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Chorrol.com _ Skyrim cheats and hints _ Today In Skyrim (Spoilerific)

Posted by: McBadgere Mar 29 2012, 06:03 AM

This is the spoiler version of the other Today In Skyrim, where we can talk at length, with spoilers permitted, about the quests we have done...'Cause some of us can't keep our mouth shut... laugh.gif ...




J'Zirlo is no longer a Werewolf!!...YAY!!...*Does dance*...

And neither are Farkas or Vilkas...According to the both of them, they never asked for it...So the least I could do is cure them...

So, after the terror of a glitch which meant it wouldn't cure me...Which I reloaded and it worked...I got the two others cured and now we are busy turning the Companions into the Fighters Guild...Yes...*Applauds*...

Haven't talked to Aela yet to see what she thinks of being the only werewolf in town... biggrin.gif ...


Aaaah, Spoilers...I feel so free!!...


Posted by: McBadgere Mar 29 2012, 12:49 PM

In the twenty minute go-ette I had this morning...I went to talk to Aela, who promptly sent me off to Winterhold to...Wait for it...Kill a wolf!...No, seriously, kill a wolf...

Aamywho, killed it - having been assured that the wolf would be difficult, because Skyrim beast are no picnic - in two hits... huh.gif ...

Then, because I was right next to the College, I started the Mage-y questline, so as to get J'Zargo...

"Brother? How is it that you do not recognize me?...Have you been afflicted by that disease? Oh, what's it called...Hmmm...Oh yes!...Idiocy?"

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 29 2012, 08:28 PM

From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim140.jpg

I joined the Stormcloaks Ma. I think it's what Da would have wanted. I don't know if you would approve or not. But I know it is something I have to do. Skyrim cannot go on serving an Empire that licks the boots of the damned Thalmor. We Nords have to fight for our country, and our gods.

There is a shrine of Talos right across the river from Windhelm. I stopped there to pay my respects to the old man, and think a while. When I was done, I was more sure than ever that what I was doing was not only right, but necessary.

I saw Jarl Ulfric in the palace when I went to join up. He even spoke to me briefly. He remembered me from Helgen, and Ralof. I have to admit that hearing his name made my heart beat a little faster. Would I be seeing him again soon? Only time will tell.

I had to prove myself before they would take me. They sent me to one of the little islands off the Sea of Ghosts. The one where the Serpent Stone is. I had to fight the ice wraiths that live there. I only found one, but that was good enough to satisfy Galmar Stone-Fist. He's Ulfric's right hand man.

When I got back, I took part in a plan of Galmar's to recover the Jagged Crown. Yes, you read that right, The Jagged Crown. The one the High Kings wore in the days of old. He said it was buried with one of the old kings, Harald I think. Not that it matters who anymore, he's just bones now.

We got there, but found the Imperials were there first. We had to fight our way through. They fell easily enough before us. We Stormcloaks fight for our gods, and our freedom. What do the Imperials fight for? Greed? They could not stand against us.

Did I forget to tell you? Ralof was with us! I have to admit, that I wanted to kiss him, and perhaps a little more. But there were other soldiers all around. He said that he remembered me, but did not say much else. I am not sure if it was because of everyone else standing there. Or if there is someone else? Or does he just not see me the way I see him? Oh gods Ma, this is so confusing.

After the Imperials, we had to chop our way through draugr. But they all fell before us. Galmar turned out to be right. The crown was there. He gave it to me to carry back to Windhelm, and deliver personally to Jarl Ulfric. I wish I could have stayed, and maybe found some time alone with Ralof. But I have to admit, carrying the ancient crown of the jarls was a great honor. I tried it on during the journey back, when no one could see. It did not fit though. I suppose that means I was not meant to be a High Queen!

Ulfric was surprised to see the helm. I think he lost a bet with Galmar. But he was glad nontheless. This will help prove that he is the rightful High King, once a Moot can be called to make a vote. We will have to drive the Imperials out before that can happen though, since they would never allow Nords to choose their rulers, not when those rulers stand up against the Thalmor.

Since I was there, Ulfric sent me on another mission right away. He gave me his axe, to deliver to Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun. He was forcing Balgruuf to choose a side. The sly old snake has been playing off both sides until now, not declaring for one or the other. But no more, now we would see where his heart really lay: with Skyrim, or with the Empire.

I was not surprised when he turned me away, with the axe. I overheard his steward talking about cartloads of Imperial gold delivered to them, and calling for aid from General Tullius. I remember that fetcher. He was there at Helgen, when they tried to lop my noggin off. That Balgruuf would sooner have Tullius' gold then Skyrim honor was what I expected after what he said the first time I met him, that it was none of his business who the Imperials chose to execute. He doesn't give a damn about Skyrim, just his treasure chest.

As I left the city, I had a strange feeling. Everything seemed so quiet and peaceful, as people went about their business as if it were any other day. They did not hear the ravens croaking their doom. For I knew I would be returning soon, with the Stormcloak army. It makes me sad that the common people will have to suffer because of their Jarl's greed and selfishness. But if they fight for him, and his filthy Empire, then they have chosen their wyrd.


-Hrafn, on the road to Windhelm.

Posted by: Grits Mar 30 2012, 03:44 AM

I’m giggling at Aela sending J’Zirlo off to kill a wolf. Was he wearing wolf armor when he did it? tongue.gif

So Hrafn is off to war, again. I liked her musing over the last quiet day in Whiterun. It always makes Jensa a little sad to return there.


Jensa’s report contains Main Quest spoilers, and http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/TalkingToPaarthurnax.png. Wheee! biggrin.gif

I’ve talked to a dragon, and we’re both still alive. Stenvar too. Here’s what happened.

Paarthurnax, or at least that’s as close as I can come to writing his name. Our letters just can’t do it justice. Our words can’t convey all that a dragon is. What I know was already in my blood and bones. He just woke it up.

That sounds like mage talk. I’ll try to make some better sense.

First I’ll say that we’re camped in a troll hollow partway down the mountain from High Hrothgar. It doesn’t smell great under here, but now that we’ve gotten our armor off we don’t smell great either. It’s high enough to stay dry in this freezing rain, and no trees will fall on us if the ice gets thick enough to make them tip over. Plus the only things fool enough to come around a troll hollow are the ones that killed the troll. So we can sleep tonight.

We got warmed up and ate dried horker meat and apples for our meal. It took longer to write it than it did to eat it. Though I’ll be picking horker strings out of my teeth for days. So now I’ll get to what’s been bothering me.

Up at the Throat of the World, that dragon gave me another word for fire. He taught me to understand it the way a dovah does, as my will and my right. It didn’t change me, because what I felt must have already been there. That’s what scared me. For a moment I knew what it was to have mortals kneeling at my feet, offering the worship that I deserve. I knew what it was to hold so many lives hostage to my whim. When the feeling faded with my fire, I felt a loss.

Stenvar waited until we were stretched out on the furs before he brought up the subject. That man has a real sense of timing. He sure had my attention.

“Paarthurnax greeted you as kin,” Stenvar said to me.

“Yeah,” I said back, but it was more like a gasp.

“You’re still the same you that you were this morning.” Then he smiled and whispered Jensa, and the world was only me and him.

He’s asleep now. I’ve sat up long enough to write and think a while. I’m not afraid of what I am any more. I remember all I need to know when I look at that battered old face.

Posted by: McBadgere Mar 30 2012, 03:59 AM

Brilliant, both of you...Just brilliant...

As a wise man once said,

When I grow up, I want to be able to write like you...

QUOTE
We got warmed up and ate dried horker meat and apples for our meal. It took longer to write it than it did to eat it.


That made I laugh... biggrin.gif ...

Posted by: McBadgere Mar 30 2012, 08:32 PM

Having activated a trap by removing an amulet from a door in the dark fastness of Saarthal...Or is it Sarthaal?...Aaamywho...J'Zirlo has just blown a door out with his firey magics and is about to amble through it with the venerable Tolfdir...

"Are you sure it is safe elder Tolfdir?"

"Heh...That's the good thing about Elders, my young Khajiit, we've found the many ways to not be killed yet...Let us see...This way!..."

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 31 2012, 01:51 AM

It looks like Hrafn's tale has come to a premature end. She completed the Message to Whiterun quest with no problems. But the game will not start the Battle for Whiterun quest. Even when I try forcing it with the console.

I do not know if this is because of my main quest disabler or not, since I left all the civil war hooks active. Unless there is something after Dragon Rising that the civil war requires? My man quest stops permanently there.

I have been thinking of a new character for a while. A pure mage/witch who will be heavily into animal summoning. It looks like I will be creating her sooner then expected. I will just have to think of a name and race. Maybe a Breton, then she could run around in that silly Forsworn outfit. Or maybe a Redguard. I could try to make a Native American-looking character like Lady Saga did with Dyami.

Posted by: McBadgere Mar 31 2012, 03:25 AM

*Wholeheartedly encourages the running around in the silly Forsworn outfit...*... biggrin.gif ...

*Although admits he probably doesn't have the knees for it really... tongue.gif ...*...


EDIT: There's that bit where the Dovakhin has to broker a peace deal between the Empire and Stormcloaks. The bit where Bethesda shows it has no idea of how things really work™? Idiots... dry.gif ...You probably thought of that though...

Posted by: Grits Mar 31 2012, 04:54 AM

That stinks about Hrafn's game ending. I like the idea of the animal summoner very much, though. smile.gif

Denelle the adorable Breton archer mage fought her first blood dragon today, just with her bow and completely by herself. She also had to kill a wolf during the battle. She was able to get the job done only because the dragon kept landing and walking forward trying to bite her. Thankfully she is kind of an overachiever in the alchemy department, because she used up almost all of her arrows and poisons killing it. It was very, very fun. I’m playing on a big TV and the subwoofer can make the house move, so a blood dragon in your face has quite a lot of impact.

She was all alone on the road because Erik the Slayer was off in parts unknown. He may have been delayed along the river by his need to seek out and destroy every mudcrab in Skyrim. He ambled up while she was standing over the skeletal head, noticing how the lavender flowers poked up around the bones. It was a very Denelle moment.

Later she accidentally took on some Forsworn also by herself. She wears no armor and the Ironflesh spell doesn’t last long enough to spit, so it was pretty tense when they got close enough to smack her. Frost spells saved the day. Then Erik showed up in time to remark how the Forsworn live like savages. Denelle was very glad he did not catch her trying on the Forsworn “armor.”

She was also told today by a hulking stranger that she looks dangerous. That was pretty funny. She looks like the babysitter.

Posted by: McBadgere Mar 31 2012, 03:33 PM

laugh.gif ...Looks like a babysitter!...Love it...She sounds cool...

J'Zirlo went deeper into Sarthaal. Thereupon he was received a vistation by a creepy Altmer that only he could see, and was then told he had to save the world from whatever foolery was on its way...

"You will be judged on your actions little mage. The Psijic Order have been watching you for sometime..We have faith in your power."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Rrreally?"

"Um...Yes."

"I fear you confuse Khajiit with his foolish brother's delusions of grandeur."

"And yet I'm in your head. Don't make me come over there and hurt you. Having your head explode will put a hell of a dent in your day. Go save the world Khajiit. We will talk again."

*Sigh*...

"I heard that."


Tolfdir, who hadn't seen or heard anything except J'Zirlo's talking to himself...Got into a fight with a goodly few Dragur...And then eventually found a glowing orb which made J'Zirlo's teeth itch...

"Ahh, the mighty Dragur Lord with the silly name...Come, throw your frosty-spikes at J'Zirlo, whilst I smack your head with my shield repeatedly...Like this...And this...And this..."...*Stab*..."Oh dear, you are now dead...Again..."

Posted by: SubRosa Mar 31 2012, 08:25 PM

QUOTE(McBadgere @ Mar 30 2012, 10:25 PM) *

EDIT: There's that bit where the Dovakhin has to broker a peace deal between the Empire and Stormcloaks. The bit where Bethesda shows it has no idea of how things really work™? Idiots... dry.gif ...You probably thought of that though...

I don't think that is it. I used the console, which has some very helpful tools to see what is going on with the quests. It is actually finishing all the stages of the Message To Whiterun quest. I did so with the console, which is supposed to kick off the Attack on Whiterun quest. It does start it, but here is where Bethesda's idiocy really takes charge.

The Attack on Whiterun quest is really 4 separate quests, and jammed together into one: It is the Defense of Whiterun if you are an Imperial, the Attack on Windhelm if you are an Imperial, The Attack on Whiterun if you are a Stormcloak, and the Attack on Solitude if you are a Stormcloak. Make sense? Of course not.

It is a radiant quest, and the game is supposed to assign the objectives and questgivers automagically. Only it is not doing any of that. It sits on stage one, which is supposed to start the Stormcloak attack on Whiterun. But it does not assign Galmar as the quest giver (as it should), or anything else. I cannot manually advance it through the stages with the console, because it creates the stages dynamically, and it is not doing it. So the game just tells me that the stages do not exist.

So I tried another trick, and tried manually completing the quest. That worked, and kicked off the Liberation of Skyrim quests. Only the same problem happens here. This is also a radiant quest, and the game will not create the radiant objectives. It tells me to talk to Ulfric, but he has nothing to say to me. I cannot advance the quest manually, because there are no stages yet.

So basically, the game took a massive poop on Hrafn and I. I don't know if this has anything to do with my main quest disabler or not. But I doubt it. I guess the only way to find out would be to do the main quest and the civil war with another character and see what happens. I suppose I could disable the random dragons, that would make it a little more palatable...


In any case, I created that witch character. Since I thought Dyami was so neat, I followed Lady Saga's lead and created a Native American Redguard.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim142.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim143.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim144.jpg

Funny thing, when the first walked into Riverwood, Faendal was laying dead in the street. Thankfully the Resurrect command was able to fix that though. He might make a good companion for Kachina.

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Apr 2 2012, 11:40 PM

Cured Farkas and Vilkas of their Lycanthropy. Few ingame weeks later, I was hunting in the pine forest. I stalked a group of hunters camping out, wolfed out under a full moon, and ran around.

Who do I see running to attack me? Farkas! And his friends!

Seriously bro, we share the same blood! Ergh, shared.
blink.gif

Anyways, I finally bought the honeyside home. Awesome place.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 3 2012, 12:56 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Mar 29 2012, 03:28 PM) *

..... But I have to admit, carrying the ancient crown of the jarls was a great honor. I tried it on during the journey back, when no one could see. It did not fit though. I suppose that means I was not meant to be a High Queen!


Ahhhhh.....


QUOTE(SubRosa @ Mar 30 2012, 08:51 PM) *

I do not know if this is because of my main quest disabler or not, since I left all the civil war hooks active. Unless there is something after Dragon Rising that the civil war requires? My man quest stops permanently there.


See, that's hardcore! Claire Voyance's game also came to a stop, which is why I never talk about her anymore. Her partner Breilyna died. Claire and Brelyna shared so much, did so many things together, when Brel died, Claire had no idea what to do next, she is of course, very sad. So her game is on hold. She'll probably wind up going back to Cyrodiil (thru Pale Pass) or retiring. I don't know yet.


QUOTE(SubRosa @ Mar 31 2012, 03:25 PM) *

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim142.jpg


Sweet! I woulda voted for the witch, but it'll be interesting to see what we both can do with native americans. This sort of Earth racial type totally fits with the roleplay of Skyrim, know what I mean? biggrin.gif

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Apr 5 2012, 02:19 AM

Today I went from a level 23 to a level 73. Thank you Ogma Infinium!!!

Posted by: Grits Apr 5 2012, 07:21 PM

Today I got to watch The Boy start a new character. I saw some things I hadn’t seen before.

One, The Boy can hit a flying dragon with every arrow. I cannot express how much this annoys me. And he gave his Bosmer a long, thick beard and a helmet. I said, “But with a helmet on, how can you see his—” And The Boy cut me off by pausing the game while he laughed at me.

Second, I saw Mirmulnir use a Fire Ball Shout. I’ve seen plenty of Fire Breath, but never a Fire BALL. He did it twice!!

Also, and this I could have done without, I witnessed my first teabag the dragon skull ritual. D’oh!

Then we had lunch, and it was my turn to play. Now 1.05 is loading!! Woo hoo!

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 5 2012, 09:43 PM

1.05?...This a new update?...PC or PS3?...

*Is wondering what's on this one...*...

Posted by: Grits Apr 5 2012, 10:03 PM

Patch/update came today on the PS3. I’ve seen new finishing moves for archery and unarmed so far, plus I’ve seen my game freeze every time the new J’Shanji jumps into the water. Nooo!

Posted by: King Coin Apr 5 2012, 10:09 PM

QUOTE(Grits @ Apr 5 2012, 01:21 PM) *

One, The Boy can hit a flying dragon with every arrow. I cannot express how much this annoys me.

*grumble*

I saw one of the archery finishing moves too. It was unexpected... I gotta have Aravi take down more people unarmed though.

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Apr 6 2012, 12:22 AM

QUOTE(Grits @ Apr 5 2012, 10:03 PM) *

Patch/update came today on the PS3. I’ve seen new finishing moves for archery and unarmed so far, plus I’ve seen my game freeze every time the new J’Shanji jumps into the water. Nooo!

Likewise. But it can be fixed if you delete the patch and the Game Data Utility and reinstall the patches. I loaded and jumped in the water and everything was fine.

Posted by: Grits Apr 6 2012, 12:47 AM

Oh good, I’ll do that as soon as I get the game back from The Boy and the downstairs back from everyone else. (They’re watching TV.)

The new unarmed finishers are the reason for J’Shanji’s 100 hour restart. Also he had reached level 39 and had way too much stuff. Now we can have the fun all over again. Anyway, here’s http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/JShanjisThirdLife.png. I gave him tiger stripes this time, and went back to the big ears. Here’s http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/JShanji2.png for comparison.

J'Shanji has a little more attitude and a lot fewer concerns this time around. He picked up Faendal immediately. He really missed that elf. I made him help Sven in his second life so that it wouldn’t be a repeat of his DiD game. Also he’s in heavy armor, which he wouldn’t touch before. Going for the heavy hands, I guess. tongue.gif



Posted by: Darkness Eternal Apr 6 2012, 01:38 AM

So you remade your character, then?

Posted by: Grits Apr 6 2012, 02:46 AM

Yep. The first time he suffered death by sabre cat while being burned by a dragon, so I deleted his saves. That’s when I was playing Dead is Dead. I soon realized that I was spending more time in character creation than actually playing, so now in Skyrim Dead is Reload. tongue.gif The second J’Shanji just got too powerful and rich, so I deleted his saves and started a new game as soon as 1.05 loaded, creating him from scratch. He was pretty pissed off to wake up in that wagon again, I can tell you!

I’m looking forward to having him level up more slowly with Smithing being fixed and him not getting points (or whatever) for unarmed fighting. I disliked leveling up so much from just making some leather stuff to sell from the wolves that attacked him.

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Apr 6 2012, 02:51 AM

QUOTE(King Coin @ Apr 6 2012, 01:57 AM) *

Huh? I use night eye all the time!

I am disappointed that short swords aren't in the game.



QUOTE(SubRosa @ Apr 6 2012, 02:24 AM) *

QUOTE(King Coin @ Apr 5 2012, 08:57 PM) *

Huh? I use night eye all the time!

That is because you are playing a Khajiit, and get it as a racial power. So far as I know, that is the only way to get the spell.

Wow, that is crazy. I never tried Dead is Dead. It must be a hassle to constantly delete your characters. I can't imagine! And he died by a Sabre Cat, when there always are those pesky arrows flying about.

Posted by: Grits Apr 6 2012, 03:15 AM

And the sabre cat was on fire when it killed him. D'oh!!

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 6 2012, 04:05 AM

QUOTE(Grits @ Apr 6 2012, 02:46 AM) *

I’m looking forward to having him level up more slowly with Smithing being fixed and him not getting points (or whatever) for unarmed fighting. I disliked leveling up so much from just making some leather stuff to sell from the wolves that attacked him.


Surely you jest milady, this is great use for the damned fool puppies is it not? says J'Zirlo...

You mean buying all the leather stuff the blacksmith has and then making umpteen leather bracers is no longer on?... huh.gif ...Damn... tongue.gif ...


EDIT...Just read the full list of fixes...Doesn't mention the Roerek not selling the house thing...Grr... tongue.gif ...

Still think it's stupid the amount they're having to do just to get the game to work properly...Hopefully they'll learn for when they do the next Fallout...

I think that having to delete the Game Data is just ridiculous...Not going to check it out right now, but I will have to leave a note for the kids to not do the update before I finish work... kvright.gif ...

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 6 2012, 01:20 PM

J'Zirlo has been ramping up his Smithing like there's no tomorrow, (as are the kids) prior to downloading this new patch...Yes, it's a cheat...Now ask me if I care... biggrin.gif ...

Aaamywho...it's now Legendary at 93 so we may stop there...

Also tried to carry on with the quest I was doing for Farkas, clearing out some dragurs in somewhereorother...Sadly, for the second time, we died...Fell down a trapdoor...Grrr...Was bored then...

Will try again tomorrow...*Sigh*...

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 7 2012, 07:07 AM

Finished that quest with J'Zirlo...The trapdoor was the right way to go, I'd just missed the shelves you're supposed to drop onto on the way down to prevent said death!!... biggrin.gif ...But now all is well...

Went back to the college to finish the J'Zargo scroll thing you need to do before he will become a follower...

Now, all I need to do is make some monies to get all the stuff to make a couple of decent sets of armour and J'Zargo is on his way...Booyah!!...Bounty Huntings-are-us!!...

Also, Caerellin delivered his missives of Luurve around Riften (*snort*) and managed to find the missing priest in the Bee and Barb...Funny that, the priest was in the pub...Who'd have thought?... huh.gif ...Aaaamywho, having found the missing minister, Caerellin married the mill-owner Aeri from Anga's Mill (halfway-ish between Dawnstar and Riften)...'Cause she's sweet...And she has a house...No, it's not a cynical ploy...No it isn't, it's a valid story decision...It is!!...

The scenery around there is beautiful though...Soooo nice...

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 7 2012, 12:34 PM

This latest go saw me ambling about, learning about Shaade...She's a mega archer, she's very destructo and she seems to have a mad-on for wolves...I like her!!... biggrin.gif ...

We cleared out the appropriately named Embershard (cause that's how Shaade is pronounced...Shard...) Mine, and then we travelled the winding road towards Whiterun...She felled the Giant and was complimented by Aela...

We walked some more and killed somewhere in the region of 12(!!) wolves...

Oh, and then she went and cleared Fort Greymoor... biggrin.gif ...

Shaade rocks!!... laugh.gif ...

Posted by: Colonel Mustard Apr 7 2012, 09:39 PM

Nice one McBadgere; Shaade sounds quite lethal already, it seems!

In other news, started a new game as http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/648750789759428860/7D36022826D3C7C53D0754DAE3B49A3F9B5A7873/, a thief, rogue and gentleman of fortune (handsome devil, ain't he?). I'll be relating his (mis?)adventures in journal style, as is the popular manner, and I'll admit I'm already having a lot of fun with him.


Extract from the Journal of Aranios Sayl; Gentleman of fortune, and somehow hero of Skyrim for reasons that still escape me to this day

Day 1

Either I am a very lucky man or there is someone up there making fun of me right now. Possibly both.

My first day in Skyrim started with me on a cart bound for Skyrim's border town of Helgen for the rather unfortunate ultimate destination of the headsman's block. I, once again victim to the harsh, reactionary and biased 'justice' of the Empire or the Thalmor or whoever runs this place nowadays, was on my way to be killed for reasons that were entirely unreasonable; I swear to you now that the Count of Bruma's daughter made no mention of her heritage and if she had I wouldn't have even gone near. If you ask me, it's she that's the one deserving execution, not I. But I digress.

I was thoroughly miserable as we departed, and I was all for legging it like that horse thief with us before he took more arrows in him than was good for a person. The Stormcloak with us, some lump who was all for honour and glory and that rot suggested that we should face our deaths like men, an idea that did not sit comfortably with me; I've never faced anything like a man before and facign death like one is certainly not a good place for an amateur to start, seeing as it's generally a good idea to walk before you run and all that.

I was on the block when a third party intervened in my execution and saved my hide. Normally I'd be rejoicing about such a thing, but this was a mixed blessing. The reason for that was simlpe; the third party was, of all things, an eight-damned dragon. And I'll admit that, when it came into view, I may have done somethign that my mother had taught me not to do when I was two.

In the confusion, I managed to leg it and ended up running through the castle with an Imperial named Hadvar, a member of the Legion, of all things. Now I know it sounds strange for me to go with someone who was collaborating in chopping my head off, but frankly when there's a dragon flying around outside and someone's holding a door open into a big, secure castle made of solid stone you're not really in a position to be choosy. I mean, the man could have been a deranged, murderous leper and I'd have found him preferble to a dragon.

We made our way through several caves, and managed to finally get out despite the intervention of several spiders, some Stormcloaks and having to slip past a bear (got their venom from their fangs, which should come in handy). Eventually we made our way to daylight, and after that we reached Riverwood, a fairly backwards and unexciting place but, fortunately, it had an inn and a store where I was able to sell some of the weapons I'd taken off the dead in return for some arrows and healing potions. Hadvar said that it would be best if I made my way to Whiterun to warn Jarl Balgruff of our slight dragon problem, and I decided to get that done tomorrow; I'd had quite enough for today.

Hadvar suggested I join the Legion, and while I'm not normally inclined towards siding with people who try to kill me or all that interested in general soldiering, I need some Septims and I suppose there are worse ways to chat up wenches than saying you're a soldier. I'll give it a thought, if they'll take someone like me.


Day 3

I didn't warn the Jarl, in the end.

I'm in Riften at the moment, and the reasons for this are fairly simple. I got as far as the gate (narrowly avoided being savaged by a pack of wolves on the way) and bumped into some Khajiit camped outside. One of them mentioned the Thieves Guild were operating outside of Riften, and so I figured that the best thing to do would be to check that out if I wanted some coin. So I got a nearby cart, not wanting a repeat incident of my run-in with those wolves, and arrived in the city.

Ran into a fellow named Brynjolf there who offered me some work, namely planting a ring on a Wood Elf. That sort of thing was right up my street, and I managed to rob some Argonian dry in the meantime, and after the deed was done he said to meet him down in the 'Ratway'. Not quite sure what it was, but apparently it was dangerous so I left the city to build my funds hunting and getting some better equipment. Managed to clear out a cave full of wolves and accidentally picked a fight with a horse which I nearly didn't walk away from; the damn thing just wouldn't die.

In any case, I managed to survive, knocked together some bracers to sell and managed to scrape together some cash. I'm sticking aroudn Riften at the moment, buying and selling at the moment, and seeing what will hit me next.

Life for Aranios Sayl has become rather interesting, it seems...

Posted by: Grits Apr 7 2012, 10:54 PM

Congratulations to Caerellin on the nuptials!

Aranios sounds fun, Colonel.

Here's the latest from Jensa: smile.gif

Stenvar and I are camped at the top of a ruined tower. We’re high up in the Jerrals looking out over the Rift. I’m pretty sure that Bruma is just a short distance over to the south. And a decent drop, of course. The snow stopped and the wind quit, so there’s nothing but a pile of furs between us and the stars. Dragons always pick the best spots to lair.

We’re safe up here because we killed the dragon. I found another Word of Power, just like the letter said. I’m not sure what we’ll do next. I’ll never say it, but Stenvar needs some time to recover. While we were fighting the dragon he was damn near killed by a bear.

I want to go back to High Hrothgar. Arngeir might have another Word for me to find. I hate to ask Stenvar to make that climb again so soon. I wish I could fly, I’d be there right now and back in time to hold this man when the sun comes up over Morrowind. He’s not one for love talk even when we’re loving, but tonight he said some sweet things to me. He must have been thinking about dying.

Maybe there’s a Shout that will let me fly. The dragons manage it somehow, they’re not built like birds. I wonder if everyone has flying dreams like I do, or if that’s just my dragon blood making promises it can’t deliver. I’m having too many thoughts. Those Greybeards must be rubbing off on me.

Anyway I need to decide what to do next. Calder says we should fix the roof, and that means coin. Lucky I have a Housecarl to inform me of such matters. I don’t know a thing about keeping a house like Hjerim, and neither does Stenvar. I guess we could go through to Riverwood and pick up a bounty. That would take us back to Whiterun, and Jorrvaskr. I could stand to drink some mead with Torvar and break Njada’s nose again. Maybe Aela will get it through her thick head that there are no sabre cats at Greenspring Hollow, and she should get over it and just give me a different job. And maybe trolls will fly and skeevers will take up embroidery. Still, it’s worth a try.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 8 2012, 12:16 PM

QUOTE
I may have done somethign that my mother had taught me not to do when I was two.


Surely I'm too polite to laugh that much!!... laugh.gif ...Oh, loved it Colonel!!...The bit about the daughter's heritage!!...Nice one... biggrin.gif ...

The Jensa bit was cool Grits...Nice for you to go back to her... smile.gif ...


Personally, yesterday, I had a go with all of the charcters I've got in the Skyim Knights lot...It gave me a headache actually... kvright.gif ...

But yeah, from Caerellin and J'Zirlo, I then did a bit with Shaade, started on the Wood-Elf, Dinasafon (guess who biggrin.gif ), did some with J'Drell, and finally the failure with Olfsson...

Too much in one go...Therefore, I am having a slight break for a time, this should help the story more... biggrin.gif ...

Urgh...Mine eyes!!... wacko.gif ...

Posted by: Arcry Apr 9 2012, 03:41 PM

Pages from the journal of ex-Smuggler, Hides-His-Hands. Pages found in the caves of Southfringe Sanctum, partially burnt, scattered in the main chamber by the body of an Orc.

Tirdas, 17 of Last Seed, 4E201

In a single day my entire life has been ruined.

This mornings trip into Skyrim was ruined on account of one Ulfic Stromcloak, leader of the Skyrim Rebellions. What he was doing outside the land's boarders is beyond me, but the Imperials set an ambush for him an captured him, and counted me, an Argonian, as one of Ulfric's band. One would be skeptical of such a thing with Ulfic's reputation for his human centric ideals, however, when said Argonian's wagon is filled with war contarband, one tends to believe the simple answer.

So, they rounded Ulfric's merry band up, tosses them, myself, and an unfortunate theif, into wagons and sent us rocking towards the Imperial fort of Helgen, first real settlement in Skyrim's borders. The ride into Skyrim was as expected, the Thief tried to talk his way free while the Stormcloaks spouted Nordic honor in the face of death. I do not want die here, so far from the songs of the Marsh, from fellow Saxhleel.

We arrived in Helgen where the Imperials strode us before a headsman's block. I thought of fleeing, but the Thief moved before I could, and then he didn't. The Imperials shot him down before he could even see the gates. The called us one by one to the block, I tired to reason with the Legate in charge, explain why I was not on the list of known Stormcloak's and their allies, but she smiled cruelly and set me in line with the traitors.

I do not know why am I still alive, but I am. Many did not escape Helgen when It attacked. A monster as black as night, with eyes of fire. It was a dragon, and it looked at me. I felt it's eyes on me, felt its rage. It hated me, and it destroyed the entire fort trying to kill me. I do not know if this is fear that writes my words, but I feel it's in my bones, It is looking for me, hunting me.

An Imperial helped me escape, he was the caller of the list. He seemed genuinely regretful that he had sent me to my death not but moments ago and led me through the fort's interior. I killed people. Nords defending their homeland, their beliefs, and I cut them down. This rebellion never seemed to be important, but actually being here. It's difficult.

We parted ways, he is headed to what family he has in the riverside settlement of Riverwood, I broke west. Stumbled on a Hunter's camp, he was generous enough to let me share his fire and point me in the direction of Falkreath, think I will head there in the morning.

Turdas, 20 of Last Seed, 4E201

Taken on the guise of Hunter in Falkreath. It is a small settlement, but holds one of the land's rulers, Nords call them Jarls. The people here are not very trusting, but have been willing to house and shelter an outsider. The owner of the Dead Man's Drink has set me up with a room for as long as I want it, if I can continue to pay her for it. The blacksmith, Lod has asked me to fetch a few pelts for the Jarl's new armor. The Priest of Arkay, a High Elf at that, asked me to get him his journal from Southfinge Sanctum. Said he lost it while exploring it's depths.

I think I will deliver Lod's pelts, then go talk to the Jarl, see if I can help him with any trouble in the hold, least I can do for these people. Then I will fetch the priest Runil his journal. Will need to pack for the trip tgough, it is going to take at least a day to get that far to the east.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 9 2012, 08:27 PM

QUOTE(McBadgere @ Apr 6 2012, 08:20 AM) *

J'Zirlo has been ramping up his Smithing like there's no tomorrow, (as are the kids) prior to downloading this new patch...Yes, it's a cheat...Now ask me if I care... biggrin.gif ...


What is a cheat?

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 9 2012, 09:04 PM

I think he means spamming iron daggers and hide bracers. Before version 1.4, your skill went up the same no matter what you created, a cheap iron dagger, or a suit of ebony armor. In 1.5 your skill improvement is based on the value of what you are creating. So iron daggers give you a very small skill increase, and things like ebony armor a big one.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 9 2012, 10:40 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Apr 9 2012, 04:04 PM) *

I think he means spamming iron daggers and hide bracers. Before version 1.4, your skill went up the same no matter what you created, a cheap iron dagger, or a suit of ebony armor. In 1.5 your skill improvement is based on the value of what you are creating. So iron daggers give you very a very little skill increase, and things like ebony armor a big one.


Oh, ha ha..I didn't know that! makes sense, though, I'm glad 1.5 changed that. It should take more skill to make a giant glass greatsword than an iron dagger, and it makes that we'd make more of an increase for this extra skill.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 10 2012, 05:55 AM

I do indeed mean spamming... biggrin.gif ...Although it was all leather bracers... tongue.gif ...

We've still not done the update...The kids made new characters and wish to make further use of the loophole... biggrin.gif ...

We're not using it 'cause we're desperate to push the character's level up as such, just increase the smithing...

In Oblivion, the repair skill got easier the further towards 100 you went up, so why is it going to take more to level up the higher you go in Skyrim?...

Hey-ho...Progress is for they young... tongue.gif ...


Aaaamywho...

Caerellin is currently engaged in the College of Winterhold shenannigans...

I believe he wants to take a run at the MQ soon...Will have to get the ever popular J'Zargo though...Caerellin is more of a close quarters figher than a long range...Though his archery's going up like the clappers...Bound Bow rules!!!...

biggrin.gif ...

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 10 2012, 12:12 PM

I think when I make my Nord Stormcloak dude, he's gonna probably do lots of smithing. My previous Nord did too, but he never got to the "mass-production" part. He just made iron and leather stuff, too...never progressed to better stuff (he hated elven, dwarven, and other types of armor). but just before he got killed, he started to realize he'd better start making at least some armors for himself made of steel.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 10 2012, 09:21 PM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Apr 10 2012, 07:12 AM) *

I think when I make my Nord Stormcloak dude, he's gonna probably do lots of smithing. My previous Nord did too, but he never got to the "mass-production" part. He just made iron and leather stuff, too...never progressed to better stuff (he hated elven, dwarven, and other types of armor). but just before he got killed, he started to realize he'd better start making at least some armors for himself made of steel.

This is how Ulfdis is. She wears steel armor of her own making. She always carries a pick, and mines whatever ore she comes across in her travels. Then at the next city she smiths up some iron or steel swords. You can get a lot of smithing done this way. Especially if you clear out some mines, like Embershard. Ulfidis doesn't want to use any of those elven metals either, so won't even bother with making or buying elven, dwarven, or orcish. She has yet to find any ebony, so I don't know what she thinks about it. She might be in steel for her entire game.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 11 2012, 03:04 AM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim158.jpg

Dear Aunt Hervor and Uncle Jomar,

I know I promised to write sooner, but so much has happened since I left Bruma, I have scarcely had the time to sit and think, much less try to put it all in words. It all seems a jumble when I look back on the last few weeks. It is like an entire lifetime has passed by. For some, it has.

I was ambushed by Imperials after going through Pale Pass. Yes, that is right, ambushed. They claimed I was a Stormcloak rebel, and demanded my surrender. I did not want to kill legionaries just doing their job, so I did. Besides, I was certain that once I had the chance to speak with whoever was in command, things would be set to rights. They threw me in a wagon train of others they had also taken prisoner. Two of the men in my wagon really were Stormcloaks. One was the very Jarl of Windhelm himself! The leader of the rebellion against the Empire!

We stopped at an Imperial castle, Helgen is what one of the Stormcloaks said it was. His name is Ralof, he said he once knew a girl there. Before I had a chance to talk, one of the others, a man no more a rebel than I, made a break for it. The battle-serpents flew from the Imperial archer's bows, and he died in the dust.

My turn was next. I tried to explain that I was innocent, but the centurion would hear none of it. My head was destined to become a trophy for their General Tullius, as were those of all of us. He would have had it too, if not for the dragon.

It came out of nowhere. With but a word, the sky turned black as soot, and fire rained from the clouds. It spoke other words, and men died in flame. I cannot describe the words. But I heard them just the same. They rang through me like the beat of a giant drum, making my whole body shake.

Ralof and I escaped in the confusion. So did other Stormcloaks. We made our way to a nearby village, where his kin lived. We split up there, he heading to Windhelm, and me to Whiterun, to warn the local Jarl. Balgruuf is his name, and more slippery than ice on stone is that one. He took me to his wizard, and the next thing I knew I was being sent on a mission to an ancient barrow to retrieve some mucking dragonstone for the damned pompous fools. Well I did as Uncle Jomar always says when dealing with nobles. I nodded and said "yes". Then I got out of there as soon as I could.

Skyrim is not the place I had expected. I thought that returning to the land of my blood would be grander, would speak some hidden truths into my ear. But the only things speaking in this land are the swans of battle. I have had better greetings from the wolves than many of the two-legged folk I have met. Thankfully the wolves are just as good to me as those in Cyrodiil. It is as that Witch Aela told you when you found me as a child. They have marked me, and not just in the scars on my face…

-Ulfdis, somewhere in Skyrim

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 12 2012, 10:40 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim160.jpg

Dear Aunt Hervor and Uncle Jomar,

Sometimes I wonder why I am still here. I met a family in Whiterun called the Grey Manes. One of their sons had disappeared, been taken by the Imperials. The other son was in hiding, else he be next. I found their missing son. He was a man bigger than Uncle Jomar! But the Thalmor had him, and had been working him over for some time. It was the Imperials that gave him to the Thalmor, them and a family of Nordic collaborators known as the Battle-Borns.

It is just as so many say. The Empire licks the boots of the high elves. I see the damned goldenrods here in Skyrim, dragging men off in chains for worshipping Talos. Some people still do it openly here, not in secret like we did back in Bruma. Jarl Ulfric and his Stormcloaks do. They fight for Talos, and for a free Skyrim.

So do I. It started with the damned Thalmor. First when I set Thorald Grey Mane free, then when I saw Thalmor patrols on the road, dragging people off in chains. The Empire does the same thing. After Helgen, I have no doubt what dark fate awaits those prisoners… It has to stop. The Jarls like Balgruuf will not do anything though. He even said to me that it was no concern of his who the Imperials executed. Only the Stormcloaks seem willing to fight for what is right.

I have seen more of Balgruuf too. I met a young man named Erik in place called Rorikstead. We went into Bleak Falls Barrow and pulled out that stupid dragonstone for the idiot court mage. I felt like choking the peacock with it when I got back to Whiterun. The dragon did not give me the chance though.

Yes, another dragon, different from the first one. It was attacking one of Whiterun's outer towers. The next thing I knew I was out there with a band of Whiterun soldiers, and it was flying overhead. Many were called to Sovngarde, and the blood-swans ate till they were fat afterward. I fought as the rest, and in the end the beast was felled. With its last breath it called me Dovahkiin. Whatever it means, it must be a curse.

Some fools started calling me Dragonborn after that. All I did was be the last to thrust the wolf of wounds into its gullet. That hardly makes me dragon in human form. I may not know what my Ma and Pa's names were, but I know they were not scaly beasts!

I was glad to be quit of Whiterun. The city is big, and wealthy, but I have seen where that wealth comes from. Imperial bribes, traitors like the Battle-Borns selling faithful Nords to the Thalmor. A hard rain will fall upon Whiterun and its conniving Jarl. I feel sorry for those good folk still living there, like the Grey-Manes. They will suffer for the machinations of their leader.

Windhelm is a much different city. It is just as big as Whiterun. Larger perhaps. Certainly much older. It is the ancient capital of the Kings of Skyrim. The city is all dark and brooding stone, whose dour mood is barely lifted by the white blanket of snow that covers everything. A shrine to Talos rises from a hill across the river from it, as if the Old Man was looking out over his city. There is even a temple dedicated to him inside the walls, next to the palace!

For these Nords fight, rather than take the Empire's bribes. I have joined them. I may not have been born in Skyrim, and I may not have a home here, but I can see this is my fight. Even as I write this, I am on my way to an ancient tomb. Ulfric's right hand - Galmar Stone-Fist - thinks we can find the Jagged Crown there. It is the ancient crown of the High Kings itself. If the gods grant that we bring that back to Windhelm and place it on Ulfric's head, it will show that they favor us over the damned faithless Imperials and their puppets.

-Ulfdis, Windhelm.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 13 2012, 08:05 PM


QUOTE(SubRosa @ Apr 12 2012, 05:40 PM) *

So do I. It started with the damned Thalmor. First when I set Thorald Grey Mane free, then when I saw Thalmor patrols on the road, dragging people off in chains. The Empire does the same thing. After Helgen, I have no doubt what dark fate awaits those prisoners… It has to stop. The Jarls like Balgruuf will not do anything though. He even said to me that it was no concern of his who the Imperials executed. Only the Stormcloaks seem willing to fight for what is right.



DAmn those Thalmor. I hate them. Beth got her first taste of Thalmor the other day, four against one. They're nasty folk. emot-ninja1.gif

What race is your character, by the way? She's pretty, too.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 13 2012, 10:18 PM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Apr 13 2012, 03:05 PM) *

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Apr 12 2012, 05:40 PM) *

So do I. It started with the damned Thalmor. First when I set Thorald Grey Mane free, then when I saw Thalmor patrols on the road, dragging people off in chains. The Empire does the same thing. After Helgen, I have no doubt what dark fate awaits those prisoners… It has to stop. The Jarls like Balgruuf will not do anything though. He even said to me that it was no concern of his who the Imperials executed. Only the Stormcloaks seem willing to fight for what is right.



DAmn those Thalmor. I hate them. Beth got her first taste of Thalmor the other day, four against one. They're nasty folk. emot-ninja1.gif

What race is your character, by the way? She's pretty, too.

Ulfdis says thank you. smile.gif She is a Nord, raised in Bruma.

My first character Scylla basically ignored the Thalmor, and never attacked them. Then one of those four elf hit squads came out of nowhere and tried to kill her. That was one long, tough battle. One had her death warrant on him. I still have no idea why they suddenly went after her.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 15 2012, 02:28 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Apr 13 2012, 05:18 PM) *

One had her death warrant on him. I still have no idea why they suddenly went after her.


could be related to the College questlines? I'm thinking that one elf dude who's always in the College (the one who's condescending to us, I think he's a Thalmor himself) has something to do with it. Maybe he's jealous of our PC on his/her way up, and starts dispensing squads of Thalmore agents.

I dunno, that's my guess. Now watch...Ulfdis won't have anything to do with the College, now, right? biggrin.gif

Posted by: Arcry Apr 15 2012, 03:19 AM

Loredas, 22 of Last Seed, 4E201

Falkreath is a good place to live, a little dreary and dry for my taste, but the people here are good, honest folk and they deserve better than this little tyrant they call their Jarl. His lordship Siddgeir is a corrupt boy that rules through his stewards, preferring to reap the benefits of his position without working for them, but this is just a "lowly Lizard's" opinion.

Jarl Siddgeir, the lazy lout, ordered me to fetch a bottle of Black Briar mead from Riften. Lucky for me the Dead Man carries some of the swill. I grabbed a bottle and am headed east towards what I hope is Southfringe, according to a local hunter.

Morndas, 24 of Last Seed, 4E201

What is worse than and Orc with a war hammer? Several Spellswords following an Orc with command over fire! Killed the lot of them with my bow, the Orc nearly cooked me alive, but, lucky, I had a scroll that summoned a "Familiar" which took the form of a wolf. It distracted the big burly beast long enough for me to get a good shot in and finish him.

Runil's Journal was among some loot the gang had gathered. I am ashamed to admit I read the old elf's journal as I returned to town. I wish I did not. He is a tormented soul who deserved peace. I worry for him, as his last entry he depicted a dream he had. It placed him in Falkreath attending to his priestly duties when, out of nowhere, a winged beast swept across the sky, blotting out the sun and casting a shadow across the town. He looked up at the black beast and it roared ending his dream. I fear his foresight and hope Arkay does not call him to death so soon.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 15 2012, 04:06 AM

QUOTE(Arcry @ Apr 14 2012, 10:19 PM) *

Jarl Siddgeir, the lazy lout, ordered me to fetch a bottle of Black Briar mead from Riften. Lucky for me the Dead Man carries some of the swill. I grabbed a bottle and am headed east towards what I hope is Southfringe, according to a local hunter.



laugh.gif This is the funniest quest. He actually wants us to go to Riften to get him mead. Crystal Beth simply went down the street and purchased a bottle from somebody right there in Falkreath.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 15 2012, 07:27 PM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Apr 14 2012, 11:06 PM) *

QUOTE(Arcry @ Apr 14 2012, 10:19 PM) *

Jarl Siddgeir, the lazy lout, ordered me to fetch a bottle of Black Briar mead from Riften. Lucky for me the Dead Man carries some of the swill. I grabbed a bottle and am headed east towards what I hope is Southfringe, according to a local hunter.



laugh.gif This is the funniest quest. He actually wants us to go to Riften to get him mead. Crystal Beth simply went down the street and purchased a bottle from somebody right there in Falkreath.

I did the same!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim171.jpg

Dear Aunt Hervor and Uncle Jomar,

That went pretty well, all things considered. Ralof said that to me, as we stood together in Jarl Balgruuf's hall. He was right. It did go well. Whiterun is ours, and the snake of a Jarl cast down. I held my sword at this throat, and was but a moment from sending the wretch to Sovngarde. But then he surrendered.

It was just as well I did not kill him though, for at his word the rest of the city surrendered as well. That at least ended the destruction. The greedy traitor had the gall to threaten us afterward. He even insulted me personally. I spat back in his lying face. If Ralof had not been there to stop me, I would have taken the fetcher's head off right then and there. Then they would be calling me Jarlslayer, rather than Dragonslayer.

It all came to this when Ulfric sent me to Balgruuf. After we returned with the Jagged Crown, he decided it was time that Whiterun committed itself to the war. One way or the other. Ulfric gave me his axe, and bade me present it to Balgruuf as a gift. I may not be from Skyrim, but I did not need to be told what that meant. Either Balgruuf accepted Ulfric's friendship, or he rebuffed it.

Balgruuf chose the latter. Wagonloads of Imperial gold likely swayed his decision, at least according to his own steward. If I had ever doubted what side I chose, I would have no longer. The Empire buys loyalty with money. The Stormcloaks do with honor and steel.

So the blood swans would fly over Whiterun. The skein was woven, and Balgruuf's wyrd was set. Our first assault was on the barricades outside the main gate. I was able to get onto one of the walls there, and fight my way to the drawbridge. It was like Talos himself was in my sword arm that day. For none could stand against me. A slash of my sword cut loose the ropes holding it up, and moment later Galmar and the Stormcloak army was across.

I found Ralof inside the city. The two of us made our way up the hills together, past one barricade and another. Finally we set our boots to Dragonsreach. The doors to the palace could not hold us, and we were inside. Along with Galmar, and a few other stout Nords, we finished what Balgruuf started when he chose Imperial gold over Nordic honor.

That went rather well, all things considered.

-Ulfdis, Whiterun.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 15 2012, 07:40 PM

^ that's kewl. I'm looking forward to doing the Civil War quest with a character whom is not extant yet. He'll most likely join the Stormcloaks.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 17 2012, 05:23 PM

Since I restarted Hrafn, I am going to restart her journal as well. Even though some of it will be the same as before. sad.gif The trouble is, some has already changed as well.


From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim092.jpg

Well Ma, you always told me to write things down in a journal, just like you do. I know you always wanted me to be an alchemist like you. When Shor's bones thaw in Sovengarde! But here I am anyway, writing in this empty book I bought from the trader here in Riverwood. I wonder if you are still back in Dawnstar, picking snowberries off the mountainsides? And nagging Pa to wash up before dinner. As if a blacksmith can ever get clean. If you did not like soot, why did you tie Mara's knot with him?

Anyway, why am I writing this Ma? So much has happened in the last few days. So many impossible things. Maybe I just want to convince myself it is all true, and I did not just dream it. It still seems like a nightmare, dragons, the Empire trying to kill me, it is like Nirn has turned upside down.

It all started, when? I have no idea what day it was. I was finally returning home, after so many years serving as a mercenary for the Imperials. So many years of fighting those Cyrod's petty little battles, and for what? So that damned Emperor of theirs could betray we Nords, betray Talos? What did we spill out blood for?

Ah, but that is just the tip of the horker. While crossing the mountains, I walked into something. I do not know what. There was a line of wagons carrying men. I thought it was a caravan at first, so I went to greet them. I was hoping they might have some mead or ale to trade. I have been living on melted snow and rabbits for days. The next thing I knew there was an arrow in my leg, then the pommel of an Imperial sword made a home against my head.

When I awoke, well, I was in the caravan. Only it was not a caravan at all, but a train of prisoners. The Jarl of Windhelm himself sat beside me! I remember him Pas tales about the Great War. He fought with Pa and the rest of us Nords who had taken up the axe and sword to defend the Empire from the cursed elves. Now this is how the Empire treats us in return? This is our reward for faithful service? First they take our gods from us, then our lives?

For we were bound for the headsman's axe, in the Imperial castle at Helgen. They could care less that my name was not on their filthy list, or that I was a veteran of their own service. All they wanted was Nordic heads in a basket.

They would have had them too, if not the for the dragon. Yes, I wrote that, the dragon. I saw him as they laid my own head on the block. It was black as ebony, and turned the sky the same color with but a word. Thunder and fire rained down as it spoke, and men died all around. Nothing could harm it, not steel nor spell, and it took its time knocking over the castle as if it were one of those houses of cards Da would make at the dinner table.

The rest was confusing. More confusing than any Khajiit raid or Bosmer ambush. I was able to escape along with a Stormcloak named Ralof. He had sat across from me in the wagon. I like him Ma. He is not all full of bluster like most Nord men, who try to hide their fears and doubts behind false bravado. He has nothing to prove to anyone. He is just himself. A good Nord man who fought his way through the Imperials with me, as we made our escape from man and dragon. I wonder if he has tied Mara's knot? He spoke of a girl he knew in Helgen named Vilod. But only the blood-swans live in Helgen now...

The rest seems to trivial. We made tracks from there fast. If any of the Imperials escaped, we had to put miles between us and them. As well as from the rest likely to come when they saw the smoke. It filled the sky like a harbinger of doom. We made our way to a village where his sister lives, and hid with her for the night.

Ralof told me about the rebellion, about how Ulfric challenged the High King in the old way and slew him in personal combat. That the Empire wanted him dead, because he will not bow down to the elves, and betray our good Talos. I cannot believe so much has happened since I was away. Ralof says I should go to Windhelm with him, and join the fight. I think I should.

But it has been so long, and so much has happened, I wonder if I am home at all? I think I will be coming to see you soon instead Ma. First at least. You warned me about going away to fight for the Empire, but I would not listen. Now I see what a mistake it was. How many years of my life have I wasted for those faithless cowards? You were always so much smarter than Da and me. Like he always says, I got your looks, but his thick head. Maybe you will know what I should do?

-Hrafn, in Riverwood.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 17 2012, 10:30 PM

*CLAPS* Oh...that's good, SubRosa. You really got me hooked.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 19 2012, 01:15 AM

From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim174.jpg

Here I am again Ma. Ralof's sister asked me to go to Whiterun, to tell the Jarl about the dragon. I'd sooner kiss a horker, but she was a good host, offering me a place to stay after Ralof and I escaped from Helgen. Not that I spent the night there. There was only one bed, and she and her husband shared it. If there had been another bed, then perhaps Ralof would have…

Ma, how did you know Da was the one to tie Mara's knot with? Oh never mind. There are more important things to write with this damned goose feather.

I spent a day working with the smith, helping him in the forge. Da's lessons showed, and he was impressed with what I knew about iron and steel. His wife was less then pleased however, and I don't think I've ever seen a woman so glad to see my feet take me the other way when I left town next morning.

Ralof said that the Imperials wouldn't be looking for me. My name was not on their list, and no one was left alive who would know me. That was why I was the one to go to Whietrun. I wonder if I made the right decision, not going with him? Will I ever see him again? Or will I forever wonder what happened to that man?

Whiterun. Yes. It was a long walk north between the mountains, with only the wolves for company. But they kept their distance, and I respected their territory, so we got along just fine. On the other side of the mountains things changed. Lots of farms and even a meadery. I've never seen so many bees in my life! I was tempted to stop in for a drop, but I just wanted to get things over with, and be on my way home.

So up to the city I went. It's the only mound on the whole damn tundra. I swear Ma, I don't know how people can live there. The land is just flat and empty in all directions, and the wind never stops. No trees, no mountains, no ocean. The city itself is like big mammoth turd rising up on the plain.

The Jarl talked to me, after one of his damned huscarls drew steel against me. I thought I was going to have to kill her there in the hall, and had my axe and shield in hand. But cooler heads prevailed, and I made my report of the dragon to the bag of wind. When I told him that the Imperials tried to give me a shave, he called me a criminal, and said he did not care who the Imperials decided to execute. How can a man like that lead our people? How can a Nord look the other way when the Empire spills the blood of the sons and daughters of Skyrim?

Well, I was hoping to get myself out of there, but the damned blowhard dragged his court wizard into the mess, and the next thing I knew I was being sent on an official mission for the Hold. Finding some silly magic stone in one of the old barrows. I just nodded and said "aye". Then I remembered, Riverwood was just across the river from the barrow.

So I went back, wondering if Ralof was still there at his sister's house. He wasn't. But a wood elf named Faendal was. Normally I wouldn't have much use for a point eared bushwhacker, but he seemed a cut above most of his countrymen. He was a hard worker for one, I remembered seeing him chopping wood at the mill my first time through, and he was at it again when I walked in the village. Seems he has his eye on a certain Imperial lady in town. Trouble is so does some other fella. Sven was his name. He was tall, had muscles, blond hair, blue eyes, and rocks between his ears bigger than the mountain the barrow was sitting upon. A typical Nord man. Poor Faendal didn't stand a chance. So I helped out the wood elf, and now he has the lady all to himself.

Just to show his appreciation, Faendal lent me a hand with my own problem: Bleak Falls Barrow. I have to say, it was handy having him there. As you can imagine, he's good with a bow. Between the two of us, we dealt with everything that got in our way, be it bandits, frostbite spiders, or draugr. I am not proud of plundering a tomb of our ancestors. But we did it, and found that blasted stone. I parted ways with Faendal back in Riverwood, and headed back to Whiterun.

-Hrafn, north of Riverwood.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 19 2012, 06:04 PM

I got halfway thru reading the post above, but then I realized I'd already read it before. Lol. You said you changed something, but I'm not seeing what it is.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 19 2012, 08:40 PM

The newer parts are in the second half, where she hooked up with Faendal (which she did not do before).

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 20 2012, 01:31 AM

Ah, I see. I see why you changed it, too.

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Apr 20 2012, 04:32 AM

Vera the Huntress walked briskly in the road in between the pine forests of Falkreath Hold. She whistled an old tune as she held her axe behind her back, encased in steel armor. With her other hand, she tossed around the Ring of Hircine up and down. I earned this, she thought to herself. Sinding? Poor dog wouldn't stand a chance without my help. As a devout worshiper of Hircine, survivalist and bounty hunter, she truly made an uncharacteristic decision by aiding her fellow Lycanthropy in hunting down and devouring the hunters. After all, it was the Bloodmoon. What was I going to do? Turn into her bestial form and join with the merry yet sad band of tidbits and hamshanks? Nay!

She smiled at the thought of reversing the Chase, turning it inside out and still please her Master. After all, she was a werewolf. Hircine's greatest hunters in all of Tamriel. Not even those overgrown werebears could match my strain! She took a seat underneath a tree, atop of a log. She pulled out her journal to write her journey.

Entry 1: Last night was marvelous. The prisoner I met in Falkreath who teared the child to shreds was no other than a werewolf himself! Sad day when a Lycanthrope is captured by a band of Nords. But in my lifetime, I realized it is only natural. Tamriel, the arena, is a never ending struggle. If we don't survive, we die. If we survive, others die. I'm glad to be a survivor. And I am glad I can be a survivor with purpose. Yet deep inside it pains me that I could not enjoy the hunt in Solstheim.

Entry 2: Sinding thanked me for saving his skin, quite literately. Honestly, I was just glad I pleased Hircine and was rewarded with his mythical ring. Such a legendary item, wrapped around my finger! I am also pleased to know that Hircine removed his curse from it, it means my uncontrollable urges aren't increased two fold. I've been thinking on why Sinding must of displeased Hircine. Was it because he was like the majority of the pups out there? Whining about his gift? Or perhaps his thievery of the ring was not sporting in the eyes of my Lord. In the end, it does not matter. I'm not the one on the leash.

Entry 3: I arrived in the sleepy town of Falkreath after my nightly escapade near Lake Ilinalta. I awoke with blood over my body, not of my own, however. As I got dressed and headed to the town of Falkreath. At the Dead Man's, I met with Aela the Huntress after I told her to stay there after I transformed a night after I received the ring. A few days ago she told me of the Totems of Hircine. Mundane looking objects that could channel the power of the werewolt to new directions! I told her it can wait, because I had a bounty to catch first. Totems do not have legs, but my prey does.

Entry 4: Ha! I collected my bounty by killing the accursed bandit chief at Cracked Tusk Keep. I took a more subtle approach, using guile rather than strength or speed to bring down my quarry. The first three fell by my arrows. The Orismer himself died at the end of my axe. I returned to the town to collect my payment. One hundred coins in my pocket. Pathetic. I risked my own neck only to receive cheap pay from the innkeeper. These jarls are too cheap anyways.

Entry 5:Aela and I set out on the journey, she's like the sister I never had. Of course, it is only the two of us. The brothers, Vilkas and Farkas, are too set in their Nordic ways to even think about doing anything for Hircine or themselves. They aren't enamored in the blood of the Beast as Aela or me, or even Skjor before his unfotunate passing(hunt well, brother. I will see you again in the Hunting Grounds). I am no Nord, so I never thought much about going to Sovngarde. I might never even discover what all the fuss is about. If they wish to be belching drunks for all eternity, it is fine by me. I rather embrace the glory of Oblivion, and hunt with my ancestors and my Lord! Will I aid the brothers in their search for a cure? I cannoy say. But if they wish to embrace their concept of freedom, then I will have to oblige. Perhaps I can cleanse the Circle of the human taint afterall.

Entry 6:The Totems of Hircine! Never would I imagine I would undertake a journey to reclaim these ancient relics again. I remember once, in a time so long ago, that I was to protect the Totem of Claw and Fang in the frozen island of Solstheim during the last Bloodmoon, after the pact me and my husband made with the Glenmoril Witches. I understand these were the totems used by the indigenous people of that age. An ancient tribe who's bloodline carried all the way to my time. I am proud of my lineage, and I am even more filled with it knowing I can touch a memory of the past. I set out tonight to begin my search for the Totem of Fear. A skull of a wolf used in blood ceremonies that brought forth the bloodlines. I ask for Hircine's guidance!




Posted by: McBadgere Apr 20 2012, 02:27 PM

blink.gif ...*Rolls eyes and shakes head sadly...*... tongue.gif biggrin.gif ...

Decided to put all the dragon bones to good use - well, from the four or five that I've killed so far - and make J'Zargo a suit of Dragon Armour...He seems to like the helmet and body-armour so far...The legendary Ebony Gauntlets and Boots look very cool with the first pieces, they seem to go well with it...I'm gonna see what the Dragon boots and gauntlets look like but from what I remember, the whole suit together (including shield) looked a bit...Meh...So maybe so, maybe not...we shall see...

Am also considering...A Deadric Shield...*Spits*...Maybe...We'll see...J'Zargo looks - as they say down in the southern UK metropolis of Lodnol - Wew Sowid...

Otherwise, met the Greybeards, learned some more shouts, and sundry other Miscellanious quests here and there...But almost no dragons, except for the few where the kids have suddenly yelled "Dragon Mount!!" and it throws the hell out of me for a sec before I realise what they're on about... biggrin.gif ...

It's actually more fun, this time 'round...*Shrug*...

Oh, bought the house in Whiterun too...Just so I got somewhere better to store stuff bar the Kodlak's room in Jorrvaskr...

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 20 2012, 03:32 PM

QUOTE(Darkness Eternal @ Apr 19 2012, 11:32 PM) *

*snip*


I think Crystal Beth almost did this...the werewolf in Falkreath thing, that is. It's one of the rare times I stopped a game and loaded up a previous save, because she accepted the ring (against my better judgement) but I found myself just not wanting to do any werewolf stuff.

It'll be for another future character, possibly.
.

QUOTE(McBadgere @ Apr 20 2012, 09:27 AM) *

Decided to put all the dragon bones to good use - well, from the four or five that I've killed so far - and make J'Zargo a suit of Dragon Armour...


You'll have to post some screenshots!

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Apr 20 2012, 04:00 PM

QUOTE(McBadgere @ Apr 20 2012, 02:27 PM) *

blink.gif ...*Rolls eyes and shakes head sadly...*... tongue.gif biggrin.gif ...
Hey! Be nice -_-

It actually did happen. I reloaded some previous saves and did an all hunting week with my female character, Vera. Yes, Aela joined me. Yes, I helped Sinding. Yes, I stopped at the totems quest tongue.gif

I don't get the rolling eyes though wacko.gif


QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Apr 20 2012, 03:32 PM) *

QUOTE(Darkness Eternal @ Apr 19 2012, 11:32 PM) *

*snip*


I think Crystal Beth almost did this...the werewolf in Falkreath thing, that is. It's one of the rare times I stopped a game and loaded up a previous save, because she accepted the ring (against my better judgement) but I found myself just not wanting to do any werewolf stuff.

You'll have to post some screenshots!

I stopped hunting around Falkreath because for some odd reason Farkas and the others keep popping up there and attacking me for no reason. And the guards in the town take forever to respawn, so at night the doors are closed, as if they know a wolf is going on a rampage tongue.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 20 2012, 05:19 PM

QUOTE(Darkness Eternal @ Apr 20 2012, 11:00 AM) *

QUOTE(McBadgere @ Apr 20 2012, 02:27 PM) *

blink.gif ...*Rolls eyes and shakes head sadly...*... tongue.gif biggrin.gif ...
Hey! Be nice -_-

It actually did happen. I reloaded some previous saves and did an all hunting week with my female character, Vera. Yes, Aela joined me. Yes, I helped Sinding. Yes, I stopped at the totems quest tongue.gif

I don't get the rolling eyes though wacko.gif


QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Apr 20 2012, 03:32 PM) *

QUOTE(Darkness Eternal @ Apr 19 2012, 11:32 PM) *

*snip*


I think Crystal Beth almost did this...the werewolf in Falkreath thing, that is. It's one of the rare times I stopped a game and loaded up a previous save, because she accepted the ring (against my better judgement) but I found myself just not wanting to do any werewolf stuff.

You'll have to post some screenshots!

I stopped hunting around Falkreath because for some odd reason Farkas and the others keep popping up there and attacking me for no reason. And the guards in the town take forever to respawn, so at night the doors are closed, as if they know a wolf is going on a rampage tongue.gif


Posted by: SubRosa Apr 22 2012, 02:40 AM

From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim177.jpg

Well Ma, I made it back to Whiterun with no worries, and found that pompous horker of a mage at the court. He was talking with some snotty princess trying to act tough in suit of leather armor. The mage was surprised that I came back alive. I felt like stuffing the damned stone down his throat and choking the arrogant ponce with it. But your blood won out over Da's, and I just gave the weakling the silly rock.

I would have been on my way after that, but the vile dark elf huscarl of the Jarl burst in ranting about a dragon. The next thing I knew I was being dragged before the blowhard himself, along with the wizard. The idiot flapped his jaws for a while, and then the dark elf and I went marching off to face the beast with a band of men in tow.

We found a watchtower in ruins. One man survived, he came creeping out of the rubble and warned us that the dragon might still be nearby. He was right, it was. It came out of the mountains to the south, and lit the night up with fire. It was just like Helgen all over again. Except this time I was armed, with a good solid axe and bow made by our ancestors.

The beast flew around burning things - people - with its breath. So we started with the bows. You would not believe how hard it is to hit a dragon with an arrow. Sure they are bigger than a house, but they move faster than a cat when they're in the air. Thankfully it landed, and then the fight got going. I am glad I said my prayers to Talos that morning, because surely I would not have survived if not for his blessing.

It ended with me standing on top of the dead dragon. No one else was around, which surprised me. I guess I had been fighting it alone. The others came running around the other side of the ruins when the light show started. I don't know what it was, except it sure as Shor was magic. Afterward some fool called me dragonborn. As if I am Talos' long lost great, great, great granddaughter!

We made our way back to the palace at Whiterun. I'd have rather stopped at the Bannered Mare for some mead. But the dark elf insisted. Her kind must be as wicked and profane as they say, for she subjected me to more of her Jarl's blathering. By the gods what is it about thrones that turn men into such arrogant idiots?

I got out of there as soon as I could, and found the inn. I had a good fist-fight with another woman there, and we put down a few barrels of mead together afterward. The headache and sore jaw I have this morning tells me that neither was such a good idea. But at least it got that damned dragon out of my mind. For a while.

-Hrafn, the Bannered Mare.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 22 2012, 04:51 AM

awesome

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 22 2012, 06:29 AM

D'you know...J'Zirlo's been running everywhere and it's great...We're finding so many lovely mountain passes it's amazing...Roads I've never travelled before, and assorted other cheesy song lines...Like here I go again on my own..'Cause J'Zargo won't run down a hill...Or he ain't heavy he's my brother when I, for the bazillionth time, have to heal him in the middle of a fight...

Aaamywho...Where the bloody hell are the dragons?...Apart from the Dragon Peaks, there's none...Is it after Kynesgrove and Delphine that they start appearing everywhere? 'cause I've not got to that bit yet...

Grrrr...

Still, it's been very pretty...And I've made a pile of money so far...

OOooh, we went to rescue that dude from the Thalmor yesterday...Eorlund Gray-Mane's son...That was cool, the Altmer idiots were all in Glass Armour...Well, the top ones were...Bloody cool that was...Made tonnes of maney off of their dead bodies... tongue.gif ...

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 22 2012, 01:57 PM

QUOTE(McBadgere @ Apr 22 2012, 01:29 AM) *

Aaamywho...Where the bloody hell are the dragons?...Apart from the Dragon Peaks, there's none...Is it after Kynesgrove and Delphine that they start appearing everywhere? 'cause I've not got to that bit yet...


This actually makes me happy, knowing this. I could possibly do a future character who has dragons in his/her game.

My main concern with dragons, you see is that if I initiated a dragon questline, they'd start appearing everywhere. That would totally break the game for me, personally.

But in your case, McB, I hope you eventually find what you're looking for.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 22 2012, 03:21 PM

QUOTE(The Lady Ga...No...Wait...Saga)
But in your case, McB, I hope you eventually find what you're looking for.


laugh.gif ...Nice one...


Yeah, but at the moment...I still haven't found what I'm looking for...

Just to clarify, there's been a couple of dragons turn up at random, but at the mo, before the quest called The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller (or something) there's not been many...And I have crossed many a Dragon Mound on my jaunts crosscountry...

Posted by: Grits Apr 22 2012, 04:44 PM

My non-Dragonborn games have paused the MQ right where you are, McB. Dragons still appear, but they are more of a rarity. I seem to recall that Jensa and Rowen both got swarmed by dragons after the Kynesgrove incident.

Denelle and Erik the Slayer just reunited the Grey-Mane boys, too. They brought Avulstein and his buddies along, so there was quite a lot of yelling. Major haul of glass weapons to sell! Now Denelle is wearing an Expert robe, but she is not pleased with how it looks. It’s too plain. She already feels ridiculously small standing next to Erik, not to mention the self-esteem issues faced by a slim Breton girl who is perpetually eye-to-bosom with a province full of generously built Nord women. She would like a robe that made a little more of her minimal assets. Of course the magicka recharge bonus is worth the blushes, but only just. This might be the thing that gets her interested in enchanting!

She is feeling quite pleased with her archery now that she has finally found a Bound Bow spell tome. Bring on the kill-cams! Bound bow is among my very favorite things in the game. smile.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 22 2012, 05:42 PM

Poor Denelle. If Teresa were there, she would tell her that more than a handful is wasted anyway. wink.gif

I have been playing Hrafn 2.0 in a dragons game. I never went beyond Dragon Rising though. All the dragon mounds she comes across have still been closed. The only dragons she has found so far are those in the dragon lairs. It seems all those are turned on in Dragon Rising.

I also saw one dragon while Hrafn crossed the tundra north west of Whiterun. I am not sure if that was a random dragon, or if it came out of one of the lairs that I did not see. Most of the dragon lairs have the word walls, like at Eldersblood Peak, or Shearpoint. But a few are nothing more than a dragon mound out in the wilderness. The map and the wiki do not count those as lairs, but they have leveled dragons that spawn there. I found that out when I went into the construction kit and removed all the leveled dragons from the game. So it can be a bit confusing.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 22 2012, 10:58 PM

From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim181.jpg

I had a few run-ins with bandits on the way north Ma. I cannot believe what has happened to Skyrim. It used to be safe to travel. Now it feels like I am in one of those damned Cyrods' arenas whenever I set foot outside a city. Where are all the guards? I've not seen one on the road since I returned. I suppose they are all too busy fighting in the war. Now the rest of the countryside has gone to Oblivion in a handbasket while they're gone.

Worse, there was another dragon. It was sitting on a big wall of the ancient runes, on top of a mountain. Why did I decide to climb the mountain rather than use the pass? I know not. Perhaps it is just my wyrd to face these creatures. It was a hard battle. It was my potions what tipped the balance, and mighty Talos of course. I'll be happy if I never see another one of those things again.

Well, in spite of the dragon, I am back in Dawnstar. I came home. But home is not here anymore. Where are you Ma? Where is Da? I found a stranger working the forge, and Redguard woman living in our home. They say the place was empty when they bought it, two years ago.

I went to Frida. She told me about what happened to Da. I don't know what to say, or what to think. I just cannot believe he is gone. I keep thinking, that while I was away playing soldier in Cyrodiil, he was dying in his bed, a sick old man. What was I thinking?

Now you are gone too. Vanished, Frida said. She said she was not surprised. She said you were like a ghost in the old house. She says you probably went off to one of the big cities to become a priestess. She would not say it, but I can tell she does not believe that. She thinks you are dead. Killed by a frost troll, or gods know what on the mountains. Or worse, by your own hand…

Why didn't you tell me? Write me a letter? Or leave me something so I would know where you were? Where are you Ma? Will I find your bones, frozen on a mountain, or under the sea? Or do you wear a yellow cloak now after all?

Why didn't you tell me?

-Hrafn, Dawnstar

Posted by: Grits Apr 23 2012, 01:06 AM

Oh, poor Hrafn! I was hoping her mom would leave a note this time. sad.gif


Jensa http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/JensaSummer-Song.jpg and Stenvar are taking a break in the Reach. OMG it is beautiful. Here’s what she says about it:

Stenvar and I are camped up in a hanging valley looking north toward Dragon Bridge. The trapper who lives here calls it Cliffside Retreat. I don’t know what she’s retreating from, but we’re sure on the side of a cliff.

At first I wasn’t sure about sleeping close to someone who wants to live so far from company. Often these folk are alone for a reason. Then she told us how her man got the brain rot so bad he knew it was going to be the end of him. He went off one day with just a skinning knife, and she never even found his bones. Now she has to find a good death, too, so she can see him again in Sovngarde. When she said that, I saw Stenvar get all misty. That man has a soft spot for romance stories. Anyway I guess she’s not going to cut our throats while we sleep. If she does and someone’s found this journal, her name is Freja. Feel free to murder her for me.

Freja told us where to find a deep pool to swim in, but first we had to catch the slaughterfish. I went in to wake the fish up so Stenvar could shoot them. We played in the falls for a while and then on the moss at the edge of the pool, and then we finished up with some more swimming. When we got hungry enough we climbed back up the rocks and grilled the slaughterfish for dinner. I saw a couple of good nests down there under the water. When those eggs hatch, there will be a whole lot more slaughterfish.

After dinner I asked Freja how she was coping with the dragons. She said they don’t bother her, but she’s having an awful time with the sabre cats. She can see from her porch how the dragons hunt elk in the valley. They eat a lot of them. So now the elk don’t need to come up as high to browse, and the sabre cats are moving lower to hunt. The farmers are losing cattle, too. Sometimes one cow is all that gets a family through the winter. Damned dragons. I guess if Alduin is bringing about the end of things, he’s not too bothered about balancing predators and prey.

Up here under just the sky I feel a peace inside me. Soon enough there will be another barrow to crawl through and walking bones to fight, but tomorrow I want to stay right here. We can climb back down to that pool and swim some more, as long as we have thistle stems to chew against the chill. I’m going to lie down on that moss again with Stenvar and hold him all day if he wants me to. Hells, if it rains we can roll in the mud. I saw him smile today with that old lightness about him. Every step we take brings us closer to sorrow, that’s the only way happy can end. Maybe we can stay still for just a little while.




.

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 23 2012, 06:55 PM

Grits: Yea, those sabercats are deadly. I don't have dragons in my game, but to me the sabercats are worse than trolls or bears. At least we can see trolls & bears from a distance. The problem with the cats is they tend to blend in, and they stand perfectly still until they know they can pounce. I usually don't see one until I"m almost right up on it! blink.gif

SubRosa: I love that perspective thing you always have going on in your story. You're good at keeping your character's perspective in the past. "Everything has changed" is a frequent theme.
.

Posted by: Grits Apr 24 2012, 12:03 AM

Jerric and Darnand spent a couple of days retrieving a sapling for Danica Pure-Spring. They had to admit that it was not what she asked for, but their way was better. She was a little disappointed at first. She got over it.

The Eldergleam Sanctuary is so pretty without the bloodbath. This is the first time that Maurice Jondrelle offered any of my characters a Plan B. Jerric plans to stop back there often, especially since the hot springs hunters’ camp is close by. That’s where they spent the night. The hunters didn’t mind sharing their tents. They apparently never get out of the water.

Jerric and Darnand are in the market for a house to rent. Must have an alchemy station. Jerric is tired of carrying his mushrooms and butterfly wings all over town to make potions. Also Darnand’s book collection is getting out of hand. Plus he gets annoyed when Jerric dumps a bunch of leather strips and ingots into the same chest with his scrolls. It would not do to bicker in front of the Companions. Breezehome is not available, since this is a no-dragons game. Has anyone taken over Drelas’ or Anise’s cabins?



Posted by: SubRosa Apr 24 2012, 01:09 AM

Lady Saga: Thanks Saga. I am trying to keep it all in character, as a journal. I am not used to writing first person, so it is good practice for me.

Grits: Isn't it nice to do the Eldergleam quest without being attacked by those Spriggans? If Maurice does not come all the way up to the tree, you have to go down to meet him. He will start the dialogue to do the sapling option then.



From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim182.jpg

I didn't get no rest my first night back Ma. Everyone I met was complaining about nightmares. I went to the inn to get a bed, and found a priest of Mara there. He wasn't tying Mara's knot for anyone. He said he was there to help with the nightmares. He said it was the doing of a Daedric Princess. He said he had a plan to stop it.

Did I mention he was an elf?

So I knew not to trust him to start with. You can always count on an elf to never tell the truth, at least not the whole truth. It turned out a Daedric Princess really was involved, and a lot of killing followed. Of course there were a few things the elf did not mention, like him being one of said Princesses clerics in the past. But in the end we sorted things out. Now the people of Dawnstar will rest easy.

Frida told me she lost her ring in a cave to the east, years ago. So naturally I said I'd find it for her. Who am I kidding? I am wondering if I going to find you somewhere along the way, lying dead on a mountainside. Thank the Nine it was not so. At least not this time.

I got Frida her ring back. Along the way I found a couple of adventurers outside of one of the barrows. They didn't seem to know what they were doing, so I tagged along while they went inside. They were pretty handy in a fight though. But in the end one of them turned on us. He was an Argonian, a mage. He said he was there for some artifact, and had to sacrifice one of us to make it work. Apparently he was planning to do it to his partner all along. Well, I didn't feel like being sacrificed, and now he's feeding the skeevers.

Once I was back, I went to talk to Skald the Elder. That old pile of horker dung has gotten uglier, stupider, and more ornery by the year. Are all Jarls this useless? He was arguing with Brina Merilis and her man Horik. Horik was walking around in his old legion armor. I felt like congratulating the old fool on still being able to pour himself into it. I doubt Skald can still fit into the same armor he was wearing twenty years ago…

Anyway, since Rustlief and Seren are living in our old house, and no one ever sold it, it was still legally mine. The two of them seemed like decent folk however, and did not want to throw them out on the street. Especially with a baby on the way. So I worked it out with Skald to take over staying at Groa's old place. That Witch has been dead since you were a little girl, and no one has ever come to claim her house. So I wouldn't be putting anyone else out. Besides, no one else wants to live there, cause they're afraid her spirit haunts the place. As long as she stays on her side of the bed, I don't give a horker's tusk.

-Hrafn, Dawnstar

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 24 2012, 01:53 AM

Really? I woulda not been able to guess you've not written in first person. You seem to be a pro.

QUOTE(Grits @ Apr 23 2012, 07:03 PM) *

Has anyone taken over Drelas’ or Anise’s cabins?


Not I. Where are they located?

Crystal Beth did come across a place near Falkreath (quest-related) called Pinewatch. She's become fed up with staying at the stupid room with no door, that she considered staying at Pinewatch. It's also a cabin....kinda near Falkreath. It would be convenient to stay there, and then go into town to sell wares, etc.

Problem is, it's got a respawning bandit in its basement! It also doesn't seem to have any safe locations to store loot. I'm not sure what containers are "safe" in Skyirm. Pinewatch only has drawers and a few food sacks. I know open-topped sacks are okay in Oblivion, but I don't know about Skyrim, though.

Bottom line: Beth decided not to stay there. It's just too much hassle. She even let the basement bandit live. biggrin.gif

But she does want to know of any safe cabins out there. She's got enough money to afford the house in Solitude now, but a simple cabin would be cool for a second home.
.

Posted by: Grits Apr 24 2012, 02:52 AM

I have used the Alchemist’s Shack near Ivarstead. It has an alchemy station and the endtable is safe. Plus it has a cute little garden. The interior respawns, so stuff you put on the shelves might move.

Lund’s Hut near Rorikstead has respawning skeevers and a surprise, but I believe that the chest and endtable are safe. I have used them for a short period. A necromancer would like that place. I’m not sure if you can actually use the bed.

Another idea is to move in with an NPC follower. Just take their key. I was going to do this with J’Shanji and Faendal, but he ended up buying Breezehome. Uthgerd would be perfect. She’s always at the Bannered Mare.

One place that Jerric and Darnand have crashed for the night is the workers’ house at Mixwater Mill. There are some chests, but I don’t know if they’re safe. It’s nice because there is more than one bed. Jerric enjoyed the abundant free mead.

Drelas’ Cottage is on the south edge of Hjaalmarch Hold tucked against those mountains. It’s near Hamvir’s Rest. I’m going to send the guys to Morthal to pick up an imaginary bounty on Drelas. He is a badass, it will be interesting to see how much they trash the cottage in the course of delivering the Jarl’s justice. I’ll report back with results. smile.gif

Posted by: Grits Apr 24 2012, 05:43 PM

Update:

Jerric and Darnand have evicted a few evil-doers for the benefit of Skyrim. They spent a moment after each battle reflecting on their options.


Outside Drelas’ Cottage

Jerric: This is a rare find. An empty cottage with a view like this. Just feel that air coming down from the mountains. Bracing! I could live here!

Darnand: Indeed, where else does it rain while it is snowing? *shakes water from robe, flicks ice from hood*

Jerric: Onward, then.


Outside Anise’s Cabin

Jerric: Kyne's breath, look at the lake! Let’s go swimming.

Darnand: Anything to get away from this dump. That witch lived like an animal!

Jerric: *splash*


So the house hunt continues. I think that my Altmer mage who is on the run from the Thalmor will move into Anise’s Cabin. You can sleep in the bed. Drelas’ Cottage is lovely, but you can’t sleep while you’re trespassing. Plus it’s a little far to the nearest tavern.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 25 2012, 01:03 AM

There's also the Riverside Shack next to the river in Eastmarch that flows from south to north. It is west of Kynesgrove, and a little south. Granted there is a bit of a mess (the former owner), and the critter that killed him...


From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim185.jpg

A Breton named Eirwen came in on one of the ships. I met her at the Windspeak, and we had a few mugs of mead together. She won't say why she left High Rock. I have a feeling she is on the run from the law there. Or from something else. Dawnstar is not exactly the place anyone pines to visit. But is just the city to disappear in.

I told her about passing by that old Dwemer ruin of Mzun, Mzin, Mzch… I cannot pronounce the cursed name! It is no wonder the gods destroyed them. Even their words were an affront to the natural order of things! Anyway, when I passed by it before I killed a few bandits camped outside, and found a letter to their chief about them recovering artifacts from inside. When I said artifacts, Eirwen's eyes lit up like it was Saturalia.

It's not that she cares about the Dwemer. It is the money I think. It looks like she left Daggerfall in a hurry. Since I am not one to look a coinpurse in the mouth, I said we might as well go there and see what we could find.

Turns out Eirwen's a mage. You wouldn't know it from the armor she wears, or the sword at her hip. Bretons, they are all that way I suppose. She's handy in a fight. On the way there I saw her put down a frostbite spider with one bolt of lightning. The two of us went through the bandits that were still there like a hot axe through cheese. The Dwemer metal-men were tougher though. They took a lot of pounding to smash apart. Especially this giant one we found at the end.

The loot was good though Ma. There was more then we could carry back in fact, and we carried quite a bit. Those Dwarf steel atronachs seem to run off of magicka gems. We took them all, since they are so small and easy to carry. When we got back to Dawnstar, I went to the Jarl's hall and borrowed the court mage's enchanter. She's another Breton by the way. Just got here a year ago I am told.

So I enchanted up a bunch of the loot we brought back, and we sold it all for a pretty septim. I was even able to magic up my axe with a shock enchantment. Eirwen's sword is already fire-magiced. But I am thinking I might be able to smith her a better blade myself, and then we could enchant that one. Maybe when we get more loot.

-Hrafn, Dawnstar

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 25 2012, 01:17 AM

Thanks for the replies.

You know what's rreally cool (to me) is that I'm not aware of a single one of those locations you've posted. That means there's still a LOT of game to explore. biggrin.gif

I am gonna do Dyami the Scout soon, too. He's definitely gonna be my main exporer. I haven't forgotten about him. But I wanted to get to a bookstore and find a Cherokee to English book. I actually want to use his language, here and there. I'm not sure yet where exactly he's from, though. He's physically from Cyrodiil, but is spirit might be from Earth. We''ll see.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 26 2012, 09:13 PM

From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim186.jpg

We headed south to Whiterun. I know a man there in the Companions who trains people in armor. I could stand to get better at taking hits, and have money in my pockets now. Eirwen just shrugged. She has no place better to go.

We found Fort Dunstad crawling with bandits. What happened to the garrison? Skald probably sent them all off to fight the Imperials and left the place empty is my guess. Damned idiot of a Jarl, all he thinks of is glory. Nevermind that the hold is going to Oblivion in a handbasket, with spiders roaming the forest, and bandits everywhere.

We fed the blood-swans a good meal, and when he headed south again, we were loaded down with bandit loot. We found a shrine to Talos on the way, and had to clear out a couple of ice wraiths before I could say my prayers to the Old Man. I hate those damned wraiths. Half the time I can't even see where they are against the snow.

We got to Whiterun, and spent some time in training. Eirwen and I met a priestess from the Temple of Kynareth, and agreed to help her revive her dead sacred tree. After facing down a Hagraven and her coterie, we were off to Eldergleam Sanctuary. A Breton priest who was also going there tagged along with us. It was a good thing I had cleared out Valtheim Towers beforehand, because we had to walk right past that old ruin along the way.

We had to dodge another bandit-held fort along the way. But we eventually got there. Quite an eye-opener that place was. I just cannot put words to Eldergleam. It is like all that is good and right in the world. The priest came in handy there, because he prayed to the tree, and it gave us a sapling to take back to Whiterun.

-Hrafn, Whiterun

Posted by: Lady Saga Apr 26 2012, 10:59 PM

I agree, Eldergleam is beautiful. Plus, it's also proof that not every TES quest involves battle, as some idiots like to argue.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 28 2012, 07:20 PM

From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim187.jpg

Eirwen and I met an old woman in Whiterun. Her son Thorald had been taken and imprisoned by the Thalmor, with the help of the Imperial Legion and a Nordic family in the city. The very idea made my blood boil. So the two of us made our way north to free him. The Thalmor prison was out in the middle of nowhere, along the coast west of Solitude. It was a long walk. But we got there in mood for a fight.

All that time while I was serving as a mercenary on the borders of Valenwood and Elsweyr, I saw nothing but Bosmer bushwhackers and Khajiit raiders. Never once did I have the chance to fight the real enemy. The one we have always itched to get at since that coward of an Emperor signed the White Gold Concordant. The High Elves. Well Ma, there are about sixteen High Elves who not feeling so high and mighty now.

Now they feed the ravens.

We got out of there with Thorald, and half a dozen other Nords taken prisoner by the damned goldenrods. The cursed elves had been working them over in their torture room. Trying to make them renounce Talos no doubt. Thanks to Eirwen, and the guidance of Talos himself, we put a stop to that!

Thorald headed to Windhelm afterward. He could not go back to Whiterun. That was where he was kidnapped from to begin with after all. Jarl Balgruuf may not have openly declared himself for the Imperials, but it was plain that was who he was with. He just did not have the guts to come out and say it, and defy Ulfric. A damned coward is what he is. A real Nord fights his battles, rather than hide behind false diplomacy.

-Hrafn, Whiterun Hold

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 29 2012, 07:10 AM

Exellent stuff, all of you!!...

Subrosa, I just did that "Flatten the Thalmor" quest...Oooh, I loves that one!!... biggrin.gif ...Ker, and indeed, -chiing!!...

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 29 2012, 08:33 PM

Wonder how those Thalmor feel now that they've been taken down a notch huh? wink.gif

From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim119.jpg

Remember Frostflow Lighthouse? I found that some Redguard family had moved in there. I met their corpses when I went there looking for you. Something had risen up from depths and taken them. Some horror of the ancient world, whose remnant still lurked in the sightless depths where the sun's rays have never touched. Falmer, I thought they were something you and Da had made up to scare me. But they are real, real enough to murder innocents, and real enough for my axe to split apart. Even worse were the insects they had. There was one down there bigger than four horses put together. It must have been the momma. Well, she won't be making any more baby bugs anymore, thank Talos.

I went there looking for you Ma, just in case someone there had seen you. I've been looking for weeks, and I still have not found you. I tell myself that is a good thing, because it means you must still be out there, somewhere. But I think it's time I stopped looking. For now at least. I think if Mara wants me to find you, I will. If not, then I won't.

I've got something to do that I've been putting off since I met Ralof. Something that the damned Thalmor made plain to me.

It's time to go to Windhelm. Time to join the Stormcloaks.

-Hrafn, The Pale

Posted by: Andrea May 1 2012, 03:52 PM

Jessika and Brelyna had a rather eventful couple of days when I rejoined their travels last night!

After they had made their way back to the College to give Urag his books, he asked them to retrieve another book for him down in a cave to the south of Winterhold called Darkshade.

Once they made it to Darkshade, however, they discovered it was inhabited by four powerful trolls. After a lengthy and dangerous battle with the trolls, they managed to overwhelm them and retrieve 'Glories and Laments' for Urag. The battle was hard, and resulted in many serious injuries, so the girls decided to stay the night in an abandoned tower nearby.

The next day they returned to the college, sharing their story with Urag. Urag seemed uncaring of their ordeal and asked the girls to retrieve another book for him in a cave near Solitude.

They spent the next few days in the college before deciding to set out for the book.

Whilst heading to Solitude they took a pit stop to Frostflow lighthouse, where Brel's friend Sudi lives.

However, as they approached the lighthouse they saw that Sudi's horse was dead outside. Panicking about her friend, Brel ran indoors without a moment's pause. once inside they discovered that the place and been trashed and Sudi's mother was dead, killed by a Chaurus. They followed clues which led them to a cavern in the basement. Apparently Sudi had been hearing noises in the basement, and went to investigate. When she hadn't returned her father, Habd went to find her, followed soon after by Sudi's brother Muri. Unfortunatley all three had been killed, much to Brel's devestation. She insisted that they rid the basement cavern of any remaining Falmer Chaurus, of which they were successful, but not without struggle.

Once they killed the final Chaurus, which was MUCH larger than it's minions, they found Habd's remains and returned to the lighthouse.

Out of respect Jess decided to put the remains in the lighthouse fire in mermorium to the family that had died.

Posted by: SubRosa May 1 2012, 04:25 PM

That Urag sounds like a pain in the rear! I say let him fetch his own books!

I remember Frostflow Lighthouse. That was creepy, with what happened to the family living there. Not to mention a seriously tough dungeon crawl, unless you were pretty high level.

Posted by: Andrea May 1 2012, 04:34 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ May 1 2012, 04:25 PM) *

That Urag sounds like a pain in the rear! I say let him fetch his own books!

I remember Frostflow Lighthouse. That was creepy, with what happened to the family living there. Not to mention a seriously tough dungeon crawl, unless you were pretty high level.


Haha I completley agree! It took almost an in-game day to kill the trolls, with so many near misses when it came to the taking of Jess's life! But Jess loves helping out and Brel loves learning through seeing so they will continue... hopefully one day they will earn the orc's respect.

Frostflow was so difficult (Jess is currently level 8 on Novice, and it was STILL difficult! haha). I love the story that is told through the use of the journals. But the only thing that bother's Jess is what Sudi's bloody note said. All i can make out is 'dagger' at the end :/

Posted by: Lady Saga May 1 2012, 11:30 PM

Andrea, so glad you could join us! smile.gif

QUOTE(SubRosa @ May 1 2012, 11:25 AM) *

That Urag sounds like a pain in the rear! I say let him fetch his own books!


He's one of the few orcs I've found myself coming to like, actually. He just seems so authentic as an orc. I find myself taking him seriously without wanting to blow him up! It's like he's got a way or a style about him or something. He doesn't take any compassion, yet both my characters who've had to deal with him so far (Claire and Beth) have become addicted to fetching books for him.


...and all of this is coming from a typical orc-hater, so that's saying something. Part of it is the fact that in a medievally-inspired world, books are taken seriously by those who know how to read them. And this orc is VERY serious about his books.

Posted by: Grits May 2 2012, 05:06 PM

Housing update:

Nathanil my exiled Imperial sympathizer Altmer has moved out of Breezehome and into Anise’s cabin. It looks uninhabited enough to help him hide from the Thalmor, and he can do his cooking right down the road in Riverwood. He has his food stashed at Hod’s house and his few smithing supplies in a barrel outside Alvor’s. If his stuff gets stolen (barrel respawns), tough luck for Nathanil. He’s a lot more fun now that his game reflects his character better.

Jerric and Darnand have rented a very nice cottage from Uthgerd the Unbroken after Jerric beat her silly in a tavern brawl. He asked her to follow him long enough to swap her key for 500 septims rent. Their expensive stuff is marked red in the containers, but nothing has been tagged as stolen when retrieved. She has a very nice house. Plenty of storage to organize all of their stuff, plus a big desk with storage for Darnand. They still have to walk all over town for smithing, enchanting, cooking, and alchemy, but that’s how it goes sometimes when you’re renting. smile.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga May 2 2012, 07:04 PM

Heh, so I'm not the only one dealing with house issues. smile.gif

I'm not getting why containers do that, though. Like my CHARACTER puts HER money in a chest. Comes back later, and the gold is now listed as red. WTF? It's her gold, man!

A s much as I enjoy stashing gold (rather than having to RP why it's always on our character's person, ala Oblivion) it gets to be annoying sometimes when a "withdrawal" is needed to be made.

:facepalm:

Posted by: SubRosa May 2 2012, 07:24 PM

I think it is because the chest is owned. So then whatever is inside the chest becomes owned.

Posted by: Grits May 2 2012, 10:23 PM

I think you’re right. The stuff they put in the house becomes Uthgerd’s, and the stuff that she would not give as a gift (expensive) turns red. Luckily she’s never home, so she won’t catch them “stealing” their stuff. The way it works for J’Shanji and Faendal is for J’Shanji to keep him as a follower.

In other Skyrim news, Jerric made friends with some orcs by beating the snot out of their chief, go figure. He had their smith make him some http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/SteelPlate.jpg. Now he’s getting a lot of compliments from the guards. He also got a letter from Calcelmo asking him to come to Markarth and sell him the Dwarven artifact that he just purchased in Whiterun. Seriously? The last time they were in Markarth, Calcelmo was not polite. He’s probably ticked that the guys have not yet swatted the big spider like he asked them to. Right now they’re about to go underground in search of Mjoll’s sword. She was nice to them. Calcelmo gets to wait.


Posted by: Lady Saga May 3 2012, 01:25 AM

Very cool, Grits!

Posted by: SubRosa May 3 2012, 11:54 PM

From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim114.jpg

I joined the Stormcloaks Ma. I think it's what Da would have wanted. I don't know if you would approve or not. But I know it is something I have to do. Skyrim cannot go on serving an Empire that licks the boots of the damned Thalmor. We Nords have to fight for our country, and our gods.

There is a shrine of Talos right across the river from Windhelm. I stopped there to pay my respects to the old man, and think a while. When I was done, I was more sure than ever that what I was doing was not only right, but necessary.

I saw Jarl Ulfric in the palace when I went to join up. He even spoke to me briefly. Ulfric remembered me from Helgen. Ralof had told him how we had fought out way out of Helgen after the dragon appeared. That was good enough for the Jarl. He sent me out on a mission right away.

I have to admit that hearing Ralof's name made my heart beat a little faster. Would I be seeing him again soon? Only time will tell.

The mission was a plan by Ulfric's right hand - Galmar Stone-Fist. Galmar is an old warrior, who fought in the Great War alongside Ulfric. He had learned where the Jagged Crown was buried. We were going to get it back. Yes, you read that right, The Jagged Crown. The one the High Kings wore in the days of old. He said it was buried with one of the old kings, Harald I think. Not that it matters who anymore, he's just bones now.

We got there, but found the Imperials had got there ahead of us. We had to fight our way through. They fell easily enough before us. We Stormcloaks fight for our gods, and our freedom. What do the Imperials fight for? Greed? The Thalmor? They could not stand against us.

Did I forget to tell you? Ralof was with us! I have to admit, that I wanted to kiss him, and perhaps a little more. But there were other soldiers all around. He said that he remembered me, but did not say much else. I am not sure if it was because of everyone else standing there. Or if there is someone else? Or does he just not see me the way I see him? Oh gods Ma, this is so confusing.

After the Imperials, we had to chop our way through draugr. But they all fell before us. Galmar turned out to be right. The crown was there. He gave it to me to carry back to Windhelm, and deliver personally to Jarl Ulfric. I wish I could have stayed, and maybe found some time alone with Ralof. But I have to admit, carrying the ancient crown of the jarls was a great honor. I tried it on during the journey back, when no one could see. It did not fit though. I suppose that means I was not meant to be a High Queen!

-Hrafn, the road to Windhelm

Posted by: Andrea May 4 2012, 12:12 AM

Wow SubRosa, that shot of Hrafn is absoloutly GORGEOUS!

I loved the stormcloak questline when I played it, and my character at the time was also pleased that he was working with Ralof. He'd always had a little crush on him.

Ralof, obviously, did not feel the same. But Joshua was cool with that tongue.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga May 4 2012, 06:53 PM

Nice update on Hrafera...Hrafangl....sorry. Hrafngoelir. There, that's her! That's a tough one to spell. Anyways, nice update. This last journal is making me hungry for some Civil War action.

I'm about to start the Stormcloak Civil War questline, since I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be able to start my Son of Talos Stormcloak dude this weekend. I've decided he will be a DiD character. If he dies, I'll just start Son of Talos II, Son of Talos III, and so on. I might even start from after the Tutorial if it gets to that point, that way I won't have to do it over and over.

Posted by: Grits May 5 2012, 08:18 PM

Jerric had an interesting day with Darnand (aka “Mayhem” Marcurio). The only spoiler concerns J’zargo’s scrolls.

First thing I should mention, they walked from Whiterun to Riften without one single hostile animal encounter. This worries me. I wonder if something is amiss in their game. If animals don’t respawn, it’s going to be a very empty world.

Second, they found a stray dog! Ulfe!! biggrin.gif It is pretty much impossible to get a Nord, a dog, and an irritable mage to pose for a picture, but http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/Ulfe-1.jpg. Now if only they could find a wood elf and a saucy healer, my Skyrim dreams would be complete! tongue.gif

Finally, there was an incident with an assassin. Jerric managed to kill him while putting only one ice spike through the dog (she is very forgiving). He picked up the fallen sword and dagger at the same moment that Darnand’s lightning bolt sent the body flying. Sigh. An instant later there was a huge ruckus from the bushes where Darnand had strategically positioned himself for the battle. Storm atronach, and it was right next to Darnand! And Jerric was now over encumbered and out of magicka! He immediately dumped a bunch of looted weapons in the road and raced to support Darnand with shield bash and blade. I have the HUD opacity turned way down, so between the bushes, the atronach smoke, someone’s exploding fire spell, searching for whatever astonishingly powerful enemy conjured the atronach, and trying not to stab the dog, I couldn’t read any of those messages that let you know what’s going on.

Like the message that probably said “Marcurio’s Storm Atronach” while Jerric was killing it. Yeah. After we figured out there were no more enemies and they regrouped back in the road, we began to get an idea what had happened. Jerric had given Darnand a bunch of stuff to carry, like their alchemy ingredients, soul gems, and all of their scrolls. Including J’zargo’s Flame Cloaks and their precious Summon Storm Atronach scroll. A glance into Darnand’s pack told the tale. He had used one of J’zargo’s scrolls. And the atronach one. After the assassin was dead.

Also the explosion from J’zargo’s scroll blew the loot Jerric had dropped all over the place and into the bushes. He found one iron dagger. Dammit!

But at least this time no one killed the dog.


Posted by: King Coin May 6 2012, 04:00 AM

QUOTE(Grits @ May 5 2012, 02:18 PM) *

<snip>

Sounds like it's time to use the power of Akatosh and reload the previous save.

Posted by: Andrea May 8 2012, 02:29 PM

As Jessika has decided to go back to Cyrodiil, I have recently been my origional; companion in Skyrim, Joshua Lennox. Joshua is half Redguard, half Breton and he is a self names 'Marcher' (mage/archer). He is 18 years old (although the game insist's he looks about 30. Haha).

Joshua's back story is interesting and heartbreaking at times, I find it hard not to let my emotions for him get the better of me.

Joshua was shunned and disowned by his family (apart from his brother) when he told them about his preferance for men over women. Ever since then he has been on a journey to Skyrim to live with his aunt, who was the first person he told about his sexuality and treated him no different. I plan to write letters following his story that he will write to his brother recaping the events of his week. The first of these letters is below:



Dear Brother,

I made it too Skyrim just like I told you I would! It is beautiful here, but it is very cold. A bit too cold if you ask me.

You will never believe what I had to endure once I got here! I tried crossing the border, but I was captured along with a bunch of rebels called the Stormcloaks by some Imperials. Me? Mistaken for a rebel? Can you believe it!

I’m not sure exactly why we were captured; I was too scared to ask. All I know is that just as I was due for a close shave, a DRAGON attacked the village we were taken too! It was so cool! But extremely scary. The Stormcloak guys tried helping me escape, but they practically just threw me in the dragons way. They were probably hoping the Dragon would kill me and buy them time to escape, I don’t know. I don’t trust them.

Anyways I managed to escape the village with an Imperial soldier who then took me to this nice little village called Riverwood. The soldier invited me to stay with him and his family for a while, but I said no. Mainly just because I want to get to Auntie’s house as soon as possible. Before I left, however, the soldiers uncle asked me to go to the city of Whiterun and let the Jarl know about the dragon and to send troops to protect Riverwood.

So I headed to Whiterun and did just that. The Jarl’s housecarl was scary though. As soon as I entered the palace she started to chase me with a sword. Crazy.

Any who, once I did that I headed to the local Inn called The Bannered Mare. Did I have a peaceful evening? What do you think? Literally as soon as I sat down this Nord woman approached me, asking if I had a problem with her. No matter how many times I told her no she refused to believe me. She said I was looking at her funny. Eventually we settled our dispute with a good brawl (I knew all those fights back at home would come in handy). I managed to beat her, and she told me she was impressed with my skill. She also said that should I ever need a blade, she would join me on any journey.

I told Uthgerd, that was her name, of my plan to head to my aunt’s near Winterhold and she told me that seeing as she had some business in Winterhold that she had been putting off, now would be a perfect opportunity.

So now I'm heading to Winterhold with Uthgerd, but I’ll write to you again soon.

Joshua

Posted by: Lady Saga May 8 2012, 06:24 PM

hamster* YEA! Damn right, Andrea!!! I especially loved the part with the dark elf who protects the Jarl comes up to him! First time that happened to me, I got some serious goosebumps!

*rhymes with a popular aquatic waterfowl-type. wink.gif

Posted by: Andrea May 9 2012, 11:45 AM

Joshua Lennox letter #2

Dear Brother,

I have horrible news. Horrible, horrible news. I made it to Winterhold with Uthgerd and the journey was less than pleasant. We were attacked by a group of bandits that were posing as Imperial Soldiers asking for a fine of some sort. If it wasn’t for Uthgerd realising they were frauds I would have given them all my money. Luckily we managed to defeat them before any real damage was done.

Then as we continued we came across a couple of thieves looting the dead body of a Breton woman. We managed to defeat them. Uthgerd found a letter on the woman saying that the thieves stole a pendant from her and she was going to chase them down to get it back, but she failed. We thought it best to retrieve the amulet from the thief and place it on the woman out of respect.

We stopped to rest at a city called Windhelm. I don’t like that city. It’s racist and disgusting; they probably would kill me if they found out my secret.

Anyway we made it to Winterhold the next day and then headed right to Auntie’s lighthouse. Once we got there however things seemed pretty odd.

Cousin Sudi’s horse was dead outside, so we ran inside the lighthouse to see what was happening. That’s when I found aunt Ramati dead, the house trashed and blood was everywhere. Sudi and Mani were nowhere to be seen. There was a giant bug dead near Aunt Ramati’s body, which Uthgerd informed me was a Chaurus. We sound Sudi’s journal, and apparently the Chaurus came in through the basement.

We found the basement key and delved into the cavern below the lighthouse, apparently created but the Chaurus.

The cavern was filled with Chaurus and these weird, blind, elf things. We found Mani and Sudi dead in the cavern; Sudi appeared to have killed herself. We didn’t find uncle Habd until we reached the end of the cavern where we had to kill a super sized Chaurus. All that was left of Uncle was inside the beasts mouth; his head.

Uthgerd and I put the head in the lighthouse fire out of respect.

I don’t know what I’m going to do now. Ramati was my only hope for a stable home life, and now she and everyone are gone. I’m trying not to cry, she wouldn’t want that. I’ve avenged her death and that’s all I can do.

It would probably be best not to tell mother, as they are not on speaking terms and it will probably distress her. Should you need to tell her then go ahead; but until you do, don’t.

I’m at an inn in Winterhold as I write this. I have no idea what I’m going to do now. No idea at all.

I’ll write to you again very soon.

Joshua

Posted by: Lady Saga May 9 2012, 03:23 PM

There's a lighthouse in Winterhold? I'm wondering if I've missed it somehow. Or is that RP'd in?

Posted by: Andrea May 9 2012, 03:44 PM

the lighthouse is far west of Winterhold, between that and Dawnstar

Posted by: SubRosa May 9 2012, 10:23 PM

Ouch! poor Josh. That lighthouse was a real gut-wrencher the first time. It felt so good to go down in those tunnels and go on a killing spree among the Falmer and Chaurus'.


From the journal of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim093.jpg

Ulfric was surprised to see the helm. I think he lost a bet with Galmar. But he was glad nonetheless. This will help prove that he is the rightful High King, once a Moot can be called to make a vote. We will have to drive the Imperials out before that can happen though, since they will never allow us Nords to choose our own rulers, not when those rulers stand up against the Thalmor.

Since I was there, Ulfric sent me on another mission right away. He gave me his axe, to deliver to Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun. He was forcing Balgruuf to choose a side. The sly old snake has been playing off both sides until now, not declaring for one or the other. But no more, now we would see where his heart really lay: with Skyrim, or with the Empire.

I was not surprised when he turned me away, with the axe. I overheard his steward talking about cartloads of Imperial gold delivered to them, and calling for aid from General Tullius. I remember that fetcher. He was there at Helgen, when they tried to lop my noggin off. That Balgruuf would sooner have Tullius' gold then Skyrim's freedom was what I expected after what he said the first time I met him, that it was none of his business who the Imperials chose to execute. He doesn't give a damn about Skyrim, just his treasure chest.

As I left the city, I had a strange feeling. Everything seemed so quiet and peaceful, as people went about their business as if it were any other day. They did not hear the ravens croaking their doom. For I knew I would be returning soon, with the Stormcloak army. It makes me sad that the common people will have to suffer because of their Jarl's greed and selfishness. But if they fight for him, and his filthy Empire, then they have chosen their wyrd.

-Hrafn, on the road to Windhelm.

Posted by: Lady Saga May 10 2012, 12:12 AM

I'm posting this next update here in Cheats, Hints, & Spoilers, because it kinda does have some spoilers.

Morndas, 8:59 am, 4th of First Seed....

Crystal Beth went to see the steward in the Blue Palace, and was surprised to be named "Thane" after a momentary discussion with Jarl Elisif herself! She had merely come to the Blue Palace to see about buying upgrades for her home, but did not expect this.

When she gets home, she's surprised (I was surprised! ) to see an immediate guest is sitting in the front room.

"Who are you?"

"Honor to you, my Thane."

"Thane? You are here because I am now a Thane of Elisif?

"The Jarl has recogized you as a person of interest in the hold. A hero!..." she informs.

After a long conversation, Beth gets to know her new guest. Her name is Jordis the Sword Maiden. She's carrying a sword, wears armor, and has a big steel shield!

* I waited 24 hours while Beth and Jordis got to know one another

Beth is supposed to be off to Windhelm, and then Winterhold. She is not sure if she is to bring Jordis along with her. After a night of blissfull sleep, she decides firmly: Jordis is pleasing to talk to, but would make a better guard than a companion on the road.

That is it then. While Beth is off in Skyrim, adventuring about, she'll have the full pleasure of knowing her home, Proudspire Manor, is being safely watched over by her new housecarl. There's something pleasing about this.

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Posted by: McBadgere May 10 2012, 12:56 PM

The brothers J'z renewed their aquaintance with the MQ by heading to Utengrav (Usten?) after The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller...As you do...

'Zirlo - "Have at you, skeletal fiend! Take that dratted dragur!!"

'Zargo - "That is so amateur dramatics you know?"

'Zirlo - "Shut up! Idiot!"

'Zargo - "Oh yeah, that told me. Take a nap, naughty necromancer!"

'Zirlo - "?!!"...


Posted by: Andrea May 11 2012, 04:28 PM


Joshua Lennox Letter #3

Dear Brother

What an eventful few days I have had! They started with me in a pit of misery over Aunt Ramiti’s family’s deaths. I was also upset about the fact that now I have no place in the world. I have no family or any friends in Skyrim to turn to.

So instead of the meaning of my life to find me, I decided to try and find it. First Uthgerd left my company to do business with the owner of the general goods store. It’s a shame our journey ended so soon, but eh, whatchagonnado.

Before leaving my side she suggested that I try enrolling in the Mages College that is in Winterhold. She’d noticed how talented I was in the arts of illusion and destruction and she thought it would be a great opportunity for me. So I took her advice.

I headed to the college and was met at the gate by an Altmer named Faralda. She insisted I cast a healing spell to prove that I was worthy of entry, which I found odd seeing as my forte is Illusion/destruction. Anywho I performed her test and she led me into the college.

After a quick induction my the master wizard called Mirabelle (you’d like her. She’s just your type) I was sent to my first lesson.

I entered the lesson to hear arguing between the other students and Tolfdir, the teacher. The students wanted to do something practical so Tolfdir taught us about wards.

After the lesson Tolfdir asked us to meet him at these ancient ruins called Saarthal to do some excavating for magical widgets, I don’t know.

I walked to Saarthal with this gorgeous nord named Onmund, who was absolutely GORGEOUS! By the nine was he gorgeous.

Anywho we made it to Saarthal and once inside Tolfdir and I managed to find this HUUUUUGE floating orb thing! Oh, but before that I blew up a wall and got visited by an apparition and fought off some zombies in armour. But yeah, the orb.

After finding the orb I had to return to the Arch Mage and tell him what i found, which I did. After that I returned to my quarters, where the other students had arrived. Me and Onmund spoke about the Orb and everything else we found. But I wasn’t really listening. He was just too gorgeous. And his body...

SORRY! You probably don’t want to hear about all this. I’ll stop.

Anywho I’ve got to go as me and the others are going to practice some spells, but I will write to you again soon, Kay?

Joshua

Posted by: Grits May 16 2012, 04:40 PM

The Bulsakh continues to be tons of fun. Here’s a picture of him and his buddy Erik the Slayer. http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/DandErik.jpg. Big D is wearing the necklace Sylgja gave him. He has one that boosts his light armor skill, but he still wears Sylgja’s. Of course he also had one that would give him more money back on every trade, but he sold it.

The Bulsakh has been given the Sanguine Rose. He had to deal with his ex-girlfriend again, but this time it was worth it. Erik the Slayer provided a surprise during the last part of that adventure. He raised a dead necromancer to fight with the D team. I’m not sure if the necromancer raised one of his own buddies, but there was a lot of blue smoke and groaning going on. Erik had a Staff of Zombies in his loot bag, and I guess he decided that a dead necromancer was too much of a temptation. The Bulsakh missed out on the irony, but I had a giggle over it. He’ll probably give the Rose to Erik, if he thinks of it. Otherwise it will just be another walking stick.

On the way out of Riften to deliver dead gunk to some orcs, we had a little excitement. A dragon attacked right by Snow-Shod Farm. Some Riften guards got involved. This dragon liked to land and snap at people, so there was a lot of running and shooting through the trees. At one point it looked like the dragon had a guard cornered under one of those dirt ledges. Big D sprinted to the rescue only to discover that the guard was actually a pissed-off troll. Slightly on fire. With another troll up on the ledge behind it. The dragon took off for another circle, and the Bulsakh did some backpedaling through the trees followed by angry trolls. Right into the triple frostbite spider fight that had broken out with the actual guards and Erik. Outstanding. I love the Rift!

That fight really stirred the blood. Afterward the Bulsakh was in no mood to deal with a bunch of backwoods hick orcs (like himself), so he turned around and headed for Shor’s Stone. Wearing Sylgja’s gift necklace, of course. He has a butterfly in a jar he wants to give her.

Posted by: Lady Saga May 16 2012, 07:01 PM

Cool stories, Grits and Andrea. Grits, taht pic you posted almost looks "real!" Andrea: I'm wondering which NPC you're talking about. Whoever it is, Crystal Beth apparently didn't find him to be attractive! wink.gif Beth is a Wood Elf, though. She doesn't go for Nords. Or humans, actually.

Lol: "The D Team!" laugh.gif

Posted by: SubRosa May 16 2012, 08:06 PM

Let's see, a dragon, trolls, spiders, guards, and Erik, all at once? You have the weirdest games!

Posted by: Grits May 16 2012, 10:38 PM

OK, there's more. I had a very lazy day. Also I forgot to mention in the last update, the Snow-Shod Farm battle also included the Snow-Shod farmers! I should ask D to go back and check if any of them made it. ohmy.gif



First, Duralekh's trip to Shor’s Stone went very well. He broke into Sylgja’s house to leave the pet butterfly for her, and surprise, she was home and delighted to see him. I mean, what’s a little B&E between friends? That led to a few happy hours in her bed. When he woke up she was gone, but Erik the Slayer was still standing there. That’s when he remembered that he had forgotten to ask Erik to wait outside. Oops.

Now, there is an expression that one should not buy the cow if one is already receiving free milk. Despite Big D’s willingness to put out, sweet Sylgja still wanted to make an honest man of him. Best to skip the milk-drinker joke, I think. Anyway, the Bulsakh headed straight to Whiterun to invite his friends to the wedding, pick up all of his cabbages from Uthgerd’s house, and rub Ysolda’s nose in it.

Back in Riften he put on his wedding attire (Sylgja’s necklace, fur kilt, and the hat that Ulfberth and Adrianne gave him) and headed over to the Temple of Mara. Here’s a picture of Big D going, WTF? http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/WTF.jpg. It seems that he was a little early. The next morning everyone showed up as expected. Whew. Here's a picture of D and Sylgja's wedding. http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/BigDsWedding.jpg.

After the honeymoon (sorry you had to see that, Erik), Big D walked outside to greet the day. And a dragon. While he was running up and down the road trying to draw it away from Shor’s Stone, he had a thought. He never got around to completing that contract to kill the dragon at Northwind Summit. And Northwind Summit was… right up there. Dammit!

Cue extended period of scrambling over rocks trying to get up to Northwind Summit in the hope of luring the dragon to its lair while fighting off various trolls and wolves in the area. (I always forget about the easy way to get there until AFTER the climb.) When he finally got to the top of this knife-edge ridge, there was a big whoosh and he was blinded by fire. OK, so this one is a fire dragon. Since he couldn’t move while the fire was in his eyes for fear of falling off the cliff, he took a moment to put on his Boots of the Chill Sakh (40% resist fire, Twin Moons bless those Khajiit!) and scarf down a few legs of roasted goat. whistling.gif

As he hopped down over the edge he heard the dragon cry way off behind him at the same time he took another face full of fire. What the—two dragons. He managed to lead the Shor Stone dragon up to the Northwind Summit one. Nice.

I should mention that this was my first time with two dragons. It was awesome! D used up most of his arrow and poison collections, but he still had some healing potions at the end. Erik showed up eventually by some miracle, and he used the staff to get his Caitiff in the fight. Here is a picture of them at the end. http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/TwoDragons.jpg. D is saying, “Holy fetching dreck! Did that just happen?” Erik is saying, “You know, I thought I would miss farming…” Love that kid.

And there’s more. After the fellows unloaded their tons of dragon bone and got paid in Riften, they headed back out to the orcs. Erik is developing quite a soul gem habit, as he is now an enthusiastic staff wielder. There was another tussle at the stronghold gates, which was surprising. After the big one went down, Duralekh realized that Erik and the Caitiff were still engaged with unknown enemies. He topped a small rise in time to witness the two of them battling hostile goats.

They must have missed one, because later inside the stronghold during a rather important speech, Erik whirled around, summoned his dremora, and went haring off to slaughter another goat. We could hear the KABOOM, cursing, and maaaaaaah over what the very important entity was saying. Big D still got tasked with some orc business, though. That’s next on the plan, after he checks back in at home with Sylgja.

A final note. One day of married life has made a real change in the Bulsakh. He seems to have developed a fear of spiders. Or more specifically, a fear that his bride will be eaten by spiders. I foresee many quick stops for a loving chat, a quick scan of the mine, and if he’s lucky a taste of Sylgja’s homemade pie.






Posted by: Lady Saga May 17 2012, 12:59 PM

SubRosa: maybe it's because you're more focused on writing stories? And you haven't really gotten into the meat of exploring/road encounters yet? I'm just guessing, I guess.

Grits: more coolness! I'm glad somebody is writing here, since I've been slacking these past few days. Actually, that's not true. It's been sunny here lately, and that means I don't game. I've also had some real-life things going on. Anyways, glad somebody's still carrying the torch.

Posted by: SubRosa May 17 2012, 06:04 PM

Hilarious as always Grits. I never have those kinds of things happen, because I play more cautiously, and take my time moving from one area to the next. For example, I would have never ran up to Northwind Summit when I already had a dragon to deal with. I would have fought that dragon, then went up there after killing it. And of course fought off all the wildlife one at a time as well.

Also I guess I am just lucky, because goats have never attacked me. I wonder what Erik was doing to those goats that got them so riled up? wink.gif ohmy.gif

Posted by: Grits May 18 2012, 01:13 PM

I have been sick as a dog for a couple of days, so plenty of unproductive time on this end. The other night I woke up from a fever too sick to play Skyrim!! ohmy.gif But today I’m only miserable, so I must be on the mend.

Rosa, I think you’re exactly right. Dragon fights span large areas and encourage spontaneous behavior from my frantic characters (and their demented followers). Except for Allek. As long as Marcurio is safe at home, he just turns invisible and slips away. I wonder if those goats were somehow allied with the giant? Otherwise Erik the Ex-Farmboy might get a new nickname! laugh.gif



The Bulsakh and Erik the Slayer are on their way to Mzinchaleft. They passed a lighthouse and went in to get warm.

Now, on his own Big D would never have stepped a second foot inside when greeted with such a scene. He is also not the type to read people’s letters and personal journals. Erik the Curious is, however. When he learned that there were missing family members possibly still alive, D was in for the adventure.

Of course it just got more tragic at every turn, but the D team prevailed. Until that point of no return, where the Bulsakh found himself alone.

He reached the nest. By then it was easy to see that he would be quickly killed if he used his usual stride-in-and-smash-em approach. Instead he hung back, sniping until he was nearly out of arrows. He has gotten some archery practice in with the dragons, but he is still a beginner. He had to finish down in the water with his axes, but by then there were only two of them left. One was the big one. It was tough, but he made it.

Walking up the ramp after that fight was just pure relief. Big D put the old sailor to rest and spent a moment enjoying the sun again. (It was snowing when they got there.) For the first time, he had some thoughts about his own small family. Just him and Sylgja. If he gave her children, they would be Nords. There was no chance they would live out their lives for the good of some stronghold. That relieved a worry he didn’t know he had.

But for the immediate future, he needs to restock on arrows and healing potions. Whatever took out Mjoll the Lioness in her prime must be a formidable enemy. It would be foolish to go in unprepared.

Oh, about the big hammer that appeared at the end of his previous adventure: he left it right there on the shrine.

Posted by: SubRosa May 18 2012, 02:37 PM

Team D takes down the Big Mamma Chaurus! Frost Flow Lighthouse is not for the faint-hearted (or low level) character. That is always one tough crawl, thanks to those poison spits the bugs have.

Posted by: Grits May 19 2012, 02:37 AM

The Bulsakh and Erik made it through their trial by steam in the Dwemer ruin. I was very, very nervous about the big shiny guy at the end. D was well prepared with vegetable soup and his last homecooked meal from Sylgja. The fight was fast and furious, and very loud. Erik’s dremora caitiff has a real mouth on him. It was a little worrisome at first when I noticed that Erik joined the battle by plinking the monster with an arrow, but he got with the program as soon as D took his first serious hit.

The closest call we had in that whole adventure was earlier against a gloomlurker. Damn he was tough. It did not help that D had two ice spikes sticking through him already from Erik fumbling with staves. Big D ended up running around a fountain healing himself while the summoned dremora cleaned up. Not his finest moment, but he lived.

Erik had some nice conversational offerings throughout. My favorite was when the two of them were viewing a defunct centurion early on in the ruin, and Erik remarked, “The stories don’t say why the Dwemer disappeared. I wonder if their machines turned on them.” blink.gif

The fellows are heading up to Solitude for a rest and possibly a ride most of the way back to Shor’s Stone. The Bulsakh is usually not one for carriages, but he is worn out and missing his lady. He’s also not much of a looter, but he does have a few little gifts for Sylgja. Some glowy things from the ruin (chaurus eggs) and some nice blue flowers from Hjaalmarch (deathbell). He’s sure that will put her in the mood for love. (Big D only gets sweet Comfort about half of the time. Plus Sylgja won’t always cook for him. She’s probably buggy, but maybe she’s just tired from working in the mine.)

Posted by: Lady Saga May 19 2012, 12:28 PM

QUOTE(Grits @ May 18 2012, 08:13 AM) *

I have been sick as a dog for a couple of days, so plenty of unproductive time on this end. The other night I woke up from a fever too sick to play Skyrim!! ohmy.gif But today I’m only miserable, so I must be on the mend.


I like when I get sick. smile.gif One of the perks is I get to possibly stay home legitimately and game to my heart's content! tongue.gif Must suck to be too sick to game, though.

It seems the older I get, my immune system keeps getting better or something, though. I rarely get sick.

Posted by: Andrea May 21 2012, 01:43 PM

Sorry I've been away for so long, been very busy. Here is an update on joshua. It isn't very thrilling as nothing much has happened to him recently, but his brother wouldn't mind that tongue.gif

By the way Lady Saga, http://uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Onmund is the NPC Joshua has a crush on tongue.gif

Joshua Lennox letter #4

Dear Brother,

Sorry it’s been a while since my last letter, but a lot has changed for me. After I found the orb I was sent to find some books that had been stolen in order to learn more about it.

But I refused. I didn’t come to the college to do search and fetch missions, but to learn more about destruction, but everyone here seems to be useless. Maybe it is just a case of me expecting to much.

All I wanted was a place I could fit in and call home, but this ain’t it. So I’ve decided to leave the college and find somewhere else to migrate to.

I will miss everyone there, especially Onmund, but the heart wants what it wants. Onmund suggested that I visit his friend that works in an Inn in a city called Markarth called Hreinn. He said that Hreinn would help me out with a place to stay until I find my feet somewhere else. Onmund gave me a letter he wrote so Hreinn would know who I was then sent me on my way.

I have yet to make it to Markarth yet but once I do I will write to you again, but I won’t leave it so long next time!

Joshua


Also, off topic, a new Jess of Valor will be up In the coming week, so keep an eye out for that smile.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga May 21 2012, 02:52 PM

Ah, so that's Onmund. smile.gif Looking forward to an update on Jess.

Posted by: Lady Saga May 28 2012, 08:43 AM

I am up really late tonight. smile.gif Gaming, of course. I got the day off tomorrow, and my kid is at her friend's house. Good. Good.

I've decided to write Gunter, Son of Talos's tale in a very simple day-to-day format. If a story evolves out of it, so much the better. But for now, it's a simple journal.

Gunter is a Nord, by the way. A Nord fighter type. I'm thinking that other than potions, he won't involve himself with magic at all. Nor will he do extensive dungeon diving (especially draugr and dwemer ruins). He may do some bandit raids, though.

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Day 1: 1:03 pm, Sundas, 17th of Last Seed. I am Gunter, Son of Talos. today me escape from Helgen with man name Ralof. follow Imperial soldier, but see Stormcloaks and join them, instead.

@ 8pm: follow Ralof to Riverwood and meet Ralof family. spend night at house. Hod & Gerdur's house. safe cozy place, but not enough beds. drank and drank and wound up sleeping with Gerdur. Fear a fight in the morn, but Hod not seem to mind that Gunter sleep with his woman!

Ralof told me "head to Windhelm and join the Stormcloaks". as a native of Bruma in Cyrodiil, Gunter is ready to do whatever it takes to destroy the Empire's reach!

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Day 2: spend day in riverwood. drinking, eating, with Hod & Gerder & Ralof & little boy. Hod offers work at sawmill. Gunter want work.
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Day 3: chop wood for Hod & Gerdur. Make over 400 gold, just chopping wood! Who says adventurer are only ones to make the gold!
---------------------------------------------------------------
Day 4: move out of Hod & Gerdur, and into own room at Sleeping Giant Inn. Chop wood all day.
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Day 5: got attack by three armored men*, as me walk outside the Inn! Me have no armor, nor weapon to protect, had to run. ran north into woods. hide. they found Me. ran to a hunter's campsite. hide. they found Me.

Me run all the way to town called Whiterun. Ralof tell me of this town in days before. Now, only one man follow Gunter. he hit very strong. almost kill Gunter, son of Talos on the spot. but Gunter run into town. hide again in shop. Is Gunter coward for running? No, Me alive!

*these 3 men attacked Gunter out of nowhere, right in front of the Sleeping Giant, it was so random! He was totally unprepared for this.
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Day 6: back in Riverwood. spend day with smith, who teach Gunter everything he know smithing and tanning. Gunter now spend gold on iron ignots, leather strips, and other. Before Gunter go to Windhelm to join Stormcloaks, Me have suit made of iron! and a sword.
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Day 7: Sundas, 24th of Last Seed, Year 201. Gunter chop wood all day, until at night auroras fill sky. Gunter so tired by nightfall, can barely walk! * Gunter make 362 gold today, for chop wood.

* (over-encumbered)
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Day 8: spend money on more iron and leather. make iron boots. iron gauntlets. iron helmet, and iron suit. Gunter, son of Talos smith all day.
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Day 9: Me attack by Inn keeper! inkeeper accuse Gunter of stealing. but it was Gunter's things they accuse of stealing! *

Gunter must leave Riverwood. Heads to Whiterun. maybe can improve armor before heading to Windhelm.

*: This really annoys me. I store my character's things, but if somebody sees him take stuff out of the wardrobe, he gets charged with a crime! Even though he paid for the room.

Gunter meet woman name Adrianne. she work at forge in Whiterun. Gunter like Adrianne! like her very much! Gunter take a sword for her to Jarl steward. work with her at forge.

6:12 pm
: Me buy room in place called Bannered Mare.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Day 10: attack Silent Moons Camp for Jarl of Whiterun. all bandits slain.

This was an interesting fight. Gunter was first spotted by 2 archers. He did not want to rush them, as other enemies seemed to be about. He hid behind a wall until a wizard came towards, shocking Gunter. Gunter slew the wizard after some running around. He had to drink his only health potion.

When he came back into the main area of the camp (where the steps are) all the bandits were dead! They apparently got killed by a group of mudcrabs! laugh.gif I'm assuming this because there were 2 mudcrabs walking around the area, and perhaps 5 dead bandits!


----------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by: SubRosa May 28 2012, 04:52 PM

Congrats on having the opportunity to finally play GSoT! I had no idea you could make that much money chopping wood! I may have to try that now.

And mudcrabs FTW! I often see bandits being stupid enough to attack giants. It is fun to see them launched into orbit.

Posted by: Lady Saga May 28 2012, 05:33 PM

I know! I wish I could make that much money chopping wood IRL. 400 gold a day? Sheesh.

I basically would just animate the wood block, and then change the channel while the wood-chopping animation was going (it lasts a minute or so). I have Internet on my TV, so I would go read or post here or at Bethsoft while he chopped wood. laugh.gif Changed channel. Animated the wood block again, repeat, repeat...


Posted by: Andrea May 28 2012, 05:40 PM

YEAAHH!! Im so excited that you have started Gunter! He seem's to have random misfortune at the moment though! I've never encounters any random attacks outside the Sleeping Giant! How strange...

SUBROSA!! Will we be expecting any more of Hrafn's journal soon? And grits, I am LOVING reading about Bulsakh's journey tongue.gif I had no idea Eric was recruitable as a follower after completing his little quest! He seem's a decent companion too smile.gif


Joshua Lennox letter #5

Dear Brother,

I finally made it to Markarth! The journey wasn’t too much fun though.

First I met an old Orc who had just taken down two Sabre cats on his own. He claimed that he was waiting for a ‘good death’ whatever that means. I have a feeling he was hinting at me to give it to him, but I didn’t really want to even TRY seeing as how he took down those Sabre cats with such ease.

But what happened next on my journey will shock you. As I was walking I was attacked by a hodded figure! I just about managed to defeat him, but when he died I saw a letter fall out of his pocket. He was a Dark Brotherhood assassin! He had been sent to kill me! I thought I’d left all the people who hated me back in Hammerfell.

I took a break In Whiterun and stopped off at the Bannered Mare. Uthgerd wasn’t there, which was disappointing as I would have loved to have seen her. However, I was approached by a woman who began flirting with me. When I told her I wasn’t interested she looked disappointed. I asked her what was wrong and she said she was desperate for the bard in the Bannered Mare to leave her alone, so she was hoping having a man on her arm would do that. I told her I would talk to the bard and I approached him. He refused to leave Carlotta 9that was her name) alone, so we brawled. I won of course, and after that he promised to leave her alone. As a way of thanks Carlotta have me money and free food off her stool anytime I should need it!

The next day I continued to Markarth. Nothing exciting happened on the journey. Once I reached Markarth I was approached by a man who offered to sell me his dog, Vigilance. Once I saw the dog I immediately accepted. I fell in love! He was gorgeous!

Once inside Markarth I headed to the Silver-Blood Inn and spoke with Hreinn, giving him Onmund’s letter. He offered to keep a room available for me at all times, although I still had to pay.

With Vigilance I decided to rest my weary legs with a bottle of mead by the fireplace. Suddenly I was approached by a man who asked if the other seat was taken. I told him it wasn’t and he sat down. He told me he was a sellsword and I was always welcome should I need his assistance. I told the man, Vorstag, that I was okay for now, then he gave me a cheeky smile and said that he would always be around if I needed him. I don’t know what he meant.

I am off to sleep now but I will write to you again soon!

Joshua


Posted by: Lady Saga May 29 2012, 01:40 AM

QUOTE(Andrea @ May 28 2012, 12:40 PM) *

*sniperoo*


Good to have you back, Andrea! Wondering where you been. Must be school, huh?

Markath is an awesome town. I'm hoping Gunter will make it there. Crystal Beth never found herself going that way.

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This set of journal entries begins on Sundas, 31st of Last Seed

Gunter managed to level up to 3 by this point. He's learning; honing his craft, and can protect himself while wearing heavy armor a little better. He's also learned to manage his shield a little more, too.


Day 14: Gunter want go seek Companions. to join, must prove himself to Vilkas. Before prove himself, Gunter must find new clothes. throw away black robes*, and steal some clothes from Companions when nobody look.

*After Gunter got chased out of Riverwood, he realized he had left a lot of vital things behind, including his clothes. He had been wearing his full iron armor suit, but had no town clothes. laugh.gif Before stealing a set of clothes from a Companion room, he had managed to buy a Black Robe! He had been walking around Whiterun in this robe for a while, kinda reminded me of Steven Segal. Lol!

3pm
: Gunter go back to Inn, put on armors and sword. man name Farkas speak to Gunter in mean tone before prove himself to Vilkas, but me not scare. Gunter fight with Companion, prove himself a WARRIOR! ....Gunter now part of Companions.

6 pm: Me collects bounty from Jarl steward for take down Silent Moons Camp. 100 gold.

9 pm: word travel fast in Whiterun! guards recognize Gunter now as Companion.

10 pm: Gunter see pretty lady by table in Banner Mare. her name: Ysolda Me heart go like wings of butterfly. Gunter sit with Ysolda, talk sweet to me lady! Ysolda nice, but not give Gunter time of day.

..."tis okay. tomorrow nother day.


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Day 15: Companion give Gunter new task. FIGHT Idola Battle-Born! Idola confront Gunter in Banner Mare. he say: "you like Grey Mane or Battle Born?" Gunter say Grey Mane. Grey Mane is Nordic brothers! Idola no like Gunter answer. FIGHT happen, and Gunter remain victory!

after fight, Gunter get new task: find sword piece knowns as Wuuthred. Gunter prepare for adventure. buy new Burning Sword! Me spend over 400 gold on new Fire Sword. Me allso buy more iron block to make new sword to sell (Smithing stuff). after me buy Burning Sword and iron blocks, me have 3 gold.

10 pm: long day at forge. work with pretty lady Adrienne all day. Gunter see lady Ysolda as go to Inn. sweet talk to Ysolda, but Ysolda play hard to get!
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Day 16: Me walk away from morning sun to Silent Moons Camp, and then away more to Draugr's barrow. meet Farkas. Farkas and Gunter spend many hour in draugr barrow call Dustman's Cairn.

I've learned something new. Many draugr can be snuck up on while they're "resting" {i.e. still on their death slabs or in their catacombs}. If Gunter sneaks up on them, he could deliver a 1-hit critical blow on these "resting" draugr, especially with his new flaming sword. This usually guaranteed the end of that particular draugr.

With every successful sneak attack, Gunter leveled up his 1-handed skill in grand jumps each time. He is already at Level 6 with 1-handed skill at 26! I haven't placed his 3 bonus perks yet, but I will

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Day 17: must be new day, sun low in sky, falling to sleep. Gunter and Farkas defeat many draugr, and find many treasure. Me carry magic stafff and treasure for sale in Riverwood, if okay Gunter return

I'm pulling a little prank on Farkas, dragging him to Riverwood. smile.gif After selling things (assuming they're not still mad at Gunter), I will get Farkas to follow Gunter to Valtheim Keep. There's a contract on the bandits there, and Gunter doesn't want to go at this all alone. wink.gif
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Middas, 11:33 PM, 3rd of Heartfire (Day 17 continued)

Gunter eat lot of food with new friend Farkas. have lots of gold. more gold than ever in life!

Me very happy! Me very happy indeed! A happiest Nord Gunter is ! Ale! Pie! Meat! and Mead!

Posted by: Lady Saga May 29 2012, 11:12 PM

I skipped a few days of the journal. To all my Gunter Son of Talos fans (all 3 of you, lol), Gunter hung around Riverwood with Farkas. He's got over a thousand gold, and bought every steel bar the smith had for sale, as well as all his strips of leather.

I gave him the Steel Smithing perk. smile.gif He made his first steel piece: a full body suit of steel.

Gunter and Farkas finally left Riverwood. Since there's a bounty on the bandit's leader at Volkheim Towers, Gunter is going to drag Farkas there, and then they will both head to Windhelm.



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Loredas, 12:20 pm, 6th of Heartfire

Day 20: Gunter, Son of Talos walk with Farkas! Find bridge as call by Volkheim Towers. kill many bandit. Gunter find special ring. feel magic in ring*. Gunter like this feeling!

Guner walk with Farkas now to Windhelm, to join with Stormcloak! By the mighty Talos, Gunter does walk. Talos, the only of Gods to once be mortal! Talos make Gunter proud!

*he found a ring with a magical resistance in it. It resists 10% of magic. Good thing to have.

5:39 PM: Me and Farkas fight sabercat! Mean!!! Sabercat make Gunter hurt! Gunter must drink 2 health to finsih fight, but Me kill sabercat!

I'm so glad Farkas is with him. I really do think it was a good decision to keep him as an extended follower. I didn't know sabercats show up at Level 6! I thought it was more like L10. Anyways, Gunter would surely have been pwned (or at least have to drink all his potions) if Farkas was not present.

6:44 PM: Me and Farkas see man in road. man look friend. man is Wood Elf. Guner no attack friend-Wood Elf.

Gunter talk with Wood Elf. Wood Elf say: "I have something for you" in high Englisc tongue. Gunter say "What?" Wood Elf friend have SKOOMA! Gunter buy all skooma from Wood Elf! Gunter drink skooma, but no Farkas wnat. 'tis okay.

Skooma feel funny. Not much funny as in Bruma. But Gunter like, anyway. Gunter have still 5 bottle of Skooma, for good times in Windhelm.
---------------------
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Day 21: Gunter in Windhelm and Farkas in Windhelm. Both me and Farkas in Windhelm. Me find many talk about the mighty Talos.

12:30 pm: Gunter make sale with market people. Sell magical staff. sell shiney stones. sell gems of soul. Gunter lots of gold! Make buy with ale! mead! wine!...Gutnre son of Tlaos...make for n...

Gunter got a little too drunk for awhile, so I'll have to fill in. He hung around the markets and bought up every single bottle of nord mead, wine, and ale available. Got drunk, but nothing seriously bad happened!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Day 22: Gunter make with smith all day. make armor. make new helmet for Gunter, steel. Me make daggars, to help Stormcloak.

9:43 am: Me go to see Ulfric Stormcloak in big castle. go to JOIN Stormcloak. Ulfric see me and have memory of Gunter at Helgen.

He say: "you want to join Stormcloak?" I say "I am a true son of skyrim. I am a NORD". He say "You die for Skyrim?" I say "I die for my brothers! For I am a sonne of mighty Talos!"

Must go to north..to find Serpentstone Isle. Gunter must do, but first buy horse to swim water to island.

Gunter also need find sword in place call Cragswallow. Me proud to assist for Nords in Windhelm!


Gunter's gonna go to Cragswallow, but needs a horse to get to Serpentstone Isle. I may finally fire up Dyami the Scout's game to explore Serpentstone first, since none of my other characters have been there yet!

Posted by: Lady Saga May 31 2012, 02:07 AM

I feel like I own this forum these last couple days! I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Loredas, 7:00 AM, 13th of Heartfire, Year 201

Day 27: Gunter return Whiterun! Make 2 stop along way to take down bandit and more bandit. Farkas no complain more. He now home.

I companion! now. But as before become Companion, me stop by guard in Whiterun. Guard say: "I know you." Gunter say: "no play game, silly guard. Here, I have gold". Gunter never more fee make in life!

after party for Gunter as Companion, Farkas say: "You cold?" Gunter no clothes on!!!


And now the translation. smile.gif Gunter returned to Whiterun. He officially became a Companion, but before this happened, he got approached by a guard who clamied there was a bounty of 1 gold upon Gunter's head. I gotta say, I've never had a character who's had more little bounties like this. Everywhere he goes, someoby accuses him of stealing, even if it's in his own room.

Gunter paid the gold, but as he did so, I immediately FACEPALMED. He was wearing stolen clothes, you see! ohmy.gif

He didn't feel like going all the way back to his room in the Bannered Mare, so he became a Companion in his underwear! laugh.gif Classic!

I also wanna say I did my first instance of successful paper map-questing in Gunter's game last night. smile.gif I opend up the 3D map in Windhelm, made a marking on Gunter's map, and used his map to figure out where the place is!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 1 2012, 09:36 PM

Morndas, 12:22 PM, 15th of Heartfire, 4th Era, Year 201

Day 28: Gunter buy present for girlfriend Ysolda! Ysolda want mammtoh tusk, so Me buy mammoth tusk in Riverwood!
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Day 29: In Riverwood. Me swim water. Me smith. Me make item and armor. Me much gold now!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
one thing I've noticed about this character is he has a habit of leaving town penniless. Every single time. He'll walk in with over a thousand gold, and leave with maybe 5!

It's not all food and ale though. He's also honing his craft. He really wants to become the perfect tank. Dwarven armor has not been made popular yet, here in Skyrim. He's actually got a goal, a goal to have the finest weapons and armor, before any other enemies import the craftwork or loot it out of dungeons.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 1 2012, 10:20 PM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Jun 1 2012, 04:36 PM) *

Day 28: Gunter buy present for girlfriend Ysolda! Ysolda want mammtoh tusk, so Me buy mammoth tusk in Riverwood!

I get the feeling Gunter already has a mammoth tusk to give her... wink.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 2 2012, 12:02 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jun 1 2012, 05:20 PM) *

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Jun 1 2012, 04:36 PM) *

Day 28: Gunter buy present for girlfriend Ysolda! Ysolda want mammtoh tusk, so Me buy mammoth tusk in Riverwood!

I get the feeling Gunter already has a mammoth tusk to give her... wink.gif


laugh.gif ahh you made me laugh so hard i just spilled my wine!

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 2 2012, 12:24 AM

Gunter Son of Talos is now Level 9. I've been putting all his perks into 1-handed, Block, Heavy Armor, and Smithing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Day 32: Now Gunter in fort with new friend: Dunmer woman-folk. Gunter see woman-folk in tavern Whiterun. she offer help Gunter. Me buy Jenossa Dunmer woman-folk.

woman-folk Dunmer have 500 gold. woman-folk Dunmer good with bow. wear leathers. Gunter Son of Talos give Dunmer woman-folk strong bow! and helmet iron-make! Me give Dunmer suit of gold armor!

Gunter travel now and woman-folk Dunmer., travel west from Whiterun.


Gunter hired Jenossa, whom he calls "Dunmer woman-folk". laugh.gif They're in Fort Greymoor, which is just loaded with stufff to keep, sell, or give to Jenossa. She just got a suit of Elven armor, appropriate since she's a dark elf herself. Gunter also gave her an Imperial-style bow, though this won't last long. Soon as he finds her an enchanted bow, it'll be hers.

Since this is Gunter's first visit to Fort Greymoor, the Imperials are not occupying here, yet. He let the old woman who dwells in the place live, of course.


----------------------------------------------------------------
Day 32-33: Gunter son of Talos spend night in giant fort. Gunter find lots of noridc mead! spend nite in giant fort.

yea. There's a stockpile of mead in Fort Greymoor, so of course he got wasted. Plenty of food, too. This wound up being a 24-hour stay, as Gunter 'entertained' Jenossa and the old woman who lives in Fort Greymoor.

1:20 am: old woman no like Gunter, son of Talos! she say "You need leave!" Gunter honor old woman.

After waiting for 24 hours, when the game started up again, the old woman was bitching at poor Gunter. I'm not sure waht happened, but he probably got way too drunk and made her upset somehow!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 2 2012, 12:31 AM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Jun 1 2012, 07:24 PM) *

[color=brown]I've been putting all his perks into 1-handed, Block, Heavy Armor, and Smithing.

For a moment I thought you wrote Smiting! biggrin.gif But I guess the One handed covers that. wink.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 2 2012, 02:13 AM

Cute, SR. smile.gif

I'm gaming hardcore tonight. Gotta do it whenever I can, ya know? wink.gif

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Loredas, 3:46 PPM, 12st of Heartfire, 4th Era, Year 201

Day 35: Many walk with cat-peoples. Guner walk with dunmer woman-folk. walk west.


Gunter and Jenossa just hooked up with a group of travelling khaiit! biggrin.gif ooh, this is fun.

Gunter also got done a bunch of smithing in Whiterun the past few days not noted in his journal. Smithing levels up really slow, and you need money to get it going. Gunter keeps blowing ALL his money, but he's doing his best. He's a Type A personality, in our terms.


8:49 pm: Gunter tired. look for Rorikstead. And now very dark.

10:28 pm: Rorikstead. Gunter like small hamlet Rorikstead! sleep and until the morn, then go find bandit redoubt camp.
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Day 36:
naer Rorikstead path. Guner climb path with Dunmer woman-folk. hope find place redoubt of bandits.

12:40 pm: all outside bandit now dead.* Gunter KILL ALL! and dunmer woman-folk assist. Gunter championi! and Dunmer woman-folk!

bandits wear funny animal-hats! bandits easy defeat by Gunter and woman-folk.


* this is the second time I've successfully found a location via the paper map. Granted, this one wasn't as hard as the first, but it's stilll a good feeling!
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 4 2012, 02:06 AM

8:12 AM, Morndas, 6th of Frost fall

Day 50:

Today Me return Whiterun. Lots of potion. attack in draugr barrow with self. Gunter kill dragur, but mighty mighty draugr in barrow knock sword from hand!

Gunter in days before join with Companion werewolfs. go to fort near Windhelm. take many Silver Hand to Sovengarde. Me not know where Dunmer woman-folk flee to.


Yea. He became a werewolf. Just for a minute. Until I figured out how to make him human again. rolleyes.gif laugh.gif After going further with that questline, he and one of the female Companions wound up way in the middle of nowhere somehow. And Gunter had no clothes on!

Long story short, I had to fast-travel back to Whiterun just to get his proper gear back on. I mean, really...

Another annoying thing is he lost his hireling Jenassa somehow, after the silly Companion quest-line knocked her out of the game. I hope this is temporary, Gunter really needs her and her archery skills.

Gunter's up to Level 11. I hadn't planned on making him a human tank, I was assuming he'd just be content as a foot-soldier stormcloak. My second character Thor a'Zaene took up smithing, but had no interest in learning how to make anything except fine iron equipment. Gunter has more of an aptitude for learning, here.

I also hadn't planned on making Gunter a dungeon-diver, but he's simply too good at it. Plus, he likes the money. Obviously.

... But as he noted in the journal above, he did encounter a couple of uber-draugrs in a barrow, one of them knocked the flaming steel sword right out of Gunter's hand. Gunter had no choice then but to run, and for what seems to be a long time, the uber-draugrs kept up, since Gunter's currently wearing a heavy dwarven armor suit.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 8 2012, 12:53 AM

12:44 pm, 5th of Sun's Dusk, 4th era, Year: 201

Day 80:

Gunter in Riften with new friend Stenvar. Stenvar brother Nord! Stenvar und Gunter go many place Skyrim.

Before Stenvar, Dunmer woman-folk fall in cave. Dunmer woman-folk go to sovengarde. Dunmer woman folk STRONG. Dunmer woman-folk make Gunter know thing before. Dunmer woman-folk speak Gunter when sleep. Me talk Dunmer woman-folk. Dunmer woman-folk talk Gunter. In sleep. In dream.


Jenassa (archer follower from one of Whiterun's taverns) died in a draugr barrow some weeks ago in Gunter's game. She and he both got overwhelmed with draugr, and Gunter could not assist her. So she got clobbered. It sucked, but (unlike Beth), Gunter will not give up his profession.

He met and hired Stenvar in Windhelm. Stenvar has proved to be more worthy of dungeoneering. Jenassa was better for outdoor locations. Sucks she got killed. sad.gif

After Jenassa died, she began speaking to Gunter in his dreams. She visits him sometimes (I simulate this with a 6-sided die roll, ha ha...there's a 1 in 6 chance she'll speak to him in his dream).
-------------------------------------------------------------


5:35 pm:
Gunter walk Riften alone. Stenvar sleep.

6:22 pm
Guner now Riften. Chapel /\ Mara.

Me make mistake. Me look for smith, but find Mara-Chapel. Me speak shaman. Me learn Mara. Me learn wear mara-piece, make wife! Gunter not know make wife in Skyrim. Gunter meet wife!

Gunter meet WIFE YSOLDA!! GUNTER GO wHiterun. meet Ysolda ask meet wife!

I don't have to translate what happened. We all know what happens in Riften. Thing is, Gunter really was looking for the smith. I cannot for the life of me find the smith in Riften gosh-darnit! laugh.gif

When he walked into the Temple Mara, I completely forgot about this being the place where marraige happens. The roleplay was so smooth, too! I forgot, and so therefore it was easy for me to RP Gunter not having a clue where he was. Lol.

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 8 2012, 01:00 AM

Gunter found the chapel instead of the smith! laugh.gif Only he could manage that!

So now he is off to get hitched. Yay for Gunt. I have never had a character get married in this game.


I have good news on the Hera front. Her Smithing just went to 100. I do not believe I have ever had a character get it that high. This is on version 1.6 too, where you cannot just spam iron daggers (usually she makes steel swords).


Posted by: liliandra nadiar Jun 10 2012, 06:10 AM

(And with new card making Skyrim playable.. a revised http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-06-0912-15-11-07.jpg shows up)

Day 4
After a few days of thinking, I've come to a simple conclusion. This land is filled with insane people. I knew the Empire was on shaky ground, but getting arbitrarily scooped up for execution while walking in the woods is a tad much. Then there was the fetching dragon attack, and the spiders, then the bandits, then even more spiders, then undead. Seemed like a good idea to link up to the local, heavily-armed yet non-aligned group of madmen called the Companions. Sad thing is, I think it's still a good idea. Must be something in the air making everyone nuts. Elves aren't apparently immune either, I was jumped by some Thalmor goons while walking out of a poacher's camp. Guess that means I'll be loosing it eventually. At least it's something to look forward too.

My proving Trial involved undead but it got interrupted by a rival bad of armed madmen, oh and I find the core of the Companions are werewolves. Seems rather tame, considering. Of course I was expected to continue the Trial, glad I stocked up on arrows, that was a lot of moving targets in that last chamber. Vilkas made an excellent distraction for it though, all that metal clunking and yelling, they just ran right by me. Made nice targets, so I obliged.

((Reboot of Chloe using the new mods I've been downloading since the original began walking Tamriel. Archery and Sneak focused, though she has a sword for when she can't get room like when the Thalmor backed her into the door of the Halted Stream bandit camp. Final room of Dustman Cairn was pretty epic though. Back to the word wall and planting arrows in every drugar that showed up. Almost wish I had made a video of it.))

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 10 2012, 04:54 PM

Yah Chloe! smile.gif Nice to read about her new game.

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jun 7 2012, 08:00 PM) *

Gunter found the chapel instead of the smith! laugh.gif Only he could manage that!


laugh.gif I know, right? It's kinda my fault, though, too, because my memory can be bad sometimes.


QUOTE

I have good news on the Hera front. Her Smithing just went to 100.


Sweet. I'm noticing smithing takes a LOT of practice to level up, it also costs a lot of gold to buy all those ores and ignots and leather strips, etc. One ignot doesn't cost so much, but 20 or 30? That's a lot of gold. I suppose if I made an actual townie character (rather than an adventurer) who did nothing but smith and worked that as a steady job, I might be able to get Smithing higher.

Gunter is currently at 39. I want him to get to 50 (Orcish armor) but he gets too impatient with spamming armor & weapons for sale. Plus, he blows all his money on food & drink, as well as smith materials.

laugh.gif My nephew came over last night and made a note of this after seeing Gunter's menus (I was showing him the Kinect voice thingie)...

"You only have 236 gold?" he asked. "What do you do with all your gold?"

"Well, Gunter tends to blow all his money, every time we get into town."

"What? How?"

"Food and drink, mostly, as well as smithing supplies. It's consistent; he'll come into town with over a thousand gold. By the time he leaves, it's mostly gone". (I felt a wee-bit embarassed admitting this ! Wasn't sure how he'd react)

"Oh! So you're doing like a story with him. That's hard-core!"

laugh.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 10 2012, 06:01 PM

liliandra nadiar: Welcome to Skyrim revised Chloe! I see she likes the Roadstoker's outfit. That was always a good one in Oblivion too. What was wrong with your previous video card? Just too old and lacking in Ooomph?

Renee: You hard core story person you Renee!

I am sure watching someone roleplay a character - even in a computer game rather than a pen and paper RPG with other people - would seem hardcore to someone who never has RP'd before. I was showing my friend Jaelyn one of the Skyrim characters recently and she actually had a similar reaction. I told her that the only spell Hrafn ever used was the starting healing spell, and that she only used hand axes, and when necessary bows for long range. When I said that Hrafn missed her mom, and was searching Skyrim for her, Jaelyn was blown away. And like me, she is a pen and paper roleplayer from way back. She admitted that she never bothers trying to roleplay computer characters. Instead she wants to do everything in the game with one character.

In the case of Hera's smithing, she rarely ever bought ingots or ore. Only on a few rare occasions when I wanted to make something and did not have the materials. Plus at the end when I saw her Smithing was at 97, I decided to push it all the way up and bought every ingot the Dawnstar smith had. Instead she carries around a pick with her, and digs up every ore deposit she finds. Then the next time she is in a town she smelts them and forges things. Like I said, I usually go with a steel or iron sword, as that makes roleplaying sense to me. She keeps the hides she gets from wolves and such and will forge leather armor with them. Usually she makes full suits: cuirass, gauntlets, and boots.

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 11 2012, 11:41 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jun 10 2012, 01:01 PM) *


Renee: You hard core story person you Renee!


laugh.gif He also noticed I darken my TV screen whenever I go dungeon-diving (there's a button on my remote I push), and that I hardly ever run. All of this is considered "hardcore" by him! laugh.gif

QUOTE
I was showing my friend Jaelyn one of the Skyrim characters recently and she actually had a similar reaction.
I told her that the only spell Hrafn ever used was the starting healing spell, and that she only used hand axes, and when necessary bows for long range. When I said that Hrafn missed her mom, and was searching Skyrim for her, Jaelyn was blown away. And like me, she is a pen and paper roleplayer from way back. She admitted that she never bothers trying to roleplay computer characters. Instead she wants to do everything in the game with one character.


Wow! Thanks for sharing. I love reading other people's accounts on stuff like this. Does Jaelyn also do Skyrim?

I grew up pen and paper, too. My nephew will probably never game this way, which is okay. he has more of a social life than I did at his age. But he actually does roleplay a little bit, without even realizing it. He told me his first charcter did nothing but chop wood for an entire day or something like that. That's where I got the idea from, actually. smile.gif He thought it was fun(ny) just chopping wood, and then getting paid for it! laugh.gif

It's like the game gave him a good work ethic, and he's realized it's not all about finishing quests and fighting. smile.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 12 2012, 12:24 AM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Jun 11 2012, 06:41 PM) *

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jun 10 2012, 01:01 PM) *


Renee: You hard core story person you Renee!


laugh.gif He also noticed I darken my TV screen whenever I go dungeon-diving (there's a button on my remote I push), and that I hardly ever run. All of this is considered "hardcore" by him! laugh.gif

QUOTE
I was showing my friend Jaelyn one of the Skyrim characters recently and she actually had a similar reaction.
I told her that the only spell Hrafn ever used was the starting healing spell, and that she only used hand axes, and when necessary bows for long range. When I said that Hrafn missed her mom, and was searching Skyrim for her, Jaelyn was blown away. And like me, she is a pen and paper roleplayer from way back. She admitted that she never bothers trying to roleplay computer characters. Instead she wants to do everything in the game with one character.


Wow! Thanks for sharing. I love reading other people's accounts on stuff like this. Does Jaelyn also do Skyrim?

I grew up pen and paper, too. My nephew will probably never game this way, which is okay. he has more of a social life than I did at his age. But he actually does roleplay a little bit, without even realizing it. He told me his first charcter did nothing but chop wood for an entire day or something like that. That's where I got the idea from, actually. smile.gif He thought it was fun(ny) just chopping wood, and then getting paid for it! laugh.gif

It's like the game gave him a good work ethic, and he's realized it's not all about finishing quests and fighting. smile.gif

Jaelyn plays Skryim. She has it on X-Box like you. That is what got us talking about it. She gets frustrated with the way bosses can one-shot kill you in Skyrim. I explained to her it was because of all the people who complained about the level-scaling in Oblivion, where the enemies were always scaled to your character. So they did some unscaling in both FO3 and Skyrim (Jae's a Fallout 3 player too. She never played Oblivion very much at all). So now we have uber mages who can kill us with one fireball. Or can find frost trolls in a place our first level character might go into (like Labryinthian). The explanation just frustrates her more. She is stuck getting one-shotted by bad guys she might not even see because other people like that? It got even better when I told her that the whole reason Oblivion had all the level scaling it did was because of the same thing happening in Morrowind. There are places right next to where your first level character starts that game, where if you walk inside you die. People did not like it, so they fixed it with Oblivion. People complained about the fix, so they fixed it again with Skryim by going right back to what they had to begin with. I feel sorry for Bethesda. No matter what they do, they get people complaining at them.

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 12 2012, 12:46 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jun 11 2012, 07:24 PM) *

....The explanation just frustrates her more. She is stuck getting one-shotted by bad guys she might not even see because other people like that?


laugh.gif That's interesting! I guess I'd feel the same if I didn't know anything about the evolution of the series, and why Beth made it this way.

The way I handle uberbosses: my character will usually run if he or she can. Gunter simply runs if a spell gets thrown at him which obviously is stronger than usual. He just gets the hell out, he hates magic. He's not as bad as Thor, though. Gunter will take some fire in his face, Thor would just chicken out from it sometimes!

Beth liked to "strategize". She'd find a position (if she could) way up high, or in some spot where the enemy simply could not to her. Or she would run & hide, and cast summons after summons. tongue.gif Occasionally throw a mega-destruction spell.

Beth and Claire also would use a crystal ball to "see into the future" (this is me, looking up the place they're about to loot on UESP, checking to see if any enemies in this place they're about to go into are too strong).

QUOTE
I feel sorry for Bethesda. No matter what they do, they get people complaining at them.


I do too. I'd give up my Xbox for a week to be an invisible spy at Bethesda. I'm sure there are devs who just blow off all the criticisms, wheras some others will take all the complaints to heart somehow. I'll bet there are devs who totally phish out all the mods their customers have made, wheras others might totally hate gaming, because it's what they do for their job all day.

I'd give up my Xbox for a week just to know what goes on behind the scenes! But only a week!
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 12 2012, 12:54 AM

Turdas, 4:40 PM, 13th of Sun's Dusk, 4th Era, Year 201

Day 88:
Gunter travel Whiterun. Stenva allso with. Me travel Whiterun, meet Ysolda! Make Ysllda Gunter wife.

On way, ME find place Gallow Rock for Windhelm. Windhelm want Gallow Rock silver handed bandits dead. Me kill silver handed bandits. Me use magic orc-axe. Magic orc axe make lightning on silver-handed bandit. Kill fast!

Stenvar fight not so good. Stenvar fall twice, und me take bandit to Oblivion. Me give Stenva shiny gold armors, and magic mace! Stenva still fall! Not good at fight sometimes Stenvar.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Day 89 @ 5pm:
Guner und STenvar travel Whiterun now. Stenvar meet no-see enemy. No-see enemy hit Stenvar. Me no see!

Stenvar fight, me confuse. Me take magic axe and HIT no-see enemy. Me und Stenvar kill no-see enemy.

Me feel enemy. Touch. Find loot. Me take loot. Enemy cat-person. Me take loot enemy cat-person. Still no see.


That was freaking weird. I didn't know enemies can utilize chameleon 100% in Skyrim. Or perhaps, that was some sort of glitch? They both got attacked by an invisible Khajiit. The Khajiit stayed invisible after he got killed.

...gotta be a glitch! ohmy.gif I hope


----------------------------------------------------------------
Day 90, 2:38 pm:
Me speak Ysolda in White run! But Ysolda no like Gunter that way.

Gunter upset! But Me feel throat. No Mara piece! No Mara piece mean no Ysolda make wife! Gunter no have Ysolda-wife! Gunter no have Mara-piece. Where Mara-piece?

Me think inside head. Me put Mara-piece in Windhelm. Mara-piece in Windhelm, no Ysolda make Gunter-wife!

sad.gif

That dummy. :facepalm: He left his Mara Amulet in frickin' Windhelm! Now he's gotta go all the way back there. His advances towards Ysolda have gone unnoticed!

Gotta admit, it's interesting playing a guy. Pursuing a female. laugh.gif I get to see what it's like on the "other side" because of this game. wink.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 12 2012, 03:02 AM

Poor Gunt! I forgot his piece, and now he cannot get a piece! biggrin.gif

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Jun 11 2012, 07:46 PM) *

I do too. I'd give up my Xbox for a week to be an invisible spy at Bethesda. I'm sure there are devs who just blow off all the criticisms, wheras some others will take all the complaints to heart somehow. I'll bet there are devs who totally phish out all the mods their customers have made, wheras others might totally hate gaming, because it's what they do for their job all day.

I'd give up my Xbox for a week just to know what goes on behind the scenes! But only a week!
-------------------------------------------------------------------

They definitely pay attention to what is going on in the modding scene, and what people say they want changed. Skyrim is filled with things that were originally mods for the previous games. Things like plants changing appearance after you harvest ingredients from them. All the crafting options available now were parts of house mods. etc...

You can see they pay attention to what people complain about in the changes they make between games. The addition of greater level scaling in Oblivion, relaxing it again in FO3 and Skyrim. Or how they added mounted combat. Or are bringing back spears. A lot of people complained about Oblivion's menu system being tied to a single key and then being nested. Now we have the more traditional system with different keys for inventory, map, magic, etc... It is nice to know that they are making an effort. I really do feel sorry for the devs who do go through the forums and see all the negativity. You would need heart of steel not to take it personally.

Posted by: liliandra nadiar Jun 12 2012, 03:09 AM

SubRosa: Yep, originally had my card burnout while I was unemployed, so I went with a cheap-but-sufficient replacement (generic named GeForce 512), since I had zero income. It played everything on max settings until Mass Effect 3 came out without slowing down in anyway I could tell. Then ME3 and the drivers 'optimized' for it came out and Skyrim had graphic glitches or just stayed on the loading screen until I did a hard reboot. Driver rollback only worked for a week or so. Got another technically lower end card and everything's running again. Every 1gb card I've gotten has burned out within a month, think I will have to look into a new case/dedicated cooling system. :/

Glamor shot of http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-06-1019-36-17-48.jpg in Breezehome, oddly, for a wilderness crawler, she's made a habit of... 'collecting' every book she comes across. There's a decent and growing sized library in her home of around 50 books in her home.

Day 14

Some interesting perks to being a member of the Circle, though I could do without dreams. Was a bit leery at first, taking a drink then waking up naked leagues to the east was... not the best introduction, still Aela assured me it was only the first time. The two shifts I've done since have born out her claim. Still don't do it much though. The up close and personal approach is not really my thing, but it'll be a nice card to play if another Thalmor squad or bounty hunter attacks me suddenly. Curse Whiterun's plains, I can't just vanish into the foliage.

Day 19

Those fetchers attacked Kodlak while I was out. Vilkas was angry that I wasn't there, never mind that it was for something Kodlak gave me himself, but I can understand where he was coming from. The hunters attacked the pack while it was understrength.... Oh Divines, now I'm thinking like one in private too.

The two of us payed a final visit to the Silver Hand, only a few of them were ever aware something was wrong, and even then, not for long. Vilkas used the fragments as an excuse, but both tasks were completed. We may be hunted, but it won't be by the Silver Hand. I'm not sure Kodlak would've approved, but it settles the beast in my breast that was there before the wolf. Doesn't matter now, we've said http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-06-1019-25-45-98.jpg and even fulfilled his last wish.

I kept the other heads, they might be needed again.

Day 25

Taking my time on some simple jobs, Aela has taken to joining me in the wilds, it's nice to have someone to shoot with, though she's not as good a shot as me, her sword arm makes up for it. Still always room for improvement, I even found someone to help with that. Angi lives up in the mountains a bit off the trail Aela and I were using to get to a vampire den. Girl's been alone a bit too long I think, but her skills with a bow were pretty http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-06-1022-56-03-95-1.jpg.

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 12 2012, 12:02 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jun 11 2012, 10:02 PM) *

Poor Gunt! I forgot his piece, and now he cannot get a piece! biggrin.gif


ha ha cute!

QUOTE

You can see they pay attention to what people complain about in the changes they make between games.


There was a thread over a Bethsoft that was posted just before Skyrim came out about all the ways the devs obviously paid attention to mods. It was one of the better threads, probably long-buried by now. was interesting to read, for sure.

But nobody was flaming each other iirc, which means people lost interest in it after a day or 2. Sigh.



QUOTE(liliandra nadiar @ Jun 11 2012, 10:09 PM) *

Glamor shot of http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-06-1019-36-17-48.jpg



Wow. Look at her hair! compassion looks almost real.

Posted by: Grits Jun 13 2012, 03:08 PM

Here's the latest from Zuuri the Redguard battlemage. She has been travelling with Lydia and Meeko.

On a mountainside in a blinding snow storm, dear Meeko fell to a stray blow from Zuuri’s Orcish Mace of Burning. After the fight she stood vigil beside his body long enough for me to go make a cup of tea (still keeping an ear out for dragons or other hostility). Then she headed straight for Whiterun to destroy her mace at Farengar’s Enchanting Altar. She turned around and spent almost all of her gold (argh, nooo!) on a filled soul gem so that she could shock enchant a new mace, Meeko’s Sorrow.

On the way she chased down every bandit, and I mean she sprinted to beat Lydia to the kill. She gave Lydia a looted Imperial Officer’s helmet to maybe prevent herself in the future from accidentally smacking the wrong Nord. Zuuri is now wearing a looted Elven helm with a 50 magicka bonus, so I’m sure that the military patrols will start to take an interest in the pair.

Zuuri says bring it on. She wants to kill.

Another note, Zuuri has started to use a Ward while charging in to kill the outlaw mages. This is another first for me. Pretty fun. Also, regarding the decap perk: still so close!! But not quite.


Posted by: SubRosa Jun 13 2012, 09:30 PM

Poor Meeko. That is why I never take him, or other dogs, as companions. They always end up getting killed. sad.gif

How long can you keep the Ward going? I remember trying it once when I first started playing, and watching it completely drain my magicka before anyone had even hit me. That was enough for me to never use it again.

Posted by: Grits Jun 13 2012, 09:55 PM

Quite a while. Zuuri has taken the right perks in the Restoration tree. Without them she couldn't keep it up for very long. So to speak.

She also tends to use them intermittently during fights instead of a shield. Ward, strike, Ward, that sort of thing. Good fun.

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 14 2012, 11:58 PM

If one of my characters ever gets a dog, hopefully it'll be a responsible charcter, who won't just take the dog outside of safe areas.

Yea, they're pretty much useless. Would be so much cooler if they were more like guard dogs, who warn the PC, but don't get as actively involved with combat.

Posted by: King Coin Jun 15 2012, 12:08 AM

Great. Aravi has a stray dog now. The poor guy won't last long. sad.gif

Posted by: Grits Jun 15 2012, 12:16 AM

When I have a pure conjurer, he will definitely want a dog. They are so aggressive!

Here's a big update from Zuuri. smile.gif


Now she is traveling with the deadly and adorable Erik the Slayer. (He must have gotten tired of fishing with the Bulsakh.) Out of respect for Erik’s beliefs, she has swapped her Elven helm for the Adept hood she spent so much gold on about 20 minutes before she found the identically enchanted helm. Such is the way of the looter.

Anyway, Erik is a generally amiable young Nord, but he shares Zuuri’s burning hatred for bandits. As soon as they finish clearing up the disasters that resulted from Zuuri’s grief-fueled bender (thanks a lot, Sam), they have a list of bandit hideouts to sack. Erik is carrying a Staff of the Familiar. If he summons one, we’ll think of it as Meeko’s shade. sad.gif Alas, Meeko!

In other news, Zuuri is now a homeowner. As Thane of Whiterun, now she no longer has to keep her vegetable collection at Uthgerd’s house. Zuuri plans to do minimal upgrading to the furnishings. She has no real need for privacy, as she has been celibate since the Jarl incident. And anyway if Lydia gets lucky, she has a door. Zuuri kind of likes the openness instead of interior walls. Plus she doesn’t want to give Lydia a reason to hang out in her bedroom. I hope she relents and buys the poor Housecarl at least one chair.

*

On the way back to the Rift to help out an orc stronghold, Zuuri witnessed two more attempted kidnappings of Redguard women. As soon as she finishes the orc job, she’s going to resolve the Redguard situation. Rogue Alik’r mercenaries giving her people a bad name cannot be tolerated.

Zuuri got a new set of orcish armor, but not the way she was expecting. Back at the stronghold she got no thanks from the orc sorcerer she had helped. Still, the voice in charge seemed to like her. Zuuri decided to take her own reward. Now Erik the Slayer bears the tokens of two Daedric Princes. Not bad for a farm boy from Rorikstead.

The last quest involved a fight with a giant. It was so hard, I really despaired that Zuuri could do it. Before I’ve used archery and many poisons. Zuuri’s distance weapon is shock magic. It barely touched the giant. She had to get in there with her mace. Thank the gods for Paralysis Poison. Poor Erik spent most of the fight on his knees under the giant’s feet. I would not want to glance upward from that position.

Now, Erik is a favorite follower of mine, and he has fought at the sides of several of my characters for many happy hours. Today he while they were shopping in Riften, he said something that I have never heard before. I love this game!!

On the way through Haemar’s Shame, Zuuri and Erik the Slayer encountered a Thalmor patrol escorting a prisoner. They did what they had to do. Mace decapitation!! Woo hoo! It was SO worth the wait!! Ahem. They stopped in at the Falkreath Stormcloak camp to swap goods with Zuuri’s favorite Quartermaster, a platinum blond with a magnificent beard under all of the camp crust. He’s always happy to see a stack of blood-smeared Elven armor. Zuuri is having second thoughts about letting Erik try to swing the big hammer. The Thalmor had him on his knees before he could get it off his shoulder. It’s frustrating to know that the Staff of Summon Badass is carried by the guy who is busy bleeding out all over the ground.

(The following has quest spoilers for In My Time of Need, just so you know.)

The Redguard woman posed an interesting dilemma for Zuuri. She knew that if she and Erik tried to take on an entire band of Alik’r warriors on the woman’s behalf, they would be killed. Though young Erik would joyfully ride to Sovngarde in a blaze of glory, he would probably like a chance to get laid first. Besides, Zuuri wasn’t finished with this life yet.

She went to discuss matters with the warriors themselves. Of course their story was at odds with Saadia’s. Now both parties believed that they had convinced a fellow Redguard to work for them, and Zuuri still couldn’t tell who was being truthful.

Back in Whiterun, Zuuri asked Erik to wait in the house with Lydia. An easy lie coaxed Saadia out to the stables. The mercenary leader waited there alone. Zuuri killed him with lightning. There was no dishonor for him in a defeat that he did not survive. As she looked down at his twitching corpse, she had some time to think.

If Saadia was innocent, the Thalmor would eventually track her down. If she was guilty of betraying Hammerfell, her life should be forfeit. Zuuri had seen the inside of a Thalmor prison. Innocent or guilty, no one should suffer like that. She took off Saadia’s head with her mace. (Decap #2. blink.gif)

Zuuri stood under the stars, waiting for the guards to come.

“Justice is served,” she murmured.

*

When Zuuri got out of prison, she found that Erik had grown tired of waiting. Perhaps he went home to Rorikstead. Maybe someday she’ll go and see.

(I really hope she does. That kid still has the Sanguine Rose!!)

Zuuri spent a day in bed and an afternoon walking around in an old dress and her bare feet. Then she picked up her buddy Uthgerd the Unbroken and the two of them went to work out some rage on the bandits of Whiterun Hold. For the first time ever, Zuuri dual-wielded maces. This woman is very angry. Mostly at herself, but she’s not one to get depressed. She works things out with exercise. Zuuri does not do well in prison, and her honor wouldn’t allow her to take advantage of being Thane. So, pissed off battlemage.

Before she even got inside the first bandit lair, Zuuri found the loot of her life. Ebony Armor of Mending! Holy crap!! Zuuri is level 19, I didn’t think she’d even live to see ebony armor! Oh happy day.



Posted by: Grits Jun 15 2012, 12:17 AM

If I was playing on a PC, my dog would be immortal!! Good luck with Stray Dog, KC!

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 15 2012, 01:10 AM

I would make a dog with low aggression (so it'll not attack) deer reflexes (it'll run away if it has to) but maybe also give it Detect Enemies, so it would bark and warn my character. Heh, i wonder if that's possible.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Day 98
Gunter return whiterun und with Stenvar from bandit cave. Gunter sleep nite Banner Mare. Gunter want get out Whitrun fast, go Windhelm. Gunter want get Mara icon. Me get Mara icon, und marriage Ysolda.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Morndas, 24th of Sun's Dusck, Year 201


4:17 pm
Gunter no go Windhelm. Gunter go Dawnstar.

Silver-hand bandit attack at Yorvaskir.
Silver-hand bandit kill Yorvaskir chief. Silver-hand Bandt make trouble Yorvasker. Gunter fix trouble.

Stenvar make jealous, leave Gunter. Me no have Stenvar. Stenvar macht schnell Windhelm, but Gunter no want Stenvar leave. Gunter no want stenvar Leave!

But stenvar go. Und Companion Vilkas follow Gunter.

Companion Vilkas follow Gunter now Dawnstar. Companion Vilkas okay, but Me want Stenvar.

Posted by: Grits Jun 15 2012, 09:13 PM

Uthgerd the Unbroken has been a great friend to Zuuri in these dark days. She even started wearing an unenchanted mage’s hood that must have been in a stack of loot that Zuuri gave her. Maybe wielding staves has made her feel like a battlemage. Here is a picture of my TV with Zuuri and Uthgerd looking sort of cute together: http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/ZuuriandUthgerd.jpg.

Their wanderings brought them to Dragonbridge. While they were trading goods at a Stormcloak encampment, Zuuri glanced over their map. She remembered that she was supposed to go get an old soldier’s helmet from a cave north of Solitude. Very close by. The two of them split the gold (seriously, they split the gold), and headed north.

Inside the cave was the most beautiful grotto that either of them had ever seen. They agreed that they wished they could stay there forever. Of course they were soon beset by the cave’s unfriendly inhabitants. Uthgerd got caught between two spriggans and Zuuri’s lightning bolt. She fell.

Zuuri survived. From now on, she travels alone.

Posted by: Colonel Mustard Jun 16 2012, 02:25 PM

Uthgerd can die? I didn't think that was physically possible... sad.gif

Posted by: Grits Jun 16 2012, 05:31 PM

QUOTE(Colonel Mustard @ Jun 16 2012, 09:25 AM) *

Uthgerd can die? I didn't think that was physically possible... sad.gif

She can if she takes more damage when she’s kneeling, or in this case if she takes too much damage from multiple sources. She fell from a standing position when two spriggans cast at her and Zuuri lit up one of the spriggans with a lightning bolt. She never got a chance to kneel. sad.gif

Zuuri has done some soul searching. Killing every outlaw in Skyrim won’t satisfy her. The gods made her for fighting dragons. It's time to face her responsibility.

She went back to speak with the nutty woman who thinks she is some kind of ancient knight. This time she made more sense. Zuuri packed her gear and hit the road.

Before long she was standing over the bones of a dragon that she had defeated by herself using only destruction magic. The woman had some ideas about what Zuuri should do next. It had nothing to do with killing dragons, but Zuuri decided to go along with the plan. First she had to find an apothecary. She was going to need a lot more magicka potions.

It’s interesting to me when a character kind of gets lost and then finds their purpose. It makes the hours while they were lost very worthwhile. smile.gif

Posted by: Colonel Mustard Jun 16 2012, 06:02 PM

QUOTE(Grits @ Jun 16 2012, 05:31 PM) *
QUOTE(Colonel Mustard @ Jun 16 2012, 09:25 AM) *

Uthgerd can die? I didn't think that was physically possible... sad.gif

She can if she takes more damage when she's kneeling, or in this case if she takes too much damage from multiple sources. She fell from a standing position when two spriggans cast at her and Zuuri lit up one of the spriggans with a lightning bolt. She never got a chance to kneel. sad.gif

Oh, right. I kind of assumed that normal laws of physics made an exception for her, what with her being Uthgerd. I mean seriously, she once single-handedly took on an Ancient Dragon in my game. And won. It was insane.

Plus she's generally just a colossal bada$s...

I'm sorry you had to lose her.

Posted by: Grits Jun 21 2012, 06:47 PM

Zuuri’s new trick: Chain Lightning! Wow!! She found an ebony shield, so now she favors CL in the right hand, shield in the other. She also got the Adept Destruction for half magicka perk. I’ve never had a character get this far with Destruction before. With the Atronach blessing it’s a lot of fun to trade magicka with those rogue elemental mages.

She recently found a wonder of the ancient world in the company of two Blades. As soon as the three of them started their journey, they were attacked! Blood Dragon did not know who he was messing with!! Zuuri has to admire the Riverwood residents' courage, if not their judgment. When the wounded dragon was finally grounded, she had to shoulder past two Nord kids and their dog who were also rushing into the fire. blink.gif

Zuuri’s Houecarl Lydia has been standing around Breezehome for months, just in case someone breaks in to use up Zuuri’s salt or maybe do some reading. After she got the old folks set up at Sky Haven Temple, Zuuri stopped by and proposed a career change. Now Lydia fights alongside her fellow Blades.

Some time ago the Greybeards showed Zuuri where the echo of a Word of Power could be found. A Redguard traveler recently mentioned legends of the same place. Zuuri has been slaying dragons, but she needs to read the Words to increase her power. The ruin wasn’t far from the fortress. Zuuri took her leave from the Blades and headed north.

The ruin was deep, and the restless dead many. Eventually she began to climb, though still under ground. She reached a chamber where she could hear the wind whistling through the rocks. A desiccated figure rested in a stone seat, towering horned helm leaning at an angle. He straightened as Zuuri entered. Draugr Death Overlord. She used her Firebolt, two maces, and her Thu’um. At the end she got his ebony axe.

The door led to blinding sunshine and a Word Wall. As she contemplated her new power, she heard the pop of a coffin lid followed by an otherworldly screech. There in the snow on a mountaintop, Zuuri defeated a Dragon Priest.

Now she’s supposed to return to High Hrothgar on behalf of the Blades. Maybe they know where another Word of Power can be found.

Posted by: King Coin Jun 22 2012, 04:02 AM

Aravi's trying to get permission to get a home in Riften from the Jarl, so Aravi's been going around and doing various things for people. She helped a stable hand get out of debt from some nasty people without raising a weapon. In return, the stable hand showed her how to ride a horse (pretended) and now Aravi is considering getting a dappled horse from the stable.

She talked to a kind old woman that helps run an alchemy shop. Aravi really dislikes the woman's husband, but likes the old woman. She agreed to travel out to a village to pick up an ore sample for them. While at the village she found the mine was closed... and filled with spiders! ohmy.gif She killed the spiders (actually Kharjo did most of it, Aravi HATES spiders) and got a nice reward.

She returned to the town and it was about midnight. Before heading up to her room at the local inn, she witnessed a Nord make a joke about slavery to the face of an Argonain. I can't even describe what Aravi felt. For those unfamiliar with Aravi, she is a Khajiit.

Posted by: Illydoor Jun 22 2012, 12:00 PM

My Imperial (though I maintain he is half-nord) character Nemetor infiltrated the Thalmor Embassy last night.

He was asked to create a distraction by Malborn, his associate, and thus after mingling with the crowd and a few tense conversations with the Aldmeri advocates, he asked his old acquaintance Jarl Idgrod do what she does best, cause a scene.

She gladly obliged, and Malborn helped him slip away into the bowels of the embassy. Here the real work began. The only items Malborn could smuggle in for him consisted of an ebony waraxe, a curved golden dagger and the mask named Krosis to conceal his disguise, along with a good amount of lockpicks.

Nemetor quickly dispatched the guards in the first chamber with swift, brutal axe-strokes, hiding their bodies each in turn so the others wouldn't notice.

Outside would prove more difficult. The first went down easy enough, leaning on the wall nonchalantly proved to be a foolish respite to take as the axe was buried in his back. He screamed as he went down however, alerting the others.

Nemetor saw a thalmor take aim with his bow across the courtyard. 'WULD!' he shouted, and the distance was closed in a matter of seconds, the shot never fired as the axe felled him. The wizard was throwing lightning at him, and so Nemetor threw up a quick ward, which proved futile as the elf's strong magic repeatedly shattered it. All the while however, Nemetor was moving closer, until 'FUS RO DAH' and the mage was flung back against the rails. Nemetor's axe made sure he didn't get back up.

He entered Elenwen's solar, but knew all the while time was running out. Soon or later they would notice the Imperial's absence from the party...

Posted by: Grits Jun 22 2012, 03:30 PM

KC, I thought about Aravi the first time I saw that mine!! ohmy.gif

Illydoor, that's neat, I never even saw Jarl Idgrod there. smile.gif

*
Zuuri the Redguard battlemage has traveled to the Throat of the World and returned with a new understanding of her place among the dov. It’s no wonder that she feels no real kinship with the Blades, though they are bound together. Arrogance and deceit are part of her blood’s legacy. Time will tell if it’s stronger than her mortal’s heart.

Ordinary concerns soon reclaimed her attention. On the way back to Whiterun, Zuuri stopped in at the Riverwood Trader to exchange some goods. Much to her surprise, Faendal was there using the cooking pot and acting quite cozy with Camilla. It seems that fickle Imperial has changed her mind again.

Zuuri is not one to gossip, but she was already involved in this situation. She went to the Sleeping Giant to buy a pint for the jilted lumberjack-bard. Sven was already in his cups when she got there. It only took a suggestion, and he talked himself into becoming a hero from one of his songs. He was still agreeable when he sobered up on the road halfway to Markarth. Now the Blades are training another recruit.

Zuuri spent some time in solitude under the stars at Sky Haven Temple. She has a name for the fire in her blood. Suleyk. She hungers for more. Where might she find another Word of Power?

Posted by: Taaron Jun 24 2012, 04:54 AM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Apr 23 2012, 06:53 PM) *

Really? I woulda not been able to guess you've not written in first person. You seem to be a pro.

QUOTE(Grits @ Apr 23 2012, 07:03 PM) *

Has anyone taken over Drelas’ or Anise’s cabins?


Not I. Where are they located?

Crystal Beth did come across a place near Falkreath (quest-related) called Pinewatch. She's become fed up with staying at the stupid room with no door, that she considered staying at Pinewatch. It's also a cabin....kinda near Falkreath. It would be convenient to stay there, and then go into town to sell wares, etc.

Problem is, it's got a respawning bandit in its basement! It also doesn't seem to have any safe locations to store loot. I'm not sure what containers are "safe" in Skyirm. Pinewatch only has drawers and a few food sacks. I know open-topped sacks are okay in Oblivion, but I don't know about Skyrim, though.

Bottom line: Beth decided not to stay there. It's just too much hassle. She even let the basement bandit live. biggrin.gif

But she does want to know of any safe cabins out there. She's got enough money to afford the house in Solitude now, but a simple cabin would be cool for a second home.
.




Actually I have taken over it and I found it sort of creepy cause sorry for spoilers but she has like a whole witches dungeon thing and I dont know I was mildly freaked out.

Posted by: Grits Jun 24 2012, 04:21 PM

Here's a long http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/Zuuri.jpg update:

Zuuri recently took a trip to the nearest city. She needed someone with few connections, someone who could be convinced. Perhaps one of those pelt-wearing axe-draggers who hang around in taverns. She found one, and he was for hire.

They raided a few Forsworn hideouts together. The man proved his worth with blade and shield. His dissolute life had made him no less a fighter. One night across the fire, she started her recruiting speech.

“Does it bother you to live without honor?” she asked, passing another bottle of ale.

He flicked it open with his thumb. “A Nord is judged not by how he lives, but by how he dies.”

“True,” Zuuri mused. “And each time you take some Breton girl’s head off with your axe, Sovngarde must ring with your ancestors’ celebration.”

Vorstag drained the bottle. Zuuri handed him another.

“I know a band of men and women who hunt dragons,” Zuuri said. She tipped the last drops of soup out of her bowl. “They live with few comforts, far away from the distractions of city life.”

Vorstag watched her, listening.

“They say a dragon’s fire only burns while you’re dying,” she continued, “but the battle song will last forever.”

Vorstag appeared to consider her words. “Men and women?” he asked after a few moments.

“Yes. Men and strong, fierce, warrior women.” Zuuri wiped the bowl before tucking it away. She gave him a look. “Lonely women.”

Vorstag stood and threw his bottle into the fire. “Lets’ go.”

Back at the stronghold, the Acting Grandmaster declared that now she had her hands full with new recruits. The old fellow found a dragon lair for them to raid.

The Blades gathered their gear and hit the road. Zuuri told them she would meet them there.

She did feel a little guilty over playing on Vorstag’s Nord pride to get him to join up. She decided to have a little chat with him before their next dragon fight. It didn’t work out that way. The dragon spotted her while she was still out in the middle of the volcanic tundra.

The first thing I noticed was that we had left her dragon fighting kit back in Whiterun. My characters tend to drop off their gear when they get home, so that they’re not strolling around town carrying tons of unequipped armor. Sometimes that backfires. Zuuri abandoned her plan to carefully address threats as she approached the lair so that there wouldn’t be any more skeever surprises during the fight. She picked up her feet and sprinted to where the Blades were supposed to meet her.

The dragon followed. It was very cool to run up the hill toward the Blades as they were firing up over her head at the dragon, trash-talking it the whole time. The dragon fell. She approached Vorstag to see if he had any regrets.

“Well met, friend,” he said. “It’s good to see you’re still in one piece, with all the trouble we get into.”

It was hard to tell under his helm, but it sounded like he was smiling.

Zuuri spent the night camped with some hunters by the hot springs. They must have seen the dragon’s fire and heard all of the Shouting, but they didn’t get up to see what the fuss was about. After Zuuri took a long soak with them, she decided they might have the right idea.

Still, duty called. She hit the road back to Sky Haven Temple at dawn. First she needed to stop by Breezehome and pick up her spare boots.

She met a scavenger within sight of Whiterun. He killed her with his hammer.


In memory of my Dovahkiin Redguard Battlemage, here are some pictures of my TV:

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/ZuuriatAlduinsWall.jpg

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/002.jpg

Posted by: King Coin Jun 24 2012, 04:36 PM

Holy crap Grits! I'm so sorry! What a way for Zuuri to die. It was her goal at the beginning of her journey to kill trash like the one that slew her.

Posted by: Grits Jun 24 2012, 06:19 PM

To add insult to injury, the guy used the same breaking neck finishing move on Zuuri that I had admired in the Helgen escape fight. It was brutal. sad.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 24 2012, 08:28 PM

Poor Zuuri. sad.gif This is why I do not play dead is dead.

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 25 2012, 02:21 AM

Goodbye Zuuri. @-}---- Is Zuuri off to Sovengard, or some other location?

-----------------------------------------------------------------

My newest charcter, the dark elf spellsword, is turning out to be somewhat of a prick. Lol. I've never had a character who's a prick before. Oh, I've had evil characters, but not really rude ones. Khahk~Hayre is turning out to be a bit evil, maybe about half-evil and half kinda-good, but he's also just rude. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a distant nephew of Alval Uvani.

For instance, he has a habit of kicking over buckets and bowls and things, making NPCs go BE CAREFUL! He also will sleep in rooms he's not supposed to, and store his things in other people's chests. He steals from shopkeepers when they're not looking (or asleep). Overall, I wind up roleplaying his words, and sometimes his actions in a kind of mean, spiteful tone. He's got a chip on his shoulder.

He just took down the bandits of Mistwatch not long ago. He managed to do this by running in and out of the place, killing one bandit at a time if he had to. .... Mistwatch is the fort that has the guy looking for his wife (Fjola), but she has become a bandit leader. Once we meet her, we have a choice of killing her , letting her live, and/or taking the news of her new lifestyle to her husband.

When Crystal Beth met Fjola, she did everything she could to avoid confrontation. She knew Fjola would be tough, yet she also was not completely evil (Beth could sense this) so Beth let her live. Kahk~Hayre, on the other hand, initially walked away from Fjola, but then read a Summon Storm Atronach scroll before attacking the lady! Then, he swallowed an invisibility potion, so Fjola couldn't find him, letting the Storm Atronach do all the work! laugh.gif

Prick. laugh.gif He told Fjola's husband of his wife's demise, adding "oh....I took all her loot, too". Fjola's husband got really mad and attacked the dark elf. This time, Khahk~hayre cast a Fear spell on the husband, and left him cowering in a corner, saying "Go up and see your dead wife then! See what she had become!"

What a Total Prick. laugh.gif At least he let the man live, though.

He's now on his way towards Riften, using his Clairvoyance to figure out where he can get his mysterious Unusual Gem looked at.

Posted by: Lady Saga Jun 25 2012, 02:50 AM

QUOTE(Grits @ Jun 24 2012, 11:21 AM) *

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/002.jpg


That's a beautiful shot.

Posted by: Grits Jun 26 2012, 01:07 PM

New character: http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/AchillenearRiverwood.jpg. Conjurer, Illusionist, Alchemist. This is not Darnand’s brother, I just like the name.

It is known that during the Markarth Incident of 4E 176, Ulfric’s militia sacked the city. That day anyone strong enough to lift a sword lost their head not even for resisting them, but for failing to rise up and join their cause. The streets ran with innocent blood.

Some of the littlest survivors were taken in by the victors, but most were rounded up and sent away. Many cried out their fear and sorrow. Some were silent. One quiet boy’s bright red curls marked him as Achille, the baker’s youngest. Or at least he had been. Now Achille was son of no one.

How do some children emerge from trauma whole, while others shatter? Even then his empty eyes made his fellow orphans keep their distance. Achille would always find adequate space around him.

As he grew, he realized that he was different. Pain and pleasure he could understand, but joy and sadness were as unfathomable as dark water. Disconnection made him untouchable. The ghost of his family’s hound was the only friend he wanted.

When he came of age, they let him loose in the world. Here’s what’s happened with Achille so far.

First, we released the dragons. Achille is not the Dragonborn, but I want him to live in a dangerous world. I learned that it is possible for a bard and a summoned familiar to clear Bleak Falls Barrow while the conjurer hides. Just very nerve-wracking. It’s pretty neat when the summoned wolf comes romping back to tell you that the battle’s over. Also I completely forgot about Sneak. He’s going to need to put some perks there, especially Light Foot. He almost backed over that swing gate pressure plate. Turned around just in time. Achille got through the first dragon fight by hiding out in the tower and sending his wolf into the fray. Job done. Now his story can begin.

Achille has taken over a recently abandoned cabin just outside Riverwood. He appreciates the solitude, and the view of the lake is to kill for. He is doing some Alchemy for an income, and to give various sweaty Nords a reason to bring him along on their raids. He did a few jobs with Lydia. He keeps her supplied with healing potions and provides backup with his ghost hound Kenjo. Also he’s getting pretty good at stirring up trouble with a Fury spell. Then he hides until it’s over. Lydia is usually good for some sarcasm afterward, but that doesn’t bother Achille. He’s used to people crapping on him.

One recent event stands out as particularly entertaining. A dragon attacked as Achille, Lydia, and Kenjo were walking up the road between the Honningbrew Meadery and Riverwood. A Thalmor patrol was passing at the same time. It took forever to kill that thing! Achille carries no weapons and can only attack through a summoning, so he had to hide in the rocks and then time it so that Kenjo could get some biting done while the dragon was on the ground. Then he had to peek and see when to re-summon the hound, because it was too noisy to hear his death crackle. The dragon flushed him out a few times, and one breath is almost enough to kill him. After the Thalmor were dead and Lydia was nowhere to be seen, he baited the downed dragon all the way to the road junction so that the guards would finally get off their tails and do something. Hide-and-seek was played under rocks, around trees, and behind the Meadery building. At one point, two mud crabs marched up the road and joined the fight.

I’ve tried to have summoner/illusionists before, but they ended up developing a weapon skill because they simply could not stand by while their companion did the fighting. Achille does not have this problem. Even when he thought that Lydia might have died, it was just an observation to weigh in his escape plan. He didn’t feel good or bad about it. If the fight had been anywhere else, he would have just run away. The damn thing was between him and his cabin. Something had to be done about it.

*

Elana dragged Achille up the stairs and pushed him into the only room in their house that had a real bed. She pulled out the trundle while he stood frozen. Smoke was in his nose. A stone house can’t burn, Papa had said. Then the noise reached their street, and now Papa was gone.

“Come on!” hissed Elana, grabbing his chubby hands in hers. “Under, hide!”

There was a splintering crash from below. Mama’s pleading ended in a shriek. He heard Davide screaming.

Achille turned and wiggled into the space beside the wall.

“Stay down! Don’t make a sound, Achille!”

Boots on the stairs. Elana’s bare feet backed into the corner.

Achille closed his eyes.


Achille woke in a sweat, disoriented and uncomfortable. The smell of smoke was just the inn’s fire. He looked around the stone chamber while his heartbeat returned to normal. Perhaps it had been a mistake to return to Markarth.

Out in the common room Achille ate apple pie for breakfast beside the fireplace. A gigantic Nord took the seat across from him.

“I’m what you’d call a soldier of fortune,” said the man. He tore off a chunk of bread with teeth the size of a horse’s. “Make me an offer, and I just might fight at your side.”

Or two nights away from city walls, you just might decide to use me like a woman, thought Achille. He shook his head no.

“Watch your back, friend,” said the man. “Or better yet, pay me to watch it for you.”

Achille went about his city errands in an expedient manner. He returned to the stables in the golden light of afternoon. His horse Queen Allie was waiting there for him. Just yesterday she had carried him past a bandit ambush, two groups of Forsworn, more wolves than he bothered to count, a dragon attack, and one very angry Argonian. Achille had stopped to let Kenjo kill the Argonian. He looked like he might have some skooma.

Achille glanced over at Vigilance the War Dog as he rubbed Allie’s neck. “What do you think, girl?”

Queen Allie snorted.

“You’re right. Let’s ask Kenjo.”

Five hundred Septims later, and the three plus one ghost were on the road headed hopefully toward Morthal. Achille had heard about the Lord Stone. He thought he might go ask for a blessing.

Posted by: Lady Saga Jul 1 2012, 03:35 AM

Wow, good job with the backstory, there. For Achille The Breton

Posted by: Lady Saga Jul 1 2012, 09:08 PM

Turdas, 6:04 pm, 16th of Frostall

Khahk~hayre the dark elf spellsword from 'Morrowind' has just made his way from Riften to Windhelm. Just as he was about to enter the city, an orc approached and offered Khahkhayre a job. Has to do with vampires at a place called "Dawn's Guard" or something, somewhere outside of Riften. Although Khahkhayre was not planning on going back that way, the offer sounds intriguing.

"Kill vampires? Oy, why not? As long as it pays me, I'm in."

He's becoming more and more adept at his profession, learning spells, and using a variety of weapons for his right hand, not just swords. Right now he's got an axe that does 18 points of shock damage. It's the strongest weapon he's ever owned. He found a Staff of Firebolts (25 pts.) as well.

So the axe is obviously better for up-close & personal fighting (esp. indoors), while the staff comes in handy for long-range.

Lately he's also been wearing a Riften Guard's outfit, thinking it would be a clever way to outsmart the peoples of Riften into thinking he's law enforcement. So far, it hasn't worked that way (probably due to the fact that guards are always Nords, ha ha). He found this guard gear somewhere, and enchanted it with a Grand soul gem. It was his second major enchantment, so it's not that strong. Its stats look like this

Magika recharges 10% faster

Restoration spells 7% less to cast


He had to destroy a set of Novice robes to learn these enchantments, too. Giving up a 50% regen rate was difficult, but he's commited to learning the ways of Enchantments. Although the magic regeneration is slow, he would rather wear armor a set of "natty robes".

The mighty Khahkhayre enters Windhelm, eager to trade and plan. He's not sure if he wants to go to Winterhold and join up with the College, or go to Solitude to learn what this odd Unusual Gem is supposed to be.

Posted by: SubRosa Jul 1 2012, 09:42 PM

So you did get Dawnguard after all. How long did it take to download? I am interested to hear what it adds to the game. Mainly because I am looking for a reason to buy it when it eventually becomes available for PC. So far I do not see anything about it that interests me much.

Posted by: Grits Jul 4 2012, 01:48 PM

Here are some updates from Achille. It's long because I got behind on posting them. embarrased.gif


The last time Achille returned to his cabin by the lake, he surprised me by packing up his alchemy ingredients and heading over to Whiterun. He rented the spare room at the Bannered Mare from Hulda. Not the one she offers to regular guests, the small room over the kitchen that has been empty since one of the tavern wenches disappeared. He pays his rent by putting the coins in Hulda’s night stand. She seems a little unnerved by him, so he uses the side entrance. Achille likes this arrangement. He’s still alone, but there are people around. I think the dragon attacks are getting to him.

Whiterun is a good base of operations for now. Achille has been honing his Illusion skills on bandits, and his summoning is coming along nicely. Pretty soon he’s going to have to choose between Atromancy and Necromancy. He often amuses himself with dead bodies, but making a naked bandit chief follow you home does not really help in a desperate fight. He’s probably going to go for Atromancy so that he can place his allies right where they need to be.

Achille is also considering a trip to Winterhold. He has purchased an Apprentice robe, but he would really like an Adept one and a better hood. I thought he would want to wear black robes like the other alienated mages, but no. He doesn’t need to fit in with the regular folk, but he really needs to blend in. Achille has been quietly interesting.

*

Achille was right to be concerned about the trip to Winterhold. Ice wolves and ice wraiths live in the north, and when they finally reached the pass through the mountains it was blocked by two angry giants and a mammoth.

They decided to call it a day and warm up at the nearby inn. Next morning the pass was clear.

When they reached the downward slope that Achille was sure would take them to the road outside Winterhold, he stopped to re-summon his flame atronach. That got the attention of the nearby wildlife. Vigilance and Lydia’s summoned wolf charged in. Lydia and the atronach held back firing projectiles. Achille crouched down and readied his spells, hoping that the snowy sabre cat wouldn’t smell him.

Since he had dismounted, Queen Allie the horse joined the fight. She did not survive.

Achille stood in the snow looking down at Allie while Lydia took the sabre cat’s pelt. When it was time to go, he tried to resurrect her. It didn’t work. They left her by the road for the scavengers. Achille doubted that even a trace of her would remain when they passed that way again.

The College of Winterhold was happy to welcome a mage with Achille’s skills. The Conjuration master taught him how to summon a frost atronach, for a steep fee of course. Achille also bought an Adept hood, but the Adept Conjuration robe was not available to him. He even went along with the college’s plan to investigate an ancient ruin, hoping that when he returned someone would sell him an Adept robe. Nope.

A funny thing happened inside the ruin. That place has been a glitch-fest for many of my characters, so I expected some trouble. Made it through the broken pillars by going back out and then in again, and the second time they worked. It was the boss fight that I had my eyes open for. That guy does crazy things when he re-dies, and Achille really needs the sweet reward that he carries.

So all went well during the fight. I saw that the special staff was present, and Achille jumped at the body as it fell to make sure it didn’t disappear before he could loot it. Great. Then when he investigated the rest of the chamber, the staff was gone. Searched everywhere in case it fell off/went down through the table/turned invisible/ got FUS’d into a corner by the boss/floated up to the ceiling, nothing. I didn’t reload since it wasn’t a game-ending glitch, just an annoyance.

Soon after there was a dragon attack in the streets of Winterhold. Achille worked the edges of the buildings, hiding just out of sight so that he could summon Frosty when the dragon landed and Flicker when it took off again. Then it crashed in the street and Achille saw something amazing.

Someone was shooting shock energy at the dragon! It couldn’t be one of the college mages. Achille had hidden behind the legs of everyone in the fight, and they were all guards apart from his group. He took another peek. Holy crap, it was Lydia! She must have picked up some new tricks at the college, too.

While they were prying scales off the dead dragon, Achille had a thought. He asked her if he could trade some things with her, since this dragon gunk was heavy. She gave him a snort and an eyeroll, but she let him check her inventory.

She had the damned staff!! She must have scooped it up during the fight while Achille was cowering strategizing. Of course he can’t really ask her for it, but at least it’s not lost. I love this game!

Next up Achille and company are going on a bandit raid. He used all of his robe fund on new spells, and he hasn’t even checked to see what the Illusion master might have to offer yet. It looks like they might stay in the north for a little while, earning. And Achille already checked. Windhelm is the closest place to buy a horse.

*

Achille made his way from Winterhold to Windhelm. The path behind him is soaked with blood. Nine ice wraiths. Nine! Also too many snowy sabre cats to mention. He is reconsidering the necromancy perk. Now he dreams of striding through the wilderness with two sabre cats at his side.

He ran into a big problem on an icy rock pile out on the coast. He had Calmed two horkers and was sneaking up on a snowy sabre cat, intending to vanquish it with his frost atronach and followers then bring it along as a pet. Summoning the atronach woke the cat. And its mate. TWO of them, and the frost atronach got hung up on some rocks, and Lydia and Vigilance were nowhere to be found. He had gotten overconfident.

That little game of tag cost him just about all of his health, magicka, and stamina (run away) potions. He learned that when really pressed it’s better to summon an ally in front of you as you’re running and then duck behind it rather than try to turn and summon it to the rear. Also frost atronachs can get hung up on terrain. That was very, very close.

When Vigilance and Lydia finally showed up, he backtracked to figure out what they had been up to. Fighting the horkers. The Calm must have worn off before they got past. Careless.

Lydia ditched him when they got to Windhelm. It might have been the last bandit that he resurrected for company. She followed them a good distance wearing only fur shoes, war paint, and an iron sword. Lydia doesn't seem to like Achille’s little games.

It was fun giving Lydia’s mostly pleasant dialog a sarcastic twist. Since I’m on a PS3, it required some pretending. Achille is not really the Dragonborn or the Thane of Whiterun, no matter what the game says. So Lydia can’t be his Housecarl. She’s a mercenary who brings Achille along for magical backup, and she doesn’t like him. Pretty much everything she says means the opposite. Here’s how she sounds to Achille:

Honor to you, my Thane. = You are a sniveling milk-drinker.
I am your sword and your shield. = You can’t even defend yourself. Kitten.
A healing spell? Are you a priest? = What are you, some kind of priest?
Long life to you, Thane. = I should leave you here to die.

So now Achille is in Windhelm considering his next move. He would like to get back where it’s warmer, away from ice wraiths and snowy sabre cats. They found a beautiful grey horse that died almost immediately, but while it was dying it gave him time to get away. He asked about bounties at the inn, but the only job was to go kill some dragon. That is not going to happen. He doesn’t know how to approach another mercenary without a job to offer them. So it looks like he might need another horse.

Posted by: SubRosa Jul 4 2012, 05:24 PM

Let's not forget Lydia's classic "I am sworn to carry your burdens." Which is of course meant for Achille with exactly the same sarcastic venom that is directed at every other thane of hers...


Posted by: Rihanae Jul 6 2012, 10:14 PM

As it wasn't the right time to bring Lissa into Skyrim I have been travelling with another character of mine.

She is a red headed nord called Valentine. Valentine is her surname, as she prefers to be known by that alone.

She used to be Captain of the Riften guard, but she uncovered a conspiracy led my Maven Black-Brair to kill her for falling in love with a stormcloak.

Maven had her sent to an old fort with Valentines love to rid it of bandits, but instead Valentine found a dozen assassins. Sadly only Valentine survived (the battle leaving her with a scar on her face)

Once she confronted Maven and told the Jarl of what happened she was fired from her position for slander and expelled from Riften.

I love playing this character as with most of my characters they have a set story I intend for them to follow, but Valentine does not. I travel with her as she explores freely without a set path and it's amazing to see where it takes us.

it's so much fun! biggrin.gif

Posted by: Grits Jul 6 2012, 11:44 PM

What we learned on the way back to Whiterun: Achille’s atronach, dog, and horse team cannot deal damage to a troll fast enough to make a measureable change in its red bar. Possibly because this horse (called Blaze, Achille’s background does not lend itself to creative naming) is much smarter than the previous horses. It runs away. So now there’s an angry troll somewhere on the road.

It’s also frustrating to be an alchemist on horseback. At one point Achille was hopping off and on every few feet. They were on the edge of the volcanic area, and a dragon was circling over in the fairly near distance. The ground was covered with stuff Achille needs for magicka potions. Hop off, pick plant. Dragon howls. Leap on, run a little way. Spot creep cluster. Repeat.

Now Achille has sold his extra junk, brewed a new batch of potions, and carefully arranged his recently acquired embalming tools in his room. He also brought home three skulls to play with. Thankfully he shuts the door with Vigilance in the hall before he starts his weirdness. Achille takes good care of his war dog. He’s taken some risks using Healing Hands during fights, and he carries an extra wooden bowl around with him for Vigilance.

Achille is saving up perks for the three he can get when he hits 50 in Illusion. He’s pretty bold about going into caves and mines, but no way is he going near undead at this point. There’s really nothing he wants in a tomb anyway. He does like to watch bandits die. Up on the coast he and Lydia found a dead woman locked in a bandits’ cage. It was one of those times when he knew he was supposed to feel something.

Back in Whiterun, Achille and Vigilance spent several days out on the plains collecting alchemy ingredients and improving Achille’s reflexes. He believed that he had the right skills to avoid some conflicts, he just needed to learn how to stand his ground. He practiced Calming wolves until he could do it almost naturally. Then most of the way to Rorikstead, it happened. Ambushed by a sabre cat.

He Calmed it. He and Vigilance went on their way.

That was a pretty big moment for Achille. It was also a good lesson in keeping something summoned when he’s going to be fiddling around with butterflies and flowers. On the way back to Whiterun he had Frosty at his heels. Oh, and a thief tried to rob him. He Calmed the guy. Then from a safe distance he let Frosty and Vigilance rip him to shreds.

Whiterun Hold is a good place to be an alchemist. Achille had to head up to Riverwood to unload some potions, because the Whiterun merchants all ran out of gold. Sweet! He is going to look boss in his new robe. Then on the way out of Riverwood, a dragon attacked. Achille did what even Allek couldn't manage once the dragons finally entered his game: he slipped away and left Riverwood’s citizens dealing with the dragon.

Achille still has some pretty big issues, mostly with people. One night the bard Mikael showed up in his room (upon reflection, it might actually be Mikael’s room, oops), and Achille could do exactly nothing about it. Thankfully Mikael went away. That was an uncomfortable moment.

In other news, Achille has added a saw to his tool collection. blink.gif

Posted by: King Coin Jul 7 2012, 06:00 AM

What's with your crazy Bretons? Wasn't Allek a Breton too?

Posted by: Rihanae Jul 7 2012, 07:55 PM

Thats one of the only problems I have with Skyrim is Alchemy. I don't really like that fact that potion making isn't portable. There should definitely be a perk or something which makes this possible (unless there already is and I've not seen it!)

Today Valentine visited Shor's Stone to try and make some money. She learned that the mine there had been infested with spiders, so for a reward she offered to help.

She took out the spiders with ease and was rewarded with 500 gold.

Not only that but she was offered a position as a Shor's Stone guard*. Although it was a BIG step down from what she was used to, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to be back in Riften guard armor smile.gif

*This is all imagination. All I did was head down to Shor's Watchtower and collect the RIften guard armor from one of the dead soldiers.

Posted by: Rihanae Jul 8 2012, 07:51 PM

From Valentine's Memoirs


*Valentines game starts outside Riften. She has absoloutly nothing on her apart from a dress and boots.

I can't believe that evil shrew, Maven, had me fired! SLANDER! WHAT? The woman tried to kill me and she killed Arthur! She's lucky that I don't waste time grieving, or we would have sufford much worse than a threat.

The Jarl is incompetant for believeing Maven in the first place. I can't believe she didn't believe me! Where did she think the sudden injury on my face came from? Maven may as well be Jarl for all the good she's doing for the city!

I cannot believe I've been exiled from Riften. I've lost everything; my job, my friends, Honeyside, EVERYTHING!

All I was left with was a dress given to me by Haelga; that's it. A nasty, horrible, unflattering dress. Disgusting.

I figured that my friend Sylja would have better apparel for me, so I headed to Shor's Stone to see her. Luckily it wasn't far from Riften.

Whilst walking I saw Khajit caravaners. They seemed nice, but not nice enough to donate anything to me to defend myself with. When I was captain I was so used to getting what I wanted out of sheer respect. It's funny how uickly a reputation can go downstream.

I encountered a few wolves on my journey to Syljas', and with me being unarmed I did the sensible thing and ran. If the soldiers in my faction could have seen me they would have laughed.

I made it to Shor's Stone and found Sylja in her house. She seemed pleased to see me, but she explained to me that she had injured her leg in the mine so she wasn't feeling very hospitable.

She also told me that she could't return to work even if she wanted to due to the fact that Frostbite Spiders had infested the place*.

I decided there and then that I would help out my friend and rid the mine of the spiders; luckily I still had my Flames spell handy, although I was awful at it.

***

It didn't take me too long for me to clear the mines, but on my way to tell Sylja the good news I was stopped by a Shor's Stone guard captain. She told me she was inpressed with what I had done and offered me a job as one of her guards.

Despite the fact that it was a HUGE downgrade from what I was used to, I decided to accept the position. She gave me Shor's Stone guard armour, which I spruced up by adding steel boots and gauntlets. The smith also made me two steel swords, as I am an expert at dual weilding in combat**.

*As I knew of the quest beforehand, I didn't go to the quest giver, but simply pretended Sylja told Valentine of the quest.

**Near Shor's Stone there is a guard tower full of dead Riften guards. Once I completed the mission I went there and took a corpses armour and found some weapons.

Posted by: Grits Jul 9 2012, 04:06 AM

Things are looking up for Valentine! smile.gif

QUOTE(King Coin @ Jul 7 2012, 01:00 AM) *

What's with your crazy Bretons? Wasn't Allek a Breton too?

Yep, Allek is also a Breton. BUT, I should mention that Denelle is a Breton, too, and everyone thinks that she is a very sweet girl even though Erik the Slayer does not want to marry her. tongue.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Jul 9 2012, 07:15 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jul 1 2012, 04:42 PM) *

So you did get Dawnguard after all. How long did it take to download? I am interested to hear what it adds to the game. Mainly because I am looking for a reason to buy it when it eventually becomes available for PC. So far I do not see anything about it that interests me much.


Didn't take long to download. It took longer for ME to figure out how to get Xbox Live actuated on my console, actually.

I haven't started any Dawnguard stuff, have not officially been to see the vampire hunters or whatever, but here are a few pros and cons I've noticed after starting the game. Some of these may be spoilers, so read at your own risk.

Pros:

1. New spells, including a spell that can make a summoned creature turn back against the one who originally summoned. This one can be annoying if it happened to be ME who cast the original summon, but the enemy triggers the reciprocating spell, turning my summon against ME.

2. Crossbows. Haven't seen one yet, but they are in the game.

3. Some really COOL vampire fights have shown up randomly in-game, and they seem to only happen at night! I love random stuff. On the second night my spellsword was in Solitude, for instance, all a sudden the entire street was in chaos. A vampire made its way into town, and was discovered by the guards. I didn't have to do anything that time...the guards handled it all. The vampire was felled and was wearing some new "vampire armor".
...This particular random encounter was almost at the caliber of when an NPC in Oblivion is caught doing something wrong (like City Swimmer in Bravil) and the entire scene goes nuts. Only difference is City Swimmer is a named NPC, and the vampire in Skyrim is definitely random.

4. Darkness Eternal really seems to dig the NPC follower from DG, and I trust his word that she rocks.

5. There's supposed to be a "beautician" in Riften who can change our looks. Haven't visited this place yet, though, but I promise I will.

Cons:

1. I was hoping DG would add some new dialog to townie conversations. It does. Unfortunately, it's all "have you heard? They're reforming the Dawnguard..." bla bla bla. I was hoping for some more random conversation (Hi! ... How are you! ... What is it?) instead of more specific PC-triggered walk-by comments.

...that's something that is wearing thin for me personally. I find myself actively walking around certain NPCs sometimes, just cuz I know they're gonna spout one of those flat, repetitive comments at my character. Oblivion's random conversations have an edge over Skyrim or Dawnguard here, imo.

Summary: the pros outweigh the cons for me. But I dunno about you, SubRosa. Perhaps you don't want random vampires, more stilted conversation, etc.

Posted by: Grits Jul 9 2012, 10:33 PM

I've played a little Dawnguard, and I'm seriously thinking I won't buy it for the PS3 where my long-term characters live. Although I did spend some time this morning wondering why I couldn't smith arrows. Wrong machine. (And pre-coffee. It was really early.) D'oh!

Here's the latest from Achille:

Twice more out on the road he has been pinned down by a dragon and had to endure the long battle until his Storm Atronach could finally bring it down. Then both times Vigilance and his Dremora Lord finished it. Achille has advanced significantly in Conjuration. What happened to him is in the past. He no longer thinks of himself as that helpless person.

It would be an exaggeration to say that Achille has made friends, but Urag gro-Shub and Phinis Gestor at the College of Winterhold can both look him in the eye without obvious signs of unease. Perhaps they are as strange as Achille, but he is in no position to make that judgment. In any case, Achille has undertaken jobs for both mages. Events at the college have taken a turn. Achille sought Master Phinis’ help getting himself ready for his next dangerous task.

Phinis prepared the ritual. Achille went to the appointed place. He Rallied Vigilance and summoned his Dremora Lord. He Muffled himself and readied Invisibility in case he needed to hide in plain sight. Then he stood inside the circle and cast Phinis’ spell.

Achille was instantly slain by the unbound Dremora. Sigh.

Posted by: King Coin Jul 10 2012, 01:29 AM

Sorry Grits. sad.gif None of my DiD characters get much past level 10 so getting that far seems like a feat to me.

Posted by: liliandra nadiar Jul 10 2012, 02:01 AM

Sorry to hear that Grits. sad.gif

That's always been a sore point for me, some spawn'ed being(s) are specifically scripted to attack the PC, so hidden/muffle/invis/what-not are totally irrelevant. >.<

Also a reason I tend to avoid DiD runs.

Posted by: Rihanae Jul 10 2012, 05:52 PM

I'm curious, I've heard that once you have Dawnguard and crossbows are available, they are ONLY available if you join the Dawnguard? Is this right? Are they not available in shops?

Posted by: SubRosa Jul 10 2012, 09:11 PM

That is my understanding. Though PC users will be able to mod the game to make them available anywhere.

Posted by: Grits Jul 12 2012, 01:19 AM

I haven’t checked in the shops with my Dawnguard character, sorry. My character (Mikke of Green River) got one before joining, though. A guy at the fort just handed it to her.

I wanted to try some Smithing and play with someone a little less damaged this time, so I made a character inspired by this guy: http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/malibuken.jpg. He’s an Imperial Warrior. Primary skills: One-Handed, Block, Heavy Armor, Smithing. Secondary skills: Archery, Restoration, Looking Good in All the Fine Clothing. He is compelled to take Smithing perks as soon as they become available, since he really must have the very best to wear. Along those lines, he only wears armor that he has made himself and clothing that he has purchased. Worn enchantments are limited to the jewelry he can find or buy. He does a lot of shopping. Also, his armor always has to match.

Introducing http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/KentusPrime.jpg. May he bring great suffering to the dragons. (And also smith some bitchin boots.)

*

Attached Please Find the Last Page of Imperial Fugitive Kentus Prime’s Journal, Confiscated as Evidence at the Time of his Arrest. Note: Prisoner is Wanted in County Bruma for Questioning by the Count. Maintain Utmost Discretion; the Matter is of a Personal Nature.

Additionally: Fill Out Paperwork upon Arrival in Helgen, Prior to Transport Back to County Bruma. Prisoner Owes 5 Septims for his Skyrim Visa, plus the Fine of 10 Septims for Failing to Submit Appropriate Forms in a Rightful and Timely Manner. (Do not let this citizen of Cyrodiil get mixed up with the rest of that rebel riff raff.)


___

Last Seed 12 (I think), 4E201
Somewhere above Bruma


The gods must hate me. Why oh why did Countess Bruma not inform me that she is married? Or for that matter, that she is the Countess? I should not have worn my purple velvet doublet. It’s no wonder that she could not resist me. No, the poor woman cannot be blamed.

Rather I blame that “guide” for my present predicament. And I blame myself for trusting him. Who ever heard of a Dunmer forester? I have come to believe that we were in fact both fleeing Bruma’s Guard. By hiring him I only postponed the moment that he robbed me. Well, with no gold purse and no pack, at least I have less weight to carry. It is fortunate that I choose to sleep in my boots. I should not like be out here starving, freezing, and lost in a pair of camp moccasins. They would not match my cloak.

In the morning I will resume my search for the Border Patrol. I lack the funds for a travel visa, but I am certain that my Imperial brothers will lend a helping hand. Must close for now. Ink has frozen.

___

From Kentus Prime’s new journal:


Last Seed 20, 4E201
Riverwood

Skyrim has provided some unexpected adventures. My wagon ride in Legion custody nearly ended with my head in a basket. Thanks to the intervention of a beast of legend and a stalwart soldier of the Imperial Legion, I still draw breath. My entanglements in County Bruma have faded into insignificance. There is excitement to be found right here in Skyrim.

I have repaid the Riverwood smith for his hospitality through honest work at his forge. My skills are progressing. I am now outfitted in steel. I have not yet seen finer armor in Skyrim.

I have earned a small income ridding the local area of bandit menace. My greatest need at present is a decent clothier. Perhaps the Nords make their own apparel. Thus far I have only found a single pair of boots for sale.

___

Last Seed 21, 4E201
Whiterun

The disaster at Helgen was not an isolated incident. Dragons have returned to the world, and I have slain one! With support from Whiterun’s most excellent Guard. An errand for the Jarl’s wizard led to a turn of events. At the end I discovered a strange, new power. Back at Dragonsreach, an argument developed. I found myself agreeing with Balgruuf’s unwashed brother (perhaps the strangest turn of events thus far). I am Dragonborn. The Greybeards called my name: DovahKen! The times of ancient legend have returned!

Note to self: try russet outfit with the green-lined boots.

___

Last Seed 23, 4E201
Whiterun

I have settled my domestic arrangements in a most satisfactory manner. Jarl Balgruuf suggested that as Thane I might purchase property inside the city of Whiterun. The available home is located in the Plains District. No, thank you! I found a cottage for rent in the far more fashionable Wind District. It is of course a bit windy, but style triumphs over comfort.

The sight of my landlord raised a dilemma. Though I have not seen armor made of Dwarven metal, I have begun collecting ingots as I find them for sale in anticipation of the day that my skills will allow me to use them. My landlord Uthgerd the Unbroken wears a finely crafted suit of steel plate! Adrianne informs me that I am nowhere near ready to work with that material. She suggested that I work with Elven metal for a time. However, I can imagine how the sunset will gleam on a suit of golden-colored Dwemer metal. What to do?

It is some comfort that Uthgerd wears a breastplate fashioned in the feminine form. I am told that the people of Skyrim are more open-minded about certain things than people in other places. If he wants to dress as a woman, it is no concern of mine. We raided a few bandit camps together. I have great respect for the quality of his character and the strength of his arm.

___

Last Seed 24, 4E201
Camped in Whiterun Hold, or Eastmarch, or Possibly The Rift

I have crafted http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/DwarvenDovahKen.jpg, and a sword, axe, and bow as well.The guards have made many admiring remarks as I walk through the streets of Whiterun. There is one thing they are perhaps too awe-struck to mention. I may present an Aedric vision of righteous might, but I move like a pregnant cow. I am told there is a standing stone that may bequeath the Steed’s blessing. I set out with my landlord/boon companion Uthgerd to find it.

On the road near Honnigbrew Meadery, a dragon attacked. The guards answered my rallying cry, and we slew the beast. Not before one of the local farmers met a brutal end in its jaws. After the carcass flaked away into bones and I absorbed its very soul in a rush of (well-deserved) power and light, Uthgerd met my eyes with a look of grim determination.

He was right. It is time for DovahKen to answer the Greybeards’ call. We turned our steps toward Ivarstead.

(A note after turning in for the night: to my great surprise, I have discovered that Uthgerd is a female person. I cannot account for her voice and sheer physical presence, but that does explain the breast forms on her armor.)

___

30 Last Seed, 4E201
Windhelm

“Keep an eye out for wolves if you’re headed up the path to High Hrothgar.” Wolves?! Upon our return to Whiterun, Uthgerd will need to build an addition to house our pelt, fang, and skull collection. I no longer have any concerns about facing wolves.

The Greybeards were impressed with me, of course. I am tasked with retrieving an artifact. The road will take us to parts of Skyrim that I have not yet seen. It is my fervent hope that I might find a clothier. I have begun to suspect that the apparel offered for sale at my favorite merchants is the very same that I traded in as salvage!

In Windhelm I conquered the mysteries of steel plate. Now Uthgerd and I present a uniformly grim appearance. I did look fine in my Dwemer attire. Perhaps I will keep it for ceremonial use. Working with orichalcum gives me no satisfaction. The armor is indeed as ugly as those who are known to wear it.

___

5 Heartfire, 4E201
Solitude

Here is a city! It is my fondest hope to return here someday, perhaps to dwell in peace after the defeat of the dragons. And if those wretched Stormcloaks ever tire of causing a fuss. Actually, perhaps I should simply hope to dwell here, and work on the peace later.

Thanks to the funds collected on a long and active road trip, I am now attired most hideously in Orcish armor of my own making. The material is stronger than my steel plate, and so I wear it, death being slightly less welcome than presenting a rough appearance. I am collecting ebony ingots in anticipation of future efforts at the forge. Thus far I can afford two.

In the morning Uthgerd and I will depart on the Greybeards’ errand. I have acquired the blessing of the Steed Stone. Though Uthgerd is considerably longer of limb, I am now able to outpace her. This new ability has given me additional practice catching blows on my shield and heavy armor, as ruffians and wild creatures seldom have the courtesy to wait for her to catch up before attacking.

In other news, I have found an adequate clothier. Radiant Raiment! As soon as Uthgerd falls asleep, I will begin the work of organizing my new wardrobe. Thankfully with the Steed’s blessing I will not have to ask her to carry it.

Posted by: Rihanae Jul 12 2012, 10:10 PM

Hehe Grits, I am loving Kentus!

The fact that he thought Uthgerd was a male at first was hilarious.

His skill in Smithing is impressive considering the amount of time he's been doing it. He is a talented man, I must say!

Can't wait to see where his journey takes him next.

LONG LIVE DOVAHKEN!! wink.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Jul 12 2012, 11:05 PM

DovaKen! I love it. But considering who he is inspired by, I think it should have been the Count of Bruma who found him irresistible in his purple, not the Countess... wink.gif

Posted by: liliandra nadiar Jul 14 2012, 08:37 AM

DovaKen, that's awesome. biggrin.gif

In other news, in order to try out some new mechanic mods, I started up http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-07-1321-32-28-59.jpg and http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-07-1321-23-48-93.jpg. So far, Sorchia's mostly hung out staring at a peculiar http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-07-0223-01-42-84.jpg while having classes. Not that Winterhold is all that http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-07-1321-29-20-68.jpg at time.

Sindel, on the other hand, is a bit more of a wanderer who has seen some danger a bit http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-06-2523-38-48-81.jpg then she would have liked, but she marks it balanced by the occasionally http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-07-0822-32-20-52.jpg sights her travels reveal.

I'm also pretty certain what mod KC was using when Aravi fought the dragon in Morthal, as Sindel has faced that type as well, though she was a tad bit more http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-07-1320-59-23-39.jpg then the Khajiti girl with the aid of several guards.

Posted by: King Coin Jul 14 2012, 03:17 PM

QUOTE(liliandra nadiar @ Jul 14 2012, 02:37 AM) *

I'm also pretty certain what mod KC was using when Aravi fought the dragon in Morthal, as Sindel has faced that type as well, though she was a tad bit more http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/Liliandra_Nadair/LiliOblivion/TESV2012-07-1320-59-23-39.jpg then the Khajiti girl with the aid of several guards.

Wow, I can honestly say I've never fought 3 at the same time.

Posted by: Grits Jul 15 2012, 05:38 AM

Oh sweet mother Mara. I don’t have a journal page from Kentus. Just a few remarks and a quick retelling of today’s incident.

Now, Kentus Prime is my first and probably last Smithing character, because so far there has been more shopping than adventuring. Clearing out mines, hunting for hides, and praying for one more ingot in the shop. Kentus has taken some Speech perks instead of more combat skill perks, since it seemed that although he was weak in the battle department, his gear made up for it. I prefer the hide-wearing steel-bearing badass over the mightily equipped average guy, but I had to try both to be sure. Anyway, Kentus finally got his last perk in Smithing about twenty minutes ago. He crafted a few pieces of Dragonplate, but he needs more materials to finish his set, so he wouldn’t even try on the pieces he just made yet. Off he went wearing steel plate (he still needs more ebony ingots to temper the whole set of ebony armor, and don’t get me started about daedra hearts), and I was fuming a little bit because I really, really want to see what the dragon armor looks like.

Between Whiterun and the Western Watchtower, a dragon attacked while DovahKen was killing a sabre cat. Yesss!! More scales, bring it. He began the battle at less than full health, but it landed immediately and he already had his sword out so he jumped in and was making good progress. About the time I cast an eye at the dwindling health bar, kill cam.

My view was stuck looking up the dragon’s rear end, so all I could see was the hunched-over beast thrashing from side to side. Fffffff nooooo!! Not before Kentus makes his last piece of— gaah now I’ll never get to see— wait, what’s that?

DovahKen is riding the dragon’s head!! Woo hoo, he’s the one doing the killing!! It’s a KenCam! Eat that, dragon!

Whew. Now back to Whiterun to make a pointy helm, as soon as my heart stops pounding. I love this game!!



Three dragons for Sindel? Wow, I think I've only had two once! Sigh, vanilla. I enjoyed the pictures! smile.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Jul 15 2012, 02:30 PM

liliandra nadiar: 3 dragons at once!!! ohmy.gif

Grits: Shouldn't DovaKen be hanging out with DovaBarbie? I mean Lydia? He needs an ornament on his arm to make him look good.

Posted by: Grits Jul 15 2012, 08:34 PM

laugh.gif DovahKen would make Barbie look good! tongue.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Jul 15 2012, 08:47 PM

Then maybe some hot young stud like Erik the Farmer Slayer? wink.gif Most of the men in this game fall under the "settling for less" heading, but he at least would not go home alone from the Boom Boom Room.

Posted by: Grits Jul 15 2012, 09:35 PM

Funnily enough, young Erik is presently traveling with Kentus. tongue.gif He’s wearing glass armor from head to toe with a matching glass battleaxe. I wasn’t a fan of the glass armor before, but I love the way different light shines on the material. I cannot imagine any other character who would put Erik the Slayer in glass, but that’s DovahKen!

Kentus did meet a woman who is potentially worthy of adorning his arm. Jarl Elisif the Fair! He’s almost prepared to overlook the fact that she is a Nord. Of course the whole grieving widow/aspiring High Queen business likely places her out of reach, but Kentus does not aim low. He has not been impressed with the other Imperials he has met in Skyrim. Camilla is a tease and a bad dresser, and Carlotta fails to see the humor in selling her food in order to feed her hungry daughter. If she said, “I have a growing daughter who keeps borrowing my shoes,” I’m sure that Kentus would have been smitten.


Posted by: Grits Jul 16 2012, 08:14 PM

Kentus Prime has experienced a turn of events. I had hoped that he would find a necklace of frost resistance and go surfing on the Sea of Ghosts, but that was not to be. Here’s what he says about it:


Heartfire 9, 4E201
The Reach

I have spent some time scouring Skyrim for materials with which to work my art. New friendships were forged along the way. I now travel with a man who calls himself The Slayer. He is attired in glass armor of my making. Quite an improvement over his original gear. There was a time when I would have remarked how the light dances in the green glass, and how the helm masks The Slayer’s pasty complexion and unfortunate hair. I might sound like my new Altmer friend in Solitude, a woman whose impeccable taste surpasses even my own. In the past I would have chronicled my triumph over dragon scales and bone, and I might have described how well I wear the armor crafted from those legendary materials. But no longer.

Two days ago in Dawnstar, a dragon attacked. The Khajiit caravan and civilians of Dawnstar joined in their town’s defense. I fought bravely, but not carefully. Seren the blacksmith’s wife fell by my hand. With one arrow I ended two lives and ruined another.

The Slayer waited for me to serve my prison term. He still stands by my side. Another dragon attacked as we attempted to leave Dawnstar. I hoped that justice would find me during the fight, yet I live. We returned to Whiterun where I lifted my hammer for the final time. I crafted a suit of daedric armor, so I might appear as foreign and foul as befits one who shares the dragons’ blood. Now I understand our kinship. Fire and death, and an end to all things.

There is a dragon lair at the summit of a nearby mountain. Tomorrow we hunt.

Posted by: SubRosa Jul 16 2012, 10:41 PM

Poor Kentus sad.gif So much for the fun-loving fashion-commando.

Posted by: Grits Jul 30 2012, 04:40 PM

Heartfire, I think
Somewhere snowy

Dear Da,

I was right to follow my dreams. Every day with Kentus Prime is an adventure. I have shot dragons down out of the sky. (With some help from DovahKen. That little fetcher sure can Shout.) And I’m pretty sure that I will get to Sovngarde fighting at his side. In fact if there is blood on this letter maybe I am there already. Ha ha.

It’s not all fun and killing, though. A bad thing happened in Dawnstar. A dragon attacked. That was the good part. Then a Redguard woman stepped in DovahKen’s line of fire. She died. He is tore up about it. Hasn’t shaved or trimmed his hair in weeks, and I told you how he used to keep after his appearance. Now he is almost as hairy as a Nord woman. I keep telling him that it was not his mistake, but I don’t think he listens. It’s hard to tell though, because he always wears that creepy helm.

I hope the crops are growing well without me, because I’m not coming back home for a while. I know you wanted to keep me safe, and that is fine thinking if you are an elf or an Imperial. I hope you are proud of me, Da. I that think Ma would be.

Your son,

Erik (The Slayer)

Posted by: Illydoor Aug 1 2012, 01:56 PM

My Imperial character Nemetor finally entered The Ratways, in search of the elusive Esbern.

Before coming to Skyrim on that fateful day however, the unknown descendant of Septim was an outcast and a thief. But he had shied away from that former career after entering the wintry land of the Jarls, determined to begin anew and leave his criminal past far behind.

He knew however, the temptation to visit the Ragged Flagon and its herald Brynjolf was also partly the reason he would enter the sewers tonight. To know that there was not just a hideout, but an entire guild of thieves just like him underneath the creaking wood of Riften was a notion that both terrfied and intrigued him. Perhaps they would know where Esbern was? Yes, thought Nemetor. That was a good enough reason.

So at the hour of midnight, he crept out his lodgings in the Bee and Barb, garbed in hooded blue robes to hide his face. He took a torch out of the bracket outside and descended the steps to the watery canals. There he found an unassuming door, and seeing there was nobody around, doused his torch and stepped in.

Inside the walls were slimy with damp mould, but the place was well lit. Nemetor rid himself of the blue robe for some simpler clothes, better for sneaking around in. It had not been long traversing the passage when he came across two men speaking. He got that one was named 'Drahff' and the other named 'Hewnon' from the conversation, before the former mentioned something about checking the entranceway. Nemetor panicked, and quickly backed into a shadowy alleyway out of sight. When the thug walked past, he unsheathed his ebony war axe and drew its bladed edge across his throat. His companion rushed in after, having seen the death. In the flickering torchlight blows were traded, but Nemetor's skill with the axe was unmatched and the man named Hewnon was hewed nonetheless.

After a few more lowlifes to deal with and about halfway into the sewers, Nemetor came across a room littered with beartraps on the grimy floor. In the corner, an alchemical table stood, along with a good amount of empty mead bottles and a pile of dirty hay. Someone obviously lived here. But where was he?

His question was answered when a thundering punch smashed into the side of his head. Nemetor stumbled back, to find himself looking at a ham-fisted giant of a man dressed in ragged robes that barely fit on his colossal frame. The Nord stood head and shoulders above the Imperial, and before Nemetor could unsheathe his axe another two punches crashed into his side, disarming him and sending the weapon spinning away.

Left with no weapon, Nemetor had no choice but to raise his own fists, and dodged and ducked as the brute swung heavy blows - for some odd reason he was unable to block. Nemetor threw some punches of his own, but if they registered on the big Nord he barely seemed to show it, since Nemetor hadn't invested in that Heavy Armor perk yet. His opponent was unrelenting in his strikes, and before long he was driven back, his stamina wearing thin and his mind and body reeling from the huge blows.

He knew then he was never going to win this battle through strength. So the Imperial turned the fight into a game of wits, noticing for the first time the lamp swinging above them and the pool of oil on the floor. In a last-ditch effort to save his life, Nemetor swung with all his might a blow aimed for the bracket that held the lamp. It snapped, and the lamp fell, shattering on the Nord's bald head and then as the first sparks hit the oil pool consuming him in a roaring blossom of flame and light. The giant fell silent, and as the flames died away all Nemetor could hear was the sound of his own laboured breathing and the thump of his heart pounding in his head.


------

This all happened, right from sneaking into that beartrap room and wondering where everybody was and then having Gian the Fist punch me in the back of the head, as well as having him almost kill me bare-handed until I hit the lamp above him in the next room.

He didn't disarm me though, I just thought it'd be cool to fight him mano-a-mano mad.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 1 2012, 07:28 PM

Interesting story, that of Nemetor. My dark elf spellsword initially got into the business down the Ratway, but lost interest for some reason. Maybe that's for another character, though.

Posted by: Illydoor Aug 1 2012, 08:55 PM

At what point did you lose interest?

Ah I first created him with a mind to have him as the typical goody hero, but then realised that I'd obviously want him to join the thieves guild and dark brotherhood amongst other more morally-questionable activities, so decided to create his criminal background.

Posted by: King Coin Aug 4 2012, 03:16 AM

Ok Aravi hasn't actually got to the Dawnguard fort yet, she's in Riften getting ready. Sorting what equipment gets sold, what gets stored, and what absolutely has to come with.

She was looking for refined moonstone, walking from the main gate to the market. It was evening and the shops were about to close for the night. Heavy clouds in the air, could rain at any time. Then a roar. A dragon faded into existence right above the town and attacked! Big cities were supposed to be safe! And it was a Nether Dragon.

(Is that in the vanilla game?! It did some unusual frost attacks and then turned invisible as it flew, so you had a really difficult time tracking it as it circled in the air!)

Aravi had to use dragon rend to bring it down and she killed it quickly after that. A huge crowd gathered and stared at Aravi, she could hear them talking about her. She ran away from them, down into the canal. She ran to the other side of the city and came up near Honeyside and ran inside. Her secret was out.

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 4 2012, 03:57 AM

There are no dragons in my games, so I do not know if that is normal. It does sound neat to have them attack inside the big cities. Although it might not be so neat after everyone in the city is dead...


On a different note, there have been two occasions now in Bendis' game where a Stormcloak patrol has almost gone aggro on her. Both times it was with one of the three-fighter patrols in the wilderness, and both times it was with just one of them, a female Nord. She would draw her sword and tell Bendis to get lost. Bendis does not have a bounty, and has not done any of the civil war. It is just like I saw happen more than once in Aravi's game. So I wonder if that one Stormcloak actor has some kind of disposition modifier against certain races, like Dark Elves and Khajiit?

Posted by: King Coin Aug 4 2012, 04:41 AM

That's interesting that that is happening to you too... Aravi went with the legion soldier when she escaped Helgen, but that is the extent she has shown preference for one side or the other. She hasn't done any of the Civil War quests and she hasn't attacked any of the sides either.

The entire patrol shows aggression toward Aravi however, not just one person.

Posted by: liliandra nadiar Aug 4 2012, 04:59 AM

QUOTE(King Coin @ Aug 3 2012, 04:16 PM) *

(Is that in the vanilla game?! It did some unusual frost attacks and then turned invisible as it flew, so you had a really difficult time tracking it as it circled in the air!)


No, it's not vanilla. The timer on Deadly Dragons counts on every cell marked outside. If there's a clear view of the sky, when the timer hits 0, dragon(s) will spawn above you. I've had it happen to me in Shalidor's Maze, man was that frustrating, there was no real area large enough for a dragon to land in, and they kept strafing just under the object walls.

As for the abilities, that's also a part of the DD mod. Welcome to the next tier of dragons. ohmy.gif

QUOTE(Deadly Dragons readme file)

Nether Drake
Level: 36
Resistances: Fire Dragon
Abilities: Sonic Wave breath-attack. (Ignores all resistances & armor)
Cameleon - Turns the dragon invisible temporaritly. Fades back into view when attacking the player or taking damage.


Posted by: McBadgere Aug 5 2012, 02:08 PM

"By the twin moons! I ask you, how is it that such a vastness exists below the ground?"

"I know not brother, but close your mouth fool, you will catch flies if you are not careful."

"Is that a city?"

"How should I know?..Yes, I believe it looks like it may be."

"The Dwemer managed to find all the places to hide them, no?"

"Indeed."

"RAWR!!!..."

"Was that your stomach again?"

"A Dragon? Down here?"

*Sigh* "Well, why not?"

*Rollseyes* "Shall we?"

"Yes, lets."



Today, the brothers J'Zirlo and J'Zargo entered the deep caverns of Blackreach to find...Sommatorother...Oooh yes, the Elder Scroll wasn't it? After using it, J'Zirlo learnt the Dragonrend shout and then, in the nextness, got Ulfric and Tullius (the granddad from the new Teen Wolf series!!) to agree to a truce...Oh, and then as an encore we captured Oodaving...

Currently, J'Zirlo is stood outside that fastness that the Dragon carries you to...

Huzzah!!...

*Shrug*...Yep...Doing a bit more...

Posted by: Grits Aug 5 2012, 03:36 PM

Denelle just fought a dragon inside Riften (vanilla, this one didn’t have chameleon!! That must have been neat.). It landed outside Mistveil Keep. Tythis Ulen jumped on its head and finished it with his… dagger? It was hard to see over the heaving mass of Riften’s unarmored citizenry trying to get their own piece of dragon. Shockingly, there were no casualties. I wonder if the whole town is essential.

I can imagine Aravi's dismay in her similar situation. Pretty much the whole town turns up to gawk.

Denelle approached Tythis afterward to commend him on his badassery. His reply: “I’m beginning to think leaving Mournhold was a mistake.” laugh.gif


McBadgere, it's great to hear from the Khajiit brother’Z again! smile.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 5 2012, 06:10 PM

I don't know how you folks deal with dragons in your games. laugh.gif It must be like an episode of Walking Dead, you're on the edge of your seat the entire time.

Maybe someday if I really need a challenge, I'll introduce a dragon questline. But for now...

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Loredas, 2:47 pm, 14th of First Seed, 4th Era year 202

The Mighty Khahkhayre has recently left Riften, and is now headed towards the fort known to house vampire hunters. He casts a Clairvoyance spell occasionally, to see which way to go next. Apparently the place is not very far outside of Riften.

"Wot do you think, Shadow? Think this is a good path for two Dunmer to follow?" he asks his wife. Her real name is Jenassa, but he calls her Shadow since she's always claiming to be the "shadow at your back".

She says nothing as she walks. Apparently she has no opinion on the matter.

Khahkhayre had recently paid a visit to Brynolf, who wanted him to take care of some delinquent fees left unpaid by Riften's townspeople. Khahkhayre took on this task months ago, and finally returned to Brynolf to settle the score. Khahkhayre has decided awhile back he's not interested in playing 'ruffian' for the Thieve's Guild. This is not something he foresaw months ago, that he'd be a sort of lackey.

During this time, he's become much more interested in being his OWN boss. Finding new places to raid, and plundering the Oblivion out of them! But the fort outside of Riften seems as if it might be interesting to Khahkhayre.

Why not? He hates vampires. Why not take them down officially? And get paid in the process?

-----------------------------------------------------------------


Khahkhayre's Clairvoyance have led him to a small crevice which leads into a cave. He follows this path, and winds up on the other side of a small mountain.

(Hmm...I wonder if this crevice was here before installing DG, or if it's added to the orginal game somehow).

"Oh hey there! You hear to join the Dawngaurd too? Truth is....."

the man who speaks up to Khahkhayre and his wife now runs away, despite the fact that he can now no longer be heard. Hmm. Strange. Before the Mighty Khahkhayre is a cavern, with a set of waterfalls in front of it and a small lake beside.

All this time, Shadow is still silent, which is okay. Khahkhayre is used to her silences. He doesn't demand much of his wife, actually. She's a dark elf, and understands his plight. And she's a good shot with her bow, although mostly she uses a set of staves to cover her man. That's all Khahkhayre asks of her, and not much more.

"Must be almost there by now", he says to her.

The two travellers now come to a large building; more of a castle than a fort.

"Whoa! Look at this, Shadow! Quite a lot of stone, by the look of it. "

They eventually come to a man, an orc actually, who's using a contraption Khahkhayre has only heard about from his elders who lived in Morrowind before Red Mountain blew its top. He's never actually seen one of these devices before.

"Is that a crossbow?"

"Never seen a crossbow before, eh? Not surprised. This is kind of a Dawnguard specialty. Nothing better for putting down vampires. Here, take this one and give it a try. You're going to want to use it".

Khahkhayre looks at the contraption, studies it, and figures out how to aim and shoot a bolt down the path. Then he decides he doesn't want the thing, and gives the crossbow to his wife. He has no use for such a crude weapon, but Shadow will gladly handle it.

"'ere, take this. Want it? I do not"

"If...that is what you wish".

It is now dark out. Khahkhayre and Shadow head up a pathway, up into the Castle Dawnguard itself.





Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 5 2012, 06:34 PM

"Who are you?" asks a man who identifies himself as Islan.

As Khakhayre and Shadow walk into the Dawnguard, they immediately walk into the midst of some sort of discussion, serious in nature. He waits for the discussion to die off before approaching, and then Islan asks the dark elf who he is, ignoring his companion-wife.

"I am the Mighty Khahkhaye, traveller from Morrowind. I have heard about the vampires plaguing Skyrim, and have come here to help. I have already witnessed a few such creatures of the night"..

"Yes, you heard right, we can use all the help we can get", says Islan. "Pretty soon the vampires will know of our presence and will rise in numbers".

"I am ready to join the fight", the dark elf spellsword announces. "I have many experiences with enemies, all across Skyrim, from skeevers to bandits to trolls. Draugr and marauders have fallen by my blade!" Khahkhayre says grandly.

Islan then tells Khahkhayre about a cave known as Dim Hollow Crypt; Khakhayre has apparently got the job already. ... Some "Vigilants" were poking around a cave or something, and it's suspected vampires dwell there. Islan also tells of some sort of "artifact" that's been missing. Something like that. Khakhayre does not care for specifics, what he's to fetch, and who he is to meet. He only wants to know one thing...

.....WHERE THEY ARE....

He can't wait to show them his skills. Take a few back to their Night Mother, or whatever unNinely being they pray to. After receiving his first assignment, Islan gives Khahkhayre another crossbow. Is everybody going to hand him one of these contraptions?

(ha ha, it's so obvious Bethesda wants the gamer to KNOW they've finally got a new weapon in the game! )

"Really, I have no use for this thing! My magic is certainly more of a threat!"

He tosses the crossbow, and its heavy steel bolts, on the floor.

Eventually, another recruit, a man wearing simple clothing and hide boots, takes aim with the crossbow. Islan helps the recruit get situated, teaching him how to use it.

"You'll get the hang of it." Islan tells his recruit. "Watch the recoil".

Khahkhayre is amazed. He's just walked into the place, and is now given full assignment to level with some vampires. He is a full member of the Dawnguard, apparently. Why would they just accept him? Is it his enchanted glass sword? His fancy armor (also enchanted). Is it is demeanor? Khakhair is a summoner...does he "reek of dead things", then?

Never mind. Apparently a man wearing simple cloth clothing, with no experience in handling a cross bow, is also accepted at face value. The Dawngaurd must be a desperate bunch.... Khahkhayre eventually searches the castle as much as he can, eager to see what his accomdations are. He could use another home.

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 8 2012, 01:06 AM

Turdas, 10:39 am, 26th of Frost Seed, 4th era, Year 202

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad208/xenaclone/Image0121.jpg

"Look. I'm a vampire hunter. It is what I and me mate signed up to do. And we cannot 'ave you taggin along with us. You might get killed. Best to live out yo'r existence in this spacious lair, eh?"

"You're not going anywhere. You can't just leave me alone wherever you feel and just expect me to stay behind. I'm coming with you!"

The Mighty Khahkhayre sighs to himself, looking towards Shadow (Jenassa) for support. She merely shrugs.

Perhaps there is truth to the legends, then, that the vampiric charm can be irresistible.

Most vampires are evil beings, their existence blindingly steered towards eliminating humanity, whenever possible. But an occasional vampire, an occasional really intelligent vampire, knows how to use his powers. Or her powers. And this vampire, going by the name of "Serana', has just such an intelligence, for she is mustering up quite a bit of charm.

Khahkhayre fights with his self, unsure of what to do. He immediately finds himself liking this evil being, who stands before him, not looking evil at all.

He has found Serana, in a sense, he has rescued her. She did not attack him or his wife Shadow, and when a small group of gargoyles came to life in Dimhollow Crypt, Serana merely helped Khahkhayre and his dark elf wife get rid of them. She appeared to possess some strong magic, too, that's for sure. That is certainly a plus.

What would it be like then? To add a vampire to his posse?

He knows of Count Hassildor, a vampire from Cyrodiil's 3rd Era. The Count had become the leader of a prominent Cyrodiilic town, hiding his vampiric tendencies from the masses until being exposed at some point by an adventurer whose name has been lost to time.

"Shouldn't we keep moving? I really want to get back home."

Home, eh? Hmmm.....

For now, the Mighty Khahkhayre, spellsword from the fringes of Morrowind, decides he'd like to keep Serana around. He and Shadow have lots of treasures they need to sell. Perhaps he can take Serana with him to Whiterun, do lots of trading, and then take the woman "home".

But he cautions himself. "Home" may be just the place she wants to take him and Shadow, before turning on the pair and taking them both to their deaths! Or worse....somehow causing them to become vampires themselves.

But he can't just get rid of Serana. Not without challenging her to the death. And Serana seems very sure of herself, centuries of combat apparently at her learnings. He decides it's best (strategy wise, long-term) to have her around.


Posted by: Grits Aug 8 2012, 02:21 AM

Oh, good idea to hang onto Serana! I didn't think of that. What armor is The Mighty Khahkhayre wearing? He looks great!


Here's an update from Kentus Prime:

Frostfall 28, 4E201
Proudspire Manor
Solitude

I am home.

These past months have seemed one long night of blood, ice, and self-recrimination. I feel as if I may finally have awakened. At the least I have shaved, bathed, and trimmed my hair. There are two whom I must thank for my return to civilized behavior. One, The Slayer. He followed even while I was lost. Plus he can carry one dreck-load of dragon bones.

And two, Jarl Elisif the Fair. Fair she is, even in her grief. Her poise and charm are such that I almost forget she is a Nord. I have completed a personal errand for her, and now she smiles when I arrive in her court. It is a comfort to know that in the entire province there is one Jarl who knows how to sit like a lady.

Two days ago when I returned to inform her of my success, Fair Elisif invited me to purchase property in the city. To my surprise, the old dream of dwelling here had not faded. Also to my surprise The Slayer informed me that I possessed adequate funds. I had quite forgotten that he was still at my back. A Note: remember to thank The Slayer for two weeks of continuous valor on the road. And for skinning all of those sabre cats.

And so I have come to own Solitude’s finest manor, though admittedly the furnishings could stand a little updating. The Slayer has laid out a bedroll in the basement, and I have claimed a chamber up among the spiders. I expect I have a few things left in storage at Uthgerd’s house. We shall travel to Whiterun in the morning. Who knows what adventures will find us on the road! Hopefully profitable ones. The manor wants some silver, and DovahKen needs a new pair of shoes.


Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 8 2012, 09:03 PM

Hey Grits. Ah, so Kentus has taken Proudspire! Cool. That's where Crystal Beth lives in my world of characters.

In the pic is a set of vampire armor, he got it off an vamp awhile back just after I loaded up Dawnguard, so I'm assuming it's DG material.

Khahkhayre is a middle-of-the-road enchanter (he's okay at it, not great) and the armor is enchanted with Destruction 10% less cost + a 10% magic regen rate. smile.gif

Magic regeneration is his weakest point, and for awhile, he would cast a bunch of spells and then have to wait FOREVER to get his magic back! Eventually, he found an Amulet of Akatosh (25% regeneration) and bought a ring that gives an extra 40%. So that's (um...) 75% if he's wearing it all.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Two's Company, Three's a Crowd!

Khahkhayre is getting frustrated with his pushy new companion. She joined him and his wife, without truely asking. She followed him into a fort full of bandits (ruining his strategy), even though he specifically told her to WAIT outside. Khahkhayre frequently tells his wife to wait, and she always obeys. Not only is it safer for her, it allows the Mighty Khahkhayre to come up with strategies which she might ruin.

But this Serana. It's not right! Now, she's followed him all the way to Whiterun.

He can't get a moment's peace. The lady will not go away, and due to her extreme level of sorcery, he's not wanting to make this into a duel. After a bit of hush-hush conversation in a corner with Shadow, Khakhayre decides it's best to just take Serana back to her home, while Shadow is to stay behind in Whiterun. Shadow and her husband make a great team, a Dynamic Dark Elf Duo Khahkhayre calls it, but she could use some time away from her husband, and vice versa.

"'Tis going to be a long walk, are you ready?' he asks Serana as they start across The Reach's crispy golden plains.

At one point a couple days back, Serana complained about the sun. So Khahkhayre (being the charmer that he is) is now specifically walking towards Solitude in bright daylight.

"Aren't we there yet?" Serana complains yet again. Khahkhayre looks away, supressing a small smile. This is going to be a long walk!


Posted by: SubRosa Aug 8 2012, 10:50 PM

So is vampire armor made from dead vampires then? wink.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 9 2012, 12:05 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 8 2012, 05:50 PM) *

So is vampire armor made from dead vampires then? wink.gif


ha ha. Hey why aren't you updating anymore? You busy with work still? Or is Teresa's tale taking time away from Skyrim? Probably both, huh?



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fredas, 2:17 pm, 31st of First Seed...bla bla....

The Mighty Khahkhayre
stands before his new, hopefully temporary, companion. He's feeling rather bashful; over the past few hours, he's been slowly letting his guard down without realizing it. At odd moments, he catches himself feeling sympathetic towards her for some unexplainable reason, despite the fact that Serana is very capable and sure of herself. He can't help it though, he can't help thinking this way. Like she needs him, and this pleases him to think so.

Khahkhayre notices such thoughts, and checks himself for weakness, reminding himself that he's going to take her home, or die trying. Tomorrow. Yes. Tomorrow. She can NOT be of permanence. Not in his world.

"Well. 'ere it is. I like it, but me wife don't care fo' the place much, tho", he says, feeling sheepish again. He realizes he really wants her to like his home, for some reason.

She and Khahkhayre are standing now in Pinewatch, Khakhayre's unofficial cabin. He initially wanted to go towards Solitude, which is on the way to Serana's home, but then he remembered he's got to get back to Pinewatch. Mostly to deposit the large amount of coin he's been carrying around. So now he and Serana are here near Falkreath, instead of several miles northwards.

"Oy. What say you, woman? You like me place or not?" he asks, now feeling rather guarded. Insecure. He hates this feeling! It seems it's been a long time since he's had such a feeling.

Serana seems indifferent, and only makes an additional pressing notice on the factor of time, which Khahkhayre reads from a simple nod of her head. She says nothing, but Khahkhayre can almost feel her thoughts as they course through whatever mind she's got left after centuries of entombment. When are we getting to MY home? she's wanting to know.

Khahkhayre realizes. He is standing in his cabin, ALONE WITHOUT HIS WIFE, calmly trying to comfort an undead being to like him
. He knows she's an undead, for casting a "Detect Life" reveals nothing of her location, but a "Detect Dead" spell will..

....shiver and goosebumps....

"Oh, what is it?" she asks. And she almost seems human when doing so. Almost sweet, and compassionate.

"Ehmm. Look", Khahkhayre goes on, a trace of nervousness. "....Ah, I know y'or a vampire. And I'd normally offer ya something to eat and drink, but then I forget. Y'or not 'uman, eh? Ya don't fancy as such, do ya? Well, I cannot offer ye any blood; none of mine, that's for sure!" he tries to joke. DAmn! Where's that bandit? Why wasn't there a bandit HERE for Serana to feast upon? If that's what she did.

Khahkhayre suddenly realizes. What happens if she wants to feed? And I'm the only one around?

But Serana says nothing. Only a trace of smile is there, perhaps, upon her palid countenace. ....This is nice, but when are we going to MY place? .... It's all she's been asking for these past few days.


When the pair first entered Pinewatch, Khahkhayre expected a bandit standing guard in the bedroom, as usual. But there was none. And this made things awkward. As much as the thought tickles him, Khahkhayre was actually hoping the enemy would be there. Pinewatch does not have a lock on its door, but so far nobody had stolen from the spellsword, so he's been considering Pinewatch to be his. All of Khahkhayre's gold (20,000 or so by now), all his ingredients, all his clothes and treasures, were still there. And that's all he could ever ask for.

Living like this certainly beat living on the fringes of what was left of Morrowind, certainly! Since moving to Skyrim and finding his home, his wife, and a life, Khahkhayre does not miss his old ways much at all.

But now that he and Serana stand together, alone without Shadow to keep things in check, Khahkhayre finds himself gazing into those reddish eyes (as red as his own), and liking that gaze! ....It's like falling into a deep, warm pool of goodness, he realizes, his mind off on a skooma break. It's like...well, .... it's like.... falling...falling ....falling.

Khahhayre suddenly SNAPS back to attention, dreading the days ahead.

"WhAT ARE YOU DOING WOMAN?" he asks, wounded to be feeling weak again.

Serana calmly turns around. Says nothing. And it's the fact that she says nothing at all that concerns him the most.


Posted by: SubRosa Aug 9 2012, 03:02 AM

I just don't have the time I used. Work has been very busy, and is not going to let up anytime soon. I am only updating the TF every week because I had the current chapter finished a long time ago, so all I have to do post the latest piece. Once I am done (sometime in September), I will probably not be updating it for a while.

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 9 2012, 12:29 PM

sad.gif Oh well, that sucks. sad.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 11 2012, 02:20 AM

Ha! I've got the forum all to myself!

7:34 AM, Loredas, 11th of Rain's Hand

Khahkhayre is missing his wife. Shadow. Jenassa. He's missing her. sad.gif It's been a couple weeks (I think) since he's seen her.

It's funny how this happened. At some point, Serana the vampire and Khhahkhayre were both sneaking. Serana brushed a little too close to Khahkhayre, and I got the sense that he misses his wife. She always has her magic staves drawn (dual-wielding 2 staves at a time) and this is what he missed. It's hard to explain.

Since Serana does not have a set of staves, there's a comfort (or something) that my spellsword is wanting. See, I can't explain it!

Shadow is hardened, silent, and difficult to read. She has had some decent combat training. She is always obedient, (unless her husband wants her to steal ), and often catches things Khahkhayre misses as they both travel around Skyrim on foot. But Shadow/Jenassa is not very vibrant as an NPC, unless we've got her following us. Tell her to stand in one spot, and she'll stand there.

Serana on the other hand, is observant, curious, and mysterious, at all times. She's always moving around. Sitting and having a snack one minute, and getting up to look at a painting the next. Once, Khahkhayre even caught her drinking from a tavern mug, singing along with the bard! biggrin.gif

Her comments sometimes take my breath away. Serana is one of the BEST artificial-intelligence beings I have ever encountered in a videogame. Seriously. She's worth the $20 I spent on Dawngaurd alone.

Anyways, as Khahkhayre approaches Serana's "home", he looks up to a rather gloomy-looking place. Again, it's rather a bit like a castle.

"Hey so...before we go in there....: Serana starts as they climb towards her castle.

"Yeah?" says Khahkhayre.

"I wanted to thank you for geting me this far. You've done more than a great service. I'm going to go my own way for awhile".

Serana paused briefly before going on...

"I know your friends would kill everything in there, but show them some mercy. This is my home. You are welcome to follow me inside, but if you choose not to, it's okay. But please, don't come back here looking to kill us. We just want to be left alone".

Khahkhayre now paused before saying

"So this is your home?

"This is it, home sweet castle". She sounded a little tired when saying this.

"Yeah, well it 'tis a mighty keep, that is fo' sure. Up here on the fringes of the north. Might be best to find a spot up here, yah? Nobody ta botha ye!

"It's something all right", she admits,

Her words were getting fewer and fewer, as if Serana just wanted to get out of the cold, and get inside. Khahkhayre agrees.

Khahkhayre the Mighty decided he'd like to follow her inside.


Posted by: King Coin Aug 11 2012, 02:34 AM

Poor Khahkhayre sad.gif

I liked Serana's behavior too. smile.gif I made a mod that allows other followers to do that stuff too.

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 11 2012, 04:57 AM

Have you noticed all the little things she does, just wandering around and stuff? She's miles above any other NPC in Skyrim.

Khahkhayre delivered her to her castle, and was confronted by some sort of a Master vampire. This vampire wanted to know if Khahkhayre wanted to "join them by accepting their blood", and my dark elf spellsword refused.

So he was BANNED from their hall! They apparently drugged him, and then left him outside on the shores. I'm just glad they didn't also give Khahkhayre their "gift".

I'm gonna miss Serana. But I feel like if Khahkhayre wants to pursue Dawnguard's requirements, he's probably going to meet her again, under less friendly circumstances.

Posted by: King Coin Aug 12 2012, 05:44 AM

I've been totally spoiled with Kharjo. He's the perfect companion for Aravi. She was required to take someone else with her on the quest she's in now, and the dude with her is an idiot with a two-hander. He's always in the way, doing something stupid, or making a ton of noise when she's trying to sneak. Since he's a werewolf, I decided to let Aravi transform. It would be so much more fun if he would just back the hell off and let Aravi go berserk on everyone. Yet there he is, getting in a werewolf's way and pissing her off. I think I'm going to have to do something about him via the creation kit to either get rid of him, or let Aravi knock him out or something. He keeps turning on her (because the werewolf isn't going to stop attacking her prey just because an idiot gets in her way), and he's invincible or something. Aravi can't get rid of him after he starts hitting her and screaming BS about Sovengarde and Skyrim belonging to Nords. rolleyes.gif

Oh! Maybe I'll just disable him in the console after Aravi throws him. He can be 'unconscious' then.

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 12 2012, 06:04 AM

Ha ha that's funny. I haven't met Kharjo yet in my travels. It's funny how some followers are perfect for our characters, and other followers are horrible. Cramp their style or whatever.

My fighter character (Gunter) travels with Stenvar. I think that's his name. Stenvar is kinda like what you describe, KC, just a clumsy oaf with a big weapon. But this is okay for Gunter, because Gunter is also a clumsy oaf (Nord) with a weapon.

Khahkhayre met Serana on the road already, which kinda freaked me out. She was just calmly walking along, and when Khahkhayre tried to speak to her, she blew him off with a comment on how bright the sun is. But it freaks me out, you see, because I don't wanna meet her as an adversary. sad.gif And just to know that she's out there, walking around . .... *shivers*


Posted by: McBadgere Aug 12 2012, 06:45 AM

"OH-HO-HO-HAAAA!!...Oh-ho!...Go on...Tell me again brother...You did what?...Nonono...Let me get this right...You were taken, on the back of a Dragon, to a city far, far away? Right?..."

"Yes."

"Where you beat almost a thousand Draugr and not one, not two, but four Dragons?"

"Yes, four."

"One of which was an Elder Dragon, yes?"

"Indeed."

"And then what was it?"

"I jumped into-"

"Oh yes, you jumped into a portal which took you to the Nordic paradise of Sovengarde...The Nordic paradise...What business have you being in Sovengarde, you fool Khajiit?..."

"Look J'Zargo, I just jumped into the portal!!"

"Yes, so you said...And once there, you met the Companionable man you saved from his wolfish ways; then met a Demi-God; crossed a bridge made up of the "skeleton of a whale"; drank mead with several Heroes Of Yore; put right an old wrong and defeated Alduin, the World Eater. Saving the planet in the process...Is that right?..."

"Um...Yes?"

"Pffft!! OH-HO-HOOOOO!! Ach!! Ow! You really are just too funny 'Zirlo...Really... "

"HUN-KAAL-ZOOR!!"

"...What the?..."

"How may I assisst you today, Dragonborn?"

"My unbelieving brother appears to take issue with my tale...Would you...Enlighten him?"

"It would be a pleasure...Tsun sends his regards, Dragonborn..."

*Gulp*...

*Satisified grin*...

Posted by: Grits Aug 18 2012, 08:52 PM

I went to post Nivoniel’s update, and I realized I have not even introduced her here! Oops.

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/Escape.jpg is a Bosmer thief living in the time of dragons and vampires. (Dawnguard, but no spoilers.) She’s joined the Thieves Guild and shacked up with Revyn Sadri in Windhelm. It’s a cold dash across town to mix up her poisons, but sharing Revyn’s bed is better than renting one at Candlehearth Hall. Revyn can be a grumpy fetcher, but his place is warmer and has fewer Nords.

Nivoniel is perking Speech, Lockpicking, and Pickpocket, all new for me. None are any help against a dragon, of course. She practices combat avoidance by sticking to guild jobs. This Bosmer does not like the woods. I don’t know if an urban alchemist is a feasible idea. I guess we’ll see.

*

Nivoniel slipped into Sadri’s Used Wares, shaking the snow from her hair.

“Take a good look around. I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for.” Revyn Sadri glanced up from his book. “Oh, it’s you. Finally, someone useful is around.”

The wood elf moved over to the fire, shedding clothing as she went.

Revyn spoke from behind his counter. “All my goods are legitimate, which is more than I can say for some.”

“Are you practicing your speech for the guards?” Nivoniel asked him. She stowed her alchemy ingredients in a drawer. Her pack went into the cupboard. “You’d better not sell any of this stuff, then. Pilfered goods, every last trinket. I’d like to leave them here while I’m out in the city. In case I get pinched.”

Revyn gave her a red look. “Put on a sack cloth dress, at least. You’re making me… unseasonably warm.”

“That’s the idea, old man.”

Nivoniel made it to the Stone Quarter before the merchant stalls closed. Happily, she was able to avoid dealing with the Nord smith. Her few legitimately acquired weapons and armor weren’t enough to exhaust the elven merchants’ coin reserves.

Nurelion let her use his alchemy lab, since she was a customer. Nivoniel brewed some poisons and called it a fair day’s work. By now Revyn would be at the cornerclub. Nivoniel fastened her hood and stepped back out into the snow. The job could wait. After a few nights among her guildmates at the Ragged Flagon, she looked forward to some civilized company.


*

Heartfire 23, 4E201
Markarth

Dear Revyn,

Damn these vampires! I’m coming home, but I’m going to be late.

First let me tell you about the job. I had to crack a strongbox. Went in at night, should have been easy. They had a war dog. Friendly fetcher, and no worry for a wood elf. Except somehow, someone reported me to the guard! The two stable men were asleep, and the place doesn’t even have windows! If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was the dog.

So after I finished my business with the law, I wandered down by the river to gather alchemy ingredients until morning. Then I could break in while those two (and the dog!) were at work. Took a peek into the nearby farmhouse just to see what they had. Nothing. I almost left them some gems, they were that poor.

So about the time I heard the song of a nirnroot, I also felt the rush of air from giant wings. Dragon! My plan was a good one. I hauled my backside up the hill to the guards, plus a whole mining community came out to fight.

We killed it. I survived. Then the madness began.

No sooner did the miners start to return to their homes, when a vampire attacked. Revyn, he put those Nords and orcs down so quickly! I expect the dragon got the assist on that play, but when it was all over I could hardly stand from the shock.

I did pick up a few keys, coins, and bits of jewelry while I was helping with the dead, but I don’t have the heart to go back there. I headed into the city for a few hours of rest until those stable boys got to work. I was climbing the stairs when the sun came up. For a moment I felt weak all over.

I did the job at the stable, but I still feel like sixteen shades of hell. Folk are telling me I don’t look well, but they don’t know how a Bosmer’s blood keeps us from illness. I’m going to rest up and head home on the wagon shortly. I might get there before this letter.

Oh, and I should warn you. I bought the dog.

With affection,

Your Niv

*

Nivoniel stood in shadow, waiting for the guard and his torch to move on. She had lost her key to Sadri’s Used Wares, and he might see her picking the lock. Tonight she didn’t want to knock and wake up Revyn. And she was in no condition for a prison stay. At least now the cold air didn’t bother her.

Soon she was inside. Familiar smells had lost their meaning. Stale bedding didn’t offend after a few days spent in a crypt, and stew left in the pot failed to entice. Nivoniel quietly went about stowing her gear. Her steps were softer than the Dunmer’s breathing. She readied her pack in case she had to depart in a hurry. Once as they lay together, Revyn had admired how the firelight caught in her dark Bosmer eyes. Now they glowed with their own feral light. He hadn’t survived for centuries by not noticing such things. Even though his blood would restore her warmth, she doubted she could distract him that much.

She used his parchment and ink to leave a note, in case he didn’t wake. The tonic she had prepared for him had several effects, disguising that it would also cure any diseases. Nivoniel had little knowledge about the changes that had ravaged her. Could feeding on a person infect them? She had no idea.

At last she stood over him, pulsing with need. Her healing spell should erase any traces she left on his skin. Fear clawed her nerves. Once she embraced him, would she be able to stop? It was reckless to learn on someone so precious to her. But she had been opening her legs as a bargaining tool for years before she met him, and here was a chance to share the first time. Taking his blood into her body would be more intimate than any sweaty tryst, she knew. She couldn’t look at this merely as food. At least not yet.

His heartbeat began to overwhelm her senses. It was time. Her hands shook as she pulled back the blanket. Revyn… With no deity to guide her, she didn’t know where to send her prayer.

Revyn sighed in his sleep, turning toward the wall. Nivoniel slid into the bed.




.

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 18 2012, 10:44 PM

I was wondering if I had missed something about Niv the last time you mentioned her. Now I see I did not!

Why don't you just play dragon-free games with characters like her? It is not hard, all you have to do is not deliver the dragonstone to Farengar.

I bet that dog did sell her out to the city guard! Its a sad day when a wood elf cannot even trust an animal to keep from snitching. Shakti is also doing the TG questline. She will make a mental note not to trust any goat or chicken to keep her secrets...

So now she's a vampire? Ick. Poor Niv. At least as I understand it, Dawnguard makes it very easy to play a vampire character. I believe sunlight does not bother you, and no one will attack you because of it.

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 19 2012, 04:30 AM

Wow, nice in-depth writing there, Grits. smile.gif My update is not so in-depth tonight. Not much really new to report.


-------------------------------------------------------------
Tirdas, 12:09 pm, 5th of Second Seed

The Mighty Khahkhayre has discovered a new village (new to him and also me) called Morthal. He and Shadow stumbled into the place after raiding a vampire's lair nearby. As they walked into town, a couple of the villagers vied for Khahkhayre's attention, and one Nord tried to pick a fight with him! But right now Khahkhayre is trying to stay as transparent as possible. Do his business and be on his way. Just passing through.

( Khahkhayre's roster of quests is getting a bit overwhelming. He's got too many promises to keep, too many items to return at the moment. He has no interest in looking for more work,...)

He and Shadow are trying on their way to Riften, where they will return Grimsever, an enchanted glass sword, as well as speak with the Dawn's Guard again. Khahkhayre's game has been a bit aimless at times, but he's got a keen interest in what the vampire hunters will promise in his future.

q

Posted by: Grits Aug 19 2012, 01:12 PM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Aug 18 2012, 11:30 PM) *
( Khahkhayre's roster of quests is getting a bit overwhelming. He's got too many promises to keep, too many items to return at the moment. He has no interest in looking for more work,...)

Sounds like that moment when the primary quest becomes "Unload All of This Junk." smile.gif
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 18 2012, 05:44 PM) *
Why don't you just play dragon-free games with characters like her? It is not hard, all you have to do is not deliver the dragonstone to Farengar.

I tried leaving dragons out of the game for characters like Nivoniel, but I like the dragons too much. I always end up putting them in. I like my characters to live in a dangerous world, even if they are not fighters. It’s interesting to see how they handle threats that they can’t address on their own. In Niv’s case she sticks to the wagon routes, but dragons can attack cities. So it’s pretty interesting when one does. She’s a decent if unperked archer, but she has no elemental protection. That’s her next task. With her new fire weakness and very little armor, she’s got nothing against a fire dragon.

I’ve never wanted to play a vampire, and funnily enough I didn’t intend for Niv to become one. I’ve been trying out the Dawnguard content with a Nord vampire-hunting werewolf named Mikke. She is pretty awesome, but not at all inspiring to write about. Anyway, with Nivoniel I wanted to see how Dawnguard would impact the world when the character didn’t do the Dawnguard quests, so that if/when it came out for the PS3, I would know whether to get it for my long-running characters. (So far the verdict is definitely no.)

I even chose the Bosmer race for the extra disease resistance. But when Niv got infected, I decided to go with it. She does not have the Vampire Lord powers, and I don’t know why she would ever go to the location where she would meet the right people to gain them. Sunlight does hurt her, but there’s no continuous damage like in Oblivion. No one has attacked her yet. She progressed to Stage 3 before she made it home to feed on Revyn. I hope they left the instant attacks in for Stage 4. It would be a shame for guards to ignore obvious vampires strolling around.

Also Niv is no killer, so the whole stalking prey in the night business horrifies her. She wants to gather all the shiny things, trade them for coin, then go drink some wine with her friends at the cornerclub. She is a city girl at heart, and the thought of being shunned is deeply frightening. This has been an interesting twist for her. smile.gif






Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 19 2012, 04:08 PM

QUOTE(Grits @ Aug 19 2012, 08:12 AM) *

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Aug 18 2012, 11:30 PM) *
( Khahkhayre's roster of quests is getting a bit overwhelming. He's got too many promises to keep, too many items to return at the moment. He has no interest in looking for more work,...)

Sounds like that moment when the primary quest becomes "Unload All of This Junk." smile.gif


Yeah. Khahkhayre is good at getting things done, problem is he takes on too many "projects". And then he never gets around to returning to the original gal or fellow who wanted her sword back. Or wants to pay him gold.

laugh.gif

What's interesting to me is that I created him on June 12, 2012, which means his Earth sign would be Gemini. It's a common trait of typical Geminis that they multitask naturally, can wind up having too many things going on at once, and therefore have trouble finishing them. I haven't done the rest of his horoscope, yet, but I will if he lives long enough.

that's another thing. Khahkhayre is also becoming an "uber". He simply destroys everything in his path, if he wants to, since I play dragon-free games. Every once in a while, he'll meet up with an enemy that almost defeats him, but at this stage Khahkhayre is one of the tops in my Skyrim world.


QUOTE

I’ve never wanted to play a vampire, and funnily enough I didn’t intend for Niv to become one.


It's interesting when this happens. We intend or expect a PC to be a certain way and they wind up much different.

QUOTE
Sunlight does hurt her, but there’s no continuous damage like in Oblivion. No one has attacked her yet. She progressed to Stage 3 before she made it home to feed on Revyn. I hope they left the instant attacks in for Stage 4. It would be a shame for guards to ignore obvious vampires strolling around.


Yea I hope Stage 4 will make our vamps get attacked instantly like NPC vamps, especially for lower-disposition characters that already aren't liked very much. In Cyrodiil they wouldn't necessarily attack an S3 vamp, but they would start to comment on his/her condition, and generally seemed displeased to have a vampire in their midst.

And on the sunlight: I'm wondering if sunlight doesn't affect vamps as much as it did in Cyrodiil because Skyrim's light index is often poorer?



Posted by: SubRosa Aug 19 2012, 06:15 PM

QUOTE(Grits @ Aug 19 2012, 08:12 AM) *

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Aug 18 2012, 11:30 PM) *
( Khahkhayre's roster of quests is getting a bit overwhelming. He's got too many promises to keep, too many items to return at the moment. He has no interest in looking for more work,...)

Sounds like that moment when the primary quest becomes "Unload All of This Junk." smile.gif
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 18 2012, 05:44 PM) *
Why don't you just play dragon-free games with characters like her? It is not hard, all you have to do is not deliver the dragonstone to Farengar.

I tried leaving dragons out of the game for characters like Nivoniel, but I like the dragons too much. I always end up putting them in. I like my characters to live in a dangerous world, even if they are not fighters. It’s interesting to see how they handle threats that they can’t address on their own. In Niv’s case she sticks to the wagon routes, but dragons can attack cities. So it’s pretty interesting when one does. She’s a decent if unperked archer, but she has no elemental protection. That’s her next task. With her new fire weakness and very little armor, she’s got nothing against a fire dragon.

I’ve never wanted to play a vampire, and funnily enough I didn’t intend for Niv to become one. I’ve been trying out the Dawnguard content with a Nord vampire-hunting werewolf named Mikke. She is pretty awesome, but not at all inspiring to write about. Anyway, with Nivoniel I wanted to see how Dawnguard would impact the world when the character didn’t do the Dawnguard quests, so that if/when it came out for the PS3, I would know whether to get it for my long-running characters. (So far the verdict is definitely no.)

I even chose the Bosmer race for the extra disease resistance. But when Niv got infected, I decided to go with it. She does not have the Vampire Lord powers, and I don’t know why she would ever go to the location where she would meet the right people to gain them. Sunlight does hurt her, but there’s no continuous damage like in Oblivion. No one has attacked her yet. She progressed to Stage 3 before she made it home to feed on Revyn. I hope they left the instant attacks in for Stage 4. It would be a shame for guards to ignore obvious vampires strolling around.

Also Niv is no killer, so the whole stalking prey in the night business horrifies her. She wants to gather all the shiny things, trade them for coin, then go drink some wine with her friends at the cornerclub. She is a city girl at heart, and the thought of being shunned is deeply frightening. This has been an interesting twist for her. smile.gif

If I do recall correctly from the comments I have seen on the Beth boards, people will not become hostile even if you are a stage 4 vampire if you have Dawnguard. I think they only go hostile if you are in vampire lord/lady form now. Why would they shun a vampire after all? That just makes someone hip and trendy... wink.gif

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Aug 19 2012, 11:08 AM) *

And on the sunlight: I'm wondering if sunlight doesn't affect vamps as much as it did in Cyrodiil because Skyrim's light index is often poorer?

I think that is just to make it easier to play a vampire. After all, we cannot have any downsides to it can we? It is the same with werewolves. You can transform any time you want, rather than just on the full moon, and are never forced to transform when you do not want to, or lose control of your character and find yourself killing innocent people at random. Vampires and werewolves are very trendy in pop culture right now, and Bethesda wants to cash in on that by making it very easy to play one.

Posted by: Grits Aug 19 2012, 06:36 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 19 2012, 01:15 PM) *
If I do recall correctly from the comments I have seen on the Beth boards, people will not become hostile even if you are a stage 4 vampire if you have Dawnguard. I think they only go hostile if you are in vampire lord/lady form now. Why would they shun a vampire after all? That just makes someone hip and trendy... wink.gif

Ugh. That's too bad. Roleplay to the rescue! tongue.gif If Niv ever gets to stage 4, she's going to have to sneak until she feeds. Plus she's afraid to show her face at the cornerclub. Her friends would not appreciate a vampire in their midst, even if the game fails to make them notice.

Here’s a picture of http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/VampireNiv.jpg. She had gone to the Ragged Flagon for a new hairstyle, but the facial changes are all vampire. She was a very dark-skinned Bosmer, and vampirism hasn’t made her much lighter. (Despite the guard comments about her snow-white skin.)

And here’s http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/MikkeofGreenRiver.jpg, werewolf vampire hunter. She’s kind of a soiled knight. Her lycanthropy has really helped with the drinking problem. That’s her buddy Torvar in the background. He doesn’t object when she goes wolf on some bandit or vampire scum. She’s presently travelling with a Dawnguard NPC. I’m not sure how he’ll take her wild side.


Posted by: liliandra nadiar Aug 19 2012, 07:20 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 19 2012, 07:15 AM) *

I think that is just to make it easier to play a vampire. After all, we cannot have any downsides to it can we? It is the same with werewolves. You can transform any time you want, rather than just on the full moon, and are never forced to transform when you do not want to, or lose control of your character and find yourself killing innocent people at random. Vampires and werewolves are very trendy in pop culture right now, and Bethesda wants to cash in on that by making it very easy to play one.


Without mods, sunlight only puts a -100% regen on Health/Magicka/Stamina and lessens them by an ammount defendant on stage. It's not to heavy considering by level 12 or so you can one-to-two-shot 75% of the things in the game. I've never been to interested in playing a vampire in any game, (undead is still dead, and dead things shouldn't move kvright.gif ) but there are a number of mod I've seen in video reviews since Dawnguard came out that adjust vampires. The two major ones will make sunlight damaging (and turn you to a pile of ashes if it kills you) and inflict penalties for not feeding including the option to restore the attack s4 vampires on sight.

I'm pretty sure werewolves are still once a day without the ring of Hircine or mods, but one that I am using sets a forced transformation on full moons (or more depending on chosen setting) though it does allow multiple transformations.

Though I blame KC(and Aravi) for reviving my interest in werewolves. tongue.gif

Posted by: hazmick Aug 20 2012, 07:17 PM

I must admit, being a vampire is very tempting, but Castle Volkihar is terribly messy, there's blood everywhere and the Dawnguard have huskies so...


Posted by: SubRosa Aug 20 2012, 08:18 PM

Grits: Niv's face is so gaunt, it looks like she needs to eat more. Or drink more, as the case may be. wink.gif Is that because of her being a vampire? She certainly does not look pale! That remark must be one of the those canned things the guards say if you are a vamp, just like how they comment on you wearing steel, or using a two handed weapon, etc...


lil: Yes, that's about I recall the vamp disadvantages. Since I always turn the automatic heal regen off (which makes restoration level faster) that part is nothing at all in my games. The magic can be offset with one of your standard robe enchantments. The stamina with potions or even just booze. Since you are not regenerating stamina anyway the penalty that alcohol has to your regen rate is a non-issue. The weakness to fire is the only real thing that could be a problem. But even then, only if you run into a flame atronach or fire mage. If you play a Dunmer vamp, you have a 50% fire resistance to offset it as well. Throw in a ring of waning fire and no more problem at all. OTOH you get an equal resistance to cold, which seems to be the deadliest element in this game, given how it slows you as well as harms you. Plus of course there is the whole slew of powers you get.


Hazmick: Huskies? I thought the Dawnguard has pet trolls!

Posted by: hazmick Aug 20 2012, 08:26 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 20 2012, 08:18 PM) *

Hazmick: Huskies? I thought the Dawnguard has pet trolls!


They have both! laugh.gif The huskies have special dog armor, which looks great but doesn't actually make them any tougher.

Posted by: King Coin Aug 20 2012, 10:20 PM

QUOTE(hazmick @ Aug 20 2012, 02:26 PM) *

They have both! laugh.gif The huskies have special dog armor, which looks great but doesn't actually make them any tougher.

They do! I'll take a screenie later when I'm home. I haven't actually seen them fight anything though.

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 22 2012, 03:51 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 19 2012, 01:15 PM) *

...Vampires and werewolves are very trendy in pop culture right now, and Bethesda wants to cash in on that by making it very easy to play one.


Oh yea, good point.


Posted by: hazmick Aug 23 2012, 02:24 PM

Well I'm just about to turn on the Xbox and start a new game with another version of Haa-Rei the Marsh Ranger. This'll be the 5th version of him as the others keep encountering broken questlines and such which make the story that I want to play out impossible to do. *sigh* and it was going so well after 200 hours with Haa-Rei number 4.

Skyrim is a harsh mistress.

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 23 2012, 07:16 PM

I have yet to encounter any broken questlines. huh.gif Then again, I'm pretty slow at questing/finishing questlines. Perhaps by the time I start really buckling down and getting them done, Beth will have fixed all the broken ones. So far I've only finished the main College questline, and started Thieve's Guild, Brotherhood, and Civil war quests, but haven't finished any of those.

There was one a few months ago in Markath when my character was supposed to go into this house, and he got stuck in this little room or something, but after messing with loading/reloading, I finally got him un-stuck somehow.

guess I'm lucky.

Posted by: hazmick Aug 23 2012, 07:38 PM

I haven't encountered many broken quests but the ones that I do encounter up are fatal to my characters. The Mages Guild and Civil War questlines have ended abruptly and now the quest about the Aetherium Forge (added by Dawnguard) has broken, and for a budding scholar of the Dwemer that just won't do!

Some of these problems happened a while back yet Bethesda still hasn't fixed them sad.gif I just need to make sure that I save often so I can always keep trying.

Posted by: King Coin Aug 23 2012, 10:46 PM

Do they (broken quests) start to crop up after a certain amount of play time? I haven't run into any yet, but my character is around 130-150 hours.

Posted by: hazmick Aug 23 2012, 10:50 PM

QUOTE(King Coin @ Aug 23 2012, 10:46 PM) *

Do they (broken quests) start to crop up after a certain amount of play time? I haven't run into any yet, but my character is around 130-150 hours.


I don't think so, no 2 broken quests are ever the same. They can easily be avoided if you make sure to save often, I always forget though.

Posted by: King Coin Aug 23 2012, 10:58 PM

QUOTE(hazmick @ Aug 23 2012, 04:50 PM) *

I don't think so, no 2 broken quests are ever the same. They can easily be avoided if you make sure to save often, I always forget though.

Mm. I see. I have reloaded things just because something didn't happen correctly. In the Companions, I had to fix Farkas with the command console once because he was supposed to draw a weapon, but for some reason didn't have one. The animation got stuck in 'draw weapon' and it made a hell of a racket.

Posted by: hazmick Aug 23 2012, 11:02 PM

I had a similar problem with one of my followers although I do not have the luxury of the command console on my Xbox so a nifty shield bash had to suffice tongue.gif For the most part though my game is bug free and runs smoothly so I can count myself pretty lucky. I've heard of people encountering pretty nasty bugs and stuff, especially on the PS3.

Posted by: Grits Aug 25 2012, 02:45 PM

Haa-Rei is in Skyrim! I’m sure he was pleased to find some nightshade for his tea. smile.gif

My ruined quests (PS3) usually get discovered when it’s time for the last step, though the worst one has Aela forever standing in the doorway of Jorrvaskr because the parties to be wiped out had already been accidentally exterminated. That was the end of the Companions for Jensa. Sadly it was a simple quest and a lot happened on the way there, so I didn’t think to keep a save from before she started it. I’ve only had one character become unplayable. DovahKen. Which is strange, because I have two other games that are older and vastly more bloated than his.

Posted by: hazmick Aug 25 2012, 05:08 PM

Haa-Rei loves Skyrim! Although he would prefer it if there were more Argonians to hang out with, Nords are awfully picky about what poisonous plants do or don't go into their tea sad.gif

So far with Haa-Rei number 5 all questlines are going well, even though he's only started the Civil War and Dawnguard properly. The Aetherium Forge quest has appeared in his journal, which is an improvement on last time so it looks promising. Hopefully the companions will go without a hitch, he only needs to get up to the point when you become a werewolf so there isn't much that can go wrong.

Posted by: McBadgere Aug 25 2012, 05:37 PM

Yesterday J'Zirlo got the quest from Farkas to go Kiw de Dwaaagon!!!...On the top of some damned mountain...

Well, the dragon kept (and I had to reload from the Autosave several times) attacking before we got to said mount...And thusly when we got to the official marker, it wouldn't update...So I'd be stuck...

So, fortunately I'd saved it before doing said Farkie quest and I gave up...

Although the Civil War quest ar$ed up partway through, finishing off my first char, Wulff Olfsson, Bard cool.gif ...

Stuuuupid game...Totally addicted again, in the Bounty Hunting/Wordsearching type 'o' thing... laugh.gif ...




*Waves to Hazmick*...Nice to meet you... biggrin.gif ...

Posted by: hazmick Aug 25 2012, 06:10 PM

*Waves back" nice to meet you too McBadgere laugh.gif

I need to learn to save more often rather than relying on the autosaves kvleft.gif

In other news, Haa-Rei has purchased a lovely horse from the stables at Windhelm, her name is Eiroch. I usually avoid buying horses because they end up getting killed by a dragon or a sabre cat but I couldn't help it. I've also decided to try and hurry up doing the Dawnguard questline so Haa-Rei can join the Legion, he wants to live in Windhelm but as long as it's under Stormcloak control he'd rather avoid it.

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 26 2012, 01:10 AM

Certain characters of mine buy horses, other ones aren't interested in them. My spellsword, for instance, is the first character I've had in Skyrim who has yet to buy a horse, he's stolen a couple, though, in his early days when he was more of a thief.

Posted by: hazmick Aug 26 2012, 01:15 AM

I often 'borrow' them from the stables in Riften if I'm between purchases tongue.gif If you fix Shadr's debt and/or win a brawl with Hofgrir then you're allowed to take a horse for free. When you dismount or fast travel they'll start wandering back to the stables.

Posted by: McBadgere Aug 26 2012, 08:55 AM

There has been much Fus-sing about this morning...

To start, for a bounty, J'Zirlo Fussed a Giant over a cliff...Then a Sabre-tooth over another cliff...And an Hagraven off the top of her tower...It was fuuuniiee!!...

I've also discovered that Unrelenting Force will kill spiders in one shout...This is good!!...

Oh, until I activated the Aura Whisper shout, I had 17 dragon souls to spend...Told ya ages ago you only use a couple of them...(Unrelenting Force, Dragonrend (which you don't need souls to use), Ice Form at a push, and the speedy one, the name of which currently escapes me...Oh and maybe Become Ethereal...)...A good idea the shouts may have been for some, not one I employ to any great depth...

Posted by: hazmick Aug 27 2012, 09:16 PM

busy day for Haa-Rei today, he's been hard at work doing some mage stuff at the college. Now he has a nice shiny sigil stone as proof of his mastery of conjuration happy.gif

Now he's going to do a bit of illusion training with help from his horse, Eiroch. bluewizardsmile.gif

Posted by: King Coin Aug 27 2012, 10:14 PM

QUOTE(hazmick @ Aug 25 2012, 07:15 PM) *

I often 'borrow' them from the stables in Riften if I'm between purchases tongue.gif If you fix Shadr's debt and/or win a brawl with Hofgrir then you're allowed to take a horse for free. When you dismount or fast travel they'll start wandering back to the stables.

Really? I'm totally going to try that! My character doesn't like horses, but sometimes they would like to borrow one for a short trip.

Posted by: hazmick Aug 28 2012, 04:43 PM

Haa-Rei has had a nice, relaxed day today.

After mastering conjuration yesterday he gained access to the Flame Thrall spell which summons a permanent flame atronach, unfortunately he doesn't have a very good natural magicka reserve so today has been all about crafting and enchanting new armour.

Now he has his flame atronach, Narya, following him wherever he goes happy.gif

He also spent pretty much all of his septims on smithing materials (about 20k) so now he needs to do some serious adventuring to fill his coffers. *sigh* no rest for the wicked.

Posted by: Grits Aug 29 2012, 07:24 PM

Nivoniel the Bosmer thief/accidental vampire has gone through some changeshttp://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/NivonielCured.jpg, and Revyn Sadri has broken her heart. I’m sure it was time for his usual pre-dinner nap, but he really did call her “useful” and then hop into bed as soon as Niv walked through the door. blink.gif She has reached level 29 with almost no defensive or combat skills, so her world is very dangerous.

---


Nivoniel lifted her face to the dawn, smiling. The pale sun once made her blood boil, but no longer. Even the cutting wind was welcome, for it confirmed that life had returned to her body. The price had been steep, but the cure worked.

She heard a yawn at her back, and twigs snapping under restless boots. Vorstag. This amiable killer had made her cure possible, but she found him deeply frightening. She would let him go as soon as they reached the carriage. The next time a vampire attacked, she would use her potions to disappear. Nivoniel had learned not to fight. Even when she was one of them, she had no chance against a vampire.

Two days later Nivoniel and Vigilance stepped off the carriage at Windhelm. The door to Sadri’s Used Wares was unlocked. Once inside Nivoniel let her packs slide to the floor, breathing in home.

“Finally, someone useful is around,” said Revyn. He locked the door behind her and climbed into bed.

After he left for the cornerclub, Niv sat by herself for a while. She had held her tears in before, and now they wouldn’t come.

Every moment as a vampire had been a struggle. The hunger for more power fought with a burning thirst for blood until Nivoniel feared that every shred of herself would be lost. Thoughts of Revyn had been a shelter in the center of the storm. She thought that returning to him would be coming home to what was real. There was still a place for her here. As he said, she knew how to be “useful.” Nivoniel slipped from the bed and picked up her clothes.

How fortunate that she had not yet unpacked. No vampires attacked them as she and Vigilance walked across the bridge to the carriage. For a moment she stood under the moons with her Amulet of Mara in hand, ready to fling the thing into the river. But instead she tucked it back into a pocket. Nivoniel was alive again, and life meant hope. Her bed at the Flagon was no more a home than a gutter, but she wouldn’t live there forever. Niv whistled for Vigilance and headed down toward the carriage.

Posted by: Lady Saga Aug 30 2012, 01:17 AM

Holy compassion that is deep, Grits.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2:37 PM, 2nd of Evening Star, 4th Era, Year 201

Gunter, Son of Talos
arrived for his first time ever in Winterhold today on horseback. It's a grim, desolate place, and he hasn't seen the sun in hours. After visiting the Jarl (looking for work) and selling off a few items at the shop, he headed up to the bridge stepping off from this small (very small) village.

"Gunter want see Ysgramor! Meet Companion friends".


On his map, he had marked a small X on the location where he thinks the tomb is located. It looks to be on a small island, just northwest of Winterhold.

As he climbs the steps to the bridge, a figure stops him. A woman.

"Cross the bridge at your own peril! The way is treacherous, and the gate is closed, You shall not enter!"

"Me Gunter. Me Companion Nord of Cyrodiil. Gunter want climb step. Gunter want go bridge. See in far away."


"Welcome to the College of Winterhold, I'm Faralda, senior Destruction Mage of the College...."
her words trailed off, while Gunter's short attention span wandered away. He had no idea what she had just said to him, but she did not look to be very eager to let him pass. After a moment of awkward staring, Gunter says

"Gunter no care silly words of womanfolk! Gunter want climb step. See bridge! See Companion friend in Ysgramore"



"I am here to assist those seeking the wisdome of the College..."
continues the lady, seeming to ignore the brute's words. ..."And if my presence deters those who seek to do harm, so bet it. The real questoin is, why are you here?"

Gunter looked at Faralda, not really understanding why she says so many words, yet has nothing really to say. Plus, he just told her why he's here. Twice!

"Gunter no listen silly woman word in cold!"


With this, he walked forward, brushing past the mage standing out here in the frigid winds. He was trying to have a gander at Ysgramore's Tomb, completely oblivious to where he is, and what its purpose is, and to whom he just spoke.

The Jarl had told him something about "The College" and he seemed angry about it. But Gunter doesn't have a clue as to why. Maybe the "silly woman" had something to do with it.

It is cold and dreary. Gunter tries, but cannot see the place. All he can make out is a bit of a shape of a large rock or something. Visibility is almost nil. After a few minutes of staring down, he walked back past the silly woman again without speaking.
------------------------------------------------------------------

6:50 PM, 2nd of Evening Star,

Gunter: Son of Talos had walked into town with literally a single gold to his name. laugh.gif But after selling off a few magic gems (soul gems) and other assorted small treasures, he's now got 358.

"If you have business with the College, you're welcome to stay here. It's where most of our business comes from, in fact",
says Dagur the Innkeeper.

"Gunter no want busness. Gunter no want Collge. Gunter want MEAD! Gunter want MEAT!"


"Take a look!"


Gunter is dismayed to find the Innkeep only has a single bottle of Nord Mead. Gunter buys it, along with a slab of cooked meat, baked potatoes, a sweetroll, and some ale. He loves mead, he loves ale, but he will not buy the three bottles of that Elven crap-mead, Honeybrew or whatever it's called.

"Why sell for so much, this mead from Elven-make? Elven-make mead so is terrible Gunter!"


"Mmm hmm",
says the innkeep, keeping his opinions to himself.

As Gunter arrives in his doorless room, the Jarl himself is sitting right there! This surprises Gunter, and he finds himself thinking the Jarl is actually gracing Gunter with his presence. He performs a small bow.

"I don't care how many mages the College shall bring! I'll out last them all!
again, there's an anger here. An anger Gunter doesn't really understand.

Standing before the Jarl, Gunter starts feeling a bit insecure, even though Gunter's the one in the fancy Dwarven armor suit. He leaves the room, and goes to have a sit-down out in the main room, feasting upon a meal truely fit for an adventurer. Or a Jarl.

wink.gif

Posted by: hazmick Aug 31 2012, 05:04 PM

Haa-Rei is having a day off today while I catch up with my Dunmer, Hrelath Dralen.

He's your classic bad guy: Vampire Lord, Dark Brotherhood listener, Thieves Guild master and he's a pretty talented illusion mage. Today he's been travelling skyrim on the hunt for feral vampires and Dawnguard spies.
It's always fun to play as Hrelath, he's incredibly powerful and has so many different fighting techniques.

Although I'm probably going to go back to Haa-Rei in an hour or so, being evil gets pretty boring for me and my Argonian friend needs to make some fancy armour for himself and Derkeethus, then he needs to stockpile resources for Hearthfire. It's going to be a busy weekend for us happy.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 31 2012, 07:03 PM

QUOTE(hazmick @ Aug 31 2012, 12:04 PM) *

Haa-Rei is having a day off today while I catch up with my Dunmer, Hrelath Dralen.

Is his name an anagram of Valen Dreth? biggrin.gif

Posted by: hazmick Aug 31 2012, 07:30 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 31 2012, 07:03 PM) *

QUOTE(hazmick @ Aug 31 2012, 12:04 PM) *

Haa-Rei is having a day off today while I catch up with my Dunmer, Hrelath Dralen.

Is his name an anagram of Valen Dreth? biggrin.gif


Valen Dreth did actually play a big part in naming my Dunmer, he was the first Dark Elf I remember from Oblivion and with the amount of characters I've made I've seen his ugly mug far too many times so he's etched into my memory tongue.gif

Posted by: hazmick Sep 1 2012, 11:21 PM

Another slow day for Haa-Rei while he waits for Hearthfire to arrive tongue.gif

He tried on several new outfits but eventually went back to his iron/fur armour combo that he's been sporting since day 1, he just swapped the fur shoes for his old legion boots which he dug out of his wardrobe.

Then he put some of his excess materials to good use and crafted himself a beautiful new glass sword, which he has named 'Tyr'. He's already put it to the test against some bandits and can see the improvement over his old steel sword. Tyr has been enchanted with frost damage, a personal favourite of ours. happy.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 2 2012, 12:45 AM

Tyr is a great name for a weapon!

Posted by: hazmick Sep 2 2012, 12:54 AM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 2 2012, 12:45 AM) *

Tyr is a great name for a weapon!


I've been reading up on Norse mythology lately and thought it was perfect, Haa-Rei's bow is named Wōden, after the Anglo-Saxon deity of the hunt and his horse is named Eiroch after the Norse goddess of help 'Eir' and the word for horse 'roch' in J.R.R Tolkien's created language of Sindarin laugh.gif yay mythology!

Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 2 2012, 03:15 AM

QUOTE(hazmick @ Sep 1 2012, 07:54 PM) *


I've been reading up on Norse mythology lately and thought it was perfect,



Wow, this is such a good idea. I need to do this, next time I'm at the library I need to take out a book on Norse mythology, and vikings. A really good book to find, by the way (one I'm reading now on and off) is called The Year 1,000. It's about how life was in the Year 1,000 in Europe.


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Sundas, 7:48 PM, 7th of Evening Star

"It is strange .... de strange white flakes that sometimes fall from de sky ...."

"Gunter like strange white flakes! Me taste on tongue!"

"It is called snow, what you call 'strange white flakes".

That last sentence was from Aela the Huntress, Gunter's new partner. They are walking along with a group of Khajiit travellers. Also included in this group is an Imperial traveller, who has mentioned he is going to Solitude to 'join with the Imperials'. Nice enough chap to have along. Gunter, Son of Talos wonders why the man is walking along in just townie clothes, though. Not a smaht thing to do, in such a dangerous place like Skyrim.

"Ah-mor way better for travel Skyrim".

Gunter and Aela are on their way back to Whiterun, after making it through Ysgramor's Tomb. And Gunter is now leader of the Companions. But he absolutely no idea what the title means. He has no idea what the concept of being "on top" means. He doesn't understand what the job of a Jarl is, for instance.

He's just an oaf who happens to have a few talents, basically, and is benefitting from them in ways unforseen.



Posted by: SubRosa Sep 2 2012, 03:33 AM

QUOTE(hazmick @ Sep 1 2012, 07:54 PM) *

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 2 2012, 12:45 AM) *

Tyr is a great name for a weapon!


I've been reading up on Norse mythology lately and thought it was perfect, Haa-Rei's bow is named Wōden, after the Anglo-Saxon deity of the hunt and his horse is named Eiroch after the Norse goddess of help 'Eir' and the word for horse 'roch' in J.R.R Tolkien's created language of Sindarin laugh.gif yay mythology!

If we only had spears, we could name one Gungnir...

Anglo-Saxon and Viking kennings have a lot of wonderful names for weapons too. Shield-Hungry, Leg-Biter, Heaven-Scraper, etc... Harald Hardrada's mail byrnie was named Emma, because the skirt hung down so low.

Posted by: hazmick Sep 2 2012, 09:35 PM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Sep 2 2012, 03:15 AM) *

A really good book to find, by the way (one I'm reading now on and off) is called The Year 1,000. It's about how life was in the Year 1,000 in Europe.


I'll have to check it out, thanks laugh.gif


Well today Haa-Rei and Derkeethus have gone on an epic 'bro-venture' which consists of wandering around, killing things and drinking wine.

So far they have visited all of the hold capitals apart from Dawnstar and Morthal, they're currently stopping over at Imperial controlled Fort Dunstad, more specifically the 'Stumbling Sabrecat' tavern within the fort's walls. The soldiers are avoiding the tavern for some reason so the Argonian adventurers have it, and all the alcoholic contents, to themselves.

Haa-Rei is thinking about making it a semi-permanent home because it's a rather nice little place to sleep. happy.gif

Posted by: hazmick Sep 3 2012, 09:28 PM

Goodness me is that the time? Looks like another adventure update is in order biggrin.gif

Haa-Rei and Derkeethus finally finished their epic bro-venture and Derkeethus has headed back home to Darkwater Crossing. Haa-Rei decided to have a wander over to Rorikstead to see his friend Erik the Slayer.

We were reading his wiki entry and it turns out our farmer friend prefers light armor and two-handed weapons (even though he buys himself iron armor and a 1H weapon huh.gif ) so we stopped off in Whiterun and made some Scaled armor and a very nice Glass greatsword which has been enchanted and named 'Cabbage' so Erik will feel more at home when he uses it to cut a swathe through the masses of bandits we're sure to encounter.

So now, our Argonian and our farmer slayer are on their way to The Reach to hunt some Forsworn. Fun fun fun laugh.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 3 2012, 09:56 PM

Ulfdis is about half-way through the Companion quests, and I am feeling vastly underwhelmed. I do not know if I will bother with trying to finish them. Even just for curiosities sake. I have to say, the major questlines in Skyrim are really poorly done.

The main quest feels not only forced, but flat. As many have noted elsewhere, Alduin is a poor villain. He is bad because we are told he is. It is much easier to be pissed off at Tullius or Ulfric than it is to be at the dragon who saves our butts at the beginning of the game. Alduin just isn't there. He is the absentee landlord of major villains.

The Civil War gets dull pretty quick, as it devolves into a series of near identical 'take the fort' quests. Then it just completely jumps the shark when you get a bounty for killing soldiers of the opposite side. Not to mention being prevented from killing the leaders of each Imperial/SC camp, even though they have no purpose whatsoever in the game.

I loathed the first few quests of Thieves Guild line. Framing innocent people and roughing up shopkeepers is not what I really want to do in a game. The quest where you sneak onto the island, break into the safe, and burn the three beehives was excellent. I felt like a real thief there, tip-toeing my way around one guard after another with none the wiser. But the rest of the questline does not follow up with more of the like. Instead it is a lot of dungeon-crawls killing Draugr, Falmer, etc... Stuff you expect a muscle-bound brute to do, not a master thief.

The College of Wintherhold just pushes you too fast down its railroad to solve the mystery of the plot macguffin and then get rid of it. There is not a nice place in the middle where you can just stop and be a student for a while. Unless you just try to ignore that giant glowy plot macguffin and psijicc agents lurking around. Plus they never even bother explaining what the plot macguffin really is, or what it does. After all that trouble, you think they could at least tell us what the bother was all about?

The Companions of course force you to be a werewolf, whether you like it or not. Yes you can choose not to get all furry. But then you cannot do half the questline can you? Then the lycanthropy is a watered-down twinkie designed to appeal to Twilight fans who think you need to have superpowers to be cool and sexy. Obviously I am old school, because I remember when werewolves were terrifying monsters, creatures of unbridled bloodlust and fury that killed everything in their path, regardless of what the person inside the wolf actually wanted (and usually to their absolute horror, as they kill all their loved ones). Lycanthropy should be a curse, not a set of cool powers that makes you a superhero and babe-magnet.

Even besides that, the Companions themselves just leave me flat. They just strike me as being nothing but a bunch of loud-mouths long on talk and short on action. Why would anyone want to hang out with these losers? I think the questline should have ditched the werewolf crap, and instead focused on each of the members of the Companions. They could have given us a quest or two that was about each one, getting us a chance to get to know their backgrounds and flesh them out as real, living people. Through it all we could have been retrieving the fragments of Wuuthard as an overarching goal, putting it back together at the end, and smiting some big bad out to use it for evil. Then we would have both characters and simple, but believable plot holding them all together.

I have yet to try the Dark Brotherhood, so I cannot say much about it. Being able to destroy it rather than join up was a good thing though. So just on that alone I would rank it as the best of all I have done. I wish they would give the option of destroying the Thieves Guild and Maven Black-briar, and putting Riften back together. That would have been much more satisfying than the regular TG questline.

Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 3 2012, 09:58 PM

hazmik: Why did they name their sword "Cabbage"? Interesting choice for a weapon-name. smile.gif

----------------------------------------------------------------
Loredas, 7:18 pm, 20th of Evening Star,

Gunter, Son of Talos return Winterhold helmet for Winterhold. Go deep inside cave, make pay many white ghost. White ghost woman-folk un-dead. Gunter make white ghost woman-folk not go happy.

Fight draugr. Fight white ghost woman-folk. Fight man who make ice from fingers at cave end. Man who make ice from fingers strong magic, but Gunter strike man who make ice from fingers much. Man who make ice from fingers stagger. Fall. Gunter hit much. Gunter kill man who make ice from fingers!

Me find key. Key open lock and Gunter find Winterhold helmet.

Gunter travel new girl-friend Aela Huntress. Gunter like Aela Huntress girl-friend much. Aela Huntress girl-friend like Gunter, Son of Talos much for too. Me and Aela make good for marry. Me give Aela Huntress girl-friend gold neck-piece. Pretty gold! Shiney! Aela Huntress girl-friend give Gunter many happy thinking. smile.gif

We make sleep. We travel in morrow, need find Magic Ring in cave on map.

Posted by: King Coin Sep 3 2012, 10:05 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 3 2012, 03:56 PM) *

<snip>


Unfortunately, I have to agree with most of that. The most fun I have in Skyrim is the stuff I make up for Aravi. I haven't done the other guilds yet, but prepare to be underwhelmed by the companions conclusion. kvleft.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 3 2012, 10:09 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 3 2012, 04:56 PM) *

Ulfdis is about half-way through the Companion quests, and I am feeling vastly underwhelmed. I do not know if I will bother with trying to finish them. Even just for curiosities sake. I have to say, the major questlines in Skyrim are really poorly done.


I think some of them are well-done. I enjoyed The College questlines, for instance. My only criticism is that wow....it was over so fast. sad.gif

Gunter completed the Companions, and I would agree that it wasn't very good. I mean, it started off okay, and I even tolerated Gunter accepting werewolf blood. But the end of the questline really fell flat. I can't even really describe how it fell flat....I just wasn't very impressed.

Good thing Gunter happened to be the perfect character for Companions! As an uncomplicated oaf, Gunter Son of Talos doesn't really understand what happened, that he is now the leader. The concept of leaders and what they do is something he can barely comprehend, which makes it easy for me to ignore his role, as well. kvleft.gif

QUOTE

I loathed the first few quests of Thieves Guild line. Framing innocent people and roughing up shopkeepers is not what I really want to do in a game.


Me too. You have to be playing a really evil charcter I suppose, one who likes torture and blackmail. I started TG with Khahkhayre, but even he (as careless as he is about other people's feelings) had trouble messing with the shopkeepers. He really struggled through that part, and gave up on TG altogether.

Posted by: Grits Sep 4 2012, 12:07 AM

QUOTE(hazmick @ Sep 3 2012, 04:28 PM) *
We were reading his wiki entry and it turns out our farmer friend prefers light armor and two-handed weapons (even though he buys himself iron armor and a 1H weapon huh.gif ) so we stopped off in Whiterun and made some Scaled armor and a very nice Glass greatsword which has been enchanted and named 'Cabbage' so Erik will feel more at home when he uses it to cut a swathe through the masses of bandits we're sure to encounter.

laugh.gif Nice. And the sword's color should match his thumb. tongue.gif

Mikke of Green River has been engaged in the Dawnguard questline. Spoilers follow.



Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 4 2012, 06:00 PM

I agree, it's interesing when we get to that part of Dawnguard, Grits. smile.gif I have yet to finish Dawnguard yet, but I did find the parts that i did to be interesting.


Posted by: hazmick Sep 4 2012, 06:16 PM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Sep 3 2012, 09:58 PM) *

hazmick: Why did they name their sword "Cabbage"? Interesting choice for a weapon-name. smile.gif


Erik's a farmer when you first meet him, then you convince his father to let him become a mercenary (and a follower) When he follows me he always talks about how he doesn't miss farming so I thought wielding cabbage in battle might make him think about his life and stop complaining when he's adventuring with me biggrin.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 5 2012, 12:11 AM

That's cool. I have an idea for a Crusader character that starts off poor. I already see him as a farmer, too. At least, that is how he will start off.

---------------------------------------------------------------
, 2;39 pm, 23rd of Evenng Star

Gunter find inn. Me tired. Find place sleep with Aela huntress.

Before go in, man run to Gunter. Man give gunter note. Note many words, Gunter not know many words. Gunter give note girlfriend Aela huntress. Aela huntress say "Jarl of Falkreath want us pay him visit". gunter agree.

Me head and Aela huntress follow Guntr. We go Whiterun, meet cat-faces. Cat-faces sell many good thing Gunter. Me buy doll. Gunter buy doll. Gunter give doll Aela huntress-girl friend.

Aela make smile at Gunter. Aela want know when go RIften. Gunter confuse. Me go Falkreath? Me go Riften? Gunter not know!

.

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 5 2012, 02:19 AM

Ulfdis got as far as the kill the witches quest, and I just gave up on the Companions. Kodlak sounds like such a whiner. What was he expecting when he became a werewolf, to be tip-toeing through the tulips for the rest of eternity? He knowingly sold his soul to a Daedric Lord in return for power, but now that he's had his fun and its nearly time for him to pay the price, he wants to weasel out. It would be one thing if he had been infected by accident, or against his will. But the Companions all willingly agree to become lycanthropes (well, except the player characters who want to complete the questline, they are forced into it...). If they do not think there are going to be some downsides to becoming Hircine's beyotches, then they are dumber than they look (and that is saying quite a bit for some of them!).

So I deleted all my saves up to that point, and went back to playing Ulfdis from that point. I found a quest mod that adds a ship and a bunch of quests along the Sea of Ghosts, I might try that out with her.

Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 5 2012, 12:30 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 4 2012, 09:19 PM) *

So I deleted all my saves up to that point, and went back to playing Ulfdis from that point. I found a quest mod that adds a ship and a bunch of quests along the Sea of Ghosts, I might try that out with her.


Um. Well this is the spoiler section so I won't use official spoiler tags, but I'll give a hint. At the "end" of Companions (just after Kodlak grants us his title), we have the option of giving up werewolf blood. I won't say how to do it, if you choose to get that far in the future, you can figure it out; you're a smart cookie. The game doesn't just give us this option though, we have to figure out how to do this ourselves, which I thought was kinda neat. smile.gif

Another thing I've noticed is Companions does not "end" just because we've become leader. There are still quests after this, and the ones I've seen so far are all radiant. But still, this is better than in Fighter's Guild IMO, during which the FG leader no longer has much to do once he/she becomes head of the guild.

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 5 2012, 03:22 PM

I know you can cure yourself of lycanthropy at the end. I just do not want to go any farther in the questline at all. It just is not enjoyable.

I do like the radiant quest system, and how Skyrim uses it to add to all the major questlines. The minor ones too. I think I most like how they use it for the bounties that the steward of every hold hands out. That was a neat idea. I agree that it is much better than Oblivion's purely static system of quests, where once you are done, you are done.

Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 5 2012, 03:38 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 5 2012, 10:22 AM) *

I know you can cure yourself of lycanthropy at the end. I just do not want to go any farther in the questline at all. It just is not enjoyable.


I kinda dug portions of it; especially the fact that as we're doing Companions, the NPCs actually are acting as companions. They don't just stay in their guild like they do 95% of the time in Fighter's Guild of Cyrodiil.

I figured out what bugs me about Companions, by the way. The main thing that bugs me about Companions (and College, too, but not as much) is how easy we can become the leader. In FG and MG, the questlines are very long...by the time they "end", I felt as if my character earned the title. I don't get that feeling with Companions. It would make more sense if some other Companions got jealous or something, since they've been there longer than we have, and then they challenged us somehow.

QUOTE
I do like the radiant quest system, and how Skyrim uses it to add to all the major questlines.


Yeah, me too.

.

Posted by: McBadgere Sep 8 2012, 06:54 PM

"J'Zargo?...What brings you to darken my door again?"

"'Zirlo...We found something...In a place called Saarthaal...Near the college."

"Yes? What is it?..And why is this so bad you have to come all the way to Whiterun to seek my help?"

"Um...There is something strange with this...Your lot...You do strange."

"My lot?..The Companions? or...Ohhh."

"There is something else. Some of us think the Thalmor are snooping around."

"There's that word again...Snooping...*Sighs*...What makes you think that?"

"There's this Altmer asking too many questions...His name, I swear I've read his name somewhere before."

"Well, what is this name?"

"Ancano...I know I've read it before...Years ago...I don't know...All I can remember is, Mother was there."

"Even if you did read it, that may be a common name amongst Altmer, no?"

"Yes, it may be...Or...It may not...We shall see..."

"*Sigh*...I need to see the others, leave Farkas in charge...We will need to find Caerellin and, if possible, Dinasafon...He knows a thing or two about the Thalmor..."

"Dinasafon?...Hmmmm...There's something..."


-------------------------------------



J'Zirlo is doing the College of Winterhold questline, but I'm having it that it was actually J'Zargo that started it off and came to get J'Zirlo for help...Ties it all in to my overall story...Which doesn't make anything complicated and overlong at all... laugh.gif ...



Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 9 2012, 02:54 AM

QUOTE(McBadgere @ Sep 8 2012, 01:54 PM) *


J'Zirlo is doing the College of Winterhold questline, but I'm having it that it was actually J'Zargo that started it off and came to get J'Zirlo for help...Ties it all in to my overall story...Which doesn't make anything complicated and overlong at all... laugh.gif ...


That is fine, man, that is fine.

So Gunter Son of Talos died. sad.gif He and Aela the Huntress were in some fort, and at some point they got swamped with bandits. There were like 8 of them! I couldn't ignore this...he died fairly. I was pretty bummed though. I like the guy a lot.

After a day of mulling about, I decided I'd start him all over again. Well almost all over again. There was no way I was doing Helgen all over, for instance.

I re-started his game from Save 10, and deleted anything later than 10. This put him just outside Whiterun. He was wearing a nearly-full armor suit + an iron sword. He apparently had not started crafting yet at this point, yet had heard of the Companions (this was in his list of questlines).

In this alternate existence, Gunter Son of Talos has re-started Companions, and just finished retrieving the first fragment from Dustman's Cairn. Gunter is annoyed with his partner Farkas, who is strong but so bad at combat. The Xbox is glitching or something; half the time he just stands there and doesn't even recognize he's being attacked!

Gunter and Farkas are on their back to Whiterun.

.

Posted by: hazmick Sep 9 2012, 04:07 PM

Haa-Rei spent the weekend messing about in Falkreath, building a house e.t.c so there hasn't been much time for adventuring.

We did purchase an armoured frost troll from our Dawnguard friend Gunmar though and it's already managed to save Haa-Rei a couple of times so it was money well spent happy.gif Now we intend to do some serious adventuring and have agreed to try and find the White Phial for Nurelion.

Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 9 2012, 04:45 PM

QUOTE(hazmick @ Sep 9 2012, 11:07 AM) *

Haa-Rei spent the weekend messing about in Falkreath, building a house e.t.c so there hasn't been much time for adventuring.


This is another thing: just before Gunter died, he had gotten word from a Courier, and made his way to Falkreath to speak to the Jarl there. He was so excited about being able to buy property (to please his girlfriend), yet had nowhere near 5,000 gold.

I think that's what did him in; he starts to rush into situations that he shouldn't. But I gotta say, I'm glad his game has started all over. smile.gif I am glad because I am curious to see how Hearthfire works itself into the game (and therefore Gunter's story) from an earlier point in time.

Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 18 2012, 09:50 PM


4:23 am, Loredas, 18th of Frostfall, 4th Era 201


Day 62:
Gunter many thing need do. Me go Whiterun. Speak Companion Farkas. Gunter have cheap iron daggar from wizard cave. Must give Farkas cheap iron daggar.

Why companion want cheap iron daggar of wizard cave? Gunter not know.

Me need make cave bandit dead today, before. Too. Find cave near Riverwood. Make bandits all dead. Bandit bad. Bandit must PAY. Gunter MAKE bandits pay for steal good from friend Skyrim. Jarl Falkreath want bandit dead for no pay gold to Jarl. Gunter make bandit PAY for no pay Jarl Falkreath.

me need find little girl Whterun. Sad little girl, need father. Me speak little girl. Me need speak sad little girl want Gunter take? sad.gif Gunter make father little girl?

Gunter make house, take sad little girl beggar find house. Gunter make sad little girl of Whiterun friend. Gunter like friend, make little gi rl beggar more smile. smile.gif

Make all thing happen soon. Gunter make find many thing happen soon.
.
Gunter, Son of Talos II is organizing his thoughts, trying to figure out what he's going to do today. That's what the above is, basically. He hasn't actually done anything yet, you see...


Posted by: McBadgere Sep 22 2012, 02:32 PM

Ummm...Not sure if this warrants its own topic really, but I'm shy see...So I'm putting it here...

Soooo...I never knew this...

J'Zirlo's smithing it 100 with all the perks...And everything is all Legendary and all that...

So there's me thinking that I can't improve anything anymore...

Oh no... nono.gif ...The daughter wanders up and announces that she's tried one of the Smithing fortifying armour things and that does, in fact, shove the stuff up just that little bit more...

Snassn Frassn...

So this morning, I went to every shoppe...Found a grand total of two items...Disenchanted one, enchanted a bunch more things (armour, necklace and ring...Just realised I never tried a circlet...Oooh, there's one for tomorrow...) you can't enchant helmet, gloves and boots btw...Yeeeeah, love the way Bethesda did that...Aaaamywho...

So, I buy loads of Ebony...And, adding one item at a time, I improve my sword...(y'know...Put on armour and improve, put on necklace and improve, put on ring etc...)...So now it still says legendary, but it's something like 30 points further along...And as my enchanting only added 10% improvement...

Putting the one on at a time, I think helped...

When I enchanted and improved the stolen Blades armour in order to do this Thieves Guild thing it would only go to Flawless for some reason...Now it's up to Epic...

It's technically a new thing, or at least something I didn't know...If I find more wearables + the potions, I shall be doing all this again... biggrin.gif ...

BTW I appreciate that I may be behind on this, but I was, like, well chuffed to have found it out... biggrin.gif ...

Well done that daughter there!!... laugh.gif ...

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 22 2012, 04:51 PM

You can enchant helmets, boots, and everything. You are just limited to the types of enchantments you can use on each type of armor/clothing. Helmets and circlets are mainly Fortify Magicka or Fortify Magicka Regeneration, and I think maybe one other thing. http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Enchanting_Effects is a list of what you can enchant every piece with.

Posted by: McBadgere Sep 22 2012, 04:58 PM

Ah, yeah...My bad englishness... biggrin.gif ...

Yeah, I've enchanted pretty much everything there is to be enchanted in the game laugh.gif ...I just meant that unlike Oblivion where you can enchant any item with anything you want...You can't do Boots and Gauntlets with Fortify Smithing is all...

Cheers for the list though...

Posted by: Grits Sep 24 2012, 03:34 AM

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/NivonielCured.jpg leaped onto the railing, then dropped lightly to the rocks below. The waterfall’s spray made the going treacherous, but its roar kept the guards from hearing her muffled yelps. The barely controlled descent cost her some blood, but nothing she couldn’t heal. Sneaking in had been difficult. Now that someone had raised the alarm, sneaking back out would be next to impossible. And that Altmer was demanding her head. Best to make a quick exit straight down.

A few moments’ shuffling in the shelter of a stone pillar got her gowned and ready for the walk through the city. This time her prize was highly portable. She wouldn’t even need Vorstag to—

Oh sixteen hells, thought Nivoniel. Vorstag. He was back inside the building. She had brought him along so he could see some of those Dwemer artifacts that seemed to fascinate him. They had strolled through as invited guests, but now the place was crawling with guards out for blood. Vorstag would draw a weapon if one of them even thought of looking at him funny, never mind the uniforms. He might already be in jail, or even on a slab in the Hall of the Dead by now.

He could handle himself. That was his job. She should just go on without him.

Niv leaned her forehead against the cold stone. These past weeks had seen her mauled by wildlife, battered by draugr, shot, poisoned, stabbed, and left for dead. None of these disasters had occurred while she was under Vorstag’s protection. Nivoniel knew what betrayal felt like. She was not going to do that to him.

She slipped back into her enchanted armor and drifted through the shadows. Vorstag was standing where she had told him to wait, in front of the gleaming doors right outside the restricted area. He looked like a mountain of ebony illuminated by a thousand lanterns. Nivoniel worked through her repertoire of curse words waiting for the guards to turn their backs. Then she stepped into the light.

“Good afternoon,” Vorstag bellowed in his friendly tone. He shifted his feet with the sound of an ironmonger’s cart tumbling down a mountain.

“Let’s go,” hissed Nivoniel, dropping into a stealthy crouch. “Quietly.”

“You lead. I’ll follow.”

She made it to the door before she realized that her partner was not at her back. He had started a war with the guards. Nivoniel breathed a prayer and began shooting. Vorstag took them down one by one while Nivoniel pumped arrows into the crowd. Eventually Vorstag dropped to his knees. Three guards turned as one, and Nivoniel faced a wall of shields. This time she felt no urge to run and hide. Perhaps the end of this life would just be another beginning. As they closed on her, Nivoniel drew her daggers.

Maybe Vorstag found one more healing potion, or perhaps he had saved a few baked potatoes for just such an emergency. Somehow he got back on his feet. While the guards hacked at Nivoniel, Vorstag cut them down from behind.

It was over. Nearly blind with pain, Nivoniel filled her hands with healing light. They made it out of the city without being stopped by guards. Niv supposed it helped that Vorstag had killed all of the witnesses. She felt sick knowing how many families would grieve tonight, but she had made her choice. She would not trade their lives for hers. And she would not trade her partner’s.

“Let’s go home,” said Nivoniel.

“I’ve got your back.”

But when they got there, someone had changed the locks.

*
Events occurred within the Guild that should not be recorded. Oaths were sworn, and secrets kept. Nivoniel joined two others in pursuit of justice for their Guild. Mighty Vorstag was left outside.

In the depths of a Dwemer ruin beset by Falmer and chaurus hunters, Nivoniel fell. Hopefully that fetcher Brynjolf died soon after. It was his heavy feet that gave them away.



Posted by: SubRosa Sep 24 2012, 04:21 AM

Poor Niv. sad.gif This is why I do not play dead is dead. Especially in a game like Skyrim! ohmy.gif

Posted by: Grits Sep 24 2012, 04:30 AM

This was a tough one for me. She went through a lot in her 47 hours, and she had plans.

Brynjolf and Karliah went down in seconds, and Niv got completely slaughtered. The chaurus hunters found her while she was invisible. I’m not sure how I could have gotten her through there with Brynjolf’s horrible sneaking even if I did reload. Dammit.

Posted by: Grits Sep 28 2012, 04:14 PM

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/grits29/Mikke.jpg has scored a great victory for the Dawnguard. The vampire threat from Castle Volkihar has passed. Of course there is probably a new clan ready to rise, but that’s a fight for another day. The Dawnguard headed back to the fortress after the battle. Mikke stood on the castle bridge for a while, shooting bonehawks and thinking things over.

For one, Serana has to go her own way. Mikke has grown fond of her, which is a sure sign that the vampire is working her wiles. Mikke is a werewolf. There is no way this undead creature really wants anything to do with her.

Next she’ll go get Erik the Slayer and tie up some loose ends. Her beast blood is starting to burn again, so I expect she’ll wolf it on the way there. She likes Erik, but she’s pretty sure he would not approve of her beast behavior. I think their questlog cleanup might be kind of a farewell trip. When she makes it back to Jorrvaskr, they’re going to want to keep her busy. We’ll see. She’s going to have some decisions to make.

But first she wants to go home and bake some sweetrolls for the orphans Sofie and Alesan. They’re in good hands with Lydia, the bard, the Housecarl, and the carriage driver, but Mikke is the one they want to call Ma.

Mikke summons her spectral horse and points his flaming nose toward Windstad Manor.

Posted by: King Coin Sep 28 2012, 04:29 PM

Mikke looks so cool in her DG armor! biggrin.gif Sounds like her story is coming to a close however.

Posted by: Grits Sep 28 2012, 07:51 PM

Thanks, KC! I like how the DG armor looks so pulled-together, since she is such a savage in combat. It makes a nice contrast, especially with that very knightly looking helm.

This chapter has definitely come to a close for Mikke. I’m going to leave her at Windstad for a while. She was working with Aela on Companions business when the vampire attacks got to be too much for her to ignore, so she feels a strong pull to get back to Jorrvaskr. I’m sure she’ll continue with that questline, since I know what happens next. Then there’s the dragon business. Jarl Balgruuf told her to visit the Greybeards, but she left his company in an awkward manner one morning (kicked out of his bed by the guards after he had already gotten up whistling.gif) so she’s trying to forget everything about the Dragonsreach Incident. Still, she’s starting to realize that what happens when she kills a dragon is not normal. So I’m sure she’ll eventually take a walk up that hill.

Mikke did not start out as Dead is Dead since I wanted to get through the whole DG business and see what it was about. Somewhere along the line I realized that I would not reload if she died. Not because I was tired of her, but because her life had become her own and it would seem disrespectful to manipulate it. (Hmm, that sounds more than a little crazy. tongue.gif) In the final battle she went flying across the room coated in ice like a kill cam, but then she got up and the controls worked again. I thought it was over, but she still hasn’t died even once. She is a very interesting character to play, quiet and reserved in some ways with an almost paladin-like sense of duty, but then she strips down under the moons and runs around eating people. So she can be a little tiring.

Also I want to focus on Jerric’s doings, and Mikke takes up a lot of space in the imagination. And The Boy just found Tropico 4, so it will be awhile before I get back on the Xbox!! laugh.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Sep 28 2012, 09:42 PM

What difficulty do you prefer to use, Grits? Just curious.

Posted by: Grits Sep 28 2012, 10:09 PM

Adept. I sometimes (rarely!) bump it up if I find I have put too much into Health. I prefer to use minimally improved gear. Mikke’s axe is not enchanted, for example, and Jensa the 2-handed barbarian still wears hide armor most of the time. I could not manage that on the higher difficulties. Of course Jensa breaks out the Blades armor (not enchanted) if she thinks she's going up against a dragon priest. tongue.gif Now that I think of it, Jensa's greatsword is not enchanted either.

Achille the conjurer/illusionist was Expert from the beginning because he didn't deal direct damage and I wanted him to be vulnerable, and Zuuri was Expert for a while when she got a little too powerful. Her skills and perks were very tightly focused. Usually Adept is challenging enough for me. smile.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Oct 6 2012, 07:46 PM

Character: Skankee Krahkho

Level: 11

Alignment: evil

Class: conjurer / thief

Preferred Weapon: iron daggar

Apparel: Novice Robes of Restoration, Novice Mage's Hood, leather boots, hide bracers, Necklace of Resist Magic 10%, Ring of Minor Magicka (20 pts.)

Perks: Novice Destruction, Novice Conjuration, Novice Illusion, Alchemist (1/5}, Stealth (2/5), Muffled Movement, Armsman (1/5), Novice Alteration, Alteration Dual Casting.

9:22 AM, 5th of Heartfire, 4th Era, Year 201

Days Passed: 19


The morning was bitter cold. Skankee Krahkho had arrived in Winterhold the night before. She stayed at the village's inn, and is now off to the College. And it is COLD out here. Bruma cold does not = Skyrim cold.

The journey from Whiterun to Winterhold had not been an easy one. I am amazed that Miss Krahk-ho is still alive, to be honest. Thank goodness she is an alchemst, and had created dozens of health potions. Thank goodness she is also a thief; she had dozens more potions which she had stolen from various places in Whiterun. kvleft.gif

She nearly died several times on her journey. She encountered a frost spider ( much tougher than the underground spiders, Skank noticed), and several wolves...some in a pack and some solitary. These wolves were stronger than the ones living in the Riverwood / Helgen areas, too.

Skank attempted to join the mages at Fort Kastav, but quickly found that in Skyrim, one didn't just walk into a fort full of mages and not pass their "test". These mages had proven to be aggressive and very powerful. They were casting amazingly fast cold spells (...like flying ice spikes, Skank noticed), and she had been hit by several of these. They slowed her down massively and it took several agonizing seconds before the magic faded out of them.

She had also seen what looked to be a giant made of ice in their fort. It had walked on two legs and was probably twice her size! As soon as Skank saw that thing, she had simply bolted. Ran for the hills, dodging ice spikes all the while!

But she made it to Winterhold. smile.gif .....And why all this trouble to get to Winterhold? The College. The Winterhold College of Mages.

She had heard of The College while she was still living in Cyrodiil, about a month before joining up with those necromancers. Talk about "The College" had become all the rage, actually. It was supposed to be the "place to go" in Skyrim, if you were a magic-user looking to broaden your spell book.

Skank and her travelling band of Necromancers had wanted to go to The College, not to join it so much as to infiltrate it. They had planned on seeing if they could move in as a group. Join the College legitimately, but then slowly take over the place. They weren't exactly sure how large the College is, after all, or how many other mages there would be living there. Would they be able to "take over"? Not immediately, but perhaps over the course of several weeks? Would it be possible to take them to a remote location one at a time, and then make them disappear?

And now Skank, possibly the only survivor from her former group, is about to find out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Cross the bridge at your own peril. The gate is closed, and you shall not gain entry!"

said the elven woman to Skankee Krakho after she walked up the stairs.

"Is this The College of Winterhold, or is it not?"

"Oh. Forgive me. Most who arrive here at the College of Winterhold do so because they have heard of the college beforehand. This is the college of Winterhold".

Good. Skank had arrived in the right village then. She only had an aged brown linen map to navigate by.

"I would like to pass. Do you mind?"

"I am here to assist those seeking the wisdom of the college...'" the gatekeeping female rambled on for a few moments. ..."but the more important question is, why are you here?"

"Simple. I want to gain access to the College itself, me lady".

"Perhaps. But what is it you exepect to find within?" asked the gatekeeper.

"I came across some evil mages just down the road who could throw spikes of ice, driven by their very hands! Such spikes could fly very fast! I would like to learn such magics", Skank said innocently.

"I see. That power certianly exists i assure you, she promised. "Wield it faithfully, and there are few who will dare oppose you". She rambled a few more moments and then said (in so many words) that Skankee Krahk-ho would need to pass a "small test" to get inside.

The game provides "I'll take your test", or a persuasion option. I don't see Miss Skank as a very boastful character, so I chose to simply take the test.

"Excellent. The Mage Light spell is useful to any mage. Can you cast it on this shield upon the ground? "

"Well, I don't know that spell, me lady", Skank had replied.

"No? Well if you think you're capable, I will happily sell it to you for 30 gold."

Skank had not expected this. If any sort of test were going to be started, why a stupid light spell? Would this lady not be impressed if Miss Skank summoned up her sword? Or threw some fire onto the wall? Why a light spell?

She bought the spell, anyways. .

"Here you are. Now I'm anxious to see you cast it."

Skank decided she would cast this spell this one time, and only this one time. As a sneaky spellcaster, she much preferred torches over magical light. At least torches could be extinguished at will.

She cast the Light Spell, and was easily made a member of The College of Mages. Where are you, my friends? she thought later on. Where were her necromancing friends, indeeed?

Posted by: Lady Saga Oct 27 2012, 11:48 PM

Name: Lord Haaf-Mersey

Age: 29
Race: Breton
Class: Crusader
Alignment*: Lawful Good

Skills*: Sword, Shield, Running, Literacy, Warrior

Spells: Heal Self

Mentor: Dyan phor a'Cauz

*= tabletop stuff. wink.gif

What I know: he's a Breton originally from High Rock, who moved to Cyrodiil as a kid. Haaf-Mersey's odd name is the result of two families who had multiple marriages between them: Nords and Bretons alike. Haaf-Mersey is actually a mixture of Nord and Breton himself, although much more Breton than Nord.

He's had a comfortable life, so far. He's also had some military training, and is a devout follower of The Nine. He intends to do "good works" whereever he goes, as Dyan phor a'Cauz accomplished two centuries ago. He's read all about Dyan (she is one of my Oblivion characters from the 3rd era, btw).

Lord Haaf-Mersey recently decided to move to Skyrim, as there seems to be some sort of a "boom" going on there (a treasure boom, that is, as Skyrim's crypts have been rumored to still contain wealth). Haaf-Mersey is also knowlegeable about some sort of conflict brewing up in Skyrim between the Nords and Imperials.

At the moment, he is undecided which side is best, but being caught by the Imperials, caught and then branded as an outcast, has left him with a sore spot against the invaders from Cyrodiil.

Haaf-Mersey is about to be executed despite his protests, when something large and VERY fast blots the sun from the sky. It's a dragon! They actually still existed?

Haaf-Mersey wound up following an Imperial into Helgen Keep.

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 28 2012, 01:05 AM

Yaay for Lord Haaf! He is a follower of the Nine Divines? Not the Eight? That says a lot right there.

Posted by: Lady Saga Oct 28 2012, 04:04 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Oct 27 2012, 08:05 PM) *

Yaay for Lord Haaf! He is a follower of the Nine Divines? Not the Eight? That says a lot right there.



WOw, oh yes GOOD POINT. He includes Talos since he's a follower of The Nine instead of the Eight. I hadn't thought of it that way.

By the way, I am trying something new with Haaf-Mersey's game: I am using the Apprentice difficulty instead of Adept. Some fights are going to feel too easy, but I want this guy to stick around for awhile.

His game is going to be DiD, but I want to see what happens (for instance) when the property in Falkreath actually gets developed. Both Gunters died before I could barely get the place started! Haaf-Mersey will also most likely do Dawnguard quests (aiding the vampire hunters instead of the vamps), join the College (he's gonna be using magic) and I am undecided on Companions and Civil War stuff. We shall see. smile.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Oct 28 2012, 04:19 PM

Sundas, 6:04 PM, 17th of Last Seed


"See that ruin up there? Bleak Falls Barrow. When I was a boy, that place used to give me nightmares. Draugr coming down the mountian and looking through my window...that kind of thing. I admit, I still don't much like the look of it".

The day is sunny and bright. Lord Haaf-Mersey is walking along with an Imperial by the name of Hadvar. The two had escaped from Helgen, only to see the dragon fly overhead and to the north. Hadvar had suggested that he and Lord Haaf-Mersey should split up, but Haaf-Mersey thought this would be a bad idea. Better to travel in numbers, than alone.

"Come on. I'll feel better once we're on the trail to Riverwood", Hadvar goads.

"I am with you, my brother. Together we shall travel!" Haaf-Mersey says this valiantly.

He is glad to be here in Skyrim. He feels blessed to be here in Skyrim. He shall do good works here, and his devotion The Nine had saved him several times now: from execution by blade, and from destruction by dragon.

As he walks, Haaf-Mersey spies groups of colored flowers occasionally on the ground: red, blue, and purple. He picks these flowers because he knows of their properties: they restore magicka, health, and stamina respectively. Centuries before, Dyan phor a'Cauz the great Paladin was known to carry simple ingredients such as flaxseed and mushrooms to restore her failings. She used these ingredients to enhance her healing powers, powers granted to her by Mara herself. Haaf-Mersey knows this, and despite the fact that he knows how to cast healing magics to aid his body in war, he goes ahead and collects as many of these flowers as he can.

"One thing though, who were those others in the cart? I was to be executed, who were those with me? And what shall be their fate?" Haaf-Mersey asks.

"OH you didn't know? That was Ulfric Stormcloak and his top lieutenants", Hadvar says in a slightly raspy voice.

"Ulfric Stormcloak?"

"Right. He's the leader of the Stormcloaks. They claim to be fighting for Skyrim's freedom, but the war is all about Ulfric's wanting to be High King of Skyrim".

"I see. What knoweth you of the Stormcloaks, then? I am new here in Skyrim, come uppth from Cyrodiil, me-self."

"You haven't heard of the Civil war in Skyrim? I guess down in Cyrodiil people have other things to worry about", Hadvar says. "It's simple. Ulfric founded the Stormcloaks years ago, as a private army to further his ambitions. He's always used the banning of the worship of Talos as an excuse, to stir people up against the Empire. He never succeeded in getting much support. So a few months ago, he muldeled High King. That got the Empire's attention."

"Muldeled? You mean murdered? That is such grave news".

It is now dark outside, the air cools dramatically now that the sun is gone, but Haaf-Mersey can't resist just one more question.

"And Ulfric? He was on the same cart as I, off to his death. How cometh of this, that we should share the same cart?"

"A master stroke by General Tulius", Hadvar boasts. "He's only been here a few months, but he's turning things around for the Empire. We've been trying to to catch Ulfric since the war started, but he always seemed to slip through our fingers. This time, the general turned the tables on him. Ulfric walked right into our ambush with only a few bodyguards! He surrendered easily, too. So much to his death or glory reputation".

"I see. I am glad to knowth all you have spoken", Haaf-Mersey says diplomatically. He does not totally agree with everything Hadvar has told him, but he's going to let it go for now.

"We'd better keep moving", Hadvar cautions. "That dragon could be anywhere up above us".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11:13 pm
The road bends sharply to the right, when all a sudden Hadvar stops, despite his previous cautionary words.

"These are the Guardian Stones", he says .... "Three of the Thirteen ancient standing stones that dot Skyrim's landscape. Go ahead. See for yourself".

As Lord Haaf-Mersey inspects the three stones, he gets a feeling of their power within, and sees they have been carved. One appears with the fascia of a warrior, one a mage, and the third one a sort of robed figure. A rogue, perhaps. He rests his fingers upon the Warrior stone.

"I feel honored by the spirit " Haaf-Mersey admits, although he can't say for sure if this spirit is caused by one of The Nine or not.

Hadvar seems impatient to keep moving up ahead, and Haaf-Mersey agrees with this.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morndas, 12:20 am

"I'm glad you decided to come with me. We're almost to Riverwood".

"I am glad as well", Haaf-Mersey agrees.

Eventually the pair make it to a small hamlet, by the river. This must be Riverwood. The smell of burning wood and searing metal is all around; it's good to be back in civilization. Hadvar meets up with another man, who appears to be working at a smithy. They invite Haaf-Mersey into a small house, made of wood.

"This reminds me little of Bruma", Haaf-Mersey notices, and goes inside.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12:55 am

"Sigrid, we have company!" says the other man, the one who had just been tending to the smith outside.

"Hadvar, we've been so worried about you!" says a woman. "Come you must be so hungry. You must get something to eat".

These folk seem nice. Haaf-Mersey notices a girl is present, and she looks up to him with curious eyes. Suddenly, Haaf-Mersey is aware of the Imperial soldier's armor which he is wearing.

He spends the night with these folks, glad to have somewhere to be, for now.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry this post is so long. I like writing up early RP as a way to establish new characters. This is my new thing. Writing helps me to really get my new PC off with a good start

Morndas, 12:54 PM
Lord Haaf-Mersey had spent the previous night wanding a bit. He counted heads over at the house he had been welcomed into (Hadvar's friends) but there would not be enough room there. Haaf-Mersey did not want to take anyone else's bed.

He went looking for an inn, but wound up in a shop which had its door unlocked. In here, he learned that a "group of thieves" had stolen a "golden claw", and this immediately piqued Haaf-Mersey's attention. After he was guided to the edge of the village by the storekeeper's wife, she flirted with him....

"You're a strapping young man. Don't be a stranger". laugh.gif

He spent the night at the Sleeping Giant Inn, and is curious about the smith he had seen the day before.
He spends his first full day in Riverwood, therefore, learning a few things about how to craft weapons and armor, a trade only an elite few participated in down in Cyrodiil.

He also learns (after talking to a Nord woman named Gerdur) that if he picks up an axe and chops wood, he will be paid for his efforts by a man named "Hod". smile.gif He eventually meets Hod running the mill (funny how in many previous games, Hod was nowhere to be found), and chops wood for many hours. This is a good thing, since Haaf-Mersey is literally goldless.

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 28 2012, 06:10 PM

So a few months ago, he muldeled High King
He mulded! Brilliant of you to put that in on purpose!



Posted by: Grits Oct 28 2012, 06:30 PM

QUOTE(Lady Saga @ Oct 28 2012, 11:19 AM) *

muldeled

rollinglaugh.gif I love it! That's just how he says it! laugh.gif

Posted by: Lady Saga Oct 28 2012, 07:42 PM

I know! I was like...did he just say "mudeled?" Lol.

Fredas, 7:34 AM, 22nd of Last Seed


Level: 1

Days Passed: 5
Hours Slpept: 47
Hours Waiting: 22

Gold Found: 558 (this must be from all the firewood he chopped)

It is early in the morning when Lord Haaf-Mersey arises from his rented bed in the Sleeping Giant Inn. He's been working all week: chopping wood and doing some smithing & selling of a few miscellaneous weapons and armor pieces.

A good crusader never goes off into battle unprepared, and if he is to go off and find this Golden Claw on his own, Haaf-Mersey is going to need more than the flimsy Imperial leather he wore outside of Helgen. Haaf-Mersey has crafted himself a suit of fine iron armor, fine iron helmet, finely-crafted leather gauntlets, and some Imperial leather boots. He has also sharpened up the iron sword he found just after the dragon attack. All he needs is a good sword, and he is off to Bleak Falls Barrow.

On his way out the door, he hears some talk. Apparently, somebody had raided and burglarized a one of Riverwood's cottages in the night*. The culprit must be found! Some say it was the dark elf who had mysteriously shown up in town recently.

*=Skankee Krahk-ho would have did some breaking & entering by now in Riverwood. Haaf-Mersey hears this, and vows revenge,
IF he can catch whoever did this!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loredas, 4:47 AM

I've never made a shield from raw materials before, but I imagine it would take an entire day to do so. Therefore Haaf-Mersey begins his quest towards Bleak Flats a day later than planned.

It is very early morning, and the Lord is so poor, he cannot afford to rent the room again. So he sleeps in a chair after eating his last carrots. He has heard there are bandits up the hill; perhaps they will have some food and other supplies. Haaf-Mersey has no qualms about raiding from bandits, since it is ofen bandits who terrorize the good peoples of Tamriel, anyways. But like his long-dead mentor Dyan phor a'Cauz, Haaf-Mersey always offers evil-doers the opportunity to "change their mind". To give up their past, and "give in to The Nine".

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8:19 AM
Lord Haaf-Mersey climbs the hill towards the tower which the lady of the shoppe below spoke of. It is rumored by her to hold bandits, so he readies his sword and shield. As he approaches he sees a figure pacing just outside. He seems to be keeping watch of the place.

"HALT! You violated the law!" he shouts as he approaches. "I am Lord Haaf-Mersey, Crusader in trial of good works! And I command you to giveth up your holdings, and give in to The Nine!"

Those last few words are not his own; he had learned them from reading about a paladin from the Third Era: Dyan phor a'Cauz. Dyan had done many good works in her time, which included the destruction of Umaril, who had threatened to take over all of Tamriel. Lord Haaf-Mersey has all the books related to her tale stashed back at his family home back in Cyrodiil. He has been collecting them from childhood.

As Haaf-Mersey approached, he could see there are actually two figures. Both are dressed in furs, and brandish cheap weapons. They certainly look like bandits.

"Never should have come here!" one of them cries.

The Lord draws his blade now (he had sheathed it as he warned them), and attacks!

"Is that it? Is that your best!"

Haaf-Mersey bashes the first bandit repeatedly, and then manages three direct swings! GING! BANG! BASH!!!

"I said GIVE IN!"

The first bandit hasn't got a chance. He does not manage even a single blow to the Crusader. But then....

"I'll mount your head on my wall!" before Haaf-Mersey can start on the second one, a third bandit shows up, this one wearing heavy iron instead of furs. It is of no matter, though. All three bandits fall. Haaf-Mersey says a quick prayer for their souls, and then moves on.

It is a really clear day today for some reason. For the first time, I am noticing I can actually see Helgen, way off in the distance!

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10:10 AM
As Haaf-Mersey rounds the path, he is now on the other side of the mountain (laugh.gif) he climbed. He can see a stone tower, what looks to be a rather large fort, and a town, way off in the valley below. The town is Whiterun, Haaf Mersey assumes. He will have to check his map (paper map) later when he gets out of this cold.

10:30 AM
Gotta say: these fights do feel easier than usual, now that I'm using Apprentice difficulty instead of Adept, but they are not the cakewalk I was assuming they'd be. Strategy is still coming into play, here.

"Tell ya what. You start running, so I can stab you in the back!"

Three more bandits, evil foul-doing brethren of Oblivion, are dealt with, and Haaf-Mersey makes his way into the very LARGE foundation, which is supposed to house many traps, bandits, and undead.

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3:58 PM
Lord Haaf-Mersey finds a bedroll located right by a fire. He cannot resist getting a couple hours of meditation before going deeper into Bleak Flats. During his meditation, he thinks of a new way to hold himself during battle. A better stance to support his weight. This will help him defend himself more properly in battle.

He made it to Level 2, and I selected the first Heavy Armor perk (Juggernaut)


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7:35 PM
I did something new with this character of mine, something I've never done before. Before cutting Arvel the Swift from the spider web, I decided to have Haaf-Mersey speak to the guy. Turns out, we have the option to demand the claw from him before cutting him down. We can demand he give it to us, and we can perform some other command. I'm forgetting what the other one is.

Anyways, that's not the new part, this is: Arvel refuses to give the claw over after being cut down, and Lord Haaf-Mersey attacked him. I've never had a character able to attack Arvel before he gets away. Initially Arvel ran off, but after a minute or two he came back to finish the fight with Haaf-Mersey. Therefore, the trap didn't get him in this instance.

Posted by: Lady Saga Oct 30 2012, 12:01 AM



This is Lord Haaf-Mersey, by the way. Isn't he a prettyboy? laugh.gif That's the look I was going for with him, and I'm actually proud of my accomplishment. Yes, he wears lipstick, and does not wear a helmet. He's supposed to be this gallant, Hollywood type of Crusader. Since his game is Apprentice (a little easier than Adept) I feel it's okay if he doesn't want to wear a helmet for the time being. He's too pretty anywyas.


Fredas, 5:37 PM, 29th of Last Seed


Character: Lord Haaf-Mersey
Level: 5

Days Passed: 12
Locations Discovered: 12
Dungeons Cleared: 3

Hours Slept: 107
Hours Waiting: 54

Gold Found: 3,330

Quests Completed: 2
Misc Objectives Completed: 9

Spells Learned: 5
Favorite Spell: Oakflesh


Notice Quests Completed and Misc Objectives. Skankee Krahk-ho got to Level 20, yet completed just 1 Quest, and 3 miscellaneous objectives. Lol.

@-}----- @-}----- @-}----- @-}----- @-}----- @-}----- @-}----- @-}----- @-}----- @-}-----

The day is pleasant. Lord Haaf-Mersey had heard Skyrim is a very grim place to live, but so far it didn't seem that bad. There had been a couple days which were drizzly with rain, but just as many days with full sunshine.

The Lord has a task at hand: take down the bandits at a place called Valtheim Towers. He has already found a few other bandit camps and raided them, and he's feeling confident Valtheim will be no different.

Haaf-Mersey has crafted together his own set of steel armor, and wears a mixture of Light and Heavy armor altogether. He carries a finely-sharpened longsword for a weapon, and backs this up with a big shield of banded iron. As he approaches Valtheim, he calls out...

"Hoy there! Bandits of Valtheim Towers! .... I am Lord Haaf-Mersey! Crusader from Cyrodiil! And I command ye to banish thine posts! ... Drop thine weapons! ... And give in to the Nine!"

Haaf-Mersey is answered by an arrow to the side.

"Huh!"

6:05 pm
He is still on the road, facing the nearest of the two towers, when a door opens, and a typical bandit brandishing a blade and wearing simple fur armor comes after him...

"Huuyah!" *CLINK!*

Haaf-Mersey allows the bandit the first swing before he draws his own weapon & shield. He then bashes the bandit in the face, stunning him.

"FACE .... THE NINE!!! *BANG!* ... RECKON WITH ... THE NINE!" *BONK!*

"Tell ya what, you start running ... so I can NOOOOO!"

The first bandit is felled easily, and Haaf-Mersey moves on. He drinks several potions before making his way into the towers: potions which will boost his Health, and Magicka, and increase his Stamina Regeneration rate. He drinks two more potions also, furthering his ability to block and use his heavy armor.

"GIVE UP! GIVE YERSELVES UP, MISCREANTS!"

6:13 pm
"True Nords never back down!"

Haaf-Mersey climbs a set of stairs, and looks out an opening. He notices it is raining. When did the rain start? ... He runs up a ramp, and sees there are two archers just waiting to take a shot at him. He ducks behind an entranceway, and then rushes out across the bridge!*

"Aaaaah!"

*this is the cool thing about playing on Apprentice level, I don't have to be as careful! He's supposed to be this Hollywood hero, and he gets to ACT like one

The first bandit also wears furs, and is using a cheap mace. He is no contest for The Lord, but then, another one shows up wearing heavier armor (the boss). This one would require more finesse, and as Haaf-Mersey sees even more bandits rushing across the bridge, he does not want to get cornered. He rushes back to the entrance of the place, and out onto the road!

"Come on! Face the Light of mighty Stendarr!"

The ringleader is tough. Haaf-Mersey runs around strategically, occasionally grabbing a purple mountain flower to restore stamina, or a healing potion to restore his health. Eventually the leader falls...

"By the power of Mara!" cries the Crusader, healing himself with Mara's love. He makes his way across the bridge, and searches both towers, until all the vermin have been expunged of their wrongful ways!


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7:17 pm
It is getting dark outside, and the rain falls steadily.

Rain is also falling outside steadily here on Earth, as Hurricane Sandy makes it way across Maryland. There is this dual-effect of rain noises in my room. smile.gif

Lord Haaf-Mersey finds a Staff of Sparks on one of the bandits, and tosses it into the river far below*. He then places the Jarl's bounty letter in the pocket of one of the bandits, as a warning to other potential wrong-doers that this place will be under watch of the Jarl, through Haaf-Mersey's protection.

*(Anything enchanted is evil, Haaf-Mersey feels. Haaf-Mersey will not be using or selling soul gems, poisons, enchanted items, or armor. The only exception to this is if the item or weapon has something to do with one of The Nine. .

After he is done exploring the place and gathering up gold and food, Haaf-Mersey falls asleep in one of the bandit-beds, fully claiming the place as his own. He has a dream in which he seems himself in combat. During this dream, Haaf-Mersey realizes a new way to hold his shield, which will allow even less damage to be inflicted by enemies in future battles.

wink.gif


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Lord Haaf-Mersey walks the road back to Whiterun, where he will collect money from the Jarl's Steward, and visit the markets. He has heard about a group called the Companions, and thinks he might just visit them, too, as they seem to be the equivalent of Cyrodiil's Fighter's Guild.

Up ahead are 4 travellers, all wearing heavy armor. They come to a bridge, and one of them stoops down to inspect a dead wolf. (uh oh) Haaf-Mersey approaches, and one of the men says..

"COME ON!!!"

...drawing his big greatsword. .

"Four against one, eh? That is how this is going to be played?"

"HyYYYYah!!!! *clink!*

"I'll Kill you if I have to!" says a Nord woman.

"By the NINE!" Haaf-Mersey gets a couple swings and a couple bashes in. He notices an arrow flies past! The travellers have split up, then: two are handling Haaf-Mersy up-front, and two are now using bows.

"You don't fight fair!"

Haaf-Mersey turns around, and runs up the hill towards a bandit hideout he had dealt with the day before.

"BY THE POWER OF MARA!" he makes his way to a safe spot, and heals up. If these ruffians would not fight fair, Haaf-Mersey needs to flex his melee options.

"You won't leave Skyrim alive!"

Healed up, he now rushes the two closest to him!

"FALLL BEFORE ME!"

"NOW YOU'LL PAY!" says the Nord woman, before being sent off to the Afterlife. The other figher follows soon afterwards, then Haaf-Mersey goes for the archers!

"Thy shall meet thine fate, Ruffians!" he promises.

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12:34 pm
The Lord makes his way down the hillside. What happened to the archers? Suddenly, he sees a figure walking slowly. Haaf-Mersey now brandishes his blade, and rushes down the hill.

But it turns out, the figure is merely a Whiterun guard.

"Need something?"

Haaf-Mersey sees no sign of the archers. He sees a couple more guards across the bridge. Perhaps these guards took care of the two archers?

As the Lord walks, he sees a man who appears to be crouching. He nears the crouched man, who's wearing iron armor and carries an axe. But he does not attack. Instead he says...

"Victory is yours! I submit!" the ruffian says, and runs off towards Honningbrew Meadery.

What the? Lol...never seen this happen before. My character didn't even attack the man, yet!

"I shall not pursueth this man", Haaf-Mersey says to the nearest guard, who could care less. "This man has seen the Light of the Nine! May he go forth with clean faith upon his conscience!"

"Trouble?" the guard asks, not exactly agreeing, nor disagreeing. Haaf-Mersey makes his way into Whiterun, looking forward to the day ahead.

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 30 2012, 02:07 AM

LHM is a pretty boy indeed! It is too bad he could not have teamed up with Dovahken.

That guy in the armor who fled was hilarious. Was he one of the bow-armed bandits? Or just some random person I wonder?

Posted by: Grits Oct 31 2012, 02:15 AM

I thought the same thing, SubRosa! But they would need an imaginary mod wagon to carry their hair care products.

Renee, LHM reminds me of Errol Flynn. smile.gif

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