I flee east from Dawnstar, pelted by the stinging wind and the insults from Dawnstar's last survivors. I feel bad about what happened, I really do, but there's nothing I can do about it.
I still need to get my building materials from Riften, and Windhelm's got the nearest carriage I know of, so I head off to the southeast, crawling over the hills and through the snowy forest. As usual, the wilds offer a few obstacles.
Some are worse than others. Some lone mage nearly kills me instantly with a one-two punch of fire and lightning, so I jump behind some bushes to hide. The mage quickly loses interest, confirming my suspicion that he's stark-raving mad (like all the high elves I've seen), and decides to go mining nearby.
I take advantage of the opportunity and carry on my way.
Until some wolves show up as well.
They really won't let me alone, though I can't imagine why. I don't think I've killed any more of them than any other species on the planet, and it's not like I'm always getting jumped by random crazy people when I least expect it, right?
I can't find out who the guy is from looking at his body--I'm genuinely mystified. Was he an assassin seeking retribution for one of my many misdeeds, or just a genuine lunatic lying in wait for the first traveler to stop by the inn?
Either way, his sword is pretty cool.
I pick up the carriage at Windhelm and ride down to Riften, feeling the now familiar headrush once morning comes. I stop by the inn to get something to drink, and the feeling goes away, but it's just a temporary relief--I'm reeling again once I get back outside, so I hurry down to the Guild's hideout before it gets any worse.
I report on what I remember of Gullum-Ei's information, and am surprised at Mercer's response. I'm not surprised to learn that things are more complicated than I thought, and now some long-lost friend of his has come back to kill him.
I expect that I'll be doing some more traveling soon, and I'm not wrong. But I stop by the local smithy on my way out and pick up the materials I need.
I meet up with Mercer later that night, and we head inside the tomb where this Karliah is supposedly hiding out.
Of course Karliah's made it hard on us. She's reactivated all the traps, and the draugr as well. Despite Mercer's obnoxious attitude and constant, unnecessary warnings, I don't set any of them off.
I can't say the same for that blundering nincompoop.
Furious at nearly having my gills burned off again, I decide to get payback. I need to show Mercer why he's the real loser, so I let him stew in silence while I go to a nearby overlook and proceed to clean out the room, sniping all the draugr from afar.
I'm not done, though. I'm a bit frustrated that I can't just kill Mercer--he pays me, after all--so I do my best to put him in awkward situations for the remainder of our little expedition. He's a tough guy to take down, especially with that vampiric sword of his, so I push him into the thick of it and do my work with the bow from a safe distance.
Most assuredly, if I have ever to kill this guy, I'm going to do that from a safe distance as well. He's kind of a monster in close combat, especially for a sneakyfriend.
We reach the center of the tomb, and I'm pleasantly surprised to learn that I'll get to kill Mercer after all. Well, "pleasantly" being a rather optimistic description, considering I get shot and stabbed in the space of two minutes.
I black out, wondering if I'll go to the same heaven as all the Noses I killed. This could be awkward.
I'm relieved to find myself back outside, instead, benefiting from the ministrations of some dog-ugly dark elf.
Yes, yes, different species have different standards, but this woman is abhorrent by any standards. My revulsion at her appearance nearly overwhelms my gratitude for her saving my life, so I all but leap at the opportunity to get away from her, even if to keep doing her bidding.
She tells me I need to talk to someone in Winterhold if I want to kill Mercer--has no one other than Jaree-Ra, his sister, and 7 dragons learned that crossing me is a bad idea?--so I suppose I'll head over there now; it's close enough. But the sun is up again, and I feel like a lizard who's just been shot, poisoned, and knifed.
Or maybe I'm just dehydrated.
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