Fire On The Mountain (A Skyrim Quest)

Do'azda's Character Sheet
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.
 
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@FeepingCreature @Krazyfan1 @Taijutsu_ Don't forget to vote! :lol: And I'm not just saying that because my plan took a slight dip in the polls. It's your patriotic duty, or else the Stormcloaks win! (Unless, like, you're on their side, in which case, the Thalmor win!)

On a side note to be relevant to the thread, do you think Theives Vision has a low enough casting cost that we can just keep it active the entire time we're in Riften (when we eventually get there)? Or that it can just be auto-cast w/o a vote when we descend into tombs, once our magicka pool has risen enough?
 
[X] Plan: Ringing the Doorbell

Sure. If only to avoid a tie.
 
VC
Adhoc vote count started by The Laurent on May 4, 2023 at 9:27 AM, finished with 33 posts and 18 votes.

  • [X] Plan: Ringing the Doorbell
    -[X] [Battle] They likely cannot get past the troll, and even if they can, leading a Frost Troll to their doorstep seems an easy way to anger the Greybeards.
    -[X] [Strategy] Draw it out - retreat before it, forcing it to fight on the uneven steps, where its paws, flat and soft, will struggle more than within the snowdrifts themselves.
    -[X] [Weapon] Lunar Steel Axe - This is a large troll, with a thick hide. Best to use the axe, to be safe.
    -[X] [Magical] Conjure Flame Atronach - The atronach will provide another combatant and scorch the troll.
    -[X] [Illusion] Courage - They have been climbing for a long time, and it is very cold. Give Bathes-In-Steel a little bolstering before fighting a troll!
    -[X] [Shout] Yes, a Frost Troll absolutely counts as 'Only In True Need', and she is the Dragonborn, it is her decision how she uses it… plus, the thought of shouting this stupid troll off the mountain appeals to something vicious and exhaustedly angry in her.
    [X] Plan- Triangle Troll Tactics
    -[X] [Battle] They likely cannot get past the troll, and even if they can, leading a Frost Troll to their doorstep seems an easy way to anger the Greybeards.
    -[X] [Strategy] Surround it - split up, for there is only one of it, and attack from multiple angles, slay it quickly.
    -[X] [Weapon] Lunar Steel Axe - This is a large troll, with a thick hide. Best to use the axe, to be safe.
    -[X] [Magical] Conjure Flame Atronach - The atronach will provide another combatant and scorch the troll.
    -[X] [Illusion] Courage - They have been climbing for a long time, and it is very cold. Give Bathes-In-Steel a little bolstering before fighting a troll!
    -[X] [Shout] No, you can handle this on your own, and the shrine said something about 'Only in True Need' as Worship so perhaps she should hold off for the moment and use her other skills, so close to the home of the Greybeards who she wishes to teach her.
    [X] Plan- Triangle Troll Tactics
    -[X] [Battle] They likely cannot get past the troll, and even if they can, leading a Frost Troll to their doorstep seems an easy way to anger the Greybeards.
    -[X] [Strategy] Surround it - split up, for there is only one of it, and attack from multiple angles, slay it quickly.
    -[X] [Weapon] Lunar Steel Axe - This is a large troll, with a thick hide. Best to use the axe, to be safe.
    -[X] [Magical] Conjure Flame Atronach - The atronach will provide another combatant and scorch the troll.
    -[X] [Illusion] Courage - They have been climbing for a long time, and it is very cold. Give Bathes-In-Steel a little bolstering before fighting a troll!
    -[X] [Shout] No, you can handle this on your own, and the shrine said something about 'Only in True Need' as Worship so perhaps she should hold off for the moment and use her other skills, so close to the home of the Greybeards who she wishes to teach her.
    [X] Plan: Ringing the Doorbell
    -[X] [Battle] They likely cannot get past the troll, and even if they can, leading a Frost Troll to their doorstep seems an easy way to anger the Greybeards.
    -[X] [Strategy] Draw it out - retreat before it, forcing it to fight on the uneven steps, where its paws, flat and soft, will struggle more than within the snowdrifts themselves.
    -[X] [Weapon] Lunar Steel Axe - This is a large troll, with a thick hide. Best to use the axe, to be safe.
    -[X] [Magical] Conjure Flame Atronach - The atronach will provide another combatant and scorch the troll.
    -[X] [Illusion] Courage - They have been climbing for a long time, and it is very cold. Give Bathes-In-Steel a little bolstering before fighting a troll!
    -[X] [Shout] Yes, a Frost Troll absolutely counts as 'Only In True Need', and she is the Dragonborn, it is her decision how she uses it… plus, the thought of shouting this stupid troll off the mountain appeals to something vicious and exhaustedly angry in her.
    [X] Plan: Ringing the Doorbell
    -[X] [Battle] They likely cannot get past the troll, and even if they can, leading a Frost Troll to their doorstep seems an easy way to anger the Greybeards.
    -[X] [Strategy] Draw it out - retreat before it, forcing it to fight on the uneven steps, where its paws, flat and soft, will struggle more than within the snowdrifts themselves.
    -[X] [Weapon] Lunar Steel Axe - This is a large troll, with a thick hide. Best to use the axe, to be safe.
    -[X] [Magical] Conjure Flame Atronach - The atronach will provide another combatant and scorch the troll.
    -[X] [Illusion] Courage - They have been climbing for a long time, and it is very cold. Give Bathes-In-Steel a little bolstering before fighting a troll!
    -[X] [Shout] Yes, a Frost Troll absolutely counts as 'Only In True Need', and she is the Dragonborn, it is her decision how she uses it… plus, the thought of shouting this stupid troll off the mountain appeals to something vicious and exhaustedly angry in her.
    [X] Plan- Triangle Troll Tactics
    -[X] [Battle] They likely cannot get past the troll, and even if they can, leading a Frost Troll to their doorstep seems an easy way to anger the Greybeards.
    -[X] [Strategy] Surround it - split up, for there is only one of it, and attack from multiple angles, slay it quickly.
    -[X] [Weapon] Lunar Steel Axe - This is a large troll, with a thick hide. Best to use the axe, to be safe.
    -[X] [Magical] Conjure Flame Atronach - The atronach will provide another combatant and scorch the troll.
    -[X] [Illusion] Courage - They have been climbing for a long time, and it is very cold. Give Bathes-In-Steel a little bolstering before fighting a troll!
    -[X] [Shout] No, you can handle this on your own, and the shrine said something about 'Only in True Need' as Worship so perhaps she should hold off for the moment and use her other skills, so close to the home of the Greybeards who she wishes to teach her.


Vote Closed.
 
So I took a look at the Eldar Scrolls wiki page for the 7000 Steps out of curiosity, and they are, like I assumed, nowhere near 7000 in number. Though beyond the listing of the in-game number of steps, the article's trivia section also helpfully highlights who Bathes' ire should be pointed at:


Additionally, and somewhat more relevant to our current situation, the wiki page makes mention of a status effect. Voice of the Sky which is gained upon reading the inscriptions on all shrines along the steps, and makes it so all animals stay passive towards the PC and companions for 24 hours after, and according to the wiki, a Frost Troll is classified as an animal. Obviously this being a quest and not the game means this might be entirely irrelevant, but I'll be curious if this effect will come into play in the next update.
 
So I took a look at the Eldar Scrolls wiki page for the 7000 Steps out of curiosity, and they are, like I assumed, nowhere near 7000 in number. Though beyond the listing of the in-game number of steps, the article's trivia section also helpfully highlights who Bathes' ire should be pointed at:

I mean, yes, but also - we worked out how tall we want the throat of the world to be (very) and we worked out how high up it we wanted High Hrothgar to be (just about as high as is safe to live) and we worked out how high up it would be reasonable for "normal use" to end, and then we worked out how many steps it would take to cross that distance.
 
High Hrothgar
High Hrothgar

The troll lumbers forwards surprisingly fast, and Do'azda finds herself stumbling down the steps away from it, grasping for her axe as she does. Her dress flashes with magic - she sees it settling about Bathes-In-Steel's shoulders like a mantle, sees Bathes-In-Steel straighten up for a moment. Bathes-in-Steel is always sure, but she needs to be certain that this moment will not find her wanting in any respect.

She knows that it is dangerous to her future, but right now she does not think she can afford anything but her best. The beast stinks the closer it draws as they lure it towards the stairs.

Do'azda hefts her axe and steps forward. With her other arm she begins to drag from the depths of some fiery land a being not well suited for the blustery mountainside. But it comes anyways, dragged up by her against its will. The Flame Atronach fights her like Rahjin never will, and only in part because it is the top of a very tall mountain.

Soon it is there, standing and facing the Frost Troll as she gestures for it to move back and draws in a breath.

Her heart is racing, and every motion feels as if it is made on the last reserve of energy she has. Even her breaths are labored, this high up. She thought it was just a walk up some stairs, but now the very environment is assaulting her… and this Frost Troll.

Do'azda feels the anger and indignation rise up from her like blood from a cut. It oozes and seeps, it fights and strains to come out. It will scar over, and leave a mark forever if she does not let it out. She is a--

She is a Shaman, a Khajiit, she has her pride, and it is stung by this attack, by all this misery for a simple climb up the mountain.

"Back!" she yells, and then she feels it deep inside her.

"FUS!"

The world shudders. The world slams into the Frost Troll, and it tumbles… down the stairs, it's arms splaying to hold itself away from the cliff's edge. It crashes down dozens of stairs, and Bathes-In-Steel darts down after it, yelling out the stair number as she descends, her blade stabbing away at skin so thick that…

Oh.

Of course it's healing.

The skin is scarring over even as it flails. She can hear bones cracking as the troll draws itself up, the flesh roiling and bulging as muscles shift to make space for the repaired bone, tendons pop wetly back into place.

It hasn't been launched off the mountain, and she takes a breath and hurries down, the Flame Atronach coming as she calls and moving to engage with it. The Frost Troll's blood literally boils, its flesh tears away with each hit… and then comes back so fast it seemed to slough off of it as she kept on hacking. Bathes-In-Steel's blows can barely get through the tough flesh, the glass sword carving fine lines into its skin, beading with blood and then stitching shut again, and Do'azda's are not that much better, the axe hacking apart the skin and muscle beneath, blood splattering her axe handle and hands, but the wounds scar over, skin webbing out across the, tugging the flesh shut.

She feels the exhaustion coming on like a wave and shifts her aim up, dealing blows to its head. There has to be some better method. Bathes-In-Steel carves off one of the troll's fingers, her sword somehow finding the ligament. The troll bellows in pain, and Do'azda can see the finger is not growing back; the flesh is curling in on itself over the injury, creating a nodule of skin around the joint.

Do'azda feels a grim sort of resolve growing in her chest, redoubles her assault on the troll's head, the axe cutting away flaps of skin from the scalp. Nearly. She's nearly-

The clawed hand hits her in the chest like a battering ram, driving the breath from her lungs. She feels her heart stutter as she flies backwards, her back hitting hard black stone, her head whiplashing backwards, cracking against something hard and cold. The troll bellows once more, but with triumph now, not pain, as it turns to strike at Bathes-In-Steel.

The flame atronach paints the troll's chest with fire, leaving blisters and burns which heal only sluggishly, but the troll pays it no mind, as Bathes-In-Steel squares off against it.

Do'azda rises with some difficulty. Something hot and sticky is matting the fur on the back of her neck, and she feels terribly lightheaded. Bathes-In-Steel is holding her own against the troll, her armour taking what blows she cannot wholly deflect, but her sword is ineffectual, her usual strategies utterly defeated by an opponent which will not tire, not be sapped and worn down.

Do'azda rushes on quiet feet before leaping with a huff of effort from a step perhaps 5 steps above the troll, sweeps her axe down.

The blow strikes the Troll's skull true, cracking it open and sending the creature sprawling. It hits the ground hard, breaking the skull further. Do'azda swallows back nausea as the troll twitches once, twice-

Blood and viscera from the wound steam gently in the frigid weather, and Do'azda watches for some moments, but the troll does not rise.

There is a lot of value in the body parts of a troll. Harvest them?

[] [Troll] Yes
[] [Troll] No

*****​

"11,077 Steps," Bathes-In-Steel says, her voice surly. "They could not make it 11,000? Or even 11,100?"

They're standing at the entrance to High Hrothgar, and Do'azda knows, intellectually, that she ought to be awed by it, this colossal castle high above the clouds, with ancient oaken doors inlaid with silver, but in the main, she feels tired and sore, and her head throbs in time to her heartbeat. Sweat sticks her clothes to her body, and every step is slow and pained, as though her very bones are heavy.

She cannot breathe entirely right, and it feels like she has to breathe faster and faster just to keep up.

She's never felt this close to death--in a way it is worse than the fight against the Dragon. There, she was likely to go in a single moment from doing poorly to dead. Here it is a process, death by a thousand steps… no, by eleven-thousand, seventy-seventy steps.

The oaken doors open with a creaking groan as they approach, and Do'azda straightens painfully, eyes bleary.

A band of perhaps 7 nords stands in the doorway, their eyes wide with surprise. 5 of them, men in their twenties or thirties, let iron-wrapped cudgels lower as they take in the bedraggled figures before them. They're all in the same clothing, simple tunics of white, under thick furs.

The last two, both old men in robes, stand ahead of the others. One in the same thick and embroidered grey robes as Karita on the mountain, with a shaven bald head and a beard like thick steel wool covering his face below the nose, and the other in robes of a simple warm brown, with a hood that covers his entire head bar his meticulously clean shaven chin, lined with age.

The man in grey leans over to the other, and Do'azda cannot make out his whisper.

"Master Einarth says; Are you the tantruming whelp who besmirched the Throat of the World with her Raised Voice," The hooded man says.

"This one was attacked by a troll," Do'azda says, a little reproachfully, "She was nearly killed!"

Master Einarth leans over to his companion again.

"Master Einarth says; The child always believes their tantrum justified."

"I mean, if she was attacked by the troll on the mountain…" One of the younger men murmurs sotto voce.

"Master Einarth says; The Greybeards of High Hrothgar bid you welcome all the same, Dragonborn." The hooded man says, at the prompting of the Greybeard. "And further, invite you and your companion enter our Halls before the Trial of the Steps takes you."

High Hrothgar's entrance hall is a large room, built of dark, carved granite, with thick fur carpets, tapestries on every wall, with torches curling black, acrid smoke between each one. A huge hearth burns merrily in the middle of the room, and the room's warmth buffets Do'azda like a gale.

She's scarcely able to make out a woman approaching, a thick, woolen blanket in her hands, before her knees are giving out, and she's crumpling into the furs.

As Do'azda sleeps, she dreams. Of what? (Pick 2)

[] [Dream] A Dream of Warm Sands
[] [Dream] A Dream of the Pit
[] [Dream] A Dream of the Peak
[] [Dream] A Dream of Crypts
[] [Dream] A Dream of Howls
[] [Dream] A Dream of Steel
[] [Dream] A Dream of the Road
[] [Dream] A Dream of Silver
[] [Dream] A Dream of Hunts
[] [Dream] A Dream of Blood

VM AN: God, I'm really sorry this took so long, I was swarmed under by coursework for all of May and I stumbled into starting a new, like, thing? Sorry it's pretty short, too.

TL AN: Combos of Dreams have different effects! And yeah, life snowed me under as well, combined with other things. Enjoy!
 
Einarth you dick.
[X]Plan:Troll Fat and Pits
-[X] [Troll] Yes
-[X] [Dream] A Dream of the Pit
-[X] [Dream] A Dream of Silver
 
Since it's been years since I played Skyrim and I'm not really plugged into the ES fandom - anybody could guess what those dreams refer to? I'm assuming at least some of em are related to Daedric Lords.
 
-[X] [Troll] Yes
-[X] [Dream] A Dream of Warm Sands
-[X] [Dream] A Dream of Silver
 
[X] [Troll] Yes

Gotta make that hard kill worth it

[X] [Dream] A Dream of the Peak

Potential Paathurnax? 👀

[X] [Dream] A Dream of Silver

...I dunno actually
 
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