Lightening Thief

The Chorrol mages guild head asked me to do away with a woman annoying the mages guild by figureing out what she wants.. well long story short she asked me to retrieve a book called "fingers of the mountain" off a hill top north of town. (why is everything north of town?) I agreed and then told the mages guild head about what the annoying woman wanted. The head said "tell her you'll get the book and then bring the book to me, that way I can keep it safe." He spoke about the book as if it were a very powerful thing.. odd. OK. So I set out for the book.

 On my bright and shiny new steed I set off into the night with Val right behind. The steed does indeed glow wonderfully at night and though the glow doesn't illuminate very far ahead, it was enough for me to keep track of where the path is! I was able to head up the mountain without any trouble.

I found a very curious sight when I arrived at the place. Inside of a charred body was the book, which upon trying to read I found I could not open. I packed it up and got back onto my tricorn and left back for town. When I arrived back in town I gave the book to the mages guild head, not the annoying woman, because i'm loyal that way. He thanked me, trusted I was unable to open it "good" then said he'd hide it in a place for safe keeping. The more he talked about how powerful the book was and how important it was the more I wanted it for myself.. so I followed him! I'm not very good at being sneaky yet so he was a very gullable fool for thinking I was not up to no good when he saw me behind him. I found him comming out of his room.. which was very tiny with only a dresser and chest and so I waited until he went down stairs which he did immediately, before heading into the room, opening the chest and fishing the book out effortlessly. What a fool.. I chuckled to myself as I was walking out of his room with the book, once again trying to open it and failing. "Huh.." So I pocketed it, and headed back down stairs.
On the way down I suddenly realized, I could still give the book to the annoying woman who wants it if I want.. she did promise me a great reward for it. The book, though being neat, is pretty useless to me anyway since I can't read it.. It would do nothing more than look great on my mantle at home. So I decided with a smile to give it to the annoying woman.

When she accepted it she was so excited to have it! She said she'd give me my reward the next day. I was a little weary that she was bluffing, but decided even if it was a bluff I still had nothing to lose.

Val and I payed the inn keeper for a room for the night and headed up to our room. When I opened the door though I stopped dead in my tracks with a "o.O" look on my face when I saw a man standing inside... odd.. the inn keeper assured me this room was free for the night. I walked forward and spoke to him to see if he had anything to say, or would let on to why he was here... but he simply greeted me and offered the same boring chit chat. He didn't seem to be any threat, so I let him stay and slept for the night. He was still there the next morning! "you were here all night?!" I shrugged "ohwell, to each their own" and left. Luckily when I arrived later that night he had left. Odd fellow..

That day I went back to the annoying woman and she did indeed give me my reward... A part of the book that said I could recieve a great power at the mountain area I had gotten the book from if I did a couple things. Thing one was to have a welkend stone. Thing two was to shock the pillar on the mountain with a lightening bolt. I had neither lightening bolt spell or stone.. so I headed off to an Alyed(Spelling?) ruin to fetch one!
There were many skeletons to do away with! None of them provided any good loot though. Val mostly helped me with them as they were a bit tough for me.. but I held my own pretty well.

Val was useless and even a hinderance in the hallway with the swinging blades though. I could time it just right to run straight through without getting slashed.. but Val didn't even bother. He was down in one blow and unconcious for quite a while. I had to drag his body along behind me. It was very agitating.
Other then that hallway, Val and I had the best of luck though. That wasn't the only trap. During the hallway I had thought it stopped after just four blades, and so skidded to a stop on the other side of those 4 blades only to be surprised by a 5th blade swinging VERY uncomfortably close to my chest. I could feel the wind from it rustle my hair. O.O OK.. obviously this hallway is longer than I thought. That was very lucky of me to miss it though!
Also, there was an room Val and I rushed in to cockily with our weapons flailing at a skeleton that was fleeing from us!... Only to suddenly find ourselves faaallllliiinnngg.. through the floor! I gasped as it was a trap floor that lowered/fell when weight was on it, to a spike filled pit below.. The spikes swooped up in front of me and Val suddenly! Again I could feel the wind from the closest spikes as they were close enough to tear my clothes! It left me startled and dazed. :O I took a couple seconds to recompose myself before climbing out. The skeleton had died from it.
Once obtaining a stone, though, I quickly left!

I reached the mountain where Fingers Of The Mountain was with Val and with the stone in hand, and a very cheap lightening spell I'd bought from a store, aimed my hand at the stone and zapped it! In the very same instance I did so I was stumbled backward by the sheer power of the four bolts that regurgitated above me from the stone to all four stornes sorrounding! It was such I could feel the pressure in the air change and heat up just like a near by lightening strike! I was left agape at it. I had never before done this part of the quest in all my years playing Oblivion so this was new to me, and exciting!
I checked my inventory and saw I did indeed have a new, powerful lightening spell in my posession.

Shock damage 20 points. That's not SUPER powerful, but much more than any other spell I would have at my current level! It's a great start!
I also Just had to enjoy the view.

Epilogue: The mages guild head still doesn't know I took the book. When I chatted with him next he said "odd, the book has gone missing. " but doesn't suspect me. He speaks to me as if I'm the most innocent, pure soul he ever knows. Meh..
It's not like I have anything stolen in my inventory...


And now... lets play What's Val Saying!

And when told I prefer magic....