A Breton Amongst Dremora
Dianne slept like a dead log, which surprised her. her mind had been awhirl after what Rnayu had imparted, and she'd fully expected to lie awake half the night, tossing and turning and feeling like a rotisserie chicken. But she had slept well. Which was fortunate, since shortly before dawn Ranyu came to wake her.
"Get dressed. You're coming with us," he told her with a grin. Then he left the tent to give her privacy in which to dress.Dianne lugged herself out of the bedroll and got into her clothes and light leather armor. Putting on the old boots gave her a pang. She still deeply regretted their loss. She wondered briefly if they had been from Ranyu, but quickly shook her head at he notion. If they had been, she reasoned, hed would have been even more angry with her. She put on her pack and joined the rest of the group outside.
Ranyu nodded to her, then told everyone, "The Master has put me in charge of this group. Feel free to confirm that with him, if you need to. For this to go smoothly, I need you all to listen to me as though I were he. But not blindly. We are all blind, in this, so if you notice something or have a better idea, speak up. Let's get going." He waited for Dianne to fall in by his side and they got moving.
An hour and a half later, they were at the rocky coast that Ranyu had described. He told them, "We're looking for ebony and glass deposits. What you find, call it out. You will keep what you find, so no claim jumping." He opened his pack and passed out various prospecting supplies" Picks, trowels, small hammers, and the like along with a small bag to put their discoveries in.
"How do we know what to look for?" Dianne asked him.
"Good question. In soil and rock layers, there will often be a greenish cast, with a bit of sparkle in it, for glass. You'll also be able to pan or screen for it, in the surf, should you care to. Even small pieces matter, as it will all be smelted down and forged. As for ebony, there will be an oily black to it. Raw ebony has a greasy luster to it, but it won't coat your hands. Here, come and look. This stone here, basalt, is volcanic. It's even found in the Deadlands. You will likely find ebony here, but the glass is more easily found in sandy areas or in rhyolite clusters." He showed them some rhyolite. "Let's get on it."
they got to work. Dianne sent a while digging in the earth and chipping at stone, but it was getting pretty boring to her. She opted instead to sift the sand along the shore. Other than seashells, she didn't find much of anything. She wanted to tell ranyu that as far as first dates went, this was pretty boring, but given that he'd opened up and told her his feelings, she didn't want to shut him down again. In the end, she didn't have to. During break, as she sat on a rock drinking from her waterskin, Ranyu approachd her.
"This isn't your thing, is it?" he asked her. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, ranyu, but it really isn't. I don't mind the idea so much, but it's kind of boring not finding anything but shells and regular old rocks."
He wasn't put out at all. "That's fine. I just wanted to do something other than muck and mud and swamps, and I know there's a small chance we could find something here. One of the others found a few ebony pebbles, but that was it."
"Yeah, I think if we were in Morrowind, especially if close to Vvardenfell, we'd find much more. Lots of volcanic activity there." And Red Mountain, she thought with an inner grimace. "But it wasn't a bad thought, Ranyu. Volcanoes can really blow stuff far and wide, so it makes sense to think something could be here."
'Yeah. And anyway, it's been a good break from the swamps. It's been interesting, this trip, but not my thing at all. Tovaz is really in his element with all the weird and exotic ingredients, though."
Dianne grinned. "He was super excited to get that brain yesterday."
"i'm sure he was. Show me what you did find."
"Um, sure, okay." She took out the shells and stones that had looked nice to her, and showed him. "These might have some alchemical properties, but even if not, they have beauty. There's nothing wrong with beauty." He leaned in close and dianne moved to meet him as they shared their kiss.
Time seemed to stop and speed up all at once for Dianne. When the kiss ended, it felt like eternity had come and gone yet passed only in fleeting seconds.She smiled. "Was wondering when you were finally going to do that."
He flashed her a grin. "Timing, for one. Second, I wanted to be sure you'd welcome it."
"I thought Dremora take what they want?"
"We do. But you are worthy of my respect, which means I need to ensure it is also what you want. I'd say we settled that." He leaned in to kiss her again. A shout went up from one of the others. He'd found ebony, a small if chunky looking seam. Dianne sighed and made an exasperated yet amused sound. Ranyu rolled his eyes. "Let's go see the big discovery," he said. They walked to where Zevak was gesturing with his pick at a seam he'd exposed on the ground.
"Get dressed. You're coming with us," he told her with a grin. Then he left the tent to give her privacy in which to dress.Dianne lugged herself out of the bedroll and got into her clothes and light leather armor. Putting on the old boots gave her a pang. She still deeply regretted their loss. She wondered briefly if they had been from Ranyu, but quickly shook her head at he notion. If they had been, she reasoned, hed would have been even more angry with her. She put on her pack and joined the rest of the group outside.
Ranyu nodded to her, then told everyone, "The Master has put me in charge of this group. Feel free to confirm that with him, if you need to. For this to go smoothly, I need you all to listen to me as though I were he. But not blindly. We are all blind, in this, so if you notice something or have a better idea, speak up. Let's get going." He waited for Dianne to fall in by his side and they got moving.
An hour and a half later, they were at the rocky coast that Ranyu had described. He told them, "We're looking for ebony and glass deposits. What you find, call it out. You will keep what you find, so no claim jumping." He opened his pack and passed out various prospecting supplies" Picks, trowels, small hammers, and the like along with a small bag to put their discoveries in.
"How do we know what to look for?" Dianne asked him.
"Good question. In soil and rock layers, there will often be a greenish cast, with a bit of sparkle in it, for glass. You'll also be able to pan or screen for it, in the surf, should you care to. Even small pieces matter, as it will all be smelted down and forged. As for ebony, there will be an oily black to it. Raw ebony has a greasy luster to it, but it won't coat your hands. Here, come and look. This stone here, basalt, is volcanic. It's even found in the Deadlands. You will likely find ebony here, but the glass is more easily found in sandy areas or in rhyolite clusters." He showed them some rhyolite. "Let's get on it."
they got to work. Dianne sent a while digging in the earth and chipping at stone, but it was getting pretty boring to her. She opted instead to sift the sand along the shore. Other than seashells, she didn't find much of anything. She wanted to tell ranyu that as far as first dates went, this was pretty boring, but given that he'd opened up and told her his feelings, she didn't want to shut him down again. In the end, she didn't have to. During break, as she sat on a rock drinking from her waterskin, Ranyu approachd her.
"This isn't your thing, is it?" he asked her. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, ranyu, but it really isn't. I don't mind the idea so much, but it's kind of boring not finding anything but shells and regular old rocks."
He wasn't put out at all. "That's fine. I just wanted to do something other than muck and mud and swamps, and I know there's a small chance we could find something here. One of the others found a few ebony pebbles, but that was it."
"Yeah, I think if we were in Morrowind, especially if close to Vvardenfell, we'd find much more. Lots of volcanic activity there." And Red Mountain, she thought with an inner grimace. "But it wasn't a bad thought, Ranyu. Volcanoes can really blow stuff far and wide, so it makes sense to think something could be here."
'Yeah. And anyway, it's been a good break from the swamps. It's been interesting, this trip, but not my thing at all. Tovaz is really in his element with all the weird and exotic ingredients, though."
Dianne grinned. "He was super excited to get that brain yesterday."
"i'm sure he was. Show me what you did find."
"Um, sure, okay." She took out the shells and stones that had looked nice to her, and showed him. "These might have some alchemical properties, but even if not, they have beauty. There's nothing wrong with beauty." He leaned in close and dianne moved to meet him as they shared their kiss.
Time seemed to stop and speed up all at once for Dianne. When the kiss ended, it felt like eternity had come and gone yet passed only in fleeting seconds.She smiled. "Was wondering when you were finally going to do that."
He flashed her a grin. "Timing, for one. Second, I wanted to be sure you'd welcome it."
"I thought Dremora take what they want?"
"We do. But you are worthy of my respect, which means I need to ensure it is also what you want. I'd say we settled that." He leaned in to kiss her again. A shout went up from one of the others. He'd found ebony, a small if chunky looking seam. Dianne sighed and made an exasperated yet amused sound. Ranyu rolled his eyes. "Let's go see the big discovery," he said. They walked to where Zevak was gesturing with his pick at a seam he'd exposed on the ground.