Lightning storm. That sounds fun.



Are you new here? May I be the first to say "welcome" to Chorrol. There's warm drink, warm foods, and warm bed. And yah! I'm not the new girl here anymore.



Thane of Solitude. Crystal Beth is on her way to making this title. Only 9,000+ gold to go! : Speaking of...

Crystal Beth made her way back to Winterhold on horseback, her gold now totaling somewhere over 15,000. This journey started in Falreath, and it didn't take long for her to get to Winterhold. She's sad her partner is gone, but she misses his Nordic ways a little less with every battle she wins, and every dungeon, fort, and bandit camp she eliminates. Like many a true mage before her (Igodah Go^Pe and The Grey Wizard being a couple earlier examples from Cyrodiil's great 3rd era), Crystal is starting to get a little arrogant about her power.

On her way from Falkreath, she made a quick stop at Helgen, which other than a few bandits is now totally deserted. Wow. It's weird to think she almost was executed right here in this town, this town which is not really much of a town anymore. Though she feels a little bad about it, Crystal can't help but thank the dragon who saved her.

As she stands in the middle of what may have been Helgen's town square, the overcast night sky actually cleared, treating Crystal to one of Skyrim's rare atmospheric treats.



The Northern Lights came out of nowhere, and only lasted a few minutes before the sun started to rise. I got lucky to get the picture above.
.

When my Breton necromage Babd uses shock spells, I always think of the Emperor: "You have paid the price for your lack of vision!"



She looks like a superhero in that pic!

Beth has heard your kind words, and it pleases her. Careful, though, you don't wanna feed her ego too much now! Just kidding.


...."Also, their placement around Skyrim does not correspond to any known magics...."

...said the dark elf named Drevis Neloran. Crystal Beth came out of her fugue, looked behind her, and saw a group of the College's mages standing near the entrance of the Hall of the Elements.

"Oh Azura!" Beth cried. not fully aware she had just used the name of a daedric demi-god. She had missed most of the lecture because she had been practicing Illusion spells, throwing Calm after Calm until her magic ran out, then she'd cast some Clairvoyance. She's recently realized she uses Conjuration and Destruction far more than she uses Illusion.

I was spamming Illusion spells while reading some posts here, and missed most of a lecture about some sort of "stones". I'm not sure if it's quest-related or not. Probably is. Dang!


As a true mage, Beth is starting to realize that Invisibility is where it's at. If she could make herself invisible, she would never need a partner's help ever again. She'd be able to go solo on any adventure, possibly becoming the best magic-user in all of Skyrim!

....Yet she's not powerful enough to attain this sort of magic, yet. If the "Candlelight" spell was of the Illusion school, this would not be a problem. She's always casting Candlelight in dungeon areas. But Skyrim's mages apparently were not making an illusory effect when they cast light spells like 3rd-era Cyrodiilc mages did. Skyrim's "Candlelight" spell actually altered tiny particles in the air, making them glow somehow, and firmly placing Candlelight in the Alteration school.

In other words, if Beth were a 3rd era Cyrodiilic mage, she'd already be able to make herself invisible, and become near-invincible in the process. But in Skyrim, mages did things differently.

As the meeting breaks up, Beth is now looking for the Arch Mage. She keeps missing him, and she's supposed to tell him about something mysterious happening at Sarthaal. But she's tried the last couple times she's been back to the College, and he's never around. In both cases, she's decided she just can't wait for him forever! If he's not going to be where he's supposed to be Beth has real opportunities for quick money on her agenda.

"I think the College is due for a change in leadership" a snotty Breton mage-lady says. She always says this,

:Well, I don't think that's gonna happen soon.." Beth says neutrally, and immediately walks away.

As she (once again) searches the Hall of the Elements, the Library, and finally the Arch Mage's quarters itself, though, she starts to wonder if that snotty mage is right somehow, for the Arch Mage is (once again) nowhere to be found!

,,,,Seriously, what is the deal with this guy? What sort of an Arch Mage hides all the time? Even Beth's Clairvoyance spell is of no use.

.

Middas, 8:09 AM, 10th of Evening Star

"BEHOLD THE WRATH OF CRYSTAL BETH! FOR I SHALL TAKE YOU DOWN!!!"

she screamed this as the final Thalmor agent stepped across a strategically-placed Fire Rune and was thrown to the ground. Beth now is proud. Proud to have eliminated four Thalmor agents all by herself, even as some of them were obviously skilled at magics.

"Ah, takes care of that" she says, looking around. She could have sworn there was final agent hiding out there somewhere. If he or she was here, he/she apparently was retreating or planning something. No additional lightning bolts, flew, however.

Just before this random attack, Beth had come across a lone Imperial soldier, running and running down the road. Getting curious, Beth dismounted her horse and confronted the soldier, who spouted nonsense (literally....his voicings were all glitched, so he kept saying a word or 2 and then stopping speech).

As Beth started to walk back to her horse *BANG* went a lightning bolt. Beth took no damage, so perhaps the soldier took the brunt of that voltage.

She got on her horse, rode about a quarter mile, dismounted, and went back to confront the enemies. It was Beth against four of these Thalmor. One of them seemed to be a pure melee type, chasing Beth with an axe, the other three were mages. A nearly 10 minute battle ensued while Beth took a high position amongst a crag in a nearby rock wall, and summoned up fire elementals to combat from a distance. If one of the enemies got too close, Beth would then ZAP him with her Staff of Sparks!

Occasionally, the Thalmor would wander off, either admitting defeat or simply giving up on trying to get Beth. She'd then come down from her hiding place and throw a firebolt There! That'll get your attention.

After looting a body, Beth looked at the "robes" they were wearing. These robes provided a very small bonus to Destruction magic, Beth could sense. Very unlike her "Apprentice Robes of Illusion Magic", which allowed her to cast Illusion spells at a lesser cost to her magic pool, and provided a hefty magic-regeneration rate as well.

"Ah haaa haa!" she had a laugh. "Such cheap magics! Such cheap fabrics as well! Who are these Thalmor?" Beth asked the trees. Looking through a pocket of one, she found a "Justicar Execution Order", which said...

Be on the look out for the High Elf called Crystal Beth. She is an enemy to the Thalmor, and has actively disrupted our activities, and caused great harm. If spotted, you are to destroy her with extreme hatred.

Be advised, she is extremely dangerous, and quite able to defend herself. If caught by the local autoorities, we are unable to offer you any assistance.

For the glory of the Aldmeri Dominion!

Beth smiled, and folded the letter into her pocket.
.

Lordas, 6:09 PM, 13th of Evening Star, 4E Year 201

"Stendarr's mercy be upon you, for the vigil has none to spare!" says a mean-looking Dunmer female to Crystal Beth.

Beth had been walking her horse along, keeping a slow pace with this Dunmer and her magic-using companion. Well, Beth assumed he's a magic-user, simply because of his tan and green-colored robes. As he walks by Beth, he says nothing, only glares at her.

Beth had hoped these two would be friendlier, but no matter, she is excited! Why?

Her horse is carrying a small fortune, including a glass bow, an Apprentice set of Alteration robes she could wear, and the usual assortment of gemstones, rings, potions, and so on. She planned to sell the bow and OH...almost forgot about her staff. She managed to find a Staff of Chain Lightning. Something about lightning from a staff really turns her on, makes her smile with anticipation!

The Staff is difficult and inefficient to use, Beth discovers, since it fires off a single bolt at a time. It also uses lots of magic to operate. But if it happens to hit an enemy BOY does it pack a punch! Although she hadn't witnessed this yet, this sort of staff is also supposed to be able to have its charge jump from one enemy to the next. So far, she's only managed to hit a bandit, and the staff DID one-shot him. But there were no other bandits around for the voltage to jump to at that time.

Beth can't wait to use it in a safe location! Safe for her, that is. It won't be so safe for whatever enemy she faces, though. She tends to use a staff only at certain times. Not only will it not use up her own available magic, the staff was also just something solid to use.

plus, I like the whole staff thing in Skyrim. It's weird that in Oblivion, none of my magical characters ever really used staves, except for very briefly here and there


She had just eliminated some bandits at a Forsworn fort called Harmugstahl. Their leader was too tough for Beth, though. Located strategically in a room with a narrow entrance, he cast several Ice Storm spells at her, and finally summoned an Ice Atronach. Beth simply could not get a good shot in, and as the Ice man stumbled towards her and slammed its fist on her back, Beth gave up. It's one of the rare times she's ever given up.

She managed her goal, though...finding some of Shalidor's writings. The orc at the college wants this.

On her way to Solitude once again, Beth came across yet another bandit encampment. More money, more money...

But before entering town, Beth decides to shadow the mean dark elf and her surly companion. (I'm really curios where they'll go)...

They walked down the path that goes under Solitude's arch, far below the town itself. Beth soon walks past a door which she recognizes as the little-known secret passage into town, walks a little further, and decides to call it quits. Its' getting dark, and it's possible these two are not even going to stop anywhere. Beth needs to get in to town.

She walks back to the door and goes inside.

Tough luck at Harmugstahl. Perhaps Beth will go back some day when she stronger, and finish that dastard off once and for all? This happened to me when I was playing a character in Oblivion named Nykteria. She faced off with the Lich in Lost Boy Cavern when she was low level, and literally could not harm it. She had to flee, but vowed to return one day. The rest of her gameplay became dedicated to that one goal. Finally, after clearing every necromancer dungeon in Cyrodiil, she went back, and finished the job. It was very satisfying.

Cool!!! It's like Nykteria kept her seething desires bottled up until she was ready to return and exact her vengance.

Beth is working on her Illusion magic. Once she's able to go invisible (like her historical mentors from the 3rd/early 4th era Igodah Go^Pe and The Grey Wizard), she'll be unstoppable.

Crystal Beth is back in Solitude again, selling more wares to make her ultimate goal of 25,000 gold. She has spent quite awhile up in the Blue Palace. For some reason, the court wizard no longer stays in court. The last couple times Beth has tried to consult with this wizard, she's been found sleeping in her room, despite the fact that it's day time.

Beth spent several hours training her Illusion magic (I pushed "clairvoyance" spell over and over while I read some posts here and at Bethsoft. Lol.) and when she walks outside, she's treated to yet another display of Northern Lights! These ones are mostly reddish and gold.

She's become a bit of a Northern Lights junkie. Whenever she sees one, she usually stops for the night, gazing up at the skies in wonder.

Despite the fact that she's so attached to Solitude, Beth has also been keeping a keen eye on Falkreath. Something about this location that she also likes. And she's got 2 out of 3 Falkreath requests taken care of. Hopefully soon she'll get her 3rd out of the way, and possibly make Thane of Falkreath.

.

I had this sort of thing on Skyrim...Wulff Olfsson got that amulet, you know, the one with the three brothers?...Amywho, he got his a$s handed to him by said trio, good and proper...I may have mentioned at the time...So once I'd done the MQ and I was (Olfsson was)...Oooh, a God...I went back and flattened the three of them... ...Sooo satisfying... ...


Lady Saga...loving the journal...Nice one... ...

J'Zirlo managed to get his Smithing finally to 100 by finding three skill books in a row!!...Booyah!!... ...

He also became Orc-Friend, so there may be some story milage there...He made a friend that said he'd come along when I needed...I felt really pleased by this... ...

We then went to another Orc Strongold by Windhelm to get to that Gloombound Mine...Where if you mine all the veins, you get enough free Ebony to make an entire suit btw...Oh damn...That's a hint isn't it?...Oh no ...*Slaps wrist*...

Aaamywho...J'Zirlo then went to the College to grab his brother J'Zargo and give him said armour...




'Zargo - "Oooh look, my hammersome brother has come to give J'Zargo gifts...We did not think it our birthday?"

'Zirlo - "Quiet you glorified night-light...I...*Sigh*...Need your help."

'Zargo - "Haaa!! Noooo, surely we did not just hear that...Let Khajiit sit down a moment...Now, please say that again..."

'Zirlo - *Growls*...*Sighs*..."Please, J'Zargo...My brother...I apologise...I need your help...We need your help..."

'Zargo - "We?...Who is we?"

'Zirlo - "You know very well who I mean..."

'Zargo - *Sighs*..."Very well...We shall follow...Though J'Zargo trusts you are taking him somewhere warm..."

'Zirlo - "Could be...Could very well be..."





We's off to do the main quest.... ...

KIW DE DWAAGON!!!, KIW DE DWAAAGON!!!!... ...

LOL you're funny McB. I have no idea what a Welsh accent sounds like, but in my mind you come across as almost Monty Pythonish. very vibrant. Don't take that as an insult please, I'm one of many who grew up on the other side of "the pond", awaiting every new Monty Python episode my father allowed me to watch.

I know what you mean about training...sometimes it's the best thing you can do to advance. Crystal Beth recently paid the Illusion trainer at The College plenty of gold just to get her Illusion nearer to the next levels of advancement. Sometims it's better just to read a book (or pay a trainer) so you don't have to spam spells or skills over and over.

Yay, the Brother'Z are together! Here's hoping that neither of them succumbs to a self-inflicted eye-rolling injury during their joint adventures.

The Brother'z (excellent Grits!! ) Khajiit...Kiw De Dwaaagon!!!...Got shouted at by some dudes on high...And then decided to completely ignore the summons and run all the way to Markath...

Just outside Rorikstead they discovered a giant Forsworn camp with an Giant sacrificing Hagraven...Sadly, there's a pile of ice shooting, yet wonerfully attired wenches that seem determined to off our cool cats...

And they did...Twice... ...



'Zargo - "Brother, let me introduce a new concept to the proceedings."

'Zirlo - "What now?"

'Zargo - It's this thing that we once heard Mother talking about...They're called Tactics."

'Zirlo - *Rolls eyes* "Yes, here's one for you...Stop getting filled with arrows so Khajiit does not have to keep healing you, damn fool Kitten."

'Zargo - *Sighs* "Should J'Zargo tell you what to you can do with that bow of yours?"

'Zirlo - *Flattens ears* "Oh..."

'Zargo - "Aaaand there it goes. Can we get on now?"

'Zirlo - "After you."

'Zargo - "I do so enjoy our time together, my brother."

'Zirlo - "Well, keep doing your impression of a pincushion and it will be over all too quickly, won't it?"



I think it's that big Forsworn camp that you get to with them two later on in the MQ...

I like dealing with Forsworn. They're fun to fight.

Crystal Beth lost her temper!

She's in the Dead Man's Drink, the bar/rooming house of Falkreath. She just rented a room, but there's a guy sitting in a chair and he won't leave. Beth had already met this guy before. As she engages conversation with him, he starts talking about a lost one or something. Since she had already met him, this means this is old conversation.

At the moment, she could care less what he went through. She can't help him. And right now she just wants to get to sleep. Oh...what's with this "no door" policy in Skyrim? Why can't she rent a room with a door? Granted, nobody's gonna mess with her or anything, but ...she needs her privacy. Ya know?

She loses her temper, just then. She doesn't want to attack the guy, though. Instead she casts a Fear spell at him.

"It'sokay, I'll let you live.....this time" the guy says. Then he sits back down! The nerve! The audacity

"Why won't you leave? Why won't you leave me in peace?" she says, casting another Fear at him.

Now, he gets up and runs away! Good. Absolutely great! But after a minute, he comes back, brandishing a daggar! Before Beth knows it, he's attacked her! Like 3x in a row. Beth was unprepared, and it took her a few moments to run off to a corner, gather up her Calm spell from her quick-tome (the blasted Favorites system), and cast it at the man.

He calms down. And sits down again!! ARRRGH....

This entire time, the NPC's out in the main room are running around 'HELP!" but they apparently don't call the guards.

Beth decides to just wait it out. Maybe the man will leave. But as soon as the Calm wears off, he's back at Beth again. This time, she was prepared!

She runs outside, hoping a guard will take aim at the man trying to attack Beth. But the guard strings up an arrow and then aims it at her. WTF?

He misses his shot, and Beth stops running. The guard now tells her she's got to "pay for her crimes". Fine.

"That man would NOT leave my room. I rented it, and asked him to leave. But he would not!"

"You've commited crimes against Skyrim. What say you in your defence?"

There's no way Beth is ever going to jail. She's rich. The fine is only 80 gold. Fine. I'll pay the fine. The guard takes her to the Jarl or whatever. The screen goes black.

After the scene starts again, Beth is being attacked by a VAmpire Thrall! Right in the middle of town! How random is that?

This time, the guards come to Beth's aid. She could have taken that Thrall out herself, but she rather enjoys being protected once in a while. It's nice to see somebody trying to do something to help her, for a change!

Hahah! Those days can be a burden. Maybe he just wanted some alone time with Beth, or he wanted a friend. The fear spell always has reprocussions! Karma just took a huge bit on Crystal haha. Glad she didn't try to resist arrest, otherwise she would have to pay a greater fine!

What's with the random wannabe-vampire in the end? Rite of passage? Good read.

Oh that is just insane! I guess the Fear spell is considered a crime in Skyrim. That would explain the reaction by the inn-goers, and had the guard. The vampire thrall is totally out of left field though! Did Beth do a vampire dungeon recently? It could have followed her from there. That sort of thing would happen with some monsters in Oblivion as well.

Darkness Eternal, I have a feeling you said some other word than "days", and the swear-filter caught it?

Yes, Beth did go thru a vampire dungeon, it was kinda near Falkreath, too. I forget its name, though. I would say it wasn't super-recent. This would have been 2 or 3 adventures ago.

Anyways, it just happened again! This time, Beth bought a horse in Whiterun, and then took a carriage to Winterhold. That's where the bulk of her money is saved. She's slowly saving up for that house in Solitude.

So she gets to Winterhold, and the game puts her right in the middle of town. She's standing next to her horse, and everybody is being attacked by draugrs!!!! Her horse is in mid-battle, which really annoys me because she just bought this one. That a thousand gold right there! Her previous horse got killed recently. Killed by a bunch of bolders being released underneath one of those bandit bridges.

The draugr fall easily, of course. Theyre just basic types, low level material.

Crystal Beth decides to go inside and speak to the Jarl of Winterhold now. He's not there. But she sees an NPC she's not met before. He's wearing an oragne shirt. She goes over to talk to him.

His name is Malur Seloth. He's a dark elf. He says he's "not associated with the College, but since he's a dark elf, everyone assumes that he's from there. He quickly gets down to business with Beth. This isn't exactly the conversation, but close enough.

Malur: "There's a staff up in the Arch Mage's quarters. I've been wanting it for a while. Can you get it for me?"

Beth: Get it for you? I am from the College, you idiot! I am a student of the College! You're asking me to grab that staff for you? No way!"

Malur: Suit yourself then (he said something mildly insulting, I forget what it was

Beth turns to the guard now, who was witnessing the entire conversation.

Beth: Did you just hear what he asked me to do? He wants me to break the law!"

guard: "hard to believe I ever complained about Riften being cold.

W. T. F> ?

Beth decides to take matters into her own hands. As Malur takes a seat nearby the guard, she crosses the room to a safe location, readies a Fury spell at Malur, and fires! She makes her dice roll YES a DIRECT HIT!

"SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!" several NPC's say at once!

Beth ducks into a nearby room and shuts the door. There's a couple NPC's on the bed in there. Oops!

As she puts her hands down, she turns to the couple on the bed...IT's the Jarl and his lady!!!

"It's being handled. Go back to bed", she suggests.

MEanwhile, outside Malur is now in combat with the guard!!!! Two guards!!! Just as he falls, the Fury spell wears off....

"You have commited crimes against Skyrim and her People. What say you in your defence?"

:facepalm:
.

The draw distance is amazing in this game. Beth just left Fellglow Keep (MG quest stuff) and way in the distance down the hill I could see these little fires going back and forth. Then I realized I could see two necromancers going at it. Was pretty cool. Beth just stayed in the distance, watching the whole thing.

One of them eventually kills the other, and Beth starts walking. The guy sees Beth, from what seems to be several hundred feet away! He fires an ice spike. He eventually also fell, of course.

I am Lady Saga, tonight, I'm going to add the latest addition to the Saga of Crystal Beth.

By the way, it finally rained today (where have all our April showers been?) and I've created a brand-new character. It's my "Son of Talos Stormcloak" idea. He'll basically do the Stormcloak Civil War quest, whatever that may be. I haven't started gaming with him yet. I just created him.

His name is unofficially "Gunter". I wanted to name him Gunter, Son of Talos, but the stupd game wouldn't let me. So his official game-name is "A Son of Talos". I was torn between A Son of Talos and just "Gunter". A Son of Talos is more unique as a name, because I doubt anybody has named their character so plainly! Yet at the same time it's almost a generic name as well. He's just another Stormcloak, it seems. Right?

I haven't gotten into his game yet, but I'm glad it was rainy today. I really wanted to make an Aries fighter, you see. A large percentage of Aries people love to fight, all the astrology books say. I've seen it to be true in real-life. Not that every single Aries out there is a fighter, but I've amongst the people I've known throughout my life, there is a larger percentage of Aries who are hot-headed than cool-headed.

Anyways, back to Crystal Beth. I'm going to run through some bits of her gameplay, in no particular order.

She just trained up to Level 50 in Illusion with the College's Illusion trainer, but after her lesson was sore to find he didn't have any "Adept" Illusion spells to sell her, yet. Dang! She really wants to see if Invisibility is going to be in her roster of spells in the near future (no spoilers, please).

but she did get a spell which even Cyrodiilic mages from the 3rd Era rarely possessed: Paralyzation: 10 seconds! Her Alteration skill is at 67, and I guess she's good enough to paralyze enemies now.

She's got just under 20,000 gp stored up at her room in Winterhold. There's also money stored in Solitude, she might just have enough for her house, then.
.

Welcome to Skyrim GSoT! This means that those Thalmor/Dark Brotherhood missives will say: "you are to eliminate A Son of Talos by any means necessary."

And Cyrstal Beth can now paralyze for 10 seconds? Yikes!

ha ha ha... never thought of it that way, yet. Yea, I'm sure Gunter will have an interesting existence, with that tag at the end of his name!

The brother'Z ran about the countryside doing a few Word searches...Only the ones that he's likely to use (from previous experience... )...And then completely failed to find any Dwaaagons to Kiw... ...Maybe when he goes to chat to some bearded dudes that could do with some sun, there'll be more about...Huzzah!!...

Jerric and *cough* “Darnand” are having a blast wandering Skyrim. They are based out of Jorrvaskr, but for now avoiding any more Companions quests. No dragons have been released into this game.

Marcurio Darnand is fun to fight with. He tends to run back to a high or otherwise safe position and then light up the countryside with magic. Many times Jerric has dodged to get out of his line of fire only to step directly into it, because he moved. Luckily Jerric has the Atronach blessing, so this often results in a refilled blue bar right after Jerric has depleted his magicka and drawn his sword.

Their next mission is to find a staff so that Darnand will start summoning things and quit equipping the spare weapons Jerric gives him to carry. It could be tough because Jerric spent all of their gold on an Adept hood for him. Jerric still wears the Novice one.

I’m also hearing a lot more comments than I ever got with Allek and Marcurio, probably because Allek runs a lot and Jerric walks. That way Darnand is usually pretty close behind him.

One thing that’s funny is that these two don’t need arrows. Usually I count on the follower as an arrow factory, but neither of them can use a bow.

Wow. That's generous.



oops!

4:13 pm, Middas, 14th of Morning star. Year 201 4th Era

After stealing some sort of note for the former Jarl of Falkreath, Crystal Beth realizes that this ex-Jarl's home has a free bed. Good. She's sick of staying at the inn with no doors on its rooms! The ex-Jarl doesn't seem to mind as she gets some rested sleep.

The previous night, she (once again) tried to get some sleep in her room, only to encounter that same man who wouldn't leave. She waited and waited, and he sat there for hours, drinking his ale or whatever. She couldn't do anything about it. Not without getting herself in trouble again. He finally left just as the sky was getting light outside.

The next day (15th of Morning Star) she rises early, packs up and goes to visit the "new" Jarl's court. She knows she's needed to complete 3 tasks to become Thane of Falkreath, and hopefully this final task will put her on the map. Maybe she'll even be able to buy a house here. If so, she certainly has the money to do so. There's no way a house here in Falkreath costs 25,000 gold!

"Yes, what is it you want?" the Jarl asks as Beth approaches his throne.

"Jarl Siddgeir. I've come to see if I've completed the three tasks you''ve required of me to become Thane".

"Then by my right as Jarl, I make you Thane of Falkreath...." he says, apparently unaware of the fact that Beth just took part in dealings against him.

He gives her a weapon she can simply sell. A blade of Frost made with dwarven metal. Beth has no use for such a crude weapon, but it'll fetch a nice price at the market! He also promises to "notify the guards" about Beth's status as Jarl whatever that means.

"Come again and see me sometime. I might have some use for you". He says this smugly.

With this information, Beth immediately tries to find the steward she just spoke to. Stewards seem to be the ones in charge of selling houses.
.

Isn't it funny how stealing that note for Dengeir qualifies you for thaneship from Siddgeir? Even though it is against his purposes?

Poor Beth is in for bad news though. There is no house for sale in Falkreath. Just one of many examples of this game being rushed to meet that silly release date. You ought to be able to buy a house in every hold capital.

The mighty warrior Kraven fought among the mountainous region against the barbarians! He had prepared for this attack! He wanted to attempt his new hand to hand skills and put them in good use(Finishers). So he ran, with nothing but shield and sword and armor to fight the dregs of the Forsworn! He was ready! Not even his manly long hair could his vision! His mere frown could slay thousands! The mighty Kraven is never far from battle! Not even in his chambers, where he unleashes his spear for an Argonian maid!

And so he ran to meet his opponents, until everything froze! Day turned to night! His vision blacked out and all was lost!

And that concludes the story. Apparently my PS3 failed me when I was playing, and I ended up getting the Yellow Ring of Death.

I was so angry!

Ooooh, that was nasty... ...

Our original one went just after my daughter had tried for about an hour to get past this end of level baddie...She did it, took two steps into the next level and it went... ...She howled for ages, the wife said...Thought it was her fault... ...

Aaamywho...Bad luck mate...

I know, right? I was just glad Beth didn't have to take part in that blasted werewolf quest.



I know. Beth found this out. Oh well. Guess she'll have to keep staying in the room with no doors, until something better presents itself.

The thing is, I already "know" my Son of Talos character won't mind rooms with no doors. He'll be one of those guys who can sleep while a war is going on. Beth, however, demands more privacy.





WHAT? Yea, this is my worst nightmare, my PS3 is going on 3 1/2 years old. Both my original Plastation and PS2 slim still work fine, though. PS1 is 12 years old (I gave it to a friend) and the PS2 slim I got in 2004. Both still work fine, so (knock on plastic) maybe my PS3 will also survive. It lives in a nice, cool room. Cooling is supposed to be a major prob with PS3s and Xboxes.

Make sure you get a bunch of USB sticks if you haven't already. Save your games on to this sticks by going

XMB > Game Save Data > Copy > Copy to USB > Overwrite previous data (if there is any).
.

Morndas, 9:41 AM, 26th of MorningStar

so much has happened!

Crystal Beth spent a few days at The College. She presented the first chapter of her upcoming book to the Arch Mage himself, and then gathered up all her money (roughly 19,000 gp) to head off to Solitude. She rode her horse all the way to Robber's Gorge, which is one of those bandit camps with a bridge over the road.

Took care of the bandits (a little too easily) and then spent the night there. She found a few very cool items at this camp, including a Necklace of Minor Sneaking (+15% bonus).

Now here's where it really gets interesting. She passes thru Dragon Bridge and goes thru the village there. Just up the hiill, she gets attacked by a solitary Orc. Since she's on horseback, she decides she'll just ride back through the village. Let the guards handle it.

I really get annoyed when I have to ride my horse far away, just so it doesn't immediately start attacking the enemy. Grrr...that's why I figured I'd ride thru the town. Hopefully, the orc would get into it with Dragon Bridge guards.

But they did NOTHING! As Beth rides by "Help! There's a madman after me!" they did nothing at all! They'd go...

"oooh! A fight!"

Yes, I KNOW! Aren't you supposed to help me?????

Matter of fact, one of the NPC's (a woman) actually starts making bets against Beth. She said: "I'll put money on the tall one!" WTH???

"You call yourself a guard?" asks Beth to one of Dragon Reach's finest after the fight ended.

"Hands to yourself, sneak-thief"



Beth is not a thief, okay? She's sometimes tried to speak to someone, and winds up picking up an item instead. That's one of the downfalls of having your HUD dimmed, I suppose.
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Arriving into Solitude

Morndas, 11:37 AM, 26th of MorningStar

Beth enjoys her ride from Dragon Bridge to Solitude. She rides her horse slowly, savoring the atmosphere and the scenery. It's a sunny day. Beth has discovered that whenever it's sunny outside, it's best to be outside. Unlike Cyrodiil, the sun can be rare here in Skyrim.

She's not sure how much gold she has in total. She knows she's got some stashed in a hidden location in the town itself, too. Hopefully, she'll have over 25K. Then, it's house-time.

She rides her horse just to the city's front gate, and gets off.

"Destruction magic's fine. Just don't go burning down any buildings', a guard informs her.

Beth looks at him and says nothing.

Sometimes, it's better to not speak, if you're an elf amongst humans. Let your actions speak for themselves. Beth had never cast any fire, or any Destruction spells whatsoever when she was in Solitude. Well....well...there was that one time she got into a fight with the town guards, but her intentions had been mis-understood.

Suffice it to say, Beth has no intention of starting trouble here. Being in Solitude is like being in a Cyrodiilic town. When she's here, Crystal Beth can pretend she's back in Cyrodiil.

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J’Shanji has adjusted to his third life quite nicely. He’s still a warrior, this time unarmed for melee with a bow for dragons. Restoration spells and all the potions he can find. As he said two lives ago, “This one is no flower picker.”

I do embellish game events with imagination, but these things really happened today. It was awesome!!


J’Shanji and Faendal stood at the cliff’s edge, looking down at the thatched roofs of Riverwood. Faendal laughed. “Last one down is a festering Nord!”

J’Shanji leaped over the edge, grinning. The two of them skidded into the Riverwood Trader a whisker’s breadth apart.

Faendal unpacked the goods while J’Shanji haggled with Lucan. The Imperial always started the conversation with fervent thanks for returning their golden claw. J’Shanji turned that to his advantage.

This time Camilla distracted him. She leaned close and gazed into J’Shanji’s eyes. “I’m so glad we’re friends,” she breathed. “Here, this is something that I hope will express my feelings.”

J’Shanji kept his fingers closed over the vial until he and Faendal reached the cobbles outside.

“Well?” Faendal demanded. “A stamina potion? What did she give you?”

J’Shanji slowly shook his head in wonder. “It is a draught to cure diseases.”

Faendal laughed the whole way across the bridge and down the rocks, taking the Bosmer shortcut over the switchbacks. Between the elf’s merriment and J’Shanji’s blushing dismay, they both completely missed the giant. They landed close behind him and lost a moment to surprise.

The giant was not in a mood to share the road.

At the giant’s wordless rumble J’Shanji took off running, hoping that his hotheaded friend would follow. He caught a glimpse of M’aiq out of the corner of his eye. The other Khajiit threw his arms over his head as J’Shanji streaked past.

A noise from the rear made J’Shanji’s neck fur buff out. Faendal’s reedy tones howling, “Now you’ll pay!”

Khajiit performed a claws-out turnaround on the road and sprinted back readying his bow. The giant’s club crashed against the ground, sending a cloud of debris into the air. A dragon cried over the mountains. J’Shanji saw the giant raise his club again. Faendal must still live. J’Shanji began to shoot at the giant.

The two scrambled down over the rocks, turning and shooting as they went. Thankfully the giant was slowed by the rough terrain. The whole time they were retreating down the hill toward the Honnigbrew Meadery, a dragon was attacking it.

J’Shanji got a few shots off at the dragon while it was snapping at guards, then he turned to shoot at the giant while the dragon flew up and circled. Faendal got the killing blow on the giant. J’Shanji’s arrow eventually finished the dragon.

After they stood around for a few moments viewing the carcasses and passing the healing potions, J’Shanji went to find what was left of M’aiq.

He found him under the trees. “I saw a mudcrab the other day,” said M’aiq. “Horrible creatures!”

What an awesome scene! Wish I could have seen it!

Heh, my characters who have done that questline usually cut him and his sister off! "I know I know...you have your claw...I "saved" your business so long ago, really, you can stop thanking me. Let's do business".






Cool story, bro Grits.

I'm happy to say that everything I post in this particular thread actually happens. None of it is fanfic. That's saying a lot for a vanilla game.

Yesterday, for instance, Beth decided to take a different route from Whiterun to Solitude. She cut across the wide open tundra, basically, and came to a giant camp she'd never found before. There was an elk which had been running in front of Beth and her horse for a minute or so. Beth would catch up to it, the elk would run away, etc. The elk runs in the middle of the giant camp, near a mammoth, and this pissed off the giant!

The giant starts chasing after the elk! A harmless elk! Beth had to catch up to it. Eventually, the giant clobbers the elk, but out of nowhere, a group of 4 bandits show up and start attacking the giant!

Beth got to sit there from a distance, watching the entire thing. One of the bandits was felled, and the other 3 chickened out, trying to get away from the maddened giant! He's chasing the bandits...he's way far from the actual mammoths he's supposed to be protecting when a saber-cat suddenly shows up and attacks the mammoths!



Your story is funnier, though.
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It got funnier when they reached Whiterun and discovered that J’Shanji actually did have a disease. Witbane! He got cured at the shrine. I think he’s going to keep that potion from Camilla forever.

That sounds like quite a rumble on the tundra! I love giant and mammoth watching.

What an appropriate gift then!

Both J’Shanji's and Beth's stories of weird encounters are hilarious. I have as yet to have such a level of weirdness happen myself.

Oh god. Me too. I love just sitting from a distance watching them mill about their camp. :B




Really? Huh. I'm not gonna say I always see stuff like that (or what Grits describes), but it's not rare, either. Maybe you just need to play more!



Hey. So I really need to update now...This is Beth's BIG MOMENT

Fredas 9:06 PM, 30th of Morning Star, 4E,

Level: 29
Playtime: 142.12.50

After adding up the sacks of coins in her secret location Crystal Beth discovered she almost has enough! She's so close to getting the house! Less than a thousand gold to go!

She decides to go to Fort Snowhawk, a guaranteed money-stop full of Necromancers, and this did, in fact, cover her financially. She now has 25,593 gp. The Solitude house...is hers!

But there were a couple weird things that happened at Snowhawk. When she initially approached the place (hiding her horse far away so it won't get involvd in combat) there was a lone figure standing in the middle of the road. Beth nears him, it's a necromancer. He just stands there, looking at Beth sadly.

I got this weird feeling in my spine zing! when I realized Beth was literally staring right into the eyes of what's supposed to be her enemy, yet he was not trying to attack her.

"How fares thee, necromancer?"

I forget what he said, but it was something totally generic and non-confrontational!

I think it's pretty cool in a way...almost like he was having doubts about his "profession". He was located some distance away from the fort itself, you see, facing outwards, as if he had started to walk away from the place, and was now struggling with some inner confusion. But the bottom line: he did not attack Beth.

Beth decided to let him live. But when she exited the fort, the same thing happened. This time, it was a Redguard necromancer who was just sitting there. Litraly just sitting there. Beth was about to just walk by (she assumed he was dead at first!) But she looks more carefully, and sees that he's sitting on a bench. So she decides she'd better at least talk to the guy. But this time, the enemy attacked! Oh well...his loss.

...this fight had me LOLing, though, because this particular Redguard kept re-animating his friends to attack Beth! There were all these NPC necromancers everywhere (because Beth killed them all), and he basically turned all of them into zombies, one by one! It was a pretty dramatic battle, actually, because he did manage to keep himself alive for quite a while.

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On her way to the blue palace, Beth gathered up all her coin deeds and put on her prettiest dress. Just as she gets outside, she remembers! and turns around.

She's been saving a special bottle of Black Briar Reserve, just for this occasion!

"If you're heading to the Blue Palace, you might want to...re-think that outfit".

"You're not the one who's about to buy a house, then are you?" Beth snaps back. "At moments like this, coin speaks louder than cloth".

The lady has no reply, only walks away, haughtily.

"I could incinerate her. I really could, if I wanted to" Beth says under her breath. "Or cast a Frenzy from a distance, that might work".

As she casts her customary Candlelight, Beth enters the Blue Palace.
.

A lot of my astonishing experiences have involved either followers or dragons, or both. My lonely Altmer in a dragonless world has a pretty quiet game.

Yay, Beth is on her way to home ownership! How neat that she walks around under a sparkly light.

Jerric and Darnand (Marcurio) have been wandering around the Reach. They have worked out their inventory management system for extended road trips. Darnand carries the quills, inkpots, books, notes, and alchemy ingredients. Jerric carries everything else. We had an oops similar to the J’Shanji and topless Belrand incident. Darnand equipped some looted Forsworn armor that Jerric handed him. He won’t make that mistake again!

ahhh....the inventory management system! Every adventuring party should have one! Did anything happen when the Forsworn armor was equipped? Like was there reaction from your partner or an NPC?

Yea, she bought the house, Proudspire Manor it's called. She hasn't got any money to decorate it and this is fine, there's still plenty to do. I think we may spend a lot of time just cleaning up the house, for instance. Beth is removing all the skulls and nord mead and meat....all the stuff she doesn't want. GONE! It's her place.

No more "I'll show to your room right this way, either. No more of that nonsense! Not in Solitude! She's got a bunch of books and items over at her hotel room, and she'll also be taking this stuff over.

I think the rest of my gameplay this evening is gonna involve Beth and her new home! I'm kinda disappointed that Proudspire Manor doesn't take more advantage of the spectacular view on the east side. There's a couple arches we can look thru to look down on the water, but there's no way to really take it all in. These arches are too narrow.

Plus, there's a courtyard, Beth is noting, but why is it not gated off? Lol, she's already complaining@

Congrats to Beth on her new house. And a big one at that! I think that is the most expensive one in the game. Of course now she has to save up to buy all the furnishings...

Kachina found one of those talkative necromancers before going into a cave. He did attack her when she came back out however. Ulfidis had a similar encounter with a bandit in the Reach. She tried talking to him, but his two partners spoiled it by attacking. Then he went hostile too.

Yea. It's fun having a house!



Interesting. I think in Oblivion, there was only one time (that I can remember) that an NPC enemy did not attack my character on sight. Dyan phor a'Cauz was leaving Cheydinal, and as she walked out of the forest area, there was a female Redguard bandit who merely let Dyan pass. I forget if Dyan was able to speak with the bandit or not.
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No one seems to notice when you wear the Forsworn armor in the game. It was just a surprise among the characters traveling in my brain.

Darnand is a mage who would rather walk through Winterhold in only his drawers than wear feathers, bones, and fur, so it was a little shocking to see him (Marcurio) standing there in the Forsworn getup. Lesson learned!

Bit of a bummer that a house that expensive doesn't come with at least some furniture. Those greedy Jarls!

I have a new character: D'rassa. He's a khajiit, and the unluckiest character I've ever travelled with. He seems to attract trouble wherever he goes. First he was arrested on the border and taken to some execution, and some darned dragon interrupted just as a nord in front of him was about to get his head chopped off. (I'm not doing the main quest this time. I'm rp-ing that the nord in front was my first character, the dragonborn.)

After escaping Helgen with his quick feet, he crossed the river to a shack that looked promising. It had holes in the roof and grasses growing wild around it, and didn't look lived in from a distance. He thought he could perhaps do it up a bit and use it as a home, since it was obvious he was going to have to remain in Skyrim. He had a quick look around the place and even discovered a basement, thus finding it wasn't quite as unoccupied as he thought. A witch, angry that her secret basement had been discovered, attacked him as he climbed back up the wooden ladder. He fled in the direction of the river, hoping he wasn't going to have to get his fur wet. The witch followed him. Purely by luck, he managed to trip her and send her over the edge of a small cliff. Her skull cracked like an egg on the rocks below and the river carried her body away. One less problem for D'rassa to deal with, and now he had somewhere to sleep.

Today Jessika and Brel (Brelyna) were heading back to the college after finding Shalidor's writings for Urag gro-Shub. They decided that the had enough money to take a carriage back, so they headed to Whiterun; and what an eventful journey it was!

On the road Jess and Brel encountered three Thalmor escorting a prisoner somewhere. Jess recognised the prisoner as a man who attempted to cross the border with her when she first entered Skyrim, who was lucky enough to not get caught by the Imperial army (my imagination )

Seeing as she knew the man was as innocent as she was, she pleaded with the Thalmor to release the man. The Thalmor saw this as a threat and attacked Jess and Brel. Although they managed to survive the ordeal, the prisoner did not. Knowing they did all they could, the continued to Whiterun, afterall death would have surely been better than whatever the Thalmor had planned for him.

During the walk, Jess and Brel saw an old orc warrior take down a sabercat (this is what Jess calls them). The girls went to see if the orc was okay, but he wasn't. He claimed that he wanted the sabercat to kill him, as he wanted a 'good death'. He didn't want to wait to die as an old orc, nor did he want to just let something kill him without a fight as Malacath wouldn't appease that.

After Jess Heard how strongly the orc felt, after much debating with Brel she offered to give him the good death he wanted. The orc was pleased, thanked Jess and commenced battle. The orc was strong and nimble, he could have easily fought for many more years, but Jess didn't hold back. She managed to overwhelm him, just as he wanted.

The orc died with grace, and a smile on his wrinkled face. Jess and Brel placed his body into a flowery part of the Tundra and placed his axe beside his body out of respect. Hopefully Malacath would be pleased.

None of my characters have ever had the heart to kill the old orc.

Mine, on the other hand, always think; 'Body to loot. Loot to sell. Sales for money. Money to train.'

I'm far too much of a Munchkin to RP in Bethesda's games...

It sounds like D’rassa has had a change in luck, Lady Mara. Free house! J’Shanji and Faendal were in his neighborhood today, but they did not stop in at the cabin.

J’Shanji 3 has decided to stay with Faendal on a long term basis. It’s working out great! He doesn’t enchant or do alchemy, so he just needs a few drawers for his steel ingots and boot collection. He arranged some of his stuff in amongst Faendal’s, um, treasures. I’ve read that visiting the cell resets the respawn timer, so we’ll see what happens. There’s nothing that J’Shanji can’t do without, and it feels like they both live there with some new junk on the surfaces. It’s definitely a hunters’ place. There were already weapons and hides everywhere, and now there are also large antlers on the shelves and a stack of honeycombs on the table. Khajiit has a sweet tooth!

J’Shanji is still broke at level 15, which is great. Buying potions keeps him poor, and living with Faendal keeps him from saving for a city house. He really feels like a Khajiit in Skyrim this time.



About old orc: Most of my characters would not approach an orc stranger in the wilderness, but of course when Jensa saw the old orc she walked right up and asked him how he killed the two sabre cats. He explained the situation. When she couldn’t talk him out of it, she decided to risk her neck and try to help him out. It was a little scary since at the time she had recently started using her greatsword and was much better with her bow. She fought him with her sword because she thought that a good death for an old orc was not one where some Nord chick jumps up on a rock and fills you with arrows. He got the death he was waiting for. It was a big honor to Jensa that he would even ask her, since she was a hunter and quite new at the warrior business. Since then she’s done all right.

I did put something here, but i edited it as i thought it would be better to put in the spoiler forum

Lady Mara II, so glad you can join us! And Andrea's here! Now it's a party! Anybody bring some sweetrolls?

Fredas, 1:38 PM, 6th of Sun's Dawn, 4th Era, Year 202

Name: Crystal Beth

Level: 29

Race: High Elf

Current Destinations: Meridia's Beacon, Rift Watchtower

As Crystal Beth walks along from Whiterun to her next destinations, she muses about her current luck, and already is longing to return to Solitude to her new home. But for now, she's after some sort of a beacon for a Goddess-like voice who spoke to Beth just as she discoverd Solitude: Meridia is her name. She also is going to fetch yet another book for the orc at The College. ...Unfortunately for Beth, both of these adventures are to be found near Windhelm, and she's wanting to use Windhelm as a "base" of operations for a few days.

Beth has had trouble with the law in Windhelm..serious stuff... some people were killed and she somehow incurred several murders on her bounty list. But, that was so long ago! Will she be confronted by the city guards after all this time? Would they even remember this passing elf? If so, she has no intention of staying in jail. With just over 1,600 gold being carried by her horse, she hopes she'll be able to pay the guards off, if this is to be the case.

The day is fair and the roads are mostly clear. Beth has been past Volkheim Towers recently, and she hopes there won't be anything she can't handle beyond these towers.

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Fredas, 3:39 PM, 6th of Sun's Dawn, 4th Era, Year 202

"STOP! You have quite a bounty on your head in the hold of Eastmarch. What say you in your defence?"

Beth was stunned. She sat upon her un-named horse, not sure (at first) what to do. The man was carrying a giant sword made with some sort of golden metal, and handed Beth a sheet demanding 1,327 gold!

She decides to ride off. She's nowhere near Windhelm, and what if this man is some sort of imposter? If she is to pay a fine, she shall do so in Windhelm, where she knows it's officially where her bounty was created in the first place!

As she rides off (good thing she's got her horse), Beth notices the "bounty hunter" doesn't put up much of a chase. By the time she's crossed the bridge she met him at, he's already given up!

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My Nord fighter Thor a'Zaene is the only character I've had so far who found the Old Orc. Thor couldn't kill him, either. He didn't see any reason to.



awesum! lolz.