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

[Winter Wolf]

To say that your writing has gone to the next level over the last few months is one hell of an understatement. Wow! I don't think I have ever read such a balanced piece of writing before, it is so good it is insane.

First you pull off the impossible task of large scale combat in the last chapters and then bring us back to Nirn with a smooth transition into the arms of Simplicia. Wow!

No, scratch that, WOW!

Telling people that she had seen a battle taking place hundreds of miles away as a bird did not strike her as a good idea…

I think your computer ate your 'had' for lunch!!

[haute ecole rider]

Well done!

I hear you about the marathon writing sessions! Sometimes I get so caught up in writing that five hours lapse before I look up at the clock. Yikes!

I didn't see any nits, that's how engrossed I was in this chapter. I liked the scale of the city, and the names of the streets. I have a hard time picturing IC as being a huge metropolis, so your description is very engaging.

And we see dear old Simplicia again! How wonderful, it's almost like going home again. I'm looking forward to seeing my favorite TF character again! Soon, I hope?

[Olen]

Good to see this updating again, as ever it's a pleasure to read.

The paragraph with the smells was bang on and was one of those lines which really brings a setting to life. It also hammered home just how big your IC is...

And now after she sells some loot I can't wait to see what happens.

Comments:
Beyond the great bulwark, the tall, slender spire of White Gold Tower floated high in the summer sky, seeming to nearly reach clouds themselves. - great description but I'm not convinced the first comma is helpful. Might just be the way I read it though.

passed through this intersection - I'm not sure about 'intersection', it could be an accent thing but to me the word conjurs images of either big scary American juntions with too many traffic lights or maths. It doesn't seem right with the setting, perhaps 'junction' or 'thoroughfare' would fit better, it might just be an accent thing though.

Anyway great stuff and I look forward to more.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: Thank you paladin. Big is definitely what I am going for with both the IC, and Tamriel in general.


Winter Wolf: Thank you Wolf. As you know I prefer the personal stuff, but writing the big sweep of battle last chapter was good exercise.

Quite right about lunch. I need to start feeding my computer more, so it does not continue munching on my words...


haute ecole rider: Thank you for those street names from the JF. It is little touches like that which help bring a setting to life.

If you favorite TF character is Jensine, then you are in luck! Just kidding. Vols will be very prominent this chapter.


Olen: Thank you Olen. I think the thing that Teresa will remember the most about the IC is the smell.

I decided to keep the first comment, but went and changed intersection to crossroads, to give it more low-tech feel.

All: This will be slightly big, at 2.2k, but I think it breaks at a good point. Next Teresa catches up with Simplicia, and we see the first sign of a new personal issue which will trouble her for some time. Finally, we have another surprise visit from The Hero of Kvatch.

* * *

Chapter 11b - The Knight of Swords

"My Teresa!" the old woman exclaimed, "You have been gone so long that I was almost afraid you forgot to come back!"

"I could never forget you Simplicia," Teresa breathed, feeling the other woman draw away. "I sent you a letter, did you get it?"

"Oh I did!" the beggar cried. Reaching into the folds of her skirt, she drew forth a folded up piece of parchment. "Jensine gave it to me just a few days ago! I could na' believe it. My little girl sending me letters, just like some fancy patrician! You should save your money though."

"None of it's wasted when it's for you." Teresa could not keep the smile - a real smile - from her lips. "Why aren't you wearing the new clothes I bought you before I left?"

"Oh I can't wear those when I'm workin'" the old woman waved her hand for emphasis. "Nobody'll give me half a drake unless I look poor."

"But you don't have to beg any more Simplicia." Teresa bit her lower lip. "I gave you enough money that you can stay at one of the plain inns, like Luther Broad's. I've got more now too, plenty more."

"Oh I can't go to Luther's," the old woman said. "It ain't safe! There was a murder there! Not long after you left, two Redguards, one a big man and the other a woman with hair white as snow, killed them some poor Breton fella there. The legion didn't do a thing neither, so they must'a been workin' for one of the nobles."

A Redguard with white hair? Teresa thought, could that have been Julian, and the other man Baurus? She had not seen him since leaving the prison nearly two months ago. Nor had she seen Julian, in the flesh at least, in nearly as long as well. Had that Breton been a Mythic Dawn assassin?

"Well you could go to The King and Queen then, or The White Mare." Teresa insisted. "You shouldn't be out here begging at all. Let me take care of you from now on."

"Oh I can take care of myself Teresa, don't you worry none about me," the old woman said with a wave of her hand.

"You shouldn't have to, and I do worry!" Teresa insisted. "I'm doing good now, and I want you to do good too. You took care of me for all those years, now it's time for you to let me take care of you."

"Oh I'm just fine as I am, I don't need much." Simplicia said. Now the Imperial looked at the sacks of gear that Teresa had discarded on the cobblestones. Poking a hand into one, she withdrew a bronze-colored mace of Dwemer manufacture. "Where did you get this? Have you been stealing? I swear ever since you met that Methredhel you've been going down the wrong path!"

"I didn't steal anything!" Teresa grabbed the mace from Simplicia and thrust it back into the bag. "I came upon this fair and square! It belonged to some bandits who died."

"You been killing bandits!" Simplicia's eyes widened in shock. "What have you been doing out there? You said you were just picking plants!"

"I am!" Teresa felt herself flush with warmth. "I didn't kill anyone. Someone else killed them. I just found them afterward and took all their things."

"Who would do such a thing and not take it all themselves?" Simplicia gave the much younger wood elf a hard stare.

"I don't know. Maybe it was the Imperial Legion, or maybe it was trolls." Teresa tried to come up with any explanation other than a necromancer who had nearly killed her. "It doesn't really matter. All that matters is I found it and now I'm going to sell it, and we're going to live good for a while!"

"Oh Teresa, you haven't been yourself since you disappeared. What happened to you, to make you so wild?" Simplicia said. "You need to settle down, before you get hurt, or worse. Keep your head down and stay out of trouble, that's the way to go."

"Keep my fetching head down!" Teresa could not contain the snarl that escaped her lips. Her heart was racing, and her hands clenched into fists. "I'm not going to spend my life in the damn gutter! And neither should you blast it!"

"Teresa!" Simplica's eyes widened again, and the old woman stepped back from the wood elf. "What's gotten into you! You were never like this before."

Because I never had any respect for myself before, Teresa thought to herself. It took all the willpower she could muster to avoid spitting those words back into the old Imperial's face. Instead she closed her eyes and forced her shaking fingers to uncurl themselves, laying her palms flat against the top of her greaves.

Calm down, the forester told herself, Simplicia was just worried about her, like she always was. Why was she getting so angry?

"I'm sorry Simplicia," Teresa sighed. "I just can't live like I used to anymore. I can't." In her mind, she heard the Emperor's words: "You have no idea what you can do, but I do" As if driven away just by thinking of him, her anger vanished as quickly as it had erupted.

"Let's go and sell this junk," she nodded to the bags of loot. "Then we'll get something to eat and catch up. I was thinking I would start at The Best Defense, since a lot of it is armor."

"No, don't go there," Simplicia warned. "They got a whole bunch of stuff in just the other day, you won't get no good prices there. Try Jensine, she buys everything."

"Ok I…" Teresa's words trailed off at the sound of shouts and cheers that suddenly broke out in the street outside the arcade. She and the beggar both turned to look, and before their eyes crowds began to form along either side of the thoroughfare.

"Emperor Martin!" she heard someone shout, and her heart skipped a beat.

"The Hero of Kvatch!" came another cry, prompting Teresa to take Simplicia by the arm and step closer. The crowds blocked their way though, and there was no pushing through them. Then the wood elf's eye spied a group of crates nearby, and a moment later she leapt atop one. Reaching down for Simplicia, she dragged her up as well, in spite of the older woman's protests.

Looking back to the street, she now saw that a group of riders were slowly making their way through the cheering mass of people. Leading the way was a middle-aged Breton wearing the banded armor of the Blades and carrying a curved sword. Close behind him came a thickly-muscled Redguard dressed in the same. Both looked worn and tired, and were covered in dust.

"It's Jauffre!" she cried out, pointing them out to Simplicia, "and that's Baurus!"

"How do you know who they are?" the old woman asked. Before Teresa could reply, a third rider came into view.

Like the other two, he rode a rather ordinary-looking brown horse. However, unlike them he was dressed in gleaming ebony armor emblazoned with golden dragons. A sword of the same dark material was slung at his hip. His helmet sat on his saddlehorn, allowing his dark hair to flow in the breeze that had suddenly kicked up. Blue eyes flashing, he greeted the crowds with a smile. It was Martin Septim, Teresa knew, the new Emperor himself!

What really drew Teresa's eyes was the great red jewel hanging from his neck however, bound in gold and surrounded by eight smaller gemstones of varying colors. She recognized it instantly, for she had once held it in her hands. The Amulet of Kings.

Had he been wearing that at Bruma? she found herself wondering. No, he had not, she realized. Was that because he had been afraid of it being broken in the battle? Somehow she doubted that. The Emperors always wore the amulet. Or at least all the statues and paintings of them showed them that way. Had he somehow not had the amulet at Bruma? But why not?

Teresa lost her chain of thought as the final rider came into view, bringing up the rear of the group. She was a middle-aged Redguard, whose snow white hair trailed down behind her shoulders in a ponytail. She wore mail armor covered in a white surcoat, with a back wolf's head across the chest. Suddenly she realized that was the symbol of Kvatch, as she heard people crying out: "The Hero of Kvatch!"

Julian of Anvil, she thought. She had been seeing her so much in her visions, and heard tales of her exploits so often on the road, that Teresa felt she knew the Redguard. A silly idea, the forester told herself, but still she felt that way nonetheless. Even though she had actually only met Julian for a very brief moment at Weynon.

The Redguard's eyes locked upon her own then, and the other woman nodded her head in acknowledgment.

She remembered! Teresa could not restrain the grin that crossed her features, nor keep her hand from rising up to wave at Julian and the other riders as they slowly pushed their way through the crowd.

"Look Simplica!" Teresa now turned to the older Imperial. "That's Julian of Anvil! And that's the new Emperor in front of her, Martin Septim!"

"Bah, none of them mean a thing," the beggar waved a dismissing hand at the riders and began to clamber down from the crate. "They're all the same, livin' their great big ivory tower. They don't know or care a fig for people like us down here in the street."

"That's not true," Teresa found herself saying. She reached down to steady the old woman as she stepped back to the cobblestones, and followed her a moment later. Long habit made her eyes dart to her bags of loot, and a feeling of relief washed over her when she saw they were still where she had left them. "They do care. They just fought a huge battle to protect all of us from the Daedra. All of them were in the thick of it. Now that the Emperor's back here, then the war must be over!"

The thought was like a tremendous weight being lifted from her shoulders. Ever since leaving Morcant, the Witch's chilling prediction had been gnawing at the back of her mind. The images of the cards had always been just beneath the surface of her thoughts: The Daedric Prince, The Tower, Death. Yet now that the battle had been won, and the Emperor returned to the city victorious, then it was all over, was it not? Was not that battle what the reading had been all about?

For some reason that made her think of Julian, standing in the wreckage of the Great Oblivion Gate, holding that strange orb in one arm. What had that been? Teresa wondered once more. Had that had something to do with why Martin had not been wearing the Amulet of Kings that day?

That had only been a few days ago, she found herself thinking, how had they gotten here from Bruma so quickly? Glancing back toward the street, she realized that they were not riding the same horses that they had in the battle. That is when it came to her. They must have used those dispatch posts she had seen on the road. They could have ridden nonstop since the battle, drinking Restore Fatigue potions to stay awake, and changing horses at every station. That could have gotten them here so quickly.

"How do you know about a battle?" Simplica asked as they walked back to the loot. "I haven't heard anything about that?"

"I found out about it on the road," Teresa said. "It was at Bruma. There was a huge army of Daedra that attacked the city, like at Kvatch. But the Emperor led the army against them and won!" At the cost of many people's lives, Teresa remembered. The sight of Morcant kneeling in the wheat beside Attius was burned into her mind. How many other people lost their loved ones that day? she wondered. How many soldiers had died, to protect people like herself and Simplicia?

"The Nine forbid anything like that happening here!" Simplicia reflexively looked up as she slowly walked from the edge of the street and back into the shade of the arcade. Teresa followed, forcing herself to slow down to match the older woman's glacial pace. For not the first time, she wished she had learned to create Cure Disease potions sooner. If she had been able to cure Simplicia's stonejoint quicker, she would probably walk much better today.

Well, if wishes were horses we all would ride, the wood elf thought to herself as they made their way back to her sacks of loot. Lifting one after another and hoisting them over her shoulders, she led Simplicia down a small alley that cut right through the insula. It led them back to Commerce street, and the Market Gate rose not far beyond her left shoulder. Pushing her way across the boulevard, she took another alley through the insula at the other side. Finally that led them into another arcade lined with shops The two of them made their way through the nearly deserted space, and Teresa was thankful for the crowd having gathered in the street. It was nice to have some elbow room once more.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jul 30 2020, 01:53 AM

[haute ecole rider]

I loved that Julian recognized Teresa from that so-brief visit at Weynon Priory a lifetime ago! Cool!

Simplicia's concern for Teresa's activities remind me of my own mother, especially when first my older sister, then I, went away to college and came home drinkin' and swearin'! "I did not pay tuition so you could learn how to drink and swear!"

The reference to Astav Wirich's passing in the cellar of Luther's tickled me no end!

It's wonderfully perceptive of Teresa to notice the Amulet. I wonder if the brief time she held it affected her. Of course, it's kind of hard to miss.

[Acadian]

This was great! I loved how you anchored the whole story with Teresa and Simplicia. Yes, Simplica was understandably concerned for Teresa, and yes, Teresa stumbled trying to explain her bandit loot. I was impressed however by Teresa as she explained to Simplicia that she could no longer be meek and keep her head down - wisely put for one so young. I was even more impressed by Teresa as she explained to Simplicia that the 'royal party' passing by did indeed matter, and why. Beautifully done, SubRosa!

It was wonderful, as always, to see Julian again in this segment.


A nit, perhaps?

"I'm doing good now, and I want you to do good to.

My guess is that by the bolded 'to', you mean as in 'also'; therefore I would think you want 'too'.

[Destri Melarg]

I fell in love with Simplicia in this chapter. She reminds me of my grandmother, the woman who raised me and went to bed hungry so that my brother and I didn’t have to. The woman who was there with a small handful of folded money, a sandwich and a hot bowl of soup, or a warm bed and blanket for anyone who needed it, yet who constantly refused help even when offered simply because she refused to be a burden to anyone.

Experiencing the Oblivion Crisis second hand like this, through Teresa’s perspective, is just great. I am in awe of your use of the little subtle details like the ‘two Redguards who killed the poor Breton’, or the absence of the Amulet of Kings and the use of the dispatch stations to change horses en route to the IC while quaffing Restore Fatigue potions . . . inspired writing, ‘Rosa!

[Winter Wolf]

The memory of this chapter stays with one long after it is read. The believability of the characters and the sweeping vision of the crowd scene is what makes the heart of it tick. Bravo!

Simplicia just oozes a realness here that was a delight to read. She was not going to move and even a bargepole would not have shifted her position. And the more Teresa got upset the more her feet became set. Fantastic!!

Strangely, I came across Simplicia last night while I was playing Oblivion. She had her back to me in the Market District and refused to get out of my way. If I turned left, she blocked me, if I turned right, she was there again. I had the strong urge to just pick her up and place her down on the sidewalk!!
Please ask Teresa to have a word with her, would you? I have my shopping to do.

The part with Julian was so wonderful. I cannot wait to see how Haute finishes the MQ in her story.
The 'Hero of Kvatch' title does seem to fit our delightful Redguard.

This post has been edited by Winter Wolf: Jun 29 2010, 07:03 AM

[Olen]

Excellent part, I echo Wolf's comments on the believability of the characters, they all seemed completly real with perfectly done reactions in this part. Simplicia was just excellent, everyone must know someone like that and Teresa's reactions felt so real.

The comments about Luther Broad's brings the setting to life too.

And we got Julian, that part was a real treat.

[SubRosa]

haute ecole rider: Thank you h.e.o. Simplicia is where Teresa gets her stubbornness from. Teresa carried the Amulet of Kings for a week, so its something that she is quite aware of. Not mention as you said, it is hard to miss being so huge! We will see more about he effects of her being an amulet-bearer in the future...


Acadian: Thank you Acadian. That was a scene that showcased several of the changes in Teresa's attitudes. Her self-confidence, her temper, and her changing feeling toward authority figures.


Destri Melarg: Thank you Dest. I was never satisfied with the treatment I gave Simplicia in the original version. I wanted to give her more depth, to make her feel more real. She is the most important person in Teresa's life after all.

I am also glad you liked the little bits of second-hand info about the Oblivion Crisis, delivered in the same way ordinary people would learn them. That is also something I have been aiming for.


Winter Wolf: Thank you o frozen Wolf. I am glad the extra work I put into Simplicia worked for you. You just need to give her some money in the game!


Olen: Thank you Olen. Julian does have one more cameo next chapter, and it will be her largest part in the TF to date.


All: Now for some manly killing, and we meet the man this chapter is named after.


* * *

Chapter 11c - The Knight of Swords

The sight of a legionary gave her pause however. Wearing the dark plate of all his brethren, he towered higher than ordinary Imperials, taller than most orcs or Nords even. Icy blue eyes flashed from the recess of his plumed helmet, and now Teresa did freeze. She knew those eyes. They had been etched upon her memory since childhood. Even now she could still see that gauntleted fist smashing across her face, feel the crack of a tooth breaking loose from her jaw, and taste the warm, salty blood that filled her mouth afterward.

"It's that fetcher Volsinius," Simplicia muttered darkly from beside her. Somehow hearing the older woman's voice snapped Teresa back into motion. Blinking hard to wipe the image from her mind, she resolutely strode forward. She was not going to allow some thug to scare her, she told herself, never again.

Making a point to ignore the legionary, she led Simplicia to Jensine's 'Good As New' Merchandise, pausing there to let the older woman open the door for her. She was aware of Volsinius hovering near, and could feel that frozen stare of his upon the back of her neck. Let him stare, she thought to herself, she was not a child anymore, and was not going to be frightened by childhood hobgoblins.

The interior of Jensine's shop was spacious and brightly lit by glowstones. The stone walls were lined with shelves and racks of merchandise. Clothing, tools, tableware, furniture, even a few weapons and pieces of armor filled the shop. A glass counter stood near the front door, its innards filled with jewelry, curios, and even a magicka gem that glowed from the energy stored within it. Jensine had a little bit of everything, Teresa found herself thinking as she walked to the counter.

Behind the counter stood Jensine herself. She was tall for a human, with a solid frame clad in worn linen. Her green eyes were set within a face worn by time and troubles, and her red hair was so dark that it was nearly brown. She was talking to a brown-haired Bosmer near the back of the store. He wore simple clothing of flax, and was taking candles from a small crate and arranging them onto a shelf. It was Gelephor, Teresa knew, the night watchman from the warehouse next door. She had seen him often enough in the shops along the arcade. The only other person in the store was a Redguard whom the forester had never seen before, looking over the silver cups and pitchers that lined one shelf.

Screenshot

Screenshot

Jensine turned at the sound of the door. A scowl dropped away from her face, to be replaced by a warm smile. "Simplicia!" she exclaimed, "has that girl of yours come back yet?"

"She just got back this morning," Teresa said dryly, setting her bags down on the floor beside the counter. The shopkeeper gave her a blank stare as she looked her up and down. Then the human's features lit up in surprise.

"Teresa? is that you?" Jensine cried, "you look so different!"

The wood elf could feel her cheeks color with warmth, and stared down at the floor. Had she really changed that much? she wondered. Then with a faint smile she lifted her eyes back to Jensine's. It was more a question of how much she had not changed, rather than how much she had.

"That's my girl alright!" Simplicia's voice rang out from beside her. Even Teresa could not fail to note the pride on the old Imperial's voice. "I told you, she's an explorer now she is. All fancy in her leather, out there in the woods making potions."

"Well it's good to see you doing so well!" Jensine exclaimed. "If you need more henna for your hair let me know. I got some in a few days ago." Then her voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper, and she leaned closer to the wood elf. "I've got plenty of silphium too," she winked, "with that hair, you'll probably be needing it."

Now Teresa blushed again. She knew all about silphium, Methredhel and Adanrel had been taking it for years to keep from getting in a family way. But that was hardly ever a problem for her!

"I, um, have some things to sell that I found in the woods," Teresa tried to quickly change the subject. Lifting the elven body shield to the counter, she set it gently upon the wooden top.

"You found this in-" Jensine's voice was suddenly cut off as the door burst open and a Khajiit ran in, his eyes wide with terror. The source of his fear became evident a moment later, as a nightmare leaped through the doorway behind him. Covered in brown scales, the massive creature's head was long and narrow, and reminded Teresa of an Argonian's. Only Argonians did not have razor sharp teeth that were half a foot long. Nor did they have feet adorned with similar wickedly-edged claws, nor tails crowned with spikes.

A daedroth! Teresa realized, having seen plenty of them at Bruma. She stared in horror as the Daedric beast pounced upon the Khajiit, slamming the poor man face-down into the floor. Its foreclaws raked across the man's back, and he screamed in a high-pitched voice as chunks of flesh and bone were torn free. He went silent a moment later, as the monster's massive jaws dipped low and locked around his throat.

Teresa knew that she should do something. She should draw her bow, she thought, string it, nock an arrow, and shoot. Yet her body was frozen in place. All she could do was stare as her stomach churned at the sight of the Khajiit's head being ripped from his shoulders. Then the daedroth rose from the corpse and looked directly at her and Simplicia.

Now the wood elf found she could move again, and pushed the older Imperial behind her. She knew that she could never string her bow in time to use it. The handle of the Dwemer mace poked from the open top of one of the bags near her feet. She wondered if she would be able to reach it before the daedroth was upon her?

The sound of metal clanking against metal came to Teresa's ears, and then Volsinius was in the doorway. His arming sword was already in his hand, and its brilliant, silvery blade stained with dark liquid along its length. He only paused a moment to take in the scene, then sprang into action as the daedroth moved forward. Charging up behind the Daedra, his sword darted forward even as it reached out for Teresa. The monster stiffened as the legionary's blade pierced the back of its skull, and collapsed to the floor in front of the forester a moment later.

The shop erupted in a bedlam of screams and shouts as Volsinius turned from the daedroth and faced the open doorway. Teresa remained silent however. Her bow stave was in her hand now, and her fingers drew forth a string from a pouch at her waist. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a bright red-orange glow outside the shop. She knew what that was, she had seen it at Bruma as well. An Oblivion Gate!


***
I do not have an in-game screenshot, but I have always pictured Ray Stevenson as playing Vols, except with blond hair and blue eyes.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jul 11 2010, 10:02 PM

[D.Foxy]

Damn.

You got it in one, girl. Yep, he looks the part...though of course Vols would be older, and more lined in the face.

Hmmm...you made Vols have a far different entry than the last story. Interesting. Let's see if you can get the same intensity here that you achieved then...


...waiting for your next post!

[haute ecole rider]

Yup, that's the way I always pictured Vols, only with a slightly broader face (i.e. a little more Slavic).

This is a different start to the Oblivion Crisis, and much more effective. It shows how things can change from the mundane, happy times to sheer horror in literally a blink of an eye.

I'm waiting to see how the rest of the Crisis plays out!

[Acadian]

This was great!

Wonderful, almost majestic opening description of Volsinius.

What really struck me in this story was your economy of words. At one point I was marveling at the detail you provided inside Jensine's shop. Yet, after finishing the story, I find I myself amazed how much ground you covered - - without the slightest sense of rushing the story. Very well done!

Teresa knew exactly what a Daedroth and Oblivion Gate were because she had seen them at Bruma - beautiful touch.

[Winter Wolf]

I always loved this chapter from Beth and I still do!
It is brutal and to the point, you lavish us with just the right amount of detail.

Ahh Vols. Welcome back.

I loved the reference to childhood hobgoblins. Was that in the original? It seems to slip my mind for some reason.

[Olen]

Well you introduce Vols interestingly, I'm fascinated to see how you develop him. You've certainly introduced him in the thick of it, just when I felt a pause for breath coming on you have a daedric invasion of the IC. Good detail with the daedroth ripping the bloke apart.

Again you demonstrate how far Teresa has come but you moved it subtlly enough that its hard to place a finger on any major turn in her character (with the possible exception of meeting the Emperor though even then is was more in the mind and liad foundations...). Simplicia's pride after complining in private fits her character perfectly too.

A nit?!
Charging up behind the Daedra, his sword - an obsessive might point out at this juncture that strictly 'Daedra' is plural and 'Daedroth' singular but seeing as this conflicts with the name of an individual variety I can see why you used daedra as singular, however I'm less sure about the capitalisation (I wouldn't have noticed but the whole singular/plural thing drew my attention from the shop (where it had been firmly lodged)).

[Remko]

You, my dear, are truly a miracle worker. Loved the little hint to the Breton killed by Baurus. I also adore the depth you have given Simplicia.

[SubRosa]

D.Foxy: Thank you Fox.


haute ecole rider: Thank you h.e.o. I wanted to make the beginning of the attack seem really sudden and unexpected. I am glad it worked.


Acadian: Thank you Acadian. You know me, the soul of brevity. It is funny, now that she has read Varieties of Daedra, and seen the battle at Bruma, Teresa is something of an expert on Daedra now. At least the ones of Marooned Dragon.


Winter Wolf: Thank you wolf. The hobgoblins are a new reference, to go with the new scene of Teresa and Simplicia seeing Vols lurking outside of Jensine's.


Olen: Thank you Olen. I go for slow and steady with character development, showing a little bit at a time, precisely so I can get that sense you mentioned, of it being hard to point out just one moment where things change.

I am not using daedroth as a term meaning all daedra, as that is just confusing. The differences in capitalizations are part of the style sheet I have developed for writing ES, it goes with how I do Bosmer and wood elf, etc... At the Beth forums we had a topic devoted to sounding off questions and ideas about how to do things like that. here it is. It might be a good idea to start one here.


Remko: Thank you Rem. I am glad Simplicia is feeling real, working on that has been one of my goals in Teresa 2.0.


All: Next, Teresa finds herself in a desperate battle to survive the end of the Oblivion Crisis.

* * *

Chapter 11d - The Knight of Swords

Just as she finished stringing her bow, a mob of Daedra came pushing through the door. Unlike the giant daedroth, these were little runts, barely half Teresa's height and even skinnier. Their brown bodies were hairless, and reminded Teresa of goblins with their pointed ears and deformed features. Yet goblins did not have rat-like tails, nor hooked claws on their fingers.

"Damn scamps!" Volsinius cried out, striding into the mass of creatures. His bright sword chopped into the nearest, severing one of its bony arms in a smooth motion. That is when Teresa noticed that the blade of his sword was not made of steel, but rather of a bright, silvery metal. Mithril! she realized. She had seen the battlemages of the army wearing mail of the same material. Yet she could only recall of a few foot soldiers carrying weapons made of it. The centurions, with their transverse-crested helmets, and a few others who otherwise looked the same as any other legionary.

Two more of the monsters leapt upon Volsinius, their clawed fingers scratching ineffectually across the dark steel plate that girded his muscular frame. Dropping his sword, the soldier grasped one by the neck and smashed it against the wall. The creature hit so hard that its skull burst open against the stone, draping the wall with black blood as its body slid to the floor.

Teresa had an arrow in her hand then, and set it to the nock even as another of the creatures sprang at her. There was no time to think, or aim. She simply drew and loosed. The creature jerked in mid-air as the fletchings of her arrow sprouted from its shoulder. A moment later it landed heavily upon her. The forester shoved it off of her as it weakly grabbed for her torso with its good arm, and she reached for another arrow.

Simplicia's scream brought her around. One of the scamps had cornered the old woman against the counter, and was tearing at the long skirt she wore. Blood stained the Daedra's claws, even as the beggar pounded upon its head with her closed fists.

Teresa felt her blood boil at the sight. Ignoring the scamp at her feet, she turned and drew her bow to half tension, sighting in on the torso of the little monster. She felt a tugging at her legs, and heard something tear. She paid it no heed. Letting half of the air from her lungs, Teresa pulled the string back to her cheek and loosed. The scamp attacking Simplicia jerked as the arrow drilled through its heart, then fell still.

Teresa looked down to see the first scamp tearing at the leather and hide on her legs with its good arm. The enchanted armor flashed yellow with every strike of its claws, but was slowly unraveling under its assault.

Her heart, already racing, doubled its pace as she stared at the malformed features of the monster so near to her. Trying to jerk it loose, she kicked and flailed at the creature, feeling panic rise within her. It clung on like a tick however, and as she stared a ball of fire erupted from its slender fingers and washed over her legs. The forester gritted her teeth and screwed her eyes shut, anticipating the agony to come. Yet she did not feel a thing. Opening her eyes, she found that the leather sheathing her legs was not even singed by the Daedra's magical fire.

Then its skull dissolved under the bronze head of the Dwemer mace. Looking up, Teresa saw Jensine standing next to her with the weapon in hand. The screech of another scamp came from near the doorway, as Volsinius pinned it to the wall with his shield and used his long, triangular-bladed dagger to grisly effect upon its wiry frame. It fell silent a moment later, and the legionary allowed its corpse to drop motionless to the floor.

Now the shop went silent, but for the clanking of armor and gasps for breath by its mortal inhabitants. Looking around, Teresa saw that the scamps had either fled or been killed. Volsinius quickly moved to the door and slammed it shut. The immediate threat over, Teresa knelt on the floor beside Simplicia.

"How bad is it?" she murmured, biting her lower lip as she gingerly lifted the torn strands of dirty flax from the old woman's legs. Her heart lurched at the sight of the bloody claw marks that raked across the old woman's wrinkled flesh.

"Oh, I've had worse from rats," the beggar said. Yet Teresa could not fail to notice how the Imperial had to force the jaunty words from clenched teeth, nor could she miss the grimace that crossed the old woman's features.

"I can make some healing potions," Teresa said, shucking the pack from her back and digging for her mortar and pestle. "Just give me a few minutes."

"No," Simplicia said, her voice hard as iron now. "Save that for something worse."

Then Jensine was kneeling beside the two of them, and her thick fingers effortlessly tore up the already ruined bottom of Simplicia's skirt into bandages. "You go help the others with the door," the shopkeeper said to Teresa, nodding toward the men who were now piling tables, chairs, and even shelves against the entrance. "I'll take care of our lady friend here."

* * *

"That barricade is not going to hold for long," Teresa said in a quiet voice, eyeing the furniture and dead scamps piled at the entrance of the shop. As if to underscore her point, the door buckled as something that must have been large and heavy crashed against it from the other side. Reaching into the quiver at her hip with a creak of leather, the pale Bosmer drew forth an arrow and set it upon her longbow.

"If you have any armor or weapons, you had better get them now," Volsinius said as he stepped closer to the barricade and raised his sword and shield. The legionary was clad from head to toe in armor plate, and his heavy steps came with a clangor of steel on steel. Yet somehow his motions were not as ponderous as Teresa would expect from someone in so much metal. She could hardly imagine even being able to walk in it, let alone fight, yet he made it seem effortless. "I'll hold them off as long as I can, but just in case..."

Teresa still could not believe that Volsinius had just saved her life. It made her feel strange to think that way about the legionary. Yet here he was, the monster from her childhood, fighting for her very life.

"Go through Teresa's stuff, its filled with bandit armor and weapons." Simplicia cried, hobbling to where the sacks of loot still lay against the counter. Upending them, she spilled cuirasses of hide and leather across the floor, along with greaves, gauntlets, axes, and maces.

Teresa watched as the beggar and the others in the shop began picking up pieces of armor and hurried to put them on. They looked as confounded by the buckles and straps as she had been the first time she had to put on her own armor. The bard's stories always made it sound easy, but in reality armor was not something you could slip into as like a pair of breeches.

Teresa was thankful for her own bandit-style hide and leather armor. It might be revealing, but the Fire Shield that Morcant had enchanted it with had already proven its worth against the scamps. Thank goodness she had come across the Witch, she thought, otherwise where would she be?

That made her think of the tarot reading the Bosmer magician had done for her. The Tower, the Daedric Prince, Death. The cards rose in her memory, grimly echoed by the scene of horror within Jensine's shop. She had hoped that the reading had been about the Battle of Bruma, that it had all been over.

Yet as she looked at Volsinius, the image of the Knight of Swords also came to her mind. "This aids you," the Witch's voice floated in her memory. "A powerful fighter, who will be at your side when you need him most."

With that thought the planks in the center of the door burst inward, creating a fist-sized hole in the wood. Teresa thought she could see something dark and scaly through the opening. A moment later a great beak chomped into the edge of the aperture and tore another chunk of wood loose, widening the breach.

"Step aside," Teresa found herself saying to Volsinius as she moved up to the barricade. The legionary briefly turned to face her, and she was not sure if she should be pleased with the look of surprise within the Y-shaped slit in his helmet or not. But he did move aside as she raised her longbow and pulled it to half tension. Still, he held his sword and shield at the ready.

Letting out half of her breath, Teresa carefully sighted her arrow on the breach. Then she pulled the waxed string back to her cheek and loosed. A feathered shaft blossomed from the hole, and a hiss of what could only be pain issued from the other side of the door.

Wasting no time, Teresa drew forth another arrow and sent it chasing after the first. Now the shafts of both missiles vanished as they were pulled through the opening by whatever they were lodged within. The hissing stopped, and a loud thump came from the other side of the door.

"By Talos I think you killed it!" Volsinius declared, and turned once more to look at Teresa. This time it was with what she took to be grudging admiration. "You certainly have come a long way from that little street urchin stealing sweet rolls."

"You remembered that?" Teresa was stunned. She had thought he did not recognize her anymore, not after dyeing her hair red and starting her new life as a forester.

"Of course I remember," the soldier said, "oh you threw me for a while with the hair, but I always remember a face."

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Nov 24 2010, 09:44 PM

[D.Foxy]

HELL YEAH!!!

That final dialogue...it was the one from the first story, and one of the pieces I abSOLUTELY loved...

aaaaannd IT'S BACK AGAIN!!! yEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

:thumbsup:

[haute ecole rider]

Way to go, Vols, Teresa, Jensine, and Simplicia!

Let's get the one nit out of the way:

Teresa had an arrow in her hand then, and set it to the nock even as another of the creature's sprang at her.

An apostrophe ambushed your creatures here.

Teresa felt her blood boil at the sight.

Do I know the feeling! It is what spurs us into action.

Then its skull dissolved under the bronze head of the Dwemer mace. Looking up, Teresa saw Jensine standing next to her with the weapon in hand.

Yay, Jensine!

You have recaptured the sheer tension and exhilaration and fast pace of the Crisis here. I truly enjoyed this rewrite - it is much tighter and quicker-paced than before.

[Acadian]

The action was immersive and heartpounding.

Buffy, sitting safely on my shoulder and reading along, shuddered when she realized that was a CLANNFEAR trying to get into the shop! Nice shooting, Teresa!

Lots of nice little touches, including the due you gave to donning body armor.

Reviewing the source of Teresa's own armor was a nice touch and fit beautifully with the way you tied the tarot cards from Morcant into the story. It was at that point, and with more than a faint smile, that I realized the full meaning of the wonderful name you gave this chapter. Knight of Swords, indeed.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, you finished by letting us know that Vols really did remember his encounter with the very young Teresa.

Fabulous!

This post has been edited by Acadian: Jul 2 2010, 06:54 PM