Immortal Words - Saurano Direnni

[BIGwooly]

Middas Evening / City of Windhelm

Spent another day in Windhelm trying to decide what to do. The dark elf club I visited last night was a bust. That girl at the inn needs to stop handing out unwanted advice. The club was all but empty, and not a single note of music was being played. Although maybe that was a blessing. I awoke this morning to the bard in the inn playing another song I didn't want to hear. Not how I like to wake up. I suppose she's used to most people getting out of bed before it's time for lunch.

But this girl likes to stay up late and get up late. No sense starting a day any earlier than you have to. That's my opinion.

Eventually, when I couldn't take the music anymore, I did finally get up and ate some breakfast … lunch. I then walked the city and pondered what to do next. Any other time I would be locating the vampire cave and putting the pale skins down. But the Avani family is known for their power, and if the sisters went together and brought thrall with them, then maybe I should reconsider going into this one solo.

A man at the inn offered his sword for service yesterday. I brushed him off, thinking he was misjudging my abilities because of my gender. But maybe I over-reacted a bit. Maybe I should hire this fellow to come with me. He certainly looked capable enough. Then again, five hundred gold per day is a lot of coin. I don't even have half that amount right now.

So after a bit of walking around I decided to just hire the man and play this one safe. No sense trying to save coin if you're going to get yourself killed … or worse.

That meant I needed to get my hands on more gold, though. And I spent the rest of the day looking for some paying work that suited me. I got an offer the previous day from the alchemist to fetch a vial or a flask or something. The old man seemed a bit crazy though, and I don't like working for crazy. But then, no one else had much to offer. Not even the jarl, who I saw very briefly. I don't think he enjoys the company of reguards .. especially reguard women.

So I'm headed to bed to think things over and sleep on it. I plan to get up earlier tomorrow, but we'll see what happens.

 

[BIGwooly]

Tirdas / Forsaken Cave

I managed to wake up early this morning, but then laid around in bed for an hour or two and still ended up with a late start on the day. Not something I'm going to shed any tears over.

It wasn't the easiest decision but I decided to try and retrieve this phial for the alchemist. I prefer to take jobs that are a bit more straightforward, but I'm in bind it seems. No one else has any real work for me in Windhelm, and I'm not going to stoop to farmwork. So into this cave to find a silly thing for a silly old man.

I've been at it for a bit in the cave. There are plenty of draugr walking about. Undead nords from ages past, walking for reasons unknown. What is known is that they don't appreciate visitors, and I'm visiting. I certainly don't plan on becoming a resident anyways. So I have to kill each of these things that I run into. And I'm running into a lot.

The good news is that the run of the mill draugr aren't so tough. With a bit of flame I can weaken them enough that one or two hacks with my axe makes short work of them. And each of them generally has a bit of gold on them, which I'm happy to take. Same goes for the urns and chests I find in this place. I can't really carry anything else of value do to the weight, but gold is gold. I can always find somewhere to stash a bit more.

I know some would be up in arms over me taking gold from an urn. But honestly, the dead are dead, other than the walking dead I suppose. But they may as well be dead. They aren't leading any sort of a meaningful life as far as I can tell. So why not take this gold? It's use in this cave is long overdue. And it feels much better in my pockets.

Oddly enough, I'm quite a ways inside this cave now I've found more than two hundred septims already. I'm at four hundred total. If I can find another hundred or so, I may just leave. I never promised the old man I'd get his trinket, and the longer I'm in this cave the more likely I am to get killed. It's littered with nasty traps, and I didn't have room to bring a torch. I'm having to use my flame spell to try and light up the way as I go. And all that does is announce to the draugr ahead of me that a visitor needs to be shown some ancient nordic hospitality.

 

[Mr1cammando]

I love the personality. It will be a shame to let this one die. :c

 

[BIGwooly]

I love the personality. It will be a shame to let this one die. :c

I'm trying! d;-)

 

[Honourman]

I downloaded the last five pages to read on a trans-atlantic flight. Boy did I have some weird dreams. A perfect travel companion. This journal is such a creative concept, you sir deserve a medal, or perhaps a job as Bethesda working on the next instalment.

 

[BIGwooly]

I downloaded the last five pages to read on a trans-atlantic flight. Boy did I have some weird dreams. A perfect travel companion. This journal is such a creative concept, you sir deserve a medal, or perhaps a job as Bethesda working on the next instalment.

Transatlantic? I should have written more up for you. d;-)

And a job at Bethesda? I like running my own business but I would totally be willing consult with them. Heheh.

 

[BIGwooly]

Middas Morning / City of Windhelm

I'm done with the cave. Forget the phial. After avoiding some traps in the floor that would have burned me alive, and another trap that would have smashed my face in, I encountered a draugr that was more than my match.

This particular draugr was trouble, and I knew it the moment I saw the thing. It wasn't the hatchet in his hand, it was the glowing magic in his other. A draugr with magic is a deadly thing indeed, and even worse if they have the power to shout you off your feet. I wasn't sure how powerful this one was, but it had already spotted me and I had to react.

So I doused it with flame, and in return it bathed me in frost. It's magic was strong, and I was hurting badly .. quickly. I decided it was time to call the fight before the undead beast was on top of me and adding an axe blade to the fight.

My legs didn't want to work, though. How could I forget so easily. As painful as frost magic is, the real danger is in how it freezes up the muscles. My legs were stiff as a corpse, and I felt like I was having a bad dream. You know, the kind where you run away from something but you can run. Except this wasn't a dream. This was a real draugr that wanted nothing more than to remove my head for trespassing on it's burial site. And I suppose it could adding looting to the offense as well.

I exerted every ounce of energy I had to move forward. The draugr was catching up quickly, and reality was setting in. I was going to die. I was going to die in a filthy nordic tomb because I was trying to recover some worthless vial for some testy old man. I wasn't really ready, and didn't want to die like that. Not while running away. Not with an axe in my back. That's not how this reguard was going to die.

And just then, as I was about to turn and face my fate like a woman of courage, I saw the door up ahead. Now, it's not that the draugr wasn't going to be able to open the door. But the door was going to give me an extra bit of time. And that was going to be my salvation.

I could already feel the frost wearing off of me as I made it to the door. I flung it open, ran through, and slammed it shut behind me. I didn't even look back. I just kept running.

Well, obviously I made it out of that place. Forsake Cave indeed. No need to go back in there. I'd rather kill vampires. Although the nords do know how to bury their dead with gold.

On the way back to Winhelm I stumbled across a khajiit caravan. Looked like they were headed to Windhelm as well. We did some business and then I finished my hike back to the city. Now that I've had a decent meal, it's time to give my back a break. I think I'll sleep until tomorrow. And then I'll sleep in.

 

[BIGwooly]

Turdas Evening / City of Windhelm

I strode into town yesterday with just over five hundred gold in my pocket. Enough to hire the sword I was considering a few days ago. But I have a hard time keeping gold in my pocket.

While in the cave I came across a nice pair of nordic boots. Although I'm sure they were made for a man, they fit my feet perfectly. I suppose I do have large feet for a lady. My old iron boots had served me well for a long time, but these boots were just as well made. They would protect my feet equally well, but they were lighter by about a pound. And a pound is worth a lot.

Then today, as I was checking out the local armorer's wares, I found a nice set of imperial gauntlets. They were also well-constructed, and also a pound lighter than my iron gauntlets. Now most redguards wouldn't think about wearing imperial armor, but I could care less. Armor is armor. I care more about how well it's going to protect than who made it or who wore it before me.

So now I find myself with three hundred and sixty gold pieces. Not enough to hire a sword. And on top of that I've found an old set of iron armor that looks pretty nice. My banded iron armor is better, but it's also maybe five pounds heavier. Five pounds would allow me to carry a torch and some additional potions. So it's something to think over. I've had this armor for a while, and it performs well. It will be hard to part with. Still, I like the idea of having a torch. Spotting traps in the dark is for khajiit.

 

[Mr1cammando]

Dude, don't ever let this one die. This one would have to be my absolute favorite.

 

[BIGwooly]

Fredas Morning / City of Windhelm

It was a tough decision, but a necessary one. My banded armor has done me well, but it was time for it to go. It's just too heavy. Not that I can't handle it. Say something like that and I'll be sure to make your face ugly. But it's just too heavy for my tastes.

It wasn't all that hard to sell. I don't mean finding a buyer, although that wasn't hard either. I mean letting the armor go. I've had some good fights in it. That pack of kagouti in the grazelands. The ogrim deep in the cave near Mt. Kand. The endless stream of draugr in Forsaken Cave. But I don't have any sentimental attachment to it. That's short-sighted thinking.

So now I'm wearing a set of standard iron armor. It feels pretty good, nice quite as solid as my banded armor, but it will do. It's much lighter, and that's what really matters. It offers basically the same protection, but now I can carry more potions and a torch. Looking forward to that.

I've decided to head to Whiterun, a city in the center of this dismal, frozen land. There is a route that will take me past Forsaken Cave, so I'm going to stop by and collect a few things I left behind. I found a gold and silver bars that would be worth carrying to the city. I have less than fifty coins in my pocket after arriving back in Windhelm with over five hundred just a day ago. No wonder I never got into the business of running a shop.

There's not really any legitimate work here in Windhelm, so I'm hoping to find something lucrative in Whiterun. A girl needs gold, after all.

 

[bulbaquil]

I've decided to head to Winterhold, a city in the center of this dismal, frozen land.

Whiterun, even?

 

[BIGwooly]

Whiterun, even?

Arg!

 

[BIGwooly]

Loredas Morning / Nightgate Inn

Didn't make it to Whiterun last night. I spent a bit too long in the cave searching for any valuables I may have missed. I managed to find a few urns I hadn't seen before, which put a bit of extra gold in my pocket. I also located the potions I had left behind, as well as the gold ignots.

When I left the cave it was already evening, and Windhelm was just far enough that I didn't feel like going back. It's not my favorite place to spend the night. My ears are sore from hearing about the dark elves.

So I headed towards Whiterun, assuming I would find somewhere to spend the night. I hadn't gone far when I found a pair of wolves blocking my path. I drew my axe and readied my flame, and closed on them. The closer wolf charged me and I lit him on fire. He had barely reached me when my axe cut halfway into his neck and ended his attack.

The second wolf was smart and had circled around behind me during this time. He attacked me from behind before I could react. My new armor held up well, though. I felt the pain of the bite and then delivered my own pain back. The wolf yelped and bit at me again. I struck back, two times, and killed the mangy beast.

Just after this, as the sun was gathering up it's remaining light, I spotted an inn just off the road. Nightgate Inn. Inside I found a good meal and a bed, and an innkeeper with loose lips. It appears he has a wealthy customer, who pays him a good sum regularly. A writer from the sounds of it. An orc.

Well, I spent the night and never saw the orc, so the info wasn't any use to me. Now it's morning, and fairly early in the morning by my standards. Time to get walking.

 

[BIGwooly]

Loredas Evening / City of Whiterun

As I was leaving the inn this morning I noticed a road leading down away from the establishment. I'm the curious type, so I took a walk.

The road wrapped around a lake, which was partially frozen over. I wasn't seeing much other than the standard fare of Skyrim wildlife and scenery. But as I was about to turn around and head back I noticed something up ahead. It look like a structure beyond the trees.

I kept walking and found a giant dwarven ruin at the end of the road. My instincts are usually correct. I kept walking, slowly now though, so I could take in the vast old city, if that's what it was. And then I heard a voice. A shout. An angry shout.

I dropped my gaze down to find a woman clad in fur armor scrambling towards me with a mace in her hand. She was infuriated with my presence. I stumbled backwards, finding my axe with my right hand and laying down a stream of fire on the woman with my left. She charged right through the flames, as if she barely felt them.

And I felt the sting of her mace against my armor. A good solid blow, and enough power behind it that it got my attention. If that didn't, then hearing the second shout did. This time a man's voice. Also angry.

My gaze shifted again as the man came into view. A huge hulk of a man, and with a war hammer to match his size. I kept shuffling my feet backwards and tried to engulf the two of them in flame. But the angle was poor, and I could only target one or the other.

Another blow from the mace prompted me to turn and run. I'm a tough one, but there's no honor in sticking around to get bludgeoned by a mace and a hammer. So I ran. I ran until I ran out of breath. And then I turned around and saw the man was right behind me still. For such a big man with such a big weapon, he was pretty fit.

There was no point in evading now. I couldn't run, so it was time to make my stand. I started with fire, and the moment the man was close enough I was going to switch to my axe. But luckily he succumbed to the heat and fell down dead. His large hammer landed on the road next to him.

The woman with the mace burst from the brush and charged me. I drenched her with flame, but she didn't fall as her comrade had. Instead I took the brunt of her mace a third time. Another solid blow. But my axe was more than she could bear. She fell to the ground gushing blood from a gaping wound in her side.

Now I would have liked to have a moment to regain my senses, but I didn't get that. No, from all sides I saw spiders coming through the trees. At least three of them. Small, but still deadly poisonous. The first fell to flame quickly, but I had to use my axe on the other two. It took some effort but I did kill them, and finally had a moment to collect myself.

The man and the woman had a bit of gold on them, which I happily confiscated. I also made sure to collect some poison from the spiders. I couldn't carry any more, so I had to leave the armor and weapons behind.

Then it was off to Whiterun. I fended off a few wolves on the way, and came across a crazy fool who needed help with his wagon. He had busted a wheel on the thing, and supposedly had the corpse of his mother inside the casket atop the wagon. He didn't seem to broken up over her passing. In fact, more broken up by the damaged wheel on the cart.

It didn't matter. The guy had mental issues but offered the promise of gold if I would just help him get the wagon fixed. There was a farm just up the hill from him, and up I went to talk to the farmer. He had already refused to help, likely because the man was dressed like a court jester and acting every bit crazy. I understood. But I was able to convince the farmer to lend a hand and as a result, I got my hands on around two hundred septims. Easiest money I think I've ever made.

 

[BIGwooly]

Sundas Noon / The Bannered Mare

Have to finish wiping the blood off my fists ...

Idiot nords. Especially the men. They all think they're one step away from being legendary heroes. Especially the one's that can't even take a fist to the jaw.

I was in the market this morning, gathering information from the locals, when I found myself talk to a woman who was being harassed. The bard that woke me up this morning was pestering this poor girl on a daily basis. And I should mentioned again that he woke me up, and woke me up early.

After hearing this girl's story I told her I would take care of things. I marched right back inside the tavern, and the bard was just getting back to his feet to start another song. Before he could start I got in his face and let him know to stop bothering the lady in the market. I thought I had made myself clear, and thought that my body language had gotten the point across as well, but it didn't.

The bard began arguing with me and next thing I knew we were throwing each other around the place. The locals grabbed their drinks and plates and got out of the way as we went at it. The bard was tough, I'll give him that. He took quite a few good punches, and delivered quite a few as well. But my anger was greater than his love, and he was on his hands and knees puking after about ten minutes.

My point made, I strode back out of the inn. Those nords looked at me with different eyes this time. I don't expect to get much trouble from the rest of them now.

The woman, I can't remember her name, was so grateful that she gave me a small bag of gold. I acted like she didn't need to but of course I took it. Gold is gold. No reason not to take it. Especially not when it's over two hundred septims. Not bad pay for knocking a bard's teeth out. I would have done it for free. At least maybe now I won't wake up to him singing about Ragnar the Red.

 

[Phenomenal TJ]

This is quite interesting, and best of all - inspiring.

 

[bulbaquil]

Idiot nords. Especially the men. They all think they're one step away from being legendary heroes. Especially the one's that can't even take a fist to the jaw.

Heh, Sjadbek's not much of a Mikael fan either. Too many renditions of "Age of Aggression" during Frostfall 201, I think.

 

[shongo3258]

ugh yeah I HATE Mikael

 

[BIGwooly]

Sundas Evening / City of Whiterun

Well, after beating down a noisy nord and getting a bite for breakfast, I took a stroll around town. I needed to find some work that was worth doing. And I happened to overhear a conversation that might just do the trick.

It seems a fellow redguard had his family sword stolen by some thieves. According to the redguard the thieves are holed up in a camp just north of the city. Promising already. They are close and they are successful at stealing.

So I headed out the city gates around noon to check this camp out and see if it was worth the trouble. I may or may not return the sword. I've been told there is a reward, but oftentimes a reward is worth less than you can sell the item for. I'm not cold-hearted. It's just, well, if I'm going to risk my neck to get my hands on something then I'm going to decide what to do with it. If the redguard wants to go recover the sword, he's free to do so.

I hadn't walked far before I came to a stream. I knew the camp was located along water, so I must be close. So were some mudcrabs. A bit of flame eliminated the threat, but then a man came running at me. He was wearing armor and had a mace in his hand. Well, upon reflection I don't know if the mace was in his hand, but I saw the mace.

No time wasted. I sent a stream of flame at him and then went to work with my axe. A bit more flame finished him off nicely. He struck me as a common bandit, except for the enchanted sword he carried in addition to the mace. I would have taken it but I couldn't carry the thing. So I took the ten coins I found on him and that was that.

A short time later I spotted the camp. It had a wall, which I wasn't expecting. My guard immediately went up a notch. Ordinary thieves don't waste time building a defensive wall around their camp. This band of thugs was obviously a bit more organized. And that's a dangerous thing.

I noticed there were two large hills overlooking the camp. One on either side. So I decided to do a bit of scouting before I made any decisions. The first hill gave me a good view into the camp, and I could see at least two men. One was chopping wood and the other was sitting in a chair on a platform on the wall. He was keeping an eye out for someone like myself.

After a few minutes I spotted a third man, and now my attitude changed. One or two thieves is one thing, but three is a bit much. Those are poor odds for even the best fighter. And from the hill I was too far to determine what weapons they carried, if those weapons were enchanted, if their armor was enchanted ... or for that matter, if they could use magic. There were a lot of unknowns, and the knowns already weren't good.

With the day almost gone I decided to go ahead and check out the camp from the other hill. It was a bit of a hike, and I had to move slowly. I didn't know if this camp had sentries stationed outside the camp somewhere. No need to walk into a surprise. I also remember hearing on the boat over from Morrowind about the sabre cats of Skyrim. I definitely did not want to run across one of those.

From the other hill I had a better view of the camp. And almost right away I realized there was a fourth thief in the camp. The odds were just deteriorating. Even worse, I was spotted. And even worse than that, I saw the fourth thief activate some sort of shield spell just before I took off across the rocks.

So I'm back in Whiterun now, debating my options. And they aren't good.

 

[BIGwooly]

Sundas Evening / City of Whiterun

Bastards!

I nearly lost my life just now.

On my last writing I had stopped just outside Whiterun on a small hill. The city was close enough I could almost reach out and touch it. And I wrote my entry in the fading light. I don't understand the powers of this book, but I almost feel as if I cursed myself by writing I was in the city before I actually was.

An important detail I left out earlier was that after I made my escape over the rocks, I witnessed bolts of lightning come from near the fort. They were firing upward on the first hill I had used to observe the fort. I could only guess that I had stirred up the den of thieves and they had discovered some other poor fool spying on them. But I didn't venture closer to investigate. I was done for the day.

So I wrote in this book, this book that seems to call my hand like skooma to a khajiit's tongue. And I finished my entry early because night had come and I couldn't see the words anymore. But as I got back to my feet and walked toward the city I noticed a faint light in the darkness to my left. I should have ignored it, and checked it out in the light of Morndas. But no, like a bleeding fool I was drawn in like a moth to the flame.

And flame is what it was. The faint light was a campfire. The night was so dark, though. All I could see is the fire, and I could hear a horse nearby. And then I saw the woman. She was backing up away from the fire. The night was like black cloak, and I could just barely see her, but I could also see the bow in her hands. I wasn't welcome, and it was time to leave.

I began to back up as well, careful not to draw my own weapon. I didn't need things to get out of control, especially not in the dark. But it was too late. I didn't see it but I heard it. An arrow slicing through the air just beyond the tip of my ear. And following in the path of the arrow, something worse. A man with large two-handed axe.

I ran.

Arrows flew past me in the dark as I scrambled over rocks and hills, trying to keep my footing in the blackness. I felt my lungs give out and I had to make a decision. Turn and fight. Or use my two stamina potions and run. Little did I know this was more of a life and death decision than I thought. The man with the axe was right behind me so I decided to stand my ground.

He charged in with the axe and I covered him with flames. I backed up, keeping the stream of fire continuous while the man closed the distance to me. I wanted to do as much damage as possible before we got personal with the fighting. He struck me and I turned and ran again. It wasn't the plan, but it was an instinct, and a good one. Running put some extra space between us again, allowing me to use my fire magic once again. This time the man couldn't bear the heat, and fell to the ground dead.

I stood there for a moment, catching my breath and gathering my wits. It's not a a good thing to think your day is done and have visions of cooked beef in your head, only to find yourself running for your life. It takes a minute to let that sink in.

But not too long. From the darkness an arrow came, and nearly struck my head ... again. The woman was still hunting me, and I couldn't even see her.

I dodged back and forth as I made my way back toward the source of the arrows. I wasn't sure why I was going back, other than I was angry I suppose. I hadn't attack these two. Hadn't drawn my weapon on them. Yet they were intent on killing me. That's not something that sits well with me.

I finally spotted the woman, and spent the next few minutes burning her to a crisp with fire. She tried to stick with her bow to the very end, and it was her undoing. Like her friend, she fell to the flame.

Very carefully I made my way into their camp. I found the horse I had heard, found a wagon, and found a number of crates and containers. It looked a lot like a looter's camp, or a camp for bandits. That would explain their reaction to me. Fools. They should have at least started with a threat and asked for my gold. No sense just starting a fight outright. That's a poor strategy for thieves.

I began going through the crates and barrels. There was no sense leaving anything of value behind for some other thief to come along and take. I ate an apple. I ate a tomato. And that was about all I was finding. These thieves were set for food, but didn't seem to have anything worthwhile.

And then I saw the book on the table. Books can be useful. They can be entertaining. They can be educational. They can be worth selling. And what I should have done is taken the book and put it in my bag and left. My night would have gone much differently if I had just done that. I could have gone back to the inn, kicked my feet up in bed, and read a book while making short work of a few sweetrolls.

But no, I cracked the book open and found myself reading a good story. One of those stories with a lesson or a moral contained within. With some tidbits of useful knowledge. So in the dim light of the campfire I read the entire book. A critical mistake.

I was so wrapped up in the book I never heard them approaching. It wasn't until I shut the book, and thankfully not a moment later, that I realized I wasn't alone. I sensed the movement first, and then heard a voice. And then I watched in horror as several men emerged from the shadows into the camp. Now I was in real trouble.

Weapons were in hand, and it was obvious they weren't interested in talking. And then the moment that put total fear into my heart.

Lightning.

A giant bolt of it leapt from the darkness and struck me hard and fast. The pain was nearly unbearable, but I found the presence of mind to burst into a sprint right through the band of vigilantes. Why the men from the camp I had spotted earlier had showed up in this camp, I don't know. Perhaps they're all part of the same band of thieves. Perhaps the men in the other camp do business with the man and woman I had just killed. It didn't matter. I was in big trouble.

I ran and men ran after me. I knew if they caught up I was dead. The shock magic had already injured me, and fighting two or three others in melee combat was only going to have one outcome. So I just kept running, and looked for some way to throw them from my trail.

But there was nothing of the sort. No cliffs. No giant rock outcrops. No trees. And now my lungs were empty. They were burning, and wouldn't get me any farther. I fumbled around in my bag and found the two stamina potions I had nearly used before. I downed them without hesitation, and felt my energy return.

And with that I ran again, as another bolt of electricity reached out and struck my body. Whichever of the men knew that spell was a much better aim than the woman with the bow had been. But I ran and ran, with all of them chasing behind me, until I just barely managed to reach the ridge that becomes part of the old wall of Whiterun.

With no breath left in my lungs once again, I turned to find that the bandits had given up the chase. No doubt they had no intentions of fighting the entire city guard to get at me. It's a good thing I'm not that important.