Frizan

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

Bethesda retcons are the best retcons. In the sense that they're totally nonsensical and hilarious.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

@Dervish

Seems like a neat idea. May have to skip out, though, as I currently have jack to my name.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

<Snipped quote by Frizan>

Awwwwww :3

Fuck you too, Frizzy-Wizzy. Jorwen, Sagax and Sevine still have to have a campfire conversation.

@Leidenschaft

Yes, they do. Sagax can tell Jorwen all about how he got all his new scars since they last spoke.

Spoilers: he got them by being a brainless gitraging badass hero.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

I had to go back a few pages to find a reference for what Sagax requisitioned from Solitude. The relevant post was five months ago. And there's a shitton more before that.

I've been with you bastards for a little over half a year?

Fuck you guys

<3

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

Sagax had ignored the duel that day, instead taking the time to walk about Dawnstar to collect his thoughts. Could his father really have betrayed the Empire? Though, perhaps it was understandable. The Empire, or more specifically, the Elder Council, betrayed him years before. Did that shake Caius' faith so much that he would collaborate with would-be assassins of the emperor? To have years of loyal service to the Empire and its people, thrown in your face would no doubt make one bitter and resentful. Sagax's face turned from angry contemplation to horror as he ran through another possibility. What if the rumors were true? That the Estate were vampires, and they turned his father when they came upon his cell? That was a thought that the Imperial wished he never came up with, and even worse, he couldn't tell if either scenario was better than the other. Sagax simply didn't know what to think, and neither did he have the energy or will to interact with anyone that day. So, he resigned himself to staring out towards the sea for most of the day before Dough-Boy found him.

"Speculatus, there you are! Ashav's calling everyone together, announcing our next assignment. We're meeting near the Argonian camp outside the city!" And just like that, off he went, barely giving Sagax time to register him.

"Another assignment? Already?" Sagax sighed. Well, at least it probably wasn't going to be any worse than Windhelm, and maybe this time he wouldn't get an arrow stuck in his arm. Flipping up his hood, Sagax made his way to the meeting area, ignoring everything he passed by along the way; he simply wasn't in the mood to put up with anything.

"Great, more boats..." Thought Sagax aloud as he made his way back to the inn after being given his new assignment. Could things just not go to shit every once in a while? Was that just too much for a man to hope for? Probably. Lately it seemed the gods absolutely delighted in the suffering and hysteria enveloping Skyrim, so any chance for a lucky break seemed very, very slim.

Good gods above, just listen to yourself! Rubbing his eyes, mainly in frustration rather than out of any exhaustion, Sagax silently scolded himself. Why was he letting all of this get to him so much? Not everything was horrible! He still had his friends, he wasn't exactly dying, and as far as he knew, his mother and sister were perfectly safe living with Varulae. The last mission was somewhat successful, with a good portion of the mages making it to Dawnstar. Maybe the trip to Bthamz will go just fine.

With the departure of the Kynes's Tear and its partner ship set for the morning, Sagax decided that it would be best to hit the pillow early. Besides, the less time he had to rethink his optimism, the better.

The next morning...

Sagax rose bright and early, the rising sun beating down on his face from the window. Cracking open his door, the inn was fairly empty, save for the one or two fellow early-risers. He heard a thud against the door when he opened it further, and looked down to find a small package with his last name etched on the top with ink. Opening it up, he found his new shirt, and the potions he requisitioned. The shirt was plain white cotton with long sleeves and a short open section that reached from the collar to the chest, though one could lace it up if they so wished. Kind of looked like Leif's, now that Sagax thought about it. He never really thought about how plainly he dressed, despite being a bard and mass suitor. Well, everyone has different tastes, Sagax supposed.

Discarding his old, singed shirt in favor of his fully-intact new one, Sagax packed up his potions and settled back in to his armor. Deciding that maybe he could use the fabric for something later, maybe, he packed in his old shirt as well. He wasn't particularly hungry, so instead of sitting down to eat, Sagax simply bit off a few pieces of his hardtack and went outside. The cold air wasn't unwelcome, in fact he had seemed to have grown to prefer it over the mildly-warm weather of Cyrodiil. It was just something different and new.

Not long after he left the inn, those assigned to the Bthamz expedition had gathered around the pier, ready to board their respective vessels. He was assigned to the partner ship, the one with the charges stored away inside of it. Over the course of the trip he was heckled for stories, along with Roze, and for the most part played along in her tales. One such tale included him flinging his sword like a throwing-knife straight through the eye slits of a Kamal commander's helm, blinding him before the Imperial landed the final blow by ripping the blade out and driving it back into the beast's skull. Of course he broke the awed silence with loud laughter and a confession of forgery, and went along with what really happened, showing his burn scars as proof.

Two days later, in Bthamz...

As the elevator came to a halt and the steam cleared, Sagax heard the sound of metal against metal, and metal against stone. Mechanical abominations rolled out of the walls, and small spider-like machines skittered toward the group. Leif was overwhelmed by the spiders, and the new dunmer took a bolt to the leg. Sagax quickly unsheathed his blade and attempted to advance on the wretched machines assaulting Leif, but he was intercepted by an arachnid that had gotten past the shieldbearers of the group. He entered a parrying stance, but instead of some physical that he could deflect, the Imperial was blasted with electrical shocks. The electricity coursed all throughout his body, paralyzing him long enough for the spider to jump on top of him and knock Sagax to the ground, making him hit his head hard against the cold stone floor.

"You blasted metal demon...! BEGONE!" Gripping one of the struts it used for legs, Sagax tossed away the spider drone. His arm was still weak from the arrow he took, so it didn't go far enough for him to get up in time and assume a proper stance. Gripping his sword as tightly as he could, he smacked at the skittering beast as he scrambled to his feet, it continually leaping at him with blind determination. Unfortunately, metal doesn't do well against metal, and at most Sagax could keep the damn thing away, but not actually kill it.

Sagax then took note of something. The red spinning orb on top of his foe's metal shell hummed with a strange energy, and it was where the bolt of electricity that struck him originated. Taking a blind leap of faith, Sagax aimed for the strange contraption. Keeping as steady as he could manage in the hectic situation he was in, Sagax jabbed straight into the small cage that housed the orb, and slammed into it with the tip of his shortsword, knocking it loose. Suddenly, the spider drone stopped completely, being frozen in a readied stance for but a moment before crumpling to the ground, lifeless and harmless as a collector's decoration.

Finally being allowed to stand up fully, Sagax winced and held his hand to the back of his head, which had grown slightly moist. He had foolishly pulled down his cloak hood, which was his only real form of head protection. Amazing. Why are you such a head wound-magnet, Sagax? You're going to end up like Gordo at this rate...if Sevine doesn't get to you first.

The Palace of Pimpitude (A Hangout Thread)

plznoboop

my brain tries to escape through my ears whenever I read the world "boop".

it's trying to get out right now; I have to keep pushing it back in.

The Palace of Pimpitude (A Hangout Thread)

Cringy godmod chat RPs are the best RPs

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

Hazing is illegal!

@Scout

So is moon sugar, brah.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

Go @Frizan, I choose you!

@gcold

@Hellis

Yo, so check it:

Synopsis

This whole thing started out in The Reach. The company was contracted for the removal of Forsworn from a redoubt. Despite a few causalities it was a roaring success. The redoubt is where we picked up Vurwe(then commandeered by Chrononaut). The company found some Forsworn cubs at the Redoubt as well. One was a dime-a-dozen back-stabbing scumbag,like mebut we caught'em. Decided to send them all to a safer place where they weren't as likely to grow into misanthropic sociopaths.

After the mission at the redoubt was concluded, the company moved to Windhelm. A few members went their own separate ways during a stop at Rorikstead. Once the remaining mercenaries arrived at Windhelm, Ashav set up shop to try to get some fresh faces into the company, and he was fairly successful if I recall correctly. But everything changed when the Kamal attacked.

Then the Kamal attacked, laying siege to Windhelm. A defense force comprised of battle-ready citizens, city guard, the White River Braves, the Dawnguard vampire hunters, and our company held the docks for a while, but a barrage of giant ice spikes forced everyone to retreat into the city. The kamal continued to blast the walls with missiles for a while, until they got bored of that and started sending corpses over the walls instead.

Amidst the siege, the local Argonian population have decided it would be a good time to freak the fuck out and start a riot.
Right, so, while the more combat-proficient of the company provided the guards with support regarding the rioters, a few others(Sagax, Tsleeixth, and an NPC guard named Frald) went to track down the Argonian Pakseech(local Argonian elder) to try and get him to calm the rioters down. When the aforementioned amigos found him, it was decided that Tsleeixth, being a fellow Argonian, would do all the talking. Through emotional appeal which then lead to the consideration of the logical outcome of trying to leave the city through conventional ways(that being certain death at the hands of the Kamal), the Pakseech relented and agreed with Tsleeixth that the riot would do more harm than good. The elder then gathered the Argonian population in front of Candlehearth Hall and commanded all hostilities cease. The streets of Windhelm grew quiet again.

While all this was going on, Farid and Leif were attempting to cash in on a bounty, but instead of finding someone to put them IN jail, they were trying to break someone OUT. The "bounty" on this man's head was put there by a friend trying to get him out. The escape route that Farid, Leif, and Anders(the wanted man) took was through the sewers. As if simply being down there wasn't bad enough, the trio came across a crazed Argonian snake charmer. The witch got taken down, though Farid got poisoned by the stabby end of the charmer's instrument. He lived though. After getting out, Anders immediately shot for where he thought his friend was. The client that hired Farid was dead, killed by a Kamal missile that was hurled over the walls. In his boot was a key that opened a box. Inside was Farid and Leif's pay(well not really, it was meant for Anders, but ya know, details details), and a bit of paper. The paper documented several plans, including but not limited to, proposal to the high king for banning all intoxicants, the possibility of the construction of a Thu'um academy, and soul-trapping undesirables. The Black-Briars had contracted the Thieves Guild, of which Anders was a part of, to steal these documents, but Anders failed and was thrown in prison. Instead of handing it over to the Black-Briars though, Farid and Leif gave the paper to Ashav for review.

Not that any of that would matter though, as the Kamal took no time in finally taking the city. In a strange display of honor, the Kamal commander sent a request for a duel to Windhelm's Jarl, Lodevemar. The Jarl accepted, and was unceremoniously slaughtered by the giant. As fired-up guards and citizens rushed out to avenge Lodevemar, the Kamal seized the opportunity and launched ice spikes straight into the gears of the open gates, jamming them. The Snow Demons charged in and began killing all resisters. Our company and several others escaped through underground tunnels, leading out into Anga's Mill. The bridge crossing a crevice before the exit fell, though, and many people fell straight to the dooms, one meeting their end by a dagger wielded by a certain someone. It only got worse after emerging at the mill, as the Kamal were already there, patrolling with mounts. The company and other survivors bolted into the woods, towards Dawnstar, and even more people were killed, including Utu-Ja, then-commandeered by Haeo.

The survivors stopped shortly at Nightgate Inn, and continued on to Dawnstar, where the company spent the night. This is where Ashav met the company's benefactor, a Nord named Gustav. He was the client that hired the company for, and financed the Reach expedition and got the mercenaries a place to stay in Windhelm(it was a bare warehouse, but that's an aside). The Nord was allegedly guided by the words of a prophet who told of a great crisis in the future, and had used the Reach mission as a field-trial. The prophet then relayed that the first conflict would be in Windhelm. What Gustav did not know, however, was that the conflict would be headed by denizens of Akavir. Currently, Gustav is not sure of the next step to take against the invaders. In the mean time, while their benefactor waits for further word from his prophet, our company is joining up with Dawnstar sailors and the East Empire Company along with the Jarl and his men on a rescue operation to Winterhold. Another disaster struck the town, and it is no more, aside from the College, which has been cut off from the mainland due to the bridge collapsing.

The way over was bumpy, but most everyone made it. Now on the 14th of Sun's Height, The Courtesan floats near the College of Winterhold. Currently aboard are Dumhuvud, Leif, Sadri, Orakh, Rhasha'Dar, and a few sailors, who are fighting off Ice Wraiths after sailing over to a shoreline when they saw smoke rising into the air, denoting a fire and possibly a survivor. The rest, that being Sevine, Farid, Roze, Do'Karth, Ariane, Keegan, S'Riracha, Tsleeixth, Solveig, Sagax, and seven NPC sailors, went through the Midden after doing a bit of rock climbing to get to the College proper.
After fighting off a bunch of glowing blue pokeballs, the rescue team ascended a ladder up to the College grounds. It was there that Faralda, the "acting captain" as it were of the College, explained the cause of the sudden storms and the destruction of Winterhold. A student had been testing enchanted telescopes, and it was with these that they spied ships of wooden, rectangular make, crewed by mages who would drained energy from odd vessals into the sky and oceans. This brought the landslide that sent the town into the sea.
After a brief check of supplies and the well-being of the College's residents, the rescue team, along with the most injured of the College(roughly person one per team member), descended back down through the Midden and back to The Courtesan.
The rescue team got back to the ship to find they had more guests. After fighting off the Ice Wraiths, those that had remained on the ship discovered the source of the fire: An Azuran priest named Kattun and his Khajiit companion, R'ihanna. They were attempting to travel to the Statue of Azura, but the storm stopped them in their tracks. The Kamals apparently passed by their hidey-hole on their way to Windhelm, as the two were pelted with ice spikes when they went to hail some ships, hoping for a rescue.
So that was that, rescue mission completed. Not.
The storms only picked up as time went on, downright blinding the captains of the ships in the small rescue fleet, nearly smashing into one another several times. Unfortunately, all the manuevering in the world wouldn't have let them avoid the sudden iceberg that violently pierced the hull. They had to abandon The Courtesan. Some of the mages on board did not wait, oh no, they hopped right into one of the dinghies and cut the rope, sending them down to the waters. This would be their end, as they had no experience with sailing of any kind, and the storm eventually overtook them, flipping their boat and drowning them all. This left only one other dinghy, and it could not fit everyone. After various nominations, the passengers were decided: Sevine, Solveig, Trius, Do'Karth, Rhasha'dar, R'ihanna, and the remaining mage boarded the dinghy and set off towards the nearby coastline. When they landed, they were warmly greeted by incredibly hostile Morrowind Armigers, who wanted to show the party their cool swords. One recognized Trius, and called him a traitor. As it turns out, Trius was once an Armiger himself, who left the organization after succumbing to regret over the things he was once made to do. Naturally, the Armigers were not too happy to see their old friend, and promptly lashed out with swords drawn.
Fortunately, our shore party were no slouches, and they swiftly brought down most of the Armigers. Then, surprise of all surprises, a strange group of crimson-clad gimps jumped out of literally no where and killed their select few. The Dark Brotherhood almost lost their contract to some random band of mercenaries; how embarassing!
Just as the youngest of the assassins killed his target, The Courtesan beached along the shore. Kattun fell over the railing like an idiot and broke some things, while others intelligently used ropes to shimmy down the hull. Cat-Kicker, being who he is, marched straight up to the assassins and demanded to know why they were there. Well, obviously, they were there to kill the Armigers, though the why of it all was a mystery. That is, until, the Listener uncovered a bundle of paper from one of the dead Armigers. It was wirtten in Dunmeri, signed by the Nerevarine's War Ministry. According to the letter, those Armigers were meant to secure a beachhead and link up with their Akavir allies, aka the Kamals. The Brotherhood is no more friendly towards the Akavir invaders than the company is. Strange bedfellows indeed. Before the assassins left, one of them, Rhasha'dar's sister, gave the notes to her brother for possible use later.
After the crimsonheads departed, the company helped themselves to the shelter and supplies secured by the Armigers and got a well earned night's sleep. In the morning, everything was packed up and the company would head back to Dawnstar on foot, as The Courtesan was not seaworthy. The snowstorm only picked up from there, and the need for cover was pressing. Eventually, Do'Karth, who was at the front of the formation helping navigation, picked up the scent of fungus, and deduced a cave was nearby. This shelter, however, was no port in the storm.
The clicking of mandibles and the screams of Falmer rang throughout the cavern; Falmer and their accursed chaurus pets. A couple of people got shot, others were almost Chaurus food, but eventually the company pushed the Falmer back enough for them to set up a temporary camp inside the cave. A few people were put on watch, and everything turned out just fine. Minus a minor poisoning, but you know, that's not important.
When the company got back, they caught their first real break in weeks: A whalers' festival was being held in Dawnstar, a sight in stark contrast to the rubble of Windhelm and the endless tundra they had just crossed. Everyone had a good time and no one died. Not until the next morning, at least. After reading the news about the Ocrish assault on Dragon Gate, Farid flew into a rage and murdered Orakh, whom the leader of the assault(Orakh's successor) attributed his inspiration to. Detained by the leaders of the company, Farid would pay for his transgressions through combat. Ashav's champion: Daixanos. The battle was dirty and bloody, but Dax came out on top, burying his axe deep into Farid's chest. Farid was given a decent burial.
The company then recieved word of three things. One: Forest fires had been raging in the Pale. These fires were not of the normal kind, though, as they occured at random, out of seasons, and they angered the Spriggans. Two: The location of a Dwemer ruin doubling as a sailor's hideout, Bthamz. Rumored to hold an ancient weapon storage facility, likely containing ballistae and crossbows, it was worth a delve. Three: It was deduced that the enemy Armigers originated from Bleakrock Isle, a garrison not used since the last Kamal invasion several eras past. The plan: Occupy the Bthamz, acquire the armaments hidden away inside, and sail to Bleakrock to blast the Armigers straight into Oblivion and take the isle for the company.
The current parties are:
Pale - Rhasha'Dar , Jorwen, Sevine, Daixanos, Mercel and Keegan
Bthamz - Sadri, Tsleeixth, Roze, Do'Karth, Solveig, Raelyn, Leif, Elmera, Sagax

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

"Oh no, Leif is getting maimed, how tragic. Do'Karth wishes he had time to be heroic, but he does not.

...Hurry it along, murder machine."

@Dervish

"Do'karth, I didn't get a high enough roll to be heroic, you gotta do it for me!

...why are you just STANDING there!?

Also, why am I always getting hurt!? I'm going to have more head wounds than Gordo at this rate!"