Kvatch part 2

I had a wonderfully relaxing night with Sigrid. The poor dear was still tired after her desperate flight from doomed Kvatch, and from her wild "rides" last night. She had invited me to ride her, then we turned over for her to play cowboy. Finally exhausted, she had fallen into a contented, purring sleep on my chest, and so the night passed.

By dawn's dim light, surely everyone had guessed at what had gone on between us, and a handsome orc woman (though admittedly I do have a very hard time with finding long flat noses and boar fangs jutting from their lower jaws to be attractive on any woman) came by to delicately wake us. It was time to get moving.

Still no reinforcements from Anvil or Skingrad, and Savlian surmised that they had their own troubles. I escorted them to the nearby GottShaw Inn where an injured Legion Soldier assigned to road patrol offered to take them the rest of the way to Anvil. He'd had to rest the night after being waylaid by camps when he paused to investigate one of the smaller Oblivion gates that were apparently popping up everywhere.
He lent me his horse and I returned to Kvatch to see how Savlian and his men were doing.

He was down to two men to hold the barricade, and they were all hurt and tired. Dead scamps, daedra seducers, and the odd heavily armored dremora were scattered about. There were enough bodies to reinforce the barricade of roughly sharpened logs lashed together.

Savlian briefed me: "We need to get inside and get the last of the survivors. I had a few soldiers holding the Chapel, which still had four walls and sturdy doors. They can't hold out forever and I won't abandon them. But first we need to close this gate so we don't get trapped inside. If we can, maybe we can retake Kvatch and the castle for supplies.

"I've already sent good men and women in there and no one's come back. We're barely holding this barricade as it is."

It was up to me then. That was what he was getting at. He wanted me to jump through a portal to hell and somehow close it, without really having any clue what to do. I can't believe his men actually went along with that stupid plan. I mean, it could be crawling with daedra over there!

Although clearly they hadn't been swarming out. Maybe whatever general was masterminding the invasion had pulled back their troops to mass for another big push against another city, and this was just kept open as a distraction, for a few raiders to keep Tamriel's defenders occupied.

As I considered how to give him a firm "NO" and explain that I was really no hero, a dremora mage and a couple of scamps stepped out of the gate and we quickly cut them down with arrows, though not before he let loose two bolts of lightning that put down another of Savlian's men. He wasn't quite dead yet, but too hurt to be of any good for a long while.

Savlian and his men were in awe at my magical bow, and I could see hope returning.

One man with a magic bow. Yay. They were probably delirious from exhaustion.

I probably was too, because without a word I checked my gear, especially my stock of healing potions on my belt, and walked to the gate.

It looked pretty big from afar, but up close... It was enormous. I shuddered to think of what monster or siege engine needed such a huge portal.

I could see the gates of Kvatch beyond, through the waves of heat and flames that licked all around the ring of stone. I leapt in.

Honestly, this hero nonsense -- and the inordinate amount of killing in just a few days in Tamriel -- really had to stop. Maybe I should see what sort of ship I could take out of Tamriel. To Morrowind, maybe. Or Elsweyr, even though I'd be surrounded by funny-talking furries.



When my eyes adjusted to the harsh reddish-orange light of this world, the first thing they were drawn to was a Kvatch soldier getting his head bitten off by a giant crocodile that ran about on its hind legs. Then that monster turned to me and charged. There were a couple of scamps, including a fairly large one with horns, but I didn't really pay much attention at the time.

I had time for one poisoned and magically charged arrow, and to quickly drink a potion I drew from my utility belt, then it was time for my sword.