Jerric's Story, A Nord's Adventures in Cyrodiil Options

[McBadgere]

How the hell did I miss 3 of them?... ...

*Shrug*...Sorry about that...

Fantastic writing...Much enjoying...

I hadn't thought about the Daedric shrines meself...Definately something in need to think about...

Cheese!!... ...Excellent... ...

Nice one... ...

Yeah...So worth the wait for that review eh?... ...

...

[Grits]

ghastley: Thanks, I'm glad I left that in. I was afraid it might sound too silly. How about ID tags for the undead: If lost, please return to :____________

mALX: Thanks, mALX! I think they were all ready to lighten the mood after Kvatch. You’re right about Abiene’s letters. Darnand has a lot invested in both of them, and he doesn’t seem like someone who could just brush off such a major disappointment.

haute ecole rider: I thought of Buffy, too. These girls are not bothered by silly Imperial social conventions. Of course, Lildereth would point out that her quick change was shielded by three horses, and the guys had the whole empty road to look at. From Jerric’s POV all we get is, “Naked chick!” Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it. And yes, Abiene finally made up her mind.

SubRosa: Those Valenwood girls are as unselfconscious as spriggans. It’s a shame to waste cute shoes on walking. Plus she can see much better from on top of a horse, especially when there is a Nord loose on the road. I can’t help but contrast the Skingrad and Bravil guilds, both in their buildings and the attitudes of their leaders. Thank you, SubRosa!

Acadian: I thought of you throughout this very Buffy episode! What a lovely Ode to the Woodsisters, and how very true. Thank you for sharing it! I seem to recall a furiously blushing Daenlin once instructed a young Buffy not to drop trou in the presence of her male friends. The lads are glad that he didn’t tell Lildereth. It was fun to show what goes on in Jerric-think, as well as a few of his blond moments. Any more than that would be exhausting! Thank you for your kind words, Acadian!

King Coin: Poor Jerric didn’t have a clue throughout much of this episode. Of course Lildereth flashing them didn’t help his focus. I’m glad I put in that mention of his ongoing sadness. He has definitely not gotten over losing his family. He’s pretty much riding a little raft of cheer on a sea of grief most of the time. Jerric would love to move to Chorrol, marry his girl, and get busy producing a tribe of curly-haired half-Nords. Pretty soon he would be pestering her to cut back on her hours at the chapel, and she would want to know if he thought he was going out with his friends from the Fighters Guild again this weekend. But there’s this dang Oblivion crisis… Oh, Lildereth was just waiting to get out of the brush before she put on a dress. Maybe she will meet someone, though. Glarthir? Thank you, KC!

McBadgere: Your comments are most appreciated, at any time. I am fluent in emoticons and ellipses. I’m glad you’re enjoying it! Thanks, McB!

Where we are: Skingrad. Jerric and Darnand are seeking recommendations for the Mages Guild.



Chapter 13: Skingrad, Part Four

Jerric reached Bleak Flats cave after less than an hour’s walk from Skingrad, including the time he took along the way filling his pockets with flax seeds. His assignment from Adrienne was to bring the Bosmer Erthor back to the guild hall so that she could consult with him. After being treated dismissively by all of Skingrad’s mages and half of the domestic staff, Jerric finally discovered that Adrienne had sent him away to conduct his work in a local cave. It took him more time to learn Erthor’s whereabouts than it did to actually walk there. No one seemed to know how long the Bosmer had been missing, but they agreed that the guild hall had been quiet without him. It was incomprehensible to Jerric that Adrienne had not sent someone earlier to check on the welfare of one of her mages.

A wall of mortared stone and a closed wooden door blocked the cave’s entrance. Jerric guessed that Erthor locked or bolted the door from the inside while he was in residence. A shove confirmed his theory.

“Erthor?” Jerric called and knocked, then pounded and shouted. Even Lildereth can’t open a lock that isn’t there, he thought. With a certain degree of smugness, he reached for his axe.

Inside the cave, darkness and a rotten smell greeted him. Daylight illuminated the near walls and downward sloping ceiling, but not the far recesses. He fervently hoped that the stink was not coming from Erthor. Jerric slipped on his ring, and a faint pink glow showed him something moving below with a familiar lurching motion. His gut told him it was a zombie.

Jerric heaved the door back over the opening. If the Bosmer still lived, it would not do to have him run out like a rabbit while Jerric was distracted by a fight. Adrienne and Darnand had already buried themselves in some research project. Weeks could pass before they thought to check on him, living on raw mushrooms while he searched the cave system for Erthor.

Vigge’s teaching was still fresh in Jerric’s mind. He took a moment to shift his gear into readiness, anxious to test his new knowledge of elemental destruction. His torchlight showed him a narrow path along the cave’s floor, smooth and solid through areas of loose and jagged rock. Jerric smiled to himself as he drew fire into his hand. Here was also a chance to improve his footwork.

He wasn’t smiling any more by the time the seventh zombie toppled to the ground. Sweat soaked his hair, and his mouth felt coated in zombie smoke. The leather over his chest was darkened where a Tongue of Fire spell had flared back toward him close enough to singe it. He stepped past the smoldering corpse and moved in deeper.

A row of torches stood across an opening at the back of the cavern, each held upright by its own little pile of rocks. The smell of stale urine and worse told Jerric that someone had been careless with their slop jar. Doubtlessly it was the Bosmer-sized life sign pacing back and forth in a chamber beyond. Relief eased the tension in his neck. Jerric slipped off his ring and strode between the torches.

He was expecting a bare-bones work area, but this space resembled a snug study more than a cave. Tapestries lined the walls, and rugs softened the floor. Candelabras chased away every shadow. Niches cut into the rock made one wall a library and another a dressing chamber. Only the bed was disappointing, a simple pallet on the floor. Jerric realized that everything in the cavern could have been trundled in on a handcart.

In the middle of the chamber stood a wood elf, shaking in his pointy little shoes. His mouth opened and closed without a sound. That’s the prettiest male I’ve ever seen, thought Jerric.

“Erthor?”

“You... how did you get in here?”

“I’m Jerric. I’m here to rescue you.” Jerric could imagine Lildereth’s reaction to that announcement.

The mer’s wits seemed to return in a rush. “Are the creatures gone? I heard a fight. Horrible things, and something was killing them! What could be worse than zombies, I wondered? Perhaps whatever it is will not find me all the way back here! And then I remembered the torches! And then you did find me!”

“Adrienne sent me.”

“I put the torches there to keep them at bay,” Erthor continued on the same breath. “They shy away from fire. I want to get out of here. I’ve been trapped here for days! I didn’t dare move a muscle! I’ve barely slept!”

“Well, I guess you can come with me now.”

“Are you sure they’re all gone? I can leave the cave? You’re heading back to Skingrad, aren’t you? And I could come with you? Oh, thank you! I’m ever so grateful!”

“Yeah. Is there anything you need to bring? I’ll give you a hand.”

“You’re just too kind!” The Bosmer shoved a bulging sack at Jerric and hopped behind the desk before he could blink.

“Moving out?” Jerric asked, hefting the bag.

“Only my soiled linens.” Erthor was already stuffing papers into a satchel. “I need Adrienne’s notes! And a few of my books. And…”

The laundry sack was large enough to hold a reasonable person’s entire wardrobe, more if they wore child-sized clothing. Jerric shook his head. Mages.

When he was ready to leave, Erthor cast a light spell and put out the torches. He led Jerric up a narrow passage to the side entrance Jerric had found earlier from the other side, blocked by a stone panel. The turn of a wheel opened the way, and they followed the path up through the caverns.

“Did you see who put those zombies in your cave?” Jerric asked. “If there are necromancers about, you shouldn’t come back here until I take care of them.” Howling Cave was on the other side of Skingrad, but it could be the same group with multiple hideouts.

“Well…” Erthor patted his hair, brushed off his sleeves, then smoothed his already neat doublet.

Jerric stopped walking so that he would have to answer. “Out with it, Bosmer.”

“I was working with summoning,” Erthor explained, glancing nervously into the dark. His face pleaded for something. Understanding? “I began exploring my new theory with scamps, some time ago. That’s how I ended up being sent here. My experiments sometimes…”

“Don’t work?” Jerric offered. “Explode?”

“Go awry. The scamps persisted in this realm long after my strength failed. I could not control them.” He wrung his hands. “Do you suppose we could converse as we walk? I’m anxious to return to the safety of Skingrad.”

Jerric started walking along the path again. Erthor trotted beside him.

“I adjusted my spell, and began to work with zombies instead,” said the mer. “I thought that my failure resulted from the nature of my summoned daedra. It’s easier to bend the will of an undead summoning, since it’s already the will of a mortal imposed upon a…” Erthor seemed to notice Jerric’s eye roll. “But to reach the point of the story, my efforts with the zombies were successful. Too successful. Instead of summoning them to my location and binding them for a time, I was moving them here bodily. I must have been transporting something from the cave to replace them, because I left no void to call them back where they belong. Before I realized what was happening, I had summoned seven.”

“I wondered how they got in. Since their remains are still here, I didn’t think they could be summonings.” Jerric had a thought. “So you’re saying that you moved seven zombies from somewhere, and I killed them?”

Erthor nodded, smiling uncertainly.

“Do you know what this means?” Jerric grabbed the mer by the arm to halt him. “We took those fetchers out of the fight! Ha! Some necromancer is really pissed right now.” Jerric dropped the sack and rolled his shoulders while he filled his hand with fire. “Come on, what are you waiting for? Summon another one. Let’s kill it!”

Erthor’s big brown eyes popped open even wider. “You are a madman!” he squeaked. The elf took off running as if shot from a bow, leaving Jerric groping for the laundry bag by the light of his flare.

Jerric caught up to him as Erthor struggled with the heavy exterior door. “Calm down,” he said, lifting it aside. “I’ll walk you back to the guild hall. No more zombies.”

Erthor didn’t relax until they reached the vineyards. Then he accepted Jerric’s waterskin, bread, cheese, and an apple, chatting away between bites. In addition to Erthor’s own research with summoning, it sounded as if he and Adrienne were engaged in some kind of joint project. The details were incomprehensible to Jerric. He debated using his Arcane Well for the rest of the conversation.

When Erthor paused for a breath, Jerric glanced over at him. Even after days underground terrorized by zombies, the Bosmer had a pleasant demeanor and a spring in his step. His hair looked silky and thick, and he had a decent set of shoulders, unlike many mages. Jerric still didn’t know how Lildereth’s taste ran, other than not to Nords. This Erthor might have a chance with her. Gods knew she could use a tumble.

“So Erthor, are you single? I mean, I know you live in a cave. But are you seeing anyone?”

Erthor gave Jerric a look of abject horror.

“No!” Jerric said quickly. “I have a friend. She—”

The mer looked on the brink of fleeing again.

Jerric sighed. “Never mind.”

[SubRosa]

It was incomprehensible to Jerric that Adrienne had not sent someone earlier to check on the welfare of one of her mages.
As you said, the difference between the this as Kud-Ei's guild hall are startling. For some reason whenever a Breton woman becomes the leader of a Mages Guild hall, they become distracted air-heads.

Jerric should have brought Darnand along. Zombies are right up his alley after all. Hopefully Jerric will carve up some rotting flesh to take back to Darnand for his 'necessities'.

and his mouth felt coated in zombie smoke.
Ewww, you just had to make me imagine the stench of burning zombie!

That’s the prettiest male I’ve ever seen, thought Jerric.
Uh oh, I think Jerric has spent too much time in lockups... Abiene might have some competition. Especially with Erthor shoving his bulging sack at Jerric.

“Come on, what are you waiting for? Summon another one. Let’s kill it!”
For once it is the Nord who is mad, and not the Bosmer! This would also mean that not only could you teleport zombies from somewhere else, but anyone. A great way to assassinate people.

Gods knew she could use a tumble.
No arguments here! I just loved Erthor's natural thought when Jerric asked him out on a date. Erm, I mean when he asked him to ask Lildreth out on a date!

[King Coin]

Zombies. Gross.

The leather over his chest was darkened where a Tongue of Fire spell had flared back toward him close enough to singe it.
Yikes!

Erthor sounds like quite the character!

If Erthor is telling the truth then there is a really pissed off necromancer! That’s so funny!

OHMYGOSH
The end is just too good!!!

[haute ecole rider]

I have totally enjoyed your version of Erthor! He was quite a fun companion on the long walk back to Skingrad. Sometimes I think he is the only one with sense in that guild, and thus his isolation out at Bleak Flats must be welcome. Except for the zombies, that is.

Another explanation for the zombies in that cave! Especially since they stick around after you 'kill' them. Liked this one very, very much!

The ending made me laugh out loud. I wonder if Erthor ever progressed past the Bosmer equivalent of the ten-year-old 'girls, eww!' stage!

[mALX]

ROFL !! Erthor's portrayal was hilarious !!! And that he caused the issue himself even more so - the patting the hair and brushing off his clothing was the icing on the cake - loved it !! Awesome Write !!

[Acadian]

What a completely delightful episode this was! How you can cause your readers to smile, giggle and grin through killing a cave full of zombies is truly testimony to your impressive skill.

It was incomprehensible to Jerric that Adrienne had not sent someone earlier to check on the welfare of one of her mages.’
I agree with SubRosa on this. Kud-Ei ('I’d do anything for my girls'), Carahil or Sigrid Firewalker would never have allowed this.

’Even Lildereth can’t open a lock that isn’t there, he thought. With a certain degree of smugness, he reached for his axe.’
This is Jerric to a tee!

“Well, I guess you can come with me now.”
“Are you sure they’re all gone? I can leave the cave? You’re heading back to Skingrad, aren’t you? And I could come with you? Oh, thank you! I’m ever so grateful!”
How wonderfully the slow drawling speech and ideas of Jerric contrast with the clipped but bubbling sentences and thoughts of Erthor.

What a clever misunderstanding-based ending you treated us to! You set it up and presented it with perfection. Something tells me however, Jerric is likely no better at matchmaking than baking soufflés or opening locks. Touching that he was unselfishly thinking of his friend Lildereth though.

[Zalphon]

You're way too good at doing Bosmer, Grits. Are you one in real life?

[McBadgere]

This whole section for some reason made me think of Star Wars, from the "I'm Jerric, I'm here to rescue you." to this bit...

Gods knew she could use a tumble.

Oh, that made me laugh... ...

Reminded me of Han Solo shouting "You could use a good kiss!!" at Leia... ...

Just saying...

Most excellent chapter...

Brilliant...Nice one... ...

[Grits]

Folks, thank you for your patience. Thank you for reading. And thank you very much for your wonderful support! It’s been a rough couple of weeks, but yesterday was like coming out of a cave. And not a nice cave like Erthor’s with carpets and zombies.

SubRosa: Erthor’s bulging sack, I completely missed that. OMG. It was fun to think about what Jerric would imagine Lildereth would look for in a mer. At least his heart was in the right place. Poor Erthor. I think we can assume that sweaty, soot-streaked Nord maniacs are not on the menu.

King Coin: Erthor is one of my favorite NPCs, so this was a fun episode to write. I’m glad you liked Jerric’s little Speechcraft fail.

haute ecole rider: I love Erthor, he’s so charming and appreciative of being rescued. He’s even sweet to Adrienne when he gets back, hopping right into bed with her even though she’s mean to him.

mALX: I’m glad you liked Erthor! The comments people make about him in the game made me think he must have a history of major screw-ups. It always cracks me up to see him looking so clean and cute after the player has fought their way through the zombie slaughterhouse.

Acadian: You’re so right, Jerric’s thinking fell short of his good intentions on this one. Taking a friend to a brothel does not qualify as a successful match. I love that you picked out those lines of dialog. The contrast between them was the inspiration of the whole episode.

Zalphon: I have been accused of relentless cheer.

McBadgere: I was giggling like a fiend when that rescue line popped out. That scene in Star Wars came to my mind, too! Too bad I couldn’t think of anywhere to go with the “short for a Stormtrooper” line.


Where we are: Evening at the Skingrad Mages Guild. Jerric has rescued Erthor from zombies at Bleak Flats Cave.




Chapter 13: Skingrad, Part Five


Dinner at the guild hall had been a crowded, noisy affair. Lildereth and Darnand had to sit at separate tables, and Jerric simply took his filled plate and headed out the back door with Ulfe. The bathing chamber had been equally busy, but a hot shower was worth waiting for. Eventually Jerric returned to the bedchamber with a towel around his neck, anxious for his friends’ company.

He found Lildereth sitting in the middle of one bed in her nightdress, running a brush through her hair. Darnand lounged in a chair with a book in his hands, also ready for bed. Ulfe lay across Darnand’s feet. Jerric moved around the room, stowing his gear and arranging his blades.

Darnand addressed him as he slipped a dagger under the pillow. “How goes the recharging?”

Jerric grimaced. “Not great. Vigge said I should be glad I can do it at all, most folks can’t. That means skitt to me. I need to keep my sword charged, not one of these little light crystals.”

Darnand and Lildereth looked blank. “Try again,” said Lildereth.

Jerric took a moment to organize his words. “I use too much magicka for what I can transfer to the enchantment. A glow stone or an ice chest doesn’t need much energy, but a sword does. Practice will make me better, but I’ll never be able to keep my weapons fully charged without magicka gems and soul energy. I guess that’s why rechargers work at the guild halls and battlemages pay them.”

“Vigge must have anticipated this result,” Darnand pointed out. “I cannot imagine that he would share this spell with you for no reason.”

“I’ll send some power into my sword every time I drink a magicka potion. Like you said, my potions are stronger than I can use. The two or three strikes I get might be enough to save a life one day. I guess that’s what Vigge was thinking. He sure wasn’t worried that I’d set up a recharging service.”

“You might keep a dagger charged on your own,” said Lildereth. “Do you not keep a filled gem specifically for charging one of your daggers?”

“Yeah. The one with the spell to trap soul energy.” Jerric grinned at her. “You’re a fount of cheer tonight, elf. What happened, did you get Druja to eat a bug?”

The song of a bedstead began in the next chamber, filtering through the adjoining wall.

“Adrienne has company,” Jerric observed.

“Erthor,” said Lildereth.

“Is she still scolding him, or apologizing?”

Darnand glanced up from his book. “Will your spell that reduces sound work on intervening surfaces, or only upon the source of the noise?” he asked Lildereth.

“Sadly, just the source,” she replied.

“I guess you hear a lot that you rather wouldn’t,” Jerric said to her. “I mean around us round-ears.”

“And smell,” she said, giving his boots a pointed look.

Jerric placed his boots outside the door. Lildereth put away her brush and opened a jar of skin cream. Jerric moved to the chest of drawers and emptied his pockets. He didn’t need to read Abiene’s letter to remember every word.

“Did you get to talk to Abiene through your crystal ball tonight?” he asked Darnand.

“Indeed. I am glad you reminded me. I would like your advice.”

“All right.” Jerric leaned against the chest and gave Darnand his attention.

“She has a patient that has received an injury to the brain,” Darnand continued. “He is unable to speak, but he seems to understand what is said to him. You recall the healing she performed on your brow. She wants to attempt such a restoration on this man. However, her concerns are significant and in my opinion well-founded. She has asked me to advise her.”

“Are you asking me what you should tell her?” Jerric asked. “Well, that’s easy. She doesn’t want you to decide for her, she just wants your ‘support.’ She already knows what she’s going to do, no matter what you say. Yeah, I know. Women. So don’t be worried that you’ll tell her wrong. Just tell her what you think is right.”

Darnand looked completely baffled. “What do you think she should do?”

“Explain the risk to the man. Do it if he agrees.”

“She could be thrown out of the Mages Guild if it goes badly,” Darnand objected. “She could lose her position at the chapel.”

“What’s the use of all that if she’s afraid to heal the way she’s meant to? Screw them all if they don’t like it. She’s tougher than she thinks, and what she can do for folk can’t be taken away from her. She won’t end up sleeping under a hedge, no matter what. Tell her she already knows the answer. And you trust her judgment.”

Darnand looked thoughtful. So did Lildereth.

“Do you think I’m wrong?” Jerric asked her.

“No. I’m just… I suppose I am surprised.”

“Why?”

Lildereth gave her crooked smile. “There’s no way to answer that without insulting you.”

“How is this time any different?”

Lildereth’s reply was lost when the door to Adrienne’s chamber opened and closed with a bang.

She caught Jerric’s eye. “Sulinus has joined them.” Her impish smile told him what his ears could not.

They both looked at Darnand. The Breton was staring thoughtfully at the floor, either declining this opportunity to advance his education or oblivious to it.

“I need to remember to train with Sulinus,” Jerric said to Darnand. “He has the weakness spells you were talking about.”

Darnand made no reply.

“I found the Aetherius Stone.” Jerric announced. “We’ll need to go back when the stars are out.”

No response from the Breton.

“You could use him as a garment rack right now,” said Lildereth. Jerric thought that was kinder than the pranks he had been considering.

Jerric took the dog outside one more time before he climbed into bed. Ulfe jumped up while he was arranging himself. By the time they finished wrestling, Lildereth and Darnand were tucked neatly under their blankets. At some point one of them had covered the light.

___

Jerric walked through the green meadow in silence. It wasn’t silence, he decided, so much as the absence of sound. He saw the grass brush against his thighs, but his skin didn’t feel it. The sun was behind him, home somewhere ahead. Beyond those rocks, he thought. Past the trees. He didn’t recognize the place, but somehow he had been there.

He turned his head, and he was lying in the dark, in total comfort. The scent of lavender reached him first, then beeswax and leather. Home. Wordless joy filled him. It had all been a dream.

I thought I was the Lion of Kvatch, he laughed. How Ma will tease when I tell her.

It’s a trick, the dark whispered.

He had no breath to deny it. The bed fell away from under his hands, then from under his shoulders, like swiftly crumbling sand.

A voice called to him, light as a breeze.

Jerric opened his eyes to dim light on a coffered ceiling, but not like home. He closed his eyes and tried to take a breath.

“It’s me,” Lildereth whispered. She knelt on the very edge of his bed in the light of a glow stone. Her hair made a dark curtain to her elbows. Jerric could hear Darnand’s slow breathing in the other bed.

He realized that his hand was empty. “I moved your daggers before I woke you,” she told him. “And your knife.”

“Probably for the best.” Jerric rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry I disturbed you. But thanks. You woke me before the fire this time.”

“I think you already had that dream. That’s when Ulfe jumped down, she’s over there with Darnand. We decided to let you go all the way through it. You quieted for a time, and he fell back asleep. But then you…” Lildereth reached down and brushed his cheek with the backs of her fingers. He realized that his face was wet.

“I thought I was home.” Saying it made his throat ache.

Lildereth started to reach for his hand, then pulled back. “Who is Martin?”

She has my trust, thought Jerric. But I can’t give her Martin’s. “I hope you can meet him some day. Are you going back over there or staying?”

Lildereth leaned over and covered the glow stone. Then she slipped under his arm and curled her back against his side. He smiled when she flipped her hair out from under. Her feet were ice against his leg.

“Try not to crush me,” she murmured, settling the covers.

“If you promise not to paralyze me.”

“Agreed. But only for tonight.”



.

This post has been edited by Grits: Nov 20 2011, 07:45 PM

[mALX]

Holy Cow what a chapter !! So many places to cite - argh!! First, I wish Jerric had NOT put the letter in the drawer where it can be easily come across without any actual snooping intended. He should have left it in the pocket of his pants. That worries me.

Second: The hilarious bedroom antics.

Third: The huge discussion on the use of gems to recharge, your world building is amazing !!!

Fourth: The dream - very powerfully done !!

Lastly - Lildereth. If anything can bring her fully into the fold of friendship between Darnand and Jerric it is this, she is now party to Jerric's secrets and the keeping of them - because I doubt she can't feel the importance of the name Martin somehow. I believe she'll know there is a deeper meaning to that. Then also, she has really come to realize the memories that haunt him - maybe not specifically, but now she is a part of the comfort that helps him through them.

HUGE WRITE !!! I have to place this in the top of all my favorite Jerric chapters, Awesome Write !!!

[SubRosa]

It sounds like the Skingrad guild is a busy place. Or perhaps just too small for the amount of people in it? That certainly helps explain the nightly game of musical beds. Speaking of which, the later example of that heard through the walls was just hilarious! I wonder what the Bethesda people think of how all us fans have decided that the Skingrad Guild is a bunch of swingers?

That means skitt to me
An inventive way of circumventing the swear filter!

did you get Druja to eat a bug?


he already knows what she’s going to do, no matter what you say. Yeah, I know. Women.
Indeed! At least she is not asking him if she looks fat in her new dress...

I love Jerric's attitude toward Abiene's predicament. Especially the screw the guild line. It is true. She does not need the guild to live well. She can pick and choose her career. Perhaps even in the Healer's Guild? But more importantly the part about asking the patient. My experience with doctors has always been that they think they know what people want better than we do ourselves. Naturally they are always wrong. Actually asking someone and listening is not a trait that seems to be taught in med school these days. One of the reasons I cannot stand doctors.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Nov 21 2011, 01:32 AM

[Acadian]

Another delightful episode, effortlessly blending humor across your serious themes.

So nice to hear talk of Abiene. Like Lildereth, I was surprised at the insightfulness of Jerric’s advice. There is no doubt in this elf-reader’s mind what Lildereth was about to tell him!

Lildereth stole the show for me (again). You have really built some wonderful comfort among the four amigos (including Ulfe).

[haute ecole rider]

After an intense weekend, I'm quite tired.

But I can't not read this latest update and not comment, if briefly.

What everyone else said, and:

S.G.M.

[King Coin]

I’m glad Aravi only spent one night at the Skingrad mages guild hall. Sounds like Adrienne is a bit rough on that woodelf.

I have to again. Jerric isn’t as dumb as he looks.

Wow. The dream and then Lildereth waking Jerric and then staying. That was very sweet of her.

Awesome chapter Grits! Well worth the wait!

[McBadgere]

Brilliant...

Wow...

I'm really loving this story so much...

The characters are so brilliantly done...

Skingrad makes me laugh...You have the Mages Guild being swingers, I had that Inn on the corner being a whorehouse...I'm sure Bethesda would love it...

Absolute brilliance...

Nice one... ...

[Grits]

mALX: You’re absolutely right, Lildereth can’t fail to realize that Martin is significant. Jerric is the King of TMI, so any subject that doesn’t produce a cringe-inducing anecdote is one to take note of. You also spotted the giant step forward for their friendship. She could have easily left him alone, but she chose to wake him up and try to help. Thank you so much, mALX!

SubRosa: The guild hall is busy with mages travelling for South Winds Prayer. That’s why our friends are in Vigge’s old room instead packed into the common quarters. Bethesda gave us many giggles in Skingrad. Their Fighters Guild is the home of the Naked Breakfast, for example. Fadus Calidius does not equip his regular clothing, at least on the PS3. Jerric’s own not-so-pleasant experience as Abiene’s patient definitely played a part in his advice! Thank you for your comments about her situation.

Acadian: Jerric frequently tells more than he should, so it’s nice that he still has a few surprises. I hope I can find a way to tell some early Jerric stories. His large, loud, loving family is the source of his insight, though he would claim he learned everything he needs to know chasing women. Thank you, Acadian!

haute ecole rider: What a compliment! Thank you, haute!

King Coin: No, not quite as dumb as he looks. I still wouldn’t ask him for help on a crossword puzzle, but he does know a bit about people. Thanks, KC!

McBadgere: How funny about the inn. Skingrad is Sin City!! Thank you, McB!


Where we are: Jerric, Darnand, and Lildereth are on a mission from Meridia to kill the necromancers in Howling Cave. Their four-legged companions are relaxing at the stable. You might notice that I’ve placed some restrictions on Illusion magic.




Chapter 13: Part Six, Howling Cave


Jerric paced across the clearing for what could be the thousandth time. Ten strides were not enough to stretch his legs, and each turn wound him tighter. He wondered how many others had done the same, kicking a path through the fallen leaves while waiting to carry out their own savage plans.

“What’s taking her so long?” he demanded, as if the still air held the answer.

“She must accomplish this morning what she would have preferred to spend a week doing,” said Darnand. The Breton sat calmly on a rock, well out of Jerric’s way. “She has not been gone as long as you may think. Go out and view the sky. It is safe, no one approaches.”

Jerric bit back his retort. He didn’t need to see the sun to know how much time had passed. His eyes moved over their gear, as restless as his feet. Packs and weapons sat ready for the walk to Howling Cave. Their hidden camp was already set up, in case they returned exhausted or under duress. There had not been much to arrange, since they brought only what they could carry on their backs.

“Necromancy isn’t even illegal,” Jerric blurted.

Darnand folded his arms under the cloak, pulling it tighter around his body. “At last we reach the issue. No, our actions are not sanctioned by any authority. Only the will of a daedric prince.”

“I don’t disrespect the law,” Jerric declared. “I pay my fines. I always do my time, too.” He scratched a hand through his hair. “I don’t even know what I’m saying.”

“Listen to me,” said Darnand. “In your years guarding caravans, you and your opponents were much the same, apart from the choices you had made. You were always the shield. The knowledge that you are the defender ameliorates any guilt you may feel from the joy you take in violence. In this situation, perhaps you imagine that the roles are reversed.”

Jerric stared at his friend. There’s nothing Darnand can’t figure out when he puts his mind to it, he decided. As long as he doesn’t fall down the stairs or drown in the rain while he’s thinking.

“‘Ameliorate’?” said Jerric.

Darnand gave one of Lildereth’s half-shrugs. “It is only a theory. Do not allow yourself to identify with these people. Their quest for power has led them beyond the reach of compassion.” His face took on a troubled expression. “Or so I tell myself.”

Jerric watched him for a moment. “Beyond your compassion, huh?”

Darnand gave him a rueful look. “But not beyond my understanding.”

He’s as unsettled as I am with this waiting, Jerric realized. He found a tree to lean against. “So what’s the research Adrienne has you doing? When do you think you’ll be through?”

“I am translating a text that does not remotely interest me,” Darnand said. “It is not guild business, but Adrienne’s own study. It is the journal of a mage whose work was interrupted by war, though I have not the context to determine who she was or even when she lived.” The Breton stopped, scowling.

“What’s the situation?”

“The mage was looking for new sources of the crystal used to manufacture magicka gems. I am only translating the passages I am given, or correcting Adrienne’s work. But I am certain that Adrienne hopes to profit personally somehow. She is quite secretive about the source. Proper context would speed my work. Her reticence is vexing.”

“Wait. Profit how?”

“The West Weald gem mines provide tremendous income for the entire guild, and especially for the Skingrad chapter. Did you not realize? The mines are privately owned and operated, as are the gem cutting facilities. However, the guild has a role in gem certification and sales, not to mention the profits earned through filling them. If Adrienne personally invested in a new mine, she would significantly increase her own wealth. She is using guild resources to pursue a private venture. I doubt she will be the last to do so.”

“Carahil would never do that. Neither would Sigrid.”

“I concur. Carahil sent me on Council business. Sigrid had me work for the benefit of the whole city, not just the guild.”

“Are you going to do anything about it?” Jerric asked.

“Will I report my suspicions? No. Those mages wear silk and fine furs every day, and they drink a fortune in wine by three of the afternoon. I expect that some of the gold that flows through the Skingrad chapter has always been diverted. There is only one resident member who stands apart. Druja the Disappointed, as you have termed her. Druja with her faded Apprentice robe and single bedchamber. If anyone is in a position to act, it is she.”

“Maybe that’s why she’s so sour,” said Jerric. “She’s not skimming from the guild, but she’s not willing to stop it.”

“Whatever the situation, I am unwilling to place myself within it. I have my own interests to pursue.”

“Like hunting necromancers for a daedric prince.” Jerric shook his head. “Five mortals ate their last breakfast today. We know it, but not them. I guess I won’t mind when it comes down to the killing, it’s all this thought that makes me uneasy.”

“I hope it is only five,” said Darnand.

“Yeah, the elf hates it when a plan falls apart and she has to waste an arrow on me.”

Darnand nodded at the trees. “And she approaches.”

Lildereth slipped into the clearing without a sound. She placed her equipment against a log and walked over to kneel on the ground next to Darnand’s rock. Jerric smiled to himself as she unrolled a piece of scraped hide. They may be on Darnand’s assignment undertaken on Jerric’s behalf, but there was no doubt who was in command.

“I think you were right,” she said to Darnand. “They’re wearing the same kind of robes. These necromancers must be part of the same organization.” Her raised hand stopped him. “No, I did not get a look at any of their notes. There are five, as Meridia told us. Here, I’ll show you the layout.”

They bent their heads over her drawing as she spoke.

“The cave is accessed through an old silver mine. It’s completely dark, but the way is marked with glowstones. Two zombies are loose in there, I expect they keep the rats out. They have a lot of bodies down there. I mean a lot. We’ll need to kill the guardians quietly so we don’t alert the necromancers. That means up here if we can. If they’ve moved to this chamber, we’ll have to sneak past them and finish them on the way out.”

Jerric closed his teeth over his objection.

Lildereth continued. “These four lower chambers are closed off by a door here and protected by the clumsiest trap I have ever seen. Jerric, don’t step on the pressure plate. We’ll have to wait until this chamber is empty to enter. It’s a straight shot down this passage, so anyone could raise the alarm from down there. They are working on eighteen zombies. I doubt that those are ready to raise, but they have six others on the move already. These corridors are tight. You can bottle them up in there, but don’t plan on getting past any. You’ll have to go over them.”

Lildereth took a sip from her waterskin while the men studied her map.

“My command spells will not work on this type of undead,” she continued. “I need a mind to influence, since I am not strong enough to break the will left by the necromancer on my own. Of course, my poisons won’t work, either. My plan is to slip past them and target the mortals. I’ll have to time it so I don’t get caught in a corridor. We’ll enter when this area is empty. I’ll move down here and drop any necromancers in this chamber. That should start the fight. Darnand, you will stay back and hold the first chamber. Turn any undead that come through here while they’re still in the passage. That should keep it blocked until we get back. Jerric you’re with me. Keep the zombies off my neck. It’s going to be close in there, so don’t start throwing fire around. Touch spells and blade work. Darnand, just keep it pointed in this direction. I do not want to get cooked coming back up this corridor.”

Darnand nodded thoughtfully. “I shall use my scamp to keep them in the passageway. I doubt that there will be a powerful conjurer among them. If you hear a deadroth, you will know that I was wrong.”

Lildereth looked straight at Jerric. “I’ll disappear when I need to. The rest of them will be drawn to you. Don’t wait for me. Go back to Darnand as soon as you can, he’ll need you. He has to hold this chamber. I do not want to get stuck back there.”

“Will they work on ghosts?” asked Jerric. “I mean the spells.”

“Yes,” said Lildereth. “But it is difficult with those who are bound by a necromancer. I have to free the spirit from their spell, then bend it to my will instead. Really, it’s far better to just avoid them.”

Darnand started to speak.

Jerric interrupted him. “What about daedra?”

“No,” said Lildereth. “Though Carahil told me there are some conjurers who can manage it.”

“But when you summon a daedra, you bind it with your will,” Jerric pointed out.

“When you summon daedra,” said Lildereth. “I cannot.”

Darnand spoke up. “A daedric mind is a different kind of consciousness. You will recall from your first contact with your scamp, Jerric. The initial summoning rituals…” He passed a hand over his eyes. “Might we postpone this discussion? The road to Chorrol is long, and we will have many nights to fill with conversation before you face an atronach in the summoning circle.”

Lildereth angled an eyebrow at Jerric. “Anyway, today I thought you’d be more anxious to get your sword wet.”

Jerric grinned at her. “I’m—”

“You were explaining your map,” Darnand reminded Lildereth. “How is the ventilation? I do not wish to fill these chambers with smoke.”

“Good. You can hear the slightest breeze howling over the rocks. There’s an open cavern down in this area, but no access through except narrow cracks. I expect that’s why this cave system has always been so popular with necromancers. There was a group working here the last time I was in Skingrad. You could smell it when you neared the air vents. Of course, those were different times.”

Jerric had more questions for Lildereth. “How does your invisibility spell work on them, then? I thought all illusion spells worked in the mind. A light spell doesn’t put light on the wall, it puts it in your head.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” said Lildereth. “How can you see something that you don’t know is there if the light is only in your mind?”

“I don’t know, but that’s where it is,” said Jerric. “I can feel it tickling in my head like an eyelash stuck the wrong way in your eye. I hate light spells.”

“You should refrain from reading the spell when it is cast,” Darnand told him. “Now that you know how, it is up to you to discipline yourself if it bothers you.”

“But how does it work?” Jerric insisted.

Darnand gave him a look. “You are a curious Nord. Perhaps there is an element of divination in the light spell. I suspect that the invisibility spell alters the perception which is interpreted by the mind. Even headless zombies have a way of seeing. Is it possible that we might proceed with our plan today?”

“Maybe that’s why they all wear the same robes,” mused Jerric.

They both stared at him.

“With the big skull on the front,” Jerric explained. “It’s like their uniform. I mean, they might as well say Stab Me, I’m a Necromancer on them. Maybe they wear the same kind of robe so they won’t be attacked by each others’ rotten pets. You know, with their strange way of seeing.”

“By the Nine,” Darnand whispered.

“What?”

“You didn’t keep any, did you?” Lildereth asked Darnand.

“No. However, the next time we will be garbed as members of their organization. It will save a great deal of trouble if we can dispatch the undead minions after their masters are on the ground.”

Jerric snorted. “If we ever get around to this time. Are you two ready to quit stalling and get to work? You can exercise your jaws all night when we get back here to camp. Let’s get this done.”

[mALX]

The storyline backdrop for why they are doing the Daedric quests is amazing, so well thought out !! I love it !!

Adrienne's subverting of funds and misappropriation of Guild resources - that had me rolling, only you would have added that spice to the conversation in the midst of all the rest - that was priceless !!

Jerric's musings - his own way of working things out - they run from hilarious to brilliant in the same paragraph.

He still struggles so much with the killing of humans, even the evil ones - that is such a telling side to his nature and is such a complete continuation of the person he showed himself to be (as the raging lion that fought for Kvatch and returned to Anvil so devastatingly effected by the experience).

Absolutely Awesome Write !!!

[SubRosa]

When I played Tadrose Helas a long time ago, she learned all about the proclivities of the Skingrad FG.

South Winds Prayer? Is that what happens after a big chili dinner?

No, our actions are not sanctioned by any authority. Only the will of a daedric prince.”
Now that is a comforting thought. Not!

“‘Ameliorate’?” said Jerric.
Isn't that the guy whose family tomb is down by Leyawiin, whose armor you have to retrieve as part of an FG quest? Seriously, I loved how Jerric stumbled over the term.

As so often you do, once again you treat us to a wonderful piece of world-building concerning the gem mines, and the guild's part of their operation. Tying it to Adrienne was excellent, and gives the guild head another dimension beyond being constantly distracted and sexually insatiable.

I guess I won’t mind when it comes down to the killing, it’s all this thought that makes me uneasy
Yep, that was a good observation to include. I would expect that anyone who has a conscience would feel that way. It is much easier to do it, and not think about it, then the other way around.

Two zombies are loose in there, I expect they keep the rats out.
Either that or they give the rats something to nibble on, which keeps them from going further!

I loved not only the plan, but also the many diversions from it explaining the inner works of magic, and backwards eyelashes. Plus a truly inspired bit of cunning with the idea of wearing necromancer robes to fool the undead into thinking they are on the same team.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Dec 2 2011, 09:07 PM

[ghastley]

At least Jerric's got the idea that it's the robes that stop the zombies turning on their creators. It's just as likely to be the smell, after all