- Sundas, 27th of Heartfire, 4E 201 -
Tonight I'm going to be cold, hungry and sleepless. I spent the entire day hiking south along the river. I was headed to a bandit hideout to fulfill another bounty I received from the innkeep in Morthal. I must be making a name for myself since this is my third contract.
I fully expected to be back in Morthal right now, eating a warm dinner and sharing my daring adventure with the patrons of the inn and my journal. Instead, I'm clinging to the face of a cliff as the sky turns black and the air turns sharp.
I managed well enough earlier in the day, dispatching a dozen or so mudcrabs and a troublesome wolf. I even killed a pair of frostbite spiders, although it did take me all afternoon. They nearly got the best of me several times, but I outmaneuvered them and prevailed. I could have ended my day on this battle, as it took several hours, but I just knew the bandit lair must be close. So I pressed on.
After killing the spiders and collecting their poisonous blood I discovered a nearby trail. At it's head was the body of a slain Khajjit and the rotted bones of countless other victims. There was even a skull from a troll. I've never seen a troll, but I've heard the stories. It would take a mighty foe to fell a troll.
But my curiosity got the best of me and I started up the trail. The entire length of it was littered with even more bones and spatters of blood. My own blood took on a chill, and I decided that whatever was at the end of the trail was more than my match. I felt much better after putting that gruesome path behind me.
Before I knew it the sun was setting and I still hadn't found the bandits. I was pausing to catch my breath after a laborious climb, when I spotted a band of four brutes running up a road on the other side of the river. They had their weapons out and fell upon a deer a few moments later. After killing the deer they ran back down the road and disappeared. I quickly forgot all about them.
No sooner had I done so then I heard several shouts behind me. I turned in time to see the four renegades charging towards me, and very close at hand as well! As they crashed into the stream with their axes and swords drawn, I considered using my shout of fear, but there were four of them. I recalled my previous experience where my shout was blocked and decided to hold off. The men closing on me were in a loose grouping and one of them could easily block the shout for those behind.
So I ran. I ran as fast as I could. But I'm geared for clearing out a bandit hideout not for evading a war party. So as I ran my mind raced as well. I knew I would be out of breath again shortly and would need to have a plan ready.
I hurdled rocks and dashed across another stream. I cheated a glance behind me and the brigands were still on my heels, calling for my blood. As I turned back around I froze in my tracks and my heart dropped. No more than twenty paces in front of me stood a giant sabre cat. It growled and I knew I had only moments before either it, or the band of thugs tore me apart.
I lept sideways and jumped into the stream. There was a small waterfall just ahead and I ran for it as fast as my legs could carry me. Over the falls I went and landed on a rock below. I didn't even look behind me, but kept running instead. The waterfall was a small one, and if my antagonists didn't go over it they would surely find a way around it very shortly.
Another thirty steps I was able to take before I arrived at the edge of a cliff. There was nowhere to go. The cliff was as steep as a castle wall, and I could barely make out the ground below. I spun around, hoping that my attackers had lost me. For a few moments it seemed I had lost them. I could hear nothing but the peaceful sound of water flowing and birds singing their bedtime songs. The grass whispered softly with the evening breeze and a few butterflies danced their last dance of the day.
I was just starting to believe in my escape when I saw one of the men appear over a rocky ridge, a heavy axe in his hand. He had a clear path to me, and within seconds I saw a second member of the group coming. I had to do something, and fast. Within seconds they would reach me and that would surely be my end.
I turned and examined the cliff face again, looking for any sign of salvation. My eyes strained in the dusk's pale light, while my ears were eager to remind me of the rapidly approaching footsteps behind me. Then I spotted it. A small outcrop of rocks that I could probably jump to without breaking my legs. It was farther than I wanted to try for, but I was out of time. I could hear an axe whistling through the air behind me, ready to remove my head.
I jumped ..... well .. I more fell than jumped. But it accomplished the same result. By the gods if I didn't land right on that outcrop and not a hair to either side, which would have ended me for sure. After realizing I had survived the fall, I immediately looked back up the cliff face. If my pursuers spotted me now, and they had a bow among them, I was going to be an easy target. I held my breath and crouched on my aching legs, willing myself to feel invisible. A minute passed. Then another. I heard nothing. I saw nothing. I had evaded and survived.
Now it's dark, though, and even if I wanted to try and make my way back to Morthal, I would certainly break my neck trying to get down from this cliff in the black of night. I don't even know if I can get down from here, but I'm going to at least wait until the light of dawn to attempt it.
If you should find this journal and this is the final entry, know that my body lies at the bottom of a cliff southwest of Morthal. Gods be with me tonight and in the morn.