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

[Lena Wolf]

30 Rain's Hand - 3 Second Seed, 4E202 - Aquanostrum - Rotten Den - Obelisks

By the time they got to the Knotty Bramble and fought off the sentries, it was nearly 10 p.m.

"Knotty Bramble is a large cave system and the grummites in there guard their hatchlings well" - said Lena turning to Dylan. "Let's not go in just now. Passwall is not far, we can spend the night at the inn there - and have a decent meal. Then return here tomorrow."

Dylan didn't argue - it was a brilliant idea, as far as he was concerned. He had enough of fruit and mushrooms.

1 Second Seed

"Do you have to stop at every root stalk, withering moon and watcher's eye that we come across?" - Dylan was getting impatient as Lena kept stopping to take cuttings from the plants along the way.

"Yes, I do" - confirmed Lena, getting up. "We need more poisons - the grummites are getting stronger further in. I haven't got enough today, have to keep them for the last, so want to be better prepared for the next time. Unless you enjoy getting knocked out all the time of course" - she winked.

No, Dylan didn't enjoy getting knocked out.

"Well, all right then" - he conceded. "But if that's the case, perhaps we should just go collecting ingredients in some easier cave."

"Easier cave? Which one is that?" - Lena laughed. "If it isn't grummites, it'll be gnarls or elytras, and I don't know which is worse."

They got Aquanostrum for Bernice.

"Why do you even bother with her?" - asked Dylan. "You know Aquanostrum is not going to cure her Hypochondria."

"True" - agreed Lena. "But it makes her feel better, for a time. Just because her illness is in her head, it doesn't make it any less real."

They spent the night at the Inlet Camp near Fellmore. No fighting was required. The bedrolls were not of the first freshness, it's true, but the camp had roofed shelter which was welcome in that pouring rain. They ate smoked balliwog legs with lettuce and alocasia fruit, washing it down with Fellmore Red. The air was warm and damp, absorbing their tiredness as a sponge. It rained all night.

2 Second Seed

"Rotten Den?" - Dylan looked at Lena suspiciously. "Zealots. So I take it you want to go in to search for the Fork?"

He was right.

Rotten Den was big and complicated - twisting tunnels with traps and spellcasting statues, and of course zealots with their Flesh Atronach summons. And no sign of any kind of storage where there would be a chance to find the Fork of Horripilation. But then eventually they came into a tunnel with nothing but a hole in the floor. Lena jumped, Dylan didn't.

"I'll just see where this leads you" - he shouted through the hole.

The tunnel that Lena landed in was also empty, except for a hole in the floor. She jumped again. And again. Eventually she found herself landing almost on top of Shambles. Great.

Lena was alone, and she wasn't really after shamble remains, but after the Fork. So she summoned a daedroth as a diversion, cast a chameleon cloak and sneaked past that shambles. This was a smart move - her 30% chameleon allowed her to move unseen, plus she could reinforce it with complete invisibility when necessary. There were a lot of shambles on that level, and she even discovered why: in one of the caverns there were stacks and stacks of coffins, and they were not empty. Someone tied them down with roots - apparently the occupants were keen to get out. Several shambles where pacing among the coffins.

"Shambles are not human or mer" - Lena was thinking. "But they are undead and always turn up near coffins. I wonder if there is a connection..."

But she had to focus on remaining undetected and on checking for chests or urns, so she dismissed these philosophical thoughts until later.

"The Sanctum! That's what it is!" - a tunnel suddenly came into room with stone walls and floor and a giant grummite statue. A zealot was praying to it.

There was a chest by the statue, but alas - no Fork.

After some more wandering in the tunnels among the shambles, Lena found another root door. Dylan was waiting on the other side.

"I found another way, and figured you'd come out here sooner or later. Did you find the Fork?"

"No" - Lena grimaced. "Just lots of coffins and shambles."

"Oh I am not regretting missing that!" - Dylan laughed.

They've gone through the entire den, and still didn't find the Fork. It was well past midnight. At least they could make use of a rather nice camp in one of the caverns.

3 Second Seed

"Ok, but now we go straight to New Sheoth" - Dylan said in the morning. "Please? I am not actually a warrior - our girls do that."

"I'm not a warrior either" - laughed Lena. "I just get into a lot of fights for some reason."

"Oh - and you are certainly not seeking them out, yes, I see" - Dylan shook his head.

Coming out of the Rotten Den, they went to New Sheoth in a straight line. Although this was supposed to be the shortest way, it was far from the easiest. They encountered an unmarked zealot shrine with six zealots (and six summons), a camp with grummites (including a magus deathbringer), seven gnarls (some elder), seven or eight loose grummites, and two Obelisks of Order. The first one was easy to shut down - they got lucky - so they only had to fight five knights and a priest, but the second one kept reactivating itself, and they ended up fighting a small army of knights (sixteen in all) and the priest (revived four times). Oh, and an odd scalon and baliwog, but they lost count of those.

Finally, they stood at the gates of New Sheoth. It was 3 a.m.

"Am I the only Mazken fighting those knights of order?" - asked Dylan with a sigh. "It certainly feels like it."

"You probably are, at this point. Patrols don't venture into the countryside." Lena felt that Dylan needed some sympathy and reassurance. "You are also the only Mazken to make your Mazken girls jealous." She put her arms around him and gave him a long kiss - in full view of the guard by the gate. That worked - the guard glared at them.

"How may I serve?" - she asked, baring her teeth in a grimace that didn't look like a smile.

"Thanks, but you don't compare" - answered Lena, taking Dylan's hand and opening the gate. "Come" - she turned to Dylan. "Bernice will have food for us, and then we can finally rest up!"

Dylan followed her through the gate, watching the glaring Mazken guard from the corner of his eye. He felt good about himself. Perhaps a lesser warrior than his female counterparts, but still appreciated. He could live with that.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:13 PM

[Lena Wolf]

4 Second Seed, 4E202 - Back from the Shivering Isles

"It's time for me to go back" - Lena looked at Dylan and took his hand. "Don't get too lonely without me - find something to do. I'll be back."

"How do you deal with it? When you leave your friends for a time?"

"You get busy with something else, and you make new friends."

"I've left the Mazken order. They won't talk to me."

"No... Well... Two things I can suggest" - Lena looked pensive. "First - ask Sheogorath to release you. Then you can travel to Mundus and to other realms, this will take your mind off things." Dylan shook his head. "Second - talk to the mortals living here. They might surprise you."

"Mazken don't talk to mortals!"

"No? You're talking to one now..." - she smiled.

Dylan looked confused.

"Well... May be I'll just get lucky and Sheogorath will banish me again... until you return" - he said hopefully.

"I think he won't" - Lena recalled her conversation with Sheogorath. "I think he'll let you learn to live like mortals do - without escapes."

She hugged Dylan and kissed him on the cheek.

"You'll figure it out. Ask Jayred Ice-Veins - he's around here somewhere. He's a nice guy and fun to be with - you can go hunting together."

"He's that crazy Nord hunter" - Dylan looked perplexed.

"Perhaps. But he can tell you a thing or two about being mortal."

"You mortals are confusing" - Dylan finally gave up trying to make sense of it all. "But perhaps you're right. And you can bring your friend next time - I won't stay away. After all, if it weren't for him, you would have died in that cave with the chalice."

It was now Lena's turn to look perplexed - and outraged.

"What?!"

"Nothing. Ask him." Dylan smiled. "Go on - do your thing. And I'll go look for Jayred."

...

Jowan was staying at the Mages Guild, so when Lena returned from the Shivering Isles, she found Hauk alone in her house in Bravil reading a book.

"Ah, you're back!" - he greeted her. "Good to see you."

Lena sat by the fire, keeping her gaze on Hauk as he went back to his book.

"What?" - he felt it after a while.

"I saw Dylan."

"About time."

"You knew he'd be there?" - she said, her eyes narrowing.

"No, I didn't. But I had hoped he'd show up without me around. I made some enquiries last time."

"I nearly died! Thadon tried to kill me with that felldew."

"Which is why I made enquiries after he gave you that task last time. I didn't trust him. But I too would have had to take felldew to enter the cave, so my blood would not have saved you. Mazken don't need felldew to enter."

"Right, so you knew that Dylan would show up."

"I knew that someone would come to your aid, I was promised that. Seducers can be friendly, you know" - he winked.

Lena was torn between anger and gratitude. Then something else rose in her - doubt.

"So you weren't jealous?"

"Of Dylan? Oh yes" - Hauk looked at her, searching. "With a good reason, I see. But I'm glad you had fun." He went back to his book.

Lena opened a bottle of Tamika West Weald, poured a goblet for herself, got a bottle of mead for Hauk.

"Dylan doesn't want to come to Mundus" - she said. "And there was something he said... about choices."

"It's too early" - Hauk replied not looking up from the book. "You're not ready yet."

They sat in silence for some time, Hauk slowly turning pages, Lena wondering why several people had been telling her the same thing recently - that she wasn't ready to make any choices yet. When would she be ready? Would she ever be?

"You worry unnecessarily" - Hauk suddenly put down his book. "It's written all over your face" - he smiled. "You have some real friends - myself included - there is no need to choose between us, there never will be a need to choose between your friends. It hasn't been all that long since you returned from that long stay in the Shivering Isles. There are other people in your life that you need to get to know better, people who..." Lena looked up. "Ah, you know who I mean." Hauk nodded. "And yes, I'll be jealous. But I love you - and that means I have to let you find yourself. There, I said it now."

He kept his eyes on Lena for a while, then went back to his book. He wasn't turning any pages.

Lena sat watching him, sipping her wine. Then she got up and went over to sit next to him on the settee. She put her head on his shoulder. He pulled her close. They sat together, like that evening in Ansilvund, but this time Lena wasn't crying. She was quietly smiling - she found peace. She knew what she had to do next.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:14 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Something about Jayred. What follows happened a couple of months back, when Lena returned to Mundus but Hauk remained in the Shivering Isles. Apparently, this was when he made "enquiries" regarding Thadon's task to retrieve the chalice. Besides that, Hauk also wanted to explore the Isles for himself a bit, and who better to do it with than Jayred Ice-Veins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

15 Sun's Dawn, 4E202 - Hauk and Jayred

Lena left the Shivering Isles to attend to some business back in Cyrodiil, but Hauk remained in Crucible until her return. He wanted to explore these lands for himself.

Hauk was no stranger to finding his way in foreign lands. In Antaloor he became a mercenary, in Skyrim during the Great War he was officially a travelling book merchant, but here in the Shivering Isles he decided to see whether the smiths in New Sheoth would be interested in amber and madness ore. Their rivalry was amusing, too.

He went out of the gates of Crucible and ran into Jayred Ice-Veins.

"Oh hello" - Hauk greeted Jayred from a distance. "Do you want to go hunting together? I am looking for amber and madness ore."

"Do the bones call to you too?" - was Jayred's usual greeting, but he agreed. "I don't normally go into caves and dungeons, but together we won't have a problem. I wonder what kind of bones we'll find there?"

Two Nords set off on a hunt... The wild life stood no chance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

16 Sun's Dawn, 4E202 - Swampgas Hole - Bones

Hauk and Jayred set off from Crucible going South. They ran into a few lone creatures whom they defeated quite easily. Climbing the Jester's Spine Mountains at the Heretics Horn, they were attacked by a pair of particularly aggressive zealots - they found the Howling Halls.

"I hope there are no balverines here" - commented Hauk recalling his less than pleasant encounters in Albion.

"What are they?" - asked Jayred with interest.

"Werewolves of sorts. Similar to the ones in Skyrim, except balverines prefer to stay in their beast form."

"Like some in Skyrim, too. Ever met Farkas?" - Jayred grinned and was going to add something when he got knocked over by a scalon emerging from its invisibility cloak.

"Bloody water balverine!!!" - howled Hauk charging.

The scalon dealt with, they entered the Howling Halls. There were no balverines inside, but they were met by three angry zealot patriarchs emerging from twisted passages. The battle was fierce, and Jayred was struggling to get a good line of sight for the bow. Flesh atronachs could jump as well as the scalons, and the zealots were quick on their feet and deadly with their shock spells. Six agains three, counting the summons, unfair as always.

"I don't like to fight humans" - Jayred was saying getting up after another knock-out. "I prefer beasts. Hunting."

Hauk had been knocked out too, repeatedly. But as long as a mage is alive - even if unconscious - his summon keeps on fighting. Hauk's zombies were no match for the zealots' flesh atronachs but they were more than a match for the zealots themselves - and perceptive to tell a mage from a summon. At length, they won.

The zealots must have been planning something important though because the main part of the Howling Halls was locked and barred. The three patriarchs inside and the two outside were clearly just the sentries.

"I'm glad we could not get in" - said Jayred when they were back outside. "Let's go find some beasts instead."

Following the mountain ridge South, they noticed that some of the larger mushroom trees had cave entrances between their roots. The first one seemed to be a dead end blocked by roots, yet promising creatures inside. After a bit of nosing around, they found another entrance. Swampgas Hole was inhabited by gnarls.

"Great - beasts!" - Jayred was getting excited. "Not exactly bones, but fun to chase!"

He came to regret this shortly afterwards. Five Elder Gnarls swarmed on them in the first swampgas hole - there was a reason the cave had this name. They were pinned down and knocked out over and over. Again, Hauk's summon fought on - a Skeleton Guardian, steady, tough, long lasting, and not using spells.

"I wonder if they make for good firewood" - said Hauk collecting bark and amber.

"No, they smoke too much" - replied Jayred extracting arrows from them.

It took them 36 hours to go through the entire system. They found a bedroll in the depth with a skeleton still resting on it, and decided it wasn't a good place to make camp.

Back outside, it was pouring with rain which was pleasantly cool on their bruises and their hot heads. With the armour completely thrashed and weapons badly degraded, they decided to return to Crucible for food, rest and repairs. They stopped by Bernice's to pick up supplies but didn't want to eat there with her incessant coughing - the Wolf House was just across the street.

"That was some punch-up!" - Jayred was saying with satisfaction taking a good bite out of a smoked baliwog leg. "I wasn't beaten up like that since Jorrvaskr! And that was a while back. How many times did you go down? 50? 100?"

"Something like that" - Hauk agreed helping himself to more mead. "Those gnarls can really swarm."

They examined their spoils: 43 pieces of amber and 45 pieces of gnarl bark, plus half a dozen scalon fins, and other odds and sods.

"We'll sell the loot tomorrow, those enchanted rings and armour will fetch a good price" - said Hauk turning over a pair of Elven boots. "I'm not keeping it - leave the Elven stuff to the Elves."

"I don't want any money" - said Jayred. "But I wouldn't mind a new bow - Cutter makes good ones from madness ore. I'd prefer that to the bright yellow ones from amber."

They talked about weapons and armour, durability and weight, usefulness and comfort, comparing different types and agreeing in the end that the best ones were the ones you got used to. The pile of baliwog legs was shrinking, but there was still plenty of mead left.

"Was that you who killed the Gatekeeper with Lena?" - asked Hauk picking up another smoked leg.

"Yes" - Jayred replied opening the next bottle of mead. "She needed bone arrows for that."

"Did you get to know her well?"

"She's got good bones."

"Whaaa-?" - this wasn't what Hauk was expecting.

"Oh, nothing of the sort" - Jayred looked up. "We never... Why, is she your girl?"

"No..."

"Ahhh - but you want her to be" - Jayred nodded with understanding. "I saw the way you look at her."

"Well..."

"Just because I'm here now, it doesn't mean I wasn't elsewhere before. Or had a girl before. But she didn't have very good bones."

"What happened to her?" - asked Hauk hoping to steer the conversation out of dangerous waters.

"Nothing, she found someone new. He didn't have very good bones either, so they suited each other. I let her be."

"Was that why you left?"

"That, and the War. Too many bones left to rot - too many dead bodies on the battlefield. All pierced with arrows, ours and theirs. Nords, Elves, Imperials, everyone. All are equal in death - no Sovngarde for anyone. Nords left to rot, not embalmed and put into crypts. Their bones perish. Skyrim perishes. So I came here - plenty of bones and not many Nords. And no war."

They ate in silence for a while.

"You've got good bones too" - said Jayred looking at Hauk.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:16 PM

[Lena Wolf]

5 Second Seed, 4E202 - Interlude in Bravil

"There are a few things I need to take care of on my own" - Lena said to Hauk in the morning. "Fenris Bero being one."

"You've decided what to do with him then?" - Hauk looked up from his sweetroll.

"He knows botany and alchemy - he tends to the garden and knows to make poisons, Rowley taught him. I'll have him be our alchemist, somehow. He can pick ingredients in the woods too, but he'll need training in making potions... But may be I have an idea" - Lena smiled. "I'll take him to Skingrad."

"Oh!" - Hauk caught on. "That'll take some careful handling, but if it works out..." - he nodded in approval.

"How is Jowan?" - asked Lena. "I hear he's staying at the Mages Guild?"

"He is" - confirmed Hauk. "Kud-Ei is trying to make him to join" - he smirked. "I don't think he will, given his past experiences with a similar organisation, but who knows. Anyhow, Kud-Ei declared that the Guild should welcome a lonely mage without any family here, and I think he appreciates it."

"She means it too" - said Lena, looking into the distance. "She also gave a home to a certain sixteen year old who came to steal their sweetrolls."

"She's been asking about you" - Hauk said softly. "Perhaps you should pay her a visit. Sounds like one of her friends might be in trouble, and she knows you're discreet."

"I'll go see her today" - promised Lena. "And... Hauk?" - she looked at him apologetically. "What you said yesterday about me needing to get to know other people... I'll need to do that, you're right. I might be gone for a while."

"That's Ok" - Hauk took her hand. "You do that. I'll return to the Imperial City - the Legion has been asking for me anyway. Come and find me again when you're done."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:17 PM

[Lena Wolf]

5 Second Seed, 4E202 - Manifesto Cyrodiil Vampyrum

Lena arrived at the Leyawiin Sanctuary in the early evening.

"Mistress!" - Fenris greeted her as she entered. "You have returned."

He looked much better than last time when Lena saw him - he was clearly taking care of himself.

"Ah, you are looking better" - she said. "Well done. But you need to feed more often still - I want you to blend in, you will need to travel. Of course people will still recognise you for a vampire when they look closely, but not at a fleeting glance."

She did not want to say that most people in Cyrodiil wouldn't pay him more than a fleeting glance because he was a Dunmer... Instead, she tried a different approach.

"Since the Dunmer already have sanguine eyes, your vampire eyes won't stand out too much" - she smiled. "And your face will look healthy if you feed often enough. Here - read this" - she handed him a copy of Manifesto Cyrodiil Vampyrum.

Fenris looked at her in surprise. "But you are no longer a vampire!"

"True, but I was. It counts."

What did she mean by that? Fenris was confused but didn't dare to ask. He took the book with reverence - as a slave, he wasn't allowed to as much as look at it, but now... he couldn't refuse his Mistress... but that book wasn't written for slaves...

"The book is not cursed" - Lena saw Fenris' hesitation. "It simply teaches how to blend in with the society, as far as possible - you will never be able to blend in completely. Even the best of us couldn't do it..." Her voice trailed off in thought.

"Us?" - Fenris wondered to himself, but again didn't dare to ask.

"Anyway" - Lena returned to reality. "We'll be leaving for Bravil and then Skingrad in a few hours. You won't be able to feed for several days, so make sure to feed well before we go. We leave when I wake up."

She left the room, her black silk robes rustling softly as she walked.

"Thank you, Mistress" - Fenris murmured, not daring to believe the conversation they've just had.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:18 PM

[Lena Wolf]

5-6 Second Seed, 4E202 - Leyawiin to Bravil

Lena and Fenris left the Leyawiin Sanctuary soon after sunset to allow them plenty of time to reach Bravil before the sun rose again. Lena wanted to collect some plant cuttings along the way for alchemy, and with the usual fights with wolves, bears and bandits, the trip could easily take them all night. They had to be indoors by sunrise. It was a long time since Lena had to think of this, but she slipped back into the routine with a surprising force of habit.

They entered her house in Bravil just as the first sun rays coloured the sky pink.

"Bravil at sunrise..." - Lena stopped for a moment taking in the familiar sight. In a few minutes the skin would start to burn. She unlocked the door and they entered her house. Fenris let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't tell me" - she looked straight at him. "Rowley had you stay out during the day as punishment?"

"Yes" - Fenris' reply was barely audible.

"'Vampires make for excellent slaves, as you well know'" - Rowley's words echoed in Lena's mind. He had mentioned denying them blood, but of course there were other ways to get compliance, too... Lena shuddered.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that any more" - she said. "You can sleep here" - she pointed at a bedroll spread by the fire. "There is food in this cupboard, and you're welcome to the books, in case you wake up before me. I haven't slept much in the last two days" - she smiled. "We leave at sunset." She turned to her own bed.

If you can't feed, you have to eat and keep warm - Lena still remembered that.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:18 PM

[Lena Wolf]

6-7 Second Seed, 4E202 - Bravil to Skingrad - The coven

The trip to Skingrad was uneventful - they took a direct route along the border, picking more plant cuttings along the way. They made good time, approaching Skingrad several hours before sunrise.

"Before we go into the city, there are some people I want you to meet" - Lena opened the door to the Bloodcrust Cavern.

...

"Wolf?" - the sentry greeted her. "Good to see you. Bernice is inside."

"Hello, Aldryn" - Lena smiled. "This is Fenris - I want him to meet Bernice."

Aldryn nodded with understanding.

Lena and Fenris walked through the caves greeting several other people along the way. Vampires. Was that a..?

"Bernice!" - Lena saw her at the back of a cave. "Everything is quiet, I trust? The Count?"

"Hasn't bothered us at all, thank you" - smiled Bernice. "I see you brought a new member" - she nodded at Fenris.

"Well, may be not quite a member" - Lena looked around the room. "But I was hoping for a favour... an arrangement, perhaps?" - she smiled at Bernice. "This is Fenris Bero, he is my... assistant - he does alchemy. I was wondering if perhaps you could allow him to make use of your captives in exchange for..."

"Of course he is welcome!" - Bernice interrupted Lena. "No exchange is required. We owe you. Millie!" - she called. "Can you take Fenris to feed, please?"

When Millie and Fenris disappeared into the passage, Bernice turned to Lena.

"He is your slave, is he not?" - her gaze was stern.

"Yes" - Lena admitted. "I bought him without knowing it, but I cannot abandon him now. I tried telling him that his enslavement was over, but he..."

"Doesn't know how not to be a slave?" - Bernice finished the sentence. "Yes, I've seen it often enough. So what do you intend to do?"

"He knows alchemy, and I want him to focus on that" - Lena looked at Bernice and smiled. "Thank you for letting him feed with you. I have a house in Skingrad and with the abundance of plants around here, he should be staying a while. Let him supply you with ingredients at least - he can make poisons, but not potions yet."

Bernice was listening and nodding.

"And I suppose you want him to blend in?"

"He'll need to."

"Yes" - Bernice agreed. "Very well, we have an arrangement. I'll speak to the others. He should come every night."

...

"Bernice is the Matriarch of this coven" - said Lena when she and Fenris were outside, going towards the gates of Skingrad. "We have agreed that you can come and feed with them every night that you stay here in exchange for alchemy supplies. She'll tell you tomorrow what kind of ingredients they are looking for."

Lena stopped and turned to Fenris. He looked surprised and confused.

"Ingredients..?" - he murmured. "Coven... You help vampires?" - he finally breathed.

"Some of them, yes" - answered Lena. "I killed many, too. It depends."

"Manifesto Cyrodiil Vampyrum" - Fenris' face lit up with understanding. "Blend in."

"Exactly" - Lena smiled. "Tailor your lifestyle to your requirements. Plenty of people are out after sunset, not just the vampires."

...

"So, this is my house" - Lena ushered Fenris in. "This isn't my main residence, but I stop here often enough, and usually with friends. There is a bed on the upper floor and also in the basement. I set up a small work area upstairs, so perhaps if you were to settle there, then I'll take the basement?"

She led him upstairs, showing him around. Tables, cupboards, book cases, alchemical appliances... Fenris started to relax. He eyed the big double bed with suspicion, and Lena made a mental note to add a single bed for him... She had already shipped the unicorn to Skyrim.

They sat down for a meal - was that dinner or breakfast? It was morning, but of course their nights and days had switched places.

"Not everyone wants the cure" - Lena said when the conversation turned to the coven. "Most vampires have no access to it anyway, and it has side effects. If I had known in advance..." - she broke off. "But it's done now. Have you considered the cure yourself?" - she looked at Fenris. "My great-uncle had a pool built in the Leyawiin Sanctuary."

Fenris looked at her in surprise. "I never had a choice! But I've heard of the pool. One of the recruits had used it... he died soon after that - he had become weak and couldn't regenerate."

"Yes, that's one of the side effects" - agreed Lena. "But it does remove the disease. Anyway, I understand if you are not thrilled by it, but you're welcome to that pool if you want it."

Fenris shook his head. "If you don't mind, Mistress... please... no."

"Mistress..." - Lena thought looking at him. "This is going to take a while..."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:19 PM

[Lena Wolf]

7 Second Seed, 4E202 - Fenris in Skingrad

"Hello, Falanu" - Lena walked into All Things Alchemical followed by Fenris. "How have you been keeping?"

"Oh, fine, thank you. Your usual?" - she asked, turning to fetch boxes of nightshade, peony and sacred lotus. "Oh!" She saw Fenris.

"This is my assistant - nothing to worry about" - Lena smiled reassuringly. "He knows how to behave, and he has some botanical and alchemical knowledge too. May I present - Fenris Bero."

Falanu stared at him in disbelief for some time. Then she caught herself. "You better come through" - she locked the shop door beckoning them to follow her upstairs.

Once they were seated around a table, Lena took the lead.

"Fenris has been away from Morrowind for over 200 years, and he didn't have many opportunities to keep up with the events." Lena took a deep breath. "Falanu - Fenris was given to me as a slave, that's what he's been for most of the time since he turned."

A light of understanding shown on Falanu's face.

"However" - Lena continued - "to me Fenris is an assistant and his condition not a threat. He is going to take care of my alchemy supplies, collecting ingredients, preparing poisons and remedies, and making sure we never run out of things. I have a house here in Skingrad, and he'll be staying here some of the time. I was hoping he could make purchases at your store on my behalf."

Fenris sat quietly watching Lena and Falanu and not daring to touch his drink. Falanu seemed to lighten up with every word Lena said. Then there was a sigh of relief. She picked up her goblet and started drinking slowly, looking at Fenris, lost in thought.

"Fenris Bero..." she said softly. Fenris jerked slightly, looking up. "I remember you... a long time ago. You disappeared. So that's what's happened... Cousin."

Fenris winced. "I was ostracised, as soon as the disease set in" - he said. "I have no cousins."

"You need not worry" - said Falanu, smiling. "I have been ostracised too, for another reason. We can be cousins now."

Lena felt that it was necessary to diffuse the situation.

"Well, I am sure you will have plenty of occasions to catch up" - she raised a toast. "Here is to new beginnings!"

Fenris sat motionless at first, then caught himself and raised his goblet too. They drank and exchanged pleasantries.

"Thank you, Falanu, but we should be going" - said Lena after a little while. "Lots to do. Fenris will be staying in Skingrad for a time - settling in and all that."

"Oh, of course!" - Falanu came out of her trance. "Yes, please come in to the shop when you need anything. I shall also gladly buy your surplus ingredients, as usual. Or offer some training" - she looked at Fenris and smiled.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:19 PM

[Lena Wolf]

8 Second Seed, 4E202 - Reflections

Lena was tired. She left Fenris in Skingrad and hoped that re-connecting with his roots through Falanu might help him find himself in time. Some of the vampires in Bernice's coven seemed to have had checkered past, too - marred by slavery, perhaps. Most people did not choose vampirism, it usually got them by surprise, or there was no means to cure the precursor disease... And while some succumbed to it mentally as well as physically and became vicious predators, many remained the same people as they were before the infection.

Vampires in Cyrodiil largely chose to learn to live with it - and even to advance in society. That meant regular feeding, at least once a day. For some, like the wife of Janus Hassildor, this was unacceptable, and usually meant suicide. But others accepted their fate and found ways... Captives, usually, because bottled synthetic blood, like bottled breast milk substitute, could not sustain them fully. Yes, Lena remembered that time all too vividly - and recent events had shown that she wasn't free from that curse after all. Not completely.

So... Fenris was a vampire, her slave, her property, her responsibility. She wasn't about to waste him. The Dunmer had long lives of their own - Queen Barenziah had lived for a thousand years. Vampires were immortal, of course - Fenris had a lot of time ahead of him still, and Lena was determined that he wouldn't spend it all as a slave.

Lena was riding towards Bravil, thinking these thoughts. Bravil never judged.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:33 PM

[Adella]

I will keep this brief as I do not wish to break up the post flow of your tale.
I like it…read a fair bit…not all as yet, but it entices!
I did not exist until Skyrim, but my host, my ‘otherhalf’, indulged a lot of Oblivion and this tale pulls up all those old memories. The Shivering Isles being bigger than many entire games itself. Yes, it is well recalled with your prompts as Lena ventures. Thank you.

[Lena Wolf]

I did not exist until Skyrim, but my host, my ‘otherhalf’, indulged a lot of Oblivion and this tale pulls up all those old memories. The Shivering Isles being bigger than many entire games itself. Yes, it is well recalled with your prompts as Lena ventures. Thank you.

Thanks, Adella! Glad you enjoy it. Not much has changed in the last 200 years since the Oblivion Crisis, it seems, and history keeps repeating itself on many accounts. Doesn't it always - people tend to make the same mistakes over and over again. Lena is experiencing a lot of deja vu - but then again, it's never quite the same the second time around.

[Lena Wolf]

9-10 Second Seed, 4E202 - Sanguine

"Offer a bottle of Cyrodilic Brandy and My Lord Sanguine might speak with you" - one of the worshippers at Sanguine's shrine told Lena. "But don't be offended if he doesn't" - he hastened to add, looking her over.

"Actually, I think I shall be offended if he doesn't" - Lena replied to the horror of the worshipper.

She placed the bottle on the altar.

"Ah... another mortal has come to beg for some excitement... Oh - hello! What brings you here, Wolf?"

The worshippers stared at Lena with envy and disbelief.

"I need to speak with you, Sanguine" - Lena told the statue. "Privately" - she looked around at the glaring faces of the worshippers and glared back at them.

"Very well, meet me in The Three Sisters' Inn in Leyawiin - the upper floor room. There's also something we need to do at the castle there."

The worshippers got up to leave.

"No, you don't!" - Lena jumped in front of a Bosmer who appeared to be their leader. "Sanguine is to meet me, not you, and in private. Meaning: you are not coming!"

"Nobody is meeting My Lord in private without my blessing, and you are certainly not getting it!" - the Bosmer retorted, baring his teeth in a growl.

"Oh yeah? Watch this!" - Lena bared her own teeth. She snapped her fingers and summoned a dremora. This was looking distinctly like a toddler squabble.

"I honour my Lord by destroying you!" - the dremora roared automatically, but then looked around and didn't see any threats. He turned to Lena with a question in his eyes.

"Tell them who is your Lord, please" - she asked him, smiling.

"I serve My Lord Sanguine" - he replied, turning to the Bosmer. The Bosmer paled.

"And if Sanguine wishes to see me privately, do I need a blessing from one of his worshippers?" - Lena asked the dremora with a mischievous smile.

The Bosmer did not need a reply. The other worshippers were already cowering behind the statue, not wishing to offend the dremora in any way - whether he served Sanguine or any other Prince.

"My Lord will meet his lover without your blessing" - the dremora glared down at the Bosmer. It was rather fun to watch.

"Thank you, my friend" - Lena patted the dremora on the arm. "I should better be going - Sanguine will be waiting."

She dispelled the dremora and mounted Roach to leave. The only thing missing from this scene was Lena pulling her tongue out at the Bosmer. But who's to say that she didn't do it after she rode off.

...

"Do you wish to rent a room?" - Shuravi asked when Lena entered the inn in Leyawiin. "I have one on the second floor free."

"I am expected on the third floor already" - Lena answered with a smile. "Has the room been paid for?"

"For a whole week, yes" - Shuravi looked at her with suspicion. "By a dremora!"

"Thanks!" - Lena replied quickly and was gone before Shuravi could serve her a sermon on the devastating effects of consorting with daedra.

...

"Why did you call me?" - asked Sanguine after they exchanged the usual greetings. "You sounded concerned."

"Yes" - Lena rubbed her chin. "Do you remember Dylan? That Mazken that's been following me around back on the Isles?"

Sanguine's eyes glazed over at first, but then he remembered and nodded.

"It's somewhat vague, but yes, I remember. There was a lot of brandy involved - and all that felldew..." - he trailed off, smiling to the memories.

"Sanguine - get back here" - Lena tugged at his sleeve, smiling, too. "Focus, please. Dylan. Help him."

"Help him?" - Sanguine repeated, surprised. "What sort of trouble is he in?"

"He's lonely" - Lena took Sanguine's hand. "And you know better than any other how to deal with mortals... and the feelings that come from that."

"Well... may be I do" - Sanguine smiled. "Daedra don't feel the same attachment to one another as we can feel towards mortals, it's ironic. And you're the first one for him, then" - he nodded. "But why doesn't Sheogorath just banish him while you're gone?"

"Because I asked him not to" - Lena went red. "I hadn't thought it through. So now Dylan will have to learn to deal with it."

"And naturally you run to me for help!" - Sanguine laughed. "Not Mara, Dibella, Azura, Vaermina, or even Hircine - no, you ask me! Yet each of them could provide a solution, too."

"Stop it, Sanguine!" - Lena jumped up and sat on his lap. "He needs to learn to deal with it, not drown it in sorrow or something. How do you deal with it when one of your mortal lovers dies?" Lena's face was close to Sanguine's, her eyes level with his.

"I grieve, how else" - he answered softly. "It is the way of things. I drink, remember?" - he smiled. "I have been careful of late to only take cursed mortals as lovers - vampires, werewolves, that sort of thing - but some have had the audacity of taking the cure..." - he kissed her.

"And losing their immortality" - Lena finished after a pause.

"Yes" - Sanguine was looking into her eyes again. "But you never forget the ones you loved."

"You'll help him then?" - Lena's voice was but a whisper.

"If Sheogorath allows" - Sanguine nodded.

"He'd better!"

10 Second Seed

"So, what was it you wanted me to do here at the Castle?" - asked Lena. It was late morning and they were still in bed.

"Oh, right" - Sanguine smirked. "The Countess needs a bit of cheering up."

"Meaning?" - Lena looked at him with suspicion. You could never trust Sanguine in these matters.

"She needs a bit of a diversion, a bit of frivolous entertainment" - he chuckled. "You'll need to get yourself invited to one of their stuffy dinners, and then you'll cast a spell and everyone will be naked."

"What!?" - they laughed at the mental image of the pandemonium in the castle dining room. "But it will land me in prison!" - Lena frowned.

"Nonsense!" - Sanguine waved it off. "You'll just cast one of your illusion spells - vanish and slip away or something. You assassins are good at that" - he winked. "I'll give you the Rose as a reward. And I booked this room for a week" - he added, smiling.

"Well, all right then" - answered Lena, letting herself fall back onto the cushions. The Countess could wait.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:34 PM

[macole]

Personal relationships with the princes and to have a reason for speaking to them is so much more fun than simply walking up to throw an offering on the alter to get a quest.

The party crasher quest cracked me up the first time I played it.

[Lena Wolf]

Personal relationships with the princes and to have a reason for speaking to them is so much more fun than simply walking up to throw an offering on the alter to get a quest.

The party crasher quest cracked me up the first time I played it.

Thanks! That quest is fun indeed! Did you manage to do it without going to jail? And to watch what happens afterwards?

[Acadian]

What a fun and creative treatment of Sanguine's quest and how you have woven it into a much bigger picture/relationship with Sanguine. A fun read!

[macole]

Personal relationships with the princes and to have a reason for speaking to them is so much more fun than simply walking up to throw an offering on the alter to get a quest.

The party crasher quest cracked me up the first time I played it.

Thanks! That quest is fun indeed! Did you manage to do it without going to jail? And to watch what happens afterwards?

I believe I did but it was some time ago (10-years maybe), long before this current story. What I remember is that I stood there watching everyone running around stark naked (undieless body mod). Don't remember if I used invisibility spell or potion which requires precise timing or if I wore several items enchanted with chameleon to total 100. I'm sure that I had to restart several times.

[Lena Wolf]

10 Second Seed, 4E202 - Stark Reality

"You forgot to tell me that I'd be stripped naked by that spell - that is, all my stuff vanished!" - Lena appeared in The Three Sisters' Inn upper floor room, her invisibility cloak finally dispelling. "I had to keep casting the cloak all the way from the castle!"

"But did you have fun?" - Sanguine laughed. "Don't bother getting dressed - supper is already here." He pulled her into the bed, there was wine, cheese and fruit at either side. "How did it go?"

"Well..." - Lena couldn't stay angry with him for long. "I had to time it quite precisely, to disappear before the spell hit, but it worked! Everyone got absolutely frenzied. I couldn't resist staying to watch!" - she laughed at the memory. "Then the oddest thing happened - the guests all returned to the table, and carried on as if nothing was the matter!"

"No!!!" - Sanguine roared, laughing. "And I missed that!?"

"But then the Countess returned - all dressed up again, and had us all arrested for indecent exposure!" They laughed at that and drank some wine.

"But you are here and not in jail" - Sanguine remarked.

"That bedroll was dirty" - Lena winked. "As dirty as those clothes they gave us - I left them there, too. I wasn't going to stay. And of course your spell had all my money vanish - so I couldn't even pay the fine!"

"So you cheated" - Sanguine kissed her.

"Magic is not cheating" - she returned his kiss. "I understand now why you booked this room for a week."

"I may have expected a delay, yes" - Sanguine winked.

"Good thing I left my stuff here before going - or you'd have me ride all the way to your shrine in the nude!"

"Aww, you cheated again!" - Sanguine laughed heartily. "You know what to expect by now."

"You should chastise that Bosmer at the shrine. He tried to tell me I couldn't see you without his blessing - and he tried to come here instead of me!"

"He is confused" - conceded Sanguine. "It's Mephala who likes men, not I."

Lena didn't get to complain any further. The evening with Sanguine was just beginning.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:41 PM

[Lena Wolf]

11 Second Seed, 4E202 - Dessos - The Order of Virtuous Blood - Rufio

Lena woke up late, opened her eyes and saw Sanguine sitting up in bed watching her. She smiled to him and stretched out her hand to caress his face. She always slept well in his company.

"I do miss the time in the Isles" - she said. "I felt at home there."

"There's nothing to stop you from going back, you know" - Sanguine smiled at her. "And let another two hundred years slip by."

"No, it's not the same" - she sat up as well, reaching for sweetrolls. "I still feel at home there when I go back - and I shall never stop going back there. But it's Sheogorath's Realm again - not mine. My place is here, in Mundus. Besides, I have friends now."

"Now you see why I never bothered with a Realm of my own" - Sanguine got a sweetroll too. "It's the people that make up a life, not the land."

"Speaking of which - I've got work to do." Lena stretched and got out of bed. "After I retrieve my money from the chest at your shrine" - she winked. "And the Rose of course! I missed it."

"You need to get better at those drinking games if you want to keep it for longer" - Sanguine laughed. "And in future if you want to see me, just ask Dessos - he'll let me know."

"Dessos?" - Lena turned to him in surprise.

"Your dremora. It's been the same one for a long time already, you noticed. He insisted" - Sanguine smiled.

"Oh!" - Lena blushed. "Thanks."

...

Lena got to the shrine of Sanguine in the afternoon, having stopped just once along the way. She didn't dare to go to Bravil as she had no money and she was sure there was a bounty on her head for breaking out of jail. She had no wish to go back to jail just because she had no coin on her to pay the fine.

The worshippers at the shrine pretended not to see her, even when Sanguine spoke to her through the statue. Lena smirked and left them to their jealousy.

Lena got to the Imperial City in the early evening. She stopped at her house on the Waterfront for a quick break before going into the city - she had a job to do there.

Passing through the Temple District, she was approached by a Dunmer woman asking her with great urgency to go see a certain Seridur, right there in the district. Lena thought it might have been a trap, but decided to go anyway.

"It is good to finally meet you, Assassin" - said Seridur. "Your reputation precedes you."

"Oh?" - Lena gave him a blank stare.

"That Altmer noble killed in the skooma den... that Dunmer agent killed in his house... and of course Fathis Ules hitting his head on the stone steps of an inn in Chorrol... Do I need to go on?" - Seridur smiled. Something in his face didn't look right.

"Oh I see!" - Lena said. "And you think somehow that those unfortunate deaths are linked to me?" - she smiled.

"No, of course not!" - Seridur laughed. "It was just a little joke! Please follow me."

Lena followed. A Dunmer in daedric armour stepped aside to let her pass.

"I am Seridur's bodyguard and... assistant" - he said.

"Yes..." - Lena thought. She sensed where this was going. The question was whether they could sense her.

...

"Welcome to the headquarters of the Order of Virtuous Blood!" - exclaimed Seridur when they entered the basement. "The Order of vampire hunters!"

"How ironic..." - Lena thought. "But what a clever disguise." No, Seridur couldn't sense her, and the other two members were not vampires.

They wanted her to track down and kill a certain Roland Jenseric who, Seridur claimed, was a vampire. Why, Seridur saw it with his own eyes! Roland kissing a girl in a back alley, and then the girl was dead with two puncture marks on her neck! That proved it - Roland did it!

"So you see, now you must go and slay him!" - Seridur said triumphantly.

"Well, that is certainly quite a task!" - Lena said, pretending to be in awe. "You need a professional assassin for this. Have you considered contacting the Dark Brotherhood or perhaps Morag Tong?"

The Dunmer vampire hunter in the room twitched, the Argonian changed colour, but Seridur remained calm.

"It is too risky" - he said. "Claudius Arcadia will rot in the Imperial Prison for the rest of his life for performing the Black Sacrament. Even though there is no law against it. Which is why we need your help!"

"Well..." - Lena looked into the expectant faces of the other two vampire hunters. "I can certainly look into it... although I still think you need professional help."

"Payment will be forthcoming, do not worry" - Seridur said with a smile.

"Oh - I would not require payment for doing the right thing!" - Lena exclaimed. "The Mages Guild wouldn't stand for it!"

"Mages Guild?" - Seridur was taken aback.

"Mages Guild Warlock at your service" - Lena bowed her head. "I thought you knew who I was?" She gave Seridur her brightest smile and thought to herself: "Feeding too often dulls your senses."

She turned to leave.

"I'll be in touch."

...

First of all Lena had to follow up on that business with Claudius Arcadia. Was it true? She found him in the Imperial Prison complaining to anyone who'd listen. Yes, he prayed to the Night Mother and got arrested for it! And there wasn't even any law against it! And the City Watch confiscated his house, too! The unfairness of it all! Arrghhh!

"Quick - unlock this door so that I can escape!" - he cried excitedly.

"And go where?" - Lena looked at him with regret. "There's a guard on every corner, and this section is not the one with the underground passage."

"Passage? What passage?" - Claudius' eyes lit up.

"Get yourself transferred to the other section, and who knows - I might visit you again" - Lena replied. "Compliments of the Night Mother" - she smiled.

She left and wondered who it was that Claudius wanted killed - and why. She had to investigate his house.

...

"Only assassins and thieves are out in the Imperial City at night" - thought Lena passing through the Market District at 2 a.m. where she just bumped into Carwen canvassing the shops.

Claudius' house was across the street from Hauk's, in the Talos Plaza district. A public notice on the door stated that the house had been seized by the City Watch. Lena thought it was likely that a watchman would be inside, so wrapped herself in a chameleon cloak before picking the lock and entering.

She found the scene of a Black Sacrament in the basement. But who had been the target? There were no clues there. The ground floor was deserted, but upstairs she found the watchman sleeping in Claudius' bed. No matter, she still went through the chests and desks until she found a diary. She was surprised that it hadn't been taken away as evidence, but there it was.

"It worked!" - she read. "A man visited me and money has been exchanged! Rufio will die!"

"Rufio?" - Lena smiled to herself. "Yes, Claudius, the contract has been completed."

She took the diary. There was no need to leave evidence lying around. With her other business in the Imperial City completed, she decided to go home and get some sleep before riding to Cheydinhal.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:43 PM

[Lena Wolf]

12 Second Seed, 4E202 - Thieves Guild - Travel plans

"Fathis Ules - Master Thief, top fence; J'baana - Master Thief, master of security; S'krivva - Shadowfoot, doyen; Othrelos - Shadowfoot, master of covert affairs; Orrin - Shadowfoot, high level fence. That's the entire top of the Thieves Guild, plus the Guildmaster, of course - the current Grey Fox. And Corvus Umbranox." Lena was going through the list. "There are plenty more members, but I don't think we can eliminate all thieves in Cyrodiil, and neither should we wish to."

"Agreed" - Lucien nodded. "How close are you to completing?"

Lena shot him a glance.

"You know how close I am - these deaths are not exactly low profile" - she smiled. "But fine, have it your way: Fathis Ules - 1 Sun’s Dawn, Othrelos - 8 First Seed, S'krivva - 5 Second Seed, J'baana - 11 Second Seed. I released the wraith of Sithis in Umbranox' abandoned house on 15 Morning Star, so it's been nearly four months. The last two deaths being so close together should make him think it'll soon be him, but no, not yet."

"In particular with J'baana hiding in the Imperial City prison" - Lucien smirked. "But of course you've been there on several occasions already." He paused, reading through a parchment. "Lady Umbranox wishes her husband 'to suffer the anguish of being hunted for at least six months before he is killed' - it says here" - Lucien read from the contract. "You are on schedule" - he smiled.

They sat sipping their wine for a while, each making notes and looking through more papers.

"What did the Night Mother say about this contract?" - Lena ventured a question that's been bothering her for a while now. "It requires publicity and is remarkably vague on detail."

"The ultimate target was clear from the start, so she couldn't refuse" - Lucien frowned. "I had to negotiate adequate compensation, considering the breach of privacy for the Dark Brotherhood - we are not the Skyrim assassins. But the Night Mother approved that you should be the one to handle it, given your previous work in Anvil - she is fully aware who it was that provided that anonymous tip on the identity and whereabouts of the real traitor."

Lena looked up in surprise.

"But how did she know? I was in hiding from the assassins all the while..."

"And yet you tracked down the traitor. She knows." Lucien was watching Lena across the table, pondering something. Then finally he asked: "Why did you do it?"

"To clear my name" - Lena answered automatically.

"No, why did you really do it? Not the official version, please" - Lucien smiled.

Lena sat back in her chair, lifting her eyes from the papers to meet Lucien's, still watching her.

"He had to be stopped. Everyone at the Sanctuary was being hunted, and you disappeared - in hiding or exile, I didn't know, but it wasn't good. The others didn't know the details, so they couldn't help, and I couldn't find you, so I had to act on my own. Until someone gave me that anonymous note suggesting to investigate a certain address in Anvil..." Lena broke off, seeing Lucien shaking his head. "What?"

"Not how you did it, but why?"

"Oh..." - Lena looked confused. "I never thought of that... I couldn't not do it."

Lucien felt that she was holding something back, but decided not to press her any further. He sensed that it was something to do with the Sanctuary, with himself, perhaps... He watched Lena across the table, thinking of the time when she just joined his group, so very young, yet determined, a vampire, but dealing with it, not giving up, not turning into a beast. She was an assassin, but not just that - she was more, so much more, like her mother. Lucien didn't know her mother very well, but from what he knew and heard, the resemblance was striking, and not just skin-deep. He couldn't help but take an interest in this young half-Breton half-Nord brought up by an Argonian from an early age... But surely she was too young for him. Back then - yes, but now? She kept coming back to his fort, he wondered why. She never checked to see if he was there, and sometimes he was - cloaked in chameleon, he moved silently, yet she must have noticed. She never showed it if she did. She would spend the night there, sometimes touching him in her sleep. Was she aware of that? It seemed she wasn't.

Two hundred years was a long time to wait, she said. Perhaps. Lucien wasn't just sitting and waiting though - life continued, he was busy, not having a Silencer to share the work, and Ocheeva had always insisted he shouldn't neglect his own needs either... Ocheeva could always see everything plainly. Yet with every woman he kissed, he felt an increasing emptiness and a growing longing for that one half-Breton half-Nord that kept coming to his fort while he was away.

Then one day Lena reappeared, and not just in his fort - she was back in Mundus, looking as young as when she joined them. Was it really she? He had to watch her for a while. Yes, it was she, vampirism cured, looks restored, experience gained. The Shivering Isles - that's where she'd been! That explained everything - why they could not find her when she was being hunted, why she completely vanished afterwards with only brief appearances at long intervals, and why she hadn't aged two hundred years like everyone else. But she wasn't in her twenties either - no longer a child, far from it. And she was still an assassin.

The Night Mother agreed it was time to call her back. Lena didn't need asking twice - she was happy to be back with the Sanctuary, all the old friends that she'd missed. She refused a promotion when Lucien offered it to her - no, she wasn't made to be a Black Hand... "Well, you'll change your mind in time" - he thought and didn't insist. She was back in his life - that was all that mattered.

Then there was this contract from Lady Umbranox, and the Night Mother gave it to him - to his group, but of course there was just one person he'd give it to. The Night Mother agreed, she'd been expecting it. Lena took the contract, drew up a plan, left it in Lucien's fort for his approval. Lucien was going to write a note in reply, but then he left her flowers instead - goldenrod, morning glory, lily of the valley, blue hyacinth. Would she understand the meaning? He was sure she would. Good fortune, my dear - yours, always. Yours. A lily of the valley would send a much stronger message than a rose.

Lena kept the flowers, but didn't give a response. "Are you sure?" - she asked. Yes, he was sure. She was his missing half. But whether he was hers... time would tell.

...

"Come with me to Skyrim" - Lena said suddenly.

"You're asking me to accompany you?" - Lucien wasn't used to being an escort.

"There's work to be done there, as you well know."

"Work that you are more than capable of doing yourself" - Lucien interjected. "Even if you don't want any of your friends to help, you could ask your brother."

"You know about Wolf?" - Lena should have expected it, but she didn't.

"News travels fast. He's famous."

"In his own right, yes. But..." - Lena realised that further discussion was pointless. Of course Lucien knew about her brother. She had to lay more cards on the table. "I want to spend time with you."

"If you don't know me as yet..."

"I know you, Assassin!" - Lena interrupted. "I want to know Lucien now."

"They are one and the same."

"Are they? Did the Assassin give me that lily of the valley?"

Lucien looked up sharply.

"Very well, my Barenziah."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:50 PM

[Lena Wolf]

13-14 Second Seed, 4E202 - Vampires of the Imperial City

Before Lena could go to Skyrim, there was one unfinished business she had to follow up on: Seridur. She had to choose between Roland and Seridur - which one would she believe? She chose to believe Roland.

Having asked around following Roland's tip, she discovered that Seridur was known to take regular trips to the Memorial Cave, always carrying food and other supplies. Lena went to investigate.

The cave housed a small group of vampires whom Seridur was obviously supporting. Lena tried talking to him, but he attacked, and the other vampires joined in. There was no other way but to slay them.

There was however something strange about this group: the cave was set up for Necromancy, with several dread zombies and wraiths roaming in it. The only way these undead would have been ignoring the vampires was if the vampires had raised them. Were they then necromancers as well? Stranger things had happened.

Lena found a dead captive in a cell. Vampires would normally keep him alive. It all seemed that they were more interested in raising the dead than in maintaining their own existence. Could a vampire ascend to lichdom? Could an undead become undead?

Lena checked the corpses, collecting vampire dust. Almost all Elves. They did say that the Elves in the Imperial City looked out for each other. She checked Seridur. No vampire dust. His eyes hadn't been red either. Was he perhaps an ex-vampire like herself? That would explain many things. And if he wasn't drinking blood anymore, he would not have been able to sense her past vampirism either. Lena recalled that incident with Thadon's chalice - her fangs had returned and she bit Dylan's neck and drank his blood. No, she wasn't a vampire any longer, but that blood had woken up her senses again. Not so with Seridur.

So what did really happen in that back alley in the Imperial City? Roland's girlfriend came to stay with him, but after a time started taking solitary walks in the evenings. Roland suspected an affair, followed her and caught her in Seridur's embrace. Roland claimed that Seridur was biting her neck, but what if it was a kiss, not a bite? Seridur turned on Roland, pushing away the girl, she slipped and fell, cracking her skull on the stones.

Both men were now blaming each other for her death, Roland out of jealousy, Seridur to protect his vampire friends. The Order of Virtuous Blood was a sham of course, but did Seridur really have to die? Lena never got a chance to find out what those vampires were like, but admittedly it didn't look good. So be it, her hand had been forced.

14 Second Seed

It was well past midnight when Lena came out of the Memorial Cave. The whole affair left a rather unpleasant taste in her mouth - she felt like she was being used. She rode straight to Roland's cabin to tell him of the outcome, and she didn't care if she had to wake him for it. At least she was certain that he wasn't a vampire.

Roland didn't mind being woken up in the middle of the night. He thanked Lena and asked her to see him in Seridur's house - he intended to carry on with The Order of Virtuous Blood.

"Well" - Lena thought on the way back. "They are not exactly competent. For all their talk of great knowledge, they didn't suspect Seridur - or me, for that matter! And they should have. What a waste of space."

She turned her thoughts towards her upcoming trip to Skyrim - Lucien would be meeting her in Bruma, then they would take the Pale Pass North.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:58 PM