Here's the new book covers: http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/8641/bookcoversfournew.jpg

These are for the Armorer's Handbook, The Complete Blacksmith, The Book of Secrets, and An Affair of Bards.

An Affair of Bards is a new romance book by Jac, by the bard Deandre.

The Tale of the White Guar

There once was a poor farmer who lived in the Grazelands his whole life. He dutifully tended the lands of his fathers, toiling all day in his fields of wickwheat. His sons were not so dutiful, and had all left to seek work in the cities, leaving him to tend his crops alone in his old age while his aged wife took care of hearth and home. This old couple made a meager living, but they were not hard done by. They both worked hard, and looked forward to the reward of first harvest.

It was nearing Last Seed, and the poor farmer went out into his fields as he did every day. It was on this day he found a herd of wild white guar grazing on his crops.

"Shoo!" he yelled as he brandished his sickle, "Shoo, or I'll make meat of you all and tan your hides!"

But the largest of the guar spoke, "We are the sacred guar of the Temple. Killing us would bring bad tidings, dear farmer."

The poor farmer felt he had no choice, so he left them grazing in his fields. Every night he prayed to ALMSIVI that they would leave, but every day they were still there, eating and trampling his wickwheat. After three days he had had enough. He went out into the fields to slaughter them, and mounted the head of the finest white guar on his mantle.

The next night the farmer heard a terrible noise outside his door. He ran outside brandishing his pitchfork, to find a pack of nix-hounds harassing his prized guar.

"Stop!" he yelled, "Stop, or this pitchfork will find its way into your spleens!"

The largest of the nix-hounds laughed, "You'll do no such thing! We are the hunting hounds of blessed Almalexia. She demands your guar as tribute."

"Blesses Almalexia would not keep such base creatures!" the farmer raged. He drove the nix-hounds off, but the damage was done. His prized guar was left dead. That night he prayed to ALMSIVI for peace.

Over the course of the next few days, the farmer tried to salvage his harvest. While he was in the fields he heard a cry come from his house. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him and threw open the door. There he found his wife being ravished by a giant rat. As the farmer stood stunned, the rat turned and brandished its teeth.

"I am the sacred rat of the sewers of Vivec."

"That's ridiculous," the farmer exclaimed, "sacred rat indeed!" and with that the farmer slit the rat's throat with a knife.

That night the farmer heard the faint sound of laughter on the wind, and he knew he had nearly been fooled by capricious creatures. He prayed to ALMSIVI for relief.

As Frostfall neared the poor farmer and his wife rejoiced, as she was with child. Despite being so old and frail, the child grew quickly in her womb, leaving her unable to rise out of bed. Her husband dutifully tended to her, and took on her daily work. She gave birth near the end of Sun's Dusk. The child looked healthy and fine and he was proud.

As the child svckled, his wife became increasingly languorous. She could not move from her bed, and the child lay on top of her; Drinking her and drinking her, the poor old woman began to shrivel down to her bones, and the child left her no more than an empty husk. That night she died, leaving the man a widower with a hungry child.

The small child sat up and glared at the man with its beady red eyes. "I demand meat and bread!" it bellowed with the voice of a grown man, "Bring to me everything you have stored for the winter!"

The frightened man ran to his larder, and gave the child everything he had. All of the guar meat the farmer managed to store, as well as the remains of his harvest, went down the child's gullet. It devoured everything -- hair and hide and bone. The creature supped greedily until the poor farmer's cupboards were bare. The thing became more bloated and grotesque with every bite.

"I still hunger!" the creature yelled, "I'll have the bones of your dearly dead!" and with that the creature leaped across the room and pulled the shroud from his dead wife, who was not yet removed from the farm house. The creature ate hair and hide and bone until there was nothing left.

"Monster!" the farmer cried, "Why do you torment us so! What have you done to my wife!?"

And with that the child stood as tall as a man, a bloated thing with yellowing flesh, red eyes, and sharp teeth. "I am a son of Molag Bal!" the creature blustered, "and I'll do to your wife as I please!" The creature then leapt at the farmer, bowling him backwards, before bursting out the door and disappearing into the night, cackling all the while.

That night, the poor farmer prayed to ALMSIVI for justice. The head of the white guar spoke:

"Blessed Almalexia already sent someone to protect you from Molag Bal and his servants. It was I, the white guar."

Annotations:
The Tale of the White Guar was originally an old Ashlander tale. Modified by the Temple before publication, it originally attributed the protective powers of the white guar to Almalexia's anticipation, Boethiah.

Yes, I'd like to have a journal book too. I wouldn't mind if it didn't have any purpose and was just blank. But it's just the roleplaying aspect that the game keeps updating your journal and yet you're not even carrying one! I think it would be ideal to have Sellus Gravius hand it to you before you leave. I think I mentioned that idea in the Grimoire thread.

I'd tell you, but then it wouldn't be a secret.

Actually, it's not a book of secrets, but one about secrets.

The Tale of the White Guar

I really enjoyed that!

Ah, so you're following Maholix's ideas. Sounds cool!

Part I. Tips for the Wary Traveler.

Dealing with Dunmeri Culture:

When traveling in Morrowind in particular, it always pays to be polite. Remember, that this is the homeland of the Dunmer. A little respect for their culture goes a long way. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and listen to what they tell you. You can get a lot of information out of people if you are courteous. Remember, not everyone you meet will be friendly, some even hostile. Tread with care whenever you are dealing with the Dunmer.

The general attitude of the Dunmer people will vary depending on region or faction. More on this will be outlined in the following sections divided by region.

The Ashlanders are particularly wary when it comes to dealing with foreigners, or even other Dunmer for that matter. It is perhaps best to avoid their territories, and not interfere with them at all. Some Ashlanders are outright hostile towards intruders and will attack on sight.

Practical Preparations for the Journey:

Never leave home without a scroll of Divine Intervention. That's what we say here in the Empire, but in Morrowind, a scroll of Almsivi Intervention will do you just as well. You can buy these scrolls from your local temple or shrine. You can also learn the spell, and even have it enchanted onto an amulet or ring. This spell will whisk you out of trouble on a moments notice, and it's the first thing any traveler, no matter what his or her calling, will want to bring along. Spells of Mark and Recall are also very useful. Just make sure you don't ever get the two mixed up!

Unless you are intent on wandering and getting into trouble, travel in groups or take the many ships or silt strider services available to get to where you need to go. The silt strider is a peculiar beast the Dunmer use to travel from place to place. It is very large, and will keep you safe from wandering beasts without fail! Mages Guild halls also offer their fast travel services to anyone, so long as you have the cash, and they offer significant discounts for this service to guild members.

While traveling across Vvardenfell, particularly in any region near Red Mountain such as the Ashlands or Molag Amur, make sure to take a closed helm, or a hooded robe. The ash storms in this area have been known to rip the flesh off bones.

Always make sure you have your weapon, or a good spell ready when traveling the roads of Vvardenfell. Though many are relatively safe and well kept by the Imperial Legion, you may yet encounter the odd giant rat or nix-hound. In particular, make sure to have a good ranged spell or weapon at the ready to fend off those pesky cliff racers! These horrible bird-beasts are absolutely everywhere on the island. They've even been known to take small children from small, poorly guarded towns.

Always keep a good stock of potions on you: restore health, restore fatigue, restore magicka if you are a spell caster, cure disease, and cure blight. A potion of cure blight is most important when traveling across Vvardenfell, because many creatures carry these dread diseases.

If you are a warrior, or even just reasonably skilled with a weapon, make sure to bring along a few repair tools. Even the smallest towns offer repair services for the most part, but if you are caught out in the wilderness, the only one who can put an edge back on your blade, or patch your armor, is you. It is also a good idea to bring a backup weapon just in case. You can never be too prepared.

Bring a bedroll if you can, and carry a good torch. If you are ever caught in the wilderness at night, these things will go a long way to keep you comfortable and safe. Make sure you bring enough food and drink along for the journey. Some areas are very short in supply, and the terrain may be harsh and unforgiving.

There are many edible plants in the wilderness. The trick is knowing which ones are safe to eat, and which ones will make you ill. I will cover this very briefly for each region, but there are some excellent field guides out there that go into more detail. If you have some skill in alchemy, you will be able to tell right away which plants are good to eat, and which ones are poisonous.

If you are out in the wilderness seeking shelter and come across a cave, beware. Most caves are homes to bandits and dangerous creatures. Mines and tombs are usually safer than caves. If you find a mine, be prepared for a little company. Some mines are well guarded and they may not let you sleep there, but if the people working there do not mind, it is probably a safer place to stay the night than out in the open. If you find yourself in a tomb, try to stay just inside the entrance. The Dunmer raise ghosts and other undead to guard their tombs, and you don't want to disturb them!

Places to Avoid While Traveling Through Morrowind:

Dwemer ruins are to be avoided. You will find these all over Vvardenfell. They can be recognized by their large metal towers. They are relatively safe on the outside, but the interiors are filled with ancient Dwemer constructs which attack intruders on sight. Excavation parties have been known to venture into these compounds, but few ever come out again!

There are also several ancient Dunmer strongholds, long abandoned by their people and left to bandits, rogue mages, cults, and other dangerous folk. Knowledge of these places has mostly been lost or forgotten. Their noble architecture tells of a brighter age of the Dunmer people. They are constructed in a style, which name has been lost to time, but some call "Old Velothi" or "High Dunmer". They are much grander than their newer Velothi counterparts. The exploration of these ruins are perhaps best left to large excavation parties. Perhaps some day these noble structures will be reclaimed, but for the common traveler, they are best left alone.

Most importantly of all, stay away from Daedric ruins! Though long abandoned by the Dunmer, these places are rife with angry daedra and fanatical worshipers! These ruins have a characteristic architecture with large, broken, undulating spires with strange symbols and patterns etched in the stone. They were not built by man or mer, but by the Daedric Princes themselves, and they do not suffer intruders lightly!

Do you remember what that quest is called?

Spiders do exist in TES lore, but not in Morrowind proper.

Two new book covers, and an updated cover for the blacksmithing book: http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/4575/booksnewthree.jpg

I added some dirt and wear to the blacksmithing book, and finished the covers for The Tale of the White Guar, and Pack Guars, Our Faithful Friends (a different title than suggested, but essentially Guars, Their Care and Breeding, which I've finished writing). Since Pack Guars was written by a simple guar herder, I decided to go with a simple book and make it look really worn.