Category Archives: Story Time

Warning: potential side quest spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

Long live the King!

When I returned to Umbanaco to claim my reward I could tell he was quite excited to finally have possession of the carving though, to my curiosity, he spent very little time looking it over. He seemed to start to offer me another job but hesitated before finally making the offer. He told me that my next job may be a little different than the usual because the item he wanted was not in some long forgotten ruin or guarded by horrible apparitions, but instead was in the possession of another collector in the city. He told me it was the crown of the last king of the Aleyids and that its owner, Herminia Cinna, refused to sell it to him. While he told me that the intention was simply to try to purchase it for him as a 3rd party, he seemed to imply that acquiring it by less scrupulous means may be required. He gave me 1000 septims and off I went.

“About to descend into Lindai.”

I tracked Herminia Cinna down to running errands near the tower and brought up being interested in her antiquities. Perhaps I should have changed into less conspicuous clothing or at least thought my words over a little more carefully before speaking to her as she immediately suspected me of being an agent of Umbanaco’s. She made it clear that it wasn’t a matter of money and that there was simply something about Umbanaco that she didn’t trust, and that she suspected him of being motivated by more than he claimed. While Herminia couldn’t elaborate much, even as I pressured her to, the Aleyids were known to be powerful magic users and dedicated servants of the Daedra, some rumored to be quite cruel in fact, so it didn’t seem out of the question that Umbanaco might be after something more sinister than a simple collection of dusty artifacts.

Herminia pleaded with me to consider another option – while the crown she had was indeed the crown of “last Aleyid king” there was no overarching Aleyid kingdom and, in fact, there were various other kingdoms, many of them even rivals. She told me that she knew of the possible location of another, similar crown from around the same time period that she hadn’t had the funds to hire help seeking out yet. I got all of the necessary details from her and told her I’d have to consider it. For someone with so little to back up her suspicions, Herminia seemed quite convinced.

“Setting things on fire never gets old.”

Herminia told me that the royal crown of Lindai would have been kept in the royal tomb of the site, now known simply as Lindai, which she suspected was still sealed. I figured there was little harm in attempting to acquire the crown before making any further decision so I set off for the ruins of Lindai, northwest of the city. The ruins were fairly typical of my findings so far, guarded by undead creatures and traps. Herminia’s suspicions were correct though and much of the tomb’s treasure seemed to still be intact including the cask containing the crown. Now I had one option secured.

“Oooh, look what I found!”

Although I’ve mostly stayed clear of a life of crime so far, I decided to visit Herminia Cinna’s home one afternoon after she had left to go to the market – I had developed a new plan. I had more or less decided that Herminia’s fears were unfounded and her outright refusal to part with the artifact for any sum of money was unfair to a someone such as Umbanaco, who had already displayed his merit as a real collector, with a real passion for the history of the Ayleids. To be honest, it was more Herminia’s motives that I was questioning at that point. So, a quick lock pick on her front door when I was sure that I wouldn’t be spotted and in I went. I carefully searched her fairly modest home for the artifact until I eventually found it in a locked cask upstairs. This lock was more troublesome to pick but soon I had the authentic crown in my possession, the royal crown of Lindai in its place and hopefully Herminia would be none the wiser until such a time when she examined it more closely.

Returning to Umbanaco I presented him with the real crown which seemed to please him to no end. He said he had another task for me: to escort him through the ruin of Nenalata to the east for another archeological expedition. Easy enough, I thought. He said he’d arrange to meet me there in three days time.

“Is that a stupid haircut or are you just happy to see me?”

Nenalata was a fairly unimpressive looking ruin from the outside, despite being perched on the side of a hill overlooking the junction between the Silverfish River and Niben Bay. I waited on horseback until I heard the first rustling of someone approaching and road to investigate. Umbanaco had arrived and was excited to get started. I asked him to wait outside at first, as many of these Ayleid ruins were quite dangerous. He seemed a bit put off by the idea, but agreed. This part of Nenalata was pretty typical of Ayleid ruins so far, save for more ornate stonework and a distinct lack of traps. After clearing out virtually the entire structure of guardians I returned to escort Umbanaco, who in-turn seemed to escort me. We went down to one of the lower levels where he spotted the location he was looking for and ran over to it to place the carving I had acquired for him earlier in a recessed spot in the center of the wall. He then dramatically recited some Elvish which I could not understand, causing a secret passageway to open.

“Someone light a fucking torch!”

Excitedly, he proclaimed that we were entering the throne room of the last king of the Ayleids and that it was now up to him to reclaim his people’s lost glory. I took pause, of course, though he was an Altmer I figured he was still speaking as a student of the history of Ayleid peoples. When he donned the crown and sat in the thrown, shouting in Elvish tongue, however, I began to reconsider. Was Umbanaco a mad man or…?

Before I could finish my contemplation of the events at hand the spell that Umbanaco was apparently casting had completed and a massive burst of energy spread out from him in all directions. As the smoke cleared he cast another spell and disappeared from sight. Doors opened from every side of the chamber and several liches and other undead flooded in. I drew my sword and began backing towards the door.

“Errrmmm…”

I summoned my own guardian and began casting all manner of offensive spells as skeletons rushed towards me, striking against my shield with huge, clumsy blows. It was quite a perilous situation and I constantly found myself having to retreat away from the seemingly endless hordes of undead. Umbanaco himself, or whatever he had become, also reappeared from time to time to summon more undead and launch the occasional spell at me. At one of these moments he found himself between me, still strategically withdrawing, and a corner. Looking in his rage filled eyes, I was sure that there was no other way and lunged. Umbanaco fell with a desperate cry echoing through the halls amidst the backdrop of still clamoring creatures and blasts of magic.

“Cleaning up Umbanaco’s mess.”

I finished clearing the room and took my time, looting the rest of the ruin. I wasn’t quite sure of what to do – Umbanaco was a fairly respected citizen of the Imperial City and he’d now be missing. If he told anyone about where we were going I would be suspected in his disappearance, and who would believe me about his attempts to resurrect the Ayleids? Only one person. As soon as I returned to the city I sought out Herminia Cinna and professed my regrets for not believing her. I gave her back the real crown and even offered her some of the other Ayleid artifacts I had looted. I only asked that, in return, she support my claims should I be implicated later on. While seemingly disturbed by the whole thing, she agreed and seemed quite happy to have her crown back, in addition to the other artifacts I added to her growing collection.

Warning: potential side quest spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

The Collector

Returning to look for work in the Imperial City I learned of a man called Umbacano who apparently hired quite a lot of adventurers, explorers, and mercenaries into his employ. It took me little time to find out that he lived in a large house in the Talos Plaza District. I arranged a meeting with him.

After his butler lead me through the manor, past all manner of priceless artifacts and less-than-subtle hints at Umbacano’s wealth, I was greeted by a tall Altmer noble. Umbacano introduced himself as an avid collector of Alyeid artifacts and it was in that vein that my services could be of his use. He mentioned some Alyeid statues known as the Ten Ancestors which were once kept in the White Gold Tower but were scattered across Cyrodiil for safekeeping during the time of the rebellion against the Alyeids. He was willing to pay a generous sum to each of these 10 statues delivered to him. Of course, I was interested. I told Umbacano that I had already explored a few of the Alyeid ruins in the area and he was delighted when I presented him a copy of my landmark maps and notes that I had made for the cartographer in Bravil near the beginning of my journey. He ran over to a book shelf, took down various books, and began digging through them until we had a small list of ruins to start with. A new quest had begun!

“Actually, these ruins are pretty much fucking everywhere.”

Alyeid ruins dotted the Cyrodiil countryside but the majority of them that weren’t completely destroyed hadn’t been thoroughly pillaged and inhabited by bandits or monsters yet. These ruins are infamous amongst adventuring types for their great number and variety of still working traps and, worse yet, being home to terrible undead creatures. I’m not certain whether these undead are the lost spirits of the elves who used to live and work in these structures or if they’re merely the accursed guardians that were left to watch over these places when the Alyeids were being systematically driven out of the area. In any case, both the danger presented by these threats and the stories passed around about encounters with them have served to keep them relatively intact. In other words, while there was indeed a good chance of locating many of Umbacano’s artifacts it also wouldn’t be an easy task.

“A Jason and the Argonauts moment.”

Over the next month or so I traveled the region visiting over a dozen Alyeid ruins, seeking out the statues. Upon finding the first the others seemed to come more and more easily, like puzzle pieces falling into place. That’s not to say that my adventures were not fraught with danger. In fact I nearly met my end on several occasions. There were large, hard fought battles versus countless liches, ghouls, undead warriors, and other unworldly fiends. There were mazes and clever traps the likes of which I hadn’t yet seen. In the end, however, with Umbacano’s assistance researching, I was able to claim all 10 of the Ten Ancestors and collect quite a tidy sum in the process, never mind the countless spoils of investigating the ruins themselves.

Umbacano wasn’t done with me though. His next task for me was to acquire a carving that was said to be located in an Alyeid structure known as “The High Fane”. No doubt only a ruin remained, if anything, but he seemed quite intent on possessing this relic. He showed me an illustration of the carving from an old tome he had and gave me an old, rusted key that he said he believed would get me where I needed to go if I could locate the ruin.

“About to claim my first of the 10 Ancestors.”

With not much to go on, I started checking with patrons at the various taverns across the city when I eventually ran into an adventurer called Claude Maric. The Breton claimed himself also under the employ of Umbacano and invited me to have a drink with him at the Tiber Septim inn. After a few drinks and some casual conversation, in which I let as little information go as possible, Claude eventually brought up the High Fane and after little more nudging, let out that it was another name for the temple “Malada” along with some myths about it being the site great evil. This was lucky break – I had already found Malada whilst creating my map. It was far off, to the far East of Bravil, and quite secluded, but at least I knew where to start. I parted ways with Claude and prepared to set out.

After tying up my horse near the entrance of the ruin I caught a faint odor of smoke which seemed highly unusual for how far into the wilderness I was. Peaked by curiosity, I drew my sword and started heading for high ground from which I could look for the source of the smoke. Quite accidentally, almost tripping over them, I discovered two people, still sound asleep, at a small camp nearby. They looked like adventurers or even mercenaries. I thought this odd, but let them sleep. As I made my way back, more carefully surveying my surroundings than before, I spotted the silhouette of another man on a nearby hill. I casually approached him, sword sheathed.

“Do NPCs gain speechcraft skill for compliments? Hmm.”

The Khajiit seemed surprised to see someone else and, at first, plead ignorance, claiming to be part of a small hunting group who were camping in the area. The Khajiit was a poor liar, and besides the men were definitely not armed like simple hunters. I pressured him a bit more and he admitted that him and the others had arranged to meet another here in a few hours to attempt to clear the ruins of Malada. In exchange for a small bribe he offered to signal me when they arrived if I was planning on going in first – I accepted. Whether he would hold his end of the deal or not was another story.

“I came all this way for this fucking thing?”

The High Fane wasn’t too much more interesting than some of the Ayleid ruins I had visited recently, some traps, some undead creatures, and a small amount of abandoned treasure. I eventually discovered the room with Umbanaco’s carving. This area was sealed with a locking mechanism the likes of which I had never seen which inspired me to take extra time to look for signs of a trap around it. Thankfully the key I was given opened it without incident and I was able to pry the carving from its wall without too much difficulty.

“Party at Malada!”

As I emerged back into the now midday sunshine the situation got much less typical – I was greeted by my new friend Claude Maric, flanked by several armed men at each side. Claude demanded the carving, assuring me that it was only business. This, unfortunately for Claude, was not how I did business. When I outright refused to give up the relic Claude ordered his men to attack me. It was a close fight, having to fend off 3 separate attackers at once. When things were getting a little close for me I was surprised to have one of Claude’s men distracted away from me than none other than Khajiit I had talked to early. Unfortunately he was quickly slain as another mercenary joined the fight. Still, the distraction gave me the space and time I needed to use my magic to finish the fight.

“Is it hot in here or am I just being electrocuted?”

As I dusted myself off and turned around I caught Claude running off towards where the others had camped out earlier. I gave case and soon we too were engaged in a sword fight. Unfortunately for Claude he was much less of a fighter than his status as a treasure hunter might imply and he too soon lay dead at my feet. After searching the bodies and packing my loot I mounted up and began the long ride back to the Imperial City.

Warning: potential side quest spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

Corruption in the Imperial City

The next week or so was fairly uneventful. Although I still mixed at the taverns and made quick visits to the Market District to look for potential leads I did so less frequently. Because of my unknown past and my still undisclosed involvement in the Emperor’s death I was a bit wary of becoming one of the “regulars” around the city. A mysterious, famed adventurer? Sure. That guy who is always hanging around at The Foaming Flask? Not so much. With that in mind, for possibly the first time since my emancipation I was able to engage in a healthy amount of genuine relaxation. It didn’t take long for opportunity to knock, however.

I had been hearing rumors, particularly from some of the shop keepers in the Market District, that there were some corrupt guardsmen around town. Not surprising. Interestingly more and more of these rumors seemed to point to a particular person, a Captain of the Guard in fact, Audens Avidius. It was only a matter of time before two men, commoners who lived the Temple District, approached me and asked me to take action. Apparently Luronk and his friend Ruslan had been browsing a store when the guard shook them down for their gold pieces at threat of being imprisoned for thievery. Quite a gutsy thing to do right in the middle of a shop, in broad daylight, and by a high ranking guardsman at that. Having developed a disdain for corrupt, abusive guards from my time in the Imperial Prison I told them that I’d be glad to look into it.

“U mad?”

The more I thought about it the worse I thought the idea of engaging the captain was. Instead I simply decide to carefully speak to other guardsmen about the subject. Very quickly I learned the no one was willing to help – some, probably guilty themselves, became highly agitated with me even broaching the subject. Eventually I did encounter an honest guard who took a genuine interest in the subject, though he informed that due to Audens’s status of a captain, only another Captain of the Guard could actually arrest him. Off I went to locate another captain. At first I spoke to Hieronymus Lex, who dismissed the notion saying instead that he was busy attempting to track down the famed Gray Fox. He did at least refer me to Itius Hayn.

“Garn carefully dances around telling the Captain of the Guard that his guards are all assholes.”

Surprisingly Itius seemed to take me seriously, though he wasn’t willing to help without witnesses who would testify due to the seriousness of the accusation. Luronk and Ruslan took a bit of convincing but eventually agreed and I accompanied them to Itius, who immediately left in search of Audens. Upon being confronted Audens exploded with rage, threatening to kill me as the guards took him away. Hm, perhaps it wasn’t so smart for me to show my face at his arrest? Regardless, another deed done to help bolster my good reputation, and as a bonus a few of the shop keepers offered me a discount for dispatching of he troublesome captain.

“A bit anti-climatic!”

Later that very day I was approached by a Dunmer woman who said that her husband Gilen sent her to ask me to meet him at Seridur’s house to discuss a matter of the utmost importance. She knew nothing more of what this pertained to but, cautiously, I went anyway.

I was greeted at the door to the house, located in the Temple District, by a Dunmer wearing full heavy armor. He told me that I had been expected and lead me to a basement door, which he then unlocked and motioned be towards. While this all seemed a bit unusual I didn’t feel like I was necessarily in any danger. The house, the basement stairway, everything seemed normal enough. When I reached the basement proper I found myself in a well lit lounge, with tapestries and other very deliberate, themed decor – it seemed as if I was in some sort of guildhall. Sure enough, one of the few men gathered there stepped forward to greet me. It was Seridur himself, and he presented himself as the leader of The Order of the Virtuous Blood, an organization dedicated to hunting out and killing vampires. That was where I came in, as it turned out that none of the members of the group were capable enough fighters to stand up to a vampire but the group had at least managed to locate one.

“The meanest! The baddest!”

Seridur claimed that he was walking by Roland Jenseric’s house one night when he heard a scream. As he ran around to the back of the house he found Roland and a young woman he had been courting in a struggle. Seridur tried to intervene but Roland fought him off and fled, leaving the body of the woman with two puncture wounds in her neck behind. Finding and destroying Roland Jenseric was the order’s top priority and they were offering me the job. While I had only limited experience with vampires my exposure up to that point told me that I could handle the task – I’d need to be very careful, but I could do it. I accepted the job. Seridur suggested I start my investigation at Roland’s house.

Later that night I lock picked the front door of Roland Jenseric’s house and snuck in. Other than some Skooma and an unusually large stash of alcohol, I didn’t find much out of the ordinary in the house. The most interesting items that I located were a series of love letters addressed to Roland and were signed Relfina – I was pretty sure that Seridur had mentioned this as being the name of the victim. I read the last few letters for potential clues and although I found no hints at any motive beyond vampirism there was mention of a cabin that Roland had in the hills of the Heartland. This sounded like a perfect hide out.

“Not the world’s scariest vampire den.”

The next morning after a short ride I reached a cabin that fit the description of the location in the letter. I could clearly hear someone stacking firewood inside. I drew my sword and burst in. The man was startled, and thinking I was a bandit told me to take what I must and leave him unharmed. This didn’t strike me as something a fearsome vampire would do, and when I voiced my confusion he seemed puzzled. It wasn’t until I mentioned that name Seridur that I saw Roland’s face flash with the realization of what had happened. He offered me a seat and told me about how he had been afraid that his lover, Relfina, had been seeing another man. Following her one night he watched as Seridur crept out from the shadows, embraced her, and bit her neck. Roland tried to attack but Seridur’s strength was too much and he was knocked out. Upon waking he immediately fled the city in panic. All of this, however unlikely, seemed quite believable to me, so I set off back towards the city to locate Seridur. Roland suggested I look for proof of Seridur’s identity at the First Edition bookshop as he knew that Seridur frequented the shop.

Phintias at First Edition confirmed that Seridur often stopped by to purchase and sell books, sometimes with a backpack loaded with supplies. He said that he overheard Seridur mention Memorial Cave to another patron once. Memorial Cave was just outside the city and was apparently a place used to bury dead warriors long ago. This sounded like a fine potential place for a vampire to hide out, so off I went.

“Getting a warm welcome to the REAL vampire den…”

Upon entering the cave it seemed unquestionable that it was being inhabited by something sinister – ancient coffins were overturned, desecrated bodies strung about as warning signs to would-be intruders, and soon enough I encountered my first vampire. The vampires there were mostly magic users, likely gathered together as part of a vampire cult, and were weaker than I was expecting. I had always heard that weak vampires tend to live in groups, whilst the most powerful, seasoned vampires could easily survive undetected on their own. As I continued to explore the cave system I questioned if Seridur was indeed a vampire or if perhaps he had only been visiting the cave as part of his investigations. It also occured to me that Roland could have still been a vampire and had sent me there in hopes that the cult would take me. Not likely!

“*poke*”

Soon I received my answer, as I swung open a makeshift door to see Seridur, clad in armor, standing at an alter apparently preparing a ritual. He turned, anger filling his eyes once recognizing me. He began to explain how he figured he’d get caught all along and wanted to lure me away from him but, failing, he would now dispatch me. I was already preparing a summoning spell and by the time he began to rush me I had the initiative. Despite his enhanced abilities Seridur fell easily. He may have been at the top of his group of weak vampires but he was still just a weak vampire.

“Yeah, this is a happening place…”

After clearing out the rest of Memorial Cave I returned to Roland’s house to tell him the news. Roland was overjoyed and visibly much calmer after hearing of the death of Seridur. He told me that he had planned to resume living in the Imperial City and was even considering taking over The Order of the Virtuous Blood of which I, would of course be an honorary member. He awarded me with one of his few valuable possessions, an enchanted ring, for sparing him and helping him bring his lover’s murderer to justice.

Very clever, a vampire running his own vampire hunting group. The ruse was not enough, as Seridur let his arrogance and thirst for blood get the best of him as many a fabled vampire had before him.

“Ah, I finally *really* pissed someone off.”

Later that day while returning to my home in the city I heard a blood curdling scream behind me, growing rapidly louder. Instinctively I turned, drawing my sword. It was Audens Avidius, no longer in his captain’s armor, and wielding a crude knife. As he charged me I smoothly cleaved across his belly. A pair of city guardsman rushed up to him from behind, joining the melee. Once Audens lay dead, one of the guards searched his body, finding a note in which he confessed escaping the Imperial Prison to avenge his imprisonment. I was assured that I was indeed quite lucky to survive such an attack though I was more concerned about the fact that Auden’s had apparently used the same escape route as I did. If more people knew about the existence of those tunnels than surely I could eventually be fingered as escaping at the same time as the Emperor was assassinated. This was troubling indeed…

This had been the buggiest Oblivion session I’ve had since I started this run. Ruslan began stopping me and talking to me without my consent whenever I saw him, which was very frequent as if he was following me around. I had to lock pick my way out of Ralsa Norvalo’s house at the beginning of The Order quest, and do so unseen or get arrested afterwards. I had a Shadow Wolf that was somehow stuck in the ceiling constantly stalking me (and occasionally biting me) the entire time I was in Memorial Cave. I eventually killed it by finding some geometry it would stick through and hurling fireballs at it. Finally, during my final fight with Audens he kept triggering the guards to aggro me even though he was the one initiating the attack. I had to re-fight him about 3 times before the guards finally concluded that I was innocent. Jeesh.