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

[King Coin]

Sorry I’ve been absent. New game and all.

Ahah! Very well put about the Daedric armor. I completely agree. When Aravi first found Skooma I had her take it to sell, but then she dumped it not long after word because of its nature.


Ch40.13
Now that Kurdan’s gone, it looks like whoever’s in charge wants to run a classy establishment.
Heh, I’m sure he’s happy Teresa gave him a promotion. Now’s the part where he offers her a job.
I’m kind of impressed with the Altmer’s maneuvering. If Kurdan survived, there would be nothing pointing to him.
Teresa’s right, this new guy is going to be a lot worse than Kurdan was in some ways. He’s a lot more dangerous.
41.1
A nice chat in the wonderful bathing room. Sure Teresa put her foot in her mouth a time or two, but not really her fault. I liked hearing more about Morghak. She’s an interesting character.

[Grits]

Future Aela fic, I like the sound of that!!

I like your portrayal of Orsimer culture very much. Morghak’s story flowed beautifully from what you have already shown of her. It was even better to hear now that I’ve been curious about her and then seen her in action.

Quick question, I’m afraid I need a refresher. I remember that the Arimer are responsible for the ruins and star wells in the TF, but I don’t know who the Ayleids were and how they differ. I'm guessing that it will be an important distinction, especially for Teresa.

[SubRosa]

haute ecole rider: I have only done the Arena all the way through once as well, because of how it ends with Agronak (if you do his side quest that is).


Olen: I had a lot of fun working on orc culture for that segment. Morghak's story with Agronak is something I have wanted to bring out since she first appeared at the beginning of the previous chapter. There are lots more talkie bits, and unfortunately no more shaving bits.


Acadian: I am basing the TF orcs partly on Klingons, partly on Spartans, and just a dash of Tolkien orcs for flavoring. I found a bunch of Tolkien orc quotes that actually work rather well in ES. The "Iron in the blood" and "Flowers in the blood" from last chapter are two examples. Likewise, when Morghak says only real women give birth to real men, that is based upon Spartan philosophy.

This article gave me some interesting ideas on how to portray orcs in the TF as well. Based on it I decided to that orcs have always been just as they are now. But in the past, as worshipers of Trinimac, they were the warrior caste of the Aldmer. When the Chimer left Summerset and became daedra worshipers, Trinimac fell out of favor because he failed to stop them. Boethiah did not eat him and shat him out. He made a fool out of him in public. The other Aldmer turned away from Trinimac, and the orisimer in the bargain. Trinimac then threw a hissy fit, and became Malacath. The 'if they want bad, I'll show 'em what bad is' mentality. But the orcs of Orsinium - like Morghak - still worship Trinimac in his original form. As the article suggests, if their belief is strong enough, the could turn Malacath back into him.


McBadgere: Women shaving their genitals and then getting all hot and wet is brilliant? Well I have to agree there! You called in in the Bravilian wax job, others have noted the same thing. A person with that spell could probably make a good living giving shaves in bathhouses, or barbershops.


liliandra nadiar: Yep, it is always fun being naked around the person you are hot for and having to pretend nothing is going on. At least Teresa has had plenty of practice on keeping up a cool exterior by now.


King Coin: Morandil does indeed want a classy place. He is not only greedy, but wants to flaunt his wealth and power. He wants to be surrounded by nice things. No more living in the dumps for him. For him, that is what being on top is all about. Having the best things in life. And yes, he is a very dangerous fellow, because unlike Kurdan, he prefers to think about what he is doing, and manipulates others to do it.


Grits: An Aela fic is something I have been kicking around for a while. I have even been thinking of a cast of characters to tag along with her. People who are just as much outsiders in one way or another as she is.

The Arimer and Ayleids are one in the same. Arimer is the elven name for them, meaning "star elves". While Ayleid is the name given to them by the humans who overthrew them, meaning 'hateful elves' in a combination of Old Aldermic and Nordic. I chose Ayleid in this instance, because Teresa was thinking of them in terms of the race famous for torturing slaves for entertainment. Not to mention necromancy. I use Arimer when she is thinking of them in a positive light, because then she thinks of them in the same fashion and Bosmer, Altmer, etc...


All: I expect to be working late tomorrow, and probably won't have a chance to post. So I decided to air the next episode of the Teresa show a day early.


Previously On Teresa of the Faint Smile: Out last episode found the women of the Bravil FG in the bathtub. Morghak spilled the beans about her past, revealing that she was indeed the lover of the Grey Prince Agronak, and that the reason he lost was because he learned that his father was a vampire, and was too disconsolate to go on living. She challenged his slayer for revenge, but gave up the title of champion afterward because she did not want it. It was always his in her mind. Next, we find Teresa waking up the following morning.


Chapter 41.2 – Nothing is Trivial

As ever, Teresa rose from her bed before the first rays of Magnus graced the sky outside her window. Focusing her mind on the symbol of her Bloom spell, she poured her magicka through that image. The energy washed over her like warm water, leaving her feeling as cleansed and refreshed as if she had just scrubbed herself with soap and soaked in the tub.

Her green spirit bag hung from one of the arms of her mirror. She reached up and took its cord by one finger, and settled it around her shoulders. Rather than following with her over-sized legion tunic and baggy running pants, she instead donned Aldariel. As Tadrose had said when she first set eyes upon the Valenwood armor, she did not have to add each piece one at a time, as one did with plate armor. Thanks to the flexibility of the leaves, she was able to slip into the leggings with their plates already attached, and likewise with the cuirass. Only the gauntlets, boots, and hood followed separately. Then she clasped on her potion belt, mithril daggers, Thieves Bag, and guild amulet. Last of all came Ravenfeeder and its chitin gorytos.

Screenshot

Exiting her room, she quietly padded through the hallway that bisected the living quarters on the second floor of the guild hall. With equal silence she made her way down the stairs at the front of the building. There in the foyer she found a surprise.

Tadrose stood by the front door, looking back at Teresa on the stairs. The dark elf wore a light green cloak, and beneath that her armor of elvish steel. A pack and bedroll were slung over her back, along with her two-handed sword Anganar.

Screenshot

"Tadrose." Teresa blinked as her feet settled upon the ground floor. "What are you doing here?"

"Why I am coming with you of course." The Dunmer's smile was like Magnus bursting to life within Teresa's heart. "You did ask me after all."

"But you said-" Teresa sputtered. This was not fair. Tadrose never accepted her invitations to go out to the forest, never. Teresa knew how to deal with her rejections, like the one she had given the day before. She had no idea how to react to Tadrose actually agreeing!

"I know." The Dunmer held up a hand. "But I paid the bakery and milkman for the next two weeks in advance. The same with Tavian. The mortgage payment is not due until the end of the month, and we will return long before then."

"What about your work in the forge?" The wood elf did her best to suppress the silly grin that wanted to explode from her lips. She could not believe it. Tadrose really was serious about coming along!

"It can wait. Or they can go somewhere else." The Dunmer shrugged. "You almost sound like you do not want me to come along after all."

"Of course not!" Teresa exclaimed as she darted across the foyer. "I mean of course I do! You know what I mean. It's just that you never want to go out with me."

"Well perhaps it is time for that to change," Tadrose smiled. "Besides, I could use some fresh air and a change of scenery. Getting out of the city will be good."

With that the Dunmer led the way out the door. Teresa glanced up at the sky after she stepped outside. The eastern horizon was flushed a deep pink and orange, giving way to cool blues and purple as her eyes moved up into the firmament. Magnus was but moments from revealing himself, she thought. This was one of the best reasons for waking up early. To imagine that she had spent most of her life sleeping past noon!

"It's cold," Tadrose pulled her cloak more tightly around herself. "Winter is nearly here."

"Oh this isn't cold," Teresa breathed the slightly chilled air deeply into her lungs. "Just a crisp autumn morning."

"So says the wood elf," Tadrose shivered. "My people are made for warmer climes. I never saw snow until I came here. In Vvardenfell the mountains are bone dry year round."

Teresa led the way down Lady Street. She took her time, carefully scanning not only down the thoroughfare, but also the homes and alleyways to either side.

"Are you still worried about the gangsters?" Tadrose asked as they stepped up to the Lucky Lady. "I think they are too busy to bother with you right now."

"I know." Teresa said. After one last look around, she leaned forward and kissed the bronze statue upon her flowing skirt. "Morandil told me that no one wept over Kurdan's passing. But a lot of his hounds must have had friends and families. There is no telling what they might do."

"Morandil has his hands full right now." Tadrose followed the wood elf's lead, and also kissed the statue. "One of the other gangs tried to kill him yesterday afternoon."

"Cosmus told me over dinner," Teresa nodded. She led the way back down Lady Street to Silver Avenue. "The assassins were from Canuleius' bunch. Cosmus said Morandil summoned a clannfear to kill them all. I'll bet they find Canuleius floating in the bay when the sun comes up."

"Nasty pieces of work, those clannfears," Tadrose murmured. Teresa shuddered involuntarily, remembering her encounter with the small, but deadly Daedra in Jensine's shop. The poor Nord shopkeeper had never truly recovered from what its magic had done to her, reflecting her own mace blows back upon her skull. "He must be an accomplished mage, to summon a Daedra so powerful."

"Why would anyone want to, when there are Aedra to summon?" Teresa spat in the street. "It ought to be banned, after what they nearly did to all of us."

"Not all the Daedra are murderous beasts slavering for a chance to destroy the world," Tadrose said. "I know it must seem that way after the Oblivion Crisis. But that was only one Daedra Lord, not all of them."

"I know, that's what people say." Teresa glanced up to see a bright spot of yellow now glowing in the east, spilling its light along the line of the horizon. Good morning to you Magnus, she thought to herself. "But I still don't understand why people would want anything to do with them. I mean, it was the Aedra who sacrificed themselves to create our world. The Daedra had no part of it. They sat safe and sound while others suffered to create us. Now they want to play at being our gods? Well not with me."

Screenshot

"That is what the Church of the Nine would say," Tadrose agreed as the two women turned back onto Silver Avenue and headed north. "But perhaps there is more to the story than what they believe, or want to admit?"

"What do you mean?" Teresa wondered.

"Well, I am sure you know that Saint Veloth brought the worship of the Daedra to my ancestors, when he led them from Summerset to Morrowind. He taught us to win the aid of good Daedra such as Azura and Meridia, and protect us from the bad ones like Dagon or Sheogorath."

"What the worshipers of the Nine do not want to admit is that Veloth also said that the Daedra were in fact part of the creation of Nirn. But unlike the Aedra, they were able to withdraw before suffering death or dismemberment. Yet some of their energy is still here, still a part of us. That is why so many of the Daedric Princesses represent one phenomena or another, be it magical initiation, the energy of life, or even nightmares and destruction. If they really were complete outsiders, they could not. Just as you said, how could they play at being gods over creatures they could not comprehend, in a world that likewise defied all their understanding?"

"There is even another view, put forward by Saint Assurnanit of the Ashlanders. After his escape from Apocrypha, he said that in his time in Hermaeus Mora's realm he learned a truth that even the Daedra had forgotten. That they were not only part of the creation, but they were actually a part of Lorkhan himself. We all know that the Aedra who survived the birth of Nirn gathered at Adamantine Tower and took their revenge upon the trickster. They tore him to shreds. His corpse was cast into the sky and became the moons, and his heart thrown to the east, under what became Red Mountain."

"But according to Assurnanit, there were other parts sundered from Lorkhan as well, and cast into Oblivion's abyss. Those shards of divinity later coalesced, and became the Daedra Princesses that we know today. Not all the stars in the night sky are holes made by the Aedra fleeing in horror. Some were made by the Daedra as well. The evening star - the first on the horizon every night - is Azura. So too is the small moon Secunda. That is why the Moon and Star are her symbols."

"If he said the Daedra are actually Lorkhan's bits and pieces, that must not have made him very popular," Teresa observed.

"Indeed not," Tadrose smiled wryly. "In imitation of what the Aedra did to Lorkhan, the other Ashlanders dismembered him and scattered his parts around Vvardenfell."

Teresa could not restrain a faint smile at the irony. Here she thought zealots did not have a sense of humor! "How come I've never heard any of this before?"

"Veloth's teachings are hardly something the clergy of the Nine bandy about," Tadrose laughed. "You will have a hard time finding a copy of any of his texts outside of Morrowind. Assurnanit's teachings were heresy even in there. The Ashlanders and the Temple both executed any who preached them openly, or were caught with a copy of his book. Just as the Dissident Priests were persecuted by the Tribunal before the coming of the Nerevarine."

"So how did you learn about it?" Teresa asked.

"I obtained a copy when I was a teen. I thought I was such a rebel." Tadrose rolled her eyes. "Then when the Nerevarine overthrew Dagoth Ur and revealed the true source of the Tribunal's power - Lorkhan's heart itself - everything changed. The Tribunal was cast down, their temples were destroyed in the riots, and all the banned books and teachings came out. We learned so much of our own history in the years after. Things that the Tribunal and their priests tried to hide from us."

"Never let religion enslave you Teresa," Tadrose said quietly. "Learn from my people's mistakes."

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Nov 21 2011, 12:56 AM

[liliandra nadiar]

The wood elf did her best to suppress the silly grin that wanted to explode from her lips.

Can't have that. She has a reputation to maintain.

Interesting take on the Deadra, though 'unpopular' would be a massive understatement.

"I obtained a copy when I was a teen. I thought I was such a rebel." Tadrose rolled her eyes.

And now I have this mental picture of Tadrose in biker leathers, seven piercings and a cigarette. With Teresa in 'future librarian' swooning over her.

[Grits]

Tadrose stood by the front door, looking back at Teresa on the stairs.

Yay!

"It can wait. Or they can go somewhere else." The Dunmer shrugged.

Wow, she really is serious! We know there’s a lot going on under that casual shrug. She paid the bills for two weeks. That should be a pretty good walk in the woods.


I found Tadrose’s creation stories very interesting. A whole new way of looking at Daedra. It gives the “good” Daedra a valid reason to interact with mortals.


"I obtained a copy when I was a teen. I thought I was such a rebel." Tadrose rolled her eyes.

How funny. I can certainly relate to this. I’m sure many of us had our own teenaged version of Assurnanit's teachings tucked under the mattress.

Now they’re off to the woods armed and armored with freshly depilated girl parts, and Tadrose seems in the mood to share her past. It’s an auspicious start to the chapter!

[Acadian]

I had to double check my calendar when I saw the Monday & Thursday Teresa show treated us to a Sunday episode! Hmm, SubRosa must have a busy week ahead of her.

How delightful that the two ladies are going ‘splorin’! Nice touches about the Vice Commander’s ‘XO’ duties that keep the guild running. I love the subtle improvements you have made to Tadrose’s elven armor, especially her boots.

Wonderful ‘feel’ you impart to their exit from Bravil as you give us some streetside descriptions and references to the challenges posed by and to Morandil.

So Tadrose and Teresa get treated to a beautiful sunrise and the magical opportunity for romantically gentle talk turns to . . . a religious history lesson. Goodness, these ladies surely know how to woo each other! Actually, they’re quite endearing when together. Can we get an Almost Kiss?

[haute ecole rider]

"Never let religion enslave you Teresa,"

This was my standout from this chapter. I really enjoyed the entire segment, honestly. But this last statement from Tadrose is oh, so true!

[Olen]

I suspect Pappy may have had words with Tadrose too... and perhaps she's discovered that Teresa and Ancondil are most definatly not an item, or perhaps she's taken a look at Teresa's bookshelves...

Whatever the reason they're heading out into the wilds together with a nice sunrise to see them off. Tadrose has perhaps decided that she should venture beyond her forge and enjoy herself - it's well hidden but I suspect Teresa may not be the only one facing shadows just now.

She seemed in a mood to share her past though:

In Vvardenfell the mountains are bone dry year round

I think that's the first explict mention of Vvardenfell and after a bit of juicy gossip there was quite a lot on philosophy there which suggests she has some background in religeon, perhaps dissidents.

Acadian - I wouldn't hold your breath for that 'Almost kiss'. I suspect this will involve a lot of talking, secret gazes and tension building...

Also - I love the chapter title, is the pun deliberate?

[McBadgere]

You called in in the Bravilian wax job, others have noted the same thing

Me? Do an unoriginal joke? Surely not... ...

...

Brilliant...

Loved the whole thing...I remember way-back-when, the wife and I went out on a "Not a Date" (it was complicated back then ) and I was absurdly excited about it...So yeah really made me smile...

And I loved the whole Aedra/Daedra discussion...Brilliant...

Nice one... ...

[SubRosa]

liliandra nadiar: If Teresa is not careful, she might get a new nickname after all. Teresa of the Shat-Eating Grin would be even worse than her current one! I also love the image of Tadrose as the teen rebel! Sort of like a Dunmer Joan Jett. I may have to watch The Runaways movie again now!


Grits: Don't we all think we are so wild and edgy when we are 17? Then we turn 30 are realize how ridiculous it all was.

I mentioned the daedra idea a while back in the JF, when you premiered the daedric shrine. Based on this, I have an easier time justifying why daedra would want to have anything to do with Nirn at all, let alone being able to relate to its people on some level. It also makes it easier for me to do the opposite, and I will have a (non villain) daedric summoner appear in a few chapters.


Acadian: No worries, the Teresa Show is back to its normal air times. Those boots are a little mod I downloaded that de-bird foot's them. They look so silly the vanilla way. Now I am free to love every inch of the elven armor.

You know our Teresa and Tadrose alright, the heart and soul of romance! One Almost Kiss coming right up though. I guess I gave it away with my comment in last week's episode of the BF.


haute ecole rider: I think Joseph Campbell put it well: "I'm calling a symbol a sign that points past itself to a ground of meaning and being that is one with the consciousness of the beholder. What you're learning in myth is about yourself as part of the being of the world. If it talks not about you, finally, but about something out there, then it's short. There's that wonderful phase I got from Karlfried Graf Durkheim, "transparency to the transcendent." If a deity blocks off transcendency, cuts you short of it by stopping at himself, he turns you into a worshiper and a devotee, and he hasn't opened the mystery of your own being."

Given the events of the Morowind game, especially concerning the Tribunal's murder of the original Nerevar, stealing Lorkhan's power, keeping it all a secret, and finally the gestapo-esque nature of their temple, I think that the post 3rd game Dunmer would have finally learned that lesson.


Olen: The title is a quote of Brandon Lee's, from the last interview he ever gave. We will see more of that much later in the chapter, where it is said by a character T&T meet.

There is indeed a lot going on under that armor of Tadrose's. We will start to see that this episode in fact, as well as throughout the rest of this chapter and the next. Like you said, Teresa is not the only one with a Shadow haunting her.


McBadgere: One of the things I try to show in the TF is people just being people, meaning women having their periods (Teresa had hers a while back), shaving their legs and other parts, etc... The stuff most writers pretend never happens. I think the only place I draw the line is masturbation and defecation. This is a youth-friendly forum after all...

This 'not a date' (which I have been on more than one as well), might just go right beyond the 'not' part however! As we will see this episode.


Previously On Teresa of the Faint Smile: Teresa is back to her normal time slot. Last episode saw her leaving for an excursion in the woods, only to find Tadrose waiting to accompany her. The two women kissed the Lucky Lady, and related the story of how Bravil's budding crimelord Morandil had to defend his position with a clannfear, against assassins from a rival faction. Then talk went to the Daedra themselves, and Tadrose said that in Morrowind it is believed that the Daedra actually did take a small part in Nirn's creation, and that some radicals even think that they are parts severed from Lorkhan. Next episode picks up with that conversation, and sees a tender moment between the two women.


Chapter 41.3 – Nothing is Trivial

"Is that why you believe in Mara now?" the wood elf said, trying to keep everything the armorer had told her straight in her memory.

"No," the Dunmer said. "Not really. As many women in Morrowind, I followed Azura then. I will admit that my breath still catches in my throat when I see the white moon rising in the sky alongside the evening star. But my heart is with Mara now. It has been ever since..."

"Ever since?" Teresa looked upon the other woman with anticipation.

But Tadrose looked away, to the gatehouse that now filled the street in front of them. "Look, your friend Gaius Prentus is on watch this morning."

There she goes again, Teresa thought, changing the subject as soon as her past came up. Before she could stop herself, the wood elf reached out and took the armorer by the arm.

"Ever since what Tadrose?" Teresa stopped in the road, and faced the Dunmer directly. "Why won't you ever talk about Morrowind?"

The other woman halted as well, and met Teresa's gaze once more. The forester saw her breath catch in her throat. A shudder ran through her body when the air finally escaped from her lips. "Teresa… I-" she stammered, then shook her head. "I just can't."

"Is it because of that mistake you said you made?" Teresa said softly. She stared deeply into the Dunmer's eyes. So normally brimming with fire, now they were as shadowed as a forest at twilight. "Whatever it is, you can tell me Tadrose. If it's a secret, you know I won't betray it."

"I know." The dark elf's words were ragged with restrained emotion. She pulled away from Teresa's grip, and drew her cloak tightly around her. "I know Teresa. But I just can't talk about it."

Teresa bit her lip as she stared at the armorer. No one had ever seemed so alone as Tadrose did in that moment. Gods, what should she do? Should she relent, and give the Dunmer her space? Should she press things, when Tadrose clearly could not give her the answers she wanted? What would Mara do? What would Bear?

Without another thought Teresa moved closer to the taller woman, and slipped one hand around her waist. Pulling the Dunmer close, she willed all of the compassion she possessed into the other woman. Tadrose turned to face her, still firmly in her embrace. Teresa found her free hand rising to the dark elf's face. Her fingers pushed back the errant locks of raven hair that had spilled in front of the armorer's eyes. Then her hand gently cupped Tadrose's dusky cheek.

Tadrose opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again a moment later. Her eyes moved from Teresa's, then down to her lips. Teresa felt the Dunmer's arms fold around her, and pull her even closer. Tadrose's lips hovered over her own, and her head tilted slightly to the side to prevent their noses from colliding. Teresa closed her eyes, and leaned her head forward ever so slightly to meet the dark elf's.

"Teresa!" A male voice rang out in the chill morning air. Tadrose pulled away an instant before their lips could touch. Teresa let go as well, and hid a frown of frustration by lowering her head. When she had regained control of her features, she looked up again to see Gaius Prentus walking toward them.

"It is you," the tall Nibenean said as he drew near. "I'm still getting used to seeing you in that leaf armor. Usually you have your running clothes on at this hour. Ah, and that is you too Tadrose. What are you two up to so early in the morning?"

It was more a question of what they were not up to anymore, Teresa thought sourly.

"We are on our way out of the city," Tadrose answered. "To the villages north on the Green Road."

"Watch for trolls up there." The Imperial's face turned serious. "Goblins too. Our people up there have been reporting seeing more of the latter these days, especially the farther north you go. If you don't mind me being nosy, what takes you two up that way?"

"We're hunting," Teresa said. When the Nibenean's eyebrow rose a full inch in surprise, she went on. "Trolls. But I suppose goblins will do as well."

"Teresa Trollslayer it is then," Gaius murmured. "That's what some are calling you these days you know. Though I like 'of the Faint Smile' better myself. Is your guild under contract from the Count then?"

"No," Tadrose said.

"He's not going to part with one red septim of his drinking money," Teresa frowned. "This is personal. Those things are out there, and someone's got to do something about them."

"Well you've got us in the guard cheering for you." Gaius led the two women back to the massive gatehouse that guarded the only land entrance to the city. "Wish we could get you two in a surcoat, what with all that you've done for the city lately."

Teresa rolled her eyes. "I think you had better just speak for yourself on that score," she muttered.

"No, I mean it," Gaius insisted. "Even the ones that don't much like you for - other reasons - have to admit you've done us some good turns. We all know what those trolls are like, and no one is sad to see Kurdan gone. That orc was just as evil as those furred nightmares. And now that his old gang is all killing each other, you've given this town a long overdue purgative."

Teresa could not restrain one of her namesake smiles at the Imperial's final quip. If only Marius had been the one to make it. Her faint smile deflated at the thought to the dead guardsman. If only she really was a trollslayer, then he might still be alive today.

"Have your people heard any more news of Summerset?" Tadrose filled the awkward silence with her quiet voice.

"Nay, not a word." The guardsman shook his head as he stepped into the darkness of the tunnel that bisected the great stone fortress. The two women followed a moment later, and Teresa found that it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light within the fortress. "So I imagine the troops are still holding out in Alinor. No news on what the Council is going to do about it either. Not even since the Count and the others all came back from the Imperial City. So if they've got a plan, it's a pretty good secret."

"Let's just hope they don't make things worse," Teresa said. "We've had enough troubles this year. Another war is the last thing anyone needs."

"Aye, first the Daedra, and the Emperors," the Nibenean's voice lowered as he mentioned the Septims, but rose again as he continued. "Now these damn trolls and goblins. It's like the world's been turned upside down. I've even heard people saying this is the Fourth Age now."

"Perhaps it is," Tadrose nodded. "So much has happened in our lifetimes. Tamriel is nothing like it was in the days of our parents."

"Well, you two be careful out there." The guardsman came to a halt at the end of the gatehouse and raised his hand to wave the two on.

"You too Gaius." Teresa returned the wave of one of the few guardsmen who would speak with her. A moment later her feet were on the planks of the Larsius bridge, and the sound of the water rushing past underneath filled her ears. She glanced at Tadrose beside her, but the other elf was as inscrutable as a statue.

Whatever breakthrough she had been about to make - if she had not been imagining it all - was out of reach now. Teresa sighed. Perhaps someday Tadrose would open up to her. She prayed to Dibella that she could remain patient until then.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Nov 25 2011, 01:45 AM

[Acadian]

A lovely episode!

So good to see Gaius Prentus again, albeit a shame he busted up the almost kiss.

’It was more a question of what they were not up to anymore, Teresa thought sourly.’

"Teresa Trollslayer it is then," Gaius murmured. "That's what some are calling you these days you know. Though I like 'of the Faint Smile' better myself.’
I’m with you, Gaius!

’I've even heard people saying this is the Fourth Age now."
Someday, historians might agree.

Nit: ’Gaius led the two women back {*} the massive gatehouse that guarded the only land entrance to the city.’
You lost a word here, probably toward or to.

[haute ecole rider]

SubRosa, I agree with your comment about Joseph Campbell. His writings were where I learned how to craft stories.

Oooh, so close! I admit to having mixed feelings about Gaius Prentius just in that moment myself.

Teresa Trollslayer? I'm with Acadian and Gaius about the "Faint Smile" - it's so much more like Teresa herself. Trollslayer is like an Arena nickname. Huh.

So not only trolls but goblins too? What is Nirn coming to? Going to 'Blivion in a handbasket?

[Grits]

"Is that why you believe in Mara now?" the wood elf said, trying to keep everything the armorer had told her straight in her memory.

This is my favorite line in the episode. I find it so endearing. Tadrose is great at explaining things, right up until ever since...


Ah, and that is you too Tadrose. What are you two up to so early in the morning?"

Argh, Gaius!!


Whatever breakthrough she had been about to make - if she had not been imagining it all - was out of reach now.

Maybe Tadrose will give Teresa something that's stronger than her self-doubt. An almost kiss didn’t quite do it. I’d say it’s a pretty good start, though!

[King Coin]

41.2
I love Teresa’s armor! Very nice.

Teresa’s reaction to Tadrose was hilarious! 'What? You're not supposed to want to come with me!'

I found the info Tadrose shared with Teresa on the Daedra very fascinating.

41.3
Damn that guard! So close Teresa, so close.

Ah well, Tadrose might have walled back up, but she’ll come around. That moment was proof.

This post has been edited by King Coin: Nov 25 2011, 03:21 AM

[McBadgere]

DAMMIT!!!... ...

As a hot-blooded male I whole-heartedly praise this episode...*Applauds*...

Excellent writing as ever...On sooo many levels...

Fair dues...*Bows further*...

Nice one... ...

...

[liliandra nadiar]

Darn Guards. Never pay attention when you want them to, and do when you don't want them to. Take heart Teresa, you'll have plenty more chances once you get your Dunmer alone in the woods. :eyewiggle:

[Olen]

An almost kiss - I'm surprised. But now that barrier is broken I would be more suprised if there's not a repeat somewhere a little more... private. I should imagine Tadrose is feeling as irritated as Teresa by the intrusion. Saying that this is Teresa, and events in the wilds might get in the way.

"Have your people heard any more news of Summerset?"

Seeing as no one else has I'll comment on this - well done. I immediatly knew what they were talking about but in another couple of chapters that might well have slipped my mind.

[McBadgere]

I noticed it but assumed I'd missed...Y'know...A couple of bits somewhere... ...

What'd I miss?... ...

[SubRosa]

Acadian: It seems that soldiers like Gaius Prentus and Lucillus have that nasty habit of interrupting wood elves when they are trying to get busy. Still, he did save Teresa's life... The Trollslayer nickname was something that came to me as I was writing the first draft. Given the way she so publicly killed the trolls outside the city gates, it struck me as something she would become famous for in Bravil.


haute ecole rider: We will be seeing more of those goblins two chapters from now. Things really do seem to be falling apart around Bravil. Or at least in the countryside north of it.


Grits: Yep, Tadrose is getting good as sharing her past with Teresa. Right up until that ever since.... I am afraid our wood elf did not pick an easy person to fall in love with.


King Coin: I am glad you liked the little but of humor with Teresa's consternation over Tadrose coming along. She is prepared for Tadrose to say no. But not to say yes!


McBadgere: Well if you liked the last one, you will probably like the following 3 or 4 episodes as well, as they too focus on Teresa and Tadrose, and the relationship they are forming. You did not miss any bits about Summerset, at least not that I think. Unless you did not go back far enough to read about their succession. All the other bits have been depilated by Teresa.


liliandra nadiar: Well, hopefully a troll does not interrupt the next Almost Kiss!


Olen: I put in that little discussion about Summerset just so it would not completely slip people's minds. It is a plot line that will take a long time to reach fruition, because the wheels involved move slowly. Also because the next half-a-dozen or so chapters need to cover ground closer to home in Bravil, and bring closure to some other plot lines.


Previously On Teresa of the Faint Smile: In our last episode, Teresa almost got Tadrose to talk about her past in Morrowind. But again the Dunmer changed the subject. Teresa tried to press the issue, but an emotional Tadrose could not talk about it. A compassionate and supportive hug then almost turned into much more, but was interrupted by Gaius Prentus. Next, Tadrose opens up a little more about Morrowind.


Chapter 41.4 – Nothing is Trivial

The two elves trekked north along the hard stones of the Green Road. To their left rose the expanse of the Great Forest. The once green leaves of its maples, oaks, birches, and sorrels were now a riot of bright yellow, red, and orange. To their right stretched carefully ordered rows of apple and olive trees, alternating with wide expanses of farmland. Teresa noted that the latter were busy with peasants toiling in the soil, and stared in bewilderment.

"What are they doing in the fields?" she finally asked Tadrose. "The harvest was two months ago."

"Aye, the main harvest was." The dark elf's gaze followed Teresa's. "They are preparing the fields for the winter wheat. I imagine they will begin planting in a week or two. "

"Decimus mentioned that once, I think," Teresa searched her memory for her many conversations with the old farmer from Silverbridge. "I think he said it's a chancy thing up in the farms by the Imperial City, so they don't usually try planting it. But with the warmer weather down here in Bravil, the wheat does much better. "

"He calls this warm?" Tadrose pulled her cloak more tightly around her shoulders.

"Oh this is nothing," Teresa smiled faintly. "Simplicia told me in her last letter that the fall colors already came and went back in the Imperial City. They're just starting down here. I bet they'll be having snow up there next month. I don't know when we'll get it down here, if at all."

"It will come," Tadrose muttered. "It always does. Usually not until Morning Star though."

"You really don't like the cool weather do you?" Teresa observed.

"Not at all," the smith admitted. "It's much hotter in Morrowind, year-round. Like I said before, I never saw snow until I came here. In Morrowind, the only place it snows is in the western mountains, by Kragenmoor. But that is all Redoran territory."

"So there is no winter?" Teresa wondered.

"Not like here," Tadrose said as they walked on. "We have the rainy season, and the dry season. Except up in the Ashlands, like at Ghostgate. It is always dry there."

"Ghostgate?"

"It was the only way through the Ghostfence," Tadrose explained. "The Tribunal created it around Red Mountain to keep in Dagoth Ur and his minions. My House had the honor of maintaining the gate, and performing raids into Ashwalker territory. I spent many years there, when I was not in Mournhold."

"So you were a warrior even then?" Teresa asked. Tadrose was actually speaking about her past in Morrowind! She wondered how long it would take until the dark elf changed the subject, as she always did.

"No." Tadrose shook her head. "Oh, I was trained in the use of the sword and destruction magic. It was all very academic however, with teachers afraid to push me, let alone harm me. And of course my parents would never allow me to go on the raids, or take the walls during an attack. That was for 'lesser' mortals."

Which meant that she was an aristocrat, Teresa mused. It was just as the wood elf had suspected for some time. Unlike Parwen, Morghak, and so many others, Tadrose was no simple adventurer who had left home to find fortune or fame in Cyrodiil. She had been someone important. Important enough that whatever mistake she had made, it had driven her half-way across Tamriel to escape it.

What would a woman like that - an aristocrat - ever see in a gutterspawn like herself?

"So it was nothing like training with Pappy then?" Teresa forced herself to continue. "I always have to wear my armor when I spar with him."

"As well you should!" Tadrose smiled as well, and clapped a hand on Teresa's back. "When I came here, I thought I was so skilled, so strong, so disciplined. I barely survived my first real fight. No one had ever tried to step on my foot in practice, or elbow me in the face. It was Ghabruz who taught me to really fight, just as Gaius has taught you."

"I remember my first fight. My first real fight." Teresa's mind wandered back to the previous spring. Try as she might, she could not prevent her throat from going tight as she went on. "That was when the Emperor, when he… I just went mad then, when I saw him fall. Something in me snapped. Baurus had to pull me off the body of his assassin, because I just kept stabbing it with the Emperor's sword. I have never felt so furious in my life. I hope I never do again."

"Righteous fury can carry one a long way." Tadrose said quietly. "But in the end it will get you killed, when you face an experienced foe. That is what happened to Njall at Bruma. I am glad to see you know better than that."

"I hope so," Teresa said. Now her memory flitted to her encounter with the trolls outside of Bravil. She should have drank a potion after killing the troll that had bit her. Nor should she have walked into the field of fire of the city guard archers. But she has been so focused on simply killing that last troll, that no other thought had entered her mind. She had never been so reckless before, or since. But perhaps that had been because her wounds? She had never been so badly injured before. Not even during the Oblivion Crisis. Had that clouded her judgment?

They walked on in silence for some time, passing one village after another as they went. This was the heartland of Bravil County, Teresa mused, as was the strip of land running along the coast south of Silverbridge. Miles upon miles of farms and orchards, and the rugged folk who toiled upon the rich, dark soil. The real wealth of Bravil was not in the city itself, she realized, but out here in the cornfields.

Teresa noted the clouds gathering on the eastern horizon. Not the pleasant white fluff that often played across the summer sky, these were dark and brooding stains upon the firmament, pregnant with rain and thunder. They would be getting wet soon. She had the Jewel of the Rumare to keep her dry and comfortable. But she feared Tadrose would not be so well favored. Would that make the Dunmer regret coming?

As if conjured by her thoughts, the armorer's words filled Teresa's tall wood elf ears. "Looks like rain later today," Tadrose said as she gazed toward Niben Bay.

"It might not be so bad." Teresa bit her lip. "The wind might change, and it might miss us."

"A little rain never hurt anyone." Tadrose looked back to Teresa and smiled. "That is something I am used to. Besides, it will be good for your armor. The leaves need water as much as they do sunlight."

"I am so glad you decided to come along with me Tadrose." Teresa fought to keep from grinning like a fool at the other woman. She prayed to Dibella that she was not blushing as well! "Even if it's only for a few days."

"I am glad I was finally able to make the time, what with my duties as vice-commander and armorer." Tadrose smiled, almost shyly, in return. "We have not been able to really spend any time together since we went shopping during the tournament. Other than that night out with Aela and Ungarion of course. As long as you want to stay out here, I am with you."

How about forever then? Teresa thought. Once again, she hoped that she did not look like a complete fool. "Well, we need to be back by the eighteenth," she frowned, "although I'd like to stay longer."

"For Ancondil's birthday," Tadrose said, smiling once more. "What did you get him?"

"Two of his favorite things," Teresa said. "A bottle of Surilie Brothers, and a book."

"Oh a book," Tadrose said, "by which author?"

"Catullus," Teresa replied. "It's a collection of his poetry."

Tadrose arched an eyebrow. "Why you wild elf you."

"What do you mean?" Teresa beetled her own brows in confusion.

"You did not know?" Tadrose laughed. "Catullus was the most - vigorous - of Cyrodiil's erotic poets. Just the thing to keep a man up in the coming winter nights."

"Oh Mara!" Teresa felt the palm of her hand splay itself across her face. "I had no idea! Ardaline told me it would be a good choice when we were at Nilawen's yesterday."

"I am sure it will be," Tadrose said.

Teresa groaned inwardly. It was obvious that the dark elf was enjoying her discomfort, given the secret little smile that graced the armorer's features.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Nov 30 2011, 06:17 PM

[haute ecole rider]

"Two of his favorite things," Teresa said. "A bottle of Surilie Brothers, and a book by Catullus."

"Catullus?" Tadrose arched an eyebrow. "Why you wild elf you."

"What do you mean?" Teresa beetled her own brows in confusion.

"You did not know?" Tadrose laughed. "Catullus was the most - vigorous - of Cyrodiil's erotic poets. Just the thing to keep a man up in the coming winter nights."

Oh, I actually read this before Foxy came along??!!

And those winter nights can get mighty loooong! Poor Ancondil! Will he get lucky? Hmmm, that new Orsimer member's mighty fair . . .