Today In Skyrim (Spoilerific), Like the other one, but with added spoilers!!! Options

[McBadgere]

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... ...

[Lady Saga]

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.

[McBadgere]

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

...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...

This post has been edited by McBadgere: Apr 22 2012, 03:21 PM

[Grits]

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.

[SubRosa]

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

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.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 22 2012, 05:47 PM

[SubRosa]

From the journal of Hrafngoelir

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

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 24 2012, 01:02 AM

[Grits]

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


Jensa (she’s back in her hide armor these days) 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.

.

This post has been edited by Grits: Apr 23 2012, 01:07 AM

[Lady Saga]

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!

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.
.

This post has been edited by Lady Saga: Apr 23 2012, 06:56 PM

[Grits]

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?

[SubRosa]

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 Hrafngoelir

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

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 24 2012, 01:12 AM

[Lady Saga]

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

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.

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.
.

[Grits]

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.

This post has been edited by Grits: Apr 24 2012, 02:53 AM

[Grits]

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.

[SubRosa]

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 Hrafngoelir

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

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 26 2012, 09:13 PM

[Lady Saga]

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.

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.

This post has been edited by Lady Saga: Apr 25 2012, 01:18 AM

[SubRosa]

From the journal of Hrafngoelir

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

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 26 2012, 09:14 PM

[Lady Saga]

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

[SubRosa]

From the journal of Hrafngoelir

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

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 28 2012, 07:20 PM

[McBadgere]

Exellent stuff, all of you!!...

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

[SubRosa]

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

From the journal of Hrafngoelir

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