30th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 201
Rayya and I rose ahead of the sun early this morning, and ate our breakfast as we made our way towards the camp. When we reached the path leading up to the camp we dropped below the surface of the path where it turned and sloped further upward; the sun was beginning to fill the sky with a dim light now, and so we had to take care moving up the path. A bandit at the wooden watchtower heard us faintly, and in a panic let a boulder trap loose, calling out into the cool morning at us. The man must've been a fledgeling highwayman, because he didn't sound too sure we were even there; I brought us to a halt and let the rocks fly over our heads. The lack of motion allayed the suspicions of the guarding brigand, and so we were able to get relatively close and spring out, taking the bandits by surprise and killing them swiftly. We then moved through the rest of the camp and wiped out the outlaws, eventually coming to the entrance of the mine which held the crossbow schematic.
Inside was the bandit chief. Rayya and I sneaked down to a spot just outside the chamber he stood in, alerting him to our presence. I stopped him cold with my staff of paralysis, opening him to assault. We hit him relentlessly until he stood up and swung his massive Dwemer greatsword at me, doing a hefty amount of damage. I paralyzed him again, and finished him off. In a chest near where I found the bandit was the drawing, as well as a few random Dwemer trinkets, and a note saying that within the chest was the group's Dwarven haul. I had what I needed, and so I told Rayya she could return home. I have to get back to Fort Dawnguard, and then to Castle Volkihar, where Serana believes her mother is hiding. So I began walking off toward Falkreath; I could find my way to Whiterun from there.
Not far from Knifepoint I came across a group of bandits battling a group of mages. The mages had killed two of the bandits, but a single ranger was crippling the mages in return. I stayed back until the bandit finished the mages off, and once he was done, the Bosmer came after me. I hit him with my 'death mark' shout, then closed the gap between us, shield raised to deflect the elf's arrows. He pulled his iron dagger when I became close enough to strike him, and he fought admirably, but my shout, my blade, and a number of ice slikes he had borne the impact of while in battle with the mages brought his demise. I looted the bodies o their gold and a conjuration spell tome to sell.
I began walking through the wilderness. I couldn't help but notice how tranquil and beautiful everything was, as the sun reache higher overhead and cast a golden glow across the land. On the road back to Falkreath, this changed.
A fog rolled in, and the sky grew cloudy. I heard the echo of a rumbling, and moments later a dragon swooped overhead. It did not see me at first, and it went about its business, bathing the roadside in flame. I knew it would spot me eventually, so I decided to engage it on my terms. It landed, and I jumped out from behind a rock and started slashing at it in every direction, circling around to avoid its tail swipes, bites, and swatting wings. The monster took off, and I started down the road, in what I hoped was the direction to Falkreath. I would lead the dragon to town, then kill it with the help of the guards.
My plan worked. The whole of the guard came out and whittled away at the beast with their bows, forcing it to land just outside of the town. The dragon sent a blast of flame at me, and it collided with the ground ahead of me. I powered through and started in on the dragon with my scimitar, followed by a group of the guards and townsfolk. Out collective efforts ended when my blade slashed the dragon's throat. The monster's flesh burned off, leaving the mob in disbelief as I collected some scales and bones. There were a number of arrows littering the ground near the skeleton, having fallen when the dragon's flesh burned off, which I picked up and sold, along with the bones and some of the scales, at the tradery. I also bought a glass bow. The shopkeeper couldn't afford some of the scales, so I left for my home, where I put the dragon's scales on display. I left the glass bow in a chest; I wouldn't need it once I had an improved crossbow.
After this I began heading towards Whiterun. Directly outside of my property I ran into a necromancer performing a ritual at an altar, whom I easily killed. He had an identical copy if the book I found with the neceomancer near Knifepoint Ridge. I kept walking until I came to a small bandit camp outside Riverwood, inhabited by three highwaymen. I ran at two of the men and did battle with them, and once they were dead I chased the female who had hung back and slung arrows at me a little ways before I caught up with her and ended her life. She had on her a few Septims and a lockpick or two, as did her compatriots; one of the men also had a steel battleaxe, which I lugged down the road to the Riverwood Trader. But before I walked on, I spotted a book next to one of the bedrolls. It was an old favorite of mine, Night Falls On Sentinel. It had been too long since I read this classic.
I was able to sell an assortment of the odds and ends I found in the bandit camp and before. From here I walked to Whiterun. Along the road, I came across a farmer, taking a painted cow to a giant camp as a peace offering. He said the paint was to indicate the sacrifice as a friendly gesture, and as long as this tradition had been around, he had not lost one of his livestock to a giant. I wished him luck and continued in. Soon I reached the city gate, and upon consultation of a Khajiit merchant, I was able to pick up a nice health potion. Even though I wore my amulet of Zenithar, I feel like that cat overcharged me. But besides that, this night is going along well enough; I have good weather, a good book, and the crisp night air to accompany me to Riften.
