- 13th of Heartfire, 4E 202 -
After wasting my time at Eldergleam Sanctuary I decided to check out the other potential word wall location I had found. It was another cave, but this one boasted a particularly menacing entrance. All around the entrance were cobwebs and bones and carcasses. It was pretty obvious I was going to run into spiders inside. I loathe spiders. Loathe.
But I was determined to locate another word wall. So in I went.
The first thing I noticed was that the inside of the cave was somehow more menacing in appearance than the outside. It's tight and dank passages were coated with cobwebs, and within a few hesitant steps I had the vile stuff in my mouth and all over my armor. I hate that feeling. It's like I'm being suffocated just knowing I'm covered in the stuff.
I didn't have long to meditate on my annoyance as I could hear the unmistakable sound of spiders crawling ahead of me. Out came my mace and my shield and I prepared for the worst. From the sound of it, I was facing at least two or three spiders.
Make that four. Luckily they were all very small, and I dispatched them one by one with a shout of force or a crushing blow from my mace.
Deeper I ventured into the cave system, killing more spiders with metal and sound. In one cavernous room, with a large drop to a pool of water below, I killed maybe a dozen of the monsters. Many of them I blew from the ledges with a strategic use of my shout. The last one fell to fire that my voice spoke into existence.
I continued ahead, killing more spiders and eating more cobwebs. My stomach alerted me that it must no longer be daytime outside, so I ate some cooked beef for dinner. Normally I bring along some ale to help wash my meal down, but I was trying to travel light. Oh how tasty an ale sounded in that moment. If not to wash the beef down, then at least the wretched cobwebs.
My stomach full, I pushed on. I squeezed along through the tight passages until I came to a decent size room with two small spiders on the opposite side. I stepped forward cautiously, feeling that something wasn't right. Now you would think, given that I had been keeping my eyes on the ceiling constantly as I explored the cave, that I would have looked up as I entered this room. Any time I'm in the presence of spiders I keep watch on the ceilings.
The enormous spider floated down in front of me like an apparition on a string.
I froze, hoping it hadn't seen me, but then I decided a second later it was best to take action. I released a shout of force, which flung the giant arachnid and his two cohorts back against the cave wall. Whether it was my shout or the crushing force of the larger spider, I don't care .. but the two smaller spiders died as they hit the wall and the larger one slammed into them.
By this time I had already retreated into the tunnel I had come from. I instantly recognized that it was likely too small for the larger spider to enter. So I was safe and sound while the beast stormed around just outside the passage.
As he calmed down I snuck out and shouted him against the wall again. I repeated this approach many times over, and then switch to bathing him in fire. I don't really know which was more effective, but in the end I defeated the great spider with only my voice. I was happy with that.
I was not happy with the fact that I had just spent a day and a night in a spider-infested stink hole and there was no word wall in sight. As I left the cave the sun was rising and it's brightness reminded my eyes of the time I had just spent in the cave. I was tired and frustrated, and headed back to Windhelm to catch a few hours of sleep.
Now it's mid-afternoon, and I'm heading out to try and explore a location near Riften. If this next location turns out to be nothing but an ancient burial mound, I may have to give up this plan of action.
