Posted by
Paul M November 5, 2014 -
487 views
The woods just south of the northern coast are peppered with what appears to be dwarven ruins, which my curiosity demands I investigate as we travel to join up with the assault on Fort Dunstead. Doing so brings Lydia and I to Frostmere Cavern, and an interesting aside involving a group of bandits, and a lady called Eisa. She flees the scene, inviting us to kill as many of her former friends as possible.
Inside we sneak up on and dispatch most of the underlings from the posse. The leader of the pack is called Kyr, and between the bodies we find his quarters and a journal that notes Eisa's arrival with a chap called Ra'jirr. There was some sort of mining operation within the crypts but it has been suffering, as many a start-up enterprise does from time to time.
Our descent brings us to an unlikely underground forest, which Kyr mentioned in his journal was where a fancy sword was found. There is a death rattle nearby, and a ghostly apparition, who I decide to call the Pale Lady, and who appears to bring low a bandit at some sort of altar. The ghost is more the kill first and ask questions later sort, so while Lydia hacks at glowing points of light summoned presumably to kill us with sunburn, I jump in to casting some spells at the main aggressor.
In the aftermath we find Ra'jirr, and the fancy sword, but strangely there is no trace of Kyr. It's 8pm by the time we make it back topside, and continue on our way to battle. By my map we've come too far west, and will need to skirt east round the foot of the mountain we have begun to climb with this diversion. Doing so brings me to the Hall of Stendarr, where a helpful elf lady cures a dose of Rockjoint that I'd picked up in the caverns. As she assists me, two dragons appear with a clear intention to cause a ruckus, but Lydia and I opt to dash inside the clubhouse, and leave the elf lady to it.
As Lydia and I step out on Morndas, the dragons are thankfully no where to be seen, and we have a short, uneventful dash over the foothills to meet the imperial troops just outside the hold we plan to take. No one gives any orders, we just roll in with arrows and the occasional flame based spell. The keep is ours before lunchtime, and handily there is a loose horse cantering amongst the fallen rebels that I decide can take me back to the command centre for this area. Sitting on the horse triggers a bizarre sequence of events that culminates in a dragon corpse popping up out of the blue right next to me. Absorbing the dragon soul, I have to conclude the dragon had turned itself invisible before dying of a heart attack, and had only now reappeared.
After trotting through the snow wasted scenery I reach the conclusion that the army camp has been relocated following our victory at Fort Dunstead. With our mission possibly concluded I decide the next course of action will be to link up with General Tulius in Solitude to see how the plans to assault Windhelm are coming along. With only one horse though it feels a little unfair on Lydia, so I direct her to head back to Whiterun. If the war is on that'll be on the way and we can head into war together. I won't be totally alone though, as to the horse I have also added a stray dog who seems happy to follow me and round out my menagerie.
I arrive in Solitude for 5pm, and having carried me past the claws and teeth of the western swamplands my horse turns and returns to whatever business I seem to have been keeping it from. The General gives me the title of prefect and says the war must turn to the Rift before attacking Windhelm. I confirm my orders to find and report to the Legate, but it is starting to grow dark when I head outside so I take a night's rest before doing anything else.
The next morning I consult my map and confirm my worst suspicions: the rift is the land to the far south east of Skyrim. My best hope will be to take a horse and cart to Riften, and then explore the environs to link up with the imperial base of operations. On the way out of the Winking Skeever I note a mercenary called Belrand sat in a dim corner touting his services. A Nord companion may well give me some cover with the locals in Riften, and I agree his 500 coin fee.
It's a day's travel to Riften, and I sleep most of the way. The city has a stable though, so the journey back north should be taken care of when the time comes. I persuade the guards not to charge me the "visitor's tax" and find inside the city walls is something of a nest of thieves. Fortunately I manage to impress the rascals somewhat using my skill set, and rather than rob me they offer me employment. I've already got a job to do though, so I decline for now.
Belrand and I head back outside and resolve to find the legion squadron that has been dispatched to this locale. We turn west out of the city gates and follow the northern coast of a pleasant looking lake. Eventually our path crosses a road, which we follow still west until we come to a set of ruins that a chap call Stalleo asks us to clear out for him. I agree, particularly as while I've been discussing the venture the bandit upstarts have been putting arrows in my hide. The place is called Treva's Watch, and while it's been suggested I work my way in through some mine occupied by a rogue mage, I decide instead to climb the rocks to enter and clear out the fort itself and then open the front gate. This doesn't rescue the man's family though, so I descend to the mines from the entrance in the fort.
There are some tough bandits in these parts, and between the plunderers and the highwaymen (and ultimately a poorly aimed fireball from me) Belrand falls on the stairs up to an enchanting table. I partly mourn the loss, but a more selfish thought thanks my good fortune that it was not Lydia who I had brought into such peril. I try advancing deeper into the mine, but even the skills of Yuri Woodcutter are not enough to best the villains within. I leave Trava's Watch, and take a midnight hike in the general direction that leads to the imperial camp, encountering little trouble that my ice shout and an invisibility potion can't manage.
