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SPOILER INFO
This fanfic novel is largely based on the events that occurred in an actual game of Skyrim I played. Therefore, it's inevitably a spoiler.
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previous day
4-201-11-09 05:28
tent in the village square, Stonehills, Hjaalmarch, Skyrim
We thank our hosts cordially and head for Morthal which is a little way to the west. I report to the jarl on the destruction of the bandits in Orotheim and get my reward. Before leaving, I steal a glance at that handsome officer Taurinus who looks very busy right now. Then the girls and I set out in heavy snowfall towards Dunstad Grove and ultimately Karthwasten. If we don't dawdle, we should be able to reach it today.
The weather turns fine soon and we arrive in Dunstad Grove eventlessly. The shops are just opening and I sell some stuff. The view across the river is so amazing:
I realize we have to tell Ma'isha that we found Elisdriel. So we go to Crabber's Shanty. I inform Ma'isha that the elven-style treehouse really exists and she was right, it's really wonderful, and I regret terribly we can't take her there today, because we're kind of in a hurry. She says she understands. I promise her we'll take her to see it some other time. Of course she's sad, but I really don't want to waste time on going there, then letting Ma'isha take in the sights, then bringing her back home and then going all the way up the mountain again.
So we go to Elisdriel without Ma'isha. The place is as heartwarming as ever, but we won't hang about.
In order to proceed towards Karthwasten, we'll need to reach that road down there
The road will take us to the south and then west, past the Broken Tower Redoubt which is a forn stronghold. It may be remanned by now, in which case we'll be able to kill a dozen or so more forns. We're currently at 59. This means 41 to go.
As we run westwards under the almost cloudless sky, I spot a citadel on top of a rocky hill. We can't find a comfortable way to approach it, so we just climb up the rocks with some effort. We see an entrance door with a couple of forns in front of it. We kill them. Inside is a hagraven. The forns certainly know how to choose their company! Having cleared the citadel, I kill the last forn – a lookout watching the approach road we had failed to find when arriving. The citadel is called Bleakwind Bluff.
We've gotten off the course a little. Broken Tower Redoubt is to our north-northwest now. At the place where we currently are, we're overlooking a beautiful hilly landscape. To our west is a structure in the distance that seems to consist of two citadels not entirely unlike Valtheim Towers.
We head there and discover Rebel's Cairn along the way. It's a small cave with a little pond and no living creatures. There's a pedestal onto which one could place something I'm not currently carrying.
Cautiously approaching the two citadels, we also notice something that may be a large statue or possibly a tower.
I mean that thing on the left.
We approach the nearest citadel called Sundered Towers. Its door is blocked, probably by a crossbar on the other side. I can't be bothered to wander any further south to look for a path to those other structures. So I just try to bypass this citadel from the northern side and the climb turns out not too difficult. We can even enter the citadel unhindered from the other (western) side and remove the crossbar, just in case we'll want to enter from this (eastern) direction in the future.
West of the citadel is a camp with several tents. It appears quite possible that there are more tents further south. The tower is connected to the tent area by a drawbridge which is in the "up" position and the switch seems to be on the other side. It's no big deal. We just descend a slope and soon reach the campsite anyway. As you may have guessed by now, there are forns there whom we kill as we go.
Not a bad shot from a considerable distance!
The camp turns out quite big. We explore it, surprising forns (or sometimes them surprising us) here and there. It seems they've been focusing on defending the southwestern approach, believing this opposite direction to be securely fortified. That's why we succeed in destroying most of them one or two at a time.
Those three were so baffled they couldn't even decide which way to run.
I popped them off in quick succession like, um... standing ducks.
I popped them off in quick succession like, um... standing ducks.
From one corpse, I get a Red Eagle Sword. We also find a book titled "Legend of the Red Eagle". It informs me that I'll have to place the sword onto that pedestal in Rebel's Cairn where we were earlier today.
Before proceeding there, we're going to check out a tower called Red Eagle's Ascent we've found. It looks like we won't be reaching Karthwasten tonight, but there are tents here where we can sleep. I'm very pleased with this battle so far. We've had things under control. My eyes have been sharp, my hands steady and my followers' combat discipline has been flawless.
Red Eagle's Ascent is a dungeon that leads us deep down into the ground, so apparently it's meant to be entered from the other end, otherwise it wouldn't be called "Ascent". But it doesn't matter.
We descend, killing an occasional forn. Soon we exit into open air again, onto a campsite with two more forns. Those are the last ones. We are now on a small plateau with some mountains higher still and some ground farther below. It's 6 o'clock in the evening.
Since it's still light, I decide we'll go to that Rebel's Cairn which is to our east-northeast. Rather than going all the way back, we head east, trying to bypass the mountains counterclockwise. We find another entrance to the Red Eagle's Ascent. I wonder if there was a part of the dungeon we failed to explore, but I can't be bothered to find out.
Checking my map some time later when we're still not quite past the mountains, I realize we've traveled rather far to the east. Might have reached Rebel's Cairn faster by going back through the Red Eagle's Ascent and Sundered Towers. It's about 7 o'clock. In fading daylight, I'm surprised to see a house down the hill nearby. "Can't be Old Hroldan!" exclaims Jenassa.
I ask what's Old Hroldan and she says it's a legendary ancient town of which only one or two houses and extensive ruins are left.
No, we soon learn this location is called Soljund's Sinkhole. It consists of a farmhouse and a mine nearby. There are two men. One is a Nord guard who watches the mine entrance. The other one is a Breton and answers to the name Perth. He warns us not to go into the mine, because it's not safe. Apparently the miners had the misfortune of waking up a small army of draugrs. Now they're waiting for the jarl's soldiers to deal with them.
Suddenly I remember I've had dreams where I entered this very mine. There was a tunnel turning left and there were some very strong draugrs. I was all alone and quite inexperienced then. For some reason I felt I just had to kill the draugrs, so when one attacked me and injured me badly, I ran out of the mine so that the guard and Perth would kill the pursuing draugr and I could heal myself at some distance and then go in again to get the next one. It worked until the last draugr who stayed in a secure position and wouldn't come out, and when I finally did succeed in luring him out of the mine, I was attacked by a group of bandits and killed.
What am I doing bothering you with this? It was just a nightmare, or possibly several nightmares with similar plots. In this reality, I feel confident that I and my three followers can take care of the draugrs. I tell Perth as much. He remains skeptical and says it would be a damned waste if we got ourselves killed without spending some time with him and his colleagues in that nearby house first.
I can't think of a suitable retort, so I just turn around and motion to the girls to follow. We destroy that first group of draugrs easily. No need to run away or anything. They were exactly where I "remembered". Further below, there is one of those Draugr Deathlords and once again I'm knocked down by that terrible shouting power. This is becoming a real problem. Maybe I can enchant some armor to increase my shock resistance? At any rate, I'm saved thanks to my girls being on top of it.
That's me in the middle, struggling to get up after that shock blast.
On the left is one of my followers marked (of course) by the Sense of Smell as an ally.
The dead man on the right was already dead when we arrived.
On the left is one of my followers marked (of course) by the Sense of Smell as an ally.
The dead man on the right was already dead when we arrived.
We explore the rest of the mine, killing some more draugrs. It's excitingly challenging, yet not really dangerous. When we come out again, it's dark. I report to Perth and he gives me some money, refraining from lewd suggestions this time. The amount is not large, but I can see he's not exactly rich. The important thing is we were able to do something useful – the miners can get back to earning their daily bread and the draugrs were freed from the irritation of having to dwell in our world where they feel out of place.
While searching for a way around the mountains, we have ended up so far off course that Rebel's Cairn is to our northwest by now. There's decidedly no point going there tonight. We might end up in another adventure and then still have to look for a place to spend the night. Luckily, the map indicates that Roriksted is quite near to our east. If we go there for the night, we can take care of Rebel's Cairn tomorrow, proceed to Broken Tower Redoubt and from there to Karthwasten as originally planned, and we've made only a little detour.
We'll do that! There should be mountains between here and Roriksted, but I'm sure we'll find a way around them somehow.
Indeed there's a path that leads us through, approaching Roriksted from the southwest.
I'm delighted to see the familiar houses of this peaceful farming community. I have a most cordial encounter with Erik who is proudly wearing his new armor and eager to accompany me on my travels. I might take him. I haven't yet made up my mind and I'm too tired to think right now. It's getting on midnight and I just hire a room for myself and the girls and we go to sleep. (Erik wants you-know-what from me, and I tell him to go ahead as long as he won't be offended if I fall asleep during it, and he replies we can do it some other time then, and I promise him we will.)
next awakening
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