Skyrim Day 002 - Around Riverwood

18 Last Seed, 4E201
Riverwood
~~~

I woke at Riverwood's 'Sleeping Giant' inn at about six in the morning, had a quick breakfast, and headed out to see what I could do around the town.

My first thought was to search the riverside for fish and fish eggs, but as I crept along the bank I noticed a large deer on the other side. Thinking myself a skilled hunter, I drew back an arrow and let fly..striking the rock the deer was standing upon.

With that, the hunt was on! The deer fled and I followed it back across the river and into the hills north of Riverwood. As I was attempting to sneak closer to my prey, the howling of wolves sounded very close and the deer ran off, quickly pursued by three wolves. I stayed still hoping to avoid the wolves' notice, but once the deer disappeared into the trees the wolves stopped their chase and turned on me instead.

Fortunately, a traveling Bard calling himself 'Talsgar the Wanderer' happened to be walking along the nearby road and came to my assistance against the wolves. After dispatching our hungry foes we talked for a bit and he invited me to take what I liked from the wolves, declaring that he had no use for such things. I gladly took him up on his offer, slinging three wolf pelts into a sack I had purchased from the innkeeper this morning.

I continued along the road towards Helgen, keeping my eyes and ears open for alchemy ingredients or small animals. Instead of either of those things, I found two large animals charging at me, one swinging a two-handed sword, the other a sword and shield.

The battle was more difficult than perhaps it should have been. It has been decades since I have even served as a bodyguard and longer since fighting something wielding weapons against me. I am clearly very much "out of practice", though I did emerge victorious owing to the bandit with the two-handed sword accidentally killing his companion. My thanks to his enthusiasm.

A complete suit of iron armor from one of the bandits was my reward for surviving as well a surprise in the form of an enchanted medallion, the manner of enchantment being something I need to still investigate. The armor alone is worth far more than a few deer, let alone the medallion. I may have to sell the jewelry at a larger town, but the armor will likely find a buyer in Riverwood.

I killed a fox further down the road and investigated a dirt path leading up into the hillside, but a woman standing at the end of the road warned me away and I did not feel like making an enemy of someone for the sake of my curiosity.

With no set goal in mind I figured to head back to Riverwood and exchange the armor for some coin. On my way back I came across another deer and decided to try my luck once again. My shot was true, but it failed to kill or incapacitate the beast, so I was forced to follow it as it fled into one of Helgen's open gates.

The town has been completely destroyed. I followed the deer through ruined houses and over smoldering rubble, finally cornering it at the town's Keep, which looked to be fairly undamaged. Its hide, antlers, and meat will fetch a good price in town.

Soon it began to grow dark so I walked back to Riverwood, shooting a hare on my way, and put in an hour's work chopping wood. One of the operators of the lumber mill, a Nord named 'Hod', bought the wood at two Septims each.

Hadvar's uncle Alvor is interested in purchasing the bandit's iron armor from me, but asked that the transaction wait until tomorrow and suggested that if I was interested in the trade, that I craft an iron dagger for him. I agreed in order to refresh my skill at armor and weapon maintenance, one of the many skills I used to practice that have wilted away in the previous decades.

I managed to make what I judged to be a fairly effective weapon and returned it to him at the Inn. He declared that it looked fine, but then requested that I sharpen the edge some more. I will attend to that task in the morning.

I am hoping that I can secure clothing other than my Imperial Legion leathers, for I do not wish to appear conspicuous or that I have chosen a side in Skyrim's civil war. Simple hide armor should be either available here or within my ability to craft, so I shall make that a priority tomorrow.

Oblivion Day 2 - Beware What Ye Summon

28 Last Seed, 3E433

Skingrad

~~~

I awoke early this morning amused to find that, now free, I am resuming the schedule I held in Morrowind years ago. Which is to say: I woke at roughly six in the morning as the monks were finishing breakfast and preparing to go about their daily tasks.

My goal was the town of Kvatch, where I would find a person of interest to Jauffre. This person does not know they are of interest, so it was up to me to convince the man to leave the town and join me in walking back to the monastery.

But before I did anything of the sort, I needed better equipment. Chorrol was right outside the monastery, so I waited for the gates to open and walked into my first city in six years. The experience was a bit underwhelming, but I did learn that some madman had attacked the congregation in Anvil's chapel, leading others to start loudly proclaiming that the end of the world was at hand. I am sure the Anvil city guards can deal with such a problem.

A better weapon was needed before I set out to Kvatch, but the blacksmith's shop completely lacked anything even resembling a spear. I suppose that's just as well, for I am six years out of practice in wielding any sort of weapon and wound up choosing a simple iron long sword instead. I probably have just as much skill with a long blade at this point as with a spear.

Thus armed and somewhat armored, I left the small town and started the trek down the road towards Skingrad and Kvatch. The walk and weather afforded me a beautiful view of the Imperial City, though I am not comfortable with the thought of visiting it quite yet, being the escaped convict that I am.

As if to ruin to the moment, a yell sounded from my right and I turned to see a conjurer charging at me from across a rope bridge, summoning a frail-looking scamp as he rapidly approached. Perhaps he did not see the bow strapped to my back.

The last time I was in Cyrodiil the Imperial Legion constantly patrolled these roads and banditry was a rare and short-lived occurrence. The Auxiliaries were more frequently engaged in fighting bears than bandits, but I like to think our presence, rowdy though it could be at times, helped maintain order. If the death of the Emperor was not bad enough, it appears that the strength of the Legion was diminished in the Empire's home province and the Auxiliaries have ceased to exist.

The lack of patrols had a very visible result when I found a group of imps wandering around near a small cave. As soon as one of them saw me, it would start to fling magicka and make a big nuisance of itself. To an unarmed farmer trying to get home though, even a single imp would have been a dire threat and I wound up shooting down five of them outside the cave, certainly enough to cause a great deal of harm to anyone...if they had attacked all at once.

As I was pondering where so many imps might have come from, one answered my question by flying out of the cave. After putting an arrow into its back I sliced open the imps' bodies and collected the gall into small vials which I could either use myself or sell for a decent amount of coin, disgusting as collecting it might be. Cheered by the prospect of making good money today, I decided to proceed into the cave in the hopes of finding more imps.

I was quite startled to find a large pile of skulls and bones right at the entrance of the cavern, but all it contained was a few rats and some more imps, nothing I could not comfortably handle by myself. There were also several rotted bedrolls strewn about, one with a complete skeleton laying upon it, clutching a small sack in its skeletal hand.

Aside from the imps' remains, there was little of value to be found. The place had likely been used by rogue mages who became overwhelmed and killed by their own summonings. A fitting, though ironic, way for them to go.

The sun was beginning to set when I exited the cave, six more flasks of gall sloshing in my pack. I was not going to make it to Kvatch before night fell, but I thought I could at least reach Skingrad, so I continued down the road. Again: a cave with skulls and other remains littering the entrance. But I had no time left in the day to pursue this, but I may on my way back to the monastery. Someone should and it appears no one else is.

It was dark as pitch by the time I reached the gates of Skingrad and a helpful guard directed me to the Two Sisters' lodge where I could get a bed for the night. The two sisters were Orsimer, but pleasant enough. The proprietor, Mog gra-Mogakh, handed me a pamphlet about the Emperor's death. It was short and light on theatrics, only stating that we must all continue on for the good of the Empire.

I will be doing my part by reaching Kvatch tomorrow. What happens after that or what I will do is a mystery.  

Morrowind Day 2 - In the Emperor's service

17 Last Seed

~~~~

The reason for the secretive nature of my assignment is now quite clear to me, as is the foolishness of keeping this journal, though I will continue to do so anyway. I keep repeating my new rank over and over in my head and can hardly sleep for the anticipation of what tomorrow might bring. But if I'm going to be keeping this journal, best to be dutiful about it and start, as always, at the beginning.

I awoke in my room in the Halfway Tavern at about six in the morning, just as the sun was rising. My first stop after a quick breakfast were two shops nesting together across the street. Though I had nothing to sell, I was looking for some sort of shield I could use effectively. The first store had what I was looking for, the merchant was willing to let a shield made of native materials, known as Bonemold, go for a very good price, owing to the state of disrepair it was in. For a handful of Septims I was able to acquire a shield of similar weight to what I was used to, plus repair tools. After some trial and error I was able to repair the shield to a usable condition, saving myself quite a bit of money. I wound up returning to the same shop and purchasing Imperial chain for my shoulders and legs, but nearly depleted my funds in doing so. The chain vest, pauldrons, and leggings were a comfort, both in acquiring better protection and in wearing the standard issue of the Auxiliaries. Between my short sword, spear, and armor, I looked and felt every bit the Auxiliary. It is a comforting feeling.

Fort Pelagiad was a bit of a disappointment. A few vendors had set up tables inside, but nothing caught my interest. I spoke with Ygfa, a Nordic woman of the Imperial Cult, whom offered quite a selection of spells, but unfortunately nearly all from the college of Restoration, which I have no skill in. I wasn't planning on staying long anyway and left for Balmora with the dawn at my back.

Fort Pelagiad

I saw the woman pacing back and forth underneath a large mushroom long before she noticed me, such was the strength of her distraction. When I was close enough to greet her, I managed to startle her and she asked if I had come across a bandit preying on roadside travelers. The bandit had relieved her of her jewelry and I assumed she was asking if I could track down the bandit and retrieve her possessions, but the truth was far odder. The short exchange between the two had sparked the lady's passion and she insisted I track down the bandit if only to convince him to meet her at the Halfway Tavern. I agreed to help her, simply out of amusement of the whole thing, though I doubt the bandit will be as accommodating. Maurrie Aurmine, her name was, and she bade me good luck as I resumed my trip to Balmora. I have not come across this bandit, Nelos Onmar, yet.

The road between Pelagiad and Balmora was uneventful, save for the occasional rat that I dispatched with sword or spear. I passed Fort Moonmoth on my way to Balmora and decided to stop for a bit to get out of the rain which had fallen out of what had been a cloudless sky only half an hour before.

Fort Moonmoth

Moonmoth seems built to be Fort Pelagiad's older sibling. While Fort Pelagiad has a larger courtyard, Moonmoth is built compactly, while housing a much larger garrison. Perhaps the opposite was true in harsher days. Like Pelagiad, Fort Moonmoth had several merchants vying for space within the entrance chamber, but also in an adjacent room. I didn't have much money left after purchasing and repairing my shield, but I did trade my steel sword and the few Septims I had left for a silver-plated sword. The plating aids the wielder in delivering a blow to enemies of an ethereal nature, though I am not sure how or why this works. I do have to be more careful with it though, should the silver wear off, the sword won't be any more useful than the steel one I gave up. Fortunately, I haven't encountered any spirits or demons yet, but it never hurts to be prepared for as much as you reasonably can. 

Another Imperial Cult member and merchant, Peragon, gave me a copy of "For My Gods and Emperor" to read to aid me in making the decision to join the Imperial Cult. I'm still thinking about it, but more recent events will put that on hold.

As I was leaving the fort, I was stopped by an Imperial Legionnaire introducing himself as Larrius Varro. He said I looked like I could handle myself and I truthfully agreed that this was probably the case. He's asked me, unofficially, if I could "take care" of a bandit problem near the fishing village of Hla Old. I'm not sure where Hla Old is, but maybe this bandit is the one Maurrie was looking for.

It was a short walk from the fort into Balmora and I was looking for an inn when a shop's sign caught my eye. It simply said "Ra'virr: Trader", but I was curious to talk to what I assumed would be a long-time Khajiit resident of Morrowind. I was not far off. By the looks of it, Ra'virr ran a semi-legal trading business, with a surprising stash of magical weapons, which he called "Fiend" or "Devil" weapons. These would summon a demon-infused version of itself into the wielder's hand upon command and were advertised as quite powerful. He did carry a "Devil" spear, but it was out of my very narrow price range. Besides the price, the other downside of the weapons were that the enchantments would only last for a few summons, though the Devil spear was steel and would be more useful than what I have now, drained or no.

Just outside Balmora

As I suspected, Ra'virr was in the market for Moon Sugar and Skooma and when I revealed that I had a sizable stash I was looking to be rid of, he started excitably shouting prices at me. I wound up making a trip back to Seyda Neen on the back of a giant bug to grab the goods, then rode the bug back into Balmora with them stashed under my armor. Ra'virr was quite bemused when I expressed my guilt at selling the drugs that kept our people in slavery here on Morrowind. It turns out (if he was honest) that he sells the stuff to alchemists and mages on the black market, who manage to draw out properties of the vile substances to some good. He mentioned that Ajira at the local Mage's Guild also bought sugar and skooma for the same purpose. I left with a lighter conscience and a heavier purse, having decided to wait on the Devil Spear. My Imperial iron spear has served me well so far.

Iron and steel, I hope, since my wandering led me into the Razor Hole, a Nordic weaponsmith's shop, where I bought a steel Imperial crossbow and forty bolts. I admit I'm a rather poor shot, for it is far heavier and bulkier than the Imperial short bow the Auxiliaries were trained with. However, I can't strap a bow to my back with the spear there and the crossbow hangs at my waist. The crossbow's punch will prove an unpleasant surprise for any enemies, provided I manage to get adept enough to hit something farther than five feet away.

It was nearly 5pm when I walked out of the Razor Hole with the crossbow slapping against my maille, so I figured it best to locate Caius Cosades. The South Wall cornerclub was easy to find and the people inside were very friendly and helpful. The owner of the club, Bacola Closeius, gave me directions to Caius's home, stating that it had been a long time since someone was looking for Caius's bed-and-breakfast. I was a bit taken aback by this, wondering why my contact for the mission was a simple innkeeper. What transpired once I found him is a testament to the ingenuity of the Empire's agents.

I was expecting an inn, or at least a large house, but the single-dwelling home at the end of the street did not seem the bed-and-breakfast type of place. The old, disheveled man who answered the door (without a shirt, no less) also didn't seem the deliver-the-secret-package kind of guy. My suspicion heightened when he told me I'd "better come inside" after telling him I had a delivery for him, instead of a night's rent.

The inside of his home was little better and I had apparently woken him from a nap or something. At least, I hope I did, for the bed was unkempt and books lay scattered about the room. He was muttering and reading through a parchment he had unwrapped from the package, but he quickly put it down and spoke to me in a very different voice than he had greeted me with. He asked if I was willing to follow his orders, but refused to answer any questions until after I gave my answer. I had been picked out of the Auxiliaries, transported halfway across Tamriel, and told to deliver a specific package to this man. I remember thinking that whatever orders these were, they had to be in the Emperor's service somehow. How right I was!

I answered that I would follow his orders, provided they were in the Emperor's interests. He laughed and said they certainly were, since the package contained orders to induct me as a Novice in the Emperor's Blades, the secret intelligence service most people didn't even think existed. It occurs to me that writing this down in my journal isn't a good idea, but if anyone else is reading this, it will be because I'm dead and beyond such concerns.

He gave me a list of agents (whose names and locations I will not write down) and advised that I visit them when I could and make use of their training and skills. He then told me to come back once I felt prepared for my first "real" assignment and cautioned me that it would likely be more dangerous than anything I had faced in Cyrodiil, but this was a man who had never tasted Ghamul Loghash's home-made brew behind the archery buttes. Still, his advice was, and is, taken and I left with the intent to visit the names I was given as soon as possible.

Three of them (this should be safe to say) reside in Balmora and I called upon each one of them in order to introduce myself. They were all very helpful and gave me gifts to either sell or use. One told me more about corpus disease and the Blight, a volcanic ash that issues from a semi-active volcano in the center of Morrowind. This ash is either cursed or diseased in some way and exposure can afflict several diseases, one of them corpus. His job on Morrowind was to learn more about the volcano and the Blight and any help I can provide him will be much appreciated, though it sounds a bit too dangerous for me right now.

Similarly, another agent's job was mapping the coastline, which he thought would be for the landings of additional Legions in case of a revolt. Again I was not quite enlisted, but told that any help in this would be great. Curiously, his gift was Moon Sugar, which I was heavily encouraged to sell instead of ingest.

Mercifully, the third individual served as more of a weapons trainer and had no external responsibilities, but did give me steel armor that nearly caused me to topple down the stairs once I left her dwelling. Finished with my social calls, I sold what gifts I could not use (including the sugar!) and staggered into the Lucky Lockup at nine in the evening, had a quick dinner, and rented a room, where I am now. 

I feel worn to the bones and I haven't even done much today. The shock and realization that I am in the Emperor's secret Service hasn't quite hit me yet, but now I have no responsibilities for a while. I'm not sure what to do next or where to go, but it will certainly be interesting!