After a brief discussion of our options, we decided not to confront the Beast immediately. Instead, we proceeded deeper into the mines, speaking to the prisoners in hopes of finding clues to the big Orc's weaknesses - or his desires. Few wanted to talk to us, with our conversations ranging from irritation to concern that we'd bring down punishment on them for talking to us. At length, we entered a partially flooded chamber. From the sound of a pick on metal, I could tell there was someone else down here, so I slipped into the water and began to swim in the direction of the sound.

 

 

At one point, I had to dip down underwater to avoid an obstruction, and I caught sight of a glint of metal. I rose, took a deep breath, and dove down once more. What caught my eye was a crude knife concealed beneath the water on a long submerged table. I grabbed it, happy at my fortune to have found something I might be able to use as a weapon. At length, I reached a small plank boardwalk resting just above the water line. Pulling myself atop it, I started to rise to my feet and immediately spotted the source of the sound. An Argonian was here, alone in this deep tunnel, working what looked like a bountiful vein. 

 

 

Not wanting to startle him - especially not in what seemed to be his private hiding place - I greeted him at a distance. He spun, uttering a sharp huh? as he saw me.

 

"Don't worry, I'm not here to take your vein," I assured him. "I just got thrown in here and I'm trying to learn the tunnels."

 

He turned his back to me, and I approached cautiously. 

 

"Okay, okay," he said, "look, I'll tell you a little about this place to you can get on your feet. But this vein - don't tell the others about it."

 

"I promise," I said, "I'm a Sister of Dibella. You can trust my word."

 

 

The lizard gave out a rasping laugh. "Sure, that's what I'd say too if I was plotting to sell me out. But something about that dumb smile of yours seems honest. What do you want to know?"

 

We talked for a bit, and the Argonian explained to me the basic layout of the mine. He warned me to be cautious about exploring deep tunnels like this, because some of them are lairs to giant spiders and other predators. We also talked about Borkul a little. Runs-With-Sticks' main interaction with the Orc was trying to avoid him at all costs, but he confirmed at least one avenue to get what we wanted from him - Borkul was apparently interested in women and was known to give favors to those who warmed his bedroll. 

 

I'd hoped we would have gotten a more concrete direction to get past the Beast, but this was at least something.

 

As I turned to leave, Runs-With-Sticks stopped me. 

 

"Hey, listen. How about I walk with you for a while. I'll show you around and help you get your bearings."

 

Mother had caught up with us by now, and planted her hands on her hips. "I hope you aren't thinking of making my daughter your jail wife."

 

The Argonian shook his head. "Nothing personal, lady, but smooth skins aren't my thing. I'm just doing the girl a favor - though I might call on you to help me out some time if I get into trouble. Fair?"

 

It seemed like a better deal than the creep we'd met when we first arrived, and I nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. Come on then, give us the grand tour."

 

As we retraced out steps, I paused, squinting into the darkness. Where I stood, iron bars blocked the way. I'd only glanced at it in passing the first time, moving on as soon as it was clear the door set in the wall was locked. But this time I thought I saw something.

 

"Mother, wait a minute," I said.

 

 

My companions joined me and I pointed through the bars. "Do you see that? At the foot of that wall?"

 

Edippa couldn't make it up, but Jenassa evidently had better eyes than us. "It's a skeleton. A skeleton clad in plate armor." 

 

I tested the door with one hand, hoping against hope that it was somehow unlocked, but I had no success. It held fast. "I just wish I had a lock pick. Armor's good any day, but in a place like this it would be a huge advantage."

 

Runs-With-Sticks had a different opinion. "Armor is good, but look further, that wooden wall the skeleton rests behind is badly decayed. If we could get to it, it's possible we could break into another section of the mine, maybe even a section with access to the surface. But of course..."

 

"...we'd need a lock pick." I completed. The Argonian nodded slowly. "You begin to understand our dilemma. There are many opportunities, dangled just out of our reach, in this place."

 

We continued, Runs-With-Sticks occasionally pausing to point out good mining spots or discuss tips for keeping other prisoners from stealing one's ore. After a time, walking on a generally upward slope, I came across an unsettling sight. A waist-high pole mounted a human skull, with the rest of the skeleton buried up to its waist in dirt below. 

 

 

I stepped past the marker, calling back down to Runs-With-Sticks as I crested the incline.

 

"What's up here, by this marker I asked?"

 

"Get back!" he hissed and I spun - but only for a moment because a louder shriek caught my attention. 

 

Spinning and tightly gripping the makeshift knife I'd found, I could only see hands grabbing at an iron gate in the dark, rattling it intensely. Grabbing a torch for a sconce a bit back, I held it close to the bars, and saw the source of the shrieking. A man and a woman, at first appearing like more unfortunate prisoners, albeit crazed and desperate to escape. Then the man pulled back his lips to shriek and I could see the long fangs in his mouth.

 

 

Scaly hands gripped my shoulders and pulled me back.

 

"Don't let them get close enough to touch you," the Argonian said. "They're vampires. The guards put them in here with us years ago, for their amusement. Madanach ordered them locked away. I think he hoped to set them loose on the guards some day. They're dangerous, and completely mad, but the gate's held ever since, so as long as you stay back you'll be safe.

 

As we withdrew, Runs-With-Sticks slapped me hard on my rump. "Hey!" I shouted, turning on him, "Why'd you do that?"

 

He flicked his tongue towards me twice before he answered, "You need to learn to be less curious. You'll only find disappointment and danger in the dark shadows. Come on, I have more to show you."

 

Glancing down, I noticed a thumb-sized red protrusion poking out of his pubic slit.

 

Smirking at him, I said, "I thought you didn't like smooth skinned girls."

 

 

"I don't," he shot back, "but I'm always up for giving a good spanking."

 

We passed through the rest of the tunnels in relative quiet, with the main point of interest being the spot where the guards drop food barrels for prisoners who met their silver quota. They were long empty now, of course, but I took note of the location.

 

Finally we came full circle, emerging back into the main cavern. I looked at Mother and Jenassa, then glanced over to where Borkul was standing guard.

 

"Well, we know he likes the company of women, but not much more. I think all that's left is to just talk to him."

 

Edippa nodded, while Jenassa looked skeptical. "Once you open your mouth," the Dunmer said, "he'll know your face. You won't be able to blend in and sneak up on him anymore."

 

"True," I said, "but I don't think killing him is really a good option. Now with this little thing at least," I waggled the shiv.

 

"I agree," Edippa said, "let's introduce ourselves."

 

 

Borkul looked down at me and Mother, large tusks jutting from his lower lip.

 

"New meat," he grunted. "Soft and tender." 

 

Then he leaned close, whispering, "what was it like killing your first one? Did you like it?"

 

"My daughter isn't a murderer," Edippa said.

 

"Ha, liar. I can tell."

 

"Look," I said, "we need to see Madanach."

 

"You want to see the King? Fine. No problem. You just have to pay the toll." He seemed to pause in thought for a surprising length of time before nodding and saying, "how about a shiv? Not that I need one, but it's nice to have something for... shaving."

 

I'd been casually holding my hand at my side, just close enough that the little knife should have been hidden entirely by me hand, with the rest of the blade behind my body.

 

"Fair enough," I said, revealing the little blade, "here you go. Like you said, no problem."

 

The Beast seemed genuinely disappointed that I hadn't had to go through more trouble to win his little game, but then he shrugged and pushed open the grate behind him. "Fine, head on in. But don't try anything stupid. Madanach's smarter than all four of you fools put together. He'd even be smarter than the other three of you if you left that lizard behind."

 

We navigated winding corridors from there until a large idol of bones reared up before us. Just beyond, I turned to find a man who I presumed was Madanach penning a letter as a woman with feathers in her hair sat beside him.

 

 

His appellation, King of Rags, turned out to be something of a misnomer, for Madanach was just as naked as the rest of the prisoners. Still, I bowed my head respectfully.

 

"King Madanach?" I asked.

 

"Well, well," he said, bitterness strong in his voice, "your kinsmen have turned you into an animal, Nord. So, my fellow beast, what do you want? Revenge, I assume?"

 

"I wanted to meet the man my father turned against his own people to help, all in the name of justice," I said. I felt Edippa brush against me as she too approached.

 

"Is that so? Not the answer I was expecting. Tell me more about this father of yours."

 

"His name was Thorvald Bjissen," I answered, "he fought with you to overthrown Jarl Hrolfdir. After the last battle, he-"

 

Madanach put down his quill and raised a hand. "I know who Thorvald Bjissen is. Was, I suppose. But why should I believe you are his daughter?"

 

"Because I know my daughter when I see her," said Edippa. Madanach looked to her, looked back to me, and then looked at Edippa again. Rocking his chair onto its back legs, he shook his head slowly.

 

"Edippa Bjissen," he said slowly, "you've certainly aged gracefully. I thought I told you to leave this place and never come back."

 

It took me a long second to process what he'd said before I snapped my head around. "What did he call you?"

 

Edippa shrugged, "what can I say? Humans make plans and the Divines laugh. I guess it was never a game to begin with."

 

I was stunned, finding myself speechless at the revelation. The woman at his feet stirred, looking at me carefully. She whispered to Madanach, "I believe she is the one the wise women spoke of."

 

"Oh," the King said in a half-laugh, "oh this just gets more and more interesting. Tell me, daughter of Thorvald, are you marked with the sign of Kyne?"

 

Even as he said it, the word rang like the toll of a bell in my mind.

 

KYNE

 

"Yessss," hissed the woman. "She has the mark. But not on her skin. The mark is... within her. I must examine. Lay her down on the floorboards."

 

As mother and the strange woman set me down, I was still too lost in my thoughts to protest. She knelt above me, hands kneading my breasts and feeling them at different angles.

 

"You have never fed a child at your breast," she whispered, "as the wise women said."

 

Then she leaned forward and kissed me, sucking at first my top lip and then my bottom, before thrusting her tongue within. Instead of reaching within like most, she ran it along my teeth, along the inside of my lips, and only then pressed in deeper. After probing for a time, she withdrew.

 

"The taste of your morning water is heavy on your lips. As the wise women said."

 

 

She leaned back then, probing between my legs with her fingers, entering me with one, then two, and finally three at a time to spread me open wide. I gasped as she withdrew them sharply then with a squish. "And you have lost your maidenhead to the dead. As the wise women said."

 

I gawked at her. "How?" was all I could muster.

 

"I know many things, Nord, and many things have been told to me. You bear the mark of Kyne, but you are not of Kyne. Your were born of this land to be the avatar of Hrokkibeg and the handmaiden of the Teacher. The burning spirit within quickens inside you, waiting for its time to burst forth. 

 

 

I turned then, and saw that Mother - Mother! - and Jenassa had also sunk to the floor. She was massaging and kissing the Dunmer's feet, and I realized that my guardian's body was shimmering with sweat. Her eyes were closed as if she was asleep, pure bliss written across her face.

 

"Mother..." I moaned as the woman continued to massage between my legs. I felt pinned in place, as if some unseen power was holding me there, leaving me entirely in the woman's power.

 

 

At length, she raised up my leg, plunging her fingers deeper into me, using her middle finger to massage sensitive spots through the upper wall of my vagina. She drew alongside me, never stopping her precisely targeted plunging and rubbing.

 

"Give me your sweet nectar, Nord. I must taste it. I must confirm the signs."

 

I could feel myself slowly climbing towards orgasm; muscles twitching in my belly, legs aching to close tight around the woman's probing hand, back arching and pushing myself down on her fingers. And then I could feel a powerful warmth rushing over me and sensed my vision momentarily contracting. The woman's hand came free of me thing, gliding in a scooping motion along the spot between my clitoris and my vagina. Then she pulled away, her hand heavy with sticky fluid, and she placed it between her lips with great care, sucking quietly and gently.

 

"Apple and honey, as the wise women said."

 

 

She rolled me over then so I lay on my hands and knees, my rear pushed into the air. My vagina was still clenching and releasing as my orgasm drew out, then I felt first a momentary feeling of pain as a lone fingernail pushed against me and then a sudden sense of fullness that I had never experienced before. As the first joint passed within me, I realized that she was forcing her middle finger into the my urethra. 

 

I gasped, then let out a little yell as her second joint went within. She probed, pushing in and also side to side, and she grunted with satisfaction. 

 

"You are nearly filled," she said. "Now relax, this will only hurt for a moment." Then, barely giving me time to react to what she had said, she pulled her finger roughly out of me and almost immediately clamped her mouth over the spot, sucking violently. My lower quarters burned as urine was drawn forcefully down the roughly stretched hole. A moment later, I heard the woman spit into the dirt at my side.

 

 

"Your water is charged with powerful magic. You are a reservoir of power. As the wise women said."

 

At last she released me, and I slumped against the cavern floor. Rising, the woman addressed Madanach. 

 

"She is the avatar of Hrokkibeg and now is the time to reclaim your crown."

 

Madanach turned, looking to Edippa. She had apparently finished with Jenassa for the two of them now stood, transfixed on what was happening.

 

"It seems you have brought me far more than either of us imagined, Edippa." 

 

"It would seem so indeed," she agreed. "But my daughter has devoted herself to Dibella. Can she truly be the chosen one for the Reachmen?" 

 

The woman who had so thoroughly examined me answered immediately. "We have always acknowledged Dibella as a powerful spirit whose patronage we seek. Just as the Imperial have their Eight Divines and love them all, one can love all the Gods of the Reach. And more importantly, the Gods of the Reach can all love her." 

 

I'd risen to a sitting posture now, trying to fully regain my wits. 

 

"Ahh," I complained, "that hurt. Especially that last part."

 

"Fear not," the Forsworn woman said, "the discomfort will be fleeting. Lie down for now, and drink this potion. It not only ease your pains, but it will help unlock your true power."

 

I did as she asked, curling up on King Madanach's bed - an actual bed, the first I'd seen within the mines - and accepting the flask that was offered to me. The potion was thick, with the texture of tapioca. It had a pleasant sweetness to it that started to sooth my pains as soon as it struck my tongue, and by the time it was fully down my throat my eyes had already started to weigh heavy with fatigue.

 

As I drifted off to sleep, I heard Madanach speaking to my mother. "I've planned for this day a long time, Edippa. I need you to speak with Braig, tell him it is time. Then return here in haste."

 

I woke to the sound of bustling activity, and an uncomfortable twisting sensation in my belly that sent me urgently looking for a shadowed corner to do my business. Madanach discerned my need and pointed me down the passage to his privy, such that it was - a bucket shielded from view by a large piece of cloth. 

 

Not standing on ceremony, I squatted over the makeshift toilet and emptied my bowels, immediately feeling relief in my abdomen. But as the filth fell from my body, I heard a sizzling sound and smelled whisps of smoke. 

 

 

Leaping up, I could see that the bottom of the bucket was smoking and blackening where my nightsoil had fallen. Moreover, thin, silky threats ran all throughout the larger bodies, and some of them - drooping as they stretched - were still attached to my body. 

 

I gasped, and Jenassa poked her head around the drape. "What is it?" she asked.

 

"I..." I started, then stopped, then tried to start again, only to snap my mouth shut wordlessly. On the third try I said it, "I think my shit just burnt a hole in the bucket."

 

"What?" Jenassa said. "I think I need to summon that Forsworn witch for you."

 

A moment later, Flora - that was her name - was attending me, wiping away the silky filaments and experimentally probing one of the turds before sharply pulling her finger back. 

 

"Your leavings are hot, like the embers cast from a forest fire," she said. "This was foreseen, but I admit I thought the prediction was more poetic than literal. As for the rest... all I can say for now is that the potion is doing its work. Come, let us return to Madanach."

 

I returned to the bedchamber to find Mother looking over Madanach's shoulder as he penned another letter.

 

 

She turned to me and smiled. "Daughter. Your timing is impeccable. Our King is just taking a moment to leave a parting... love letter for the Silver-Blood family. Then we will be on our way, to freedom."

 

"But there's one more matter we need to attend to," Madanach said. "Grisvar the Unlucky - well named indeed - needs to die. He is the guards' inside man, and he'll signal the alarm if he realizes what we're doing. You're new enough that you can get him by surprise. Consider this your demonstration of fealty to your King. Return when he lies dead."

 

Whatever shadows of hesitation haunted my mind fell away from me. "Yes, my King," I said quietly.

 

"I see you have some of your father's steel in your spine already. Good. Now go."

 

"Now go," another voice - seemingly only heard by me, "the hunt begins. Consecrate your hands with the blood of your prey." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes

In this chapter we played through most of MS02, including aspects that Blood & Silver add to the game. Devious Cidhna and Troubles of Heroine also had content available, but I skipped of that this time in the interests of not getting too side tracked. As it stood, I trimmed some content to keep the chapter from getting too lengthy; as it is, it clocked in at 3500 words in the final posted version. Mainly, I omitted the conversation with Braig, since it's less relevant considering Kirsti's backstory and the additional background about Markarth that she heard - and witnessed - in the earlier chapters. 

 

As I explored the mines looking for clues and allies, I ran into an annoying bug - once I reached a certain part of the mine, I started crashing when I went to save. The crash log's summary was full of red herrings, but after replicating the crash a few times, a particular object reference form ID kept showing up -- DEF3E. Curiously enough, this is the coffin belonging to Uaile, the Breton who I brought back to life for the express purpose of posing on the Branding Device of Doom. My guess is that the corpse cleanup script is trying to move Uaile, who is alive but disabled, into the coffin.

 

Fortunately this doesn't appear to actually be a problem with my load order - it's just an issue stemming from me screwing around with her character to get screen shots. I manually targeted her with the PRID console command, enabled her, moved her to my position, and then killed her (again). 

 

 

Then I rested for an hour to let the script do its magic. After this we were able to save again.

 

Another more cosmetic issue is one I've known about for a while: the huge penises assigned by BD's Hoodies. You can see an example below.

 

 

Penis size is controlled by a faction rank, in this case SOS_Addon_BDAnthro_Faction. The console reveals that he has rank 6, which the default global values for Dark Elves (5) reveals to only be slightly above average. However, beyond looking ridiculous, this man's huge organ will cause clipping problems, especially during oral sex scenes. After setting his faction rank to 3, I disabled and then enabled him, and you can see that he has a more realistic penis now.

 

 

Fixing this problem is going to have to wait until the next playthrough since there are many globals to update and it just doesn't make sense to try and change them all in the console. We'll make a note that the BD Anthro schlong needs to be reduced in "rank" by about 50% for each species, and patch this in during setup for the next playthrough.