I am Lena Wolf, Lena's life as it happens Options

[Lena Wolf]

21-23 Sun's Height, 4E202 - The Jeralls - Pale Pass

While Magra and his men were moving furniture in and out of the Wolf Sanctuary, Lena was thinking of all the changes that happened in her life over the past few months. The change in her relationships with Lucien and Hauk, her growing contempt for Arch Mage Traven, the temporary return of her vampirism and the continued need for blood, and most of all - the possible revelation of her father's identity: Wolf Asgarsen, Commander of the Second Imperial Legion. It was only a clue, not a proof, she needed to find out more about him, she needed to link him to her mother, to be sure of it, yet all she had now were just a couple of suggestive letters, which may or may not have been forged. Hauk thought she should start looking in the Falkreath archives, and it was a sensible thing to do. But that required a longer stay in Skyrim... but may be... what if... she started from the other end? Assuming he was indeed a real person, and the Imperial Order that she was now looking at, was not a forgery, then where was the Pale Pass Fortress where his men were stationed? Which trail did they call the Pale Pass?

21 Sun's Height

When Magra was finished with the furniture, Lena had a hearty lunch and rode North East of Cheydinhal into the Jerall Mountains. Roach complained of the steep ridges that Lena made her climb, but climb she did, until they stood on the Dive Rock.

"We'll camp here for the night" - Lena patted Roach offering her some carrots and apples.

22 Sun's Height

The next morning they continued climbing North East, all the way to the Skyrim Observatory, and there, standing on the border of Cyrodiil, Skyrim and Morrowind, they turned West, following the Cyrodiil-Skyrim border along the ridges of Jerall mountains. They found several trails that weren't too steep and could be used to cross the border, but none of them had any forts or fortresses near them - just smugglers' shacks, caves or ruins - nothing suitable to house the Legion. They passed the Skyrim Temple overlooking Sedor, and Frostcraig Spire appeared in the distance - they were nearing Bruma.

"The old Pale Pass is by the Dragonclaw Rock" - mused Lena. "The new one is by the Cloud Ruler Temple, but that's a narrow staircase not suitable for troops. There must be a better pass somewhere nearby. Further West perhaps?"

She was about to continue on, when she noticed a roof among the rocks to the South. Not a fortress, but a house. A house, here? She never saw it before... She led Roach down the slope - remarkably easy. Could this be the old Pale Pass?

The house was abandoned. It was more than a house - it had underground guest quarters, stables and a smaller cottage next to it. It looked like a lodge or an inn.

"Well, if this used to be an inn, then this must be the site of the old Pale Pass" - Lena decided. But the sun had already set, and the air was too frigid to venture out. Besides, Roach discovered the stables - and hay - and was not leaving. Lena decided to stay the night - she had enough provisions for several days.

23 Sun's Height

In the morning Lena had to bribe Roach with several carrots into continuing their exploration of the Jerall peaks, which inevitably involved a lot more climbing. Going due North from the lodge, the climb was easy at first, but then the way was blocked by several boulders.

"An avalanche" - Lena thought, looking around. "Perhaps this is what blocked the Pass."

Indeed, if those rocks had not been there, the climb would have continued to be quite easy, crossing the mountain ridge at a fairly low point. Beyond it lay Skyrim, with what looked like an easy descent.

"This area looks to have been carved in the rocks" - Lena mused. "Perhaps the pass is not natural, but man-made. After all, if such an easy crossing existed in Reman's times, the Akaviri would not have been stuck in the ancient Pale Pass with all its dangers."

She led Roach North, descending the mountain ridge. A few larger rocks stuck out of the ground at odd angles blocking their way - results of other avalanches, perhaps. They manoeuvred around them, nearly tripping at times. Lena dismounted and went on foot, with Roach following. Still, there were no structures in sight...

"Are you all right back there?" - Lena turned around, hearing Roach's complaints. She sounded hurt. "Here, let me" - Lena prepared a healing spell. "Oh wait!! What is that?!"

She stood in front of a heavy iron-clad door, she only saw it because she had turned around. Roach's renewed complaints reminded her of the healing. She led the horse to a small platform in front of the door and told her to wait. Would the door even open?

With a lot of effort, the old door nudged open, and Lena slipped inside. It looked like an Imperial fort. All was quiet except for the rattling of walking bones and whizzes of wraiths...

"I don't really want to fight them" - thought Lena, her curiosity preventing her from just turning around and leaving. She cloaked in chameleon, gaining full invisibility with rings, spells and a potion. She went past the skeletons without being noticed. She sneaked past a wraith. The wraith sensed something - it was not being fooled, not completely, but Lena sprinted and the wraith lost track of her. This wasn't going to be that easy.

The corridor opened onto a large chamber with rows of beds - the barracks. This definitely looked like a fort. Lena looked into some of the chests - clothes, Imperial armour, steel weapons. She continued on, sneaking past more skeletons - there were no wraiths there. She came to a mess hall, with several doors leading off it. Kitchen, stores, another hall.

"Commander's chambers and office" - Lena thought, looking around. A heavy oak desk was still presiding the room, another door led to private quarters. Lena's heart leapt: she would learn something here. But first... she hit the floor, paralysed. A wraith drifted through the door from the private quarters, its hand raised with another spell. Frost seized Lena and she passed out.

...

"Dessos - I need to call Dessos" - was the only thing Lena could think about, as she was trying to still her shaking. She was freezing. She was lying on a cold stone floor in an old fort - yes, the Commander's office, she remembered. The wraith must be still nearby. Lena tried to stay as quiet as she could, lifting herself up in preparation to cast the spell. She was stiff and shaky, but her magicka was intact. Not enough for a long term binding, but may be enough for a few minutes... She cast the spell. Dessos appeared, unsheathing his sword and turning towards the private quarters - he sensed the wraith. Lena couldn't join him in the fight, it was all she could do to keep herself from fainting again.

"A pure-blood can leech life energy even from a wraith" - she heard a familiar voice in her head. She ignored it. "My gift comes with many boons" - he cooed.

"And yet Lamae defied you!" - Lena thought back crossly.

"I can do the same with you as I did with Lamae!" - Molag Bal roared in her head.

"No, you can't" - Lena uncorked a bottle of blood. "We have Dragonfires. You have to be summoned, and I am not doing that." She drank and warmth spread through her body. Dessos came through the door, sheathing his sword.

"My time is nearly up" - he said. "That wraith is down, but there are more. You must use long term binding..." - the end of his sentence was lost as he was banished.

He had a point, how could she be so careless. A fortress full of undead, and she went in all alone, unprepared. She blushed at her clumsiness. The blood had restored her somewhat, but she was far from being at full health. She had to eat and rest, but not with all the undead around, yet she had not enough strength for a long term binding spell.

Lena went into the Commander's private quarters and lay on his bed. It smelled slightly musty, but was dry to the touch. She crawled under the covers - the sheets were clean, if old. Lena lit the fire urns, and the air was warming up. Her eyelids felt heavy, she was so tired... She was asleep before she could reconsider.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 06:41 PM

[macole]

21-23 Sun's Height, 4E202 - The Jeralls - Pale Pass
They passed the Skyrim Temple overlooking Sedor, and Frostcraig Spire appeared in the distance - they were nearing Bruma.

I really like the look of the Hesu mods. Do you use many of them? They would take a lot of patches for me to use them at the moment.

[Lena Wolf]

21-23 Sun's Height, 4E202 - The Jeralls - Pale Pass
They passed the Skyrim Temple overlooking Sedor, and Frostcraig Spire appeared in the distance - they were nearing Bruma.

I really like the look of the Hesu mods. Do you use many of them? They would take a lot of patches for me to use them at the moment.

They are beautiful but also quite extensive, like those Landscape mods - I forget the umbrella name. No, the Skyrim Temple is so far the only one. I'm still experimenting with different things, but those isolated settlements in the mountains work well, unless you also use landscaping mods to improve the mountains... Which I don't. I'm building Skyrim - I've got several mods already, including both Skyrim Improved, Skyrim Alive, and Ghastley's Falkreath. There are a few conflicts, but not many. I shall probably end up merging them all into one and cleaning it up. Need to get rid of the werewolves too - there's an infestation at the moment.

[Lena Wolf]

23 Sun's Dawn, 3E417 - Pale Pass Fortress

She felt anticipation. She was focussed and collected, held firmly from all sides, cradled in a perfectly comfortable position. They were moving, smoothly but swiftly. A leap - she felt flying through the air. A soft landing. Another leap. A jump down, with a long fall broken by something soft. More swift and smooth movement. Rising anticipation.

She heard muffled voices ahead - men, laughing and talking, walking away. They continued moving, her heart beating faster.

They stopped, she felt warmth - the heat was coming from one side. A voice - quite close, male, talking quietly. Then gasping in surprise as she felt a jerk. Her heart skipped a beat, then a wave of calm engulfed her. Satisfaction.

She felt strain, movement, muscles tensing. A shuffling noise, then a thump. A deep breath, heartbeat slowing.

They were not moving. She felt warm, the heat was coming from one side again - she was leaning against something warm. It was pleasant, she started to relax, but anticipation wouldn't let her sleep. Time was passing - many heartbeats.

Suddenly there was a clanking noise, quite sharp yet muffled, and hard footsteps - someone was coming towards her, making a clanking noise as he walked. His voice sounded rough and disgruntled.

They moved smoothly and quietly again to intercept the heavy footsteps, the noise still muffled. A jerk, and the muffle fell away, the clanking footsteps now very close. Her heart raced, a hoarse grunt sounded right into her ear. Then a thud, and something heavy brushed against her side.

Muscles tensed, they moved with difficulty and strain, with a shuffling sound. Then a thump and release. A deep breath brought relief and satisfaction.

They moved again, anticipation rising, and something else - excitement and joy. She heard a man's voice, felt someone's touch - soft, caressing. She felt love and a heavy weight on top of her - a man, she could feel his heartbeat, hear his voice. Love engulfed her, love and joy.

...

"I have a rather special contract for you" - a Speaker addressed Lillian Delacour. "You are to eliminate a Legion Commander." He passed her a scroll. "Here are the details."

Lillian unrolled the scroll. Pale Pass Fortress.

"I see" - she said slowly, lifting her eyes to the Speaker. "Tell me, who issued this contract?"

The Speaker met Lillian's gaze, looking into her eyes for a long moment before replying.

"His lieutenants."

"Both of them?"

"Together."

"Very well."

She turned around and left. The Speaker thought he knew what she was about to do. Once performed, the Black Sacrament could not be refused, but conditions were always negotiable. The Speaker took a leap of faith with this contract, but Sithis would be pleased either way - two lives would be taken. Lillian was one of his best assassins, and he was not about to accept a contract on her life.

...

Lillian had no doubt that the Speaker understood her intentions. The scroll he gave her contained the details of the Pale Pass Fortress, the details that she knew already quite well. The men knew her - she was the Commander's woman, although no one knew she was a Dark Brotherhood assassin. No one except those two, it appeared.

"They've got the nerve, I'll give them that" - she thought, choosing her poisons. "But a quick death? I don't think so." She picked two vials of a lingering paralysing poison. "They should enjoy the fruits of their plot."

She strapped herself into her armour, taking particular care to secure and protect her growing belly - she was four months pregnant.

She moved smoothly and swiftly, dropping into the fortress through a hatch just behind the store room. Some soldiers were still in the mess hall, talking and laughing, but they would soon retire to the barracks - it was getting quite late. She peeked out of the store room door and saw them walk away. She silently crossed the mess hall into the kitchen - the first lieutenant was there. He could never resist an extra slice of roast and more mead than his wages would afford.

But he was not drunk, not tonight, he was muttering to himself. He heard her - he turned around, taking in her armour. She never wore it to the fortress before, of course.

"The assassin" - he thought with satisfaction. Lillian removed her hood. "No!" - he realised the foolishness of their plot, but it was too late. Lillian's dagger had nicked his neck, and he fell to the floor with a thud, paralysed.

He was heavy, but she was still strong, she pulled him up and moved his limp body behind some crates. He would take several hours to die - long enough to witness everything else that was to come. She closed the door, sat next to the stove and prepared to wait.

...

The second lieutenant returned from duty late, the soldiers were already asleep in the barracks. There would be some food in the kitchen though, and his mate would likely still be there, getting drunk. He walked heavily, his armour clanking around him. His mate must have heard him - the kitchen door opened...

"What?!" - he startled, seeing a slender figure of an assassin dashing from the kitchen, a dagger in the palm of her hand. He fell with a thud before he could pull out his sword - she shot a paralysing spell at him first, then nicked the skin on his neck.

He was heavy, with all his armour on, but she pulled his body into the kitchen too, setting him behind the crates. It was quite an effort, but also he had to witness her triumph.

Lillian straightened up and left the kitchen, leaving the door open. She opened another door - to the Commander's office, and from there to his quarters.

"Lily?" - he heard her footsteps. "What..?" - he saw her armour.

"Your lieutenants" - she smirked. "They are in the kitchen. They'll be dead by the morning. It seems they've finally had too much mead."

"Those bastards" - he swore. "Come, let me help you out of that armour. The men must not see you like this."

With her armour removed and stashed, Lillian didn't bother with clothes as yet. Wolf kissed her, caressing her belly, pulling her into the bed.

"This child we keep" - he said firmly. Love engulfed them, love and joy.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 06:41 PM

[Lena Wolf]

24 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Pale Pass Fortress

Lena woke up in the middle of the night, she'd had a most unusual dream. She was inside her mother's womb, witnessing the events that took place in that very fortress so many years ago. Was she imagining it? Surely, it was wishful thinking, her mind playing tricks on her, showing her what she wanted to see. She could not have possibly remembered anything that happened before she was even born.

She stretched, nestling in the Commander's bed. Her father's bed... Could it really be true? She would get up and search the room before her imagination got carried away any further. She sat up and suddenly remembered the wraiths. If that dream was true... she knew whose wraiths they were, and why they wanted her dead - a child of their assassin and their Commander whose life they wanted to end. If it was true... She had to know.

"But not without Dessos" - she thought, stopping herself. Gathering all her magicka and will, she summoned Dessos with long term binding.

"Ah, that's better" - the dremora greeted her with a smile.

She fell on the cushions, exhausted by the casting.

"I need to look around, this might be my father's fortress" - she said. "And if what I dreamt is true, the wraiths are of his two lieutenants that my mother killed because they had issued a contract on my father's life. Or they could just be wraiths without a special purpose."

"You need to recover first" - Dessos sat down on a chair across the room. "You are not strong enough yet. Sleep, and I'll guard you - no wraith will enter here."

She thought it was probably wise of him not to wander around the fortress disturbing the undead - all she needed was peace in that one room. She fell asleep.

...

Lena woke up several hours later, refreshed. Dessos was still sitting on the chair across the room, his helmet on the floor next to him. He looked tired.

"Dessos!" - she exclaimed, worried. "What happened?"

"The other wraith" - he said wearily. "I think you might be right - it had a purpose. But it's all quiet now."

"But you?"

"Still here" - he smiled.

They needed food, and Dessos needed healing, so Lena got out of bed and went about it - her pack was by the Commander's desk where she dropped it when she came in last night. Both rooms where quiet now, although there were skeletons in the barracks and elsewhere in the fort. Not with any particular purpose, just remains of the soldiers that perished in the never ending wars.

Lena went about searching the Commander's rooms in the hope to find some documents, something to confirm or dispute her dreams. The desk was filled with scrolls and missives, it took a long time to go through them all. Yes, this was the office of one Wolf Asgarsen, the Commander of the Second Imperial Legion. The dates were right, and all those documents shed some light on his duties over many years.

"Hauk would want to see these" - she thought. None of it was relevant to the present day, but she thought he'd be curious to examine this piece of the Legion history. None of it was personal, either.

She finished with the desk and looked around, searching for a likely place to store personal correspondence. Something hidden, something not looking like a chest, not attracting attention...

"Something like this" - she thought, running her fingers over a tapestry in the bedroom. She felt magic coming from behind it, she pulled the tapestry aside and found a small door in the wall - a safe. The door had no lock to pick - it was enchanted.

"What am I going to do with this?" - she said loudly, disappointed at this new obstacle.

"Lay your hand on it" - Dessos came up behind her. "It could be simple blood magic."

She laid her hand on the door, and nothing happened.

"I am not his daughter" - she said, disappointed.

"Or you are not doing it right" - Dessos tried to encourage her. "Try your actual blood."

She drew blood and smeared a few drops on the door. Nothing. Tears were rising in her - she so wanted her dream to be true, she grew close to Wolf Asgarsen in the last few days, and yet it seemed he wasn't her father, and it was all for naught.

She sat down on a chair, tears now running down her cheeks.

"What..? Don't cry, please" - Dessos was looking at her with worry. "I do not know how to handle this. You mortals are so fragile..." He broke off, confused and uneasy.

"It's Ok, it will pass" - Lena smiled at him. "I'm just frustrated, that's all. I found no proof that I'm Asgarsen's daughter, and I found no proof that I am not, either. Perhaps there is no proof to be found at all."

"Well" - Dessos was more comfortable with direct problems. "You've found this safe, which is locked - it must be important. Focus on it. If it isn't a blood enchantment, then what kind of enchantment would it be? Something that Wolf Asgarsen alone could use?"

Lena stared at Dessos, struck by this thought. She had assumed that the enchantment would allow Asgarsen's descendants to open the door, but what if he didn't think of that? What if it was only meant to keep his men out?

She got up, readying her thu'um. Of so many words in the dragon language that she'd learned, she could only use a few - she was not keen on the idea of consuming dragon souls for the sake of another thu'um. She decided to try Unrelenting Force.

"No" - she caught herself. "I learned it from the Greybeards. They are not Dragonborn. It is a well-known shout. No. But how about--"



"Krii Lun Aus!" - she focussed her shout on the door, taking care not to affect Dessos who stood behind her.

The lock clicked.

"The assassin's thu'um" - Dessos nodded. "Well done."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 06:42 PM

[Lena Wolf]

24 Sun's Height, 4E202 - The letter

Lena opened the door of a safe in the Commander's quarters and retrieved a heavy scroll. Dessos stepped back to give her privacy. She took the scroll to the desk and started reading, unrolling it little by little.



To my children - Wolf and Lena

You must know that you were born of love. Your mother and I were foolish to give away Wolf, and we tried to do better with Lena. I can only hope that Gods will bring you together one day.

I am Wolf Asgarsen, Commander of the Second Imperial Legion. Your mother was Lillian Delacour, a Dark Brotherhood Assassin. She died of swamp fever four years after Lena's birth. It is all true.

Wolf, we gave you away. We told ourselves that a life of a witcher must be better than a life of a Dragonborn, but in truth we were afraid. Afraid to fail you as parents, with our respective occupations, with our clandestine affair. We were still meeting in secret, not daring to show that a Commander might have a woman that wasn't his wife, for we would not marry - Mara meant nothing to us. As a result, we failed you before we even begun.

Lena, by the time you arrived, we were no longer hiding in the shadows. The Commander had a woman that wasn't his wife, and the Nirn did not fall to Oblivion. But your mother could not reveal her occupation, as I am sure you cannot reveal yours. So she quit the Brotherhood - you might find it surprising. She quit in form only, she never quit in truth. Your adoptive grandmother was an Assassin too, a Shadowscale, she grew old by the time you were born - too old for work, but she too never retired. Assassins never quit.

I do not date this letter, but as you surmise, I have watched Lena grow up from a distance. Again, I have failed as a parent.

I leave this letter locked away behind the Assassin's Thu'um so that either of you would only find it if you are both Dragonborn and Assassin, as I am now. Dragonborn I have always been, Assassin I have become. Whether Sovngarde will be open to me or whether Sithis will claim my soul, I do not know.

Trust not what you read, only what you see. Make your own judgements, use your own wisdom, question your leaders. Do not repeat my mistakes.


Lena closed the scroll and put it back into the safe, but the door would not lock.

"I want to make a blood enchantment" - she turned to Dessos. "Do you know how to do it? So that my brother could open it as well?"

"It's simple - give us some blood..." He pressed her bleeding hand to the door and cast a spell - the lock clicked shut. "What will you do now?"

"Go home" - Lena answered without thinking. "It was rather too much to take in." She smiled at him. "I'll ride to Bravil."

Dessos nodded. "Call me if you need me."

"Thanks, Dessos" - she kissed him on a cheek. Did he blush? Who could tell on that dark skin... "I'll sneak past the skeletons, don't worry. Say hello to Sanguine for me."

He smiled and she dispelled him.

...

Lena stood outside the heavy iron-clad door patting Roach and feeding her carrots.

"I am sorry I left you out here for so long, but there is nothing to eat in there" - she said guiltily. "I know it's late" - the moons were already out - "but if we cross the mountains, we'll spend the night in that house on the other side - the one with the stables and hay."

Roach seemed to understand that, and pushed her nose against Lena's hand. Now that the trail was familiar, they crossed the mountains quickly, and soon the roofs of the old inn were in view. They would sleep there, then head South in the morning.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 06:43 PM

[Lena Wolf]

25-26 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Bravil - Skingrad

The road from the old Pale Pass Inn to Bravil was uneventful. In the mountains Lena had to keep to the road, but in the Nibenay Valley she took a shortcut along the Niben. After all, this was the area where she grew up, and although not many of the hamlets and fishing huts survived the Oblivion Crisis, she didn't need them as landmarks to guide her. The nature reclaimed most of the land, and there was now a bluebell meadow where her grandmother's cabin had stood just behind the Inn of Ill Omen. The events of the last few days brought back a lot of memories, and now she took a detour and stood surrounded by the wild flowers, seeing the cabin and her grandmother with her mind's eye.

"When the time is right, go to Skyrim to find your father" - she suddenly remembered her grandmother's words. Wait, did she say "find"? Lena always thought she meant "find out about your father", but what if she had actually meant it literally?

That thought had a lot of implications that Lena wasn't ready to contemplate, so she brushed it aside. She had enough to digest as it was. She mounted Roach and continued on to Bravil.

She arrived in early evening, and as usual it was raining. Lena welcomed the rain, she sat on the deck in front of her house and let the drops wash away her worries. Many people sat out on their decks too, it was a warm and quiet night. People of Bravil were used to the rain.

"Tomorrow I'll get back to work" - Lena thought, sipping the wine. "The Umbranox contract is due. I wonder who is the Grey Fox now?" She mused, wondering how hard it would be to find Nocturnal's Cowl. At any event, Anvil was her destination, and she would set off in the morning.

26 Sun's Height

Lena arrived in Skingrad late in the afternoon. She'd been riding all day and Roach was now tired and required rest before continuing on to Anvil. On a whim, Lena decided to check in at the Summermist Manor - a place to stay for travelling members of the Black Hand. She unlocked the door with her key and entered. Fafnir greeted her.

"Good to see you!" - he said, smiling. "It's been a while. I'll be serving dinner shortly, if you want to join us. He's upstairs, by the way."

"He?" - Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Lucien, of course" - Fafnir smirked. "Rayenna's antics are the talk of the Brotherhood. It's been a while since we had something quite so juicy to discuss - a Speaker and his Silencer being an item, and another Silencer getting all jealous... That's a classic!" He laughed whole-heartedly. "So everyone knows about Lachance and his Wolf now."

"Umm..." - Lena hadn't thought about that side of things, although she should have expected gossip. "It shouldn't be much of a surprise though, at least not for those who've known us for a while already."

"Indeed" - Fafnir nodded. "But not everyone knows your history. Rayenna didn't, for one. So for those who don't know it, it all comes completely out of the blue. Do not worry however - I keep history in the past."

Fafnir was the Keeper of Secrets. He lived in the Summitmist Manor and appeared to be a mere majordomo serving travelling Brothers and Sisters. In truth however he was controlling rumours within the Brotherhood. It was all well and good to gossip about someone's love affairs, as long as it didn't involve classified information such as the circumstances of a treason two hundred years ago. People knew that something had happened, but unless they witnessed it at the time, they were not entitled to any details. Besides internal rumours, Fafnir also controlled communications to the wider world, such as the famous story about the Purification of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary and subsequent collapse of the Dark Brotherhood, all of which became common knowledge, yet none of which was true. It was also Fafnir who supplied Lucien with the documents to serve as bait for Rayenna. The archives were situated in a sealed cavern system below Skingrad, accessible only from the basement of the Summitmist Manor through a hidden teleport. Not many people knew it existed, and no one besides the Keeper of Secrets was able to use it.

Fafnir appeared to be a Nord. Yet he had been with the Dark Brotherhood longer than any other living member, vampires included, and some believed that he had been with Morag Tong even before that. Who was to say?

Fafnir was looking at Lena and smiling. "Go on, dinner won't be ready for another hour."

Lena ran upstairs. Lucien was sitting in an armchair reading, he looked tired. Yet he leapt to his feet hearing Lena come up the stairs.

"How did you know I'd be here?" - he breathed into her ear, holding her close.

"I didn't" - she whispered back. "I was passing Skingrad on my way to Anvil and decided to stay the night. And came here to check for no reason."

"No reason?" - he smiled, releasing his embrace and looking into her eyes.

"Other than wanting to see you." She looked him over. "You are hurt."

"Bloody vampires" - he grimaced. "Yes."

"Mandrake root?"

"Already taken."

"Well then, after dinner we go back to my place and indulge in the Wolf Spa."

"You are full of surprises" - he laughed. "I'd be a fool to argue."

The library was cosy, and Lena browsed through the books and newspapers picking up something to read. Fafnir started dressing the table on the other end of the room.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 06:44 PM

[Lena Wolf]

27 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Porphyric Hemophilia

Lena woke up in the early hours of the morning because Lucien was thrashing in his sleep next to her. She touched his forehead - he was burning with fever.

"Porphyric Hemophilia" - she thought, recalling her own experience. "The mandrake root didn't do enough."

She tried to wake him, but the was gripped by the dream. At least he would remember it when he woke. There was nothing she could do for him until then.

...

"I had a most disturbing dream" - Lucien said at breakfast. He was no longer feverish. "I dreamt that I craved blood."

"You were thrashing too" - Lena gave him a searching look, but his eyes weren't red yet. "When were you infected?"

"Two days" - he said, and she realised that he must have had the same dream also the previous night.

"Mandrake root didn't work" - she stated the obvious. "Why did you not say anything?"

"I hoped a second increased dose would cure it. I don't feel it now."

"You don't feel it during the day!" - Lena exclaimed crossly. "We have no time to lose. Have you been to the chapel?"

Lucien looked at her in disbelief than laughed.

"You are joking, right?" - he smirked. "I've been taking lives for over two hundred years, and you think The Nine would give me a blessing?"

"Have you tried?" - Lena insisted.

"No, but isn't it obvious?"

"We are going to the chapel" - Lena said in a such a tone that even Lucien decided not to argue.

"Fine, you'll see for yourself" - he shrugged.

...

"I am the Priest of Julianos, and you can call me 'Your Grace'" - the priest greeted Lena and Lucien when they entered the chapel in Skingrad. Lucien shot her a look - I told you so. She led him straight to the Altar of The Nine, ignoring the priest.

"Do it" - she ordered Lucien. "Prey and let's see."

He knelt before the altar, saying a short common prayer, touched the altar, and nothing happened. He got up and walked over to Lena, sitting down on the pew next to her.

"What did I tell you?"

She sighed. "All right, try Arkay - he always gives me a blessing. Or try Dibella" - she recalled Lucien casting Dibella's spell.

"Dibella might still remember me" - he grinned. "But Arkay? I never prayed to him before."

"Then do it now." The finality of Lena's tone did not invite discussion.

Lucien got up, walking over to Dibella's altar. He looked over his shoulder - Lena was kneeling before Arkay.

"This is futile" - he thought. He knelt before Dibella's altar and said a common prayer, just as a favour to Lena.

"And so you come to me in your time of need, Lucien" - a voice said in his head. Lucien startled and looked up at the stained glass window.

"Dibella? You remember me?" - he thought in surprise.

"That is an insolent question" - the voice said without anger. "Mortals always assume the Gods to have the same weaknesses. Yes, I remember you. Why do you seek my blessing?"

"I contracted Porphyric Hemophilia and the time is running out. I need a cure" - he gave a direct answer.

"Eat some mandrake root" - the voice said with a mocking undertone.

"It didn't work."

"Then turn into a vampire - it is an advantage to an assassin, is it not?" The voice was calm, no longer mocking.

"It is. Yet I cannot allow it this time."

"This time?" - Dibella seemed to have taken an interest. "Oh yes of course - Purgeblood salts. How many times?"

"A few" - Lucien wondered whether Dibella could read his memories. "But it gets harder every time. I cannot risk it."

"So what changed?"

"Lena - it would be bad for her if I were to turn" - he admitted to himself more than to Dibella.

"You could use the salts again to revert it" - the voice objected.

It was true, and Lucien knew it. He never told Lena about his past infections - if Purgeblood salts were used soon after vampirism set in, and certainly before the first feeding, there were no side effects to the cure. Except the ever growing resistance towards the salts and growing difficulty in curing Porphyric Haemaphilia with conventional means. At some point he might become immune to both.

"It might not work again - I cannot take that risk" - he repeated, but Dibella remained silent. He needed to say more. "Not now that Lena is with child."

"Ah, you sensed it" - Dibella sounded pleased. "I see my teachings were not wasted then. But what if the child isn't yours?"

"It does not matter."

Dibella did not reply. Lucien decided to be patient - perhaps she was testing his resolve. He was looking at the stained glass window above him and wondering how his love for Lena would weigh up against all those lives he took in the name of Sithis. What happened to their souls? Did Sithis truly devour them as some claimed, did they turn into ghosts or did Arkay care for them like for all other dead? He never thought about it, until now.

"You have to ask Arkay about that" - he heard Dibella's voice again. "As for the weighing up of your deeds... It depends whom you ask. There is a reason there are nine of us - we do not all judge mortals in the same way."

The voice fell silent again, and Lucien wondered how much longer he was expected to kneel at the altar before he would know Dibella's judgement.

"Love beauty and honor its mysteries." A wave of healing washed over him. "And watch your step. Remain true to yourself." The interview was over.

...

Lena finished her prayer to Arkay, receiving his blessing. She returned to the pew, noticing that Lucien was still kneeling at Dibella's altar. "At least she responded" - she thought. She didn't hold out much hope for any of the Divines giving a blessing to Lucien, considering that he never visited any of their shrines, and with his occupation... "Only Sithis would give a blessing to him" - she thought, regretting not restoring the shrine of Sithis at the Deepscorn Hollow - for just such an eventuality. But it was too far away anyhow, there was no time. She prayed to Arkay to grant Lucien a blessing, but Arkay refused. "He must offer his own prayer, and then we'll see" - was his answer. She was lost in thought and worry, when she noticed a halo of healing rise around Lucien - Dibella had granted him a blessing. "Dibella?" - she thought. "Well, well..."

"There's something I need to tell you" - Lucien walked over to Lena, taking her hand. "But not here."

Back in the privacy of Lena's house he told her of his past vampirism infections, hastening to add that at the time the Black Hand refused to grant Lena access to her great-uncle's sanctuary at Deepscorn Hollow, even though he tried to insist. "We have vampires in our ranks, and it isn't a problem" - was the consensus. "If she really wants a cure, she can find it herself, there are other ways." Of course, Lena's vampirism was well past the first feeding at that point, so the cure would not have been without side effects anyway.

"I understand now why the mandrake root didn't work" - Lena nodded. "But Dibella granted you a blessing" - she said tentatively, hoping to hear why.

"My mother was devoted to Dibella and she brought me up in that way too" - Lucien smiled. "But I've never offered a prayer since I joined the Brotherhood, I didn't think it would be welcome. It seems I was wrong."

Lena was nibbling at the grapes, waiting for Lucien to continue, but he didn't say any more. Perhaps it was between him and Dibella.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 06:44 PM

[Lena Wolf]

28 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Corvus Umbranox

"I've been waiting for you, Assassin" - Corvus Umbranox turned to face Lena as she walked up the stairs of the abandoned house in Anvil, a wraith following her. "I won't be much of a challenge now, your wraith has been sucking the life out of me every night."

"Yet you kept coming back to this house to rest" - Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Then perhaps you are a better mage than you know - the wraith haunted me in my sleep, regardless of where I was."

Lena smiled, realising that it was indeed the true Wrath of Sithis. If she had been granted the power to summon it... She wasn't sure what to think of that.

"Anyhow, I am glad you are finally here" - Corvus continued. "You destroyed my Guild and the Skyrim Guild, yet hadn't come for me so far... I was to watch it all - I get it" - he smirked. "Was it my wife's idea?" - he glared at her.

"No, the idea was mine" - Lena put a lot of charm into her smile. "But it was to fulfil your wife's wishes."

"Which were..?" - his brows furrowed.

"To make your life a misery for at least half a year before your demise."

"Ah" - he grimaced. "That figures."

"Tell me" - Lena looked at him as if she wished nothing more but to continue their pleasant conversation. "Who is the Grandmaster of your Guild these days?"

"I am, of course" - Corvus smiled.

"Then where is your cowl?"

Corvus frowned. "I am not touching that any more. Not with Nocturnal's curse on it - and no one has been able to lift it."

"So where is it then?"

"Why do you care?" - he looked at Lena with suspicion. "You are not a Nightingale."

"No, I am an Assassin" - Lena agreed. "But shadow hides us both. I would return the cowl to Nocturnal."

"Well, it's in Kvatch, if you must know" - Corvus said defiantly. "It is stashed away in a safe place."

"Where, exactly?" - Lena's patience was running thin, although she tried to hide it.

"Have you been to Kvatch at all?" - Corvus raised an eyebrow.

"Not recently."

"Riiiight" - the light of understanding shone on his face. "Not after... I see" - he nodded. "Well, you will find it cleaned up these days, it smells a lot better too, although some of the folks who lived through that nightmare, still cannot shake it off." He paused, looking Lena over, as if trying to remember something. Lena waited for him to continue. "Your face seems familiar... haven't we met?"

"I doubt it" - Lena shook her head. "I was never a member of the Thieves Guild."

"No, but those stories... About a young Breton girl closing all those gates... Blond, amber-eyed... Went into the gate at Kvatch, didn't you?"

"That was a long time ago" - Lena said dismissively. "In another lifetime."

"It seems not" - Corvus sat down behind his desk, rammaging through some papers. "Champion of Cyrodiil" - he pulled out a scroll, looking at Lena with a mocking smile. "Here is a request for the retrieval of one suit of Dragon Legion Armour made for a short female of a slender build." He looked her over. "Yours, I presume. It is said to be in an unused condition." He was now grinning ear to ear, finding the situation highly amusing.

"And have you managed to retrieve it yet?" - Lena asked indifferently.

"No, we are still searching" - he looked puzzled. "You were supposed to be dead. For some two hundred years, yet here you are."

"And you were supposed to be happily married and preside over Anvil with the Countess at your side, yet here you are, and I have a contract on your life" - she retorted with irritation.

"She is doing very well without me" - he spat angerily. "Have you seen the new harbour? Do you know how much that cost? And where the money came from?"

Lena had indeed seen the new harbour - the construction was going on for some time, but now that it was finished, it made Anvil into a real Ocean Harbour town. She wondered what took them so long, not suprised by the development.

"They've done a good job."

"On my money!" - he glared at her again. "It had been long enough since my disappearance that the Empire had released my private funds to my wife! And what does she do? Go and spend it all on a fancy harbour!"

"Well no, let's be fair now" - Lena smiled slyly. "Some of it was spent on a fee to the Dark Brotherhood." She thrust her dagger into his heart - she'd had enough of that conversation. The Wrath of Sithis vanished with a screech.

"Well, that fulfils the contract" - she thought with satisfaction. Corvus Umbranox was a most irritating man. She pulled his corpse off the chair and sat behind his desk, looking through the papers.

As the Guildmaster, Umbranox only had the most important contracts - "requests", as he called them. She looked at the one for her suit of Dragon Legion armour - the signature meant nothing to her. "Some crazy collector of Oblivion Crisis memorabilia" - she figured, dismissing it. There was a request for a staff hidden in the Arch Mage's quarters, allegedly belonging to another mage; an important ring given as a gift to a lover who had since vanished; a propylon index allegedly stolen from the rightful owner and now residing in the Imperial Archives of Dwemer Cultur and Artefacts; a dagger... no, two daggers: Mehrune's Razor and the Eviscerator. These requests attracted Lena's attention - the Eviscerator was her great-uncle's dagger, she found it in one of his stashes in the Deepscorn Hollow. It was wanted by one... Rayenna, residing in the Anvil Lighthouse. She gave no whereabouts of the dagger, but agreed to pay a hefty sum for its retrieval, including the disclosure of its whereabouts. Lena stashed this scroll in her pack - she had the feeling Rayenna would be back some day. The second dagger - Mehrune's Razor - was wanted by one Silus Vesuius from Dawnstar in Skyrim. There was a note on the parchment in another hand - Sundercliff Watch, East of Lake Canulus. "Well, this sounds like an adventure!" - Lena mused, copying the note into her journal. "We wanted to explore that area anyway."

The other papers were of no interest to her, she put them back into the desk and closed the drawers.

The evening was misty when she came out, you could hardly see the next building in the fog. A passing guard stopped her.

"There's been a report of an assault at the abandoned house - someone heard the screams. You're just coming out of it, and am I going to find a dead body inside?" - he asked rather politely.

"Yes, I am sorry to say that the resident had met with an unfortunate accident" - Lena nodded. "Fell off his chair and had a heart attack."

"I see" - the guard rubbed his chin. "We have orders from the Countess to watch out for him - he was known to have a weak heart. I'll clean up the corpse, but you still have to pay a fine for assault. Or go to jail" - he looked at her with hope.

"I'll pay the fine" - Lena produced her purse to the guard's disappointment.

He took her 40 septims and went busily about his business - to arrange for a clean-up or to find the nearest tavern, whichever came first.

"Fourty septims is all that man's life was worth to the law" - she thought. "At least our fees are much more proportionate."

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

Countess Umbranox had comissioned the following improvements to the harbour: Anvil Harbor Expansion and Dockside Coffee House, with her own modifications to the original plans.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 02:28 PM

[macole]

Those are two nice additions to the Anvil docks although I'm sure that a little dusting and sprucing up was in order.

[Lena Wolf]

29 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Kvatch

"So, the Cowl of Nocturnal is somewhere in Kvatch..." - Lena was musing over her morning coffee at the Dockside Coffee House in Anvil. "Perhaps I should go see, a lot must have changed in two hundred years."

Lena never returned to Kvatch after that disaster during the Oblivion Crisis. Kvatch had burned, it was horrible, and she could do without the flashbacks. Those blood fountains in Dagon's Oblivion Deadlands... She shuddered. She hadn't been a vampire yet, but she had to drink that blood to survive, and in her mind it became a precursor of what was to come - years of drinking blood to survive... Molag Bal could not have come up with a better catch. It was unfair to the city, but Kvatch did not hold any nice connotations for Lena, and so she stayed away. But perhaps it was time to face her nightmares.

She set off in late morning, arriving at the Kvatch intersection in an hour or two. She would normally take the road on the right and continue on to Skingrad. She stopped for a moment, then took a deep breath and steered Roach left.

The climb up the Kvatch hill was quiet. Nature had all but reclaimed the burned terrain, and no evidence of refugee camps remained. Except of course Lena could see it all with her mind's eye. She steeled herself and continued.

The gate to Kvatch was unguarded. The portcullis was up, and when Lena tried the door, it yielded - there was nothing to stop her from entering. Surely, it couldn't be that bad... Corvus Umbranox did say the city was well cleaned up... Why, there were even some horses in the stables by the gate, so surely someone had arrived and was now inside. Not dead, Lena hoped. Come on, push that door...

...

Kvatch was peaceful. The streets had been resurfaced and re-paved, and no evidence of burning remained, save for some dark patches here and there. The castle was completely rebuilt too - it looked totally different.

"We simply built a new castle" - the Count explained. "The old one crumbled, and rather than trying to repair it, we demolished it and started again. We have also done away with the wall separating Kvatch West and East - it's all one city now!"

The Count's enthusiasm and cheer seemed genuine, if a bit rehearsed. The Court Steward rolled his eyes.

"The Count gets tired of people still treating Kvatch as a disaster zone. It isn't!"

No, it was indeed nicely cleaned up. Lena walked around the city - it was barely recognisable. All of the buildings had been rebuilt from scratch, just like the castle. All except the chapel, which for some miracle or perhaps through the protection of Akatosh, had not been destroyed.

In the square by the statue Lena saw a familiar face.

"Sigrid?" - she recalled the only surviving mage from the Guild of old. "How have you been?"

"Oh I'm all right" - she looked at Lena with a vacant expression. "Just out for a stroll. The mages are in the Guild Hall down that way" - she pointed the street leading to the Arena. "It's fine, really, it's just the smell... I wish you couldn't smell the burning bodies, that's all I ask... I mean, look at them - just under the surface. It's a little better inside the house, but here in the square... It's even worse on the East side, so I never go there - the smell just cuts your breath..." She looked around, seemingly forgetting all about Lena, and walked off.

"Poor thing" - Lena shook her head. There was no smell in the air.

Lena walked towards the Arena, tried the door - it was locked. "The Arena is temporarily closed for maintenance" - the notice on the door read. She wondered how long it had been closed - a couple of centuries, perhaps? But no, it looked in use... May be she was being overly pessimistic.

The Mages Guild was just across the street. It was a small building - not like the stately halls in other cities. "There can't be all that many mages here" - Lena thought. She entered.

"Hello, Warlock" - a young red haired Breton greeted Lena. "Welcome to the Kvatch Mages Guild."

"You know me?" - Lena didn't think they'd met before.

"I know of you" - the mage smiled. "You are rather famous for going against the Arch Mage's wishes."

"Oh" - Lena blushed, her cheeks matching the other mage's hair in colour. "I couldn't just kill those people for the sake of Traven's trinkets" - she shrugged. "He can do it himself, if he wants them back."

"I quite agree" - the mage beamed. "We have no problems with necromancy here, thank goodness, even though there is no shortage of bodies in the Chapel Undercroft... and below it. As well as under the streets. They were burnt into the rock, it was not possible to remove them - the Count had to make difficult decisions, he's done his best."

"But some people have not moved on" - Lena observed, thinking of Sigrid.

"Indeed. Which is why we are here. It's just the two of us, and the alchemist in the shop by the chapel. We are new to the town, well, relatively new. We try to help these poor souls, they say our herbals help them sleep. But I've been trying to understand why they can't move on, it's been long enough, surely... Something is keeping them rooted in those events."

"Are there many people like this here?"

"Half a dozen" - the mage sighed. "You'll meet them around town. But there's plenty of fresh folk, too."

They chatted a bit more, then Lena continued her tour of the city. A cluster of wooden shacks stood between stately homes and some smaller middle-class buildings. It was a nice arrangement.

"Oh hello! You finally got here" - someone spoke right next to Lena. She spun around, recognising Batul gra-Sharob.

"Batul!" - she smiled warmly. "You remember me! How have you been? How have you all been here in Kvatch?"

"Oh, we're getting by - trying to make the best of it" - Batul smiled. "I've lost everything, but you know, I've been building it back up, too. We've been waiting for you to return."

"For me? Why?"

"Because you are our hero, and you belong here, Wolf."

"I am no hero!" - Lena protested. "I got lucky! It's Matius and his men who are heroes!"

"Oh, we honour them too, but they are all dead now, of old age. It's been too long for most humans. A few guards from the old days are still around, and they can't shake off the nightmares. We need you to help us, again."

Lena looked into Batul's eyes, serious, sane and pragmatic, as always.

"Ok, what do you want me to do?" - she felt herself being drawn into a task she was not going to enjoy. But how could she refuse?

"I don't know" - Batul answered flatly. "That's just the problem. The mages have been trying to work it out too. Why some of us can't move on. Stay a while, look around, see if you can find some answers. We even have a house here waiting for you - this one" - she pointed at a nice middle-class house down the street. "The Count didn't want to keep it reserved at first, but we the old folk insisted. It's brand new like everything else here" - she hastened to add. "And it's all yours."

"Thank you" - Lena murmured, hoping not to betray their trust. She walked over to the house - there was a sign on the door: "The Wolf Residence".

"We had it magically sealed" - said Batul who followed Lena and now stood behind her. "Only you can enter - it's a blood enchantment, from the blood that you left behind." Lena turned around sharply, a question in her eyes. "Bandages, clothing, bloody handprints" - Batul answered. "There was plenty to choose from in the Chapel Undercroft, and not just yours. I hope we didn't mix it up - try to open the door." Lena touched the door - the lock clicked. "Good" - Batul was satisfied. "It will lock by itself after a while."

"Why do you lock a house that's not lived in?" - Lena asked, feeling surreal.

"Thieves. They've been skulking about. Who knows what they're after - there's nothing to steal here!" - Batul bared her teeth in anger. "It's not like our city had burned down to below its foundations or anything!"

Thieves. "Perhaps they weren't trying to steal anything, but to hide something..." - Lena thought but didn't say it. She thanked Batul and promised to stay a while and see what she could find.

"Good, I'm glad you're back" - Batul smiled, calming down. "See you around." She turned and walked off. Lena entered the house.

It was as Batul had said - brand new, well appointed and nicely furnished, but nothing over the top. "Not a mansion" - Lena thought with satisfaction. There was a desk on the ground floor and a nice cosy lounge with a fireplace, and upstairs was a spacious bedroom, some drawers, some cupboards, a table - the space could be used in many ways. A suit of armour was laid out on a work table - Dragon Legion Armour. Her armour. "How..?" - she wondered, she hadn't seen that suit since... well... since shortly after she got it. She left it in Bruma, in that house that got repossessed while she was away. She had asked the Countess about it, but the Countess was evasive and didn't give an answer. So, that's what happened to it... How strange. May be the Thieves Guild was trying to steal something after all.

It was all too much to take in, and Lena's head was spinning. She went downstairs into the lounge and sat by the fire with a bottle of wine and some food from her pack. A little peace and quiet would do her good. She'd eat and rest, and leave everything else for tomorrow.

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

Kvatch is mostly Kvatch Finished with some graphics from Kvatch Rebuilt.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 02:29 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Those are two nice additions to the Anvil docks although I'm sure that a little dusting and sprucing up was in order.

Indeed! In particular I wanted to connect the harbour with the castle, so I had to build a bridge... I found several mods for Anvil harbour, and for some reason none of them had a bridge there, except a much larger mod New City Anvil (in Russian only), that also modified the city itself and the environments, making it into a real Mediterranean city. But I didn't want to change the city, just the docks... So the Countess rolled up her sleeves and went on marking up all those building proposals with her own ideas.

[Acadian]

I greatly enjoyed Lena's return visit to Kvatch. It has indeed cleaned up beautifully and I'm so glad you took the time to give Kvatch the TLC it deserves as a very special place. I was especially pleased to hear Lena declare the truism that Savlian Matius was, and always will be, the Hero of Kvatch.

[Lena Wolf]

I greatly enjoyed Lena's return visit to Kvatch. It has indeed cleaned up beautifully and I'm so glad you took the time to give Kvatch the TLC it deserves as a very special place. I was especially pleased to hear Lena declare the truism that Savlian Matius was, and always will be, the Hero of Kvatch.

I am so glad you liked it. I hope you'll like what is still to come - this isn't just a one time visit!

[Lena Wolf]

30 Sun's Height, 4E202 - A tour of Kvatch

Lena woke up refreshed in The Wolf Residence in Kvatch. She made herself some coffee and ate the last sweetroll from her pack for breakfast. Today she was going to walk around the city.

The city of Kvatch was wrapped around the Great Chapel of Akatosh, with the Castle taking up the North West corner. The City Gate was at its South most point, and traditionally there had been Kvatch West with the Castle and extensive gardens, and Kvatch East with the Arena and the majority of the populace. The Chapel was facing West with its main doors, and the central square with the statue was just to the North of it, with an alley going towards the gardens and the bridge to the Castle. This square used to be called the Plaza, and was the main feature of Kvatch West. But new Kvatch did not have a walled East side, so the Count was proudly referring to the whole city as Kvatch Plaza. "No one is cut off from either the Chapel or the Castle, no one is excluded. We are one town" - he would say. He did have a point, Lena quite liked the new arrangement. The city felt spacious and open, resembling Chorrol both in type of construction and layout - she wondered whether that was the Count's inspiration.

She went to see the gardens, and found a vineyard instead.

"Blackrock wine is the best in Cyrodiil, even if I do say so myself" - a Redguard working the vineyard told her. "Here - have a bottle. You are Wolf, aren't you?" - he looked her over. "Heard Batul saying yesterday that you've finally arrived. We live next door to you, I'm Chark Blackrock" - he shook her hand. "We are new to the city, my wife Siona and I, well, I say 'new', but it's been a good twenty years that we've come to live here. It's a good place, so why not."

"So you are not suffering from the flashbacks of the Oblivion Crisis?" - asked Lena, trying to approach the topic carefully.

"No, not us" - Blackrock looked sombre. "It's the old folk - the ones that lived through it all. There's a group of ex-refugees on the East side, an ex-priest, Batul and Sigrid, and a few guards. The rest of us are all new."

Lena thanked him and continued her stroll, not going to the East side for the moment.

There was a cluster of shops by the Main Gate - Missy's Dry Goods, The Forge, the Mages Guild alchemy shop, and The One Coin Inn. "I wonder what one coin will get you here" - she mused, but did not enter. She returned to the statue and looked at the buildings facing the Castle. There were just a few of them, with plenty of space left for trees and flowering shrubs. She noticed the Fighters Guild sign, but like the Mages Guild, the building was much smaller than its counterparts in the other cities. "At least they returned" - she thought. The street turned East towards the Arena, with the Mages Guild Hall on the right. She noted a cluster of houses in the South East corner of the city between the Arena and The Wolf Residence - she would talk to those people later. She was standing next to a General Goods store, and remembering that her cupboards needed filling, she went in.

"Welcome to my store, what can I do for you?" - a Dunmer shop keeper greeted her cheerfully, and Lena thought he must have been one of the "new" people. She bought some food and wine and was about to leave, when the shop keeper urged her to see his home wares downstairs. "Straight as you come down the stairs, all along the walls" - he pointed keenly. "I have tapestries and paintings for sale, everything you see there! And all the vases and pottery too!" It seemed he had built himself quite a nice little gallery, and was very proud of it.

"Thank you, I'll have a look" - Lena answered politely, hoping that he wouldn't follow her there, as she had no intention of buying any of it that day. The Dunmer left her alone. She went through the gallery, ready to turn back towards the front door, but there was another exit at the end, so she went through that door instead.

She came out facing a city wall. "Wait, this can't be right" - she looked around. "I should be facing the Arena with another house to the left and the Mages Guild across the road to the right." Instead, there were two gates in a wall just in front of her, with the Chapel of Akatosh to her right. Confused, she turned around and was looking down a densely built up street wrapping around the Chapel with the Undercroft at the end of the street.

This was Kvatch, but not the one she just left. This was Kvatch East of before. "Before the Oblivion Crisis?" - she wondered whether she had been transported back in time. People were walking up and down the street, going into the undercroft, going into their houses and shops and minding their own business. They were friendly enough, and no one seemed to suffer from flashbacks or nightmares.

Following the winding street, Lena turned a corner and came to the Arena.

"There are no matches today, but you can train in the Bloodworks if you want" - the guards told her. "We have matches twice a week now - Middas and Loredas. You can place your bets in advance, too. If you want to compete, see the Bloodworks masters - both teams could use fresh meat" - the guard smirked, looking her over.

"Are the matches to the death?" - Lena asked, rather taken aback by this wealth of information.

"Of course they are to the death!" - the guard looked offended. "What do you think - just because we are in a province and not in the Imperial City, that we would not be taking it seriously?" - he glared at her.

"No, I wasn't suggesting anything like that" - Lena backed off, not wishing to pick a fight. "I'll come back when there's a match."

"Middas and Loredas" - the guard cried after her.

Lena turned her back to the Arena and walked straight into a Mages Guild Hall. This building was as imposing as the halls in the other cities. She entered.

"Well hello, fancy meeting you here, Warlock" - Erana of all people greeted her in the hall. "Welcome to the Kvatch Mages Guild!"

The Guild Hall looked just like the one in Chorrol, except for the people. Erana seemed to have noticed Lena's confusion.

"Yes, this is exactly the same design of a building as in Chorrol" - she explained. "But it's just the building. This Guild Hall is quite different, I assure you."

"But..." - Lena was going to ask about the other Kvatch Mages Guild that she'd visited the day before, but then decided against it. She preferred not to ask favours of Erana. Perhaps the answer would present itself elsewhere in the city, Lena thought, turned around and left.

Walking around the Arena and going North, she came to another stretch of the city wall - not the external city wall, but a smaller one running from the Chapel and featuring two gates - one on the street level and the other on the pavement. "This must be the wall separating Kvatch into East and West" - Lena thought, going through the gate. Indeed, she stood in Kvatch West looking at the Castle across the water and the statue to her left. This was the Plaza, with an alley going along the castle walls towards the gardens - and those were the real gardens with lots of trees in the distance.

Like Kvatch East, Kvatch West was densely built up. There was a large inn facing the Plaza, with an impressive Fighters Guild building and several shops leading towards the City Gate. Taking the alley into the gardens, Lena passed several wooden houses nestled among the trees. The path eventually ended on a clearing with a side view of the Castle - the original Kvatch Castle, definitely not the one she'd visited the day before. This was not the same Kvatch.

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

The other Kvatch is largely Kvatch Roses of Success, completed.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 02:30 PM

[Lena Wolf]

30 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Batul gra-Sharob

Lena got up from a bench in the gardens of Kvatch West, feeling thoroughly confused. There appeared to be two cities of Kvatch - the one where she woke up that morning, and the one that she found herself in upon exiting the General Goods store. No one in this second Kvatch appeared to suffer from nightmares or flashbacks of the Oblivion Crisis, but perhaps they were just all "new" people - people that moved in here after the crisis, people that didn't live through it and therefore had no flashbacks to suffer from. Perhaps she just needed to talk to someone.

Walking along the garden alley towards the central square and being absorbed in these thoughts, Lena didn't notice an Argonian blocking her way.

"Good day to you!" - the Argonian made her jump. "Is anything troubling you? You look confused - perhaps I can help. I am Weedum-Ja" - she said with a smile. "May The Nine guard and protect you."

"Ugh, hello" - Lena returned to reality. "I am a bit confused, yes. Is this Kvatch?"

"Oh dear" - Weedum-Ja looked concerned. "You are confused. Of course this is Kvatch! Where else will you find a garden as lush as this? Or a Castle as elaborate as this? Even if a bit burned... You need the guidance of The Nine to set you straight."

"Mmm, thank you" - Lena managed. Somehow she didn't think that The Nine would help in this instance. "Have you been living here long?"

"Oh, for some three hundred years, I should think" - Weedum-Ja looked into the distance. "Yes, that's about right. And there's no where I'd rather be" - she added cheerfully.

"And the Oblivion Crisis... the memories... they don't bother you at all?" - Lena approached the topic carefully.

"But it was two hundred years ago, my dear! Who would dwell on it for so long? We have all moved on long ago!"

"Oh, of course" - Lena nodded. "It's been a long time."

"If you are still worried though" - Weedum-Ja looked concerned - "you should go to the Chapel and speak with the priest Ilav Dralgoner. He's been here for nearly as long as I have, he'll help you through. He helps people forget."

"Forget what?"

"Anything."

"Ah." Lena paused, unsure whether she should be asking anything else. "Thank you." She decided not, and walked off, returning to the main square.

It was late afternoon, and Lena hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. She saw an inn, and her stomach directed her inside. It was a large place with a spacious dining room downstairs and several rooms upstairs, nicely furnished, no doubt.

"Welcome to the Castle View Inn!" - the innkeep greeted her. "You look like you've skipped lunch. Anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, please" - Lena smiled at the publican's perceptiveness. "A meal would be nice."

She ordered a meal from a long and elaborate menu and settled down at a table by the fire. Whichever Kvatch she was in, they had food, and for the moment that was all that mattered. Besides, no one was talking of the smell of burnt bodies or recurring nightmares, which was a relief.

The waitress brought the food, and Lena was completely absorbed in her mutton with orange chutney, when someone coughed quite noisily and sat at the table with her.

"The cook really knows her stuff here" - the newcomer said. "Better than in that other inn."

"Oh, there's another inn in the city?" - Lena lifted her eyes to her companion. "Batul!" - she exclaimed in surprise. "Good to see you!"

"Hello, Wolf" - Batul smiled. "So, you finally got here. Haven't seen you in two hundred years, but you haven't changed a bit."

"What? We just talked yesterday..." - Lena started, but Batul's expression suddenly changed from friendly to enraged.

"You went there?" - she spat, fortunately not literally. "They need to wake up! I am the real Batul!"

"I am sure you are" - Lena tried to diffuse the situation. "I am so confused. What do you mean - I went there? Where is there? And where is here, for that matter?"

Batul gave Lena a long look, then called the waitress to order some ale. When the ale arrived, she drank nearly the whole bottle in one go, signalling the waitress for more, then turned to Lena again.

"Kvatch has been split - duplicated" - she started to explain. "After that Oblivion Gate disaster, the soil was still smouldering for a year at least, so apart from brief expeditions, we could not enter the city. The camp was growing though, with more refugees coming from other places - Bruma, Leyawiin, Chorrol, Cheydinhal - whether they'd had a great Gate open near their city or just a small one, they all decided to come to Kvatch for some reason." She furrowed her brow and drank some more ale. "As if we were The Coloured Rooms, for Azura's sake" - she shook her head. "So the Kvatch hill was overflowing with people, we had to do something, and we started pitching tents wherever the soil wasn't burning. This continued for several years - as long as the Crisis lasted. By the time Mehrunes Dagon invaded the Imperial City, Kvatch plateau was filled with tents, with everyone moving inside the city walls as if they were doing any good." She paused, sipping more ale. "Well, they were protecting us from the bandits, that's true" - she reflected as if to herself. "But anyhow - then suddenly one day there was a huge flash - some folks say they saw a lightning strike over the Imperial City, but you can't see the Imperial City from here, so they invented it later. A flash - and that's all, no one felt any different after that, or at least not until we noticed... It was the day when Martin broke the Amulet of Kings, as we later learned." She stopped, looking at Lena who forgot all about her mutton. "You better eat up before it all gets cold" - Batul pointed at Lena's plate. "The story won't run away."

Lena closed her mouth and returned her attention to her plate. "It's all right, I can eat and listen" - she smiled, now picking up her knife and fork again.

"Well, that's nearly it, really" - Batul shrugged. "When we went out of the City Gate and tried to come back in, we started bumping into our doubles. Not all of us, mind - just the folk who'd lived through the Crisis here in the city. The others were not affected, but they didn't have our memories. It's something to do with that."

"But it's not just the people who got duplicated, but the land as well" - Lena started to understand it.

"Exactly" - Batul nodded. "So we divided up - made sure that all the doubles were separated, one in each city. No one wanted twins of themselves. And then time went on, new folk moved in, and we figured out that the two sides of the Main Gate from the outside led each to a different Kvatch."

"But I got here through a shop" - Lena recalled her confusing experience.

"The General Goods store?" - Batul looked up. "Yeah, that's an odd one out. There are other connections, mind, and of course that store didn't exist when we got duplicated, but one way or the other that Dunmer managed to link it up like that. You enter the store through either door, but you exit here through his gallery and to the other Kvatch through his front door. Good for business, he says, serving two cities" - she smirked. "Of course we are used to it now, but it must be confusing to newcomers."

"To say the least" - Lena agreed. "And so you have each a different Count and each city was rebuilt on its own?"

"You are catching on fast" - Batul grinned. "You were always a smart one."

Lena finished her meal and ordered a bottle of wine - that conversation needed help. Batul was on her fifth bottle of ale already.

"So what about the flashbacks and the nightmares?" - Lena decided to be blunt, after all she was talking to an Orc. "People here don't seem to suffer from them."

"People there wouldn't be suffering from them either if they weren't so devoted to their Chapel!" - Batul retorted angrily. "It's their priests - keeping all those ghosts around! People need to move on!"

"I met Weedum-Ja earlier" - Lena tried to steer the conversation into calmer waters. "She said your priest here - Ilav - helped people forget things."

"Weedum-Ja is a knucklehead, don't listen to her" - Batul grimaced, but relaxed. "Ilav is a good sort, he tries to help people move on in whatever way he can. He knows some old magic, though, so yeah, may be he does make some folk forget things, if that's what's needed. I haven't forgotten anything" - she gave Lena a sharp look.

They sat drinking for a while. After the nineth bottle of ale, Batul got up, as steady as ever.

"I should be going - have you seen the time? The moons are out. You can get back to the other Kvatch through the Main Gate - it's like I said, exit from here, then take the right door to the other city - Kvatch Plaza they call it" - she smirked. "Their Count spent all the money on his castle - they have half the houses that we have here! 'Open and spacious' my foot! But anyway, they've got a house for you there, I know, nothing wrong with that - well deserved." She turned to leave, then changed her mind. "If you want to find out more, about why their nightmares wouldn't go away, it's got to do with the Chapel. Or just leave them to their lot and stay here with us! Although I know you won't" - she grunted approvingly. "See you around, Wolf."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 02:30 PM

[macole]

Ah ha, a magicka shockwave blew across your Cyrodiil when Martin broke the Amulet of Kings creating a duplicate Kvatch. That’s really a nice touch and your Kvatch #2 looks marvelous. I envy your skill.

[Lena Wolf]

Ah ha, a magicka shockwave blew across your Cyrodiil when Martin broke the Amulet of Kings creating a duplicate Kvatch. That’s really a nice touch and your Kvatch #2 looks marvelous. I envy your skill.

Breaking the Amulet of Kings was always supposed to be the last resort. Now it's broken, there is an impressive statue in the Imperial City, but the rest of us have to pick up the pieces, Kvatch included. Something has to be done to help the people move on though.

The second Kvatch reconstruction was very ambitious, the Count wanted to rebuild the city pretty much how it was. He left his castle almost untouched, just cleaned up, but didn't even bother to fix gashes in the walls and ditches in the floor inside. "This is only for me, it's better to focus on rebuilding the rest of the city" - he'd say. But the project is very ambitious and Kvatch Roses of Success, as he had dubbed it, is still unfinished.

***Technical info: the mod had been abandoned by the author. It has all the landscaping, the pavements, buildings and the garden in place, but no people or insides of any of the buildings. It was meant to be situated in time shortly after the Oblivion Crisis, so there were still many burned trees in the city, which I replaced by living trees since in my game it is 200 years later. I have "filled" all the houses with inner cells and am still working on the people - not all houses have someone living in them yet. Plenty to do, but what a fertile ground for new adventures!

[macole]

***Technical info: the mod had been abandoned by the author. It has all the landscaping, the pavements, buildings and the garden in place, but no people or insides of any of the buildings. It was meant to be situated in time shortly after the Oblivion Crisis, so there were still many burned trees in the city, which I replaced by living trees since in my game it is 200 years later. I have "filled" all the houses with inner cells and am still working on the people - not all houses have someone living in them yet. Plenty to do, but what a fertile ground for new adventures!

The Valenwood mod I use has several cities that are just begging for this kind of treatment. I tell myself that if I ever stop playing I'll take the time to learn how to fill in the empty houses. That's a big if.

This post has been edited by macole: Sep 5 2021, 07:48 AM

[Lena Wolf]

31 Sun's Height, 4E202 - The ghosts of Kvatch

It was Lena's second morning waking up in the Wolf Residence in Kvatch - Kvatch Plaza, as she now knew. The other Kvatch seemed much larger, but of course it wasn't - it simply had more buildings. And more trees. And more people. Yes, it was much larger, Lena sighed. Yet this Kvatch was the one with the Wolf Residence in it, and perhaps once their nightmare problem would have been resolved, it could be a happy city too. After all, the "new" folk seemed happy enough here, she was  thinking over breakfast outside the One Coin Inn.

"Best get on with it straight away" - she thought and went to the Chapel.

...

"What's it like out there?" - a ghost approached her as soon as she entered. "We thought we were the only ones to survive..."

"Tierra?" - Lena peered into the ghost's features. "What are you talking about?" - she asked automatically. Of course she knew what Tierra was talking about - the Daedric invasion of two hundred years ago. "What are you doing here?" This was a better question.

"Guarding the Count, of course" - answered Tierra as if stating the obvious. "He escaped from the Castle and is standing behind the main altar there" - she waved her hand towards the far end of the chapel. "Together with Brother Martin and other refugees."

Lena looked around. When Batul spoke of ghosts the previous evening, Lena took her words figuratively, but in fact the chapel was filled with actual ghosts. The priest and a few townspeople of flesh and blood were mixing with them, talking, lamenting the smell of burnt bodies and the devastation... Yes, how could one move on this way - wasn't it obvious? The mage at the guild said she couldn't figure out what kept the nightmares alive, well, these eight ghosts should have been her prime suspects! Unless what she had meant was that she could not figure out how to send them on to the next world.

Besides Count Ormellius Goldwine and Brother Martin, the other ghosts were Kvatch guardsmen - Savlian Matius, Berich Inian, Tierra, Ilend Vonius, Jesan Rilian and Merandil. The people who did the fighting. The real heroes of Kvatch. The priest - Ilav Dralgoner - was walking among them. "This is not the same Ilav as the one in the other Kvatch" - Lena guessed.

"Welcome to the Chapel, young lady" - he addressed Lena. "You can always find solace and refuge here."

"Thank you" - she smiled at him, hiding her worry. "But refuge from what? It's peaceful out there."

"Oh, but it isn't peaceful inside us, is it?" - he pierced her with his gaze. "You too have lived through that horror. The Gods have abandoned us."

"Don't the Gods still grant their blessings at the shrines here?"

"They do and they don't" - Ilav looked stern. "The magic of the shrines still works, but the Gods never talk to us any more. They lost all interest in Mundus."

Ilav was seriously disillusioned. Lena was no model citizen, but she knew for a fact that the Gods had not turned their backs on Mundus - it was only three days ago that Arkay responded to her prayer while Dibella granted a blessing to Lucien. And although some might question their actions, the Gods were definitely not gone. Not knowing how to restore the faith of the priest, she decided to talk to the ghosts, starting with Brother Martin.

"Sire" - she approached him with what she thought to be an appropriate address - "I am saddened to see that your soul had not been able to move on to the next world. As well as the souls of the others here. I wish to help if I can. Please tell me what happened here."

"You..." - Brother Martin looked at her searching. "You are the first one to ask me this. Who are you? No, wait... we've met before."

"I am Wolf" - Lena nodded. "I was with Emperor Uriel Septim when he was killed - I was his messanger."

"Yes... You are the reason we are stuck here!" - Brother Martin flew into a rage. "You are the reason Kvatch had burned! Had you not delivered that amulet to Jeoffrey, had you just sold it along with your other stolen loot as the likes of you would have normally done, none of it would have happened! Kvatch would have survived and I would have been spared the humiliation of being known as the bastard son of the late Emperor!"

Whatever Lena had expected, it wasn't this. Now the Oblivion Crisis was her fault? But he called her a thief - and a thief she was not.

"I think we have a misunderstanding" - Lena replied, restraining her anger. "I am no thief. I do not steal. You are confusing me with someone else."

"But you were in prison, in that cell - for stealing!" - Brother Martin sounded triumphant. "Oh yes, I've read your file."

"I stole food which I ate on the spot, no more" - Lena was unphased. "There were no 'stolen goods' in my possession."

"It doesn't matter - it is still all your fault!" - Brother Martin was still angry but he softened a bit. "Well, yours and Mehrunes Dagon's" - he admitted. "But without your intervention he would have just opened many small gates rather than a big one here in Kvatch!"

"And without your intervention, he would have burned the entire Mundus" - Lena reminded him. "Or rather, without Akatosh' intervention."

Brother Martin pinned her with his gaze, his rage flaring again. That man had a temper.

"How dare you!" - he spat. "I did what was necessary! A mere mortal cannot hope to defeat a Daedric Prince!"

"But you were no mere mortal" - Lena return his gaze, getting used to his ghostly appearance. "You were Dragonborn, a Septim, you were to be our Emperor - and not just in title as the current one, you were to re-light the Dragonfires and to protect the Mundus from Daedric incursions. Instead, you committed suicide!"

"As if you can know what you are talking about!" - he snorted. "Dragonborn! That means nothing at all."

"Does it not?" - Lena looked at him, smiling. "I have found it to be a nuisance myself, but I cannot say it means nothing."

"You..?" - that got Brother Martin's attention, putting out his rage. "Ah. It makes sense. May be the Gods had not abandoned us at that point yet, putting you in that cell."

"It could have been anyone in my place" - Lena retorted. "It didn't require a Dragonborn to deliver an amulet. And it wasn't a Daedric Prince who murdered the Emperor."

"No, it was an assassin" - Brother Martin answered slowly. "Like you."

"Not like me" - Lena shook her head. "That was a cultist, I am not."

They stared at each other for a moment, their animosity having attracted everyone's attention, ghosts and people alike. It wasn't every day that someone challenged a Septim.

"Get out of my sight" - Brother Martin hissed, turning his back to Lena.

...

"That went rather well" - Savlian Matius winked at Lena. "Walk with me."

He went down the stairs and into the chapel hall, with Lena following.

"Good to see you, Wolf" - he smiled, sitting down. "Pull up a stool, I'll fill you in."

Lena sighed with relief, sitting down as well.

"I lived long enough to see Kvatch recover and start rebuilding, in both halves" - he said, still smiling. "Yes, I know about the other Kvatch - I was Court Steward for many years after that. I died of old age, you know, then something - or someone - brought me back" - he frowned. "Me and the other guards - we all had died of old age at some point!"

"So the Count and Brother Martin are the only two among you who had died during the Crisis?"

"Correct" - Savlian nodded. "No idea how their ghosts got here, but as you can see, Brother Martin is pretty angry, while the Count is just sad. Martin flies into this rage every time some of the townsfolk mention you."

"They think I'm a hero" - Lena smiled uneasily. "But you and the rest of the guard did far more to save Kvatch than I."

"You played your part" - he patted her arm, his touch remarkably solid for a ghost. "And you're the one still alive, one of the few who know what went down here. People need their heroes, you're the last one left."

He looked at her with a steady gaze, a man used to handle other people, from soldiers to castle servants, salesmen, contractors and visitors alike.

"You will figure it out" - he said reassuringly. "How to send us all on to the next world - and how to free the townsfolk from their nightmares. If there's any fighting to be done, you can count on us - we're ghosts, we cannot be killed as we are already dead!" He laughed heartily. "If we fall in battle, we just reappear in a day or two."

"Any idea where I should start?" - Lena asked hopefully.

"Don't do anything rash" - Savlian repeated his favourite advice. "There are daedra in the chapel undercroft, and there's a gate to an Oblivion maze that they are coming from, but it isn't the real problem."

"What?! How?" - Lena spun on her stool. That certainly sounded like a real problem to her.

"The gate cannot be closed in the same way as the old ones" - Savlian smiled at her reaction. "I think it is a symptom rather than the cause. We had cleared out that maze several times already, and it just fills up with angry daedra again. You need to find out how we - the ghosts - got here, and what is holding us. Martin's ghost is different from the rest." He paused, looking at Lena pensively. "So, you are Dragonborn. Interesting. You might well be the only one here who can release Martin's ghost, you know."

They sat in silence for a while.

"The people in the other Kvatch don't suffer from nightmares" - Lena said suddenly. "Are they really the same people as the ones here?"

"I don't know" - Savlian shook his head. "Another thing for you to investigate. This will take a while, but not to worry - it's been dragging on for two hundred years, another few months will make no difference." He smiled and got up. "Time to return to the chapel before the others begin to suspect mutiny" - he winked. "Talk to the mages at the Guild - they've been looking into this" - he added walking back to the chapel proper. Things seemed to have calmed down, and Lena thanked him, nodded goodbye to everyone and left.

"A few months, he said" - she thought. "It may well take as long as that to figure this one out."

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

The Oblivion gate in the undercroft leads to the Mehrunes Maze. Lena will need to have her wits about her for that one... as well as a good sword.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 02:32 PM