Part 46: The Elder Updates XLV - This Update is Gross

This Update is Gross


So. One more spy.


And I know just where to find them.



Hah! She does not waste much time revealing herself.


And I will waste no time in killing her!







And that is that.


Soon...


I have returned.


I have learned that they are mortal.
Excellent work. I knew I could count on you. The gods did not idly choose you as their agent, whatever you may think.
...khajiit did not think this.


You should speak to Martin. I believe he has made some progress with the Mysterium Xarxes.
How convenient.


Jauffre tells me you have findings to share, yes?
I've deciphered part of the ritual needed to open a portal to Camoran's Paradise.
Do tell.
The Xarxes mentions four items needed for the ritual, but so far I have only deciphered one of them: the 'blood of a Daedra lord'.
_^Delicious.


Not an easy thing to come by, obviously, but we will need a daedric artifact. Bring it to me when you have acquired one.
There is no need to wait. I have one.
I won't ask what you went through to obtain this, my friend. I know all too well the depravity of the princes of Oblivion.
Eh. The depravity was okay, I guess.
Are you ready to give me the artifact? Remember, the ritual will consume its physical form. It won't be seen again on Tamriel for many years.
Here. The Ring of Namira.
A useful item to be sure, but I'd like to hurry the plot along. We'll find better things.


I'll...take your word for it. Anything else?
You should talk to Jauffre. He needs your help. Trouble down in Bruma, I think.
Right. Got it.


It seems that the Mythic Dawn are putting their plan to attack Bruma into motion.
Indeed...
Since you've dealt with these Gates before, I'd like you to help the Countess's guard close this gate.
Hah. I expected no less.
Once they've seen how it's done, they should be able to handle any new gates on their own.
In theory. So, where is this Gate?
Captain Burd is waiting for you outside the Bruma city gate. He'll show you the Oblivion Gate. Although I doubt it will be hard to find.


Jauffre is right.


The Gate does need to be closed.


And I need to be prepared.



There. This should give me an edge.
To say the least! As someone in the thread pointed out, 20 points of Absorb Health is pretty damn good. It outstrips the damage from the Elvemental Long Sword (at least magically speaking), and naturally it'll be providing a fuckton of survivability. We won't be dying much thanks to this.


Now to rendezvous with Captain Burd.


Captain Burd?
Thanks for coming. Since we had the Hero of Kvatch available, I didn't think it made sense to try this on our own the first time.
True enough.
We're ready when you are. Just say the word and we'll follow you into that hell-spawned Gate.
I'm ready.
All right. Give me a minute to talk to the men. Everyone's a bit jumpy right now.






Let's show these bastards how we do things in Bruma!


OBLIVION TAKE US!


And in we go!


This Gate layout, as far as I'm aware, is unique to the plot gate at Bruma.


We've got Burd and a few guards as backup, but, uh...




...they sorta die within seconds.


Dammit. This isn't good...


Jauffre is NOT going to be ha-





...okay then.
He's okay, ladies and gentlemen! NPCs that are absolutely needed for quests don't die in this game, they just fall unconscious for a brief time. It's a bit lazy, but on the other hand, I can see why they did it. I'm not really going to count it against Oblivion - it's just one of the game's characteristics.


Perhaps can get a good view from that bridge.


...!


Captain! You see the shaft of light, yes? This marks the heart of the Oblivion Gate.


And we are going to go rip it out.


Hmmm. I wonder.


We are going to jump, Captain.


Do not worry about the seas of Oblivion.


Just swim. Quickly.


Huagh!


Ohhh!
SWIM.


Gaaaagh!
Come to me. You are almost done.


Well done. Now just follow me.





Where has he gone?


Damn it all...


Nnnng?


BURD?!


No matter. He is here now.


Best not to think about it, I suspect.


And thus, shortly...
In there!


*splash*







Wait. Wait a minute.


That would have to mean Burd's in here.





Okay, I think we need to take a moment to acknowledge this. One of my Everscamps jumped to take a punch for that Dremora. What the hell.


But where's Burd?


...okay, he's out cold again.



And once more.


I can't see him, but he's taking damage so fast or so often that he's getting knocked unconscious left and right.


Also hello Daedroth. Do I really need to do a writeup on this thing?

All right, all right. Hit points: giant fuckoff crocodile. Classification: giant fuckoff crocodile.


Attack rating: yes.


I mean he's a gigantic crocodile.




Right. Now, let's see here. I heard a splash, and Burd is in some continuous damage source.


As much as it breaks me to say it, this could only mean that, when I entered the tower, the man instantaneously found his way into the lava pit in the middle of the room. I mean, wow. That's...kinda hilarious.


All right, hang on a minute.


Let's see if we can get to the bottom of this.


Okay, so EVERYTHING underneath the ground floor is lava. Probably everything below a certain Y value, really. I guess that makes things a little more plausible.


No sign of Burd, though. I cannot fathom where he got to.


All right then, let's just do this gate.



Just your regular old Sigil Keep gauntlet. Did I mention that the main towers are called Sigil Keeps? Because I just now remembered that.


Ooh.


Nice!


Oh god, what the hell?


Oh. One of those physics traps.


Hurts to even brush up against. Well that's a new thing!


Oh geez.


Okay, this is getting a bit hairy.



ShitshitshitshitshitallrightI'mfine.



Guess I gotta go through this place again.


Whuh-oh.





Sure why not.


All right, let's just get that Sigil Stone and-


...one moment.







There.

Oblivion's Not That Bad Points: (-4 + - + (3 * ))/) + SUMMON THE BRETHREN


Right, let's try that again.


hup


Okay, Burd made it. Good.


Let's just go right for the Sigil Keep.


Annnnnnd...


He's not broken!




And whaddyaknow! I thought I was gonna have to step in to clean up his mess, but he's pretty capable!


The rest of the tower went exactly as before, except with Burd by my side.


Whoops, I take that back! Ebony is the second best Heavy Armor type in the base game.






Whoa, it's raining upgrades! Glass weaponry is the third best in the base game. Not quite as upset about having to reload by this point.






Come on! It's just up this meatcase!


Now. All you need to do is grab this black thing. The rest will take care of itself.



Also, maybe cover your eyes.




Believe me, it was no picnic. But thanks to our friend here, I now know we can close these hell-gates. We can defend Bruma!


And speaking of closed hell-gates...


There. A good, strong shield from the spoils of war.
I looked up the specifics of the Shield effect, and apparently it adds directly to Armor Rating.


With our enchantments, we've got 33 points of Shield. That's just about equal to a set of Mythril Armor, and that's IN ADDITION to the innate Armor Rating on our gear to begin with.





Job well done, Sterv! Next time, we'll be enjoying some well-earned freedom. Not pictured: buying a healthy stockpile of Repair Hammers and more Steel Arrows.