Posted by
Paul M May 8, 2014 -
389 views
Turdas, 21st of Last Seed, just about 7am. The name of the day may sound a bit suspect, but I've got a good feeling. Today's objectives: tell the chief about the dragon, make and sell some more potions, then see about joining a magician's guild or something like that.
There's a few people packing weapons in the tavern this morning when I head downstairs. I chat to Uthgerd, who has some anger issues, and then Sinmar, but neither is offering anything interesting enough to divert my purpose.
Okay, so outside it's raining and the sky is grey. Turdas is turning out to be just that. I chat to Danica about the white tree of... No wait, this is the tree of Whiterun. Okay, got it. She wants some tree sap from another tree related to this one, and she wants some nettle bane as well for some reason. I've no idea what she's on about, but I assume this is some colloquial slang for marijuana and I add it to my list. Not high up the list though: I'm sure saving some tree or whatever this is will keep for a little while.
I ask Heimskr about Talos, and the power of the voice. It's weird seeing a priest with a sword, but it does round out the crazy lunatic vibe he's got going on. My sense of direction continues to steer me wrong, and I end up at the sky forge. I make something out of wolf pelts, just to make it look like I intended to come up here, and another trophy pops. I speak to the smith and find he's selling a pick axe, so I buy that too. I then notice a bunch of shields and weapons that I can pick up without stealing them, so I sell these to the smith. Heck of a way to run a business, but I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about being a blacksmith. Face suitably saved, I backtrack to find the way into the castle.
A palace guard called Irileth tries to wheedle the news out of me, but I speak only to the Jarl. He sends troops to Riverwood, and then puts me on to a wizard who wants some stone tablet from some cavern. His name's Farengar, and he wants to know where all the dragons went to ground. He says the tablet is in bleak falls barrow, which I'm sure I've already been in. He says he's the only wizard in Whiterun, which raises a question about the apprentices I dispatched just up the road previously. He's got some mad cool spells and I clear out my funds buying some to fill soul gems, cast a hovering light, and stuff like that. He also has loads of books in a back room, but I'll come back and read those later. On the way out I find and use a cooking spit, but alas, no trophies.
I head out but decide to take a stroll around the castle before doing anything too productive. There's a dungeon at the back but no one to speak to in there. A chap warns me off crossing the river to the east because of some bandit holed up in a cave. I head back to town, and listen to a chap called Amren arguing with his wife. I agree to help him get some sword back from a thief. Farengar the wizard gave me some salt to give to an alchemist, but finding them is a tricky proposition, and I think I'll probably have to visit every damn house in town before I do. I barge around some fighter's guild,and by the time I come outside again the sun has set and the sky has darkened.
I give up and head back to the tavern, only to find Arcadia the alchemist's shop is next door. I ask her for training in alchemy, but I spent all my money with the wizard, so I have to sell her some of my potions first. Working on the chemicals, my stats are improving greatly, and alchemy seems to be calling to me more than forging or fighting. I should get up to Winterhold or whatever the magician's college in the north east is called. That will be my next journey I think, and may take a few days. The question is whether to sit down and read all the wizard's books first.
It's quite late by the time I leave Arcadia, so I stick with the plan to go back to the tavern. There's a lady in there who complains to me that the bard is giving her some unwanted romantic attention. As she says this the bard is stood right next to me singing, making me feel rather awkward. I pretend to be sleepy and buy my room again, heading up to bed for another night's rest.
The next day I decide to make a start on reading some of the wizards books. The wizard seems to be surprised that I'm still around. He seems to think I'd be in a rush to head back to zombie-ville. I enchant an iron helm to increase my magic powers, renaming it the helm of magical holding. I feel pretty boss. And then I take to reading, starting with the oblivion crisis. There's a lot of names in it and I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should be making more thorough notes. I'm guessing the story here somehow relates to a previous game in the series, so hopefully it won't be too important. Suffice it to say the last Dragon blood Emperor is now dead, or turned into a statue.
Next up: myths of Sheogorath by Mymophonus. Turns out Shogo is some sort of impish Daedric prince (deity). Oddly it tells one tale where he talks to a king in his dreams, and then another where it says he can't invade dreams because they are the realm of Vaermina. I don't know Mymo, if you're going to make up nonsense it should at least have its own consistency.
I try Gods and Worship, partly in an effort to settle the previous contradictory accounts about who controls dreams. It's a pretty dry read, without many memorable points. I move on to volume one of The Rising Threat. It's quite a good yarn, telling of the fall of a crystal tower, defended by men against evil daedric creatures. The wizard has volumes three and four but not two. I kind of want to get them in order, and I also feel that it's about time I started doing something other than standing around reading.
Heading out I realise I'm having a really hard time getting around Whiterun. I should maybe try and draw a little map or something. For now though I'll head north for a bit, and find somewhere on the way to Winterhold to rest for the night. It turns out I'm quite a quick reader, and it's only noon so I should have time to cover a good chunk of the journey before nightfall. On my way out I find a stable, and a man with a horse and cart. I'm tempted, but I don't have a lot of gold, and I'm up for a bit of adventure on the road so I'll stick to walking I think.
I head east to the river and then turn north, keeping to the west bank for now. The river turns back on itself after a while, and then the path branches off to the east soon after so I explore that way a little. There's a wolf that ends up having a bad day, and a steep path that leads up a misty mountain with a broken looking peak. Thunder rolls over the land as I consider it, but even though it looks a bit iffy, I've got that Fredas feeling, so I head up. I quickly come upon Shimmermist cave, which sounds delightful, but I decide to stick with climbing the mountain. There's a very narrow path over the top from west to north, and on the other side I get a good look at the country to the north-east, covered in the grey mists of a growing storm.
