmares.

'Rising to her feet beside the Redguard, she looked back with him to see the first of the skeletons reach the broken bridge. It stopped just in time to keep from going over the edge. Then the undead behind ran into it, shoving it out into space, only to crash to the floor of the main chamber below.'
What a magic moment this was! Perfect!

I think it was so neat that Teresa decided to call it a day at Culotte without insisting on clearing the whole thing, for exactly the reasons she quoted to Chance. Speaking of Chance, he certainly did a great job and I know Teresa was very glad he came along.

This post has been edited by Acadian: Mar 21 2011, 01:01 AM

[Winter Wolf]

Mmm, dungeon diving in Culotte. It has literally been years since I have paid a visit to that crypt. The Upper Niben is a place I rarely travel to for some reason, especially the right hand side. I must take my lastest character (Salacious) across to there and check it out....

You certainly love the undead, dont you? But it is with good measure, of course, they are heaps of fun and allow plenty of action and atmosphere. The ending was lovely, with the calm reasoning of Teresa winning the day!

Cool energy washed through her body like cleansing river.
You always have a lovely way to describe the healing potions. This is another gem.

[ghastley]

Looks like Chance is starting to come out of his father's shadow. He's performing well as a team player, and not looking over his shoulder all the time. Perhaps the confirmation that he's dead has taken off the weight, as well as giving him a purpose. He just has to avoid it becoming an obsession.

Teresa's getting some confidence in her trained-in techniques, too. Let's hope she also knows what works against the next ones.

Culotte's a nice simple dungeon, and I like the way it all breaks loose on the way out - even if I don't like the fact it's always those Dread Zombies when I do it, and usually just before I have a Cure Disease spell to counteract the Astral Vapors!

minor nit in the same bit Winter Wolf quoted
Cool energy washed through her body like {a} cleansing river.

[Grits]

I love this episode!! Waiting with Teresa for the skeletons to move, chilling! The swords sound beautiful.

Who could say what ran through the minds of the undead?

Maggots, maybe? Though I suppose they wouldn’t be running.

Stunning acrobatics from Teresa, and Chance managed to keep clanking along with her! Teetering on the edge of the collapsed bridge was particularly exciting. It was fun to watch Chance with his new mace, and even more so to watch Teresa’s Burning Hand.

Interesting discussion about the possible source of the undead. I wasn’t sure if Chance would follow her out. The very last paragraph might be my favorite. Teresa may not have a witty remark in the middle of the battle, but here she seems quietly and naturally in charge.

[Thomas Kaira]

Action! Lots of fun action here!

And another Ayleid Arimer Ancestor statue, too! We've got a payday coming that would have Maglir (the little fetcher) out the door for the Arena in a heartbeat. Oh, and there's also the shiny septim Umbacano is paying for those statues.

[SubRosa]

Olen: Thank goodness you escaped the greedy jaws of Real Life! I do enjoy writing the Teresa/Simplicia scenes. As you say, Teresa gets so exasperated at the older woman's quest to get her a good husband.


haute ecole rider: I had not thought of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but you are right, it would be perfect! These were your standard skeletons, which in the game only have 20 hit points. Although the TF version had swords with a Damage Health enchantment. In keeping with the rest of weapon damages being generally higher in the TF than the game, her touch destruction spell was more than enough to fry a skeleton in one boom. A zombie would have taken several uses however.


Acadian: Teresa does indeed show the value of her joining the FG here. Not only with having a companion like Chance this time, but especially in what she has learned thanks to Pappy.


Winter Wolf: I do love undead. They are my favorite monster to fight. There is no second-guessing if they are friendly or not. Just see them, and kill them.


Sir Graves ghastley: You need to do it lower levels! Then you will only get regular zombies, or the one-armed sort.


Grits: I was not sure if Chance was going to go back to the boat with Teresa either! But as you said, Teresa's leadership does indeed win the day. Whoever would have thought?


Thomas Kaira: Payday! Teresa has a knack for finding those statues, thanks to Raven. Or is it finding undead...


Next: Teresa and Chance braved the ruin of Culotte and discovered an Ancestor Statue. Since it was rather obvious where they were going afterward, we will skip ahead, and once more find Teresa back in Bravil.


Chapter 33.1 - The Blessing

21st-23rd Hearthfire, 3E433

"Well, I am halfway through the book already," Teresa said to Tadrose as the pair of women made their way through the corridors of the Fighters Guild hall. "Decius sure is a pompous s'wit. His friend Barbatus seems like a very kind and amiable man though. I can see why Juno likes him. It's too bad he doesn't pick his friends better though…"

"Oh just wait," Tadrose said as she opened the door to the bath chamber and held it open for Teresa. "Remember, so far we have only seen Decius from Euphemia's point of view, and she has her own share of prejudices that color it. Just like with real people, there is far more to him than what she imagines."

The large room was dominated by a massive tub of cedar, so tall that a wooden steps curled up one of its sides to enter it. Its bottom was made of copper, and Teresa could see the glow of the heatstones that spread along a tray that ran underneath it. Low benches of wood were spaced along two of the walls, and several mirrors were set into a third. Metal racks held sponges, soap, razors, and jars that contained everything from animal fat for shaving, to Teresa's own hand-made mixtures of body wash and hair gel. A metal grate was set into the center of the gently sloping floor, and was flanked by several buckets filled with water.

"Well, there isn't much more to Vincent than what I see." Teresa found the words spilling from her mouth as she stared at the Breton, who was still in the bathing room. The other fighter wore nothing but a loincloth, and stood with his back to the door. Teresa's eyes widened. Not so much from the sight - naked men did not shock her like they used to before joining the guild - but from her own statement. It was exactly the kind of witty barb she might find in a book, not think of herself!

"Hey, hold your horses you two!" Vincent exclaimed as he hurried to pull his breeches up to his waist. "Us men are still in here!"

"Yes, and we are so overcome from the sight of your bare flesh that we cannot contain ourselves." Tadrose's rolled her eyes as she sat down on a bench that ran against one wall. She began taking off her shoes as Teresa joined her. In the meantime the Breton took his time gathering up the rest of his clothes.

"Hey, there are plenty of women who can't wait to get their hands on the Breton Buck!" The male fighter now turned, proudly displaying a gigantic bulge in the crotch of his trousers. "What do you think about that?"

Teresa felt her eyes goggle, yet she noticed that Tadrose merely shook her head. "So that's where all our cucumbers went!" the dark elf exclaimed. "Or have you been playing with Teresa's alchemy kit?"

"Why don't you come and see," the Breton grinned, motioning to his crotch with both hands. "You won't be disappointed."

"I was disappointed the moment I stepped in the door," Teresa murmured. Again, she found herself stunned by her reply.

"You laugh now," Vincent declared with his nose held high and stepped to the door. "But I know that deep inside, you both can't resist me."

Teresa found herself looking to Tadrose at the same time that the Dunmer looked back at her. Then they both cast their gazes back at the foolish Breton.

"We can resist," the two women said in unison.

"You say that now. But late tonight, when you're trying to sleep, you'll be thinking about what I could do to you!"

A moment later one of Tadrose's shoes was flying at Vincent. Yet the Breton was too quick, and shut the door behind him as he scampered out of the room.

"I am sorry about that Teresa," the guild smith sighed as she stood and stripped off her tunic. "That is just part of working with men. Vincent has been a prankster ever since Bruma. I think it helps him cope."

"I'm no delicate patrician, like one of Juno Austenius' characters," Teresa said as she too began stripping off her clothing. "I grew up on the streets after all."

"Sometimes I do forget," the older woman pulled down the loose pants she wore for workouts and hung them over a peg in the wall. She followed with her underclothing, and then began washing herself with a wet, soapy sponge. "I've seen how the streets make people dead inside. But not you. You can be so kind sometimes."

Now Teresa felt her cheeks turning warm as she stripped off her own underclothes, and carefully removed the cloth pad that was secured between her legs. It was red, she saw, probably as red as she imagined her face was. She had felt a little bloated for the past two days, especially in the breasts. Thank Dibella she had started wearing her pad the other night!

"Oh is it your time?" Tadrose mentioned as she looked at the blood that stained the cloth. "I use a sponge when I get mine. You put it right up inside, and you can almost forget it is there."

"Really?" Teresa said, trying not to stare at the naked Dunmer. "That sounds a lot better than these cloths."

"Indeed, especially when you are exercising," the dark elf replied. "Talk to Nilawen, she sells them. I get mine on the solstices, so I just start using one when they draw near."

"Mine always come near the equinoxes," Teresa said as she set down the pad and reached for a small razor on one of the shelves."It's never very bad though. I don't get cramps, or headaches, like I know some women get."

"You are one of Mara's blessed," the dark elf observed, and for a moment Teresa thought she meant because of the lightness of her periods. "You have your courses during the planting and harvest times."

"I do?" Teresa wondered. It took every ounce of her will to not reach out and touch Tadrose's wet, naked body, let alone kiss her. The dark elf's form was girded with lean muscle, and bore more than one scar. Yet Teresa had never seen a woman so beautiful. Raven, give me strength, she thought. "I never really thought about it."

"Yes," Tadrose said. "The fall harvest begins tomorrow. That is why Gaius wanted everyone to meet back here after lunch. We have a contract to bodyguard the priestesses as they bless the fields."

Teresa let her eyes linger over the Dunmer's frame as she ascended the steps and slipped into the tub. Only after Tadrose had submerged within the steaming water was she able to draw her eyes away. Lifting each arm in turn, she shaved the depression underneath.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Tadrose said, nodding her head to Teresa's handiwork. "There is cream in the jars you know."

"I thought the same thing when I first saw someone else do it." The wood elf finished her arms and then sat back on the bench. Spreading her legs apart, she began to carefully work the razor in between. "It's really no bother at all though."

"Does that someone else shave there as well?" the Dunmer asked.

"As a matter of fact, she does," Teresa smiled faintly as she thought of Nerussa. "You should try it. It feels wonderful. It makes other things more enjoyable too."

Tadrose coughed, but Teresa could see that she was smiling. Please Dibella, Teresa silently prayed, let her be smiling because she's thinking of doing those things with me!

"Why Teresa, you are full of surprises!" Tadrose's red eyes glimmered through the steam that rose from the surface of the tub.

"Like you said, there is more to people than what we imagine," Teresa breathed.

* * *

"So how is it coming?"

Teresa tried to ignore the voice as she stared at the powdered bog beacon that was sizzling away on the calcinator before her. There, she thought as the granules turned a dull grey, that was just about right. Using a pair of gloves enchanted with resist fire, she lifted the calcinator from the heat stones which it sat over. Stepping further down the marble counter at which she worked, she spooned the hot material into the water that already bubbled in her alembic. Afterward she sealed shut the lid of the oddly shaped glass bottle, then double-checked that the long, slender tube that trailed down from the top of it was firmly set into the collection flask sitting beside it.

Finally she turned her head from the mixing table to the door of the guild's alchemy workshop, eyes still aglow with purple light from her Analyze Alchemy spell. There she saw Pappy, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest.

"The healing potions are over there." Teresa nodded to a cluster of small glass vials that sat atop a side table. Each was filled with pink liquid, and was decorated with the raised impression of two serpents coiled around a staff. "I am working on the shield potions now. I've added a little something extra that the regular ones don't have."

"Is that what happened to my Nordic whiskey?" The Colovian grinned, and stepped further into the room. After glancing over the stack of finished potions, he looked to the alembic. Already an amber liquid was dripping from its long neck and filling the collection flask. "Here I thought you didn't like the stuff."

"When it comes to poison, I prefer nightshade." Teresa rolled her eyes as she pulled the enchanted leather gloves from her hands. "Although I might be able to make a frost poison with it. Give me a bottle and I'll see what I can come up with."

"Oh no, not with my Mímisbrunnr! You have no idea how hard it is to get that stuff down here." The guild commander squinted down at the drops of liquid collecting in the flask. "So did you add something to make it taste better?"

"My potions taste just fine gramps," Teresa wrinkled her nose at the older man. "For your information, I combined the shield effect with one to restore magicka. Unlike the regular magicka potions that instantly fill you with energy, this one will increase how quickly you regain it instead. So you drink it before you start throwing spells, and you can keep at it for longer."

"Well I'll be a spotted snowbear, combination potions," the Colovian whistled as he looked from the alchemical apparatuses scattered across the table to the wood elf. "We never had a potion-slinger here in the Bravil chapter who could do those."

And I never knew how to make them either, Teresa thought, until meeting Ardaline. Looking at the calcinator and alembic, she could not believe how far she had come from her days of living in the Chamber Pot, where she had only a wooden mortar and pestle that were both chipped and dented from use. Now she could afford a set made of marble. Perhaps someday she might even have one of meteoric glass, like the one Ardaline used in the Mages Guild.

"Remember, we still need seven cure poisons for tomorrow too," the Colovian now set his hands on his hips. "One for each of us. I don't want anyone leaving this guildhall without a proper loadout."

"I was just about to start those now, while the magicka/shields distill," Teresa said. "You can help if you want. I have the ginseng right over there. After that I'll finish up with the cure disease potions."

"And deprive you of all the fun? I wouldn't dream of it." Pappy smiled at the shorter wood elf, and walked to the door. There he stopped to look back. "Just remember, be armed and armored before dawn. We've got a big couple of days coming up with these harvest blessings."

"I know, I know," Teresa nodded her head. "I'm not Vincent, you don't have to tell me twice. I'll be ready when the priestesses get here."

"By the way, I heard back from Alaine Retiene," the guild commander said. "He wanted to thank me again for giving him such a good bodyguard."

"I hardly did a thing," Teresa said. "Just took him up the river so he could take sketches of the mountains. It's not like I fought off a tribe of goblins or anything."

"Exactly," Pappy said. "That's what good bodyguarding is. Avoiding trouble to begin with."

"So when do I get paid for it?" Teresa asked pointedly.

"He said once he's done with the first painting, it's yours. The guild gets the second."

Teresa nodded. She had seen the Breton's artwork. He was no Rythe Lythandas, but she would still rather have one of his originals in place of a few septims. The painting would go very nicely with Simplicia's new home in Silverbridge. Once she managed to scrape up the money to buy the farm house from Decimus of course.


Note: I originally used the term Retort because in the game it increases the positive effects of a potion. Even though what I was thinking of was more of an Alembic IRL. After Olen's comment, I decided to go back and change it to an Alembic. As another side note, I will not be using Retorts at all in the TF, as they are practically the same thing as an Alembic IRL.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Mar 22 2011, 11:49 PM

[haute ecole rider]

Back in Bravil already?

Just as well. I'm not fond of Umbacano myself.

So Teresa managed to read just half the book, though? It sounds like me, though. I have tried reading Jane Austen several times, but just couldn't get into it. The language puts me off. Still, I accept she's a gifted writer.

And a heavy dose of chickness. Maybe you should have put up a warning beforehand for those of the opposite persuasion!

Just one nit: .

"I grew up on the streets after all.

The closing quote is missing here. Probably dived into the tub when Teresa started shaving!

[Olen]

I might follow that quote into the tub. 10/10 for realism but there is such a thing as too much information That section aside...

Good part, the jabbing between Vincent and the girls at the start was good, as was the somewhat distressing romantic scene at the end. I suspect Tadrose does know Teresa interested, but could it be that she too is a bit shy?

animal fat for shaving

Ewwww!

The alchemy section was great, more insight both into her increasing skill and the mechanics of it. More good banter between her and Pappy too.

One thing which stuck out as a bit odd, though is more carried over from the game than just here, was her distillation with a retort. Unless alembics are absent from TF I'd have expected her to use one of them as they are designed for the job while retorts are more for dry distillation, decomposition and gas collection. They can be used for distillaton though, it's just air cooled stills are a right faff.

[ghastley]

The practical difference between the use of a Retort and an Alembic is which liquid you want to keep. If you want the lighter one, the Alembic captures it, and leaves the heavier one behind. The implication is that all poisons are the lighter liquids, and all potions are heavy, but if you consider an alcohol/water mix it's not a bad approximation. The Alembic will capture the alcohol, and the Retort will just boil it off and leave a more concentrated result (if concentrated water makes sense!)

But since the Alembic is all about separating, you can decide which to keep afterward, so using it in place of a Retort certainly works.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Mar 22 2011, 09:19 PM

[Thomas Kaira]

Tadrose takes no whipper-snapping from Vincent! Teresa was also delightfully witty throughout the exchange. Make sure he gives that cucumber back, Tadrose!

We then segue into some potion-brewing, as well. Hopefully Teresa didn't forget the incense, calcinators have a tendency to leave an acrid smell in the air, from what I've heard.

Sounds like we have quite the event coming up. Let's hope it goes well (which knowing the TES universe, it won't).

Nit:

"Does that someone else shave there are well?" the Dunmer asked.

I think you meant "as" here.

[Acadian]

This was a delightful time at the guild! Some nice humor, then some girl talk and a bath.

Oh, that Teresa would shave is a given. My goodness, we can't exactly go around advertising that she is not a natural red head! Besides, shaving is probably easier than dying extra places with henna.

What a wonderfully long way Teresa has come with her alchemy! Such a neat lab she has set up all bubbling away and everything. Very neat.

[Destri Melarg]

First thing’s first:

Of course I don’t mind you using Lattia’s name! I had a blast seeing her name mentioned. I confess to being more than a little proud of her, regarded as a great mage in 4th Era TF.

The essence of men in three words? That is one too many!

Spoken like a woman. What your gender never seems to understand is that the ‘Silence’ is just as important as the other two!

Now, on to the comments:

WARNING!!! WALL OF TEXT FORTHCOMING!!!

Through A Nightmare Darkly

Thanks to your opening screenshot, I can’t get the image of Teresa as Father Merrin standing on the threshold of little Regan’s house in The Exorcist out of my mind! Through a Nightmare Darkly has to rank as my least favorite quest in the game. How does my retrieving all of Henantier’s faculties help him escape from his self-imposed prison? Shouldn’t that be something that he has to do for himself? I swear that quest would have made a lot more sense if Henantier had to go with you as a companion, or even if your consciousness was transferred into his body for the duration of the quest. But the fact that he just sits there doing nothing while you traipse throughout his subconscious never fails to tick me off. . . even when I’m just writing about it, apparently.

With that said, I can’t compliment you enough on your rendition of that quest. It has to rank right up there with the Battle of Bruma and stands as yet another towering achievement in the TF!

BTW cute butt, Teresa!

** As an aside, I really enjoyed the discussion that you and TK had concerning the Daedra. I have always enjoyed the amount of thought that you have given to the ordinary Tamrielic attitude toward the Daedra. I am of the opinion that the Daedra serve their own ends. Concerns of the relative ‘good’ or ‘evil’ intent of their actions simply do not apply because they are ascribed to them through the prism of mortal perception. If the collective insects of the world decided that certain humans were ‘good’ or ‘evil’ would that matter to the humans in question? **

The awkwardness and vulnerability that Teresa displays in her fumbling apology to Ancondil is just fantastic. The fact that she feels the need to apologize at all is not only perfectly Teresa, it is perfectly female. Given Ancondil’s sensitive nature, it is a wonder that the two didn’t bump into each other in their zeal to be the first to genuflect!

And dont’cha know it, by the end of the chapter Ancondil graces me with his first ‘rapscallion.’

By the time they finished, her body felt drained, yet ate the same time she was strangely exhilarated. As if while taxing her muscles, the exercises had somehow imparted her with more mental focus.

Well, not in the way one might have hoped, but it appears that Teresa has at long last discovered the addictive nature of endorphins! I thought Nerussa would have taught her about that.

It never ceases to amaze me how much women worry over whether getting into shape will have a detrimental effect on their love life. I know that it won’t mean anything to Teresa coming from me, but I know that I am not alone in saying that there is nothing sexier than a woman who can kick my a$$!

EDIT: I guess that is a lesson that is brought home to Teresa when Tadrose joins her in the tub!

If she was going to survive, she had to learn to fight hand to hand.

Would Teresa please impart this nugget of wisdom to Buffy?

So now Ancondil has channeled Frost, Eliot, and Tennyson! I see some Keats or some Shelley in my future.

Whoops! You know the writing is good when you get so lost in it that you forget to stop to make a comment! All of the segments in the Day In The Life chapter are amazing. Even after already reading it once before I find myself getting lost in the Bravil Guild all over again. The dinner that they share in celebration of Teresa and Ancondil’s official entry into the guild was just perfect. I also like that you used it as the moment to introduce Vincent Galien (fresh from a galleon, I presume).

Now, on to chapter 30!

There is a reason that Vols has become one of the central characters in the TF, and this chapter is the perfect illustration of it. The others already pointed out everything about his gruff exterior masking a heart of pure gold. My favorite thing about the way you handled this is that you gave Vols the sense to know that it was a choice that Brekke had to make for herself. When he stood there waiting, I held my breath right along with him. And when she stepped forward I suppressed far more than just a faint smile!

I loved Calindil’s lesson on magic the first time I read it, and time has not soured the taste. Though it embarrasses me to admit it, I found myself rubbing my hands together along with Brekke. Like I said after reading this in version 1.0, between Vols and Calindil I genuinely feel sorry for the next bully that takes a poke at Brekke.

Now, at long last, on to Chapter 31!

Chapter 31.1

Here’s something that I don’t think has been touched upon: Teresa remarks to Julia that she could not think of herself raising one child, let alone four. Yet Julia and Marcus have a son named Quintis. Could one infer from this that they lost a child at some point? If so, then that is an incredibly subtle way of hinting at the harsh realities of life as a farmer outside the protection of the city gates.

Chapter 31.2

Teresa: Oh, that is playing at the Globe, isn’t it? Why don’t we go see it tonight after dinner?

Tadrose: I think that would be wonderful. I did not know you enjoyed Juno Austenius?

Teresa (beaming from ear to ear): Who?

And what can I say about the re-introduction of Destri? He was Chance’s father??!! Oh great, now I have to start paying more attention to Chance in this story! I know it may be sacrilegious, but Jalbert was a necromancer. Perhaps Destri is still out there, wandering with Nolquinn and Lorien.

I think I’m going to enjoy this.

Chapter 31.3

Aleron’s part in the TF gets fleshed out a little. The idea of a man with gambling debts bartering his services to the Fighter’s Guild for fighting lessons is just excellent! I am a bit surprised that Ancondil didn’t make the trip with them. Nothing says back-up like an orc who specializes in percussion instruments.

Chance’s memories of Destri are interesting considering all that he said about the pressures of living under a father’s shadow. I guess we never realize how important things are to us until we are faced with the prospect of losing them.

And I wonder who is hanging out at Culotte? Could it be an opportunistic Imperial?

Chapter 31.4

Cheapside is a fantastic invention! So is the Chamber Pot. I imagine the more blustery individuals who haunt the Waterfront could make quite a living, being as full of cacat as they are. I wonder if Chance will have the chance opportunity to avail himself of the, ahem, establishment where Adanrel plies her wares. Of course, that’s probably the last thing on his mind right now . . . but still.

Something else that occurred to me; I don’t imagine that Pappy will be very happy with this excursion that Teresa and Chance have set upon. I don’t believe that he would begrudge Chance the knowledge of his father’s fate. I think that he would be angry with them for venturing into a ruin as dangerous as Vilverin without more adequate back-up.

Chapter 31.5

I think it was more than simple commerce that prompted Jensine’s attitude toward parting with the mace. We saw her haggling with the Altmer woman when Teresa and Chance walked into the shop. I don’t believe that she was haggling with the two of them over the mace. She deliberately tried to price the thing outside of their ability to pay. I suspect that Jensine really does see that mace as her good luck in tangible form. She killed a clannfear with, after all. I imagine that for a merchant, even one that hails from Skyrim, killing a clannfear is the type of thing that one could point to and say, ‘see, I mattered. I did something!’ The weapon that allowed one to do it would be given a sacred position amongst all of one’s possessions. Losing it would almost be like denying the thing ever happened, and that would make Jensine just a lowly merchant again.

Of course, I might be reading too much into it.

Chapter 31.6

That was a nice, quiet interlude between mother and daughter. I can’t wait for Teresa to ask Methredhel about Simplicia’s story. I also seem to remember that Vols still thinks it was Teresa who saved him in the mausoleum. Man, will his head start racing when she tells him that it wasn’t.

I have a feeling that Bag of Holding is going to become a mainstay in Teresa’s growing arsenal.

Chapter 31.7

Your summation of the political situation in Hammerfell was very interesting. So the age old rivalry continues into the 4th Era? I’m sure that Casnar will hate to hear that. It appears that he and Destri share a similar fate. Both are betrayed by a king for whom the appeasement of Forebears was the only expedient action. It’s just a shame that both men came to such tragic ends. However, all is not lost. I have great hopes that the Hero of Kvatch can redeem Casnar, and I suspect that Destri’s redemption now bears his mace.

Chapter 32.1

Sailing south from Vilverin late in the afternoon, Teresa, Chance, and Aleron spent the night in Sideways.

Now that sounds vaguely pornographic!

A conspiracy of ravens and a murder of crows . . . think the black birds are trying to tell us something?

Teresa had no idea what the Redguards had against magic.

I suspect it goes back to Yokuda and the Hiradirge. The Ansei had been marginalized after Randic Torn’s Sword Hunt. For a commoner, even possession of a weapon could cost you your life. When the Ansei rebelled the resulting wars were devastating. In the aftermath, a reeling Yokuda was set upon by the Hiradirge who used magic to destroy the entire continent. That resulted in the mass migration to Hammerfell, and contributed to the mind-set that magic was not to be trusted.

Then again, it could be because the people at Bethesda (in their infinite wisdom) decided to make Redguards stupid to start the game, thus giving them a low magicka score!

Chapter 32.2 & 32.3

I think, as angry as Pappy might be at them for going into an Ayleid ruin alone, he couldn’t help but be proud of the way that they acquitted themselves within that ruin. He would also be proud of them for having the sense to adhere to Pappy’s Rule #3.

**Memo to Teresa: I know you got paid and all but one raven is good. A conspiracy of ravens is not to be trusted!**

Chapter 33.1

WARNING!!! ESTROGEN OVERLOAD!!!!

I guess after the fireworks of the last two chapters this chapter was inevitable, eh? It seems that Tadrose might be responsive to Teresa’s advances after all. I wonder where that would place Nerussa? Teresa has changed a lot, but I still don’t see her as the ‘woman in every port’ type.

Well, I’ll be. I’m all caught up!

This post has been edited by Destri Melarg: Mar 24 2011, 08:53 AM

[Grits]

Love the P&P discussion between T&T. Vincent’s antics are the perfect foil for Teresa’s newly expressed wit. And then after the Breton Buck departed, chick overload!

Chapter 33.1, the TMI episode! The Blessing indeed. It seems that a Bravilian wax may be in order. Is there a day spa near the Fighters Guild? Seriously though, I am pleased to see the subject addressed as naturally as hair conditioning or caring for one’s teeth.

"Why Teresa, you are full of surprises!" Tadrose's red eyes glimmered through the steam that rose from the surface of the tub.

"Like you said, there is more to people than what we imagine," Teresa breathed.

A very promising exchange, and a great demonstration of the common experiences building up between these two. I’m taking Teresa’s faint smile as she thought of Nerussa combined with no report of meeting her on the last trip to the IC to mean that Nerussa is a very pleasant part of Teresa’s past.

Excellent alchemy lesson in the story, and in the comments that follow.

[SubRosa]

haute ecole kitty: I figure Teresa for being a slow reader, and really not used to reading books for pleasure (until now the only books she has read have been on things like Daedra, alchemy, and Arimer history). A novel is well, novel to her!


Olen: Animal fat was something I dug up from history. It was the old-fashioned shaving cream. If you cringed at the wimmen's bits already, you might want to skip the next two episodes, as they both revolve around menstruation.


ghastley: Gotta keep 'em seperated... So that is the difference between them? When I looked them up, I found pictures of the same device, and descriptions that seemed to say the same thing. So I just figured why bother having two different things in the TF?


Thomas Kaira: I would not want that cucumber back after where it's been!


Acadian: I never thought about shaving to conceal her natural hair color! But brilliant! The alchemy scene was difficult to write, as I am no alchemist IRL (although I do own a mortar and pestle), it took a lot of looking things up, and as you can see from the comments, I was a still a bit off on some things!


Destri Melarg: By Zenitor! That is a wall of text! Seriously, I am humbled by the amount of effort you put into your catch-up comments. It is very generous of you to take so much time and effort on behalf of my scribblings.

On the subject of silence, I was so tempted to link to a sound clip of a woman orgasming, but I was afraid I might be banned!

Teresa as Father Merrin! Yowzers! She wishes she could be that cool. I loved Stellan Skarsgard playing him in Exorcist: The Beginning, especially at the end when he throws down with the POG (Power of God).

I agree that the Daedra themselves do not care for mortal ideas such as good and evil. Rather it is just that when you are an ant, and see millions of your kind stepped on, it colors your view of the feet you see above you.

Nerussa has indeed introduced Teresa to the lovely cocktail of endorphins. But our wood elf is not used to experiencing them from exercise!

You know, thanks to my John Wayne fest over the past few weeks, I am coming to see Vols as more like the Duke now. I guess when he starts saying "That'll be the day!" it will clinch it.

I never really thought of Quintis as meaning child number five. But since you mention it, I think I will have to go with it!

I am sure Ancondil would have went, but I think the dory would have sank if he climbed in with the other three. Especially if he brought his armor with him!

I actually got the Hammerfell politics from the 3rd Edition Pocket Guide, which is dated 432. I was in fact thinking of Casnar's straits when I wrote of Destri's past. As you said, both pledged themselves and their honor to a king, and both were betrayed when they were politically inconvenient.

I hope you have enjoyed how I have used your namesake in the TF. This is what I had in mind the entire time. I just could not say anything because it would have spoiled the surprise. It has certainly added a great deal more depth and history to the character of Chance.


Grits: T&T, I have to remember that! The subject of menstruation is one I have been looking forward to tackling at some point. This chapter was perfect, as the following episode will reveal. Given that we in the West live in a patriarchal society, even acknowledging that it happens unsettles most people. But other, more female-friendly societies are not so squeamish, and see menstruation as a gift that women have, a time of magical power. From the earliest days it was associated with the power of creation, and is why many cultures would smear the dead with menstrual blood, or failing that other red substances like ochre. The idea being that it would insure one's rebirth. Thanks to this, menstrual blood has always been high on the list of magically powerful things.


Next: Our previous episode found Teresa enjoying daily life at the guild, putting her alchemy to use, and experiencing the start of her period. Next we find her setting out the next morning on an important contract.


Chapter 33.2 - The Blessing

Magnus was peeking over the horizon when the cart bearing Teresa and her charge trundled out of Bravil's north gate and across the wooden bridge that spanned the Larsius. A tall horse with a thick, barrel frame drew them forth. A deep bay in color, her lower legs were hidden by thick white feathers, and a white blaze ran the length of her face. The burly horse strode forth across the bridge with such little effort that Teresa would not have even imagined that she was pulling the two-wheeled cart. That came as no surprise to the forester, for it was obvious that the Shire weighed far more than the cart did, and that was including herself and the priestess beside her!

Turning her head from the heavy horse, Teresa glanced at the woman seated on the vehicle beside her. A skirt of dark cream wool that was stained from dirt hid the other woman's long legs. Above that she wore a blouse of worn green flax with the sleeves rolled up above her elbows, and whose V-shaped neckline barely contained her generous chest. Her brilliant auburn hair was gathered in a braid that was bound up in a tight circle behind her head, leaving only a few errant locks to spill across her temples. Her features were full, complemented by ruddy cheeks and plump lips. Her entire body was somewhat plump in fact, and full of curves. If not for the copper medallion she wore depicting Mara holding a bundle of wheat in one hand, and a sickle in the other, Teresa would have never imagined that she might be a priestess. Even with it she hardly looked the part. Rather she appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary plebeian.

Screenshot

"I wonder what they are building over there Olava?" Teresa took her eyes off the living saint from the Benevolence of Mara and nodded to the wooden framework that had sprung up in the open field north of the city. "I saw people working there yesterday when I got back into the city."

"You haven't heard?" The other woman turned her head from the road to Teresa. "That's for the Tournament of Archers. It's being held here in Bravil this year. It starts in about a week."

"Tournament of Archers?" Teresa could not prevent a single eyebrow from arching as they passed by the skeletal construction of wood, which she now imagined might be the beginnings of an amphitheater. "I didn't know there was such a thing?"

"Of course!" the Nord priestess smiled. "It's held in a different county every year, but it's always at the beginning of autumn. It doesn't get as much attention as the tournaments the knights have in the summer - especially the big one at the Imperial City - but people still come from all over Cyrodiil to see it. It's mostly for plebeians though. Since shooting a bow isn't as genteel as bashing someone's head in with a mace."

Teresa allowed a faint smile to creep past her lips at the sarcasm in the priestess' tone. Olava obviously felt the same way she did about bloodsports. "Is that why it's after the harvest," the wood elf observed. "So all the farmers have money in their pockets?"

"Oh, you are a sharp one," the Nord winked as she turned her eyes back to guiding their horse along the road. "In spite of what the patricians might like to believe, civilization is not created from stone, marble, and gold. It's made from good, tilled nirn. Without the Three Sisters, there'd be no Bravil."

"The Three Sisters?" Teresa asked, afraid that she had touched off a sermon from the holy woman.

"Corn, beans, and squash," Olava said, sparing a moment to glance at Teresa. "It's the foundation of all farming here in the Nibenay Valley. Has been since before the First Age. There's the winter wheat of course too, and some smaller crops of things like carrots, cabbage, and cucumbers, but without the Sisters, everyone would starve."

"So why those three?" Teresa asked. "Why not just wheat?"

"It's companion farming," Olava explained. "Each plant helps the other to grow. The corn stalks give the beans a structure to grow on, so you don't have to put down stakes. The beans actually enrich the soil. The squash covers the ground and chokes off weeds. The leaves are prickly and help keep pests away, plus they give you a mulch after the harvest."

Teresa nodded. It reminded her of how Pappy described a team of fighters as the fingers on a hand. Acting in concert, they were stronger than their individual parts. She had certainly seen that with Chance in Culotte. Neither of them would have survived alone. She had never imagined that the same could be true for crops though!

"For a priestess, you certainly know a lot about farming," Teresa observed.

"You spend too much time around city-folk," the other woman chided. "They think Mara is nothing but the marriage bed. They're cut off from the land, and the natural rhythms of life as the seasons turn. Mara is the moist, black soil beneath our feet, and the green growing things that sprout from her fecund bosom. A good priestess isn't afraid to get her hands down in the dirt. That's where they belong! It's where all life comes, and where it all goes back to in the end."

"Now I see why you are the living saint of Bravil." Teresa felt as if a weight had been drawn from her shoulders. Here she had been expecting endless lectures on Imperial morality as she shepherded the other woman from village to village. She never would have imagined that a priestess could be so pragmatic, so ordinary and down-to-nirn!

"Pfft! Living saint my rosy bum!" Olava chuckled. "I just do that needs doing, and count my blessings."

The Nord frowned for a moment then. Squinting her eyes in what Teresa thought might be pain, she reached a hand down to her pelvis.

"What's wrong?" the wood elf asked, hoping the other woman was not ill. That would be the last thing they needed, before even starting their rounds of the villages!

"Just cramps is all." Olava moved her hand away and concentrated fully upon the road, which now turned to skirt around an apple orchard. "They can get pretty strong around harvest and planting."

"You're having your courses too?" Teresa blinked.

"Naturally," the priestess replied. "I always get them for the blessings. I have to! Else there wouldn't be much of a ceremony."

"What do you mean?" Teresa said under furrowed brows.

"You don't know?" the Nord asked. "You have spent most of your life in the city. You have heard of the Red Wine of Life haven't you, that flowed from between Mara's legs to create life on Nirn? The blessings I perform on the crops require it. Not a single ear of corn can be cut until Mara's red blood has sanctified the ground."

"So you have to use your…" Teresa's eyes widened. The priestess had been right. For as much as she had explored the wilderness since the spring, she could see that she still had much to learn about the nature of life in the country. She knew how to live on her own in the forest; to live off the land and befriend the animals that lived there. Yet for all the farms and pastures she had passed by in that time, she still had no idea what life was really like for the people on them.

"Not simply my blood," the Nord explained. "But Mara's blood. The ceremony transfigures it, transforms it into the goddess herself. That is what makes the blessing. The words do not matter. I can do it all without saying a thing in fact. Her blood is all that matters. It's the source of all life."

Teresa thought about that. It was so… raw and visceral. When she thought of the Nine and their clergy, it was always of dignified folk in immaculate basilicas like that of Zenithar's. She always imagined them as polite folk who lived in halls of polished marble and gold leaf. Places where everything was so perfect and neat that one was afraid to touch anything lest it break.

But Olava's goddess was no marble statue gazing serenely upon a congregation of gentle folk. She was a deity of blood and dirt. Of calluses, hard work, and sometimes pain. She did not elevate people to a higher level of consciousness. Rather she was the foundation upon which life in all its grubby, tenacious forms grew, flourished, and eventually died.

The forester wondered what Morcant would think of Olava? She had the impression that the Witch would like the priestess. Teresa knew that she already did.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Mar 25 2011, 02:11 PM

[mALX]

GAAAAAK! ... never ... eat ... corn ... again ... URG !!! Love the research you put into this - finally got some free time to catch back up !! (and just in time to see Teresa in the tourney !!! WOO HOO !!!) Awesome Write, as you always do, SubRosa !!

[D.Foxy]

Obviously, my dear MalX, you have not heard about the Hell's
Angels order of the Red Wings. I gained my Wings donkey's years ago

[mALX]

Obviously, my dear MalX, you have not heard about the Hell's
Angels order of the Red Wings. I gained my Wings donkey's years ago

Actually, I have heard of it ... but ... never had the desire to earn them myself, lol.

[haute ecole rider]

@mALX: I believe those wings are limited to men only. Though I don't know if it applies to lesbian women, as well. And blood isn't so bad-tasting after all, at least not compared to some of the other bodily fluids I've had the pleasure (not) to taste in the line of work.

Now, on to Teresa's story. The linking of the menstruation to the fertility of the fields bring to mind the ancient ritual of the Corn King (so called in some cultures) that has been around a very long time. The life blood of the king (who is believed to be intimately connected to the land) is shed to make the ground fertile, while a new Corn King is selected for the following year's ritual. In ancient times, there has long been a fascination with the fact that women bleed monthly without dying, which was a thing of mystery and magic to many men (and some women, too, I presume). Bringing these ancient human rituals into the land of Nirn adds a certain depth to the world-building. But I have to wonder if mer (apparently they cycle much slower than human women - consistent with their long lives) view menstruation in quite the same way as the old hunter-gatherer systems IRL did. But by having their menses at the equinoxes versus the solstices certainly raises more questions on the subject.

I was pleased to see mention of the Three Sisters. What a way to honor those who occupied this continent before us bumbling, clueless Europeans did!

[mALX]

GAAAAH! Foxy, get your clipboard out ... time for another survey.

[ghastley]

Obviously, my dear MalX, you have not heard about the Hell's
Angels order of the Red Wings. I gained my Wings donkey's years ago

I must have a bit of dylexia, because when I read this, I thought "Even if it was years ago, DONKEYS??!!!