BIGwooly
Well-Known Member
- 13th of Heartfire, 4E 202 -
Well, that was a short trip. I never made it to Riften. Instead, as I was traveling cross country across an area with hot springs and thermal cracks, I came across some ruins. There were bits of time scattered all over, and I even found a draugr wrapped in burial cloth in one of the hot pools. Then I noticed what looked like an alter, and there was another draugr on top of it.
I approached to investigate, but then heard a shout and felt the stinging chill of an ice bolt as it penetrated my armor. Two mages were running down a hill towards me, cursing me with their tongues and loosing more icy projectiles with their hands.
I retreated behind an ancient pillar and began taunting them into using their magic against me. Each time I showed myself they would cast their spells, and I would duck back behind the pillar to avoid the blasts of magic. My goal was to get the two of them to use up all of their magika, at which point they would be forced to fight with whatever weapons they were carrying .. most likely daggers. I knew that my mace and shield, along with my voice, should be able to easily overpower two mages with daggers. Provided of course that their daggers weren't enchanted with powerful magic.
But after some time it seemed the mages were still plenty energetic about perforating my hide with spears of ice. I hadn't seen either of them drink magika potions, but it's possible I missed it if they were quick about it. Still, even with potions it seemed by now that at least one of them should have been exhausted of their magical abilities. The sky was turning dark and it was going to be night soon. How long had this standoff been underway? Hours for sure.
I decided I needed to switch my strategy and head on the offensive. So I began to use my fiery shout against them periodically. It's effectiveness seemed minimal though, as they were keeping their distance. So I switched to a shout of force, which also had minimal impact given the distance between us. I finally decided it was time to move in and put my mace to the test.
My first effort to do this taught me a valuable lesson. While each individual strike of ice caused me pain, it wasn't severe. My nord blood offers some natural protection against frost. Cumulatively, though, the shards of ice took a toll on me as I tried to get closer to one of the mages. And I say .. tried .. because I had neglected to consider that frost magic has a freezing effect on it's victim, and can really slow you down. I began to worrying that I was going to become frozen in one spot, and then I would be helpless against their attacks.
So I retreated again, as quickly as my frozen feet would allow, and dropped over the side of a ledge into cover. The mages closed in again, but smartly maintained a safe distance from me. They also had split up now, and I was about to be caught in a crossfire .. in the dark. Things were not looking good.
As the freezing effect slowly wore off, I altered my plan once again. I determined which of the mages was closest to me, and sprinted towards him. As he prepared to unleash some ice at me I shouted at him with force, but not full force. Just enough to disrupt his attack and stun him briefly. This allowed me to sprint and close in on him without taking any damage.
He had recovered by the time I reached him, and my first move was to smash him with my shield, thus disrupting his next attempt to attack me. Then I put my mace to work. As the mage recovered from the shield blow, he turned and ran, trying to create some distance between us. He was a cunning opponent for sure. I followed in a sprint, but I was absorbing strikes of ice from the other mage and it was slowing me down just enough. My target was getting away.
So I shouted a full shout at him this time, and stepped back to avoid the other mage's long range attacks. My victim tumbled across the rocks and landed in a heap, and I ran to him as quickly as I could. This time I was more careful to alternate each mace strike with a bash of my shield. Although I was getting blasted with ice from the accomplice mage, my target was unable to fight back or run away. With my skin freezing and in pain I crushed the mage's life.
Now I had to deal with the second mage, but I needed to recover. So I found safety behind some rocks again, and gritted my teeth through the pain of the frost that coursed across my skin. It made a horrible sound, like the slow cracking of thin ice, and the frosty vapor that came off my skin remind me of a man's breath on a cold day.
I spotted the mage as he came down a hill, so I circled around the rock to maintain cover. I wanted to be completely recovered before I engaged him. But I wasn't going to get a rest in this fight. While my eyes were on the mage I heard an enraged shriek to my right, and spun to find the mage I had just killed bearing down on me with crazed eyes and a steel dagger. These weren't just mages. They were necromancers!
The undead mage fell on me with his blade and I didn't have the presence of mind to block the first strike. I was still a bit in shock. But I quickly regained my senses and let him feel my mace for a second time. We alternated strikes with each other, while the other mage continued to send bolts of frost at me. The undead mage was frantic in his attacks, and one with less experience may have succumbed out of sheer panic, but I did not. I began blocking his strikes and countering them with strikes from my shield. Soon enough my mace found enough openings to put the undead back into the world of the dead, and he dissipated into a cloud of magical ash.
I turned my attention back to the other mage, and shouted him off of his feet. Our fight was very similar, with me rushing over and using my shield to keep the mage off balance while my mace did the dirty work. Eventually he perished, and I examined their bodies. Both mages had been wearing special robes that allowed them to regenerate their magika much faster. It's conceivable that neither of them would have ever actually run out.
In utter darkness I made my way back to my horse. I couldn't find her at first, but I could hear her, and that eventually led me to her. Then it was back to Windhelm to rest and start anew in the morning.
Well, that was a short trip. I never made it to Riften. Instead, as I was traveling cross country across an area with hot springs and thermal cracks, I came across some ruins. There were bits of time scattered all over, and I even found a draugr wrapped in burial cloth in one of the hot pools. Then I noticed what looked like an alter, and there was another draugr on top of it.
I approached to investigate, but then heard a shout and felt the stinging chill of an ice bolt as it penetrated my armor. Two mages were running down a hill towards me, cursing me with their tongues and loosing more icy projectiles with their hands.
I retreated behind an ancient pillar and began taunting them into using their magic against me. Each time I showed myself they would cast their spells, and I would duck back behind the pillar to avoid the blasts of magic. My goal was to get the two of them to use up all of their magika, at which point they would be forced to fight with whatever weapons they were carrying .. most likely daggers. I knew that my mace and shield, along with my voice, should be able to easily overpower two mages with daggers. Provided of course that their daggers weren't enchanted with powerful magic.
But after some time it seemed the mages were still plenty energetic about perforating my hide with spears of ice. I hadn't seen either of them drink magika potions, but it's possible I missed it if they were quick about it. Still, even with potions it seemed by now that at least one of them should have been exhausted of their magical abilities. The sky was turning dark and it was going to be night soon. How long had this standoff been underway? Hours for sure.
I decided I needed to switch my strategy and head on the offensive. So I began to use my fiery shout against them periodically. It's effectiveness seemed minimal though, as they were keeping their distance. So I switched to a shout of force, which also had minimal impact given the distance between us. I finally decided it was time to move in and put my mace to the test.
My first effort to do this taught me a valuable lesson. While each individual strike of ice caused me pain, it wasn't severe. My nord blood offers some natural protection against frost. Cumulatively, though, the shards of ice took a toll on me as I tried to get closer to one of the mages. And I say .. tried .. because I had neglected to consider that frost magic has a freezing effect on it's victim, and can really slow you down. I began to worrying that I was going to become frozen in one spot, and then I would be helpless against their attacks.
So I retreated again, as quickly as my frozen feet would allow, and dropped over the side of a ledge into cover. The mages closed in again, but smartly maintained a safe distance from me. They also had split up now, and I was about to be caught in a crossfire .. in the dark. Things were not looking good.
As the freezing effect slowly wore off, I altered my plan once again. I determined which of the mages was closest to me, and sprinted towards him. As he prepared to unleash some ice at me I shouted at him with force, but not full force. Just enough to disrupt his attack and stun him briefly. This allowed me to sprint and close in on him without taking any damage.
He had recovered by the time I reached him, and my first move was to smash him with my shield, thus disrupting his next attempt to attack me. Then I put my mace to work. As the mage recovered from the shield blow, he turned and ran, trying to create some distance between us. He was a cunning opponent for sure. I followed in a sprint, but I was absorbing strikes of ice from the other mage and it was slowing me down just enough. My target was getting away.
So I shouted a full shout at him this time, and stepped back to avoid the other mage's long range attacks. My victim tumbled across the rocks and landed in a heap, and I ran to him as quickly as I could. This time I was more careful to alternate each mace strike with a bash of my shield. Although I was getting blasted with ice from the accomplice mage, my target was unable to fight back or run away. With my skin freezing and in pain I crushed the mage's life.
Now I had to deal with the second mage, but I needed to recover. So I found safety behind some rocks again, and gritted my teeth through the pain of the frost that coursed across my skin. It made a horrible sound, like the slow cracking of thin ice, and the frosty vapor that came off my skin remind me of a man's breath on a cold day.
I spotted the mage as he came down a hill, so I circled around the rock to maintain cover. I wanted to be completely recovered before I engaged him. But I wasn't going to get a rest in this fight. While my eyes were on the mage I heard an enraged shriek to my right, and spun to find the mage I had just killed bearing down on me with crazed eyes and a steel dagger. These weren't just mages. They were necromancers!
The undead mage fell on me with his blade and I didn't have the presence of mind to block the first strike. I was still a bit in shock. But I quickly regained my senses and let him feel my mace for a second time. We alternated strikes with each other, while the other mage continued to send bolts of frost at me. The undead mage was frantic in his attacks, and one with less experience may have succumbed out of sheer panic, but I did not. I began blocking his strikes and countering them with strikes from my shield. Soon enough my mace found enough openings to put the undead back into the world of the dead, and he dissipated into a cloud of magical ash.
I turned my attention back to the other mage, and shouted him off of his feet. Our fight was very similar, with me rushing over and using my shield to keep the mage off balance while my mace did the dirty work. Eventually he perished, and I examined their bodies. Both mages had been wearing special robes that allowed them to regenerate their magika much faster. It's conceivable that neither of them would have ever actually run out.
In utter darkness I made my way back to my horse. I couldn't find her at first, but I could hear her, and that eventually led me to her. Then it was back to Windhelm to rest and start anew in the morning.
