My Brain on Games

The dragon priest Krosis, rising from his sarcophagus at Shearpoint.

These past few days have been somewhat relaxing. Lydia and I have still traveled to new locations and battled a lot, but we’ve been taking it easy.

A few days ago, Lydia and I trekked north out of Whiterun heading for Shearpoint. I’d overheard that there was a source of power there; I’ve heard people describe other places similarly and there turned out to be word walls nearby. As we approached I spotted a word wall, but also a frost dragon. Lydia and I engaged the dragon by sneaking up on it. After we killed it, I approached the word wall only to be surprised by a dragon priest rising from a sarcophagus. This is the first time I’ve encountered a dragon priest and he was tough; much tougher than the frost dragon! It took us a long time to defeat him; I had to retreat often to heal Lydia and I. When he perished I found a lot of valuable loot on his body, including a nifty facemask that I’ve been using.

I decided next we ought to head to Ivarstead and make a mead delivery to Wilhelm. While we were in Riften, I spoke with Romlyn Dreth (a dark elf working at Black-Briar Meadery) who wanted me to make a delivery to Wilhelm. He was smuggling some of the mead to Wilhelm and selling it on the cheap. Heck, he even offered me some. I know what he’s doing is illegal but you know what, Maven Black-Briar doesn’t seem like the purest person out there. Plus, Wilhelm has been kind to me and it’ll be nice to rid myself of this small barrel!

Before leaving Whiterun I also took care of another Riften related job. When I visited Riften’s Hall of the Dead, I spoke with its caretaker, Alessandra. She told me about her father and how she came into her job. She wasn’t pleased with it when she was younger, but appeared content with it now. After hearing her out she wanted me to take her father’s ceremonial dagger to the Hall of the Dead in Whiterun so it could finally be put to rest alongside him. I gave the dagger to Andurs in Whiterun and left for Ivarstead.

On our travels Lydia and I discovered Fellglow Keep. It’s a ruined fort located east-northeast of Whiterun (we took a long route to Ivarstead). There were tons of mages inside and it appeared they’d been performing experiments on vampires. Strewn throughout Fellglow Keep were the corpses of countless numbers of vampires. We didn’t retrieve any one item that was worth our curiosity but we still found many valuable items inside.

As is usually the case, we arrived at our destination at nightfall. We headed to the Vilemyr Inn and delivered the mead to Wilhelm. With that I called it a night and began this entry. Until next time!

Saadia is a cook at The Bannered Mare in Whiterun.

I’m back in Whiterun. I traveled back to inform the Companions that Lydia and I defeated the group of Silver Hands that killed Skjor. Aela was pleased and she had another quest for me but I’ve put it on the backburner temporarily.

Lydia and I have done some adventuring close to Whiterun in the past few days. When I went to the Bannered Mare a few days ago, I met a Redguard woman named Saadia. She was working there but it turns out she was on the run from some Alik’r assassins. She wanted me to find them and kill them so she would be free on their pursuit. She didn’t know where they were hiding out but told me one of them was captured by Whiterun guards for an unrelated matter and was in jail. I traveled to the Dragonsreach prison and spoke with this guy. After negotiating his release he told me they were in Swindler’s Den, a cave to the west of Whiterun.

Lydia and I traveled there and found a cave full of bandits. Tough bandits too, they were hard to defeat. Upon further exploration we finally met the Alik’r assassins. Their leader, Kematu, wanted to talk with us. He knew why we were there and told us Saadia wasn’t who we thought she was.

Saadia told us she was a noble from Hammerfell who fled after speaking out against Aldmeri Dominion – a powerful empire established by the Thalmor. Kematu told us he and his group weren’t assassins but agents acting on behalf of other noble families wishing to bring Saadia to justice. They alluded to a grisly end for Saadia and I wasn’t going to let that happen, especially if all she did was speak her mind. Kematu and his forces attacked us but we handled them.

Saadia was happy to hear the news and reward me handsomely. I can’t imagine how she must feel. Having a weight like that lifted from her shoulders. I wonder what she’ll do now?

These past few days also marked my first experience battling giants and they’re something else. There are many of them to the west of Whiterun, but my accounts of them are something I’ll have to wait to put on paper. Nighttime is here and a warrior needs his rest.

Riften, resting on Lake Honrich.

I spent the majority of the day exploring the nooks and crannies of Riften. It’s a large settlement, though I’d have to say Whiterun is just a tad bigger. Riften has many shops to its advantage, a better diversity then the selection in Whiterun.

I met many interesting people and saw many more Argonians than I previously have. One of note was Wujeeta. She worked at the Riften Fishery and was recuperating from a skooma addiction. She was buying the skooma from a local merchant and after some prodding I was able to obtain more information. In fact, when I eventually met with the Jarl of Riften, Laila Law-Giver, she wanted me to deal with the skooma selling thugs. I did.

Laila Law-Giver doesn’t seem like a corrupt person as I initially thought. She thinks she has the Thieves Guild under control, but you wouldn’t guess that from talking with Riften’s residents. She has two sons who are divided in the civil war. Although she has pledged support for Ulfric Stormcloak, one of her sons has deemed the Imperials the proper choice for backing. This has caused strife inside her court.

Another powerful woman in Riften is Maven Black-Briar. She runs the Black-Briar Meadery, which doesn’t seem to be the most-liked business within Riften. Her family is… interesting. I met one of her sons in jail. His cell was decked out in the luxuries of the wealthy and in a note I found to Anuriel (the Jarl’s stewardess), her mother was pleased with his sentence as he might learn from it. He attempted to murder his ex-fiancé if I’m not mistaken. Another of her offspring, Ingun, is reportedly a fantastic alchemist. Mentioning Maven in conversation yielded mixed reactions from the townsfolk.

After I deemed Riften fully explored, I decided to head south and assassinate the leader of the groups of Silver Hands that killed Skjor. That’s part of the reason I headed this way after meeting with the Greybeards, I wanted to avenge Skjor’s death. There weren’t many Silver Hand members with the leader and the fight was pretty easy. I’m glad to have finally finished this quest. I’ll have to report back to the Companions. Besides that I have so much to do now; practically every person in Riften had something for me to do. Better than twiddling my thumbs I guess.

Illia, the mage Lydia and I helped out, would've lent a hand to me if Lydia wasn't already aiding me.

Lydia and I just made it to Riften. The Greybeards recommended that I should quest after the horn of Jurgen Windcaller, but seeing as how we were in the vicinity of Riften, I figured we would visit.

Located in its southeastern section, Riften is one of Skyrim’s largest settlements. We came in at nighttime so there wasn’t a lot to see. Although we did overhear much talk of the Thieves Guild and I’m getting the sense that Riften is run by corrupt individuals. Apparently the Thieves Guild calls Riften home, but we’ve heard people dispute that this guild even exists. Regarding the corruption bit, the Jarl of Riften, Laila Law-Giver supposedly has ties to the Thieves Guild (if it even exists). Besides that, one of the guards outside the city tried to get us to pay a fee just to enter! I was able to persuade him that we didn’t need to pay and he came to his senses.

On our trip from High Hrothgar to Riften we entered an impending tower (in Skyrim, aren’t they all?) known as Darklight Tower. Inside we witnessed a mage killing a witch. She didn’t attack us; instead she asked for our help. Her name was Illia and we heard her plea.

Illia told us her mother had been corrupted and wanted to become a hagraven – a ghastly creature that looks like a cross between a woman and a bird. We climbed and battled to the top of the tower and confronted her mother. Before confronting her, Illia devised a plan. Illia would pretend that she had a change of heart and brought me as a sacrifice. When we reached the peak, her mother motioned for me to sit down. As her mother approached me Illia came from behind and began attacking her before she had the chance to tie me down. Lydia and I kicked in too and her mother was dead in seconds. Illia was distressed afterwards but she realized she took the action she needed to; Lydia and I agreed.

Tomorrow I’ll explore Riften and see what it has to offer me. I really need to locate a shop to relieve my pockets and fill my wallet.

High Hrothgar sits atop the Throat of the World, the tallest mountain in Tamriel.

I finally climbed the 7,000 steps leading to High Hrothgar and met with the Greybeards. They had so much insight, even though only one of them spoke. They looked similar, all wearing dark robes with gray beards extending from their chins. Most have spent their life secluded in the cavernous halls of High Hrothgar, but their time on Nirn has been valuable. The abilities that I so easily have thanks to being a dragonborn, they’ve spent decades learning. They performed dragon shouts for me and even taught me a few. My stay wasn’t long, but they gave me priceless information. Arngeir, the Greybeard who spoke, directed me towards the horn of Jurgen Windcaller. He said retrieving this would serve as my “final trial.”

Instead of traveling northwest where the horn should be located, I decided to head east from Ivarstead, attempting to reach Riften and eventually the hideout of the Silver Hands. On route Lydia and I stumbled upon many new locations. The first was an abandoned alchemist’s shack. I found a journal and many alchemy ingredients inside, but no alchemist. Leaving this shack and traveling south, we entered Haemar’s Shame, a vampire infested cave. These vampires were mostly weak and didn’t give us much trouble.

We also discovered Autumnwatch Tower. This tower was abandoned except for the dragon perched on top. It’s funny how I look back at my earlier journal entries and realize how the first dragons I came upon were major events. Even after a few weeks of fighting them, I’m used to it. All thanks to being a dragonborn I guess.

Two more notable locations we stopped by were Froki’s Shack and Angarvunde. We ran into an older Nord named Froki who lived in the wilderness with his grandson. Froki was smitten with hunting and preached of the ancient Nord way. He offered to teach us important information if we could hunt a few animals. I also chatted with Froki’s grandson Haming. His parents died in the dragon attack on Helgen, small world.

Lastly, Lydia and I explored Angarvunde, a Nordic tomb. Outside was a camp with supplies and a journal. An explorer wanted to unearth valuables from deep inside but her associates were too scared to lend a hand. When we entered this lady attacked us and we killed her. She had a key on her and we took the liberty of exploring Angarvunde for her. There were many hostile creatures, mostly draugr but the reward was worth our time; inside was a word wall from which I gleaned another dragon shout.

Being a dragonborn is becoming clearer and clearer to me. My visit to the Greybeards was constructive and I’m beginning to realize the importance of the word walls, the souls I gain from felled dragons, and the dragon shouts I’m able to use.

Wyndelius Gatharian, the "specter" residing in Shroud Hearth Barrow.

During the past few days Lydia and I did some exploring around Ivarstead. We began by exploring the islands around Ivarstead looking for Reyda’s remains. I thought they’d be in Geirmund’s Hall and when we didn’t find her remains, I gave up. Last time I wrote I had an epiphany, realizing the remains could be on another island! We looked and looked and nearly gave up when we began searching the surrounding river. We found her remains near the bridge leading east out of Ivarstead. We let Narfi know; he was sad.

We also trekked into Shroud Hearth Barrow, a Nordic tomb inside Ivarstead. Wilhelm, the barkeeper and owner of Vilemyr Inn had complained about ghosts and wanted us to check it out. Not soon after entering we saw the ghost he spoke of but once we caught up with it, it attacked us. After defeating it we realized that it was a dark elf that had been using a potion to make it seem like he was a specter. We found his journal which detailed his search for a precious item inside. He let the villagers know of his objective early on but grew weary of them, thinking that they might try and get this item before he did. So he decided to scare them to keep them out. In the depths of Shroud Hearth Barrow were a lot of draugr. The head honcho of this bunch shouted at me and disarmed my two-handed sword. I had the hardest time finding it afterwards but it turned up in between a chest and a wall.

In our recent journeys I was also able to compile ten bear pelts which I gave to Temba Wide-Arm. She was happy to see the bear population of Skyrim reduced, if only by a small amount. I’m heading to High Hrothgar for sure in the coming days.

Ivarstead resembles Riverwood. Both are small villages with a lumber mill.

A few days ago Lydia and I again left Whiterun heading east. I was still aiming to make it to High Hrothgar, but I fully welcomed any distractions along the way.

As we had previously conquered many of the caves and towers on the path east out of Whiterun, it took us a while to reach unfamiliar territory. Out path kept leading us to higher and higher elevations when we reached a small village, Ivarstead. Like Riverwood, there wasn’t much to Ivarstead. We arrived at night so most of the villagers were asleep. The Vilemyr Inn was open and we spoke to a few locals there. Wilhelm, a Nord is the barkeeper and owner. He gave us some information about High Hrothgar and Ivarstead as well as a few jobs.

The next day we spoke with a family who runs Fellstar Farm. I helped reap their crops and made a little gold for it. Across from the farm was a lumber mill right on the edge of the river. On the other side of the river was a destroyed house. A local named Narfi calls this disheveled place his home but when I spoke with him he drunkenly rambled on about a woman. When I talked with Wilhelm again he told me that Narfi’s sister, Reyda, had gone missing a while ago and asked me to look into it.

A little while later I spoke with a local named Klimmek. He makes deliveries to the Greybeards but was getting tired of climbing the 7,000 steps all the time. I asked if he wanted me to make his current delivery since I was heading there anyways and he was very appreciative.

While in Ivarstead I also spoke with Temba Wide-Arm; she operates the lumber mill. She complained to me about the bear population and offered a reward if I brought her ten bear pelts. Well right outside of Ivarstead, just to the north, is a small cave, Pinepeak Cavern. There were a few bears inside and the corpse of a miner. From the looks of it he was mining the corundum when these bears took him by surprise.

Before finally heading to High Hrothgar I wished to take on some of the jobs Wilhelm had for me. The first one Lydia and I undertook was to look for Reyda’s remains on the islands near Ivarstead. On one of these islands was a Nordic tomb, Geirmund’s Hall. We trekked inside for a few hours fighting off many Draugr. We came upon the burial site of the tomb’s namesake, Lord Geirmund, Archmage of Windhelm, Lord Battlemage to King Harald. At the deepest depths of the tomb was another burial site, that of Sigdis Gauldurson. He was sealed here as punishment, unlike Lord Geirmund. There was nice loot inside, and an arcane enchanter where I made use of the soul gems we found, but Reyda’s remains were not here. I gave up searching when we exited but I just now thought I should search the other islands too!

Our next job was to clear out a tower, Nilheim that bandits had taken over. On our way there – a good distance to the east – we ventured into Honeystrand Cave. This was a small cave that a few bears lived in. Outside were many beehives, surely the namesake of this cave. Lydia and I also visited with two dark elf farmers. These women ran Sarethi Farm. After talking with them I agreed to keep my eyes peeled for any Jazbay Grapes.

Later on we came upon a man who said he’d been attacked by bandits. He asked us to protect him as he made his way to his camp. Curiously enough his camp was in the same location as the bandit-filled tower Lydia and I were tracking down. Sure enough, when we arrived he turned on us and his group of bandits attacked. We held our own and enjoyed the loot. Nearby was yet another cave, Snapleg Cave. It received its name no doubt for the large fall one would encounter if they were not careful when they entered. Many witches resided inside and they were hostile. There was a lot of good loot, including a Staff of Paralysis that I later sold for 1,000 gold!

Lydia and I returned to Ivarstead and admired the aurora for the remainder of the night.

Lydia, my housecarl.

Because I wasn’t able to assist the Companions on their quest to assassinate the leader of the Silver Hands, I decided to do some adventuring closer to Whiterun. That’s been helpful, I feel like my skills are improving. I primarily use a sword and a shield but I do like archery and some magic every now and then. And thanks to all the loot I’ve been recovering, I’ve developed a good lot of money and items to practice my smithing, alchemy, and enchanting.

When I most recently set out adventuring, I had High Hrothgar and the Greybeards on my mind. Instead of making it a short trip and ignore any prospects on my way, I intended to adventure in any caves I came upon.

White River Watch was a small cave just to the east of Whiterun. A group of bandits called it home and from the journals they’d left, it turns out they’d been attacking travelers. They captured a wolf from someone and intended to train it but that didn’t work out.

Continuing east I ventured into Graywinter Watch. This cave was also a bandit hideout but they had all perished courtesy of a pair of trolls that moved in. This was my first time fighting trolls and I was wowed by their strength. Farther east was another cave, Nightshade. Same story as Graywinter Watch; trolls moved in and took care of the bandits that were calling it home.

Hillgrund’s Tomb was an ancient Nordic tomb serving as a family’s resting tomb. I met a Nord named Golldir right outside and he told me that a necromancer had ventured inside and was causing a ruckus. His aunt tried to get rid of this necromancer but she hadn’t returned. Golldir, Lydia, and I ventured inside and took care of Vals Veran, the necromancer.

Much later on Lydia and I came across an abandoned prison. Inside were a few tough ghosts, some loot, and a journal detailing a breakout. This prison was near Fort Amol so I just had to return and see if Lydia and I could hold my own with the mages who captured it. Lydia and I were able to defeat one group of them, but the other group was still beyond our abilities; back to Whiterun.

Whiterun's Hall of the Dead.

After coming upon Skjor’s murdered body in Gallows Rock, Aela and I were supposed to avenge his death by assassinating the leader of the Silver Hands. Unfortunately this journey was too much for me. I had to meet her in the easternmost part of Skyrim, but I couldn’t make it.

Before leaving Whiterun I stopped by the Hall of the Dead. Andurs left his Amulet of Arkay in the catacombs and he wasn’t able to retrieve it because of skeletons. This was no problem for me though.

Not finding any more work around town, I was off to assassinate the leader of the Silver Hands. Whiterun was still in sight when a dragon began attacking some local farmers. I was lucky to have the aid of these farmers and Lydia, without them we might not have been able to defeat the dragon. Like the previous dragon, I absorbed this one’s soul.

Right after this battle Lydia and I helped a Vigilant of Stendarr defeat a flame atronach. We talked for a while and I learned that Vigilants of Stendarr fight daedra influence; they seek to root out vampires, werewolves, and witches. I didn’t let her know I was a werewolf, haha.

I traveled for a few days and came across many unfamiliar locations. I also ran into much resistance, the reason I wasn’t able to make it all the way to where I needed to go. Bears were challenging to deal with and I came across a novice necromancer but what really hindered me were a group of witches and wizards. There was a fort along the way and judging from the dead Stormcloaks laying around, it was probably a Stormcloak fort before this group moved in. There were a few outside and Lydia and I were able to handle these; we snuck in and were met by massive magical power though. We ran all the way back to Whiterun; time to get stronger.

I found some odd jobs closer to Whiterun after this. Amren, a local of Whiterun, had an heirloom stolen by a group of bandits. This group was hiding out in Redoran’s Retreat, a cave not too far west of Whiterun. Lydia and I got it back easily. I got another odd job from Proventus Avenicci. A local bandit had been causing some trouble and he wanted me to take care of him. Again, Lydia and I were able to handle him and his crew with ease.

More recently Lydia and I traveled to Rannveig’s Fast and met an interesting wizard. He had been trapping adventurers in this ancient Nordic tomb. Unfortunately for him, we were stronger than his previous catches. When we emerged with much loot to sell, another dragon attacked us. It was challenging but we prevailed, evidence of this journal entry. Three dragons down.

Aela the Huntress sharing her werewolf blood so I can become one.

I bought a house in Whiterun! As of the 24^th of Last Seed I’m the proud owner of Breezehome. Thanks to Proventus Avenicci, I’ve also fully furnished it; he aids Jarl Balgruuf the Greater and is the father to Adrianne Avenicci, the owner of Warmaiden’s, a weapons and armor shop next door to Breezehome. I like that Breezehome is very close to the bulk of Whiterun’s shops and near the entrance/exit. This emptied my coin purse, although I did make much of it back thanks to the Companions.

After seeing Farkas transform into a werewolf and having been accepted as a member of the Companions I was interested to see what work they had for me. Farkas had a job for me. He wanted me to rough up Hod, a lumberjack from Riverwood. He was a tough Nord, large stature, but I was able to handle him. Afterwards Farkas said Skjor had a job for me.

Skjor wanted me to meet him that night in the Underforge. The Underforge was a secret room underneath the Skyforge, accessible by a secret wall. When I arrived, Skjor and I entered and there was Aela the Huntress as a werewolf. This meeting was my opportunity to become a werewolf. I was hesitant and didn’t accept initially, but knowing that I could find a cure if the cons outweighed the pros I agreed. I don’t remember much after I transformed.

I woke up outside of Gallows Rock, a fort located far to the east of Whiterun. Aela was there and told me I’d been out of it for a while. Skjor and Aela led me here so we could take care of a batch of Silver Hand members.

It was practically a blizzard outside of the fort so I was glad to get inside. As we got deeper in, Aela became less certain that Skjor was alright. He entered ahead of us and we were finding an awfully lot of slaughtered werewolves, like their heads on pikes. The leader of this group was named Krev the Skinner and he was sturdier than I; luckily Aela was there. We scraped by, unfortunately Skjor didn’t. Aela was furious and our next step was to assassinate the leader of the Silver Hands.