Tamrielic Adventures: Vol. 2

[Aarah]

Eolwyn nodded at Niralie and Nora.
"My concerns are exactly the same as both of you," she paused, "but I do agree with Nora."
"As much as I would love to just toss the Threads in the bowl right now, I fear what will happen if we come up against the Council again, with no more power to ourselves than we had yesterday. The Grey Vigil can't be around to help us everytime, and until we can defend better, as much as it pains us to use these foul things, I feel that we are somewhat dependant on their help."

She straightened her stance, standing proud.
"That's not to say that we aren't good enough. No, no. But the Council are toying with dark magic, and with only our natural skills we are...under-equipped. Of course, without their magical boon we would have em', course we would."

Eolwyn was slightly surprised with her decision; she'd always been dead against the wearing of the Threads, hardly even wanting to touch them. However, a part of that had been due to the toxic, controlling will they had over their wearers, and now that had been removed, hopefully, they had become a bit less dangerous.

"So, what say we all? Keep them for now, only using them in dire need, and find a way to mask their signal if possible?" The Bosmer asked the others.

[Unionhack]

The Following Day

After making camp somewhere on the border of the Reach, the party continued on, their burden now one thread heavier. They came across the gates of Markarth early in the morning of the day after they faced the foul serpent.

Even to those familiar with Markarth's history, the city's towering dwemer-make walls were a sight to behold.

Katlina

Katlina the Healer meandered off to wherever the winds may have taken her. Where she ended up was up to her.

[Baloth-Kul]

Markarth - Grelok
"Heh. Never gets old." Grelok remarked, appreciating the city's architecture and origin. He looked down at his prosthetic arm, and made doubly sure his cloak concealed it. Don't want anyone ripping my arm off, to put it in a museum.

"Do we want to get a few rooms at the inn, do another scry to see where exactly it is? Or if we just want to wing it, I can find a building to case. Err, I mean, to look..."

[The SheoDovah]

Katlina - Skyrim wilderness

"Damnit, pull yourself together!" Katlina uttered after departing and forced the tears to stop. I'm stronger then this and whilst it is best for me to depart. I could help in other ways. Hmm, would be hard but if i gained audience with the high council. Skyrim could take up arms against this council. Lack proof though. The nord pondered whilst riding Freya and made camp for the night later that day.

After having supper and gathering supplies for her potions, she made a decision on her next destination. Best go home to Solitude to give them an account of Windhelm. After gathering up her camping supplies, she would proceed to make her way home. To the city of the iron crown. The throne of the nords. Solitude. "Just you and me now, Freya." She told the horse whilst stroking her mane.

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Purposely left out the details of what i gathered as that is a DM thing but hope that it is ok to do it as a generic thing.

[Alarra]

Niralie - Near Markarth

Niralie stared up in wonder at the city. She'd read about it, but never expected to see it.

She tilted her head thoughtfully as Grelok spoke. "Hmm, there could be advantages to doing it either way," she said. "Whichever we decide, I'd like to stop in the market at some point to get some materials. If possible I'd like to see if I could get a replica or two made of the ring I'm carrying - I'd say that I saw a drawing of it in a book - it might be useful to have a decoy."

[Unionhack]

Markarth

Somewhere up on the top of the walls, beyond the heroes' sight, sat a small red-haired nord girl staring through a collapsible spyglass. It was her time off, and she was doing her bird watching for the day. However, it wasn't a bird catching her eye this day; instead, it was a cadre of adventurers of all different types, and in such a number. It was quite the unusual occurrence, sweetened by the sight of an orc man concealing what appeared to be a hand made of golden metal.

Hastily closing her spyglass, Haelga Greyhilt departed from her perch on the walls and sprinted for her master's study in the Jarl's palace.

She opened up the door and took a moment to catch her breath, catching the court wizard, Teldril Indalla, off guard for moment. After a few quick puffs, she looked up from a matter mess of red hair and smiled as she delivered her news. "M-master Indalla! There's a mighty interesting group coming to the city soon! Couple of elves, some fire-headed warrior lass, and, and...! Oh, and an orc with a golden hand!" she explained. "And that's just a few! I think I even saw one of the kitten-folk too!"

It was as he instructed; to tell him about interesting arrivals into the city. Teldril was at his desk, where he sat among his study materials and a few artifacts; including a recent acquisition of his. A ring set with a green gem, daedric in origin, but one that he had yet to identify...

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Everyone meet Hissien's new character, Teldril Indalla.

Spoiler:

Name: Teldril Indalla
Race: Dunmer
Sex: Male
Appearance: A lithe, tall dunmer with ebony skin and sharp features. His eyes are red.
Personality: Cunning, self-serving, chaotic neutral, and a little snobby
A short bio: Teldril was born in the city of Necrom among his family. Being the only child of two mages, Teldril was expected to follow in the footsteps of their legacy and work towards the betterment of his family line. Absolute obedience was demanded, and under the strict tutelage of many masters Teldril developed skills on par with many of the other aspiring magi of house Telvanni. Eventually after years of bitter resentments and arguments between his parents and himself, he struck out on his own as an adventurer. He fell in with a mercenary group, they were lowborn but Teldril was in no position to turn away employment.
Relying on his magical skills they became close, and grew to be more like brothers and sisters than cohorts. They accepted a contract to travel to the northernmost parts of Morrowind among the ash storms to help clear out a small ruin and retrieve a certain artefact for a high price. But, as the group approached they saw how impassible it was and decided to camp for the night in the view of the red mountain.
That was where they found their deaths, for in the night a group of vampires of clan Aundae slipped into the group silently and began to capture the company. Teldril, and a few others, managed to escape. Teldril had turned one of the beasts to ashes before him as they escaped, a moment that would haunt him for the rest of his days.
Eventually he fled for Skyrim where he has spent the last fifty years in Markarth. He works as the court wizard, advising the Jarl on all things magical.

Skills: Destruction, Conjuration and Illusion are his main skills with a well-rounded theoretical knowledge of all schools. However, he doesn’t use them as much and he is not as precise as with the main three.

Katlina

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I'm going to be honest, I'm not sure how to fill the time here. You would not reach Solitude as fast as the others reached Markarth.

After a forced march of her own, it was clear that Katlina's horse was tiring quickly. She came across a small inn on the roadside, lonely in the cold forests of northwestern Skyrim. A lantern was lit outside the front door, meaning that the inn was open for business.

[Hissien]

Markarth- Understone Keep - Study

Teldril visibly jumped as he turned around with a start. The elf had been in the middle of his favorite activity; looking imposing. Regardless, his reverie disturbed his eyes settled on the young lass with a hint of affection in his eyes.

"Oh Haelga you almost scared the life out of me. Thank you, you have done well." Teldril said taking a moment to consider what the young girl had said in full detail. A golden hand? What strange machinations must be at work in such a device. The Dunmer pondered this question looking far away before realizing he had been staring blankly at his apprentice for almost an entire minute.


"Oh forgive me, the mind wanders at my age." He said jokingly. "Well, we should probably keep an eye on them but I would like you to keep your distance from them I don't want you to get you into to trouble. Do you still have that scroll I gave you?" He asked referring to his recall spell he had transcribed for her. The dunmer did not like teleportation himself, made his stomach upset.

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Hi y'all <3

So for the record Teldril does not have recall in his repertoire but I assume its alright for NPCs to use such things?

[Unionhack]

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I'm sort of hesitant to establish a precedent for teleportation because it can be a deus ex machina really quick but I suppose it's fine for now.

Haelga nodded obediently and produced the scroll from her overstuffed backpack. "Right here!"

[Hissien]

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For this instance, knowing the group's track record, I wanted to actively avoid potential child murder. Because the girl is freakin' Dagna. Just realized what I've made....

YouTube Link

Markarth- Understone Keep - Study


"Alright well if you get into trouble just read it and it should bring you back here to this room. Since this is your free time I'm not going to force you to but if, in your bird watching, you happen to learn more about them please let me know. For the time being keep your distance though. Now run along my child, we can review the fundamental laws of summoning later." Teldril said waving Haelga off with a flick of his wrist. He brushed a strand of silver hair from his face and turned back to his desk.

He picked up his ring, the artifact almost humming in his mind. With a moment's hesitation he pocketed it in his robe, and set off towards the Jarl's quarter's. He imagined that his liege would be breaking their fast at this time, probably on something fatty and decadent. He gave the Jarl a decade more if that, nobles and their rich diets.

[BetaB17]

Markarth

She raised a hand to catch the rays of sunlight, shielding her eyes so that she may glance on this familiar sight "Aye, it never does" She replied to Grelok with some bliss to her tone "Tis been.. What feels like years since I've last seen these walls? Good te see ya again, Markarth"

Camping the night before did her well, to recover her will, however Katlina still weighed heavily on her mind

"We ought to do any scrying in private.. So a simple inn would do us good.." She thought for a moment "Niralie.. I wouldn't mind escorting ye through the market. Best not to go alone, as always." She wasn't considering the security the ring may not, but of the mage herself. She flashed a pleasant smile "Not that I have any other pressing matters"

[Alarra]

Niralie - Outside Markarth

"No arguments there," Niralie agreed. She remembered with a shudder how Valentia had been attacked by a pirate in broad daylight in the market of Windhelm; her Thread had been stolen, and a guard had lost his life trying to protect her. Niralie would feel safer with Nora at her side.

[The SheoDovah]

Katlina - The Inn.

"Rest, Freya. You've earnt it. Sorry to have made you go that fast." Katlina climbed off Freya and gave her an apple as a treat. She proceeded to go into the inn.

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And it just happened to be the shadow council's favourite haunt. Joking(I hope) aside, you could, yeah, i've got nothing atm.

[Velvet LeChance]

Arellius Afer III - Markarth

City's were city's were city's. With a final, tired footstep the Imperial passed the threshold into this one. The haggardness he bore could not be disguised: having never quite recovered from that wretched entanglement with the debt-collector, the battle had drained him more than he would ever have admitted. And despite Niralie's best efforts his ribs remained tender: a mouthful of potion after rising had numbed but not eradicated that pain. The idea that he might be sprung into a confrontation at any moment filled him with, whilst not outright trepidation, some amount of unease. He did his best to ignore it by sneering at the architecture: finding reasons to dislike it, even if his honest feelings more approached complete apathy.

He slowed as Grelok began to talk, considering his words. "I can grab'us some rooms in th'inn, needs'be."

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The idea is that yous can go off and do hero things whilst Arellius is arranging rooms

[Aarah]

Eolwyn - Markarth

"An inn sounds like a good idea." Eolwyn agreed.
"No point roaming the city, looking conspicuous, if we can get a more exact location simply from scrying."

She glanced up at the architecture. It wasn't her first time in Markarth, but her eye was always drawn to the beauty of Dwemer craftmanship.

The Bosmer nodded in approval of Nora accompanying Niralie.
"That's wise. In fact, we would probably all benefit from not travelling alone. Who knows who may already be lurking within these walls."

[Unionhack]

Hidden:

So, little note, I know jack [&@%!] about the lore of the Reachmen. Always found them incredibly boring and the lore presented about them in Skyrim was INCREDIBLY vague to me. However, looking at the lore page on UESP tells me that Tiber Septim kicked their asses, so nords it is!

Teldril Indalla - Markarth

Haelga nodded and scampered off to the walls to once again resume her bird-watching while the sun was still high in the sky. Teldril made his way to see the Jarl.

The Jarl, a studious old Nord by the name of Fenrald the Stoic, sat in his quarters in Understone Keep. Nestled atop the ruins of Nchaund-Zel, Jarl Fenrald could study in peace in between the appointments he had with the people of the reach. His favorite topics were non-magical in nature; Nordic history, burial sites, and of course, the mystery that was the Dwemer.

As Teldril approached, he could see the Jarl was poring over a detailed family history. It was well known that Fenrald was a low-born man, a former orphan, with no clan to speak of, and he had spent much time searching for the remnants of what family that may have tossed him aside. He appeared to be stuck in another one of these bouts, and didn't notice Teldril's entrance.

Markarth Gates

A standing guard at the gates of Markarth, a raven-haired nord woman in her mid thirties, hailed the travelers with a wave of the hand. "Welcome to Markarth, travelers. What brings you to the grand stone city of the Reach?"

Roadside Inn

After shackling Freya up to the nearby stables, Katlina entered the inn known as the Grinning Bear.

Within, the inn was sparsely populated as was expected. The acting bard was a young redguard boy, hardly ten years of age, patting away at a drum as he sang a soft chorus of 'The Exile of the Elves'; a popular tale of Ysgramor's victories against the Snow Elves.

The bartender was an elderly redguard woman. Sitting at the bar was a large, muscled nord man outfitted in scale armor, with several bandages dotting his tattooed body. Next to the central hearth, munching on a boar haunch, was another armored nord that was similarly bandaged up. This one was noticeably smaller than his large fellow, both in height and build.

[BetaB17]

Nora the Fox - Markarth Gates

She waved a hand pleasantly at the guard "Aye there!" Clearly fond of seeing a guard over any other. She was no less proud of sporting her own colors "We be needing some rest from our adventures. Where better th'an the stone capital herself?"

[Hissien]

Markarth - Understone Keep

Teldril watched his Jarl deep in his reading, unsure how to approach the man. He knew how crazed scholars could get in pursuit of knowledge. Feeling emboldened, Teldril spoke with clarity and projected his voice loud enough for it to echoe slightly about the chamber to get Fenrald's attention.

"Find that long lost branch of the family yet, my jarl?" Teldril asked bemusedly sliding his fingers across the desk as he got closer to see what Fenrald was looking at. Why bother finding out? You already have the throne.. He thought to himself smugly.

[The SheoDovah]

Katlina - The Inn of the Road.

Katlina was familiar with inns and was feeling a bit peckish along with craving some alto wine. She sat down near the fire pit and let out a small yawn. She was used to most inns having people come up to the patron to see if they wanted anything and believed it was the case here. If not, she would find the barkeep to order something to eat.

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I'm assuming it's more or less of what we see in Skyrim.

[Cassandra]

Dulani - Markarth

Dulani looked up at the city and exhaled slowly. It never failed to inspire her, no matter how many times she'd visited before. She returned her gaze to the group just in time to overhear Nora and Niralie's discussion.

"A stroll through the market seems nice. Shall we make it a party of three?"

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For some reason, I thought I'd already posted. I guess not.

[Alarra]

Niralie - Markarth

Niralie gave a welcoming smile and nodded. "Sure." She hadn't really gotten to know Dulani yet, but the Redguard seemed friendly.

[Unionhack]

Markarth Gates

The standing guard smiled at Nora, recognizing her nordic spirit. "Then you are welcome here, friends. Please, keep your weapons at your side as you enter the city. Our amenities are welcome to you. Should you seek rest, the Blade and Star is the largest tavern in the city, located in the center of town. Rest well, and if you need aid, ask a guard for directions."

The adventurers were allowed into the city. They could proceed anywhere they wished.

Hidden:

Markarth has a market with all kinds of stalls, and plenty of stores. If it's in Skyrim, you can find it here. If you're looking for something not in Skyrim, say so and I will make it so.

The city is not as seedy and corrupt as it will be 200+ years from now. The Silver-Bloods are not in charge, and what will be the Silver Blood Inn is currently the Blade & Star.

Understone Keep

The Jarl chuckled at Teldril's question. "Honestly, old boy, I'm not entirely sure why I keep searching. It has been almost fifty years since I began... I doubt much will change." he admitted. The 'old boy' nickname was a jest, nothing more. "Can I help you, my friend?"

Roadside Inn

The elderly redguard woman cleared her throat. "Sorry, hun. No wait staff at the moment. Would be happy to get you anything you need." she called from behind the bar. She could tell Katlina expected normal nordic traditions when it came to inn-staying, but was unable to provide at the time.

[Hissien]

Understone Keep

Teldril was in fact, quite old, so the jest was not only justified but appreciated. Teldril let out a slight chuckle looking at his Jarl feeling quite transparent. "You wound me, can I not simply seek out my Jarl for pleasantries?!" He asked with obviously false offense. "I suppose I would not simply start now, in any case there is a matter I wish to bring to your attention. A group of..." Teldril thought about the words, as the group was far too well armed from Dagna's Haelga's description to be brigands or rabble. "Adventurers appear to have arrived. While ordinarily this is nothing of note, one of them has a most interesting artefact: A dwemer arm implant. I assumed given your interest's you would like a closer look at it... And if they are formidable they could help you deal with some of those madmen in the reach." The elf said adjusting his robe.

[Baloth-Kul]

Markarth - Grelok
Grelok decided to go about searching for the Thread in one of the simplest manners possible.

"Does Markarth have any wizards--court or otherwise--or any nobles, aside from its Jarl? I'm looking for work. Well paying work." The Orc smiled politely at the guard.

[Aarah]

Eolwyn - Citay

Eolwyn gave the guard a nod of gratitude and entered through the city gates.

"Let's get a room at an inn first." She said to the others, namely Niralie.
"We can do a quick scry and then get supplies after."

[Alarra]

Niralie - Markarth

Niralie nodded. "I agree; that'd probably be the best way to do it." She'd been about to suggest that herself; it would probably save a lot of time and hassle to know where to start.