Today in Cyrodiil, spoilers version, TES: 4 Oblivion character accounts & stories Options

[Renee]

Yeah, Renee's a pit dog. But she shall rise, methinks. She shall rise.

Middas, 8:19 AM, Evening Star 12, 3rd Era 433

... "You hardly seem worth talking to."

This statement startles the Redguard fully. He had just woken up, left his room at the inn, started to walk towards the chapel outside, and had not expected anybody to speak to him in such a fashion. As Kahreem of Weet glances toward the woman with the short-cropped hair who makes this statement, he realizes the woman is none other than Bernadette Peneles. Kahreem says nothing to her in reply.

.... "Out of the way, slop drudge."

That one is from a guard.

"News travels fast," says the Redguard to himself.

Within just hours of taking the job from the orc, it seems all the guards in Skingrad now know who he is. Good thing he is not wearing his Bravil guard's uniform at this moment. Instead he's got an ordinary set of townie clothes on his person. His plans for the day are to (1) do some more spying on Sexius Tootleus, or whatever the man's name is. The man Glarthir thinks is spying on him. Then, assuming Kahreem got bored with this, he would (2) head on up to the castle, where he would begin serving slop to the prisoners of Skingrad.



"My first real job," he muses.

((((((((((((((((((((((

9:45 AM
He takes his post, the same post he had taken the day before while pretending to be a guard, out in front of Toutius Sextius's house. The morning is quiet, and Kahreem sees nobody coming or going from the Imperial's house. Nobody. At one point, Glarthir himself walks calmly across the street, right in front of Kahreem. Glarthir walks somewhat in circles, in the middle of the street, as though he's confused about something. And at no point does the Redguard notice anybody following the crazy, paranoid elf. Just when Kahreem thinks the elf is going to walk away, Glarthir paces straight towards him, and glowers....

"Can't you see I'm busy!"

"Do I know you, sir?"

Glarthiir continues to glower, even though the Redguard had not spoken a word to him first. He really is crazy! ... Kahreem decides that maybe it's best to follow Glarthir himself for awhile, just to see for sure if the elf is being followed, as he claims. This would be far more interesting than standing across a man's house, staring at his door. Kahreem starts to tail Glarthir, and for the next two hours walks all over Skingrad. He does not notice anybody following Glarthir, nor anything suspicious at all. Ironically, Kahreem winds up playing the role of the very sort of person Glarthir fears: the role of a stalker.

Occasionally Kahreem sees a man walking on the street. Assuming this man looks to be Imperial, or Breton or Nordic, the Redguard then stops to have a quick chat with this person. At no point does he ever meet anybody named Toutius Sextius.

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3:20 PM
Bored out of his mind, the former Redguard bandit from West Weald decides he's done stalking around Skingrad. Glarthir is crazy. Nuts as can be. There's no doubt about it. He does nothing all day but walk around in circles, and nobody is following the man except Kahreem.

Enough with Glarthir. He decides he'll head on over to the West Weald Inn for a bite to eat, after which he makes his way to the castle. This eats up two more hours. By the time he gets to the castle it's nearing 6 PM, and Kahreem fears he could be late for his very first day on the job. He has no idea when supper is for the prisoners, even though he's been in jail many times himself. It's not like slop drudges ever announced what time it was when they served food, after all.

"How fares thee?"

"Out of the way, slop drudge," says a guard as Kahreem enters the jailor's area.

"But you cannot turn me away sire, for can't you see? I am the new slop drudge. You just said so yourself. I work here now! .. So where's my key? And where are my work clothes?"

"They oughta just give you guys a key. But no. I have to keep locking and unlocking the door for the slop drudges," says the guard with disgust. "Follow me."

"Certainly. As you wish."

The guard walks down a corridor of steps which turns right, left, and left again. Kahreem finds himself in the very room with the jailor sitting behind his desk. He smirks at the jailor, as if to say you could have opened the very same door for me, and earned some gold for your effort. But now look at ya! The guard opens the door straight into the area Kahreem needs to go. He walks in.

"Man. First day on the job," he says. "Can't wait to ... uh ... slop some drudge. I mean drudge some slop. Just you wait and see guards, I'm the best slop-drudger in all Cyrodiil. That orc made one good choice in hiring this Redguard."

Kahreem then walks through the door to the prison cells, and closes it behind him.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

6:44 PM

"You must be the new slop drudge," says a Nord behind the first set of bars Kahreem approaches.

"That I am sir. Now... would you care to have slop from the very top of my bucket, or the very bottom? The bottom of the bucket is our specialty today."

The Nord takes Kahreem's advice, and accepts some slop from the bucket's bottom. "Excellent choice sire, if I do say so myself...." The two begin to speak while the Nord slops it up. Unfortunately, the Nord, whose name is Larthjar the Laggard, has nothing of importance to say when Kahreem asks him anything about a pale lady, or a man named Theranis. Kahreem cannot tell if Larthjar the Laggard enjoys his slop or not.

"Don't let the gaurds catch you!" Larthjar warns.

Kahreem walks to the next set of bars, which is unoccupied, and locked with a 4-tumbler. So he walks further to a third set of bars. These are unlocked, and there is nobody inside this cell, either.

"Now what am I going to do with all this fokkinge slop?"

In frustration, he spills some on the prison's floor, and notices something strange on it. A blood trail! The trail leads to (what he discerns) to be a sort of door, right in the wall. Attempts to push this door, and it doesn't budge. Then he turns to his right, and notices a set of candles hanging from the wall.

"Seems strange. Candles right here in a jail cell, and they're unlit."

Kahreem's intuition kicks into high, and he realizes .. that the candles are actually some sort of lever. He can see this! He tries to move the candles and voila, the hidden door before him begins to open. He peers inside. Behind the door is a tunnel which curves down into darkness. The Weet Bandit cannot see what is ahead, but he makes a bold decision. He'll go back to his room at the inn, and change into his Bravil guard's suit.

"Because there's no fokkinge way I'm going down THERE without some protection. Fokke that."





This post has been edited by Renee: Nov 30 2022, 04:48 PM

[SubRosa]

You are in for a treat Renee. I think the Thieves Guild was my favorite questline in Oblivion. The last three or four quests really have an epic feel. They made me feel like I really was a master thief pulling off the heist of a lifetime.

[Acadian]

How exciting for you, Renee. I'll echo SubRosa in commending the TG questline. It is the only questline in OB that I actually enjoy taking all the way to the end. As SubRosa said, the last few quests almost have an epic feel. And best of all, the questline is ultimately a love story. You'll see.

[ghastley]

Part of that has to be that the last quest alone is longer than some other quest-lines.

I couldn't get enough. I had to write more quests!

[Renee]

Awesome. Yeah, a friend told me this part is where TG really gets good. I have no idea what's about to happen, which is really cool.

[Acadian]

Renee, I so hope that after you finish the TG, you'll tell us what you think of the questline. I'm very curious to see if you agree with us.

[mirocu]

Ooh! The plot thickens for the bandit of Weet!

[runlykhel]

Great stuff Renee, love that Kahreem.

After 145hrs of Hess in SR, it's time to return to OB.my newest explorer:

Gilith

Altmer
Sign; Mage
Class; Collector (of antiquities)
Favorites; strength and endurance
Specialization; magic
Majors; acrobatics
restoration
destruction
armor
alteration
mercantile
speechcraft
Since Gilith won’t be using a bow; mostly depending on her knowledge of magic, and a blade- she had taken some classes in edge fighting while at university- the GOTC has replaced marksman with alteration, and blocking with armor (which should be kept under control since she’s wearing no armor and only carries one blade).

===================================================
Gilith, a collector and dealer in antiquities, stood on the dock in Anvil watching the last of her trade goods being carted off to Lelles' Quality Merchandise over on the main wharf, and looking around for her friend Rjavyn who may by chance had seen or heard about her ship arriving, and might appear.

Rjavyn had written Gilith a letter describing the abundance of Ayleid ruins on the main land of Tamriel and suggested if Gilith had nothing better to do, to join her.

Gilith was aware of the distrustful attitude some of her peers had towards Rjavyn; first a Nord, than a self-proclaimed treasure hunter, both of which rankled the nerves of some of her fellow collectors, but Gilith considered her a friend- a friendship born of mutual respect earned while saving each other’s lives during some dangerous exploration in Skyrim where Gilith had joined Rjavyn originally for mutual security.

Noticing one of her own kind fuming on the deck of the ship across from hers, Gilith walked over to talk. She turned out to be the captain of the ship and had a little problem with Ghosts. Gilith assumed the captain had spent more time learning seamanship than magic because as far as Gilith was concerned ghosts were not all that hard to deal with; of course Gilith reminded herself that looking for antiquities had given her a bit of experience on handling ghosts, so offered her help. The captain was very relieved, so much so that on top of letting her keep anything Gilith found and could take away from the ghosts she offered a reward if Gilith could just bring her an antique crystal ball that was a family heirloom located in the bottom of the ships lowest hold. The reward would later turn out to be a very nice enchanted cutlass.

The ghosts were no real threat but the cutlasses they wielded added a few nicks and cuts to herself and her clothes, which Gilith had to take time to close up with one of her spells- she chuckled after her last “healing” thinking this was probably her most practiced spell. It did remind her that gathering some healing potions before setting out into Cyrodiil would be wise.

Later leaving a very happy Lelles whose shop was a good deal fuller with the trade goods Gilith had brought, and Gilith with some local operating capital clinking in her purse, almost ran over a messenger that was looking for her. After handing over a sealed letter addressed to Gilith in an unrecognized handwriting, the messenger stood looking at the ground shuffling his feet until Gilith handed him a bit of gold which he then pocketed quickly, gave a slight bow and raced off.

Gilith broke the seal and read;

To the Honorable Gilith,

I am deeply sorry that I have unpleasant news regarding our mutual friend Rjavyn. Rjavyn, her partner Shomii, and myself were separated deep underground while exploring an Ayleid ruin in south eastern Valenwood, and after days of searching without success and running out of food and water Shomii and I decided it would be better to head to our respective homes and wait for Rjavyn or word of her. It has been a month now (about the length of my voyage Gilith’s thought) and I fear the worst. Please feel free to call on me at my home north of the Imperial city.
Yours respectfully, Tasqmii
Follow map.
A small sketch was folded inside the letter showing the way to Tasqmii’s home.

Gilith sighed, Rjavyn was always one to take chances, and she had disappeared before, showing up when least expected, usually with a rather heavy purse. Gilith hoped that this was another one of those occasions. Shoving the letter inside her tunic, Gilith headed for the main gate into Anvil stopping briefly to watch a local artist, giving Gilith time to gather her thoughts about this setback to her plans, and getting the feelings of helplessness under control. After all she did not know anything about the mainland except for main roads and charted locations. She would just have to wait until she met with Tasqmii before deciding upon a course of action; which might be awhile. Hopefully by then Rjavyn would make an appearance.

==================================================================
The first journey

Although not a member of the Cyrodiil mages guild, Gilith being a senior mage, visited the Anvil mage’s guild hall to see if she could learn anything that would be helpful in her endeavors in Cyrodiil. The local mages seem too involved with their own world to be of much help, but Gilith did find that a new rule had been imposed in regards to being granted access to the guild’s university in the Imperial city. The new rule required receiving a recommendation from each guild hall head in Cyrodiil first. As much as Gilith would like to see the inside of the university it wasn’t something high on her to do list, rather she figured to visit each hall as she happened to be in their vicinity.

While at the Anvil mages hall Gilith officially joined the Cyrodiil guild and helped eliminate a renegade mage that had been plaguing the area, with this done a promise of a recommendation was obtained.
Gilith finally had gathered enough equipment, including a couple of valuable antiques to sell in the Imperial city, to begin her journey through Cyrodiil.
The sun was just beginning to burn off the early morning fog as Gilith left Anvil through the north gate and started up the road to Skingrad. Reaching the top of the first steep ridge and walking past the Brina Cross Inn, the site of yesterday’s fight with the renegade mage; Gilith looked ahead in the lingering light fog for the Legionnaire that patrolled the road as it wound easterly toward Skingrad. She had planned to intercept him here and accompany him the length of his patrol. Listening carefully, Gilith thought she heard the sound of hoofs clattering slowly further on, so she speeded up around a turn in the road and located the Legionnaire a short ways ahead. Gilith said hello to let him know that she was friendly and would be following, because in no way did she want one of these knights of the road to mistake her for a bandit, she was sure nothing she could do would stop them from killing her if once they chose that route.

Gilith’s long strides made it easy to keep close to Legionnaire while being able to gather various plants that grew alongside the road for their possible use as ingredients in potions. A lot of the plants were new to her, so her next visit to a mages hall would have more importance than just listening to gossip and whatever little task that must be performed to acquire a recommendation from that hall’s head mage.

The trip was progressing peacefully with only a bandit or creature showing up now and again; a mere breaking of monotony for the Legionnaire requiring a short bout with the offender, and of course a quick check by Gilith for anything of value or use. Gilith found it interesting that the creature hides and parts were more valuable than most of what the bandits carried, but still managed to find a couple of things valuable enough to justify carrying the extra weight. Just below Kvatch the peace was broken by a scared citizen who ran down from the city camp to tell Gilith that an Oblivion gate had opened by the city gate and how he was running away from this area. Gilith didn’t blame him, Kvatch seem to have been singled out as the spear head of an invasion, and apparently this wasn’t the first gate to open there. (Gilith wasn’t yet aware that it was Rjavyn who closed the gate the last time one open) Of course Gilith thought it to be good advice to get away from this area so turned and walked quickly to catch up with the Legionnaire, better safe than sorry, she thought.

When Gilith was only a few strides from the Legionnaire a giant jumped onto the road and swatted the Legionnaire’s horse, knocking it to the ground. The Legionnaire rolled away from his mount, then both master and horse rushed the giant as they regained their feet. Gilith stood there in shock as the giant smashed the Legionnaire to the ground, where he laid unmoving, Gilith was sure he was dead; no one could have survived that wicked blow. The horse dodged a similar blow from the giant, galloping east along the road leaving the giant behind. The giant began to follow and then stopped as it became aware of Gilith.

As the giant started to run toward her, Gilith jumped up the bank at the side of the road and raced uphill while looking for a way to keep this monster at bay, it helped that fear and her long legs kept her just out of reach, but she was tiring fast, a few months of academics had her a little out of shape, and she could hear the giant’s heavy breathing getting louder behind her- she was running out of time. Gilith spotted a steep slope with an island rock outcropping in the middle and aimed her route above it so if she could get a little purchase along the slope she might just make the outcrop, if not she would slide to the bottom and end up the giants next victim, which would probably be the case anyway if she didn’t try. The plan worked, just barely, another dagger length more and her outstretched hands would have missed the edge of the outcrop. Gilith hung there just long enough to see the giant trying to follow her only to slide down the slope close enough that Gilith had to draw up her legs to keep out of reach of it’s large hands.

Breathing hard, and finally standing on the outcrop, Gilith watched the enraged giant attacking the stone as if to knock her off. The giant had a few arrows sticking out of it, some she recognized as the silver arrows belonging to the deceased Legionnaire. Now that she was relatively safe Gilith began casting fireballs at the giant. At first it didn’t look like much damage was being done, but then the giant backed out of range to get away from Giliths attack. When it seemed to catch its breath the giant resumed its maniacal attack on the rocks below Gilith. As this dance between the giant and Gilith went on It started getting darker with an evening chill accompanying a breeze blowing across the hillside. Gilih was not looking forward to having to spend the night let alone a few days trapped on this outcrop with an enraged giant just below. During the lulls when the giant moved out of range Gilith searched desperately for a way out of this predicament, and that is when, appearing as a feint outline in the dim light, the Legionnaire’s horse returned to its master on the road below. The giant heard or smelled the horse and went off in pursuit. Gilith felt a rush of relief and sat down on the hard rock, the urge to put her head on her knees and fall asleep was strong, but so was the desire not to roll off the outcropping and into the clutches of the giant, which brought her head up to scan the area for any sign of her monstrous attacker.

East of Gilith’s position; perhaps along the road, but not having been there- Gilith only could guess- the sounds of fighting and glow of spells being cast indicated the possibility of the giant meeting more than the horse there. Gilith waited in the dark until it seemed enough time had passed that it would be safe to leave the outcrop, but as she was looking for a way down the sound of heavy footsteps erased any hope of getting away. And there was the giant, a few more arrows but seemed none the worse for wear. Gilith began again to cast her fire balls lighting up the night as well as the giant, thinking it was going to be a long night, at which time the burning giant fell over still as a stone. Gilith surprised and untrusting, tossed a couple additional fire balls to be sure, but no, the thing seemed dead.

Standing on soft earth next to the giant, Gilith poked it with her sword for good measure, then walked slowly down to a flat spot next to the road, made camp, and laid down to fall immediately to sleep. Amazingly nothing bothered her during the remainder of the night. In the morning after a breakfast of mutton, cheese, and an apple, Gilith continued east along the road. Being alone and in strange country Gilith walked quietly keeping watch for any problems ahead, ready to put her long legs to good use in avoidance if necessary.

It was the next large bend in the road after leaving the site of the Legionnaire’s end, when the bodies began to show up, including the Legionnaire’s horse. The giant had apparently killed the horse and then wiped out a group of bandits from a large encampment just off the south side of the road. Gilith picked up a few sellable items but quickly left the area continuing her journey toward Skingrad. It was rather anticlimax reaching Skingrad with only having to dodge one bandit along the way.

Camping inside the city walls in a wide spot along the road, Gilith finally got a full nights rest. It helped her peace of mind that a few feet from her tent door stood two of the city guards at their posts. The next morning, after breakfast of fruit and cheese, Gilith paid visits to the various merchants; purchasing, selling, or having things repaired. Then a stop at the Skingrad mages hall to buy some spell recipes, and trade some potions. One of the spell recipes was a little above her ability, but she purchased it with the Idea of having something to study to fill in those long hours of sleepless waiting, at that thought Gilith laughed quietly, not much of those since I left the ship.

While at the Skingrad mages hall Gilith was asked to find out why a certain woodelf mage hasn’t been in to visit the hall for a while. Turns out the little bugger got himself trapped by some of his own experiments, and was extremely grateful to Gilith for his rescue. When asked if this sort of thing happened often the little mage confessed that a similar thing happened before and that he had been rescued that time by a pretty dark haired Nord, after a bit he remembered her name, “Raven.” “Rjavyn,” corrected Gilith. “Ah yes…do you Know her?” “Yes,” was all Gilith answered a little peeved at this small mage who couldn’t seem to control his own experiments. After delivering the little mage to his Guild hall and securing yet another recommendation, Gilith went to her tent for a good night’s rest for in the morning she had plans to attach herself as a traveling partner to another Legionnaire patrolling toward the Imperial City.

It was a good trip, no giants, and the weather held allowing Gilith to get a good look at the country side. She was excited, Rjavyn was right, there seemed to be Ayleid ruins everywhere, and Gilith wanted to run off and explore all of them. Of course she also wanted to live long enough to be able to explore, which meant waiting until she found Rjavyn or someone else to trust to help keep her alive. Finally saying good bye to the Legionnaire at the end of his patrol and in sight of the Imperial City, Gilith was able to make the last part of her journey to Tasqmii’s home after a half day stop in the Imperial City.

This post has been edited by runlykhel: Aug 14 2014, 02:05 PM

[runlykhel]

I'm not sure what I did wrong on the last post to end up with two in one, it was not my intention.

Findimg Tasqmii

Walking from the front door towards the landing and the stairs leading to the beach where Tasqmii expected to find mud crabs, a nice change in menu for dinner, a movement on the road above the house attracted her eye. Even as far away as the road up there was, at least four houses high, she could tell the person looking at a paper held in front of her and then looking around, was a high elf, Altmer as some called them. Altmer in general didn’t travel the country side alone as a habit, so Tasqmii suspected who this lone elf might be, where upon she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Gilith?”

Looking at the crude sketch and comparing it to landmarks surrounding the two story house far below the road cozily tucked on a flat slightly above the lakes water level, Gilith was fairly confident of having arrived at the right place. It was then Gilith heard her name shouted from below in a questioning manner. On the flat in front of the house was someone in light blue tinted armor. Gilith not about to shout back gave a wave of her hand and continued down the path towards the house.

The person coming up the path must be Tasqmii, a beautiful Breton with shiny red hair, and visible when she got closer, pretty green eyes; this fit Rjavyn’s description of Tasqmii. As Tasqmii was energetically walking towards Gilith, Tasqmii asked again, “Gilith?” Which Gilith responded with; “yes…and you must be Tasqmii.” Tasqmii stopped a couple of strides from Gilith, a pleasant smile on her face, “I thought so, not many high elves wander by themselves around here…and you fit Rjavyn’s description.” “As do you,” replied Gilith. “Come…we can get acquainted over some mead and dinner,” suggested Tasqmii, turning in to walk beside Gilith as they headed towards the house.

It was at this point two mud crabs made their appearance at the top of the stairs that led to the beach scuttling across the landing towards them. Tasqmii quickly brought her bow to bear sending one arrow apiece into the mud crabs and with a continuous movement re-slung the bow on her back while commenting, “ahh…dinner.” The whole action took only a few seconds and confirmed what Rjavyn had mentioned about Tasqmii’s talent with a bow; Gilith was impressed.

After breaking open the crab’s shells and cutting out the best parts of the meat, the two women rolled the remainder of the carcasses over the bank, out of the way. No one ever seemed to think that only taking the best parts of a crab and leaving the rest to rot was a waste, especially since most everyone hated everything about the things except the meat. Inside the house and after a brief tour, Tasqmii insisted Gilith relax while she scurried about gathering glasses, drinks, and some cheeses and apples. “Meade or wine?” ask Tasqmii. “Wine if you please,” Gilith couldn’t understand how anybody could drink the thick, grainy Meade, whose smell reminded her rotting water soaked grain on a hot day; but she noticed that Tasqmii seemed quite found of it, being on her third mug in the time it took Gilith to drink her first cup of wine. Tasqmii told her version of how Rjavyn was separated from her and Shjomii in a dark Ayleid underground ruin in Valenwood, and how they spent days trying to find their lost friend. It was thirst and hunger that finally forced them back to the surface and to the nearest town for supplies. She and Shjomii had returned to the same ruin and spent another few days trying to find Rjavyn only to run out of supplies again, and that’s when they decided to go home and wait in case Rjavyn made an appearance.

Tasqmii stopped stirring the crab in the pot to give Gilith a sad look, “it’s been over two months, I’m really afraid that…” Tasqmii couldn’t finish what she was going to say and turned back to the pot, slowly stirring the crab meat. Gilith couldn’t think of anything to say at the moment so kept quiet and took a sip of her wine.

Gilith looked around the small kitchen on the ground floor where she was sitting in one of the four chairs at a long table shoved against the wall to give more room to maneuver. The fireplace with pot hangers and grates to cook on were at the end of the room opposite its entrance hall that paralleled the stairwell that led to the sleeping area upstairs. Gilith noticed a trapdoor in the corner next to the fireplace on the opposite side of the room from the table. Watching Tasqmii getting their dinner ready Gilith felt a twinge of guilt just sitting there, but had to admit to herself that being fairly lousy at cooking, everything would probably taste better without her muddling it up. “You have a very nice house Tasqmii,” said Gilith. Tasqmii replied without turning though Gilith thought Tasqmii’s shoulders drooped a little first, “It’s not really mine I watch it for a friend…she disappeared almost a year ago.” Gilith shook her head, and thought how dangerous this country was; especially remembering her trip from Anvil to the Imperial city, it seemed something attacked her every few miles the whole trip.

“By the way, how did you know my ship was coming and that it would land in Anvil?” asked Gilith. Tasqmii turned, “I didn’t” and smiled at the quizzical look on Gilith’s face. “I knew Rjavyn had sent you a letter inviting you to join her…so I rode to Anvil and left you a letter, and then road to Leyawiin and left a copy there just in case.” Gilith marveled at how Tasqmii made light of riding across Cyrodiil to Anvil and then the long ride to Leyawiin, where Gilith thought it a miracle she made it from Anvil here alive. Gilith would have been more impressed had she known Tasqmii had ridden the width of Valenwood and the length of Elsweyr to deliver that letter to a messenger in Leyawiin.

Though Gilith had rested a bit in the Imperial City before coming to find Tasqmii’s home; the trip from Anvil had worn her out. The combination of a full belly, two glasses of wine and the comfort of a warm fire had Gilith’s head nodding with the closing of her eyes only to jerk awake again when her chin hit her chest. Tasqmii, seeing how tired Gilith was said, “come on, I think it’s time for bed,” and showed Gilith up to one of the beds upstairs. Gilith had barely got undressed and laid down before she was fast asleep. Tasqmii, after covering her new acquaintance looked at Gilith and thought, well Rjavyn put a lot of store in this high elf, I guess I’ll just give her a chance to show why. Tasqmii shrugged and went to bed, her bow and quiver not far from her hand.

A few days later Gilith and Tasqmii left for Faregyl to see Shjomii to discuss what they could do in regards to finding or finding information about their friend Rjavyn. It delighted Gilith to see more of the country side and a relief also they met only a few bandits and critters along the way, all succumbed to Tasqmii’s arrows with only a little help from Gilith’s magic. By the third bandit they had worked out their teamwork such that as Gilith distracted them with cast spells, Tasqmii shared with them some of her well-aimed arrows. The two women collected a fair amount of skins and sellable loot; Gilith thought that it was a minimum reward for dealing with the dangers of travel on this mainland.

This post has been edited by runlykhel: Aug 16 2014, 06:13 PM

[Acadian]

Welcome to Gilith! Those long legs are really coming in handy, I see. And she's making new friends already Two of her MG recommendations done already - nice work!

[runlykhel]

Thanks Acadian, one thing I really like about OB is how much control over leveling e.t.c. one has. Even with all the time spent so far Gilith is barely over 1/4 in level 1-not quit a third yet.

This post should catch Gilith up to where she is in the game (as usual got to having so much fun, just made outlines instead of keeping up).

The meeting

Gilith and Tasqmii turned north off the main road in Faregyl and made their way up the slope towards Hjsyer’s and Shjomii’s farm. Gilith had come to appreciate Tasqmii’s straight forwardness during her time with her while resting up at Tasqmii’s home and traveling here to Faregyl. Rjavyn had lots of good comments regarding her partners, so Gilith was curious to meet Shjomii.

Coming out from between a couple of boulders taller than most horses the view of the farm opened up before them. A hail towards the house from Tasqmii had Gilith look up and follow her gaze to spot a Khajiit female walking from the barn towards the house. Hearing the hail, and this must be Shjomii thought Gilith, the Khajiit turned to see Tasqmii and Gilith walking up the hill towards her, and then broke into a big smile coming down to meet them. After exchanging hugs with Tasqmii, Shjomii looked over at Gilith, “You wouldn’t happen to be Gilith would you?” “You fit Rjavyn’s description…we’ve heard a few stories about some of your and Rjavyn’s Skyrim adventures.”

Gilith smiled and said with a light laugh, “yes…and don’t believe everything told about me around the campfire…flames and shadow tend to lend itself to a bit of embellishing,” Shjomii smiled back liking this High elf at first meeting, “ahh…but the stories have to come from something, now don’t they.”

Shjomii had a big grin; showing a bit of fang that might put doubts in the heads of the uninitiated, but Gilith had much experience with Khajiits and took the smile as was intended. Shjomii’s grin widened after telling them to follow her and that she had something to show them.

Shjomii led Gilith and Tasqmii up the hill between the house and the barn, Tasqmii was walking besides Shjomii with Gilith a couple of steps behind by the time they were alongside the house. Gilith almost ran into Tasqmii’s back as they turned the corner when whatever Tasqmii spotted in the yard behind the house brought her to a stop with a gasp.

Rjavyn pulled the remaining arrows from the fence post she’d been shooting at and turned to find what the voices coming from around the house were about when she spotted Shjomii and Tasqmii turning the corner. Rjavyn smiled and in her husky Nord voice said, “I wondered when you’d show up.” Then took three large strides intending to give Tasqmii a big hug then stopped, staring at who came next around the corner, “Gilith!”…”And more calmly, “I see you got my letter,” giving Tasqmii a one arm hug still looking at Gilith. Rjavyn knew Gilith was not the hugging type, though there were a few times in Skyrim while trapped in a storm the two had cuddled up for warmth, Gilith always looked uncomfortable once they untangled and got ready to proceed once a storm ended, and Rjavyn was careful to act like they’d each slept in their own bedrolls instead of entwined in one.

Gilith closed her mouth which had fallen slightly open from shock at seeing Rjavyn, “well… I heard you had come up missing quite a while ago, what almost three months?” “What happened, and where have you been?” Then realizing how harsh she sounded Gilith smiled, “You were missed, Tasqmii and I were forming up a rescue party to look for you.”

Rjavyn was touched, Gilith was known for not showing a lot of emotion, the fact that she was willing to expose herself to danger just to find Rjavyn spoke volumes about how much she really cared.
“It’s a long story, let’s go inside, a Nord gets thirsty when telling tales.” Gilith chuckled softly and said, “Yes I heard you’ve been telling tales,” and smiled impishly when Rjavyn turn to her with a quizzical look. As they passed the barn Tasqmii noticed Windrider, saddled in the barn ready to travel, he was a beautiful roan stallion that had become more of a companion to the group than just a horse, and except for Gilith, had helped them all in some endeavor or other. Tasqmii drew the group over to say hello to Windrider and rub his nose while introducing him and Gilith. Tasqmii looked to Rjavyn and Shjomii,” going on a trip?”

Rjavyn exchanged a brief look with Tasqmii, and then turned towards Shjomii quietly waiting. Shjomii looked at the two then turned to Gilith, “yes…as much as I would enjoy a good drink, and good companions, I’m afraid I have to leave at dusk. There’s something I have to take care of, I might be gone for a while.” Gilith noticed Tasqmii dropped the subject and started telling about a small adventure she and Windrider shared north of Chorrol, while she led them towards the house. Gilith took the hint and said nothing. Tasqmii asked Shjomii as they walked towards the front of the house, “where is Hjylsyer?”
Shjomii looked north toward the trees at the edge of the farm, “A member of the guild came here and asked for his help acquiring something in Skingrad. “ Tasqmii snorted,”acquire?” “Tasqmii!” Rajvyn scolded. Tasqmii looked contrite, “sorry.” Shjomii acted like nothing had happened, so again Gilith kept quiet.

During dinner that consisted of roasted beef, braised buttered leeks, baked yams, and a variety of cheeses, wines, and fruit, Rjavyn began the story of what happened when she was separated from her partners. Shjomii cleared her throat and stood up, “as much as I would like to hear all the details, I have heard the short version, I’m afraid I must be on my way…no…stay seated…I’m sure I can find my own way to the barn.” Shjomii smiled, grabbed her kit by the door, and left.

Gilith looked back at Rjavyn and Tasqmii after watching Shjomii leave and found them looking at her expectantly. Gilith said nothing. The two women looked at each other then back at Gilith. Rjavyn spoke first. “Hjylsyer and Shjomii are members of the thieves’ guild, among other things.” Gilith figured since the subject was brought up, it must be ok to ask questions. “Among other things?” Gilith asked. Tasqmii cleared her throat then, “Hjylsyer is an initiate of the Dark Brotherhood, and Shjomii is a senior member, been at it most of her life.” Gilith was speechless for a couple of seconds, looking at the other two she realized they were waiting to see how she would react. Gilith forked a piece of beef into her mouth chewed and swallowed it with a sip of wine, looked at Rjavyn and Tasqmii and said, “Shjomii must be very good at what she does,” then proceeded to nibble on a piece of cheese.

The atmosphere in the room lightened as if the clouds on an overcast day suddenly parted and the sun shined through. Rjavyn looked at Tasqmii and quietly said, “I told you,” then louder, “ok, where was I, oh yes, it was very dark and out of the shadows a group of conjurers started…”

Rjavyn told how a conjurer had hit her with a spell that knock her backwards, and in the dark Rjavyn couldn’t see that the passage way ended abruptly, until she found herself falling in the darkness.
“It was such a long fall that I had time to think about the fact I would be dead when I hit the bottom so was surprised when I found myself deep under water, it was very cold.” Rjavyn gave a little shiver with that remembrance. She went on to tell how she had yelled for help only to realize the fight had drawn everyone out of hearing. “My torches were wet, and I don’t know any light spells like some people,” grinning at Gilith. Gilith smiled, “I’ve tried to teach you…” Rjavyn waved her hand lightly; I know…I just never figured it would help me in a fight so…”

Back to the story Rjavyn explained how she used her fireball spell for light but they seem to go on a long ways before falling into the water, so she picked a direction and started swimming; which helped keep her warm in that cold water. “Of course my biggest regret was losing my sword, bow, and having to dump my armor- I really loved that armor.” The two listeners smiled at that. “All I had left was two arrows still in the quiver, so I carried them in my mouth, a pitiful excuse for a weapon I know but it was all I had.” Gilith exchanged looks with Tasqmii, the thought they wouldn’t want to meet an enraged Nord even with only a couple of arrows for weapons had crossed both of their minds.

According to Rjavyn it seemed like the water and dark would go on forever and just when the cold was beginning to numb her naked body, one of her fire balls hit a wall next to an arch in the distance. Her memory of the last hours of her swim to the arch was a little fuzzy, and barely remembers climbing shivering out of the water up stone steps to a landing where she kept a section of the stone wall warm with her fire spell until thawed enough to fall asleep comfortably. Tasqmii thought, only a Nord, with a slight shake of her head.

Rjvyn took another sip from her mead and went on, “I wandered for what seemed like days in those ruins…naked…until finding a small group of conjurer’s camp.” Rjavyn told how she had to sneak up on a couple until she found a dagger on one of them, then how she killed the rest. Gilith nodded in admiration, wiping out a whole camp by oneself with only a dagger was no small feat.

The rest of Rjavyn’s tale spoke of wandering for days, always going up, until finally finding a door that led to the outside right above Haven. Also how she did odd jobs in Haven and South Point until having gathered enough equipment and gold to journey here. “And here I am, with my friends…and I want to go back.”

Gilith and Tasqmii gave little gasps, and Tasqmii said, “What…why?” Gilith started to argue with Rjavyn, but Rjavyn raised her hand for quiet and looked Gilith in the eye; “miles and miles of Ayleid ruins Gilith, what do you think we could find in there?” And then had to chuckle seeing the interested look on Gilith’s face.

Rjavyn stood up, “first it’s late and time for bed…second Shjomii asked if I’d help out with a little problem in the local mine, Hjylsyer was going to take care of it, but he was called off, then Shjomii, which leaves me or us if you’re interested.” Tasqmii stood up from her chair; “Oh no you don’t… you’re not getting lost again without our help!” Gilith chuckled, “I think what our excited Tasqmii is trying to say is that we’re coming along.” Rjavyn smiled and tried to look mildly surprised, she knew damn well they’d come but her Nord pride wouldn’t let her admit she really needed company after her ordeal in the underground ruins. “Well then, that’s settled, I’m going to bed.”

The next morning found Gilith, Rjavyn, and Tasqmii heading to Faregyl, to question the locals about what was going on in the mine.


Note: After copying Rjavyn's face to a CMpartner (the learning how to copy from a PC to an NPC was an adventure in itself for this noobe) I noticed that my character mod was making some changes...so I moved my cm mod after the character mod, and as you will see in future scrnies, Rjavyn looks like Rjavyn should(gives noobe self pat on back)

This post has been edited by runlykhel: Aug 16 2014, 06:10 PM

[Renee]

What level is Gilith? .. I just read the part about the giant. That's gotta be mod-related eh? .. Assuming Gilith is low in level. Oh never mind. Still Level 1, I see. Wow, your games must level upwards as slow as mine!

Where is the house? You mention a beach.

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Aug 16 2014, 03:07 PM

[runlykhel]

renee; yes it's from Maskers OB Overhaul, and yes my characters level real slow, which is nice. Gilith finally made it to level 2 on the way into Elsweyr, after the Faregyl mine incident.

The house is the one from the mod I made for Shara (Tasqmii's friend who has come up missing). In the vanilla game there is only a steep slope there to the lake below Aleswell and the mage's ruin (the one who turned everyone invisible).
==========================================
The Adjustments

It was a thought to cause pause to all three ladies as they stood at the entrance to the Mine at the edge of Faregyl; Rjavyn and Gilith had worked together, as had Rjavyn and Tasqmii, and on the trip from Tasqmii’s house to Faregyl, Gilith and Tasqmii had spent a little time fighting together- but not inside.

Now it was important to have an order of march that would use the various talents effectively and not hurt each other. Both Rjavyn and Tasqmii gave their support to the Idea that Gilith should be in the lead because her spells tended to encompass all in front. Gilith agreed about the spell casting but had reservations about going first, and voiced her opinion that she was not as good a fighter as her two companions.

The three came up with a plan, though they all agreed plans work great until they fell apart, which was pretty much right after the fight started. But at least they could start out with good intentions.

This is what they came up with; Gilith would lead the way, and the party could take advantage of her magical light spell, and if an enemy were encountered Gilith was to cast what spell thought appropriate and then jump to the side. Then Tasqmii would toss some of her deadly arrows until Rjavyn did her usual Nord charge into the fray at which time Tasqmii would change to her blade and jump in. Gilith was to hang back to handle any (and all) magical attacks and support while avoiding casting spells on her comrades. Rjavyn looked at Tasqmii,”remember…when I charge, down goes your bow, I still have a couple of arrow scars on my butt, and I don’t want anymore,” patting her posterior in emphasizes.
Tasqmii blushed, “ah…yeah…sorry, of course.” They both looked at Gilith, and she said, “Ok…so I’ll throw what’s necessary (she meant spells of course) and jump to the side, Tasqmii will shoot some arrows until Rjvyn engages and will then assist with her blade…umm…I have a sword too…”

Rjvyn and Tasqmii exchange glances both had thoughts about Gilith’s wicked magic sword, and who it was being wielded by, and not wanting to hurt Gilith’s feelings, it was Rjavyn who spoke up, “Yes…and a very powerful sword it is…I…we…were thinking that, it and you, would do us the honor of covering our backs, it is very important no-one gets behind us, or surprises us…” Gilith realized how Rjavyn was trying not to point out that Gilith, being not a combatant of great experience, would be of best use on the edge of battle where her unprofessional sword work was less likely to wound her companions. Gilith knew her limitations and it meant a lot that her two companions worried about her feelings. “Any one or thing tries to sneak in on either of you will have to get by me first,” Gilith said in a prideful way (at least that's what she tried to sound like, and by the relaxing look on their faces it seemed to come across that way).

In they went; everything went great until three zombies came from two directions, then Tasqmii shot Gilith and Rjavyn in the butt, Gilith lit up Rjaven with a fireball and Rjaven knocked poor Tasqmii flying on a backswing of her sword. If zombies would or could understand anything spoken they would have been confused with all the, “Sorry!”s and “woops…didn’t see you…Sorry!” being shouted about the tunnels.

After that first battle and while Gilith was lending her magic to patch everybody up, and while Rjavyn was rubbing her sore behind giving Tasqmii a not very pleasant look, Gilith started to chuckle and said, “well I think the plan worked very well.” At that the other two looked at her quickly, and then broke into laughter at the sight of her smile.

“Yes…well if some people wouldn’t get so excited and watched where they were shooting…” said Rjavyn smiling to take some of the sting out of her words. Tasqmii smiled back, “yes and if some people wouldn’t charge in without warning…” So it was agreed that Rjavyn would give a battle cry before charging so Tasqmii could stop or move the aim of her next arrow, and Gilith would try to do the same with her spells. The battle cry idea ended up having some positive side effects on certain enemies, some actually fled at the sound and sight of a charging, screaming Nord bearing down on them waving a great sword.

By the time Gilith, Tasqmii, and Rjavyn finished with the mine in Faregyl they had a fair battle dance going greatly reducing arrows in the butt, burnt hair, and nicks from friendly swords.
Feeling tired but happy with the way things turned out with the mine the three celebrated with a good meal, drinks, and then a good night’s sleep.

The morning sun peaked over the hills trying to burn off the heavy fog that had moved in the evening before. Three figures could dimly be seen moving up the road through the fog towards Elsweyr.

The fog, finally burned away by the heat of the sun, revealed two figures standing on the side of the road watching a third giving little sounds of joy going from plant to plant gathering bits and pieces. Tasqmii leaned over to Rjavyn standing next to her and quietly said, “she does this all the time.” Rjavyn with a little exasperation in her voice, “yes…I know…” while listening to another tiny exclamation coming from Gilith as she ran to another new plant.

The three finally passed into the deserts of Elsweyr, where to the relief of Rjavyn and Tasqmii, there wasn’t as many things for Gilith to pick, so their travels moved along a little faster.

This post has been edited by runlykhel: Aug 16 2014, 06:20 PM

[Acadian]

Glad that Gilith found her mising Nordic pal. I chuckled over the learning curve and growing pains of the little gang all fighting together inside that mine.

[Renee]

I like the part when the zombies can't understand what the ladies are saying. Sorry! Oopps! That's good stuff! I also like slow-leveling games too. I'm in no hurry.

So my daughter dragged me to Centennial park today to meet some of her friends. Centennial Park is a HUGE deal in central Maryland, and the weather was perfect, which means the place was packed. So I'm pretty bushed right now, and this means no Kahreem tonight. So here's a tale from somebody else instead.

Recap and known backstory: Renee Gade the third is a recent Imperial immigrant from Skyrim. She was raised in Riften as an orphan, and moved to Cyrodiil recently. She somehow learned that her mother and grandmother were both famous warriors who lived in the 3rd Era, and since she knows her mother lived solely in Cyrodiil, she and a friend (Gabrielle) both moved south.

Renee took a Sewer Patrol job, but making just a few gold for hours of dirty, smelly work is not her thing. She knows her mother fought in the Arena long ago, and decided she'd try following in her footsteps.

Turdas, 11:21 am, Heartfire 6, 4th Era 20

As she makes her way to the top of the Red Room, Reene Gade III finds a door, and hears the sound of stormy weather outside.

"Great."

She grew up in Skyrim, and was therefore well-trained to fight in rainy weather. But it had been sunny just an hour ago. She'd been picturing an easier fight in full sunshine, her feet making better contact with the ground. She then changes the subject in her mind. She tries to imagine what her mother must have been like at this moment, so long ago, standing before the final door that leads to the Arena itself. Had she been terrified? ... Over-excited? Renee finds that she is surprised; she doesn't feel much just yet. Only curiosity. What would her opponent be wielding? .. Would he or she be any good with his/her weapon?

Renee's distracted thoughts quickly change once she's passed through the final door, and can hear the sounds of the crowd up above. Suddenly, her pusle rises. Her belief in the Nine kicks in. And then there it is. The final gate which looks out into the Arena's pit.

"Wel... sssss ... to ....sssss .... ena"....

She hears the big voice she had heard the day before, announcing a fight is about to commence. Unfortunately the storm is so loud, she can barely hear the man's booming voice. She prepares her chakram and waits for the gate to rise. Suddenly, it does!

She can barely see her rival across the pit, there is so much rain. Renee throws her chakram, and is suddenly too busy to notice whether it hit her opponent (a woman) or not. This woman wields a standard sword + shield combination, and rushes Renee quickly. Renee fumbles with her sword in the rain a couple times, and is slammed by the Yellow Team Pit Dog she's up against.

"ARGH!"

Renee barely hears some sort of reaction from the crowd. Cheering. But were they cheeering for her, or for her Yellow Team opponent? .. With the rain falling so hard, it's difficult to tell the tone of their cheers. Finally, Renee grasps her giant sword firmly with BOTH hands, and makes her way into the middle of the Arena's circular pit, so all the world can see her. For a split second, she tries to imagine her mother doing the same thing, so long ago. What had she been like? -- She chooses to see her mother grinning idiotically, raining blows upon her enemy. She had certainly survived her first fight.

Having been trained with a sword from a young age up in Riften, Lady Gade's reflexes are honed and automatic. She blocks a couple of swings from the dog she's up against before finally returning her own, but by this time she feels her health has lowered quite a bit. She wavers slightly on her feet upon the slippery stone ground.

"WHY ... WON'T ... YOU ... DIE?" screams Renee's sword 'n' board opponent.

"'Tis not in my plans for the day, sorry cheese-scum!!"

Renee swings her weapon with all her strength, finds herself slipping on the wet ground and, missing! "Spizdi!" But her second swing (another full-torso movement) does make its connection, and the immigrant from Riften finds her rival is obliterated .... with just one blow.



"WE .... WINNER! .... UE ... EAM...." shouts the voice from above. The rain still drowns this man's voice out, so Renee can't hear him. But it doesn't matter. She's won the match, the crowd is cheering like mad! .. So now it's time for a little chat with Owyn, down below in the Bloodworks. She puts her sword back upon her back, gives a curtsey to the crowd, and walks off to find that foul-mouthed Redguard.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -

"Eviscerated, huh? .... 'My entrails will wind up decorating your Red Room, huh?'"

"By the Nine Divines you did it! You actually won! You ain't so bad after all, Pit Dog. You may even survive enough matches to advance in rank."

"And? What am I missing in my hand?"

"Here kid, this is your payout for the victory. There's more where that came from if you can keep winning. Now go unwind before you next fight."

With this, Owyn Junior hands Renee a measly 50 gold. *clink!*

"This is it? 50 gold? I made more than this killing crabs and goblins the other day."

Although Owyn told Renee it's okay if she 'unwinds' before her next match, she finds herself too impatient to do anything such. She would participate in two more matches on this day before finally calling it quits, victorious before all.




This post has been edited by Renee: Jan 4 2023, 02:46 PM

[Lopov]

I love the 2nd shot, it's like a postcard from the Arena!

[Renee]

I need to learn how to do Lopov's trick, taking screenies with the game paused via console. I get all excited for the fight though, so I'll have to train myself to do this.

[Acadian]

Renee Gade the Pit Dog's moving up! I think OB did a great job with Owyn and the whole Arena experience - especially Wes Johnson's booming announcing voice. Yay for the Xena Chakram!

[Grits]

runlykhel, congratulations on getting Rjavyn’s look the way you want it. Their first fight together made me smile.

Renee, I really enjoy Renee’s attitude. I felt the same way after my first character’s fight in the Arena. All of that for 50 gold?!

[Renee]

Her chakram can do some major damage, assuming it hits its target. She (and I) are getting better at using it. It's a thin, frisbee-sized object, so it's best to use it while sneaking. But sometimes she tries to get a good slice during combat, which is either hit or miss (usually miss).

Grits: I added a mod called 24 Hour Arena that makes money go much higher. We did the fourth fight on Saturday night and she earned 800 gold for that one. That seems more like it! Granted, in the 3rd Era, it's possible to RP that money is much lower because of the Oblivion crisis, lack of population (and therefore spectators), lack of immigration into Cyrodiil, etc.

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Aug 18 2014, 06:07 PM