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[WillowLuman]

Without combat quests, we'd take 3 weeks or more to earn enough money, and a week to train. Why did we choose the legion? Because this way we can get basic competency for sure with relatively minimal investment of time. If we get out now, before we get what we came for, than we've just wasted another trip.

There are things we can do during the training. There's one thing we can do that no PC can, that we haven't tried yet: writing letters. Let's try and think about what we can do with letters, in the meantime.

[Iituem]

Rest, and continue your training.

I can't say I was hot about the idea of a year spent in the Legion, but our alternatives all seem pretty terrible so let's go with that.  Apart from it being the responsible thing to do, as the Legion we do have the support of the Legion.  Dagoth Ur isn't our enemy, the players are, and since the players cause trouble by breaking the law and we are (hopefully) immune to the 'game zone' effect of players, we might stand a decent chance of being able to co-ordinate the Legion and Morrowind itself against them in an attempt to preserve peace and sanity.

[WillowLuman]

We haven't actually seen any evidence that the player(s) (We've only seen one clear one, the others are probably just adventurers) is an eldricht abomination out to wreak havoc and ruin our lives. All we've seen that dunmer lady do is usual player stuff, not sadistic player stuff.

GlyphGryph, you want to take more risks? Let's talk to Caius. I am confident that we won't end up dead. We should perhaps emphasize that we want to know where the "Nerevarine" is, so we can be confident in her success.

[GlyphGryph]

I can support that. And if there's anyone who can get us out of our obligations in good standing, actually, it's probably him. And he might aid us in our attempts to accumulate power through insider information.

Suicide request withdrawn. Talk to Caius at the first opportunity (essentially, our first bit of time off I imagine, or earlier if can push for an assignment in Balmora or get leave to go talk to him). In the meanwhile, milk our training for all it's worth. Presumably other people do sleep sometimes, so we should have some off time to collect ingredients and go on short walks around town looking for quests, right? Don't spend ALL day and night working. Get a little done in the meantime.

[WillowLuman]

Before we do anything, let's get some consensus on these, so they happen:
-Heal
-Never admit weakness to Orcs.

[Supercharazad]

You should ask that orc out for dinner. The one you met the first time we went to the fort. Also tell them that your one weakness is her beauty and that she has wide, child-bearing hips

[LordBucket]

Episode 27: Legion training, week 2. Michael levels and meets an orc.

take your conscription like a man and do what you signed up to do.

I am against illegally (or fatally) leaving the Legion until we have a solid plan

I do not suggest leaving the Legion until you are at least finished with basic

Do not sabotage the legion, go AWOL or anything else

get that combat training before leaving

Rest, and continue your training.

Basic training, days 5 through 7

A few minutes after Vibius leaves to go on duty, Strillian returns from the storeroom and you resume your lessons. You're not sure any of this will be of any tremendous use, but at least if you ever encounter a lone trooper on the road you'll be able to identify and address him properly.

The following day, Strillian announces that he has the next two days off duty, and that another trooper will be taking over your instruction. Strillian's replacement is obviously much less competent, however, and the next two days are spent mostly lounging around the mess hall, chatting with various legionnaires and getting to know them. They seem like a decent bunch and you get to know most of them by name.

You should ask that orc out for dinner. The one you met the first time we went to the fort. Also tell them that your one weakness is her beauty and that she has wide, child-bearing hips

Sadly, the orcish and cyrodiil barracks are completely separate buildings, and you have some difficulty coming up with a plausible excuse to leave your assigned station. Instead, you try the honest approach and ask one of your newfound legionnaire friends to cover for you.

: "Hey, before I signed up I couldn't help but notice that there are some sexy green ladies over at the orc barracks. Since Strillian's away, would you guys cover for me for a couple hours while I go get some nookie?"

: "Don't go there. Trust me. You don't want any of that."

: "Oh? Why?"

: "Orc women bite."

You decide to not inquire further. The following day Strillian returns to duty and you spend the final day of your first week asking questions.

ask if the Legion has a corps of Engineers, or if they leave that sort of thing to hirelings.

: "Hey, Strillian. Does the Legion have a corps of engineers?

: "We have no dedicated engineering corps. Every legionnaire is considered available for construction duty. No doubt you've seen a couple distinctly different architectural styles in Morrowind, but in general any stone 'castle' type building you see was built by legionnaires. In fact, while I haven't seen it myself, I'm told there's even a Telvanni wizard who contracted the legion to build a castle for him. "

: "Is there any chance I could be assigned to construction rather than guard or patrol duty?"

: "I'm not in charge of assignments, but if a project ever comes up and you put in a request for it, it's almost certian to be approved. Construction detail is among the most menial of legion duties. You won't have much competition for the duty slots."

: "...I was actually thinking something more along the line of engineering and planning rather than the grunt work.

: "Oh. Well, that sort of thing is generally reserved for officers. Only need one or two engineers, but it takes thousands of tons of material to build a fort. The majority of construction work is hauling, mixing and laying."

: "Mixing?"

: "Yes, we generally use concrete rather than quarried stone. Though as you can see here in Gnisis, construction techniques vary. The old barracks, currently used by our orcish brethren is standard Legion concrete: aggregate stone plus mortar, typically gypsum or lime. This barracks we're in now is a native dunmer ceramic made from clay and fired with destruction magic. If you've ever seen dunmer make pots and bottles the technique is the same. Not as sturdy as Cyrodiil concrete, but it's much faster to build."

Take a nap

take a nap

Heal

: "Hey, Strillian. Any chance I could get in some R&R before we begin the next phase of my training ?"

You show him your legs.

: "Oh. You should have said something earlier. It's poor practice to leave injuries unattended. You want to always be in top shape in case of unexpected battle. Don't let me catch you ignoring wounds like that again. Once you go on patrol, there could be a guar or cliff racer behind any tree. Always heal up when you have the chance."

While you don't feel particularly sleepy, as soon as you hit the bed you fall instantly asleep, and dream.

You are standing on an open plain covered in lush, green grass. The wind blows through your hair, and the grass billows gently before you. You gaze at the sky and admire how the sun peeks tentatively though the silky clouds as if not wanting to disturb the scene, but casting the entire plain in a soothing warmth. Then...you hear something. A low, rumbling noise. Steady, and approaching. It sounds like a herd of buffalo. You turn towards the sound and feel the echoing rumble throughout your body when suddenly the first of the herd bursts into view over a nearby hill. But they're not buffalo. They're horses.

You smile as the herd approaches, changing direction to move towards you. Then, for a moment as they encircle and envelop you, you run with them.

You wake up laughing and give yourself a facepalm. You dreamt about ponies. Figures. The legion armor chestpiece has a pair of horses facing each other that kind of remind you of Celestia and Luna, minus wings and horns. You've been staring at Strillian for most of the past week of instruction. No wonder you'd dream about ponies. Anyway, pleasant respite though it was, you were kind of hoping for something more informational. On the bright side, at least you know you're not a vampire or a werewolf, and presumably the Dark Brotherhood isn't after you yet. And since you didn't dream about the Sixth House or Dagoth Ur, it's possible that might mean that the main quest hasn't been started yet. Or it might just mean that you're not the Nerevarine and therefore you're not eligible to receive useful dreams.

You get up and see that the holes in your legs have completely healed. It's kind of creepy.

Health is now 42/42

Try to get basic magic training.

: "Great. I feel much better now."

: "Glad to hear it. Tomorrow you begin physical training."

: "Any chance I could learn magic instead of fighting?"

: "That's not part of standard training, but the Legion is happy to accommodate spell casters. Are you a wizard?"

: "No. But I'm not exactly a fighter either."

: "Do you know any magic at all?"

: "No."

: "Then, no...sorry. I can't justify exempting you from standard training to do magic. I don't think we have any qualified instructors here anyway. I'm a battlemage myself, so I completely understand your desire to throw fireballs rather than swing swords, but you'll have to go through the same regiment we all did."

: "Wait, if you're a battlemage couldn't you teach me?"

He shakes his head.

: "It's a very different thing using magic and teaching it. The raw energy of magicka flows from Aetherius to Mundus by way of the sun and stars. Sure, I can channel that light and use it to cast spells...but it takes a much finer gaze to watch another do that same thing, watch for errors and correct or improve them. Don't go to just any hedge wizard for training. Be sure you find someone with enough acuity that they can stop you from blasting out your internal organs if you start overchanneling."

: "Does that happen? I thought magic was generally taught to children. When I spoke to the mages guild they were shocked that I didn't already know how to channel magicka."

: "It is generally taught at a young age and there are very good reasons for that. Ever seen a two year old tumble and fall on their head? They cry, they get up again, no big deal. The body is still forming, it's still pliable, and it heals quickly. Or think of stretching. Most kids can do the splits pretty easily, and if they can't, with very little training their body will adapt and they'll be flexible for life. Now try learning to do the splits after you're an adult. It might take years to gain the same flexibility that a child could have had for barely any effort. Learning magic is like that. There are mental pathways through which magicka flows, that if unused, tend to atrophy. You have to be very careful re-opening those channels for the first time as an adult, or you can destroy your mind just like you might tear your leg muscles if you tried to 'learn' how to do the splits just by yanking your legs apart."

: "Ok...I guess that makes sense. Still though, just seems like a huge waste of time. Why bother learning to stab people when I could learn to set them on fire with my mind instead?"

: "You'd be surprised how useful it is to know both how to throw fireballs and swing a sword too. Again, battlemage. Trust me, you want to learn to fight, not just cast. But if it's any consolation, I'll be teaching you some enchanting basics in week three. Not enough to enchant your gear, mind you...but you'll at least need to know how to discharge spells from a weapon like you would with scroll, and if I can get approval for it I'll grab a couple soulgems and teach you how to use them to recharge items."

Basic training, day 8

: "Ok, recruit. Time to requisition some armor."

: "Oh? Finally. What do I get?"

: "Eventually you'll be allowed some leeway in equipment choice, but for now, I'm issuing you an imperial steel cuirass and a helmet."

: "...ooh, nice. Isn't chain traditional for new recruits?"

: "It's a common choice because it's lighter and some recruits prefer medium over heavy armor, but heavy steel is the legion standard, so that's what you'll train in."

You run your finger over the pieces and lift them up one at a time. Individually they're not that heavy. The body armor is 29 pounds, which is by no means light, but once Strillian gets you strapped in you find that it sits comfortably on you and the weight is well distributed. You jump up and down experimentally, and it's not uncomfortable. Funny. You took of your Rainbow Dash t-shirt a week ago so you wouldn't look out of place, but now here you are a week later wearing ponies anyway.

: "Ok, now take it off."

: "What? Why?"

: "Because I strapped you in. Now you've seen how it's done, and it's time for you to do it."

Oh, right. It doesn't exactly just slide on like a shirt. There's a leather jerkin with a studded leather skirt that goes on first, and the armor itself consists of two separate armor plates. One that fits directly over the jerkin and hugs around your sides, and a second piece for the back that straps to the front at the shoulders and sides. It takes some practice, and tips from Strillian, but eventually you learn to take it off and put it back on on your own.

New skill: Heavy armor is now 1

: "Next, the helmet."

This is pretty straightforwrad. Just put it on, basically. Curiously, though it's only about five pounds, it feels like it hinders your movement more than the body armor. At lest the face is open so your vision isn't obscured.

: "Next, weapons and shield."

: "I thought combat training wasn't until next week."

: "It isn't, but you'll be doing your field training encumbered."

He grabs a massive shield and spear in one hand and a sword and club in the other.

: "How am I supposed to carry all this?"

: "Shield goes over your left arm, then grip the spear in your hand. There's a slot on the right side of the shield to keep it from bouncing around."

: "Both on the left arm?"

: "For marching rather than fighting, yes. Several standard troop formations will require spear and shield cohesion, but your in-close fighting will be done with the sword. Shield plus spear in left is for travel. I think you'll find that the extra few pounds of the spear won't make much difference."

You heft the spear. It's 7 pounds. On its own, sure you could carry this around, but the shield is 14 pounds. 21 pounds on one arm? That's going to hurt after a while. Still, it's nice to finally trade up from that fluffy hat:



: "Next, the sword goes on your right and the club on your left."

Strillian takes off your current belt with tanto, and fits you with a heavy duty leather belt with multiple steel mounting brackets, then points at your tanto.

: "Are you proficient with that?"

: "...err, not really."

: "Ok. Standard legion equipment would be sword and spiked club. If you were already skilled with the dagger, then I'd have you wear that, but for now stow the dagger under your bunk and wear the club."

: "Out of curiosity, why a club as alternate weapon rather than dagger?"

: "Not everything we fight has blood to spill. Some creatures are resistant to bladed weapons. Having the option of both cutting and bludgeoning attacks gives an extra edge of versatility."

Strillian shows you how to strap the scabbard to your belt on the right, and the hilt of the club slides into a loop on the left and is held in place by a snap that be easily released with a finger and thumb. It occurs to you that this 'sword sits on the same side of your body you fight with' arrangement is the same that Sugar-lips was using. Maybe there is something to that after all.

: "The belt also has a bracket in the back to mount your dagger too, if you'd like."

You're currently wearing 73 pounds of armor and weapons. You pass on adding the dagger too.

: "Alright, Legionnaire...move out!"

You follow Strillian outside the barracks. Slowly. Walking up the stairs to the exit proves difficult. Having not gone outside in a week you're half expecting to be blinded by the light, but the helmet protects you from that nicely. Seeing the sun once again, you're reminded of what Strillian said about magicka travelling from Aetheris to Mundis via the sun and stars. You vaguely remember having read something that at some point, and of course there's the whole 'moon and star' thing of the Nerevarine, but it had never really occurred to you that the obvious implication is that starlight is the source of all magic. That was made a bit more clear in Daggerfall, with all of the distinctions between light-powered and dark-powered magery. Guess they just chose to simplify it for Morrowind.

: "Ok. We made it. Now what?"

: "Now we run, recruit."

You try. You really do. What you actually do is more of a hobbled shuffle.

Basic training, day 9

After a great deal of thought, truly more than you would have liked...you have concluded that the time disparity between Morrowind and home does not work like you thought it did. You were theorizing that there's a simple, linear conversion. Maybe you didn't know the exact rate of conversion, but something like one day in Morrowind is something like 45 minutes. The truth, you realize, is far more sinister. The time rate is variable, depending on what sort of activity you're engaging in. For example, if you're hanging out with Legionnaires in a barracks, one day in Morrowind is about 45 minutes. On the other hand if you're...just hypothetically of course...running in circles outside that same barracks while a cruel and evil drill seargent cheerfully and happily sings peppy marching songs in a misguided attempt to encourage you...one day in Morrowind is about a thousand years.

Athletics skill is now 14
Acrobatics is now 22
Max health is now 43

Basic training, year 1000 day 10

Strillian is ever cheerful, but on the second day he finally realizes that you're not just faking how much difficulty you're having with this. Having seen how much stronger even a completely average peasant elf girl in Seyda Neen was than you, it's no surprise to you that this encumbered run might not be such a big deal to a native. But while you might look like a Cyrodiil, you're human. And the base strength values just aren't that high compared to Morrowind standards.

Strillian agrees to let you stow your sword and club in your bunk. That takes 18 pounds off your load. You're grateful.

Athletics skill is now 16
Acrobatics is now 24

Basic training, year 2000 day 11

Grudgingly, you have to admit that after three days of running in circles while carrying all this gear, it is getting easier. Though you're not sure how much of that is that you're getting stronger, and how much of that is that you've started carrying your spear in your right hand while you run jog briskly walk in order to keep the weight balanced. You're also not sure why it was necessary to join the legion to do this. All you're doing is running in circles. Yes, it's making you stronger. But you're not really doing anything you couldn't have done on your own, and you could have been usefully going places and doing things while you ran around instead of simply running in circles like you're doing now.

Athletics skill is now 18
Acrobatics is now 25

Basic training, year 3000 day 12

Today you take an 8 hour break from running during which Strillian teaches you about proper care and maintenance of weapons and armor. How to clean off blood to keep them from corroding. How to properly oil them for storage and to keep moisture away. Even how to use a smithing hammer to conduct basic repairs. It's useful.

New skill Armorer is now 5
Max health is now 44
-~=Michael is now level 3=~-
Max health is now 45
Luck is now 52

Then it's back to running in circles

Athletics skill is now 19
Acrobatics is now 26

Basic training, year 4000 day 13

Around noon, Strillian casually mentions that ordinarily you'd have been doing unit drills to learn how to function as a soldier in a group rather than as merely an individual combatant. But since you're apparently so weak and there's been no deployment of that sort on Vvardenfell in 100 years, he received special permission from General Darius to simply focus on the physical training that you're more in need of. You remind yourself to kill this man later.

Athletics skill is now 21
Acrobatic is now 27

Basic training, year 5000 day 14
A little after noon, an orc wearing iron armor comes asking for Strillian. At first you don't pay much attention. Half the legionnaires in the fort are orcs, and since Strillian's the Quartermaster, it's not unusual for him to be asked for requisitions of gear, food, pay, and the like.



: "Hey. I'm looking for some guy named Strictnine Marcus."

: "Strillian Macro?"

: "Yeah. That."

: "I'm Strillian."

: "Great. I'm supposed to ask you for some armor."

: "New recruit?"

: "Yeah, whatever."

The orc hands Strillian a piece of paper, which he reads over.

: "Just a moment. I'll need to grab this from the storeroom."

Strillian runs off, leaving you alone with the orc, who, curious, runs along side of you.

: "What are you doing?"

: "Legion training. "

: "Training for what?"

: "To be a legionnaire."

The orc looks at you incredulously.

: "Are you serious? You're just running around? They're not going to ask me to do that too are they? That's so boring!"

You feel your face flush under your helm. You agree. It is boring. And tiring. But if he's a new recruit he'll find out soon enough. Since he'll be your comrade in arms, you take a break from your run to properly introduce yourself.

: "I'm Michael."

The orc bumps knuckles with you then strikes a goofy looking pose worthy of the Ginyu Force.

: "I'm Awesomicus Maximus!"

You open your mouth to respond but nothing comes out.

: "Ha! He's speechless! I knew it was an awesome name!"

This orc doesn't have the same accent as the other orcs in the barracks. And "Maximus" sounds very much like an Imperial rather than orcish name. Either he was raised in Cyrodiil, or...

: "Hey, this might seem like a crazy question. But are you a PC?"

He tilts his head and scrunches one eye in confusion.

: "What? How could I be a PC? Aren't those something you-"

Before he can finish his sentence, Strillian returns and hands the orc a chainmail cuirass.

: "Here you go, recruit. Welcome to the legion."

You watch as the orc, in one fluid motion and with one hand, swaps out his iron breastplate with the chainmail cuirass Strillian gave him. The entire motion takes less than a second, and you don't see where the old armor disappears to.

: "Awesome. Thanks. See you later."

: "Wait, before you go-"



He disappears in a blur of magic.

: "Break time's over recruit. Back to running."

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Known stats
Level 3
Health 45/45
Armor rating: 1

Attributes (Values in parenthesis are starting values)
23.2 Strength (20)
31.8 Speed (30)
32.9 Agility (30)
32.3 Endurance (30)
41.0 Intelligence (40)
42.6 Personality (40)
52.0 Luck (50)

Skills
27 Acrobatics (0)
21 Athletics (5)
 2 Unarmored (0)
 1 Heavy Armor (0)
17 Speechcraft (10)
 6 Mercantile (0)
 5 Alchemy (0)
 5 Armorer (0)

Faction standings
Imperial Legion, Recruit

Worn:
 * Cursed ring of athletics and drain health
 * Chitin spear
 * Imperial steel Cuirass
 * Imperial steel helm
 * Imperial steel shield
 * Combat belt
 * Commoner's shirt
 * 'Expensive' pants
 * Tennis shoes
 * Interior coinpurse, containing 44 gold

Stashed under your bed in the imperial barracks at Fort Darius
 * Steel tanto, with scabbard and carrying straps
 * Chitin club
 * Steel longsword

Backpack (also under your bed in the barracks at Fort Darius)
Main compartment:
 * A strange note that you don't know where it came from
 * Letter of introduction from Ranis Athrys
 * Colovian fur "helm"
 * Commoner's belt
 * Yellow notepad with 56 pages left
 * 1 pen
 * Apprentice mortar and pestle
 * 1 Standard Restore Health potions
 * 1 empty bottle
 * 2 soulgems of uncertain size
 * "20% cooler" Rainbow Dash t-shirt,
 * Denim pants
 * a cellphone and wallet with picture ID and $30 in cash

Small compartment
 * 122 gold
 * 1 ampoule Pod
 * 1 bread
 * 7 bungler's bane
 * 3 hypha facia
 * 1 kwama cuttle
 * 11 luminous russula
 * 1 rat meat
 * 3 saltrice
 * 5 spore pod
 * 6 violet coprinus

Alchemy Knowledge
ampoule Pod - [1]Restore speed
Bread - [1]Restore Fatigue
bungler's bane - [1]Drain agility
coda flower - [1]Restore luck
hypha facia - [1]Drain
kwama cuttle [1]Restore health
luminous russula [1]Paralysis
rat meat - [1]Poison
saltrice [1]Restore endurance
spore pod - [1]Paralysis
Small Kwama Egg - [1]Restore Fatigue
violet coprinus - [1]Water Walking

What do you do?

[gman8181]

I uh... don't really know anymore.  I kind of thought that this was just Michael living in Morrowind and that we were just trying to survive and have a good time.  Now there's all this weird stuff going on like people acting like PCs but maybe not being PCs and us having to rush to beat the Nevarine prophecy even though we might not be the Nevarine and ahhhhhhh!

Too deep for me.  I love your writing LordBucket but from now on I'm just going to watch, no more suggestions.

[Putnam]

Awesomicus Maximus?

SHIET

[ShoesandHats]

Alright, he was either using divine or Almsivi intervention, which means he's at the temple or Fort Darius. So, uh...not sure what to make of that information, assuming it's right.

[gman8181]

Mark and Recall?

[ShoesandHats]

Mark and Recall?

Maybe, but I don't know if he'd be able to use it, seeing as he seemed like a warrior type. Plus, he's an Orc, so he's got inherently low magicka and magic skills.

[WillowLuman]

Could've been a scroll. Alright, it seems not only do we have more than one PC, but we have several kinds of PC's as well.

1-The silent, gamey type. No speech, practices min/maxing, never bothers to sheathe weapons. Can only say standard PC dialogue choices, so not much at at all.
2-People clearly influenced by the old world, but otherwise act like actual people and show no awareness of being PC's.
3-Hardcore RPer's
4-Random adventurers who are not actually players but might compete with us for quests.

Damnit, I'd have thought we'd be doing strength training. They promised they'd put some meat on our bones! You'd think our endurance and/or willpower would have increased from all this, too. Ask about pushups, abdominal crunches, resistance training, weight lifting, that sort of thing. Tell him that we were once trained as an engineer/financier but got sick of being a scrawny student who didn't do anything real.

[hermes]

ptw, loved the Orc 

[joemoben]

 We should ask Strillian why he let that guy just leave. It would help to get an extra npcs thoughts on stuff like that.