Today in Skyrim..., Epic battles, mudcrab sightings, anything but spoilers. What did your Options

[Acadian]

Broken bodies and blood-stained ground that clearly tells the story of two evenly matched patrols encountering each other.

As Buffy pauses in the eerie silence, she mourns the young lives cut short. Although neutral in the war, she’s seen enough to know that some of these soldiers that killed each other may have played together as children in the same village. Some may have even died at the hands of their own brother or sister. Even as a Bosmer, it breaks her heart to contemplate that the humans in red or blue coats seem more intent on killing each other than uniting against the real enemy.

She imagines the quiet laughter of Thalmor, yet her detection spell divines nothing but death around her.

[Lopov]

Sad and touching story of Buffy's thoughts about fallen soldiers and about consequences of war.

The Bloody Noble's actions, words and attitude would have resulted in bloodshed in the courts of most Jarl's I should think.

I figure that Ubarda has been quite (in)famous already during his lifetime and known to solve problems ruthlessly yet efficiently that's why even some leaders overlook his behavior and actions. For how long, though, that remains to be seen.

[SubRosa]

Skinned heads? Loviatar says that sounds tasty! But there isn't much meat on them. Drumsticks are better...

[Renee]

Yeah, they shouldn't have hired him, that's for sure. Death by mudcrab? ... That alone has me shivering.

[Lopov]

@SubRosa - Ubarda and Loviatar could maybe work in a team as long as he'd be allowed to keep skulls and Loviatar'd keep organs.

@Renee - their meat is tasty but their pincers are sharp.

5

When a Forsworn hunting party returned to Karthspire Camp at night, they found their brothers and sisters dead. It wasn’t a surprise, Forsworn were used to encountering their friends and relatives dead though in recent months such events were rare since usually they were the ones that killed whoever dared to attack them. But there was something else standing out in Karthspire – every corpse seemed withered, even young Forsworn seemed like they slightly aged when they died.

“Hmm…I know what caused this,” said one of the mages,” whoever killed our people, wields a weapon capable of absorbing health. Each wound on our brothers and sisters healed their slayer. Those that get struck with that kind of weapon, seem…seem like our fallen ones do. Judging from marks on their body, they were all killed with a sword… and a great one at that.”

This wasn’t the last finding for the party – when they found the corpse of the old hagraven, the wise yet hideous matriarch of the Karthspire camp, she was missing her skull. Her brains, eyes and other prominent organs were placed in a circle around her lifeless body but her skull was nowhere to be found.

“Then it’s true,” said one of the archers. “He’s here.”

“Who’s here?” asked the mage.

“Some rich guy from Cyrodiil who kills people for septims. The other day I met with some of our guys that spy in Markarth – they told me that the Jarl hired someone to oppress us. The Bloody Count or the Bloody Noble, is what they call him. One of his trademarks is head skinning.”

…

The arrival of infamous Gentian Ubarda stirred up a lot of curiosity among residents of Markarth. Though they almost never saw the man because he left the town at dawn and usually returned very late, some very lucky to see him on his walks between the Vlindrel Hall and Understone Keep. But he was never seen in other parts of the town, nor did he ever talk to any resident that met him.

Some noblemen of Markarth were angry because the Jarl refused to sell them the Vlindrel Hall for years yet he sold it to Ubarda immediately upon his arrival. It also became known that he hired servants from Understone Keep to carry from the hall anything which Ubarda called “unnecessary clutter”. When servants asked him if he wants them to redecorate the hall, he merely said that he’ll decorate the hall as he sees fit.

One day, when servants were just about to finish another emptying assignment, one of them removed a fresh gourd from one of several glazed platters. Ubarda quickly approached from behind and placed an odd skull on the platter instead. The servant was looking at it for a while, trying to figure out who it belongs to, and his curiosity didn’t go unnoticed for Ubarda.

“It’s from a hagraven,” he said, his arms crossed, proudly looking at the skull. “It’s the first in my collection. The nose is what gives it away, take a closer look if you want. There might still be a piece of flesh here and there – I wasn’t at my best because she screamed like only women are capable of.”

“She… screamed?” slowly asked the servant, not believing if what he heard, was true.

“Screaming, yes. I broke her arms and legs before flaying her ugly head. It’s not interesting if they’re dead when you do it, you know? Now go on, take a closer look at it.”

“No…no, t-t-hat won’t be necessary. T-t-hank you.” The servant hastily left the hall, tripping on the stairs leading from the Vlindrel Hall. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Ubarda’s laughter echoed over the empty house.

“And now half of Markarth will talk about a hagraven being flayed by the Bloody Noble. That’s how rumors are born. And soon they’ll spread. All over the town, all over the hold. Even if there isn’t any truth in them. Because you were dead by the time I skinned you, weren’t you, old crone?”

[SubRosa]

It’s not interesting if they’re dead when you do it, you know?

Actually Mr. Bloody, most of us don't know that...

[Acadian]

I love the effects you supplied in support of an absorb health enchantment! Brilliant!

Nice job also with what you did with the hagskinning. A horrific incident, then just when we want to puke on his shoes, you explain how the extra disgust factor was intentionally to speed the rumor's spread. Well done!

[Lopov]

@SubRosa - well, then the Bloody Noble might teach us all a thing or two about head skinning.

@Acadian - I came to the idea of "withering effect" because each successful hit with his sword seems to transfer some of the red magic to the Bloody Noble, which I imagine to be the life energy.

6

“The Forsworn Briarheart in charge of the Broken Tower Redoubt is looking for his head. Have you seen it perhaps? Hahahaha, excuse me Jarl, I’m just joking. But it’s true – he no longer has his head and I’m here for my reward,” said the Bloody Noble and crossed his arms, protected with fine gilded wrist guards.

“Ubarda, I’m not interested in details what happened to him or what is yet to happen to his remains but here are your coins, just as we agreed.” From the tone in Igmund’s voice it was noticeable that he doesn’t fancy the Bloody Noble’s humor yet he was satisfied that there is one Forsworn Briarheart less on the loose.

“Always a pleasure, Jarl. Now I shall spend the rest of the day training in my home. I’ll arrive tomorrow in the morning for a new assignment. ” As Ubarda left the Court of Markarth, Igmund addressed his steward: “So far, so good, right uncle?”

“Well…I admit that clearing out the Broken Tower Redoubt and Karthspire Camp single-handedly is quite an achievement. I don’t approve of what he does with his victims…”

“Neither do I, uncle, but that’s his way of making Forsworn scared of him.”

“Or even more angry? More vengeful?”

“Definitely but once he clears more of their camps, word will get around and they’ll become afraid AND vengeful. That’s what he aims for and that’s what I hope for. Sooner or later his actions will gain attention of Forsworn leaders and they’ll be interested in his head, they might even come to take it by themselves. If we succeed and manage to remove these leaders, or even if Ubarda removes them by himself, we’ve won an important battle, uncle.”

“That’s right…that’s right. But for some reason I can’t get rid of some bad feeling....like something bad is going to happen. Something bloody. And that you will dearly regret that you ever hired the Bloody Noble. Just look at how he behaves himself in our court.”

“So far he didn’t give us any reason to be suspicious about his actions. My informants confirmed that camps which he claimed to clear, were cleared indeed. His behavior…well, it’s certainly not something we’re used to. ”

“He can be soapy if he wants but he can also talk like a beast. When I see him, I have a feeling that he has two faces. Neither of them is good but one is wilder than the other. Don’t trust him when he pretends to be kind. Maybe I’m just an old nagger but most of the time my premonitions turned out to be true. You know, even when I advised your father, he listened to me when I felt my sixth sense telling me something.”

“And what is your sixth sense telling you now?” sighed Igmund.

“That we should thank him for his assistance and send him back to Cyrodiil with our best regards.”

“Oh please…he only just arrived and so far everything’s going according to plans. Let the Forsworn feel some fear and if the plan we talked about earlier, works out as we hope to, then we’ll no longer need him in our hold. Then I’ll send him back home. Do you agree?”

“I don’t have any choice, do I?”

Raerek didn’t sleep well that night. He was having nightmares which he forgot when waking up. All except one – in that nightmare he was walking to the Court of Markarth like he did every morning. As he came to the stairs leading to the Jarl’s throne, he noticed something placed above the throne. At first he didn’t know what it was but as he was coming closer, he saw his own head mounted on the wall. Its mouth were wide open, its eye sockets empty, blood slowly running out of them. But as he screamed, the voice didn’t come from him but from his withered head.

Then he woke up.

[Acadian]

What a tense story this is growing into! On one hand, the Jarl is doing well to find a most capable mercenary. On the other hand, dare he ignore the sixth sense of his steward? That nightmare Raered had was terrifying indeed!

[Renee]

Yeha, that dream is pretty intense! How many kill cams does he get by the way when he's fighting, by the way? I find that Isaac rarely got them, but Bjorn gets one almost every fight.

This post has been edited by Renee: Apr 2 2016, 11:49 PM

[Lopov]

@Acadian - only time will tell whether Raerek was right.

@Renee - he gets killcams very often, just like Bjron, almost in every fight.

7

“Is there something wrong, Jarl? Or why are you looking at me like that?”

Igmund of Markarth couldn’t believe his own eyes. Something like that never happened ever since he was proclaimed the Jarl. To be mocked in such a way by an outsider. Faleen, walking tightly behind Igmund, was agape as well. She couldn’t believe that she’s seeing…

…the Bloody Noble sitting on the Mournful Throne.

She looked at the Jarl, waiting for orders, and noticed the astonishment on his face turning to anger. Fists clenched he approached his throne and looked down at the Bloody Noble.

“You have exactly one second to stand up from MY throne, Ubarda. Exactly. One. Second. Else I’ll have you thrown to Cidhna Mine and not all of your septims will get you out.”

“No need to get upset, Jarl,” said Ubarda and slowly stood up. “It’s not that comfortable anyway. See, I’m an early riser and I was thinking that maybe you are as well. So I came here, hoping to get a new bounty but one of the guards told me that you won’t arrive that soon. I was too lazy to walk back to Vlindrel Hall and Raerek’s chair is even more uncomfortable so I thought that…”

“Enough!” Igmund’s shout interrupted the speech of innocence, and it seemed to Faleen that for a second it even startled the Bloody Noble.

“This is your last warning, and I mean it,” continued Igmund, his voice threatening. “First you come to my Court and insult my uncle and now I find you sitting in my throne. I won’t have such behavior tolerated. You’re here to deal with the Forsworn and while for the time being we’re satisfied with your services, they don’t outweigh your idiotic behavior in our court. So I warn you, Ubarda, this is truly your last warning – if I ever find you sitting in my throne again OR doing anything else that I may find insulting, I will have you imprisoned. For a very long time.”

Even Faleen was surprised at her Jarl’s words – she assumed that Raerek’s sixth sense had something to do with the verbal force which Igmund unleased on the Bloody Noble. For a few seconds he was silent, the up-to-no-good smile playing on his face, making him look even more terrifying and Faleen got an impression that just when he wanted to say something rude back, he changed his mind in the last second.

“So… who’s my next target?” he asked, like nothing happened.

“Forsworn leader at Bruca’s Leap Redoubt,” curtly replied the Jarl and handed him the bounty.

“Do you want me to bring any souvenirs? Skulls, eyes, testicles?”

“No. I already said that what you call souvenirs…aren’t necessary,” answered the Jarl while sitting down on his throne.

“I shall be on my way then.”

As always, the Bloody Noble slightly bowed before putting on his fine hat and walking down the stairs.

Igmund was glad that his uncle was still asleep and didn’t see the incident else he’d now have to listen to another speech.

[SubRosa]

I wonder if Ubarda is getting comfortable on that throne after all, and if Igmund's skull might one day grace his collection?

[Acadian]

I see the Bloody Noble testing his limits. It remains troublingly unclear what his intentions are. I do wonder if he wants to leave Markarth with a Jarlish souvenir in his pack. . . .

[Renee]

That dude loves pushing boundaries, does he not? Ha ha.

My Skyrim season has pretty much come to a close. It's just too consistently warm outside, I can't get immersed into Skyrim if it's not chilly + "bad" weather IRL. I will return to Bjorn in October most likely, I may even have an unpublished White Wizard to throw up here.

Cheers to Urbada. Hopefully he'll make his return too, 'cause I wanna see where his saga goes.

[Lopov]

@SubRosa & Acadian - I think that not even Ubarda himself has everything planned in advance but he surely likes to provoke. He wouldn't mind a Jarl's skull in his collection but by doing so, he would undoubtedly bring wrath of entire Skyrim upon himself.

@Renee - Looks like you infected me with your syndrome, Renee, I also have difficulties playing Skyrim now when April is unusually warm here in Slovenia. Chances are that Ubarda's tale will continue in the autumn. I have two more stories written which I'll post, afterwards I'll probably take a long break from Skyrim.

Today's story has little to do with events from the game but I prefer for each of my characters to have some proper backstory and occasionally I feel more like writing about it than about actual game.

8

All except one Divine have turned their back on Ubarda years ago, like they did on everyone else that lived an infamous life. The one exception was Julianos.

Ubarda’s hand was a mere inch away from the shrine of the God of Wisdom and Logic, a battle going on inside him, struggling whether to touch the shrine or not. He rarely felt fear but each time he was about to touch the shrine of Julianos, he was afraid. Very afraid. Because if nothing happened, if he wouldn’t even get imbibed with the Divine magic, then he knew that Loque’s life had ended.

With a sweating hand he touched the shrine and in the same second he was encircled in blue magic, the energy of the only Divine that was still partly at his side, flowing through him, healing minor wounds and bringing him peace. Ubarda closed his eyes and smiled, and unlike most others, this smile was an honest one.

“He lives…” he said with a whispering voice.

Ubarda's thoughts shifted to the distant past, how many time has passed since then, he asked himself? Ten years? No, it must have been more – fifteen years? That was more like it. His hand still on the shrine, he could see himself standing outside his manor on the Gold Coast. It was a sunny and warm day in the Rain’s Hand but he didn’t feel any warmth. He was looking at the man in brown hooded robes walking away from the manor, nothing but a small bag at his belt and an enchanted staff on his back. The woman came running from the manor, sobbing. She tried to run after the man in hooded robes, convince him to return but Ubarda strongly grabbed her by the shoulder. The woman tried to wriggle free from his grasp until a forceful slap in her face sent her flying backwards, reminding her of her place in the family. As Ubarda once again looked at the man in hooded robes, their eyes met and he saw a pitying look on his face.

“I pity you, father,” said the young man. “You are nothing but a prisoner of your own fears. I shall pray for you, father. Every day I shall pray to Julianos for you.” Having said that, the man turned around and left the estate…

…never returning.

Just as the vision appeared, it was now gone in a second. Ubarda opened his eyes – he was back in Harmugstahl, his hand still resting on the shrine of Julianos. He never saw his eldest son since that cold sunny day in Rain’s Hand but he knew that he’s still alive and that was enough. For as long as Loque would pray to Julianos, his father would receive blessing at his shrines and thus know that his son still lives.

“A blessing and a curse, that’s what you are to me, Loque,” Ubarda said to empty halls of Harmugstahl. “A blessing and a curse,” he said again, the smile gone from his face. “My greatest pride when you were but a boy and my greatest disappointment when you grew up. We could have achieved so many things together. But you preferred to be… just a priest. A lowly, worthless priest.”

[Acadian]

A very neat glimpse into Ubarda's past! And the more we learn of him, the more questions are raised. What an enigma he is! Very clever to tie his ability to get a blessing from Julianos to his son.

[Renee]

Yes, I echo this too. Such an enigma. That part when he smiles (and it being a real smile) that's what got me.

This is gonna sound weird but I'm glad we're taking a break from Skyrim. It'll be so awesome when we return.

[Grits]

Lildereth is presently riding along the shores of Lake Ilinalta in the rain. Jerric is somewhere in the vicinity, she doesn’t keep track of him when he is following and he always seems to catch up before it’s time to chop the firewood. They will eventually make their way to Ivarstead. For now they are on wood elf time.

[Acadian]

How nice to hear that Lil is keeping at least one dainty foot and Jerric one heavy boot in Skyrim. What a beautiful area Lil is in. That's the perfect place for wood elf time - just a few butterflies past a waterfall.

[Grits]

Thanks, Acadian! I’ve had terrible trouble with my laptop since about the end of March, and I’ve been leaving my most precious Skyrim saves alone while I worked on it. It is such a great feeling to get back. There’s a lot to enjoy in ESO, but it lacks the majesty of Skyrim. Jerric is in ESO’s Shroud Hearth Barrow right now, which inspired Lil to take him there (the long way, lol) in her Skyrim game. It’s interesting to see how the two game environments compare.