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Fire On The Mountain (A Skyrim Quest)

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Do'azda's Character Sheet
  • Informational
    • Name: Do'azda Khrimnin
    Race: Khajiit (Suthay-Raht)
    Gender: Female
    Age: 22
    Profession: Shaman
    Appearance/Description: She stands at a normal height for a Suthay-raht, that is to say, shorter than most men or mer, but not by too much. Her fur is a warm, rich orange, paler around her muzzle and down her neck, and her eyes are startlingly yellow. Her hair is braided, with rings that jangle faintly when she turns her head too fast. Her robes are basic, and worn from age, but have been fastidiously cleaned.
    Level: 7
    XP: 0/120

    Alchemy: 25
    Alteration: 5
    Archery: 5
    Block: 6
    Conjuration: 40
    Destruction: 5
    Enchanting: 5
    Heavy Armor: 5
    Illusion: 35
    Light Armor: 20
    Lock Picking: 1
    One-Handed: 21
    Pickpocket: 5
    Restoration: 15
    Smithing: 1
    Sneak: 20
    Speech: 27
    Survival: 13
    Two-Handed: 5

    They say it kills cats - Do'azda has few restraints on her inquisitive nature, asking whatever questions occur to her, paying little attention to whether this may be considered rude. Whatever else, at least Do'azda never finds herself regretting her failure to ask about something.

    Dancing the night away - Do'azda is a fine dancer in the Elsweyr style, where dances are not the slow, ritualised partnering of the Altmer, but instead are a whirling piece of performance art, with the dancer's emotions informing the dance more than any practiced steps. Do'azda can feel the music in her bones, and can dance to only a drumbeat.

    In the shadow of the moon - Do'azda was blessed even as she began her journey to become a shaman. A priestess of Azurah, the Mistress of Dusk and Dawn, favoured daughter of Fadomai, received a vision. Azurah's light shines favourable upon her.

    Tangled Tails--Do'azda has had flings before, "Tangled Tails" as the euphemism goes, and she's willing to engage in casual relationships or 'one-night marriages' if the opportunity arises.

    Racial Perks--

    Claws--She has very wicked claws indeed.
    Darksight--She can see incredibly well in the dark.

    Skill Perks--

    Conjuring Efficiency (10): Do'zada knows how to be careful with her Magicka without losing any power when she's Conjuring, and can use such magic more freely and easier when fighting or in other circumstances. (Cojuration)

    Mystic Binding (20): Do'azda gains skill at creating bound weapons of magic, so that she is never without her arms no matter what. She also becomes more skilled at creating bound objects of all types, and begins to study that which might allow one to bind a soul into a gem. (Conjuration)

    Haggling 1 (0): Everything in Skyrim is far more expensive, and so Do'azda should probably try to figure out how to make do with what little gold she has. (Speech)

    Insight (20): One of the key elements of persuasion is knowing what would convince someone. Do'azda now knows how to evaluate what kinds of arguments and reasoning would convince different people if she spends enough time to get a feeling for how they think. (Speech)

    Agile Defender (10): Armor is often hard to get used to, so figuring out how to move with light armor so as to reduce how bad a hit is is something you can only learn by doing… and Do'azda has begun to 'do.' (Light Armour)

    Rahjin Perks

    Laughter-Silvered Wings (Level 5): A flying companion does not simply owe its speed to its physical form, but the strength of its spirit, and so it tends to be faster and more manuverable than its terrestrial version, harder to hit, and a greater predator of the sky.

    (Next at Level 8)

    Blur - Do'azda knows a spell to obscure her features at a distance, to render her indistinguishable from another Khajiit. Up close, it is almost pathetically ineffective, however.
    Clairvoyance - Do'azda is granted flashes of insight into the path to her goal by Azurah - the Goddess of Dawn and Dusk sees much of the land.
    Conjure Animal - Do'azda reaches onto Hircine's hunting ground and recalls the imprint of an animal which perished nearby to fight by her side
    Conjure Axe - Do'azda can create a hatchet from pure magic. It is too cumbersome for effective use in combat, but for cutting wood, it is more than adequate
    Bound Dagger--As she has learned how to better summon such things, she has figured out how to use a Bound Dagger.
    Courage - Do'azda uses magic to inspire in another the will to fight, though currently only to instill confidence in victory, not to cause conflict where none exists.
    Summon Familiar - Do'azda reaches into her own soul to bring forth her familiar, the falcon Rajhin. No mere shade, Rajhin remains with her until slain and can do far more than just fight, but cannot be summoned for a day and a night thereafter if killed.
    Fear - This spell pulls from the mind a fear that the target has, and creates from this the feeling of fear.
    Distraction - Creates sounds and sights on the edge of perception. Sights and sounds determined by the caster.
    Healing Wounds - The caster uses their magicka to seal the wounds of the target. All healing occurs in a single burst.
    Conjure Flame Atronach - Do'azda can call forth a spirit of Infernace, a being of fire, constrained in a form of iron.
    Flames - Do'azda can release a gout of fire from her palm, directly setting alight her foe, though only for so long as she feeds magicka to the fire.
    Lesser Ward - Do'azda can use her magic to create a shield of magical energy, blocking low level magical attacks, reducing high level magical attacks and mitigating the damage of physical attacks.

    Do'azda can make...

    Potion of Minor Healing - Bruises fade, cuts close, aching muscles relax, this potion provides a little relief from injuries. The first potion a young shaman will learn to brew.
    Potion of Suppress Disease - A potion which will suppress the symptoms of a disease for several days; oftentimes long enough for the body to get the cold or flu from its system. More serious or outright magical diseases will return with a vengeance once the potion's effects wear out, but it is a useful potion to know how to craft.

    FUS - Force
    WULD - Whirlwind

    FUS DAH--Force Push


    Gold Septim (365)
    Trail Rations (x4)
    Fine Rations
    A very nice dress for casual-formal occasions.
    A lovely dress in the gothic style, with an enchantment of illusory power woven into it.
    Iron Axe--An iron axe of low quality.
    Steel Axe - A steel axe of decent quality
    Iron Dagger--An iron dagger of mediocre quality.
    Mage Robes--Increase magical regeneration, but provides little protection, discouraging getting up close and personal.
    Leather Armor--Comfortable, lightweight armor, it counteracts the discouragement from getting up close, though as an extra layer it means it can get extra hot.
    Lunar Steel War Axe--An Axe which can, in the light of the moon, drink in the life-force of its victims and use it to restore that of its weilder.
    Steel Dagger (x2)--A well-worn but very useful steel dagger.
    Alchemical Kit--A very fine kit for the creation of potions. One careful owner.
    Stormcloak Token--A token from Ulfric Stormcloak himself...
    Underclothes--You know.
    One Powerful Enchanted Sword (Rusted)--A sword of unknown value, it has a rather potent and interesting enchantment attached to it.

    Spell Tome: Illumination--A spell tome is a sort of book that can fully teach you a new spell, but it is destroyed in the process. For such a minor spell it is probably only a few hours of reading to fully learn. This allows Do'azda to create a light in the darkness... less useful for a Khajiit, but still a spell of value.
    Spell Tome: Thieves Vision--A spell tome is a sort of book that can fully teach you a new spell, but it is destroyed in the process. For such a minor spell, it is probably only a few hours of reading to fully learn. This simple spell gives one slightly better night vision… but is also notable for being able to see writing hidden by weak illusions, and thus is commonly used by thieves trying to read the secret messages of other thieves.
    Spell Tome: Turn Undead--A spell tome is a sort of book that can fully teach you a new spell, but it is destroyed in the process. A spell of moderate difficulty, it will take several nights of reading to learn it. A spell technically of the "Restoration" school, which puts fear into nearby undead. When cast powerfully, burns them most terribly.
    Spell Tome: Sparks--A spell tome is a sort of book that can fully teach you a new spell, but it is destroyed in the process. For such a minor spell, it is probably only a few hours of reading to fully learn. Allows a mage to fire sparks of arcane lightning, sapping the magicka reserves of the target whilst also burning through their flesh.
    3 Doses of Frostbite Venom in Magicka bottles--Toxic and acidic to living flesh, it has little effect on the glass bottle.
    Healing Potion

    Troll Fat, other ingredients
    100 Septims
    3 gems of good quality.
    Troll Hide
    Troll Skull
    Troll Eyes x3
    Troll Claws

    A Handy Guide to Lockpicks: A book that should teach Do'azda all she wants to know about Lockpicks, and more. Each read will give +1 to Lockpicking, and it can be read thrice to wring out all possible knowledge from it. (2/3 reads remaining)
    Journal of a Potema Loyalist: A journal of some historical merit, belonging to one of Potema's most loyal supporters in her early years.
     
    Last edited by a moderator:
  • Informational
    • [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] There's an axe laying around, designed to be used in one hand.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.
    [X] Nothing. Do'azda cannot use her claws through gloves
     
    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.

    [X] A mace lies next to a broken body, designed to be swung around by one hand to break bones if need be.

    [X] Nothing, Do'azda's head will be fine as long as she doesn't let any weapons get too close to it.

    [X] Imperial light armor. The armor of skirmishers, scouts and garrisons, it's a lot easier to put on and restricts movement a lot less… but it's also quite certainly less protective.

    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.

    [X] Nothing. Do'azda cannot use her claws through gloves!
     
    Oh wow, Ulfric thinks he's the dragonborn.

    Well, I think that situation should resolve itself fairly easily then.
     
    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] There's an axe laying around, designed to be used in one hand.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.
    [X] Nothing. Do'azda cannot use her claws through gloves!
     
    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] There's an axe laying around, designed to be used in one hand.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.
    [X] Nothing. Do'azda cannot use her claws through gloves!
     
    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] There's an axe laying around, designed to be used in one hand.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.
    [X] Nothing. Do'azda cannot use her claws through gloves!
     
    Not gonna lie, the moment I read the FUS RO DAH bit, my mind immediately went to all the meme videos on youtube with the song included. Who else thought the same?
     
    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] There's an axe laying around, designed to be used in one hand.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.
    [X] Nothing. Do'azda cannot use her claws through gloves!
     
    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] A mace lies next to a broken body, designed to be swung around by one hand to break bones if need be.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] Imperial Light Shield: A light kite shield qprimarily made of wood, it's most meant to block arrows and ward off indirect blows.
    [X] Mage's gloves. Delicate and easily torn, but helpful in making sure to hold a spell for longer than she can naturally do. Not great for holding weapons, though, the grip is a little funny.
     
    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] There's an axe laying around, designed to be used in one hand.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.
    [X] Nothing. Do'azda cannot use her claws through gloves!
     
    Meesa thinks this should have been a plan vote :)

    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] There's an axe laying around, designed to be used in one hand.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.
    [X] Nothing. Do'azda cannot use her claws through gl oves!

    Well, with mage robes we can sorta pass as a priest.
     
    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] There's an axe laying around, designed to be used in one hand.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.
    [X] Mage's gloves. Delicate and easily torn, but helpful in making sure to hold a spell for longer than she can naturally do. Not great for holding weapons, though, the grip is a little funny.

    We're magic spec in a world that runs on literary themes rather than game mechanics. There's no point in us carrying a bunch of gear we aren't gonna be able to use well. We need to focus on our specialties, at least until/unless we can get training to use other gear.

    I'm throwing knives and a hatchet in because the argument that we might need to rough it is a salient one. Ulfric is probably gonna be able to handle a lot of straight combat we face, because legendary warrior, but he's kind of a jackass noble too, so he might forget that someone needs to chop the wood for his fire while he's caught up in fantasies of being the dragonborn.

    Of course, we could also split from him when we leave, but as far as that goes... we've already bought the horse, so we might as well ride it instead of walking.
     
    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] There's an axe laying around, designed to be used in one hand.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.
    [X] Mage's gloves. Delicate and easily torn, but helpful in making sure to hold a spell for longer than she can naturally do. Not great for holding weapons, though, the grip is a little funny.
     
    [X] Daggers, there's a half-dozen daggers, though only one is made of good steel.
    [X] There's an axe laying around, designed to be used in one hand.
    [X] The hood from the Mage's robes are much better on the ears, but offer essentially no protection at all. Robes this cheap help magical efforts some, but offer no enspelled protection. (Requires choosing Mage's Robes.)
    [X] Mage's Robes tend to have minor enchantments to make magic more effective… and tend to encourage one to think with magic rather than physical weapons, as they offer essentially no protection
    [X] No shield. Perhaps it's best to have a free hand, whether for more weapons or for magic.
    [X] Nothing. Do'azda cannot use her claws through gloves!
     
    Adhoc vote count started by The Laurent on Aug 9, 2021 at 11:28 AM, finished with 36 posts and 21 votes.
    Click to expand...


    Vote closed! Work on updates will begin soonish!
     
    forums.sufficientvelocity.com

    Age of Ice and Blood: A Pathfinder System Heroic Fantasy Quest Original - Fantasy

    In Pathfinder thousands. The cursed ones seem to pretty rare among those. In real life an unknown number. I usually assume that things I don't understand are not magical though.
    forums.sufficientvelocity.com forums.sufficientvelocity.com

    Knight from the crusades and the ship that was supposed to transport him back ro europe get transported to another world. We have a giant man eating hybrid fish cat creature at this point.
     
    veteranMortal said:
    Depends on the spell. Novice spells are fairly straightforward to learn, higher level spells may take longer to get accustomed to casting them.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Broadly speaking, how far are you willing to allow the PC to 'multi-class', so to speak? In the sense that in the games, you can be a senior member and in some cases outright leader of the fighters', thieves' and mages' guild along with moonlighting as the head of a group of assassins and being a member of a vampire hunting group to boot. Even with the least optimal build, you're likely to end up mastering a couple of skills and being average to above-average at everything else afaik.

    I take it things will be less ridiculous (or not...?) in this quest, but by how much? If that makes sense?
     
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    • Rats

    Do'azda takes the least bloodstained of the clothes, and the robes from the Breton woman's corpse, and changes quickly, her every motion a little jerky. Part of the way through, the smell of blood hits her nose and she freezes. She's not used to violence, at least not violence this close up, this immediate, and this overwhelming.

    "Hurry it up, Do'azda. These won't be the only imperials coming down here. Grab some weapons, and we can keep moving." Ulfric says, buckling his new sword to his waist. He has strapped one of the heavy imperial shields to his left arm, and has begun to search for a way to proceed.

    Do'azda stretches, luxuriating in clothes that are warm and dry. As she finishes tightening up the belt of her new robes, she feels a thrill of magic run through her. She considers the gloves, worn in by years of use, but disregards them. Her magic is not so powerful that she can trust she will not need her claws, or a weapon.

    She takes less time to decide over the weapons. An iron dagger slips into an inner pocket as she tests the weight of the steel dagger in her left hand. Comforting.

    An axe, too, she takes, attaching it to her belt. She tells herself it's for firewood, but she has a spell to conjure a woodsman's axe if she must. She takes the axe for the comforting weight on her hip, nothing more or less.

    "Do'azda is ready. She wonders where we go from here?" She says. The cellar is solidly built, the same stonework as the rest of Helgan, and she can't see any way out.

    "Back to the sewers. There'll be another passage," Ulfric replies, brushing past her. "We've wasted enough time already."

    Do'azda tries not to bother him, hurrying as he is, but when next will she have such an opportunity? "Do'azda did not understand before. You can 'shout' because you are dragonborn? What does this mean?"

    "The grandmaster told me that to be dragonborn was to have the soul of a dragon. To shout as the dragons did - with supreme arrogance," Ulfric says, looking over one shoulder to make sure Do'azda is paying attention. "For men, mer or beastfolk like yourself to shout, we must demand the world be as we wish it. When I shouted back there, I demanded that all before me be forced back, and you saw for yourself how effective it was."

    She nods. "Do'azda has not seen such destructive magic before."

    "For a dragon, it is not a matter of demanding." He seems to relish the chance to inform, again very like a shaman… but not. "To a dragon, the legends say, a shout is simply an assertion of what reality is. Alduin does not shout to make fire pour from his mouth, Alduin shouts to tell Nirn that fire does pour from his mouth. Dragons do not ask, nor even demand. Dragons simply are."

    Do'azda looks up nervously at the top of the sewer as some dust trickles out, disturbed by the dragon above, and they lapse into silence.

    The sewers have been relatively clean thus far, but as they walk, an undeniable smell has been building up. At first it was mild enough that it could have just been the stream itself, getting fouled to an increasing degree by the houses they pass, but as the stream moves from stonework to bare rockface, Do'azda peers into the darkness.

    "A rockfall has blocked the stream. Do'azda can see it. Some time ago, she thinks."

    The stream's water can pass through the fallen rocks, great boulders of the same stone as the rest of the town, but the sewage cannot. By the time they are close enough that Ulfric can see, the stench is so foul that both of them have a hand to their faces, eyes watering.

    "Gods," Ulfric says. "Tremendous poor luck, but hopefully we can clear this fall, and-"

    He does not get any further, as from within the sewage mound comes a small black creature. Another seems to wake from its spot, curled up atop the mound, and two more look up from drinking from the stream, beady eyes full of hate.

    "Skeevers!" Ulfric shouts. His sword is already in hand before Do'azda can blink, as the skeevers approach.

    Two of them attack him, clawed feet skittering on the slick rock floor. The others come for Do'azda, barring viciously sharp yellowed teeth, with repulsive brown slime in the cracks.

    She lashes out with her right hand as one of them leaps for her face, catching its stomach. Claws bite, flesh tears, and the skeever hits the water, its belly torn open. Do'azda wants to throw up, but the other skeever snarls, the sound high and uncomfortably wet.

    This one doesn't leap, instead lunging towards her leg, teeth bared. Do'azda pulls her leg away so it can't bite her, but its claws rake across her shin, and she hisses with pain.

    She slashes blindly with her dagger, driving the skeever back, hissing its impotent fury.

    Ulfric's sword stroke cleaves the creature almost in half, running across its back and catching only on its pelvis.

    "Th-thank you." Do'azda manages, her eyes glued to the body of the last skeever. It steams faintly in the cool tunnel air.

    "It doesn't help though. This is a dead end," Ulfric says bitterly, "The tunnel's completely blocked."
    Do'azda tears her gaze from the stream, dyed red by the skeever's blood. The stream bubbles merrily through the rock.

    "Do'azda does not think this stone is so thick," she says, "Listen. You can hear the waterfall on the other side."

    Ulfric steps forwards, brows furrowed.

    "I do believe you're right, Do'azda. Step back."

    "FUS RO DAH"

    The shout is no less devastating than the first, but Do'azda finds herself disappointed, for some intangible reason. The shout is complete, and she has no doubt Ulfric performed it well, but it lacks a certain finesse. An apprentice casting a spell learnt by rote.

    The collapsed rocks, however, are not so critical of Ulfric's shout - they break apart from each other. The heavier boulders tilt slowly backwards, dropping down the other side with a series of jarring crashes. The lighter stones, however, are all but flung across the chamber beyond.

    The water cascades down the rocks to the floor of the newly revealed cavern, and then onwards, disappearing into a passage of a similar size.

    The cavern is surprisingly well-lit - a hole in the top of the cavern from some age-old cave-in lets a ray of sun illuminate the passage forwards - but most of the light comes from the two large braziers to the left.

    An old and badly worn stone gateway demarcates a place where this cavern is met by an undercroft from some other part of the town. Do'azda suspects the Keep, based on the size of the gateway, the large iron braziers, the building style, evocative of the ramparts above, and, of course, the half dozen imperial soldiers who turn, blades and bows already drawn, to look at Do'azda and Ulfric, framed in the rubble of a cave-in, with the echoes of Ulfric's shout ringing out around the chamber.

    Do'azda dives to one side as two or three arrows clatter off the rock, and she can just see Ulfric leaping down, his shield held high, already sporting an arrow protruding from its face.

    Do'azda casts almost without thinking. Summoning Rajhin again will be almost impossible, so soon after he was shot down by the imperials, but she could conjure an animal, at the least.

    Her hand swirls with a dark vortex as she reaches out.

    Ever Hungry Hircine, release a creature from your hunting grounds.

    She flares her hand as the spell releases.

    In Elsweyr, the animal summoned would be a senche-cat, and so Do'azda gasps despite herself when a phantasmal wolf bursts forth instead.

    Conjuring an animal pulls a spirit from the recently departed and binds it to the will of the conjurer. In Skyrim, that means wolves and bears - and a bear would be too powerful for Do'azda to bind.

    The wolf bounds towards the imperials, in step with Ulfric Stormcloak, bowling an imperial over.

    Before Do'azda can gather herself, the wolf has torn the throat from the fallen imperial, and is stalking another. Ulfric slays another with deceptive ease, and faces the final three.

    "FO KR-Ahhh" Ulfric shouts. Do'azda feels an icy weight in her stomach, but it dissipates as the shout dies to a strangled whisper and Ulfric doubles over, coughing.

    A blast of icy wind rips out of Ulfric's mouth, but it is brief. One of the three imperials slows, as though caught in treacle, ice crystals forming on his skin, before he collapses wordlessly into the stream, but the other two rush the incapacitated Jarl.

    Do'azda tugs her hatchet free as she charges them. Ulfric is staggering backwards, the imperials advancing on him, swords raised.

    She dodges inside the reach of the first, a breton with a scruffy beard, driving her axe into his stomach with all her strength.

    The axe sticks, and she lets it drop with him as the other, an imperial of Cyrodiil, swipes his sword at her.

    "Alain! No! Damned cat! Why die for the Stormcloak?" He looks distraught as Do'azda dodges backwards. The Breton groans from the floor, tugging forlornly on the axe, his lifesblood leaching into the stream.

    The imperial's sword flashes again, and Do'azda darts to the side once more. Her legs tangle in her robes as she tries to dodge a third stroke, and she crashes to the floor, scrambling backwards in the gravel.

    When he drives forwards again with his sword, Do'azda rolls to the side, and stabs up with her dagger.

    It pins his lower jaw to his skull, and she swears she can feel the dagger pierce his palate. His eyes bug out as he slumps over her.

    Ulfric pulls the body off her.

    "Thank you. I am in your debt." His voice is a quiet rasp. "I should not… my training was never completed. I used a shout I have not mastered."

    Do'azda isn't listening. The breton has died at last, as has the man Ulfric bathed in frost, and the man her wolf is now determinedly trying to eat, despite its wraithlike nature. The chamber smells of death; of voided bowels and exposed entrails.

    She feels like she ought to be sick. She killed a man. Two men! But she mostly feels tremendously tired, and grateful she isn't dead. She feels halfway some Dwemer machine as she pulls her dagger from a man's skull, and her axe from another's belly, releasing a surge of dark, oozing venal blood. None of the imperials could be said to have died prettily. The first man Ulfric killed received a grisly slash across his face, whilst both men that faced the wolf lie half torn apart. She cannot muster even disgust, only a faint regret that this could not go a better way.

    Her wolf fades away after a moment, which startles her almost as much as it startles Ulfric.

    "We'd best be heading on, this can't be all of them." Ulfric says, his voice still crackling with uncharacteristic weakness.

    The stream continues into the caves, and Do'azda refuses to look back as she follows Ulfric out.

    They make it thirty paces or so before they find the body, a skeleton in iron armour, rusted to little more than orange stains on the ribs, sprawling halfway into a fissure in the rock. Ulfric barely spares it a glance, but Do'azda sees a bag of septims - like as not, grabbed from the dungeon itself as recompense. The septims fit comfortably into her pockets, and the skeleton won't miss them.

    "Why did that shout hurt you so much?" Do'azda asks, once they have been walking for some distance. "You did not have such trouble with the other?"

    For a moment, the look on Ulfric's face is ugly, but he smooths it over with practiced ease. "I mentioned I left the Greybeards before my training was complete? I was learning the Frost Breath spell - Fo Krah Diin. But I never finished, and I tried to shout with words I have only half learnt."

    "Do'azda thought the Dragonborn was uniquely gifted in shouting?" She asks. Perhaps she has misunderstood his meaning?

    Ulfric looks like a man who has bitten into his sweetroll and discovered it was sawdust.

    "The stream is blocked," He says, in lieu of a response. "We'll have to take the passage we passed back there."

    Do'azda considers apologising to the skeleton as she drags it out the way, but Ulfric wouldn't see the humour in it, so she refrains. The crevice is tight to begin with, and she thanks Azurah for making her a Suthay-raht - many of her kinsfolk would've struggled to fit. Indeed, Ulfric curses a storm as he forces his way through, and nurses his stomach where the rock dragged across it for some time afterwards.

    It swiftly expands, however, a descending crack in the rock, until it opens up all of a sudden, into a larger chamber.

    The stream has worked its way back out here, and there's a decidedly brisk breeze. Do'azda speeds up almost involuntarily. A breeze means an exit, and they're far enough from town that she's willing to risk the dragon to get out of the damned caves.

    Ulfric's hand on her shoulder brings her short.

    "Do'azda!" He hisses, "There's a bear."

    Sure enough, a bear lies in a patch of sunlight, directly in Do'azda's path. From the rise and fall of its great chest, it's asleep. Ius smiles on Do'azda, for it has not woken.

    "Come on, this way," Ulfric says, tugging her away, across the stream.

    Do'azda trails behind him, casting a long look at the bear. She's sure she could have passed closer, or slain it, but this is safer, indisputably.

    It is an odd moment of caution from a man who has been anything but cautious, or an odd moment of compassion from a man who has killed without hesitation.

    When they were out of earshot, Ulfric turns around and says, quietly, "Sleep well brother," looking at the bear with a moment of intense tenderness before turning around. When he spoke again it is brisk and efficient. "We're almost there. The bear wouldn't sleep far from the cave mouth."

    Sure enough, the cave only lasts a moment longer before bright noonday sun casts much of the cave in blinding contrast. Do'azda blinks repeatedly as her pupils narrow to slits.

    Ulfric lets out a huff of relief, and Do'azda realises, in a stab of insight, that he had not known they would make it any more than her.

    "And here we must part ways for a time," Ulfric says. "There is a Stormcloak rallying point that I will go to meet the others… but if you reach Riverwood, there are friends to the Stormcloaks. In fact…"

    He fumbles around with a pouch at his hip for a moment, before bringing out a small leather token, brown and worn, with the sigil of a bear branded onto the side. "Look for this sigil, and you will find true sons and daughters of Skyrim."

    Do'azda looks at the token for a long moment, and slips it into one of the pockets of her new robes. It can't hurt to have such a thing, surely?

    "Do'azda thanks you," She says, "Where does she go to reach Riverwood? Do'azda has not been to Skyrim before."

    "There are three standing stones on an outcropping by the lake. Follow the road from there and-" Ulfric cuts himself off. "I don't doubt the imperials have blockaded the road. You may be alright - they are looking for me and mine, after all, not Khajiit. But there is a mine, if not. Dug into the mountainside, it ought to be abandoned, and will take you from the standing stones to Riverwood without risking the road."

    He leads Do'azda out of the cave, pointing out the stones. The snow crunches underfoot, birds chirp happily in the trees, and Do'azda listens carefully, but can hear nothing of the dragon. Nothing at all.

    They've made it. She has survived the dragon attack. The weight of her actions hits her like a runaway cart. She killed someone. She killed several people. Why her, and not them?

    Do'azda does not hear Ulfric's voice any more, as the gorge rises in her throat, but she swallows it down, leaving only an acrid burn in the back of her throat. She looks around dumbly, her eyes catching on the plume of black smoke rising behind her.

    Ulfric pats her awkwardly on one shoulder, saying goodbyes that go unheard. Do'azda watches the smoke rise for some time. So many dead, and her alive.

    She is forced to move eventually. How long she was, she would never be able to say. Do'azda knew she must go to Whiterun - her duty yet remains to her people, but exhaustion saps her strength, and Whiterun is no short trek. She'll have to pass through Riverwood first.

    Skyrim is an unknown land, and Do'azda alone in it. How does she travel to Riverwood?

    [] Along the main road. If the imperials have blockaded it, she will argue her way through. She wears robes, not prisoner's rags, and all Khajiit are the same to imperials. She hopes.
    [] As Ulfric suggests, the mine will provide her a route past the imperials, directly to Riverwood. So soon after Helgan, the Imperials may not be willing to listen to reason, and the mine will be a safe route. But to go underground again so soon…
    [] Cross the river, making her own way downstream to Riverwood. If she can ford the river, and does not encounter any wild animals, then this is simplicity itself. If.

    Riverwood is not Whiterun. What does she plan to do upon her arrival?

    [] Hunt for Ulfric's sigil carved somewhere. Privacy cannot be overrated, and this should offer a private and friendly place to rest a while.
    [] Find the inn. Every town worthy of the name has an inn, and stopping there provides a safe way to rest up, to eat and drink without expectation, and to get her first real impression of the people of Whiterun Hold.
    [] Push on. She has been soaked with water, fled a dragon and bloodied her weapons. Do'azda is exhausted, but she has a duty, and perhaps that is best served by forging ahead, trying to reach Whiterun before she rests.

    VM AN: Combat! Do'azda does some fighting, some with magic and some with her shiny new weapons, I quite liked writing combat, let me know if it worked. Posted some Shout Lore too. Also, vote by plan, please.

    TL AN: This was almost entirely vet's show! I think it turned out very well, especially the combat. Like, comment, and subscribe and all that!
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [x] Plan Creature Comforts
    -[x] Along the main road. If the imperials have blockaded it, she will argue her way through. She wears robes, not prisoner's rags, and all Khajiit are the same to imperials. She hopes.
    -[x] Find the inn. Every town worthy of the name has an inn, and stopping there provides a safe way to rest up, to eat and drink without expectation, and to get her first real impression of the people of Whiterun Hold.

    We're a bit shellshocked by the underground and by the combat, so let's not do more of that and talk our way to Riverwood instead. And then rest our weary bones. We will be of little service to the Khajiit of Whiterun if we run ourselves ragged getting there.
     
    Last edited:
    [x] Plan Creature Comforts
    -[x] Along the main road. If the imperials have blockaded it, she will argue her way through. She wears robes, not prisoner's rags, and all Khajiit are the same to imperials. She hopes.
    -[x] Find the inn. Every town worthy of the name has an inn, and stopping there provides a safe way to rest up, to eat and drink without expectation, and to get her first real impression of the people of Whiterun Hold
     
    [x] Along the main road. If the imperials have blockaded it, she will argue her way through. She wears robes, not prisoner's rags, and all Khajiit are the same to imperials. She hopes.
    [x] Push on. She has been soaked with water, fled a dragon and bloodied her weapons. Do'azda is exhausted, but she has a duty, and perhaps that is best served by forging ahead, trying to reach Whiterun before she rests.
     
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