Broken Tower Redoubt. Once upon a time, the an Imperial cohort posted in the fortress stood watch over the road from Karthwasten to Rorikstead. Indeed, even as the system of castra stativa crumbled during the late Third Era, Broken Tower - notwithstanding its eponymous third tower - remained relatively well maintained and staffed. Only the Great War finally emptied the garrison, and only briefly; after Madanach's revolt, his own armies occupied the fort and declared it one of his kingdom's border posts.

 

While the Forsworn who succeeded Madanach's legions may have fallen into destitution and barbarism, Broken Tower held fast against the efforts of both Markarth and Whiterun to reclaim the road it guarded. I suppose the Empire could have put siege to the fort and reconquered it, but the bulk of their forces have remained occupied with their efforts to prevent Ulfric Stormcloak from further expanding his influence over the Holds. 

 

Put another way, we couldn't count on help from outside to rescue Fjotra. We'd have to infiltrate the fort and reach her on our own, then find a way to escape before the Forsworn became fully aware of our presence. But first, I had to rest. Between the long trip from Markarth and the orgy in the mine, I was fully spent. Thankfully, Ainethach was able to find us some open beds in the miner's barracks, and we lay down sleep the night.

 

I didn't wake to the morning sun. Darkness, and a sense the ground was shifting beneath me, greeted me. And I wasn't in bed anymore; I could feel the rough surface of wooden planking against my legs. I tried to rise, failing at first as I discovered my arms were bound tight around my waist. A second, more careful attempt brought me fully upright, but no more aware of my surroundings. Experimentally, I tried to call out, but I found my words distorted by a metal ring, secured behind my teeth with firm leather straps. I realized then that something else felt... wrong. Like the warmth of my body had diminished somehow. I tried to call forth the spiders that lurked within my body, to no avail. I could still, just barely, sense their presence, but they did not respond to my call. 

 

 

A gruff voice interrupted my ruminations. "Ah, you're awake. The Silver-Bloods send their regards."

 

"Mmmh?" I mumbled through the gag.

 

"You belong to us now," he explained. "When you're too worn to please us, we're going to toss you overboard - far from land - and watch you drown. So for your sake, I hope you're eager to please."

 

"Mnoo uu no uuu..." I started, before I felt a rough hand grasp my cheeks.

 

"First lesson," my captor said, "I'm in charge."

 

I could hear the creaking of the floor as he circled me, then strong arms wrapped around me, groping at my breasts. I tried to struggle, then choked as my captor pushed his meaty thumb through the ring and all the way to the back of my mouth. Instinctively I tried to bite down, but the metal ring was unyielding, keeping my jaws held open. As he continued his rough examination of my body, I could feel his cock growing erect against my rear.

 

 

Then, with no warning, he withdrew his thumb from my mouth and shoved me forward. Stumbling, I staggered once, then twice, before falling flat to the deck. And that's what I was certain this was now - the deck of a ship. The rocking motion, the sounds of footsteps on wood above and below, the hint of salt on the air, and of course the threat to throw me into the sea. My kidnappers were holding me on a ship, likely out at sea. How long had I been unconscious?

 

I could hear my captor circling once more. Every now and then, he let out a little self-satisfied chuckle. I tried to rise up again, but any time I got my knees back under me, a firm kick sent me splayed back out on the floor.

 

 

I couldn't identify what I heard next. Metal and rope perhaps, but I had no idea of what the man was working at. His circling slowed, and he was behind me again. I could hear the creak as he knelt between my splayed legs, and I expected him to enter me any moment. It was a surprise then, when I felt a rough rope noose thrown over my head and pulled tight, strong hands rapidly lifting me from the floor.

 

I let out as close to a shriek as I could muster between the gag and my fast constricting airway, flailing my legs helplessly as the man laughed.

 

 

"You see," he said, "as far as the Silver-Bloods are concerned, you're already dead. But we don't get paid until we cut off those painted tits of yours and deliver them to Betrid. If you'd like, I can do that now and just let you hang..."

 

I thrashed my head side to side in negation.

 

"Good. Very good. Alright boys, let her down."

 

As the tension came out of the rope, I feel hard on my knees, gasping. But I didn't get any relief from my torments as a hot wave of spinking urine splattered against my face. The stream quickly centered on my nose and mouth - and unable to close my mouth on account of the gag I was quickly swamped in the steaming fluid.

 

 

I coughed and choked, then, with little other choice, started to swallow the rank piss as fast as I could. This elicited another harsh laugh from my captor - and also from whatever helper had assisted him in stringing me up. After he had thoroughly soaked my hair and face, I started to feel the stream weakening and my tormentor lazily watered me along my body antil I was covered head to toe in a thin, stinking sheen.

 

Swallowing again and again to clear my throat between coughs, I found myself unable to resist as he roughly pulled my head towards him by the hair and poured something into my mouth. Then he firmly pinched my nose closed and held my head back until I swallowed. I tried to struggle, to get some relief from the tight bonds on my arms, but I fast started to feel light-headed as the drug took effect. Soon after, my legs started to fail me and my whole body started to feel loose and rubbery. Rubbery... and more flexible.

 

 

Even as I swooned, I could feel myself getting more play on the restraints. I gasped as it felt like my shoulder dislocated and suddenly I had a little bit of motion in one arm. I kept thrashing, much to the amusement of my captor, though his amusement turned to irritation and then rage as I started to work free of the bindings. A hard kick landed on my ribs along with unintelligible commands that, to my drugged mind, sounded indistinguishable from the crashing waves outside.

 

And then, I popped free of something and I could feel my power washing back into me. 

 

"Thaaaaaaaa wwwwwwwaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrddddddddd" a distorted voice cried in the distance.

 

Then I threw my head back and screamed as my antlers burst through the skin of my head. I was still blinded, though, and the increasingly angry shouts of my captors told me I had little free time. Casting the leather restraints to the ground I called out to the Teacher's children. Though the words were garbled by the ring in my mouth, the spiders heard, and poured forth. Shouts of anger turned to alarm as the creatures pushed past the ring in my mouth and poured out of my back passage to envelop my body.

 

 

And then, I could see. Not with my own eyes but, I imagined, through the eyes of the spiders. I saw a burly Orc, half-dressed after his fun with me, along with another man in seafarer's garb. A naked, gagged Argonian was there also - I presumed another captive. I approached them slowly, watching with amusement as they backed towards the corner of the cabin. 

 

"Now listen to me, slut," the Orc growled, "you're going to follow me..." 

 

His instructions were lost in an agonized scream as my spiders leapt the distance to him and started tearing him apart, ripping into his skin and injecting caustic, burning poison deep into his body. His mate threw up his hands in surrender before fleeing, shrieking, from the cabin. 

 

More cries started to ring out from within the ship, but I focused on freeing myself. I patted down the Orc, my fingers feeling oddly flexible under the influence of the drug, and I soon found a key ring. Reaching around the back of my head with more ease that I'd expected, I found the padlock holding my blindfold in place and, one at a time, worked through the keys until I got it loose. No such luck with the gag, unfortunately - either the key was somewhere else or I just couldn't get the angle right to open it. 

 

Giving up on the gag for the moment, I turned my attention to the cabin door. Before I could slip out, however, a woman entered the room and leveled a cutlas at you.

 

"I knew I'd find you here," she said, "you won't get away."

 

I swayed back, dodging her slash with greater ease than I'd expected, even as the spiders fell upon her. Where they'd torn the Orc apart directly, this time the spiders attacked the woman's face, pushing past her lips and - by the bulges I could see from without - proceeding down her throat. Screaming wildly, the woman fell, thrashing to the deck, until blood started to pour from her mouth and stain her breeches. The smell of cooking meat escaped her as she gasped out a final death rattle and lay still. I had little time to feel pity for her miserable end; so I scooped up her sword and pressed my escape. Curiously, I could hear the sounds of fighting elsewhere in the ship - battle cries and the clash of steel. 

 

Then, coming around a corner, I saw a familiar figure clad in fine bronze armor.

 

 

"Jmnaffa!" I mumbled through the gag, helping the Dunmer woman to her feet.

 

Jenassa steadied herself against the wall for a moment before straightening herself and checking her armor. Then she leaned against a beam and massaged the side of her head.

 

"I thought..." she grunted, "...we were supposed to rescue you."

 

I mumbled through my gag and she laughed. "Stand still," she said, "let me cut you loose." 

 

Jenassa produced a dagger and neatly sliced through the leather straps of the gag. Finally free of the last restraints and able to speak I let fly with one question after another, but Jenassa waved me off.

 

"I took quite a hit on the head... I need to rest a moment. Find your mother, she's looking for you but on the wrong side of the ship. I'll catch up once my head stops spinning."

 

I raced through the ship then, following the sounds of battle. A crewman, shrieking in fear, ran past me. The spiders opted to not attack him and so I let him pass. Then, turning a corner, I came face to face with my mother.

 

 

"Daughter!" she said, "you have perfect timing as always."

 

I glanced down, and noticed that the broken haft of her mace was lying on the floor. 

 

"More luck than timing, I'm afraid. But I'm glad to see you. Jenassa is alright also, she's just resting a moment before she rejoins us."

 

"What a relief," Mother said. "When we woke to find you missing we feared we'd lost you."

 

"Where are we?" I asked, "and how did you find me?"

 

"I'll explain everything in a moment, but first - oh, Jenassa, you're here!"

 

I turned to see the Dunmer fast approaching. 

 

"All that's left are those two on the top now," she said, "I took care of the straggler."

 

Together, the three of us burst out of the lower decks ready for a fight. However, it seemed the remaining pirates had already had their fill of us, as they were already fleeing down the dock and away from the ship.

 

 

"Well," Jenassa drawled, "that was a little easier than I expected." 

 

I watched the men flee for a moment more before I started to notice the chill on my skin. 

 

"We're north, though being on a boat that's no surprise. Though at least we aren't at sea. Where are we?" I asked again.

 

 

Mother led me around the ship's deckhouse and pointed to a distant building. 

 

"That, daughter, is the Blue Palace of Solitude. We're at a pier a ways north of her docks. We tracked your kidnappers here and had the good fortune to catch them before they set sail."

 

"Well... thank you again, mother. It was pure luck that I got free, and I'm not sure I could have made it all the way out without help."

 

 

Then another chill ran over my body and I involuntarily hugged myself.

 

"Ah," I said, "I don't think this outfit works this far north."

 

Mother laughed at that, "aye, it takes some getting used to. But here, I brought something that might help."

 

She reached into her pack and offered me a solid-looking collar made of a curious material. It looked like blackened iron, but flecked through with ice blue flakes of some sort. Mother helped me secure it around my neck, where it sat snugly but not uncomfortably.

 

 

"There's an enchantment on this collar that should offer you some protection against the cold."

 

I was still chilly, but my shivering was starting to subside now. "I see what you mean," I said. "How long have you had this?"

 

"Arcadia gave it to me when we were in Whiterun. She's been doing experiments with enchantments to resist heat and cold, and this was one of her projects. I thought it might be handy in the future, and I can see that you'll benefit from it now."

 

I took in the landscape for a little longer before my mind turned back to next steps.

 

"I think I'd rather leave this place now," I said. "And besides, we still have a Sybil to rescue."

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes

Well then. I was expecting to wrap up T01, but it seems as if Devious Cidhna felt this was the ideal time to kick in. I was actually a little uncertain how I was going to handle this twist, since Kirstia is still fairly low level and not in a great position skill-wise to struggle out of devious devices. Good think that Skooma Whore rape drugging totally randomly fed her "the contortionist." From there, the rest played out more or less as you saw it - though I actually struggled out of all the restraints; the devious keyring was an invention for the narrative. My companions broke out of captivity at the same time I killed the captain (I suspect this is a scripted event) and kept the ship's inhabitants busy while I struggled out of the rest of my devices. Both Naked Defeat and Combat Surrender briefly played events, though the poison cloak effect from the spider largely interrupted them - but they failed gracefully. All in all, this was a pretty successful multi-mod pileup with some good emergent effects.