Sexlivion

It was all over except for the cleanup. The khajiit Tsarrina was very cooperative with the Anvil City Watch, and back in Anvil, Gogen's testimony combined with her own statements cleared her: Faustina and Signy had forced her into their blackmail scheme, making her their unwilling accomplice. That she had immediately surrendered counted in her favor, and the Watch Captain decided to let her go with a fine and keep her under light surveillance. The Chapel of Dibella gave Faustina and Signy their final rites, and I paid for a burial at sea. Overall this seemed the best way, as no one wanted graves defiled in retribution. The modest reward offered by the City Watch went straight toward funeral expenses, and I made up the shortfall myself. I'd have to spend a day or two gathering herbs and brewing potions for the Mages Guild to build up my funds again, but that seemed far away right now. Something didn't add up for me about Gogen's story, and I approached him about it:...

Signy snuggled in my arms with a dreamy-happy look on her face. She was so adorable like that I couldn't help but kiss her on the forehead. "I love you," she said. "I love you too," I sort-of lied. I really didn't know her well enough to be in love with her. And her criminal activities were another turn off, of course. But in general, I'm really quite weak when it comes to women showing me attention. I've always thought that if they came on to me on their own initiative that it was definitely more promising that we'd stay together once married. But often women who want to spend time with me really just want to be friends, and it all turns out profoundly disappointing when they tell me I'm not their type or they're already seeing someone. Not Signy. She was definitely not seeing anyone else. And we'd made hot passionate love when that was clearly not what she and Faustina did with the men they lured up to Gweden Farm. Where w...

I'd patiently spent over two hours with Mirabelle and by the time I left, the sun had already set. I was getting tired after a very full day, and wanted to skip Gweden Farm entirely. Something was obviously up with Signy and Faustina, and since the Anvil City Watch was involved, it was probably illegal if not outright deadly, and it was best if I gave them a wide berth. Gogan was intercepted me almost as soon as I stepped out of Mirabelle's boarding house for sailors, The Fo'c's'le. "Friend, you're new in town, aren't you?" "Yes. Um... Do I know you?" "Gogan's the name. Look... I saw two girls come up to you earlier today. Signy and Faustina, right?" "Yes..." "You're new so you might not know this, but they're trouble." I took a quick look around to see if we were being noticed, then motioned him inside The Fo'c's'le. "Let's cut to the chase: You're working...

The sailors bunked at the The Fo'c's'le were mostly out till late, so it was easy to catch Mirabelle Monet for a private chat. No rooms available, unfortunately, and she repeated her mantra to me about sailors only. That was all right with me as I was really there for information about Signy, Faustina, and Gweden Farm, and asking about a room was just an ice-breaker. She had a funny look on her face when I asked, and halfway through telling me about how Gweden Farm used to be Gweden Cathouse . There was an agreement with the owner, Tsarrina , Mirabelle didn't cater to locals. Which suited her fine because she had enough clients and she didn't want trouble from wives anyway. Sailors were typically either unmarried or had plausible deniability of any wives back at their home parts. "Are you sure I'm not boring you?" she asked again. "What makes you ask?" Mirabelle narrowed her eyes and had a sly smile. "You weren't sent by M...

The day was winding down, and I decided to poke around the harbour, which was the seedier side of Anvil. Not to say I liked slumming, but I did like to know the goings-on and latest gossip, and, of course, making new friends and connections. You never know who you might meet. Something that got my attention immediately was the boarding house for sailors, The Fo'c's'le  (sailor's shorthand for forecastle ). It was run by a Breton woman with a rather widely known and vulgar reputation: "Mirabelle Monet runs quite a boarding house. I understand all of the sailors leave very satisfied ." It was only for sailors, apparently, so the only rooms for landlubbers was at The Count's Arms , which, unfortunately, was presently full. I had wanted to lay low from the Mages Guild to give Carahil some distance from me and quietly restore her reputation, so with some daylight left, I went over to Ms. Monet's. In truth, I was a bit hesitant. Perhaps she was easy, bu...

After our exertions, skinny dipping in the Abecean Sea was the perfect way to end our date. Dunbarrow Cove opened out seaward on the south side, and the large rock formations shielded the entrance from the castle. With surprising confidence, Dairihill explained that we could strip down while safely hidden from even the guardsmen on the tallest castle towers. Clearly she'd done this before. I would never have imagined what a wild thing she was at heart! I had heard of some interesting shipwrecks off coast not far from Anvil and had some Potions of Water Breathing brewed for in anticipation, and now shared them with my surprisingly playful companion. It seemed our recent intimacy had loosed her up considerably with me, and her fun, girly side emerged. We slinked in and out of the wrecks playing hide-and-seek, and turned over sunken barrels and chests looking for loot. All we emerged with were some young mudcrabs, which might seem rather boring, but they do have tasty meat. And ...

Dairihill and I left the Countess's bedchamber and she swiftly led me down the route we hadn't taken earlier. It wound downward, deep into the rock on which the Castle stood, surely, and finally ended in a sturdy door. From her keychain she singled out a non-descript key and unlocked the door. The bolt clunked heavily and the door creaked open. A short, rough-hewn passage rounded a corner to reveal a vast cavern. And a ship! " Dunbarrow Cove !" I realized. The fabled site of a sea battle that culminated in a ship being buried under rock. It is a somewhat far-fetched story ( 1 2 3 4 ) when one hears of it, but it is nevertheless true. I was surprised that the ship was so well preserved. Some crystals giving off enchanted light were placed at strategic locations, lighting junctions on various paths. "Yes. When the Count hadn't yet disappeared, he made sure this cave was properly cleared of vermin and the ship refurbished into living quarters as a kind ...