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[WillowLuman]

Also, being the Nerevarine isn't necessarily an act of prophecy (I.E incarnation) as it can be Mantling; if we act as the Nerevarine, we are the Nerevarine.

We haven't actually done any thing that the Nerevarine is supposed to do: therefore, I find Clover to be the much more likely candidate.

I'll just say this again: Let's get to her before we decide what to do. If nothing else, we must find out if she read our note.

[Man of Paper]

Take the risk.

[IronyOwl]

I assume you mean go there. I agree we must at least get there in time. We can decide what to do when we get there, the important thing is to get there. Alive.

I'll second this. If nothing else, having a discussion with Clover about whether she thinks she's the Nerevarine and why could be very enlightening. Not to mention getting Fyr to weigh in on it.

Less officially, I too am concerned about what's been said about incarnation vs mantling. We fit the entry conditions, but we haven't been doing much Nerevarining since.

EDIT: Also worth noting, that sleeper agent seemed to recognize us and directed us to Dagoth Ur. If we can find out if Clover's had similar experiences, that could be a dead giveaway that we're it and she's not, or support for the notion that the Nerevarine's identity is hazy even to Dagoth's minions, or possibly even fluid.


On that note, I haven't noticed anything about this, so:

Hey Michael, experiment time!


Getting anything strange from me at the moment? Images, feelings, words between "experiment time" and "Getting anything?"

How about now? Anything unusual about the preceding sentence? What about this one?

Finally, let me know if you get anything immediately after this sentence.

Take the risk.

[LordBucket]

Submission cutoff for episode 44

50/50 update tonight/tomorrow

Correction. Apparently tonight is new year's eve. Update tonight highly unlikely.

[IronyOwl]

Caius nods and turns back to his captive. But with Caius no longer on top of him, the sleeper has turned his head and is now looking at you.

: "So, it is you. Why don't you come to Red Mountain, Michael? Dagoth Ur would like to meet you. He can be most generous."

The hairs on the back of your neck raise and you break out in a cold sweat.

: "Oh, so you know our operative here, do you? Tell me how."

: "Dagoth Ur knows and sees all! Nothing shall be hidden from the master!"

CRUNCH.

Found the passage I was thinking of. It was less conclusive than I remembered; clearly Dagoth Ur or his minions or this minion in particular know of us and might like our services (and/or to lure us to our deaths), but I'm getting less of a "You! You're important! Really important!" vibe than I thought.

Come to think of it, I wonder if Dagoth Ur knows more about our situation than most. He might turn out to be a more practical-minded Vivec, ash holocaust notwithstanding.


Oh, and as long as I'm on a purely theoretical analysis post, what's with those dreams? The first was running with horses... which we passed off as being related to looking at Legion breastplates all day. I'm skeptical of us having meaningless dreams, though.

Could that have been related to joining the Legion? If the Legion are horses, as implied by their insignia, running with them might be a fairly straightforward metaphor for joining. I'm not sure what to make of the rest of the imagery, though; could be a metaphor for having an open, rather nice world and deciding to run with horses in it, could be a convenient place for horses and I'm overthinking it, could be something else entirely, and of course this whole thing could be completely wrong.

Of course, if it is true, then that dream was meaningful but not especially useful. Its main use would be informing us of how dreams (can) work, which could be handy for if/when we get dreams that provide subtler hints about what we're currently doing.

Speaking of which, here we have the second dream.

You enter the fort, find the barracks and take a nap...and dream.


You are standing knee deep in swamp water, with trees and shrubs all around you. In front of you but not facing you is a silver statue of a rearing horse that you recognize immediately: it's the horse on the right breast of the Imperial Legion guard armor. You step forward to inspect it more closely, but before you can get close enough to touch it a number of blurry and indistinct shapes rise from the swamp all around you. It's difficult to make out what they're supposed to be, or even how many there are. Then, suddenly one of them moves impossibly fast in no particular direction and the entire world slows to a stop.

Your eyes are suddenly filled with a blinding light that compels you to cover them, but doing so doesn't stop the light from reaching your eyes. Instinctively you know that the light is permeating not only your hand and eyes, but all of you. Every fiber of your being. Every cell in your body, every thought in your mind, everything that exists in your soul...it can see. With eye cover doing nothing to stop the light, you force your eyes open and turn to see a gold statue you hadn't noticed before. It is behind you, facing and mirroring the silver statue. It appears to be the horse from the left breast of the guard armor, and it's definitely the source of the light that permeates everything. You cautiously approach only to hear a faint sound, a voice. It says '...would like for us to be friends...'

And then you realize that the statue is not made of gold. It is wearing gold armor.


You wake up drenched in warm sweat.

So... it's pretty hard to imagine that this isn't relevant in some way, but I have no idea what to make of it. Of note is that the light mentioned matches what we now know Magicka to resemble.

The two horses thing is also really interesting, but again, I don't know what to make of it. Golden armor, golden speech, and wanting to be friends, possibly with a horse with its back to it, all makes me think Celestia, but I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to make any strong connections.

I'm tempted to think the shapes might be the... PCish adventurers we keep seeing. Being blurry and indistinct, both in nature and number, might match the nature of these things, and one of them "moving impossibly fast in no particular direction" prior to the world standing still might be a decent description of an adventurer catapulting events into motion through somewhat aimless, but very rapid, activity and power gains.

That's an awfully bold assumption, though. Those shapes could be anything, assuming dreams indeed mean anything at all much less this particular view of them, and we don't have any data (as far as I'm aware) to try to pin anything down.

[Putnam]

Hehe, Dagoth Ur a practical-minded Vivec? Hell no. You might get that impression from in-game writing, but he's like if Vivec were simply wrong along with being intentionally confusing.

I AM THE SHARMAT
I AM OLDER THAN MUSIC

What that means is that Dagoth Ur is claiming that he is older than Aurbis, the universe. Aurbis is music, y'see. He's ego-trippin' and balls-trippin' at the same time.

Of course, you should consider the source.

[WillowLuman]

Vivec is indeed known for ego-trippin' and balls-trippin' at the same time, too XD

[Xanmyral]

Don't forget the sheer ass-backwards state of being he's in, which is almost the opposite of CHIM, and hilariously impossible-yet-so.

I'd say he's the last person anyone should go to for anything resembling logic, unless you want to enter his solipsistic state for some reason.

[WillowLuman]

Dagoth Ur has plenty of info and possibly good advice, if you discount his propaganda.

[gman8181]

Being a bit crazy and maybe a little ambitious is practically a requirement for mantling in the elder scrolls universe.

If we want to become like a god, we should act like a god.

[IronyOwl]

Being a bit crazy and maybe a little ambitious is practically a requirement for mantling in the elder scrolls universe.

If we want to become like a god, we should act like a god.

I like the cut of your jib, but we're rather behind the power curve at the moment. Our stats suck, our skills could pass for racial modifiers, our gear is... actually pretty okay, but still specialized for nothing we're able to do at the moment save have a low carrying capacity, and of course we don't have any magic.

[Haspen]

Dagoth Ur has plenty of info and possibly good advice, if you discount his propaganda.

That's because he actually toyed with Morrowind Construction Kit and his adventures there are described in 36 Lessons of Vivec if you look carefully

[Putnam]

Dagoth Ur has plenty of info and possibly good advice, if you discount his propaganda.

That's because he actually toyed with Morrowind Construction Kit and his adventures there are described in 36 Lessons of Vivec if you look carefully

If I could completely erase that idea from the universe and the possibility of it existing I would.

[WillowLuman]

Besides, he's got it backwards: the urban legend is that Vivec used the CS.

[LordBucket]

Episode 44: "The fact that there is a PC running around terrifies me"

: "How sure are you that you're the Nerevarine?"

assume that we are the Nerevarine, go after Clover.

We can decide what to do when we get there, the important thing is to get there.

: "Confidant enough to go after Clover."

Caius nods.

: "Alright. Here's some gold to help you get to Tel Fyr. It's on an island, so you'll need to some way to cross water if you don't want to be slaughterfish food. And remember that Telvanni mushrooms are generally designed to require levitation to get around."

+200 gold

: "Thanks."

: "Good luck."

Let's see, before you go is there anything you're forgetting?

Retrieve our Tanto. And get the spear fixed at the next financial opportunity that
won't block us from a goal. We want 2 weapons at all times, if we can help it.

You check under the bed, but don't see your things anywhere.

: "Hey, Caius. What happened to the armor and weapons I left here before I delivered that letter?"

: "I had Nine-Toes stash them in his room temporarily. I did mention that I have a cover to maintain and couldn't have adventuring gear laying about. The guard armor especially had to go."

: "Right. Sorry about that. Which is Nine-Toes' place?"

: "Down the stairs, then first door on your left."

You say goodbye to Caius and head to Nine-Toes' house.



Unfortunately it's locked. You knock, and wait, but there is no answer. Apparently he's out on a mission or something. You briefly consider trying to pick the lock, but decide against it and instead start heading towards to the Fighter's Guild to hopefully pick up some free repair hammers. The voices in your head keep you occupied on the way.

No Michael we aren't Daedra.

Michael: We're all people on a forum telling you what to do. That is literally all there is to us. We're not Daedra, but we're still just as likely to screw you over because we're collectively pretty stupid, but just don't follow the worst of the advice we give and you should be fine.

Michael thinks for moment then frowns.

: "A forum? You mean like a web forum? You're telling me this is an internet forum game? That doesn't make sense. I mean, sure it would explain why there are so many of you and why none of you agree with each other. But it doesn't explain how I got here. It doesn't explain why I have a cellphone. It doesn't explain Vivec. It might explain the'higher self' thing, because...I mean, the idea would be that I'm you, and you're collectively all me, and I do the things you suggest. I get that. But...what about when the world disappeared back in Gnisis? And what about the time loop thing you guys told me about where I died? Some of said you thought the game had been restored from a previous save. How could there have been a game load if this is all being played out on a web forum? And if this is a forum game why do you guys keep talking about there being a PC? If this is a forum game, then presumably you guys would be the players, right? So who's this PC you all keep talking about?"

Hey Michael, experiment time!

Getting anything strange from me at the moment? Images, feelings, words between "experiment time" and "Getting anything?"

: "...erm, for a moment I kind of got a picture in my head...I think it was a changeling? Might have been a black horse. And there was purple."

How about now? Anything unusual about the preceding sentence? What about this one?

Finally, let me know if you get anything immediately after this sentence.

Michael thinks for a bit.

see if we can get an escort.

as Awesomicus is still a candidate, and is a competent fighter, we should bring him.

: "Yes, a couple of you suggested I get an escort, and one proposed Awesomicus. Which I think is a fantastic idea, actually. Let him be the one to get pecked to death by cliff racers."

Arriving at the Fighter's Guild, you head upstairs to find Eydis looking over some documents.

: "Hey, Eydis. Has Awesomicus picked up that note I left?"

: "No, haven't seen him. But I have a job for you if you're interested. East Empire Company wants a couple escorts for a pickup they're making in Gnaar Mok. What with the destruction of Khuul, they're awful nervous. Pay's 300 gold for two days work. If you're lucky all you'll need to do is sit on a boat and shine your boots for two days. You in?"

: "Hmm. That's tempting, but I'm on an assignment right now and Gnaar Mok is in the opposite direction I need to go. Plus, I don't think this can wait two days. Thanks, though."

So no luck on Awesomicus. You could hire some other Fighter's Guild mercenary, but that means paying for it and it might take time for the position to fill. Plus, with the 200 gold Caius gave you, that brings your current total to 468. You're pretty close to being able to afford spellschool training, and you're hesitant to pay for an escort on a trip to Tel Fyr that...barring slaughterfish or cliff racers...will hopefully be uneventful. Though that is a concern. It's a long trip and you're not certain you'd survive an encounter with a cliff racer. You only survived last time because there was a Legion guardpost within running distance. If you were to get caught in the middle of the ocean between a cliff racer in the air and a slaughterfish in the water, that could easily prove fatal. Come to think of it, will you even be able to find the island without an in-game overview map?

Setting those concerns aside for the moment, you check in with the Fighter's Guild supply officer, but no repair hammers are available. So you head across the street to Meldor's armor shop.



You buy a pair of hammers for 40 gold and mostly repair your weapons and armor. It's been a while since you last did this, and it's more difficult than you remember. You end up buying a third hammer to finish the job, then ditching it due to weight when the vendor doesn't want to buy a half-destroyed hammer back from you.

Mercantile skill is now 11
Armorer skill is now 7
Strength is now 27

60 gold seems like a lot for repairs, but your gear is all as good as new again. You certainly don't want a repeat of the rat incident from before.

You step out the door and-

: "CITIZENS OF BALMORA BEWARE!!!!"

You duck back into the door and crane your head into the air just in time to catch what appears to be a female dunmer carrying a massive sword leaping from the roof of the building.



She hits the ground running. No armor, looks like. Just clothes and a big sword.

: "THE DOOMPOCALYPSE IS UPON YOU!"

A couple guards are trying to chase her. With great difficulty, as she seems to be wearing the Boots of Blinding Speed.



: "HAVE AT THEE, VILE VILLAINS!"

Which she uses to dart in circles around them before promptly one-shotting each of them.



: "HA HA! THIRTY POINTS!!!"

Discretion being the better part of valor, and running with your tail between your legs being the better part of staying not-dead, you quickly close the door, smile weakly at Meldor, then proceed to hide in his basement. You're suddenly reminded of something one of the voices said shortly after you first arrived.

Okay, the fact that there is a PC running around terrifies me. This means that we should act as though this were the worst case scenario. We will be dealing with a PC who is a complete psychopath, who will liberally depopulate entire settlements in order to achieve their ends and will do all Daedric quests to their completion for immense power.

Yes, that was the line. You remember it quite well. And while you can't confirm whether that dunmer's a PC, or even whether the distinction between PC and NPC even exists here, you're pretty sure you just saw a psycho-crazy dunmer chick not even bothering to wear armor take out three guards while shouting about how many points they were worth. Hiding under the bed for extra safety, you weigh your options.

get to Tel Fyr ASAP

Nothing is gained from being unsure at this point. Take the risk.

intercept Clover and speak to Divayth Fyr

Take the risk.

Sigh.

You stay hidden under the bed for another hour then cautiously head back upstairs and poke your head out of the shop. Seeing no corpses, you rush to the Mage's Guild and pay the 11 gold fee for transport to Sadrith Mora.



You nervously exhale a breath you hadn't realized you were holding.

Spoiler: Stats (click to show/hide)

Level 7
Health 59/59
Magick 69/69
Armor rating: 4

Spoiler: Attributes (click to show/hide)

27.0 Strength (20)
34.9 Speed (30)
36.9 Agility (30)
39.9 Endurance (30)
42.4 Intelligence (40)
40.0 Willpower (40)
44.2 Personality (40)
56.0 Luck (50)

Spoiler: skills (click to show/hide)

Numbers in parenthesis are starting values
30 Acrobatics (0)
22 Athletics (5)
 7 Armorer (0)

 6 Block (0)
 7 Heavy Armor (0)
 5 Medium Armor (0)
 21 Light armor (0)
 9 Unarmored (0)

 5 Blunt Weapon
 12 Hand to Hand
 5 Longblade
 6 Shortblade
 8 Spear

 7 Alchemy (0)
 5 Enchanting (0)

20 Speechcraft (10)
11 Mercantile (0)

Spoiler: Equipped (click to show/hide)

 * Cruel Viperblade
 * Chitin shield

 * Colovian fur "helm"
 * Chitin left + right gauntlets
 * Chitin greaves
 * Chitin cuirass
 * Chitin left + right pauldrons
 * Chitin boots

 * Combat belt
 * Commoner's shirt
 * Commoner's pants
 * Interior coinpurse, containing:
   * 97 gold
   * 2 Standard restore health potions
   * lockpick

Backpack (Worn)
Main compartment:
 * Tennis shoes
 * A strange note that reads  'Remember, we are watching you.'
 * Letter of introduction from Ranis Athrys
 * Yellow notepad with 54 pages left
 * 1 pen
 * "20% cooler" Rainbow Dash t-shirt,
 * Denim pants
 * a cellphone and wallet with picture ID and $30 in cash
 * 2 soulgems of uncertain size
 * 30 Whickwheat(?)
Small compartment
 * 300 gold
 * 8 empty bottle
 * 2 Ampoule Pod
 * 1 Black Anther
 * 18 Bonemeal(?)
 * 1 bread
 * 7 bungler's bane
 * 5 Chokeweed
 * 3 Corkbulb
 * 1 kwama cuttle
 * 25 Heather
 * 3 hypha facia
 * 11 luminous russula
 * 4 Racer Plume
 * 1 Rat Meat
 * 8 saltrice
 * 1 Scamp Skin
 * 2 Stoneflower petals(?)
 * 5 spore pod
 * 6 violet coprinus

Spoiler: Faction standings (click to show/hide)

Blades, Novice
Imperial Legion, Recruit
Fighter's Guild, Associate (1 quest completed)
Mage Guild, Associate

Spoiler: Equipment (currently at Nine-Toes house in Balmora) (click to show/hide)

 * Steel tanto, with scabbard and carrying straps
 * Imperial steel Cuirass
 * Apprentice mortar and pestle

Spoiler: Spells known (click to show/hide)

None, yet

Spoiler: Alchemy Knowledge (click to show/hide)

Alit Hide [1]Resist Poison
Ampoule Pod   [1]Restore speed
Black Anther   [1]Resist poison
Bread      [1]Restore Fatigue
Bungler's Bane   [1]Drain agility
Chokeweed   [1]Drain health
Coda Flower   [1]Restore luck
Comberry   [1]Drain health
Corkbulb Root   [1]Restore luck
Crab Meat   [1]Restore fatigue
Gravedust   [1]Burden
Green Lichen   [1]Night Eye
Heather      [1]Poison
Hound Meat [1]Poison
Hypha facia   [1]Drain speed
Kwama cuttle   [1]Restore health
Luminous russ.   [1]Paralysis
Marshmerrow   [1]Resist common disease
Muck      [1]Poison
Racer plume [1]Levitate
Rat meat   [1]Poison
Roobrush   [1]Restore intelligence
Saltrice   [1]Restore endurance
Scale      [1]Swift swim
Scathecraw   [1]Paralyze
Spore pod   [1]Paralysis
Sm. Kwama Egg   [1]Restore Fatigue
Violet coprinus   [1]Water Walking
Willow Anther   [1]Water Breathing

What do you do?