Recent Entries

• Skyrim One-Shots: The Boy Who Bested The Black Phantom

  by MarkusMasterThief October 3, 2015
  The time was 2:45 a.m. in the city of Markarth that night. The tall and mighty towers making up the expansive capital seemed to touch the clouds, as they blotted out the sky and plunged the populace into a particularly dark night. This was a perfect time, thought the master thief Markus Blackwell, ...
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• Sevria's Travels: The Will to Survive

  by MarkusMasterThief September 18, 2015
  Adrenaline and terror raced through Sevria's veins as she fell helplessly through the darkness. Deeper and deeper she plunged into the nebulous void, desperately flailing her limbs in search of something -- ANYTHING -- to grab onto, in the vain hope that she could break her fall before hitting the ...
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• Rikka Northwing: Contract Killer, Chapter 3: The First Assignment

  by MarkusMasterThief September 15, 2015
  Night had fallen over the settlement of Karthwasten. For the time being it was home to a young, loving couple: one a humble farmer, and the other a sword-maiden in training. Both swore loyalty to the Stormcloaks, but they could also see trouble on the horizon; the Legion had taken their home city o...
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• Rikka Northwing: Contract Killer, Chapter 2: Before the Court

  by MarkusMasterThief July 28, 2015
  "My Jarl... are you truly sure this is a good idea?" Falk Firebeard said worriedly, "I mean... you know what this woman has done." "She killed the Emperor as well as several other people afterwards. Yes, we know." The court mage Sybille cut in, "She may very well be the single most lethal assassin i...
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• Sevria's Travels: Meeting the Lioness

  by MarkusMasterThief July 13, 2015
  Sevria woke from her tormented sleep, to the sound of birds singing their morning song. Briefly she was absorbed by the natural beauty of the Rift, before reflecting back upon what she'd done and wiping the tears from her face. She hadn't just stolen something and framed an innocent man for the crim...
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• Sevria's Travels: Thick As Thieves

  by MarkusMasterThief July 6, 2015
  With the White River long behind her, Sevria's body was now brimming with warmth and energy. Speedily she rushed through the trees that dotted the lush forest around her, feeling closer than ever to the spirits of the wild. She felt rejuvenated, soaring with ease through the branches; it almost felt...
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• Sevria's Travels: Warmth In The Cold

  by MarkusMasterThief July 4, 2015
  Sevria's shivering body clung tightly to the floating log that carried her down the White River. Was she being taken out to sea? Was she to be lost in the open ocean, never to be seen again? Was this the fate that the men of Skyrim wanted for her? What had she even done to find herself in this situ...
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• Rikka Northwing: Contract Killer, Chapter 1: Clamped In Irons

  by MarkusMasterThief June 19, 2015
  Five days passed since Rikka had been apprehended... obviously Falk Firebeard was mistaken when he swore that the serial murderess would be hanged on the morning after she'd been captured. There'd been no word from the guards as to what was taking so long, or even the slightest indication that her ...
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• Rikka Northwing: Contract Killer, Prologue: Trapped Like A Rat

  by MarkusMasterThief June 6, 2015
  The moon did not shine in the sky that night; deathly black clouds loomed over the mighty land of Skyrim, as a silent shadow leaped nimbly over the streets of Solitude. With graceful agility, the shade perched upon the roof of the Blue Palace and assessed the situation; no guards were positioned ou...
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• Marudil: Sitting Bear, Chapter 5: Di-Da-Yo-Li-Hv-Dv-Ga-Le-Ni-S-Gv (Goodbye)

  by MarkusMasterThief May 31, 2015
  Marudil stood before a window that morning and painted his face once again. Now the face was familiar once more: it was the face of an avenging warrior that would hunt the Thalmor to the ends of Nirn. It was the face of one who had claimed many lives in his pursuit of one enemy, and would continue ...
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• Marudil: Sitting Bear, Chapter 4: A-Nv-Da-Di-S-Di (Remember)

  by MarkusMasterThief May 30, 2015
  It was raining that night in Rorikstead. It was decided by Lemkil that tending the crops would wait 'till the storm settled, and that in the meantime they would unwind at the Frostfruit Inn. Sitting Bear and Sissel continued to bond, as he told her more about his culture. "I wish it was sunny outsi...
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• Marudil: Sitting Bear, Chapter 3: O-Li-I (Friendship)

  by MarkusMasterThief May 29, 2015
  Sitting Bear's work day was over. He, Erik and Lemkil had tended a mighty crop, and in the months to come it would yield enough food to last the family for another year. Satisfied with his work, Sitting Bear retreated to his space in the Frostfruit Inn, where he opened a book lent to him by Mralki ...

• Sevria's Travels: The City Of Man

  by MarkusMasterThief May 28, 2015
  The relentless rain from the previous night had subsided, and was soon replaced by a blinding flurry of snow. Her fur armor insulated her body somewhat, but Sevria was still bitterly cold. In fact she could even say with certainty that this part of Skyrim was the coldest she'd ever felt...which hol...
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• Marudil: Sitting Bear, Chapter 2: I-Ya-Dv-Ne-Di (Duty)

  by MarkusMasterThief May 27, 2015
  The morning sun peeked over the grassy hills. Sunbeams cut through Sitting Bear's window at the Frostfruit Inn and woke him from his restful sleep, as a comfortable feeling came over him; before he'd come to Rorikstead, he was a broken and battered mess, but things were different now. Whatever madn...
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• Marudil: Sitting Bear, Chapter 1: Nu-Na-Ye-Di-S-Dv-Na (Safety)

  by MarkusMasterThief May 26, 2015
  Aimlessly Marudil wandered across the landscape of this strange land... was this The Reach? In Skyrim? Yes, yes, it looked like the Reach... the land of the Forsworn, or so he'd heard. It would do him no good to wander the hills, he thought, in his physical state... he couldn't risk a run-in with t...
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• Marudil: Sitting Bear, Prologue: Di-Da-Ai-Ya-S-Di (Escape)

  by MarkusMasterThief May 26, 2015
  "There he is! Shoot him!" The Justiciar ordered his archers to open fire immediately. After months of wearily following leads, tracking clues and finding nothing but mutilated Altmer corpses, they finally found him. They found the wood elf Marudil, and they weren't going to let him escape with his ...
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• Sevria's Travels: The Strange Old Cabin

  by MarkusMasterThief May 21, 2015
  Images floated before Sevria's eyes as she slept... fast, fleeting memories of ages long past, of the joy and familiarity of her life in Valenwood before the tragedies that later claimed her peoples' lives. She saw her mother teaching her how to walk, then watched as her father trained her in the w...
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• Markus' Art Gallery (with link)

  by MarkusMasterThief April 29, 2015
  In case anyone missed it, I'm featuring all my ES artwork on a single post in the Elder Scrolls Art group. Just recently I compiled a few more additions, and I'd love to hear from you guys about what you think of my work. The link to my gallery is available below. Adventure awaits! ENTER THE GALLERY
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• Marudil's Journal: Entry #2

  by MarkusMasterThief April 7, 2015
  Black Horse Editor's Note: As with the last "journal entry", Imperial research into the authenticity of the following document has been inconclusive. We here at the Black Horse encourage our readers not to regard this piece as the legitimate writings of the murderous outlaw Marudil (presently dubbed...
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• Skyrim One-Shots: Two Men and a Thief

  by MarkusMasterThief March 22, 2015
  "I don't know why you even keep trying, Sven. Camilla's mine, I tell you!" "Oh really? Did you see the way she looked at me last night at the Sleeping Giant Inn? I dare say she was entranced by my song!" "Well of course she was -- she had to have been drunk to like anything you wrote!" Such was the...

• Marudil's Journal: Entry #1

  by MarkusMasterThief March 7, 2015
  Black Horse editor's note: The following is presumed to be an excerpt from the actual journal of the Bosmer known to Tamriel as "Marudil", although Imperial research into the excerpt's authenticity have been inconclusive. As the vicious outlaw has never once lived within civilized society, be it Imp...
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• Markus's Musings: An Amateur Thief's Guide to Solitude

  by MarkusMasterThief February 24, 2015
  My good reader, It has come to my attention that amid the many helpful guides that one can find around Skyrim, precious few may be found to help up-and-coming thieves (that is to say, criminal artists like myself) to pursue a lucrative career in the field. And so, as usual, the duty of role model f...
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• Markus's Musings: The Art Of Larceny

  by MarkusMasterThief February 15, 2015
  My good reader, First and foremost, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Markus Blackwell, and all throughout my life in Tamriel I have enjoyed a plethora of noteworthy adventures -- such is the customary lifestyle of a master thief like myself. To be perfectly honest, I feel neither sha...

• Sevria's Travels: A Day In Whiterun

  by MarkusMasterThief February 4, 2015
  All at once Sevria was awestruck with wonder and amazement at the bright, welcoming beauty of the city. Its stone walls towered mightily over her head, and she wondered what it must have taken to build such massive and powerful structures. Surely it must have taken years! Decades... to say nothing ...

• Sevria's Travels: A Bard And Three Bandits

  by MarkusMasterThief January 10, 2015
  Sevria's dreams that night were surprisingly peaceful, reminding her of happier days... specifically the days when the Silvenar still existed. Though by day she would look upon these memories with sadness, as now she was all but alone, there was the strangest sense of relief in them as well. Life h...

• Sevria's Travels: A Bard And Three Bandits

  by MarkusMasterThief January 10, 2015
  Sevria's dreams that night were surprisingly peaceful, reminding her of happier days... specifically the days when the Silvenar still existed. Though by day she would look upon these memories with sadness, as now she was all but alone, there was the strangest sense of relief in them as well. Life h...

• Sevria's Travels: The Beginning

  by MarkusMasterThief December 29, 2014
  The carriage carrying Marudil and Sevria to Skyrim finally came to a stop at the humble city of Falkreath, and at last the wood elves hopped to the ground and took in the rich atmosphere around them. The two looked to the distant forest, and pondered the circumstances that had reunited them after...
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• Marudil: Blood And Arrows Epilogue

  by MarkusMasterThief December 18, 2014
  Night fell over the province of Cyrodiil, and the coachman driving Marudil and Sevria had become very tired. And so it was agreed that the three of them would take a break at a local inn, where their appetites would be sated and their energy restored. In the early hours of the morning, Marudil felt...

• Marudil: Blood And Arrows Ch. 7

  by MarkusMasterThief December 18, 2014
  Marudil and the Silvenar spread out instantly for cover as the Thalmor shot their arrows. A trap! They'd been led straight into a trap! But how did the Dominion know to expect them? Who tipped them off? Questions rushed frantically through Marudil's head as he and the Silvenar did battle with their...

• Marudil: Blood And Arrows Ch. 6

  by MarkusMasterThief December 17, 2014
  Night fell over the province of Valenwood, as Marudil and the Silvenar discussed their plan of action. "So what is your plan, my friend?" Elberoth asked Marudil, "How will you save us from the clutches of the Dominion?" "It is going to require a delicate touch. We're striving for independence, not ...
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• Marudil: Blood And Arrows Ch. 5

  by MarkusMasterThief October 28, 2014
  "So what do you mean to tell me?" Marudil asked Sevria, "Why have you chosen to break the Green Pact just as I have?" Sevria sat cross-legged on the ground and gave Marudil a solemn look. "It was many years ago... not long after you yourself turned your back on our sacred oaths to Y'ffre. I was... ...
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• Tales of the Black Phantom: The Aldmeri Heist

  by MarkusMasterThief October 24, 2014
  The year was 4E 194, seven years before the Dragonborn rose to glory in the frozen mountains of Skyrim. Markus Blackwell, the master thief known across the province as The Black Phantom, had just recently arrived to the Imperial city of Solitude in search of noble riches and brimming pockets. His li...

• Marudil: Blood And Arrows Ch. 4

  by MarkusMasterThief October 8, 2014
  The first of the Imga that struck at Marudil was met with a savage blow to its head, slicing open its face and splashing blood upon the wood elf's armor. Another of the apes struck at Marudil's side from behind, catching him off-guard just long enough for a third ape of the group to stick an elven ...
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• Skyrim One-Shot: The Temptation of Galmar Stone-Fist

  by MarkusMasterThief September 6, 2014
  "Who- who goes there?" Galmar asked, sensing a presence in the shadows. "Come..." A woman's voice responded, "Come hither... I have need of you..." The voice seemed to float through the air as effortlessly as a light breeze. Every word it spoke seemed to draw Galmar's every instinct toward it, as i...
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• Marudil: Blood And Arrows Ch. 3

  by MarkusMasterThief September 5, 2014
  The sunrise that morning seemed devoid of its distinctively joyous Valenwood flair. The green of the trees was dull and lifeless, and the air seemed stiff and dry. It was not at all as Marudil had remembered it to be; he found that he had actually come to miss what the forest had been before the Al...
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• Marudil: Blood And Arrows Ch. 2

  by MarkusMasterThief September 1, 2014
  Their trip to the dense forests of Valenwood seemed to stretch onward for an eternity's time. All the while, Marudil kept an intense and wary mood about him, making sure to keep his hood over his face as their carriage carried them across the border. "Do they know of this?" Marudil asked Sevria. "T...
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• Marudil: Blood And Arrows Ch. 1

  by MarkusMasterThief August 27, 2014
  The carriage came to a bumpy stop at the Falkreath gate. Marudil gave his thanks to the driver with 50 septims, before hopping off the carriage and taking in the scene around him. The scents and sights of Falkreath's lush wilderness thrilled his senses; it reminded him of the all-too-familiar thril...
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• Marudil: Blood And Arrows Prologue

  by MarkusMasterThief August 26, 2014
  "Marudil..." The woman's voice called from the depths of his dreams, "Do you hear my voice...?" "You..." His voice replied, "I remember you..." "Please... old friend, I--" "You are no friend to me!" "We were wrong, Marudil... Y'ffre has failed us... I beg of you... come to Falkreath..." "Failed yo...
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• Rikka Northwing and the Sword Dancer: Epilogue

  by MarkusMasterThief August 4, 2014
  The morning sun crept over the horizon and gently illuminated Erika's face as she stirred from her dazed consciousness. All was quiet... all was peaceful... and the agonizing chaos of Markarth's grand battle against the Order of the Dagger seemed a distant memory. Erika weakly gazed at the view from...
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• Rikka Northwing and the Sword Dancer: Ch. 7

  by MarkusMasterThief August 4, 2014
  Masser and Secunda were halved in the night sky as the scene in Markarth was set. The residents had all turned in for the night, and the majority of guards were fast asleep as well. 6 assassins of the Order had each claimed a vantage point and waited patiently for their quarry to arrive, while the o...
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• Rikka Northwing and the Sword Dancer: Ch. 6

  by MarkusMasterThief July 31, 2014
  Marudil swung first, aiming to sever Rikka's sword-arm. But his adversary swiftly avoided the maneuver, and struck his ribs with her elbow. The force of the blow send Marudil staggering back, but he managed to recover before Rikka could follow up on her first strike. The fierce assassin leaped in t...
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• Rikka Northwing and the Sword Dancer: Ch. 5

  by MarkusMasterThief July 25, 2014
  Erika gathered her arsenal and sharpened her twin swords. Marudil, too, collected his arrows from Proudspire Manor and tightened his bow. The two of them had agreed to take refuge on Erika's ship, the Crimson Wing, until they could determine how they would go about facing Rikka's promised arrival. A...
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• Rikka Northwing and the Sword Dancer: Ch. 4

  by MarkusMasterThief July 25, 2014
  On this night, the twin moons did not illuminate the skies. Skyrim was plunged into total darkness, and the anonymous Penitus Oculatus agent prepared to turn in for the night. His home was nothing significant: a humble little shack situated in the outskirts of Morthal, largely ignored by the residen...
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• Skyrim One-Shot: Jarl Balgruuf and the Black Phantom

  by MarkusMasterThief July 22, 2014
  The year was 194 of the 4th Era. Night fell upon the sleeping town of Whiterun, and Jarl Balgruuf the Greater found himself tasked with unraveling an ominous string of crime coursing through his beloved city. For the past week, people were reporting that their gold was being lifted straight from th...
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• Rikka Northwing and the Sword Dancer: Ch. 3

  by MarkusMasterThief July 20, 2014
  Belethor's killer was neither identified nor brought to justice by the Whiterun authorities. Some commoners assumed he had been in a scuffle with his trusted employee... while others dared to say that it was Whispering Death that took his life. The case would not be closed for months, but the killer...
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• Rikka Northwing and the Sword Dancer: Ch. 2

  by MarkusMasterThief July 18, 2014
  Rikka accompanied Anora to the hideaway of the Order, making sure to keep a close eye on even the slightest implication of betrayal. Even after being guided all the way to Markarth without interruption, Rikka was still unsure of her new acquaintance. Then again, however, this paranoia was no doubt a...

• Skyrim one-shot: The Raven Witch

  by MarkusMasterThief July 14, 2014
  "Uncle Ralof, do you know any good scary stories?" Frodnar asked one evening. Ralof stroked his beard in contemplation. "Scary stories, eh? Why do you ask?" "Dorthe says she can tell a better story than me. I wanna show her what I can do!" "Well... I think I do know one or two good tales to tell yo...
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• Rikka Northwing and the Sword Dancer: Ch. 1

  by MarkusMasterThief July 14, 2014
  Their steel met with a resounding noise as Rikka and the stranger collided. Adrenaline pulsed through their veins with each passing second as their blades swiped and slashed through the chilling night air. Rikka made a move for her enemy's jugular, swiping just below her head. But her adversary flip...

• Rikka Northwing and the Sword Dancer: Prologue

  by MarkusMasterThief July 13, 2014
  The familiar aroma of blood thrilled Rikka's senses as she drove her blade through Nazeem's throat. The sensation of murder coursed vigorously through her veins, and the feeling of her victim's warm blood splashing against her face summoned a distinct sense of nostalgia. As Nazeem's body twitched ...
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• Erika Northwing and the Archer of Whiterun: Ch. 5

  by MarkusMasterThief July 5, 2014
  The bandit chief swung his weapon first, aiming for Erika's head. The way he saw it, since she was a woman, she'd be the weakest of the two intruders. But Erika, swift as the wind, quickly dodged the blow and landed one of her own, hitting the back of the bandit's head with the bottom of her sword....
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• Erika Northwing and the Archer of Whiterun: Ch. 4

  by MarkusMasterThief July 3, 2014
  "My Jarl," Erika stated boldly as she knelt before Jarl Balgruuf's throne, "After several days of investigation, I have all but deduced the Archer's true identity. You contracted my help, so I am obligated to inform you of my next move: I'm going to delve into the forests of Falkreath Hold and track...
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• Erika Northwing and the Archer of Whiterun: Ch. 3

  by MarkusMasterThief June 28, 2014
  Erika arrived to Falkreath on horseback and beheld the sight: three more high elves of the Dominion, each killed by a single arrow to the head or other vital parts, and each one skinned and hanging upside-down from the trees. As with the previous scenario, little could be determined up front as to w...

• Erika Northwing and the Archer of Whiterun: Ch. 2

  by MarkusMasterThief June 24, 2014
  The killer gathered whatever necessary supplies he could find at the bandit camp before returning to the forest. Though he had slept well, he knew it would not be long before other wanderers would come to claim the camp for their own, and he could not afford to be taken by surprise. He briefly cons...
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• Erika Northwing and the Archer of Whiterun: Ch. 1

  by MarkusMasterThief June 23, 2014
  The sun sat brilliantly in the clear blue sky as Erika Northwing's vessel cruised along the sparkling clear waters of Skyrim. The winds blew strongly against the sails of the ship, steering it on its course to the docks of Solitude. It had been too long since Erika made port in Skyrim, and though i...
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• Erika Northwing and the Archer of Whiterun: Prologue

  by MarkusMasterThief June 22, 2014
  "Shor's bones... what monster could have done something like this?" A grim thunderstorm dominated the skies this day, as a large crowd surrounded the gruesome scene in the forest just west of Whiterun; three members of a Thalmor patrol unit, sent by the Embassy to keep watch over the Hold, had been...
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