Skyrim Day 012 - Solitude and the Coast of Skyrim

28 Last Seed, 4E201

Solitude

~~~

I cannot wait to be rid of Barbas. He cost me six extra Septims for the room in Dragons Bridge and today almost my life. Eager to be done with Clavicus Vile's task, we left Dragons Bridge before the sun had risen and with Barbas in the lead made our way towards Rimerock Burrow and the Rueful Axe.

The weather quickly grew to be quite disagreeable, cold, and snowy as we grew closer to the northern coast, but this might have been the reason I was not attacked by another roadside assassin this morning. Instead Barbas decided to attack some sort of snow spirit in the shape of what might have been an eel.

It is easy to be fearless when you are the companion of a Daedric Prince, but I did not appreciate having to fight such a creature without good reason. The flying eel-thing concentrated solely on Barbas and did not respond to my hacking away at its ghostly form with an Orsimer dagger, making me think I was having no effect. However, it eventually exploded into a cloud of snow and ice, though whether it was due to my dagger or Barbas's teeth, I cannot be sure. It's "corpse", a pile of snow, had within it two icicles which Barbas helpfully informed me was the thing's teeth and suggested that I keep them to sell or experiment with.

That was not the only fight Barbas picked: two huge wolves also met their end at Barbas's jaws and when Barbas ran ahead of me around a corner I thought he had also killed a bandit, but the man had been obviously dead for some time. On his body was a note saying that he was close to finding the "Hunting Bow of Chills", which the man suspected was in a place called 'Greenspring Hollow'. Where this is I neither know nor care.

Miraculously the air became warmer and the snow lessened further on and we came upon a ruin of some kind alongside the road. Once again, Barbas charged forward on his own, barking and snarling. He disappeared into the rubble and soon after I heard a shout, followed by several others. On his own, Barbas decided to attack another group of bandits.

This time I was taken notice of and fought a duel with an archer while Barbas massacred the bandits for no other reason than to amuse himself. I killed the archer, he about five other men.

Continuing along the road my worst fears almost became realized: I was being followed not by one Barbas, but two!

Fortunate for my sanity, the second dog was merely a dog that looked very similar to the hound that Barbas has chosen to appear as. The dog looked healthy and lacking Barbas's ability to "talk", could not tell me why it was wandering the frozen road. The dog must have had its reasons, for it simply continued down the road, paying us no more attention than a glance.

Finally Barbas and I reached 'Rimerock Burrow', a small cave dug into the side of a hill almost directly underneath a ruined tower. The cave was only one "room" and guarded by a Flame Atronach whose demise somehow failed to alert the Conjurer who was in possession of the Axe. So intent was he on his enchanting table that he neither heard his Atronach's doomed battle nor my (somewhat) stealthy approach. An Orsimer dagger into his back and the Axe was mine.

On our way back from the Burrow we passed another group of Legionnaires escorting a prisoner and I heard them talking among themselves about seeing boats drawn up on the shore to the northeast. The boats sounded like they might lead me to the bandits the innkeeper at the 'Four Shields Tavern' in Dragons Bridge had mentioned and the day was still young, so Barbas and I took a detour along the barren shore of Skyrim.

The small boats outside of the sea cave disguised the naval tragedy within: a large sailing ship crushed by a cave-in.

With no way to get their fleet to see the pirates (I suppose) lashed  their remaining ships together and turned them into floating houses of a sort, each with several levels and bridges to the small amount of land made available by the cavern.

I managed to shoot down two of the land-locked pirates before Barbas alerted everyone else to our arrival, but the geography of the cave worked against its residents, for they were forced to run from their ships, across a small plateau, down a narrow path, and finally the distance between them and I. This trip allowed me to shoot another two of them as they came charging and yelling at us and Barbas distracted another, giving me the opportunity to face the pirates' Captain on my own. A dagger against a two-handed greatsword is nowhere near an equal match, especially when the person with the dagger gets inside your swing and you are standing at the edge of a high drop. All it took was a timed rush into the Captain as he began to swing his sword and down he tumbled into the water below. He was a much easier target while he was trying to swim to one of his boats. Unfortunately I had to later go into the water myself to retrieve his body, but such is life.

A quick walk around the grotto revealed not much treasure so I could only hope that the people Barbas and I killed were the targets of the bounty letter I had been given.

By the time we reached the gates of Solitude the moon was already high but the guard gave us no trouble with entering the city.

An execution was in progress as we entered the city, but I had no desire to watch another man lose his head, so I paid it no attention and went immediately to the local inn. Being a major city, Solitude's inn boasted a much nicer room than the ones I have been staying at.

The Rueful Axe is in my possession, but I have to now walk all the way back to Clavicus Vile's shrine and I also have another Daedric Prince, Meridia, patiently awaiting my attention. I complete one task and I have three more, it seems.

Oblivion Day 12 - Abduction in Hackdirt

8 Heartfire, 3E433

Chorrol

~~~

The 'Fingers of the Mountain' book is now in the hands of the Mages Guild and I am glad it is, as I was told while on my way to the Guild that Teekeeus used to be in a position at the Arcane University. Earana's scheming successfully saw him removed from whatever post he held there, but apparently she felt that she could not rest for as long as the Argonian was in the Guild at all. I cannot understand such spitefulness and I am glad to have helped him with his problem. He received his book and I received the promise of my recommendation, which is good enough for me.

That left only the unfortunate Dar-Ma to rescue from the equally unfortunate village of Hackdirt. I had been posted there many years ago as part of a small detachment guarding isolated villages from goblins. We had received a warm reception at every place we stopped at...except for Hackdirt. True, the town had been mostly burnt-out rubble then, but that had not been our doing. I simply remember it being a very unfriendly, unpleasant place and we were all glad to move on after a few days to the next village on the list.

The more things change, the more things stay the same. Hackdirt is still the same miserable patch of land that it was back then, with one rather important difference. I got the same glares I remembered from years back when I walked into town and the same curt responses to any question I had, including why there was a white horse crudely stabled within the wreck of an old house.

Dar-Ma was still there or had been. But the people of Hackdirt were not the most clever of folk and when I asked about only a "missing shopkeeper", one of the older men replied that he knew nothing about an Argonian...a detail I had not mentioned. Further investigation netted a trapdoor in the corner of one of the ruined homes and underneath it a sprawling cavern that used to be a mine, if my memory is correct.

But there was no more ore in the mine, just strange half-naked men with large eyes, clubs, and a rather hostile attitude. I was attacked immediately by these brutes, but dispatched them all handily, and found Dar-Ma alive and well in a cage during the running melee I was engaged in. The key to Dar-Ma's cell was on one of the man-creatures and she seemed unharmed and understandably frightened. I escorted her back to the surface and her horse Blossom, but we were attacked by more of the brutes, as well as some townspeople, as soon as she had mounted.

I told her to flee to Chorrol before we were surrounded and she took off, leaving me to deal with the small riot assaulting me without having to worry about her. When things had finally quieted down I was covered in blood and the town of Hackdirt had probably half the living residents it had this morning. Everyone else was inside their homes, so I began the long trek back to the city, welcoming the cleansing rain that started to fall as I did so.

But I had only been walking for a few minutes before I heard the unmistakable sounds of a horse in distress. I rushed forwards thinking that Dar-Ma had run into some sort of ambush somehow set by Hackdirt, but as I drew closer to the sound I noticed the sky was turning a deep red.

Dar-Ma managed to stumble into an Oblivion gate, scaring the wits out of her horse. I helped the frightened Argonian drag the horse away from the gate and told her to ride as quickly as possible around it once Blossom had calmed. When she asked why I was not following, I told her I was going to close the gate and she looked at me as if I had suddenly grown a second head. Once I saw that she was safely around the gate and heading to the city I stepped forwards, wary of scamps' fireballs, and entered the Gate.

At least it feels like the Gates are becoming easier. This one was new again: two small towers and one large tower. I had only to release the lock on a bridge from one small tower to  the other, then from that tower release a second lock to extend a bridge to the large tower, atop which sat the Stone powering the entire place. And that was all there was to that Gate. Scamps are no longer an issue at all and I found myself wishing for the days of Morrowind when I was going toe-to-toe with powerful Dremora. At least life was challenging then.

As usual time seems to pass quicker in Oblivion and again it was deep into the evening when I had closed the Gate, despite it being late morning when I entered it. An Oblivion gate is a guarantee on how your day will be spent.

Still, I made it back to Chorrol before too long and stopped at Seed-Neeus's tradehouse to make sure Dar-Ma had arrived home safely.

For having rescued her daughter Seed-Neeus promised me her undying gratitude and friendship, two things which I have learned go a lot farther than a handful of coins. If at all possible I shall endeavor to sell most of my future goods to her as I am promised the best prices for everything. This will not always be possible, of course, but whenever possible, it shall be done.

I have spent enough time in Chorrol I think. I have a decision to make now: do I travel west to Skingrad and Anvil or east to Bruma and Cheydinhal? The choice is somewhat pointless, I have to visit each city eventually to gain the Guild recommendation for entry to the University, but I am leaning towards Skingrad and Anvil to keep myself from having to double-back once I have finished my business in the east.

Morrowind Day 12 - Learning by Doing

27 Last Seed

~~~

Today will certainly wind up being one of my more boring entries. I spent the entire day in the Balmora, most of it in the Mages Guild, training and practicing with my slim inventory of spells. Joining the Imperial Cult has been constantly on my mind, but my induction into...my new group of friends even moreso and I should begin with some of their tasks soon.

Before doing that though, I need to train my magicka skills until I can be confident about having a reasonable chance of successfully casting the spells. Khajitt are not exactly known for their command of the arcane arts, but enough of us succeed at becoming quite good to make me think that a large part of our reputation in this matter is simple prejudice.

I have been carrying a good number of potions on me, but the increased weight of my new armor meant I would have to dispose of all but the most useful. To that end, I sold every vial that wasn't a protection, restoration, or healing potion to Nalearya. For twenty-six potions she paid me 475 Septims, mentioning that she heard Ajira was unhappy about a recent delivery she had received and if I had heard anything about it. I hadn't, having left the Mages Guild earlier in the morning than usual and I doubled back to the Guild to see what she was talking about. 

When Ajira told me what had happened, I wondered if she had more connections with the Thieves Guild than the Mages. A "debt" had been repaid to her in full, but instead of the Septims (or sugar, I suppose) Ajira had been expecting, her debtor had paid in Kwama eggs and Nix-hound meat. The person must either have confidence in his feet or Ajira's sense of humor, but the indignation and rage on my friend's face made me doubt either would spare the joker from his fate.

My own alchemy skills are not very good, but I know that if I powdered the eggs and mixed it in a pot of boiling Nix-hound meat the resulting liquid should be a stamina restorative. I offered to buy all of Ajira's stock of eggs and meat and when she recovered from her surprise, sold me the goods at a very reasonable price. I spent most of the morning brewing potions and sold them to Nalearya at a slight loss, but the practice was worth the cost.

It was early in the evening by the time I finished working through Ajira's unwanted inventory, feeling that I gained something from the hours I spent working at the alchemy laboratory the guild set aside for guests. Too late in the day to begin any journey, I instead practiced locking and unlocking the doors of the guild with my spells and a hip of magicka refresh flasks. Again, not terribly exciting, but time well spent nonetheless. 

Ranis annouced my promotion to Journeyman over a late dinner tonight. Ajira and Galbedir both congratulated me, making me feel that their "rivalry" might be a ruse to draw more work out of the guild's recruits. Or it could be genuine and simply not extend to me.