Skyrim Day 033 - Learning the Words

17 Heartfire, 4E201

Winterhold

~~~

With no room available at Riverwood I had two choices: sleep at a table or leave. No stranger to sleepless nights, I chose to leave on a small errand I otherwise would not have had time to attend to.

This errand involved the retrieval of Kharjo's 'Moon Amulet' which he suspected had made its way to a poachers' hideaway the locals called 'Halted Stream Camp'. I have already been there once before on a job for Proventus Avenicci to clear the camp of bandits and was not surprised to find that others had taken up residence there since then.

Fighting mere bandits hardly merits description any longer. Compared to the powerful Draugr I have been facing I could have cleared the poachers with my eyes closed. As it turned out I eliminated all of them while barely being seen: the cheap Illusion spell I purchased at the College a while ago was sufficient to drive them individually mad, attacking friend and foe alike. As there were only "friends" about them the camp quickly collapsed into chaos. I wound up finishing off the weakened sole survivor with my dagger. I found the amulet, a simple silver pendant, in a chest inside the camp's cavern. 

Tracking down Kharjo's caravan would prove only slightly more difficult. As luck would have it I ran into a Whiterun guardsman on the road near the poachers and he told me that the caravan had left Whiterun that morning towards Dawnstar. So after my too-brief journey to the warmer parts of Skyrim I found myself surrounded by snow and ice once again.

Kharjo was lavish in his reward and gratitude, handing me a pouch of one thousand Septims and assuring me he was available to fight at my side should I ever need a Khajiit warrior. He would likely be less grating on the nerves than J'zargo, though perhaps not as unintentionally amusing.

I sold some excess equipment to the merchant Ahkari and wished them luck along the road. My next destination was the Shrine of Azura to return the broken artifact, but my curiosity got the better of me before I arrived there.

Skyrim boasts many methods from which the lives of the adventurous and the foolish can be taken: scalded to death or shot full of Falmer arrows in Dwemer ruins, hacked to pieces by Draugr in the burial barrows and ancient Nordic halls, robbed and murdered by bandits along the roads, or made a meal of by vampires in the cities. None of those particularly appeal to me, but as I passed a Nordic ruin it occurred to me that I have never seen the inside of one before.

I am not sure what I was expecting, but it turns out that the small ruins that litter the province are very similar to 'Bleak Falls' barrow, only less in scale. The bandits outside of the ruin I chose to investigate did me the honor of attempting to strike first, but a quick Illusion spell had them fighting one another as I walked by.

They were the lucky ones. Even just inside the ruin two bandits had met a bloody demise, likely at the undead hands of Draugr. The illicit expedition to claim this ruin for their own must have been a sizable one, else multiple groups made the same attempt, for I counted at least two dozen bodies throughout the place. 

Why they died was no mystery after I encountered one of the strong, magicka-shouting Draugr guarding a small portcullis.

I would have had a tougher time of it if the ancient architects had not placed two spring-loaded gates just before the creature. It was a simple matter to lure the mindless guard in front of the traps, then cheerfully send it on its way across the room in pieces.

A rather grim decoration lay beyond the gate: a skeleton with a story to share.

The story was titled 'Thief', so I can only imagine what prompted the man to lose both his head and his hands.

My final battle was in a large chamber dominated by, once again, a stone dragon's head surrounded by ancient Nordic script. And a fire trap. And a dead bandit. And a very powerful Draugr, who ultimately succumbed to the fire trap.

The Draugr had an Ebony single-handed battle axe, but I suspect the real treasure of the ruin was supposed to be the ancient word which agonizingly burned itself into my mind when I stupidly approached the dragon carving. This word was 'Zun', meaning 'weapon', though I still fail to see the point of the whole thing. Was there no other way for Nordic children to accomplish their schooling than this?

Though the ruin probably took me no more than two hours, it felt like a very long day when I finally sighted Azura's shrine in the distance. More immediately, I witnessed a battle on the road between bandits and Imperial soldiers, the latter whom prevailed due to their crossbows.

Aranea was somberly pleased to see me return and demanded the return of Azura's Star immediately. I saw no reason to argue and relieved myself of that burden, or so I thought. After a few moments of silent contemplation Aranea announced that Azura herself wanted to speak with me, her 'champion'. The irony was not lost on me and I really do not think Azura has forgotten that our paths have crossed before.

Azura's new request was a strange one: I needed to actually go inside the Star and purge it of Malyn Varen's trapped soul. The thought of being inside something that entry was usually made by being trapped into it made me uneasy, but Azura assured me that she would pull me out once Malyn was dead. I had no choice but to agree.

The inside of Azura's Star is very blue and seemingly built out of crystals. When I arrived inside the star I was standing on a floating platform of crystal tiles which stretched forward and around larger floating crystals. Malyn was right in front of me, wasting no time in gleefully gloating of having another soul to experiment on. In this I had to correct him and he ran off, summoning Dremora to cover his retreat.

The Dremora flung powerful fire magicka, but had no room to maneuver. Most I simply pushed off of the platform, a few died to hurried thrusts of my dagger. Malyn made his stand in what could be considered a courtyard and died not to me, but to a Storm Atronach I summoned via a scroll I picked up somewhere. Anti-climatic, but effective. Azura was true to her word and I felt myself withdrawing from the star as the crystals started to explode.

Once back outside Azura gifted me the revived artifact and sent me on my way. Aranea was also dismissed, an upsetting turn of events for the woman who dedicated her life to the Daedric Prince. Evidently she had nothing else to do and like Kharjo offered to join me on my travels. She said she would remain at the shrine to tend to the grounds otherwise. I had no need of a companion, so she returned to her janitorial duties and I started the walk back to Winterhold, a destination I am rapidly tiring of.

The short trip offered no further excitement and I spent an hour or so in my quarters experimenting with the enchanting table. As expected I am a very poor enchanter, but with an artifact such as this there is a great opportunity for improvement. Time will tell.

Oblivion Day 33 - Along the Lonesome Road

30 Heartfire, 3E433

Imperial Bridge Inn

~~~

My time in Leyawiin was short-lived. I had expected to spend the day tracking down the city's Mythic Dawn agent, but this morning the agent revealed himself for me.

The man was identified as Cingor, a Bosmer with the local Fighter's Guild who styled himself a sort of crime-fighter, patrolling the city himself alongside the city guards. However, when he saw me he yelled that paradise awaited him and unsheathed a war-hammer from his back, charging at me.

Right past two guards.

They yelled at him to stop, but after realizing he was intent on my death, they drew their weapons and dutifully engaged their fellow citizen. With a swordsman at his front and an archer at his back, Cingor stood no chance and fell with two steel arrows planted into his back.

A search of his home revealed the expected "Commentaries" volume of the Mythic Dawn and satisfied that the city was clear of their malevolence I set off for Cheydinhal. 

The road between Leyawiin and Cheydinhal is the longest between any two cities in the province and was not particularly well-traveled during my previous time in the province, people largely preferring to go through Bravil instead. The resulting privacy is well-suited for some folks, Cingor one of them, as I found out, as well as worshipers of Nocturnal whose roadside shrine I passed by. I may visit the shrine tomorrow to see if I can receive a boon from the Daedric Prince.

Further up the road I found an Oblivion Gate, which I closed, but then I found a second one, then a third, then a fourth! Cingor had apparently been busy. It was too late in the day for me to consider closing anything other than the first Gate, so I marked the latter three on my map and will be returning to them at a later date.

I also encountered my first Spriggan since my time on Solstheim years ago and she (it?) was no less a capable opponent as her cousins on that frozen island, but fortunately she came alone and I had no trouble.

After finding  the fourth gate I figured there would be more ahead and that I was just setting myself up for a lot of work come tomorrow by pushing forward to Cheydinhal. Fortunately there is a small Inn along the road halfway between the cities that serves as a good place for me to temporary base myself while I plan on taking on the opened Gates. The innkeeper also informed me that there is a nearby Daedric shrine to Peryite that I may also visit, though I do not know much about Peryite as I do Nocturnal.

Morrowind Day 33 - Taking Care of Business

17 Hearthfire
~~~

Having climbed onto (into?) the Khuul silt strider at just after midnight, I arrived at Ald'Ruhn fairly late: seven in the morning, according to the Ald'Ruhn Caravaner. I had gotten a few hours of sleep during the trip, but the constant jostling ensured it wasn't very restful, though the movement did not wake me in the slightest.

My headache was still terribly painful and on a whim I drank a concoction designed to cure the  most common diseases, hoping that it would at least reduce the pain. To my relief, the headache went away entirely after the drinking the ten Septim potion. Whatever affliction I had contracted was cured, though I have no idea what I had. While I was paging through his catalog of spells, Orrent Geontene at the Mages Guild suggested Witbane, but I guess it doesn't matter so long as whatever it was is gone. I purchased a Silence and Slowfall spell from him, both rather weak. The spell of silencing would only give me five seconds of reprieve, but against a mage that may be enough of an advantage. Similarly, the Slowfall spell only lasts ten seconds, but ten seconds is a long time to fall.

The Ald'Ruhn alchemist, Anarenen, did not have a lot of money to spend on my ingrediants and he would only accept two Daedra Hearts for a total of three hundred Septims. I knew my usual customer would be willing to reach into the Guild's budget a little deeper and Ajira did not disappoint. She bought seven of my nine bottles of Skooma in exchange for 760 Septims and a high-quality mortar & pestle. She also mentioned that Ra'Virr and Nalcarya of White Haven would be interested in what goods I had remaining. Before visiting them, I checked on Galbedir to see if she had succeeded in identifying the ring I had found near Gnisis.

She had, and when I asked her about she started babbling so fast as to be nearly incomprehensible and I got her to slow down after a she stopped to take a breath. According to the excitable Elf, the ring "just had to be" an artifact by the name of Denstagmer's Ring, based on the three elemental shields enchanted to provide constant protection when the ring is worn. She could not tell me who Denstagmer was, nor why the ring was in an ash urn. I think she is mistaken and so does Ranis, whom Galbedir had spoken to in an effort to receive permission to utilize enough of the Guild's budget to purchase the ring from me. Say what you will about the Mages Guild's internal bickering, they are a more honest group than most. She had gotten no money from Ranis and I refused to sell the ring, partly due to thinking she was mistaken  about what she thought she was buying, but also because the ring is valuable to me. A constant shielding from elemental attacks is extremely useful, especially for an adventurer with fur.

I placated her by purchasing a dozen scrolls, most of them of healing, others of protection or teleportation. The healing scrolls were a lot more expensive than potions would have been. I really need to work on my alchemy and given that I purchased a high-quality pestle today, I have no excuse not to. I asked Galbedir if she knew of anyone interested in Dwemer coins, as I was still carrying around a small pouch of the small, heavy things and it turns out that she was, which surprised me. She paid 500 Septims for all of the coins, making it so that we broke even between our mutual purchases.

I still had a great deal of physical equipment to sell and I wanted to find out about receiving training with the Dreugh club or staff, so I visited the Balmora Fighters Guild next door. On my way out Ranis spoke to me about Galbedir and the ring, sharing my opinion that such a rare artifact would not be found in Morrowind at all and congratulated me on my find of the powerful, though generic, enchanted ring.

The members of the Fighters Guild are a brusque bunch, though not unfriendly. Their resident Smith, a Redguard named Wayn, had quite a collection of weapons for sale. I traded my Admantium shield, a long bow, and all my iron-tipped arrows in exchange for one hundred silver arrows, one hundred steel-tipped arrows, and astonishingly: two thousand Septims. After the exchange he told me he had received a special commission from an unnamed client for a full suit of Admantium and was now only missing the helm. I wished him luck, for I have never seen one either. He commented favorably on the Dreugh armor, noting that it is an uncommon choice, most adventurers wearing either Imperial chain or Bonemold and suggested I visit Meldor the Armorer across the street to buy a Dreugh shield.

He offered a discount on training if I brought him the Admantium helmet and through that conversation I learned that he occasionally serves as an instructor to the local Legion at Fort Moonmoth. He offered to teach me how to use the club and staff more effectively, but his price is steep.

Ra'Virr was not as loose with the purse strings as Ajira had been, but still bought my last two bottles of Skooma for a total of 600 Septims, but Nalcarya had no qualms about spending money. She bought all of the potions I wanted to be rid of and all of the alchemical ingredients I wanted to sell, spending over three thousand Septims without a hint of hesitation on vampire dust, daedra hearts, and three handfuls of gemstones. I wonder how many of the gems will end up on her person instead of in her potions.

Having emptied my inventory of armor and ingredients, I entered Meldor's shop and exchanged two Glass daggers for the Dreugh shield, which is evidently designed to resemble a spiky, chitinous fist. Wide at the top, it tapers down slightly, but instead of coming to a point as an Imperial shield might, it simply tops as if the shield had been cut width-wise in half, and two large tusks are inserted into the bottom. A sideways blow from the shield would likely find a foe's head stuck to it. Fearsome, but at the same time a little silly looking.

My last bit of business was the Propylon stone I had purchased from the Ashlanders. Folms received it with the same showering of coin and sputtering of orders that he had the previous stones and marked the next stone, the Indoranyon Index, as the property of a Divayth Fyr, a Telvanni wizard residing in Tel Fyr. Having to deal with a Telvanni, and a wizard at that, fills me with no great cheer. I may take a small break from Index Stones for awhile.

With that concluded, I spent the remainder of the day in Balmora, visiting various people. The Argonian, Nine-Toes, is in the process of drawing a map of the entire province, a task which he gladly accepted my help with. I was able to accurately describe the walk from Molag Mar to Khuul and the Ashlander Camp, which he illustrated on a giant piece of parchment. I'll be sure to set aside time for him when I'm in Balmora as my journey continues to take me into unknown lands. We spoke briefly of my looking for a teacher to train with the staff and club and he offered to teach me what he knew, which was Illusion magic and sneaking about. I confessed that I was the worst sneak-about Khajiit in Tamriel, which he thought amusing. He suggested I visit our friend Rithleen about physical training.

Rithleen was not much help. She described herself as a "mere courier" and professed to not know much about the current events of Morrowind. Dressed in full Bonemold armor, she looked more than just a courier, but I did not press her for details. When asked, she replied that she would be happy to teach me the ways of the sword, shield, or Bonemold armor, not one of which interested me.

I walked around Balmora for a little while, enjoying not the certainty of not having to fight something for the first time in several days. Returning to Nine-Toes just after a quick lunch at the Eight Plates, I paid him for eight hours of Illusion training and we worked well into the night practicing my spells and criticizing my incantations. The sun had long set by the time we had finished, but I felt I had made good progress. I thanked him and promised to return next time with information for his map.

Now I'm lying in my usual bunk in the Mages Guild, cleaner and more refreshed than I've been in several days. I plan on spending a few more days in Balmora while I work on improving my skills.