Search the Community

Hi. Destana again. Last time I ventured into the Hall of Initiation, solved a series of thief-related puzzles, then ventured into the Alik'r Desert. I traveled around for a couple days, eventually finding myself in the town of Salas Kazas. To date, I'd gotten both the pieces of the puzzle to entering the Champion of Cyrodiil's mausoleum and I'd also done a number of side quests for the Dark Brotherhood, an old man looking for the old Blades HQ here, and a few other random things. I slept for a few hours in Salas Kazas and headed for the Forgotten City, and I found the key with a little more searching. Then I entered the 'Tomb of the Forgotten Draugr.' Do they even have Draugr in Hammerfell? Anyway, I carved my way in, fighting dark phantoms. I fond several holes with tarantula-sized spiders coming out and I took out a double-handed Flames and charred those boys, "No thanks, here's some fire!" I got the first pullbar, then found a Redguard just hanging out in a passageway. I wondered if he was friendly and revealed myself. "Nope, not friendly," I said, as he drew his scimitar. I backed out into the room behind me, took out my bow and smacked him in the face with it. "I'm just trying to make friends, jackass," I said. He ran off. "Also... a wimp..." I said to myself. I chased him a couple room away, "Don't make me shoot you!" When I finally caught him, I shot him. He had a friend around the corner, confusedly looking for who killed his comrade, and I shot him in the chest. "What idiots," I said to myself, "What are these human guys just hanging out in here? I'd believe they locked themselves in with how utterly not smart they are." I moved forward, caught another guy unawares and slit his throat, then found two more spider holes. Same as before, burned them. At the end of the path I found a barred area, more Alik'r, more spiders, and the second pullbar. Then I ventured deeper. I found a misty room and two of the Alik'r, having some gay sex. "Well, if you're gonna die down here, I guess that's the way to go," I murmured, then I crept up behind them, "Really? You guys couldn't have waited until after the dungeon crawl? Well, sorry about this." And I stabbed them. Behind them was a door to a more Nordic-style ruin room, and clearing the cobwebs away with my bow, I found a Draugr, Sadraaka, emerging from a coffin. I shot him in the chest, then the belly, and he went down like a sack of potatoes. I ransacked his chest and found some nice treasure, but nothing insane (like a baby). Not sure what to do now, I decided to Recall back to Ben Erai (Damien taught me the spell) and go get the Cowl. I flew over to the Oasis and unlocked the door with the key. I ventured in, past many Ancestral Cheetahs (petting them on the way) and found a huge door with an Empire/Dragonborn symbol on it. It started to slowly open, to the pace of the elevators around here. I traveled through a tunnel with no tricks or traps, and got a view of a massive pyramid and a row of small buildings. I hopped down. I found another slowly lowering door, which I jumped up into to enter the pyramid. Inside were many long hallways, a memory wall for the Champion of Cyrodiil, and a shrine of Nocturnal. I bowed. One of my many daedric and aedric benefactors. Doubt I was going to get anything this glorious when I die. But I don't plan on dying - just like the Nerevarine didn't. When I finally came to the end of the passage, I found a massive door with a small table. It held another Grey Fox bust and a flawless diamond with the hint, 'Unleash the thief in you.' "I'll unleash the thief in you and steal the bust. And the table!" I crouched and picked up the diamond, adding it to my bulging sack. I checked my current funds and they were already back up to over 100K. When I looked up, the door was opening. I shrugged, walking inside. I was greeted with a large structure like an amphitheatre, yellow stone pews surrounding a central spire about 5 feet tall. On one end of the chamber was a platform and the other a target. I used my detective skills, figuring I would need to shoot the target from the platform with the Arrow of Extrication. As I approached the platform, I found a giant gold inscription - Here lies the Champion of Cyrodiil... I took out my journal and wrote it down as I read, thinking about both how many of these things I measured up to and what my own mausoleum would say (that I never planned on inhabiting). Hero of Kvatch, Lord of the Guilds. Invincible Warrior of the Arena, Guardian of the Old Way, Connoiseur of Ancient Ayeleid Ruins and Great Friend of Martin Septim, together chased the evil Mehrunes Dagon into Oblivion, freeing the Empire of Tamriel and all it's peoples. Well, I'd done some of that jazz. But I was only 30. Still young. I turned to the perch from which I was meant to fire the arrow, kicking the regular-ass bow off and taking out the Nerevarine's Bow of Shadows. I lined up the shot, knowing I needed to aim well above the target to arch the arrow to the right angle, then let it fly. A couple seconds passed, and there was a red explosion, and a thundering voice shouted, "Cheese! Cheese for everyone!" And... cheese began to appear out of explosion, like I'd won a carnival prize. Honestly, I'm not sure what I expected. I grabbed a few blocks of the cheese and threw them in my bag, "Thanks... I guess." Then I ran out the newly opened giant door to a massive balcony. It was Cyrodiil! With... floating ships. Not airships, just sea ships, floating in air. I approached the end of the balcony, finding Sheogorath waiting for me with a mountain of wheels of cheese. "Hey Sheo. I still got that Wabbajack somewhere in here," I said. "What? A mortal? No, not a mortal. You're immortal," Sheogorath said, "C'mon, don't you remember me?" I asked, "At least you can tell I'm not mortal." "What are you doing here, when I've given you things to do?" Sheogorath asked, then he continued, "Oh, shut up! I know who you are, among other things I know who you were and who you'll be. But umm.. why are you here?" "You got that Cowl for me?" I asked. He started laughing. "You're the Champion, right?" "The Champion of Cyrodiil?" He laughed again, "Wonderful! Time for a celebration, cheese for everyone! Wait, scratch that. Do you like cheese?" "I'm lactose intolerant," I replied, "Kind of a disappointing reward, if you ask me." "Oh? Disappointing? Well, I'm disappointed too. I expected you to be taller." "Pfft." "So you don't like the cheese. Where's Haskill? Why, he must've opened the door for you!" I pursed my lips, losing interest in his randomness, then, suddenly feeling random myself, I said, "STOP RIGHT THERE...!" "Criminal scum!" Sheo chuckled loudly, "Yes, yes, I was. Two centuries ago. But what are two centuries for me? For you?" I wondered if he somehow had information about my future. Was I actually going to pull off this immortality thing for a length of time like Serana or the Nerevarine? Then he started to have a conversation with himself, "A voice is in me. He's not me, but he is me. What did you say? Get out a moment? Me? Yes you. Get out a moment! Ok, ok, calm down." In a blast of purple magic, Sheogorath's form vanished and a ghost took his place. The actual Champion, in his original form. I wasn't quite certain how mantling Sheogorath worked, and if it was in any way similar to mantling Lorkhan like Tiber Septim had done. Oddly, though, I understood the conversation between the two personalities right away. "You ok?" I asked. "Ahhh... yes. I am. I am known as the Champion of Cyrodiil. Two centuries is a while, but not so much time for an immortal." "So, is this landscape actually Cyrodiil?" I asked. "No. Just an illusion. Just like my tomb in Cyrodiil, this second secret mausoleum is also a ruse to make people think I wasn't still around," he smirked, "I gambled that the next Dragonborn would be worthy of the Cowl, and it looks like I was right. You're Guildmaster, right?" "Was. I gave it up for my other duties," I said, "Among other things, I'm queen of Skyrim." The Champion blinked, "You don't look much like a queen. Though... a warrior queen maybe. Yes, yes I see it." I smirked. He looked out over the illusory landscape, "The Imperial City. So beautiful." "You know, things have changed," I said. "I know. The Thalmor. Pfft.... disgusting. They looted, ransacked and destroyed everything. Tore down the Empire I fought so hard to save. My heart aches to know the Empire is ruled over by these wretched elves." "Whoa. I didn't say all that. Your news is a little old. Let me catch you up. Of course you know about the Mede Dynasty, which is over. But we had another usurper. A bandit king. He showed promise, actually kicking out the Thalmor. He ended up being controlled by a vampire. But! The man who killed him in protection of my daughter was noneother than the great Jura of Hammerfell, a well-renowned General. He was just coronated a couple weeks ago. And, want to know what's next?" "What is that, Dragonborn?" The Champion seemed to be smiling a little bit. "Skyrim and Cyrodiil have an alliance. High Rock has joined. And the Elswyer rebels. We're about to invade Valenwood, then Alinor." "You have a lot of balls, lady," the Champion smiled big, "But back to us. I'll show you the access to the Grey Cowl so you can be on your way." "Since we're here, can I ask you something?" "What?" "Tell me your story," I said. "Why? Surely you've read the history books," he said back. "I wanna hear it from the horse's mouth. Dispel any rumors," I shrugged. "Thought so. But I warn you, it'll be a long story," he replied. "That's alright." We sat there in the chairs for a while and he told me about his time - first it was his rise to being the new Grey Fox and master of the fighter's guild, then his journey to save Cyrodiil from the Oblivion Crisis. He confirmed the Thalmor had NOTHING to do with saving the world (I KNEW IT!) In his later days, he got into his restoration of the Dark Brotherhood in Cyrodiil. For me, the DB had always been a side job that I was doing just to fill out my life's journal with a wealth of experiences. I can't say that the faces of all the people I've killed wouldn't come back to me from time to time, but I'd also done a lot of good in my time and felt like I could balance the scales in my time. I mean, I'm also kinda cold-blooded at times. The Champion seemed like he was wracked with guilt at this. He joined the Knights of the Nine and dedicated his life to helping others. Truly, once in an age. A master thief and a warrior. The story took about four hours to tell, but I took notes in a separate book. Maybe I'll get it published someday. Laying down by my journal at this point, I rolled over and said to him, "So... wanna fuck?" The Champion blinked, "In my day women were not so brazen." "Pfft. The Nerevarine would beg to differ," I said. "I've heard a lot about the man, never got a chance to meet him," he said. "C'mon. Free invitation. I'm pretty good-looking, right?" I asked. He gave me a half-smile, as if a voice in the back of his head was goading him to just do it, "Sure. Why not." "Such a charmer," I smirked. I think he was a little pent up, because he was rough. Pulling my hair, grabbing me about the neck. But it felt good, of course. When he was done, he helped me clean up, got me some water, and said goodbye. Then Sheogorath returned. "Not you again," I laughed. He looked at me funny. "Ah," I smiled, "I'm guessing you want a piece too. Since you're two different people, kinda." "I know you're Sanguine's wife, but yes, I would fancy a go," Sheo chuckled. "Among others," I said, getting on my knees in front of him. Surprisingly, Sheogorath was gentler, at the start. He finished in my ass though. Take that for what you will. "Sure you don't want a cheese?" He asked after we'd gotten dressed again. Of course, for him it was just waving his hand. "Nope, just the Cowl is fine," I laughed. "So here. Go through that portal over there. You should come with me to the Shivering Isles sometime. Good to spend a holiday or an eternity," Sheo smirked. "And now, you know how that song and dance goes. The mighty adventurer saves the realm again, even if there is nothing to save." "Farewell," I said. "Farewell? Farewell is a word for mortals, not for you and I. The voice in me is saying, 'See you again, Dragonborn. May Nocturnal guide ye," he cackled once more, then he vanished in purple magic. I shrugged. Not the strangest thing I'd ever seen, but close. I went through and ended up in a stone crevasse. I jetted out to a set of stairs and a dais, construction very much like Sky Haven Temple. Inwardly shrugging again, I walked up another set of stairs and found a great urn in an ornate gazebo with paper lanterns surrounding it. I opened it, and found the Grey Cowl of Nocturnal inside. I smiled a bit. I knew I wasn't going to use this thing. Probably not, anyway. My stealth skills are already pretty much unmatched. Might as well take it. Considering my surroundings I walked out to the edge of the cliff this temple was on. I considered where I could possibly be, looking at the mountains, the mists, the architecture. "Am I in Akavir?" I asked myself. Of course I had no way of knowing, but I'd file this information away for later. I flew up a little to take in the sights of the countryside. "Wherever I am, this place is beautiful," I took a breath of the fresh mountain air. Getting my fill of the beauty, I returned to the portal, which took me straight back to Ben Erai. I told them I'd succeeded. Then I returned to Skyrim, my job complete. I went and gave a hug and kiss to Serana and Ulfric, telling them my story. Then I went on to report to Seviana Umbranox, the woman who'd given me the mission in the first place. "You're back! You have the Gray Cowl. That means you've made it!" Seviana exclaimed, "Blessed Nocturnal. The Umbranox didn't wait 200 years in vain." "Well, it was long. But your help was valuable. Thank you very much. It was a lot of old dungeons and adventures that I'm known for. Like a blast to the past." "I know you were in Hammerfell. And the Cowl itself was hidden in an isolated mountain in Akavir." "I thought that was Akavir!" I smiled, "So, what now?" "Your mission is over for today. And so is mine. Caio, Corvus and the Champion would be proud of us. Our story ends here. Just one more thing." "What can I do for you?" I asked. "Would you escort us to the Solitude docks? We're going to move back to Anvil." "It would be an honor." "You can have the house," she said. "Well, I don't need another house. I have three. And a castle, an inn, a clothes shop, oh, and Erikur's house. I'll probably end up having my people sell it. You all ready to go?" I asked. "Yes." "Well, grab onto my arm," I said. Seviana raised an eyebrow, and I teleported to Solitude then led them down to the docks. "Time for farewell now," she said, "Thank you again, Grey Fox. Maybe we'll meet again. Shadows hide you." "Take care," I nodded. I figured it was a good time to extort Erikur, and much to my chagrin, he'd paid his rent promptly. I also took what I was owed from Radiant Raiment and the Bannered Mare. I showed back up to Highreach to find Damien, Fenrir and Valiana. "So where do you think she is, anyway? You're the magic guy. Magic us up a solution," Fenrir kicked his feet up. Damien shook his head, "It's not that easy." "No need to worry, I'm here!" I shouted. They all stared at me. Finally, Fenrir said, "Hi, mom." "Not happy to see me? Who were you talking about?" I asked "We always knew where you were, mom. And except in extremely dire circumstances, you're pretty much unbeatable," Damien folded his arms, "We're talking about Runa." I tilted my head, "When I left the Imperial City, everything seemed fine. She was crowned, wearing her new golden Tiber Septim armor." "Yeah. She went with me and Val to get Pilvi's Ring, but after the coronation, she just disappeared," Fenrir said. "Anybody talked to Calleius and Rigmor?" I asked. "I talked to both. Calleius had no clue. Rigmor... seemed pretty tight-lipped, but I convinced her to cave," Fenrir replied, "But even that wasn't very helpful. Runa said she wanted to figure some things out before the invasion. She's been gone ever since." I looked between the three, wondering what questions I should be asking. First I said, "Runa's a big girl. She can take care of herself." Then I said, "How's Brisienna doing?" That seemed to strike a nerve. Not specifically painful, but definintely thoughtful. Finally he responded, "She's alright. Been spending a lot of time at Sky Haven. I taught her Mark and Recall so she could come and go as she pleases." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Damien, where have you been?" "Bris, why don't you ever come home?" I asked. Brisienna folded her arms, "I asked first." "I was helping my brother and my sister. We're prepping for war, you know," I replied. "Yeah..." She sighed, "Where's Sini?" "I put him down a little while ago," I replied, "I need to go help laying a new keel today. Helps that I have strong telekinesis skills. There's a lot of work still to be done, and mom's off on some adventure." Brisienna sighed, "I guess that's to be expected. The weight of the world rested on her shoulders. And now it rests on you, doesn't it?" I stared at her for a moment, "There are a lot of new recruits at Sky Haven." "Yeah, even more since that guy in Hammerfell sent that message to us. I've heard that temple is grand." We stared at each other for another moment. It was like... she wanted to tell me something. "Is there something you want to tell me?" Brisienna asked. "Not really. I'm under a lot of stress. Haven't been sleeping. I think I'm starting to fall asleep standing up," I said. We locked eyes again, and finally she said, "Okay. Well, I think I need to tell you something." "What's that?" I asked slowly. "Well... you know Durak?" "Yes..." "He and I have been getting... pretty close in our training." I blinked slowly, "Is this something you felt like you needed to hide?" "I mean... your family is a little strange. I've never met anyone like you. Sometimes I feel like an outsider," Bris turned away, "Sometimes I wonder if I should've come here at all. My family is long dead and gone. And you're gone all the time... I mean, as am I. I feel like I don't have anybody. I needed a friend." I could see she felt me walking slowly towards her, because she tensed. But I wrapped my arms around her from behind, "That's fine. I want you to be happy. Anything that makes you happy, I will support it." She turned around, my arms dropping, "I don't understand this. Isn't jealousy a thing here? I did wonder if you'd get mad. Have you been doing the same?" "Well, no. Not actually. I do want to tell you something similar," I replied. "What's that?" I let out a breath, "Well, Envarion died. Valiana and I went to the funeral while we were in Cyrodiil." I could tell she was bracing for something. So I just spat it out. "Believe it or not, Medora came on to me. I declined of course." Bris raised an eyebrow, "She must be lonely." "Also looking for a friend." "Well, would it have enticed you if she was young again?" Bris asked. "Well she was beautiful in her prime. If that were the whole story, then yes, I would have. We worked together back in the day, just like you and I," I responded. Brisienna blew her hair out of her face, "Call this an even trade, if you want." I laughed out loud, "You get a burly, muscular warrior of an Orc and I get an old woman? In what universe is that even??" She jabbed me, laughing back, "Shut up you dog." I turned to leave, our turnover of Sini complete for now, "Also, Solaire is back in town. He's been planeswalking. He sent me a message about his otherworldly findings." Days later, I visited Medora again, this time without Valiana (she's heavy and hard to carry in flight halfway across the continent). This had nothing to do with Medora's pass at me and everything to do with her being an old lady alone running a magic shop. The door was locked with the sign, 'Closed until further notice.' I unlocked the door with magic, and found a scroll in her handwriting. "If you find this, then I've gone to Direnni Tower to try and remember who I once was." I digged through my pack as fast as I could, and near the bottom I found I still had a scroll sheath of the 'Teleport to Direnni Tower' Scrolls and I burned one of them. I entered her room. A tall figure in a blue dress turned. "Who are you? Did you see an old~" I started, but then my eyes focused on her. "Damien, I did what I thought would sway you," Medora said. "You're... young again...?" I asked, "How?" "You're powerful, but there's still a lot you don't know about magic," she explained, "The Altmer have a number of formulas that control aging. And I'm descended from the Direnni Altmers. Now this is imperfect. I may age faster this time. But for now, this is enough. This tower holds many secrets. So how about it? Would you be mine, just for one night?" She slipped the dress off her shoulders, revealing the perfect body, untouched by age now. "Will it help you heal?" I asked. "I don't know... but I'm lonely. Please come over here," Medora asked. When we were done and dressed, Medora wept, "I'm sorry..." "Sorry for what?" I asked. "I feel awful. Doing this to Brisienna. I'm just an old fool," Medora said. "Don't. We've both strayed now. We talked about it. She's busy with the Blades and I'm busy with the war. She told me something like this was acceptable when I showed no jealousy over what she'd done," I replied. "Then... stay with me," she said, laying me down in her bed, "I think I'm going to stay in the tower for now." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So Runa's gone, Damien went back to Caranthir. Destana went to check on the fleet," Valiana said, "Just you and me, Fenrir." "We all kinda do our own thing most the time. Every now and then we pull together and do a big group event. And you're gonna get to see your first one pretty soon! Usually pretty epic. Maybe a little confusing," I replied, "Mom stormed into the war room and said we're going ahead in four days. You got all your ducks in a row?" "Of course I do, kid. I've been fighting wars longer than you've been alive," Val replied. I could feel myself reflexively scowling. "Don't get all bent out of shape. You are young. But the fact I'm still hanging out with you means you're like a diamond in the rough," Valiana said. "Yep, that's what they call me. Black diamond," I said. We met eyes for a few seconds - me trying to act hard like diamond. Then I chuckled. She chuckled back. "Listen kid... Fenrir. I know you wouldn't mind getting with me. But I need to level with you. I spent most my life keeping people at arm's length. It's going to be hard to trust you - if I ever do. But you know what I did for money when I was younger?" "Mercenary work was what you told me," I said. "Yeah... mostly. But when I was a 20-something I also figured out young men will pay handsomely for another type of mercenary work." "Ah." "I had my virtue taken from me, so I put no value on it. Selling it was like free money for me. So even moreso you see sex doesn't really mean much of anything to me," Val grabbed my hand, a little roughly, "And don't get all teary-eyed about it, but I think I'm starting to like you. But I don't want to fuck this up." I smiled, "Well then, I guess I have my challenge." She jabbed at me, but this time I was ready and I blocked it. "Ow!" "Oh, I'm sorry!" She jabbed me again, this time connecting with my side, "Gotcha!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Destana, for the final note. The Imperial Army is heading south, with the Legion in Exile, led by Sialius and Balfhe. Jura is going to be commanding the Cyrodillic army personally. They have a large group of Stormcloaks and Forsworn with them. We set sail a few more days after that, on the 13th of First Seed. We would be setting sail and joining the Imperial Navy south of Anvil, and storming the southern beach at Woodhearth for a two-pronged attack. Ulfric, Valiana, Fenrir, Damien and myself were all told when and where to be. I showed up extremely early that morning. Mystifyingly, Runa was there first. "What... did you do to your hair?" Was all I could say. "Been growing it out since I was 16. I figured I needed a change," she replied, "Besides, there's hair growth potions if I really can't stand how it looks." "That armor looks damn good," I said. Runa smiled, but it was pained. It looked like she'd had a rough week. "I like it," Valiana said as she and Fenrir approached, "Real warrior woman aesthetic." They looked the same as always, though Fenrir was toting around a huge box of bolts and his autocrossbow. "Hey, got something for you," I said to him, digging through my bag, "I know you're more of an axe guy, but I managed to get an old treasure, and you can have it." I handed him Umbra. "Whoa! What is this?" "It's Umbra. This thing's got some history to it. On my way to searching out the Champion of Cyrodiil and getting the Grey Cowl of Nocturnal, I found this," I said, "I prefer my daggers and bow." I looked over at Runa, "Sorry, I found like four really good greatswords, but that sword you've been carrying pretty much blows most non-artifacts out of the water." "Well what about me? I could use a new greatsword, mooooooooom!" Valiana chuckled. I smirked at her, "That's weird. You're older than me, Val!" About this time Damien showed up. We'd moved off to the marshes across from the docks. "Anybody been working on anything cool?" I asked. "Shields and onehanded," Fenrir said, "And crafting 1200 bolts." "Nothing to write home about," Damien said. "I have been training. I'm going to save it for a dramatic reveal," Runa nodded. About this time Ulfric called out to us from the docks. We walked over. "Is Serana coming? We could always use another mage," Fenrir said. Ulfric nodded, "She's ruling Skyrim while we're gone." "I dunno, a lot of people might have a problem with that," Valiana said. "Hey, I'm thinking about becoming a vampire myself," Ulfric chuckled, "But, who wants to live forever?" So we set sail. Oh, and I almost forgot. We've got the airship, following behind the fleet!