Adrienne Berene part 1
Finding Erthor for the Skingrad Mages Guild was a thankfully uncomplicated affair and I returned in short order. He'd been deep in Bleak Flats Cave and blissfully unaware that Mehrunes Dagon had opened gateways to hell all over Tamriel. I wondered if we'd really done him a favour calling him back to Skingrad.
Adrienne's second task was straightforward as well, but a bit daunting: The recover of some dwemer artifacts.
The Arcane University had lost a shipment of dwemer mechanical parts required for overdue repairs to the Orrery (and honestly, I had to look up on the sly what an orrery was). By "lost", Adrienne explained that they were not merely misplaced but stolen. A ransom letter had been delivered and I was to recover the items. The University refused to pay up, and normally the Imperial Legion or their Battlemage division (having connections with the Mages Guild and all) would help. Except with the Oblivion crisis, there was now also a manpower crisis apparently.
"Don't worry, we've scouted the camp: There are only a couple of them. Handle the ruffians whatever way you can--just recover those parts! Especially now with daedra all over the place, these thieves might just get themselves killed, and then who knows where the shipment will be?"
Great -- more killing. I just knew this enterprise would end in deadly violence.
"I'm due back at the Imperial City to deliver some water crystals from the Anvil well and--"
"And that's perfect! While you're there, you can drop off the dwemer artifacts to Bothiel at the Arcane University. Do this for me-- er, I mean, for the Guild of course -- and you'd also be dropping off a letter of recommendation from me."
"But I thought getting Erthor back would get me the recommendation!"
"Well, it turned out he wasn't in any danger, was he? Hardly anything worth a recommendation."
"A recommendation won't do me any good if I get killed," I muttered.
Adrienne frowned and her brow darkened. I figured she'd be disappointed, and maybe upset, but not outright nasty.
"I must say I'm profoundly disappointed. You can be assured there'll be absolutely no recommendation letter from me. You haven't done anything noteworthy and obviously have no intention of doing so. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm busy. Very busy. Kvatch is in ruins and all the outstanding tasks from the Kvatch Mages Guild have fallen to me.
"I don't know why all of it had to come here. Couldn't they have given Anvil some too?
"And another thing -- with so much to do for our Guild, I'm afraid we simply can't afford to give out any more of our supplies. Certainly not to vagrant Guild members who aren't going to stick around and help out. You can return everything on your way out!"
"Look, it's not that I don't want to help, it's just that I've done enough killing in the last few days. I never saw this much action when I was in the Legion!"
"The Legion? Is that supposed to impress me? Take a look around -- All the Imperial Legion and the City Guard do is stand around and chatter all day. It's the Guilds that do all the real work.
"But no matter. You don't have to volunteer to help. My report will just clearly state your position on the mattter."
"Wha-- What?"
"My weekly report of course. If you don't want to have a starring role in it, you'd better start thinking about ways to contribute to this Guild."
She pointedly slapped the dossier about the stolen dwemer parts on the table between us, then stormed off, her ponytails bouncing gaily.
*
I admit I did look rather a bit armored for a Mages Guild member, much less someone delivering ransom money, but I wasn't taking any chances. The theives weren't in any mood to negotiate and promptly drew their weapons. There was a skirmish then I looked through their camp for the dwemer part. It was locked in a chest (of course) and easy to recognize. There was also a handy map roughly locating their other encampments -- they'd split up the shipment so they wouldn't lose it all at once in case someone came looking for it.
Someone like me, I guess.
I really had to get out of Tamriel. This place was just too full of crazy murder and mayhem.
Orrery parts, well water crystals, then I'm backtracking to Anvil and hopping on the first ship out. Surely that spooky Namira-worshipping woman wouldn't bother following me off the damned continent.
*
It sounds really blase to say, but I had to survive (by killing) about ten bandits and thieves that day. Fortunately, they'd all split up into small camps of just two people per dwemer artifact, and travelling alone, I evidently didn't look like a squad of Imperial Legionnaires. The land in the region north and northwest of Kvatch was largely flat, so we could both see each other a mile away. A Mages Guild team or Legion squad would have been spotted and they could scram with the artifact -- then raise their ransom cost, no doubt.
Clearly Adrienne had given this some thought when she sent me alone. I don't know why she was so confident I'd be able to handle myself, though. Had word about me being the "Hero of Kvatch" leaked?
In any case, the sun was just dipping below the horizon when I shambled into the Skingrad Mages Guild, blood-spattered and tired and hauling a large sack with the artifacts, mostly gears but also an interesting dwemer coherer. It looked like alchemical apparatus but I wasn't sure what it was good for.
Adrienne heard about me coming back and with every artifact. She told me to clean up and go straight to her room to debrief. I hoped it wouldn't be another assignment.
Adrienne's second task was straightforward as well, but a bit daunting: The recover of some dwemer artifacts.
The Arcane University had lost a shipment of dwemer mechanical parts required for overdue repairs to the Orrery (and honestly, I had to look up on the sly what an orrery was). By "lost", Adrienne explained that they were not merely misplaced but stolen. A ransom letter had been delivered and I was to recover the items. The University refused to pay up, and normally the Imperial Legion or their Battlemage division (having connections with the Mages Guild and all) would help. Except with the Oblivion crisis, there was now also a manpower crisis apparently.
"Don't worry, we've scouted the camp: There are only a couple of them. Handle the ruffians whatever way you can--just recover those parts! Especially now with daedra all over the place, these thieves might just get themselves killed, and then who knows where the shipment will be?"
Great -- more killing. I just knew this enterprise would end in deadly violence.
"I'm due back at the Imperial City to deliver some water crystals from the Anvil well and--"
"And that's perfect! While you're there, you can drop off the dwemer artifacts to Bothiel at the Arcane University. Do this for me-- er, I mean, for the Guild of course -- and you'd also be dropping off a letter of recommendation from me."
"But I thought getting Erthor back would get me the recommendation!"
"Well, it turned out he wasn't in any danger, was he? Hardly anything worth a recommendation."
"A recommendation won't do me any good if I get killed," I muttered.
Adrienne frowned and her brow darkened. I figured she'd be disappointed, and maybe upset, but not outright nasty.
"I must say I'm profoundly disappointed. You can be assured there'll be absolutely no recommendation letter from me. You haven't done anything noteworthy and obviously have no intention of doing so. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm busy. Very busy. Kvatch is in ruins and all the outstanding tasks from the Kvatch Mages Guild have fallen to me.
"I don't know why all of it had to come here. Couldn't they have given Anvil some too?
"And another thing -- with so much to do for our Guild, I'm afraid we simply can't afford to give out any more of our supplies. Certainly not to vagrant Guild members who aren't going to stick around and help out. You can return everything on your way out!"
"Look, it's not that I don't want to help, it's just that I've done enough killing in the last few days. I never saw this much action when I was in the Legion!"
"The Legion? Is that supposed to impress me? Take a look around -- All the Imperial Legion and the City Guard do is stand around and chatter all day. It's the Guilds that do all the real work.
"But no matter. You don't have to volunteer to help. My report will just clearly state your position on the mattter."
"Wha-- What?"
"My weekly report of course. If you don't want to have a starring role in it, you'd better start thinking about ways to contribute to this Guild."
She pointedly slapped the dossier about the stolen dwemer parts on the table between us, then stormed off, her ponytails bouncing gaily.
*
I admit I did look rather a bit armored for a Mages Guild member, much less someone delivering ransom money, but I wasn't taking any chances. The theives weren't in any mood to negotiate and promptly drew their weapons. There was a skirmish then I looked through their camp for the dwemer part. It was locked in a chest (of course) and easy to recognize. There was also a handy map roughly locating their other encampments -- they'd split up the shipment so they wouldn't lose it all at once in case someone came looking for it.
Someone like me, I guess.
I really had to get out of Tamriel. This place was just too full of crazy murder and mayhem.
Orrery parts, well water crystals, then I'm backtracking to Anvil and hopping on the first ship out. Surely that spooky Namira-worshipping woman wouldn't bother following me off the damned continent.
*
It sounds really blase to say, but I had to survive (by killing) about ten bandits and thieves that day. Fortunately, they'd all split up into small camps of just two people per dwemer artifact, and travelling alone, I evidently didn't look like a squad of Imperial Legionnaires. The land in the region north and northwest of Kvatch was largely flat, so we could both see each other a mile away. A Mages Guild team or Legion squad would have been spotted and they could scram with the artifact -- then raise their ransom cost, no doubt.
Clearly Adrienne had given this some thought when she sent me alone. I don't know why she was so confident I'd be able to handle myself, though. Had word about me being the "Hero of Kvatch" leaked?
In any case, the sun was just dipping below the horizon when I shambled into the Skingrad Mages Guild, blood-spattered and tired and hauling a large sack with the artifacts, mostly gears but also an interesting dwemer coherer. It looked like alchemical apparatus but I wasn't sure what it was good for.
Adrienne heard about me coming back and with every artifact. She told me to clean up and go straight to her room to debrief. I hoped it wouldn't be another assignment.
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