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

[Renee]

Post 44: the Battlemage NPC charges right into an Ayleid trap! OH yeah, that happens sometimes. I like the explanation too, that Battlemages basically don't know how to tackle territories like this with discretion. They are used to rushing into battle and blowing stuff apart, usually with some success.

I like how she can explain how stuff was 200 years ago. Gosh, wouldn't that be cool to have in our times...

She warns Garrus at the end. Garrus seems okay with Lena though.



This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 22 2021, 06:00 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Post 44: the Battlemage NPC charges right into an Ayleid trap! OH yeah, that happens sometimes.

I looked in the CS, and if that battlemage somehow survives the trap, he gets a scripted death... Talking about evil.

She warns Garrus at the end. Garrus seems okay with Lena though.

Well, Garrus is in Cheydinhal and the Count likes him - he made him Captain of the Guard. Garrus isn't just your average Captain though...

[Lena Wolf]

19 Last Seed, 4E202 - Dinner in Cheydinhal

"Good to see you around town" - Garrus was saying to Lucien at dinner. "Don't think people don't know who you are."

"I suppose I should have expected it, after all this time" - Lucien nodded. "And with most people have been here as long as I have."

When Lena and Hauk returned to Cheydinhal from the Imperial City earlier that day, they ran into Garrus making rounds in the streets, looking even more bored than usual. Lena immediately asked him to come to the Wolf Sanctuary for dinner, then picked up Lucien from the Sanctuary downstairs, and now the four of them were enjoying the roast kindly supplied by the cook of the Newlands Lodge.

"And those of us who are not blessed with your longevity still mostly know what's going on" - Garrus grinned. "And look - nobody is blowing your cover. This is Cheydinhal, Lucien."

Indeed, when Rayenna tried to fish for information here, she only got what was commonly known already. This was in everyone's interests - the Dark Brotherhood being one of several covert organisations in Cheydinhal. Everyone knew who everyone was, but what happened in Cheydinhal, stayed in Cheydinhal, or something like that.

"What does the Count think of it?" - asked Lucien. "Me walking around town, that is."

"He's glad, if anything" - Garrus smiled. "Makes it less likely for Morag Tong to show up."

They chuckled, and focussed on eating for a while.

"You look like you could use a holiday" - Lena turned to Garrus. "You looked particularly bored when we ran into you in the street."

"Does it show that much?" - Garrus grimaced. "It's been quiet - not even a drunken brawl to break up, and anyhow this isn't my job any more, my second handles that sort of matters. I suppose I did get bored. Why, do you have an adventure in mind?" - he looked at Lena with hope in his eyes.

"Hauk and I were going North and possibly into Skyrim for a while" - Lena replied, watching Garrus' face light up with excitement. "It could be two or three weeks. Want to come?"

"I'm sure I could persuade the Count that our Northern border needs a survey" - Garrus beamed. "I'll be ready by lunchtime."

"Bring a good blade - I hear they have problems with werewolves" - Hauk said matter-of-factly. "Silver or daedric."

"Or one of Rohssan's" - Lucien looked at Lena. "Like Hauk's - carbon steel with an ebony core and silver coating. Ask Borba."

The conversation turned to weapons, everyone at the table preferring blades. Lena was showing off her new throwing knives, but Hauk commented that they were not handy for someone wearing heavy armour - anything above iron reduced dexterity.

"That's the price you pay for having a full suit rather than just a breastplate like what you wear" - he said referring to Lena's iron armour. "While with a full cuirass on you can still shoot from a bow, although only just, you can forget about throwing knives - you won't even hit an ogre with it" - was his verdict. "Trust me, I tried. What you need instead is a crossbow."

A trip to Tertia's smithy was clearly on the cards.

...

"Back to Skyrim, eh?" - Lucien looked at Lena when Hauk and Garrus had left. "Do you plan to go all the way to Falkreath? It is about your father, isn't it?"

Lena nodded. "Yes, I can't quite put it out of my mind. I don't know if we'll get to Falkreath, but somehow I feel we need to look around along the border. For no logical reason" - she smiled at Lucien apologetically.

"Then do it - if only just to bring you peace."

Lena went about collecting her things for the trip. She noticed changes upstairs in the newly refurbished study - more books and scrolls, another chest, gems, daggers... "Lucien has finally taken possession of this space" - she thought with satisfaction. She heard him come up behind her.

"Will I find you here when we are back from Skyrim? Or should I fetch you from Fort Farragut?" - she asked, laying her hands on his shoulders.

"I have all but moved out of Fort Farragut" - he smiled at her. "We've opened up old Speaker's chamber in the Sanctuary - it is mine now. Ocheeva thought that after the incident with Rayenna, my main office should not be in an isolated fort, and I agreed with her. Rayenna was only interested in my private life - which was bad enough already - but what if the next intruder is after our professional secrets? We should not be risking that. And Garrus is right - Cheydinhal is safe for us."

Lucien was not intruding on Lena's house, and Lena was grateful for that. He was close, yet he didn't move in. She smiled and kissed him. Of course once the baby was born, things would have to change again, but she wasn't ready to think about it yet - she still had time.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:13 PM

[Lena Wolf]

20 Last Seed, 4E202 - Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary

Lena had thought they would be off adventuring already by lunchtime the day after their arrival in Cheydinhal, but Garrus could not arrange his leave quite so quickly, and Hauk wanted to talk to a few people at the Mages Guild, and... well... Lena was glad to just stay at home for a few days. Imagine that. She spent most of her time at the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary catching up with everyone and enjoying long swims in their new pool... A new pool? An old pool, as it transpired, but now again opened up.

"The previous Speaker had closed off some facilities here" - Vicente was explaining it to Lena: as the oldest member of the Sanctuary, he witnessed much of it. "There used to be much more luxury here before, but he had insisted that an assassin's abode had to be austere. Most people didn't agree, for this is our home, but no one dared to contradict. Have you seen any of the other Sanctuaries? Some are rumoured to be opulent... Probably another extreme."

"So Lucien didn't reopen anything when he took over?" - Lena couldn't imagine Lucien insisting on austerity.

"Oh he did, he changed a lot of things, just not all. He mostly focussed on getting furniture back in again... I did say the previous Speaker was austere" - Vicente smiled. "I still sleep on a slab - I got used to sleeping on the floor back then, but most others were glad to have their beds back."

"And then Lucien moved out to Fort Farragut. Why was that?" - Lena had always wanted to hear that story.

Vicente laughed and looked over his shoulder. "Did he never tell you?" - he steered Lena away from Lucien's quarters. "It's a funny little tale." He paused until they were well out of earshot. "He was quite a young man when he took over as Speaker here - he rose through the ranks fast and was a favourite of the Black Hand, as I understand, and quite the ladies' man, and perhaps that was connected..." - Vicente mused, grinning to himself. "But anyhow, the Speaker's quarters are at the end of the corridor behind mine, as you can see now, and when he moved in there out of the common room, they presented certain conveniences... for entertaining some of the Sisters..." - he winked. "And, well, sound does carry through these old halls."

"Yes, I see how that would be embarrassing" - Lena grinned.

"His Silencer was discontented. He was the previous Speaker's Silencer and thought that he should have been made Speaker instead of Lucien - but I must agree with the Black Hand here, Lucien was better suited for the job - negotiating with potential clients is a rather different skill from eliminating targets. The Silencer however disagreed... he complained to the Black Hand about 'rampaging orgies' at the Speaker's quarters" - Vicente rolled his eyes at the memory. "There was nothing of the sort, but nevertheless Lucien received quite a grilling. He meticulously avoided any flirtation with Sisters after that, and even moved out to Fort Farragut. The old Speaker's quarters were sealed then."

"What is Fort Farragut, actually?" - Lena remembered battling the Dark Guardians in the halls as a test of her mettle. "The Guardians in there attacked me when I had to go through it once."

"That's exactly what it is - a test" - Vicente nodded. "The Guardians in there attack anyone, not like the ones here in the Sanctuary or in the crypt."

"The crypt?" - Lena didn't remember any crypts in the Sanctuary.

"Yes, another area that the previous Speaker had sealed off and we have now opened up again. But you better ask Lucien about that" - he smiled.

Everyone at the Sanctuary seemed to be more talkative than before, more at ease, as if reopening of the pool and the crypt lifted a weight off everyone's shoulders... Strange, really, since only Vicente actually remembered those areas before they were closed off, and yet...

"It's like that business with the traitor" - Antoinette Marie suddenly looked serious. "There were rumours about a traitor for a long time - since well before you joined, you know. No one could imagine who the traitor could be, but it weighed on us... for a good reason, as it later transpired. If it weren't for you refusing that order..." - she diverted her gaze. "I don't like to think of what would have happened then."

"Yeah... it was a bad business" - Lena nodded. "So the areas that had been closed off..."

"Oh yeah - there were rumours about there being a pool and a crypt and an old Speaker's chamber, and may be a few other chambers too, but no one spoke of them, and of course it had all been sealed away... It was strange. It's like our home had secrets from us" - she smiled. "So now that it's all opened up, we are relieved, even if there are more sealed chambers to discover - but they can wait." They were standing in the central hall, and Lena suddenly noticed a new Black Door in the corner where the ladder to the well used to be. "Have you been to the crypt yet?" - Antoinetta pointed at it and Lena shook her head. "It's impressive. Our dead are above us - the exit to the surface is through there." Then she suddenly remembered it was time for her training session, and left in a hurry.

"Odd..." - thought Lena. Antoinetta Marie never missed an opportunity to gossip.

"The previous Speaker did not allow retreat" - Gogron spoke over Lena's shoulder. "The only way to fail a contract was to get killed while executing it, or else the Speaker would kill you when you were back. When Lucien took over, there were not many Brothers left in this Sanctuary, and his first task was to get recruits, Antoinetta was one of them. She failed her contracts several times, but Lucien is not like the previous Speaker - he allows you to try again. She owes him her life many times over, I think the crypt reminds her of that." Lena turned to look at Gogron, who wasn't laughing or joking as he normally would. "This Sanctuary has seen some tumultuous times under the previous Speaker. His Silencer was the same. We were glad when the Black Hand appointed Lucien to lead us instead."

"What happened to that Silencer?" Lena wondered whether it was the same Silencer who was killed just before the Purification order.

"He was killed executing a contract not long before that dreadful Purification order" - Gogron confirmed Lena's suspicion. "Say, I wonder if he had been set up... He was very experienced, you see, and there's been talk that the only way he'd go down would be if he had been murdered... by one of the Black Hand. So may be he was."

"Which would make it possible to issue that order to me..." - mused Lena. "I think you might be right."

"But you should ask Lucien about the crypt" - Gogron pointed at the Black Door. "It was his idea to reopen it." And with that he too remembered some urgent appointment and walked off.

Lena found Lucien at his desk in the newly reopened Speaker's chamber. She saw it with different eyes now.

"Oh hello" - Lucien greeted her, lifting his eyes from the papers. "Taking in the sights, I see?"

"And listening to stories" - Lena smiled, looking around.

"Ah. Well, believe it or not, it is good to have my old quarters back." Lucien didn't look apologetic. "I always regretted having to live in seclusion at Fort Farragut. Until you started showing up there, that is" - he smiled at her. "But we have no need for that now."

"Tell me about the crypt." Lena wasn't worried about Lucien's adventures so long ago. "No one would talk about it much."

"Yes, well..." - Lucien's eyes grew hard. "The reason the previous Speaker had it sealed was because a murder took place in there - one of our Brothers killed another. It wasn't discovered for weeks, but eventually the stench of a decomposing corpse permeated the entire crypt, not just the far corner where the murder took place. Then the Speaker had to find the culprit, and he tortured every Brother and Sister until one confessed. Whether it was the actual murderer or not, we'll never know, but the Speaker killed him, regardless. Then sealed the crypt."

"To prevent any further murders? That seems pointless."

"As a symbol, probably" - Lucien shrugged his shoulders. "It was a long time ago - well before I joined. But the tales are still alive."

"And the torture chambers?" - Lena realised that the torture would not have taken place in the common room or in the pool.

"I had them sealed" - Lucien looked straight at her. "I do not approve of torture of our Brothers and Sisters. There are always other ways. And I do not approve of bringing enemies into the Sanctuary, even if it is only into the dungeons. Besides, it was filled with angry wraiths last time we looked."

"The wraiths of the Brothers tortured to death in there" - Lena guessed.

"Most likely." Lucien paused, his gaze on the scrolls on the table. "Some of the old accounts in those archives leave too much unsaid" - he waved at the closed cabinets behind him. "I must assume that for every Brother with an unexplained death there is a wraith in the torture chambers." He sighed. "But the crypt is peaceful now, so we've unsealed it. The Count agreed to open up the old access through the tower in the city wall, too, and that's now the official entrance to the Sanctuary - you have to pass through the entire crypt to get to the Black Door."

"Assuming the Guardians don't cut you down first" - Lena smiled.

"Quite. And it is good for the junior members to be reminded of what it is we do, too" - Lucien looked into Lena's eyes. "And hope for the honour to be interred in the crypt when their time comes. So now your house can be a residence rather than a passage, even though assassins are still walking through the garden" - he smiled back.

"Thank you" - Lena realised just how much of it was for her benefit. "But what about the previous Speaker - where is he buried? Not in the crypt?"

"No, although he would normally have been. But since he had it sealed..." - Lucien sighed. "He was put to rest in Fort Farragut, but as those Guardians do not protect members of the Dark Brotherhood... it is a far less restful place." He looked at Lena and she knew there was more. "Whoever is interred there, will eventually rise as a Guardian as well. The Black Hand thought it was befitting after they learned of his practices of torture. Although it isn't breaking the Tenets, it does come very close to it."

"But..." - Lena realised that something was missing. "What about the Silencer? I never met him here... When was he killed?"

"After you joined, if that's what you are wondering" - Lucien gave her a long look. "Yes, he was probably murdered, and probably by Mathieu Bellamont, but we have no proof of that. He died on a contract, but when I came after that target later, the target claimed I was the first assassin to come after him... And he wasn't that much of a challenge. You're right - things don't add up." Lucien shook his head. "The body of Sarek - the Silencer - was dismembered, but the face was left recognisable, undoubtedly on purpose. We buried him in the nearest crypt - he isn't in ours, as he should have been." He paused, remembering. "As to why you never met him here... He resented me being made the Speaker, and although he followed my orders without any issues, he moved out of the Sanctuary even before me."

It seemed that the Dark Brotherhood was riddled with internal politics just like any organisation... Lena sighed at the thought. Lucien the Speaker was sitting before her, and she started to realise that his fame within the Brotherhood didn't just come from his skill as an assassin - a lot of it came from his actions for his Sanctuary, from picking up the pieces left by the previous Speaker, to navigating through the Purification crisis, then avoiding the Thalmor during the Great War, and finally reopening portions of the past that had been sealed away, while keeping the wraiths from roaming the halls... and all without losing a single member. No wonder then that this Sanctuary was a family like no other, and Lena was glad to be a part of it. She smiled and was about to leave Lucien to his work when he pointed at a lectern on his desk.

"Well, now that we are all back where we should be, Silencer" - he looked up at her. "This lectern is where I put more complex contracts - Silencer contracts, your contracts. They are not under immediate time pressure, or I would tell you about it, but of course they need doing without too much delay. Check in when you are back from Skyrim." He was giving her a few weeks' leave, but then it was back to work, Sister. Life was making sense again.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:13 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Chapter 4

Travels and Revelations

21-23 Last Seed, 4E202 - Kingscrest Cavern - Dive Rock - Uderfrykte

"Are we finally ready to leave?" - Lena looked at Hauk and Garrus with a trace of impatience. It was well past midday, and they were still in Cheydinhal, although their packs were stuffed with food and drink, and Garrus was still caressing his new Silver Ebony claymore and a steel crossbow. "All right, let's go!"

They mounted their horses and went North - Lena wanted to start at Dive Rock.

"Isn't it an awfully steep climb?" - asked Garrus. "Every adventurer passing by Cheydinhal claims to have been there, yet none can explain how they got up."

"Well, I've been there just last month" - Lena turned to him. "Roach didn't like the climb, yet climb she did, and your horses will do it too. There's a small camp there and I found a journal telling a sorry tale about some unholy beast - a Matron of some sort."

"Uderfrykte Matron?" - Hauk looked up. "Are you sure?"

"No, but it sounds about right" - Lena nodded. "Some Nord monster."

"It's an old tale, that one" - whistled Hauk. "But like all tales, there could be some truth to it. We should go see."

But before they could get to Dive Rock, they got distracted by a cave and decided to investigate, even though it was already getting late in the day.

"Well, how long can it possibly take?" - reasoned Garrus. "It's just a cave. We'll be out in an hour or two."

Kingscrest Cavern wasn't just a cave, however. It was large, sprawling, filled with beasts and partially submerged. It also contained a wilted forest.

"A forest? Inside a cave? How could this happen?" - wondered Lena looking around, while Garrus was having the time of his life fishing, or rather fighting slaughterfish in the water. He took off his ebony armour and was diving in and out of the lake punching the fish.

Then in one of the nooks of that cave they stumbled upon an Orc Adventurer.

"We go out searching for treasure to bring back to Orsinium" - he explained. "To make it great again." They chatted a bit longer, then parted ways. Or so they thought. The Orc actually followed them, and as soon as they looted the next chest, he attacked.

"Whaaa-?" - Hauk was bringing up the rear and got the hit of the Orc's claymore. "Am I supposed to be impressed?" He summoned a Xivilai and stood back letting it tackle the Orc. Lena and Garrus turned around, Lena reaching for a throwing star and Garrus readying his claymore... But none of it was necessary - Hauk already got the Orc with a shot from his crossbow. "You've got to be kidding me" - he muttered, going through the Orc's pockets. "He hasn't got much by way of loot, and all the chests here were locked - I guess he waited for you to pick the locks and then thought to get the loot off us" - he turned to Lena. "Stupid, really. But I like his claymore" - he turned over the enchanted Dwarven weapon in his hands. "And how's this?" - he pulled on the Orc's helmet making Lena and Garrus burst out with laughter. "What?"

"You look silly in that" - Lena managed to say through giggles. "Take it off." Hauk didn't need to be asked twice.

22 Last Seed

It took them nearly twenty hours to go through the cave and there was no place to rest there, so they just kept going, munching on sandwiches and sipping mead between the fights. The afternoon was growing to a close when they finally came out - the afternoon of the following day.

"There's a camp just up the hill" - said Lena mounting Roach. "May be we can rest there."

Aerin's camp was indeed very close by, but it wasn't empty, and although the Nord there wasn't hostile, he was also decidedly not friendly. They opted to take the climb to Dive Rock, after all the horses weren't tired.

"This is a beautiful view" - they all agreed on that. They read the journal and decided to have a look downhill in the morning.

23 Last Seed

Uderfrykte Matron turned out to be a mighty troll. A really mighty troll - she really made them work for it. But kill her they did, then looked around finding many bones, armour and weapons strewn around. This was one evil troll.

"Well, that's done" - Hauk said with satisfaction. "No one will be eaten by that ugly troll any more."

They headed back to Dive Rock where they had left their horses, but Lena spotted something red a little downhill. Another corpse?

"Why, but this is Herminia Cinna!" - she exclaimed in surprise. "Whatever was she doing here?"

"Who is Herminia Whatever?" - Garrus and Hauk stared at her.

"She was a collector of Ayleid antiquities from the Imperial City" - Lena explained. "She was the one who had the Crown of Nenalata and wanted me to bring a different crown to Umbacano" - she turned to Hauk, reminding him of that story. "I never imagined she'd done any adventuring of her own!"

"And obviously she should not have tried" - he nodded with regret.

They returned to Dive Rock only to find that same fellow from Aerin's camp there waiting for them.

"Is anything the matter?" - Lena asked him in surprise.

"No, nothing, just taking in the sights" - he replied rather absent-mindedly.

Lena shook her head. "Strange" - she thought. They mounted their horses and started a careful descent. The sights were remarkable indeed though, with Cheydinhal in the distance and the Chapel of Arkay standing tall and proud.

It was already dark when they got to Aerin's camp again, and now it was deserted. The wind died down and it started to snow. The stayed the night.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: May 13 2024, 05:09 PM

[Renee]

Post 45 -- The scene with the three kitty sisters is cute. Always fun listening to their banter as we speak to each one.

A voice in Lena's head said: "Just give her the money and skip the tomb visit." But Lena brushed it aside - skip the tomb visit? What a strange idea!

Skip the tomb? That is a strange idea!

The part when Garrus starts punching cracked me up a bit. It's always odd when NPCs do that. I particularly get annoyed though, when it's an archer whom my character wants to just stand at a distance and fire arrows, yet he or she rushes into the fray and is now getting pummeled by MY character as we don't expect this archer to suddenly be in front of us. Your in-game explanation (Garrus wants to save his weapon from degradation) makes sense, though.

Good she gave Biene the entire set of ceremonial armor.


Post 46: They are going to Fort Sutch. Sutch, the town one Bethesda never got around to adding back when the game was in development. There was some explanation in-game for why it didn't get added, but I forget what it was.

Whistling for horses is awesome.

Lena definitely isn't the first to feel disappointment with Traven. There used to be entire discussions devoted to him, his decisions, and his policies.

Ha, here it is! She's meeting Rowley. Wow, I love that conversation Lena has with him. Very displeased, she is.

Seems like she got rid of him, according to what she says to Lucien later. If so, all three of my current OB characters are thankful.

[Lena Wolf]

Ha, here it is! She's meeting Rowley. Wow, I love that conversation Lena has with him. Very displeased, she is.

Seems like she got rid of him, according to what she says to Lucien later. If so, all three of my current OB characters are thankful.

Yeah, that Rowley was a piece of work... Of course he had to be "taken care of", but his corpse will never be found, although the slaughterfish in Lake Rumare are getting very fat this time of year, I hear...

So now Lena is stuck with this slave at the Deepscorn Hollow, and she can't just get rid of him... that would be wrong, you see. Hmm...

Garrus is very fond of punching things, it appears. Guards are especially trained in hand-to-hand combat, I hear, for the purpose of breaking up drunken brawls. Dead criminals rarely pay their fines, you see.

[Lena Wolf]

24-26 Last Seed, 4E202 - Skyrim Temple - Greenwall - Deadlands

"So, what's the plan?" - asked Garrus in the morning when they all crawled out of the little tents at Aerin's camp. "I know you said we'd go North, but that's a bit vague... We are 'North' already."

"I don't have a plan" - admitted Lena. "'North' is as good as it gets."

They had a bite to eat for breakfast, mounted their horses and rode... North.

24 Last Seed

To take it easy on the horses, they decided to stick to the road, as long as there was one. They turned left just before the Ancestor Moth monastery and some time after came to a very long staircase going up to a peculiar looking ruin.

"That's Shivering Isles architecture, but what is it doing here?" - wondered Lena.

"Well, you know the answer to that!" - grinned Hauk, starting the climb the stairs.

Skyrim Temple was a Nordic crypt housing draugr, skeevers, necromancers and bandits, with more draugr and skeevers appearing from everywhere. The footing was treacherous on ice-covered surfaces - it was easy to slip or get stuck between the rocks, which happened to everyone many times, fortunately also including the enemies. Eventually they came out on the other side - the crypt turned out to be a passage. There they found a bandit camp, and as it was getting late and the sun had already set, they decided to spend the night there.

25 Last Seed

"Look - that way is Skyrim" - Lena stood on a platform facing North. "The Northern route goes West towards Bruma here, but this descent doesn't look too bad - we could go into Skyrim and look around."

"I thought you've been to Skyrim before" - Garrus looked at her with suspicion. "What's this about 'looking around'?"

"This doesn't go into Skyrim proper" - chimed in Hauk. "This is just the Southern edge of it. In Skyrim you'd be in the Rift, which means birches and aspen trees, but all you see here is firs - so that's just between the border and the Rift. I doubt you will find much of interest there" - he turned to Lena.

"You are probably right" - she nodded, starting the descent. Hauk and Garrus exchanged glances, sighed, whistled for horses and followed.

They rode for much of the day not seeing anything other than trees and snow foxes, but they found a road going North, which they followed. It led them to a small village called Greenwall where thankfully there was an inn, so they stopped there for the night. The locals were friendly enough, if a little suspicious of outsiders - "You keep your nose out of our business, and we'll keep ours out of yours" seemed to be the mantra. So after a good rest, Lena, Hauk and Garrus saddled their horses in the morning and rode... North.

26 Last Seed

The road meandered through the woods for some time longer, and they passed a few other small villages and a logging site, which was the biggest village so far - it housed the workers and the offices, and even had a guard tower. From there the road turned East and the sky coloured red.

"What on Nirn is going on?" - Garrus pointed at the sky. "That doesn't look like Aurora Borealis."

"This isn't Aurora Borealis" - Hauk shook his head. "It looks like there's a fire..."

"I've seen this before" - said Lena, spurring on Roach. "And if it is what I think it is, it isn't good."

The fire that Hauk spoke of, must have been really big, because the sky just kept getting darker, and now not just the Eastern quarter of it but the entire sky above them was red, with black clouds and orange shots of lightening crossing it. The fire seemed to be raging on top of a hill to their right - a hill with a staircase on its side. Garrus spotted some charred tree trunks on top.

"Whatever settlement was there, has gone up in flames, it seems" - he said, shaking his head. But Lena was already rushing up the stairs, casting fire protection spells, her sword at the ready. "Isn't she overreacting?" - Garrus turned to Hauk with surprise. "Surely, the fire would have consumed everything by now."

"I don't think it's an ordinary fire" - Hauk started casting his own shield spells. "And she seems intent on putting it out."

They scrambled after Lena who was already at the top of the hill fighting something.

"Just a snow leopard" - she shrugged at them, sheathing her sword. "There's no one here."

"Of course there would not be, I told you..!" - started Garrus, then stopped mid-sentence. They stood among burned down houses with the fire still raging ahead - all around an Oblivion gate.

"Come on" - Lena jerked her head towards it.

There may not have been any daedra outside the Oblivion gate, but there were certainly plenty of them inside.

"Wow!" - Garrus' eyes lit up with excitement. "Just like during the Oblivion Crisis!"

"Imagining yourself being the Hero of Kvatch and Bruma, are you?" - Hauk nudged him in the side. "Well, you better watch out - it's harder than it looks. Ouch!" - a fireball from a nearby spinning tower hit him and he cursed, casting healing spells. A spider daedra in the distance noticed their presence shooting a shock spell, a xivilai came from behind wringing his hands. Garrus smirked, taking up his claymore - he absorbed all the spells and was ready to engage. "Atronach" - Hauk shook his head, still healing himself. Lena cloaked and was closing in on the spider daedra - it was no time to play heroics. She summoned a clannfear and slashed at the spider almost in one movement - the spider was surprised and paused for a moment, preparing to release the spiderlings, no doubt, but Hauk's silver bolt interrupted her, and soon she fell. Of course there was still the xivilai that Garrus was dancing with, xivilai's clannfear that was now ramming Hauk, and a storm atronach that came from around the corner, and let's not forget several spinning towers throwing fireballs at everything and all. Lena tried not to get hit by the spells, suddenly feeling the full force of the curse of the Apprentice. At least there were no wraiths here - having her vampirism triggered amid all that lava would have been problematic, to say the least - she remembered vividly being burned from within every time she set foot into the Deadlands of Mehrunes Dagon back in the time of the Oblivion Crisis. But that was two centuries ago... "What is this gate doing here now?" - she wondered, but a stray fireball hit her flat in the face and she fell, knocked out, rolling dangerously close to the edge of a lava pool...

"Ouch" - she got up gingerly, trying to stay in cover from any further fireballs - the heat of lava was intense but her healing was stronger. Still, she got out of there as quickly as she could, looking for another cover.

"Are you all right?" - Hauk caught up with her. "Don't just stand there - fireballs!" - he pushed her to the side just in time, taking a hit himself. Even Garrus was getting singed - he could not absorb that many hits.

"What do we do?" - he turned to her with newly found respect. "Back out or..?"

"No, we are not going back out" - Lena shook her head. "This way!" - she pointed at a tower just visible in the red mist. Hauk and Garrus followed.

...

"So, what are we doing here?" - Garrus hoped Lena had a plan. They've dispatched the daedra on the lower level of the tower and Lena seemed ready to go all the way to the top, but Garrus could not see the point of it.

"One of the towers in this area of the Deadlands should have a Sigil Stone that holds the gate open" - explained Lena. "At least this is how it was during the Oblivion Crisis. We find it, grab it, and the gate collapses, spitting us out back in Mundus - in theory."

"In theory" - Garrus whistled. "Sounds encouraging. Has it always worked like that?" - he looked at Lena with suspicion.

"No" - she had to admit. "Sometimes it would spit you out in another part of the Deadlands... and sometimes... well, often... you would be alone... But we've always eventually found each other afterwards" - she looked at him brightly.

"Riiight..." - Garrus checked the edge of his claymore. "Well, let's get going then."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 03:15 PM

[Lena Wolf]

26-27 Last Seed, 4E202 - Deadlands - Mammoths

"Oh wow, look at that!" - Garrus was clearly enjoying himself. "And what's this?"

"Drink" - said Hauk. Lena shot him a glance but drank. "It's a blood fountain" - he added, turning to Garrus. "Adapted for non-vampires. Drink - the fight is still long."

"No! I am not drinking blood!" - Garrus protested with indignation.

"You do if you want to stay alive" - retorted Hauk, leaning to the fountain and drinking. "It's not the time to be squeamish."

Garrus looked at him with horror, but he must have seen the wisdom in his words because he too drank.

"All right, I've tasted worse" - he grinned. "But why exactly are they trying to keep us alive?"

"They are not, that's for the dremoras and xivilai, but it sustains mortals as well."

"So the blood is actually..." - Garrus' face contorted with horror again.

"Mortal, yes" - Hauk's eyes were hard. "But it's processed. You are not a cannibal."

"I no longer regret to have missed the Oblivion Crisis" - said Garrus through his teeth. "Let's keep going. Where is this Sigil Stone?"

...

The tower had many floors, with ever increasing defences. Where they encountered beasts on the lower levels, they now had to deal with groups of xivilai led by a dremora mage. Lena was mostly staying out of the spells and with good reason - a single hit would knock her out, they were that strong.

"How on Nirn did you manage it back then, on your own?" - Garrus wondered helping her up.

"With difficulty" - she admitted. "I used stealth a lot and tried to avoid fighting, although it wasn't always possible... Let's go" - she cut herself off, it wasn't her favourite topic.

They climbed another level, and there it was: the Sigil Stone.

"Right, this is what we came for" - Lena turned to her companions. "Stay close and hold on to me when I grab it."

They stood among the burned down houses again, but the fire had completely disappeared.

"It worked, we're back" - Lena smiled at them. "How long were we in there?" She looked at the sky - it was dusk. "What day is it?"

"Day?" - Garrus was surprised. "Why, the same day as when we went in, surely?"

"Not necessarily" - Hauk looked at Lena with understanding. "Time passes differently in other realms. We should find someone to ask."

It was midnight when they reached Sungard - the woodcutters' settlement. They hoped to stay the night at the workers' house but were told to leave. "We are not an inn! Go to Greenwall" - was the reply.

So they rode on.

27 Last Seed

About half way to Greenwall in the middle of the wilderness the dark night sky suddenly turned red - another Oblivion gate sprang open. Wild beasts turned onto each other, nightmarish creatures came out of nowhere - giant spiders and giant snakes. A herd of mammoths rushed down the mountain attacking everything in their way, followed by a pack of wolves attacking the mammoths...

"What on Nirn has just happened?!" - shouted Garrus who was falling asleep in the saddle from exhaustion moments earlier. The horses bolted and ran off.

"Spread out and run!!!" - shouted Hauk, and that's what they did, heading towards Greenwall and trying to stay close to the road so as not to get lost.

The mammoths turned their attention to the wolves, spiders and snakes and lost sight of three humans running away from the fight. The road made a few turns, and suddenly darkness fell, complete with a starry sky.

"Wow! Is it all over?" - Garrus slowed down, looking back. Hauk was catching up without much effort but Lena... well... she was on her last legs, but still running. "Gosh, you look tired!" - Garrus caught her as she decided to just drop on the ground then and there.

"Getting knocked out has its price" - she managed, breathing hard.

"Watch out!!!" - screamed Hauk, summoning a clannfear. "We are not done yet!" One last mammoth was thundering down the road after them. But at least it was just one mammoth, not half a dozen as before.

Thump!

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall - or something like that" - Lena grinned, having touched the mammoth with a paralysis spell. "They do make for a lot of steaks!"

"Let's hope we won't have horse meat for dinner as well" - said Hauk grimly. "I like Luna."

They whistled for the horses and listened for the sound of hooves, and sure enough all three horses appeared from behind the trees. With a huge sigh of relief, they got into the saddles. It was dawn.

"I want to go back and see whether the Oblivion gate is still up there" - said Lena, not looking at her companions.

"What - now?!" - Hauk didn't think it was a good idea. "We should ride to Greenwall and sleep for two days straight!"

"Yes, now, and Greenwall can wait" - Lena looked at him and he saw that she was serious. "Did that Oblivion gate just disappear? I need to know. There was nothing there just last morning, no gate, no spiders, no mammoths, no wolves. Where did it all come from?"

They retraced their steps almost all the way to Sungard, but there was no Oblivion gate anywhere, just a lot of dead animals - wolves, leopards and spiders, but no snakes. A herd of mammoths was grazing on the slopes, they rode carefully past and the mammoths did not attack.

"They are not suicidal, you know" - said Hauk. "But they do panic easily, so it's best they don't see any fighting."

"Like giant snakes attacking giant spiders - yeah, I can see how that would be upsetting" - smirked Garrus. But jokes aside, it was rather disconcerting that the nightmare just vanished without a trace.

"Vaermina?" - Lena wondered aloud.

"We'll need to ask around" - nodded Hauk.

Finally they reached Greenwall. It was nearly midday.

-----------

Skyrim is mostly TWMP Skyrim Improved with all the dependencies. The Oblivion gates and the animals are certainly theirs! And this is just by the border..! Do we dare to venture further in?

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 04:37 PM

[Lena Wolf]

27-28 Last Seed, 4E202 - Oblivion gates of Skyrim

"Stay here, I'm going to investigate a few things" - Lena told Hauk and Garrus. "No, I've slept enough" - she cut off Hauk's protests. "I'll go quietly and try not to spook the mammoths." She turned around and was gone.

"She's gone to see if that Oblivion gate would reopen again" - Garrus noted quite unnecessarily. "It's like she feels personally responsible for it..."

"That's because she does feel personally responsible for it" - Hauk looked at him sideways, refilling his mead. "She closed hundreds of gates during the Crisis. Most people would run away from them, she would run in. Now that habit got re-awakened."

"But why would she do it? We closed that one gate, and promptly another sprung up!"

"Yes, that was odd" - Hauk nodded. "This is how it was during the Oblivion Crisis, but of course there was a reason for it then. I wonder what is going on now."

"How do you know so much about the Oblivion Crisis and the gates?" - Garrus suddenly realised that Hauk could not have lived through it. "Weren't you born much later?"

"Indeed, I'm only 51 - in actual years" - he smirked. "The Oblivion Crisis - I read about it, talked to people who went through it, there are actually quite a lot of them around still, but they don't like to talk about it much, understandably so. As for the gates... they didn't completely vanish after the Crisis was over - and you see them here again. I closed a few myself."

"Wow!" - the innkeep overheard that last sentence and was now offloading food and drink on their table. "Wait... I've heard of you. The Specialist."

"Is that what they call it?" - Hauk grinned.

"We do have Mehrunes Dagon's gates popping up here and there, they never really stopped popping up in Skyrim, in spite of all the shielding" - the innkeep explained, turning to Garrus. "No one knows why really. It stopped for a while during the Great War, but then restarted again. The Legion has been keeping on top of it - that's something that Stormcloaks don't realise, that they will have to take over that duty if they win the war."

"At least we didn't have a dragon swoop in onto us yesterday as well" - Garrus shook his head. "So what's with the Specialist?" - he looked at Hauk and the innkeep in turn.

"Someone who specialises in closing Oblivion gates" - the innkeep shrugged his shoulders. "And other sensitive business." He finished taking roast off the spit and placed a well-laden plate in front of Hauk. "Your dinner, Optio" - he smiled.

"Thank you" - Hauk winked at him. "Yes, I've closed a few gates as and when they appeared" - he turned to Garrus who was now admiring his own well-laden plate. "But I wasn't aware of any trouble in this area. Was that development quite recent?" - he asked the innkeep.

"Fairly" - he nodded. "But mostly these are not ordinary gates - they come and go. We couldn't call the Legion for help because they keep shifting and moving, it's a nightmare, really. And always at night. We barely leave our houses after nightfall."

"But it seems to be quiet during the day" - Hauk looked up from his roast. "We rode for two days or so without running into anything more threatening than a fox."

"That's right, but gates bring other curses with them... werewolves, trolls, giant spiders, monsters of all kinds the likes of which we don't normally see... Not your usual daedra either..."

"And Lena went into the night to investigate!" - Garrus exclaimed with worry. "Should we go after her?"

"No" - Hauk shook his head. "She'll be better off on her own. She'll cloak and sneak about and hopefully see something without getting into any fights at all."

28 Last Seed

"Well? It took you a while!" - Hauk greeted Lena when she returned in the evening of the following day. "What did you discover?"

"I found the gate" - she told them. "It was further off the road than we thought. I went in and closed it. It was lucky this wasn't the one we went in together - it took a long time to get to the tower - the right tower, there were two others."

"But it's done now" - Hauk motioned the innkeep for another tankard of mead for her.

"Yeah..." - she nodded, relaxing. "Oh, you know those giant snakes?" - they nodded. "They are not aggressive, it appears. They were just wound up by all the fighting around them."

They chatted a bit longer, and finally Lena had to admit that she was much too tired and had to rest. Adventuring could wait until tomorrow.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 04:37 PM

[Renee]

Post 47: nice, look at Hauk's armor! So golden and glittery. The mobs will get distracted as they are blinded by its glorious, perfect shine.

You described the Arena fight well. Oh gosh. What a crazy summon at the very end.

They bathe at the end.

Post 50: Aw, they can't stay at Cropsford. I love Imperial Bridge Inn, and so do my characters. That place is magical when the sun's setting.

Yes that is the question: what exactly are Hauk and Lena? Are they a pair? Or just conveniently they sometimes get closer than usual? Their explanation is best, I suppose. Things... happen sometimes.

[Lena Wolf]

Yes that is the question: what exactly are Hauk and Lena? Are they a pair? Or just conveniently they sometimes get closer than usual? Their explanation is best, I suppose. Things... happen sometimes.

I posted a cameo #12 in the shorties thread which didn't make it into the main story.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Oct 6 2021, 02:02 PM

[Lena Wolf]

29 Last Seed, 4E202 - The Rift

"Tomorrow we'll go West" - said Lena yawning. They were staying at the Greenwall Inn and wanted to get to Riverwood and possibly go on to Falkreath. "Look - I marked some of the villages that we passed" - she spread a map on the table.

click to enlarge

"Look at all these crypts along the border!" - Garrus exclaimed with excitement. "The innkeep tells me the draugr in there are really tough!"

"And how is that a good thing?" - Hauk looked at him suspiciously. "Haven't you had enough fighting undead in Cyrodiil already?"

"We'll see tomorrow" - Lena shook her head and went to bed.

The next morning the weather was beautiful and they could see The Rift in all its glory.

"So, which way to Riverwood?" - asked Garrus. "North through Sungard or South and then West through the mountains?"

They didn't know. They decided to try North, riding the way they came two days ago. Some mammoths were still grazing on the slopes, but since Lena had closed the Oblivion gate, they hoped to see little trouble on the way. Well... up until they ran into half a dozen of werewolves.

The fighting was intense mostly because the werewolves went for the horses, the horses bolted and everyone ended up chasing everyone else. The werewolves weren't wearing armour though and easily outran the humans and the horses both. They could knock you out with one swipe, too...

So by the time the fighting was over, it was well past midday and our party was still near Greenwall. Besides, two of the horses had been knocked out and needed healing...

"We won't get very far this way" - Lena examined everyone's wounds. "We should go back to the inn and try again tomorrow."

They walked back to Greenwall, leading the horses along.

"But what about this crypt?" - Garrus pointed at an entrance near a wayshrine. "How bad can those draugr be?" - he shrugged, pushing a heavy door.

"They can be pretty bad" - cursed Lena facing half a dozen draugr in a cramped burial chamber. Garrus had been already knocked out and Hauk was fighting his own draugr squad behind her.

...

"All right, you have a point" - Garrus rose to his feet massaging a massive bump on his head. "If we want to get to Riverwood, we should get up early tomorrow and avoid any werewolves, Oblivion gates or Nordic crypts."

"Wiser words have never been spoken" - nodded Hauk, not really expecting such a sensible turn of events.

"And anyway - what's in Riverwood?" - Garrus looked at Lena with a question. "I thought you wanted to go North?"

"Yes, well, it's North, sort of" - Lena smiled. "But with all the monsters around, I thought we should check there."

"Yes, he's there" - Hauk said in her ear. "The innkeep told me." And then turning to Garrus he added: "The witcher is in Riverwood - the White Wolf, Lena's brother."

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

I am working on Southern Skyrim updates for TWMP Skyrim Improved. I've been planting trees all day yesterday replacing frosty pines by birches and aspen trees in The Rift! Because, you know, Hauk is right - it's not The Rift without birches...

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 04:38 PM

[macole]

13 Last Seed, 4E202 - Traven and Mannimarco
"And so both Hannibal Traven and Mannimarco are dead" - Caranya said, standing over their bodies. "As dead as they can be, anyway."

Sorry for having fallen so far behind. I've just finished reading your adventure with Mannimarco and Traven. Very exciting and well done. Much better than the original Mages Guild ending.

This post has been edited by macole: Oct 10 2021, 05:21 AM

[Lena Wolf]

Thanks, Macole! Traven and Mannimarco are both dead... but what of the Mages Guild? Who will be the new Arch Mage? Which policies will they issue? Hold on to your hats...

[Lena Wolf]

30 Last Seed, 4E202 - The way to Riverwood

"Time to get up!" - Lena nudged Garrus awake at dawn. "Let's see if we can get to Riverwood before the nightfall with all the monsters."

"All right, let's get going" - Hauk got up too. "North or South West?"

"Let's try the Northern route again" - decided Lena.

...

"So, this is where we closed the first Oblivion gate" - Garrus pointed up the hill. "It seems quiet there now."

They made the climb to Riften Watch just to be sure. Yes, all was quiet.

"The barracks are all burned down of course, but we are back anyhow" - a guard greeted them. "Someone went in and closed that gate even before we had time to call in the Legion. The Jarl put out a bounty on the Sigil Stones - the steward will pay you a hefty sum for each one, even if the gates were not in The Rift." He gave Lena a meaningful look.

"What makes you think we have any Sigil Stones?" - she said with suspicion.

"Oh, nothing" - the guard rolled his eyes. "A wild guess. Three adventurers stand before me - a battlemage, a warrior and a stealthy type - perhaps an assassin. They climbed all the way up to this hill while the devastation is plain to see from below. Every normal person would walk away, they walk in. The battlemage and the warrior have Legion training - I can tell just by the way you stand!" - he smirked at Garrus who started making disbelieving noises. "The stealthy type..." - he looked Lena over. "Well, I don't know what you are exactly, but that's Nightingale attire" - he smiled broadly. "You know Karliah? She sends her regards" - he winked. "You are in Riften - welcome. Go see the Jarl's steward at the Keep" - he pointed East. "Shadow hide you."

"Oh" - Lena smiled back. "I suppose we're quite obvious."

Hauk laughed, clapping the guard on the shoulder.

"Good to see you're trained as well as we are" - Garrus put out his hand. "I'm with Cheydinhal City Guard."

"Welcome, Captain" - the guard shook his hand. "Yeah, it shows..."

They chatted for a while about this and that, looking over Riften from the Watch. The Keep was set into the mountain side - there were rumours of Dwemer catacombs going deep into the rock. The town itself nestled around a lake, with most houses backing into the slopes.

"We'll have to visit the town another time" - noted Lena looking at the sun about to plunge into the lake. "We are trying to get to Riverwood, and we were hoping to find a route from these parts somehow..."

"For Riverwood you are too far East" - the guard shook his head. "Head back the way you came and follow the road to Nimalten City - which is a small farming village and no city at all" - he smirked. "Hire a guide there to take you to Riverwood - he knows hidden mountain passes and you'll arrive within a few hours."

"Mountain passes!" - exclaimed Lena. "Of course... We tried to find our own way across the mountains, but couldn't."

"Well, those guides must make a living somehow" - the guard winked. "They know which passes are relatively safe and which are sure death traps to stay away from. They are not marking any of this on your map either, don't bother asking. And you'll never find it yourself even after you've walked with them a few times."

That certainly matched Lena's experience. Whenever she'd been sent to one or the other cave or crypt, finding a way through the mountains was always a task worthy a Dovakiin. Or a local mountain guide, as it appeared.

...

In the meantime the sun kept sinking, so Lena, Hauk and Garrus hurried back to Nimalten City where they hired a guide to Riverwood, arriving a few hours later. Evenings were busy in Riverwood, with the hunters back in the village and the farmers done with the day's work. The place was buzzing with activity, in particular around the inn.

"Welcome to The Sleeping Giant Inn!" - they heard a familiar voice as they entered. "Come on in - I've got a clean mug here somewhere..." - Orgnar rummaged under the counter. "We've got mead and rooms, I cook - there isn't much else to tell. See Delphine if you want to sell werewolf meat, she's got a use for that" - he grinned. "You won't find it in my cooking though."

"Thank Akatosh for that!" - grinned Hauk, taking a seat next to Camilla Valerius and winking at her. "How have you been, Orgnar?"

"Fine, fine" - Orgnar grinned back, busying himself with food and drink. "Who's the Imperial?" - he nodded at Garrus.

"Oh he's all right" - Hauk smiled reassuringly. "He's new to Skyrim but he knows the world isn't black and white. Captain of the Guard in Cheydinhal. But you know who the Count of Cheydinhal is? Andel Indarys."

"A Dark Elf? Say no more" - Orgnar nodded.

And while Hauk and Garrus went about sampling Orgnar's cooking with due attention, Lena looked around for her brother. The White Wolf was playing Gwent with a couple of hunters, and judging by the broad grins on their faces, it was a brilliant time to pull him away from the card table.

"Geralt!" - Lena made a theatrical appearance. "Back with Sven's mother, I see?" - she winked at the hunters who chuckled, folding the cards. The game was over.

"Not with Sven's mother, but I am staying at her house, yes" - Geralt put away his purse, although there didn't seem to be anything worth putting away in it. "And what brings you here, little sister?"

"Oh, this and that" - Lena winked, taking his hand and leading him away from the table. "We need to catch up. In private."

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

Geralt's apparance, weapons, armour and signs are courtesy Classic Witcher based on Witcher 2.

In TWMP Skyrim Improved there aren't many land routes between different inhabited areas. Instead, you have to find a guide and he'll take you where you want to go (fast travel). The mountain ridges in between are very steep, quite impossible to climb, not even with Shadowmere or a mountain goat. Clearly, the guides take you through mountain passes, but there aren't any built. I plan to change that. Since I'm currently just exploring Southern Skyrim, I shall build some passes connecting The Rift and Falkreath Hold. Riverwood is in Falkreath Hold here because Whiterun is more to the North East compared to Skyrim The Game. I might change it later, especially since there's no Whiterun city in TWMP Skyrim Improved. And no Riften, either, which is my current building project, now that Riverwood is done.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 04:39 PM

[Lena Wolf]

30-31 Last Seed, 4E202 - Catching up with Geralt

"Geralt! Back in Riverwood, are you?" - Lena embraced her brother. "I thought you were building a house on the moor?"

"It is being built" - Geralt nodded. "I don't have to supervise though. I'm a witcher, not a builder" - he winked. "And there are monsters here in need of my attention."

"Monsters awakened by the Oblivion gates - we've heard" - Lena nodded. "Werewolves and trolls and such."

"As well as rampaging ice worms and mammoths" - chimed in Garrus who was watching Geralt with rapt attention.

"That's just wild life spooked by the fighting" - Geralt turned to him. "I try not to fight wild life."

"'Try to' being the keyword here" - grinned Hauk. "We tried too, but that mammoth was set on trampling us to death."

"You've got to calm it first, of course" - Geralt smiled. "I thought you mages knew the spell... Oh wait - you're a battlemage."

"Touché!" - laughed Hauk. "I never thought of calming it..."

The tavern was getting loud with tales of hunting the mammoths while avoiding being trampled to death by the rest of the herd. After a while, Lena got up and tugged on Geralt's sleeve.

"We need to catch up - in private" - she shot a glance at Hauk - you know this already. Hauk nodded in understanding.

"Well, there's always Sven's mother's house - she gave me the attic, says it's good to have a man around the house again. I don't think Sven likes this very much" - he grinned. "Let's go."

"Isn't she talking your ear off with her praise of Sven?" - asked Lena on the way.

"She is, but he's still a little boy to her, she doesn't see him as a grown man, you know" - Geralt shrugged. "I wouldn't exactly call him mature either, but he's not a little boy."

"Is he still trying to impress Camilla with his poetry?"

"Not after you put a stop to it" - Geralt grinned. "It's open rivalry now between him and Faendal, to everyone's amusement - neither of them can fight, although Faendal is a fine marksman. Trouble is, it's no use in a fist fight."

Lena was glad to see that Riverwood was still a lively place.

Sven's mother's attic was set up as a large guest room not just with a bed but also with its own dining table, and Lena had to admit that aside of having to listen to Hilde's praise of her boy, this was a very comfortable place to stay. Geralt got drinks out of the cupboard and gestured her to the table.

"You look like you are about to burst with all the things you want to tell me" - he said, grinning. "So let's hear it, little sister."

Geralt didn't wear heavy armour, but he was sitting across the table from Lena, and was thus protected from sudden punches under the ribs. Lena had to settle on glaring at him instead.

"I found a letter from our father - to both of us. I found the fortress where he was stationed. He might still be alive. Lucien and I... I don't know what exactly... but I chose him. Also, I am pregnant."

"Whoa! Slow down!" - Geralt sat back in his chair. "Yes, I see the need to catch up. Who's the father?"

"What?"

"Who is the father of your child?" - Geralt grinned, knowing full well that his question was confusing.

"Oh... I am not sure" - Lena blushed. "Hauk or Lucien."

"Well, that's not too bad. I'm glad you finally admitted to yourself that there has never been anyone else for you besides Lucien. It wasn't really a choice, was it?" - he looked at her with his penetrating gaze.

"But when we were at Lake View..." - Lena hesitated. "You told me to leave him alone!"

"I told you not to toy with him, that's not the same. Also, I asked you about your feelings, and you couldn't answer."

"That's also what Hauk said..." - Lena nodded. "It is strange really that he and you and possibly even Lucien should understand my feelings better than I..."

"Nothing strange about it - happens all the time" - Geralt shrugged. "The same as me and Yen."

"Have you heard from her? She isn't here yet, I take it?"

"She isn't here yet, no, but I've had a raven" - Geralt smiled. "No messages - or rather the raven itself was the message. Sent through a portal - it was reeking of magic. Yen herself will have to travel by ship though, and that takes months and months."

Lena nodded - she made the journey to the Northern Realms and back herself. The Great Maelstrom in the Middle Ocean was unpredictable - not only could it swallow ships whole, but because of the time dilation around it, you never knew how long the journey would take, assuming you survived it. It was not surprising therefore that such journeys were rare, and so Yennefer could not be expected to arrive in Skyrim quickly.

"So, to the other news then" - Geralt changed the topic. "Our father. Tell me."

"Delphine gave me some old papers - in exchange for services still to be rendered - and I followed up on them, looked around and found the fortress where our father was stationed. Wolf Asgarsen, Commander of the Second Legion charged with protecting the border crossing into Cyrodiil. I found it, found the fortress and inside it found some papers. It's not far from here - we should go and you can see it for yourself."

"Just like that?" - Geralt was amazed. "I think there's more to tell, sis."

"There is, plenty more" - Lena nodded. "But it's best told when we are there. We'll take Hauk and Garrus as well - there were a lot of Legion papers there too, Hauk will want to see those, and Garrus I expect will just enjoy the adventure."

"Garrus seems like a steady fellow" - Geralt nodded. "Who sees much, says little."

"Exactly."

31 Last Seed

The Pale Pass Fortress was set into the rock on the Northern side of the Jerall Mountains - it was all inside the rock, the only thing visible outside being a heavy iron clad door. Last time Lena was there, she sneaked past the wraiths and skeletons roaming the old halls, but with four people going in, there was no sneaking to be expected - they'd have to fight the undead. But then again, with four people that wasn't going to be a problem.

The fortress was fairly large and it took them a few hours to reach the Commander's quarters in the depth of it. The two wraiths that guarded the office put up a remarkable fight, but they too were put to rest, for a while at least. Lena showed Hauk the Commander's desk filled with Legion papers, and Hauk quickly became engrossed in them. Garrus volunteered to try and rekindle the fire in the kitchen, leaving Lena and Geralt to talk.

"This was the Commander's bedroom - our father's bedroom" - Lena led Gerrit into the room behind the office. "There is a safe behind that tapestry where I found our father's letter. It's got a blood enchantment on it, and if it is done right, you should be able to open it."

Geralt didn't have to be asked twice. He pushed away the tapestry and put his hand on the door of a small safe. The lock clicked and he retrieved a heavy scroll. [1]

...

"So... we have a name now - Wolf Asgarsen" - Geralt rolled up the scroll. "That certainly explains your last name and the choice of the witcher school for me" - he mused. "And you think he could still be alive?"

"He could be" - nodded Lena. "He would be about three hundred years old now. Too much for a regular Nord, but he was - is - Dragonborn, that changes things."

"Well... but this scroll feels old. The letter was most likely written just after the death of your adoptive grandmother, and perhaps just as the Oblivion Crisis was unfolding. It could have been what prompted him to write it. That was two hundred years ago though, he would have been just pushing hundred then - nothing unusual even for a 'regular' Nord." Geralt wasn't convinced with Lena's reasoning. "I think you are giving in to wishful thinking. I too wish he was alive, but I think he's been dead for two hundred years now, sis."

Lena was sitting on the Commander's bed, looking rather forlorn. She so wished their father could still be alive... but she had to agree with her brother's arguments - it was highly unlikely. Geralt sat down next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, at least we've found each other" - he kissed her forehead, pulling her into an embrace. "Or rather you found me" - he smiled, looking into her eyes. "Remember Flotsam? Master Witcher is still at your service." [2]

"Yes, I remember" - Lena smiled at him. "I also remember that Master Witcher was in need of my healing quite a few times. Remember Velen?" [3]

"Filthy beasts" - Geralt was reminded of the plague of ghouls spreading through the battlefields covered in corpses. "It isn't easy fighting a dozen at a time, even for a witcher."

"I want to go to Falkreath to see if there are any archives of the Second Legion" - Lena said quietly, not letting go of Geralt. "In case there are any records of where Father could be buried..."

"I'll come with you" - Geralt nodded. "But first - what about the wraiths?"

"What wraiths?"

"The two wraiths that were guarding the Commander's quarters - the wraiths of his two lieutenants that Mother had killed. They need to be put to rest."

"But we've just put them to rest?" - Lena already forgot about all the things a witcher could do, besides fighting monsters.

"No, we've just defeated them for now, they will rise again soon enough" - Geralt shook his head. "I want to put them to rest permanently."

"Oh right - with a ritual!" - now she remembered how it worked. "And you will need an object that binds them to this world... Like what? We've got nothing of theirs and nothing of our mother's that we could use..."

"We can do better than an object - you are here."

"Me?" - Lena wasn't sure where this was going.

"You witnessed it... after a fashion."

"I... Oh! The dream!" Lena remembered a strange dream she had when she fell asleep in this very room last time she was here. "But that was just a dream..." [4]

"Not just a dream - it was a memory. You were there - in your mother's belly" - Geralt was watching Lena's face, unsure how she would react. "You were there when Mother assassinated those two lieutenants, you witnessed it all. But to release the wraiths, you will have to relive the memory."

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

[1] - 24 Sun's Height, 4E202 - The letter -- Chorrol version: page 11, post #218 -- Full colour version

[2] - 12 First Seed, 4E195 - Flotsam -- Chorrol version: page 1, post #1 -- Full colour version

[3] - 28 First Seed, 4E202 - The Fade - Memories -- Chorrol version: page 4, post #63 -- Full colour version

[4] - 23 Sun's Dawn, 3E417 - Pale Pass Fortress -- Chorrol version: page 11, post #216 -- Full colour version

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 04:39 PM

[Lena Wolf]

31 Last Seed - 1 Hearthfire, 4E202 - Wraith exorcism witcher style

"Geralt wants to exorcise the two wraiths here" - Lena told Hauk and Garrus when they were all sitting comfortably at dinner in the old Pale Pass Fortress. "So we'll need to wait for them to rise again - which won't take long - but it means that you two shouldn't be here" - she looked at them in turn.

"What about you?" - Garrus raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you leave too?"

"I am a part of the ritual" - Lena looked uneasy.

"Of course - those are the wraiths of the Commander's lieutenants that your mother had assassinated" - nodded Hauk. "They are here for you and Wolf."

"This sounds dangerous" - Garrus shuddered. "But I suppose you know what you're doing." He gave Geralt a long look. "Any chance I could stay and watch? I've never seen a witcher at work - especially at exorcism."

"Sorry, no" - Geralt shook his head. "I work alone."

Garrus sighed but didn't insist.

It was getting late in the day, and with the fortress now quiet, the four of them spent the night there, with Hauk and Garrus leaving in the morning. Lena and Geralt remained to exorcise the wraiths.

1 Hearthfire

"How long do we have to wait for them to rise?" - Lena asked Geralt when they were alone.

"We don't have to wait, really" - he smiled. "We'll summon them. But first we must prepare. Since they died together, they will appear together, and fighting two wraiths should not be taken lightly, especially the ones seeking revenge against us personally." Geralt was setting out potion vials on the table. "These are for me - witcher potions" - he turned to Lena. "I've been experimenting with local flora, and I've come up with a few things. But they are lethal to non-witchers, as usual."

"Yeah, I know this smell!" - Lena uncorked one vial and sniffed it. "Deathbell, nightshade, wolfsbane and... ectoplasm?" - she looked up Geralt in disbelief. "And that's a potion?"

"For me - yes" - Geralt grinned. "This gives resistance to spectral damage - the chill, among other things, and wolfsbane prevents transformation. I drink it for protection, but you will have to drink it to start the ritual."

"But it will kill me!" - protested Lena. "All that deathbell and nightshade - I am not a witcher, remember?"

"I know - you will drink this first" - he pointed at another vial. Lena uncorked it and sniffed.

"Pure nightshade extract?" - she exclaimed. "Are you mad?!"

"I am not trying to kill you" - Geralt took her by the shoulders. "Remember the Court Wizard in Windhelm? Wuunferth the Unliving?" Lena nodded. "Do you know how old he is? And how he is managing to still stay alive?"

"No, but I expect you'll tell me" - Lena looked at Geralt suspiciously. "I do remember him needing a lot of nightshade extract."

"Nightshade extract blurs the boundary between life and death, facilitating the transition between the two. Thus it is a potent poison - if the person ingesting it remains in death. But it can equally resurrect someone who's already left life - hence its use in Necromancy. Or it can prevent someone dying by allowing them to make the transition back into life as soon as they are dead." Geralt stopped explaining, noticing Lena's confused and disbelieving look. "The best way to stay alive is simply to not die" - he smiled.

"You want me to go into the Fade" - Lena remembered when she went there to look for Hauk's spirit. "And this extract will put me there similar to Jowan's blood magic ritual. The only question is: how will I return?" She raised her eyes to Geralt's.

"There is no portal with this - not like with Jowan's ritual. You will have to come back to life before the nightshade extract wears off." Geralt met her gaze. "I won't be able to give you more - I'll be fighting the wraiths."

"All right" - Lena swallowed, steadying her shivers. "So I will actually die - like Hauk died. But Hauk returned, so I know it is possible. I will simply have to... what?.. refuse to die?"

"Exactly" - Geralt nodded. "Wuunferth does it every day."

...

Geralt tried to explain what Lena might face in the Fade once she took the nightshade extract, but Lena stopped him fairly quickly - there was no knowing what she might face exactly. The important question was how she were to summon the wraiths. But Geralt didn't have an answer to that - she would have to improvise. Find the wraiths, make them appear in Mundus and come back before the potion wears off. Simple.

"The spectre potion should help you find the wraiths in the Fade" - Geralt tried to reassure Lena. "In fact, they should be looking for you. Drink it immediately after the extract - before you fall into trance."

"Well, there's no time like the present." Lena drank both potions.

...

Lena was cold. She was floating in mid-air surrounded by frozen mist. The place was eerily quiet, even though she thought she could see movement in the distance - but may be it was just the wind curling the mist into swirls.

"Is this death?" - Lena wondered. She didn't feel dead - although of course she didn't know how that would feel.

"Ahhh, you are here!.." - a voice echoed all around her. "Finally!.."

"Where are you? Show yourself!" - Lena called, looking around. A frost spell hit her by way of an answer. The wraith. The frost would normally chill Lena to the bone and trigger her vampirism, and so she braced for the surge in her blood, but nothing happened. "Wolfsbane" - she thought. "Geralt's potion is working."

Another frost spell was coming in, and Lena was just able to see the direction where it came from before it hit her. She threw a fireball and saw a shape light up in the distance. The battle was on.

But battling the wraiths was not why she came to the Fade - and indeed she could not hope to win, for even if she defeated them, it would be most likely already too late for her to return to life. No, she had to compel these wraiths to rise in Mundus instead - and she had to do it quickly.

"What is your name?" - she asked the wraith, dodging a frost spell and moving towards it.

"My name?" - the wraith stopped throwing frost for a moment. "You don't even know my name?" Now it was enraged, shooting frost spears with renewed vigour. "Am I just a target to you as I was to your mother?"

"You weren't just a target to her, she was quite particular about your death, but your name was not in the papers" - Lena tried to speak calmly, while dodging the frost. "I wish to know the name of my father's traitor who ordered his execution by his own wife."

"They weren't married - that union would have never been blessed by Mara!" - the wraith protested, but stopped throwing frost for some reason.

"Leave Mara out of it!" - cried Lena, now facing the wraith. "Where is your partner?"

"We should finish this Wolf spawn while she stands before us!" - another voice came from behind. Lena stood between two wraiths, who suddenly resumed throwing frost at her.

"If you kill me now, my brother will make sure you'll never find peace!" - she exclaimed, desperately trying to think of something to say to them.

"Your brother? You have a brother? There is more Wolf spawn?!"

"He is in the Pale Pass Fortress, waiting for you in our father's quarters" - Lena saw her chance to get them to rise in Mundus.

This seemed to have worked. The wraiths faded and vanished, crying "Insolence!" and "You'll pay for this!", and perhaps even "Why won't you die?!", but Lena could not be sure about that one. With her task hopefully accomplished, she now needed to return to the mortal realm.

"Simply refuse to die" - she repeated Geralt's words to herself. They made so much sense at first, but now, floating in mid-air surrounded by frozen mist, they weren't helping her to find a way out.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Apr 10 2024, 05:10 PM

[Renee]

Post 53: The part when she heals Jowan with aloe is a nice touch, which hints at your first choice of a profession, Lena.

Lithnilian claims he guessed Lena's sign correctly, ha. Hmm, isn't that the mage who resides within Imperial Bridge Inn? Yep, sure is. He's the guy who rambles on and on ... something like "Ten years of research down the drain!"

Wow, his rant against Traven is spot on. I love how NPCs in Oblivion have rich little moments of dialog like this, how some are just commoners who have nothing much to say, while others really are ingrained within controversial stretches of society. I only mention this because those of us who love Oblivion used to sometimes get slammed by those who preferred earlier games. "Oblivion is shallow, all the NPCs have nothing to say but mindless banter about mudcrabs and goblins..." Which is BS. I mean, I don't know if Lithnilian actually says all the things in this chapter but I can certainly hear him doing so. Plenty other people in this game certainly do.

Whoa, Jowan has quite a tale to tell himself. Indeed, the stars don't have many answers about love and life, yet supposedly they are what created all of us.

[Lena Wolf]

Post 53: The part when she heals Jowan with aloe is a nice touch, which hints at your first choice of a profession, Lena.

Magic can only heal you so much. The real healing is done by your body.

Whoa, Jowan has quite a tale to tell himself.

Jowan is from Dragon Age Origins, and it is his story the way I played it - with the choices that I made. He screwed up so badly, there was nothing left to do but to board a ship and sail to Tamriel.