About This File
== Valus Cottage v1.0 ==
For many tens of years, there has been a secret route between Morrowind and Cyrodiil. A route known only to the Thieves and smugglers called simply, the Thieves Highway. A tunnel cut upward through the Valus mountains themselves allowing the less savory to escape notice from border patrols, filter their stolen goods from one principality to the other and hide when their faces become too well known.
Some years ago, a particularly successful Lady Thief who had used the Thieves Highway to amass her fortune, noted the Imperial Patrols spending far too much time near the Daedra Shrine that sat so near the upper exit of the tunnel. They had obviously become suspicious and it would only be a matter of time before it was found.
Part of her success was in her anonymity. There were few her knew her real name nor to what trade she plied herself. In fact, she was considered a respectable member of society in Cyrodiil. With this in mind, she plotted a way to protect the highway. She commissioned many builders and craftsmen from across the Empire to build her a house, her mountain cottage she called it and for the nobles she oft dined with, convinced them she wanted nothing more than a retreat where she could pursue an affair untroubled by fear of discovery.
Those wealthy and gossip hungry folk were more than happy to accept her reasoning and she began construction. Keeping the entrance cleverly hid from the workers, a house was constructed into the very cliff wall of the Valus Mountains. It's only access, so far as any were concerned, a mountain path that wound up to and through the Shrine of the Daedra Lord Boethia.
It took many months to finish the cottage. Several workers fell to their deaths assembling the retaining walls that would support the house. Several more met mysterious ends in the night when they came too near a spot the Lady Thief would rather they stayed clear of.
Her time amongst the builders was not spent in idleness. She learned from them their trade, the tricks of craftsmanship. Once the cottage was complete and the last of the workers paid and on their way, she descended to the well appointed cellar. There, she used the skills she had learned to build a secret room hidden by an ingenious moving shelf designed by two fellow scoundrels, the Scourge of Borne and an enigmatic thief known only as J.D.
Though the Lady Thief has moved on to richer climbs, her cottage still stands on the side of the Valus mountains, sentinel over the high entrance to the Thieves Highway. Should you ever need a respite from authorities watchful eye, look you to the far south of Cheydinhal in the Valus Mountains. Find the ancient ruin of Hame and from there a path that will lead you on a winding trek ever higher until at last you reach Boethia's Shrine. From there, you will find your haven within arms reach.
**Location = Valus Cottage can be found very near the Shrine of Boethia in the Valus Mountains. The Cottage is South East of Cheydinhal and far East of Bravil. Nearly to the Morrowind Border. To find the Shrine and so the Cottage, start where the Corbolo River becomes the Reed and travel East to find a pass up into the mountains. Acrobatics will come in handy on this climb, it's not an easy trek. Of course, those who explore the valley below the Shrine may find another way up to the top. A hidden way. Good luck.
== == Requirements ==
TES IV: Oblivion Patched to v1.2.0416
== Installation ==
Extract the Valus Cottage esp, Meshes, Sound and Textures to your Oblivion Data directory then enable Valus Cottage in the Oblivion Launcher.
**You will find a Loading Screen Add-on as well now. Simply allow it to overwrite the existing Valus Cottage esp. Detailed instructions are included with the Loading Screen download.
== Uninstallation ==
Remove the following files and folders from your Oblivion Directory:
Valus Cottage.esp
Data/Meshes/Red/Valus
Data/Textures/Red/Valus
Data/Sound/Fx/JDFan
== Changelog ==
v1.0 - Release 6/24/09
Loading Screen Add on - 7/02/09
== Bugs/Incompatibilities ==
None Known
== Credits ==
-Darkrider - Without who's patient tutelage I would not be the modder I am today and for the custom Brandy included in this mod.
-Greenwarden - As always for her willingness to test my frankenstein creations and tasteful advice on decor.
-InsanitySorrow for testing, cleaning and general cheering on of my house building obsession. More for adding the fantastic Loading Screens for the mod.
-Many MANY thanks to JDFan who saved my dream of a swinging bookshelf and for the fantastic "Throne" I wonder how many will actually find.
== Resources Used ==
Hel Borne's Filled Bookshelf Resource
Xiamara's Sofas and Chairs set 1
Zimnel's More Sofas and Chair Sets
Merillia's Blue and White Porcelain
Kalikut's Cauldron Resource
Aisis' Anvil Style Furniture
Texians Static Water Mesh
Meo's Open book Statics and Globes
Garak's Booksets
EFG Tapestries
== Contact ==
Contact me on either TES Alliance or Bethsoft's Official Forums for prompt support.
== Permissions ==
As everything in my mod is either vanilla content or a resource you may do with it as you wish. If you use any resources from this mod, be sure to give credit in your readme to their authors.
