The sky was starting to shade into dusk as I crossed beneath the gate of Larak's fortress. As before, I found him near the entrance and waved in greeting.

 

"Chief Larak," I said, "I trust all is well?"

 

 

"Aye," he grumbled, "little has changed since you left. Were you successful in your quest?"

 

I gestured towards my pack. "I was. I'm on my way to tell Millonce the good news right now." 

 

"And the cave, did it offer you a suitable challenge?"

 

I nodded in affirmation. "It had... its moments. The valley beyond those caves concealed many foes."

 

"Foes, I think, and secrets. I can see how you've grown stronger, and surely faster than a child of man could in a mere two days. Is this the touch of magic on you?"

 

"The touch... of a patron, I think that's how I'd put it." I recounted briefly the encounter with the Arachnodaedra and how I'd been empowered by eating its still-beating heart.

 

"Very interesting..." Larak said. "The voice you heard... tell me, what do you know of the beliefs of the Reachfolk?"

 

"Little," I confessed, "though that's a failing I'm trying to remedy."

 

"Hmmph. Well, as you surely know, Malacath is my peoples' only god. But the Reachfolk... they honor him as one amongst many, and it seems he... tolerates their infidelity. Another god that shares their affection is Hircine - and I believe this Hrokkibeg you speak of may be related to him. Perhaps you should seek out a priest of Hircine; they may know more about this strange fate that seems to be stalking you."

 

"That sounds like fine advice, Larak," I agreed. "Perhaps when my errand for Millonce is completed, I'll do just that."

 

"I'm glad I could repay your... earlier favor," he said with just the hint of a smile. "And while you're here, you should talk to my forge-wife Shuftharz. She has something I think you'll find interesting."

 

"I will, and thank you again. You're a good chief to your people."

 

We parted ways then, but I heeded his advice and swung by the forge before returning to the cellar. Shuftharz was there, sharpening up a well worn sword even as the light faded. 

 

Only half looking at me, she asked, "are you looking for work? The mines are nearby... oh, it's you. Larak's favorite Nord."

 

 

"Really?" I asked. "He said that?"

 

"Not in so many words, but I know him well enough to tell. You'd best not linger here too long, or he may decide to take you for wife."

 

"Um... thank you for the warning. But he said you were working on something that I'd be interested in."

 

"Oh, yes, that. I started it as a favor for my daughter, Borgakh, but I fear it turned out too light and delicate for her. For you though... I think it will be just right. Think of it as a parting gift and payment of any debts. Come, follow me."

 

Shuftharz rose from her grindstone and led me into her smithy proper. I could see many fine weapons and sturdy pieces of armor adorning the walls in various states of finish and repair. "Here," she said. "I had to fit it by eye, so it needs some fine adjustments. But try it on."

 

The armor she offered me was clearly of Orsimer make, with is characteristic pointed style to the breastplate and pauldrons, but it incorporated a fair bit more leather than other examples I'd seen. I squeezed into the leggings without too much difficulty, mostly just needed to let out the thigh belts a bit. The breasplate likewise needed some adjustment to sit right on my shoulders, but soon I was fully armored and found after an experimental stretch or two that this suit fit me almost perfectly.

 

 

"Thank you, Shuftharz," I said, "this is truly more than I deserve." 

 

She lowered her voice a bit, whispering, "I know what you did for my husband. He returned so invigorated, like a new man. You've probably won him another decade of life, and for that a suit of armor is scant thanks to offer. Keep his thanks in your heart, and also keep his secret."

 

I wondered if offering her a hug was the right thing to do, but I took a chance and pulled the woman into an embrace. "It will always be safe with me," I whispered into her ear. Then I gave her one more squeeze, finishing, "thank you again. I'll wear this with honor."

 

Once I descended into the cellar, I found Millonce Curio at work, hunched over her enchanting table. Rapping my knuckles against a nearby beam in announcement, I offered her a smile.

 

"I'm back," I said, "and I think I found something worthwhile."

 

 

Millonce snapped her head around, looking at me with haunted-looking eyes. "What in Oblivion were you doing in there?" she demanded.

 

"Ummm... what?"

 

"Your means of letting me know what not amusing. I felt like I was having sex with the entire court of Solitude!"

 

"I still don't... oh, wait. The piercing? Then the link worked?"

 

"It worked, all right," she challenged me. "Everything is soaked because of you!"

 

"That's... impressive. I didn't expect Wojtek's song to carry this far."

 

"Wojtek? Who is...?"

 

"The Daedra you told me of, the one bound to the piercings. He manifested several times during my expedition, and we communicated."

 

"That's great. Just great, Kirstia. But do you understand that the Orcs had a betting pool on whether or not I'd orgasm myself to death? What were you doing at those shrines? Fucking everything with a pulse?"

 

I couldn't help but laugh at her hysterics. "Would you believe me if I told you that no fucking was involved? What you felt was Wojtek's songs and music. And, I suppose, the tug of his leash."

 

"Songs? Music? Leash? Kirstia, I don't care about that! I have nothing dry left to wear!"

 

"I'm sorry, Millonce. I thought you were prepared for this. In any event," I patted my bag, "I have a number of artifacts for you to look at."

 

She groaned. "I knew I shouldn't have asked some random pervert to help me. I should have just asked the Synod for help. Do you have any idea how hard it is to manipulate wayshrines from this far away? I couldn't even think straight afterwards."

 

"Wait, you manipulated the wayshrines? It wasn't Wojtek?" 

 

"YES I MANIPULATED THE DIVINES CURSED WAYSHRINES!" she howled.

 

"Wojtek..." I grumbled. I got no response.

 

As Millonce continued to fume, I showed her what I'd found. She considered them carefully, before handing the piercings and the brassier back to me. "These lesser items... you hang onto them for now. But these, I can feel the power on them," she said as she laid the gag and the harness down on her enchanting table. "I need to start working on these immediately."

 

"Are you sure you don't want to rest?"

 

"The sooner I'm done, the sooner I can return to Cyrodiil. I'll need to put them on you to fully test their properties of course."

 

I rolled my eyes just a little at that. "Why me?"

 

"Well, there's two reasons. First, the Orcs won't help me with this research. Larak's wives are too uptight for it, and he keeps his daughters on too tight a leash. Second, at the moment I consider your mouth your least valuable asset, so I don't have anything to lose by sticking..." she retrieved the gag from her table, now subtly glowing with violet light, "...it into your..." she reached around my head, clicking the straps together and then tightening it until the ring pulled back to sit behind my teeth, "...damn fool mouth."

 

 

Millonce stepped back to examine her work. "Yes, that looks just about right. And I think a few hours in a muzzle is the least of what you owe me."

 

Experimentally, I tried to speak, and I found that the ring itself just seemed to become insubstantial whenever I started talking. Only the straps tugging at the corners of my mouth remained, still held fast, but I readily enough compensated.

 

"Bad news then," I said, "I'm still able to talk. Do you notice anything new?"

 

She stared at me, unresponsive.

 

"Millonce?" I asked "are you sure you're alright?"

 

"What? Huh? Oh yes, I'm fine. Just a little tired. Yes, other than letting you talk while you're gagged this one doesn't seem to do anything. Except... here," she said, poking a finger into my mouth. "Try to bite down. Gently!" 

 

I did as she asked, and found that the ring was fully solid now, I couldn't close my jaws at all. 

 

"Aha," she said, "so it does do something. Maybe I can make some adjustments to power it up. Give me a few minutes... with... youw tongue cawessing my thighs." 

 

"A few minutes to what, now?" I pressed, trying not to chuckle.

 

I could see she was blushing. "I need youw tongue in my thighs," she mumbled, "devouw my thighs awnd eat my wike a peach. My cwotch is buwning fow the feew of youw tongue awnt iwt's abouwt tuwu expwode.  Pwease. Pwease! I cawn't take iwt anymowe!"

 

Now I was just teasing her. "Hmm? I still don't understand what you're saying."

 

"Your tongue! My crotch! NOW!!!!"

 

"Well, if you put it that way... OK, lie down and open up those legs."

 

Not quite following my directions, after Millonce had got her robe off she crawled under the table on her hands and knees, pushing her moist vulva out towards me. I could see that she still had her piercing attached, dangling and glinting in the light.

 

 

"Hmmm," I said, "you better push your hips back a little more, or I'll only be able to reach that hairy little asshole of yours. Not that I couldn't make you squirm from there either."

 

"No!" she whined, angling down and pushing back so I could freely access her pink folds, "lick my pussy now!"

 

"Are you suuure?" I teased, running my tongue around the rim of her puckered little hole.

 

"PUSSY! NOW!" she shrieked.

 

Not prepared to draw out her agony any further, I leaned in took a long lick from her hooded clitoris all the way up to the mouth of her pussy. She had the sweet, slightly fruity taste of a woman who'd already climaxed recently. As I tickled her with slow, deliberate licks, I could feel her squirming and shuddering. Guiding her with her hands, I adjusted her hips just a little further, and then started alternating lucks, sucking kisses, and gentle love bites to her outer lips. Slowly but firmly, I ran my tongue over every inch of her inner places, after each revolution pausing a moment to focus intently on her stretched and erect clitoris. After less time than I'd expected, I tasted another surge of sweetness and she let out a long, satisfied groan.

 

I wasn't quite ready to release her yet, however. Pinning Millonce in place to keep her from squirming away, I increased the intensity of my licking, alternating between her throbbing clit and a back and forth between her vagina and her urethra. Keeping her passions high and never letting her relax, I coaxed two more climaxes from her in quick succession before her knees gave out and she collapsed in a heap on the floor.

 

"Uhhhhh," Millonce whimpered, "I feel like I'm floating on a cloud. A very defiled, utterly filthy cloud."

 

"Should I continue?"

 

Millonce was putting her robes back on, and once she had straightened them out she glowered at me. 

 

 

"That's not what I...! Just shut up while I compose myself. And let me look at that gag while it's not twisting my mind."

 

She closely examined the straps, testing their fit, then she ran her finger around the inside of the ring. "Hmm, yes, I see it now. As you surmised, the enchantment does allow you to speak clearly - but only to people you're charming. And that's the gag's real power - it inflames the passions of anyone you focus on. It looks like it will fortify your stamina as well, but the charm itself is the strongest power."

 

"So if we're still talking, does that mean I'm still charming you?"

 

Millonce scoffed, "yes, yes it does. So you had better hurry up before I have to put your tongue to work again. Still, it's odd..."

 

"Ooooh, I think she's figuring it out," a voice rumbled in my ear.

 

"I didn't detect this charm enchantment before. It's almost as if..."

 

"Wait for it, piss pig."

 

"...the enchantment is siphoning the power off the other enchantments. But that shouldn't work unless something is..."

 

"Ha ha ha"

 

"...tampering with the flow of magicka."

 

"Yeah, she understands, piss pig. Did you like what I did there?"

 

"Millonce," I asked, "are you hearing any of this?"

 

"No, no, don't spoil the fun!" Wojtek grumbled.

 

"No, I don't hear anything," Millonce said, looking a little confused.

 

I rolled my eyes at Wojtek's ongoing complaining. "The Daedra that's bound to the piercings? He's tampering with the gag to overpower its charm effect. He thinks it's very amusing. OW!"

 

I staggered as Wojtek jerked hard on the leash. It took a lot of effort to stay standing, but fortunately he didn't jerk the leash a second time.

 

"Are you alright?" Millonce asked.

 

Ruefully shaking my head I answered, "I'm fine. Wojtek just wasn't amused that I gave away his little game."

 

"Good, thank you for clearing that up. Now let's see how that harness fits on you, shall we?"

 

I started to undo my armor so she could attach the harness, but Millonce cut me off with a shooing motion. "No, you can stay dressed. Just let me finish here." 

 

She kept talking as she worked. "When this is fully restored, I'll be the one who wears it. I can tell already that one of its powers is preventing other curse magical items from locking onto my body. I'm absolutely tired of these damnable things wrapping around me."

 

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked.

 

"Every time you put on one of those evil items, it makes you do something to me. I think it's time we switch that around, don't you?"

 

"So when should I feel the effects?" I started to say, but as Millonce pulled the last strap tight we were both bathed in deep blue light, very much akin to what I'd seen each time Wojtek had materialized.

 

 

The light faded after a moment, leaving Millonce looking mildly annoyed.

 

"You should feel something already. Ugh," she groaned, "something's wrong. This enchantment feels all different."

 

She tugged at the harness, but it stayed tight, practically glue to her skin. "And of course, now it won't come off."

 

"Well, you did say you wanted it to keep other things from wrapping around you," I offered, "it probably needs to stay tight on you to protect you."

 

Millonce cocked her head at me, then nodded. "You know, you're right. I don't know why I didn't think of that before." Reaching for her robes, she stopped short. I could see her straining, pushing, trying to reach, but it was like she was hitting a wall.

 

"And... now I can't pick up my clothes, it seems."

 

"Are you sure you fixed it right?"

 

"Yes! Yes I'm sure! It has another one of those defective enchantments. It's supposed to protect me from magical devices attaching to me, but it's stopping me from wearing anything."

 

Wojtek's laughter rumbled through my ears.

 

"What an idiot. You might be my piss pig, but at least you're not an idiot," he opined. "Oh wait, here comes the good part."

 

"And this lock..." she hissed, "I didn't see this enchantment before. It's... a timer? And it... NO! It won't open for a week! Divines dammit all, apparently now I just have to walk around like a whore for a whole week!"

 

"I guess that's the risk you take playing around with strange magics," I suggested.

 

"Ugh, I hate to admit it, but you're right. I guess there's nothing for me to do about it. At least this was the last part of the set, so I can finish my research."

 

 

"On the topic of your research," I said, "you were going to tell me what you know about magical influences from the old gods?"

 

"Was I?" she asked, "I thought you were just here to help me with my research. Well, fine, what do you want to know?"

 

"You know some of it already, about the well of magical power in my body, and about the spiders. But a woman said some very specific things that I don't understand, and I was hoping you could help me get to the bottom of them?"

 

I went on to explain all the prophetic statements that Flora had made when she examined me in Cidhna Mine, and especially the references to Hrokkibeg and The Teacher.

 

"...now, Larak seems to think that Hrokkibeg is Hircine, the Daedra lord..."

 

"That's not exactly correct," Millonce cut in. "Hrokkibeg is one of the five aspects of Hircine. That's the bear-aspect. The others are Uricanbeg, the stag, Storihbeg the wolf, Gulibeg the fox, and Alrabeg the hunter-man. While that 'wise-woman' might have proclaimed you the avatar of Hrokkibeg, you're clearly also carrying elements of Uricanbeg." She pointed at my antlers, "and I wouldn't be surprised if you have some of the others in you too. So yes, look to Hircine for answers about that. But the spiders? That's not Hircine's style. If I had to make a guess, this Teacher of yours is actually Mephala. Her true sphere of influence is not well understood, but she is frequently associated with murder, secrets, sexuality, and fear. Given the name she goes by with regard to you, I'd say that you are specifically in contact with her aspect called The Teacher of Secrets. Beyond that, I can't offer you much - very little is really known about Mephala. You're on your own I think trying to unravel that part.

 

We talked a while longer, looping back to the relationship of Hircine, Mephala, and Dibella in the beliefs of the Reachmen, and a picture started to come together. I still had more questions than answers, but from what the voices had said and how they'd pushed me, the common thread seemed to be discovery - uncovering the Sybil for Dibella, Hircine's urging to hunt, and Mephala coming to me as the Teacher of Secrets. I wondered if all of them were leading me towards common purpose.

 

At length, I leaned back in my chair and sighed. "Thank you, Millonce. I understand a lot more now. Do you have any recommendations on where I can discover more about Mephala? It seems like she's the one I understand the least of these three."

 

"Oh, I can help you with that," Wojtek interjected.

 

"I have some ideas," Millonce responded.

 

"The Silver Spider's weaved her web of murder to every corned of Skyrim," the bear rumbled. "Find the center of the web, and you'll find the spider."

 

"Mephala's said to be the patron of the Morag Tong. Their influence lies heavy on Morrowind... and the island of Solstheim. You might start your search there."

 

"Sweet Lady, can you talk one at a time?" I nearly shouted.

 

Millonce looked at me uncomprehending, so I clarified: "Wojtek is talking at the same time as you. But I think I understand what you're saying. And what he's saying. Apparently I've got two paths ahead of me."

 

"Well," she said, "I guess that's better than just one. You can keep the gag and the piercing, by the way. Consider it your payment for helping me."

 

"Are you sure you can handle me keeping the piercing? It did a number on you before."

 

"I'll be fine," she said, "just try to stay away from wayshrines if you can help it." 

 

As our conversation wound down, I handed over the gloves I'd brought for her. I thought about also removing my harness, but I'd gotten so used to using it to help distribute the weight from my armor that I left it locked in place. 

 

"What now?" I asked.

 

She waved on hand towards her writing desk. "I've got a week stuck in this harness it seems, so I guess I'll start writing my report. It won't, incidentally, have anything about the way these evil devices influenced me, and I'd thank you to keep quiet about it as well." 

 

"Oh," I said, "it's nothing to be ashamed of. Don't you want your discoveries to be acknowledged?"

 

She let out a single, harsh laugh, "easy for you to say. You don't know how it is in the Synod. Trust me when I say nothing good will come from spreading this around."

 

"Fair enough, I conceded. You aren't the first person whose secrets I've promised to keep. Good luck with your report, Millonce. I hope it wins you the recognition you're craving back in Cyrodiil."

 

"Thanks, and you say hello to Urag for me next time you're at the college."

 

"Alright, piss pig, let her be or you'll be saying farewells all day," Wojtek said. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her. But we... we've got places to be."

 

I took my leave then, bidding Millonce Curio farewell as I set out to unravel the mystery of Mephala and her plans for me.

 

 

Behind The Scenes

Well, we've reached the end of Toy Story for now. It was a pretty fun short quest mod, and I'm looking forward to seeing what @VirginMarie does with it going forward. She's told me the mod is about 2/3 done right now, so we've definitely got more adventures coming from this one in the future. 

 

I didn't run into any big problems with Toy Story itself, which is good news, but I did conclude that I'll be dropping a couple of mods from my load order. Naked Defeat just didn't live up to expectations and was causing far too many problems. At the same time, Spank That Ass, while it had a cute concept, wasn't adding a lot to my game and had issues with cleaning up its overlays. You might have noticed how in many screen shots Kirsti had the same wear and tear overlays on her breasts and butt that she had through most of the first adventure - this was due to STA not properly removing them. I had to manually remove them with the MCM every time I loaded a game to keep them out of the screen shots. So that's more trouble than its worth.

 

Beyond that... we've got lots to add before the next adventure. I'll probably do one more entry with an epilogue, then we'll have to set to work continuing to expand my game world. I'll be resuming the mod diaries for a while, and then later this month (or early next month) starting a mod cleanup case study for a Solitude expansion mod we looked at earlier.