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R.I.P. neildarkstar. Haven will miss you dearly.
| I'm so Dizzy; Espionage, spycraft, and a Breton in Skyrim. | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 9 2016, 07:23 PM (32 Views) | |
| neildarkstar | Oct 9 2016, 07:23 PM Post #1 |
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Overlord
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Note to my employers: This is my personal journal of my experiences in Skyrim, but on the event of my demise it may be considered to be an addendum to my official reports. Entry One: As a Breton Lady, I am of course exceptionally beautiful, highly intelligent, and a spy. Well, I'm a spy, though beautiful and smart may be questionable... One out of three isn't bad, eh? My name is generally kept secret, but in this case (since I am presumeably dead) I will let it be known. I am Desirea, but for reasons unclear to me, I'm better known simply as "Dizzy". I was born to a relatively unknown family in Wayrest, and given the normal education and training provided to children of my station. Eventually though, it became clear that I am naturally skilled in the arts of conversation and poison, and so the direction of my training changed. Perynak, my long-time mentor and teacher (who "discovered" me by finding me reading his personal journal despite all the locks on the safe) once said that poison and conversation are essentially the same thing, and both are the primary tools of espionage. I have largely found this to be true, but skills in Destructiona and conjuration don't hurt either. Because I am a free-lance agent for sale to the highest bidder, a faction of people interested in the outcome of Skyrim's civil war hired me to gather information regarding the true state of Ulfric's rebellion, and the ability of the Empire to quash it. I don't know what their intended use of such information may be, but I suspect it bodes ill for at least one of the two opponents. Following my instructions and mission parameters, I chose to enter Skyrim by a circuitous route... crossing the border through the Souteastern corner of Skyrim near Riften. I was immediately impressed by the natural beauty of the forests and waters of the area. I'd have loved to tarry there, but I had intended to penetrate as deeply as I could before establishing a headquarters for my mision. All went well until I reached Darkwater Crossing. The Empire had laid a trap for Ulfric, and it worked well indeed. They caught Ulfric and me at the same time, and I soon found myself sentenced to death by the headsman's axe... even though the Empire's representitives seemed to have no idea as to why they wanted my head removed. I suspect Thalmor involvement in that decision. At any rate, I was saved at the last second by a... well, it was a uhh... Oh, by the Nine Hells, you'd never believe it anyway! I escaped Helgen in the company of a very nice young Imperial soldier named Hedvar who had been trying to remove my head a few moments earlier. Hmmm, I'll get back to that in a moment. Initially, I was in the company of Ulfric and his top leutenants when the escape began. We had all started out with our hands bound, and every member of our group had his or her hands freed, and most were given weapons... except me. The Stormcloak bastards chose to leave me bound, and forced me out a second-story window into a burning building. I intend to have a serious conversation with Ulfric regarding his view and treatment of companions at the first opportunity. Back to the subject at hand. I escaped with Hedvar, who did indeed cut my bonds and provided me with a weapon. We made our way to Riverwood, and my mission began in earnest. I can think of no better way to gather information than by joinng the Legion with Hedvar's recomendation to back me up. However, there were other priorities to consider first. I'd managed to acquire a shack thqat had belonged to an old witch near Riverwood. She had encountered an unpleasantly hungry pack of wolves while chasing me about trying to set my pants ablaze with a flame spell. I wasn't suppose to visit her cellar I guess, but a locked trap door always seems to scream "HEY! Open me up, and see what's behind me!" How could I resist? After establishing my command post in the shack, I chose to do intermediate and long-range recon of the area before making irrevocable commitments. In that vein, I had been to Whiterun, Windhelm, and Riften and was headed back to the shack. I'd not gone far from Riften when I saw some interesting ruins just South of the road, and I thought it would be good to investigate closer. It seems such ancient ruins as well as old forts are often inhabited by bandits or soldiery, and if there were soldiers there, I needed to know it. Nearing the ruins I could see long, wide flights of staris leading upwards from the valley below, so I started in that direction. I hadn't gone far when I encountered a tow-headed bard standing admiring his handiwork - two dead bandits. I was hard put to decide if they had died as a result of his singing, or the prices he chargged for such a performance. I quickly left him (without paying for a performance) and started up the stairs. Not knowing what lay at the top, I stealthily climbed the stairs ready for anything. It was good that I did. At teh first landing, I saw a fire rune spell placed almost at head height on a wall. I was certain it had been placed by one who was not trained in the art of war, because it was ridiculously easy to spot and disable. Smiling and shaking my head, I moved on up the next flight of stairs. If I had known what else lay in store, I wouldn't have been smiling. At the top of the staris I spied another trap waiting... a soul stone placed in an armed altar of some sort, obviously to fire off some kind of spell at intruders. I hit it with spells and arrows, but nothing served to dislodge the damned thing, so I decided to try to sneak around it, and disarm it from behind. Carefully, carefully, I moved to my left beyond a stone chunk of ruin, and along the very edge of the cliffs that dropped down to the first flight of stairs much farther below. An inch at a time, I angled toward my left, and finally came within reach of the soul stone and the altar that held it. Holding my breath, I slowly reached for the stone, closer... closer.. Then just as my hand was about to close on it, I was enveloped in a blinding flash of pain and brilliant white light. I was sent skittering toward the edge of the cliffs, no sense of any control or ability to move on my own volition at all. I was terrified as I watched the edge of cliffs grow nearer and nearer, then I slid to as stop with a clear view of the drop over which I literally hung. The pain was so intense, that I could not even move enough to find a healing potion. I crouched there on one knee completely helpless. There I was at the cliff's edge, waiting for Gods knew what enemy to approach. Through the haze of my pain, I saw a figure of nightmare approaching... The red haze of my pain colored my world in blood red as my eyes slowly rose upwards starting from his boots. I saw skeletal legs rising from from the rotted leather boots. Tattered flags of flesh hung from otherwise bare bones of the legs, then they were thankfully hidden beneath the tatters of some sort of robes that showed rotting flesh and bare bones through the many holes that rent the garment. Above that, was a cowled head partially covering the grinning but not-quite fleshless skull of some long-dead mage or lich. I had almost recovered enough to stand, so despite a feeling of impending doom, I quaffed a couple of healing potions as I regarded that horrible visage. The damned thing laughed as it uttered some sort of shout that bathed me in fire that shoved me over the edge of the cliff. Those healing potions saved me, as I landed on an outcropping of rock a few feet below my former position, but between the flames and the fall, I was no so close to death that only a tiny sliver of life remained within me. One second, two, then three I sprawled there waiting for the death blow that I was certain was coming, but... by knocking me over the edge, the undead mage had also knocked me out of his line of sight. I heard the shout again, and saw the flaming breath pass inches above my head without quite touching me, and it was then I swore a grand sacrifice to whatever deity governed the laws of chance... Another couple of seconds, and I was able to scrabble away laterally out of sight and range of that abominable mage, and make my way down to the valley below. I was still casting healing spells as I again met the bard at the bottom of the stairway to Hell. "Ho Bard, stand still for just a little longer, and you will have an epic story to tell of your own demise!" With that, I ran on past him. After a few seconds and a good bit of distance, I turned to glance back and saw the bard attempting to fight that undead mage! "Well, if he can do it, so can I!" Well, that was my thought anyway, as I began to turn to join the bard. That thought quickly changed as the bard yelled something that sounded like "I cannot defeat you!" while running past me at a truly amazing clip. "Good thinking!" said me to meself said I, and I followed close on his heels as we showed that mage two very fleet sets of assholes and elbows! At this point, I was still too badly injured to regenerate any health, but I was thankful to just be alive! Later, in the safety of my command post, I had to laugh at the sight we three must have presented to the frost spiders and bears as we ran through the forest. The bard went one way, I another, and I never saw which way the mage chose to go.Wait! What's that rattling sound just outside my door? Is it the rattle of bones, or the click and clatter of twigs in a breeze that I hear? Has he found me? |
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| Rick | Oct 9 2016, 07:49 PM Post #2 |
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Jarl
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Edge of your seat survival recounting...Nice sinister ending too ;) |
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| Serethil | Oct 9 2016, 08:38 PM Post #3 |
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Et'Ada
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Oy. neil.... that's actually pretty scary.... |
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| Areial | Oct 9 2016, 08:59 PM Post #4 |
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Et'Ada
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Engrossing from the word go! Loved it and I hope you really like that mod! I know I do. |
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| neildarkstar | Oct 9 2016, 09:11 PM Post #5 |
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Overlord
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Thanks, everybody! Yeah, that mod is going immediately to my "must have" list! :) |
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| Andra Hawksdaughter | Oct 10 2016, 06:38 PM Post #6 |
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Jarl
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Yipes, scary awesome neil! |
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4:46 AM Jul 11