Morrowind Live
By Faronon Star Wolf
A/N: Not much to say. Well, yes, there is something to say. Night, thanks for letting me use you in my story! XD
"Your clan tattoo," he replied, looking at me strangely. I thought for a second, and then touched my forehead, flushing.
"Oh yeah." At his inquiring look, I shrugged and continued. "A book hit me on the forehead a few days ago, so that might be part of it. Other then that, I don't remember much of my past."
"Oh?" he drawled, looking intently at me. I shrugged and decided to continue for the hell of it.
"I was released from the Imperial Prisons a while ago, but I don't remember much of my past… and I don't know why."
He nodded, but his eyes were narrowed suspiciously. I opened my mouth to add excuses, but he shook his head and changed the subject.
"I take it you enjoy music?" Startled, I stared at him for a few seconds before nodding, still slightly confused. "Have you considered becoming a bard? Your voice sounds like it would carry well…"
Better then my real voice would, I thought, not without a trace of bitterness. "Um, no, I haven't…"
"Well, think about," he said, then glanced over the room and stood. "Looks like they're starting to get restless… The next song is for you," he said with a wink as he turned away.
What. The. Crap? I placed my head against the table and resisted the urge to bang my head against it. After all, the only thing that would come out of it would be pain, and possible brain damage. Having brain damage would be better then being a friggin' Mary Sue, I thought cynically, moaning softly. Why me?
The first notes of the song passed over me, and, hearing a chair being pulled out, I turned to glare at Srath. He froze in the process of sitting down, and had a look on his face like a deer in the headlights.
"Okay, what's the problem?" he asked, sitting down.
"Nothing," I replied grumpily, crossing my arms on the table and putting my head back down. "Between having been poisoned, and the fact I seem to be a Mary Sue, everything's just peachy. Excuse me while I go slit my wrists."
"…I see. Is that why the bard is playing a love song?" At his words, I moaned again and tried to shrink out of view. "Why are you calling yourself a Mary Sue, though?"
I sat up and began to count out the points on my fingers. "Let's see. Better singing voice. Beautiful. Able to fight well – not sure if I can beat someone who's been training for most of their life, though. Long, luxurious locks of hair. I don't need glasses any more— and, the most telling part – all the guys, except for you, seem to be falling over me."
Srath nodded, but didn't comment on what I had said. "Would you like to go back to the room?" he asked, looking sympathetic.
"Can I walk myself up?" I wasn't hoping too much for that, but to my surprise, he hesitated, then nodded.
"Go ahead and get yourself settled in. I'll wait for Nels," the Galeth replied.
Looking sideways at him, I raised an eyebrow and spoke. "Why? Gonna try seducing him?"
The sudden red flush on his face was my only answer, but I laughed and pushed myself to my feet. "Well, I hope you succeed."
The dim lighting of the bar was in my favor, as was the fact that everyone was listening to the bard – and even the bard wasn't looking, instead watching his fingers as he strummed the music.
Walking with one hand loosely brushing the wall, I was glad that the stairs were so well-built, as they didn't squeak at all. The room was unlocked, so I slipped in and, after a brief hesitation, locked it after me. Either Nels Llendo or Srath would have the key, so it wouldn't be that big of a problem.
Stifling a yawn, I flopped on the bed, feeling muscles I hadn't realized were tense begin to relax. Pulling the blankets over myself, I drifted off to sleep.
A hand on my shoulder shaking me dragged me from a dream including me, a bastard that I had gone to school with, a chainsaw, and blood. I reluctantly woke, throwing one arm out to the side as I turned toward the person shaking me.
Oops, I thought drowsily, feeling my elbow hit somebody. Opening unfocused eyes, I stared blearily up at the pained face of Nels Llendo.
"…oops," I said.
"Oops, she says," he muttered as he clutched his stomach. "Not only do you sneak upstairs, but you attack me," the Dunmer said accusingly, glaring down at me.
I shrugged, tired. "I'm sorry. Can I go back to sleep now?"
The anger on his face faded into annoyance, then cleared into a calm look. If he was really calm, I didn't know, but he didn't look like a descending storm cloud.
"Very well," he replied grudgingly. "We'll talk in the morning."
I rolled back onto my side and closed my eyes as he finished talking, ignoring his exasperated sigh, or his footsteps as he walked toward the chair on the other side of the room. As I drifted back to sleep, I wondered what was going on in the real world.
A shrill bleeping woke me up, and, surprised, I sat up straight. Cloth came in contact with my head, and I reached up, feeling a canopy of sorts above my head.
Reality exerted itself, and I realized that the loud sound was my alarm clock. I pushed at the cloth around me, which I now realized were sheets, and came face to face with the wall. I grumbled and turned the other way, pushing my feet out from under the curtain made of a sheet and stood, blinking owlishly at the slight glare from the hall light. I squinted at the red numbers of my alarm clock, then walked slowly over to turn it off. To some, five in the morning was a hellish hour, but it's normal for me.
I sat down in the computer chair and turned on the monitor, squinting slightly as my eyes adjusted to the bright light. Almost idly, I glanced at the date, and froze.
"Fe-February?" I squeaked, my eyes wide. "But—it isn't—"
Swallowing harshly, I opened up a window of Internet Explorer and went to my Live Journal, where daily entries reassured me. Reading back over the past few months, I relaxed slightly as I learned about what had gone on over the past few months—the words seemed to release memories, though they seemed to be a memory of a dream rather then what I had lived through.
Finishing close to an hour later, I started up Semagic and thought about how to describe it.
"Well, that was odd.
What, you ask? Well, I had a dream that seemed more real then the past few months…"
It was nearly seven before I finished up the post, and I hesitated for a few seconds before adding one more sentence.
"All I can say is I can't believe I named my 'character' Lilindra!"Having learned from my journal that I had been ill for a few days, and my parents had dragged my brother to the beach with the dogs, I closed the program after posting and went downstairs to find something to eat. Half an hour later, I went back upstairs with the intentions of laying on my bed, but the fact I had new e-mail distracted me.
It was a notice from Live Journal, alerting me that a person with the username forestsrath had commented in my journal.
Idly, I clicked on it and read the fairly simple comment.
"Do you have many dreams about Morrowind?"Surprised, I blinked, then clicked on the Live Journal icon to the side of the username and went to the info page.
What was listed as the name surprised me.
Srath Lorden.
A frantic e-mail later, I had confirmation that this was, indeed the Srath from my "dream". We chatted briefly before we both came to the conclusion that we needed to read the file that came with the mod – but the problem was that the zip file had disappeared from both of our computers, and it wasn't listed on the mod site we had downloaded it from. I bit my lip, then replied to the most recent e-mail.
"I'm going to start up Morrowind." With that, I sent it, and located the Morrowind CD. Several e-mails from Srath had arrived by the time I had found it, but I ignored them to start up the game.
To my surprise, it didn't crash, and I loaded the Lilindra save file. Again, it didn't crash. Almost expecting it to crash any second, I pressed the tilde key to open the console. Hesitating only briefly, I typed in the most important code: tgm.
God mode -> On. With a relieved sigh, I began to alter my stats – but, surprise of surprises, the program crashed. With a curse, I leaned back in my chair and looked at the screen pensively.
I turned the monitor off and went back to bed. Falling asleep was surprisingly easy—
—and when I next opened my eyes, it was night in the Halfway Tavern in Pelagiad.
Holding my breath, I glanced over at the chair that Nels Llendo had been sleeping in the past few days, only to find it was empty.
With a shrug, I turned back onto my side and tried to get back to sleep.
A while later, the creak of the door opening fractured the blankness I had induced in my mind.
"Nels, darling—" The whisper was a woman's voice. I barely held back a snort at the ridiculously seductive tone of her voice.
"Tomorrow, dearest. My patient will be gone then…" Nels Llendo's sentence trailed off, and I could hear them kiss before one retreated, and the other stepped into the room. The door was shut quietly, and the chair groaned as Nels sat down. Pulling the blanket further up, I settled back into sleep.
When morning came, we traveled north along the shore of the lake. As we went, there was a suspicious lack of beasts, but when we reached the north-most side of the lake traveled east until we came to a path that lead into one of the foyadas. Nels escorted us until we were close to Fort Moonmoth, then, with a jaunty smile, left. Srath, who had been silent for most of the walk, sighed as he watched the Dunmer walk away.
"Well, that was a hopeless obsession…" he murmured, then turned back towards the path. "Let's go! I'd like to introduce you to the others. I think you'll probably like Tari…"
Like the howling of a banshee, a screech rose from the bushes beside Srath, and, in its full glory, a… kwama forager burst from the leafy bush. I couldn't help staring is disbelief.
"I hate these things!" Srath shouted, his voice cracking. Pulling his sword from the sheath at his side, he went hacking madly at it.
The cries of pain from the kwama forager attracted more, and soon we were knee-deep in ankle-biters.
"Srath, you idiot!" I cried from my perch on a tree trunk. The foragers had surrounded me, and, like a horde of Chihuahuas, they were jumping up at me, but couldn't jump high enough to hit me.
Measuring the distance, I looked at how far I was from Srath. Taking a deep breath, I jumped, landing heavily and slipping slightly as a kwama forager twisted out from under my foot.I grabbed Srath's wrist, pulling him along after me. The foragers reacted rather quickly, and soon they were chasing after us madly, squealing.
"Let me go! I want to kill them!"
"Shut up and keep running!" I retorted, dragging Srath along the path toward Fort Moonmoth.
A shout rose from the wall, and soon there was a volley of arrows raining down on the beasts following us. I staggered to a stop, and released Srath's wrist to fumble for my bow and an arrow, but almost all ofthe weak creatures were dead, and the ones remaining alive were fleeing.
Falling to the ground heavily, I sat and just breathed. A young soldier ran out to us, a look of worry on his face.
"Are you two all right? We weren't aware there were so many foragers in the area…" The imperial trailed off, a embarrassed look on his face.
I opened my mouth to reply, but Srath spoke up smoothly. "Thank you, but we're fine." I looked over at him in time to see him sheath his sword. "Are you ready to go, Lilindra?" Shooting him a glare from under my bangs, I nodded and stood.
"Do you need to be escorted to Balmora?" the guard asked anxiously, wringing his hands.
People actually do that? I thought in astonishment, then answered. "No, thank you." It was my turn to get a dirty look from Srath, and his turn to be ignored. "Thank you for assisting us," I said, brushing the robe I wore off.
The guard bowed in response, then turned and started walking back to the fort. Srath turned to me, annoyed, but I stopped him before he said anything.
"If you want to play damsel in distress to get his attention, you can do it on your own time. I'm tired and I want to sleep for a few years."
He looked at the ground contemplatively, then nodded. "You're right. Let's go."
The walk after that was uneventful, and we walked along the bridge, eventually entering the walls of Balmora through the arches of the path.
It's about time, I thought, looking around myself. "So, where are the people staying?"
"Most, I think, said they were going to be staying at the Southwall Corner Club," Srath replied, walking along the edge of the river. I followed, walking through the familiar streets of Balmora to the bar that held the Balmora Thieves Guild.
Opening the door, the Galeth gestured me inside, and I walked into a poorly lit hallway. A female Breton turned to face me, and then turned away. Srath took the lead again, heading down into the bar.
I looked over the room with tired eyes, noticing a female Nord sitting at the bar. Srath had gestured me to one of the tables, so I walked over to it and dropped into the chair, slumping on the surface.
"Ugh," I announced, watching Srath walk over to stand next to the Nord at the bar.
"Hey, Tari, guess what finally happened?" I heard him say, and I could see a slight grin on his face.
The Nord set the mug down and looked at Srath with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile. "I dunno, Srath, what?"
I shugged, closed my eyes again and pillowed my head against my arms.
"Well, the final prisoner's been released- she's the one at the table over there. Want to come meet her?"
"Doesn't look like much, but all right."
I could hear Srath walk over, and the annoyance was obviousin his voice. "Oi. Wake up."
"'m not asleep," I mumbled, opening my eyes to glare at him. Standing a few steps behind him was the Nord woman, and I could see now that there was a black tattoo of a stylized bird on her forehead. I nodded at her, waiting for her to introduce herself.
The Nord crossed her arms and looked down at me, leaning her weight on her right leg. "Well?" she asked, looking over at Srath and then back to me.
Srath sighed, rolling his eyes. "Stubborn girls," he muttered, then raised his voice. "Faronon, this is Nateoatari. Tari, this is Faronon."
I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Um, Srath?" When he nodded, I continued. "We already know each other. 'lo, Night."
Tari—Nateoatari—Night— burst out laughing. "Farfar! HA! I should have expected you'd be one." She reached down and hugged me tightly before sitting in the chair next to me.
"Ah-right. I suppose I should have expected this," Srath said, blinking rather stupidly. He shrugged, then sat across the table from Night and me.
I smiled at the Galeth and replied. "Why should you have?" At his shrug, I turned to Night and began to speak. "Night, I thought you didn't download mods..."
Tari shrugged sheepishly. "I don't, and I sure don't use cheat codes like some people," here she glared at Srath, then back to me, and shrugged. "Except...well, it sounded so cool..." she trailed off.
"Hey, don't look at me," Srath protested. "I don't use codes either."
I moaned and dropped my head back onto my arms. "So I use codes, so sue me..."
Tari smirked. "It's America, maybe I will!" Her hand reached out to the table, and, as she realized her mug wasn't there, spoke again. "Damn, there went my ale..."
"No, technically it's Vvardenfell. And I think the punishment here runs more towards capital punishment," Srath interjected, then shrugged. "But that's neither here nor there. Shall I get us all a round?"
"Cider, please," I mumbled into my arms, before lifting my head and propping it up with one hand. "Gah, so tired. And here I thought I would never miss coffee..."
The Nord laughed. "Capital punishment for codes! I love this place." She looked over at me in disgust. "Coffee, guh. Honestly, Farfar. I'll definitely load up on the ale. It tastes like shit, but I feel like a real pioneer! Or something."
Srath left with a laugh, heading over to the bar.
"Underage drinking, tsk tsk!" I said, sitting up straight with a smile. That is, until a thought occured to me. "Damn it, I think Srath still has my money!"
"Hey, I'm in Morrowind now, it doesn't make a difference. Except hangovers are terrible." Tari shrugged, then laughed. "Ha, I guess we know what Srath is paying with."
I faked a few sobs before shrugging. "Oh well." A thought occurred to me. "Oh, wow,I haven't even checked to see if god mode was-erm..."
Tari raised a suspicious eyebrow. "God moding, Farfar?" She threw her hand up on her brow and leaned back as if about to faint. "I'm ashamed to call you my friend."
"What did I miss?" Srath asked, coming back with two mugs of ale and a mug of cider.
"We were talking about ways to kill you off," I replied promptly, pulling the dagger from the sheath strapped between my shoulder blades, and began to play with the blade with an insane smile on my face.
Tari leapt at the mug of ale, ignoring my insane blade flipping. She took a huge swig from the tankard, swallowed, wiped her mouth, and breathed out in a rush. "Gods, I miss Pepsi."
Srath took a sip of his ale and grimaced. "Ugh. I miss V8. And, Faronon, put that away."
I pouted, twisting my hair over to one shoulder and putting the dagger back, then fluffing the hair back over my back. "...V8 tastes like blood. Are you a vampire?"
Tari shook her head. "V8 tastes like crap, not blood." She shuddered and took another swing of ale. "Pepsiiiiii..." she whined, and started humming the Pepsi theme song.
"You two have no class," he said stiffly, then turned to face me. "I've been meaning to ask you, why do you keep your dagger there?"
I shrugged, and gestured vaguely, reaching out with one hand to snag the mug of cider. "If you are robbing someone, and you have them drop all their weapons, what would you tell them to do with their hands?"
Tari laughed and applauded loudly. "Faronon, you have amazingly leet skills. I'd never have thought of that."
Srath nodded slowly, his eyes thoughtful. "Very wise." He took another sip, then looked down at the mug he held in surprise. "Amazing, it's beginning to taste better..."
I smiled and bowed over the table. One eyebrow rose at Srath's statement, and I began laughing. "Yeah, once you kill off all your tastebuds."
Tari picked up her mug and raised it in a mock cheer. "Here here!" she swigged again. "I'll be an addict by the time we get out of here, just watch..." The Nord pulled a face.
Srath glanced up as a bard began to play, then turned back to me. "Hey, isn't that..."
"Oh, dear gods..." I muttered. "Why did that damn bard follow us?" I turned to glare at the male Wood Elf bard, who bowed, and turned the song into the love song he had been playing the night before. I rested my forehead on my arms again. "Pardon me while I go commit suicide."
Tari raised an eyebrow. "Do I need to know, or should I just go kill him?" She fingered the hilt of the Spark Sword on her hip eagerly.
"As much as I think Faronon would appreciate it, I don't think it would be very productive for you... the prison time you'd have to do would put the meeting back. By the way, where is everyone? I thought we were going to meet here..."
"Meeting?" I asked stupidly, raising my head from my contemplation of the table. "What meeting?"
Tari, pouting, stopped toying with the hilt of her sword and looked back at me. "Honestly, how long have you been here?"
"Be nice, Tari. She's still recovering from eating Bunger's Bane." Looking back at me, he continued. "The meeting is with Casius Cosades, by the way. I'm sure you can figure it out from there."
"...oh. Yeah. But why not just meet us one at a time?"
"Bunger's Bane? How the hell?" Tari asked, startled.
I rubbed one eye, refusing to answer immediately. "I was being stupid, as usual," I finally replied.
Tari raised an eyebrow. "And...?" she said, after a pause.
"And we ran into Nels Llendo, and he helped me nurse her back to health. Where are the others, Tari?" Srath asked again, impatiently.
Tari turned to Srath and stuck her tongue out at him. "Patience, he-who-drinks-icky-V8. They should be here."
Srath rolled his eyes. "Did Ceras, at least, say where she was going?"
Tari thought a moment, then grinned and shook her head. "Nope!"
Srath stood and sighed. "If you two will excuse me, I'm going to go see if I can find any of the others."
"Bye!" I said, waving as the Galeth turned and walked for the stairs.
Tari waved cheekily. The ale was starting to effect her.
"That really wasn't nice, Tari," a female voice said, coming from a dark corner of the room. The speaker stood, coming into the light, showing herself to be a Breton with red-gold hair pulled partially up into a bun, and a calm look on her tattooed face. She walked over to the table, and took Srath's abandoned seat. "I'm fairly sure you knew I was here the whole time."
"Ah, hello," I said, blinking at the newcomer.
Tari grinned at the new comer. "Howdy, Ceras. Did I know? I can't remember."
Ceras sighed and shook her head. "You're drunk, Tari."
Tari grinned and said in a sing-song voice. "Drunk as a duck in a pond with a squeaky toy..."
"Right," I said. "I think it's time you went to bed, Night," reaching out for the almost empty mug of ale, I stood.
Ceras nodded. "I believe you're right... what was your name again?"
Tari slurred, "She's Farfar the Great. Eat more heroes, a great source of moral fiber!" she stood up slowly and swayed. "I need a herooooo...When I'm not strong, I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry oooooooooon..." she sang
I set the mug I held aside, and took one of the Nord's elbows, walking her towards the stairs. I ignored the twang of lute strings as the bard noticed he was being walked out on again during the love song, and glanced back to see Ceras following me. "D'you know which room is hers?"
"Indeed," she replied, and stepped forward to help me steady the swaying Nord.
Tari giggled and sang louder. "I'm 'enry the 8th I am, I am. I got married to the widow next door, she's been married seven times befoooooore..."
"Yes, Night, I'm aware of that," I muttered, then said louder. "This is pathetic. I'm older then you are, but you are taller then me!"
"And everybody was a 'Enry! 'ENRY! Never a Willy no' a Sam! NO SAM!"
Ceras smiled, and simply stepped forward to unlock a room. Swinging open the door, she led us into the room, and gestured towards one of the two beds. "That's the one she's been using," she said.
"Sleep over!" squealed Tari.
"Oh, joy..."