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Well, I thought that Madmax had a great idea what with the Dark Brotherhood stories. I think I'll tell the tale of the Mage's Guild. However, so as to not be copying Madmax's idea too much, I'm going to avoid telling the story from the player's perspective, although that will be hard in some instances and I might have to revert. Anyway, here's the story, and thanks for the idea Madmax! Feel free to punch me for stealing your idea. By the way, I decided to just do one recommendation quest for the moment, because, frankly...I found most of them boring. Might go back later. Tell me what you think! (And it better be good or the Cat Sniper will get you =P)

Bruma Mages Guild
J'skar snickered. Being invisible was so fun! He'd heard all about Jeanne telling that red-robed Associate to find him. So, his prank had her even more worried about her position than he'd thought! Little did that fool Associate know that J'skar was right behind him laughing silently and making funny faces. Then an idea came. Perhaps Volanaro could "find" J'skar if the Associate would pull a prank for them? Yes, a good idea! The khajiit quickly snuck back to his pal in the lower level living quarters. He had barely finished telling Volanaro his idea when the newcomer knocked twice and opened the door before introducing himself. Removing his hood, his red Dunmer eyes gleamed in the torchlight. "My name is Cuhaes. Jeanne told me that you might know something about a missing person named..." the newcomer glanced at a journal he was carrying "J'skar?"

"Oh, Jeanne has you looking for him, does she? I'm afraid you're not going to find him easily. I think a, uh, a spell backfired. Yes, thats probably it," fibbed Volanaro. After all, if the Ashborn was too stupid to know he was hiding something he could hardly be trusted with a prank. The Dunmer's eyes narrowed, and a green glow began to surround Volanaro, who didn't appear to notice.

"Are you sure you don't know where J'skar is?" asked Cuhaes.

"You want to find J'skar? Okay, I think I can help with that. But first, you have to do something for me. You only have to pull one little prank - You're going to love this. Just go into Jeanne's room and steal her Manual of Spellcraft. Here's a scroll to unlock the desk." Clearly having suspected that nothing was free, Cuhaes sighed and with ill-concealed impatience walked out the living quarters. Volanaro heard his footsteps on the stairs. Laugher began to erupt, apparently out of thin air. Turning, Volanaro chuckled and looked at where he thought J'skar was. Chuckling, he said, "You were right, this was a good idea. Invisibility was getting a bit old anyway, you couldn't do more than make that pompous ass worry about losing face."

"As if she would be replaced for a member vanishing. After all the brown-nosing she's done, I think she would have to invite Mannimarco inside for her "friends" to abandon her," muttered J'skar.

"Be quiet!" whispered Volanaro. "I think that Dark Elf is coming back!" He heard nothing more from the corner where his friend hid.

Opening the door, Cuhaes waved the book in front of Volanaro's face before handing it to him. "I've done my part of the deal. Now where's J'skar? I would like to go to the Arcane University before this Nordic ice-trap freezes over you know."

"Ready to find J'skar eh? Can't blame you for wanting to head south, this place will be buried in snow in a few weeks." Frowning, the mer waited for him to finish. "Just watch. You'll see!" waving his hands, Volanaro cast beam of light at the corner where he knew J'skar was. The Invisibility spell collapsed and he had the pleasure of seeing the somewhat surly elf give a start of surprise before regaining his composure.

"Hello there, I hear you've been looking for me!" snickered J'skar. "Please, don't be mad. We were just having some fun. We got tired of Jeanne lording her position over us when she barely knows anything about magic Every now and then we like to trick her. We figured it was time to move on to a new prank. This was getting boring anyway. So, you can tell her you've found me!" One side of the elf's lip curled up in a sardonic smile.

"A nice spell. I thought I saw some freshly shed hair when I walked in. Mind teaching me that spell?" said Cuhaes.

"We'd rather keep it a secret, and I doubt you've studied enough of Illusion to cast it. If you ever want to join in a prank though, just give me a call," said Volanaro with a grin. "Oh, and good luck getting into the Arcane University."

"Thanks, but this is the last recommendation I needed. Keep Jeanne on her toes for me!" said Cuhaes. With a wave goodbye, he walked off, doubtless to tell Jeanne that he had "found" J'skar.

"Something about him seemed...odd," muttered Volanaro.

"Like what?" J'skar replied.

"I don't know, it was probably nothing. I just felt a twinge of power when he asked me about you the second time."

"Idiot!" cackled J'skar. "He charmed you! He probably knows more about Illusion than either of us."

"An Associate? Impossible! I doubt he'll ever make it past apprentice!" Volanaro decreed. Arguing amiably, the two continued to plan more pranks late into the night. Including how to rewrite Jeanne's book before returning it of course.

Great. Really great.

imho you should rather write fanfic to various random quests that did, or could go really differently.
Some ideas:
- Umbacano's trusted officer
- Joining the necromancers
- The first Grey Fox
- Starting a vampiric clan

Oh who said this quest line was going to unfold normally? I find it highly suspicious that a Dunmer walking in off the street can out-Illusion two people who are obviously highly experienced with it. After all, besides telekenesis I cant think of much better that would be for pranks.

Very well written, keep up the good work!

I'm lazy and it's far too much work to transcribe the exact words used in the quests onto this website, so I'll use my own dialogue, which will probably resemble the actual words, but be shorter. Besides, why read this story when you've done it yourself? It would be like reading an Ocarina of Time book (sadly, I would read that book)


A Mage's Staff


The Iron Gates to the Arcane University creaked open, making Raminus Polus look up from his studies. It was becoming quite common for new blood to enter. Mages were becoming...ordinary! And they had long ago accepted the non-humans, a policy Raminus thought was a grave error. How can you trust those who are not human to uphold human morality? They come from strange cultures with pagan religions. He privately thanked the Nine Divines that it was Tiber Septim who conquered the world, and that the pagan Ayleids had been exterminated. Blinking out of his reverie, Raminus studied the new arrival. Bah! thought Raminus. Another non-human. What ARE these damnfool recruiters thinking? Raminus loudly shut the gates with his mind, hoping to the see the stupid Ashborn jump in fright. He'd probably think his ancestor spirits had risen to haunt him. The Dark Elf didn't flinch, and in fact continued to study his surroundings as if nothing had happened. The Ashborn wore red robes and hood, but nothing could disguise the dark blue skin. Raminus withheld a shudder with effort. Was it not obvious that they were cursed by the Divines? They had such an evil cast to their features! The mer seemed to become aware of Raminus' study. Looking directly at him, the red-eyed freak began to walk towards him. Raminus schooled his thoughts; others were not to know of his feelings towards other races. They had been tricked into believing the lies of elves, cat-people and lizards! But not he. He would be on his guard.
"Hello, I'm Raminus Polus, and you must be the Arcane University's newest addition. Welcome to the center of all magical knowledge," said Raminus. "I am in charge of all our apprentices. As an apprentice, you are permitted to wear this robe." He handed the creature the clothes. Oh, to ruin good cloth on such a vile beast!
"My name is Cuhaes, and I am glad to be welcomed into this haven for magic," responded the elf.
"Well, you're not really a full member yet. You need to get your mage's staff," Raminus said. "It's really quite simple, you just have to go to Wellspring Cave, and ask Elette or Zahrasha for some of the enchanted wood. Bring it back here and I'll tell you how to fashion your staff. The cave is northeast of here a short distance. Return quickly."
"That sounds simple enough. I'll be back in a few hours," said the thing.
That's what YOU think. Raminus smiled inwardly. The necromancers took over that cave days ago. My new textbooks on the Dark Arts were quite useful...and the gold was welcome. It's getting harder and harder to shut up the priests about empty graves...

---------------One Hour Later---------------

Razkul's dark-robed friends were idly chatting in the middle of the cave. His rival, Elsepth, had managed to conjure up a ghost that remembered something of its former life and wasn't merely a mindless slave. She had learned much of the early 2E from that dessicated body. However, he mused, the spirit had only maintained corporeal form for an hour or two. After that, the ectoplasm just ripped in half and the ghost exploded, shocking her and killing one of her fellow researchers. In all likeliness she had killed him herself and then burnt her hair in order to take all the credit. [&@%!]. At least he'd managed to hide the corpses of those two fool mages in the alcove behind him. He would try Elsepth's trick and see if she had indeed conjured a self-aware ghost. His musings were interrupted when the door exploded into the room and was followed by a fireball. It exploded against Talar's chest. As he turned and fell, Razkul saw the astonished faces of his colleagues through the hole. A red-robed mage walked in, calmly raising his hand and speaking an unfamiliar word at Elsepth. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she turned, biting her fellow necromancers in the neck and gouging at eyes. Into this confused and still shocked gaggle of fools the intruder cast a few bolts of paralyzation. Elsepth quickly killed them.
"Command me master!" she screeched in an unnatural voice.
Grinning, the red-hooded figure responded, "Die." Elspeth's eyes bulged, her mouth leaked blood, and she fell over. His necromancer's sense for corpses told him that his rival was dead before she'd hit the ground. Still the intruder hadn't turned to him. Obviously this was a mage of great talent. What was Raminus doing? He knew the agreement! They told him the "secrets of Mannimarco" - which was actually common knowledge among the initiated - and he sent new blood to various sites for their experiments. When the intruder removed his hood, Razkul could see in the torchlight of the cave's center that it was a Dunmer. Turning, he looked straight into Razkul's eyes and said, "Where are Elette and Zahrasha?"
"Huh-huh-who?" Razkul stuttered. The red eyes unnerved him more than his fellow's bodies.
"The mages who worked here!" snapped the elf.
"They're over there, in that alcove! They're...dead," gulped Razkul. The Ashborn's eyes narrowed, and with a word a Daedra appeared out of the shadows.
"Watch that man. If he begins to cast a spell, make sure he doesn't finish it." The expressionless Storm Atronach loomed over Razkul. Examining the bodies, the Dunmer found their Mage's Guild keys. The names Elette and Zahrasha were engraved on them. "Come with me, both of you," he barked at the atronach and cowering necromancer. "Take me to the sacred grove."
Getting up, Razkul began to lead the intruder to the grove. He had never felt such fear, even when in the presence of that madman Celedaen! This must be what those in the presence of The Worm King felt...a seeping feeling of horror that the one who stood before them could destroy them with a thought. Leading the Dunmer to the rear entrance to the cavern, he pointed at the door and stammered that that was it. Grinning maliciously, the Dark Elf thanked him. Then he turned, layed a hand on Razkul's eyes and burnt them out of his skull. With a screech of pain, Razkul fell to the floor, his hands over his scorched sockets and charred cheeks. He heard the door open, and his leader, Noveni, threaten the Elf. She got about 1/3 of the way through her rhetoric before he heard an explosion, her scream, and smelled the acrid scent of burned flesh and hair. Muttering words he remembered from his days as a chapel Alter Boy, he attempted to heal himself. He had never been good at restoration, but he must see! That terrifying figure could return at any moment! Too late he remembered the silent presence of the Atronach. With another cry of pain, he felt the electricity arc through him, killing him before his glowing hands could restore his face.



Hope to continue this storyline later! What did you all think of Chp.2?
Edit - Edited Version complete, minor changes to pronouns and a small spelling check. Notify me of any mechanical errors please!

I only finally got around to reading both parts today, and really enjoyed both of them. Thanks for sharing Hardcore.

Thanks weka <3
I'm sure the rest of you who view and dont post think the same, dont you? ><

Not that anyone seems to notice :evil: but the next chp in the series will be coming out on Wednesday the 30th.

As I said, I really like this. Though the first was slightly better than the second. Keep up the good work.

Hardcore, if you're a "glass half full" kinda person, you can prob just take the silence as your devoted audience waiting with baited breath for your next installment!

Really I think the viewing figures speak for themselves, so you certainly shouldn't be disheartened!

[[skip]] [[boast]]
Not bad! Not bad at all!

weka wrote:Hardcore, if you're a "glass half full" kinda person, you can prob just take the silence as your devoted audience waiting with baited breath for your next installment!

Really I think the viewing figures speak for themselves, so you certainly shouldn't be disheartened!

Half-Empty. But I plan to abandon the scripted questline soon enough...that will probably get a few viewers. Side note: whatever happened to MadMax's story?

I apologize for the delay, but I have been spending the last few days on the phone with a dell technician trying to fix my PoS Dell Hard Drive. (Don't ever get one. This is my 3rd Dell hard drive that I've burned through.) The updated storyline will be posted on Saturday if I've resolved my computer issues, or as soon as possible if not.

awwww, poor hard drive.
hope he gets better soon!