Kothet was a (dead) character in the Gweden Brothel mod. He was the Dremora Valkynaz who owned Prizna, before she killed him and escaped. I resurrected him to be the test character for the Dremora Hearthfires mod for Skyrim, and he hung around a bit longer than expected.

Since a Dremora in Skyrim normally only wears a special version of Daedric armour (with reduced stats) he can't use most regular armour, so his story reflects that limitation, and the gear he does use is the same as the houscarl can use in my mod, which was of course added to the game as wearable by a Dremora.

The housecarl's combat style and equipment are set by the mod to complement the abilities of the player character, so a mage, defined as a player who has higher magicka than health or stamina, wil get an archer housecarl. An archer ( a non-mage with Marksman skill above one- or two-handed) gets a melee housecarl, and others get a mage. Kothet's preference is two-handed, although he starts off using a one-handed weapon with a spell in the other. The spell-book offers three choices of housecarl - male, regular female, and sexy female. The last of those wears skimpier outfits, and has the sultry voice rather than the commander voice.

Kothet's story is already well under way, and I'll start to post more episodes here once I finish posting Clark's. There's a link at the top for those who've forgotten about Prizna's interview with Clark. I linked to the copy here, not the one on my site with the nude picture of her.

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1 - Helgen

I can understand the Stormcloaks deciding to hide in my cave. The entrance is well-concealed, which is why I chose it. And it stays that way, if I'm careful how I enter, and don't leave obvious footprints outside.

I can understand how the pursuing Imperials found them, too. What I can't understand is why the Imperials think I'm one of them. Seriously, how many Stormcloaks have horns?

I'm not talking about helmets here. My horns are on my head, just like any of the Kyn. But we are few in Tamriel, so maybe they've never seen a Dremora before.

Whatever they were thinking, we all ended up on the same cart headed for Helgen. I presume I was vocal about the Imperials' incompetence in including me, because I don't remember much about the journey, just waking with a sore head as we approached the town. By that time, I'd given up trying to make our captors actually think. They were military, which would generally mean that thinking was for officers only.

---

I know this because once, I was an officer. In Mehrunes Dagon's forces, I led the attack that took Ganonah, the city the locals call Kvatch. Which is why I got the blame when it was taken back, even though I wasn't there at the time. I was the officer, so I should have forseen the possibility, and not left the place under the command of a subordinate . Even though Dagon himself had sent me elsewhere, on an assignment beneath my station.

To make matters worse, the woman I'd been given as a reward for my success at Ganonah had turned on me. Admittedly, I'd probably been unfair in the way I treated her. Anger at Dagon can't be directed towards him, and she probably got the worst of my frustration. I was on guard duty - me, a Valkynaz, on guard duty! - inside the gate we'd opened near Bravil. That's where she killed me. A mere woman struck me down, with shock spells to weaken me, and a final blow from a mace! I was so proud of the way she did it, but of course, unable to tell her until I was restored.

And then, equally, I was in no position to do so, because I was somewhere else in Tamriel. I have no idea how long I was in the heatless flames of Oblivion waiting for restoration, but I expected to be restored in the Deadlands, in familiar territory. Clearly I'd lost even more of Dagon's regard by being slain by my own woman, and he'd sent me to guard another gate, this time from the outside.

I'd only been there a few hours, when the fire in the gate suddenly ceased, meaning the gate was closed, and I was stuck in the mortal world until Dagon decided to recall me. Given his recent actions, I did not imagine that happening soon.

---

Two centuries later, I'm still here. Each time I die, I'm restored to Tamriel, not the Deadlands. So stripping off my armour and wrestling a bear wasn't as much use as I thought it would be. It just lost me some useful equipment, and I had to replace it with lesser things that mortals had made. Since then, I've learned to make my own.

When these Imperial clowns have finished with me, I'll need to make some more, as they took everything when they put us on the carts. Since I'd just crawled out of my bedroll when the Stormcloaks arrived, I wasn't even wearing my armour, and they gave me some crude sack-cloth things to cover myself.

I can see Helgen gates now, so it looks like we'll be there in a few minutes. Hopefully there will be a competent officer in charge, and I'll be released.

---

The horse-thief the soldiers had rounded up with us didn't have any confidence in officers, and tried to run as soon as we got off the carts. He died in a volley of arrows.

There was a legionary calling the roll of prisoners, and lining us up for the General. I'd heard of this Tullius, and he seemed like a man who could think. I was confident that their mistake would soon be rectified.

Obviously, my name wasn't on their list. They didn't even know it yet, because I hadn't told them. The unthinking grunts hadn't asked; it wasn't their job. The legionary asked his commander, a woman, what he should do. This was as it should be, pass the decision-making up the chain, and do not take responsibility on yourself. I expected her in turn to ask Tullius, but she decided that she didn't need to bother him with this level of decision, and arbitrarily condemned me to join the others in line for the block.

Part of me admired her confidence in her own decisions, but most of me just wanted to kill her. I stared at the Captain, learning her features so I would know her if we met again. No, when we met again. Even if I had to return from the dead to kill her, and of course I would do so.

I was the second to the block. It had me thinking that I might even be returned before all the executions were complete, and how beautiful would be the justice if I could place her head on this very block in my next life. But then the dragon came, and everything was confusion.

---

I found myself running into a tower with one of the Stormcloaks. My hands were still bound, and he had nothing to cut the ropes. How he'd got his own free, I wasn't sure. We went looking for weapons, and eventually found some. With my hands loose, and an axe in one of them, I could determine my own fate.

And fate led my nemesis to me. The same Captain led a small group of Imperials into the chamber, and my Stormcloak allies helped me deliver justice. I took her armour, adjusted the straps to suit my very different shape, and put it on. Her ample chest meant that she wore a size large enough to protect a male, but it wasn't quite the right shape. I discarded the top half, even though it was plate that might have melted down. There was no smelter or forge here.

Ralof laughed when I tried it on. "We'll no doubt find you some more as we go further in," he predicted. "Probably not plate, but the regular Imperial armour isn't too bad. Of course, I can understand you not wanting to be mistaken for one of them. Especially not for a woman!"

I felt the thought he hadn't expressed. The hope that I wouldn't get the chance to take any Stormcloak amour. He didn't want to find any fallen comrades on our way out.

---

Some did fall, but they were crushed by the collapse of part of the buildings just after we passed, and out of our reach. I managed to add a basic long bow and some iron arrows, from an Imperial archer, but didn't bother to trade any armour. His covered more, but was thinner. We both picked up some potions, lockpicks and minor items as we passed through the cave beyond the dungeons. Some of those arrows went into fighting spiders and a bear.

Ralof and I parted company at the exit to the cave. He was going to head for another small town called Riverwood, where his sister lived. I was more inclined to try and head back towards my cave. I'd survived well enough in Tamriel by keeping away from the people, so going into town wasn't my first choice.

But I wasn't familiar with this part of Skyrim, so I ended up finding myself in the same town I was trying to avoid. It seemed that all the trails on this side of Helgen lead to the same place.

---

I went into the general store, hoping to trade some of the Imperial military junk I'd picked up for something a bit less tied to one side of the Civil War. I walked into the middle of an argument betwen the shopkeeper and his sister about something that had been stolen. Since he didn't seem to want to discuss trade until that subject was dealt with, I found myself agreeing to look for the missing item. I really had no intention of going to look for it, but his description intrigued me. It seemed to resemble a Clannfear Claw, something I hadn't seen for decades. I wondered if it actually was one that had been gilded as a trophy.

I got a decent trade for my goods, so apparently my agreement had put him in a good mood. His sister pointed out Bleak Falls Barrow on the hills at the other side of the valley as the likely place it had been taken. The map I'd bought put it on one of the trails that crossed the hills towards Whiterun, and I had to pass near that city to get back to the Rift and my cave. It was a bit longer that way, but why not take a look?

I suppose I was also looking forward to the prospect of some combat. There would be bandits this way, the ones that had stolen the claw at least, and the other route was a well-used road that would be relatively boring. I headed for the hills.

Welcome to Kothet! What an interesting background he has.

I’m enjoying his unique perspective on things, and you’re doing a great job of giving him a personality that makes us want to read more. I love the tutorial at Helgen and never tire of reading how others experience it. I was greatly pleased to see Kothet cut down everyone’s favorite Legion Captain.

I’m also glad he ended up in Riverwood after all.

Now this promises to be an interesting take on things. I look forward to reading more.

Wait, so if I take something like the "Naughty Nightie" (but a TES version of it) and make it "wearable by Dremora;" I could see a Dremora in a girl's sexy nightie? Where do I sign in?


And I refreshed myself on Prizna and was suddenly reminded how it came about that the keyboard on my laptop became broken in the first place = YOU and CLARK !!!

But more than that; I was so touched to once again see the early Clark; when he was the innocent and easily embarrassed reporter taking notes on the girl's stories as they entered the Brothel. He has remained on top with some of my most favorite characters of other people; along with Buffy; Teresa; Jerric and Darnand; etc.

It is really going to be sad for me when you stop writing him.




BWAAHAA!!!

Oh, I knew your Dremora was going to have more personality than any other in existance, lol. Like Slof's Dremora? I guess we will see!!!!

I am catching up on Gweden. I tried following that link; and it listed the chapters but didn't have links to them that I could find.

I'll check it out again when I figure out which chapter I left off on.

Awesome Write, but I knew it would be going in! I always expect a fun ride when you are writing!

You know it isn't everday we hear about a Dremora's time in Tamriel. I look forward to seeing more of Kothet in Skyrim. Fascinating that he was involved in Kvatch(or should I say Ganonah?), but that's to be expected knowing Dremora are immortal, in a sense.

I haven't gotten to read your other stories fully, shame on me, I know but I'll get to that eventually

Oh this is great, I love to see Skyrim from different perspectives. Kothet’s take on the familiar Helgen events make them fresh again. I never get tired of seeing that Imperial Captain meet Gunjar’s axe, a jet of flames, or both! Yay for bare-chested dremoras. I’m looking forward to Kothet’s story!

Acadian: The Captain opportunity is why I decided to send him out with Ralof. He needed the bottom half of her uniform, in case I wanted screenshots.

hazmick: This will be heavily driven by the mod, but should have its own slant.

mALX: I had considered using my Greek goddess outfit in this, but couldn't find a justification for it.

DE: Kvatch/Ganonah, and in my game, Bravil, too.

Grits: And if he'd been a woman, he wouldn't be bare-chested. That's not like me.

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Previously Kothet's cave was invaded by Stormcloaks seeking a hideaway, and he got swept up by a Legion round-up that grabbed Jarl Ulfric. Despite just wanting to return home, he found himself in Riverwood.

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2 -Bleak Falls Barrow

Even before I reached the barrow itself, I'd slain a wolf on the path, and three bandits in a tower a little further up. That archer should have learned to make her first shot count. Instead, it just alerted me to their presence when it hit the rocks by my head. They only had furs, and crude iron, nothing much worth taking, apart from the arrows and lockpicks that are always useful, especially as they weigh so little. There was a bit of gold in a chest there, but not enough to make me rush back to town and spend it.

I saw the bandits at the ruin before they saw me, so the archers didn't get a chance to shoot and miss. The third bandit, the one with the iron warhammer, took a second hit to dispatch, and I considered taking his weapon. But I'd damaged the shaft, and it wasn't significantly more damaging than my steel mace. I liked having one hand free for spells, too. I'd found a spell tome in Helgen that had taught me Sparks, or rather, reminded me of a spell I'd forgotten, and a style of fighting I hadn't used for nearly as long.

Now if it had been at least a steel warhammer, things might have been different. That's a proper strong man's weapon. It gets respect when an opponent just sees it on your back. A Daedric one would be even better, but when did I last see one of those?

---

The bandits inside didn't have one, that was certain. It appeared that one of them had been killed by skeevers, as his body still lay among theirs near the door. The two that were alive (briefly) had only fur armour, and iron weapons.

None of these, of course, had the claw I was looking for. That bandit must be further in, and I assumed he'd be the leader of the group, and better-equipped.

---

Apart from one bandit, who set off a dart trap and died for his stupidity, I saw nothing but skeevers on my way further in. But then I heard someone calling for help around the next corner. This pathetic weakling couldn't be the one I was looking for, the one who'd taken the claw, but he was at least alerting me to whatever danger was threatening him. That turned out to be a giant spider, and the caller was trapped in a silken shroud behind it.

When I cut him down, he ran off before I could demand his assistance in finding the claw. He was round the corner before I could pull out my bow, or he'd have paid for his ingratitude there and then.

He paid only a few moments later, as he ran into a number of draugr, and a spiked gate, on which I found him impaled. The draugr were useful practice, but carried little of use. Their weapons were old, and brittle, and that was about all they had.

I searched the cowardly bandit, expecting to find just as little, and was surprised that he had the claw. Not only that, but his journal suggested it had a purpose other than mere decoration, and that it was connected to something valuable deeper in the tomb.

It wasn't the Clannfear Claw I'd suspected, but a cast metal item with a set of symbols in the palm. The wrist end was bent up in a curious fashion that made it look like a handle to turn something. Perhaps it would make sense later.

---

I encountered more of the draugr in the passages of this labyrinth. The tomb seemed to have been built as a winding tunnel into the mountain. Presumably it followed weakness in the rock, because otherwise the twists and turns made little sense. Sometimes it had walls covered in dressed stone, and at other points it was bare rock. Perhaps they'd joined up some caves to make it into a tomb?

Eventually, however, I found myself in a long hallway, with a large metal door at the end. There were three rings bearing symbols that looked like the ones I'd noted on the claw. I took it out for another look.

Yes, the symbols were the same. There was clearly a right way up, as they were pictograms of animals and birds. The order of the symbols on the door was different, however.

I discovered that the rings moved, and revealed other symbols. Turning each one in turn got me the same arrangement as I saw on the claw. And in the centre was a disc with small holes that looked like the claw would fit into them.

Now it made sense why the claw had a handle. I fitted the claw into to the disc, and used the handle to turn it. The door started to slide down, and I removed the claw.

Beyond the door was a large cave with a stream running through it. On the other side of the stream was a platform, and beyond that, a wall covered in strange lettering, an inscription in a language I didn't know.

One of the groups of symbols, presumably a word of this language, glowed as I approached.

There was magic at work here. The glowing of the word had obviously been triggered by my approach, and I wondered what else was to come. I could hear chanting, although there was nobody else there, and it didn't seem to come from anywhere in particular. Maybe it was being produced inside my head by the same magic. And I could hear the word, even though I couldn't understand its meaning. This stone wall was trying to tell me something, and I didn't know what it was.

Perhaps it was just trying to tell me to look behind me. I heard a breaking sound and turned to see the stone lid coming off a coffin on the platform. A horned helmet popped up, and an armoured draugr climbed out of the coffin. He held a large two-handed sword, and intended to use it on me.

At last, a worthy opponent! And one with a trick I wasn't expecting. He shouted at me, and magic pushed me back. So my first blow missed him, and he tried to take the initiative with a swing of his own.

But I'd recovered by then, and blocked it easily. His weapon was slower than mine, and I pressed that advantage to make up for my relative lack of armour. He staggered, and I knew I had him. With a roar of triumph, I shattered his dry bones with my mace.

There was a chest beside the coffin he'd emerged from, and it contained a decent amount of gold and other items. No weapons I'd use, but his own greatsword had an enchantment of frost on it, and I knew there was a way to learn that enchantment. I took that with me also. His helmet and armour appeared to have become fused to his remains, and couldn't be removed. The only other thing he carried was a stone tablet, with markings on it that appeared to be in the same language as the wall. I took it out of curiosity, as it didn't appear to be valuable.

There were stairs next to the wall that appeared to lead nowhere, but a handle at the top revealed a door in the wall when it was turned. It lead out to a small cave, with another chest, and an exit to the side of the mountain. I looked out over the same river that flowed through Riverwood, but quite a bit further upstream.

That meant I'd have to go back through the town, so I decided to return the claw, or key, or whatever it was, to the shopkeeper. I'd probably get more for it from him, than any merchant in Whiterun. Then I'd go there, and try to find out if the stone tablet meant anything, or this foreign word I had stuck in my head.

And I'd like to sell some of the things I found and buy some armour, and maybe a better weapon.

---

The shopkeeper was happy to get the claw back, but seemed completely uninterested in what it really was. It was just important to his family to have it back, a peculiarly mortal consideration, if you ask me.

His sister was also grateful, but didn't offer to reward me in the way I'd have liked, so I left the shop and headed for the city. I considered checking the smith, to see if he had anything worth trading for, but all I could see near his forge were iron, and steel. Nothing better than I already had.

So I kept most of the items I'd found for trading in Whiterun. Ralof had mentioned that there were better smiths there than anywhere in Skyrim.

A nice retelling of the Bleak Falls Barrow interconnected pair of quests. I like how Kothet more 'remembers' the magic he finds in a spell book rather than learning a new spell.

Off to Whiterun with that curious tablet. When he gets there, perhaps the general trader will be more willing to sell his sister than the Riverwood trader was.

When Kothet mentioned looting the bandit I imagined at once his Daedric weapon. No Dremora is complete without his deadly gear! After some bandit-hunting he finds a claw, one with value that may bring gold . . . to buy a better weapon. Something we both agree on.

Acadian: Yes, one problem with an immortal character is explaining why he starts from scratch. In Kothet's case, he's been living as a subsistence hunter, and forgotten it all.

Belethor can make the offer more easily, as he doesn't have one to object.

DE: Kothet lost his Dremora equipment (which is rated well below Daedric) when he decided to wrestle a bear in the hope of being resurrected in the Deadlands. He'll eventually decide he has to make his own, which will be better than the mass-produced uniform stuff. He gets the chance to make Dremora-specific items at Steel and Advanced levels, on the way.

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Previously: Kothet had taken the route through Bleak Falls Barrow as the less boring one, and found more than he expected. He's headed to Whiterun for better equipment.

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3 -Whiterun

The guards at the gate were keeping strangers out, but changed their minds when I mentioned the dragon at Helgen. "The Jarl will want to hear of this. You'd better go in, and seek him out up at Dragonsreach, at the top of the hill."

Since that was why they let me in, the only honourable course of action was to go and report to the Jarl first. I could trade afterward. Perhaps he'd direct me to the better smiths, too.

The Jarl took my report of the Dragon incident at Helgen, and directed his housecarl to send troops to secure Riverwood, in case it attacked there. He had a further task for me, as his court wizard was investigating the stories of dragons that had begun to circulate, and I had some actual facts to report.

Farengar had information that there was a map of dragon burial sites inscribed on a stone tablet, and he'd like to obtain it and compare it to modern maps. It was said to be held in Bleak Falls Barrow, and he'd like someone to go and fetch it, if it was indeed there.

"This tablet?" I asked, handing him the one I'd found.

"You found it already! This is the Dragonstone! You're cut from a different cloth than the usual fools the Jarl sends to me."

Some people have a knack for stating the obvious, and I didn't react. Even if I'd wanted to, Irileth, the Jarl's housecarl, had come running over to summon both of us back to the Jarl. Apparently, another dragon had appeared, near the watchtower.

The Jarl wanted us, well, Irileth and myself anyway, to go and investigate the dragon, and kill it or drive it away if we could. I was the only one who had experience of dragons, as I'd at least met the one at Helgen.

"Take as many men as you need," he told her. "I'd rather it was dealt with away from the city."

He turned to me and handed me a pair of good elven boots. "This is for finding that stone for Farengar," he told me. "And I wish you luck with the dragon."

The Kyn do not rely on luck, but the sentiment was well-meant. I left with Irileth, and we picked up a number of guardsmen to join us. I went to the smith by the gate to trade for equipment while she briefed the troops on our mission.

Adrianne Avenici didn't have any armour that fit me, but she did have an Orcish mace, and an Elven bow, that were better than the ones I had. I bought some Elven arrows to go with the bow. The greatsword I'd taken from the draugr wasn't worth much, so I kept it, planning to learn its enchantment later.

I was eager to match myself against a dragon. That was a foe I'd never encountered in battle. The one at Helgen had arrived while my hands were bound, and had gone before I had a chance to look for it. But it had clearly managed to destroy much of the town, and hold its own against all the people there. I don't know whether the Imperials and Stormcloaks were able to unite against it, or whether they continued the idiotic squabble between them even while it breathed flames on both sides. I do know that it flew off afterward, as we saw it leave as we came out of the cave. It didn't appear to be fleeing, just moving on to whatever it planned next.

This could be the same dragon, or another. We wouldn't know until we got to the watchtower. If it was the same one, I wasn't certain if I thought of it as an ally, rather than an enemy. It had secured my release, and prevented the inconvenience of my execution, but that probably wasn't anything more than coincidence.

It wasn't the same one. The first had been larger, and black. This was more grey, and a bit smaller. It did share the same habit of breathing flames over everyone, and of course it was flying around out of the reach of anything but arrows.

And spells, I was quickly reminded. Irileth carried no shield, and that was because her left hand was for casting lightning. I had a shorter-range spell, with less power, so I used my bow instead. The greater pull and heavier arrows I used made mine more effective than the ones the guards were using, and it wasn't long before the dragon knew that. He swooped down and landed near me, intending to concentrate his fiery breath on his strongest opponent.

But in landing, he'd enabled us to use other weapons. The guards all switched to axes and hammers, and I to my mace. Irileth was now using her sword as well as the lightning spell, and had become twice as dangerous to the dragon. He wheeled towards her, and gave me an opening.

"Dovahkiin, No!" I heard him cry as he collapsed.

"What's happening? Everyone get back!" Irileth ordered.

The dragon was beginning to disintegrate. Its flesh appeared to be burning away like dead leaves, leaving only a skeleton. And a swirl of magic was encircling the dead dragon and myself. I heard again the word that had entered my head when I approached the wall in Bleak Falls Barrow, but this time it had a meaning - Force! This was what that draugr had shouted at me to push me back, but somehow it felt stronger, as if I knew the word better than he had, if that makes any sense.

I had a duty to report this back to the Jarl. After taking everything we could from the dragon's remains, Irileth and I set off back to Whiterun. She left the remaining guardsmen there to hold the ruins, in case any more dragons showed up.

---

As we approached the gates a loud rumbling that sounded like a mixture of thunder and several voices shouting in unison hit us. It seemed to be saying "Dovahkiin" - the same word the dragon had spoken before it died.

I mentioned that to the Jarl, and he seemed to know what it meant. "We translate it as Dragonborn," he told me. "and he obviously meant you."

"But I am Kynaz - Dremora - so I was never born. How can that make sense?"

"The dragons are equally immortal," he told me. "The one you killed can be raised again, and will need to be killed again. The word means that you are like a dragon, but not one. A relative, perhaps. There were mortal dragonborn before you, including Tiber Septim, who is now Talos, and has become immortal after being born mortal."

"The second time you heard the name, it was the Greybeards calling. They are summoning you to High Hrothgar, and you should go there, and find out what they want of you."

The Jarl's Steward, Proventus Avenici, found it unlikely that any of this could be true, but the Nords all agreed with the Jarl. This was well known in Nord tradition, even if the Imperials from Cyrodill hadn't heard about it.

---

I left the Palace with another gift from Jarl Balgruuf, this time an enchanted axe. He told me it would be my badge of office, as I was now a Thane of the city. And I had a housecarl, and the right to purchase property in the hold. The housecarl was a woman called Lydia, and although she appeared reasonably armoured, and swore that she'd defend me and my property, I left her behind as I walked out of the city gates.

The path up the mountain to High Hrothgar began on the far side, in the town of Ivarstead, in the Rift. Since I was going in that direction anyway, I didn't have to make up my mind whether to make the climb until I got to that side of the mountain. I crossed the White River and headed East.

A bunch of bandits had taken over a pair of towers and a bridge by the road, and were extracting a "toll" for people to pass. I refused the toll-taker's demands, and suggested that my payment would be leaving them alive. She declined that offer and swung an axe at me. An arrow from the tower above hit the road where I'd just been standing, as I dodged out of the way and took up my mace.

With the first bandit lying dead in the road, I entered the tower to go look for the archer. There was nobody in the lower level of the tower, but more bandits were crossing the bridge as I climbed the stairs inside.

After dispatching the archer, I went back down to confront the bandits from the other tower.

I arrived at the door at the same time as the first of them, and stayed just inside, out of the range of the archers on the bridge, until he was beaten down. He was a bit more effort than the first two, as he had better armour, and a shield. I took the shield, and used it to stop the arrows as I chased the others back over the bridge.

After I'd killed the last archer, I searched the far tower, and found a few items of interest. There was a book that taught me a little more about archery, always a useful skill, and a couple of enchanted weapons. Although they were only made of iron, the enchantments could be useful.

A few potions and a little gold were the only other items I could find. It seems their toll scheme hadn't been all that lucrative.

Wow, Kothet is not half-stepping it regarding the Main Quest.

I loved that part of him considered the Helgen dragon an ally for securing his release. I’ve always felt that way too.

Stupid bandits. I like how Kothet pointed out that their enterprise did not seem to be prospering even before he put a mace into the works.

I always feel sorry for that first dragon. He's been minding his own business for hundreds of years and then the first time he shows himself a Dragonborn pops up and devours his soul.

Looking forward to learning more about Dremora Dragonborn.

This is fun to read. You make playing a dremora very seamless, and natural.

2 -Bleak Falls Barrow - Wow, this is a totally different write coming from you than I am used to! Excellent write, most especially the first paragraph - that was spectacular! You did an excellent job of bringing us into Kothet's mind frame in this, I def feel the difference in thinking between the mind of a Dremora and how their thinking might be different from a mans.

Kothet lacks the playfulness and fun Clark adds to every story he graces; but he is still very interesting as a character; and it is really cool how you are developing a Dremora culture and thought process here!

3 -Whiterun

Aw, I thought the people of Whiterun would have been freaked out by seeing a Dremora coming in!




This was the greatest thing I have ever read or heard in regards to that moment in the game! You took what was a great moment in the game and made it spectacular!!!!! I wish Bethesda had added that touch of Epic you just gave that scene here!!!!!!

Awesome Write! I've never seen you serious before, you carry it off very well !!!

Acadian: Kothet thinks in military terms. If he's attacking my enemies, he's an ally, ... for now.

hazmick: Kothet's been waiting a long time himself. And he wasn't the one who attacked a watchtower the moment he was awakened.

Renee: Don't mention seams to someone who makes outfits for Skyrim characters.

mALX: I'm sure Kothet can't keep a straight face for too long. And the people of Whiterun only get freaked out by curved swords.

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Previously: Kothet discovered that he was "dragonborn" - a term that made little sense to him. He declined Lydia's offer to accompany him, and set off for his cave in the Rift.

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4 - Lost Valley

I hadn't gone much further up the road, when a courier came running up to me, and handed me a sealed letter. He left immediately, headed back towards Whiterun.

I broke open the seal and read the letter.

I knew that there were other Dremora in Tamriel, but we were few and widely scattered. We'd not made any attempt to gather, as we were held in great suspicion individually, and a group of us would immediately have been considered a threat. So it was a great surprise to discover that the letter was from the Kyn.

I read that part again. It didn't actually say that these Kyn were in Tamriel. I'd just assumed that, because I'd been given the letter by a courier here. Perhaps there was a way they could have sent it from Dagon's Deadlands. It wasn't clear.

The letter told me of a Nordic Tower, in the hills of the Reach, bordering High Rock and Hammerfell. If I'd go and fix the place up, and furnish it as a home, then I'd get a Dremora for a housecarl. Someone who'd fight alongside me for the right reasons, to command respect. And not a pale Nord woman who didn't even have her horns yet.

Wait, they don't grow horns, do they? It's not a sign of immaturity to be without any, it's just normal for them. Still, a companion of my own kind would definitely be preferable.

The Tower was back in the direction I was coming from, so did I really want to turn around and retrace my steps? My cave, and High Hrothgar, were both in the direction I was already going.

"My cave" was the home I'd known for years, but it wasn't exactly a palace. And it didn't come with a housecarl, not even a mortal one. High Hrothgar could wait, too. I turned around.

---

A dirt path led off the road toward a small stream flowing from a pond. The pond, in turn, was fed by a waterfall from a long way above. I could see stonework up at the top, but it was too far to make out any buildings. Some mudcrabs were lurking near the ford, as if they were guarding the Nirnroot that grew there. Their shells are useful for alchemy, so I harvested them, and their Nirnroot.

The path continued up some stone steps and crossed the falls between one cascade and the next. I could now see another cascade ahead, not part of this one, and it came from an artificial structure that channelled the water away from the path. Perhaps this path was the original route of the water before someone diverted it? Or maybe it just flooded too often.

I mounted another flight of steps, and still didn't see any signs that this place was inhabited. But it was bare, and rocky, with steep cliffs, so maybe everyone was up at the top. There had to be some level ground somewhere, or why build here at all?

Further up, I found evidence that someone had been here reasonably recently. There was a tripwire strung across the path, and I'm sure that would have been broken by a deer or a goat before long. Someone has to restring those, and reset the traps.

I broke it deliberately, and watched the boulders roll across the path. The noise of that should have brought the inhabitants to investigate, if they were close enough. And if not, at least it wouldn't be a danger when I came back down.

I was beginning to get impatient for combat. It would be easier to defeat whoever lived here if they came at me one or two at a time. I knew they'd be hostile, even before I encountered them, as friendly people don't set traps for their visitors. I didn't have to wait long. A man dressed in furs, and wearing the horns of a deer, came rushing at me with a couple of stone-toothed swords. He proved remarkably resilient to my mace, and took a couple of blows to subdue.

It was almost a pity to kill the woman archer who opposed me next. Her furs covered even less than the man's and she appeared to be quite shapely and fit. She'd have made an excellent slave, if only she'd yielded when I told her to do so.

Now I was climbing between walls, rather than bare rock, and there were more signs of habitation. A grindstone was next to the path, presumably down here so they could sharpen their weapons after battle without going all the way back up. On it was a man's body, dressed like one of the local Nords, rather than wearing the fur garb I'd seen on those attacking me. Perhaps he'd climbed up here before me and found himself equally unwelcome.

And I was now having to dodge arrows, fired from the walls above me. More of the sword-wielders ran down to greet me, also. No, that one had an axe in one hand, but still it's two weapons at once. I knew how to deal with that style already, and sword or axe makes little difference.

The archers again were female, one quite remarkably so. Those breasts were worthy of a Dremora, and almost burst out of her inadequate furs. She didn't wish to yield, either.

The area I'd reached, which I estimated was about half-way up, was flat and partially paved. Most of it, however, was taken up by a large rectangular pool. There were steps leading down into the water, and I could see fish swimming in it. Clearly they caught and ate the fish, as several were hanging up to dry out on a nearby rack. And there were hide tents around, so at least the fishermen must have slept down here.

Some of the walls turned out to be channels for the water from the pool, which fed the waterfalls below. Most of the others were apparently fortifications, and provided vantage points for the archers. None of them seemed to form part of any inhabited buildings, and certainly nothing that resembled the tower I was supposed to find.

The waterfall that fell into the pool appeared to come from between two stone pillars, and there was another stone structure in the middle, which was hard to make out in all the spray. It didn't look like anything anyone could live in, and from down here, I could not see how you could reach it.

Steps to the left of the pool led further up, so that's the way I went. As expected, there were more tripwires, and more opposition. And these people lived in hide tents, too. There was a forge, and other crafting equipment up here, so I'd have expected buildings, not just defensive walls.

The man that came at me next looked a little different from the ones before, and it took a moment before I saw why that was. He only had a sword in one hand, and the other was gathering flames to hurl at me. The Kyn live among flames, so that was little threat, but presumably it was the only destruction spell he knew. Or else, he'd never seen one of us before, and knew no better. Probably that, as he started to gather a frost spell when the first proved ineffective.

I didn't let him finish. Not that I fear frost, but there was no point in prolonging his life. I didn't care if he wanted to yield, after all. I noticed as I checked his corpse for loot, that he had no heart. It had been removed, and a piece of plant material put in its place. I took this briarheart, as I assumed it had magical power.

As I climbed what looked to be the last set of steps, I could see the top of the waterfall. There was a small ridge of islands dividing the river in two, connected by bridges to each other and the banks. The central bridges ended at a platform overlooking the pool below. That was the structure I'd seen from below, and I still had no idea of its purpose.

In the other direction I could hear chanting, and it didn't seem to be human voices. Or elven, for that matter, or Khajiit or Argonian. Whatever the creatures were, they had nothing to do with my reason for being here, so I crossed the bridge to continue looking for the tower.

And there was one right ahead of me, with a brazier burning at the bottom of a ramp that led up the outside. It looked like someone was already living here.

Something, I should have said. Although it might have been a human once, this looked more like a bird. One that threw fireballs, too. I ducked back out of the door and avoided the blast. It didn't get another chance, as I ran in and struck with my mace before another fireball could be readied. The claws she - yes I think that's the right word - used were nearly as bad, and I needed to heal myself after I'd finished her. I climbed up the stairs inside, and after nearly being hit by a gem trap throwing shock, reached a tiny platform at the top, where I found nothing but a bird's nest with an egg in it.

And a view of another tower, just a bit further up the mountain. This was not the tower I'd been looking for. That was. Hopefully emptier than this one.

I enjoyed Kothet’s realization that the pale Nord women simply didn’t grow horns – even as they matured.

And off to a potential new home in the Reach. Gotta deal with the fur-busting archerettes, briardudes and Ravencrones first. His climb felt quite familiar - Lost Valley Redoubt perhaps? Even without referring to the episode's title, it seems pretty similar.

Nice to be in Forsworn territory. This made me want to fire up Skyrim again!

Acadian: Kothet's map doesn't name it, so he didn't. I felt that Redoubt means Forsworn (or at least fortification) too clearly, and he would be expecting the opposition, instead of finding it as he went along.

Renee: It's Dremora territory now!

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

5 -Dremora Tower

I began to wonder, when I found a brazier and an anvil on a landing at the top of the stairs inside. But nobody, and nothing, was defending this one, so I climbed further. The ramp outside led up to a doorway into an empty room. No sign of habitation here, but there were more stairs, wooden ones this time, not like the stone ones below.

At the top of those I found a workbench, and a chest. On the workbench was a book, that confirmed I'd found the right place. It gave me some instructions on how to start rebuilding the tower, suggesting I might fix the floor first. That would take timber, and I didn't see any lying around up here. There were a few items in the chest, blocks of stone, leather strips, some clay, and a few iron ingots, but no planks or boards.

I went down again, carrying what I'd taken from the chest. It looked like I had enough material here to make a smelter, and a tanning rack, and I knew I'd need those to make more materials. Once I'd constructed those I looked around to see if there were any trees I could cut.

But it appeared I'd not need to. There was a pile of logs just beyond the smelter I'd just put up. Either I'd not noticed it on the way in, behind that rock, or they'd appeared there by magic. Stranger things do happen, so I asked no questions. Nobody here to ask, anyway.

I only had enough iron to make nails for the floor. I needed more, if I wanted to put a roof at the top, and close off a bedroom. There was a vein of ore not too far away, and one of corundum near the entrance to the other tower. So once I had a pickaxe, I could make a lock, if I needed one. I didn't see much point in making a door yet, as there was nothing of great value to lock inside. I'd be very annoyed if someone stole the anvil, but if they wanted one, they'd take it from the camp lower down, and not bother coming all the way up here. And I needed a pickaxe before I could mine the iron or corundum.

I decided to go and look for more iron, down at the forge. I hadn't noticed any ore veins as I climbed up here, but I hadn't searched all the chests, and they might have some stored away to make their weapons.

They might even have a pickaxe.

As I crossed the bridge over the river, I got the urge to try the quick way down. The waterfall was almost vertical down to the pool below, and that lookout point at the end hung out over the falls. What was the worst that could happen? If the fall killed me, it wouldn't be long before I found myself back in Skyrim, and now I knew the way here.

Perhaps it was the confident way I leaped off the planks at the end that made me land safely in the deepest part of the pool. I climbed the steps out to see a ghost in front of me, with a lute in his hands. He told me that I'd just jumped off Bard's Leap, and that he'd done so too, if not so successfully, after reciting the entire Poetic Edda at the top.

The ghost disappeared and I noticed a chest behind him. It had a lock that was hard to pick, and didn't contain any iron. I did find a minor gem, and some gold, and a potion that might be handy later.

No pickaxe, no iron, or even ore. I did discover some silver veins, not that I need silver for anything, but it's more valuable than iron, and I could trade.

It looked like I needed to go back to Whiterun, or Riverwood, and buy some iron ingots. I took anything that looked valuable from the corpses and their camp, and headed back down the path. That dead archer looked even better without her armour. Why couldn't she have yielded?

I took a wrong turning on the road back to Whiterun and ended up in somewhere called Falkreath instead. There was a merchant there, and a smith, so it turned out just as well. The merchant had the goat horns I was going to need to make lights, and glass, and straw to stuff the mattress. He told me that there was an iron mine between there and Riverwood where I'd find a pickaxe, if I didn't mind clearing out the bandits first. "Check with Valga at Dead Man's Drink first, there might be a bounty for them, too. She mentioned that the Jarl's men had brought in a flyer last time I went in for a drink. Doesn't interest me, but you might like the job."

I thanked him and did just that. There was indeed a bounty on the bandits. And Valga was good to look at, and so was the woman she had selling drinks, so it was well worth the visit. I almost wished I'd arrived later in the day, and could stay overnight to see what else they had to offer. But it was early morning, and I had some bandit-clearing and mining to do.

Embershard mine was almost all the way to Riverwood, and of course I passed a couple of iron veins on the way, without a pickaxe. It put me in a foul mood, which was much the best mood to be in before a good fight.

The bandits weren't much of a problem, and I found a pickaxe next to the first vein of ore. I didn't need to retrace my steps at all, mining as I went, and killing bandits when they heard me and came looking. They'd made a couple of ingots already, although I didn't see a smelter anywhere, and they had a forge where they could use them. Someone had left a book on making light armour on the workbench, and I learned something new from reading that.

Apart from that, there was a fair bit of their loot scattered around the place, on tables, shelves, and in chests. Nothing major, but all worth collecting. I took their better weapons and armour with me, too, and went back to Falkreath to sell it and collect the bounty, mining as I went.

There was no smelter in the town, either, but since iron ore and ingots are equally heavy, I could wait until I got home. To the tower, I meant. It wasn't a home yet, but I had all the material to make it one, so it wouldn't be long.

I still needed moonstone, and quicksilver, and gold for the crafting table, but that was going to take a grand soul gem, too, and I couldn't even afford an empty one. That would be the last thing I made.

---

It was starting to get dark when I returned, so I made the important things first. The roof, the partition to enclose the bedroom, then the bed itself. A wardrobe to stow some of the miscellaneous items in until I made a chest. I only had one corundum ingot, and the lock I made from that would be used on the main door. I made that next.

By now, it was really getting dark, so the next items to make should be lights. Half of my goat horns made a small chandelier for the entrance, and most of the rest a lamp stand on the middle floor. The last one would light my bedroom, but first I needed something to stand it on.

When I made the side tables, and put the lamp on one of them, I noticed that a book had appeared on the other. I hadn't put it there, so how did get there?

It had an Oblivion gate symbol on the cover. That usually indicated that it was a book about conjuration, and some of them taught you spells, or increased your skill. That seemed useful, so I took a look inside.

This would teach me a spell, and unusually, I had a choice. There were three spells available, each to summon a housecarl. A Dremora housecarl, who could be male or female, and there were two choices of females.

Lydia had explained what a housecarl was, someone to guard me and my property. I didn't need guarding, but this tower might. And a male would obviously do that better than a woman. Women weren't fighters, although the Nords seemed to think they were, or they wouldn't have offered Lydia. And come to think of it, my woman had proved no slouch. She hadn't even been wearing armour when she defeated me.

I shouldn't have thought about her. It probably swayed my thoughts from the rational decision I should have made, to the impulsive one I did make.

The book disappeared, and left me wondering what had just happened.

I didn't try the spell immediately. I had still had materials to make more furniture, and I wanted to complete as much as I could before I summoned her. I expected respect, but I also wanted it to be justified. Her first view of this tower would be as impressive as I could make it.

So the dining table and bookshelf were made, and weapon racks, an armour mannequin and I still had enough iron for a good quantity of nails. The platform that I constructed at the top of the tower had a commanding view over the entire valley. The strategic advantages of such a lookout position couldn't be lost on anyone, and that was where I finally summoned her.

She was almost as tall as me, and wore a simple robe wrapped around her, and tied at the waist. When she turned to face me, I wasn't disappointed with what I saw. She said nothing, unlike her Nord counterpart, who'd accosted me with a little speech about how she was sworn to serve. This woman just looked into my eyes as if I'd be able to read everything in hers.

"It's late, time for me to go to bed," I announced, not really knowing what I expected of her. When I went down the stairs towards the bedroom, she followed, but stopped outside the curtain, and didn't follow me in, as I'd hoped. She was still saying nothing.

I got into bed and waited. I'd learned the spell that promised me hope of a companion, rather than just an ally, and she certainly looked like the woman I wanted, especially the breasts that threatened to fall out of her robe. I'd managed not to stare at them too much. Just to let her know I'd noticed, and no more.

She didn't move from her position. Perhaps she was on guard there, perhaps I just didn't deserve her yet. All I'd proved so far was that I was a competent laborer, after all.

’Either I'd not noticed it on the way in, behind that rock, or they'd appeared there by magic. Stranger things do happen, so I asked no questions. Nobody here to ask, anyway.’
- - I like how you embrace what the game delivers rather than always try to make eminent sense out of it. I remember dear old bobg used to insist that Angel (his character) accept the world she lived in without him influencing her thinking based on his own experience and perceptions.

Bard’s leap!

’That dead archer looked even better without her armour. Why couldn't she have yielded?’
- - What’s the fine for necrophilia in Skyrim? Or the Deadlands for that matter. Just askin'.

Nice foraging expedition to Falkreath and Embershard Mine.

Progress at the tower house is coming along well. And he has his horned housecarl now!


Nits:
- ’There was a vein of ore not to {too} far away, …’
- ’I hadn't noticed any ore veins as I cimbed {climbed} up here, …’

Acadian: Further foraging required, as he still needs to provide Alchemy and Enchanting. He doesn't have the Moonstone, Quicksilver, Gold, or the Grand Soul Gem yet.

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

Previously: Kothet built enough to find a spell book, and summoned his housecarl. She's the strong, silent type.

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

6 - Soljund's Sinkhole

When I woke the next day, she was gone from her position, but a delicious aroma from the floor below told me where. I'd constructed the cooking fire when I made the lights, as that end of the room would have been dark without it. I suppose I might have used the spit, too, eventually, but I was more used to cooking game out where I hunted it. She'd looked in the barrels and found enough to make some vegetable soup. She set a bowl of it in front of me, and went back to stirring the pot.

When I left to go looking for the remaining materials, she followed, keeping her distance behind me, where she could watch my back for danger. Or avoid talking to me, which she seemed to be good at. I was headed for the mining village we had seen from the tower, or rather, smoke from its smelter. Hopefully they had moonstone. I had no idea where the quicksilver would come from, but although the Reach was known for silver, I knew they had at least one gold mine, too. Soul gems were a mystery to me, and filling them even more of one.

I spotted the wolf on the road ahead, and drew my mace. I didn't get the chance to use it, however, as she ran up and flamed the creature to death before it reached me. I did get the next one, as it jumped off a rock at me before she could see it.

"She's a housecarl, so she's protecting you," I thought to myself. "This is not a competition." I did note that she'd used destruction spells rather than summoning a weapon. That meant that she wouldn't be getting in my way in a fight.

It took both of us to kill the bear that we met after we passed Old Hroldan. It had killed a merchant and her miner lover at a little camp just above the settlement, so it deserved its death. We found a small cache of items in a hollow tree near them. Perhaps it was theirs, but more likely, someone else had left it there. I'm sure they would have used the sword to defend themselves.

In Soljund's Sinkhole, they had no moonstone. The mine was closed, because they'd broken through into an old tomb, and the mine was full of draugr. If I wanted to go in there, I was welcome to do so, but they wouldn't until the Legion got here and cleared the place. Perth would buy any extra moonstore ore I dug up, he informed me, but it was clear that he wasn't expecting that to happen.

We would go in, I decided. The chances of the Imperial Legion coming down here from Markarth, while there was a war on, were next to none, and I wasn't inclined to wait for my moonstone. Besides, what better than fighting draugr to prove my worth to my lovely companion?

---

"Is someone there?"

So she did speak, when she needed to. I could hear the creaking of a draugr coming from the tunnel to our left and led the way into it. I attacked the nearest, and was pleased to note that she was attacking the one on the ledge above us, out of my reach, but not beyond her flames.

One more, a little farther in, and all fell silent again. There were two veins of moonstone ore here, and some chunks that had already been dug up before the draugr had forced them out. There was probably enough for my purposes without mining any more, but Perth had offered to buy it from me. If a Grand Soul Gem was as expensive as it sounded, I might need all the gold I could raise. So I spent a few minutes with a pickaxe, while my housecarl silently watched.

We took the other tunnel, expecting to find more draugr, or moonstone, in that direction, but all we found was a deep pit. It was likely that this was where the floor had collapsed into the tomb, and released the draugr. I didn't see a way to climb up, but it wasn't too far to drop down.

She probably thought I was being reckless, jumping down the hole with no visible way to return, but if the draugr had done it, I was certain that I could. There must be another path somewhere that they'd used.

Whatever she thought, she didn't follow immediately, and I had to deal with the first three of them alone. Not that it was hard for me, but she wasn't there to witness it.

By the time I reached the next turning in the tunnel, however, she was behind me again. I hadn't heard her jump down, but she must have done so.

We came to a gate, with a lever on a pedestal in front of it. This looked like a trap to me, and I could see the holes in the walls where darts would fire out if the lever was pulled at the wrong time. I knew that there was usually something else I'd need to operate before the lever would be safe, so I started to search the area. I found another lever on the wall, looked around for dart holes, and since there were none, I pulled it. I looked towards the gate, and saw that she'd found another lever on the opposite side. When she pulled that one, the gate opened without using the central one at all.

Beyond it was a spiral staircase leading up. That was a good sign, as it meant we'd be regaining the elevation we lost when we dropped down the hole. If we were back at the same level, there was a good chance that we'd find a route back into the mine. The same one the draugr had used.

There was nothing of interest up the first side-tunnel we tried. I doubled back and had difficulty passing her in the narrow tunnel. Squeezing past was quite enjoyable, but it really shouldn't have been needed.

The next one lead to a large chamber, and as I stepped into it, a statue at the far side glowed red and spat a fireball at me. I dodged back, thankful that she wasn't following close enough to block my way again. A draugr wearing a helmet appeared from the far side and rushed towards me. He stopped at the entrance to the tunnel I'd moved back into, as if he wasn't able to leave the chamber. He swung his greatsword, but I was beyond his reach.

"NO, don't push me!" I roared as she tried to run at the draugr. I took out my bow and showed her how this situation should be handled. Maybe it wasn't the Dremora way to stand back, but it was by far the best strategy for an enemy that can't reach you.

He was steadily being whittled down by my arrows, and I was anticipating an imminent end to this confrontation, when the other statue glowed green, and healed him. Not all the way back to full health, but enough for me to realise that I'd run out of arrows before he fell.

So I put the bow away again, and held my mace while I considered the options. That gave her room to pass me and rush out into the room. She wouldn't stand a chance against him alone, so I was forced to get his attention. I at least had some armor, and she just had that tantalising robe.

Well, maybe a little more, as I noticed a glow around her that could be a shield spell of some nature. Since we hadn't spoken, I had no idea what she could cast, beyond the flames she'd already used.

He turned towards her, and the first statue glowed again. The fireball, which it directed at me, hit the draugr instead, as he was in between me and the statue. I resolved to keep him there, if I could, but I also wanted his attention back. My mace got that very quickly, and I had to act swiftly to block his response.

Meanwhile, it appeared that her flames were having an extra effect on him, perhaps because they were combining with those from the fireball. Whatever the reason, it gave me hope again.

I'd just started to worry about being hit by a fireball if he fell at the wrong time, when he did. The red and green glows of the statues went out with the blue glow of his eyes, and I breathed again.

I made that sound as if I was preparing for more work, not expressing relief. There were more moonstone veins in the room, and I went to work on those. Then I checked the chest and the items scattered on the table, or was it an altar? I found a large soul gem, but only a Greater one, not the Grand I needed. And it was empty, too. Still, they had value, and were light enough to carry. A few enchanted weapons, which I was collecting in anticipation of being able to learn their magics. A few ingredients to use in alchemy, once I had a lab. A decent enough haul.

I'd picked up a couple of ingots of refined moonstone along with the ore, so I sold all the ore to Perth when we left the mine. He gave me the money he'd have used to pay the troops for clearing the mine, too. Perhaps I'd be able to buy that gem, after all.

Some good traveling and dungeoneering as Kothet seeks some moonstone and learns more about his housecarl. She does indeed seem like an arcanist. Good teamwork beginning to develop. A few bumps are to be expected of course.

’I made that sound as if I was preparing for more work, not expressing relief.’ - - Yeah, sure. . . .

You're doing a great job of balancing Kothet's dremoraness while giving him a personality showing that he puts on his hat one horn at a time.


Nits:
’Perth would buy any extra moonstore {moonstone} ore I dug up, …’
’I was collecting in anticipation of being able to learn their magics {magicks?}.’

Yes! dremora versus draugr! I love how all this is going down just to find a grand soul gem.

Mining ore is fun. I have a character who mines ore, but he's not adept (or interested) in dungeoneering, which makes for a rather awkward, sleepy roleplay.

Do you use any mods for the mining part? I found one mod which makes veins inexhaustible, but it also takes more time to find a chunk of ore. The rarer the ore, the more time it takes.

Acadian: Kother has noticed her bumps, and he' sure he'll get used to them.

Renee: No mining mods. The closest I came to that was with my Argonian Hearthfires mod using mining animations to clear the rubble before building.

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

Previously: Kothet got the moonstone he needed for his crafting table from Soljund's Sinkhole, but he still needs a lot of other materials.

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

7 - Kolskeggr

I still needed other metals for that crafting table, so we headed towards Markarth, looking for the gold mine I'd heard about. The signposts only pointed to the towns and cities, of course, and I had no idea if there was a town at the mine. And unless they'd named it "Goldtown" or something similar, it still wouldn't help.

As we walked, me in front, her behind, in complete silence, we encountered a few travellers coming the other way. I exchanged pleasantries with them, but heard nothing from her. I thought I'd heard her say something when one of them turned out to be a bandit who wanted to rob us. Something about "enjoying this", as she set him on fire.

It appeared that my enemies deserved her words, but I didn't.

---

We reached a fork in the road, and apparently both directions led to Markarth. One went up the hill, and the other down into the valley. I'd heard from a traveller that the Reach had "Silver in the hills, and Gold in the valleys" so I chose the road downward. There had to be some basis in truth behind that saying.

What it didn't say was that there were hostile locals wherever you went. More of the fur-clad people that I'd had to clear to reach the tower were ahead of us. They'd taken up a position where the road crossed over a bridge, and there was a small house beyond it. Unlike the bandits at Valtheim, they weren't extracting tolls for using the bridge, just attacking anyone who came near. And that was now me, and my housecarl.

Their bows weren't accurate enough at this distance to cause any harm, but it didn't stop them trying. Mine wasn't either, and I was the only one with a ranged attack. We needed to get closer, without getting hit.

So as any good Dremora would do, we charged. We both shouted defiance, and ran across the bridge. Not in a straight line, of course, and fortunately the road was wide enough to zig-zag, and spoil their aim. And by staying behind me, she didn't get in my way.

Lightly armoured as they always were, they stood little chance. Not that we were wearing much more, I reflected. I really needed some kind of breastplate over this studded kilt thing I was still wearing. I'd taken that off the Imperial Captain, and hadn't found anything better. I was torn between showing my muscles to my housecarl, and showing her I had the sense to wear armour. At least she could see that I was looking for better. A mage doesn't wear any, so there was little danger that she'd spoil my view.

With the things I took from our slain foes, I had about as much as I could carry. So when we saw the path that lead to a mine behind the house at the bridge, I didn't immediately take it. I could come back and check out the mine, once I'd traded this mediocre equipment for something better. I suspected that if they'd taken over the mine, they'd have it better guarded than the bridge.

It made sense to head for Markarth first, and come back better equipped.

At the top of the rise, there was a farm to the right, a bridge across the stream to a mining village to the left, and ahead was the stables outside the city. I could see several people standing outside the mine, so I went over to ask what they mined here. If it was gold, maybe they'd trade for some of the things I was carrying, and save me some walking.

This mine produced iron, but one of the men, Pavo, told me he'd just arrived from Kolskeggr mine, where they'd been driven out by the Forsworn. That was the name for those fur-clad bandits we'd just encountered, and presumably the mine we'd passed was the one he mentioned. I asked what they mined there, and it was gold.

He warned me not to tackle them, as they had axes, and magic, but it didn't sound like more than the ones I'd already defeated, reaching the tower. And we'd aready killed the first three, outside. When I showed Pavo the "armour" and weapons I'd collected, he confirmed that it was the Forsworn.

So now I knew where to mine gold, but I'd have to clear out these Forworn first. And I wouldn't be able to carry any gold until I sold some of the things I was carrying. We headed up the road to the city.

When we entered the gates, I heard the word Forsworn again. Off to my right, there was a commotion, as a man in miner's garb knifed a woman in the market. I decided not to get involved, as I'd noticed a smelter in the opposite direction, and I assumed there'd be a forge, and a smith, nearby.

The smith was an Orc, and she was berating her Imperial apprentice as we approached. I told her I'd look out for the book she wanted, and eventually got round to trading. She had some steel to make myself a breastplate, and she bought the other weapons and armour in return. I made a few improvements to my mace too, while I was there, and had the materials.

Feeling better equipped, and lighter, we headed back towards Kolskeggr Mine.

---

When we arrived, the remaining Forsworn were all still inside. It seemed that we hadn't alerted the others when we killed the bridge contingent. So that meant we'd have the chance to employ stealth.

The Dremora preference is to challenge and charge, but as a hunter for these many years stuck in Tamriel, I'd learned that it's not always the best way. You won't get a second deer if the rest of the herd have all been scattered.

As soon as we entered the mine, I crouched down, and looked back to see if my companion did the same. No, but at least she was staying back, and walking quietly. Her outfit made no noise, at least.

I peered around the corner, and spotted one of the Forsworn patrolling the tunnel. I nocked an arrow, and took careful aim. This bow had a heavier pull than my old Imperial one, and the elven arrows promised more damage than plain iron ones, so I was hopeful of a clean kill.

Yes! he dropped without a sound. One good thing about that fur armour of theirs is that it doesn't clatter when they drop. Nothing should have alerted his comrades ahead of us.

I was equally lucky with next one, but there were two of them together, this time, and the other saw her fall. Fortunately, this wasn't an archer, and he had to close the distance before he could attack. An arrow, and my partner's firebolt, took him out before he reached us.

Wait a moment, firebolt? She hadn't used that before. Just flames, so we had to get closer. She must have just learned that, although I didn't understand how, and I certainly didn't expect her to tell me.

We hadn't met any mages yet. The one I'd met on the way up to the tower was a tough opponent, and it was likely that we'd have the same fortune here, and he'd be the one waiting at the end. Hopefully, alone.

The Kyn do not rely on luck, and it's just as well, as he wasn't alone. I charged at the briarheart, as a firebolt flew toward the archer. I didn't look to see if it was sufficient, as the frost spell the briarheart cast clouded my vision, as well as slowing me down. I swung at where I thought he was, and felt my mace make satisfying contact. But a blow from his axe also glanced off my new breastplate, making me very glad that I'd made it. Perhaps luck is a matter of being properly prepared.

It took a few more blows to finish him, but at least he wasn't able to use that frost spell a second time. And that firebolt next to me warmed me back up, as well as removing the other threat.

"We can tell Pavo that it's safe to return," I announced, but got no response from anyone. I wasn't expecting one, but it would have been appreciated.

There were a couple of gold ingots on a table, as well as some already-mined ore. That was enough for what I needed, but I decided to mine some more, while we were here. I could make the gold into jewellery, which would be good smithing practice, and once I could enchant items, I'd be able to make something useful to a mage. Perhaps a circlet, or a ring, or an amulet to hang between those wonderful...

I needed quicksilver and a Grand Soul Gem before I could even think about enchanting, so I put that idea out of my head, even if she kept putting it back. It was the way she stood there, watching me dig the ore, at just the right angle to draw my attention. That's probably why I hadn't noticed that her robe was shorter. It used to reach down to her ankles, but now I could see the tops of her boots.

Good teamwork between Kothet and his beautiful but quiet housecarl.

It was a good call to find the mine then go reprovision before taking it on.

Nice job of displaying what Kothet knows (good tactics and fighting equipment) vs what he doesn’t know (fur-clad wild humans = Forsworn) – as one would expect of a Dremora.

Enchanting jewelry? Methinks Kothet is enchanted by his housecarl.

Whatever she thought, she didn't follow immediately, and I had to deal with the first three of them alone. Not that it was hard for me, but she wasn't there to witness it.

Here’s a perfect example of Kothet’s Kyn-ness. That’s what I love most about this story. It’s great fun to see the familiar and beloved through completely new eyes.

I’m enjoying Kothet’s internal struggle with his Housecarl’s silence. Funny how when you’re building you’d rather find iron than silver!

I really love reading this, as it's whetting my appetite for Skyrim. It's neat that (as a hunter) Kothet is thinking outside the box, compared to most other dremorea. Hmm hmm ha haaa!



Good point, I never thought of it this way. Hmm. And also the part when Kothet's follower learns that spell spontaneously. I love noticing stuff like that.

Acadian: Kothet decided to provision for the fight, and Clark and Vicuña decided not to let the Forsworn prepare for them. It's probably more due to Kothet having all he could carry, and Clark having all his loot on the cart.

Grits: Just about anyone finds the things they're not looking for. He's just particularly good at it.

Renee: Kothet has the advantage of not being a native, even if he has been there longer than any Nord.

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

Previously Kothet and co. had cleared Kolskeggr mine, and he now has the gold for his crafting table.

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

8 - Markarth

I smelted the ore down to ingots right outside the mine. Unlike iron, smelting gold reduced the weight, and I could carry more that way. We headed back to Left Hand Mine, to tell Pavo he could return.

Pavo paid us for our trouble. I wasn't expecting that, nor was I expecting the Orc with him to announce that he'd tell the Strongholds about me. I'd be welcome there in future, and not treated as an outsider, whatever that meant.

He didn't tell me where any of these strongholds were, so I asked Ghorza, the Markarth smith, when I went to use her forge. She pointed out four of them on my map, scattered at the four corners of the province, and told me a bit about life there. If she'd have stayed in one, she'd have been forced to marry some "lowly chieftain" as she put it, and probably become his third wife, or less. She had more status as a smith, as the Orcs respected that calling. Her brother was one, too, up at the Jarl's palace in Understone Keep.

Making some jewellery from the gold reduced the weight I was carrying even more, and I found I was able to improve my armour once I was done with it. It would appear that working on the smaller items had improved my detail work, and my results were better with the larger items too.

I asked Ghorza if she had any quicksilver, but she didn't. "Moth might have some, he does work for the elves if they pay him a bit extra. He doesn't like making elven, but he can do it well enough."

---

Moth had used up what he had. And he was reluctant to talk about the special project the Jarl wanted him to do. "He wants me to make a sword for him, and it takes a special ingredient. A Daedra heart."

Well at least he was honest. I told him that although I was very unlikely to be obtaining one for him, if I did recover one from someone who shouldn't have it, I'd consider his request. A daedra's heart should not be just wasted, and becoming part of a weapon was at least noble.

"It took courage to even ask," I reminded myself. "These Orcs are good people."

---

So we wouldn't be getting any quicksilver here, but I'd made a good quantity of jewellery with the gold, so I should see what they'd fetch at the merchant's. Maybe I'd have enough to buy the Soul Gem.

Arnleif and Sons was run by Arnleif's widow, Lisbet, who didn't have such a gem in stock. In fact, she didn't have much at all. But she did buy a lot of the rings and amulets, and told me that if I could just find the Statue of Dibella she'd ordered, she might be able to recover some of her recent losses. The Forsworn had probably stolen it, and she had an idea where they might have taken it.

---

We'd had enough of the Forsworn for now, and it was becoming clear that I wasn't going to find quicksilver in the Reach. I decided that we should head back to Whiterun, instead. The book that Ghorza wanted was in a fort on the way, and we could check that out as we passed.

So of course, the fort was up on a cliff we couldn't climb, and we had to go around to the other side of the hills to reach it. And when we did, we found the place full of ... more Forsworn!

There didn't appear to be any briarheart mages among them, so they weren't as difficult as they might have been. Still, there were more of them, and they were behind walls and barricades, which made it tiresome.

I read the book we'd come to find, and learned a bit more about smithing from it. It made sense that it would help Tacitus, too. Assuming, of course, that he could read.

---

Whiterun was closer than Markarth now, so we continued there. Adrianne didn't have any quicksilver, but Belethor had the gem and he knew where I could mine the ore I needed. "There's a vein near the Battle-Born farm, just outside town. Just the one, not like the whole mine full, up in Dawnstar. If you don't need a lot, I'd go there."

Naturally, when I went and mined the quicksilver, I also found a corundum vein, and one of gold, too. If I'd known about the gold, I wouldn't have had to go to Markarth. But then I wouldn't have made all the jewellery, and perhaps I couldn't have afforded the gem. Or made the breastplate, or improved my mace.

I didn't need to go back into town, as I could smelt the quicksilver at the tower. That was the next stop, and I'd be able to make the crafting table when I got there. And that was just about the last piece of furniture I needed to make. That, and a couple of chests, which would need locks, and I'd just found enough corundum for those.

---

The crafting table was a complex item to make, and used more different materials than the rest of the house put together. It was particularly pleasing to have my housecarl watch the whole process, as this was the ultimate proof of home-making skill.

She didn't show any admiration, but I didn't expect any. I was just doing what I should.

Now I could enchant or disenchant, and make potions and poisons. I had a collection of iron weapons with minor enchantments, and a few pieces of armour, too.

Of all the enchantments I learned, the ones that seemed immediately useful were fire damage, which I wanted to add to my mace, and fortify carry weight for my boots. I'd hoped to find something among them that I could apply to jewellery for a mage, but unless she wanted a circlet of archery, or a ring to fortify one-handed, it would have to wait. I knew that enchantments existed to improve magical skills, or magicka regeneration, but we hadn't collected anything yet.

I moved the dragon bones and scales out of the wardrobe into the new chest, and picked up the alchemy ingredients at the same time.

---

I made several potions to restore Health, and Stamina, as I used them all the time, and didn't always find enough ready-made. I didn't use spells much, but I made a couple of potions to restore Magicka and offered them to her. She shook her head, which was the closest we'd had to a conversation so far.

It was already dark, so I climbed the stairs to the bedroom, expecting her to take her guard position outside. Instead, she walked in and lay down on the bed. With her robe on, and her back to me. I joined her, lying as close as I could without actually touching.

When I woke, my arm was around her, and she was holding it in place. Not quite where I'd have liked, but close. And her back was against me, touching now.

Had I put my arm there, or had she? I hadn't dreamed anything like that; not last night, anyway.

She woke, too, and slipped from under my arm, and went downstairs without saying anything. I wished she would, even if it wasn't something I wanted to hear.

I know I'm being tested. It is Dagon's way. Every adversity is a challenge to be overcome, and I'd only be better for having done so. Her silence is part of that challenge. She's not permitted to assist me in understanding Dagon's will. That's the part I have to achieve for myself.

But she has spoken. Apparently she's allowed to warn me of the presence of enemies, and to challenge them, just as I would. If I want to hear her voice, I'll have to go looking for a fight!

Nice how crafting jewelry improved Kothet's heavier metal work.

Oh noes! Leave Markarth to get away from the Forsworn. . . only to clear a fort full of them!

Nice progress on his tower home. As for his housecarl, Frustratia the Silent, well. . . things are still going slowly.

Congrads on getting that crafting table fixed up. Crafting & smithing is way fun, in a grindy sort of way.

It's pretty neat how the story focuses around mining and other such mundane activities. It's actually inspiring to me.

Acadian: He finally gets some variety in his foes this time. However, he might not be too happy about what he gets instead.

Renee: Well, we're done with the mining. mostly, but he will be doing some more smithing. He wants his Daedric outfit before he goes to High Hrothgar.

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

Previously: Kothet completed his crafting station, so he has everything made at the tower. Now he's looking for some combat that might evoke a comment from his companion.

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

9 - Sunderstone Gorge

So we took a very round about route to go back to Markarth. I needed to deliver the book "Last Scabbard of Akrash" to Ghorza, for her apprentice to read, but it wasn't an urgent job, and we could visit a few caves and ruins on the way.

When we passed Fort Sunguard the first time, I'd seen a road leading off directly away from it, and wondered where it lead. Now would be a good time to find out. It meant that we started out heading in exactly the opposite direction, but I hoped the road would lead around the mountains behind our tower, and maybe we'd find another way to reach it.

After ducking a wayward arrow fired by a hunter, and watching him chase off after the deer we'd just passed, we continued a bit further south and found a trail leading to a cave. It really didn't matter what was in it, I was just looking for a chance for some combat, and some more of my housecarl's voice.

A woman dressed in a black robe saw us approaching, but before I could hail her, she fired a cloud of frost in our direction. It wasn't just the Forsworn that attacked on sight in these parts.

My companion raised a ward, the first time I'd seen her do that. It appeared to block the effect of the magic from the black-robed figure, so she turned her attentions to me. As I charged, I noted that she was being hit with sparks from behind me, and she was unable to continue her frost attack. The pitiful iron dagger she pulled out was no match for my mace, and she fell at my first blow.

When I removed her robe, I caught a disgusted look from my housecarl, but this garment was enchanted, and I wanted to learn its secrets. The wearer's secrets were nothing to write home about.

We entered the cave, and I was hopeful that we'd find more of these magic-users inside. I wanted to find some more equipment with enchantments useful to a mage, as I still had a gold amulet waiting for something to make it special.

The passage was trapped in various places, and guarded by both the mages and their skeletal thralls. I noticed a preference for fire spells, which a Dremora resists quite well, so progress was relatively easy, if a bit slow. We were frequently stopping to wait for burning oil to burn off, where it had spread across the floor and ignited.

I spent much of that time opening chests and collecting the potions and alchemical ingredients the mages had in them , and on the numerous shelves around their quarters. I found a bit of coin, too, and some soul gems, which I might need for enchanting later.

The iron door lead into what I assumed was the main room of this place. It was certainly larger than the other rooms we'd been through. Two more of the mages, perhaps the senior members of this group, were waiting on a balcony at the top of some stairs opposite. The spells they used were more powerful then we'd encountered so far, but again fire-based, so less effective against us than most. As we approached, a flame atronach appeared, but whether it was summoned by the mages, or otherwise, wasn't clear.

The flame atronach didn't last long, but as we approached the mages, and they could at last see what they were dealing with, they changed their tactics. Instead of the firebolts, I was hit with something that knocked me back, and weakened me. Not fire; not frost; not shock. I wasn't sure what it was, but they were using it against both of us. My housecarl was down on one knee already.

As I regained my balance, and charged at the nearest mage, I saw the other cast again, and my companion disappeared in a small burst of sparks. My anger at that was enough to ensure that neither got the chance to cast anything more.

I stood staring at the spot where she'd disappeared, half-expecting her to return, but I saw now that the spell was intended to send Daedra back to Oblivion. It had affected me, but wasn't powerful enough to undo the summoning of Dagon himself. My housecarl had only been summoned by me, and I wasn't much of a conjurer.

I was vaguely aware of a chanting sound from behind me. Another of the walls of Dragon-writing was in the corner of the room, just like the one in Bleak Fall Barrow. Like that time, a word was glowing, and trying to put itself into my mind. "Yol", it said. Somehow I knew that it meant Fire, but not how to shout it. Did I need to battle another dragon before that would happen? It wasn't until Murmulnir died, that I properly understood "Fus".

I turned back, and she still hadn't re-appeared. Could I summon her again? Or would the spell give me someone different? I didn't want someone different.

I decided that casting it at the spot she left from was the best way to get the result I wanted. If Dagon was watching me, at least I'd be giving him some indication that I was paying attention. And it couldn't hurt my chances.

To my relief, the same woman re-appeared. I think she was wearing the same robe, although this one did look a little shorter. Maybe I was imagining that, or maybe I was just more aware of her now. She was instantly on guard, as she'd left while the battle was still in progress, but soon noticed that all was quiet, and relaxed again. Did I see a brief smile?

She stopped at the remains of the conjurer or necromancer that had banished her. I'm not sure if she was pleased or not. The look of revulsion she gave it may have been caused by the way I'd attacked the man with renewed rage. A jagged mace doesn't leave a pretty corpse, and I may have hit this one a bit more than was necessary.

We found a back way out of the room, and collected more potions and ingredients on the way. I also picked up some spell scrolls, gems, and a couple of weapons to sell. And just as we dropped down to the passage where we'd entered, I found some veins of silver. I still had my pickaxe with me, so that added to our haul.
A silver ring with a nice stone would look good on her hand. Maybe a red stone to match her eyes? No, it couldn't glow like they do.

---

We resumed following the trail outside, and when it forked, chose the path to the West. I wanted to head back towards Markarth, and was hoping to find a back way to the tower in the process. Instead, we found a stockade with an Orc standing on guard outside.

Was this one of the Strongholds that the Orc at Left-hand Mine had mentioned? If it was, I was supposed to be welcome here.

Apparently, it wasn't, as the Orc was charging at us, with his war-hammer raised. That looked like a better weapon than I had, or at least it was one I'd like to have. I had the better armour, and my mage companion backing me up, so I soon had the opportunity to take it from his corpse.

With that on my back, I pushed open the gates of the stockade, and looked inside. There were a couple of crude wooden shelters, and a guard-tower, down here, but it looked like most of the settlement, if that's what it was, would be at the top of the wooden stairs that led up the rocks at the back. As we started to climb up, a couple more Orcs appeared at the top. The longer reach of my new hammer helped dispatch those, and we were soon looking at a forge and smelter on the plateau. A door led into what I assumed would be a mine, as there was a smelter just outside.

It would be an Orichalcum mine, judging by the ores and ingots outside. Or possibly iron, as some of the weapons laying on the table by the forge were made of that. I saw an armorer's workbench, but no grindstone. A pity, as I'd have liked to try and improve this war-hammer. There was almost enough material lying around to make another, but it would be no better than this one.

Maybe there would be a grindstone in the mine. I'd want to go in and take some more Orichalcum back to the Tower, anyway, as I wasn't sure where else to find it.

---

There wasn't a grindstone in the mine, just an irate Orc bandit chief who didn't like visitors. His armour was much better than the furs and hides that his men had been wearing, and it took a significant effort to best him. But we did, and took the key to his treasure chest. There wasn't much in that, except for a strange spherical gem, and a few coins. The gem glowed slightly, and made me suspicious. I decided it was probably a trap, and left it. The book on Smithing that I found on a table further down was a much better reward. I decided to take that one to Ghorza, too.

The mine yielded quite a lot of Orichalcum, as I'd expected. I had to smelt it here, as there was too much for me to carry if I didn't. I really needed to go back to the tower and use the grindstone there, and leave the excess ingots in a chest.

I'd taken a good look at the chief's armour. It was Orcish, as you'd have expected, and quite decent stuff. Fairly light, as heavy armour goes, and comparable in quality to what I was wearing. If I hadn't been almost overloaded, I might have taken it to sell. I never really considered wearing it, as I didn't want to look like I was an Orc.

I climbed up on the rocks, and looked around. I could just about see the pillars of the stonework at Bard's Leap from here, but there seemed to be no way to get through. It was all too steep. Maybe you could come down where you couldn't go up, and reach this mine from Bard's Leap, but we'd have to go the long way around to get home.

I remember exploring that side of the mountains along the southern road to Markarth and being disappointed that it was so hard to get across the "border" here. I'll have to fire up Skyrim again and explore that area once more . . .

Hee! This is turning into a Dremoran love story! Kothet stripping the robes off that first mage, thereby impressing his housecarl as a perv did not help move things along. It was touching - in a Dremoran kinda way - that he wanted to resummon the same housecarl. And I must admit that I was glad that he was able to do so. I don't think she quite gathers that much of what he is trying to do is for her benefit.

Very fun to read!

haute: I haven't been round there with one of Skyrim's spider-horses that can climb sheer cliffs, but the path between Bilegulch and Bard's Leap is one-way on foot. At the back of their tower, you can get the "You cannot go that way" message walking on one corner of the ramp, so I'd expect a lot of that in the area.

Acadian: I suspect he hopes to be getting some benefit himself in future.

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

Previously Kothet has cleared Sunderstone Gorge and Bilegulch Mine, and almost lost his housecarl in the process.

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

10 - Understone Keep

I now had two books on Smithing to deliver to Ghorza, and I'd learned enough from them to turn the Orcish warhammer into quite a decent weapon. Now I had a companion to cast spells, I didn't need a hand free for that, so I could use both for a bigger weapon. I'd soon catch up on my skills with it after a little practice.

We set out for Markarth again, still looking for new trails, but this time we'd leave the caves and other dungeons for the way back. I had quite enough to carry already. We passed a large Nordic temple and a few caves, before the path lead us to another stockade.

This time it really was one of the Orc strongholds, called Dushnikh Yal. I was welcomed in as Blood-kin, and told that if I wanted to help them mine Orichalcum, they'd buy all the ore I could dig up. So now I knew two Orichalcum mines, and only yesterday I hadn't known any. Gharol, the forge-wife, told me of the other Orc Strongholds: Largashbur, Narzulbur, and Mor Khazgur. The last had another Orichalcum mine, and Narzulbur was next to Gloombound Mine, which produced Iron and Orichalcum, but mostly Ebony.

"What about Largashbur?" I asked.

"They don't mine there, but there are Dwarven ruins nearby where you can collect Dwemer metal and smelt that down for making Dwarven weapons and armour. Mostly they hunt. It's a good area for most wildlife."

---

Ghorza was delighted with the two books, especially as she'd only asked for one. She taught me some more about smithing, and let me try out my increased skill at her forge. Since I'd just improved my war-hammer, I wasn't expecting to do much more to it, but I surprised myself with the improvement. Possibly it was just that I'd learned something specific to Orcish weapons, but it made quite a large difference.

Ghorza confirmed that. "Each material needs a different level of skill. I doubt that Tacitus will get much beyond Steel, but that's a useful enough skill to serve the needs of the guards here. You'll want to learn to forge Ebony next, and beyond that is Daedric. Keep practising, making things and improving them, and you'll get there. I can't train you any further, you'd need to go to Balimund in Riften if you need that. And to get to Ebony, you'll still have to do some more work on your own."

She recommended that I make Dwarven bows, if I wanted to develop my skills. The material was plentiful, if I didn't mind battling the automata in the ruins. We both grinned when she said that. She knew I'd like that sort of a challenge.

---

Some time in the not too distant future, too, I needed to go to High Hrothgar and find out what Jarl Balgruuf meant about the Greybeards, and my being "Dragonborn". I was reluctant to do that before I had a proper set of Daedric Armour, though. They would be expecting a Dremora that dressed like one. The Jarl had spoken of them with awe, and I wanted them to get the right impression of me.

My lovely companion would probably be naked by then, as she seemed to wear less every time I improved my armour. That wasn't why I wanted a full set of Daedric, of course, but it was a pleasant prospect to think about.

---

"So where do I get the material for Dwarven bows?" I asked Ghorza. "You mentioned ruins near Largashbur, but that's the other end of the province. Isn't there somewhere closer?"

"You don't even need to leave the city," she replied. "There's a Dwemer ruin right here, up in Understone Keep. Just turn left when you go in, and look for Calcelmo. He's been excavating it, and he might be able to use some strong assistance. I heard that there were spiders causing his workers problems, and they'd closed the dig for the time being."

We climbed back up to the Keep and went looking for Calcelmo. He was glad to have someone volunteer to deal with Nimhe. That was the name they'd given to the giant spider that had invaded the dig.

"Giant Spider? Just how big is she?"

"Taller than you, and of course a lot wider. But that at least means she can't get down the tunnels and escape into the city. However, she's breeding smaller ones. And they're the main nuisance that has stopped us digging completely. I need you to kill Nimhe, and mop up any others you find." Calcelmo coughed and returned to his studies. "Oh, yes, you'll need the key, won't you?" he said as an afterthought, handing it to me.

He didn't provide any directions, but it was safe to assume that the large door on the other side of the bridge was the entrance to the dig. Calcelmo had referred to the ruin as Nchuand-zel. and that was written (in Dwemer letters of course) above the door. The key fit, too.

There were no signs of spiders in the hall we entered. In fact it seemed to be in as good condition as the chamber we'd come from. Less rubble, and the floor looked as if someone had swept it. The exits from it, however, were all blocked with rubble, save for one, which we took. It lead along a corridor, whose size had me slightly worried. If Nimhe wouldn't fit down this, how big was she? Hopefully, there was a narrower section further in.

Instead it opened up to a natural cave, or maybe mine. The floor was dirt, rather than than paved, and a path spiralled down past ore veins and broken rock. She noticed the spider at the bottom before I did, and shot a firebolt at it before I could nock my bow. Fortunately, the loud explosion as it died didn't bring any more to investigate.

"That's one of the smallest," I told her. "Around the Rift, they get about as big as bears, but they're lighter built, and a bear can handle one without too much trouble. I haven't seen more than about three at a time there, but this place may be different."

Naturally, she said nothing, but she stepped around the dead creature as if it still held some threat.

I heard a scuttling noise up ahead in the tunnel leading off. I held up my hand to indicate that we should stop, and crouched down to move forward more stealthily. As usual, she didn't copy me, but she did at least hang back a bit further, and readied another firebolt, just in case.

Around the next corner, I saw two more of the spiders, one a bit larger than the other. I loosed an arrow at that one, hoping to kill it before either detected me. It collapsed into a heap of tangled limbs, and the other looked frantically around for the source of the arrow.

That one was easily dispatched with my second arrow, as I still had the advantage of picking my shots. It looked like those were all for this chamber, so I beckoned her on in. She picked her way in carefully, avoiding all the webs, and giving the dead spiders a wide berth.

The way out was reassuringly narrow. Or maybe not, as it was also likely that this was the choke point that Nimhe couldn't pass. We could run into her at any time now.

I had to clear a thick net of spider web that closed off the tunnel. I pulled as much as I could off the walls, so that she'd have room to pass without touching it, but she was still reluctant to follow. It didn't matter much, as I could see a chamber up ahead that looked like Nimhe's den. There were webs all over, and egg sacs on most of the floor.

But where was Nimhe? Just in time, I thought to look up, and saw that there was a large round hole in the roof, and a spider-shaped shadow was descending. I ducked back into the tunnel, as I knew she couldn't reach me there.

She couldn't reach me, but she could spit poison. A noxious substance that made my eyes sting, and made it hard to focus on my archery. On the other hand, she was a huge target, and I couldn't miss, even with my vision impaired. It took a lot more arrows than I thought possible to dispatch her, and she managed to spit more poison before I was done with her.

I heard the sound of flames behind me, and turned back, expecting to find her in battle. Instead, she was clearing the walls as she advanced, leaving no sign of spider. I stepped aside, and let her continue to the entrance to Nimhe's den.

She took one brief look at the giant spider, and ran back up the tunnel. Then she turned, with a fire spell still ready in each hand, to take another look. I could see her steeling herself to face the dead creature again. She looked away from it, and starting clearing a path across the floor, well away from the corpse.

I'd been completely focused on the spider, but she'd noticed another door on the far side, covered in spider silk, and a body lying near it. Since I didn't have to clear my path quite as much as she did, I reached it first and read the note I found next to it.

It appeared that the dead man was a guard for a group of mages that had gone into the ruins beyond the door. It wasn't clear from the note if they'd gone in before Nimhe appeared, or after. I suspected that it was before, and this Alethius fellow had been her first victim, as he tried to return through the dig site.

I decided to return to Calcelmo, and get any information he might have about this expedition. He owed me for Nimhe, and the reward might be useful for what lay ahead.

Needless to say, my companion was delighted to leave the dig site, but most unhappy when I wanted to go back in. I compromised, by taking all the dwarven metal I'd picked up off to the smelter, and converted it all to bows before we returned. Then I converted the bows to coin, and spent some of it on a room at the Silver-Blood Inn.

The bed was small and hard, and although she let me hold her, I think that was only so she'd feel safe from spiders. I tried hard not to behave like one.

Neither have I! Typically we leave the horses on the roads or on fairly level surfaces. My Skyrim characters have become quite good at mountain climbing and we've discovered some cool spots (and views) along the way . . .



So She has a phobia! Not so tough or inscrutable now, heh?

Like Rider, I found it sort of nice to know that Housecarl has some sort of feelings - even if all we have so far is fear of spiders.

Kothet's progress with smithing is interesting to see as he sets his sights on (not surprisingly) full daedric gear.

I love Nchuand-zel and bet there's plenty of dwemer metal to be had in there!

Spiders ... yicch! Good thing she let him hold her.


There we go. This is the ghastley content I've seen in pictures so far.

haute: Kothet regards a "good view" as a strategic advantage, rather than something aesthetic, which is why he likes his new home.

Acadian: She's not really afraid, it's more revulsion. This ruin will help her work it out.

Renee: At least Kothet found some advantage in her dislike of spiders.

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

Previously: Kothet went to Nchaund-Zel to look for dwarven metal to advance his smithing, and found spiders. His housecarl doesn't like those.

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

11 - Nchuand-Zel

I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't want to go back to Nchuand-zel, but we had unfinished business there. And I knew that we'd be meeting Frostbite Spiders all over Skyrim, so the sooner she got past this spider problem, the better.

Fortunately, Calcelmo's workers had already made a good start on eradicating all signs of Nimhe and her brood. The first time we saw any webs was when we got to the door where we found Alethius' body. When I opened that, beyond it was a clean Dwemer hallway, with no sign of spider at all.

She shuddered, and took a deep breath, but the expression on her face brightened considerably. We were out of spider territory, but what were we into?

The first of the Falmer was waiting on a bridge ahead of us. I'd been proceeding slowly, just in case there were still spiders to be found, and I saw him long before he detected us. I drew my bow and crouched. One carefully aimed shot dropped him over the edge, into the water below.

Creeping silently forward, I spotted another waiting a bit further ahead, and repeated the process for him. I looked back, and saw that she'd followed me out onto the bridge, and was looking down to see where the Falmer had dropped. Heights didn't seem to have the same effect on her as spiders.

From up here, I could see a number of doors leading into other parts of the ruins. Somewhere behind any one of those, the lost expedition of mages could be huddled in hiding from the Falmer, or more likely lying dead. Without any indication of where we should start, I opted for the door on the top level. But first there was another Falmer to deal with, on the ledge near the door.

I readied another arrow, but she'd caught up with me, and seen the Falmer, too. A couple of firebolts, one from each hand, quickly dropped him. My arrow wasn't wasted, however, as the noise of the firebolts brought another Falmer up the ramp to investigate, and he wasn't expecting to be shot the moment he appeared.

When we got to his body, I took a look down the ramp to see if there were any more below. I wasn't intending going down there yet, but it made sense to make sure we wouldn't be followed. Nothing was moving, so we proceeded to the door.

Before we met any more Falmer, I found some dwarven metal scrap lying around. From clearing the dig site the day before, I'd discovered which was worth taking, and which were just too heavy to be worth the effort. The solid bars were twelve times the weight of the plates, and only yielded double the ingots, if that. The struts weren't worth carrying either. Large and small plates, and the bent scrap, seemed to be what we wanted.

Sorting through the pieces almost made me miss the Falmer creeping in, but my companion had been watching diligently, perhaps looking out for spiders. A firebolt flew past me, and I pulled my warhammer from my back in time to crush the skull of a Falmer that was rushing at me with a raised sword. Another firebolt finished the archer behind him.

We had a choice of two paths forward, and I chose to go down a level first, mostly because I could see there was nothing down there. I expected more Falmer around each corner,

It wasn't long before we found the corpse of one of the mages. But before we reached it, I heard "an expression of displeasure" from behind me, and noticed a frostbite spider coming towards us. The creature seemed to explode before it got half-way, and it wasn't anything either of us had done. I suspected it had triggered a trap of some kind, and quickly looked around for more. Just in time, too, as I was about to step up onto the platform at the top of the stairs, and there was a circular mark on the floor that looked ominous. I stepped back, and tossed a piece of scrap metal onto it, and was rewarded with the same kind of explosion that had killed the spider.

The explosions brough a couple more of the Falmer out of hiding, but we were ready for them. Stromm had a journal that described some of the expedition's problems with the Falmer, but suggested that they had split up, and were working in different sections of the ruin. That seemed like a bad idea to me. It clearly worked out that way for Stromm.

I ignored the chest as a possible trap, and concentrated on collecting smeltable scrap. Nothing else appeared to impede us, until we retraced our steps and tried the other path. As expected, Falmer were waiting along the passage, and the group of four proved quite an obstacle.

Beyond them, another Falmer had a spider pet with him, but only a small one, and they crush nicely beneath a war-hammer. I caught a look of approval when I did that.

There didn't seem to be any way out but the way we'd come in, unless we wanted to jump down into the water. Since I had no idea how deep it was, I didn't think that was a good idea. So we back-tracked out to the ledge, and took the ramp down.

We had to swim across to the door of the next section, as the entry ramp was now beneath the water. As expected, we found the same mixture of dwarven scrap and Falmer waiting for us, but this time, we encountered something new. As I passed what looked like a sealed vent on the wall, it opened, and a dwarven automaton, resembling a spider, dropped out and attacked.

This kind of spider didn't have the same effect on my companion as the live ones, and she rushed to engage it. I found that the metal ones crunched just as nicely as their cousins, although it took a bit more effort with my war-hammer. Metal is a bit harder, after all.

There was another dead mage, alone again, in this section. He had a diary too, so I added it to my collection. This one was apparently Erj, and he was here for treasure, rather than scientific reasons. Perhaps that was why he was prospecting on his own; and why he was now dead.

Leaving the ruin and going back out to the next ramp, we found another body. Krag had had the sense to stay with the guards, and set up camp away from the Falmer, but it appeared that they'd been overwhelmed in the night. At least one of the guards lay dead just a little beyond him. His journal made mention of Erj staying behind to try and pick locks in the Armory, which was presumably the section we found him in.

Standing near Krag's body was a giant metal man, in a frame that looked like it would feed power to him if it were active. Since Krag and the guards had been content to camp with it watching over them, I felt no unease. I wouldn't like to have to fight one, if it ever was activated. One arm was a war-hammer larger than my own, and the other an axe of similar proportions.

I picked up a book from on top of one of the bedrolls. "Sithis", it was entitled. Reading it explained some things about alteration I hadn't known before, so I took it with me. Such books often fetch a decent price.

We hadn't found the fourth mage yet, the leader of the expedition. Krag's journal didn't make it clear if he'd been with them when they camped for the night, but then it hadn't mentioned anyone other than Erj. Stromm might have been with them, and fled back to where we found him, or he might also have lingered behind as the others moved ahead.

But it wasn't too far to go before we did so. We'd encountered both Falmer and Dwarven Automata in this "Control" section, so it wasn't suprising that one or the other had killed him. His diary made it clear that Stromm had been left behind to study the area we'd found him in. Staubin made reference to a student being with him, but we'd not seen a second body. It also revealed that he'd escaped the attack that had killed Krag, and gone into this part of the ruin to try and re-activate the Dwarven guardians. That told me that the attackers had been Falmer, and why the guards had trusted the centurion wouldn't be a problem.

I now resolved to carry out Staubin's objective, and set the automata against the Falmer. If nothing else, they'd wear each other down, and not prove a threat to Markarth, or Calcelmo's workers just outside the ruin.

There was quit a lot of scrap metal in this area, and the Falmer were busy trying to convert the guardian automata into more. The latter, of course, were trying to exterminate the Falmer vermin. We let them battle each other before mopping up the survivors, and I gathered metal as we went.

The lever in the room beyond looked like it was the one Staubin was trying to reach. I looked around to see if any of the huge centurions were waiting to stride out of their frames when I pulled it, but saw none. I did pick up everything worth taking before I pulled the lever, just in case.

The door ahead lead back out to a ledge above the ramp where we'd entered. I could see that the centurion we'd passed was now active, and battling a Falmer or two. We decide to move on quickly before that skirmish was decided, one way or the other. If that metal monster lost, I didn't want to face anything that could defeat it!

It didn't lose, and came after us. Fortunately, it was down to a fraction of its health, and an arrow from me, and a firebolt from my companion, sent it toppling over the edge into the water below.

Ahead, on the bridge where we first came in, a Falmer was fighting a Dwarven Sphere. This was a closer contest, and we watched it play out before adding our contributions. The sphere produced a small plate that would be useful.

As I've said, Nchuand-Zel is one of my fave dungeons and it was fun to hear Kothet describe his exploration of it. Lots of open space for good range and an interesting mix of foes.

I'm glad to hear the Housecarl with No Name (yet) is not squeamish about metal spiders.


Nit: ’There didn't seem to be an {any} way out but the way we'd come in,’

That makes sense, carrying only the most useful metal scraps. I like that term: "expression of displeasure". I don't think she would last very long in my basement, that's for sure.

Acadian: The metal spiders have the extra annoying factor of magic resistance, even if they're less "real".

Renee: If the spiders in your basement are the size of the ones in Tamriel ...

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

Previously: Kothet and company have found the diaries of the (dead) researchers in Nchuand-zel, and a lot of scrap metal.

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

12 - Broken Tower

I presented the diaries and journals to Calcelmo, who recalled the expedition. He'd been intending to pay Staubin's team for their research, but since they wouldn't be coming back to collect, he gave the gold to me instead.

I was glad to receive payment in gold, rather than goods, as I was just about at the limit of what I could carry. I needed to smelt all this scrap into ingots, and make some bows (and sell them).

The ingots somehow weighed more than the items I'd melted down. I could barely walk, as I carried the metal back up to Ghorza's forge to make bows. I bought her entire stock of iron ingots, too, and made more bows than the entire guard here could ever use. Ghorza told me to keep enough dwarven metal to improve them, too, as that would give me even more smithing practice.

And the bows I made were heavier than the metal. I still don't understand that. But since I sold about half of them to Ghorza, I had the strength to take the others down the ramp to the market, where Lisbet at Arnlief's bought the remainder. She asked if I could look out for a statue of Dibella that she'd ordered. It had been stolen by Forsworn on the way to her, and she had an idea where they might be holding it.

I didn't have any Orichalcum, or I'd have tried upgrading my warhammer here in Markarth. All that forge-work should have raised my skill level a bit, but I'd have to find out later. Maybe we could go back to the Tower past Dushnik Yal, and I could mine some there. No, the statue that Lisbet wanted was in the other direction. I checked my map, and another Orcish Stronghold was in that direction, so maybe we'd continue on to that instead.

---

Broken Tower Redoubt was right next to the road, and one of the Forsworn was on guard outside. She was dressed like all the archers I'd encountered before, but this one was wielding dual swords. She was hit by at least two firebolts before she reached me, and fell at the first blow of my warhammer.

But now the archers on the redoubt walls had seen us, and arrows were starting to rain down. We needed to get inside, and engage them on level terms. The door wasn't locked, and nobody was waiting inside, so we got a chance to heal, and for my companion to cast her armour spell, before we resumed battle.

A couple more of the Forsworn women were stationed in the hall we entered. One on the balcony above us had a bow, and the one on our level had an axe and a sword. Engaging the latter took me out of the fire of the former, who was getting a firebolt attack, anyway.

Before leaving the area, I took a look around for Lisbet's statue. I found one, but it wasn't the right one. I took it anyway, as it looked valuable, as well as decorative. I wasn't sure if it was made of gold, or just gilded, but it was well-made, and I liked the choice of subject, too.

---

It seemed that all the Forsworn we encountered in the redoubt were women. There were archers, mages and sword- and axe-wielding foragers, but they were all female. And in that skimpy armour of theirs, obviously so. I knew that the boss of the Forsworn parties was likely to be one of the briar-hearts, and I'd only encountered males who'd undergone that. Would we meet our first female briar-heart here? Or would it be just one lucky (and probably tired) male?

Whichever it was would probably be behind that door, in the last tower of the redoubt. We'd taken the last of the women by surprise, and she'd dropped quietly, so we had a chance of sneaking in unannounced. I crouched, and tried the door. It wasn't locked.

Up ahead, I could see the (male) briar-heart, standing in front of a large statue of Dibella. Even from this distance, I could see that it was daubed with blood, and clearly part of some nasty ritual. It made sense why this particular bunch would have taken Lisbet's statue, too.

I nocked an arrow, and signalled for my companion to hold her fire a moment. The arrow staggered him, but didn't kill him outright. Nor did the firebolts that followed it, and he started to fire lightning back at us. That appeared to stop her from casting more firebolts, but it didn't stop me from shooting another arrow. He staggered again, and I reached for my warhammer to finish him off.

Just in time, I realised that there was a trap on the floor between us. Going back to the bow, I fired again, as a weak flame from behind me set off the rune trap. The blast of ice from it caught the briar-heart just as my arrow struck. I brushed frost from my face, and saw that I didn't need another arrow.

It was now safe to search the area. I found a key on his body that opened a cell at the far side, but there was nothing in that. A side-room, however, had a chest containing Lisbet's statue, and a number of other valuable items. I picked up a necklace from the table, and found a book on Conjuration back in the main chamber. Not a bad haul.

If I'd been alone, I'd have probably stripped the corpses of the women, and taken their armour to sell, too. Something told me that would not be a good idea now.

And if I'd done that, I'd have turned back to Markarth, as I wouldn't have been able to carry much else. As it was, there was no real reason not to continue on to look for Mor Khasgur, the next Orc Stronghold. That was closer than Markarth, although according to the map I had, there was no road, and we'd be travelling across country.

The map didn't show much in between here and Mor Khazgur, but caves, camps and other such places weren't usually marked, until I added them myself. It really just showed the main towns and cities, and the roads between them. A few trails were marked, too, but according to the map, they didn't lead anywhere. There were a couple of these trails to nowhere between here and the Stronghold, crossing our route. And one that lead in the right direction started just outside Broken Tower Redoubt, and headed north-west, the way we wanted to go. What was at the end of it, we'd soon find out.

---

The trail forked, and in the rocks above, I could see the entrance to a cave. Neither branch of the trail seemed to lead to it, so I ignored it for now and continued north-west. We soon saw a number of Stormcloak soldiers and the smoke of their campfires. This was just a temporary camp, so it made sense that it wouldn't be on the map.

Beyond it was a shallow area of the river, where another trail forded across it. I had the choice of going West or North on the trail. According to the map, the trail to the west would follow the river, and not take me to Mor Khazgur. The trail to the north would veer to the north-west, but it ended well before reaching there. Still, it was the right direction, and who knew what was at the end?

It turned out to be a Dragon Mound. Crossing the mound took us onto relatively level ground, and although I couldn't see the Orc Stronghold yet, it appeared that there was nothing in between here and there.
Other than some sabre-cats and wolves, that is. It made the journey exciting, even if we didn't exactly need the pelts.

The Orcs were friendly, and I was encouraged to mine as much ore as I liked. They'd be happy to buy all I could dig, as mining is a tedious and heavy labour, and having someone else do the work is always welcome. I mined more than I needed for my own use. The price they offered was good, and making new allies is always worth while.

As I expected, I managed to improve my war-hammer and armour a little. It would not be long before I could start thinking about a trip to Narzulbur, for ebony.

---

I asked where the trail outside the Stronghold led to. "Nowhere of any significance," the Orc smith replied. "There's a couple of Nordic ruins in that direction, probably occupied by Forsworn or other bandits by now. Then eventually you'll get to the old road between Solitude and High Rock. You can't cross the border any more. The pass was blocked by a landslide a long time ago, and they never bothered digging it out. All the trade goes around by ship these days."

"If you go back the way you came, but head east at the river, you'll get to Dragon Bridge, and another road to Solitude. On the other side of the bridge, the road divides, and goes to Morthal one way, and towards Rorikstead and Whiterun the other." Those were all places on my map, and I could see the roads she was talking about.

I knew that Solitude was the headquarters of the Imperial legion, and they weren't my favourite people after Helgen. So Dragon Bridge looked the more appealing, but where then? I hadn't been to either Morthal or Rorikstead before, so the curiosity factor was about even. Morthal was the seat of the Jarl of Hjaalmarch, so it had the prospect of being a more interesting place than Rorikstead, which looked on the map like just a tavern stop along the road.

Eventually, we'd need to return to Markarth, and take Lisbet's statue back to her, but I'd seen the carriages waiting at the stables and knew that they served the major cities. Perhaps we'd be able to take one from Morthal back to Markarth?

I chuckled as Kothet pointed out that finished ingots weigh more than rough scrap and that the final crafted product weighs more still.

Another favorite dungeon in Broken Tower Redoubt! I never really noticed it before but, by Azura, you are right that all the Forsworn there are women except the final Briarheart.

Then on to Mor Khazgur. In our later days in Skyrim, Buffy followed a pretty similar ‘circuit’ clockwise around Skyrim with each Orc Stronghold on the route.

I’m very much enjoying this story!

Acadian: Dwarven stuff has to get ridiculously heavy somehow!
Routes will be rather dependent on side-quests, and how urgent they are. This episode will add more.

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

Previously: Kothet has picked up a couple of statues of Dibella from Broken Tower Reboubt, one of which has to go back to Lisbet in Markarth. He's headed elsewhere, intending to take a carriage.

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

13 - Morthal

Of course, once we reached Morthal, we discovered that the carriages will take you there, but don't pick up. If we wanted to hire a carriage, we'd have to go to Solitude, or Markarth, or Whiterun. The guard mentioned a couple of other cities way to the east, too. Riften and Windhelm were so far away from here, it was almost a joke.

Whiterun was actually the nearest, but there were the mountains in the way. The pass through them was just the other side of the old Nordic complex of Labyrinthian. The guard didn't recommend going through there, as there were frost trolls in some of the old buildings.

"You'd be safer out in the swamps," he told us. "Nothing worse than a few frostbite spiders out there."

A glance at my companion told me that she preferred trolls.

We stayed the night at the tavern, the Moorside Inn, and managed not to inspire the Orc bard to sing. He played the lute well enough, but the tavern-keeper, Jonna, warned us that his voice drove her customers away. "He won't sing while we're chatting, so I like to keep my customers in conversation, for their own good."

She told us all the local gossip, particularly about the fire that had destroyed Hroggar's house, and killed hs wife and daughter. "Hroggar says it was a hearth fire, but some folks say Hroggar started it himself." The Jarl would like to know the truth, and there might be a reward if someone could find it.

Her own theory was that Alva was involved, somehow. Hroggar had moved in with her the day after, and she wasn't just being charitable, and giving him a roof over his head. Alva wasn't that kind of woman.

I discovered that the town mage, Falion, was her brother. He lived in the house just beyond Alva's, overlooking the swamp. For some reason, he was unpopular with the townsfolk, who were suspicious of his night-time activities. Whether their relationship had anything to do with the slow trade at the inn wasn't clear. "Gorm comes here for dinner every evening, so at least one person isn't listening to the rumours," Jonna offered.

---

In the morning, we ate breakfast before Lurbuk rose, and got out before he started singing. When the Jarl's longhouse opened for business, we went in and asked about the burned-out house. Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone gave us the task of investigating. She shared Jonna's suspicions about Hroggar, but couldn't take action without proof. "Perhaps an outsider like yourself has a better chance to find some," she suggested.

At the Jarl's suggestion we started with a search of the remains of Hroggar's house. Parts of the walls were still standing, and in one corner was a ghost! Not an antagonistic one that wanted to drive us away, but a lonely little girl who wanted someone to play with her. I assured Helgi that although I was strange, being a Dremora, that wasn't the same as a stranger, so I could be her friend, if she wanted. We asked her about the fire, but she couldn't tell us there, in case someone was listening.

She wanted to play hide-and-seek, but we'd have to wait until it got dark, so "the other one" could play, too. "If you can find me first, I can tell you." Then she disappeared, going off to wherever she'd chosen to hide, I supposed.

We had quite a bit of time to kill before it got dark, so we wandered around the small town and checked out the only store, an alchemy shop known as the Thaumaturgist's Hut. Lami, the proprietress, was the wife of the mill-owner, Jorgen. She'd started the business when she read a book called "Song of the Alchemist" and she'd love to have her own copy. I promised to look out for one, and bring it to her if I found it.

We also met Alva, the woman in whose home Hroggar now lived. She flirted with me, although I got the impression she did that with all men. She dressed that way, showing almost as much cleavage as my lovely companion, and with a skirt slit up almost to the waist. But something was bothering me about her.

Something seemed fake, but I just couldn't place what it was. She wandered off towards the Moorside Inn, presumably to have lunch.

Idgrod the Younger was watching her little brother Joric, to make sure he didn't get into trouble. "Please don't mind Joric. He's not mad, really he's not." I asked what was wrong with the boy, and she told me "My brother is... sensitive. He has trouble focusing his attention on things. We were taking him to the Temple of Kynareth in Whiterun, just so the healers could make sure he was in good health, and they say he's fine."

We talked a while longer and I discovered that "visions" affected the whole family. Jarl Idgrod had them, and considered them a gift. Her own were a bit more erratic, and didn't really give her any insights. Joric just found them confusing and unsettling.

At some point I must have mentioned Whiterun, because she asked me "Are you heading to Whiterun? Could you take this letter to the priestess, Danica Pure-Spring? It's a note about Joric's health."

I took the note. It was certainly likely that I'd be going back that way. I told Idgrod that it might not be soon, but she reassured me that it was more important to deliver it safely than immediately. I'm not sure why she chose to trust it to me. Perhaps she knew that a Kyn's promise was a solid guarantee.

---

The sun was getting low, so we started looking around for likely hiding places for the little ghost girl. At the edge of town was a small cemetery, where it was likely that she, and her mother, would have been buried. We could see, as we approached, that someone had been digging here recently, as there was a shovel sticking up from a hole in the ground, and a small coffin had been disturbed.

When we got just a bit closer, someone came around the rock, dressed in a black robe like the conjurers had worn in the cave where I nearly lost my housecarl. Just like them, she attacked us on sight, using a spell that I didn't recognise, but which seemed to drain my health. It wasn't as effective as my companion's firebolts, which quickly dropped her next to the defiled grave.

The coffin was Helgi's, and that's where she was hiding. She told us that Laelette had started the fire, but had kissed her on the neck so she wouldn't feel the heat. She'd still been 'all burned up' and she was tired, and wanted to rest, but couldn't.

---

"Laelette!" exclaimed a voice behind us. I turned to find Thonnir, who operated the lumber mill for Jorgen, standing behind us with a torch. He told us that the dead woman was his wife, who he'd thought had gone off to join the Stormcloaks. She'd been spending a lot of time with Alva, and was supposed to meet her the night she disappeared. Alva had told him that she never showed up.

"Perhaps she did meet Alva," I suggested. "Somebody made Laelette a vampire, and maybe that was when it happened."

"But that would mean that Alva's a vampire, too! I refuse to believe that. You have no proof!"

He rushed off in a huff, leaving us to put Helgi's coffin back in its grave. I considered burying Laelette, too, but decided that Thonnir would probably want to do that himself.

"Let's take a look in Alva's house," I decided. "She's probably not there at night, and Hroggar should be asleep. If there's any proof to be found, it will be there."

---

Hroggar wasn't asleep, and attacked us when we opened the door. We found a key on his body to the basement, where we found an open coffin, and Alva's journal. This was the proof we needed, as it detailed her plot to make all the town's inhabitants cattle for the vampires, and how she had Laelette deal with Hrogar's wife and daughter.

We took it to Jarl Idgrod, who recognised the name of Movarth, the ancient vampire who'd turned Alva. She raised a posse of men and women from the town to go with us to Movarth's lair outside town, but at the mouth of the cave, they all stopped, reluctant to enter. Most of them fled back to town, except for Thonnir, who I could tell was only there because he wanted revenge for Laelette. When I assured him that I'd do that for him, he left, running after the others.

Vampires don't like fire, so my housecarl dealt with them, as I cracked their thralls' skulls with my war-hammer. Movarth himself was a bit tougher than the rest, and needed attention from both of us. Among the bodies, as we searched the place, we found Alva. Whether the other vampires had killed her, or we had, it was hard to tell.

I collected quite a lot of vampire dust (including from Alva), as well as gold coin. I could have brought out quite a large assortment of boots and shoes, too. One of the vampires must have been collecting them.

As we left the lair, Helgi's ghost appeared again at the exit. She thanked us for helping her finally rest, and I'm sure that my silent partner had a tear in her eye when she disappeared again.

I loved this murder investigation in Morthal! Otherwise I generally avoid the town, as it is quite possibly the dreariest spot in the whole province.

The way the game handles the kids really pulls at my heartstrings. It brings out the "mother" in me (I have no kids, and no desire to have any, nor regrets that I don't have any, but still . . .) and I want to adopt every one of them, even the ghosts, and bring them home! Alise did adopt six children in one play through - Lydia had her hands full with them! And Rayaa just tried to scare them into submission by scowling at them, but that didn't work. And they kept bringing home stray mud crabs and puppies . . .

Quite the full house in that game. Alise and Argis had to go dungeon delving just to get some peace and quiet!

Nice telling of the mystery of Morthal!

Buffy lost interest in the town except for her friend Idrod the Younger when all the townspeople chickened out, leaving the little elf to take on Movarch by herself. I'm glad Kothet had his fiery spider-fearing housecarl with him.

Yes, little Helgi tugs at one's heart and glad to see Kothet's Dremoress is not immune either.

This is true for pretty much all my characters who have visited Morthal; none of them have ever done any quests there. But that will change this winter, I'm sure. That quest does sound quite interesting, lots of twists & turns.

I was always disappointed that the orc bard never sung (not in the vanilla game, anyway). I wanted to have a good laugh at his singing.

Acadian: I almost had the housecarl do all the chatting to Helgi, but decided to stick with the player character Kothet. The two probably preferred not having the townsfolk in the way in Movarth's lair, especially as most of them are people who they might not want killed. Jurgen has part of Mehrunes Razor, Lami is the only merchant in town, and Thonnir sells lumber. Benor will brawl with you, if you need a quick 100 septims. Kothet's more likely to do that than Buffy, of course.

Renee: There are few reasons to go to Morthal. The Mehrunes Razor quest, and the Vampire cure are the only ones that send you there, but it's also somewhere on your map that needs "collecting".

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

Previously: Kothet did the "Laid to Rest" quest in Morthal and picked up a request to go to Whiterun.

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

14 - Gildergreen

Rather than wake the Jarl in the middle of the night just to tell her, we went back to the Moorside Inn for the rest of the night. We told Jonna what had happened, and she brightened up as we told her of Movarth's death. That would make her brother's life a lot easier, if he didn't have to keep the vampires away from the town any more.

She advised me to take a Cure Disease potion, if I hadn't already. You could catch vampirism from fighting them, and although Falion knew how to cure it, it was a process one would want to avoid. I didn't have one, but I could ask Lami how to make one in the morning.

---

After telling Jarl Idgrod the news, (and receiving a decent gold reward), we headed over to the Thaumaturgist's Hut to make some Cure Disease potions. Lami told me I could use the Vampire Dust to make them, as long as I had another ingredient, Mudcrab Chitin, or Charred Skeever Hide. "If you've got any Hawk Feathers, you don't even have to make a potion. Just eat them."

I had plenty of mudcrab remains, and soon had a good supply of potions. I drank one, and handed another to my housecarl. She took it and drank it immediately, without a word. I offered her another to carry, but she shook her head.

---

Since we now had two reasons to head for Whiterun, to deliver Idgrod's note to Danica, and to take the carriage back to Markarth, we set out for Labyrinthian, and the pass. A couple of the smaller frostbite spiders blocked the road ahead of us, briefly, as a fireball quickly flew in their direction and dealt with them in short order. It seemed that my companion had a new, more powerful, spell in her repertoire.

She also had longer legs, or a shorter skirt. Whichever it was, I approved heartily.

---

The same fireball spell proved useful against the frost trolls we met at the ruin. Although I got caught in the blast a couple of times, fire was not a problem to me, and the frost trolls certainly didn't like it at all. Not that they liked being hit with my warhammer, either.

We passed through the ruin without being too tempted to investigate the various doors we saw. We could come back later, after we'd dealt with our current quests. Likewise, there were several side-trails leading into the hills that we ignored. I was already struggling to remember what unfinished business we had, without starting more.

After crossing the tundra, and discovering that my housecarl could also surround herself with a shield of flame when a pack of wolves attacked us, we arrived at the Whiterun stables. I almost hired the carriage to go to Markarth, but just in time, I remembered Idgrod's letter to Danica. I needed to deliver that first.

Danica Pure-Spring was sitting under the old tree in the middle of town when we found her. She paid me for the delivery, and we started talking about the tree. This was the Gildergreen, and the temple to Kynareth had been built here because of the tree. But it was dying, and could only be revived with the help of sap from its parent tree, the Eldergleam. That would be hard to do, as there was only one way to get that sap, using a special knife called Nettlebane.

I'm not sure when my fascination with the story turned into an agreement to get this knife from the hags at Orphan Rock, but that's what happened. It was in the opposite direction from Markarth, too.

On the other hand, this wasn't an urgent matter. The Eldergleam had been growing for thousands of years, and its daughter tree for hundreds, so a few days wouldn't even be noticed.

---

We rode the carriage back to Markarth, and I delivered the statue to Lisbet. She was delighted, and gave me a sum of gold that was way more than I'd expected. It made me wonder what the second statue I'd found was worth, but she soon dashed my hopes. Gilded and solid are nowhere similar in value.

I decided to keep mine. I should be able to find somewhere to put it, back at the Tower.

---

Ghorza asked how my smithing was progressing. I confessed that I hadn't done much recently, not since my visit to Mor Khasgur. "I have a couple of ebony ingots, If you want to try making something," she told me.

"Not yet," I replied. "It's a big step from Orcish to Ebony, and I still have some way to go."

"You should go to Riften, and have Balimund train you," she suggested. "You'll need to go east for the ebony, anyway."

I needed to go east for Nettlebane, too, and Danica had mentioned that the grove where the Elderglem grew was also in that direction. It looked like we'd be going east.

"Everywhere in Skyrim's east from Markarth" Ghorza reminded me.

---

The road from Helgen towards Orphan Rock was familiar for some reason. Then it dawned on me that this was the way we'd come in on the cart, that day with the dragon. Except now I was going in the opposite direction, and I had much better company.

Yes, she was quite the opposite of Ralof. He'd kept up a constant steam of comment, even as we'd been supposedly sneaking past the bear in the cave on the way out.

Orphan Rock was guarded by witches who liked to use shock spells. That was unfortunate, as a fire mage is at a bit of a disadvantage when she has her magicka drained that way. A war-hammer is an appropriate counter-measure, however, to which they have no answer.

The final hag, and the hagraven that held Nettlebane, preferred fire spells, and that played into our strength. They had little to offer, apart from the dagger itself. A few potions, some ingredients, and a bit of gold. Nettlebane itelf didn't appear valuable, and was rather heavy, for just a short knife. But it was its unique ability to harvest sap from the Eldergleam that made it special, and we had to return to Whiterun to find out how.

---

There was a pilgrim in the temple when we took it to Danica, a man called Maurice Jondrelle, which I think is a Breton name. He'd come to see the Gildergreen, and been disappointed at its current state. When he overheard that we were to travel to the parent tree, he asked if he could come with us.

Since I'd cleared the bandits from Valtheim, before rebuilding the Tower, I knew that most of the road between here and Darkwater Crossing would be safe, apart from the usual wolves and other wild creatures we might run across. So I agreed that he could tag along. We'd not be responsible for his safety once we got there, as I had no idea what to expect when we reached the Eldergreen Sanctuary.

Apart from one incident where the idiot Breton tried to tackle a sabre-cat with his bare hands, and was only saved by a well-timed fireball, we reached Darkwater Crossing without too many problems. The miners there pointed out the way to the Sanctuary, through a cave entrance out among the hot springs.

The entrance tunnel brought us out into a large grotto, where light poured in through a hole in the roof of the cave. The light fell on a huge tree to one side of the cave, and spilled over to a lush green area with a steam flowing through it. A couple of other pilgrims were here ahead of us, admiring the flowers and shrubs by the streamside. The water was warm, and the air in the cave was heavy and moist, making growing conditions perfect for a lot of the tender plants that grew there.

The tangled roots of the great tree were everywhere, blocking the path up to its base. I pulled out Nettlebane and hacked at the nearest root, to see what happened. Would it give up its sap?

Instead the root lifted out of my way, letting me climb further up the path. I repeated the process at the next root, and the next ...

Maurice was horrified at this, and stopped me before I could cut into the trunk of the tree. He told me there had to be another way, and I allowed him to try his alternative first. If it didn't work, it would be back to the original plan.

After a few moments of silent prayer to Kyanreth, he got up off his knees and pointed. There, in front of the tree, was a small sapling, in a pot. "You can take this back to Danica. Tell her it's a daughter of the Eldergleam, just like the one she's trying to resurrect. The true blessings of nature are in renewal, not maintenance. This can become a new Gildergreen, in time."

I could see his point. This was not Dagon's way, but it was the way of this world. Everything dies, and is replaced by something younger, rather than being destroyed and rebuilt every so often. Since the Kyn do not have children, we tend to forget the ways of mortals, and see things a different way. Danica was a mortal, so I imagined that she'd see things more like Maurice did.

I really like this observation of Kothet's. While he is Lord Dagon's minion of sorts, he is not living in Lord Dagon's realm. As such, he understands that when one is in Rome, one must do as the Romans do. If you don't like the Roman way, get the hell out of Rome. Apparently Kothet likes Skyrim just fine for now, and is adaptable enough to accept the way things are in Skyrim. And this little segment right here gives me a great deal of insight into Kothet's character. I like him even more now than I did before!

A busy pair of Dremora! It is great fun to follow their progress across Skyrim.

So many temptations passing the troll-infested Labyrinthian area. . . .
'I was already struggling to remember what unfinished business we had, without starting more.'

Back to Markarth to turn in that statue. . . .
"Everywhere in Skyrim's east from Markarth" Ghorza reminded me.'

The Gildergreen quest! I love Kothet’s perspective, choice and how he listened to the Breton. It is so different when doing the quest as a Bosmer who knows way more about trees than any human named Maurice.

The Eldergleam Sanctuary is such a beautiful area.

haute: He's different, but not too different, I hope. That is, he thinks the same way, but starts from a different place than any mortal.

Acadian: I'm sure the pair would rather have taken a Bosmer with them, but he was all that was on offer.

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

Previously: Kothet and co. have gone to Eldergleam Sanctuary to collect sap from the great tree, but they've picked up a sapling instead.

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

15 - Riften

We left him at the Sanctuary, and headed back to Whiterun. I presented the sapling to Danica, who wasn't too happy. She'd been expecting the sap, and to get the old Gildergreen back. I told her what Maurice had told me, and she began to see the point. When I added my own insights, especially the comparison between Dagon's methods and Kynareth's, she came around. It wouldn't be the same tree, but it would be young and fresh, and could grow into a new Gildergreen, given time.

---

That was the last of my obligations fulfilled, except for the trip to visit the Greybeards. I wasn't going there until I had my Daedric armour, and I still couldn't make ebony. What had Ghorza told me? Balimund in Riften could train me further, so that is where I should go next.

We took the carriage. I'd already walked half-way there before, twice, and it was the destination, not the journey, that mattered. I expected we'd find reason to explore the area nearer Riften after we got there. It would not have surprised me to find that this Balimund would need me to do something before he'd give me training.

Well, he did have a request, but it wasn't a pre-requisite for anything. His forge needed fire salts, and he'd like me to bring him ten units of the stuff. If I had the coin, he'd train me, but higher-level training costs more, and I couldn't afford as much as I'd have liked. Still, the ability to forge ebony was getting closer. He warned me that he couldn't train me that far. I'd still have to do more work on my own.

Two of the townsfolk had requests to make that fit in with my plans. I needed to collect dwarven metal, so that I could make more bows, and practice my smithing. Mjoll gave me directions to a dwarven ruin in the north where she'd lost her sword, Grimsever. An Argonian woman, down at the docks, had the opposite to ask me. She wanted an item taken back to a dwarven ruin. Avanchnzel was closer, so we went there first.

I must admit that I quite like dwarven ruins. Perhaps it's just the way that the metal rings when I crush one of the automata with my war-hammer, or that it's particularly effective against them.

My companion doesn't appear to share my opinion. They resist her spells, and the spiders remind her too much of the live ones. At least I assume that's why she glares at them with obvious hatred. And although they resist the fire, when a fireball hits them, they fall apart quite nicely. So she hits the spiders, and I take the spheres.

We found ghosts in the ruin, but they weren't hostile, Maybe apparitions would be a better description, too, as one of them appeared to be From-Deepest-Fathoms, the woman who'd sent us her. She didn't appear to be dead, when we'd talked to her in Riften. Or did Argonians get restored, like the Kyn? I didn't think so. The Nords don't, and two of the ghosts were Nords.

We saw them several times as we worked our way through the maze of hallways and chambers. They'd clearly encountered the automata, too, as we overheard comments about the dormant creatures as we progressed. Apparently, they'd been woken up by this party, and we were having to deal with more than they did. There were four of them, and only two of us, but we were Dremora, so that counted for more. I hoped it was enough, as the ghosts seemed to be having an increasingly hard time of it.

We did have the advantage that they'd marked a few of the traps with their dead bodies. We found Drennen first, but it wasn't clear what had killed him. Perhaps the automata had caught him, when he left the group to turn back.

Watches-the-Roots, the Argonian who was apparently leading the expedition, had fallen to a blade trap on one of the ramps. Seeing his body lying at the end of a long slot on the floor made me suspicious, and I'd gone down to investigate along the wall, staying as far from that slot as I could. A lever at the end turned the whirling blade on and off. A couple more steps, and he'd have reached it. Perhaps one of his companions had, as the other two must have passed here.

The final "trap" was a huge dwarven centurion, guarding the lexicon stand we'd come to find. The body of Breya lay at his feet, where she'd fallen, as From-Deepest-Fathoms had escaped up the stairs beyond.

Another centurion lay broken next to her. I wondered if she'd managed to defeat that one, or if it had been like that when the first party arrived.

We had only one to deal with, but those things are big! It appeared to shrug off the fireballs that struck it, and stomped in our direction. I pointed to an alcove for her to duck into if the thing fired anything back at us, and I charged. Its blast of steam went over my head as I connected with my first swing. A fireball exploded above me, too, helping to put the machine off-balance. I kept swinging, as hard as I could. I aimed at the joints, hoping at least to cripple it in case I needed to withdraw.

Fortunately, I didn't. Our combined attack had been enough, or perhaps just well-enough timed, and it fell. I placed the lexicon on its stand, and looked back to see if I was alone. That blast of steam hadn't been aimed at me. Her head appeared around the corner she'd ducked behind, and she ran to catch up again.

The cube of the Lexicon had opened, and the inner sphere was spinning and glowing. It felt like I was learning something, but I wasn't sure what it was. The feeling was not unlike what I'd experienced at the word walls, where I'd learned words of the Dragon language. I wasn't hearing anything in my head, this time, just getting the same sensation of extra knowledge.

And it had something to do with smithing, I was sure. This had been the right place to come first.

---

We didn't need to go back to Riften before continuing to Mzinchaleft. It would have been quicker, perhaps, to go back and take the carriage, but we had some exploring to do on the way to Dawnstar. I hadn't been to Ivarstead, the village at the foot of the seven thousand steps that led to High Hrothgar. Although I wasn't planning to make the climb for some time, I'd like to see what it looked like from the bottom. From there, we could travel north and cross the road that we'd taken from Whiterun to Darkwater Crossing. If I recalled the signs, we'd be headed for Windhelm, but I suspected we'd meet the road to Dawnstar before we got there.

A little before we could see Windhelm, the weather started to get cold, and the first flakes of snow began to drift down. My armour kept me fairly well insulated from both heat and cold, but a certain lady had been wearing progressively less, and I was wondering if she'd return to something warmer.

Apparently mages can keep themselves warm by magic, as she didn't cover up, and she wasn't shivering. Perhaps it's an enchantment on the robe? I hoped there wasn't any illusion involved. I wanted what I was seeing to be real!

We'd passed a mill, and several side-roads that may have led off to other adventures, but we hadn't taken them. Now we were approaching another mill, and we hadn't met anything more challenging than a couple of wolves all the way here. That made me uncomfortable, as it usually meant that life was saving up trouble to throw at us all at once.

As if to confound me, an Argonian in tight leather approached, with two swords drawn, and murder on his mind. He didn't even get close enough to swing, as a fireball knocked him backwards before I could get the war-hammer off my back. I found a note on his body that said that the Dark Brotherhood had a contract to kill me. They didn't know who wanted me dead, just that the ritual had been performed. That made no sense. Killing me wouldn't achieve very much. Did they think they were dealing with a mortal?

It did make me ponder for a while, though. I knew that I could re-summon my companion if she was taken from me. I would do all I could to prevent that, however, as I was sure she'd prefer not to have that experience too often. But if I had to be restored, would I still have that ability? Did I need to preserve myself for her? From what I'd seen fighting conjurers, their summons were dispelled when they died, so the same would probably happen for us.