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

[Lena Wolf]

20 Morning Star, 4E203 - A favour from Mephala

"Well, mortal, you are still alive, it seems," Mephala looked Lena over. "Some bleeding here and there, but that's to be expected. Your child is still alive, too, do not worry - I wasn't trying to kill it. I promised, didn't I?" Lena could only moan in response - she was still gagged. "All right, I let you rest a bit. I'll come back later."

Mephala left the room. Lena was bound to a large bed, she was cuffed and gagged. Her bonds were loosened slightly now so that she could lie more comfortably. She wasn't wearing anything besides the bonds. A xivilai approached, bringing her wine and cleaning her wounds. Nothing serious, it seemed.

...

"I wish to summon Mephala," Lena stood at Mephala's shrine a day earlier. "I brought the worshipper that we talked about." Engorm, previously a worshipper of Sanguine, was standing behind her. His hands were bound and his feet were tied only allowing him small steps - he didn't come willingly.

"Ah, mortal, you return!" Mephala spoke through the statue. "And you brought me the other worshipper!"

There was a flash of light and Lena and Engorm found themselves in The Spiral Skein. The cavern was dark, and glowing mushrooms stood out all the better in the gloom.

"What is this?" Engorm looked around, frightened. "Mephala's Realm?"

"Indeed, mortal, previously a worshipper of Sanguine," Mephala approached them and spat at the mention of Sanguine's name. "I have plans for you. This is your new home." She snapped her fingers, and a Xivilai stepped forward from the darkness and led Engorm away. "As for you..." She walked around Lena, looking her over. "What is it you want? You need something from me, I can sense it."

"I offer you this worshipper and hope that you would hear me out," Lena said cautiously. "I do have a favour to ask of you. And only you." She looked into Mephala's eyes and tried not to blink too much. The Prince's eyes were deep blue, with moving swirls of lighter blue in them, like whirlpools in a bottomless ocean. They seemed to pull Lena in... She blinked and steadied herself, waiting for Mephala's answer.

"You have some nerve, mortal," Mephala said approvingly. "But are you prepared to pay the price for my favour? It will not be granted freely."

"Anything but my life," answered Lena. "For the favour concerns it. Or rather, the life of my unborn child."

"I see," Mephala nodded. "You wish me to protect your child - and you by extension - from Morag Tong, no doubt?" Mephala smiled, feeling sure that she guessed right.

"Yes," Lena nodded. "There is a Redguard woman - Rayenna - who will likely turn to Morag Tong with the purpose of killing my child, and possibly me. While I can stand up to her for my own life, my child is too young to do the same. Rayenna must be prevented from murdering it."

"I should ask you how you know all this, but I won't waste time on such pleasantries. You have clearly given it some thought," Mephala looked at Lena with approval. "I can delay Rayenna's actions for a time, but I will not stand in the way of her plans forever. Do you accept my offer?"

"How long is 'for a time'?"

"A month to start with. And if I am pleased with your first payment, you may come back to prolong my protection," Mephala smiled contentedly.

"So, you know of Rayenna. Is she with Morag Tong already?" Lena asked, trying to sound neutral, but her anger was coming through.

"That is another favour!" Laughed Mephala. "But all right, I'll give you that information freely: yes, Rayenna is mine, even if your Brotherhood does not know it yet."

"I see," Lena swallowed. "In this case, I accept your offer, provided my child remains unharmed while you are taking the payment."

"Promised," Mephala smiled and snapped her fingers. Another Xivilai came forward from the dark. "Take her to the chamber, get her ready. Do not harm her or her child - be careful with that, mortals are fragile," she said to the Xivilai. "I shall be there shortly."

...

After three sessions with Mephala, Lena was still bound to the large bed, still gagged, and bleeding rather more. Her skin was bruised and cut in places. None of the wounds were life-threatening, but all of them were painful.

Mephala got off the bed, looking satisfied.

"It will do for today," she said and snapped her fingers. A Xivilai stepped forward from the darkness. "Untie her," she turned to him. "Let her wash and give her her clothes back. No, you can't have her - I promised she should live," she answered a question in Xivilai's eyes. "She would die under you. You can have another." Mephala stretched, letting the Xivilai rub her body. "Then send her back to the shrine in Mundus." She kissed him with a long, passionate kiss, delightful yet familiar - they've known each other for an eternity already.

Lena was hurting in so many places, it felt like pain all over. But she was alive, and not knocked out, she heard Mephala's words and sighed a sigh of relief. Mephala turned to look at her.

"Ah, you did not pass out," she smiled. "Well done, mortal, you pleased me. Come back in a month - I shall be waiting."

Mephala left the room while the Xivilai started to untie Lena's bonds. A little later she reappeared at the shrine, to eager glances from the worshippers. But she wasn't going to tell them of her deal with their Prince.

Roach was grazing on the meagre grass of the Valus Mountains, and Lena felt that she should at least take Roach into the valley. She mounted, even though riding a horse was particularly painful just then...

At the first sight of green grass, she dismounted, patting Roach on the back. "Cheydinhal is that way - straight through the forest, you'll manage, won't you?" She looked into Roach's eyes, and the horse nodded and took off. Lena summoned Dessos. He appeared, ready for a fight as usual, but one look at Lena told him all he needed to know.

"Take my arm," he said, and when she did, he opened a portal and stepped through it.

...

"You are a mess," Sanguine smiled at Lena offering her another sweetroll. "Mephala doesn't joke. At least you are alive. Both of you."

"That was the deal," Lena winced at the pain, as Dylan was rubbing oil into her bruises. "Protection for my child."

"That explains why you are bleeding where you are bleeding," Dylan looked up, shaking his head. He too knew her body intimately. "And I have no oils for that."

"It will pass," Sanguine nodded. "Of course, as long as you are pregnant, Mephala won't touch you there, if that's the deal. But what are you going to do once the child is born? I assume it isn't a one time payment but a subscription?"

"Subscription," Lena smiled at the phrase. "Yeah, monthly. I don't know, I'll just have to bear it, I guess."

"Going to the Wellspring that often isn't advisable," Dylan shook his head again. "And what Mephala likes to do... well... it can easily prevent you from ever having a second child."

Lena looked worried, then shook her head.

"Let's not talk about it right now. My son is not due for another three months."

"Your son?" Sanguine looked at her with suspicion. "How do you know it's a boy?"

"Mephala told me," Lena sighed. "Well, she's very thorough... She didn't exactly stay away..."

"She!" Sanguine got furious. "Have your seen what 'she' actually has on her body? She! Indeed!" He got up, clenching his fists and pacing around angrily.

"Yeah, I know full well what 'she' has on her body..." Lena could not resist the humour of the situation. "You could say, I've just had a hands-on experience!" She laughed. "Except that my hands were tied, of course."

"Well, at least your spirit is not bruised," Dessos joined in, helping Dylan with the oils. "You mortals are so fragile, I always say. Especially females. How is it that you are still alive?"

His hands were careful, he was touching her lightly. It felt more like a caress than a massage. Perhaps it was a caress.

"We are strong in a different way," Lena smiled. "Truth is, I don't know. We just make do with it."

The four of them were lounging by a lake on a carpet of soft grass. It was early evening. Two Dremoras and a Mazken were tending to the cuts and bruises on the body of one Breton woman after her encounter with the Daedric Prince of Sex and Secret Murder, for where else would she go after such a painful event but to the Daedric Prince of Pleasure... Sanguine went by many names, and he wasn't always kind to every mortal. He wasn't a "nice guy" - but hey, he was a Dremora. To Lena however he represented all that was good, as ironic as it might sound. He was good to her, period. He was good to all of his lovers. Sanguine did not believe in celibacy. But that evening none of the three men around Lena made any advances beyond a caress, and she was completely at ease with them.

[Lena Wolf]

25 Morning Star, 4E203 - The quiet life

After her ordeal with Mephala, Lena needed a bit of rest. She returned to Cheydinhal and was spending her days lazying about the house, catching up on sleep, taking long baths and slow strolls, and generally allowing her body to recover. Lucien noticed the change but didn't say anything, acting as if Lena's demeanour was common to her, which of course it wasn't.

"You seem to be taking a break from everything," Garrus commented one morning, meeting Lena slowly strolling through Cheydinhal gardens. "Haven't seen you relaxing like this for a while... well, never actually. You know the chapel has pretty good healers, in case you're feeling the strain." He lunged to steady Lena who stumbled on something and nearly twisted her ankle. "Here's a bench, why don't we sit down for a moment," he added, smiling.

"I... thanks, Garrus," Lena smiled uneasily, accepting Garrus' assistance. "I guess I am feeling the strain." She held a hand to her side, supporting her belly. "I prefer fighting monsters," she smirked. "Although I am still not absolved from it."

Garrus turned, giving Lena a long look.

"Not the goblin kind, though," he said thoughtfully. "Well, if there's anything that the City Guard can do to improve your safety... You know."

Lena nodded - Garrus seemed to have figured out what she was going through, even though she was sure he didn't know the exact details. She hoped no mortal did.

"I am not ill," she smiled. "I'm just..."

...

That evening the dinner at the Wolf Residence was subdued. Both Lena and Lucien seemed preoccupied, there was something each needed to say, yet dreaded saying it. Eventually Lucien took the lead.

"You seem a bit under the weather these few days," he started cautiously, shooting Lena a sideways look. "Some say the last three months of a pregnancy can be the hardest."

"Yeah, it is getting a bit harder now, but..." Lena took a deep breath and decided to say her piece then and there. "I want to go home, Lucien. Home to Bravil and the Shivering Isles. The Shivering Isles, mostly. I am not doing very well."

"Then you must go," Lucien sounded relieved, although not completely. "If you want me with you, say it." Lena shook her head. "I thought so," Lucien nodded.

They ate quietly for a while, then Lena became restless again.

"But it doesn't mean that I..." She started speaking anxiously, looking at Lucien with worry.

"I know," he interrupted her firmly. "In a way, I've known you longer than you've known me," he smiled, taking her hand. "Although much of it was admittedly in your absence. You will be back, this time the same as before. And while you are gone, I shall be away too."

"You..?" Lena looked up in surprise.

"There is something I need to take care of," Lucien said somewhat evasively. "In Morrowind." He paused, taking a sip of his wine. "The time is pressing somewhat, it needs to be done before the child is born, but I felt uneasy about leaving you here. So if you go to Bravil and the Shivering Isles, so for the better."

"Rayenna?" Lena thought that Lucien would be planning something.

"It concerns her, yes," Lucien smiled. "But there are other things, too. We need to make sure that the Brotherhood in Morrowind does not take her move to Morag Tong as a provocation. We need to avoid another war of assassins."

"Yes..." Lena sounded hollow, having suddenly realised why Hauk went to Morrowind too. "But assassinating her won't be easy."

"And I don't expect to get to her, not now that she's under Mephala's protection," Lucien said, watching Lena's face closely. "So, you knew this," he noted. "I see. I thought as much." Lena nodded slowly, and Lucien continued. "No, Rayenna is out of our reach for the moment. Which is why Hauk is talking to Eno Hlaalu and I need to go to Mournhold." He paused again, watching Lena. "You will be safe from all of this in the Shivering Isles," he added, smiling softly.

[macole]

I've been catching up; Mephala is definitely not a very nice playmate. Are we going to see a bit of Mournhold now?

[Lena Wolf]

I've been catching up; Mephala is definitely not a very nice playmate. Are we going to see a bit of Mournhold now?

We are. I am so engrossed in making the Skyrim mod, that I haven't been playing at all, so it might take a couple of weeks. But I'll be returning to Morrowind - Hauk has a job to do finding Rayenna, and Lucien is going to Mournhold to speak to the Morrowind Listener of the Dark Brotherhood. This part is not actually in game, they have only very limited line on Dark Brotherhood there. However, I have Mournhold, and I am excited to explore it because it is both in Morroblivion and in Tamriel Rebuilt. I do hope they don't collide. And if they do, I'll have to make a patch or find an explanation... It's all Mephala's fault, obviously.

I gave Mephala a darker and more hands-on role than what you see in Oblivion and Skyrim Daedric quests, or even in Morrowind. Mephala is not just the Prince of Secret Murder, but also the Prince of Sex, and I am sure it isn't the nice variety. It is all based on the lore pages, so should be reasonably conflict-free... just may be a bit more explicit than what you normally read.

[Lena Wolf]

Chapter 5

Bonds

30 Morning Star, 4E203 - Scorpio

Lena finally got to Crucible in the dead of night. Dylan was no where to be seen, she stopped by Sickly Bernice's for some food, then was about to go straight to her house when she noticed a familiar face in a dark corner of Bernice's dining room. No, it couldn't be! Must be a trick of the light, she figured. She looked again.

"Hello," she approached a mage in the corner who was paying no attention to her, absorbed in his book. "This trick won't work again, Scorpio," she sat down next to him.

"Hi, Wolf," he smiled at her. "It's been a while."

"You are back."

"I never left."

"Not true!" Lena exclaimed hotly. "You disappeared in the Rift, you wouldn't come and wouldn't let me find you!"

"You would have never left Gransys, I had to do something," he objected. "It was time for you to return to your world, your life."

"That again!" Lena looked cross. "I was happy with you."

"I am not mortal," he objected. "And that wasn't a life. Always repeating the same thing. We knew it by heart in the end."

"That's true," Lena nodded. "I am grateful to you, you know." She leaned to him and he pulled her close. "Look." Lena produced an amulet shaped as a hand that she was wearing on a long chain under her clothes. Scorpio took it, and the mark on the palm of his hand glowed brightly.

"The jeweller who made it told me about it," he nodded. "And about your plunge into the sea afterwards. He blamed me for your suicide, you know. The same as the rest of them."

"But you knew I would not die," Lena pressed her cheek against the top of his arm. "Otherwise you wouldn't have done it. What did you think I'd do when you disappeared?"

"Something stupid," he grinned. "Like attacking a flock of harpies or jumping off a cliff."

"But an arisen can die! Many of them have died! Why was I any different?"

"You were not of that world."

Sickly Bernice was watching them from behind her counter. She couldn't hear every word, but she heard enough. She walked over to them.

"This handsome young man has been waiting for you for weeks now," she looked at Lena with reproach, shooting an appreciative glance at Scorpio. "You should come more often, Lord Sheogorath," she smirked. "You mustn't abandon your flock."

"The Prince is back on his throne, and I distinctly remember losing that title," Lena objected. "What is going on, Bernice?"

"I'm just saying," she sat down at the table with them and poured herself a goblet of wine. "Enjoy it while you can! Wish I could..."

"Bernice!" Lena looked stern.

"All right, all right, don't bring out the torturer - he's enjoying it too much," Bernice shook her head. "You need to go see the Prince. Do the whole thing again. The Knights of Order are back."

"I've seen them," Lena nodded. "We've fought a lot of them with Dylan - poor Dylan, he took all the heat... Speaking of which - where is he?"

"Passwall," Bernice said with disgust. "The Fringe cannot decide whose side they are on. Typical."

"Strange... I haven't seen him when I was passing there today," Lena mused.

"No, he'll be down the catacombs," Bernice shook her head with sadness. "Grummites, you know. They are working with them."

"Whom?"

"The Knights of Order."

"Impossible!"

"But true!" Bernice was adamant. "There's a lot more to grummites than people think. They've got aquanostrum, for one." She drew herself up.

"No, they use the natural spring to rear their young," Lena shook her head. "But anyway. It can't be happening again, surely?"

"Oh yes, you'd better go see the Prince," Bernice got up, taking her wine with her. "Lord Sheogorath."

Scorpio was watching the exchange and smiling to himself.

"I was right to make you return. You are wanted here," he said.

"But what of you?" Lena looked into his eyes, but they were calm, devoid of emotion. "You wear that mask well, but I know better." Scorpio smiled at that, his eyes springing into life.

"It's what's expected of me in Gransys. 'Pawns have no emotions, no will of their own' - remember?" He winked at her.

"Yes, well, I think we debunked that story pretty quickly," Lena smirked. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh, you know how it is for us - my arisen had died, so I was dismissed into the Rift," he shrugged his shoulders. "They don't allow new arisen to pick pawns who'd already been claimed."

"Where do you come from?" Lena suddenly realised she didn't know. "I mean, the dragon comes every fifty years, creates another arisen, who then needs a fresh pawn, and this has been going on for ever and a day. There must be new pawns for this to work."

"We... well... we are not daedra," Scorpio looked at her sideways. "We are not created and we are not immortal in the same way. We are people who had been cursed." He rubbed the mark on his hand and it glowed brightly. "We all had lives before... we can have lives again... but it is rare."

"You mean you are from Gransys?" Lena looked at him round-eyed.

"Yes," Scorpio nodded. "But I lived a very long time ago. I spent an eternity in the Rift before you picked me."

"And now?"

"Now? You know the fate of a pawn whose arisen had died!" He smirked. "You are dead to Gransys."

"Well, you are here," Lena pointed out. "How did you do it?"

"The same way as those pawns did it that we met in the underworld in Gransys," he sipped his wine. "I left. It's not true that we have no will of our own. It took a while, but I found the portal you came through, and here I am."

"You've been to other worlds," Lena realised.

"Yes, this wasn't the first portal I tried," Scorpio smiled. "And I didn't know what your world looked like. I've been to Albion, too."

"No!" Lena turned bright red.

"Yes," Scorpio grinned. "Dumpling."

"Oh gods..." Lena moaned, shaking her head.

"Not to worry, I am still your friend," he grinned again. "And I hear you are married again."

Lena nodded. "This time it's for real though."

"Yeah, I heard the stories," he nodded. "But the child? They say it's not his."

"Who says that?" Lena sat up, shooting an angry glance at Bernice.

"Yeah, Bernice and the rest of them," Scorpio confirmed. "They wager it's from your other friend, the battlemage."

"Hauk... yeah... they are probably right," Lena agreed, in a much quieter tone. "I just don't know."

"They say it's a Nord's child - they can tell by the shape of the belly," Scorpio didn't seem to believe it himself.

"Nonsense," Lena shook her head. "Nonsense, and you know it."

They chatted all night, Lena had completely forgotten about sleep, and even Bernice decided to forgo the slumber in favour of eavesdropping. Finally faint sun rays started coming through the windows and Bernice put the coffee on.

"Oh thank you!" Lena accepted a cup with gratitude. "Did you enjoy our conversation?"

"I..." Bernice was taken aback, but didn't blush. "Whatever do you mean? I'm a sick woman!"

"Quite," Lena grinned, then turning to Scorpio she added: "Oh never mind them, they mean well."

...

"Was there any particular reason you came here or was it just your regular time out?" Scorpio asked Lena when they finally left Bernice's Taphouse.

"Nothing special," Lena shook her head. "I come here regularly. Of course I'll need to go see the Prince now, you heard what Bernice had said. And other things will come up as well, no doubt. Where are you staying?"

"I bought a house in Crucible," Scorpio smiled. "I'm staying. Gransys is dead to me."

"That's nice!" Lena hugged him right there in the street, and all passers by stared. Displays of emotion were for the Maniacs! "Dementia for you, then?"

"Remember Bitterblack Isle?" His smile was sad. Yes, Lena remembered. It was the place many pawns went to after their arisen had died, a place of despair. Compared to Bitterblack Isle, Dementia was overly manic.

"Plus, Bernice likes you," Lena grinned. "Handsome young man."

"She's too young for me," Scorpio retorted. "I don't date women under five hundred."

"Five hundred what?" A passing Seducer guard overheard their conversation. "Years mean nothing when you're immortal," she smiled at Scorpio.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything," he smiled back. "I'd date you any time, darling."

"Find me later," the Seducer gave him a big grin and continued her patrol.

"Well, well!" Lena chuckled. "You've been busy!"

"I like them," he grinned. "They are friendly. Not like the Saints next door."

Lena and Scorpio looked at each other, each reading the same in the other's eyes. They were glad to walk the same world again. Their romance was over, but their friendship remained. They knew each other's secrets, sins and desires, and it was fine. Their bonds were stronger than that.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scorpio was Lena's companion in Gransys - Dragon's Dogma. He finally made it to Tamriel to be Lena's companion there, when he's not busy dating Seducers, that is. He is an elemental sorcerer and brings new spells with him which he might teach Lena some day, once her mastery of the elements is high enough.

Scorpio is one of Lena's Companions to be released at a later date.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: May 13 2024, 05:20 PM

[Lena Wolf]

31 Morning Star, 4E203 - Lord Sheogorath

"So, who is it going to be this time? Thadon or Syl?" Prince Sheogorath was squinting at Lena when she came to see him. "Although I know the answer, of course," he smiled.

"I would rather not kill either of them," Lena suggested hesitantly. "Especially since you are going to recreate them afterwards anyway."

"What? A break with tradition?" Sheogorath cried out in indignation. "You must earn the respect of the people, and get either the Mazken or the Aureals to serve you, and you can only do that by becoming the Duchess of either half!" He looked furious. "I explained it last time already!"

"But My Prince..." Lena's voice was shaking a bit. "Must we follow the same path every time?"

"Yes, we must! Always have done!" Sheogorath was still angry. "Who are you to break with tradition, anyway?" He glared at her. "Oh, wait, yes, the one Champion who actually got things done..." He reminded himself. "Better than those clowns... or clouds... whatever." Suddenly he smiled radiantly, his anger gone without a trace. "So, how do you propose to get the Mazken to serve you then? For it will have to be the Mazken, of course, what with your special favourites and all," he winked. "Well, woman, speak up!"

"I gave them Cylarne..." Lena started cautiously.

"Cylarne - yes, and then lit the Great Torch for Mania!" Sheogorath objected. "What were you thinking?" He glared again.

"But I am of both sides, I cannot choose," Lena gathered her courage. "And it is pointless for me to replace the Duke or the Duchess because it won't last since I'm supposed to replace you in the end." She looked straight at him, noticing that his eyes were smiling.

"One of both sides, yes," he said softly. "As Lord Sheogorath must be."

"My Lord, if I may," Haskill suddenly joined the conversation. "Perhaps this Breton should do other tasks to prove her worth again."

"An excellent idea, Haskill!" Sheogorath beamed. "He does get them from time to time," he added quietly, turning to Lena. "That's why I keep him around. That, and the parties, of course." He shot a sideways glance at Haskill, who rolled his eyes. "He loves that, he does," Sheogorath smirked. "But enough of that! So what shall we have you do? If you are going to break with tradition, then do it right! Do something different! Go! Do it! Chop-chop!" He flicked his hand.

"Do what..?" Lena stared at him, perplexed.

"Prove that you are still Lord Sheogorath," he replied quietly. "What would I do in your place? Figure it out and do it. Come back when done. Then we'll see."

Prince Sheogorath sat on his throne, quietly smiling at his Champion, certain that she would rise to the challenge and step into his shoes once again, and fill them. All she needed was a gentle nudge in the right direction.

...

"The Prince wants me to do something to prove my worth as his Champion," Lena was saying to Scorpio over lunch at Bernice's. "But he didn't say what," she sighed. "Last time he had a whole series of tasks all planned out, but this time it's up to me." She poked her smoked baliwog leg with suspicion. "The Greymarch is just beginning, he's still the Prince, he's still here, but I need to prepare to replace him when the time comes. Which is when exactly? How much time do I have? It is all so confusing," she complained, lifting her eyes at Scorpio and finding him grinning. "What's so funny?" She asked defiantly.

"You are," he smiled. "You know exactly what to do, yet you convince yourself that you don't."

"What..?"

"Things have been different here lately," Bernice joined in, having listened to the conversation in her usual manner. "Some of the new residents are quite mad," she shook her head. "Why Sheogorath lets them in, is beyond me!" She rolled her eyes. "Of course he might not have. Everyone can get in now, since you killed the Gatekeeper - again!" She glared at Lena.

"But I had to..." Lena started hesitantly. "Wait... What are you saying?" She gave Bernice a long look. "Rebuild the Gatekeeper?"

"That's the obvious bit, yes, but that won't stop the Greymarch," Bernice nodded. "Gosh, woman, even I can see what needs to be done!" She threw her arms in the air in desperation, quite an unusual display of emotion for a Demented like herself.

"See, it's that obvious," a little voice in Lena's head piped up. "You must be finished well before your child is due, and even before your next visit to Mephala," the voice continued. "Do I really need to spell it out to you? You're supposed to be Me!" The voice added with anger.

"Yes, My Prince," Lena replied out loud, making Scorpio and Bernice look up. "I've got three weeks," she added, looking at Scorpio. "Everything needs to be finished in three weeks. Come on, we've got work to do." She got up decisively, beckoning Scorpio to follow. Then dashed back to the table to pick up her half-eaten smoked baliwog leg. "Finish this on the way," she nodded to Bernice, patted her belly and really marched towards the door this time.

...

When Lena and Scropio reached Passwall, they found it changed. Obelisks of Order were everywhere, not looking orderly at all, Knights of Order were rushing back and forth fighting everyone they could find, and grummites... well, grummites were no where to be seen.

"Of course not, what did you expect?" Scorpio raised an eyebrow when Lena commented on it. "They are only animals!" He shrugged. "What I would rather like to know, is whom are these Knights fighting?"

Sounds of battle were coming from just ahead, but they could not see what was happening as several obelisks were blocking their way. Then a bone arrow flew past Lena's ear nearly grazing it.

"Jayred Ice-Veins!" She exclaimed, rushing forward. "We must help him!"

Jayred had climbed onto the roof of a nearby house and was shooting arrows at the Knights of Order below, while the knights were attacking the obelisk that had risen near the entrance blocking the door...

"Not very clever, are they?" Jayred shouted, grinning. "But tough! Too bad they've got no bones under that armour... Hey, watch out! They've seen you!"

His words of warning were drowned in the clanking of metal, now that the knights saw Lena and Scorpio approach and figured that'd make for more rewarding sparring partners than the obelisk they'd been attacking. However, they were no longer at full strength under Jayred's arrows, and soon they were reduced to piles of shiny metal.

"What is going on?" Lena turned to Jayred as he climbed off the roof. "Your eyes!" They were grey and cold, just like the shiny metal around them. "What happened?"

"We've been turned, the Fringe fell to the forces of Order," Jayred shrugged his shoulders. "Except that turning my eyes grey won't make me join these tin soldiers," he prodded one with his boot. "I was lucky to be outside when they descended. Most people are trapped in their houses - look, there's an obelisk blocking every door!"

"This is actually good news," a voice said from behind. "This way they won't get killed." Dylan appeared from the rubble. "I sent word - the Mazken should be here soon."

"But not soon enough!" Scorpio exclaimed pointing at a fresh group of knights running towards them. "Here they come!"

Lena tried to circle around them looking for an obelisk that brought them forth, but couldn't see anything active - all the obelisks in the Fringe were passive, static things, no more dangerous than any rock. The active obelisk must have been hidden. She had to talk to Dylan, see what was going on, regroup, think it over... But there was no time for any of that, the knights kept coming in waves, and each of their crushing blows could easily kill her on the spot...

The battle was fierce. Jayred quickly climbed onto the roof and was raining arrows onto the knights, while Dylan and Scorpio took the heat of the melee combat, allowing Lena to do something stealthy. Except that none of her usual methods would have any effect here - you could not assassinate a knight with a stab through the heart because they had no beating hearts, they were immune to poison and impervious to most magic. In addition, Lena's growing belly made her movements slower than usual, and she didn't have armour capable of protecting it. There was only one thing for it: climb onto another roof and shoot arrows at them. She couldn't match Jayred's skill of course, but as they say, every little helped... And so she summoned a daedroth.

The daedroth roared as he cast his woad, shaking tip to toe. "Go get them, Toothy," Lena encouraged him under her breath, focussing on regaining her magicka for Toothy's replacement. As the daedroth starting thrashing through a group of knights and metal limbs started flying in all directions, Scorpio took a step back, seeing his chance to strike. Scorpio was a sorcerer, but his spells required concentration, something he couldn't muster in the heat of a melee battle, so he let his axe work instead. With the daedroth effectively taking his place, he tucked the axe into his belt, planted his staff into the grey soil before him, and started charging his spell.

...

"What was THAT?!" Dylan was looking around, prodding some of the metal bodies with his boot. Not shiny, they were corroded and charred by a massive explosion that blinded everyone for a second. An explosion that should have killed them all, knight, mortal and daedra, but that somehow only struck the knights... Toothy the daedroth took a few more swipes at the collapsed knights, crushing some of the pieces into dust. Then he too stood still until Lena dispelled him.

"That was one of the bigger ones, wasn't it," Lena rushed to Scorpio who was sitting on the ground holding onto his staff. "Here, drink this," she handed him a bottle of mead. "Sorry, I haven't got the proper potions," she added apologetically. Scorpio accepted the bottle with a nod, still too weak to speak. "The stronger the spell that he casts, the more energy it costs him to cast it," Lena explained it to Dylan and Jayred. "It's not just magicka that he uses, but also his physical strength, so right now he is exhausted," she added, handing Scorpio another bottle and a loaf of bread.

"Mead will set him right," Jayred nodded his approval.

"We need to find the obelisk though," Lena looked at her companions with worry. "Otherwise the knights will just keep coming. Yet I haven't seen anything active around here - these are all just rocks!"

"It's inside Xeddefen," Dylan jerked his head in the direction of the ruin. "I've been patrolling it these past few weeks, saw several obelisks growing there, and there was that sound... like what you hear around the active ones. Didn't see where it was coming from though, it could be underground."

"We'll have to go there to deactivate it," Lena's face was set in resolve.

"Delve into a crumbling ruin, avoid the grummites, try not to get impaled onto a rising obelisk, find the source of the strange noise, fight waves upon waves of Knights of Order, then somehow manage to overload an active obelisk while avoiding death by electrocution courtesy the local Priest of Order... Why, that's a job for Sheogorath's Champion," a hoarse mocking voice sounded behind them. "You do that. We'll just stay here and await your return."

"There is no need to be so haughty, Grakendo Udico," Dylan turned to a group of Mazken standing behind them. "This is exactly what Wolf will do."

"In her condition?" Grakendo measured up Lena's belly with a glance. "Mortals have a tendency for disfiguring afflictions."

"You see, not all of them are actually friendly," Lena said to Scorpio, rolling her eyes. Then, turning to Grakendo Udico, she added: "Yes, this is what I'll do. Again. I distinctly remember you being rather more polite last time."

"Last time you were our Duchess," Grakendo pointed out. "This time we are only here because one of ours sent word," she squinted at Dylan. "Even though he isn't a warrior and is officially expelled from the Order. Why My Lord even lets him walk this Realm--"

"Enough!" Lena decided to take control. "We can discuss it later. The Realm is under attack! Is it not your duty to Your Lord to protect it?" She glared at Grakendo. "So do it! While I and... err--" she shot quick glances at her companions, "While we go and deactivate the obelisk somewhere inside Xeddefen," she finished firmly.

"Well, if you put it this way..." Grakendo started another sentence, but a fresh wave of Knights of Order appeared from the dust cloud ahead. "Prepare for battle!" She shouted, addressing her troops and dismissing Dylan all in one glance. Jayred leaped to the rooftop, Scorpio shook off his tiredness rising to his feet, and Dylan took the lead putting himself between a charging knight and Lena's belly.

Dylan, Lena and Scorpio flanked the raging battle and ran towards Xeddefen.

[Renee]

They are in Fort Dunstad, which is a fun place to visit. Oh wow. They are in Dawnstar Sanctuary.

In Silverdrift Lair Lucien calls her "Dragonborn". Did she do all the Main Quest in Skyrim, or she just has DB powers like shouting?

Yeah that is true--when bandits in V say "That's close enough!" what better invitation is there to ignore them?

Up to page 7 / post 132

[Lena Wolf]

In Silverdrift Lair Lucien calls her "Dragonborn". Did she do all the Main Quest in Skyrim, or she just has DB powers like shouting?

Never did the entire main quest - got bored. In this playthrough she went up to High Hrothgar where she was told to go fetch a horn, so then she went to fetch a horn but found Delphine's note instead. If only the Dragonborn could get in there, it makes Delphine Dragonborn, right? Makes no sense. So she went to see Delphine who promised to explain everything as soon as Lena proves she's Dragonborn. "I have nothing to prove to you," says Lena and leaves. Delphine is a Blade through and through, it's amazing that no one can see it. Hauk had figured it out as well - "Never seen a maid command the ale to stop fermenting," he noted. And Lena had had enough of Blade business back during the Oblivion Crisis, and didn't want to see another Blade ever again. So she never went back to Delphine, which of course means this is the end of the main quest for this playthrough.

Up to page 7 / post 132

Wow! You're catching up!

[Lena Wolf]

1 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - Xeddefen

"Finally! I've been waiting. What took you so long?" Shelden stepped from behind a false wall in a dark corridor inside Xeddefen after Lena, Dylan and Scorpio put down the last of the Knight of Order in the room.

"Excuse me?" Scorpio turned around, his axe at the ready. "And who might you be?"

Shelden was visibly taken aback by such blatant ignorance, so his reply was uncharacteristically muted.

"I am Shelden, the Mayor of Passwall of course," he mumbled, eyeing the axe. "You must be  new here!" He concluded, brightening up. "And obviously you need my help!" He added excitedly. "Of course you need my help!" He drew himself up and put on his usual aura of superiority. "Well, I am glad to provide it. I shall escort you out of this place. Follow me!" He turned towards the dark corridor littered with piles of metal that just before was the Knights of Order. The sight of so many fallen knights seemed to have shaken him, because he turned around again to look at Lena and Dylan. It seemed he only just noticed them.

"It's all right, Scorpio," Lena decided to diffuse the situation. "Shelden is one of the residents." Shelden perked up at that and was about to object to the "one of the residents" designation, but Lena didn't give him a chance. "Shelden, you can follow us. Stay behind us and try not to get killed - these knights mean business. We need to find the main obelisk before we can leave though. Or you can stay here and wait until it's all over - it might be safer that way."

"Stay behind and wait for the whole thing to collapse around me?" Shelden shook his head vigorously. "No, thanks," he added firmly. "Have you seen the state of the masonry? Why do you think this is a ruin in the first place?" He glared at Lena. "It is only kept together by grummite egg mounds, but since the grummites are no where to be seen, I'm not staying either!" A column suddenly collapsed next to them, illustrating Shelden's point.

"Suit yourself," Lena shrugged. "I'm not pulling you out like last time."

"Last time--" Shelden started protesting, but the others were already too far down the corridor to hear. "Hey, wait for me!"

...

Xeddefen was exactly as the Mazken commander predicted it to be, minus the grummites. Obelisks were suddenly rising under their feet, Knights of Order were everywhere and the buzz of lightening was heard in every corridor, yet the main obelisk must have been deeper in still. Fighting through endless waves of Knights of Order while trying to avoid getting crushed by falling rubble and collapsing masonry was both tiresome and disheartening. But the buzz of lightening seemed to be getting stronger, which meant that they were moving in the right direction - towards the main obelisk.

"It cannot be much further, the noise is almost deafening here," Dylan noted when they finally sat down for a rest. "We should take a break and prepare for battle," he added, handing out cheese, bread and ale to his companions.

"Prepare for battle?" Shelden looked at him as if Dylan had just said something crazy. "Battle? And what have we been doing so far then?"

"Getting to the main battlefield," Dylan grinned, speaking over Shelden's continued objections. "Look, Mayor, we can debate afterwards. You know what's coming - you've done this before!" Dylan's deep hoarse voice covered Shelden's, and Shelden had to give in, rolling his eyes in defiance. After all, Dylan was a daedra.

...

A huge obelisk shut down with a screech, and the lightening powering it gave out the last spark. The floor was covered in scratched and battered metal limbs and weapons, no longer as shiny as they had started out. Four people were wading through it knee high.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here," Dylan helped Lena climb onto higher ground. "With the obelisk shut down, the walls will start collapsing around it - they were only held in place by the same current that kept the obelisk open." He pointed at a column that was about to explode, with cracks visibly running through it. "Try not to get squashed!" He shouted, pulling Shelden from under the falling stone just before he could be flattened. "Mayor."

They ran for their lives. Caved in corridors had plenty of evidence of similar collapses in the past, as this was not the first Greymarch in the history of the Shivering Isles. Shelden seemed to be either out of breath or out of common sense because he kept falling behind, and Dylan and Scorpio kept urging him on, with variable success.

"What are you doing?" Scorpio shouted. "You will perish here if you stay behind!"

"I will find a way out!" Shelden shouted back. "I am the Mayor! I know this place! I don't have to follow anybody!"

Lena only shook her head. She found it hard to navigate the debris, to dodge falling stones, to duck under wrought masonry, all while holding tight her belly and trying to protect it from any accidental bumps. "Next stop - Cutter's Weapons," she promised herself. "The elf must be able to make me some armour. Surely, I am not the first heavily pregnant woman in an epic fight, am I?" She smirked to herself, wondering just how many heavily pregnant heroins came before her. All sensible women were spending the final three months of their pregnancies in the comfort of their homes making baby clothes. But then again, Prince Sheogorath would not have picked a sensible woman for his Champion.

"Ah! You are the worst escort ever!" Shelden's angry voice brought Lena back out of her considerations on pregnant heroins. Shelden's constant falling behind finally got him cut off - a falling grate blocked his way. Now he would really need to find his own way out.

...

The Fringe lay in ruins with metal limbs and Mazken bodies covering much of the ground. The fighting must have been ferocious on the surface as well. Lena, Dylan and Scorpio climbed out of a hole in the ground and walked towards Passwall. All was quiet, no more waves of Knights of Order were emerging from Xeddefen. Yet sharp screeches were heard every now and again - some of the obelisks were retreating into the ground, until the next Greymarch.

"Well, Passwall survived it again, thanks to my efforts and leadership!" Shelden had found a way out too.

...

"What do you suppose we should do next?" Lena moved her eyes from Dylan to Scorpio watching them consume one grilled grummite egg after another. The obelisk blocking the door to the Wastrel's Purse had retreated and Drewen was serving all those things she prepared while being locked inside - the noise kept waking her up and she found cooking to be a welcome distraction.

"Gosh, that elf can cook when she wants to!" Dylan commented, shooting her an appreciative glance. "Do what, sorry?" He realised suddenly that Lena had asked something.

"This wasn't very different from last time," Lena mused. "Sheogorath wants me to do something different to prove my worth again," she explained, noticing Dylan's confusion. "So I figure retaking the Fringe wasn't it. There's got to be something else."

"Bernice hinted at rebuilding the Gatekeeper," put in Scorpio.

"But that's exactly what I did last time after retaking the Fringe..." Lena sounded unsure.

"That doesn't mean it shouldn't be done this time again!" Dylan objected. "Without the Gatekeeper, there's too much riff-raff getting in."

He had a point, that chore needed doing. So Lena decided to stop worrying whether or not it was different enough and just take care of it next, especially since Xaselm was literally around the corner.

"I'm not sure Relmyna will be thrilled to see me again," Lena sighed, "but what needs to be done, needs to be done. We'll go tomorrow," she added decisively. After all, they earned some rest first.

[Lena Wolf]

2-4 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - Relmyna

"Well, look who's here again!" Relmyna squinted as Lena entered the room. "Former Lord Sheogorath. What do you want?" She glared and bared her teeth.

"Relmyna, we have a job to do, the same as last time," Lena was hoping for a civil conversation. "We need to rebuild the Gatekeeper."

"We?" Relmyna glared. "You killed my baby, you killed both of them!" She exclaimed with grief and anger. "So you can rebuild him! Or use that thing inside your belly to take his place!"

Ouch. Before Lena could register what she was doing, she flew at Relmyna, knocked her on the ground and had her dagger at Relmyna's neck. Stop! Stop. As much as she hated the woman, she needed her to rebuild the Gatekeeper, and Relmyna knew it and grinned.

"Well, Assassin, why did you stop?" Relmyna said mockingly.

Lena got off her and put her dagger away. She was burning with rage and restraint - she was trying to restrain her rage resulting in a huge internal battle. This job was going to be tough.

"Let me handle it," she heard Scorpio's voice in her ear. "Take Dylan and leave the room."

Lena obeyed.

...

The doors of Xaselm were made of thick iron and bronze, but even so flashes of light and high pitched noises were coming through. After some time, Scorpio returned, scorch marks and fresh scars covering his arms.

"We need to go to the Gardens of Flesh and Bone to collect a few things," he said calmly. "But I suppose you already knew that. It's the same as last time."

"Relmyna?" Lena ran her eyes along Scorpio's new marks.

"Alive and well," he smiled. "We need her. Oh, and this... I'll tell you later."

As they were making their way out of Xaselm, they bumped into Nanette Don walking down the corridor, lost in thought.

"Oh, hello!" She greeted them joyfully. "Back again?" Her smile was somehow strained. "Relmyna is further in."

"We already spoke to her," Lena replied, scrutinising Nanette's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Nanette protested. "Why do you ask?" Then, casting a quick glance at Scorpio's scars, she asked with worry: "Relmyna..?"

"Alive and well," Scorpio repeated. "All you have to do, Nanette, is show her that you've mastered her methods."

"I would not dare!"

"You must."

"I can't!"

"Then why are you here?"

This was a fair question. Nanette gave Scorpio a sharp look, then turned and continued her way into the depths of Xaselm.

...

The Garden of Flesh and Bone was in Passwall, so they retraced their steps. The sun was already setting - this was enough excitement for one day. They hoped that Drewen had cooked something again.

"What did you do?" Lena asked Scorpio at dinner, but he wouldn't tell her, saying that he'd rather enjoy his meal.

3 Sun's Dawn

The Garden of Flesh and Bone was a dungeon like any other, with the usual dangers strewn inside. They had to collect four items, and it took them through every corridor and tunnel, sometimes repeatedly.

"This Garden is different somehow from what I remembered," Lena was saying when they sat down for a rest. "More Flesh Atronachs, may be."

Neither Dylan nor Scorpio had been there before, so they couldn't answer, but somehow each of them doubted that the Garden had changed.

"May be it is you who had changed rather than the Garden," Dylan suggested. "You know that Flesh Atronachs make no difference. So what's troubling you?"

"Nothing," Lena suddenly got defensive, surprising even herself. "May be it will become clearer later. Better tells us what you did to Relmyna," she turned to Scorpio.

"I treated her the way she treats others," Scorpio shrugged his shoulders. Horrified looks on Lena's and Dylan's faces made him laugh. "What did you think I'd do?"

"But you are still alive and largely in one piece," Dylan put in.

"As are most of Relmyna's subjects," Scorpio nodded. "You know what her interests are, don't you? She studies flesh. She thinks it's the fifths element."

"So Flesh Atronachs..." something dawned on Lena. "They are her invention, aren't they?"

Scorpio nodded. "She doesn't kill people to resurrect them afterwards like Necromancers do. She transforms them while they are still alive. Using surgery."

That sounded painful and revolting, and Lena pushed away the bowl of stew that was before her.

"I've had enough to eat," she grimaced. "So, did you cut her up?"

"No, I joined her in the study of pain - another of her interests, and of course related to the flesh," said Scorpio, continuing with his own stew. "Look, if you can't stomach it, don't ask. As you say, I am still largely in one piece, as is Relmyna. Her purpose is not to kill but to torture, and I gave her a taste of that. I don't think anyone else did. Of course she responded in kind, she is an exceptionally powerful sorceress - much exceeding my abilities. I am surprised that she allowed me to do what I did at all. She must be a masochist in part as well as a sadist. So there. Now you know. Finish your stew."

This lecture was delivered in a matter-of-fact tone that made Lena shiver. Yes, Scorpio had many facets to him, and his immortality meant that suffering could continue forever. Suddenly Lena realised why so many dejected pawns made their way to the Bitterblack Isle - a place of pain as well as despair. Pain had become their normality, and they stopped seeking diversion from it, instead they embraced it.

"I am glad you came here instead," Lena said softly. "Bitterblack Isle was terrible. Dementia is nothing like that."

"Even if it has one or the other sado-masochist in it," Scorpio smiled. "Yes."

4 Sun's Dawn

The following day saw them collect the remaining items from the Garden of Flesh and Bone and head to Xaselm. "Best get it over with straight away," said Lena, finding it sickening to look at the bits of flesh and sacks of blood in her pack. Relmyna was going to use that to create a new Gatekeeper. No, they didn't actually come from her womb, although Lena suspected that the seeds for the Garden of Flesh and Bone did. "Sickening," she said under her breath, supporting her own pregnant belly.

Entering Xaselm through the back door, they found themselves right in Relmyna's laboratory.

"Oh hello!" She greeted them with an unexpected cheer, not taking her eyes off Scorpio. "Back for more?"

"No, we are back to make a new Gatekeeper," Lena replied, stepping forward. "You leave Scorpio alone!"

"Or what, little girl?" Relmyna sneered. "I could kill you on the spot. Or remove that bulge on your front."

"Now, now, ladies, stop it!" Both Dylan and Scorpio lunged forward seeing the flash of Lena's dagger and the sparkling of Relmyna's lightening. With hostilities averted, they really had to focus on the job at hand.

"Normally it's Sheogorath who chooses what goes into the new Gatekeeper," Relmyna pointed out. "But I haven't seen him in a while... Not since... oh..." she seemed to be lost in thought, which must have been pleasant, as she started smiling. Then, returning from her reverie, she added with a scorn: "But since he is not here, you will have to do."

"Why can't you choose the parts yourself?" Lena asked, suddenly realising that she never gave much thought to the ritual of creating a Gatekeeper.

"A child must have two parents," Relmyna rolled her eyes. "Even one born from magic," she added. "Didn't you realise that you had killed your own child with the last Gatekeeper? You created it with me, you were its parent!" She watched as Lena stood dumbfounded and terrified by this revelation. Relmyna's study of pain wasn't limited to its physical manifestations, and she knew very well that mental pain was far superior.

Lena pushed away the pain and the guilt. She couldn't have been an actual parent to that monster, could she? It was just Relmyna's trick, that's all. And the new Gatekeeper had to be created, regardless. She shot a glance at Scorpio noticing him watching her face. "I can do this," she told herself. And then she recalled Sheogorath's words: "Figure out what I would have done and do it." He would have fathered a monster with Relmyna, and make that monster - his child - to be fated to die in the hands of his future champion, a champion who would then have to father another monster fated for the same thing... And if that champion died prematurely, it would have to be Sheogorath fathering monsters over and over again. And now it was Lena's turn.

"Let's do it," she turned to Relmyna. "I am Lord Sheogorath."

[Lena Wolf]

6-7 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - Another emergency

"So, you figured it out," Sheogorath smiled at Lena when she stood before him in Crucible, having defended the Fringe from the forces of Order and rebuilt the Gatekeeper with Relmyna. "Well done. Yes, of course it's like last time - how did you think I knew what you were supposed to do?" He winked. "It's the same thing over and over again, every time. With some variations... like now." He nodded at a Mazken and an Aureal approaching the throne. "What is it?" He turned to them. "Not both of you this time?"

"My Lord, the forces of Order have broken into our Sanctuary and cut off the Wellspring!" The two missionaries exclaimed in chorus. "We are doomed!" They looked definitely panicked.

"See, this is what happens if you don't take sides," Sheogorath turned to Lena. "Had you replaced the Duke or the Duchess, only one side of Madness would have been affected, but now both of them are in trouble! It's all your fault!" He looked furious.

"No, it isn't!" Lena retorted, not fooled by Sheogorath's fury. "It's the forces of Order doing it! Not me! Definitely not me! I'll have nothing to do with Order!" She exclaimed hotly, surprising even herself.

"Well, you aren't exactly orderly, I'll give you that," Sheogorath chuckled. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

"What is there to do?" Lena smiled at him. "Go and free their Wellsprings, of course. Starting with..."

"Mazken!"

"Aureals!"

The two missionaries exclaimed simultaneously.

"Mazken," said Lena. "But you knew that already." She looked at the uncharacteristically joyful faces of the Mazken guards in the throne room and equally uncharacteristically dejected faces of the Aureals. "Oh, don't worry, I won't desert you. I'm only letting you wait because you're tougher," she winked at the nearest Mazken, and the Mazken nodded.

Out in the yard, Lena turned to Dylan and Scorpio.

"Dylan, you'll need to sit this one out. You are not coming with us," she said quite decisively.

"Why..? What..?" Dylan was taken aback.

"While the Wellspring is blocked, any Mazken killed remains killed, right?" Lena glared at him. "And you are asking why?"

This wasn't quite like that, to be fair, but yes, with the Wellspring blocked, there was a risk for the fallen Mazken to actually be permanently destroyed. And Lena was not prepared to take that risk with Dylan.

"Run ahead and tell the Mazken to prepare," she turned to the messenger. "I'll join you shortly - I know the way."

There was something she needed to do before yet another battle.

...

"You want what?" Cutter's eyes grew so big, Lena thought they were in danger of popping out of the sockets. "There is no armour for pregnant women!" She exclaimed with desperation. "Pregnant women don't fight!"

"Well, but look here, Cutter," Lena tried to reason with her. "I'm sure you've heard what's going on, you read the papers, don't you? Or at least frequent Bernice? Then you know we're in for a series of epic battles, and I happen to be the Champion. Please? I need something to protect my child!"

She stood there, in Cutter's smithy, hugging her belly for the full effect.

"Well, I suppose I could come up with something..." Cutter softened, measuring up Lena's shape. "How soon do you need it?" Then looking up at Lena, she read the answer on her face. "Yesterday, right? Literally. Ok. You'll have it by the morning," she said dismissively. The Mazken would just have to hold out until then.

7 Sun's Dawn

As usual, Cutter surpassed herself and produced a "pregnant woman's" Madness cuirass, much to Lena's delight and gratitude. With that, she and Scorpio set off for the Pinnacle Rock - the Mazken Sanctuary.

"It's a disaster!" The Mazken Captain met them at the door. "They've captured the Commander and are about to block the Wellspring! Then we'll be all petrified! Forever! Death! Death!!! Noooooo!"

Leaving panicking Captain behind, Lena gestured Scorpio to follow her inside.

"I've been here before - Dylan took me to the Wellspring a few times. It's easy enough. We go in, find that Commander, then go further in, and there in the depths there's the Wellspring, blocked by some Order crystals, no doubt. Lots of fighting before us, so get ready."

"What's that about being petrified though?" Scorpio squinted at her.

"Pay no mind to that," Lena shrugged. "They think that if the Wellspring gets blocked, all Mazken will immediately be petrified - turned to stone. Nonsense. The only Mazken that get petrified, are the ones standing right by the Wellspring, everyone else continues like before. There is a risk of being permanently killed if they fall in battle though. The risk we mortals face every day," she added with a shrug.

"Right," Scorpio nodded. "Good thing I'm not mortal."

The first wave of Knights of Order was upon them.

...

Going through the corridors of Pinnacle Rock was as straightforward as Lena had said, but even so, the Knights of Order made it anything but easy. The battles were intense, the Knights were tough, and Lena and Scorpio were getting tired.

"Where is this Commander?" Scorpio was peering into a dark corridor, something was flickering in its depths. "If she is not completely overjoyed to see us..."

Another wave of Knights interrupted him. It is said that every disaster has a silver lining, and in this case it was shimmering ever brighter right ahead of them. A wall of Order Crystals stood in the middle of a hall, with sparkles of lightening jumping from crystal to crystal. The crystals formed a cage, and a Mazken warrior was inside.

"There she is," Lena smiled at her. "Wait, there's a trick to these crystals..."

She walked around the room searching for something, while Scorpio held his axe at the ready - he expected another wave of Knights of Order to jump out of the crystals any minute. But that didn't happen. Instead, Lena found the "trick" and the crystals just crumbled.

"Impressive, mortal," the Commander stepped over the shiny rocks. "How did you know what to do?"

"Oh, it's... well..." Lena hesitated. "I've done something similar last time, it's the same as..." Last time Lena was helping the Aureals with exactly the same predicament.

"WHAT?!" The Commander flew into a rage. "Don't you dare say that! It's nothing like... Arrrghh!!"

Scorpio froze on the spot, not understanding what just happened. The Commander was glaring at Lena and Lena looked guilty, shuffling her feet and blushing a little.

"Well, would you like me to put it back up?" She finally said, sighing and looking at the Commander. "And then try to find a definitively different way to crumble that wall?"

"Well..." The Commander was cooling off. "That wouldn't be very productive, would it? Only a mortal could come up with such a stupid idea, really..."

"Err..." Lena decided to move things along. "Shouldn't we hurry to the Wellspring?"

"Yes, of course!" The Commander exclaimed automatically, her sense of duty pushing everything else out of her mind for a moment. "It's that way..." She turned to show the direction, but Lena had already grabbed Scorpio's arm and was running down the corridor. "Hey, how do you know where it is?" The Commander cried out, running after them.

"Been there before!" Lena shouted back. "Got the cure..!"

Another wave of Knights of Order put an end to that discussion.

When the dust settled, the Commander was looking pleased with herself and evidently decided to forgive Lena her earlier transgression.

"Why did she get so angry before?" Scorpio whispered in Lena's ear.

"Last time I did the same thing for the Aureals," Lena explained, also in whisper. "Their Sanctuary has exactly the same layout as this one, their Commander was captured in a cage of crystals exactly like the one here, and their Wellspring..." She looked around to make sure that the Mazken Commander was still out of earshot. "Their Wellspring is housed in exactly the same way as the one here. It's Sheogorath's duality, of course they are one and the same, or rather two sides of the same coin. But they won't hear about it! Not even a suggestion of a possible similarity between the Mazken and the Aureals can be tolerated..." At that point the Commander turned towards them, and Lena loudly concluded: "Shall we go then? We're done here, right?"

...

The next section of the fort held the Wellspring.

"It's right through there..." The Commander started pointing down the corridor, when suddenly she froze... No, she was petrified.

"It's blocked already," Lena gently touched the Commander's arm, feeling only stone under her fingertips. "The forces of Order have blocked the Wellspring," Lena turned to Scorpio. "This is what the Captain outside was so afraid of. Well, it's up to you and me to deal with those Knights and Priests now."

She cast on a shield, drew her sword and summoned a daedroth. Scorpio took a few steps forward, peering into the darkness where shiny shapes started appearing. Then quickly he stepped back, hiding behind the daedroth.

"Buy me a minute, will you," he shot a glance at Lena and she nodded, hunching forward her shoulders and gathering fire in her left hand. The daedroth shook casting on his shield, then lunged forward. The battle was on.

The Knights of Order were making a lot of noise when their metal limbs hit the stone floor and walls of the fort around them. They were also making a lot of noise while running, dodging and attacking - sometimes hitting other Knights instead of Lena and the daedroth. It was a complete chaos, with sparks and bursts of light flying everywhere, but Lena's objective was not to advance but to hold the line, protecting Scorpio behind her. He didn't need much time, it would only take a minute...

"Falling anvils, really?" Lena laughed, realising just what those falling rocks were reminding her of. The Knights got an anvil each, hitting them with a great force and knocking them on the ground. The daedroth gleefully stomped on the ones that weren't quite dead.

"A trick I picked up in Antaloor," Scorpio grinned, sipping a restorative potion. "Just as effective as rocks but so much more fun." He corked the bottle, looking serious now. "Quick - get that Priest while he's down, more Knights will be here in no time. I'll start on another spell..."

"Falling Sigil Stones this time?" Lena's eye twinkled.

"You'll see..." The sorcerer was entering his trance.

[macole]

Great job! Falling anvils, sounds like a Midas Magic spell. Iwould have liked to have seen that one.

This post has been edited by macole: Sep 12 2022, 03:52 PM

[Lena Wolf]

It is actually from Two Worlds II - one of the more advanced spells there. They also have falling rocks, but hey, who wants rocks when you can have anvils! Scorpio brings this spell to Oblivion - he will be eventually released after thorough testing of his mettle.

[Renee]

They are in Fort Dunstad, Lu and Lena. Yes, so true about the goblins keeping rats for pets .... and sustenance. Quite a parallel that these bandits also keep skeevers, probably for the same reasons. Not like there's any lack of them around, right? Much easier than trying to take down a mammoth.

Yikes, they're in Dawnstar Sanctuary! How does Lena feel about Astrid?

Wait, I'm looking at the wrong post. Hee hee, yeah I am. Okay. I'm up to the part when they're in Windhelm, inquiring about the murders. That's one of Skyrim's quests none of mine ever got around to doing. Maybe that'll change this winter.

Okay, NOW they're back in Dawnstar Sanctuary. Did you do some refurbishing in there?

Geralt lives in Lakeview Manor by the sound of it. I like that place. Or maybe Geralt just happens to be there, and Lena owns it. Ha, he's getting a unicorn. Funny.

Up to page 7 / 135.

This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 12 2022, 10:31 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Hey Renee! I think skeevers probably don't taste as good as a mammoth though. But hey - bandits are cheap.

That murder quest in Windhelm... Yeah, we solved it, witnessed the murder, and the guard was literally standing right there and doing absolutely nothing! No wonder they've got necromancers running amok.

Dawnstar Sanctuary: yeah, I tidied it up a bit. For one, they needed a double bed... There wasn't one. I didn't want them to use the floor... Hehe.

How Lena feels about Astrid? No love lost there. Astrid is essentially an imposter, certainly from Lena's point of view. Not in vanilla TES5, but this is not a vanilla TES5 story. In our story DB is not dead and Astrid's group is not DB. This is how I felt about it when playing TES5 anyway - it didn't feel right at all. Lena actually agrees with their mage - Festus Krex - he thought that without the structure and discipline of the original DB, their group was nothing but a bunch of lowlife murderers. He was right.

Lakeview Manor: yeah, it's nice. I like the location, too. Geralt is staying there, but it's Lena's house really. I'll be making a player house in the equivalent location in TWMP Skyrim Alive - it didn't make it into this release, but it will be added later. Wouldn't want to give it up!

The unicorn reference

[Renee]

Mm, that's what I figured. The Dawnstar Sanctuary in your gameworld has been given the Lena Wolf treatment.

Yes, my character who did DB in Skyrim despised Astrid for some reason. I don't really remember all the details. But my character (here she is) loved Babette and Cicero. Babs because my character always wanted children, yet could not bear. And Cicero because even though he's really annoying, he's at least quite lively. My Listener would "listen" to Cicero mumble and rant to himself for hours, while watching Babette sleep.

Congrads on making all the work you've been doing with TWMP, too. Really proud that a Chorrolite has been involved with that.

[Lena Wolf]

7 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - The fight

Fireballs were falling from above, hitting each and every Knight of Order in the area. Lena was sneaking between them, leaving them to their fate, trying to get to the next Priest instead. The Priest was out of reach of the rain of fire though, standing all the way at the back, behind tall obelisks of Order. Seeing his Knights burn up and crumble infuriated him beyond reason - he was shooting lighting in every direction without any particular target, and Lena tried to make sure not to become one.

"Kill the Priest, then quickly stuff three Hearts of Order into the obelisk," she kept repeating to herself as a mantra. That was definitely easier said than done. The Hearts had to be harvested from fallen Knights, which was easy, except for the part of making living Knights into fallen ones. Putting each Heart into the obelisk caused it to produce several fresh Knights for you to fight. The third heart would shut down the obelisk, but unless you had done it all quickly, the Priest would have been revived again and would try to reactivate the obelisk. And finally, even after both the obelisk and the Priest were out of action, the Knights would continue fighting until you killed each and every one of them...

Lena cast invisibility and quietly approached the Priest from behind, her Sufferthorn with paralyzing poison at the ready. One stab through the heart would kill any man, but Priests of Order were immortal as long as their Obelisks functioned. Yet, that magic-infused poison-coated dagger used from behind would be sufficient to knock out the Priest long enough to overload the obelisk with hearts and break the cycle. And should he wake up too early, the paralyzing poison would keep him down. In theory.

In practice it was all a lot more difficult, and it took Lena several stabs with her dagger to get the Priest down, which shaved off precious seconds from the paralysis duration. He would wake up any moment now... well, so be it. Lena dashed to the obelisk and started on the hearts.

The first heart produced three fresh Knights of Order who immediately rushed towards Lena. There was no time to cast two spells, so she cast invisibility and moved away. Confused, the Knights stopped, searching for something else to charge at. There was no time to lead them away... So Lena put the second Heart into the obelisk, dispelling her invisibility and instantly becoming the target of the three existing Knights and five fresh ones... Oh. Several swords hit her armour as she cast invisibility again.

Just one more heart to go...

At that point the obelisk produced a sharp lightning beam reviving the Priest of Order. It would take a few seconds and the cycle would start again! Not waiting for it, Lena threw the third heart into the obelisk which broke off the beam, but not before four fresh Knights of Order emerged from the lighting cloud. The Priest was on his feet too. A bit shaky, but alive and angry, he was charging his spell targeting the obelisk, trying to reactivate it...

"No, you don't!" Lena charged at him, drawing her sword this time. No time to cast a summoning spell - the Priest had to be interrupted before the obelisk would reactivate fully, and with its cap starting to lift up already, it had to be now!

Bzzzt!

Darkness.

...

Lena wasn't sure whether her eyes were open or closed, or whether she was alive or dead. Was this the Fade? She couldn't tell. The air around her seemed to be infused with lightning and shining, blinding flashes of white light. So many reflective surfaces... was she in a hall of mirrors?

Slowly the buzzing around her reached her consciousness and woke her up. Her eyes were open and she seemed to be alive. The shining reflective surfaces around her were the polished facets of the limbs and bodies of many Knights of Order, immobile and inactive. A huge ball of lightening above an obelisk was disappearing under the cap that was now moving down. "The Priest!" Lena remembered, scrambling to her feet. She had to prevent him from reactivating the obelisk. She looked around... yes, there he was, on the floor.

The Priest wasn't dead, but at least he was down. He could not be killed as long as the obelisk was active, and that was exactly the problem - the Priest and the obelisk kept reactivating each other. With the obelisk shutting down, Lena had to keep the Priest down as well, but he was stirring already. Wasn't this what happened just before she went down?

Still shaky from her own knock-out, Lena had no energy for a paralysing spell, and no time to coat her sword with a paralysing poison. This whole fight would restart in a moment...

A sudden frost permeated her body, she got hit with a frost spell, but who cast it? The Priests were masters of lightning, not frost, and the one before her was more concerned with reactivating the obelisk than with fighting. Frost... Lena felt a sudden surge of energy and hunger. With one leap, she fell onto the Priest who was about to cast his spell. Her fangs craved blood.

...

"This fight is too hard for you, mortal," Lena startled, hearing the Mazken Commander's voice just behind her. Mortal? Not quite, but the daedra looked down upon the immortality of vampires. "But I thank you anyway," the Commander continued. "You freed the Mazken Wellspring from the forces of Order!" Lena let go of the Priest's neck, using his robe as a napkin, and turned to the Commander. She didn't remember freeing the Wellspring, only fighting the Knights... But if the Commander was restored to her lively shape and biting language, then she must have freed the Wellspring somehow. "I grant you the power to summon a Mazken warrior to help in your battles!" The Commander continued in a rather solemn voice. "The Mazken will serve you now, Lord Sheogorath!"

She gave Lena a curt bow, turned around and marched off, leaving Lena standing amid the shiny remnants of the forces of Order. A tall figure in a Madness cuirass worn over a robe was approaching from the gloom of the corridor ahead.

"Glad to see you regain your strength," Scorpio said. "And sorry about that frost spell... but without it you were fading."

"Yeah, this fight was indeed too hard for me," Lena nodded, suddenly realising that her vampirism did not recede even though she drank mortal blood just now. "What happened? Did you free the Wellspring?"

"Yes," Scorpio was checking Lena's pulse. "You were doing all right with those hearts, but you lost a few moments, it seemed, and the Priest was waking up before you could get to him. I called up the lighting storm hoping to confuse them all as well as knock them out, but the Priest was immune to that... I couldn't get to him, so it had to be you."

"And you triggered my vampirism with that frost spell," Lena smiled at him. "That certainly gave me a kick!" She chuckled.

"You took down the Priest, the obelisk shut down, and after another lighting storm to clear the remaining Knights, I went and rang the chimes that crumbled the cage around the Wellspring," Scorpio concluded. "Then of course the Commander was here to thank you."

"While I was still feeding," Lena laughed. "Although that doesn't bother them at all."

"Job done, I'd say," Scorpio looked relieved. "Except... why are you still a vampire?"

"I shouldn't be," Lena agreed. "I'll have to feed again, sometimes it takes several goes. Or may be I'll keep it for a while - it is rather helpful in a fight, and we still have the Aureals' Wellspring to do!"

"But not before you get a good rest!" Scorpio took her arm and started walking towards the exit. "We'll return to Crucible, have a good dinner at Bernice's, then a proper night's sleep, and only then..."

They kept talking all the way to New Sheoth, where the Mazken guards greeted Lena with the new found respect for her as Lord Sheogorath.

[Lena Wolf]

8 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - A repeat of the day before

"I'm coming with your this time, end of story," Dylan was quite adamant at breakfast with Lena and Scorpio. "Resorting to triggering vampirism is going too far, especially in your condition," he added, pointing at Lena's pregnant belly. "And with the Mazken Wellspring restored, you cannot have any objections!" He concluded hotly.

"All right, all right," Lena was quite taken aback. "Sheesh... Let's just hope the Aureals will let you in, that's all."

...

Brellach was the Aureal Sanctuary and it had suffered the same fate from the forces of Order as the Mazken Sanctuary: it was invaded and the Wellspring was about to be blocked. The task of freeing it was nearly identical to the task of freeing the Mazken Wellspring that Lena and Scorpio accomplished the day before. The fighting had been heavy and fierce, probably too heavy for Lena, because she couldn't quite get those obelisks shut down and Priests killed without the extra strength and agility of a full-blown vampire. But every time her vampirism was triggered, it was getting a little more difficult to get it to recede again, so even though she fed on living blood since, she was still a vampire, which could not be good for the child she was carrying, as Dylan pointed out.

And so Lena, Scorpio and Dylan stood in front of the gates of Brellach, ready to undertake its rescue.

"He is not coming in!" The Aureal Captain glared at Dylan. "It is already a transgression to let a mortal in, but we'll make an exception for you as Sheogorath's Champion," he turned to Lena. "But no Mazken scum will drag his filth into our Sanctuary!"

And if his words weren't enough, he promptly attacked Dylan and a good old brawl followed.

"Hey!" Lena tried to put a stop to it. "HEY!!! By Sheogorath, STOP IT!!!"

The Prince's name worked its magic and the Captain and Dylan let go of each other's throats.

"Look here, Captain," Lena decided to try diplomacy. "Your Wellspring is about to be blocked by the forces of Order who have already invaded your Sanctuary and captured your Commander, right?"

"Y-yes," he nodded, looking worried. "How did you know about the Commander?" He squinted at Dylan.

"No, Dylan didn't tell me," Lena said decisively. "Sheogorath told me," she lied. It worked, and the Captain gave her his full attention. "It is not going to be easy to defeat them, and as soon as the Wellspring gets blocked, all of you will be petrified and won't be able to help," she added, stressing the word "petrified". The Captain winced and reluctantly agreed.

"Well, when you put it this way..." He eyed Lena's pregnant figure. "A mortal Champion, especially one with such a disfigurement, would require all the help she can get..." He eyed Scorpio as well, but seeing his robe, turned away in disdain. "And your only other friend is a mage! He'll be of no use in battle, I reckon." Scorpio raised an eyebrow and gave a little laugh, but didn't say anything. "Well, all right," the Captain sighed. "But don't make it into a habit!" He glared at Dylan. "This is a one in a lifetime exception, you hear me?!"

And before Dylan and the Captain could start another brawl, Lena grabbed Dylan's arm and hurried to enter Brellach.

...

Lightning was still fizzing around shiny metal objects on the floor that used to be Knights of Order. As soon as Lena, Scorpio and Dylan entered Brellach, they got attacked by a large group of Knights that were guarding the entrance hall. Dylan rushed right at them, Lena followed just behind him, and Scorpio stood back for a minute summoning a lightning storm. As soon as the storm hit, the battle was over.

"No use in battle, indeed," Dylan smirked, bashing in the last half-dead Knight's head. "But it must have been hard on you to take the heat every time," he turned to Lena. "Especially when you had to juggle those hearts trying to shut down an obelisk."

"Yeah, it was tricky," Lena nodded. "This time it will be a walk in the park," she smirked. "Come on, more shinies are just ahead."

...

"We've been betrayed!" The Aureals Commander screamed with rage when the crystals forming the walls of her cage were shattered. She glared at Dylan, then lashed out at Lena: "Traitor!" Her sword made a clanking noise when it hit Lena's Madness cuirass and was repelled by it. It seemed Cutter didn't just put her skill into that cuirass, but also her allegiance.

The Commander's outburst was quickly subdued by the combined forces of Dylan and Scorpio, and Lena had to jump in to prevent them from killing the Commander.

"No, you can't!" She bellowed and everyone froze, not quite expecting such a booming voice from a little Breton woman.

Zul Mey Gut!

"What..?" After the shock of Lena's bellowing scream, came an eerie sound, quite loud but not overpowering, sounding here, there and everywhere... "What was that? Who said that?" Dylan and Scorpio let go of the Commander, and the Commander sheathed her sword, more concerned by the sound than by the would-be traitors before her.

"We are no traitors," Lena said calmly. "We are here to rescue your Wellspring from the forces of Order. I am Sheogorath's Champion."

"But I heard a dragon," the Commander turned to her. "That was Alduin's call."

"Not Alduin's," Lena shook her head. "I am Dragonborn."

"Oh." The Commander measured up Lena with her gaze. "Previous Dragonborn were more impressive," she added in her usual haughty tone. "Well, mortal, you freed me, and now you will assist me in freeing our Wellspring. You may bring your... companions," she added, throwing disgusted glances at Dylan and Scorpio, then lingering on Dylan, she breathed in, ready to utter a new objection to this "Mazken scum" no doubt, but Lena already started marching down the corridor, with Dylan and Scorpio following. "Hey, how do you know where it is?!" The Commander shouted, running after them.

"Done it last time already," answered Lena, without stopping. "But you chose to forget that bit," she added after a moment. She'd had enough of daedric insults.

...

"Well, that's the Aureals out of the way," Lena sighed with relief when the Commander and a few Aureals around her turned to stone in the next section of the fort. "The forces of Order have finally blocked the Wellspring, so it's up to us again to deal with them," she added, turning to Dylan and Scorpio. "At least we know what to do."

"The same as yesterday," Scorpio nodded, taking up a position in a dark corner.

"But this time I'll take the heat so you can run around the obelisks," Dylan readied his mace.

Lena was just going to summon Dessos as well, or may be a Mazken warrior, or at least a daedroth, but just like the day before, a wave of Knights of Order was upon them before she had time to make up her mind. Too many choices can make life difficult at times. So, without thinking, she summoned a clannfear - a spell she had practised so many times, that it came to her almost like a reflex. The clannfear let out a high pitched shriek and tore through the Knights of Order like a hot knife through butter. Lena threw the last glance at the chaos behind her, made sure that Scorpio was well out of sight, cast invisibility and focussed on locating the nearest Priest and his obelisk.

...

"That wasn't nearly as hard as yesterday," Scorpio came out of the darkness when the last Priest of Order and his obelisk was dealt with. Dylan was finishing a few remaining Knights that weren't quite put out by the fire, frost and lightning that Scorpio kept raining on them.

"No anvils today?" Lena looked around in slight disappointment.

"That spell takes too much energy to cast," Scorpio shook his head. "Elemental magic is far easier, and I had to cast a lot of it today," he kicked some shiny bits out of the way. "They are less susceptible to it than to the brute force of a falling anvil, but it still works well enough," he smiled. "Shall we ring the chimes and remove the blockage from the Wellspring?"

"Not yet," Lena winked. "We are in no rush."

Dylan laughed with gratitude and Scorpio spotted a bench and dropped onto it, his tiredness obvious now. "No rush indeed!" He nodded smiling, reaching for his last restorative potion.

Lena left them to sit and relax and proceeded to check every Priest on the ground. Was any of them still alive? "Yes, you will do nicely," she finally found one that was deeply unconscious but still breathing. She hadn't fed for over a day, and with all the running around and fighting, she was famished as well as tired. Hoping that this time she would not be interrupted, she bit his neck.

...

"Ah, you look better!" Scorpio smiled at her when she returned to their bench, her cheeks pink and her eyes amber.

"It was time to put vampirism back in remission," Lena nodded, "and those Priests weren't supposed to survive anyway. Let's ring the chimes and free the Wellspring, I've had enough of this place."

...

"...and the Aureals will serve you now, Lord Sheogorath!" The Commander finished her speech of thanks, and Lena, Dylan and Scorpio could finally leave for New Sheoth.

"So, what's next?" Dylan asked, shaking off the "golden mud", as he put it.

"Now we return to Sheogorath just in time to watch him transform into Jyggalag," smirked Lena. "I'm sure he'll wait for us to actually see it. Quite a spectacle! He'll break his cane in the process, and his cane is not just a walking stick, it's an enchanted staff, and I'll have to get my own. That's more dungeon delving and fighting, with a few twists along the way. And then, soon after that anyway, I'll have to face Jyggalag in a duel. If I fail to defeat him, this Realm will crumble, as it has done many times. But last time I won, and I intend to do it again," she concluded firmly. "So, get ready for the show."

[Lena Wolf]

11-15 Sun's Dawn, 4E203 - Symbol of Office

"You again!" Dyus looked bored. "I already told you how to get Sheogorath's Symbol of Office! What are you doing here, anyway?"

"You told me last time," Lena sighed. "History is repeating itself - there's another Greymarch going on, and I am the Champion again."

"Oh, I hadn't realised it's already another era," Dyus sighed too. "I must have dozed off for a few centuries... It's not easy being a Chamberlain to a Prince that is never there."

"But... Why are you still here?" Lena suddenly realised she never understood why Dyus was kept alive. "If you used to be the Chamberlain to Jyggalag when Jyggalag was a proper Prince, then why did Sheogorath not kill you when he took over?"

"You aren't as smart as you should be," Dyus clicked his tongue. "If I was dead, who would have produced Sheogorath's cane for you? Eh? That Haskill isn't up to it!" He snorted.

"Tell me about Jyggalag," Lena said suddenly. "About the time before Sheogorath. I know it was the other Princes who created him, but I don't understand why Jyggalag keeps resurging."

"Well..." Dyus smiled and shifted in his chair. "If you must know..." He was about to start his tale when a suspicion made him reconsider. "Actually, why do you need to know this? Just get on with your saving-the-madness business! Jyggalag will vanish again, whether you defeat him or not." He squinted at Lena.

"It's not the madness that I am saving," Lena shook her head. "Although being Sheogorath's Champion undoubtedly qualifies me as mad, I like to think that I'm not crazy," she smiled at her own pun. "I'm doing it because of the people who inhabit the Shivering Isles. It's their home. They are - as orderly people like to put it - not right in their heads one way or the other. They are different. They don't fit in the societies that they come from. But here in the Isles different is normal, eccentricity is expected. If Jyggalag wins the battle, the Isles will crumble and everyone living here will die. It is for them that I fight."

"That doesn't explain why you need to know about Jyggalag," Dyus wasn't convinced.

"I don't need to know, I want to know," Lena tried again. "Is it that the Daedric curse had failed and the other Princes didn't manage to fully transform Jyggalag into Sheogorath? Is it because they've done it on purpose so as not to allow madness to take hold? Or..?"

"None of it and all of it," Dyus' expression softened. "Sanity is considered to be middle ground to everything - a perfectly sane person is moderate in every aspect of his life. He is as grey as my robe," Dyus smirked. "I used to think of myself as perfectly sane... as did Jyggalag. But look around you. The obelisks are perfectly symmetrical, mathematical even... The metal is perfectly smooth to the point that it shines... The Knights of Order are all exactly the same..." Dyus' glance became wistful. "Does that sound like middle ground to you?"

"It's another extreme," Lena nodded. "Then the duality of Sheogorath is not just in Mania and Dementia, but also in life versus order... life versus death."

"Death?" Dyus jumped in his chair. "You equate Jyggalag with death?"

"His Knights' hearts do not beat," Lena looked thoughtful. "His Priests are under a coercion spell of some kind, and the people that they convert, come under that spell too. They give up their lives. They are still breathing, but I've seen zombies with more creativity."

"Ah," Dyus was smiling. "So, what is life?"

...

This discourse with the Keeper of the Library of Jyggalag took the better part of the day. Strictly speaking, Lena didn't have to come to him yet, she could have simply gone to collect the two ingredients that she knew she needed for her Symbol of Office of Sheogorath, but since Dyus had to make that cane, she thought it polite to see him first.

"Would you like to be released from this place?" She suddenly asked, remembering how Dyus had complained of being imprisoned there.

"Released?" He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, the official tale..." he smiled. "I complained of being imprisoned here, didn't I?" He chuckled. "Well, it is officially true. In reality however I could walk out those doors any moment, but where would I go? And more importantly - why? The world outside is too chaotic for the likes of me. No, thank you, I quite like my 'prison'."

"Then you belong in the land of Sheogorath," Lena smiled.

...

The two items that Lena needed for her Symbol of Office were the Eye of Ciirta and a Branch of the Tree of Shades. Ciirta was supposedly the only survivor of the previous Greymarch, and she had seen with her very eyes that Sheogorath was not there to defend his Realm when Jyggalag appeared. However, she had no idea that Sheogorath and Jyggalag were one and the same, and so she proclaimed that Sheogorath had "run off" and abandoned them. With that mighty knowledge she founded an anti-Sheogorath cult, and her eye would therefore form a nice topping for Lena's Symbol of Office.

But this was the last time around, and it made sense then. Now things were different. Ciirta was by no means the only survivor of the previous Greymarch because Lena had defeated Jyggalag in a duel and the Realm did not crumble. Everyone survived! Except Ciirta who died by Lena's hand, so that Lena could have the eye for her Symbol of Office then.

"I bet there's another Ciirta though," Lena was musing on her way to the Howling Halls. Fanatics didn't need the basis of their cult to be true, they just needed it to be catchy. She had no doubt that some woman calling herself Ciirta would be there claiming to have seen Sheogorath running off and abandoning his Realm. "So getting her eye simply equates to rooting out a nasty nest of cultists," Lena concluded. It was almost too sane for the Isles.

13 Sun's Dawn

The Howling Halls was filled with heretics - deniers of Sheogorath. There were quite a few of them in the Shivering Isles, and the most fanatical ones seemed to have flocked here. Their fanaticism however also made them blind to the possibility of being removed, one by one, by Sheogorath's Champion. Lena remembered the difficult battles she got into last time; these heretics were formidable fighters, and their magic was very strong. There were two ways of going about getting Ciirta's eye: the hard way and the clever way. The hard way was fighting the heretics, the clever way was to confuse them, get straight to Ciirta and minimise the fighting. After all, put on one of their robes, and they would think you were one of them... Up to a point, as Lena found out on many occasions. The heretics weren't complete idiots, after a while they attacked you anyway.

No, Lena didn't like either of those ways very much, and so she chose the third way: quiet assassination. Yes, there were a lot of heretics to deal with, but Lena had enough poisons for all of them. What better opportunity to practice her chameleon spell - she was still nowhere nearly as good at it as Lucien.

She proceeded methodically from room to room using the same strategy: cast on chameleon and stay out of sight; cast frenzy on a group of heretics and wait until they start fighting; then shoot poisoned arrows at them, one per person, so as not to attract attention. Beware of their summons. Keep to the shadows. Finish off any survivors with a dagger from the dark.

Finally she found Ciirta. Not the same woman as last time of course, but she was the leader of these heretics and that's what counted - her eye would do.

...

With the heretics eliminated, Lena returned to Crucible for some rest, after all she had been out in the field for over three days. Dylan and Scorpio were not keen to let her go on her own, but she insisted that getting her Symbol of Office was a task for her alone, in particular the task of getting a Branch of the Tree of Shades that she had to do next.

15 Sun's Dawn

The Tree of Shades stood in Milchar. It was a very large ruin filled with the usual monsters, and although Dylan or Scorpio could very well have helped Lena to get through those areas, she decided to do the whole thing on her own. She spent the previous day making poisons for the creatures and potions for herself, while Dylan insisted on going over her gear and having Cutter polish out every last dent on Lena's armour, even though Lena had protested that she was going to a fight and not a fashion show. "You are going to want to be sneaking in heavy armour," Dylan shook his head. "It must fit you perfectly, or you'll be heard from miles away." This was a good argument, she had to admit.

Going through the halls of Milchar, Lena was mentally thanking Dylan for his diligence.

Finally, she reached her goal - the Grove of Reflection. The Tree of Shades spread its branches there, just cut one off and leave. But Lena knew that it wasn't that simple. Any minute now... she readied her Shadowhunt with a poisoned arrow knocked on.

There was a hollow sound and an assassin in Madness armour appeared in the centre of the grove, readying her own Shadowhunt... But Lena shot first, then summoned a daedroth while the assassin was momentarily staggered by the shot. The poison was silencing her, so no second daedroth appeared.

Lena knew the assassin's weakness: she wasn't strong in a head on melee combat, and her Apprentice birthsign made her vulnerable to magic. But she had a bag full of poisons and antidotes, as well as some shielding jewellery, and Lena was determined not to allow the assassin to use any of that. Another arrow with silencing poison followed, and the daedroth started pressing the assassin into a corner. A shock bolt or a fireball would be helpful too, Lena thought, as long as she stayed away from frost spells as those might trigger the assassin's vampirism, and that was the one advantage that Lena did not wish to face - a vampire's invisibility spell could not be silenced.

But there was no time for an arrow and a fireball, Lena had to choose, and decided for another arrow with an electrocution poison - her specialty. The daedroth was keeping the assassin busy, preventing her from drinking potions or poisoning her own weapons.

Then - puff! The daedroth was gone, banished to Oblivion.

"I've got poisons too," the assassin grinned, knocking on an arrow. "I've had a few weapons poisoned in advance, Sister."

A sharp pain tore through Lena's shoulder - the arrow got her under the pauldron. She felt her blood boil with poison, then cold braced her, and she thought she would faint... what kind of poison was that? She wondered.

"Excellent stuff," the assassin came closer, watching Lena convulsing with pain on the ground. She unsheathed her Sufferthorn, also glistening with poisonous coating. "I like the paralysing effect, makes it so much easier to get things done. Here, let me finish it."

But before the tip of the assassin's dagger could make contact with Lena's side, just under the arm, at an angle to get her heart, Lena was on her feet leaping away in an unbelievable jump that left her astounded and the assassin confused. Lena touched her teeth - the fangs had returned. Evidently, paralysis got wiped away by resurging vampirism.

The battle was quickly ended after that. Hidden by the Embrace of Shadows, Lena approached the assassin from behind and put her own Sufferthorn through the assassin's side, just under the arm, at an angle to get the heart. It was all over. Lena bent over the assassin's corpse, putting a hand on the belly - there was no heartbeat inside. "The clone isn't perfect," Lena reflected, as the new life of Lena's unborn child had not been duplicated. She took the assassin's new weapon - Shadowrend - and claimed a branch from the Tree of Shades.

...

"Well, well! The vampire returns," Dyus greeted Lena with a smile. "You were a vampire last time as well, I remember. Got triggered fighting yourself, did it?" He took the Eye of Ciirta and the Branch of the Tree of Shades and busied with making the Staff of Sheogorath for Lena.

"Yeah, she is a nasty piece of work," Lena grinned. "But she forgot to avoid poisons with frost effects. And there was no child in her belly."

"Ah, that is interesting!" Dyus turned around, nearly dropping the staff. "We didn't consider that the Champion might be pregnant! Most interesting indeed! I would need to adjust the calculations..." His eyes glazed over in thought, and Lena hurried to bring him back from his trance.

"Yes, later! Don't drop that staff!" And when Dyus got back to it, Lena remembered something: "What do you mean - we will have to adjust the calculation? Who is we?"

"Sheogorath and I, of course," Dyus smiled. "Why do you think he keeps me alive?" He winked, handing her the finished staff. "Now, you know what to do with it - dip it into the Font of Madness to activate. Go on, I've got work to do..." And with that he walked off into what used to be the Library of Jyggalag, and Lena got the distinct impression that the Library was still there, simply veiled rather than destroyed.

She got her staff, so she left too.

[Renee]

Page 7, post 135: I like this title, A Woman's Scorn! Wow, Lena's being spied upon by Rayenna, whoever that is. Doesn't really matter though, I bet Rayenna won't make it to the end of this episode. Oh wow, you're giving an entire backstory to this scorned Redguard. What a pleasure.

"Rayenna met Lucien on many occasions - she made sure to create them." -- that's intense! Hmm, and she thinks Lena is just in her 20s, as well.

Up to 137.