Posted by
Paul M May 4, 2014 -
498 views
Sundas, 17th of Last Seed. 7:25am. I found myself on the back of a cart going through some woods. There's a thief on board and a couple of his friends. They (and probably I) seem to have been jumped by an imperial patrol and arrested as criminals. I guess when you go around identifying your friend as "Jimmy the thief" that is the sort of risk you run. Apparently there is an Olfrik stone cloak on board, some true heir to this and that. I'm sure it's not important.
We rock up in Helgan, where everyone thinks we're going to be executed! I meet some people, and tell them my name is Yuri. I am an imperial because they can talk an enemy out of killing us, which feels like a good skill to have about now.
There's a war, and a rebellion. And Colonel Tigh. And then a dragon attacks, saving the day somewhat. Except that while escaping I get set on fire. Jerk. Who's side is he on? Probably the dragon's. Must remember that nuance.
Take two with Colonel Tigh and the execution. And score two for the dragon. Maybe I need to adjust the difficulty. Let's try adept for now, at least until the dragon has gone home.
That works, and me and a chap called Hadvar escape through some river caves. We only have one collateral casualty in the shape of a torturer who I thought was a rebel. Blue on blue to one side, there were some spiders and a bear to get past and then we're out in the wilds.
Hadvar fills me in on some rebellious types, and the forbidden worship of Talos. We kill a bandit at the embershard mine on the way to Riverwood and kill some wolves before meeting Hadvar's uncle.
His uncle Alvor wants me to go to Whiterun to tell them about the dragon. I guess these guys are too lazy to do it themselves, or to send someone reliable as opposed to a stranger they've just met. Helpfully he has a book all about Whiterun which I read and then take. High on a hill north of here, surrounded by plains, it sounds alright until the book mentions a high wooden wall to keep out mammoths and giants and the like. Hopefully that will turn out to be political spin to justify the expense of someone's wooden wall vanity project.
I'm carrying a lot of valuable junk so my first plan is to sell some of it to a local trader. It's dark though when I step outside, so I heard back in to Alvor's gaff to see about using one of his beds. They're down with that so I grab 9 hours sleep and wake around 6.15. Haldor has had a think and he's going to take some r&r and wishes me luck.
That seems to work because the first house I go to is the local trader. They've had some issues with a thief to the north east of town. Lucan, the shop owner, has a wife who wants to come along. This could get a bit weird. I am to retrieve a golden claw, which sounds doable. And looking at the map it's in vaguely the right direction. I'll knock around town a bit for a day first though, see if I can figure out the black smithing equipment or something. Then I'll head up river and head over Whiterun. I've already had a soldier say I'll need to go to Solitude to join the army, but that is the other end of the map, so I won't be signing up any time soon.
Camila is outside and and has other ideas though. She points me to the path I need to take to the bandits and one wolf later I'm about halfway up a mountain looking at Riverwood. Quaint. I come to a tower with three bandits. My flame spell buts paid to the two brawlers and I move in with my dagger to take out the lady archer. They have some loot, but not the specific golden claws I am after. I guess I need to head up the mountain, but given it's this dark at 10:30am there must be a storm brewing.
I try to go in a straight line but it quickly gets too steep. I go back to bandit tower and see a path round the back, but that sends me down some rocks to a sloping forest. I keep circling, seeing a large structure higher up the mountain that I guess is the target area. A thief comes up behind me demanding everything I've got. We tussle but he puts his weapons away and walks off just before I deal the killing blow. As he goes he crouches at a scotch mark on the ground and says "are you trying to start a fire?" and then keeps walking. I was trying to set you on fire, thief. Oh well, maybe we'll meet again.
As I circle the mountain there's an old lady sitting on her porch. She ain't too chatty so I have a little look round her shack. There is a book that bumps up my alchemy skills, and a table full of fruit and veg so I deduce this lady is a retired alchemist.
Continuing round doesn't look right so I double back to bandit tower, then backtrack to a fork in the road. Finding the right path, I ascend to the ruins Hadvar had highlighted on our stroll to Riverwood. I vaguely remember him saying something about nightmares, and given the place has Darrow in its name I feel it's going to be a creepy crypt.
Another trio of bandits falls to flame and dagger. I pick up some iron armour and a new one handed sword. It's nearly noon, but things won't get better than this so I heard in.
Inside there are two bandits by a fire. My stealth skills jump up as I quietly advance and then dispatch them. There are cobwebs around, and dead skeevers. I rob a few burial urns and keep going. A few more bandits, a few more rats, and a simple puzzle brings me to a room with a man calling for help while a big spider indecisively dashes between attacking him and seeing what I'm all about. The first round goes to the spider though, but then auto save gives me a chance to even the score, using a mix of magic and a bow that I picked up from one of the bandits on the way in.
The captured man is called Avrel, and he has the golden claw that is in vogue at the moment. Apparently it opens some locked door somewhere. We make a deal where I free him and he gives me the treasure, which is renegotiated on the fly to I free him, he runs off, I burn him to death and take the claw.
Bear, butterfly, owl. That was on the golden claw. It makes sense if I take it to the hall of stories. Or at least take the code. I don't know where that is though, so I make a note and try to leave, with the plan being to return the claw to the Riverwood trader, Lavern or whatever his name was. However, a few wrong turns in the dimly lit caverns and I'm quickly confronted by the risen dead and booby trapped corridors. The good news is that the dead are an uncautious lot, and charge at my flaming fist like they no longer want to un-live. I oblige, and before you know it find the door that is opened by the claw. There is a large cavern, and I discover a word of power as well as some other trinkets. Something roars, but I spot the way out and make a run for it. A large looking warrior is lumbering across the cavern, but I'm safe, and dash up to the surface.
Outside I pick my way over a narrow ridge while listening to hear if Zombie Slowfoot is still chasing, but after a minute I figure I'm safe and head down toward Distant Doris from earlier. It's dark, about 10:30pm, and not the place to be hanging around. She's still sitting on her porch, but there is a noise up ahead so I try to hide in her shack to see what she'll do to any miscreants on the prowl. Sure enough she hops up and pulls out some sort of magical portal, while lamenting ever moving to the sticks. She drops within a minute, taking out a bandit dog but leaving three bandits, two of whom decide to have a rumble with me in her shack. I give them the imperial roar, which nicely stops them on the threshold, before using the better part of valour and making a run to Riverwood. An archer puts an arrow in my yellow hide as I dash through the woods, but I make it across the river and back to Alvor's place for a good 7 hours rest. Everyone is still awake, even the kids, but no one seems to mind that I haven't set out to get help about the dragon problem so I don't make a big deal of it.
I head out at 7:30 the next morning, crossing the street to the trader. On the way out Alvor's wife tells me that she's married so I shouldn't get any ideas. I wonder if she's saying she wants me to kill Alvor so we can be together. It's an interesting idea, although Alvor has a steady job and lots of food, so you'd wonder what more this lady wants.
The trader has clearly been working on his anticlimax routine by the time I give him the claw. He points out that the woman who showed me out of town is his sister (and therefore available) but a quick chat kind of pours water on any ideas like that. I sell some loot and head out. An archer is walking in to town, who it turns out is a local high elf. He fancies the trader lady, but has a rival who he wants to discredit with a mysogonist letter. I'll think about that one in a bit, but right now I want to get a look at the lady's shack near the mountain, which has recently become unoccupied.
On the way there I remember a reanimation spell I bought the other day, and use that on her corpse. It works, and she follows me to her house before turning to ash. Inspecting her house shows I can now sleep in her bed though, and more interestingly shows me that she has a basement. And that's where I hit the jackpot. This lady was one of three witches, and has a working alchemy and enchantment table. I work on my iron armour, making it so my magic regenerates 50% quicker, and watch as my skills take a huge leap. Heading back upstairs I check the clock, and start thinking about what to do here for the rest of the day before trying out the dearly departed's bed.
