Jump to content

The Frozen Lake (Kirstia's Second Adventure, Chapter 13)


gregaaz

550 views

The ghostly figure stood before me, for the moment at least making no acknowledgement of my presence. I approached him slowly, trying to close the distance without making any move that her might see as agression. Soon I stood face to face with him, and his cold eyes watched me impassively.

 

"Who are you?" I asked.

 

ScreenShot1220.png.747e0c4a71f3720f493dd0f1d22a5393.png

 

"It is not time for me to answer that question," he replied. "We will meet again, but for now, I am content to watch."

 

When he chose to remain silent in the face of my further questions, I accepted the ghost's choice and approached the shrine. As before, the bear flashed into being. He brought his paws together with a dull thud that made me quiver a little. Each time he clapped, the shrine rose a little further from the ground... and another wave of pleasure washed over me. By the time the shrine was half way raised, I was on my knees, panting as my body heated. 

 

ScreenShot1222.png.cc2b8001d73b9114bda65adbf1aa4b54.png

 

Through the haze that was filling my mind, I heard the ghost speak again. "It has been too long, Wojtek. After you have sent your plaything on her way, stay a while and talk."

 

"Wojtek..." I gasped, "is that your name?"

 

The bear grunted, not letting up the rhythm of his clapping. Soon the shrine was almost fully raised, and I could feel a powerful pull from within. I crawled, painstakingly, towards the central fond. Each thundering clap from the bear fired my passions to even greater heights, and by the time I was half way across the shrine, the bear's percussive melody was accompanied by gushes of my juices, squeezing out in time with him.

 

ScreenShot1223.png.1f3d646ffe7bf849da2b402ad074755f.png 

This time, I was unsurprised when the black film started to ooze from my pores. I let it cover me entirely, and waited until the bear's... until Wojtek's clapping no longer resonated through me. I was in another cavern. A brook ran past behind me, and ahead of me, on a marble dais that seemed to be all that remained of a ruined shrine, I saw one of the Falmer's curious, segmented chests. Scanning my surroundings, I looked for any sign of enemies lurking near me. Once I was convinced there was nothing, I levered open the chest and looked within. Bits of rusted iron armor filled the chest, along with obviously gnawed human or elven bones.

 

ScreenShot1219.png.58d2b430ddc857d997b9b2c602cc0918.png

 

I was about to dismiss the pile of junk when something shiny caught my eye. Amidst all the clutter, I found a breastplate - if you can call it that, it was really more of a brassier than a proper chestpiece - made from extremely fine chain links. It also had that distinctive wire-like metalwork that I'd come to associate with many enchanted toys. When I touched it, a hot throb ran through me as the piercing in my clitoris seemed to positively sizzle with energy. That convinced me beyond any doubt that this was one of the artifacts Millonce had sent me in search of, and I carefully removed it and placed it in my pack after carefully wrapping it.

 

I thought about wearing it the lightweight little piece of armor, as it would surely be much quieter than the iron breastplate I'd eschewed earlier, but I ultimately decided not to. Every one of the Falmer toys I'd encountered so far had some sort of magical power, and the wrong enchantment - especially on an item I might not be able to easily remove - could be deadly in a place like this. 

 

I continued a way until, to my surprise, I felt snow against my feet. I looked up, and realized I could see the night sky. While I was deep in some sort of box canyon, I'd emerged from the cave. But... where had I emerged? I might be able to tell my direction with my compass, but my map was useless until I could find a landmark to orient with.

 

ScreenShot1224.png.50c8acb9c42fff1c3585f94fa187c42c.png

 

With the cave left behind - and the chill tickling my skin already - I took a moment to lay down my pack. After thanking them for all their help in the caves, I told the Children to return to my body, and they obligingly scuttled down my throat or squeezed through my anus until they were once again hiding within my body. Then, I unrolled my breastplate and, more importantly, my warm fur cloak. Once I was dressed, I clipped the lantern back to my belt and let my little companion flutter free from his hiding place.

 

With all that done, I carefully repacked my things and set out to try and discern where I'd ended up. At a minimum, I wanted to find a safe place, ideally on high ground, to make camp. It would probably be easier to survey the terrain in the morning anyway. 

 

Emerging from the box canyon and its deep shadows, I was somewhat pleased to find that far from the total dark of night, the sky was just shading into twilight. Below me, stretching out to the west, I saw a forested valley, liberally littered with more of the marble ruins I'd encountered within the cave system. I also felt a distinct tug westward; I was certain that one or more additional toys were concealed in these wilds. 

 

ScreenShot1225.png.4ff35877656d8dff42382cae5d698f4e.png

 

As I pushed west, looking for a suitable campsite, I saw movement in the distance. Quickly putting away my lantern, so as not to advertise my presence, I crept closer. Now I could clearly see what was moving below: spiders, lots of spiders. And amongst them, an enormous... creature. It had the legs and thorax of a spider, but like a centaur, a woman's torso sprouted from its front. I drew my bow and checked my aim. I'd heard whispers of giant Arachnodaedra like this going back to the time of the Oblivion Crisis, but I'd always thought these monsters had been long banished from our world. Clearly, at least one still needed banishing. 

 

ScreenShot1226.png.55f357a9461e16edbd7012e944c3ef5f.png

 

I picked off the smaller spiders without difficulty, but the Arachnodaedra didn't take the bait. Instead, she hung back, obviously scanning the ridge to try and find me, magical energies building in her human hands. 

 

I figured I was good for one sneak attack - one shot at hitting a vital spot - after that she'd see me and I'd have to dodge her magic while pelting her. The first shot struck her in the shoulder, spoiling her spell and sending a spray of icy projectiles across the valley cliffs. Quickly, I drew a second arrow and fired, but it went wide and bounced off a piece of marble debris. Sure now she'd found me, I drew a third arrow even as I got ready to jump out of the way of her spells. I released, leapt behind a boulder and waited for the impact of her spell... but it never came.

 

ScreenShot1227.png.5ab92208f3463f4e6d010099bae5b89d.png

 

Cautiously, I looked out from behind the boulder and I discovered the cause of the silence. The Arachnodaedra lay in a crumpled pile, a Falmer arrow sprouting from its eye socket. Silently, I thanked Dibella - even though it seemed my prayers were blocked from her ears by the Snow Elf toys. A different voice answered my prayer.

 

Avatar. You have done well. This is WORTHY prey. Go now, feast on its flesh, and receive my blessing.  

 

"Hrokkibeg?" I asked.

 

That is one of my names. I have watched you with interest. As is proper, you hibernated for a time. But now you have awakened, and you hunt with tooth and claw. Your prey falls before you. Now let its flesh sustain you. Find your prey's heard and eat it. 

 

I approached the fallen Arachnodaedra with caution, but no other spiders emerged. Using my dagger, I slit open the flesh of it's torso, letting its guts pile out until I could reach inside... to find its still-beating heart. I cut away at it with my knife until it started to give way, and then with a powerful pull I tore it free. 

 

CONSUME YOUR PREY, Hrokkibeg demanded. 

 

I considered the Daedra's heart. Even now it still pulsed with life. At length, I raised up the heart with both hands and bit into the powerful muscle. It took all my strength to bite through the heart, but when I finally did a gush of partly congealed blood flooded my mouth and I felt an immediate rush of power fill my body. The intense energy grew with each bite, becoming almost painful by the time I swallowed the last little piece of heart. As I swallowed, I felt a pop behind my ear, followed by a sharp pain all along my jaw. Soon I was feeling this sensation in all my joints and even up my spine. 

 

At length, the pain subsided and even the warmth fled me. Indeed, I acutely felt the bite of the wind. Giving up my hopes of finding a campsite on high ground, I retreated into the valley and found a clear spot to lay my tent. Despite having just been filled with the large Daedra heart, my stomach was growling and my armor feeling ill-fitted and heavy. I pushed through my discomfort long enough to gather some deadwood and set a fire, then I peeled off my armor to check its fitting. When I looked down at my body, I could swear that my hips and ribcage were wider than before. Had Hrokkibeg literally transformed me when I ingested the Daedra blood?

 

ScreenShot1229.png.fbd334643dafefc6f1be32a6b0fc1f6e.png

 

Warmed by the fire, and my stomach filled with freshly cooked meat from one of the insects I'd slain in the caves earlier, I slept better than I had in a long time. No strange dreams troubled me, nor did any interruption from the waking world. I awoke to a mist-shrouded morning, and after I'd broken down my campsite I donned and adjusted my armor until it sat comfortably again, then I continued west, following the pull of the artifact. 

 

ScreenShot1230.png.099431f13960e691c7e477b192d4c8a6.png

 

Beyond the Arachnodaedra's lair, I looked down into a frozen landscape. For all the temperance of the wooded valley, what lay behind was all frost and ice. This was another valley, certainly, though running perpendicular to the one I'd left. A waterfall off to my left fed torrents of water into the freezing lake far below. Following the insistent tug of my piercing, I followed the northern shore of the lake, pressing west towards the artifact. Soon I'd reached a vantage point with a good view of the western reaches of the lake, and I could tell now that the artifact lay not just west, but southwest - on the heights at the far side of the valley.

 

I considered continuing west and looping around the lake, but I remembered I'd seen the ruins of a causeway to the east, rising up the side of the valley. I retraced my steps, pushing for the relatively assured path through the ruins and up onto the southern heights.

 

ScreenShot1231.png.854c7117cf9793a5ad8e947ced490107.png

 

The ascend to the causeway proved more challenging than I'd expected. The lower parts were sheathed in thick ice and littered with fallen boulders and debris. I was able to proceed, but I had to repeatedly mantle up over large rocks and leap from one icy ledge to another. Still, I felt like the whole exercise went much more easily than it should have. I'm sure the power of the Warrior Stone was partly responsible, but I think Hrokkibeg's blessing was also an important factor. Once I'd warmed up, in fact, I felt light and invigorated, really enjoying the challenge of making my way over the rocks and pitfalls. 

 

ScreenShot1232.png.cf2e69cb70c68e1ca9b95b8f8d67a993.png

 

Once I passed the blockage, the causeway proved just as easy a way up as I'd expected. Soon I was passing under the final marble arch and looking out overt the sprawling flat top of the southern valley wall. Flat... and frozen. The heights here concealed another vast frozen lake, this one even larger than the one at the bottom of the valley. It stretched on almost to the horizon, and I sensed that I needed to reach the other side in order to find the artifact.

 

ScreenShot1233.png.203a5f346a31d995681e4425f610eb4a.png

 

I spent the rest of the morning crossing the lake, taking great care to avoid thin or fractured ice. I knew that if I fell into the freezing lake with no one to help me, I'd be finished. Midway across the lake, a pair of ice wraiths descended on my, trying to take my unaware by blending against the icy surface of the lake. As they attacked, Wojtek appeared and began to wrestle with one of the crystaline monsters while I battled the second. After a lengthy back and forth, I managed to smash the wraith with my shield, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Looking to Wojtek, I saw him unmoving, encased in ice. I snapped my head left and right looking for motion, and just barely spotted the wraith before it struck. I dodged and lashed out with my sword, severing its rear segments and sending it from the air to sprawl on the ice. Before it could rise, I kicked it repeatedly until its icy shell cracked and splintered.

 

Once I was sure the wraith was dead, I returned to check on Wojtek. The big bear was unmoving, seemingly frozen solid. Whispering to him, I said "hey big boy... are you still with us?"

 

"I don't know," he replied, "do you have any booze?"

 

I took a step back, shocked not only at the bear's sudden movement but at his use of intelligible speech. 

 

"I... ah... I don't think so. I used up the last of the wine a while ago."

 

Wojtek shook the ice off the way a wet dog shakes off mud, then raised his foreleg to point at my belt. "That looks like a wineskin. I'd prefer ale, but I'll settle for wine today."

 

I laughed then. "Sorry, Wojtek, that's not wine."

 

"Oh? Is it ale? Is it... mazte? Ooh, is it klef?"

 

"It's, um, urine."

 

Wojtek laughed loudly at that. "You mean you've been chasing your meals with piss? Really? I thought you were a freak before but that really bakes the cake."

 

"Hang on, how do you know what I've been eating and drinking? Have you been watching me? I thought you only came out when... I don't know? When I'm at one of the shrines or when I'm in danger?"

 

"Ha, ha, hahaha," Wojtek laughed. He was up on his back legs now, his paws folded over his gut as if to keep it from bursting. "I'm bound to that little gold thing you've got dangling between your legs. I'm with you all the time. I'm watching you all the time. Who do you think's leading you to the toys? That idiot scholar? But I digress, I'm still trying to understand this drinking piss business."

 

"It's magically charged urine," I countered. "It heals me and nourishes me."

 

"Uh, huh, sure it does," Wojtek challenged.

 

"Do you want to try some and find out?" I pushed the wineskin towards him.

 

"No. No I don't. But... well... maybe just a sniff."

 

I unscrewed the cap and offered the spiggot. Wojtek approached, took a few deep sniffs, and then wrinkled his face.

 

"Oh, that's rank! Rank and foul! What's wrong with your body? Do you have a disease?"

 

I sighed. "No, I don't have a disease. I gather it when I wake, so it's extra concentrated."

 

"Uh, uhhhhh, OK, I think I've had enough of this conversation... for a decade. Stay safe, piss pig, I'm going back to Oblivion." 

 

And with that, Wojtek vanished in a swirl of blue light. 

 

I didn't have to press on much further from where we fought the wraiths. I could feel the tug of the piercing growing stronger and more focused. I suddenly had a horrible mental image of Wojtek leading the way, tugging at me by a leash attached to my clitoris. 

 

"Is that what's going on, Wojtek?" I asked. Only silence answered me. 

 

Finally, I reached the edge of the steep valley wall, near one of the waterfalls I'd seen earlier. Just shy of the rushing waters, I could see a dark, chitinous shape - another chest. 

 

ScreenShot1234.png.a9cd26154f5863ee83a9e2d6363a349d.png

 

Within, I found a small stash of coins, a gorgeous amethyst geode, and a black leather harness, decorated with delicate chains and equally delicate looking golden padlocks. It had a strong resemblance to the belt I'd found on Forrien Hlaalu's body. A gust of wind chilled me to the bone and reminded me that I was ill advised to stay here longer than I needed to. I scooped the coins, geode, and harness into my pack, then tried to get some cover between me and the wind. 

 

ScreenShot1235.png.d9448cd6cb4d0341bb0d8a62170bd6bc.png

 

At first I tried to turn back the way I'd came, but to my surprise I felt a sharp tug in the other direction. 

 

"Is there another artifact here, Wojtek?" I asked, eliciting a firmer tug that made me gasp a little bit. I realized then that the damn bear probably was leading me by an unseen leash. 

 

Following his lead, Wojtek led me to a natural bridge and then down into a valley. It was still bitterly cold, but at least the snow had melted at its base - and I could see the smoke of fires. Unfortunately, as I got closer I could see the huts to which the fires belonged and they were unmistakable. I was walking into a Falmer village.

 

ScreenShot1236.png.fab04e29a8ddc4dbf55a4449bc29e8d7.png

 

Behind The Scenes

 

If you've played through Toy Story before, you know that Kirsti's discovery of the bra happened out of sequence. This is because - as you might have picked up from the previous chapter - I managed to bumble my way past a pitfall that TS assumed I would fall into. I suppose that's one danger of a blind playthrough. Thankfully, @VirginMarie noticed the missing event in the chapter and warned me that I had missed the treasure. With the help of some console magic, I was able to quickly zip back, get the treasure, and then teleport back to my previous position.

 

On another note, this week has been a really good one for body randomization. After I posted the previous chapter, the Nexus got another high quality BHUNP preset, which I promptly downloaded and installed.

1 Comment


Recommended Comments

Quote

I suddenly had a horrible mental image of Wojtek leading the way, tugging at me by a leash attached to my clitoris. 

 

Lmao

Link to comment

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. For more information, see our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use