Turdas, 2:13 AM, 12th of Sun's Dawn

I'll make tonight's entry shorter than usual. I want to document some of the awesomeness of it.

Crystal Beth was walking towards Windhelm after finishing off a tower-full of bandits, and finding yet another book for the orc at the College. She was attacked by these two Thalmor. Beth was reluctant to get involved in battleing them since she was horseback, so she rode up to a nearby group of giant + 2 mammoths.

She rode around and around them, hoping the Thalmor agents would eventually make a mistake and hit a giant or a mammoth, but it didn't happen. After a few minutes of this, Beth found a safe spot on top of a tall rock, got off her horse, and cast a Frenzy at one of the mammoths. She was hoping it would (of course) attack the thalmor, but instead, it started to follow HER!

She never did take care of those Thalmor. They fell far behind as Beth had no choice but to ride off, a mammoth hot on her tail. And get this: the mammoth followed her all the way to Windhelm!

Even at Windhelm, it kept following her. Through the stables, up the entrance stairs, under the bridge! It was mad! Finally, Beth found a place she could safely get off, and she now cast some Fear on the mammoth! Thankfully, it started to lumber away.

Beth had to pay a fine of about 1,100 gold to Windhelm, but this was okay. She's loving this town! She's having fun exploring it (now that her bounty is cleared). She's currently looking after a Nord who keeps complaining about the "dark elves", trying to find a way to cleverly get him involved in combat, without initiating it herself. Hmmm..so far the opportunity has not presented itself.

She got assigned to take down an entire cave of bandits. In the boss's chests, she found something she's been hoping for: a set of Expert robes! YES!! 125% magicka regeneration. Unfortunately, they are Destruction robes, not Alteration or Illusion. Her Destructive spell costs are already low enough. But oh well. 125% magic-regen is a fine thing to have!

..hmm, actually, that wasn't a very short post, was it?
.

Hehe that Mammoth just wouldn't give up would it! Haha

Jessika too likes Windhelm, but it is nowhere near her favourite city (that would be Riften, where she lives), and she has brefriended the Argonians of the docks there, whom she visits every now and then.

Expert robes? WOO!! Those are just what Brel needs... once we get to the appropriate level that is

That's what was so weird, Andrea. That spell (Frenzy) is only supposed to last 30 seconds, and other than this, Beth never actually hit the mammoth offensively. That's why I was freakin', yet having a good laugh! The mammoth would NOT stop following Beth. Good thing she was on horseback!

Yea, and the Expert robes were an awesome find. She's been wanting to find some, rather than buy some, obvioulsy because 3,000+ gold is a lot to spend. SHe might eventually still get some Expert/Illusion or Expert/Alteration robes, though. Like I said, some of those spells drain her magic quite a bit.

Hmm...but then again, she really hasn't advanced her Destruction in awhile. Ah...we shall see what'll come.

That must have been quite a chase! I love mammoth mayhem.


Here’s the latest from Jensa:

I used to think that Calder was a man of few words, but now I’d say he doesn’t have any. Hasn’t spoken up without me saying something first since Windhelm, and tonight we’re in Ivarstead. I got so lonely I resurrected a poor little dead fox we found just for the company. Calder didn’t like that. I could tell by the way he didn’t blink.

This whole situation came about when Stenvar and I got to discussing how I need to see the Greybeards again. Maybe they heard another echo of power somewhere. The gods know that Stenvar and I pick the wrong places to look. Anyway I didn’t want Stenvar to climb all of those steps this time on account of his knee injury. I couldn’t say it that way, though. So I asked him what he had for sale.

It was a bunch of junk, of course. Plus the potions that I made for him, but it was the wrong time to start an argument about that. He said he intended to acquire some new inventory for his shop, which means go raiding. I said fine, good hunting. I’m off to see some old men. Calder glanced to the side a little and kind of breathed through his nose. That’s Calder talk for he wants to go with me.

So here we are in Ivarstead about to make the climb. I took him through Nelheim to show him the view. The smell was bad because of the bodies from the last time through there with Stenvar, but Kyne smiled and we could see all the way back home to Windhelm. Then we ran along the ridge to Ivarstead, and here we are. I like this little town. Wilhelm runs a nice inn. But they could sure as sixteen hells use another merchant.

Yea, that's true. There don't seem to be enough merchants in Windhelm, considering how large it is. Beth was also hoping the dark elves have an inn, but this seems not to be the case.

I thought it was just me. I thought I hadn't explored the place fully.

Oh, on the other hand, the fact that the inn's rooms have actual doors is really a plus! Beth is so sick of rooms with no doors.

Its Ivarstead that doesn't have any merchants. It just has the inn, and nothing else. Windhelm has a smith, two general stores, an alchemist, and the court mage. That's more than most.

Two general stores? Oh..I think one of of them is a dark elf place? I'm not remembering.

Beth was unable to find the court mage. Does he/she show up after the Civil War questline is initiated? She looked everywhere, and couldn't find him. Or her.

I still want a dark-elf inn, too, or rather, Beth wants it. It would be a different atmosphere....kinda like the competing inns in Cheydinhal. Know what I mean?

One of the general stores is a dark elf place. Its back in the grey quarter near the "front" of the city. I forget the name of the place. Of course the other general merchant is Naranye, who has a kiosk with the others in front of the alchemist shop. The funny thing is both general merchants are elves, in fact, most of the vendors in Windhelm are elves.

There is a dark elf bar in the grey quarter. But I don't think you can rent rooms there. I am not sure though, I have never tried.

The court wizard is there all the time. He is hard to find though. When you walk in the Palace of Kings, go through the first door on your left. That takes you upstairs. Go up, and turn with the corridor, and follow the hallway all the way down to where it ends. You will find him in a room back there.

There are three general merchants in Windhelm. Don’t forget to talk to the Dunmer with the meat stand in the market square. He will buy general goods. Plus on a good day the Khajiit are outside the city. Their camp is tucked away on the side of the stables. It’s easy to miss.

I was indeed bemoaning the lack of commerce in Ivarstead. It seems like my characters are always loaded down with “treasures” on the way through there.

That's definitely a "no". Beth did talk to the bartender, he does not give the option to rent a room. Beth also explored the entire place. There's an open room on the top floor with a bed or 2, but they are for the people who work there. Beth did not try sleeping in the bed, but even if it's possible to sleep there, she wouldn't want to stay there. It's a big open room with no doors.



Wow thanx, that's helpful hon.

.

Beth is vegetarian. she never talks to the meat-vendors. Some of my other characters do, though.

I've seen the khajiit camp at other towns. Not ever at Windhelm yet, though. Beth hasn't spent tons of time here yet. I like those khajiits They always make me smile.

I've been fooling around with a new character. The dual axe wielding orc that we talked about in some ideas thread, I forget where. Only it turns out that he is a guy.

Duralekh gro-Bulsakh was born in an orc stronghold, it doesn’t matter which one. Celibacy did not appeal to him, and becoming the chief sounded like too much work. He left.

So far he has been enormous fun. (And not just making the children laugh when they say his name.) He hasn’t used any of his found or bought healing potions yet, preferring to let his wounds heal naturally. He did use the starter healing spell once when death was nearly upon him. (Seven bandits plus a Chief. Luckily they fought out in the open, so he had room to move.) He loves to hunt by chasing down the elk and hacking them with his axes. Keeps the herd healthy. Most of them get away, but if one lets him draw blood he will chase it the whole way across the tundra rather than let it live.

He’s spending some time in Whiterun picking up contracts and hopefully some single women. Although his habit seems to be to go on a job, return victorious, get a room at the Bannered Mare, drink all of the ale and mead in his inventory, and then sleep for 24 hours. Not very social. Still, Adrianne and Ulfberth War-Bear are surprisingly fond of him. The last time he stopped in their shop, they simultaneously gifted him with… a hat.

Oh, and here’s a picture of Duralekh at White River Watch at night.





Added an update:

Duralekh had a little misunderstanding with Ysolda. After he ran an errand for her, she made it clear that he was welcome in her house and in her bed. Nice. Then when he attempted to “borrow” a key after she fell asleep, the silly wench screamed bloody murder.

Big D went outside to clear things up with the authorities and found Uthgerd (who was waiting patiently in the market square) preparing to go to war with the entire Whiterun Guard on his behalf. A hasty sack of gold later all was calm again. The two of them hauled tail out to the volcanic tundra where he accepted the blessing of the Atronach stone. Now they’re questing in the Rift.

Uthgerd may be a little hard to look at, but her loyalty can’t be improved upon. Also she can really take a punch. Ysolda may be easy, but… well, that’s really her best feature. And at least she doesn’t remind him of his sisters.

Duralekh gro-Bulsakh. Lol that is a funny name. I like the "only heals naturally" part, too. See, that's where the auto-regen health comes into play.

Congrats on your new big green Bulsakh! It sounds like you are having a ton of fun with him already.

I found a pic of Bulsakh in action

Tremendous! He is in shirtless fur armor, so that's perfect!!


Duralekh gro-Bulsakh is back in Whiterun. He had a quiet afternoon and a mildly confusing night. Here’s how it went.

Gro-Bulsakh and Uthgerd parted ways as soon as they passed through the gate, as is their habit. The orc had some ore and hides to deal with, and the Nord had to catch up on her sitting and drinking. The Bulsakh learned some more about Uthgerd on this trip. She definitely has an anger management issue. But he is not one to judge. He had considered taking the Companions up on their offer, but if they won’t have Uthgerd then he won’t be a brother to them.

Evening fell with its usual breathtaking splendor. This might have been a good time to go for a walk around the market with Ysolda and perhaps join her for drinks and a meal at the Bannered Mare. Or at least bathe after all of those hours at the forge. Instead he went to Uthgerd’s for some mead and a four hour nap. There is a lot that Big D does not know about human ways.

When he woke up he guessed that Ysolda was probably home from the Bannered Mare, so he headed over to break into her house, in a friendly way of course. She was home, still awake, and happy to see him. He hopped into her bed for an hour, score. Then when he got up she said, and I still can’t believe this, “Goodbye. And if you happen to see Mikael, tell him I was asking about him.” She promptly went to sleep.

Mikael? The bard?! What the… Duralekh was not pleased with that comment. Why was Ysolda thinking about some skinny Nord? Perhaps she didn’t like the flowers he brought for her (nightshade). Or maybe she didn’t like his other present, the large antlers from an elk he slaughtered out on the tundra. After all, he did knock over some of her silly pots while trying to place them on a shelf. Or maybe she was trying to make him jealous, since he was still wearing the silver and emerald necklace given to him by sweet Sylgja of Shor’s Stone. Now there was a woman. Even with a gimp leg, she could really crack the rock.

Anyway he still had some things to do before he went over to the tavern to give Mikael a beating. First he had to cook some soup and move the rest of his junk into Ysolda’s house. Chores completed, he made two more attempts to snag her key. No and no. Fifty more coins to the guards. Third time he got it. Then she woke up pissed and asked him to leave. Crazy wench. So he went back to crash at Uthgerd’s house until nearly noon. This man loves to sleep.

His plans for after he brawls with Mikael include searching through a dangerous barrow to impress a woman and searching through a dangerous Dwarven ruin to impress a woman. I don’t know if I mentioned, but when D dies, he will be dead. His armor rating is 99, so I’m quite worried about what I know waits underground for him. Plus after the barrow, there be dragons.

Lol so he broke into Ysolda's house, brought her antlers and nightshade, and he wonders why she doesn't want to stick around? The Bulsackh's got a lot to learn about the ladies!

Big D’s personal life continues to exceed my expectations for entertainment.

The last time he had a run-in with the law, they must have taken his key to Ysolda’s house. He discovered this when he smacked his face against her locked door coming back from Redoran's Retreat. No problem, he just let himself in the old-fashioned way. She wasn’t home, so he stretched out on the bed for a nap.

Fourteen hours later she still wasn’t home. He met her coming out of the Bannered Mare at seven of the morning watch. She didn’t have much to say about it. That’s when he remembered his unfinished business with Mikael.

Now, beating up a bard may not be pleasing to Malacath, but the Bulsakh expected it to at least be enjoyable. No such luck. Mikael backed down faster than a Nord chasing a mead wagon. Fetching kitten.

There was nothing left to do but round up Uthgerd and head out to Bleak Falls Barrow. After he got all of his stuff from Ysolda’s house and stashed it back at Uthgerd’s, of course. Except he may have left some dog meat in Ysolda’s bedside table. He’s sure she’ll find it eventually.




Added an Update:


The Bulsakh had no trouble in BFB. I’m sure this is old news, but it seems that the Atronach Stone is helping him ward off diseases. He got those bubbly visual effects from wolves and skeevers on this little jaunt, but no illness. Uthgerd picked up a nice enchanted sword from the dead guy at the end. Big D also gave her a copper and moonstone circlet that he found. She put it on immediately. Not an hour later she swapped it for an Imperial Officer’s Helmet that they looted from a looter. Uthgerd is definitely Big D’s kind of woman. She’s still not interested in him, though. (She won’t give him the Mara Amulet dialog. That’s how we judge these things.)

Back in Riverwood, Lucan was overjoyed to get his dust catcher back. Whatever. Duralekh headed upstairs to see if he could get some thanks from Camilla. She was asleep. The beds at the Lucan house are still marked as owned. That means no action for the Bulsakh. Damn.

So they went home to Whiterun and some business with the Jarl. After a good long rest at Uthgerd’s house, of course. When he woke up, there was news from the Western Watchtower. They geared up and headed out in the rain.

Here are some highlights from Duralekh gro-Bulsakh’s latest adventures.

In Markarth he met an orc smith who is also from a stronghold. She gave him that unshakable sister feeling. It seems that he will just never be into orc women. He earned some coin while he was there, mostly for running up and down stairs. As he left town, he walked straight into the meat cart while gawking at Hroki. This guy needs a perk tree for lady skillz.

On the way from Markarth to Whiterun, the Bulsakh and the Bulldog (Uthgerd) had to fight every Stormcloak, Imperial, and Thalmor group they encountered. No one seems to like Uthgerd’s looted Imperial Officer’s Helm. She was on her knees after about one second of conflict with the Thalmor. Big D decided that he would leave her in Whiterun this time. The old girl needs some rest.

A little solo jaunt on the tundra yielded a vial of pink goo and some interesting information about his ex, Ysolda. Now he has something that she wants. Ha! Of course he gave it up as soon as she asked for it. Even with the Amulet of Zenithar (that he pulled from someone’s severed neck), the Bulsakh is not much of a negotiator.

Still, her gold let him finished his Dragon Kit. Now he has fire resist boots and frost resist boots. That should do it. After BFB we released the dragons, but Duralekh is not the Dragonborn. That means no Shouts. We just pretend that the soul absorb light show is part of what happens to magically resurrected dragons when they die, and never unlock any words that he finds.

Now he needs to go finish some business in Riften, but this orc is no loner. So he jogged back to Rorikstead and hired young Erik the Slayer. They got to fight together right away. A dragon attacked while they were still within sight of town.

The battle went well with no losses on the ground, at least locally. Big D even had time to pull on his anti-frost boots while the dragon sailed around icing everything from Morthal to Old Hroldan, or so it seemed. That one had a real attention issue.

Back on the road they stopped in Whiterun to pick up some better gear for Erik. Duralekh is keeping Smithing to a minimum, which means that shops can be as exciting as treasure chests. Duralekh was overjoyed to find the Khajiit caravan outside the gates. Tremendous luck, they had another pair of fire resist boots for sale. Duralekh used up most of his gold buying them for Erik. Here’s how we interpreted Erik’s failure to equip either the new boots or the ones that the Bulsakh had been wearing.

Duralekh: Here you go, kid. Next dragon might not be a frosty. With these boots you won’t scream as much when you’re on fire.

Erik the Slayer: Thanks, D, but I already have a pair of iron boots.

D: Oh hells, I forgot about that. Right, you can wear my leather ones. They have the same enchantment.

E the S: Ha! Why would I wear unimproved leather boots? You’re funny. I’ll just keep clomping around in these iron boots that my da bought for me, even though I’m more skilled in light armor.

D: Ffffffff—

So now Big D has a reason to do some women’s work at the forge. Maybe when he learns to improve enchanted items, young Erik will wear his new boots, and then D won’t have to smell him burning.

Good to see you having fun with big D.

One thing I have noticed about how companions choose which gear to equip, is that they ignore enchantments. They seem to pick whatever item has the highest base rating, and that is it. If you give one an iron sword that does an extra 20 points of fire damage, but they have an unenchanted steel sword, they will always equip the steel one. Leather boots have an armor value of 7 and iron 10, so an npc will always pick the iron, etc...

gah, double post!

grits: I laughed out loud at the part where the Bulsakh walked into a meat cart!

No Crystal Beth updates this weekend. I was with Lady Saga today (Oblivion) exploring the Leyawiin area. Despite what I thought before 11/11/11, Oblivion still has plenty of replay value for me.

Oy. Nobody's here anymore. I feel like Chorrol is a ghost town.

Well I'm still here, and hamster it; I just can't spend too much time over at Bethsoft's Sky forums. So here goes...


Morndas, 8:37 PM, 22nd of First Seed, 4th Era, Year 202

Lately Crystal Beth has been spending lots of time in Solitude. Her house is almost completely decorated up. She's got all the furnishing sets except the Enchanting altar, because, well, she's never enchanted anything.

Her room is decorated with all sort of things: red, blue, and purple mountain flowers, gemstones, and various other pretty things. She's also finally got her books up on the shelves. (Heh, I finally figured out that all you have to do is click on the bookshelf and it automatically organizes all your books in one step!)

The rest of her house is also being decorated. Mostly with cool ingredients (charus thingies, various types of eggs, more flowers, butterfly wings, etc.)

Beth has been getting to know her housecarl: Jordis the Sword-Maiden. Beth was worried Jordis would not be useful for adventuring, after losing a Nord male fighter earlier in the year. But after discussing and getting to know Jordis better (me going on UESP), it's obvious that Jordis is a very strong individual. Matter of fact, after somebody over at Bethsoft did the math for me, it turns out Jordis has over 400 HP, which is a lot. Beth only has 230 herself.

Beth found a really cool item in the Solitude general goods store: a ring which regenerates magic at a +60% rate. This means her magic regen rate is now as fast as a firebolt.

Overall, let's have a "fashion moment" with Beth.

Adept Hood (+50 magicka)

Amulet of Akatosh (+25% magic regen)

Expert Robes of Destruction (+125% magic regen, 20% less to cast Destruction spells)

Elven Gauntlets (she has the first 2 perks of Light Armor)

Boots of Dwindling Shock (40% shock resistance)

Like I said, her magic regnerates so fast. In less than 5 seconds, 100 points of magic are regnerated (I timed this rather unscientifically).

Beth decided to take Jordis along to do the Meridia's Beacon questline, and Jordis passed Beth's test with flying colors. Right now, Beth and Jordis are in some bandit camp near Whiterun. There doesn't seem to be anybody home, though.

I like decorating with ingredients. It's fun to drop stuff and see what it looks like. Some things are huge! I can't imagine eating large antlers to discover their properties.

Trouble is, I'm not playing Skyrim at the mo, I'm flitting between some other games...And my creative's going into my stories, as the KOTN is taking a fair old section of what little there is up there anyways...*Taps*... ...So I don't got none left for journals, plus, right, when I do any Skyrim it's J'Zirlo, who I'd then have to tie-in to t'other story...Ayyy...

But it's nice to be reading what everyone else has been doing... ...

I miss Oblivion meself...

EDIT...Oh yeah last time I put Skyrim on, the BrotherZ got a bounty letter from the Bee and Barb to go kiw de dwaagon at a nearby peak...So there I am, going to kiw de dwaagon...

Then I get killed by this damned frost cannon thing, on the steps leading up to it...

Fortunately, I'd saved before I'd started going up the stairs...

And then it happens again, when I try to see how to deactivate it...The next time, I avoid it, but it takes a fair chunk of health off anyways with a glancing blow...Take potion, Kiw de Dwaaagon!!...Get Word from wall...Jump down mountain to avoid cannon...

Meet Farkas, Athis and Torvar "Wha-hey lads!! See you in Riften!!!"..

Run some, "You made a mistake coming here."

What? Where? Oh fer f-

Dead again...

*Rage Quit*...

Shan't be doing that again for a bit... ...

You're funny, McB.



Decorating with ingredients is something I discovered relatively late in my Oblivion days. I forget which character really started the trend...probably Lady Saga.

My chars used to throw gems and amulets and rings and keys down. Crystal Beth likes all of that, but she's really into the flower thing most of all.


Fredas, 8;20 PM, 27th of First Seed...

Crystal Beth and her new companion Jordis the Sword-Maiden are now in a place called Fort Fellhammer Mines. They were heading towards wherever the Helm of Winterhold is being stashed, before getting sidetracked with yet another bandit fort. Fighting simple, ignorant bandits never gets old.

Before this, they were both in Whiterun. Beth found a new bow for Jordis, one that causes any NPC under level 10 to flee. Beth also gave Jordis a 1-handed sword she found; this one causes fire damage.

Jordis really is a true tank in combat. Sometimes, Jordis winds up doing all the work, while Beth merely stands behind, casting Calm and Fear on the bandits, and then healing Jordis up when appropriate. It's a really interesting dynamic of gameplay.

Duralekh gro-Bulsakh has been through some changes.

The last cave full of spiders was the straw that broke the mammoth’s back. Big D had no trouble with them, but his fears gave every desiccated corpse Sylgja’s face. He went straight back to Riften and bought Honeyside without asking her. He figured it’s close enough to Shor’s Stone that she can visit her friends when she wants. Plus the only other house he could afford is in Ysolda’s neighborhood. He would really like to not have Sylgja meet Ysolda. It’s not that he’s hiding something, but there are some things he’s definitely not mentioning.

So he went back home to convince his wife she should move into a house that’s next to a fishery. “All right,” she said. “I’ll get everything ready and meet you there.” Well, that was easy. D walked her down the road to the new place. She loves it. He can tell because she’s been 100% with the fresh meals and hot Comfort. Also she opened up a shop. Hopefully she’ll buy his Sleeping Tree Sap. Then he won’t have an excuse to go visit Ysolda.

In other news, Mjoll went home and now D is traveling with his drinking buddy Roggi Knot-Beard. Roggi loves mead and Big D is an ale man, so the two of them can drink a place dry without any arguing. I’m not sure how Roggi measures up as a warrior. D had a very tough fight with a vampire in a nearly pitch-black cave. About all I could see through D’s Berserker Rage was red spells and D’s health bar vanishing. No idea what Roggi was doing during the battle, but somehow D didn’t kill him in the dark.

The other close call was D’s first blood dragon on a mountain path with a side of frost troll. At one point he was blinded by the dragon’s frost while the troll was thumping him. He got through that with 5 potions left, three of them only minor healing. He had already Raged once that day. That fight was also absent Roggi.

Now they are headed west to solve some sword puzzle. It was Roggi’s idea. Big D thinks it must be some Nord vs. Reachman thing. Whatever. He’s in it for the fight.

Big D! ha ha ha!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crystal Beth wound up going back to Winterhold, with her new companion Jordis the Sword-Maiden. A couple of the female mages are very jealous of Beth at the moment, because she's got the attention of Arch Mage Aren. They had plans to "deal" with Beth somehow, but they did not plan that Beth would come back to the College with a big Nord fighter lady!

Beth showed Jordis a spare room, two doors down from Beth's own room. As Beth looked in on her stuff, she noticed some of the items she had left behind are missing, or in the wrong recepticle. THIS is why she hates staying in rooms with no doors. She misses Proudspire (her Solitude home) at that moment.

Beth has some additional powers not included in the game: if she has a crystal ball, Crystal Beth can gaze into it for an hour or so, and perform small amounts of "time & distance travel", as she calls it. To us on Earth, this is what we call ESP (extra-sensory perception).

She eventually knows everything. She knows about Mirabelle and her plans to eradicate Beth, or get her ousted from the College. She also knows about their confusion over the sudden appearance of Jordis the Sword-Maiden.

As her time/distance travel visions fade, Beth is suddenly glad Jordis is with her. She gets hungry, and goes looking for some fruit.
.

That's strange, I wonder what's going on with Beth's stuff? Did the surfaces in her room respawn?


The Bulsakh and Roggi are headed west into the Reach. Their departure from Riften was somewhat delayed by a fire-breathing blood dragon. It attacked inside the city while D and Roggi were passing the market area on their way to the gate. It was late afternoon, so pretty much the whole town was outside. Big D has new respect for his neighbors, although he wants to have a strategy session with Balimund before another dragon attacks. That guy has a whole store full of weapons and armor, and he went after the dragon with a dagger. That was more than some folks had, though. It was hard to tell, but it seemed that Brand-Shei was armed only with strong language.

Shockingly, no one died. Maybe because there were so many targets, the dragon didn’t focus too much on any one person. Also D didn’t see Roggi during this fight either. It crossed his mind that the Nord might have ducked into the meadery for one last pint before Sovngarde. He did manage to get at least one of his arrows into the dragon, so D didn’t ask him any questions. When it was over, Duralekh sold the spoils and walked home to Sylgja. She was completely calm and happy see him back so soon. She must have really been involved with her projects downstairs and missed the attack. D and Roggi left for real the next morning. Sylgja announced that while they are gone she’s going to plant a garden. She always wanted one at Shor’s Stone, but the deer kept eating it.

On the road to Ivarstead, D was attacked by another Dark Brotherhood assassin. That made him think. He recently heard a rumor that might help him find them. He would sure like to know who wants him dead. He also made a discovery that I cannot believe I have been missing all of this time. (Not quest related.) They came upon a military encampment while they were cutting through the woods. Big D is an amiable orc, so he wandered over and struck up a conversation. The quartermaster was happy to trade with him. Holy crow, the world is full of merchants that I didn’t even know about!!

Hehheh, no that's rolepay stuff. Beth is writing a book (it's in the fanfic section) and some of the female mages are jealous of her, because she's got Savos Aren's attention. They figured out that Beth had been keepng a large amount of gold in her room, but by the time they searched her room, Beth had already taken this gold. That' how she bought her house in Solitude.

Oh right, I didn't connect the two! I remember now, they searched her room. Sorry!

So today, I did it, folks (both of you ). I did the deed. I upgraded to Xbox territory! I watched some videos on YouTube showing how the Kinect thingie works, and HAD to have this too. I'm surprised that actually works, but it does!

This is the answer to the stupid, clunky favorites system, console players. No more pausing the game over and over to go into the favorites menu...all you gotta do is say "Equip Axe", and it's done. I know some of you could care less, but this is a HUGE jump in technology for ol' Renee.

I'm noticing little diffferences here and there. Saving takes seconds less than it does on the PS3. Navigating the menu (without Kinect) is also quicker.


Anyways, to commemorate this historic moment in Renee G's world, I started a new character (kind of), even though it's not raining.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sundas, 1:03 PM, 17th of Last Seed, 4th ERA, Year: 201

As Gunter, Son of Talos followed an Imperial to safety from the dragon, he spied a group of Stormcloaks off to his right.

"You! Where are you going?"

yelled the Imperial soldier.

Gunter paid him no heed. He must stick together, stick together with his brothers.

He ran into some sort of keep, while the Stormcloak soldier suggested Gunter put on some armor. Gunter does not think this a good idea. Yes, he's a brute. Yes, he's a fighter, but there's no way he's putting on a man's last wardrobe.

He does take the man's axe, though. A standard iron axe, it will do well to protect Gunter.

"Come, follow me!" says the Stormcloak.

Gunter did as he was told. There were a couple melees, and Gunter did his best, although he did accidentally hit his Stormcloak brother once during his final blow!

But it was no problem. His brother didn't even flinch.

"We've got to get moving!"

But as Gunter spies some actual FOOD hanging near a fireplace, he can't but help himself!!! There's some roasted pheasant, and raw rabbit's leg. Gunter goes ahead and eats the pheasant ravenously!

MMMMNOMM NOMM HNOMMMMM NOMMM

He eats like a pig. Just like a pig. But it's worth it.

He also spies some wine! Before he's even checked what sort it is, half of it is gone in a huge gulp.

*URRRRP!!*

"Ahhh, that's much better....MUCH better!!! I am sorry brother, but I just had to get me belly full."

"Done? Let's get moving!"

Gunter, Son of Talos now follows his brother, whose name he doesn't even know yet, down a dark corridor.

My characters have been hanging out in the Stormcloak camps for a long time now. Not only can you trade with their quartermasters, but they typically have alchemy and smithing stations you can use. You can even sleep in their tents.

None of the my characters ever go near the Imperial camps though. The way they tried to cut their heads off at the beginning of the game kind of cools their desire to be anywhere around the Imperial Legion.

Some of those Nord camps are not as friendly, though. That's what I've witnessed with Beth. They won't up and just attack her, but they'll draw their weapons sometimes.

Anyways, now for another Son of Talos update. He's made it to Riverwood, and is staying with Hod and Gerdur.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Morndas, 6:19 AM, 18th of Last Seed, Year 201

Gunter couldn't believe it when Gerdur handed him the key.

"But...but I ...I..."

He didn't know what to say. She also offered him some food and alcohol. What more can a Nord ask for?

Ah....'tis a dangerous question! 'tis a dangerous question indeed!....

As the hours passed and the man of house, who goes by the name of Hod, stayed up drinking on his bed, Gunter, Son of Talos grew tired. He had eaten more than his fill of bread, meat, and a few apples, and had several bottles of standard Nordic mead.

Hod made no sign of moving off the single he was sitting upon, so finally Gunter goes to talk to the man. The two had met briefly before, but now the talk broadens out a little.

"So. You saw a dragon up in Helgen? Tell me about it!"

"I do not really want to talk about that," says Gunter, truthfully, not because he's traumatized, though. He really wants to just fall asleep on the spot.

"Ah...well that's okay then..." says Hod.

Gunter sees Hod, then he sees two Hods. Then three Hods. He shakes his head in an effort to clear it. Damn mead!

As Gunter grabs and swallows down yet another bottle of Nord Mead, he's finally just a bit too drunk to care. He walks over to the double bed where Gerdur, the Lady of the house, is sleeping. And before he knows it, he's asleep beside her. Normally he would try to sweet talk such a woman (even if her husband were present! That never stopped him in the past), but he's too drunk and too tired to even make a move.

He sleeps for an unknown amount of time, and wakes up with what we on Earth call a "blinding hangover". But before he gets out of bed, he can't help but snuggle up a little closer to the Lady of the house. What is her name?? Gerbil? Something like that.

Then he hears something.

He gets up out of bed in a flash! But it's okay. It's just the Man of the house (Nod? Bod? Something like that...) Both Bod and the man Gunter escaped Helgen with are still awake, and both are drinking mead. They've apparently been drinking all night.

Gunter goes to speak to Nod, now. No BOD! His name is Bod!

"I ...I ah...." although Gunter will sleep, fight, and sweetalk almost anything with two legs when he's drunk, when he's sober he always regrets such actions. But, of course, he can't help them either.

He wants to make amends with Bod for sleeping next to Gerbil, the Lady of the house...

"I was drunk, me lord. Excuse me"..

But Hod pays him no mind.

"Got business here in Riverwood eh? There are worse villages". Hod says.

"Well no...I need to go outside, excuse me!"

Gunter runs outside, runs towards the river he saw the day before. Ahh!!!! He dives STRAIGHT IN.

"I'm spoken for, so don't get any ideas"...says a snotty woman. Gunter could care less, at the moment. This water feels GREAT! And it looks great under the waves, as well. Gunter can't help but think he's never seen such an underwater before!

..But it's also COLD.

But...if there's any cure for a hangover, a fresh, cold Skyrim river will often do the trick!

.

Started a Ghenghis Khan style Khajiit character today to try out the new mounted combat. Got about as far as Helgen keep before bugs meant half the thing didn't appear. Boo!

Going to try that again later, then ride around shooting things with a bow.

Duralekh gro-Bulsakh has taken down the Dark Brotherhood. The whole process was a spoiler-fest that will go unremarked upon, except to say that he survived. Afterward he just stood under the trees for a little while. I was really worried about this escapade. The roadside assassins are pretty much just a nuisance, but D couldn’t stop imagining one of them standing over his sleeping wife. No more.

Now he’s taking a much deserved vacation in his favorite place: home. He picked up Erik the Slayer on his way back to Riften.

Erik was happy to see him. “Hello, friend,” he said. “Are we going on another adventure?”

“Sure, kid,” said the Bulsakh. “But first we’re going fishing.”



While Big D takes a break, I started a new character. Meet Shuvesse: Khajiit stealth archer, skooma addict, Dovahkiin. The gods must have a sense of humor.

Shuvesse was caught coming over the border with a quantity of high-grade skooma. Escaping back to Cyrodiil without the coin or the goods meant certain death at the hands of her associates, so she decided to ride it out with the captured Stormcloaks. About the time she realized she had made a big mistake, there was mayhem. She escaped with her life and some assorted goods.

Skyrim felt like a fresh start. She had been clean for a month before they trusted her with the cargo. Now she could just keep going. But first she had to warn the Jarl.

On her way into Whiterun, she met a Khajiit caravan. They had skooma for sale. She paused for a smoke before heading into the city.

I’m managing Shuvesse’s habit by making a note every game day on paper. She needs one vial of skooma per day while she’s addicted. If she runs out, she’ll have to put 300 gold per day into a respawning container in a hold capital to simulate buying from another addict. She is an alchemist, so she can cook her own from nightshade and moon sugar. I’m thinking one each per day eaten together to substitute for a vial. Last thing, she can get clean at a temple for 5,000 Septims. The catch is that the next time she meets someone with skooma for sale (or finds some), she’s hooked again. I may tweak the terms of her habit as we go. I want it to be a major motivator without making all other goals completely unreachable.

Her addiction means that before she undertakes a mission like the pilgrimage to High Hrothgar, she’ll either have to get clean or lay in a good supply. Also she will not be able to keep a follower while she’s using. That means those roadside dealers will cause her to dismiss her follower, loot and all.

Shuvesse has been known to trade a piece of tail for one more hit, so the Thieves Guild sounds like an improvement. If she gets thrown in jail while she’s addicted, she’ll have to attempt an escape. I’ve never done that before, so it should be interesting. She uses light armor, archery, and claws plus the Gloves of the Pugilist for melee. She’ll also put some perks in sneak and alchemy.

Her armor is unimproved Thieves Guild gear, so she is very fragile. She hasn’t found anything with resistance charms yet. I’ve never had a character almost die in the first dragon fight before, but Shuvesse was nearly crisped while hiding in the tower. (The guard standing in front of her fell over dead.) Her need for cover and an escape route makes every place new. She took the Ritual Stone power for a panic button, but she hasn’t used it yet.

Here’s a little report:



24 Last Seed, 4E 201

Shuvesse stood outside the Whiterun stable looking west. The road was empty, no sign of the Khajiit caravan. She felt both relieved and disappointed.

It had taken four days to save up enough gold for the blessing that cleaned her blood. Four days of fear and pain while she scrambled to earn, her pile of coins growing as her supply dwindled. Four nights of bliss entwined with that sweet, white smoke. No one would ever love her the way skooma did. It was a lie, but the loss when it was gone felt real enough.

But now hope was back in her heart, and she needed something even more than another high. This new power made her greater than just flesh and bones. The dragon at the watchtower had called her name. Dovahkiin. It knew her. The Greybeards knew her. And now she could answer their call.

If Lydia ever managed to catch up. Shuvesse glanced irritably back toward the gate. She would need the big Nord’s brawn when another dragon found her, or if a storm came up on the mountain, or if a hundred other dangers surprised her with steel, spell, and fang. Skyrim was a hungry land with too few shadows. Shuvesse was a city Khajiit, but if she lived long enough, she could learn some new ways.

Lydia jogged up and halted a few paces behind her. She scanned the sky, then turned to watch their backs. Good, thought Shuvesse. She started down the road to Ivarstead.

Welcome Shuv! She is a cutie. What is she wearing? It looks like leather, but when I compare it to Tanit's leather armor, the straps and plates are different. Ahh, I should have read further before asking. It is Thieves Guild armor. I should make a mod that makes that craftable, since I doubt any of my characters will ever do the TG questline. I was thinking about it with Tanit, but I don't like the things it makes you do, starting with framing that merchant in Riften, and then shaking people down for money.




there was mayhem.
Have you ever noticed that we never hear about aprilhem? or junehem? What is it about may that makes people think about chaos? I am weird, I actually think about these things, and how our words evolved.

Grits: wow, simulating a drug habit. That's intense! Not sure I could go that far, it would hit too close for me. Skyrim skooma sucks, anyways. I've heard sleeping tree sap is the way to go!



aww that sucks.

How did I miss this? Tell us how it goes! I have been intensely curious to hear about how the new mounted combat really works. I just know that it is only for melee weapons and bows, but not magic. I am still running 1.4. If the mounted combat actually works, I might give upgrading to 1.6 a try.




Yeah, Skyrim skooma is just a stamina potion. Very underwhelming. Does that mean regular stamina potions are all addictive and mind-altering too?



As those of you who follow my video/pic topic know, I started a new character a few days ago. Hera is an Altmer barbarian. She never knew her biological parents. Instead she was raised by a mountain man named Alp-Öhi (yes, I am totally ripping off Heidi), who lived in relative seclusion in the Jerall Mountains. Aside from Alp, her only contact with people was with those who lived in the nearest village, which they only visited sparingly, and when absolutely necessary.

When Alp finally died of old age, Hera could no longer bear to live in the same house alone. Everywhere she looked, she saw her beloved adoptive father. So she dug out his ancient suit of armor, resewed the linen parts to fit herself, and made her way down the mountain to see the big wide world she had only heard of in rumor and legends.

It was an eye-opener to say the least. The first people she met took her prisoner and tried to lop her head off. Then a dragon appeared and rescued her. The only people nice to her were the Stormcloaks who had been taken prisoner with her. Especially the one named Ralof. He said Hera should go to some place named Windhelm to join the rebellion against the Empire. But Hera did not even know what the Empire was. So she said she'd think about it, and went her own way. She soon found that the lowlands were filled with people itching to kill her and take her belongings. The nicer folk called them bandits. A word she had never heard before.

When she finally met other people who were tall, and had golden skin and pointed ears like her own, Hera was jubilant. She ran up to them, hoping to learn more of who they were and what it meant that they looked like her. She wondered if they might be of the mythical race called "elves" she had heard about from Alp and the villagers back home. Everyone there had called her an "elf", although she had never known just what that meant. Perhaps these strangers could tell her.

Well, they turned out to be no more friendly than the "bandits". When one asked if she worshiped Talos, she said "of course!" After all, who did not say their prayers every night to Mighty Talos? Things got ugly then. But afterward Hera found that the armor the "elves" had worn fit her perfectly. In fact, it was very pretty. Even prettier than her ancient Nord armor. Now she is in a quandry, does she keep wearing her Nordic Armor, or wear the Elven Armor? Perhaps she will wear the Nordic suit in the warmer climes, and the Elven where it is colder?

I get the sense that Skyrim skooma is watered-down or something. It doesn't look as if it really does anything. Compare 1970's era pot to today's pot for instance. The THC levels back then were much weaker than they are now.

With Cyrodiilic skooma, for some reason I got the sense that it was doing something for the user: and had both negative and eurphoric consequences.

And welcome Hera. Hope you enjoy these forums. I would vote Elven armor for her, instead of Nordic.

------------------------------------------------------------------

I should just preface this entry by saying I'm going to be retiring Crystal Beth pretty soon; she'll retire to Solitude, that is. It's gonna be hard, because she FINALLY attained Master-level Illusion spells (which means Invisibility). But she's a PS3 character, and I'm going to do an overall switch to Xbox, now that I've got the Kinect system. Using magic commands via voice (instead of buttons) is going to be way too much fun!

Beth actually died the other day, but I granted her life be returned (she is writing a story, that's my excuse ).


Morndas, 7:08 PM, 6th of Rain's Hand

"And this is Windhelm, Jordis. A suitable place; I think I do like it here, although not quite as much as I like Solitude Solitude has the sun's light to cheer it up, does it not?"

Crystal Beth and Jordis the Sword-Maiden just arrived in Windhelm. There's a variety of quests they're going to accomplish here before making their historic journey back to Solitude.

Quest 1: The Jarl of Winterhold wants Beth & Jordis to take down some "bandits on the wreck of Winter War". Really? This is like the third time bandits have inhabited the ship. Is it really that hot of a spot to dwell in? Beth wonders.

Quest 2: The pair are to find a shrine devoted to Boethiah. Good thing she's got Clairvoyance; otherwise she'd probably never find this place!

Quest 3: Beth and Jordis will then be off to Riften. She's not really sure why, but she wrote it down in her journal to go there and meet up with somebody named "Vekel". Something like that.

It will be Beth's first journey to Riften. She has no idea what to expect there, but I kinda do.

We’re going with what the game world shows us about skooma, rather than what happens when the PC uses it. I suppose it’s one of those imagination mods.

I’d go with both armors for Hera. Perhaps she is fascinated by a new connection with the Elven, but reluctant to abandon her upbringing. Also she might get a chill up her skirt in the Nordic.

Shuvesse got some new Words from her mountain adventure. Now she’s headed north on an errand. Still clean, still dragging Lydia along behind her.


***


Added an update from Shuvesse:


27 Last Seed, 4E 201

“Tools and wares of all kinds, and all can be yours,” called the Khajiit trader.

Shuvesse stood in the snow outside Windhelm with Lydia at her back. The Nord had proven her worth against the sabre cats along the road from Riften. Now Shuvesse feared to leave her. She turned to her companion.

“I’m still here,” said Lydia.

“Khajiit will walk alone for a time,” murmured Shuvesse.

Lydia nodded. “As you wish, my Thane. I’ll head back home. You can find me there if you need me.”

Shuvesse waited until her Housecarl had walked a fair distance before she approached the caravan tents. The temple blessing had taken away her body’s need for skooma, but there was no cure for the wanting.

The trader’s eyes were hard and knowing. “This one needs something?”

Shuvesse made the trade and quickly slipped away past the stables. She didn’t have enough gold for a horse. It would be a long, cold walk to Hjaalmarch. Her fingers found the shape of the pipe tucked under her jacket. At least she would not lack company.

After a smoke under the bridge, she found her confidence. Her claws were sharper than a wolf’s, and her Sprint was faster than a sabre cat’s. If her Thu’um could match a draugr’s, she would soon know it. Shuvesse kept an eye on the sky and another on the trees as she walked. Perhaps she would even find some more nightshade in the marshes of Hjaalmarch.

ha ha Grits. you must have the day off, too.

Loved the little story, and the in-game dialogue. And the fact that she was too embarassed to puff on some skooma in the presence of her housecarl.

Imagination mods.

OK, so when Shuvesse said her Sprint was faster than a sabre cat's, that was the skooma talking. Holy crap! On the road north she ditched her temporary quest-related follower so that she could smoke. Out in the dark in a snowstorm she got jumped by a snowy sabre cat. She made it through by guzzling the potions she had saved for the upcoming dragon hunt. Also she ate far more cheese than one mortal should in a single sitting. She really needs to buy a horse.

The dragon fight went well. There were a bunch of dead soldiers lying around, so she used her Ritual Stone power to make some dragon bait. Now she’s about to enter Windhelm to warm up and make a plan. She has a good supply of skooma and very little gold. Even if she steals the whole place blind, she doesn’t have a fence here. What to do…

Shuvesse needs an intervention. I have the number for SA: Skooma Anonymous, in case things really get bad.


Turdas, 4:57 PM, 9th of Rain's Hand

Today is the day. The final day of Crystal Beth's game, maybe for good. She has decided to retire to Solitude, and has quit adventuring. Yeah, I'm as shocked as you are. Here's what happened.

She and her Housecarl, Jordis the Sword-Maiden, were off to Riften, a place neither of them had ever been. Beth got antsy (as usual) and wanted to do some dungeon-diving.

She found a network of paths going up a mountainside. These paths went multiple directions. She found a place she didn't want to mess with right now: a Dwemer ruin, actually. She had waited all this time to finally find something Dwemer, hoping it might be like Cyrodiil's Ayleid ruins. But as she neared the place, she decided "now is not the time".

She found a cave with a single bandit standing outside. She Calmed the bandit, but while investigating, forgot to re-calm him. Jordis took him down. Gosh darnit.

They went inside the cave despite Jordis's reluctance. Jordis had said "I don't like where this is going". She had said this several times in the past. Sometimes, Beth would honor this request, but this time Beth really wanted to press inside.

Long story short: Beth wound up killing her friend. She knows it now; she and Jordis had become friends. This was Beth's first Nordic friend, basically, yet she managed to kill Jordis with a poorly-aimed ice storm. She should have seen the signs, but did not, and now Jordis is gone.

Jordis and the leader of the ruffians had been going at it. Both of them had fallen (literally, both were showing signs of weakness), but Beth was in the heat of the moment, standing off to the side un-hurt, and waiting for the moment to get a good shot on the leader. She saw the leader fall, and saw Jordis fall, and then reacted too quickly. Before she knew it,

Anyways, Crystal Beth, whose real name I still don't know, is now in Solitude's Proudspire Manor. She may just stay there for a very long time.

Oh no, Jordis! Beth must feel awful.


Shuvesse has been trying to save up enough gold to buy a horse. She spent some time in Windhelm helping the guards do their job, and at the end she got no pay at all! Rather than test the theory that they would now look the other when she misbehaved (perhaps by fatally clawing one of them), she stalked out to the stable to see about Plan B, liberating a horse.

That did not work out. For one thing, there were eyes everywhere. She also realized that she needed her horse to loyally fight by her side possibly defending her to its very death rather than trotting off to report her misdeeds the first time she dismounted. (She sometimes gives other tailed creatures too much credit for initiative.) The second problem was the Khajiit caravan camped right beside the stable. Shuvesse abandoned the horse plan in favor of shoring up her stash.

The time in Windhelm was not an utter waste, however. She did have some hot merchandise in her pack. That meant a moonlit walk back to Riften. She feels more comfortable in the dark. Except for the vampires. Note to Shuvesse: buy another Cure Disease potion.

In Riften she managed to scrape together enough gold for a horse, with the help of the salvage she peeled from three dead thugs. The thugs ambled up right outside the city gate, saying they were going to teach her a lesson. Apparently the lesson was “Riften Guards Will Happily Watch You Die.” Now she needs to spend some time swatting butterflies for new potions.

After she unloaded the thugs’ gear, she closed the deal with the horse trader. She got a great big dapple grey that she named Speck. What adventures they would have! Starting with a trip to Riverwood by way of High Hrothgar. Shuvesse emptied out her drawer in the Ratway and the two of them hit the road.

About ten steps outside of Riften, Shuvesse decided to cut through the woods around Fort Greenwall. That led to a spider encounter. Shuvesse hopped off to get some practice dealing with a threat alongside Speck before something serious occurred like a dragon attack. That’s when she saw the second spider. Speck’s furious horse-yelling must have attracted attention, because while Shuvesse was targeting spider #2, a bear tackled her from behind. During the tail-over-nose scramble with the bear, she saw Speck fall over dead and spider #3 approaching.

So, we’re done with horses.

Oh that is terrible news for Crystal Beth. On a brighter note, how as the Kinect been working? I was more than a little dubious over how well it would recognize people's voices, especially in the heat of the gaming moment. Is it working out for you?

For Shuv too. I never bother with horses in ES games. That is one reason why. The really sad thing is you consolers should be getting the patch that allows mounted combat in about a week or so.

Beth is pretty down. She's been brooding, all alone in her big, new house. She might just write chapters for her book, but not adventure anymore. That'll be okay, then.



Oh yea, it's working out! The Kinect that is. Well worth the money...I spend a lot less time menu-diving, it's awesome. You have to manually put stuff into Favorites, but once they're in there, everything is voice-commanded. You can also quick-save and quick-load without having to press a button, pause the game, and all the other general menu commands.

When Gunter went to his latest dungeon, I did get to test it a bit more in the heat of the moment. It was a pretty easy dungeon, thank goodness: novice necromancers. He was fighting with his burning sword and steel shield, and occasionally I would say "Equip Healing Potion" (this is how you drink a potion) and ...slurp... goes the potion!

Without Kinect, drinking a simple potion could take several seconds if it wasn't hotkeyed. I mean, anywhere from 3 seconds on up....And we only get 2 hotkeys on consoles, so there were times when I was spending more time in the menus than in the actual fight! No more of that.

I'm going to make a spellsword type character next time it rains, which means a lot of spells mixed (duh) with swordplay. That'll be the true test. I'll let you know how it works out.

Shuvesse is clean and traveling with Vorstag. She is following the Way of the Voice as much as she can. They found a Word of Power and have a map marker for another one.

Alchemy is a lot of fun. Right now Shuvesse is hoping for a frost-breathing dragon so she can try out her new Weakness to Fire poison on her Imperial Bow of Smells Like Something’s Burning. (I forget what it’s really called.)

Vorstag is also a lot of fun. Since Shuvesse does no smithing, he just picks what he wants from all of the loot she gives him without her trying to manipulate him with improvements. Right now he’s looking rough and greasy in banded iron and plain old iron boots. Why did he equip those boots? No idea. He also loves to resurrect things with his staff. My favorite recent battle involved a zombie mudcrab. Vorstag was howling his usual death threats to the sky, a blue-misted mudcrab was scuttling along behind him, and Shuvesse was helpless with laughter.

The two of them are presently in Riften. After they conclude their business, they will leave for the Markarth area again. They came in the South Gate, so we don’t know if the caravan is here. They will likely go back the way they came, since Shuvesse needs to drop some things off in Riverwood. However, a big part of her wants the caravan to be there. As good as things are right now, skooma makes her feel better. It’s likely that she’ll need to check. I’m a little worried about what will happen. She’s level 15, and we’ve been seeing a lot of trolls.

Shuvesse and Vorstag had a fun and productive trip across the volcanic tundra. Shuvesse picked up another Word of Power, and Vorstag got some more bones to carry. The dragon fight produced a very close call. Shuvesse had chosen high ground where the dragon couldn’t bite her, and she was shooting blind into its fire. Something else started biting her, and she couldn’t see where to run away. It was two skeevers. Damned things cost her some potions and completely failed to burn to death. They were in the same fire bath as she.

After the dragon gave up its soul, Shuvesse looked around for Vorstag. Nothing. Then she took a second look at the riled up mammoth down in a valley. Something was shooting a stream of frost at it. Like from the staff Vorstag was carrying. Dammit, Vorstag! Shuvesse resolved that situation again from high ground. The two of them headed toward the far northern mountains.

Somewhere they took a wrong turn. They found themselves carrying more bones after a fight outside Dragonbridge. They decided to walk up to Solitude and lighten the load. They never made it inside the city. Ma’dran’s caravan was outside the gate.

I felt kind of sick watching Vorstag walk away. So did Shuvesse. She let her pipe deal with it.

So the rest of this update concerns the errand that the Greybeards had sent Shuvesse upon. Even without Vorstag, she was determined to go forward. Sneaking through the mountains changes everything. There are a lot of bears, sabre cats, and Foresworn up there. None of them knew Shuvesse was passing. She arrived at a very intimidating tomb that shall remain nameless. Draugr outside confirmed that she was in the right place. (I disable quest markers and such, so sometimes we assault the wrong ruin. Not this time.)

Inside were traps and a puzzle that would require multiple keys. Shuvesse found them. Predictably, each one was guarded by a, well, guardian. Shuvesse had spent the time to make an exit plan. She handled those fights by successfully running away.

Now, many people would realize that whatever creature was bad enough to need such security might be best left alone. Shuvesse knew that strong locks safeguard valuable treasures, or in this case great power. It was a dragon priest. She never had a chance.

RIP, Shuvesse. Those Greybeards could have given you a little more warning.

Sad news for Shuv. Was she a DiD character? Or are you just done playing with her?

Shuv and Big D are DiD. That's why D is presently on a fishing trip. I was getting overconfident with him. I was not done with Shuvesse!