Fredas Night / Old Sawmill
I can honestly say I never expected to be here again. I'm sitting in a shack, writing in a book .. a book who's previous owner sat in this very shack and wrote in this very book ... the very night that I killed her. It's enough to make one find religion.
I got a late start this morning. Not really surprised. I would have slept longer but for the damned bard. Some beleaguered traveler is going to slit that bard's throat one day. Mark my words.
Around mid-afternoon I found the hideout of this gang of thugs, after hiking through mountains to avoid the sabre cat of course. It would be nice if the local guard went out once in a while to clear the roads. I guess they're needed back in town to push around the dark elves, though.
The cave where the gang has holed up is huge. I was expecting a small cave with a handful unskilled and unkempt rogues. But right near the entrance I immediately spotted a pair of the gang. Not only were they well-equipped .. there were targets set up for archery practice. My guard raised.
As with most caves, it was very dark and seeing the ground in front of me was nearly impossible. Well, unless I wanted to light up my path with flame. But doing that would also alert my enemies before I was ready. I was certain there were traps in this place. Any thugs that take the time to practice their combat skills will also take the time to rig traps for the unsuspecting. I was suspecting. I just couldn't see a damn thing.
But there was a stream to the side of the path so I stepped into it. As long as I moved slow and didn't splash a lot I figured I could get close and avoid any traps on the unlit path.
I was still about thirty or forty paces away when they caught wind of me. No matter. I readied my flame and my axe and went to work. One of the thugs charged me with a sword while the other hung back to provide cover with his bow. A sound strategy for certain situations, but not this one. They would have been much better off charging me together with blades drawn.
I killed the swordsman and then took down the archer. I found a pair of potions on a barrel nearby, both of which could come in handy down the road. I'll keep them at the top of my satchel.
Further into the cave I found an enormous room. It had a natural pillar of sorts in the middle, with water all around. A rock bridge led to the pillar, where I could see two more men on patrol. High above I could see various man-made wooden bridges and platforms, with more men patrolling. This wasn't going to be easy. Especially since it was still infernally dark. With every step I took I could feel a bear trap closing over my leg. It was agonizing to make any progress.
I was halfway across the rock bridge when one of the men ahead of me spotted me. Another archer and swordsman combination. If anything at least these fellows were showing some predictability. I can take advantage of that.
Except the swordsman who charged me actually had very large hammer in his hands, not a sword. I had to be careful not to panic and fall from the rock bridge. I had no idea what was in the water below. Not that it mattered much. If I fell in wearing my iron armor I'd drown for sure. So I kept my footing solid and cast my flame across the brute. When he reached me and struck me I struck back, and thankfully the flame spell had gravely injured him. My attack split his face open like an over-ripe gourd.
I was fairly certain that the path ahead was clear, even if I couldn't see it. The brute with the hammer had just run up it to meet me. He would have set off any traps hopefully. So I wasted no time in running down the bridge and put flame on the archer. He was above me on a platform, so I used it to my advantage, taking cover underneath it periodically. And soon enough he was dead.
Next to his body I found a book on swordplay. Quite interesting and full of useful information. Although I probably should have picked a better time and place to thumb through it. As I finished the book I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see another large brute with a similarly large hammer just ten paces away and closing.
I shot a single burst of flame and then wisely vaulted over the edge of the platform. I landed below and quickly turned to my attacker. He was heading back off the platform, and I took the opportunity to drench him in fire the entire way. By the time he reached me he didn't have the strength to lift his weapon, and fell dead at my feet.
I caught my breath and gathered my senses, taking a moment to remove the few coins from each of their bodies. Then I carefully crossed over another rock bridge, assuming it was also clear since that is where the last assailant had to have come from.
But as I reached the other side my heart sank. Nothing ahead but a very dim passage that led upward. And I still couldn't see a thing. I needed a torch. Well, I've needed one for a while now. I just keep forgetting to purchase one.
I had no choice but to use my flame spell to light up the path in front of me. It was so dark, though, that I could only see a few paces in front of my boots, so my progress was very slow. I also had to be careful not to expend too much magicka at once. It wouldn't do well for me to get caught with my magicka extinguished.
It had been less than a minute, and I had gone maybe ten paces, when suddenly there was a loud rumbled and the ground under my very feet shook with anger. I froze, in near complete darkness. I had no idea what had just happened and what it meant for me. My imagination conjured up images of some ancient beast bursting forth from the cave to devour me.
Instead, in the faint light of the passage ahead, I saw a man. Several men. All running towards me. To kill me. Not an ancient beast, but certainly trouble.
The next few moments are still a bit of a blur for me. I remember using my flame spell, and feeling the dull pain of swords crashing against my armor. I remember striking back with my axe and watching one man fall to the darkness at my feet, and then the other. And the archer, standing about ten or fifteen paces away. I burned him alive, without mercy.
It was after this intense minute of combat that I discovered the source of the noise. A trap. By sheer chance my flame that I was using to light my way had burned through a rope laid across the floor. This rope had been connected to a wagon contraption loaded with heavy boulders. Rocks large enough to have crushed me instantly had I not inadvertently set off the trap.
So I decided it was time to leave the cave and return to Windhelm. It was time to buy a torch. My mother always use to shake her head at me over things like this. "Child," she used to say, "why do you insist on doing things the hard way?" At least I'm consistent, mother.
When I stepped from the cave I realized it was later than I thought. It was late evening, and I was going to be hard-pressed to make it back to Windhelm before dark. I knew that sabre cat was probably somewhere on the road as well. I had seen it earlier today.
I made the best time I could. With the light fading I tried to sprint here and there in small sections. I couldn't risk an all-out sprint and end up with my lungs burning and empty. I needed to be prepared for anything I might come across.
Sure enough, as I approached the old sawmill on the river I heard a rustle in the brush to my right. The light was nearly gone but I saw the flash of the thief's two blades as he stepped onto the road and struck at me. Our fight lasted for a while. The thief was smart. Every time I had him close to death he would disappear into the bushes and trees, and then reappear when he had recovered somewhat. In the end I was able to finish him with a pair of quick strikes. I'm liking this new axe. A lot.
And this is where I found myself in the middle of the night. Standing on the road next to a dead thief, just upstream from the old sawmill. The same mill where I had stayed a night before. There was no way I could impose and ask to stay again. It was awkward enough the first time around.
But then I remembered Velyna's words in this book. She had mentioned a shack at the mill. It was abandoned and had several beds available. If it was still in this condition I might have a place to stay for the night. There was no way I was walking all the way back to Windhelm in the dark. That much I knew for sure.
So I'm going to catch some sleep in this old shack. And hopefully no vampires will come knocking in the night.
