Indeed, if I have one character on the bright side, then it's only fair to have one on the dark side.

What a great short story about Buffy, Vigilants and Cindar, maybe they learned a lesson now that Daedra saved their lives. And Cindar is a good name indeed!

Thank you.

Took my latest archer to Meridia's temple to get a better sword for Derkeethus. Not much problem wading through the corrupted shades on the way through, but she was down to her last three arrows when we got to Malkoran, as they didn't have any for her to collect along the way. I'm also playing her without Dawnguard (or Dragonborn) so she can't make her own.

So she's pretty much restricted to casting her flame atronach in his chamber, running back out and closing the door. Derkeethus is still in there, down on one knee permanently, but it appears that friendly fire from the flamer doesn't kill him, so that's OK.

I have to reload a couple of times when Malkoran manages to kill her through the closed door! His frost attacks are way above her level, and she has no resistance at all.

Eventually Malkoran is down to his last breaths, and she goes in and finishes him off with her bow. Then she has to run back out and repeat for his shade. Finally that dies, too.

At the end of all that, she hands the Dawnbreaker to Derkeethus, but he doesn't use it, because his current unenchanted sword has the same base damage, and he doesn't notice the rest. Derkeethus was a poor choice for an archer, anyway, as he prefers his bow, too. We're off to Riften to recruit Mjoll. She may be a dumb blonde, but she will use Grimsever, once we get it back.

All that to get a sword for Derk and he won't use it! Yay for Mjoll!

IIRC, it was in battle with Malkoran that I canceled Lucius' DiD status and reloaded. His frost spells were insanely powerful, capable of killing Lucius in a few seconds and he wasn't at low level.

--

Lucius was holding precious Miraak's equipment in his hands; his slimy sword, his heavy mask, his ornate robes - he could see himself wearing the first Dragonborn's clothes and wielding his sword in the name of power.

Power?

Did he need any more power? He almost touched the book to leave Apocrypha but then stopped and turned around, looking at a skeleton that was once the first Dragonborn.

"That's exactly what Mora would want. That I'd take these artifacts and use them. But by using them, I'd be no better than Miraak. I might even fall under Mora's influence..."

Another powerful vision struck his head and he saw himself fighting a dragon while wielding Miraak's sword and shouting words, still unknown to him. Visions of the battle filled him with dark confidence and he almost touched the book that would teleport him back to Solstheim but stopped in the last second.

"You have no control over me, Mora."

Having said that, he turned around and tossed Miraak's equipment on the ground. Once again a vision struck his mind but this time he closed his eyes and concentrated on Solstheim, on the peaceful village of Skaal. He could feel his mind fighting a battle with Hermaeus Mora who tried to portray him another scene, where Lucius would reign over Skyrim. He heard the disgusting deep voice in his head...continue to serve me and you will be richly rewarded...

"I don't need your rewards, stinking Demon."

Before he would begin doubting his decision again, Lucius quickly touched the black book and left Apocrypha.

Solstheim was liberated.

Yay for Lucius!!! Jabba the Hutt's a disgusting pig!

I didn't look Derkeethus up on the UESP wiki before letting him follow. Doing his rescue quest was a result of her going to Darkwater Crossing for the Corundum she needed to make locks in the Orc Stronghold construction. She talked to the Dunmer miner, and got two quests - the Derkeethus one, and a fetch quest to Quintus Navale in Windhelm for lung medicine. That was the first time I'd ever done that one.

She failed badly in her first attempt to rescue Derkeethus, as she couldn't summon any decent allies, and the Chaurus were too tough for a familiar and just a Fine Hunting Bow. She came back later with a Superior Dwarven Bow, and a Flame Atronach and did much better. That quest doesn't have a minimum level on the wiki, but I suspect it's about 10-12, and she went in at 6 the first time. Should have read the omens.

---

I always take Miraak's stuff back to Severin Manor and park it permanently on a dummy there. I wish there were a place to leave it in the Skall village as a monument to Storn.

Darn Vigilants, always getting themselves in trouble. People would be more inclined to help them if they didn't hate pretty much every aspect of Tamriel. They always tell Haa-Rei about werewolves being evil and bad which is just downright rude, and untrue.

Gotta say that i'm a big fan of Derkeethus. I always upgrade gear for him with blacksmithing skills and pop some enchantments on it just to make him a decent follower. Though he is immortal so I never have to worry much.

Miraak's mask goes with the other dragon priest masks in our collection whilst his weapons are on display in Lakeview Manor. Haa-Rei gets on quite well with old Mora but he's still wary of Daedra (even the nicer ones are still dangerous).

My archer Willatu went and got the spell tome from Fort Amol as soon as she had the Magicka to cast Bound Bow. The experience from using it is nicely increasing her Conjuration as well as her Archery skills, and she's just put her final point in Stealth for the x3 damage. Undecided about continuing with Smithing, as only her follower would benefit, now her bow is the bound one.

That follower is still Derkeethus, although we keep threatening to get Mjoll instead. Tempering his glass sword has weaned him off the bow, and if we find an ebony ingot, we might get him to use the Dawnbreaker.

She may also go solo, once she gets past Conjuration 50 (half cost for the bow), as she should then have enough magicka to summon an ally/distraction as well as the bow.

We're dividing points between magicka and health, as she uses no armor or defensive spells. Only bosses like Malkoran should be able to one-shot her, and he's dead now. All others should be amenable to distract-and-withdraw tactics.

Increasing Archery skill should keep the bound bow damage increasing, but I'm not sue how that will keep up with levels if she diversifies. With no points going into armor, or other magic schools, we're probably OK until Conjuration and/or Archery cap out.

Time for a weekly update on Aard...

I

"Would you like to buy some flowers? Please?" Sofie politely asked the gray-haired stranger. He stopped and looked at her and Sofie thought that this man has the coldest eyes she ever saw. But then he smiled and his face seemed a lot less threatening.

“Why not. What do you have, little one?”

“Not much. But I hope you like them!” She showed her collection of flowers which she picked by herself close to Windhelm.

“Nice. I’ll have this one,” said Aard and pointed at the red flower.

“Of course, mister. That will be six septims.”

“Six? I will give you twelve if you tell me something…” Aard bent closer and Sofie felt a sudden urge to step backwards. But surely he won’t harm her, will he? She just gave him a flower. Besides, there was a guard behind a corner and if something went wrong like the other day when some drunk molested her, she would shout for help.

“Is Aventus your friend?” That was not the kind of question she expected.

“Aventus, mister? Well…yes. He came back to Windhelm a few weeks ago, he’s been in an orphanage. There’s a horrible orphanage down in Riften. But I haven’t seen him much. He…well, he locked himself in his house and…”

“And is doing something dark, right?”

“That’s…that’s what I hear, mister. But I don’t know if this is true, mister. He’s a nice kid.”

“I’m sure he is. We said twelve septims, right? Here you go. Find me the next time I come to Windhelm and I will give you twenty.”

“Thanks, mister... And thanks for talking to me.”

“Bye,” said Aard and winked at Sofie.

“Bye, mister!” Sofie no longer feared the stranger, now he seemed like a kind man. She hoped to see him again.

II

“Hey.”

*chop chop chop*

“Hey!”

*chop chop chop*

“Hey! Are you deaf?”

“Oh, pardon me. Was I in your way?” Ulundil was chopping wood so eagerly that he neither saw nor heard the stranger standing next to him.

“I’d like a horse.”

“Marvelous, sir. I have a strong mare ready to…”

“How much?”

“Straight to the point, eh? Well, by orders of our Jarls prices for horses are the same all over Skyrim…”

“How. Much?”

“One thousand septims, sir. I assure you that…”

“Here you go. Saddle her.”

“Of course, of course. Just a few minutes and your mare will be ready.”

III

Aventus was impatiently waiting for the stranger’s return. Ever since he promised him to kill Grelod, he couldn’t sleep because of excitement. The old hag will finally get what she deserves! And when he grows up, he’ll be an assassin too and will kill all sadists like her!

He heard a sound of door opening below the stairs and he hurried to see if the assassin returned. And there he was indeed, walking up the stairs, looking at Aventus with an expressionless face.

“Well? Grelod the Kind. Is she…you know?” Aventus asked, afraid that the stranger changed his mind and Grelod convinced him to bring him back to the orphanage.

“Grelod…” said Aard with a deep voice,” I hear she has a new name.”

“Huh? Sorry…I don’t get it, sir.”

“I hear…that everyone calls her Grelod the Dead these days.”

Having said that, Aard burst into a loud laughter that echoed all over the Aretino house. The laughter was so intense that Aventus scared at first but when he realized the meaning behind stranger’s words, he began laughing as well.

“Aha! I knew you could do it! I just knew it! I knew the Dark Brotherhood would save me. Here, just like I promised. This should fetch you a nice price,” he said and took the large silver platter from a wardrobe. “And thank you! Thank you again!”

“Not so fast, Aventus,” said Aard and grabbed the boy’s shoulder as he wanted to pack his things to return to the orphanage. “What am I supposed to do with this worthless platter?”

Aventus suddenly felt a lump in his throat. He was sweating from fear as Grelod’s killer was holding his small shoulder.

“I…I think it’s valuable, mister. It’s…it’s a heirloom of our family, it dates back to…”

“LIKE I CARE TO WHERE IT DATES!”

“I’m sorry, mister, please, please, don’t hurt me!”

“Relax, kid,” said Aard and released Aventus, now a smile on his scarred face. ”I’m just fooling with you. I knew beforehand that a kid like you can’t afford to pay me…to pay the Dark Brotherhood. I only regret that you hadn’t given me the platter before…for I could bring you Grelod’s head on it. Ha ha ha! Here, take this,” said Aard and gave the boy fifty septims. “For a carriage to Riften.”

Aventus sighed with relief and smiled in return. “Thank you, sir!” As he packed his stuff and left the residence, hoping to catch a late carriage, Aard sat on what was once Aventus’ mother’s bed. The house was now officially abandoned so probably it wouldn’t bother anyone if he used it for sleeping. He didn’t really enrich himself by killing Grelod but he didn’t even expect to. The Dark Brotherhood probably won’t notice that she was killed if they ignored Aventus before. After drinking a bottle of wine and eating some moon sugar, stoned Aard fell asleep in his armor.

Ghastley – Congrats to Willatu and her new bound bow! Good luck as she sorts out the best tools to support it. Putting points into health is probably good advice – more hp is unique defense in that it is equally effective against every single possible type of damage known to men and mer. Arrows, spells, swords, teeth – more hp is equally effective against them all.

Lopov – Sofie really tugs at one’s heartstrings, trying to get by selling her flowers. I’ve found her before dawn sleeping outside on the ground. In the snow. No idea what/how she eats. . . . I’m glad that Aard was kind to her.

The Aventus boy is poignant in his own right as well. So young. . . and yet so screwed up in so many ways. He's clearly given to a . . . fragile disposition, and his time in that foul orphanage finished the job. Thankfully, Aard purged that orphanage of 'The Kind'.

Fell asleep stoned in his armor in a dead woman’s house. Somehow that seems appropriate for Aard.

When Buffy stays at a tavern, she’s normally up and out before dawn. As such, she’s grown accustom to the possibility of pre-dawn vampire attacks. This morning however, she slept in some, since she had arranged to meet Illia in the market square just after sunrise.

Therefore, when she stepped out into the foggy Riften morning, she was surprised to hear some yelling that sounded like fighting in progress.

Before she could determine the location of the commotion, the noise ceased. Bringing up a detect dead aura, she noted three dead non-hostiles near Riften’s south gate. As the other mage joined Buffy, the pair headed for the gate to investigate.

This is the scene they encountered.

Illia’s response was “What a waste.” (no kidding)

When Buffy asked the guard about it, his reply was an unhelpful, “I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow to the knee.” (no kidding)

Buffy realizes that Riften’s Jarl is no fan of the Legion, but didn’t realize how seriously the city guards took such matters. Either that or perhaps the Legion soldiers had refused to pay the visitor tax and lacked the sweet talking skill that Buffy had used to bypass that expense.

I have seen Imperial patrols inside Riften before. I don't think they caused a fight with the Riften guards. But it could have been in my Imperial game, after the city had been taken by the Empire. I don't think so though...

They could have been killed in a vampire attack! I have seen stranger things

The Riften guards are in the Stormcloak faction, so Legion patrols from the nearby random encounter spot can get into trouble with them outside the other gate. I have never seen them inside the city, though. How strange! Three Legionaries with a death wish?

Buffy and Illia are both looking marvelous, by the way. I had never met Illia until fairly recently when Jensa chased something all the way to Darklight Tower. Illia is a badass and quite the cutie. They look great together. The guards should be ashamed for trying to extort Buffy!


I’ve started a slightly unlikely character to build ghastely’s Orc Hearthfire mod. Meet Mithilion the Hammer. Mithilion met Lardrumph gra-Largashbur, the love of his life, while they were both serving in the Legion. They always talked of traveling the breadth of Skyrim together. In a way they are. Lardrumph fell in the Battle of the Red Ring and Mithilion went AWOL soon after. Now The Hammer is wandering Skyrim in the company of his true love’s head.

Mithilion thinks he might bury Lardrumph’s remains once he gets to her birthplace, but he’s not sure since he would probably miss her. So for now he just walks, living in a way that would please Malacath. A high elf who loves an orc knows what it is to be outcast. The Hammer hopes that one day he will awaken in the Ash Pit and be united with bold Lardrumph once again.

Heavy armor, two-handed, smithing. Healing spells when absolutely necessary and conjuration for a daedric companion. Maximum body paint. No sneaking.

I've never seen Imperial soldiers inside Riften myself but fights outside the gates are fairly common. And the weather in Riften seems to be the same always.

Mithillion looks really great, Grits, and it's nice to see a non-typical High Elf that prefers heavy armor and weapons instead of magic. "Wandering Skyrim in the company of his true love's head" -->

Mithilion Martel (Martel is French for "The Hammer", hence Charles Martel) puts his namesake down! I think he should keep Lardass' I mean Lardrumph's head. After all, he will need someone to talk to. The Celts used to do that with the heads they collected.

I do recall seeing several instances of Legion soldiers fighting Riften gate guards outside the North Gate, but like you all, have not seen such a thing inside the city. Still not quite sure what to make of those bodies and the yelling/combat music that preceded the incident.

Grits, I do think that Illia is a great follower. And if we didn't bring her out into the world, she'd be forgotten about and all alone up in that tower. Her personality/voice is pleasing, she is a very good destruction mage and seems to do better for Buffy than some other destructionists at controlling her spells to avoid friendly fire. Her normal role in our game settles down to become the assistant to Riften's court wizard (who is so scatterbrained that she needs the help).

Hammer sounds fun and, indeed, very different for you. His story of LardRump and the head is morbidly sweet. The fact that he survived the mating ritual with an Orsimeress is incontrovertible evidence that he is made of sturdy stuff. He seems like a great character to use as you check out ghastley's new mod.

Mithilion the Hammer has been working hard to earn his status as Blood-Kin from the orcs of Dushnik Yal. He retrieved the Forgemaster’s Fingers (my first time getting that quest, woo!), brawled with Chief Burguk, brawled with Gorbash the Iron Hand, and agreed to deliver a sword for Gharol. He’ll head that way as soon as he scrounges for ore and gets some sleep. The Hammer just hit level 10 so it will be go time when eventually he gets to Largashbur. Thanks to a random encounter (mod, I think) he already has a daedra heart in his pack.

Mithilion did not ask Gorbash to travel with him. He doesn’t seem to be lonely. In battle his flame atronach covers him while he charges in for the smashing, and on the road he chats freely with Lardrumph’s head. So far I have not heard Lardrumph answer.

I should probably note Nightcaller Temple as a good source for those two items somewhere in the readme or wiki. It's the quest my characters have been doing for them, as you get both.

Let me know when I can let my fingernails start growing again!

While eating his favorite food - cooked beef buried under a pile of hot baked potatoes and drinking his favorite beverage - wine, Aard was thinking about the irony of the fact, that the same man who helped Grelod the Kind to another world, also killed the serial killer that was threatening the prettier population of Windhelm. This very man was hoping to get properly rewarded by Windhelm's Court but all he got, was "Thanks" from moustached steward Jorleif and a promise that guards might be more cordial to him.

So because he wasn't officially rewarded, Aard decided to reward himself. During the investigation he was given the key to the spacious but abandoned manor called Hjerim, which was murderer's hideout for experiments. Aard decided not to return the key and instead moved in. He "borrowed" some basic furniture from the Aretino Residence and from the serial killer's house so he had a basic kitchen and bedroom which was everything he needed because he mostly used the place for sleeping, during daytime he was outside or in taverns.

Why did he go after the serial killer in the first place? Aard knew that it wasn't because of his helpful nature or kind heart, but the killer might change his habits one day and begin preying on men, and Aard didn't want to end like a pile of flesh, blood and bones in a bucket of some sadistic necromancer. Besides, Aard didn't want for the killer to harm Sofie or other helpless children that had to live on the street.

After a few days of lazing and drinking, Aard was getting bored and got an urge to try his fingers “at work” again. It's been a long time since he was picking pockets but that was how his "career" began many years ago and he wanted to prove that he's still good at his prime profession. After a few learning sessions with Silda the Unseen, a beggar and trainer in the skill of picking pockets, the following events occurred:

-Oengul War-Anvil and Hermir Strong-Heart both missed their rings on the same day. Hermir didn't care much because hers was a common silver ring but Oengul was worried because his ring was decorated with a valuable amethyst. However, they couldn't understand how someone could steal their rings during the middle of a bright day while they were working at their forge?

-Nurelion, the proprietor of the White Phial, was also looking for his valuable ring with a garnet but even worse, he also couldn't find some valuable potions either. Probably his inept apprentice Quintus Navale sold them to someone and forgot to write it down or what was even more possible, potions fell from his insecure hands and broke!

-Wuunferth the Unliving, the court mage of Ulfric Stormcloak, couldn't find some magical potions either but he was a confused sort so guards didn't take him seriously. And they were right, within the same day he already forgot that anything was supposedly stolen from him and he returned to his daily chores like nothing happened.

The following events had only one "thing" in common - Aard. But the feat on which he was the most proud was that he managed to pickpocket five hundred septims from Silda who taught him how to pick pockets in the first place. That was of course the same gold which he paid for his training.

The only person in Windhelm, who knew of Aard's exploits, was the shady Dunmer who pretended to be a common laborer during days but in evenings at the New Gnisis Cornerclub he had another profession - he was a fence with ties to the Thieves Guild and was Aard's source of septims.

And while Aard was busy relieving residents of Windhelm of their valuables, Astrid was plotting on how to kidnap the man who meddled in affairs of the Dark Brotherhood and now had to repay his murder by another murder…

I love this. It looks like Aard rewarded himself with a lot of other things too!

Grits - Hammer and Lardrumph's head seem like a great team, and doing favor quests for all the strongholds sounds like it would be lots of fun.

Lopov - Wow, Aard's been busy! The dark and foreboding atmosphere in Windhelm seems to suit him. And sure enough, it looks like he's attracted the attentions of Astrid.

*

Buffy’s been busily helping a couple folks with their careers.

After assisting Illia escape the tyranny of her mother’s coven, Buffy traveled with the well-skilled destruction mage for a time. Illia quickly tired of Buffy’s nonstop travel, and sleeping under the stars with horses. She is now the (desperately needed) assistant to Wylandriah (court mage of Riften).

Erik the Hoe-pusher took a little more work. Although he matched Buffy’s spirit for travel and adventure, the elf quickly realized that the farm boy, while strong as an ox, was hopeless with bow and magic. His talents were clearly more suited for hitting stuff – hard and up close. Knowing how unqualified she was to advise him in matters of melee and armor, she escorted him to Winterhold Whiterun. His strength and spirit impressed the Companions enough to take him on as their newest member.

Such is Buffy’s trend with followers. She adores making new friends and even traveling with them – on an occasional basis.

Note: Buffy's on a relatively new playthrough, so her questing path doesn't necessarily include things she's 'done' in the past. Currently, she has not become involved in any of the notable questlines except to begin the College.

Claire Voyance the Cleric from Chorrol, otherwise known as CVCC, has just joined Dawnguard. She's not going to go to Dimhollow Crypt unless she absolutely has to. I just want to see some random vampires in her game. I like the way DG makes the game more unpredictable.

Edit: Claire's game just stalled out, dangit. Got stuck on a loading screen. And I didn't save for a half-hour or so. Oh well. I'm really wanting to create a new character, a wizard. Snowing hard outside. Trying to think of a name now. I already thought of Bjorn Tu Biwyyld, and he would go along great with Aard, Grits' Hammer, and Molly as well, but for some reason I'm not very inspired to start Bjorn just yet.

Aard must be getting rich! Richer than Claire, that's for sure.

Erik the Slayer became a Companion in Buffy's game?

How about Ghan Dolph the Grey for a wizard? Or Lei Dei du Lahke?

Wow, I knew it was snowing in Renee-land, but I didn't realize that snow counted as rain for character creation inspiration. Kewl! A wizard is it to be then?

Aard decided to reward himself!! That’s awesome. I love that he moved some of the Arentinos’ furniture into Hjerim.

Acadian, I love how Buffy helps her friends find their way. It’s fun to think of Illia in good company (my crew all like Wylandriah) and Erik training with the Companions instead of sitting all alone in his chair.

Renee, sorry to hear about CVCC’s game. Good luck with your snow inspiration! Does snow mean white hair? Or maybe a Nord?


Mithilion the Hammer has been busy helping orcs and pleasing Malacath. He’s now traveling with young Borgakh the Steel Heart, showing her some of those new places and people that she used to look forward to seeing when she came of age. Borgakh doesn’t say much, which is great because Lardrumph still does most of the talking. Lardrumph thinks that Borgakh would make an excellent forge-wife for The Hammer. The Hammer is quite sure that she would not, but he knows better than to argue with his true love’s head.

The Hammer needs goat horns, iron, and about a thousand gold for stronghold supplies. Sounds like it’s time to go raiding in the Reach.

(Let your fingernails grow back, ghastley! It’s going great! )

I love that you made Lardrumph's head an actual item! You should try giving it an enchantment. It would be tricky, since you cannot actually equip a skull. So you would have to use scripting I think. Azura's Star works without being equipped, so that would be a good place to start looking/copying scripts. Or maybe Mith C Hammer could make her skull into one of these helmets? Or perhaps one of these?

Grits, I love the idea of Lardrumph's head! And it's great to see she's not jealous of Borgakh as The Hammer goes about building his ghastley stronghold!

SPEW! What a thing to wake up to! Er...Is that dead body mooning the camera or do I need new glasses?

Acadian - Those legion soldiers almost made it to the gate! I love how the guard is just standing there like “What?”

Oh, and I think you may have mistaken your locations, unless you are using a mod that places Jorrvaskr in Winterhold instead of Whiterun.

Grits - Mithilion makes me want to start a new Skyrim character. A heavily armored High Elf wandering the countryside muttering at a severed skull... that’s awesome! He’s like a deliciously twisted Don Quixote in service to Malacath. All he needs is Volendrung.

Lopov - Aard sounds like a man after my own heart. No reward? Fine, I’ll just take up residence in the nicest manor in the city thankyouverymuch. That’s the same reason I applaud him for stealing from that cheapskate Nurelion. And I have the feeling an aggresive argonian might be in Aard’s near future.

Renee - I really like CVCC, and the thought of a cleric in the Dawnguard just seems to fit. Although, come to think of it, having her go over to the vampires might make her story even more interesting.

Wizard names huh? Hmmm, how about Ab-Ra Cadabra? Yu’n Trubil-Now (I might use this one myself )? Fyr’n For-Getit?

mALX - There's a dead soldier in the right part of the shot and two in the center. The closer one in the center of the picture does indeed appear to be poised for an 'upskirt' shot.

Destri - Thanks! Ya know, that's not the first time my fingers have typed Winterhold where there should be a Whiterun and vice versa. You're right of course, and I fixed it.

Hmm. Hmm. Actually, this might work!



This is so awesome. It's Hammer Time! (lol couldn't resist). No seriously, it's cool to see this happen. All my characters are only mildly tolerated at best, when it comes to orc strongholds.

Oh my gosh you guys, that gives me an idea. *runs to the CK*

The White Phial is another object that I’ve been puzzling over for clues to a different tiny project in my stack. I know absolutely zero about scripts, so my learning curve has been very steep. Pretty close to vertical, lol.

I love oddball characters. The ones of mine that fall flat seem to be mostly the classic types.

***

Added: SubRosa, those helmets look very cool. There’s one with a skull and horns that I have to make a character for someday. I have a wild bulked up Bosmer in mind already. And Ghosu’s horn and feather one would look awesome on the heavy armor/unarmed Argonian of my dreams. Plus I love those plain metal helms. Thank you for these!!


Lardrumph may have given her approval to young Borgakh the Steel Heart, but The Hammer is not ready for that yet. Also he thinks it would be a crime to free her from one stronghold only to tie her to another, so he suggested that she go her own way. Maybe he’ll look her up in a few decades. Or maybe she’ll wander back to Greenspring someday.

In the meantime The Hammer and his true love’s head have some orcs to visit and more adventures to find. He still needs large antlers and a snowy sabre cat pelt to finish decorating his stronghold. Or I should say their stronghold. The rest of the world thinks that Mithilion is talking to a dry, broken bone, but that’s not how he sees her.

(I’m thinking a once per day Summon Lardrumph effect to help The Hammer out in the boss fights. I think Malacath would allow it. )

I need to learn more about scripts. It can be so fun, once you figure out how they work. I added a bunch of 'thought's to one of my Oblivion character's games...like if she picks up a bottle of wine, a message will appear saying "Can't wait to gulp this down!"

Learning about scripts is like homework for me though. I'm here to play, not work. So I am learning this stuff really slowly.



They're awesome, hon.

Grits, how nice that you put some ethereal substance (?) to Lardrumph! Aww, what a touching moment before digging into some pie!

Oh, ethereal Lardrumph! What a great way to create her in Hammer's mind.

Summoning Lardrumph is a great idea! Like the first Conan movie (truly a cinematic masterpiece... ) where Valeria comes back from the grave to save Conan at the end.

Sundas, 1:20 PM, 17th of Last Seed, 4th Era 201

The stranger enters the inn. It's been hours? Or days? He is not sure. It's all a blank and a blur. Where are the rest of my men?... Where is my crew? He is not sure.

He had awoken about an hour or two before, on a large flat stone, all alone. Near him lay several bandits .... dead. He had looked around, expecting to find the others he had been traveling with, but they were nowhere to be seen. Good thing the sun was out, and he had awoken in the middle of daylight. He'd probably have frozen to death if night had come.

Suddenly, he remembers something. They had spied Winterhold! ... Yes! They had seen the College's famously-large tower in the distance. They had been lost, for hours they had been lost; trying to find their way from Windhelm to Winterhold. They had been on their way to join up with the Mage's College, and they had seen the college, way in the distance. So where had they gone?

It was no matter. Wherever they had gone, they had not been with him when he had awoken, and it's dangerous to be alone. All sorts of things to defend yourself against, up here in Skyrim, things they had not seen in Cyrodiil. They had been ill-equipped for trouble, that was for sure. He had decided to walk toward the college. It had been easy enough to find, once you actually saw that gigantic tower.

"Just say the word if you need something to drink or eat," says the lady before him.

"Have you seen anybody else pass through here? A group of others ... magic-using types?"

"If you have business with the college, you've come to the right place," the man next to the lady says. "It's where most of our business comes from, in fact."

"Please, I am desperate. Might I stay here for a bit? .. I seem to have lost my companions."

"What does this look like, the Temple of Mara? No gold, no bed."

The man with the long white hair and beard looks down upon himself. Of course! ... He looks disheveled and hopeless. He looks like a common beggar, in fact. Probably smells like one too. His companions, wherever they may be, probably looked and smelled worse than he. They had all lost their way, it seems.

He backs away from the counter, wondering what he should do. They had seen the Mage's College, way in the distance, but from that moment on, he can't remember any further. But he is here now. He made to Winterhold, that was for certain.

"Where are the others? Perhaps they are in the college already."

He decides he'll leave the inn, to go have a look. He hopes he won't get turned away.


1:01 PM

"The mages at the college keep to themselves, mostly. So we don't see much of them," the lady innkeeper informs.

The man with the white beard nods, but does not reply. Instead, he heads out the door, turns right, and walks toward the college itself. What has he got to lose? ... As he walks toward the college, he realizes there's not much to the 'town' of Winterhold. The rumors had been right about this, that's for sure. It had once been a more lively, but now, was a mere shell of its former self.

"Cross the bridge at your own peril," says an elven lady, after the man climbs the college's initial staircase. "The way is dangerous, and the gate is not open."

"Please. I ... I have lost my companions. I have not any gold. And I am chilled to the bone. I am not here to ask for help or coin, but merely to find the folk I had been traveling with. Have you seen them? Did they pass through?"

"Welcome to the College of Winterhold, I am Faralda. Is there something I can assist you with?"

The man with the white hair scratches his white beard. "Please. May I pass through? I have come here, seeking knowledge, and now here I am at the college. We were on our way here, from Cyrodiil, and I seem to have lost them."

"I am here to assist those seeking wisdom from the college. And if my process might helps deter those who intend harm, so be it. The more important question though: why are you here?"

"As I said, I was traveling with others. All of us ... we had some gifts, unbeknownst to others. Magical gifts. Others had not knowledge of this, that we might have some skills, with magical means. We formed a bond, and a union. We came together. The peoples of Cyrodiil, the citizens, would have never guessed that we might have had some skills, but oh...we did. Had we not formed our union, and not decided to migrate here, the former arts of our magical skills might have gone for naught."

"Ummm ..... what?" asks Faralda.

"And we had heard that it is here, within the College of Winterhold, that we might benefit our skills further," answers the man with the white beard, hoping she won't press this issue. Hoping she won't ask him why a man wearing the clothes of pure poverty was now at her domain. "Might I gain entry, at any event?"

"Perhaps. But what is it you hope to find within?"

"To the point, as your intentions. Well, as you can see, I am a beggar, and am dressed as so," he says. "Might as well be up-front about that. Despite my less-than-humble status, I do have something perhaps to offer here. All of us did, all of those with whom I traveled with. We were all beggars. Layabouts. Dips. Common Cyrodiilic rubbish. Yet we all realized that we had some small talents, in magic, and pooled together. The Empire is at war, yet we were too old to fight. And my health is frail, anyways."

"Go on..." Faralda says, impatient, yet curious.

"So I figured, why not travel here, before my days are done? .. I gathered my friends, all of us the former types who would beg for coin, claiming we might get some better shoes, claiming we might be able to now feed our children, and all the while pocketing this gold for our trip to Skyrim. And now that I am here, I can show ye my prowess with magics."

"I see. That power certainly exists, I assure you. Wield it faithfully, and few can withstand you. It would seem that the college has what you seek. The question now is 'what can you offer the college?' Not jus anyone is allowed to go inside. Those wishing to enter must show some degree of skill, and magic. A small test, if you will."

"Certainly. Explain your requirements."

"Excellent. A standard skill for Destruction is the 'firebolt'. Casting one at the seal here on the ground would be sufficient."

"Firebolt?" He thinks the lady speaks of Skyrim's ultra-speedy fireball spells. He had seen atronachs casting these spells some days before, in the distance. "I have not this within my spellbook. I can cast some standard flames, instead?"

"I look forward to it."

He casts some flames from his left palm, really puts some effort into this, but Faralda is not impressed. She then offers to sell him the required spell, for 30 gold, but he has not this sort of coin, or any coin, as a fact of matter.

"I shall return soon, hopefully then, I can provide what is needed."

His days as a beggar were not too far behind. The man who would someday be known as The White Wizard decides maybe it's not too soon to seek his usual form of assistance.

So he used to be a beggar, eh? He has an interesting backstory, he and all those that traveled with him united together to try and make something of their magical talents.

He looks great, BTW, in the first pic he reminds me of Rasputin.

Athla, Arch-mage of Winterhold, was passing Soljund's Sinkhole on her way to deal with Red Eagle, when she got pulled into a side-mission. Mjoll decided not to follow her down the mine's signature feature, so she was alone when she got to the draugr boss at the end.

The boss is leveled, and gets a random set of spells and shouts, and this time the game gave him a healing spell. She's run out of magicka potions, but has the amulet boosting her regen. Without any armour or resistances, she wants to avoid the fireball statue in the room, so she's lurking at the entrance out of its line of fire. We got stuck in a cycle of beating him down to about a quarter of his health, when he'd run off and hide, heal himself and then come for more. Athla would be waiting for her magicka to replenish, before she could do anything, and we'd be back where we started.

I finally broke her out of the impasse by remembering she had a bow and a few arrows to use when she ran out of magicka.

I've never seen them heal themselves so far. What is Athla's level?

So it's Wednesday here, which means it's a day for Aard's story...

--

Time to pay his debt has come. The last thing which Aard remembered was going to sleep in Hjerim, after checking the house for possible intruders at least two times. He received a note from the Dark Brotherhood when walking to Windhelm and had a feeling that something was about to happen. But his kidnappers were damn good at their job – without feeling anything, without even a slight sense that something happened, he was now in some shack that had walls painted with blood - three possible victims in front of him, and the blue-eyed assassin behind him.

Khajiit Vasha was the obvious choice – he admitted being a rapist and a killer. Of course he could be pretending but Aard didn’t think too much about it – he cut the Khajiit’s throat, hoping that he earned his freedom. He certainly didn’t expect to be invited to the Dark Brotherhood. It probably doesn’t happen often that the organization invites new members and many people of his kind wouldn’t even think twice about joining the legendary family of assassins. Aard committed occasional murders in the past, and sometimes he was indeed paid for it, but most of the time it was heists gone wrong.

He had his doubts but somewhere in the back of his mind he saw an opportunity to become something more than just a pickpocket from Windhelm. Still, there was something sinister not just about Astrid but about the entire initiation which he had to undergo to repay his debt. Just as Astrid said ‘Innocence, guilt, right, wrong… irrelevant’ – did he have guts for it? He couldn’t know unless he tried.

Two days later Aard was walking through the pine forest in the southwest of Skyrim, a new companion at his side. As a late Nord’s diary said, his companion’s name was Meeko and he walked on four legs. And as Aard saw with his own eyes, Meeko’s bite was deadly so besides having company, he also had a fighter at his side. Following Astrid’s instructions, the sanctuary should be located ‘just beneath the road, hidden from view.’

While Aard and Meeko were drinking cold water from a small pond, Aard spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Hidden behind rocks there was a large black door, carved with a giant skull with a bloody red hand on its forehead. Before Aard was still slightly stoned from skooma which he consumed when leaving Rorikstead but now he suddenly felt being completely at his senses, his eyes focused on the black door.

“You wait here,” he ordered Meeko and showed him to sit down.

“Woof woof!”

“And shut up!”

“…”

As Aard was slowly walking towards the Black Door, he felt unnatural coldness emanating from it, causing him shivers. Feeling like in a state of trance, he touched the cold doorknob when the most eerie voice he ever heard, spoke through the door:

"What is the music of life?"

Aard felt how heavy his tongue had become. He knew the answer because Astrid told him, but he didn’t know whether he’s ready or not. Perhaps it is the greatest opportunity of his life or perhaps it is his downfall. He will only know if he tries. He will only know if he answers. He hasn’t come this far for nothing.

“Silence, my brother,” he whispered in return.

“Welcome home,” the eerie voice said.

He insecurely turned the doorknob and slowly opened the Black Door…scared but curious, Aard entered the sanctuary.

Renee - Welcome to the White Wizard! I see his reception by both the locals and the weather has been rather chilly. It was neat the way you wove in that his Cyrodiilic beggar skills funded his journey. Hopefully, those skills can rustle up another 30 gold for Faralda. And Lopov is right – he looks great!

Lopov- Sure enough, Aard got an invitational kidnapping and has launched his Dark Brotherhood career. And he’s got a doggiepal!

*

I smiled at the coincidence of the White Wizard’s arrival in Skyrim. The reason is that I restarted Buffy’s game today and, although her arrival was quite a bit flashier, she likewise began her journey cold, underdressed and at the College of Winterhold. She’s an experienced Knight of the Lamp from Cyrodiil but it, nevertheless, takes some practice to tweak her talents so things function smoothly in Skyrim for her. After some time at the College getting her abilities and gear in order, she joined a small group of fellow mages on her first adventure.

Renee, the future White Wizard is getting a humble start indeed. How neat that he randomly showed up near Winterhold.

ghastley, that’s a tough spot for a mage. I can’t remember my last character who faced that boss, but I remember ducking back to wait for magicka while cursing that the draugr was healing at the same time.

Lopov, Aard is home! I laughed when he told sweet Meeko to shut up. Good luck with that.

Welcome back to Dame Buffy. The College is lucky to have her!

~
Jerric has been traveling between Falkreath and Whiterun Holds on personal business (getting his new game situated). Lildereth, Ulfe, and the horses Kip and Rose are with him. I’m using a new mod that as a side-effect causes companion Lil to fall seriously behind without warning sometimes and then pop up unexpectedly, so she is more herself in this game than she has ever been as an NPC.

Jerric plans to part ways with Lil the next time they pass through Whiterun. One of his fondest joys is killing necromancers, and he feels the need for a rampage. When they went through Sunderstone Gorge recently he nearly got her killed. Ulfe has the sense to run away when things get hairy, but Lil will not leave him unless he asks her to. He might bring Darnand along next, since Darnand has an equal love of blowing things up and by now can probably cast Fireballs. I’m guessing not, though. This might be another dark period best passed alone.

Some things to report: he found a kilt. And now he’s wearing it. I’m not kidding.

Also he finally got around to fixing up Anise’s cabin (because I made a little mod for him). Jerric is not bothered by rumors that the old lady is a witch, and he tends to take people as he finds them. Now when he passes by to check on her he can chop some wood for her fire and put it in a respawning barrel while Lil chats with Anise about lovely poisons and helps her pick deathbell and nighshade flowers.

Grits - Good luck getting Jerric's new game going and I know what you mean about putting on some blinders for some of the early game chores that are necessary. For example, when I start Buffy anew, I always make sure (out of character) that Riverwood gets some soldierly defense before the random vamp attacks from Dawnguard commence around level 10. Heh, I can see what you mean about the quirk with Lil actually being in perfect sync with her nature of appearing and disappearing quite mysteriously (to Jerric).

Gosh Jerric looks fabulous in his man-skirt!

Huntin' necrodudes is always good for the spirit.

I'm so glad to see someone else who likes Anise. She presents as a kindly old lady and I like to imagine her as simply a reclusive practitioner of nature magicks.

Och, that's turrible! He's nae wearin' his Sporran! Ye cannae wear a kilt wi'oot a Sporran.

It's just not kosher, or whatever the Scottish equivalent is. It probably also helps protect the family jewels. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt on the sgian dubh, as I'm sure that's hidden in his boot.

So that is what Chris Hemsworth would look like in a skirt. Pretty good!

Good to read about Buffy being in the College too. Maybe he, The White Wizard and Lucius will in Hall of the Elements.

The best I could do, was to install a mod that makes barking quieter.

Jerric looks great in his kilt and IIRC kilts are supposed to be worn without underwear. I love the pic from Falkreath's longhouse. Nice to see him helping Anise by making her shack rainproof.

--

Although he stayed in Whiterun only for two days, it was great to see Lucius again. We had a lot to tell to each other since we haven't seen him for more than a month. He told me about his adventures on Solstheim, an expedition to Saarthal, a battle against a necrophile close to Dawnstar and many other events. While he was gone, I was busy as well. As Lucius' housecarl, I took upon myself to protect the Whiterun hold in his absence so I regularly cleared out bandit camps close to Whiterun and made sure none of them harassed Riverwood or Rorikstead.

Lucius told me that he's currently busy doing some investigations on behalf of the College of Winterhold but that he intends to search for a man called Septimus Signus, who should tell him where an elder scroll is located. The man supposedly lives somewhere in the far north. As a Nord, I don't trust a lot in magic, but since Lucius is a skilled healer, I believe he does well for himself at the College.

We decided not to travel together, at least not now. Lucius was pleased to hear that I've been protecting the hold and I have a feeling that I might get in his way if we used to travel together again. Besides, when not on the road, he's a completely different person, more talkative and caring. When adventuring, however, he prefers not to talk too much unless necessary and it seemed to me like he wasn't aware of my presence at all times.

We spent a lovely evening together, details of which I won't share even with you, my dear diary. But in the morning Lucius was already gone. I hurried to a nearby tower and I think I saw him walking down the road to Rorikstead, his Stalhrim armor shining in the bright Sun. May the Gods watch over your battles, my Love.

Lydia, Breezehome,

16th of Sun's Dawn, 4€202

GrrrrRits: Lol at the kilt pics! To quote mALX: SPEW

Jerric might someday feel a shadow subtly lurking in Anise's Cabin. On the other hand, Jerric might find some pretty wacky poetry stashed in the dresser, there.

Lopov: We spent a lovely evening together, details of which I won't share even with you, my dear diary ... Uh oh.

Lopov - Aww, what a nice diary entry from Lydia. I'm so glad she's building up her own heroine creds in the Hold doing noble deeds and keeping busy. That makes wonderful sense.

Thanks, it felt good writing with the magical pen again.

--

After being accepted to the Dark Family and introduced to its friendly, rude and mad members, Aard didn't want to come across as someone who does nothing but stand around, so the following morning he departed west towards Ivarstead.

The first name on his to-kill list was Narfi, the hapless beggar from the village under High Hrothgar. Aard wondered whether that's what awaits him in the Dark Brotherhood; killing emaciated beggars who couldn't even defend themselves. He knew that orders weren't meant to be questioned but he couldn't help but wonder why would someone want such a man killed by the Dark Brotherhood. Unless there was more to Narfi than met the eye, and perhaps he lived another life before becoming a beggar. While some assassins preferred to kill their victims while looking them in their facse, Aard preferred to remain unseen and unheard. Besides, deep inside himself he knew that he doesn't have guts to kill a weak beggar while looking at his eyes. Narfi was just about to empty another tankard of wine when he slept... forever.

While heading north to Windhelm, Meeko was unfortunately killed by a troll not far from Ivarstead so Aard continued on alone. He briefly stopped in Windhelm, got some sleep, bought some food and wine, and finally reunited with his mare whom he named Loyal because she loyally waited for him while he was gone. The second name on his to-kill list was Ennodius Papius, supposedly the paranoid main who knew that someone is out there to kill him. For reasons unknown, Aard didn't feel sorry for Ennodius as he did for Narfi, in fact he found the Imperial to be stupid, living all alone close to a main road wasn't really a clever way to hide. Just like with Narfi, Aard performed the assassination as unseen and unheard. Ennodius Papius was about to eat some bread when Aard's knife struck... and the paranoid man's fate was finally fulfilled.

The third on his to-kill list was Beitild, the divorced mine owner from Dawnstar. She was the only one with whom Aard actually had a short conversation, but not before killing her, yet during the day, to make sure she was the right person. "Frigid and hard-ass", that were Aard's thoughts about her. Funny, he didn't have any restraints at all about killing her because she went on his nerves when he barely greeted her. While waiting for the night to fall, Aard visited the museum of the Mythic Dawn Cult, not to get a lesson in history but because Silus offered him a job that seemingly paid well. Contracts for the Dark Brotherhood will probably take him all over Skyrim so it couldn't hurt to have any side jobs from time to time. He went to sleep in the only inn in Dawnstar, woke up around 2 AM and headed to Beitild's house.

The miner was obviously so attached to her pickaxe that she didn't part from it even while sleeping. Aard's knife struck once and the divorced miner became the dead miner. He took her coinpurses and some valuables, to make it look like a robbery, not that anybody will care about it. Heavy snowstorm began as Aard left Dawnstar, riding on Loyal's back, satisfied with himself, since he managed to perform all three contracts without getting noticed. Perhaps there was a promising career ahead of him indeed.

Lopov, I love that Lydia has her own life while Lucius is off adventuring. Aard is doing some good, clean work. Sorry to hear about Meeko!


Varia Velvus (who I don’t think I have posted about much here) finally made it to Solitude to join the Bards College. By now she is a Well-Known Bard (rank from Become A Bard) and can ask Jarls through dialog if they would like her to play for them. Instead of coin they give her gifts if they like her songs. She has gotten some nice enchanted jewelry including a silver and sapphire necklace that fortifies her magicka from Jarl Elisif. She sold everything so far except for Jarl Elisif’s gift, which she wears.

Thanks to another mod (Inconsequential NPCs) Varia got an earful of a foreign envoy being snide and very rude to Jarl Elisif while Varia was waiting for her turn to speak. In reply the lovely and sweet-voiced Jarl pretty much tore the envoy a new one right in the middle of court. Varia was impressed. She is a fan of Jarl Elisif. Varia also talked to Sybille Stentor at length and learned a lot about the Jarl and the late King’s stance on current events. Varia is no warrior and has no intention of joining the Legion, but she will play for legionaries for free any time she meets them now. Still, she will eventually make her way to play at Jarl Ulfric’s court, even though she is an Imperial. I think she’ll save that Hold for last.

The Bards College does not offer a bed to the player, so I made a cubicle for Varia in the downstairs quarters. Here she and her pal Coda (along with Meeko) survey her dorm room. No doubt they are both counting the beds, or should I say bed. Until I figure out how to get him to sing or play with Varia, Coda is going to have to sleep at the inn.

It was a fun coincidence that Varia finally arrived in Solitude during the Tales and Tallows festival. I’m using Wet and Cold: Holidays so there was a party going on in the streets. Here Varia joined in with two bards who were already playing. She didn’t get paid but it was awesome.

Varia and Coda (and Meeko) are headed to find the lost work of the bard Svaknir. I am concerned about the outcome. Varia is not a summoner and uses only mage armor. That place could end up a tomb for another dead bard.


Edit: forgot pics.