The Saga of Laprima Donnaugh Options

[SubRosa]

Ahh, the Lady Donnagh is going to confuse Sirdasa by talking to her. That's probably the last thing the Sird was expecting. I must say, it is rather refreshing to read a story in which the protagonist does not just smite the evildoers like Sirdasa out of hand. I am curious to see where this is going.

It looks like Princess Laprima is having quite the adventure, in that she is having a taste of what life is like for ordinary people. Less than ordinary people. This is actually roughing it.

The Elixir? Now this is interesting. Is that what Laprima stole from the alchemist? Ah ha! It is. We are getting to the bottom of things now.

[Lopov]

Great story, Renee! I finally managed to catch up on everything. Now I know how you must have felt, when I kept posting my stories and you could only read them, when you had time, so there was always a new one, when you came to the forums.

The story took an unexpected turn and you really put a lot of details into the encounter with Sirdasa and even before, when she took her time to study alchemy. I wonder what's going to happen between the two, but I have a feeling, that Laprima is slightly faciated with Sirdasa.

Looks like, however, that the wildwoman unintentionally revealed her the true scope of Laprima's adventure at Angeline's...

[Renee]

Clavier-- Yes, there's a lot to keep track of, very true! I've forgotten way more than a "detail or two". More like two dozen at this point. There are also a lot of details I consider adding along the way, but then I try to be considerate of readers and don't want to make these too long. Also: the more details which get added, the more tangents I go on.

But for example there was going to be a whole part when Sirdasa teaches Prima a few things about Sneaking and surviving and so on.

Frostbite ... it really does feel like something is biting. It hurts. ❄

Yes, there's the fact that Laprima's cold, but Sybille also casted a long-term Courage spell on Laprima! This got mentioned 3 chapters ago, but maybe I didn't put as much emphasis on that part. The spell is very low-level. Laprima doesn't even know she's under the wizard's spell, in fact. Sybille was able to cast the spell without incantations or gestures.

But during this next chapter, she begins to suspect something is not right.

Ah: Concerning the rebellion. She's a sheltered girl! - By now (in my gameworld) the Civil War would be well under way. But it affects Laprima's life not at all, other than occasional news. She's got too much drama in her own life!

I really liked the way you took this story. I'd anticipated a showdown between Laprima and Sirdasa, but this is far more interesting.

I was super-nervous about this actually! Wasn't sure how ppl would react.

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Acadian== Thanks, and yes, I didn't know how that was going to go.

Absolutely, Sirdasa's got some mad skillz. In table-gaming terms it'd be like: Bow, Cooking, Fishing, Knife, Sneak, Silent Movement, Thief, and her Cold Resistance is off the chart.

I think if she and Buffy ever met hopefully it would be in the days before Sirdasa became an addict. In her backstory for instance, she's always been a troublemaker, but at least she's got some skills Buffy could relate too. They'd probably admire each other from afar.

I, myself am actually not sure where it's going. 🕵 There are four possible outcomes the story can end with next weekend.

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SubRosa-- Exactly. Not a tale of black and white, what we have here is closer to slate-gray. I mean... it still could happen in a black + white way next week, we shall see.

And yes, that's another thing. I've been walking around a nearby park a lot lately, so I'be been getting all these inspiration and ideas about someone who lives off the land, and is in fact almost more of an animal than a person. 🐺 Laprima comes from an entirely different world.

NOW we know what Laprima stole, right? Surprise.

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Lopov-- How's your life, you've been quite busy! Well I'm glad you've been keeping up with the Donna's story. I've added at least a couple "Lopov" style pictures in your honor.

Glad you like it. I told you I'd be going "all out" with this one. Laprima finally ascended to Level 2 a couple weeks ago. Her upskills so far have consisted of Speech, Alchemy, Lockpicking, and a little bit of One-Handed.

Don't be a stranger, pard'ner!

[Renee]

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..The Elixir

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Sundas, early morning, Sun’s Dusk 7


Laprima returned to Solitude, her stride full of purpose. The morning was cloudy and cold as her boots clicked over cobblestones and pavement. Her finely-tailored Radiant Raiment dress was a bit torn and disarrayed after its night of unkempt suffering in the wilderness. And this got quickly noticed by someone who may be quite familiar by now.

“If you’re headed toward the Blue Palace you might want to--”

“Go stuff yourself, Taarie,” Laprima muttered, leaving the Raiment’s highbrow assistant startled.

By the time she reached the palace it was nearing midday, sun beginning to shine. Sybille Stentor would be asleep; nearly comatose under sheets and blankets. And this was a good thing, because if the wizard had been up and about, Laprima would have no choice but to confront the woman as soon as she laid eyes upon her.

“One measure of concern,” Laprima pondered. “Seems as though I’ve been played for a fool. Like a puppet from a series of strings?”

Such an insight, indeed. Now that the meeting between Laprima and Sirdasa had concluded, a few questions were rising. Such as: it was now obvious to Laprima that Sybille Stentor had persuaded the noble straight into the proverbial lion’s den (so to speak); had she done so with any sort of nefarious intent? - Sybille had also promised to be present during the meeting between the palace’s newest member and the woman of the woods, hiding somewhere nearby just in case things should go wrong. Had this promise been empty? If Sybille had indeed witnessed the encounter, why hadn’t she at least given a sign of her presence?

Most of all, it now seemed peculiar that the seer had wanted Laprima Donnaugh, a cultured noble who had absolutely no experience with direct combat, to thenceforth attempt to eradicate an individual who did.

…But beyond all of these thoughts, there was something else Laprima was intuiting. Something murking about within her thoughts which she could not quite grasp.

“Something about that wizard.”

Had Laprima been guided into danger against her better judgment, of which said judgment had somehow been nudged aside?

“How had she put it? Sometimes there is justice. Sometimes there are just us.”

That was the maxim Sybille Stentor had used. Yet now that the meeting between was over, this set of words seemed almost coached. Almost too fabricated toward…. Something. That final word ‘us’ implied more than one individual, for instance. Yet Laprima, it seemed, had been out there on her own, to meet with someone who could’ve potentially killed her.

Or had she been?

She stepped up the palace’s staircase, and into its court. Blessedly, Elisif was engaged with a couple of visitors at the moment. Laprima nodded to her aunt and graced her with a curtsey, then continued into the conjoined rooms she and the court wizard shared.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

“Ah. My dear sweetroll. You have arrived.”

Lady Donnaugh, now in her own quarters, came to a surprised and abrupt halt. “Chamany,” she said, surprised. Just the man she's looking for.

He was wearing an old noble's coat, burgundy in color. His hair was disheveled, and he had some sort of scarf wrapped around his forehead, covering his right eye. “Ah. 'Tis nothing, Laprima," he grinned, pointing at his head. "Just a little rough and tumble.”

"I can see this. Ehm. Are you here now though, now and present? Have we time to take a few moments to speak, dear?"

“Aye. I am done with my …eh… my travels, for now, dove," he said. "Such a pleasant sight, to see you again. Please, come to me.”

Her fiancé smelled of something spicy. Cardamom or petunias, perhaps. He held out his arms. Took a couple of steps toward her. But Laprima stood her ground. Brows knitted. Arms folded.

“That bottle you had me fil–,” she began, before correcting herself. “That bottle you had me fetch.”

“Aye. What of it?” His smile, full of placid Cyrodiilic sunshine, clouded a bit.

“What exactly did it contain? Was it … some sort of elixir?” she asked, brows raised. “Meant to cause a skooma-user’s after-use grievances to come to an end?”

Now this was unexpected. Upon hearing these questions, Chamany Lacroix’s face changed from ‘welcome home, dear’ to plainly suspicious. As though the matter of the substance stolen from Angeline’s Aromatics was not to be known to the lady supposedly destined to become his better half. He folded his arms.

“My love. How can… How is you know what the Angeline’s potion is… is for?”

Laprima Anne Donnaugh, sufferer of a condition which we call ‘bruxism’ within our realm, ground her teeth for the umpteenth time. She became angry, and not just at him. She was also angry at what seemed to be an entire establishment. An establishment designed to cause fiends of this particular new brand of skooma to eventually succumb to sickness, while those who perpetrate the substance’s addictive qualities reap their mad profits.

On the other hand, did it not seem as though the potion; the elixir which she’d been instructed to remove from Angeline’s shop; did it not seem this elixir’s very purpose was to supposedly alleviate the after-effects suffered by users of the drug? Had the very idea of this elixir been an attempt to right any number of wrongs?

She recalled the way Sirdasa laid upon her beach several hours ago. That vibrant, resourceful woman of the woods, reduced to a moaning wreck, barely able to get up from the sand. Laprima then recalled the dozens of crates and barrels she’d watched over, shipped into Skyrim upon The Mongrel two weeks ago, each container full of hundreds of this new variety of skooma. It seemed, therefore, that there could be hundreds (maybe thousands) of Sirdasas at this very moment, suffering across the land.

“It was not Angeline who concocted this potion,” Laprima corrected him. “I know of this. I have learned the elixir was mixed and arranged by your very own clan, for those who writhe the menaces of skooma.”

“Yes but--” Chamany was confused and surprised. He hadn’t expected his raven-haired sweetheart to become any potential kind of sleuth!

“For now, let us cast aside these concerns,” Laprima said, placing her hands upon his. “For it seems as though a set of wrongs has at least been attempted toward a set of rights. And I assume… I hope, actually, that you had me gather this so-called elixir because it’d been previously, improperly prepared, or some such, eh?”

Chamany nodded, slowly. “The … eh... elixir, I need for you to steal it, so could give to my clan associate. And now, he have mixed for better. As the elixir, now does it cure away from skooma.”

“I see.” Sirdasa had been right.

“But how is you know these things?” he asked. It was the very same question she’d annoyed Sybille the seer at least a dozen times!

“I shall explain. Let us firstly see if we can put some of this elixir toward its qualities of supposed remedy. I know of someone who's been downtrodden by this ..." her face scrunched, disapproving, "this ...skooma," she gnashed. "Have we any to spare? Might you find fit to give me some of this elixir so I can assist a woman in need?”

Laprima thought he might refuse this sudden request. To her relief, this was not so.

"Aye, I have one," he said without hesitation. "Who have ... who is sick?" He reached into a pocket and handed her a small glass phial full of clear liquid.

"We must go. Come with me, Chamany. I shall tell you as we walk..."

But, another surprise. For taking time to go visit whomever Laprima had witnessed suffering the drug's effects, this was not part of his plans for the day.

"Oh, no. I am afraid I cannot," he said. "I know of these things, the great sick our skooma calls," he added in a low voice. "But I cannot as be involve with everyone's suffer, as am afraid. You take to this person, if you like. Let me know if she gets her cure well."

To her astonishment he began walking away. "Chamany!" Left Laprima standing on her own.

"I shall be at tavern. Come to visit, when ready, eh?" He swiftly exited the room.


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

Auroras!

Chammy does the right thing...

... but also the wrong thing.

"I'll be at the tavern, dear."
.

[macole]

! What is Chamany up to? Was I too quick to judge and jump to a wrong conclusion? Perhaps so but something still tugs at me not to trust Chamany.

This post has been edited by macole: Apr 22 2023, 04:35 PM

[Acadian]

Laprima's steaming during her cold walk back to the Blue Palace. Taarie gets a ‘Go stuff yourself,’ but at least Auntie Jarl gets a curtsy. Laprima raises interesting questions about Sybille. Had she been set up and unknowingly been sent out to commit suicide by Skooma Shrew?

And what of that scoundrel of a - Oh, there he is!

‘Sweetroll?!? Sweetroll my frostbit arse!'

‘Since you caught me red handed with my efforts to put a teaspoon of elixir on a raging skooma inferno, I shall deign to give you a bottle to help your friend. Go with you? Oblivion, do I look like an escort? I got skooma sales to make.’

Grrrr! At Chamany. Sirdrasa is looking more and more trustworthy compared to Chamany and Sybille.

[SubRosa]

“Go stuff yourself, Taarie,”
I practically cheered to hear that!

So Laprima is back, and is suspicious of everyone, perhaps with good reason. Chamany has certainly been lying to her and manipulating her. Sybille too? What is the world coming to when you can't trust a vampire wizard?

So Laprima is going to try to get Sirdrasa clean? I am not surprised that Chamany was not willing to go with her. He makes a habit of avoiding being seen, by anyone really. Instead he lurks in the background.

[WellTemperedClavier]

Yeah, sometimes I wish there was an online Wiki for my work so I could make a quick reference to catch all those details. But you seem to be doing pretty well, all things considered.

Sirdasa teaching Laprima how to sneak does sound useful.

Laprima seems a lot more confident. A walk on the wild side can do that (if you come through the other end).

Ha! Poor Taarie. But Laprima clearly has bigger things on her mind. Like exactly what Sybille was planning. These are good questions that Laprima is considering.

“Aye. What of it?” His smile, full of placid Cyrodiilic sunshine, clouded a bit.

Love this description. Cyrodiil matches Chamany quite well; lovely on the outside, but darker the deeper you look.

Laprima's developing a stronger social conscience here. But I don't buy what Chamany's selling. Laprima might not have the whole story, but he's not being honest, either.

[Renee]

Time for comments and questions. This weekend's chapter will likely be the final story of 2023, unless I remember to include another update on her real-life birthday, October 29.

@macole: What is Chamany up to?

SubRosa guessed this one pretty good. Chammy's in the position of needing to protect himself from fallout. Real-life crime bosses here on Earth (mafia and such) often are household names, not just to cops and the FBI, Interpol and Scotland Yard, but to people like us. We read or watch the news long enough, we're going to learn about these bosses and their clans and families. Gotti, Genovese, Juárez, Menendez, and so on. These folks thrive on fame in a sense. In a lot of cases they enjoy seeing their names in the papers, knowing they're often insulated against capture.

Cham's in the opposite position. He hasn't got as much of a buffer, because all of this is happening really fast. It's a very real possibility that he could get caught somehow. Plenty enough ppl in Solitude know who he is and what he's done, for instance, and skooma's actually illegal in my gameworld (due to a mod, of course). 🍼

I am not going to go on a story tangent this weekend, but Laprima's intuition that there are "hundreds of Sirdasas suffering the after-effects of this new skooma" is accurate.

So Chammy wants to help Laprima, but on the other hand, he can't afford to be seen dealing with the day-to-days of every addict who's in trouble due to his product. And this is for Laprima's benefit, as well. If he gets caught, her name could definitely come up during questioning.

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@Acadian: Laprima raises interesting questions about Sybille. Had she been set up and unknowingly been sent out to commit suicide by Skooma Shrew?

Even I don't fully know the answer to this, yet. But it really does seem so, right? Partially, I think Sybille is a little bit annoyed that she's having to share her conjoined room with this newcomer Donna. Maybe it's as simple as that. Before my gal showed up, Sybille had her own space, after all. We'll have to see, I guess.

As far as Cham's concerned, there were four possible outcomes during that last chapter:

1). Cham gives her the elixir and chooses to go with the Donna
2). Cham gives her the elixir but doesn't go with her
3). Cham doesn't give the elixir, but chooses to go with the Donna
4). Cham doesn't give the elixir, and doesn't choose to go...

If he'd NOT given the the elixir, this would've caused a different outcome in this next chapter. Same goes for if he'd go with her or not. All of those choices influence what's to come. See, this is what happens when I play my first Bioware game!

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@SubRosa: I practically cheered to hear that!

Nice! That retort's for your pleasure.

Exactly. What? I can't trust my vampire wizard roommate who sleeps in the day and seems to have Solitude's Blue Palace court silently wrapped around her fang? How can this be?

So Laprima is going to try to get Sirdrasa clean? I am not surprised that Chamany was not willing to go with her. He makes a habit of avoiding being seen, by anyone really. Instead he lurks in the background.

This. You nailed it.

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@WellTemperedClavier: Yeah, sometimes I wish there was an online Wiki for my work so I could make a quick reference to catch all those details. But you seem to be doing pretty well, all things considered.

Thanks! It has been such a pleasure to have your complex story about the characters of a Mike Judge creation combined with one of my Top 10 favorite games, as well. I hope that WHEN Outlanders comes to whatever end it's coming to that you'll consider writing another story. Or adding something from your past, as well. 🖋

If this story continues into next season (assuming the world doesn't end, etc.) we shall see a much more dynamic Laprima Donnaugh for sure. Her aunt is going to need her, which in a roundabout way, will be Laprima following the events of the Civil War. She'll also probably become involved with one of Bethesda's main faction quests. No, she's not Dragonborn, and I don't want to spoil which faction this is. But it's also rather obvious, if we consider the skillups she's raised during her time in Solitude.

I really hope the world doesn't come to an end...

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@All: The final chapter of Spring 2023 should be up some time later today, or tomorrow morning. I don't know how it'll end. There will be two possible outcomes, actually, since we've ruled out Miss Donna not showing up to Wolf Woman's camp with the elixir. 🌷🌷 🌷

Have some cake.

[Renee]

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______________________

. Blood from her Wrist

______________________


Laprima tailed after Chamany as he pushed through the door. Now inside of Sybille’s room, she grabbed for his sleeve, and plucked his shoulder. Explained to him that the woman who she’d need to go visit lived in rough territory; it was imperative that he come with her, if only for the sake of protection.

“My dear, I am afraid I cannot…” he started.

The argument began and continued, all while the esteemed wizard was a-lay nearby under bedsheets. From Laprima’s point of view, the journey back to Sirdasa was being considered as dangerous. The pair of women had been attacked by a wolf, and then ambushed by a large, spotted cat, which the Woods Woman called a ‘lynx’. Because of this, the noble was hoping not to return to the forest by herself.

From his perspective, there were a bevy of matters going on behind the scenes; things his lover hadn’t been privy to. Someday soon these matters could possibly be revealed, but now was not the time.

“Fine,” Laprima said, simultaneously whispering and shouting. “You wish to not accompany your most-beloved into a potential area of danger, I shall find someone who will!”

“Ah, but why you need help the woman at all?”

"Because she is my friend!" Laprima blurted, causing herself a moment of bewilderment. "She is my new friend, the first I have gained within this wretched town." And now that the words were out, the Heartlander wasn't sure what exactly they meant. Friend? …Sirdasa? …. REALLY?

With curiosity, she waited for any sort of relevant response, concerning recent events. For instance, if Chamany'd heard about Laprima's recent robbery troubles; some wild woman wearing furs had been stalking into town, demanding coin from his love not once, not twice, but three times, would he then put these two factors together? - The woman who'd taken coin from her was also who she was now claiming as a friend?

He did not do so. Chances are he hadn't gathered this latest news, at least this is what Laprima assumed.
“You must … eh… under-stand…such these things can be of danger for me, as well. I cannot just go… my face…” he gestured. “I must keep to within the Solitude walls for some time….”

“Fine. You do just that, Lacroix. You keep yourself within Solitude. And if it comes true that my corpse shall, some hours from now, soon be discovered, half-eaten, lying within shrubs and gra–”

The lump upon Sybille’s bed tossed just then, causing them both to pause and shift gazes. Was the wizard now awake? Had she quietly witnessed any of their hush-spoken words?

Laprima’s eyes reverted, locking with his. Chamany made a gesture, placing three fingers to his lips. Their quarrel, it came to an end, at least for the moment. Miss Donnaugh then stomped a boot softly upon the floor, frustrated. She turned abruptly. Opened her door, stepped back into her room. Once inside, she waited a few seconds for Chamany to join her. But he did not choose to follow.

“Alright, then.” She breathed, trying to calm down. - Did he even listen to what I just stated, about needing to trek into the wilds on my own? - Men, they could be so dense, sometimes. This is what she'd heard countless times from ladyfriends back home; seemed there's some truth to the notion.

Well, one thing for sure: she was going to do this. She was going to return to the forest, with or without him. But she would not do so while wearing the first dress she’d purchased at the clothings shoppe. This dress, which had cost just over a hundred and forty, was now in a state of such disrepair, it would become an object of derision if she were to parade it again through town! - Its hem and skirt were torn and ruffled, in need of serious amendments. A mysterious stain had soaked itself into her left sleeve; probably a bit of the lard Sirdasa had used to fry their dinner the night before. Bringing it back to the Raiment, where the snob sisters, Endarie and Taarie, would scoff and raise their noses at their previously pristine selection of a garment, now ruined, was not going to be enjoyable.

Distracted for a moment, the noble wondered if the Blue Palace had its own darner, or seamstress.

The dress had also proved to be a poor choice against Skyrim’s blustery cold. So Laprima scoured her closets, which by now contained just over a dozen selections. She found the bluish-gray outfit she’d worn to her first day of work. Ugly thing, but at least it would keep her warm.

She changed clothes with haste. After doing so, she checked her purse and pockets for any bits of currency.

“This time, I shall not bring for you more gold.”

Laprima removed any and all coins from her person, placing them into a compartment of her nightstand. She then stalked out of her room, hoping to return to Sirdasa's campsite before the skies turned dark.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Laprima Anne Donnaugh, retracing her steps in the snow. The journey had started blessedly full of sunshine, but flakes began falling from the sky as soon as she set foot outside of the town's gates, as if the Weather Gods knew she was out and about!

She arrived at the camp by mid-afternoon, fortunately without being attacked by animals or monsters. Still, she approached slowly, unsure if the Woman of the Woods would still be here. Or if she’d even be alive.

“Ha hey, look’t who’s back!”

Last time Laprima’d seen her, Sirdasa Noskal had been lying upon the shore, barely able to rouse herself. Well, this had changed. The formerly immobile user of skooma had at some point risen. Though she did not look as vibrant as she had the day before, she appeared to at least no longer be sick. She was in the process of roasting a meal in her large iron skillet as the noble approached.

“Just in time for some greens ‘n’ rabbit haunch,” Sirdasa proclaimed with her usual wolfish grin. “So, where ya been, princess? Whatcha been up to all day?”

Laprima recounted the events of her day. Leaving out the altercation she’d had with her beau, she explained to Sirdasa that she’d managed to obtain an example of elixir, which hopefully would alleviate the woods’ woman’s woes.

“Got some right in my pocket, here. Chamany has informed that the mixture should apply with guaranteed success,” she assured. “Might you find fit to try yourself a dose?”

Sirdasa did not answer at first. For someone who was normally quite the chatterbox, the hunter's silence struck as odd. She chose to avoid Laprima’s eyes as she busied herself preparing their meal. Reached into a small barrel next to her tent. Grabbed a couple of plates made of pewter, motioning for the noble to help herself.

The pair of women then sat on the sand, Laprima silently glad to be wearing something more protective against the elements. They began munching the dinner Sirdasa’d prepared, along with a shared pot of river water, which Sirdasa informed had previously been boiled at some point.

“Have ye any desire to perhaps cure thyself of dilemma?” Laprima tried a few minutes later, finishing her portion of supper. “Cham’s claim is, the potion should certainly remedy one’s craving for skooma. You should at least choose to quaff the dose.” – If only to see if the remedy actually works as promised, she nearly added.

A few more moments of silence. Finally, Sirdasa was chowed her last bite. She tossed her plate absently into a shallow portion of the river, perhaps in an effort to wash it.

“Mm. So here’s what I reckon.”

Laprima waited patiently.

“I reckon that first, you hand over any monies ya got, so I can go an’ git my nightly fix, princess. Afterwards, we c’n talk about me drinkin’ down this elixir…ya know… after I’m rolling around and suffering and such.”

“Ehm, no.”

“Mm. What now? What’d ya just say? No?” The familiar Sirdasa sneer was back.

“I did say no.” Laprima tossed her own plate into the water. “Firstly, because it is rude that you present thyself as a knave, demanding coin of me which has rightfully been earned. Secondly, I have returned to you now in an effort to assist. Not so that you may continue as you’ve been; a notorious, scheming wreck, rather than the ingenious, survivalistic huntress you should be."

And there it was. The fear she had felt before, it returned, hot and raw inside her nerves. She was having this conversation with someone who’d proven herself to be an unpredictable rogue, after all. A virtual scoundrel, wearing tattered selections of fur from the very animals she’d felled. Nevertheless, Laprima continued this new line of thought; not that she had any other choice at the moment.

"I sha’n’t divulge any more coin to you. Cannot do so, in fact. For this time, I have purposely chosen to come to you penniless. So that we can attempt to solve the menace which has savaged thy person, together.”

Laprima waited for a response, unsure if, once again, she was about to have a knife thrust toward her face.

"You haven't ANY gold?" Woods Woman nearly choked, uncomprehending. “Why even come all the ways out here, then?”

"As stated, I have brought for you this cure. This so-called elixir. Chamany has graciously allowed for you a dose, although he could not come personally, himself..." Laprima ground her teeth, her knuckles going white at the thought. "Anyhow. This is for you." She held the clear phial before her. "Will you accept?"

A moment passed.

"Mm. Here's what I reckon," Woods Woman repeated, shifting her frame slowly. Right hand reaching downward, downward toward her scabbard. "I reckon that's one decision you just made for the worst, girlie."

And here it was: Sirdasa's blade, unsheathed and wavering, right before the Heartlander's face.

"What? Sirdasa?... No!"

"Seems I gotta teach yew a lesson, princess. Really don't wanna do this. But maybe this'll be fer the best! Maybe.... after I slices inta ya a few cuts, we's can come to an understandin'!"

Laprima blinked. Realized that a couple of tears, actual tears had welled and fallen from her eyes. "Please, Can we just...!"

But the moment had passed....

"Here we GO!"

... Sirdasa's knife, a cheap iron blade which otherwise had been quite serviceable at downing a wolf, a lynx, and then catching and cutting last night's suppery meal, swung first. ...Laprima, quick on her feet, withdrew from Woods Woman's attack within a fraction! - At the same time she grabbed the wizard's magical daggar from her pocket, and then thrust the weapon on instinct, damaging Sirdasa with a flurry of shock magic!

"...Sirdasa! ... Please!"

"You think you stand a CHANCE?"

Without realizing, Laprima gestured a healing spell, the only magic she'd mastered during youth, within her mind. This spell was now readied upon her left hand, just in case.

"DAMN YOU!!!"

The pair of ladies circled Sirdasa's tent: Laprima moving evasively, Sirdasa carrying the offensive: attempting thrusts and swings and onslaughts. Finally, her knife connected, causing a wound upon the Heartlander's forearm.

"Argh!"

By now, Laprima's mind had begun to focus. This was REAL. This altercation, this brawl, it was really happening. She could see it in her attacker's face. Woods Woman arched her back...... made a grand charge, which Laprima was able to evade.

"You're pathetic!"

This is whom I referred to as a friend?

Laprima danced her way around the tent, gaining some space between them. In reaction, Sirdasa sheathed her knife, and grabbed for her bow. Reached behind her shoulder; fetched for her quiver. Nocked an arrow into place. By now though, the princess had continued her way around the opposite side of the tent; and began using this obstacle to her advantage.

So the woman of the woods began sidestepping around her place of rest, step, clomp, step, clump...
Seeing what was going on, Laprima made sure to keep rotating around the tent, in an effort to avoid her adversary's first shot. She'd just been sliced by a knife, which wasn't her idea of any kind of fun. She had no desire to find out what it felt like to be pierced by an arrow.

...Blood was dripping from her wrist, she suddenly realized, yet she barely could feel her injury. "Sirdasa! We can speak about this!"

Apparently not. Woods Woman ignored the Posh Lady's words. Fired her arrow -- Thunk! -- which impaled itself harmlessly into the furs of her tent. She continued to move away from Laprima, up the slippery hill, perhaps realizing that distance was (at present) in her favor. She could shoot Posh Lady from afar by now, yet Posh Lady would have quite a lot of ground to cover to make a retort of her own.

... Oy... what have I done to deserve this?...

Suddenly, Sirdasa was gone! She'd withdrawn far enough away that Laprima could no longer see the angry shrew. So Laprima decided to rush up the hillside, nerves on end, sideways like a two-legged crab. Adrenaline rippled within her body while her skin broke out in goosebumps.

Where was her opponent?

"I'm going to enjoy killing yew!"

These word, they surprisingly stung, even more than the wound Laprima had endured upon her wrist. -- An arrow bounced off the ground right beside Lady Donnaugh's feet, causing her to glance upwards. Ever the sportswoman, experienced with combat against plenty of outdoor adversaries, Sirdasa's next move had been to clamber atop a large boulder. The space between them now was too great to collapse, not without massive strides of bravery on her part, at least.

And then it happened. An arrow, it found her. Pierced its way into Laprima's side...

"HARCH!"

... causing her to stumble. The pain was like nothing she'd ever felt, yet she could not (at present) meditate upon it. More missiles followed. Fortunately, Laprima was able to dodge them all while simultaneously stepping her way around the boulder, and up the hill.... An odd thought just then: eventually she's going to run out. ... Run out of arrows, that is. There could only be so many of them packed inside that quiver, after all.

And then for whatever reason, Sirdasa was abruptly circling her way from the large rock, closing the distance between them.

Anger overcame the dilettante from Cyrodiil. Without a thought she badgered the Woods Woman quickly, slashed into her midriff before her foe could change weapons, causing a great burst of bluish energy to sizzle across Sirdasa's skin. Now (surprisingly) Laprima had the advantage. The hunter was too close; the distance garnered which'd allowed her to use her hunting bow a moment ago was no longer in her favor.

"I'll slit yew open like an old woman's purse!"

Lady Donnaugh attacked while Sirdasa switched to her blade. The melee then became a flurry of thrusts and stabs and parries... The tables had turned. Sirdasa, being the more experienced member of this battle, was swiftly in the process of winning!

Lady Donnaugh, the delicately-coiffed Heartlander, niece to perhaps the most powerful woman in all Skyrim. Laprima the noble, who'd previously been a registered citizen of the grandest City in all Cyrodiil, proud new employee of the Winking Skeever, reluctant smuggler of an enormous quantity of skooma into the breaches of Skyrim, found that her lifeforce was failing, crucially low. In an effort to stave herself from death she began aggressively backtracking, sloshing her way through the snow in reverse, desperately casting her healing spell for all it was worth! - Yet this could not last much longer. Her mana, it was also expending too greatly, too quickly!! - It seemed as though there was no way she was going to come out of this alive! as her pursuer continued the advance, step by step, swing by swing!

"By the Gods, please! I am growing weak!"

.... but then....

"I'll let you live... this time."

...a series of words she thought she'd never be lucky enough to hear.

The Heartlander slipped and fell into the snow, shaking with fear, sure that her demise was about to befall. But to her amazement, Sirdasa Noskal sheathed her weapon. Was calmly walking away. As though she'd simply grown bored and lost interest!

"Suh--Sirdasa?"

"Make it quick," the Woman of the Woods growled impatiently, eyeing the princess. As though the events of the past half-hour or so hadn't just occurred.

Somewhere in the distance, a hammer was pounding what sounded to be a blacksmith's anvil, perhaps. Laprima Donnaugh, heart still racing, anxiety still surging, placed the wizard's blade into a pocket of the hideous outfit she'd chosen to wear, hoping for something which would keep her warm without realizing that comfort would soon become the least of her worries.

She raised her left hand again, tentatively. Healed the rest of her wounds, all the while keeping an eye upon her unpredictable acquaintance.

"Suh... so... we haven't any more qualms about. A-about y-you taking this elixir?" Laprima reached into her purse. Grabbed the magical mixture. Offered it with a shaking hand.

Woods Woman considered this for a few daunting moments, before thankfully making a positive choice. "Gimme that!" she snatched. "Mmm," she murmured, gulping the potion down. "Goodness. My ... goodness." she said, righting her shoulders, blinking her eyes.

Indeed, it seemed as though a change had come over Sirdasa Noskal; Laprima could see this plainly and clearly.

And it was at this very moment when what seemed to be a small miracle occured: a figure, a man, came rushing towards them up the hillside.

"Laprima! ... Laprima! .... I have come for you!"

Chamany Lacroix, wearing that same odd scarf around his head, clambered his way toward them.

"I have made, mistake, a one BIG mistake, my dear," he said, out of breath. "I have come, and now can protect from you the dangers of the forest!"

"Pfft. Seems you're a little late for that," Sirdasa scoffed.

"Aye," Laprima agreed. "As I believe we have already come to an understanding. Have we not, Sirdasa?"

"Seems that way."

"Eh, think I know you," Chamany said awkwardly to Sirdasa Noskal.

"Mm, likewise. Seems you're the one that started this whole skooma-sucking mess!"

The sky was beginning to darken. As the cold air swept and snaked around the three of them, Laprima shivered. Pointed and gestured back toward camp. Maybe it was best if they all gathered around the Woods Woman's fire.

—------------------------------------------

First swing, Laprima connects!

Woods Woman gains the upper hand

Close-Quarters Combat

Posh Lady falters...

... but Sirdasa changes her mind (Wow. I really did not expect this...it was not part of the script. If the fight began she was supposed to continue until death!)

Chammy joins the party

Quest Completed 🏆
.

This post has been edited by Renee: Apr 30 2023, 04:58 AM

[SubRosa]

And Chamany continues to be as useless as an air conditioner in the arctic. This guy has an aversion to doing anything himself.

So now presentable, and without gold, it is off to Sirdasa's place. On her own. But will Sirdasa even want the elixir?

As I have been expecting, Sirdasa prefers steel to elixirs. This does not look good for Prima...

And now Chamany shows up when it is too late to matter. Prima really needs to dump this loser.

So Sirdasa just stopped fighting in the game? That is weird.

So I guess that means this season of the Laprima Show has drawn to a close. It was a neat look into the life of an ordinary person in Skyrim.

[Renee]

Thanks, dear Rosa, you're the best.



This post has been edited by Renee: Apr 30 2023, 11:17 PM

[Acadian]

Very brave of Laprima to venture back into the freezing forest to aid Sirdasa. And no help from Chamany of course.

Wow, pretty ungracious of Sirdrasa when it’s so obvious Laprima is trying to help. Methinks Laprima needs to rethink her list of potential friends. . . .

Well, it seems like all turned out okay. This time.

Oh, and Laprima? You need to learn a ranged shock spell so you can send lightning bolts after archers.

[WellTemperedClavier]

I'm glad you enjoy my stuff! It was a lot of fun to write.

We'll most likely get to the end of Outlanders in October of this year. Exactly when it ends depends a bit on how the epilogue is parsed out (it has far more chapters than most episodes, though those chapters are typically much shorter). Beyond that, I do have a companion piece to Outlanders that I recently wrote. It's much shorter. There's also a brief Fallout-Daria crossover.

Starting the story...

Huh, so in a way it almost seems like Laprima's experiences have toughened her up beyond Chamany. Going out to see a wild woman no longer seems so scary, but Chamany's quite reluctant.

Interesting development! Laprima feels kinship with Sirdasa. Maybe it feels more genuine than some of her friendships within the castle.

Definitely don't see Laprima sticking with Chamany that much longer.

Hm, I'm sure the court of the Blue Palace would have connections with all the local reputable tailors.

So she's going to help Sirdasa, which is good... but I hope it doesn't end up with Laprima becoming an enabler.

Aw, how touching. They're actually having a friendly chat.

Sadly, it quickly turns into Sirdasa focusing on her fix. But at least Laprima's standing her ground here! Sadly, it doesn't bode well for their friendship, at least not in the short-term.

Ah, good thinking to not come with money!

Oh, dang. Now it's escalating. So much for friendship.

A lot happened here! The fight was suitably chaotic. Makes sense that Laprima would go into survival mode; sharp though she is, she's far from a seasoned combatant.

And now... Sirdasa suddenly changes her mind? What brought this about, I wonder. Maybe the elixir will do its thing, but she seemed dead-set against it a little while ago. And at least Chamany finally showed up! Quite a note to go out on, I'm wondering how this all fits together!

This post has been edited by WellTemperedClavier: May 1 2023, 03:46 AM

[macole]

That was some ending. Truly unexpected but I can see the wild woman suddenly doing an about face.

Exhausted from by fighting, running out of arrows, frustration setting in as the quarry persists despites all her efforts Sirdasa lashes out thinking that she can drink the drink and deal with Posh Lady on the morrow.

If Laprima is reluctant to use physical force may I suggest learning a spell of assistance? I mean, the Sisters of Insanity are always ready for a good fight.

Perhaps we’ll see how Sirdasa does after a period of time.

[Renee]

Wanted to add this before I forget to do so...

La Prima Donna Beauty Salon. Unfortunately the place is now closed, and therefore I couldn't get an actual picture. But it's a salon local to me, went there a couple times in the past to get properly beautified. It's the inspiration for Laprima Donnaugh's name! 🍀

[Acadian]

Cool!

[SubRosa]

That is cool!

[Renee]

.
________________________________

.I Don’t Dream About Anyone

________________________________



The life of Laprima Anne Donnaugh had taken an impressive turn. She had thoroughly escaped the Darkness, her mind and her spirit no longer tense with latent worry. Though it'd be presumptuous to say she moved 'into the light', certainly it seemed her troubles were over; as of late she'd been enjoying more conventional routines. She had been trapped for years within the depths of a virtual Daedric realm, but now she was immersed in the normalcy anyone her age should have the comfort to delight.

Laprima escaped the Darkness, and thought she had escaped the muddle. But little could she know the events and the things to come.

Let us gander...



Fredas, 12 Sun's Dusk, Fourth Era, Year 201


“... Were it not for thine fate, and the fate concerning the gatherings of noteworthy parishioners, that she be placed upon this spell…. Ach, damned to pieces! Said that last bit incorrectly.”

Laprima raised her arms into the air. Dropped the booklet she'd been holding to the tiled floor of her bedroom. Sighed.

“Give this a rest, why don’cha?” Chamany groaned. “Seems, eh. Well. It seems you have been at this words for many hours, mon amour. And the hour, it is late." He made a gesture with his hands. "Just come yourself to make lie beside me, eh?”

But she was not ready to give up, not just yet. - “No! I must continue my practicing!” she muttered fiercely.

Today she was wearing a new dress made of silk, which had been brilliantly sewn and stitched in colors of white and gold. She scrunched her face while reaching to grab the booklet she'd dropped from the floor. “Almost got it, Cham. Almost!” She grinned like a loon for just a second. Because she had no idea of how maddening her newest venture would turn out. “How bloomin' without hope can this be?”

Chamany LaCroix sighed. “Well. I guess you must then continue.”

“I shall do so. And I apologize,” Laprima said. “But you must know by now that I can be quite stubborn, when the passion strikes.”

Chamany nodded. “This, you can be, which is why you are..." Another gesture. "Mon amour. For I could accept not a woman, with not her own mind.”

“Perhaps you should head off to the pub for an hour or so," Laprima suggested. "Mmm, make it two. Pretty sure I can nail my delivery by then." She looked away from him and found the page she'd last been reading from. "On your return you'll find me much more pleasant. ... Now. Where did I stay?”

Laprima struck a pose, as though seriously in contemplation, while Chamany watched.

In her left hand she held the booklet (though she was trying her darndest not to rely the words written upon it) while her right lifted slightly to the ceiling. At this moment it was as though she'd transformed, become almost statuesque. The woman was a natural. Chamany blinked. Thought for a moment of how lucky he was, that this was going to be his future wife.

”Were it not for thine fate, and the fate concerning the gatherings of noteworthy parishioners, that she be placed upon this… stand….” she corrected her previous mistake with a pause. “That ye and yer own shalt meet amongst this throne, and gather our wits, while parlaying not alone…”

“Aye. Seems for this time, we have done the words right!” her lover interrupted, clapping his hands.

“Chamany, please! ... The pub?”

“Fine. I shall be off, then.” And he was. He hauled himself out of their shared bed, stepping with a smile out of the room. "Any excuse to enjoy myself a pint, mon petit pain sucré."

Magnificent. Though she loved her lover truly, she had to admit there were times when blessings of solitude could be harbored to the utmost. Such times, they could truly be golden. Or in this case, they could be more productive.

"Where was I?"

During the previous few days of the second week of Sun’s Dusk, after convincing Sirdasa Noskal to cure herself of skooma addiction, Laprima had continued work at the Winking Skeever as though nothing untoward had happened. As though she hadn’t nearly been killed by a fur-wearing, raving-mad lunatic out in the middle of nowhere, while merely trying to help the shrew. No, Laprima remained busy. Modern life was sink or swim, modern life was do or die.

On Middas the Tenth, Laprima decided to revisit the Bard’s College. She’d taken the day off from serving, eager to learn a lesson or two from whomever was free to teach on this day. And that’s how she learned about The Headmaster's Trial, the college's newest play, which would be presented in a month. According to the handout she'd been given, getting involved with The Headmaster's Trial was easy. Giraud Gemane, the play's director, was welcoming 'actors and actresses of varying degrees', novices included. The playwright himself had said so.

But still, if she was actually going to do this, if the raven-haired Heartlander from the Imperial City was actually going to stand before the citizens of Solitude, acting and portraying before her proud Aunt Elisif for sure, along with so many others who'd become everyday faces in her life, she wanted to be good at this. As good and proficient as she could be.

“My. Aren’t ye the fettered one!” Laprima said, allowing herself a glance at the latest page. Because glancing at whatever latest page was okay, as long as the words which’d been written were supposed to be spoken by some other actor. “Locked within a patois of unbecoming, so concerned our heavenly Gods might loathe to concur. Dream amongst thyself, woman.”

“I do not dream about anyone!" Laprima's voice rose, as she imagined the group of dark-robed parishioners before her. "Except to concern myself. Now... might we gather ‘bout the spell… Ach! SPELL??? No, it is STAND, you nitwit. Laprima!" -- She mussed her hair. "Stand, NOT spell!!! Damned to Oblivion!”

She raised her arms once again. Dropped the script to the tiled floor of her bedroom a second time, gnashing her teeth!

“Just twelve lines you’ve got!” she scolded into her now-empty room. “Just twelve! You’d think she’d drive this nail into the coffin already!" Laprima said, referring to herself from afar. "Urrgh!" She then lowered her voice, eyes closed, pondering. "Acting is much more laborious than first considered.”

Still, she ploughed on. As she bent to reach and gather the booklet (again) from the floor, she wondered if she'd ever be any good at her newfound ideal: to become a noteworthy actor. Never mind the fact that she'd literally just begun learning the craft, for some reason she could not entirely see that she was pushing herself a little too hard. Perhaps it was due to the fact that getting involved with the Bard's College had originally been her aunt's idea, aunt Elisif, that is. Perhaps there was some kind of unseen mental block which was causing Laprima to not attain as-quick success, for she'd been practicing her lines for hours.

Another factor, almost a complication at this point: by now the secret was out.

Over the past few days, someone within the college had discovered her true identity; discovered she was not just some random lass with a Heartlander's accent, who'd strolled in two weeks ago on a whim. No, the dark-haired Laprima was in fact a direct relative of Solitude's jarl, she was Lady Elisif's first niece, in fact. When Headmaster Viarmo learned of this, he'd initially tried to persuade Laprima to go for the part of 'Emilia', the play's female lead, who would be opposite the role of 'Pablo', the play's main protagonist, its male lead. But Laprima was immediately bothered by this for two reasons: 1). 'Emilia' had already been granted to another actress, a young woman from Hammerfell who'd been studying at the college for close to a year, and 2). Lady Donnaugh hadn't done anything close to this for nearly a decade. She'd been onstage before, true, but not since she was a child.

"No, you misunderstand," Viarmo had argued. "I am confident, that she can do this. Just imagine the draw at the door, Giraud. Firstly, we both love her accent!"

Giraud Gemane nodded. "That we do."

"Is the way she orates not just as charming as a bell? Also: the aunt's very own niece, in our very own production. We'll easily make twice the coin!" he danced a little jig, profit in his eyes. "We'll be able to milk Headmaster's Trial for months after word gets out, well beyond Saturalia, for sure. People will journey into town from Whiterun, from Markath, just to view our latest diorama!"

"Milk, eh?"

In the end though, he'd relented. Giraud Gemane, the college's Dean of History, was able to convince Viarmo that aye, perhaps some day, Laprima might be able to handle such a lofty role. But for now, she'd be better as support. The noble herself had admitted she had virtually no experience at such things. Understood, sire?

Headmaster Viarmo did understand, reluctantly so. For Laprima, this was a small blessing, not just because she now had something fun and challenging to look forward to, but also, the headmaster finally gave up his ridiculous pursuit: he was no longer trying to send her off to some faraway cave, so she could retrieve the set of verses lost from the college. Especially now that he knew who she was. The task had now gone to someone else; a man with a silly name; 'Lord Havemercy', or some such. The man, an experienced paladin and adventuring type, had joined the Bard's College about a week ago, hoping to learn how to better deal with some of the adversaries he met on the road, but with words rather than weapons. He promised he'd get the ode back. Lady Donnaugh, she'd serve this 'Have Mercy' a drink at the Skeever for free, should he be lucky to stroll into her 'day job' soon enough.

As for Laprima herself, she tried and she tried. After some time, finally she got the drama right, not knowing that her own life was about to also become its own set of dramas.


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

Late night supper with Elisif

Lecture at Bard's College

Lord Haaf-Mersey
.

This post has been edited by Renee: May 3 2024, 10:34 PM

[Acadian]

Welcome back to LPD! I love that she is trying her hand at barding. She is certainly putting the effort in here; I hope it pays off with a reasonable performance.

And a cameo by Lord Haaf Mercy! Methinks he is much better suited at fetching trinkets from dangerous dungeons than LPD.