Category Archives: Story Time

Warning: potential side quest (Mages Guild) spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

Arrivals and Departures

Traven was, of course, disgusted over the grim news of Mucianus’s fate. He spared little time to grieve however and moved quickly on to tell me about my next job. I’d been personally requested by Count Hassildor to speak with him at Castle Skingrad. Apparently the Count had some vital information for the guild. I wasn’t sure exactly why he would want to speak with me personally though after my last visit with him I had a few theories. I rode out from the stables within an hour of the conversation.

“I’m so special!”

Upon reaching Skingrad and arranging an audience with the reclusive Count he told me that after our last meeting he had developed some level of trust in me and respect for my combat abilities and that my position within the guild made me the ideal candidate for his task. He wanted me to do him a favor in exchange for the information he had – I was to dispatch of a group of bloodthirsty vampires that had recently taken up residence in the nearby Bloodcrust Cavern. Apparently they had been getting bolder and bolder with their attacks and he predicted that it would be only a matter of time before they started feeding within the city. A big problem. Additionally, he had learned that a group of vampire hunters had heard rumors of vampires in the area and had come to Skingrad to investigate. The Count was uncomfortable with the presence of this band of vampire hunters in his city and wanted to make sure they left before causing any sort of trouble. He was hesitant to be directly involved with either scenario which is, of course, where I came in.

“Bloodcrust Cavern, AKA definitely NOT Castle Skingrad’s basement.”

Not a problem! I visited Bloodcurst Cavern and skulked through the darkness, slitting the throats of the unsuspecting vampires one by one. Sure, some of them put up some fierce resistance, as vampires are known to do, but for the most part they didn’t seem to be prepared for anyone to come calling on them. I cut the head off of one of the uglier ones, put it in a sack, and visited Skingrad city to try to find this group of would-be vampire hunters. Eventually I found Eridor, a rather rough looking Bosmer and the adventurer in charge of the band, chatting up a barmaid at the Two Sisters Lodge. He was a little rude with me when I approached, having obviously acquired a good deal of arrogance alongside the fame gained from his status as a vampire hunter over the years. I told him that the vampires he and his men were seeking had all been slain. He scoffed at me and asked if I had any proof with an incredulous tone in his voice. I emptied the sack out on his table. He was taken aback but seemed satisfied with the proof.

“Mannimarco has returned!”

Finally back at Castle Skingrad the Count was ready to share his important information with me. It seemed that he had learned that Mannimarco, the so-called King of Worms, an incredibly powerful necromancers of much infamy, had returned to Tamriel. While I wasn’t familiar with the stories of the King of Worms it was quite obvious from the look on his face that Count Hassildor believed what he was telling me and in the extreme danger it presented. He urged me to return to the Council with this information posthaste. I rode as quickly as I could and, when I finally found Traven, he seemed almost shocked by the news and left to form an emergency session with the Council almost immediately.

I didn’t see Arch-Mage Traven for several days. When I was finally able to speak with him he seemed incredibly distracted. Still, he told me I could at least run an errand for him while the Council worked on sorting out the Mannimacro predicament. He said he hadn’t heard anything from Jeanna Frasoric at the Bruma guildhall lately and simply asked that I check up on her for him. I rode into the frigid mountains of the north, taking my time and stopping at a few sites along the way. When the familiar sight of the snow topped city walls appeared on the horizon and I passed through the city gates I veered immediately towards the Bruma Mages Guild guildhall.

“Someone has been remodeling the Bruma guildhall…”

I swung open the front door of the guildhall to reveal an unexpected scene. There were bodies strewn about, pieces of furniture overturned, and books and scrolls littering the floors. Obviously there had been quite a commotion. As I carefully crept about the main room checking the bodies, most belonging to Mages Guild members, I was startled by the all too familiar sounds of a reanimated skeleton springing to awareness and heading my way. Undead! It had to be the work of The Order of the Black Worm! I effortlessly defeated the skeletons and continued investigating the guildhall, only this time with my sword at the ready. I found more of the same upstairs. In Jeanna’s office I received my official confirmation: a necromancer was searching through Jeanna’s desk. She turned towards me, snarled about not letting anyone leave, and began to attack. The fight was relatively short – I was able to blast the Imperial woman with a powerful fireball before she had time to summon any undead minions. From then on I had her in full retreat.

“I wonder if he got that nickname in college?”

Immediately after the fight was over I heard shifting behind me. I spun around to level my sword at the neck of a Khajiit magic user. It was J’skar, the mage I helped find when I received my recommendation from Jeanna. He told me that when the attack began he was able to turn himself invisible to escape detection. It was apparently an utter massacre with Mannimarco himself arriving to finish what his followers had started. J’skar even swore that The King of Worms saw through his invisibility but left him alone anyway, probably to relay the horrors of what had transpired to the Council. J’skar and I finished looking through the gutted and gore littered guildhall and rode double time together back to the University.

The Arch-Mage was quite shaken. It seemed that if he had any doubts about the rumor of Mannimarco’s return they were now put to rest. Again, he left almost immediately to convene with the Council of Mages. I spent the next few days going between my home on the Waterfront and the Market and Arena districts as well as attending to some neglected Fighter’s Guild correspondence. Finally Traven sent for me.

“A warm welcome to Fort Teleman.”

Arch-Mage Traven told me that the Council was in chaos after the news of Mannimarco’s attack on the Bruma guildhall. In the debate about how best to defeat the necromancer lord Irlav Jarol and some other mages took an artifact, the Bloodworm Helm, to a secluded location to attempt to research it for the purpose of perhaps using it to defeat the King of Worms. Likewise, amongst much dissent from the rest of the Council, Caranya took the Necromancer’s Amulet fearing that its presence in the capital presented a danger to the entire city. I was tasked with retrieving both items and bringing my colleagues back to the relative safety of the Imperial City. I restocked and set out to find Irlav Jarol in the ruins of Fort Teleman to the southeast in Blackwood.

“Day 1: the necromancers seem slightly suspicious.”

Inside the ruin I immediately encountered necromancers on guard. Due to way they were casually standing about I figured that they had been there awhile. That did not seem good for Irlav! Instead of taking any sort of cautious approach I ran straight into a vicious melee at every opportunity. Soon I reached the main chamber of the ruin only to find that I was too late – the mage had obviously attempted to guard himself with a series of powerful Daedric and elemental summons but the large Black Worm raiding party overwhelmed him and his minions. Fighting my way to his body I found the Bloodworm Helm still in his possession. Poor bastard! Poorer still, perhaps, was Caranya. Having found what I came for and cleared the entire ruin of necromancers, I immediately set out for the Fort Ontus ruin, southwest of Chorrol, fully expecting to find another the remnants of another massacre.

“Finally, a friendly greeting! Not sure what all of that necromancer stuff in the background is, but whatever…”

Days later I reached Fort Ontus, where Councilwoman Caranya and her group of loyalists had barricaded themselves with the Necromancer’s Amulet. I was able to sneak into the old ruin quite easily and crept up to my first target as quietly as a Khajiit assassin. I drew my Daedric blade in my right hand and let the lightning begin to crackle in my left, only to notice that the Altmer woman was in fact a guild mage, not a necromancer! I’d almost committed a grave error. I stepped out of the shadows and introduced myself. The mage was a little surprised but pleasantly directly me to where I could find Caranya all the same.

“Run away! Run away!”

Assuming that I was there to join her group, Caranya was very pleased to see me and greeted me with open arms. When I told her that I was here for the artifact at the Arch-Mage’s orders, however, her demeanor shifted. Rage burned in her eyes and she screamed out that she does not answer to Arch-Mage Traven, only Mannimarco. I admit I was a little confounded but after the first flame spear shot over my shoulder I came to my senses and found myself in a pitch battle with the powerful mage. Unfortunately for Caranya, my prowess as a battlemage had reached a point where I could very well have found myself on the Council of Mages alongside her. Her attacks that I could not dodge I blocked with my shield all while slowly gaining ground on her until I could have at her with my blade. In the end she lay dead and the Necromancer’s Amulet was mine. I had to move quickly at that point as it appeared as if Caranya’s followers were also in league with the King of Worms and they were in too great of numbers here to face alone. I had to face a few as I made my hasty exit but soon I was back on my horse and Arcane University bound.

Warning: potential side quest (Mages Guild) spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

The Shade of the Worm

After riding back to the Arcane University I met with Raminus once again to update him on my progress at Vahtacen. While he seemed genuinely grateful for my excellent work at the site I sensed that he had something more pressing on his mind. When I told him that I was ready to receive my next assignment he leapt at the opportunity to fill me in on the details. The next step in investigating the seemingly growing epidemic of rogue necromancy throughout Cyrodiil was to learn more about the nature of Black Soul Gems, like the ones I found in Falcar’s belongings in Cheydinhal. He directed me to find out what Tar-Meena at the University’s archives knew about them.

Master-Wizard Tar-Meena was the guild’s leading expert in magicka arcana and it seemed like her expertise had been in high demand at the time. When I approached her in the Mystic Archives she was in the middle of conducting some sort of research, books and scrolls strewn about all around her and oblivious to my arrival. When I attempted to interrupt her she started ranting at length about all of the pressure the Council of Mages had been putting on her. After letting her finish I told her that I’d been specifically ordered to find out more about Black Soul Gems. This seemed to calm her a bit, as apparently that specific subject was one that she hadn’t already been relentlessly hounded over. She pointed me to a tome called “Necromancer’s Moon” which she said was one of the few places she’d ever found any details about the objects recorded. Interestingly enough she also mentioned that Falcar had borrowed it previously. After spending quite awhile sifting through old spell books and volumes of obscure alchemical reagents I eventually discovered the book sitting on a small table by itself.

“Seriously, right?!”

The book contained a number of important details. First, it seemed to be a call to an order of necromancers called the Order of the Black Worm. Signs had been pointing to the increase in necromancer related activity having been organized but now it was confirmed without a doubt. It also mentioned what sounded like some kind of a magical or perhaps celestial event that signaled an opportunity to create the Black Soul Gems. It could have just been colorful writing but regardless I immediately took this information back to Raminus. Raminus found the allusions to the “heavenly light descending from above” to be as fascinating as I did and directed me to Bothiel, the university’s astronomy specialist, to try to learn more.

Bothiel didn’t know much about this “Shade of the Revenant” event but did recall another mage, none other than Falcar, asking her about it in the recent past. Bothiel also recalled Falcar having a stack of scrolls and papers with him, one of which he had accidentally dropped. The paper contained hastily scrawled notes relating to the names of four locations. Raminus recognized the name of one of them, Dark Fissure, as being a cave in the Valus Mountains, not far from the Vahtacen site near Cheydinhal. Although we didn’t know precisely when this “Shade of the Revenant” event would take place we formulated a plan to stake out Dark Fissure Cave for suspicious happenings.

“Looking back towards the Imperial City from the Dark Fissure altar.”

Arriving in the afternoon, I sat high up, wedged between two large boulders for hours until well after sunset. While I had fully expected to spend days, perhaps even weeks camped out near entrance of the cave, to my surprise that very first night I witnessed the Shade of the Revenant as well as a necromancer performing some variety of incantation there. It was unmistakeable – a sinister purple glow enveloped the altar as the necromancer strained against the magical forces pushing out against him. Just then something startled my horse, which I hadn’t yet had opportunity to tie up further away, causing the conjurer to stop to investigate. He summoned a zombie and began approaching, scouring the area for intruders. Having seen what I had come to see, I leapt down from my perch and pummeled the necromancer square in the head. A scuffle ensued but, having the initiative, I slew him relatively easily. After inspecting the altar curiosity got the best of me and I decided to take a look at the cave itself.

“Necromancy afoot!”

The Dark Fissure cave was large and definitely occupied. Every large chamber contained the camp of another necromancer or two, and they left little doubt that they all belonged to this same order I had found reference to earlier. After having cleared the cave, which was no small task, I returned to Raminus who was disturbed to learn that the ritual described in “Necromancer’s Moon” was in fact a reality, and that this order appeared to be quite active to boot. He bestowed me with the rank of “Magician” and told me that I should go directly to Arch-Mage Traven for my next task.

“Not incredibly subtle, guys.”

Arch-Mage Traven seemed pleased enough to make my acquaintance but began getting down to business very quickly, and when it revolved around necromancy he seemed to take business very seriously. He explained to me that the Council had been quietly monitoring the increased necromancer activity in Cyrodiil for quite some time, most notably by use of a guild member, Mucianus Allias, who had infiltrated their ranks. Between having not heard from him in some time and the recent escalation in necromancer activity, Traven wanted to pull the informant out. The Council had other plans, as they were suspicious of Mucianus and suspected the lack of contact was due to something more couched in treachery. A group of Battlemages were dispatched to Mucianus’s last know location with the intent on bringing him in for questioning. The Arch-Mage wanted me to intercept them to make sure Mucianus was returned safely. He handed me a hastily sketched map to the ruins of Nenyond Twyll, south of the White Rose River, just below the city, and bid me fast travels.

“Clearing out Nenyond Twyll.”

Not fast enough! It seemed that I had arrived at the ruins only moments too late. The Battlemages’ horses were already tied up outside and when I entered the still intact lower passages I was confronted by a jumpy a Bosmer Battlemage who introduced himself as Fithragaer. Fithragaer told me that the group had been ambushed and that we had no time to waste in helping them. We raised our weapons and rushed forward into the next chamber. In his haste and perhaps inexperience, the Bosmer ran straight into an Ayleid spike trap and was instantly impaled. As I waited for the trap to reset and clear the way I assessed the situation a little more carefully – I heard no sounds of combat around me but there definitely had been fighting here. I was indeed too late. Regardless, I still had to find Mucianus.

“Sounds grea… hey, wait a minute!”

As I ventured further into the darkness of the ruins of Nenyond Twyll I met my first group of necromancer attackers. Nothing outstanding about them at this point, but I was careful to give each one an opportunity to reveal their identity before attacking them. One of the necromancers I met revealed that she knew why we were there and told me that Mucianus had been turned into a “Worm Thrall” for betraying her master. I had no patience for vain speeches or vague threats and decapitated her where she had stood, her minions crumbling around her as she fell. I searched the ruins for quite a while afterwards, always expecting to find the informant waiting for me in some dark corner, but alas I had cleared the entire ruin without a sign of him.

“Mucianus Allias, slightly under the weather.”

Finally, as I was backtracking towards the exit I investigated a faint scratching from behind a stone wall to discover hidden pressure plate that revealed a secret room. Mucianus Allias was locked inside, or at least his zombiefied remnants were. I set the twisted automaton ablaze with a quick flame spell, resealed the room, and continued back to Traven with the ill tidings.

The Dark Fissure was actually a fairly interesting fight, as it was one of the locations heavily modified by Oscuro’s Oblivion Overhaul to included special NPCs and some tough, leveled enemies. It feels a little odd to be suddenly challenged after tearing through most of my fights with ease.

Warning: potential side quest (Mages Guild) spoilers ahead!

From the journals of Garn:

Intrusions

Having acquired all of my recommendations I’ve made my way back to the Arcane University in the Imperial City to speak with Raminus Polus. After officially welcoming me into the guild he’s set me on the task of crafting my own Mage’s Staff – a custom that every newly accepted member of the guild partakes in. I’m somewhat familiar with these Mage’s Staffs – not only have I seen many of the mages across Cyrodiil carrying them but I had to recover one for Ardaline in Bravil as part of receiving my recommendation from the Bravil guildhall. The first step of the process will be to venture to Wellspring Cave for assistance in selecting the wood I’ll be using from a nearby sacred grove.

“Not the greeting I was expecting!”

I’ve made it to the grove and retrieved the wood with which I’ll craft my stave, however, all did not go as planned. When I first entered the cave I wasn’t greeted by the mages who steward the grove, rather only darkness and an eerie silence. As I crept further in I soon discovered the body of a mage illuminated by the flickering light of fallen torch. Lying next to the mage another body – one that I suspected by her garb to be that of a necromancer. I continued through the cave and found it to be in quite a ravaged state, as if the intruders were searching for something. Intruders there were too – I encountered and fought several more necromancers until finally reaching the exit to the grove. As I cautiously slid the door open I saw another mage fending off three more attackers. He looked wounded and was obviously outnumbered so I immediately sprang forth and entered the melee. While I slew them all I was unfortunately too slow save the mage.

“Necromancers!”

Raminus seems deeply troubled by my recount of these events despite appearing to be attempting to hide it. He doesn’t discuss the situation with me further and dispatches me to meet with Delmar in the Chironasium to continue the construction of my staff. I know little of necromancers outside of my own knowledge of conjuration and my limited run-ins with them in my travels thus far – well, that, and that necromancy is outlawed by the Guild. I suppose the matter will be discussed and dealt with by higher ranked guild members. Delmar and I decide on how to fashion and enchant the staff. I admit, the process is fascinating and learning more of these sorts of arts seems like it might make my choice to join the Guild a fruitful one. I’m to collect the staff tomorrow.

Delmar has crafted a fine staff for me. I’ve had it enchanted with a fire spell given my affinity for using such magics and it has a look that would suit a battlemage such as myself if I were to ever decide to wield a staff in combat. For now the staff will make a fine keepsake for my mantle. I return to Raminus to present him with it. Raminus’s seems quite pleased with the results and congratulates me on officially being promoted to the rank of journeyman within the guild. It’s at last finally time for my first real assignment.

Raminus tells me that my next task, while seemingly menial, relates to the necromancer attack on Wellspring Cave. He asked me to travel to Skingrad and meet with Count Hassildor to retrieve a book that the Guild had recently loaned to him. While this struck me a little odd it was, after all, the first thing the council was trusting me with, so I’m preparing for my journey south without lodging any sort of complaint.

It was dusk as I walked into the great hall at Castle Skingrad. I was greeted by Mercator Hosidus, the Count’s steward, who informed me that the Count was occupied and I’d need to, instead, make an appointment to see him on the morrow. The next day I visited the castle again only to be given a similar story by Mercator. This time he told me the Count would see me but preferred to meet me in the fields outside of the west wall of the city at 2 in the morning. Odd, but I assume he has his reasons. I’m rather disappointed by this treatment as I made great haste on my ride here hoping to impress the council with the speediness that I completed my task. Raminus had implied that the Count could be unusual, perhaps this type of thing is what he was referring to. Still, I will see him tonight.

“Who called this meeting?!”

As I ride up to the appointed area near Tamika’s vineyard, my sword unfastened from my scabbard, I look around but do not see a sign of anyone. I keep my guard up, still suspicious about this meeting place and the unorthodox time. Suddenly I hear Mercator’s voice greeting me from the darkness. A torch is brought up and I see two others with him but no one I could make out to be the Count. Mercator tells me that I wouldn’t in fact be meeting the Count, that he didn’t even know I was in the city, and that I would have to be dealt with for potentially interrupting their plans. Necromancers? Before I have any more time to react I’m knocked from my horse by a powerful spell. I attempt to draw my sword as I try to keep track of the men though through the crops and shifting torchlight. The next moment I hear the sounds of a skirmish unfolding. I quickly find my feet and charge Mercator. The traitorous Imperial had death in his eyes but his dark magics were no match for my Daedric steel. As I finish him I turn to find myself alone in the field with a man looking at me disapprovingly, shaking his head.

“Why no, why would YOU have anything to do with the undead?!”

Dressed in fine plate armor and wearing a strong, if also a little gaunt face, the man introduces himself as Janus Hassildor, Count of Skingrad. He tells me that he’s suspected Mercator as being in league with the necromancers for some time now though he wanted him to reveal who else he might be working with before acting upon his suspicions. He also tells in no uncertain terms that he’s disappointed in me for not knowing that I was being duped by the Guild – I wasn’t sent here to retrieve a book at all but rather to spy on him. With that, he asks me to inform info Raminus to that he is certainly not affiliated with the necromancers and that he does not appreciate them sending someone to him under false pretenses. I have little recourse but to agree, dust myself off, and head back to my inn room for the night.

Arriving back at the Arcane University, Raminus apologizes for putting me in the awkward and ultimately dangerous situation but explains that the council doesn’t completely trust the Count despite working closely with him for some time now – his loyalty had to be ascertained and for that my mission is considered a success. I’ve been promoted to the rank of Evoker and given my next task. It’s not that I have any issue with the idea of spying on the Count but they could have let me in on it at least. It makes me question the motives of the council – what exactly did they think they were sending me into?

“I hear there’s an alchemist in the Market District with a potion for that!”

Raminus tells me that he has another task in mind for me. Something hopefully a little less stressful and he assures me that no necromancers will be involved this time. I’m to meet with Irlav Jarol about an Ayleid ruin that the Guild is currently excavating. Irlav fills me in on the details – evidently the ruin appears to be completely intact and while they’ve managed to clear out and map most of the top level, they’ve discovered some sort of magical locking mechanism that has kept the rest of the structure sealed off from the team. I’m to speak with Skaleel once I arrive.

I set off to Vahtacen which is located near the banks of the Reed River to the east of the capital. When I come upon the area that Irlav described I see none of the usual trappings of an Elven ruin – in fact, all that’s here is a muddy, unassuming cave. If it weren’t for the torches and the fresh footprints everywhere I might have never guessed the entrance to the ruin was within. As I made my way through the cave I soon found where the main structure had been breached. Torches light the way until I reach a large chamber where several guild members and other laborers have setup. I quickly find Skaleel who explains the situation in only slightly more detail that Irlav. Unlike Irlav, who seemed largely distant from the project, Skaleel appeared to know almost too much about it, her frustration palpable.

“Quite the puzzle – you just have to read the instructions. Why did I join this stupid guild again?”

I venture into the chamber with the magical locking device. Denel, another mage, explains that they’ve recently discovered that casting spells at the strange pillar like structure in the center of the room seems to be having some sort of reaction though, so far, the reaction has only been in the form of smaller stones in each corner of the chamber coming together to violently shock the caster. I examine the room but it looks like nothing I’ve ever seen before. As I’m leaning against a wall I feel a sharp edge catch my hand. What was this? I wipe away the countless years of dust to reveal the unmistakable shapes that make up ancient Ayleid writing. Denel quickly rushes off to fetch Skaleel who returns with a book on translating Ayleid. As we wipe away more and more of this writing we begin translating. While each message is cryptic at best, they all seem to mention different elements: one fire, one frost, and the other two magicka, though one seeming positive and the other negative. We concoct a plan and soon I’m casting the first spell – a firebolt at the strange mechanism. Success! It moves revealing a hint at an inner chamber. Soon, as we cast all four spells, the mechanism completely moves giving us access to a stairway further into the ruins.

“I wish I were an Elf so I could turn into one of these fuckers when I die.”

As I’m the only one equipped for such potentially dangerous exploration I venture down alone. Like most of the Ayleid ruins I’ve been in so far this one is filled with an unappealing mixture of terrible undead and brutal traps. Still, I’m quite experienced at dealing with clearing out such dungeons by now and soon find myself in what seems to be the main hall of the structure. In the center of the room sits large raised platform surrounded by stairs. This looks similar to the throne rooms I’ve seen in other Elven sites only this time the very center is covered with a large carved stone box. Chains connect it to a number of suspended pulleys and hanging counterweights. There has to be a… sure enough, a switch!

“Ouch! I don’t often get totally owned but when I make sure I get cool pictures of it.”

I flick the switch and the sound of the heavy chains ripping through metal rings is almost deafening as it echos through the hall. The dust that is thrown into the air is all but blinding as well. I take a step back and find my footing unsure – I’m stepping on something soft and fleshy. I spin and draw my sword – a lich! It raises a minion from the dusty floor and points its ancient gnarled staff at me menacingly. Just then I hear the sound of more undead being summoned. How many liches were in this room? No matter! I summon a Daedra warrior and block a weak blow from a skeletal automaton. The battle is fierce – I bash the head off of the first undead then I hack a lich almost clean in half from his shoulder down to his stomach. I turn to send a lightning bolt crackling into another. Soon they all lay in piles of dusty gore.

The throne area, now accessible, contains what may have once been a rich cache of ancient Elven armor – beautifully crafted and richly decorated though most of it seems to have deteriorated long ago. The helmet seem quite intact though so I’m bringing it back to Skaleel as proof of my discovery. Skaleel is elated at the quality of the item and suggests I immediately bring it back to the University. After imparting some information about the newly explored chambers and saying my goodbyes I’ll set off on my way back east to deliver the good news and the guild’s latest Ayleid artifact.