Tamrielic Adventures

[Per]

Nerevar's Prowess

"Aye," grunted Per, and followed Gudrun to the top deck. Though the ocean breeze was refreshing, it didn't help his stomach. "Do we have to work the ship even though we paid for passage? I'm up for anything, as long as they don't expect me to sit the crowseye."

[Eltee]

Desele's, Suran

"You know I will." Llela confirmed sweetly.

The server, a narrow, disinterested Dunmeri girl wearing nothing above the waist but a bra, came to their table. Her eyes were fixed on a notebook, and she had a pen stuck behind her ear. "What'll you be having?" She asked in a moody Vvardenfell husk, retrieving the pen. "Drinks, sugar, exotic dance from the girls..." She gestured over her shoulder at the pole-dancers without looking up from the notebook. "Anything more physical than that, you work out a deal with them."

"Umm, actually..." Llela said, drumming her fingers on the table. "How about some food?"

The serving girl looked up at the duo for the first time. "Food? Don't get too much call for that in here." She said, surprise shining through her voice. "I could get you a racer wing platter...?"

"That'd be great." Llela confirmed. The waitress walked off.

[JVElEven]

The Prowess

Aythu scowled at Gudrun.

"I'll go hide in a dark corner," she mumbled, leaving the two 'lovebirds'.

[MARS]

Desele's, Suran

"Uh...aren't racers kind of bony and leathery?" Llevana inquired.

Nerevar's Prowess

"Let's get on deck then!" Gudrun said.

It was sunny, but the wind was strong. The ship was leaving the Imperial Waterfront behind it at a fast pace.

[Eltee]

Desele's, Suran

"Kinda." Llela agreed, before shrugging offhandedly. "You eat it for the taste, not the texture."

She cleared her throat, her omnipresent Almsivi conscience demanded she make a last ditch effort.

"There are some Dwemer ruins in Molag Amur." she observed weakly. "We could raid there, instead of... You know."

[MARS]

"We could," Llevana quickly agreed. She understood how difficult it would be for Llela to rob a Dunmeri tomb.

They chatted about other things until the food arrived.

"This does actually taste good," Llevana commented, her mouth still full of wing. "And I guess it's an...acquired texture. Instead of taste. See what I did there. Nevermind..."

[Eltee]

Desele's, Suran

"Mmm. So are you. Rough around the edges, and whatnot." Llela quipped warmly, before tearing another bite from the breaded wing. (I was thinking leaner, larger chicken wings)

Her mood had visibly, obviously buoyed since Llevana agreed to raid a Dwemeri ruin.

[MARS]

The night went on without furhter incidents worth noting. Both women were tired.

They bought whatever supplies they could afford and set out late the next morning.

[Eltee]

Suran

Llela took a deep breath of the morning air, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as they say in Elsweyr. She had taken fifteen minutes before they left, and devoted it to disentangling her matted black hair and restoring it to a respectable condition, and weaving in some wind braids.

She stretched. "Off we go, I suppose!" she said. "I talks to Desele about the Dwemer ruins in Amur while you were in the loo, and she leant me a map. OK, here's Arkngthand, but it's almost up to Balmora. Too far. Galom Daeus could be a candidate, but that place has a black, black reputation. Nchuleftingth has a Mages Guild excavation or something, so not there... Mzanchand is out in the middle of buttf*ck nowhere. Up in the highlands, too, and it's rumoured to be pretty small.

...Nchardumz..." She pointed to the last mark. "Bigger, reasonable distance... And once we're done we can just sell our spoils in Molag Mar and grab a boat back. Plus..."

Llela bit her lip.

"Last I heard, my cousin was living there. I have a lot of cousins, but Mandrila's the only one that's not a bandit or a Daedra worshipper or a Camonna or something."

[Per]

"Dibella's tits..." growled Per under his breath as the pair appeared on deck. "Ey!" he grunted at a nearby redguard crewman. "Who'd be the man in charge to speak to here, eh?"

[MARS]

Spoiler:

After a month-long hiatus I'm eager to get kickin' again.

Suran

"You lead, I follow," Llevana said. "That's the arrangement as long as we're here."

Nerevar's Prowess

"Captain," the Redguard replied gruffly, without turning his head.

[Eltee]

Suran

"Next time we stop for the night, I'm gonna make you eat your words. Literally." Llela teased, as she folded up the map.

Spoiler:

I'll post our nice detailed travel scene when I get my desktop back, okay? In the meantime, small talk is funzzzz.

[Per]

Nerevar's Prowess

"Yeah, ya don't say?" replied Per, aggrivated by the lack of cooperation from the crewman. "Where can we find him? Who is he?"

[MARS]

Nerevar's Prowess

The Redguard turned around and glared at Per in a very pirate-y manner. He spat out his chewing tobacco and grunted "Cabin," pointing at a door between the two sets of stairs that led up to the bridge.

[Eltee]

Llela and Llevana set out on the next leg of their long trek, following the inner sea southward and eastward. The terrain to their left was ruged and grey and rocky, and just about as uninviting as could be. Volcanic spires rose fom behind the top of the crest, looking otherworoldly and unnatural

After a few hours walking between the grey sea and the grey cliffs, they turned inland through an old Foyada, a volcanic valley. It curled between Volcanic ridges, studded with dead trees and more of the volcanic spires. The terrain was rocky and treacherous, and both of them almost sprained their ankles on several occasions. A great sleek silent Cliff Racer grabbed Vana by the shoulders, and would have carried her away, if Llela hadn't broken her crossbow into splinters beating the damned thing off of her. Whenever the creatures apporached them again, Llevana was able to scare them off with a bit of magic.

Before long, the ridges on either side grew taller and more foreboding. They even occasionally passed lava pits.

To their right, an unusually tall peak stood. A path led off of the main road toward it. A sign stood by the wayside:

Mount Kand
Pilgrims Path

Llela stopped in her tracks, and her hand instinctively went to her throat, where her amulet of the Tribunal had hung before her Almsivi Intervention spell had dragged them across the continent.

[Per]

Per muttered a thanks, now looking paler than ever. He and Gudrun strolled across the deck to the cabin and knocked on the door. "Eh, hello?" grunted the Nord.

[MARS]

Morrowind

"What does that sign say?" Llevana inquired? She hoped Llela hadn't forgotten that she couldn't read Daedric.

Nerevar's Prowess

"Enter," a gravely voice sounded from within.

Gudrun pushed the door open and stepped inside, along with Per. The captain was dressed in somewhat valuable clothing, and had a bodyguard standing behind him. He captain stood up, and frowned at the two.

"What's the meaning of this? You're not one of my crew!"

Gudrun smiled, and the bodyguard nonchalantly produced a shiv from his pocket and thrust it into the captain's back.

[Per]

Per took a step back. "Eh... Didn't mean to interrupt... We, uh..." He blinked. "Hey! Is that the captain?! Who are you?" he asked the bodyguard slowly, and placed his hand on the hilt of his brand new silver waraxe.

[MARS]

The sounds of struggle and dying men came in from outside, as well as the thumps of dead bodies falling onto the deck. Within seconds, four more men were blocking the doors. They all looked very threatening, and eager to eat Per for second breakfast.

"It'll all make sense soon," Gudrun said, her tone dripping with satisfaction. "Summon the rest of my companions from wherever they scurried off to, will you?" she asked one of the men in the door. He nodded and went off to find Aythu, her portable picnic-basket, and the wood elf Deimos.

[Per]

"Eh, friends of yours?" asked Per nervously, and stepped further into the room, away from the crewmen blocking the door. He tried to keep an eye on them as well as the bodyguard at the same time, never letting go of his weapon.

[JVElEven]

Aythu had fallen asleep in a dark corner, hissin at some dream she was having, curled up like a ball.

[Eltee]

Mount Kand

"It says 'Mount Kand, Pilgrims Path.'" Llela said distantly, looking up at the peak. "It's one of the holiest places in Vvardenfell."

[MARS]

Nerevar's Prowess

The crew member that Gudrun had sent to find everyone (he happened to be the same burly Redguard Per had talked to earlier), found Aythu lying on the ground. After a moment's hesitation, he gave her a slight kick in the side.

"Ey. Yer wanted on deck."

Mount Kand

"What is the Pilgrims Path?" Llevana asked. Llela explained it as they kept on walking.

[The-Shadow-One]

Kerin was found in the depths of the ship, he was weaving in and out, only stopping at points to listen to the creaking of the ship, and the sway.

[Eltee]

Mount Kand

Llela explained how there were a series of holy sites throughout Morrowind that drew pilgrims of the Tribunal faith, and how the faithful were granted blessings.

She confided with a grin how she had offered a potion of levitation to the Shrine to Stop the Moon in Vivec, and had been granted the ability of flight for a day, and with a blush how she had crashed into the Inner Sea whe the blessing wore off.

"If I remember right, pilgrims are blessed with with and fortitude at Mount Kand." She said. "If they can answer the riddles of the gatekeepers."