{ === + === }
We're back in Whiterun yaaaay
First order of business!
Going home and taking so many naps like holy shit
Second order of business: spending more points to be awesome.
…First-and-a-half order of business, housekeeping.
The Imperial Company (what's left of it) is being stationed at Whiterun while its Commander (and some close bodyguards) run off to Solitude to deliver the crown. They're stationed in the Military district and are received with…mixed results.
I go back to my forge and…well, second order of business time!
This is obviously not happening over the period of one night.
I scored 139 points for the second half of the journey, and Jake scored 212.
I'm making a bet that I will not have any surprises in the near future and pump all of my remaining points. 100 into metalworking (better results with metals), 40 into armorcrafting, 40 into weaponcrafting, and the remaining 9 into tailoring, because I want to make some prettier dresses for the girls.
I also take three major ranks of metallurgist (great/er/est) which gives me better results when working with metals and stuff, and two ranks of materialist (lesser/greater) which makes me better at working with nonmetals and stuff.
Ok. Let's get down to business, shall we?
…
There's one major project I want to make for Jake, but that will have to wait until I learn more about how to bend physics over my knee. For now, we'll just have to make do with what we know.
…It should be noted that the trip to Korva-thingy was not very lucrative, and technically we lost money given the equipment damages incurred. Fortunately my recovery rate is high, so it's not all bad.
Anyways, as we get settled back into daily life I get into forging a new sword for Jake. Jake's old greatsword was, to the best of my memory, just a normal forge (if a high quality one). Now that he's Bullshit Awesome™ we can afford to be a little more…out there, with our design.
Of course, I do confer with Jake for this, to see exactly what he's looking for in a weapon.
"Well, I don't want to over-rely on a single weapon, so…"
So…IT'S A GUNDAAAAM!
Um.
Ahem. In a nutshell, I'll be reworking Jake's weapon loadout along with a new set of armor. The goal here isn't to build a system of equipment that's integrated because the maintenance for that will be literally impossible. Instead, I'm going to build him a system that basically lets him snap fit new weapons as he needs.
In other words, belts?
…Yeah, I guess. It sounds so much less awesome when it's just belts, y'know?
Anyways, Jake's figure is that: He gets a greatsword for dealing damage, a buckler for anti-missile, and a sidearm (like a one-handed sword) for defense.
My figure is that: he gets a greatsword for dealing damage, a sidearm for defense, bracers for anti-missile, bracelets for wards/skin spells, an under-the-arm folding blade for dealing damage and defense, and a kickass cape because it's a kickass cape. Also blades for the shinguards if necessary, though I think that's probably more an Aria thing than a Jake thing.
And a helmet. Can't forget the helmet.
After this discussion, I get co-opted by Aria, Erik, and the T-sisters to make gear for them too, since Korva swallowed a lot of stuff. I'm a little strapped for spare materials at the moment, and without knowing what's going to happen in the next few days, I elect to prioritize Jake's gear, then Aria, then the rest.
…
[Normal Life Returns]
…
Kinda, sorta. I reopen the forge and get back to work because I need to recoup the losses from Korva and buy new mats to make new stuff, so I need to have shit to sell.
We do have ten fireball scrolls valued at roughly a thousand gold apiece.
And they're wonderful, but I would need a buyer.
…
[Day 1]
…
New dresses for the girls! They deserve something a little better now that they've…uh, had one dungeon crawl behind them. Both sisters get matching dress designs—an outer layer of cotton with an inner layer of spidersteel (the material of my armor). Just in case if someone, I dunno, decides to shiv them on their next dungeon crawl.
Planning for the next one already?
Hey, they're kids in Skyrim, they need to be ready.
Orden came to visit (Jake), and they've agreed to a training program where members of his group would come to Warwolf for training in exchange for some much needed coin.
The project to revamp Jake's gear gets laid out, and I begin building the pieces.
…
[Day 2]
…
Orden came by again.
I'm also re-continuing my examination into enchanting. Less "I have found something new" and more "I finally have my lab again."
…
[Day 3]
…
Orden came by again. I don't think he's here to visit Jake this time.
I caught Big Sister looking over my enchantment notes with T'nerem. After listening in for twenty seconds I discovered that Ten was helping Big Sister learn how to read. Given that Big Sister (and Little Sister) are speaking to me now, I think it would be extremely helpful if they can read and write.
Plans for that are now underway.
Incidentally, I have discovered that it is impossible to know the names of Big Sister and Little Sister…because, as far as they claim, they don't have one. I don't know enough about stress trauma to claim if they're lying or not, but…if they say they don't have identities, then I'm not going to press the issue very hard.
…Which means I need to think of names for the two. Hrm.
…
[Day 4]
…
Orden came by again. I think he's here for someone else besides Jake. Don't know who yet.
I've also heard word of an enchanter setting up shop in the Clover (from Aria). Apparently the dude's a recent journeyman from Farengar's…um.
Farengar's…
…his…
…I don't remember the proper term for it, so I'm just going to call them his Interns. They're not his apprentices because, as far as Aria describes it, It's not that "kind of relationship." I don't know what that implicates so I'm just going to take her word for it.
Essentially, normal apprentices are taught by the master until they become Journeymen and then practice their trade on their own. Farengar, like other court mages, run what is closer to a boarding school, where after some time of learning the student is just sent out to fend for themselves. This is rather similar to the Winterhold college, just on a smaller (and more trusted) scale.
There's some formal word for it but I don't remember, therefore they're his Interns because as far as Aria described it he uses them like Interns.
Anyways, one such Intern is apparently quite skilled at enchanting and has set up shop in the clover (yay low property costs). It would be in my best interest to pay him a visit because my shit definitely isn't working.
…
[Day 5]
…
I think Orden's here for T'ma. The maid said that her room had a…smell to it.
I made and finished some basic learning books for the girls—it helps that Skyrim basically uses English and has a surprisingly uniform variant of it across every town and city. I don't know if they use any phonetic alphabets, though I don't know mine all that well so we'll see what happens.
We don't know this (now), but this is also when families from the Clover begin trying to send their kids to the new Enchanter, as he is almost literally the only one within the entire district who has more than a working education. The Enchanter is, of course, accepting no applicants.
…
[Day 6]
…
Preeeeetty sure Orden's here for T'ma now. She requested new, "more attractive", underwear. I would be inclined to make them heavily 18+ if the idea didn't feel rather insulting.
…
[Day 7]
…
Orden has come to visit again and they left their window open a sliver.
My god dude just go to an inn or something CHRIST. Also he's not the only visitor (outside of patrons). Farengar is also here for some reason.
"Ah, hello there." Farengar says to me as I'm at my forge. It is midday.
"Yo, Farengar." I reply back as I finish putting the edge on an Imperial Sword. The soldier who owns it is here to ogle at Mell, who is…basically selling him all the potions she made for practice but doesn't need. "What's up?" She's getting really good at capitalizing on her fanservice powers.
"I'm here to visit my newest graduate." He takes a lean against a beam. "How goes your research?"
He actually cares for his students? "Same as usual." I am…tentatively making progress. "Got any more hints for me?"
"Hardly." Farengar smirks. "I only teach my students."
Prick. Very reasonable, but prick nonetheless.
We share a little more pleasantries—he buys a small trinket for like 15 gold—and then gets on his way.
…Hmm. Since I don't seem to have a lot of work this morning, I should go see what a 'real' enchanter can do.
So we do.
The dude's shop (the "Growing Light") is a refurbished house near the richer region. He lives in his workshop, to nobody's surprise. It's…Breezehome-y? In shape, though the front door seems to be wider than usual.
The inside is partitioned into: a waiting room near the door, the main chamber (with enchanting table), side room for storage, and a second floor bedroom. The front door of the house had collapsed some time before the Dude got there, and he had it repaired into more of a storefront with a larger reception.
Looks like his enchanting table is clear for all to see. So he's putting a show of it? In front of his shop is a small gaggle of people, some of which are with their children (under ten, mostly). Others could also be here with their children (over ten) but height-wise it's a little hard to tell.
Let's see here…
The Dude takes payment from a minor noble and receives his ring. He takes a soulstone from his stock and, under the watchful eye of Farengar, places both items on the enchanting table.
He takes out…some twine? It's hard to tell from here, but it's something that he's wrapping around whatever he's trying to enchant.
The Dude finishes wrapping the twine around the ring, then moves on to the enchanting phase. We are currently looking in through a window along with some excited small children.
I can feel the magic flow, and judging by the small nodding motion of Farengar he can detect it too. The—looks like some kinda jewelry, so probably a ring—glows slightly with power, the twine around it also glows with power, and…
…
…and…he's done? Just like that?
What? What? WHAT?
It takes us a little time to clear our indignation, in which time the man enchants three more items before claiming (truthfully) that he had run out of magicka for the time being.
BULLSHIT! THAT IS BULLSHIT! I CALL BULLSHIT! GAAAAAAAAAHHH!
It takes us some time to get calmed down.
Ok, so.
First off, thanks to the noble bloke for showing off his ring of defense and letting me try it on to verify that it actually worked.
That said.
The Fucking BULLSHIT is that the ring has an enchant of protection and the twine has a magic container. That's it. That is LITERALLY it.
Do you understand how pissed off I am because I don't understand how pissed off I am.
The method that this guy uses is something I know how to do. I don't do it because either the enchant lifetime is short in exchange for a powerful item, or else the enchant power is minimal in favor of a longer service time.
In game terms, the ring gives +2 to armor and will need to be recharged every two weeks. That enchant bonus, incidentally, also decreases over those two weeks as the magic in the item is used up. It cannot be turned off. In case you're wondering how effective that +2 would be, the basic iron armor in this example would have a rating of 100, while a piece of clothing would have a rating of around 3.
Not to disparage the guy's work because that ring would be very helpful if you're not wearing armor, but god damn is that disappointing.
"You look like you're having a good time, Ash." Farengar laughs as he catches my likely very pissed off face.
"Oh, I'm grand." I say in my best 'angry sarcasm' voice. "Don't mind me, just reevaluating my life options."
Ugh. Whatever. I'm going home.
…
[3rd Person Camera]
…
Irileth watches Ash's sulking form vanish around the corner. "You're ok with not having told him about this?" She asks Farengar.
"To what end?" Farengar shrugs. "He's pursuing the hardest possible path an enchanter can take. Either he succeeds or he finds a way to explain away his own insecurities, I care not."
Irileth smirks to herself as Farengar gives some tips to his best student as they take tea. Tough talk from someone who basically jumped at the chance to go into the Clover. You're secretly rooting for him to succeed, aren't you? She palms the little trinket that Farengar had purchased. Oddly sensible, that man.
…
[1st Person Camera]
…
I am going to enchant right now because I have a serious ego problem and I WILL NOT stand for being upstaged by that…well, that guy. Honestly his method is much better for me since I'm always on-site to resupply an enchanted item, but it's about the principle of the matter.
We set up our table and resources.
I am also acutely aware of how much more expensive my enchanting pattern is compared to his.
…? Epiphany moment. Could it be possible that I'm effectively trying to do too much? I mean, I wouldn't use five bars of steel to make a dagger, and even if I did I wouldn't get a very good result.
…Hmm…
We prepare a dagger on the table and put in some soulstones.
Also…can I 'knead' the magic the same way I do it to the spidersilk? Given the sheer amount of bullshit I have going for me, I can (at great cost) spin steel into literal strands. Can I do the same with magic?
…using magic as a spell is effectively 'kneading' it, so…
We close our eyes and go deep into the 'magic realm', putting all of our focus into feeling the power flow between us and the atmosphere.
…
Oh. Oh. Ooooh.
Well now I feel stupid.
I have never actually tried to regulate the flow of power into the item. Basically…um…
…the best way I can explain this is that the dagger is quite stupid and cannot regulate its own magick. Think of it like…pouring water into a cup. The cup will overflow if you pour too much water into it, but the cup will never stop you from pouring water into it. It'll never be like "nah man you're overdoing it".
Well, an average ceramic one, anyway.
So…looking back, I don't think I ever noticed how weird it was that, regardless of how much power I started with, it never felt like I was overdoing the magic power.
It's one of those 'man I was dumb' moments, and I am rather happy that I found out so soon. I mean, kinda wish I found out around the 100th dagger, but hey.
Ok…so…how do I actually dictate how much magic power I'm going to use? Hrm. It's obvious that I can put power into a soulstone, which will contain the power, but the amount of power actually contained by a soulstone is pretty small, I mean…
We pour power into a soulstone and put a fire enchant on the dagger. It flames vibrantly for about fifteen seconds before the magic drains away.
…Yeah. I want something that Jake can use without worrying about maintenance while also being powerful enough that it would actually, y'know, do something. Kinda feel like I'm being too ambitious here, though.
We take the time to 'knead' the magical power much like we work with metal, folding and concentrating it into progressively smaller and smaller strands, before sending it into a petty soulstone.
OW
The soulstone shatters almost immediately and sends shards into our hands.
Fuck? Why?
Reason: basically, the soulstone can contain like 100 points of power. We just tried to put about 25,000 into it.
I can't do this, then…hrm. I've tried letting the item charge through ambient magick power, but the whole point of an enchanted item is that it has a way higher magic concentration than its ambient surroundings, so…
Super hrm.
I should practice with my magic kneading more before I try this.
…
[A week passes]
…
Orden visited once a day every day. Mell, possibly wising up to why he was here, slyly pushed stamina potions his way. She also pushed 'em to T'ma, too, so she made like oodles of money this week. I feel like the two of them bought her pots to keep her quiet, but still, oodles.
The other Whiterun Company also returned from its service east, and judging by their stories they were not too successful. They were tasked with basically trying to secure a pass through the mountain range that separates Whiterun from…whatever was north of it, I don't remember.
They succeeded in their task initially, but because the pass is home to ice trolls and because it's getting warmer, the pass requires constant guard to be useful, and those troops would be better elsewhere. Once they left, the ice trolls promptly came back. In a nutshell, they spent time doing nothing.
Why is things being warm bad?
I don't know, that's what their news said. I assume it has something to do with the ice in the path melting but obviously I don't know the details.
They did bring back some interesting news, though: a lot of troops are being tasked to Whiterun and Falkreath, which…I don't quite remember my geography, but I think both holds border Helgen and, by extension, Riften. My best guess is that this is basically an attack declaration, since if they do attack Riften through Helgen, then their supply line would be unnecessarily long and prone to being cut off, making a followup attack more likely.
If doing this was enough to win the war, then the war would be over already.
Still, this means that more troops will be coming, which means more business for me, which…means I get to spend less time enchanting. Fuck.
Speaking of enchanting:
I've developed a habit of trying to 'knead' magic into a small point. It's not a useful battle technique—takes me fifteen minutes to knead it—but it does make me feel like I'm getting better fine control over magic in general, so…y'know, gift horse, mouth, etc etc etc.
We've made a habit of doing it whenever we have the spare concentration, so now there's almost always some small mote of power following us around somewhere.
It's a good way to pass the time, or something. I favor magelight since I can actually do useful things with it, like illuminating my current work. While doing this, I also found an…interesting? Aspect of magelight. I don't know if it's magelight that does it or magic in general, so…
…
[3rd Person Camera]
…
Farengar visits the Clover yet again.
"I've heard of favoritism, but this is a first from you." Irileth had said with a sigh before he left. "Just come home before dark."
As he walks the streets of the so-called poorest sections of the city, he could not help but shake his head at her motherly tone. Soon enough, he comes to Ash's forge.
"Yo." Ash greets him without turning around. "Here to visit your boy again?"
How's he doing that? Farengar wonders idly. "That I am, Ash. I've brought you a visitor today, too."
Ash turns slightly to see Delphine behind Farengar. "Oh. Ok. Farengar, I've got something I want your advice on."
Farengar nods calmly as fireworks explode inside his head. The entire reason he convinced his journeyman to set up a shop inside the Clover was so that he could detour to Ash's forge with good reason. Over the time where Warwolf was deployed Farengar had ordered a spare key made for Ash's forge so he could go into his study and read Ash's copious notes on enchanting. Now that the shop owner was home, he would need to be a little more careful about abusing his position.
"Let's see it."
Ash concentrates, and a little mote of magelight floats in front of him. Farengar nods in reply.
Ash had discovered what children in magic training are specifically taught. Concentrating the power of a spell into one point was a tried and true method for teaching small children how to better control and mold their power, and was something they stopped doing after the age of ten since it stopped being useful.
Farengar was a bit disappointed, but it was certainly fun for him to see Ash's self-taught progression in magic. He then blinks. If his senses weren't deceiving him, Ash had concentrated what was basically the power of a fireball into a needlepoint, and was now causing it to trail around him in bright, glowing lines.
This? This was new. Most people stop doing this kind of practice because it's tiring without getting anything.
"Impressive, though…" Farengar chooses his words carefully. "…it's hardly a new form of magic."
Ash shrugs. "I figured." He turns back to his forge. "Thanks for the input." The mote stays over his head and flits about as if it had a life of its own.
If I weren't worried about the Dominion snatching him up I'd recruit him in a second. Farengar growls in his head. He was fully aware that, apart from himself and Delphine there were still many visitors and soldiers milling about, and one wrong word would cause problems down the road that he could not possibly predict. How infuriating that he would be denied such incredible talent due to something as banal as politics!
…
[1st Person Camera]
…
I watch Farengar trade some pleasantries with my regulars before leaving.
"What was that all about?" Delphine asks me. I suppose this means she's staying around.
"I wanted to see if this concentrated magic thing was usual." I reply. "His reaction says yes."
"Huh." She doesn't seem to care all that much. "I've come to talk to Aria. Is she home?"
…isn't she spending like all of her time at Dragonsreach?
For the past week, Aria and Jake were busy training folks and thus were at the Warwolf lodge.
…Well if Delphine's here then I suppose not. More to the point. "I only ever see them at dinnertime so I couldn't tell ya."
"Hm." Delphine looks at my stuff. "You make all this?" She points to a rack of short swords and I nod. "Nice." She picks one up and gives it a swing. "Think you can make some knives?"
Always. "Why?"
"Well…" Delphine looks around to make sure we're not overheard (we totally are). "Let's say that my pet project could use some." Ever since Orden and Farengar began making their near-daily trips here my onlooker clientele has increased.
Still, her pet project, huh? That's probably the infiltration mission…which she's probably going to talk to Aria about. "Well…I'll see what I can do."
If she's requesting knives, then that means she's requesting for stealth kill weapons. If she's looking for stealth kill weapons…
…well.
…
[That Night]
…
Aria comes back at dusk and meets with Delphine, who hung around the shop for the entire day. I even had to make her lunch because Big Sister asked me about if she's staying over and goddammit I can't say no to her.
I also got Delphine to teach the girls a little about swordplay, which is, I feel, fair.
Anyways, as she and Aria (and Jake) go off to the Warwolf lodge to discuss the plan™, I'm planning my knife. It will be a good knife. The best knife. It will revolutionize the art of shivving someone when they're not paying attention.
…It might also make a lot of unnecessary noise, which would be a little bad.
As we sit and plan out the Knife, we hear the door to our study open.
Big and Little Sisters should be doing their reading homework, so who…uh…
T'nerem has entered our room in a state of distress. At least, what we think is distress. Her face is flushed and she's sweating a lot.
…I need an adult? "Can I help you?" Is she ok?
"Sorry, I just need a place to hide for a little bit." She says. Hide from who? "Ma's infected us." Infected with what?
Seriously, "I don't follow." Like, at all.
She takes a seat against the wall. "We're Khajiit, though we don't look it." She looks around nervously. "So every so often we, erm…"
BANG-ish. The door to our study is flung open by a T'mare in her underwear.
"Oh, there you are." T'Mare says, picks a failed-at-retreating T'nerem from the floor (despite her protestations), and hauls her out of the room.
It takes around three seconds before our brain catches up.
I…what? What?
…You know what? I'll ask them in the morning.
…
[Next Morning]
…
After breakfast I find the three T-sisters sitting around, looking glum. "The fuck, girls?" T'ma is accompanying Aria on her training session.
…
[Minor Exposition]
…
So…
In a nutshell…they were horny? I guess?
Being non-humans (strictly speaking), Khajiits basically go into heat every…what, half a year or so? Of the four of them T'ma is the earliest. The three of them were trying to break into Jake's room and, uh…make use of him.
Jake was of course having none of it and locked them all out, so they made do with each other.
…I like how Erik wasn't even on their radar. I'm reasonably certain that Erik didn't like how he wasn't on their radar.
In any case, their season lasts for a few more days before it wears off, so I might have to install some stronger locks on Jake's room just in case.
…Well, with that out of the way, back to the problem at hand.
…
[Design]
…
In a nutshell, I want to make the assassin's creed hidden blade. The problem is that…well, after talking with Delphine, it seems that hidden weapons tend to be found out rather quickly, especially by a group that's as…used to? Assassinations? As the Aldmeri.
Hrm. Well, in any case, we're going to be using Delphine as a test run. If she can't find the weapon within one minute despite knowing we're bringing one, then the weapon is safe.
So as such, bullshit crafting powers go!
The first weapon is a decorative bracer that looks like a family insignia. I took examples from some of the richer families (thank you Farengar) to make something that passably looks like the mark of a relatively aristocratic family. Aria is definitely eye-catching enough to be considered nobility, so this will help immensely.
…Doesn't help that she's not the most well-versed in terms of etiquette, but honestly we just…
Oh wait.
Oh wait shit.
I just realized something.
Um…I'll talk to Delphine later. For now, I'm gonna talk about the knife.
The bracer is about an inch thick and is a little bit thicker on the top, which is normal (need the material for the insignia), but in my case a blade is hidden inside that insignia. It is activated with a spring attached to a small piece of soulstone. When the soulstone gets magic power, it discharges it as a small blast of raw power and forces the blade out into its ready position, where it locks into place.
I sharpened it as much as I could with my Perks, so it did fine against armor…for about a hit. The first prototype snapped in one shiv and the second one honestly did not do much better.
Our test subject was a suit of standard steel armor put over a hunk of meat coated in food coloring (our fault).
1) I wish I had a suit of elven armor to use this on, and 2) after realizing that a custom-forge weapon that lasts for all of a single stab is shit, I reworked the blade for prototype 3.
All of this development occurs over a period of two weeks.
"This honestly does not make me feel good." Jake, the wearer of large steel armors, laughs upon seeing my new knife. "Like holy shit." The old knife was half an inch long. The new one is about four. The advancement, of course, is Cheat Bullshit to the extreme…namely, Spidersteel.
Which is?
I figure that, y'know, material is material. If I can take spider silk and weave it with such complexity ("weave") to the point where it is working material, then I should be able to do the same with other material. The difference is just mana cost.
Thus…
…Well, in a nutshell, I made four inches of tape measure and put a point on it. The firing mechanism is still the same, so…y'know, that's nice.
…I felt so damn clever coming up with this idea and only now do I realize that I have basically made a tape measure. Hm.
The above sentence is 100% correct with regards to our (the writer's) train of thought.
Oh well. It shivs and it doesn't break, so it's all good. Aria's skill is perfectly able to put this knife where it hurts (someone's vitals) and have it go through.
Along with the knife, Delphine also requisitioned decorative short swords.
Blunt and decorative. Apparently also a sign of nobility.
…
…
[Events during those two weeks]
…
…
Delphine actually tells us that we're going to be invading a party.
T'mare maybe gets Jake's permission to have some fun during the night. She's very happy the next day and would not explain why, while the other T-sisters were sulky. I don't really know (nobody's talking) so this is just my best guess. I should remind everyone that my house is separate from the guild quarters (where they live).
I also get (read: make) simple books for Big and Little Sister, since they're getting the hang of the alphabet.
Context for the next point: during the day, Big and Little Sisters spend more of their time outdoors thanks to the improving weather. They've made friends, and frequently (with permission) play with the other children. Sometimes, the two would go together, with Big Sister as the chaperone.
Big Sister showed up one night AND A NEW HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON.
Like seriously, she shows up with this watermelon of a…something-hedron, and looks rightfully worried.
Big Sister's first announcement was "Sir, I think I'm in trouble."
To which my response was "Oh, yeah? In what oh my lord." As I turned around and saw the thing.
And, of course, she tells me about the voice in her head telling her to take the beacon to a "Meridia's Shrine" out somewhere (near Solitude).
I am…very interested to throw the damn thing away, not gonna lie. "Well, leave it there for now." I point to a corner in the house. "If it tells you anything else, let me know." For the record, I put my hand on it and there was no response, so I assume Meridia picks the person and picked a fucking child to be her champion.
This, of course, leads to…
…
[Discussion with Jake About the Beacon]
…
The two of us sit one night to mull over this sudden new problem.
Jake's first words are, upon seeing the beacon tucked away in the corner of the room: "Well, shit."
I nod. "Yeah. I'm not too keen on making the trip to Solitude given…well, the fact that it's an escort mission."
"When do you plan to go?" Jake asks next. "I mean, I'll go with."
"I honestly haven't decided." I say. "I don't want to do this at all if possible, but if Meredith decides to fuck with my girl, then…yeah, we'll handle it." Somehow.
"Fun fact." Jake says. "Delphine's infiltration mission coincides with a military buildup in Falkreath."
Well, fuck. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. The Empire's going to try and take Riften through Helgen."
Computing…
…Nope. "That seems like a terrible idea."
In-game, there's a path from Helgen to the Riften side of the world. Here, I imagine that the path would be less snowy…but probably also more treacherous, or else longer. Nevermind that it would be god awful to defend against Stormcloak guerillas…
…in other words, in the event that the Empire successfully takes Helgen with a massive army, they would be on a time limit to use said massive army to take Winterhold before it gets choked out of supplies and mauled.
"Yeah." Jake nods. "Way I see it, if we go with that army and pitch in we'll be able to end this war quickly, because I am damn sure that the Dominion will find some way to fuck up this operation."
That's true. That said, "I know we're fucking broken, but I feel like that's giving us too much credit."
"Not if we take Aria with us." Jake says, then winces. "Assuming she'd play along at all. Girl dances to her own pace."
Hm. "Well, if things get out of hand, I'll just head on over to Solitude." It shouldn't be that much of a problem, provided that I keep my head down or else remove all witnesses.
…
[Second Conversation]
…
Is with Delphine! So, as she (eventually) tells us, the plan is to have Aria pretend to be minor nobility, sneak into the party, then sneak into the back room.
Problem: Aria is extremely attractive and draws eyes everywhere she goes unless she wears Actual Armor™, so if she goes into the party she's pretty much guaranteed to draw attention from everyone forever, making the whole idea of sneaking out rather…optimistic.
Delphine…doesn't believe me. For some reason.
She's never been in the same room with Aria for more than five minutes until pretty much recently.
…Fine, for sensible reasons. Then again, Delphine may know more about high elf culture than I do (she probably does) and is thus making her assessment based on that knowledge. Still, Hot is Hot, and I don't think any amount of social training will defeat the boners of nature.
(That is, pretty people means good genes, which means good offspring, which means let's try and do offspring making things).
…Oh and also I need to make a dress for Aria.
My response: "I what now?"
"A dress." Delphine repeats. "I do recognize that Aria is abnormal, and thus it makes sense that she would have garments that are also abnormal."
Aria seems to agree with the sentiment. "Something that makes it easier to sneak around would be nice." She says. "Preferably without any frills."
…Does she mean figurative or literal frills? Because I'm all about adding literal frills. "It would help if I had a frame of reference for what would count as high class outfits." All of my high-class outfits in Skyrim are tastefully skimpy dresses with BBB compatibility.
If you know it, you know it.
"I think we can manage that." Delphine nods. "Though there is still the supposed problem of Aria being too eye-catching."
Hmm… "What if we went with her?" I propose. I know Jake's reputation is solid now, and I'm pretty sure my healing's got some people's attention, too.
Delphine blinks. "That's an idea." She thinks on it for a minute. "If that's the case, then I'd rather that Jake, and only Jake, go with him." She looks to me. "No offense, but his reputation is far brighter than yours."
I feel like I know what that means, but at the same time, "Explain."
"You…" Delphine searches for the most effective way to…I dunno, crush my ego? "Your reputation, if established, will be of someone who's extremely talented with arcane arts." Oh, cool. No ego crushing. "If that were the case, there's every chance you wouldn't get out after sneaking in."
…Huh. "They value mages that badly?"
"In a manner of speaking." Delphine says wryly. "Jake is more traditional when viewed with the lens of a Skyrim champion, and thus would earn maybe a raised eyebrow and nothing more."
Sounds like a plan, then. "Jake?"
Jake shrugs. "I'm cool with it. Worst case scenario I'll cause a ruckus and then mosey on out of there."
Neat. He's basically now guaranteed to cause a ruckus because that's how foreshadowing works.
The party is on the cusp of summer, so about…one month from this point in time.
…
[Next Day]
…
Jake shows up. "Hey, Ash. Got a minute?"
It is noon. We are at our forge.
"Kinda." Orden's group brings a little extra work and coin my way (not that I really need it at this point), but I have some downtime. "What's up?"
He scratches his head. "Since we're basically slated to go to Solitude…wanna spar for a bit?"
Hm. Between the Beacon and the Sneaking, I think I see why.
He sees me nodding and nods along. "Yeah. Something like this means you have like a 100% chance of being separated or have to protect your girls without us, so I figured it'd be nice to have you shaped up and ready to go."
"Sounds like a plan." I stand. "We going to your training grounds?" By which I mean the Imperial barracks.
So we do.
As I've said, Jake helps train there. I personally don't see any difference in skill between the recruits from day one up to…whichever day it is now, but I suppose he does good work.
The trainees see the two of us coming and, after a brief conversation with Jake, hurriedly make space.
"Aiight." Jake gets…what I'm pretty sure is just a painted tree trunk and throws me a wooden practice sword. "I know you have a lot of magic shenanigans, so give me all you got." He readies his practice two hander. It looks very menacing.
"Right into the deep end, huh?" I crack my neck, palm a soulstone, then grip the hilt.
See, the magic enchanting that the Dude was doing? I can do that shit in my sleep. I've given this some thought and…well, if I'm looking for battle-specific enchants, then I don't necessarily need to put said enchant on the weapon. It drains mana like a motherfucker, but what is the one resource that I have plenty of?
…
[3rd Person Camera]
…
Ash runs his free left hand along the edge of the practice sword, and a coat of ice forms over the wooden blade, invisible to everyone (including himself).
I hope that worked. He thinks nervously. I can feel magic flowing out so I'm going to hope that it worked. "Let's do this."
Jake nods and, with one step, charges in at a breakneck pace.
Ash goes Hofuck he's fast and immediately throws up five layers of oakskin.
Jake hits those layers with his club. Both he and Ash bounce away from each other as the layers of magic armor soak and scatter the force of the hit.
"Mother piss you don't fuck around." Ash grumbles as he regains his step.
Jake's response is a good-natured smirk and another crushing blow aimed at Ash's midriff. Ash dodges that one (letting the oakskins parry the blow a little) and the two enter into melee combat in earnest.
Five blows in, the temperature of the stuffy room begins to drop.
Ten hits, Ash is on the back foot, and everyone in attendance could see the blades of ice forming on his sword.
So is there a lag time when it starts? Ash thinks for a moment. He doesn't get his answer because Jake kicks him in the head. Due to the magic armor, it was more surprising than painful, though it still staggers him.
"Ok, time out." Ash steps back and, cutting the theatrics, switches the Frost spell being put into the soulstone with a Shock spell. Instantly, the edge of the blade begins to crackle with audible electricity.
"Fuckin' spellblade." Jake says with a chuckle and then immediately steps in to attack. Despite Ash's magic bonus, he still gets his rear handed to him after ten more strikes or so.
On the eleventh strike, Jake winds up and telegraphs a massively powerful attack.
I don't know if you're throwing me a bone or telling me to get the fuck away. Ash mentally rolls his eyes and creates five layers of angled, overlapping wards. These wards were also coated with oakskin to make them viable against melee damage.
Jake hits the wards, causing sparks to shower the room. His attack is deflected and he, having thrown himself into the attack, loses his balance. Ash, figuring that this was a trick but willing to play along, shoots some Shock into Jake's torso.
Jake's reaction is to block, with a ward, from his suddenly free offhand. The ward buys him the second he needs to regain his balance and throw the rest of his momentum into a followup strike.
Ash, not really having the reaction time to do anything, soaks the hit with his five layers of wards again. As Jake's strike was now angled perfectly against the wards, his strike deals substantially more effective damage, and Ash is sent flying.
"Frick." Ash mutters as he is rudely stopped by one of the building's walls. "Alright, I'm out." He throws up his hands and tosses away the shattered practice sword.
…
[1st Person Camera]
…
It's a wee bit unfair how Jake can mix his two-hand strikes with Aria-like fast hits.
"Yeah, I guess I shouldn't be too worried." Jake laughs. "When did you figure out that magic shit?"
I shrug. "Recently." I've been practicing with it in private and the effect is more pronounced on equipment that I made. The fact that I can reproduce the Dude's enchant effect through what is essentially an hour of practice every night makes me really angry. There's probably more to his enchanting but it still makes me really angry. "How badly were you holding back?"
Jake makes a 'meh' gesture. "Obviously no killshots."
Had any magically versed people been on scene, they would have lost their minds at Ash's magic aptitude. Since there aren't any, the watching soldiers merely regard him with thoughts ranging from polite acknowledgement to "look at that magic-using, cheating asshole".
Neat. Good to know that, at the very least, I can hold my own against someone who's not actively trying to kill me.
The spellblade thing is pretty straightforward: instead of trying to balance the magic that would otherwise go into the weapon with the weapon itself, I just apply it as a cover on the weapon for as long as I can run mana into the soulstone.
It…very likely won't scale as well as using enchants, but this is easier and more flexible. It probably also has efficiency issues depending on what weapon is used, but…meh, I can make my sword catch on fire, so it's all good.
…
[Four Days Later]
…
With the impending maybe-disaster that is the infiltration looming, I figured that I needed to get a move on with Jake's new sword.
I currently have a spate of semiactive skills that buff my ability to make equipment, and some active skills that I can use to maybe make something unique. I can: place blessings onto gems, spin mana, and spin materials. I don't remember if I mentioned this before (probably have) but I can shave dragonbone now, and I have some of that as an additional material.
Lately, by virtue of concentrating on magic all the time while smithing, I think it's possible for me to 'weave' that mana directly into a weapon. In other words, since a sword is fundamentally an item of steel, and steel is a component of nature (ish), it therefore has an ambient level of magic within it that is normally too low to harness.
…Think of it like trying to drink water from grass. It's doable, but the energy requirement makes it not worth it unless you have the stomachs for it.
Likewise, enchanting is about artificially inflating the magic value of an item so it can do things as defined within a soulstone. So far, I've been trying to do just that, but…what if I just go 'fuck it' and try to fundamentally weave the magic of the item? Like, juice it as-is without using soulstones at all? I mean, I'll still need a soulstone to tell the sword what kind of magic it can do, but…from a power perspective…
To that end, I've closed the forge today in order to focus exclusively on the Greatsword. I have a stockpile of Replaced Steel, some dragonbone filings, and six small gems (two of: ruby, sapphire, emerald).
The design's width is about a foot across and the blade goes from the top of Jake's head to around his knees. It's a big boy. Would be bigger if, y'know, real life didn't get in the way. Videogames that let blades clip through the ground are so much nicer. Anyways.
Though the smith is closed, we can't stop people from coming over and watching, and as we prepare the materials, a gaggle of shop regulars and intrigued soldiers gather to watch.
As long as they don't get in the way I could not care less. Ok.
…
[Morning]
…
This time is basically spent on shaping the material from a stack of ingots into…well, a big glob of steel, really. I'm also using the dragonbone filings to act as a kind of a wire mesh on the inside of the blade to help give it shape (and so I can remember what the hell it's supposed to look like).
Comments from the peanut gallery tend to be along the lines of "I can see the Mountain using something like that" or "he's nuts".
Which, y'know, true.
…
[Noon]
…
Jake arrives. I told him to come, the reasoning being that if I'm using magic, I might as well attune the blade to him specifically. I have no idea if this will give any tangible benefits or not, but since I'm already putting all of my eggs in this basket I might as well add my chickens, too.
Ok. Game time.
…
[3rd Person Camera]
…
Ash closes his eyes and concentrates on the mana within the steel. Once his focus is established, he begins to swing a sledgehammer made specifically for the occasion.
"What's all this?" Farengar asks. He had arrived an hour after Ash started and now suddenly saw a mass of people around his forge. "You there." He taps a miner on the shoulder.
"The smith is getting to work." The miner says. "Take a look."
Farengar looks around and sees a small table and, ignoring his rank (he wasn't dressed for it anyway) he climbs onto the table to see Ash…basically beating what he first thought was a large fish with an oversized hammer.
The lad's gone mad. Farengar notes idly.
Ash, completely absorbed in his work, could not care less.
…
Two hours in, and the crowd begins to thin. The blade was indeed beginning to take shape, but most had better things to do than to watch something like this for hours.
Again, Ash didn't care. Within his ability to detect magic power, he could tell the that the blade's power was beginning to even out. Figuring that he had nothing to lose, he starts to weave that power with a reference to the power in Jake's body, trying to match their colors (because he literally has nothing else to go on).
…
Three hours in, and the blade's shape begins to be defined. As expected of an apprentice of Adrianne, the blade was simple and unadorned. It was massive, with edges that looked more suited to crushing than slashing. Briefly, Jake wondered if his skillset (optimized for slashing) would even work with a weapon like this.
…
Four hours in, Some previous members of the peanut gallery come back to see that, yes, Ash was still working on the same blade. Included in said peanut gallery is one Lars Battleborn, drawn to the sound of the hammer after coming over to see if the Sisters could play. Accompanying him is Idolaf, who heard through the grapevine that Ash was spending significant time to make a sword and came over to scout, just in case.
(Which of course means that the Grey-Manes were here, too.)
…
Six hours pass by, and Ash's blade is finally closing to completion. Jake, being in attendance but having nothing better to do (for the past four hours), has taken the time to just sit and teach the Sisters a little bit of math.
Throughout the entire process, Ash had not opened his eyes once, choosing to rely purely on how well he can detect magic to craft the blade. As a result, the sword is…rather ramshackle looking, and not entirely in a menacing way.
…
[Fourteen hours later, 1st Person Camera]
…
It's done! And I'm not even bone dead tired.
So…yeah. The initial crafting took seven hours, refining took another four, and finishing touches needed three more.
The finished product, then, is…basically a large, smoothed steel greatsword. Because I used magic entirely, the…well, things got weird.
Originally, I had planned for it to be a normal (if large) greatsword. However…because of the dragon filings I used to give the sword shape, it now has four lines of…light? That runs along the blade from the tip to the hilt. The edges of the blade are also lined with filings mixed with…uh…soulgems crushed and Replaced into a wire.
The rest of the blade is basically a giant piece of Physics designed to make that wire do entirely unfair things. The three embedded gems have 'anti-missile', 'physical damage down', and 'rapid healing' as wishes placed onto them. Per usual, I have no idea if those wishes had any effect.
Now comes the time for Jake to try the weapon.
I present the handle to Jake, and he grabs it with two hands.
"Holy shit this thing's hefty." He grunts and, stepping out away from the forge, gives it a few test swings. It makes a very blunt 'woosh' sound. "This is like, a hundred pounds, easy." He observes, still swinging it around like it weighed ten.
Jake squares his stance and looks over to me. "Ok…now I need to pump magic into it, yeah?"
I nod. "That's the idea."
He nods back, and focuses.
Imperceptibly, the dragonbone/soulstone line on the edge of the blade shifts colors and creates a layer of vibrating energy.
…Nothing happened. Oh well. Let's see here…I have a block of wood. "Take a whack." I set the block of wood on the ground and step well away from it.
Jake, readying himself, makes a huge overhead swing at the block.
WOOOOSH
The sound of the giant weapon is menacing and it what the fuck
The sword chews through the wood, leaving behind what remained of a piece of firewood with a faint U marking where the sword was. At least, that's what would have been seen if the sword didn't go through the entire piece of firewood.
Did…did it just erase that wood?
Note: since it's now late, nobody was around to see the sword being finished.
"Uh…" Jake looks at the…four…five inch deep indentation on the ground that was definitely not a result of him just swinging the weapon super duper hard. "I…I don't think that's normal."
….Science! "One more." I get a piece of firewood again and this time I layer on top of it a piece of iron.
WOOOOOSH
Jake's swing is slower this time, and I can see, rather clearly, the sword seemingly 'eating' its way through the material. Jake stops his swing before chewing through the entire firewood and I can see a…U shaped indentation. Shouldn't it be more of a 'V' since, y'know, it's a blade?
Hmm. Either way, weapon success! I guess. Let's see when it breaks.
…
[Next Week]
…
Delphine figures we have to start traveling to Solitude to be in time for the party and have time to prepare, so we do.
In the meantime, I've created two more of these…Attuned? Blades? I guess? For myself (first prototype) and Aria (first production model). These are just hacker-type short swords with only one tapered side (so the other is flat). The Filing lines the edge, obviously.
Compared to Jake's piece, the making process took significantly shorter (only two hours per weapon rather than fourteen), and comparatively their effect is…well, weird. It makes sense given that I don't know what I'm doing exactly, but…
Aria's blade, when active, is less significant in terms of damage output but also mysteriously loses half of its weight.
My blade barely eats any of my energy and, while active, only deals special damage while stabbing. I should note that the blade has no tapered point to stab with.
I think somebody failed to tell these swords what they're supposed to do, but I think I'm starting to learn about how to make use of this method, so it's all good.
Apart from these swords, I also made a new dress for Aria and the 'official' Warwolf dress uniform…which just looks a lot like a modern-day parade uniform, kinda, sorta, never saw one up close. It's also lined with a thin layer of spidersteel on the inside for protection. When kitted out, Jake looks like the cross between a military lieutenant and a dude wearing cosplay…and Aria looks like a million dollars, to nobody's surprise.
The away party will be: me, Jake, Aria, and Delphine, along with the Sisters so we can get rid of the BEACON. Apparently Older Sister has been talking to it constantly, which…worries me. A bit. A lot. I hope she'll be ok.
Everyone else will remain at Whiterun, because honestly it would be too strange for everyone to just lea-oh hello old woman
As the caravan is being prepared, we're accosted by none other than Fralia Gray-Mane, the giver of the 'Missing in Action' subquest.
Is this the one where I have to go looking for a son?
"I heard that you were planning to go to Solitude." The old lady asks in an undertone. "If you are, then may I make one request?"
"Depends on what it is." I shrug. "Do you need our help to carry something?"
"Of a sort." She nods, and hands over a small sealed envelope. "When you arrive in solitude, please give this to the General of the Imperial forces stationed there." Tears begin to well in her eyes. "He will know what to do with it."
…? No fetch quest? "I'll…do what I can." I nod and take the letter.
…Once she leaves, I immediately break the seal and read the letter because Fuck Yeah Replace.
…Huh.
…Well, that's different.
.
.
.
{ === + === }
Author Notes:
Jake's Greatsword's effects:
Innate: deflect missiles (50% chance), auto-ward, auto-skin, Last Gasp (holder will never bleed out when critically injured), Self-Repair.
When being used by Jake and being used as an enchanted weapon: skip armor (100), all damage dealt bleeds into mana and fatigue damage. Instantly breaks all non-shielded, non-warded gear on contact. Magic gear ignores skip armor effect and are considered to be double strength math-wise.
When being used by Ash and being used as an enchanted weapon: All damage is considered magical (force, like Unrelenting Force), Auto-Parry (Physical) Missiles.
When being used by anyone else and being used as an enchanted weapon: Drains mana and otherwise offers no immediate effect. Users may experience the placebo effect of being able to swing around a big honkin' piece of steel and think the weapon is doing something special when it in fact is not.
This is technically Ash's first intentional magic weapon (even though he has no idea about how it works). The reason why it deals special damage is because the soulstone mixed with the dragonbone filings took the aspect of the filings, along with the 'empty' nature of the soulstone.
In other words: Jake considers dragonbone to be the "toughest material in existence" with no equal, and thus the blade has no equal. Ash knows the bone to be only as useful as the magic that goes into it, and therefore the blade deals magic damage. (which means that, yes, the blade's effect will vanish for Jake the moment he hits something that he cannot cut.)
Also, the fact that Jake will cause the blade to skip 100% of armor stacks linearly with his innate ability to skip armor, which means that he will mess up a normal dude real bad and chunk the fuck out of heavy infantry.
Also also, Jake's innate magic means that he can maintain the spell's effect for somewhere around twenty seconds before needing around ten minutes to recharge, while Ash can hold it for five minutes or so.
Ash's gonna figure out how to do 'normal' stuff eventually, I promise.