FormID: 010053A3 00Luke GREETING 0 Tell me, sun soul, would you accept immortality if it meant never seeing daylight again?
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 0 Here is my latest song--it's a work in progress...
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 1 Deep in the black heart of Sancre Tor, the Underking rules
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 2 Waiting for adventurers, knights and other such fools.
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 3 But during the times when both moons are full
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 4 From the shadows shambles this fearsome ghoul
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 5 He walks among the living during this deathly night.
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 6 Sowing his curses and spreading his blight
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 7 When travelers come upon this most terrible sight
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 8 They flee in terror from the deadly wight.
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 9 The Underking stalks Chorrol and its land
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 10 Killing everything with the touch of his hand
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 11 He looks for his nemesis, he looks to make a stand
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 12 Against the dreaded King of Miscarcand.
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 13 It's said the two were once men, alive and free
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 14 Friends, they were, they thought they'd always be
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 15 But things changed, they began to disagree
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 16 Over who was the greater in necromancy.
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 17 Both men demonstrated their powers
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 18 Throughout the night for many hours
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 19 Building undead armies and tearing down towers
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 20 Until the blood rained down in grisly showers
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 21 The length and might of this horrific display
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 22 Brought something up the following day
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 23 That made the men stop cold in utter dismay
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 24 Pure death came to Cyrodiil and it was here to stay.
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 25 [QUOTE]One of you shall be my champion,[QUOTE] the dark figure said,
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 26 [QUOTE]To destroy all the living and paint the land red.
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 27 [QUOTE]The other shall be the king where mourners do tread
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 28 [QUOTE]And rule above all that was living which now lay dead.[QUOTE]
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 29 So the friends were cursed for their foolishness and pride
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 30 Struck down on the spot, their bodies quickly died
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 31 Neither alive nor dead, in the shadows they hide
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 32 Blaming each other for the lives they were denied.
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 33 When the moons are full they seek each other out
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 34 To do battle again in a necromantic bout
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 35 Neither one wins, but the living they rout
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 36 To hide in their homes with fear and doubt.
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 37 So when you walk alone and you see the two moons rise
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 38 Hastening indoors would be the words of the wise.
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 39 For out there in the most horrible guise
FormID: 010053A5 00Luke theUnderking 40 Walks what was a man who never dies.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 0 I was visiting a friend in Bruma some years ago and found out that the city was being frightened by an unholy beast that stalked the streets at night
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 1 The monster had visited every household since it invaded Bruma a fortnight prior to my arrival. It never hurt anything or anyone, however.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 2 Its visitations were known only by the horrible stench it left, a mixture of rotten flesh and skunk. Otherwise, its presence would've been unknown.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 3 There was never any sign of entry, nor was anything disturbed in the houses. No one was assaulted. It was like the thing just came in and left.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 4 The only thing that people noted was how tired they felt the day after the thing came to them.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 5 Then a young woman named Lysa said she woke in the middle of the night to find a humanoid figure standing before her bed.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 6 It was dark and she could not see it, but it looked like a man. She said his eyes were burning embers and he held a long blade, dripping with blood.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 7 She screamed, the terror in her heart carried out in her shrill shriek, and flung a vase of flowers at his head, but he dodged it and fled.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 8 A nearby guard heard this and forced his way into her house. When he got to the bedroom, he found her alone.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 9 Nothing came past him. There was only one window and it was locked from the inside. Yet, the mysterious man was gone.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 10 There was no evidence of an intruder ever being in the room.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 11 While I was staying at the inn, I had a chance to talk to this girl and she told me that the shadowy figure did not make a sound. Nor did he move.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 12 It seemed like he didn't even breathe?
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 13 I was intrigued. Although I was going to leave soon, I resolved to stick around until I found out more.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 14 I talked with others who had a visit from this being. Everyone was unnerved by its presence, but only Lysa ever saw it.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 15 Watches were formed as neighbors banded together to maintain vigils waiting for it. That did not stop it.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 16 Their efforts seemed futile, as the thing slipped by them again and again, leaving only its stench behind as a clue it was ever there.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 17 It was a mystery that plagued the town. Many thought it was a vampire who fed off them while they slept.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 18 That would explain the fatigue that always followed, but there never were any bite marks, so I ruled out a vampire, so I searched some more.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 19 No one knew what the visitor wanted. If Lysa's story was true, it seemed to just watch you as you slept, but with what intentions?
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 20 I contemplated the mystery as I learned about it and formed a theory about what this thing was.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 21 It would be a simple matter to prove my theory once I encountered the visitor, but how would I get it to come to me? Then, an idea came to me.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 22 I began telling everyone that I had killed the Beast of Bruma in the woods, a demon with burning eyes and a rotten smell.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 23 I made sure that my story was spread through every household by nightfall. Then, as I lay in my bed that night, I waited. I pretended to sleep.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 24 I had left my door slightly open as if to bring in the breeze of this cool evening, but it was not the breeze I was looking for.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 25 After the midnight bell tolled, I heard my door slowly creak open. A shadow moved across the floor.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 26 I rolled over to face it and the stench so clearly described by the townsfolk suddenly filled the room.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 27 I saw no one there, but as soon as I smelled the stench, I knew my theory was right.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 28 I sprang from bed, a bag of flour in my hands. I scattered the white powder across my room and sure enough, a figure stood visible before me.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 29 Covered in flour, it coughed and wiped its eyes. I lit my lantern and smiled, [QUOTE]Why are you watching people sleep, Lysa?[QUOTE]
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 30 At once, the girl appeared before me, [QUOTE]How did you know it was me?[QUOTE]
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 31 [QUOTE]Many reasons. First of all, you are the only one who said she saw the thing, despite dozens, if not hundreds of visitations in the past few months.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 32 [QUOTE]Secondly, there was no evidence of an intruder the night that the guard burst into your house?no drips of blood from the blade, no broken flower pot
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 33 [QUOTE]not even the tell-tale stench the intruder leaves behind.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 34 [QUOTE]And the last clue was the stench itself. You see I know a little about alchemy.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 35 I have harvested the caps of the Stinkhorn and I have gathered up the putrid dust of a vampire. I know how to make invisibility potions, Lysa.[QUOTE]
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 36 The girl looked at me silently; she knew she was caught. [QUOTE]What do you intend to do to me,[QUOTE] she asked.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 37 I said that first I intended to find out why she was doing this.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 38 She related to me how she would sneak into someone's house and wait for them to go to sleep.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 39 She was very good at hiding, but in those instances where she thought she might be seen, she would pull out one of the many potions she carried.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 40 She did this because she had found a way to charge soul gems with the souls of sleepers with an apparatus of her own creation.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 41 They would not be filled as normal, however. The apparatus slowly siphons some of the soul energy from its targets.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 42 This energy is renewed in the person after 24 hours, but there are no other effects of the drain.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 43 The process was harmless, yet very slow.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 44 It would take a whole night of two people sleeping in the same room to completely charge one of the more common soul gems.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 45 This explained why people were so tired after a visitation, however, and it completed the last piece of this mystery's puzzle.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 46 Lysa asked if I was going to turn her in, but I said I wouldn't. She thanked me and said that she would stop her nightly excursions.
FormID: 01006F15 00Luke theBeastofBruma 47 I let her go and told no one. It didn't bother me. After all, I have companions who do a lot worse than her at night?