264 Hours 18 Minutes, 196407 Gold, Level 51, 43 Skill Books read, 28 Bunnies!
I eventually get the rupture closed then head back to Winterhold to continue the Dragonborn quest. I go see the Orc Librarian and he directs North to Septimus Signus who tells me the location of an Elder Scroll, it’s in Alftand, which isn’t too far away.
I prepare and head up there and on the way in the mountains I run into two really tough Vampires. It takes me a good five minutes of running away and coming back before I get them both. Once at Alftand I begin and it’s not too long before I am full up! I really don’t like leaving stuff so I head out and down to Saarthal to drop a load of stuff there as it’s a bit handier to get to by horse and I will be coming back later to collect all this gear. I end up coming out once more and after that I just have to leave stuff behind because it’s way too far to go all the way outside.
Alftand is full of Falmer and Dwarven machinery who are pretty easy at my level but it is extensive and takes ages to traverse. When I get down into Blackreach I really have no idea where I am supposed to go to find the scroll so I have to use my map more than I usually would. I get there eventually then head out and end up exiting just south of Dawnstar. I head there and on the way do what I did before, lay a Fire Rune for approaching Thalmor then when they come after me I lead them into a Giants camp, fun and games in Skyrim!
I am on my way to Winterhold now then I’ll go see SS and take it from there…
Wednesday 29 February 2012
68. Closing The Rupture.
258 Hours 02 Minutes, 201760 Gold, Level 50, 179 Sneak Attacks, 28 Bunnies!
Nothing much doing up High Hrothgar just formalities to get me onto the next stage of the quest. I have to go back to the College now to continue with it. I make my way back to Whiterun to plan my next move. After the usual I take a horse and head for Winterhold via Windhelm. In the real world the last week has been pretty busy and I have just been grabbing the odd go at Skyrim here and there this has resulted in me clocking up 8 hours not doing a whole lot. I did get killed a few times and because of the way my auto save is set ended up going back which was a bit of a pain.
I get to Windhelm and leave my horse at the stables and walk the last part. Over at Sow Veil Sanctum there is a battle going on between 3 Imperials and 3 Stormcloaks, the Stormcloaks win it then I go and find two trolls and lead them over to make battle and an Ice Wraith joins in. after they’re done I kill the trolls and gather up all the loot then continue towards the College.
Once there Tolfder asks me to go and close a rupture. The rupture can appear anywhere on the map I think but luckily for me it appears over by Snow Veil Sanctum but I still have to go back to Whiterun to get the Staff Of Magnus. I end up getting killed though by a crazy Mage on the way back down to Winterhold and have to go back and close the rupture again.
I think I am going to work on this the next few days and try
Nothing much doing up High Hrothgar just formalities to get me onto the next stage of the quest. I have to go back to the College now to continue with it. I make my way back to Whiterun to plan my next move. After the usual I take a horse and head for Winterhold via Windhelm. In the real world the last week has been pretty busy and I have just been grabbing the odd go at Skyrim here and there this has resulted in me clocking up 8 hours not doing a whole lot. I did get killed a few times and because of the way my auto save is set ended up going back which was a bit of a pain.
I get to Windhelm and leave my horse at the stables and walk the last part. Over at Sow Veil Sanctum there is a battle going on between 3 Imperials and 3 Stormcloaks, the Stormcloaks win it then I go and find two trolls and lead them over to make battle and an Ice Wraith joins in. after they’re done I kill the trolls and gather up all the loot then continue towards the College.
Once there Tolfder asks me to go and close a rupture. The rupture can appear anywhere on the map I think but luckily for me it appears over by Snow Veil Sanctum but I still have to go back to Whiterun to get the Staff Of Magnus. I end up getting killed though by a crazy Mage on the way back down to Winterhold and have to go back and close the rupture again.
I think I am going to work on this the next few days and try
Monday 27 February 2012
67. The Throat of the World.
250 Hours 28 Minutes, 191036 Gold, Level 50, 10 Horses Owned, 28 Bunnies!
Sky Haven temple was just a formality, there wasn’t even anyone or thing in there and the massive fight outside it a Karthspire was all there was to do fighting wise. Anyway I heard from Esbern what needs to be done next and I have to once again visit the greybeards at High Hrothgar.
Since I am relatively close to Markarth I decide to go up there and get myself a horse so I will be able to come back here and take all the loot I have stored in the body of a Bandit back to Whiterun. I don’t wait around or even go into the city I just get the horse and leave.
On the way back I just hoof it and don’t stop but when I get down onto the tundra I have the urge to wind up a giant who I spot having a wander. I get up to him and begin leading him towards Fort Greymoor which takes a while because he keeps stopping when I get too far ahead of him so I continually have to go back to rile him some more. Eventually I get him inside and leave him to do his work he dispatches all the Bandits and then I take him up onto the battlements and trap him outside the tower then use Fire to finish him off.
Back in Whiterun I do all the usual bartering and storing before packing my soul snare bow and plenty of soul gems and heading off for High Hrothgar. I head down along the river as there are always plenty of Mudcrabs there. When gathering souls it’s best to be careful and find out which animals and creatures occupy which gems otherwise you end up filling bigger gems with smaller souls.
On the way to High Hrothgar I end up stopping at a fort (can’t remember name of it!) which has a lot of mages in it and damn they’re tough! I get there in the end but only after using a lot of potions. If you’re fighting more than one mage it’s always useful to use reanimate on some of them because they come back with their magic skills. I end up with a lot of gear and nowhere to get rid of it because there’s only an inn up there and the inn keepers only keep around 100 gold. I buy a silver sapphire ring from him and sell what I can before heading up the steps to the monastery…
Sky Haven temple was just a formality, there wasn’t even anyone or thing in there and the massive fight outside it a Karthspire was all there was to do fighting wise. Anyway I heard from Esbern what needs to be done next and I have to once again visit the greybeards at High Hrothgar.
Since I am relatively close to Markarth I decide to go up there and get myself a horse so I will be able to come back here and take all the loot I have stored in the body of a Bandit back to Whiterun. I don’t wait around or even go into the city I just get the horse and leave.
On the way back I just hoof it and don’t stop but when I get down onto the tundra I have the urge to wind up a giant who I spot having a wander. I get up to him and begin leading him towards Fort Greymoor which takes a while because he keeps stopping when I get too far ahead of him so I continually have to go back to rile him some more. Eventually I get him inside and leave him to do his work he dispatches all the Bandits and then I take him up onto the battlements and trap him outside the tower then use Fire to finish him off.
Back in Whiterun I do all the usual bartering and storing before packing my soul snare bow and plenty of soul gems and heading off for High Hrothgar. I head down along the river as there are always plenty of Mudcrabs there. When gathering souls it’s best to be careful and find out which animals and creatures occupy which gems otherwise you end up filling bigger gems with smaller souls.
On the way to High Hrothgar I end up stopping at a fort (can’t remember name of it!) which has a lot of mages in it and damn they’re tough! I get there in the end but only after using a lot of potions. If you’re fighting more than one mage it’s always useful to use reanimate on some of them because they come back with their magic skills. I end up with a lot of gear and nowhere to get rid of it because there’s only an inn up there and the inn keepers only keep around 100 gold. I buy a silver sapphire ring from him and sell what I can before heading up the steps to the monastery…
Thursday 23 February 2012
66. To Karthspire.
248 Hours, 184190 Gold, Level 50, 144 Locations discovered, 28 Bunnies!
After listening to Esbern and Delphine the three of us head for the Karthspire region to gain access to Sky Haven Temple. Of course I would usually just fats travel this as it’s a fair distance don’t think I have had to walk so far with companions in tow. I lose them a few times along the way but then I’ll be heading down a path and they’ll just appear and tell me “lets keep moving”
I stop and do a quest at Moss Mother Cavern a Nord is there saying he lost to of his friends, they got killed inside by Spriggans. It’s very easy three Spriggans in all and there’s a good bit of gear inside. On the way to Karthspire is a good opportunity to gather ingredients there is an abundance of Juniper trees on the way and I also creep up along the river banks dispatching Mud Crabs with my bow.
Once there an almighty battle begins. Karthspire is teeming with Forsworn so it’s good to have companions who help (even if I do need to use healing hands on them both a few times) there’s also a Hagraven here and a tonne of loot so before heading inside I take the time to put everything I won’t need into a dead forsworn and I’ll have to come back later with a horse to take it all back.
After listening to Esbern and Delphine the three of us head for the Karthspire region to gain access to Sky Haven Temple. Of course I would usually just fats travel this as it’s a fair distance don’t think I have had to walk so far with companions in tow. I lose them a few times along the way but then I’ll be heading down a path and they’ll just appear and tell me “lets keep moving”
I stop and do a quest at Moss Mother Cavern a Nord is there saying he lost to of his friends, they got killed inside by Spriggans. It’s very easy three Spriggans in all and there’s a good bit of gear inside. On the way to Karthspire is a good opportunity to gather ingredients there is an abundance of Juniper trees on the way and I also creep up along the river banks dispatching Mud Crabs with my bow.
Once there an almighty battle begins. Karthspire is teeming with Forsworn so it’s good to have companions who help (even if I do need to use healing hands on them both a few times) there’s also a Hagraven here and a tonne of loot so before heading inside I take the time to put everything I won’t need into a dead forsworn and I’ll have to come back later with a horse to take it all back.
Tuesday 21 February 2012
65. Esbern.
246 Hours 55 Minutes, 183461 Gold, Level 49.99, 56 Quests completed, 28 Bunnies!
I spend some time looking around Riften as I hadn’t done earlier. I do the quest to recover the marks of Dibella from three of Haelgas lovers at the behest of her niece. It’s very easy as they’re all in and around the city and just take a bit of persuading. I head out into the wilderness to do some hunting and kind of wish I had brought my soul snare bow and some gems, I’ll get back to that later, then after a while I head down into the rat ways to look for Esbern.
There are Thalmor down there also looking for him but they’re not challenge for me anymore I have good One handed apparel which is helping me dispatch enemies quickly. There are also a few other folk to fight and I am quickly becoming over encumbered, I also have a tonne of ingredients so I get on my horse and head back to Whiterun to store stuff because I know there is a load more gear down in the Rat ways that I will be carrying out.
I come across another Dark brotherhood dude (later count 20 notes in storage) and other various scraps and scrapes along the journey and when I get to Whiterun I once again stock up on damage magicka regen poisons which have really been bumping up my gold of late.
Then it’s off back to Riften again using my brown horse, I have noticed this one is not very good at sprinting the speckled grey ones or the fawn coloured ones are the best for speed in my experience.
Once again into the Rat ways where I get Esbern and lift all I can before setting out once again for Whiterun. I take the horse to Windhelm and leave it at the stable before going into the city for barter then taking the last leg of the journey by foot. Trolls and bears galore along the way back and I find that Esbern is pretty nifty with the Fireball spells. A brief stop in Whiterun then I am off with him to Riverwood to continue with the Dragonborn quest.
I spend some time looking around Riften as I hadn’t done earlier. I do the quest to recover the marks of Dibella from three of Haelgas lovers at the behest of her niece. It’s very easy as they’re all in and around the city and just take a bit of persuading. I head out into the wilderness to do some hunting and kind of wish I had brought my soul snare bow and some gems, I’ll get back to that later, then after a while I head down into the rat ways to look for Esbern.
There are Thalmor down there also looking for him but they’re not challenge for me anymore I have good One handed apparel which is helping me dispatch enemies quickly. There are also a few other folk to fight and I am quickly becoming over encumbered, I also have a tonne of ingredients so I get on my horse and head back to Whiterun to store stuff because I know there is a load more gear down in the Rat ways that I will be carrying out.
I come across another Dark brotherhood dude (later count 20 notes in storage) and other various scraps and scrapes along the journey and when I get to Whiterun I once again stock up on damage magicka regen poisons which have really been bumping up my gold of late.
Then it’s off back to Riften again using my brown horse, I have noticed this one is not very good at sprinting the speckled grey ones or the fawn coloured ones are the best for speed in my experience.
Once again into the Rat ways where I get Esbern and lift all I can before setting out once again for Whiterun. I take the horse to Windhelm and leave it at the stable before going into the city for barter then taking the last leg of the journey by foot. Trolls and bears galore along the way back and I find that Esbern is pretty nifty with the Fireball spells. A brief stop in Whiterun then I am off with him to Riverwood to continue with the Dragonborn quest.
Monday 20 February 2012
64. Heading for Riften.
241 Hours 35 Minutes, 154893 Gold, Level 49, 118 Days, 28 Bunnies!
I make preparations before heading for Riften on foot, I have not been down there in a while and I am assuming that ingredients will have respawned along the way. Not far from Whiterun I come across another thief and yet another Dark Brotherhood Assassin (do the Dark Brotherhood not miss these people?)
Ingredients galore on the way and I spend a good bit of time in the Eldergleam region gathering (over 100 Dragons tongue in a half hour!) I also take out some Giants and Sabre Cats, a couple of Mammoths and the odd random attacker (an Orc and a Khajiit)
I take a major wrong turn on the last stretch of my journey to Riften. Rather than heading South up a large hill on up the road from Mzulft I end up going down another hill and after a good while I end up way down at Darkwater pass. I am unable to get back on track because of the Mountain there and I wind up going around in circles then half way up the mountain before deciding to go over a few waterfalls and wind up coming out once again on the edge of the Eldergleam area so I can once again get onto the path and begin again.
On up nearer Riften the bandits at Fort Greenwall have respawned so I get stuck in once more but have limited carrying capacity so I have to leave some of the bodies which I can return to later as I always pass this way.
In Riften and after some buying and selling I am ready to begin looking for Esbern…
I make preparations before heading for Riften on foot, I have not been down there in a while and I am assuming that ingredients will have respawned along the way. Not far from Whiterun I come across another thief and yet another Dark Brotherhood Assassin (do the Dark Brotherhood not miss these people?)
Ingredients galore on the way and I spend a good bit of time in the Eldergleam region gathering (over 100 Dragons tongue in a half hour!) I also take out some Giants and Sabre Cats, a couple of Mammoths and the odd random attacker (an Orc and a Khajiit)
I take a major wrong turn on the last stretch of my journey to Riften. Rather than heading South up a large hill on up the road from Mzulft I end up going down another hill and after a good while I end up way down at Darkwater pass. I am unable to get back on track because of the Mountain there and I wind up going around in circles then half way up the mountain before deciding to go over a few waterfalls and wind up coming out once again on the edge of the Eldergleam area so I can once again get onto the path and begin again.
On up nearer Riften the bandits at Fort Greenwall have respawned so I get stuck in once more but have limited carrying capacity so I have to leave some of the bodies which I can return to later as I always pass this way.
In Riften and after some buying and selling I am ready to begin looking for Esbern…
Saturday 18 February 2012
63. The Thalmor Embassy.
239 Hours 14 Minutes, 150150 Gold, Level 49, 651 Potions Mixed, 28 Bunnies!
I get through the Thalmor Embassy unscathed the only difficulty I had in the end was having to leave so much stuff behind! Some of the Thalmor are pretty tough but I now have three pieces of apparel which up my one handed strength so I am a match for most adversaries. I then head back to Solitude only to realise part way that Delphine is actually in Riverwood and I am going to have to go all the way back to continue the quest but the next leg takes me to Riften anyway so not so bad.
On the way back I run into a Dragon at Robbers Gorge and have great fun since all the bandits come out and get involved. In the melee though I lose another horse and I am a bit sad it was the one from Riften and it had served me for quite some time. I kill a brave few of the bandits but I have to leave a whole lot of gear behind since I have no horse.
I once again take my usual shortcut through Labyranthian and just run through any potential fights since I fully stocked and cannot lift anymore. Having Lucan at Riverwood with so much gold now is seriously increasing the amount of gold I have overall. I had a look at my ingredients stock as well and I have got serious amounts of some of the more abundant ingredients, including 709 Snowberries, 648 Purple Mountain Flowers, 523 Salt pile, 458 Dragons tongue, 432 Tundra Cotton and that’s just a few, most are lower than 100 but I have over 20 ingredients in particular with large amounts.
I stop in Whiterun to store stuff then head up to Riverwood for the Dragonborn quest and for buying and selling. I’ll stick around here a little while before riding down to Riften
I get through the Thalmor Embassy unscathed the only difficulty I had in the end was having to leave so much stuff behind! Some of the Thalmor are pretty tough but I now have three pieces of apparel which up my one handed strength so I am a match for most adversaries. I then head back to Solitude only to realise part way that Delphine is actually in Riverwood and I am going to have to go all the way back to continue the quest but the next leg takes me to Riften anyway so not so bad.
On the way back I run into a Dragon at Robbers Gorge and have great fun since all the bandits come out and get involved. In the melee though I lose another horse and I am a bit sad it was the one from Riften and it had served me for quite some time. I kill a brave few of the bandits but I have to leave a whole lot of gear behind since I have no horse.
I once again take my usual shortcut through Labyranthian and just run through any potential fights since I fully stocked and cannot lift anymore. Having Lucan at Riverwood with so much gold now is seriously increasing the amount of gold I have overall. I had a look at my ingredients stock as well and I have got serious amounts of some of the more abundant ingredients, including 709 Snowberries, 648 Purple Mountain Flowers, 523 Salt pile, 458 Dragons tongue, 432 Tundra Cotton and that’s just a few, most are lower than 100 but I have over 20 ingredients in particular with large amounts.
I stop in Whiterun to store stuff then head up to Riverwood for the Dragonborn quest and for buying and selling. I’ll stick around here a little while before riding down to Riften
Friday 17 February 2012
62. Side Tracked.
236 Hours 01 Minutes, 134585 Gold, Level 49, 54 Quests Completed, 27 Bunnies.
I just had the busiest half hour of Skyrim, it was pretty crazy. I was walking to Solitude along the road that heads West past The Western Watchtower and Fort Greymoor and I hadn’t got that far when I was attacked by a Sabre Cat followed quickly by a thief and then a Dark Brotherhood Assassin comes along, then on up a bit two Giants are walking the path Ebony arrows and they’re done, giants have sometimes got good loot!
While walking on I see a Dragon in the Distance and I decide to have a go but when I get up to it I find that it is flying off leaving a skeletal Dragon named Vuljotnaak which is just turning real so I prepare my arrows and it’s pretty easy really. I realise about now that there’s no point in continuing for Solitude just yet because if I keep going like this I will be full in no time. I take a road to the South when I get up the trail a bit more where I am able to get lots of Juniper and Mountain Flowers and up ahead of me I spot a Spriggan fighting with a Sabre cat so I cast Atronach and wade in with my Sword.
It’s not long before I am completely full but as I am walking back down the road to head for Whiterun I see three Forsworn up a head so I start sneaking to see what they’re up to. They walk to the side of the road, t a nook in the mountain and attack three Orc Hunters killing them easily. I then get stuck in and kill the forsworn and I am just thinking about coming back when by coincidence along come the travelling Khajiit merchants so I get to sell everything and loot the other six bodies, good timing.
I then make my way quickly to Whiterun knowing that when I head for Solitude this time I will have to take my horse else I will end up getting side tracked again.
I just had the busiest half hour of Skyrim, it was pretty crazy. I was walking to Solitude along the road that heads West past The Western Watchtower and Fort Greymoor and I hadn’t got that far when I was attacked by a Sabre Cat followed quickly by a thief and then a Dark Brotherhood Assassin comes along, then on up a bit two Giants are walking the path Ebony arrows and they’re done, giants have sometimes got good loot!
While walking on I see a Dragon in the Distance and I decide to have a go but when I get up to it I find that it is flying off leaving a skeletal Dragon named Vuljotnaak which is just turning real so I prepare my arrows and it’s pretty easy really. I realise about now that there’s no point in continuing for Solitude just yet because if I keep going like this I will be full in no time. I take a road to the South when I get up the trail a bit more where I am able to get lots of Juniper and Mountain Flowers and up ahead of me I spot a Spriggan fighting with a Sabre cat so I cast Atronach and wade in with my Sword.
It’s not long before I am completely full but as I am walking back down the road to head for Whiterun I see three Forsworn up a head so I start sneaking to see what they’re up to. They walk to the side of the road, t a nook in the mountain and attack three Orc Hunters killing them easily. I then get stuck in and kill the forsworn and I am just thinking about coming back when by coincidence along come the travelling Khajiit merchants so I get to sell everything and loot the other six bodies, good timing.
I then make my way quickly to Whiterun knowing that when I head for Solitude this time I will have to take my horse else I will end up getting side tracked again.
61. The Magic Horse!
234 Hours 11 Minutes, 121093 Gold, Level 48, 40 Skill Books Read, 27 Bunnies!
Once back in Whiterun I take some time to up my skills. Smithing is now at 100 and I get Alchemy up to 100 as well pretty easy with those damage magicka poisons I mentioned earlier and I am now selling those for sometimes between 1200 and 1400 depending on the vendor.
There’s another Giant wandering the trail on the way to Riverwood, not sure why they keep appearing there but at this point they’re easy to kill. Lucan in Riverwood now has over 10000 in gold so I am making a killing on alchemy alone after I realise this I go back down to Whiterun to make a load more potions to take advantage of this extra gold. On the way just on the same path down there’s another Giant fighting with a Dragon I get more horse to Safety and watch the fight then when the Dragon flies off I cast Atronach and Fire some arrows at the Giant. The Dragon must have been a ghost because I watch it fly straight through a mountain!
Stock up and back to Riverwood to sell, on the way up (busy trail this!) I get attacked by a Khajiit who’s wearing heavy armour. I lead him all the way into Riverwood but for some reason the guards don’t bother attacking him so I have to finish him myself. A strange thing happened earlier when I arrived here, I dismounted my horse just beside Alvors forge and when I came back out of the Riverwood Trader another horse which I had lost earlier in the game and reappeared along side the one I brought with me. On my return it was still there and since the Khajiit was after me I put the horse I was on out of danger and was laying fire runes. The horse was standing just near where you would go into the forge and a rune exploded right beside it which made it end up right in the forge area. Now horses are not supposed to be in there! Stupidly I mount up and of course cannot get out and it takes me ages to find a spot in there where I can dismount and when I do the craziest thing happens. It’s like I am looking out normally but there I am running down the street! I can still control my character but I am watching him from afar, I can still look right and left but the movement is reserved for the other me running about outside the forge, strange! I am tempted to Fast Travel to get over it but out of principle I load up another save and wind up back in Whiterun!
I go back to Riverwood again and the horse is still in the forge trying to walk his way out then suddenly he reappears where he was to begin with, Magic eh? I sell up and head briefly back to Whiterun before beginning walking up to Solitude to do the Thalmor Embassy!
Once back in Whiterun I take some time to up my skills. Smithing is now at 100 and I get Alchemy up to 100 as well pretty easy with those damage magicka poisons I mentioned earlier and I am now selling those for sometimes between 1200 and 1400 depending on the vendor.
There’s another Giant wandering the trail on the way to Riverwood, not sure why they keep appearing there but at this point they’re easy to kill. Lucan in Riverwood now has over 10000 in gold so I am making a killing on alchemy alone after I realise this I go back down to Whiterun to make a load more potions to take advantage of this extra gold. On the way just on the same path down there’s another Giant fighting with a Dragon I get more horse to Safety and watch the fight then when the Dragon flies off I cast Atronach and Fire some arrows at the Giant. The Dragon must have been a ghost because I watch it fly straight through a mountain!
Stock up and back to Riverwood to sell, on the way up (busy trail this!) I get attacked by a Khajiit who’s wearing heavy armour. I lead him all the way into Riverwood but for some reason the guards don’t bother attacking him so I have to finish him myself. A strange thing happened earlier when I arrived here, I dismounted my horse just beside Alvors forge and when I came back out of the Riverwood Trader another horse which I had lost earlier in the game and reappeared along side the one I brought with me. On my return it was still there and since the Khajiit was after me I put the horse I was on out of danger and was laying fire runes. The horse was standing just near where you would go into the forge and a rune exploded right beside it which made it end up right in the forge area. Now horses are not supposed to be in there! Stupidly I mount up and of course cannot get out and it takes me ages to find a spot in there where I can dismount and when I do the craziest thing happens. It’s like I am looking out normally but there I am running down the street! I can still control my character but I am watching him from afar, I can still look right and left but the movement is reserved for the other me running about outside the forge, strange! I am tempted to Fast Travel to get over it but out of principle I load up another save and wind up back in Whiterun!
I go back to Riverwood again and the horse is still in the forge trying to walk his way out then suddenly he reappears where he was to begin with, Magic eh? I sell up and head briefly back to Whiterun before beginning walking up to Solitude to do the Thalmor Embassy!
Wednesday 15 February 2012
60. Still not great with the Mages!
230 Hours 52 Minutes, 95098 Gold, Level 47, 138 Locations Discovered, 27 Bunnies!
Got back to Winterhold via Whiterun via Windhelm buying and selling as usual along the way. I always make sure that I have a few plentiful ingredients on me so when I go in and buy up all the ingredients and useful potions that the vendors have I make up a few expensive potions and make sure I take as much of their money as I can, this way my money is always guaranteed to be on the up, similarly with blacksmiths I buy a lot of their gear and get as much of their gold back as I can, I have been doing this for ages and that’s why there is always a steady increase in my gold, better to have as much as you can I reckon.
With the Atronach made, I spend some time around College buying and selling then I decide to head out although I don’t really know where I am going just yet. I am on my way to Whiterun passing Fort Kastav which I have been actively avoiding due to the strength of the mages outside there but I suppose I am feeling brave so I take my horse away on past and leave it in a safe place before making my way back up to have a pop. The Skeletons are easy but the mages are tough I do a lot of running about and Atronach casting but one of the three keeps healing herself so I have to use arrows to finish it off and then in a moment of madness I decide to take a peek inside. Skeleton in the first room, I have been really disappointed with the Skeletons in Skyrim to be honest they’re not much of a challenge. I go on into the prison area and find an Arch Necromancer in there who gives me a real scare I try laying runes and casting Atronach but she’s deadly, both with attacks and in restoration. I end up hiding in one of the cells and peeking out when I can to send some conjured buddies up but in the end I wind up heading back up the steps and get her to follow, I lay runes then when she emerges at the top of the steps I hit her with a poisoned arrow with paralysis on it and finish it off with another, job done and I decide to leave Fort Kastav for now.
I stop once again at the Nightgate Inn and ask about jobs (forgetting I did this before) and I am directed to kill a Giant for a bounty, the giant at Blizzards Rest so I do it and head to Dawnstar to collect the bounty. I now have two notifications on my Miscellaneous quest list to go and see Skald (the Jarl of Dawnstar) and even though he has paid me two bounties they don’t shift. I buy up everything I need and sell the stuff I had gathered earlier. On up the trail heading out of Dawnstar I chance upon some Thalmor escorting a prisoner and I decide to have a little fun. They’re heading towards Dawnstar so after passing them I double back and get well ahead of them and lay a Fire Rune in their path, then I go off the trail into the snow to watch the explosion. Just as it’s happening I realise I am right beside the giants camp Red Road Pass so when the Thalmor come after me I lead them in that direction and the Giant finishes them off and I do the Giant with an ebony arrow, lots and lots of loot. God I think this may well be the best game I have ever played, I said that about Oblivion as well though!
So I am off again to Whiterun to plan my next excursion.
Got back to Winterhold via Whiterun via Windhelm buying and selling as usual along the way. I always make sure that I have a few plentiful ingredients on me so when I go in and buy up all the ingredients and useful potions that the vendors have I make up a few expensive potions and make sure I take as much of their money as I can, this way my money is always guaranteed to be on the up, similarly with blacksmiths I buy a lot of their gear and get as much of their gold back as I can, I have been doing this for ages and that’s why there is always a steady increase in my gold, better to have as much as you can I reckon.
With the Atronach made, I spend some time around College buying and selling then I decide to head out although I don’t really know where I am going just yet. I am on my way to Whiterun passing Fort Kastav which I have been actively avoiding due to the strength of the mages outside there but I suppose I am feeling brave so I take my horse away on past and leave it in a safe place before making my way back up to have a pop. The Skeletons are easy but the mages are tough I do a lot of running about and Atronach casting but one of the three keeps healing herself so I have to use arrows to finish it off and then in a moment of madness I decide to take a peek inside. Skeleton in the first room, I have been really disappointed with the Skeletons in Skyrim to be honest they’re not much of a challenge. I go on into the prison area and find an Arch Necromancer in there who gives me a real scare I try laying runes and casting Atronach but she’s deadly, both with attacks and in restoration. I end up hiding in one of the cells and peeking out when I can to send some conjured buddies up but in the end I wind up heading back up the steps and get her to follow, I lay runes then when she emerges at the top of the steps I hit her with a poisoned arrow with paralysis on it and finish it off with another, job done and I decide to leave Fort Kastav for now.
I stop once again at the Nightgate Inn and ask about jobs (forgetting I did this before) and I am directed to kill a Giant for a bounty, the giant at Blizzards Rest so I do it and head to Dawnstar to collect the bounty. I now have two notifications on my Miscellaneous quest list to go and see Skald (the Jarl of Dawnstar) and even though he has paid me two bounties they don’t shift. I buy up everything I need and sell the stuff I had gathered earlier. On up the trail heading out of Dawnstar I chance upon some Thalmor escorting a prisoner and I decide to have a little fun. They’re heading towards Dawnstar so after passing them I double back and get well ahead of them and lay a Fire Rune in their path, then I go off the trail into the snow to watch the explosion. Just as it’s happening I realise I am right beside the giants camp Red Road Pass so when the Thalmor come after me I lead them in that direction and the Giant finishes them off and I do the Giant with an ebony arrow, lots and lots of loot. God I think this may well be the best game I have ever played, I said that about Oblivion as well though!
So I am off again to Whiterun to plan my next excursion.
59. A ruined book!
225 Hours 21 Minutes, 91846 Gold, Level 46, 27 Dungeons Cleared, 27 Bunnies!
Have spent a lot of time gathering what I needed and doing a bit of random wandering. Getting the enchantments up has been a real headache trying to keep track of what I had and what percentage is on each item then making potions and doing the same again! I have got some weapons up and they’ll do for now, ,my fighting strength is much stronger than it was.
I had awful bother trying to find ruined books which made me laugh because I must have collected hundreds of them during my dungeon clearing but always sold them. I went up to Silent Moons Camp and the Bandits had respawned there it was a bit tricky but I clean forgot about my new improved sword and started taking them out with the Flame Atronach and magic. A funny thing happened, there were about 6 bandits and 3 of them had bows in the middle of the fight a Mammoth comes along and starts getting stuck into them for me, must have been hit by a stray arrow. It done the job I had already got 2 or 3 and it finished off the rest of them for me.
I then went to Labyranthian and went all the way through there picking up the odd thing I had left earlier but no ruined books. Next was Ustengrav up in the swamps near Morthal, again I took time going through it again and lucky there were 2 ruined books that I had left on a shelf in there. As I was approaching Ustengrav the Bandits outside it had respawned I rode my horse to safety and went back and killed two of them, I should have checked for more but didn’t. I rode back and got off my horse to go down to the entrance and I suddenly heard my horse whinnying when I went up to see what was happening I found the horse had been spooked by a Novice Necromancer and a bandit but it had attacked them and the process and killed them both.
So I am off now to Winterhold to make me a Storm Atronach and I’ll see what I am going to do next after I get there.
Have spent a lot of time gathering what I needed and doing a bit of random wandering. Getting the enchantments up has been a real headache trying to keep track of what I had and what percentage is on each item then making potions and doing the same again! I have got some weapons up and they’ll do for now, ,my fighting strength is much stronger than it was.
I had awful bother trying to find ruined books which made me laugh because I must have collected hundreds of them during my dungeon clearing but always sold them. I went up to Silent Moons Camp and the Bandits had respawned there it was a bit tricky but I clean forgot about my new improved sword and started taking them out with the Flame Atronach and magic. A funny thing happened, there were about 6 bandits and 3 of them had bows in the middle of the fight a Mammoth comes along and starts getting stuck into them for me, must have been hit by a stray arrow. It done the job I had already got 2 or 3 and it finished off the rest of them for me.
I then went to Labyranthian and went all the way through there picking up the odd thing I had left earlier but no ruined books. Next was Ustengrav up in the swamps near Morthal, again I took time going through it again and lucky there were 2 ruined books that I had left on a shelf in there. As I was approaching Ustengrav the Bandits outside it had respawned I rode my horse to safety and went back and killed two of them, I should have checked for more but didn’t. I rode back and got off my horse to go down to the entrance and I suddenly heard my horse whinnying when I went up to see what was happening I found the horse had been spooked by a Novice Necromancer and a bandit but it had attacked them and the process and killed them both.
So I am off now to Winterhold to make me a Storm Atronach and I’ll see what I am going to do next after I get there.
Tuesday 14 February 2012
58. Wandering and Enchanting.
221 Hours 16 Minutes, 90585 Gold, Level 46, 332 People Killed, 27 Bunnies!
I have been taking a little break from quests and just roaming around looking for a few things with which I can get some advantages. I want to up my ability to enchant and smith and I am also going to get the Storm Atronach, last time I tried to get the Atronach I ended up summoning one which attacked me! I was shocked! Get it, Shocked! :D
What you need is 1 Deathbell, 1 Mammoth Tusk, 1 Void Salts and 1 Ruined Book. I am also going around looking for Necklaces so I can make amulets with the enchant and smith skills and others with plus alchemy skills to make potions which will further enhance the stuff I am making but as bad luck would have it I cannot find Necklaces anywhere. I have all the other stuff, Helmets, Bracers and Rings. What you do is make potions to make your enchants better and then make one of each of the four items with the plus percentage for alchemy, then make potions to further enhance your enchantments and again make more gear with the alchemy skill. I am still trying to get my head round exactly how it’s all going to work but it obviously will. I will also enchant gear to make my Smithing better and I will be able to make powerful weapons. I am sure this is all documented somewhere but I would rather do it by trial and error.
So I have just been looking around the place. I went to Windhelm for some bartering and knew there was a Giants camp near by where I could obtain a Mammoth Tusk and surely there was so all I need now is a ruined book and I’ll have to go kill some Bandits to get one of those because I have sold any that I had. The Giants are not much of a challenge anymore I have got lots of apparel which ups my archery skill so I get them in 2 or 3 shots not. I also took a run up to Mzulft again as I close and there’s still a lot of gear in there which I didn’t collect earlier.
I’ll just wander for a while and collect what I need then go up to Winterhold to use that yoke for Atronachs in the Midden and hopefully I’ll be able to make some classy magic gear…
I have been taking a little break from quests and just roaming around looking for a few things with which I can get some advantages. I want to up my ability to enchant and smith and I am also going to get the Storm Atronach, last time I tried to get the Atronach I ended up summoning one which attacked me! I was shocked! Get it, Shocked! :D
What you need is 1 Deathbell, 1 Mammoth Tusk, 1 Void Salts and 1 Ruined Book. I am also going around looking for Necklaces so I can make amulets with the enchant and smith skills and others with plus alchemy skills to make potions which will further enhance the stuff I am making but as bad luck would have it I cannot find Necklaces anywhere. I have all the other stuff, Helmets, Bracers and Rings. What you do is make potions to make your enchants better and then make one of each of the four items with the plus percentage for alchemy, then make potions to further enhance your enchantments and again make more gear with the alchemy skill. I am still trying to get my head round exactly how it’s all going to work but it obviously will. I will also enchant gear to make my Smithing better and I will be able to make powerful weapons. I am sure this is all documented somewhere but I would rather do it by trial and error.
So I have just been looking around the place. I went to Windhelm for some bartering and knew there was a Giants camp near by where I could obtain a Mammoth Tusk and surely there was so all I need now is a ruined book and I’ll have to go kill some Bandits to get one of those because I have sold any that I had. The Giants are not much of a challenge anymore I have got lots of apparel which ups my archery skill so I get them in 2 or 3 shots not. I also took a run up to Mzulft again as I close and there’s still a lot of gear in there which I didn’t collect earlier.
I’ll just wander for a while and collect what I need then go up to Winterhold to use that yoke for Atronachs in the Midden and hopefully I’ll be able to make some classy magic gear…
Sunday 12 February 2012
57. Irkngthand continued.
217 Hours 21 Minutes, 92559 Gold, Level 46, 221 Critical Strikes, 27 Bunnies.
Irkngthand turned out to be pretty tough in the end and I got killed two or three times. My companions didn’t do a whole lot in the way of fighting and didn’t help at all in the finale but the hard part about this was not Mercer it was the stronger Falmer Gloomlurkers and Nightstalkers.
I got an absolute tonne of gear, having to go outside and dump stuff there on 4 or 5 occasions. I left it all in one spot so it would be handy to pick up and right when I knew I would be finished soon I left the ruins and went back to Whiterun for a horse. The horse I keep “stealing” was at the Bandit den I have spoken about at the back of the city walls so I took it.
I rode back up and picked up everything and I was over my weight by 1009! Then I went quickly back to Whiterun to sell and store before making it back once more to finish the quest off. I also got the invest in shops perk which is great news, I can now utilise 500 more gold in every shop I sell to.
The thieves guild is not quite finished though I still have to go to The Twilight Sepulchre to finish up but I may not hurry to do that because I have the skeleton key and I may hold onto it for a while because it makes lock picking so much easier.
For now I will go back to Whiterun and plan my next move…
Irkngthand turned out to be pretty tough in the end and I got killed two or three times. My companions didn’t do a whole lot in the way of fighting and didn’t help at all in the finale but the hard part about this was not Mercer it was the stronger Falmer Gloomlurkers and Nightstalkers.
I got an absolute tonne of gear, having to go outside and dump stuff there on 4 or 5 occasions. I left it all in one spot so it would be handy to pick up and right when I knew I would be finished soon I left the ruins and went back to Whiterun for a horse. The horse I keep “stealing” was at the Bandit den I have spoken about at the back of the city walls so I took it.
I rode back up and picked up everything and I was over my weight by 1009! Then I went quickly back to Whiterun to sell and store before making it back once more to finish the quest off. I also got the invest in shops perk which is great news, I can now utilise 500 more gold in every shop I sell to.
The thieves guild is not quite finished though I still have to go to The Twilight Sepulchre to finish up but I may not hurry to do that because I have the skeleton key and I may hold onto it for a while because it makes lock picking so much easier.
For now I will go back to Whiterun and plan my next move…
Saturday 11 February 2012
56. Irkngthand.
213 Hours 31 Minutes, 87627 Gold, Level 45, 10304 Barters, 27 Bunnies.
I head for Whiterun to put a lot of gear in storage and do the usual faffing about before making my way towards Irkngthand. It is pretty close to Shearpoint where there’s a Dragon and a Dragon priest so I head there first and do what needs to be done. The Dragon is pretty easy but the Dragon priest is a but of a challenge, more so than the last two who were disappointing.
After Shearpoint is done I go looking for Irkngthand and get lost up the mountain. On the map it looks like it’s right beside Shearpoint but when you get up there you find it’s anything but. I end up just walking and walking until I find myself away up at Raldbthar which is high in the mountains while Irkngthand is on the Northern Slope. I get there in the end and finish a few bandits outside pretty easily. I already know I am going to be getting major loot here so I find a suitable spot and begin making a dump which I will be able to return to at my leisure.
Once inside the ruins there are more bandits already dead and even before you meet up with Karliah and Brynoff the tough work starts. Dwarven Spheres and they’re deadly. I have to do a lot of dodging and laying fire runes and casting fireball until I realise that I’ll have more success using arrows. Further in I meet my thieving buddies and we begin going down through the realms of the Falmer. Lots and lots of loot I will be going outside again no doubt before I get all the way through here.
Irkngthand is massive and my companions are not much help really!
I head for Whiterun to put a lot of gear in storage and do the usual faffing about before making my way towards Irkngthand. It is pretty close to Shearpoint where there’s a Dragon and a Dragon priest so I head there first and do what needs to be done. The Dragon is pretty easy but the Dragon priest is a but of a challenge, more so than the last two who were disappointing.
After Shearpoint is done I go looking for Irkngthand and get lost up the mountain. On the map it looks like it’s right beside Shearpoint but when you get up there you find it’s anything but. I end up just walking and walking until I find myself away up at Raldbthar which is high in the mountains while Irkngthand is on the Northern Slope. I get there in the end and finish a few bandits outside pretty easily. I already know I am going to be getting major loot here so I find a suitable spot and begin making a dump which I will be able to return to at my leisure.
Once inside the ruins there are more bandits already dead and even before you meet up with Karliah and Brynoff the tough work starts. Dwarven Spheres and they’re deadly. I have to do a lot of dodging and laying fire runes and casting fireball until I realise that I’ll have more success using arrows. Further in I meet my thieving buddies and we begin going down through the realms of the Falmer. Lots and lots of loot I will be going outside again no doubt before I get all the way through here.
Irkngthand is massive and my companions are not much help really!
Thursday 9 February 2012
55. Nightingales.
211 Hours 24 Minutes, 84192 Gold, Level 45, 706 Potions used, 27 Bunnies.
I go with Karliah and Brynyoff to take the oath and become a Nightingale and get some nice armour in the process, thus begins the last leg of the thieves guild missions. I am surprised I have gotten this far without fast travel but I have been having so much fun in Skyrim that I honestly haven’t noticed the hours going in.
I must now meet them at Irkngthand which is in the mountains between Windhelm and Whiterun. I only exit Nightingale Hall when I am immediately in a scrap with an Elder Dragon but of course the guards are helping. It keeps flying back over towards the other side of the water and attacking guards there but comes back and lands near me when it’s down on it’s health it’s tough but my Frost Atronach finishes it off as I am looting 3 dead guards.
I buy and sell a little then head off. I stop briefly at Mistwatch and kill 4 or 5 Bandits and loot! The area between Riften and Windhelm is brilliant for ingredients, I have started calling this area Eldergleam as it doesn’t have a specific name. 3 ingredients in particular are abundant here, Jazbay, Creep Cluster and Dragons tongue and from coming by this way earlier and spending a good half hour on this occasion I end up with well over 50 of each (83 in the case of Dragons Tongue). I then take to the river and swim toward Windhelm collecting Slaughterfish Eggs, Nordic Barnacle and taking Salmon. I come out of the river and head towards Whiterun but reevaluate, since Irkngthand is before Whiterun I may not need to go that far so I start back towards Windhelm to sell the goods I have.
Just as I am getting close to Windhelm I see a Dragon but it’s lying dead and there doesn’t appear to have been a fight which is strange. The Dragons name is Sahloknir and it’s empty, it doesn’t turn into a skeleton either. I finish up in Windhelm buying ingredients and selling my gear and I am lucky to find a Necklace of Haggling 20%! I begin making my way west and I’ll decide on the way if I’ll go straight to the quest or stop to store goods at Whiterun…
I go with Karliah and Brynyoff to take the oath and become a Nightingale and get some nice armour in the process, thus begins the last leg of the thieves guild missions. I am surprised I have gotten this far without fast travel but I have been having so much fun in Skyrim that I honestly haven’t noticed the hours going in.
I must now meet them at Irkngthand which is in the mountains between Windhelm and Whiterun. I only exit Nightingale Hall when I am immediately in a scrap with an Elder Dragon but of course the guards are helping. It keeps flying back over towards the other side of the water and attacking guards there but comes back and lands near me when it’s down on it’s health it’s tough but my Frost Atronach finishes it off as I am looting 3 dead guards.
I buy and sell a little then head off. I stop briefly at Mistwatch and kill 4 or 5 Bandits and loot! The area between Riften and Windhelm is brilliant for ingredients, I have started calling this area Eldergleam as it doesn’t have a specific name. 3 ingredients in particular are abundant here, Jazbay, Creep Cluster and Dragons tongue and from coming by this way earlier and spending a good half hour on this occasion I end up with well over 50 of each (83 in the case of Dragons Tongue). I then take to the river and swim toward Windhelm collecting Slaughterfish Eggs, Nordic Barnacle and taking Salmon. I come out of the river and head towards Whiterun but reevaluate, since Irkngthand is before Whiterun I may not need to go that far so I start back towards Windhelm to sell the goods I have.
Just as I am getting close to Windhelm I see a Dragon but it’s lying dead and there doesn’t appear to have been a fight which is strange. The Dragons name is Sahloknir and it’s empty, it doesn’t turn into a skeleton either. I finish up in Windhelm buying ingredients and selling my gear and I am lucky to find a Necklace of Haggling 20%! I begin making my way west and I’ll decide on the way if I’ll go straight to the quest or stop to store goods at Whiterun…
54. Thieves reunited.
209 Hours 43 Minutes, 79822 Gold, Level 45, 94 Days Passed, 26 Bunnies!
On the way to Winterhold I stop at Snow Veil Sanctum to collect everything I left outside there in an earlier quest, a lot of loot! I ride down and go to Birnas first of all to sell then onto The College to sell some more and buy soul gems then I go to the Inn to meet with Karliah and The Elf. The quest line continues with me having to meet Karliah at The Ragged Flagon but I have some wandering to do and a few more things to sell.
I rie my horse down to Windhelm but on the way encounter some Bandits in the barren area near Snow Veil Sanctum they have already killed a couple of people and some Sabre Cats whose bodies I will be coming back to loot. There is a troll who I am busy luring into the path of the Bandits so they can finish each other but a Bandit bowman is firing at me and I get too close once too often and lose another horse! I finish him off but he’s tough, a marauder. I loot the bodies and head to Windhelm. Before I arrive I once again encounter an Ice Mage and a Fire Mage in battle so I watch the fight until only the Ice Mage remains then I take him but he’s really tough and casts strong spells but with Flame and Atronach I get him.
Brief stop at Windhelm to buy and sell then I am off again in the direction of Riften. I spend a lot of time gathering ingredients and have some fun with a Giant. I lure him along the path towards Riften and since I have been here many times there are bodies I have killed earlier, bears mostly so I reanimate them but he kills them easily. I keep hitting him with Fireball and he gets really wound up and actually gets faster in his pursuit. We encounter a mage further on and a group of travelling Khajiit (who I seem to keep running into) he kills the Mage from whom I get a good Staff and ends up getting killed by the Khajiit.
The thieves guild quest continues with Karliah returning and after I check out Mercers place (and lift everything) I buy and sell and get ready for the next leg of the quest…
On the way to Winterhold I stop at Snow Veil Sanctum to collect everything I left outside there in an earlier quest, a lot of loot! I ride down and go to Birnas first of all to sell then onto The College to sell some more and buy soul gems then I go to the Inn to meet with Karliah and The Elf. The quest line continues with me having to meet Karliah at The Ragged Flagon but I have some wandering to do and a few more things to sell.
I rie my horse down to Windhelm but on the way encounter some Bandits in the barren area near Snow Veil Sanctum they have already killed a couple of people and some Sabre Cats whose bodies I will be coming back to loot. There is a troll who I am busy luring into the path of the Bandits so they can finish each other but a Bandit bowman is firing at me and I get too close once too often and lose another horse! I finish him off but he’s tough, a marauder. I loot the bodies and head to Windhelm. Before I arrive I once again encounter an Ice Mage and a Fire Mage in battle so I watch the fight until only the Ice Mage remains then I take him but he’s really tough and casts strong spells but with Flame and Atronach I get him.
Brief stop at Windhelm to buy and sell then I am off again in the direction of Riften. I spend a lot of time gathering ingredients and have some fun with a Giant. I lure him along the path towards Riften and since I have been here many times there are bodies I have killed earlier, bears mostly so I reanimate them but he kills them easily. I keep hitting him with Fireball and he gets really wound up and actually gets faster in his pursuit. We encounter a mage further on and a group of travelling Khajiit (who I seem to keep running into) he kills the Mage from whom I get a good Staff and ends up getting killed by the Khajiit.
The thieves guild quest continues with Karliah returning and after I check out Mercers place (and lift everything) I buy and sell and get ready for the next leg of the quest…
Wednesday 8 February 2012
53. Horse versus Dragon!
I get to Markarth and go see Calcelmo if you go into the excavation site for him and kill a giant spider he allows you access to his museum and that’s where I need to go. The spider is pretty easy and there’s the beginnings of another quest there but it’s quite extensive so I’ll leave it till later.
I go into the museum and out the back to his Lab, he has guards all over the place and you cannot sneak successfully past them all so I just killed them and I keep going outside when I am full up and dump the stuff outside the city tonnes of it, steel armour, good prices! I go all the way out the back and get a rubbing of the Falmer text which is on a large plinth.
I buy a horse when I am done and lift all the gear before beginning my journey back which to be honest is not too eventful until I get very close to Whiterun. Just before the Western Watchtower I see a nightmarish shadow across the ground, A Dragon, an Elder and here’s me full of gear! The guards are fighting it and when I dismount my brave horse goes and has a pop and surprisingly doesn’t get killed. The Dragon lands right beside me at one point and I have to use the Whirlwind shout to get away. The guards get it in the end.
I stop at Whiterun to sell and off load and I know that I will make another journey to Markarth very soon for nothing other than ingredients, the roads up that direction are teeming with stuff. For now I must go back to Winterhold to speak to that Elf boyo, can’t mind his name, then I will keep going with the thieves guild quests…
I go into the museum and out the back to his Lab, he has guards all over the place and you cannot sneak successfully past them all so I just killed them and I keep going outside when I am full up and dump the stuff outside the city tonnes of it, steel armour, good prices! I go all the way out the back and get a rubbing of the Falmer text which is on a large plinth.
I buy a horse when I am done and lift all the gear before beginning my journey back which to be honest is not too eventful until I get very close to Whiterun. Just before the Western Watchtower I see a nightmarish shadow across the ground, A Dragon, an Elder and here’s me full of gear! The guards are fighting it and when I dismount my brave horse goes and has a pop and surprisingly doesn’t get killed. The Dragon lands right beside me at one point and I have to use the Whirlwind shout to get away. The guards get it in the end.
I stop at Whiterun to sell and off load and I know that I will make another journey to Markarth very soon for nothing other than ingredients, the roads up that direction are teeming with stuff. For now I must go back to Winterhold to speak to that Elf boyo, can’t mind his name, then I will keep going with the thieves guild quests…
52. Soljunds Sinkhole.
202 Hours 27 Minutes, 68421 Gold, Level 44, 9370 Barters, 26 Bunnies
I decide to come back and get the gear at Snow Veil Sanctum another time, having sold the first load in Windhelm I make my way to Whiterun. Along the way those two Mages are at it again not far from The Honningbrew brewery I wait until there’s only one left and finish him off.
I prepare by stocking up on potions and leaving as much space as possible in my inventory. I have never been so far West before so I take advantage and gather ingredients on the journey and kill another Dark Brotherhood assassin, that’s got to be 20 so far!
Near Rorikstead I get attacked by a crazy Khajiit with a sweet looking great sword and when I lay a Fire Rune for her one of the Vigilantes of Stendaar steps on it and explodes so after I have finished the other Vigilante and the Khajiit the guards are after me but hey, I am with the guild don’t ya know!
I stop at Rorikstead for the night and sell what I can but the Inn Keepers never have much gold so I get rid of anything heavy and of low value. I then head up into the hills in a Westerly direction and discover Soljunds Sinkhole. The Miners are standing outside saying that the place is full of Draugr and I can’t resist but have a go. This place is full of Moonstone Ore and of course Draugr. When you get in a bit you have to drop down into another area so you cannot go back just through! The draugr are easy enough even the Draugr scourge are not much a challenge but at the end in the last section there is by far the toughest opponent I have had so far, a Draugr Death Overlord. He’s in a room with an alter and one of the pedestals behind him is casting a Fireball. He killed me twice and I was nearly giving up by kept going, luckily my save happened just inside the first cavarn when I went to change apparel.
I get him with a combination of Fire Rune, Atronach and Ebony Arrows. There’s a brave bit of loot in here as well, so much that I have to go out and dump a load then come back for the rest. I am tempted to gather ingredients but decide to leave it until I am on the way back because there is a real abundance of Juniper and Hanging Moss in this area. On the way down the other side of the hills I see Karthspire and I decide to avoid it for now, it’s full of tough bandits. Onward to Markarth…
I decide to come back and get the gear at Snow Veil Sanctum another time, having sold the first load in Windhelm I make my way to Whiterun. Along the way those two Mages are at it again not far from The Honningbrew brewery I wait until there’s only one left and finish him off.
I prepare by stocking up on potions and leaving as much space as possible in my inventory. I have never been so far West before so I take advantage and gather ingredients on the journey and kill another Dark Brotherhood assassin, that’s got to be 20 so far!
Near Rorikstead I get attacked by a crazy Khajiit with a sweet looking great sword and when I lay a Fire Rune for her one of the Vigilantes of Stendaar steps on it and explodes so after I have finished the other Vigilante and the Khajiit the guards are after me but hey, I am with the guild don’t ya know!
I stop at Rorikstead for the night and sell what I can but the Inn Keepers never have much gold so I get rid of anything heavy and of low value. I then head up into the hills in a Westerly direction and discover Soljunds Sinkhole. The Miners are standing outside saying that the place is full of Draugr and I can’t resist but have a go. This place is full of Moonstone Ore and of course Draugr. When you get in a bit you have to drop down into another area so you cannot go back just through! The draugr are easy enough even the Draugr scourge are not much a challenge but at the end in the last section there is by far the toughest opponent I have had so far, a Draugr Death Overlord. He’s in a room with an alter and one of the pedestals behind him is casting a Fireball. He killed me twice and I was nearly giving up by kept going, luckily my save happened just inside the first cavarn when I went to change apparel.
I get him with a combination of Fire Rune, Atronach and Ebony Arrows. There’s a brave bit of loot in here as well, so much that I have to go out and dump a load then come back for the rest. I am tempted to gather ingredients but decide to leave it until I am on the way back because there is a real abundance of Juniper and Hanging Moss in this area. On the way down the other side of the hills I see Karthspire and I decide to avoid it for now, it’s full of tough bandits. Onward to Markarth…
Tuesday 7 February 2012
51. Snow Veil Sanctum.
Walk from Riften to Snow Veil Sanctum for the next thieves guild quest through the area south of Windhelm with the hot water vents. There are plenty of ingredients here and bears. Stop briefly at Windhelm to sell some stuff and take my encumbrance down in expectation of a large haul on the next quest.
I meet Mercer Frey outside Snow Veil Sanctum and we begin. I am using my sword as much as I can but it means I am drinking more potions than before because previously I was doing a lot of ducking and dodging but my one handed skill is going up rightly. Some of the Draugr are tough especially the Deathlords but Mercer is a good companion, he hits hard.
I fill up and go outside to drop a load there for collection later and later I end up going out with a second load and then a third. I finish up the quest and I have to go to Winterhold which isn’t far away but then I am going to be headed for Markarth which I have not yet visited and it’s way at the Western end of the map. I am going to sell all this gear and make preparations and then I’ll be off.
Meet another thief on the way to Winterhold and he’s tough but along comes a kindly Snow Bear who finishes him off for me and an Imperial also joins in the fight as a Winterhold guard actually does a runner squealing “somebody do something” Funny!
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I meet Mercer Frey outside Snow Veil Sanctum and we begin. I am using my sword as much as I can but it means I am drinking more potions than before because previously I was doing a lot of ducking and dodging but my one handed skill is going up rightly. Some of the Draugr are tough especially the Deathlords but Mercer is a good companion, he hits hard.
I fill up and go outside to drop a load there for collection later and later I end up going out with a second load and then a third. I finish up the quest and I have to go to Winterhold which isn’t far away but then I am going to be headed for Markarth which I have not yet visited and it’s way at the Western end of the map. I am going to sell all this gear and make preparations and then I’ll be off.
Meet another thief on the way to Winterhold and he’s tough but along comes a kindly Snow Bear who finishes him off for me and an Imperial also joins in the fight as a Winterhold guard actually does a runner squealing “somebody do something” Funny!
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Monday 6 February 2012
50. None shall yield.
The Solitude guards are attacking me and sheathing my weapon does no good. I run up to the city healing myself and unsheathe my sword before I enter the city, this seems to work, he says his bit and I get escorted away and have my stolen goods taken from me (BOO HOO) but when I come out and leave the city the guards outside are still attacking. I go in and out a few times but nothing works so I run and swim across to the swamp and wait there for a while and when I come back they have all calmed down!
So I now have to go back to Mercer Fray. I head up to the Ash Pile and I am raging, it won’t let me in! I put a lot of stuff in there and now it’s lost! I am lucky though because I was full up after all the shenanigans and instead of going back to the Ash Pile I used a dead guard to store it, just beside the Carriage in the city and I could access that load ok.
I go buy a horse and it doesn’t appear, he says the one with the saddle but it isn’t there, still took my money though so I wait till after dark and steal a horse to ride back to Whiterun. I have a lot of stolen goods but now the guy who has taken over The Honningbrew Brewery is a fence so I off load some there and while I am there a Dragon attacks. I have a feeling the Dragon attacks have speeded up due to the fact I am now above level 40.
So once again it’s back to Riften and to be honest it ain’t no thang! I like stopping along the way to rile up some Giants and slowly wear them down as they chase me about the place frustrated and as always ingredients keep me occupied. I don’t even think about Fast Travel now this game is much more fulfilling without it!
So I now have to go back to Mercer Fray. I head up to the Ash Pile and I am raging, it won’t let me in! I put a lot of stuff in there and now it’s lost! I am lucky though because I was full up after all the shenanigans and instead of going back to the Ash Pile I used a dead guard to store it, just beside the Carriage in the city and I could access that load ok.
I go buy a horse and it doesn’t appear, he says the one with the saddle but it isn’t there, still took my money though so I wait till after dark and steal a horse to ride back to Whiterun. I have a lot of stolen goods but now the guy who has taken over The Honningbrew Brewery is a fence so I off load some there and while I am there a Dragon attacks. I have a feeling the Dragon attacks have speeded up due to the fact I am now above level 40.
So once again it’s back to Riften and to be honest it ain’t no thang! I like stopping along the way to rile up some Giants and slowly wear them down as they chase me about the place frustrated and as always ingredients keep me occupied. I don’t even think about Fast Travel now this game is much more fulfilling without it!
49. Risking it!
190 Hours 05 Minutes, 64458 Gold, Level 41, 157 Magic Items made, 25 Bunnies
Even after all that I am a sucker for loot! I can’t pass Valtheim Towers without having a go! I set a Fire Rune just at the entrance and fire some arrows to lure some of them down, only the Chief comes out and she’s the strongest but she’s a bit easier when not at close quarters. I cast Atronach and set Fire runes on the ground in front of me as I run back and forth since she’s following me the Atronach can hit her with Fireball and I get her in the end. One of the other Bandits was killed by the exploding rune and I am tempted to go for the others but chicken out!
On up the road just before the bridge across to the Brewery there are two Adept Necromancers, I am no match so I lure them once again over to the other side of the bridge and let the guards take care of them while I fire the odd Fireball and end up hitting a guard who goes to arrest me but since I am in the guild I bribe her! I get to Whiterun full of loot. The next quest is a tough one so I will need to prepare carefully for it.
I stock up on potions and find a really useful combination. Blue Mountain Flower and wheat makes a great potion which raises overall health by 76 for a short period of time and gives a 119 restore on top of that of course it will vary depending on the apparel you’re using but it also sells for a hefty price which is good and it gives the alchemy skill a worth while increase. I also do a lot of enchanting and smithing and increase to Level 41 before I leave to go to Solitude.
Along the way I kill the Ice Trolls at Labyranthian and get into a few scrapes in the Swamps at Morthal but nothing I can’t handle. I stop and buy all Lamis ingredients and sell a few of my recently made potions that I brought because I had bankrupted everyone in Whiterun! The swamps have respawned all their ingredients so I end up getting about 70-80 Deathbells, good haul.
I go see the Target who’s a slimy Argonian Thief and get a bit of info from him but I then have to shadow him to the East Empire Company Warehouse. This place is a gold mine, it’s absolutely full of stuff and of course my hoarding nature kicks in! I kill a couple of the guards as I am following him around the place (it’s huge) and when I fill up I go outside and up to sell. I can’t sell a lot of it because it’s stolen though so I go off looking for something to kill and reanimate so I will have a storage ash pile and I get more than I bargained for! A blood dragon comes down at me near Dragon Bridge and though it’s a tough fight I nearly have him when along comes a Dark Brotherhood Assassin! The Dragon ends up killing him and I get the Dragon but his body is too powerful to reanimate! There’s a road heading north so I go up a little bit and find a Wood Elf Drug dealer, I hit him with Fireball and get him to follow me intending to get him close to Solitude to use as an Ash Pile when due to me attacking him two Thalmor escorting a prisoner start attacking me! I kill them and the prisoner with Atronach and Fireball but use potions galore, just me and the Wood Elf still standing so I keep with my plan and lure him toward Solitude. Just up the road a bit from the city I kill him and find his corpse is too powerful! DAMMMMMNNNNN! I head back again and this time a Noble on a horse has stopped and his Imperial Guard starts attacking me, I get him and raise his corpse and get him to follow me, so I have an ash pile but not as close as I wanted but that’s that! I go back and steal the Nobles horse and when I get to Solitude the guards are all attacking!
I’ll get this quest finished yet!
Even after all that I am a sucker for loot! I can’t pass Valtheim Towers without having a go! I set a Fire Rune just at the entrance and fire some arrows to lure some of them down, only the Chief comes out and she’s the strongest but she’s a bit easier when not at close quarters. I cast Atronach and set Fire runes on the ground in front of me as I run back and forth since she’s following me the Atronach can hit her with Fireball and I get her in the end. One of the other Bandits was killed by the exploding rune and I am tempted to go for the others but chicken out!
On up the road just before the bridge across to the Brewery there are two Adept Necromancers, I am no match so I lure them once again over to the other side of the bridge and let the guards take care of them while I fire the odd Fireball and end up hitting a guard who goes to arrest me but since I am in the guild I bribe her! I get to Whiterun full of loot. The next quest is a tough one so I will need to prepare carefully for it.
I stock up on potions and find a really useful combination. Blue Mountain Flower and wheat makes a great potion which raises overall health by 76 for a short period of time and gives a 119 restore on top of that of course it will vary depending on the apparel you’re using but it also sells for a hefty price which is good and it gives the alchemy skill a worth while increase. I also do a lot of enchanting and smithing and increase to Level 41 before I leave to go to Solitude.
Along the way I kill the Ice Trolls at Labyranthian and get into a few scrapes in the Swamps at Morthal but nothing I can’t handle. I stop and buy all Lamis ingredients and sell a few of my recently made potions that I brought because I had bankrupted everyone in Whiterun! The swamps have respawned all their ingredients so I end up getting about 70-80 Deathbells, good haul.
I go see the Target who’s a slimy Argonian Thief and get a bit of info from him but I then have to shadow him to the East Empire Company Warehouse. This place is a gold mine, it’s absolutely full of stuff and of course my hoarding nature kicks in! I kill a couple of the guards as I am following him around the place (it’s huge) and when I fill up I go outside and up to sell. I can’t sell a lot of it because it’s stolen though so I go off looking for something to kill and reanimate so I will have a storage ash pile and I get more than I bargained for! A blood dragon comes down at me near Dragon Bridge and though it’s a tough fight I nearly have him when along comes a Dark Brotherhood Assassin! The Dragon ends up killing him and I get the Dragon but his body is too powerful to reanimate! There’s a road heading north so I go up a little bit and find a Wood Elf Drug dealer, I hit him with Fireball and get him to follow me intending to get him close to Solitude to use as an Ash Pile when due to me attacking him two Thalmor escorting a prisoner start attacking me! I kill them and the prisoner with Atronach and Fireball but use potions galore, just me and the Wood Elf still standing so I keep with my plan and lure him toward Solitude. Just up the road a bit from the city I kill him and find his corpse is too powerful! DAMMMMMNNNNN! I head back again and this time a Noble on a horse has stopped and his Imperial Guard starts attacking me, I get him and raise his corpse and get him to follow me, so I have an ash pile but not as close as I wanted but that’s that! I go back and steal the Nobles horse and when I get to Solitude the guards are all attacking!
I’ll get this quest finished yet!
Sunday 5 February 2012
48. Almighty fighty!
186 Hours 31 Minutes, 58532 Gold, Level 39, 109 Sneak Attacks, 25 Bunnies
Twice in one session I get killed and have to go way back because of the 60 minute save rule! My own fault. I left Riften having gotten the next quest for the thieves guild which takes me once again back to Solitude and I had got all the way to Valtheim Towers when I went and started on the Bandits, I knew I didn’t have any health potions left so I must put it down to stupidity!
I load and end up at Riftens gates again! On the way back I decide to clear the outside of Fort Greenwall I run back and forth through the entrance casting Atronach and the odd fire rune but the Bandits are pretty tough. I run up into the hills and find two bears who I lure down and they do a bit of work dispatching some of them for me. The Khajiits are passing and I don’t know why but they once again start attacking me. I cast Atronach and run out of the way and my Flaming buddy takes them all down to the point were they yield (they cannot die it seems) then they go on and don’t bother me, strange!
Not a whole lot else happens aside from some bears and wolves but I find that I keep getting dragged off due to the immersion factor, I stop thinking about what I am supposed to be doing and find myself just exploring, don’t get me wrong it’s a good thing but the way I have the settings it can be a dangerous game as has been proved twice in quick succession. After I get mixed up in a fight with a Giant and then a Cave Bear I decide that it’s time to stop this nonsense and get myself to Whiterun quickly so I can prepare for my journey to Solitude.
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Twice in one session I get killed and have to go way back because of the 60 minute save rule! My own fault. I left Riften having gotten the next quest for the thieves guild which takes me once again back to Solitude and I had got all the way to Valtheim Towers when I went and started on the Bandits, I knew I didn’t have any health potions left so I must put it down to stupidity!
I load and end up at Riftens gates again! On the way back I decide to clear the outside of Fort Greenwall I run back and forth through the entrance casting Atronach and the odd fire rune but the Bandits are pretty tough. I run up into the hills and find two bears who I lure down and they do a bit of work dispatching some of them for me. The Khajiits are passing and I don’t know why but they once again start attacking me. I cast Atronach and run out of the way and my Flaming buddy takes them all down to the point were they yield (they cannot die it seems) then they go on and don’t bother me, strange!
Not a whole lot else happens aside from some bears and wolves but I find that I keep getting dragged off due to the immersion factor, I stop thinking about what I am supposed to be doing and find myself just exploring, don’t get me wrong it’s a good thing but the way I have the settings it can be a dangerous game as has been proved twice in quick succession. After I get mixed up in a fight with a Giant and then a Cave Bear I decide that it’s time to stop this nonsense and get myself to Whiterun quickly so I can prepare for my journey to Solitude.
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47. Wasted Journeys.
I am a bit miffed at having been killed so close to Riften after such a long journey but that’s what happens when you commit to playing with the Auto save set to 60 minutes. I start off again by horse and I am not too far up the road from The Honningbrew brewery when I spot an old woman, I dismount and speak to her and she says she would be “honoured to be Wabbajacked by me!” I have Wabbajack back in Breezehome so I decide to go get it but by the time I get back she’s gone and there’s a thief in her place, who I kill pretty easily.
Off I go again stopping occasionally to pick concentrated bunches of plants, although since I have recently been by this way there are not so many. Way on by Fort Amol I come across a crazy Mage who immediately begins attacking me I gallop on and over the next bridge find Stromcloak Soldiers fighting with a spider so I go back and lure the Mage in their direction, he kills one Stormcloak but the last one gets him, one had been earlier killed by the Spider, Loot!
On once more and I head across to Dark Water Crossing and decide to leave my horse there, well it’s not technically my horse it’s stolen! I go by the edge of the hot water springs and find a giant there so I provoke him and start laying Fire Runes as he chases me and when I get a good distance from him I fire ebony arrows. On up I get chased again by a crazed Argonian and as I am fighting him a helpful Sabre cat comes along and finishes him off for me and then I return the favour by finishing it off! Further on and I spy two mages in the distance having a fire versus ice war so I run through the two of them and cast an Atronach then come back after a little while to see who’s left. The Flamer is still standing so I switch to Ice spells and finish him off. Not a bad little jaunt that time nearly filled up on loot and now I will happily continue the Thieves Guild quests…
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Off I go again stopping occasionally to pick concentrated bunches of plants, although since I have recently been by this way there are not so many. Way on by Fort Amol I come across a crazy Mage who immediately begins attacking me I gallop on and over the next bridge find Stromcloak Soldiers fighting with a spider so I go back and lure the Mage in their direction, he kills one Stormcloak but the last one gets him, one had been earlier killed by the Spider, Loot!
On once more and I head across to Dark Water Crossing and decide to leave my horse there, well it’s not technically my horse it’s stolen! I go by the edge of the hot water springs and find a giant there so I provoke him and start laying Fire Runes as he chases me and when I get a good distance from him I fire ebony arrows. On up I get chased again by a crazed Argonian and as I am fighting him a helpful Sabre cat comes along and finishes him off for me and then I return the favour by finishing it off! Further on and I spy two mages in the distance having a fire versus ice war so I run through the two of them and cast an Atronach then come back after a little while to see who’s left. The Flamer is still standing so I switch to Ice spells and finish him off. Not a bad little jaunt that time nearly filled up on loot and now I will happily continue the Thieves Guild quests…
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46. Thieves guild quests.
I left most of my gear in Whiterun to go out and improve my weapon skills. Up to Silent Moons Camp and took out about 6 Bandits with my Steel Sword, pretty easy but I did have to use a few potions and cast heal a bit as two of them were casting pretty powerful shock spells.
I went straight from there over to Fort Greymoor but as soon as I started fighting with the first Bandit I knew I was going to have to do a runner, the Bandit Marauders are still very strong or maybe I am very weak. I ran back to Whiterun and carried out all the improvements on my sword and my Thieves Guild Armour that I could and headed back again with Stoneflesh at the ready. Much better results still needed potions and healing but I killed them all only using my Sword.
Instead of sticking around here I was thinking I might do a bit of travelling and improve my skills along the way. I was about to leave for Riften when I remembered that I had a quest to do here for Mavin Blackbriar, at The Brewery near Whiterun. I went and seen a guy at The Bannered Mare who told me the score and went off to do it. I had to poison the vats so the owner would get thrown in jail. You go under the brewery to do this fighting with Skeevers which was easy enough but there’s a crazy man down there called Hamelyn who is pretty strong with the shock spells, I am going to have to get some apparel which limit’s the damage shock spells do because they really knock me for six!
I finish the quest and start heading for Riften again by horse. Most Stolen horses run away but one I left outside Whietruns gates is still there so I take it. I ride nearly all the way to Riften avoiding most encounters when I chance upon a load of gear, Axes and a sword and some shields lying on the ground so I get off to have a look and my horse rides off. There are bandits about three of them and one out of sight firing arrows they catch me completely off guard and as I am trying to fight the ones who are right in front of me I get hit by an arrow and killed, DAAAMMMMMNNNNN! Lucky I am not playing dead is dead…
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I went straight from there over to Fort Greymoor but as soon as I started fighting with the first Bandit I knew I was going to have to do a runner, the Bandit Marauders are still very strong or maybe I am very weak. I ran back to Whiterun and carried out all the improvements on my sword and my Thieves Guild Armour that I could and headed back again with Stoneflesh at the ready. Much better results still needed potions and healing but I killed them all only using my Sword.
Instead of sticking around here I was thinking I might do a bit of travelling and improve my skills along the way. I was about to leave for Riften when I remembered that I had a quest to do here for Mavin Blackbriar, at The Brewery near Whiterun. I went and seen a guy at The Bannered Mare who told me the score and went off to do it. I had to poison the vats so the owner would get thrown in jail. You go under the brewery to do this fighting with Skeevers which was easy enough but there’s a crazy man down there called Hamelyn who is pretty strong with the shock spells, I am going to have to get some apparel which limit’s the damage shock spells do because they really knock me for six!
I finish the quest and start heading for Riften again by horse. Most Stolen horses run away but one I left outside Whietruns gates is still there so I take it. I ride nearly all the way to Riften avoiding most encounters when I chance upon a load of gear, Axes and a sword and some shields lying on the ground so I get off to have a look and my horse rides off. There are bandits about three of them and one out of sight firing arrows they catch me completely off guard and as I am trying to fight the ones who are right in front of me I get hit by an arrow and killed, DAAAMMMMMNNNNN! Lucky I am not playing dead is dead…
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Saturday 4 February 2012
45. Potion dealer.
179 Hours 06 Minutes, 54204 Gold, Level 39, 6 Horses owned, 25 Bunnies
After the incident with the Bandits I had to run as much as I could to get first to Ivarstead to drop the bear pelts off and then to Whiterun, I couldn’t risk any encounters as I had no health potions and only 2 magic potions. When I got back in Whiterun I started mixing potions again. Now I have Gauntlets with 20%, a Necklace with 17% and a Circlet with 15% I am getting great value out of the damage Magicka poisons when I have made them I put on my hood with 10% better prices and my 15% Haggling Necklace and they are selling for 787 gold EACH! That’s some return considering it only takes a Blue Butterfly wing and a Blue Mountain Flower to make each one and they advance the alchemy levels up very quickly.
I am going to do some work on my weapons skills now, I got a steel sword and Battle axe and I am going to stick around Whiterun because I been seriously neglecting these aspects and they will greatly help to get my levels up. After that I think I’ll go back to Riften and continue the thieves guild quests.
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After the incident with the Bandits I had to run as much as I could to get first to Ivarstead to drop the bear pelts off and then to Whiterun, I couldn’t risk any encounters as I had no health potions and only 2 magic potions. When I got back in Whiterun I started mixing potions again. Now I have Gauntlets with 20%, a Necklace with 17% and a Circlet with 15% I am getting great value out of the damage Magicka poisons when I have made them I put on my hood with 10% better prices and my 15% Haggling Necklace and they are selling for 787 gold EACH! That’s some return considering it only takes a Blue Butterfly wing and a Blue Mountain Flower to make each one and they advance the alchemy levels up very quickly.
I am going to do some work on my weapons skills now, I got a steel sword and Battle axe and I am going to stick around Whiterun because I been seriously neglecting these aspects and they will greatly help to get my levels up. After that I think I’ll go back to Riften and continue the thieves guild quests.
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Friday 3 February 2012
44. Goldenglow.
177 Hours 46 Minutes, 47524 Gold, Level 38, 170 Undead killed, 25 Bunnies!
The first thing to do is beat up a few shopkeepers for not paying their protection money, ironic! Then I meet Mercer Fry and have to go steal from and burn Bee hives over at Goldenglow estate. On my way over there I stop briefly at one of the farms outside the city and find that a Spider has killed Synda and Dravin Llanith, I arrive just as the Guards have finished it off.
I make my way across the water to Golden glow and find that you can get in via a jut in the rocks by one of the wooden scaffold towers but I know there are other ways in. I sneak about inside but get discovered by one of the Mercenaries and before I know it there are four or five of them around me, they’re tough and I cannot beat them with weapons, seriously I will have to get my weapon skills up! I run about casting Flame Atronach and Fire rune but this is a costly business, I am drinking potions like they were water! I try to Reanimate a corpse and they’re too powerful but I finish them all off in the end.
I sneak around the back of the Mansion and pick the lock and use my stealth skills inside to remain undetected for as long as I can. A strange thing happens just outside the back of the mansion, Synda and Dravin Llanith are lying there beside the entrance to the sewers, they had died at the farm outside Riften strange they appeared here! I pick the lock on a cell like door inside the mansion which leads to the basement and sneak down. Two mercenaries down there, I put on all my Archery gear and poison an arrow and while still in sneak mode to get extra damage I hit the first of them and manage to get them both before they get a swing at me.
There are chests and the safe here so I do the job and loot the bodies and head outside once more. Back in Riften I have to go speak with Maven BlackBrier which I do and she asks, or tells, me to go to Whiteun and meet some bozo! I head out and notice the trade Caravan so I go check it out and while I am there I hear a Dragon! This turns out to be one almighty fight, tonnes of guards and all the Khajiit from the Caravan. The dragon circles overhead but seems to have gone for a while but it’s actually attacking the other end of the city then it soon comes back. When it’s dead all the Khajiit start attacking me! I am not sure what happened I think my Atronach may have hit one of them or maybe I did with a stray Fireball! I don’t want trouble with these CATS so I do a runner and head for Ivarstead to drop off those Bear pelts!
Half way to Ivarstead and the steep hills here and making my real world legs sore! I find a man who’s injured, says he was attacked by bandits and needs to be escorted back to his camp and he’ll pay me. The camp is just across a bridge but when we get there he starts attacking me and so do his mates, BANDITS! This was a really tough fight there are six of them and I am no match for them. I keep running back and forth over the bridge but casting Fire rune takes a whack off my magic and even with Moroeki and other regeneration apparel it’s tough going and I am using potions like no ones business! I end up going through the camp and out the other side just to take a breather then I run back through and hit them with what I have Atronach and fire runes get them all down a good bit and they were hurt from earlier anyway. I finish the last three at the bridge and will go get the others later. Mean while in the real world I have to go to work! Bummer, work ruins my enjoyment of this game! ;)
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The first thing to do is beat up a few shopkeepers for not paying their protection money, ironic! Then I meet Mercer Fry and have to go steal from and burn Bee hives over at Goldenglow estate. On my way over there I stop briefly at one of the farms outside the city and find that a Spider has killed Synda and Dravin Llanith, I arrive just as the Guards have finished it off.
I make my way across the water to Golden glow and find that you can get in via a jut in the rocks by one of the wooden scaffold towers but I know there are other ways in. I sneak about inside but get discovered by one of the Mercenaries and before I know it there are four or five of them around me, they’re tough and I cannot beat them with weapons, seriously I will have to get my weapon skills up! I run about casting Flame Atronach and Fire rune but this is a costly business, I am drinking potions like they were water! I try to Reanimate a corpse and they’re too powerful but I finish them all off in the end.
I sneak around the back of the Mansion and pick the lock and use my stealth skills inside to remain undetected for as long as I can. A strange thing happens just outside the back of the mansion, Synda and Dravin Llanith are lying there beside the entrance to the sewers, they had died at the farm outside Riften strange they appeared here! I pick the lock on a cell like door inside the mansion which leads to the basement and sneak down. Two mercenaries down there, I put on all my Archery gear and poison an arrow and while still in sneak mode to get extra damage I hit the first of them and manage to get them both before they get a swing at me.
There are chests and the safe here so I do the job and loot the bodies and head outside once more. Back in Riften I have to go speak with Maven BlackBrier which I do and she asks, or tells, me to go to Whiteun and meet some bozo! I head out and notice the trade Caravan so I go check it out and while I am there I hear a Dragon! This turns out to be one almighty fight, tonnes of guards and all the Khajiit from the Caravan. The dragon circles overhead but seems to have gone for a while but it’s actually attacking the other end of the city then it soon comes back. When it’s dead all the Khajiit start attacking me! I am not sure what happened I think my Atronach may have hit one of them or maybe I did with a stray Fireball! I don’t want trouble with these CATS so I do a runner and head for Ivarstead to drop off those Bear pelts!
Half way to Ivarstead and the steep hills here and making my real world legs sore! I find a man who’s injured, says he was attacked by bandits and needs to be escorted back to his camp and he’ll pay me. The camp is just across a bridge but when we get there he starts attacking me and so do his mates, BANDITS! This was a really tough fight there are six of them and I am no match for them. I keep running back and forth over the bridge but casting Fire rune takes a whack off my magic and even with Moroeki and other regeneration apparel it’s tough going and I am using potions like no ones business! I end up going through the camp and out the other side just to take a breather then I run back through and hit them with what I have Atronach and fire runes get them all down a good bit and they were hurt from earlier anyway. I finish the last three at the bridge and will go get the others later. Mean while in the real world I have to go to work! Bummer, work ruins my enjoyment of this game! ;)
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43. Poor Maurice.
I head for Riften with Lydia. Danica at the temple in Whiterun wants me to get sap from the Eldergleam tree which is at a sanctuary along the way and on the way back I have 10 bear pelts to give to a woman in the Inn at Ivarstead. I am going to have to check how many Dark brotherhood notes I have, I have kept them in Breezehome, that’s got to be about 15 of them have attacked me up to now, they’re tougher now though, all the enemies seem tougher especially the bears.
A man called Maurice Jondrelle asked could he join me on the journey and I let him. HE and Lydia both have trouble keeping up and it amusing to watch him trying to get across a river just at a waterfall countless times before being swept downstream! I have a bounty letter for the Dragon at Bonestrewn which I forgot about and don’t realise until I have killed a Dragon along the way that that’s the very one! Poor Maurice, Dragon grabbed him by the head and, well he's not doing a whole lot of breathing now!
I have got a wild amount of ingredients on this walk the more abundant ones like mountain flowers and dragons tongue are well up to the 70-80 mark. I started without any at all so I could see how much I was getting. Admittedly it was not just from along the roads I did a brave bit of gathering around The Eldergleam Sanctuary, lots of stuff around that area and some which are not so abundant elsewhere so while I am here it’s important to gather.
I stop at Mzulft to collect the stuff I left off earlier. I give a lot of it to Lydia and carry what I am able to but I have to leave behind two very heavy Dwemer solid metal. On the way up the road bear attacks are plentiful but Lydia’s made of stern stuff. I stop to turn all the scrap metal into ingots which I give to Lydia then I make my way in the city telling a guard who’s trying to pull a fast one to wise up along the way!
I sell all I can and buy some gems etc then give all my ingredients and stuff that needs to be stored back in Whiterun to Lydia as she’ll be heading back there anyway it’ll be handy. I bid her farewell and get through the first test for the thieves guild, stealing a ring and placing it in someone else’s pocket. Now I am ready to begin the quest here for real by entering the Ratway…
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A man called Maurice Jondrelle asked could he join me on the journey and I let him. HE and Lydia both have trouble keeping up and it amusing to watch him trying to get across a river just at a waterfall countless times before being swept downstream! I have a bounty letter for the Dragon at Bonestrewn which I forgot about and don’t realise until I have killed a Dragon along the way that that’s the very one! Poor Maurice, Dragon grabbed him by the head and, well he's not doing a whole lot of breathing now!
I have got a wild amount of ingredients on this walk the more abundant ones like mountain flowers and dragons tongue are well up to the 70-80 mark. I started without any at all so I could see how much I was getting. Admittedly it was not just from along the roads I did a brave bit of gathering around The Eldergleam Sanctuary, lots of stuff around that area and some which are not so abundant elsewhere so while I am here it’s important to gather.
I stop at Mzulft to collect the stuff I left off earlier. I give a lot of it to Lydia and carry what I am able to but I have to leave behind two very heavy Dwemer solid metal. On the way up the road bear attacks are plentiful but Lydia’s made of stern stuff. I stop to turn all the scrap metal into ingots which I give to Lydia then I make my way in the city telling a guard who’s trying to pull a fast one to wise up along the way!
I sell all I can and buy some gems etc then give all my ingredients and stuff that needs to be stored back in Whiterun to Lydia as she’ll be heading back there anyway it’ll be handy. I bid her farewell and get through the first test for the thieves guild, stealing a ring and placing it in someone else’s pocket. Now I am ready to begin the quest here for real by entering the Ratway…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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42. Unmapped location.
172 Hours 53 Minutes, Level 37, 41962 Gold, 106 Sneak Attacks, 24 Bunnies!
I get to Winterhold but don’t stay too long, just buy soul gems and leave and I am half way to Windhelm before I remember I should have spoken to J’zargo about his scrolls! The roads are dangerous and I think the enemies are getting a whole lot tougher to be honest, I will need to get some good armour, since I have been using mostly magic of late I have been wearing mostly magical apparel. I get attacked by a couple of Sabre Cats but I just sprint towards a group of travelling Khajiit who help me out then I go loot the body of a farmer who had tried to help.
Ice Wraiths, Trolls, Ice Wolves and the odd bandit are some of my other encounters before I get to Windhelm to stop Briefly and unload, buy ingredients and move on. Cicero is still waiting for his Carriage to be repaired. And when I get nearer Whiterun I find that the Bandits den has respawned. This place does not show up on the map, it’s right at the back of Whiterun. If you check the map it is just a tiny bit from the Dragonsreach icon to the Northwest, just go around the city close to rocks and you’ll find it. There are four of them in all and one is tough casting shock spells but I get them with fireballs and my old mate the Flame Atronach.
In Whiterun I get more Alchemy done and some Smithing improvements then put a lot of stuff in storage and go get Lydia so I can head down to Riften to begin doing the Thieves Guild quests.
I get to Winterhold but don’t stay too long, just buy soul gems and leave and I am half way to Windhelm before I remember I should have spoken to J’zargo about his scrolls! The roads are dangerous and I think the enemies are getting a whole lot tougher to be honest, I will need to get some good armour, since I have been using mostly magic of late I have been wearing mostly magical apparel. I get attacked by a couple of Sabre Cats but I just sprint towards a group of travelling Khajiit who help me out then I go loot the body of a farmer who had tried to help.
Ice Wraiths, Trolls, Ice Wolves and the odd bandit are some of my other encounters before I get to Windhelm to stop Briefly and unload, buy ingredients and move on. Cicero is still waiting for his Carriage to be repaired. And when I get nearer Whiterun I find that the Bandits den has respawned. This place does not show up on the map, it’s right at the back of Whiterun. If you check the map it is just a tiny bit from the Dragonsreach icon to the Northwest, just go around the city close to rocks and you’ll find it. There are four of them in all and one is tough casting shock spells but I get them with fireballs and my old mate the Flame Atronach.
In Whiterun I get more Alchemy done and some Smithing improvements then put a lot of stuff in storage and go get Lydia so I can head down to Riften to begin doing the Thieves Guild quests.
41. Collecting bounties.
I wander around for a while gathering and having encounters and I chance upon Nightgate Inn where the Inn keeper gives me a bounty letter to kill a Giant so I go off and do that. Afterward I going wandering again thinking about what I’ll do next. I come across Fort Dunstad as I have many times and though I said I wouldn’t go clearing places I decide to get stuck into at the bandits on the outside. I lure a Sabre Cat and a Spider up to it but they don’t last long then I cast my trusty Flame Atronach and lay Fire Runes as I dodge arrows. Eventually I get them all.
I realise that the bounty is to be collected in Dawnstar so I begin walking up there and afterward I’ll go the coast route to The Mages College as the seaside is a great place to collect ingredients and I can get some archery time in as well.
I am going to start on the Thieves Guild quests soon because I am aware from a lot of talk on forums that they involve long hikes up to Marakarth and to be honest I think it’s a lot of unnecessary moaning, I mean if these people can’t handle a virtual walk what’s going to happen to them in the real world when there’s a crisis?
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I realise that the bounty is to be collected in Dawnstar so I begin walking up there and afterward I’ll go the coast route to The Mages College as the seaside is a great place to collect ingredients and I can get some archery time in as well.
I am going to start on the Thieves Guild quests soon because I am aware from a lot of talk on forums that they involve long hikes up to Marakarth and to be honest I think it’s a lot of unnecessary moaning, I mean if these people can’t handle a virtual walk what’s going to happen to them in the real world when there’s a crisis?
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Thursday 2 February 2012
40. Lost once again.
167 Hours 17 Minutes, 37784 Gold, Level 36, 113 Locations, 24 Bunnies!
Start heading back for Whiterun as I seem to always do after sorting quests out. Meant to say earlier about the house in Solitude they want 25000 gold! It’ll be a while before I bother with that to be honest. On the way back I decide to go looking for shortcuts and find a pass through the mountain which has a cave with bandits camped outside, I didn’t find that on my first play, tended not to explore half as much as I am now due to Fast Travel.
I go right through and get a bit lost and I keep stopping to get ingredients. I get my bearings near Angas mill south of Valtheim towers when who do I see running past me? Delphine, on her way back to Riverwood, that is a brilliant aspect of this game, attention to detail, I once followed Marcurio from Whiterun to Riften just to see if he would walk the whole way.
Much nearer Whiterun just before the bridge which leads to the brewery I encounter a bandit gang and after I pass them I hide my horse and go up to lure them down to the waiting guards and loot the bodies, steel armour, pretty expensive gear! Back in Whiterun I chance upon a bow with soul capture so after I leave all my stuff in storage and do some selling I stock up on empty soul gems and head of on my next excursion!
I need to go and leave the Horn Of yer man the Windcaller with The Grey Beards and since I got a quest from Danica at the Temple in Whiterun to get Nettlebane I will travel around the other side of the mountain to Orphans Rock where a Hag Raven resides with said Nettlebane. I decide to go on foot, the thought of leaving all those Ingredients by the side of the road does not sit well with me.
On the way I have various encounters and I am filling up the gems rightly! There are a lot of Hags at Orphans Rock and one Hag Raven, I think, since I cast Atronach all the time sometimes it can be dispatching enemies while I am running about the place and I can miss the odd one, as has happened a few times previously only for me to find the bodies much later.
I have no idea what I’ll do next I am not sure I want to tackle The Thalmor Embassy just yet, it’s a nightmare!
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Start heading back for Whiterun as I seem to always do after sorting quests out. Meant to say earlier about the house in Solitude they want 25000 gold! It’ll be a while before I bother with that to be honest. On the way back I decide to go looking for shortcuts and find a pass through the mountain which has a cave with bandits camped outside, I didn’t find that on my first play, tended not to explore half as much as I am now due to Fast Travel.
I go right through and get a bit lost and I keep stopping to get ingredients. I get my bearings near Angas mill south of Valtheim towers when who do I see running past me? Delphine, on her way back to Riverwood, that is a brilliant aspect of this game, attention to detail, I once followed Marcurio from Whiterun to Riften just to see if he would walk the whole way.
Much nearer Whiterun just before the bridge which leads to the brewery I encounter a bandit gang and after I pass them I hide my horse and go up to lure them down to the waiting guards and loot the bodies, steel armour, pretty expensive gear! Back in Whiterun I chance upon a bow with soul capture so after I leave all my stuff in storage and do some selling I stock up on empty soul gems and head of on my next excursion!
I need to go and leave the Horn Of yer man the Windcaller with The Grey Beards and since I got a quest from Danica at the Temple in Whiterun to get Nettlebane I will travel around the other side of the mountain to Orphans Rock where a Hag Raven resides with said Nettlebane. I decide to go on foot, the thought of leaving all those Ingredients by the side of the road does not sit well with me.
On the way I have various encounters and I am filling up the gems rightly! There are a lot of Hags at Orphans Rock and one Hag Raven, I think, since I cast Atronach all the time sometimes it can be dispatching enemies while I am running about the place and I can miss the odd one, as has happened a few times previously only for me to find the bodies much later.
I have no idea what I’ll do next I am not sure I want to tackle The Thalmor Embassy just yet, it’s a nightmare!
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39. Dragonborn questlines.
Sort out the business in Solitude then start heading back, going to Kynsgrove to continue the Dragonborn Quest line. While trotting along on the horse I tend to get time to think about what I am going to do next. I get to Morthal and buy up all Lamis ingredients again and decide to time my journey by horse from here to Windhelm. Once again I head through Labarinthian then stop for a minute at Silent Moons Camp to kill an annoying Bandit Bowman.
On again and I stop occasionally if I see plants in concentrated bunches along the road, now that I am gathering twice the amount of ingredients I can’t help it! I dismount to get some ingredients but fail to spot a Snow bear who starts attacking the horse, who of course runs off! I go after the horse while healing myself but the bear keeps up with me and I have just gotten back into the saddle when the bear swipes and kills my horse! I am having no luck with horses! I run while healing myself because those bears hit hard and begin making my way to Windhelm along the river. I am not far past Bronze Water Cave when I see something in the distance standing on a path, a horse, and when I get to it I realise it’s mine, one that ran away much earlier in the game!
I stop to kill a thief as well then nearer Windhelm then I pass two Ice Wolves who start chasing. On another bit and there’s a mercenary walking along but I keep going to what I think is a safe distance then dismount to go back and watch the scrap but there’s a Sabre Cat there as well! DAMMMNNNN! I get back onto the horse and Gallop to Windhelm before coming back a little while later to finish the big cat and loot the Mercenaries body, Ebony Armour, Ker Ching!
Up to Windhelm then for some buying and selling before I head up to Kynesgrove to deal with the Dragon who’s pretty easy to be honest.
I have noticed a couple of glitches. Cicero is still standing waiting for yer man to fix the Carriage and he has been for ages, I went up to the farm any time I passed and told the man who says he’s going to get his tools but he’s not. In Breezehome Wabbajack has appeared on the weapons rack behind the door, on my first play through I put it there and somehow it has spawned on this play. I am wondering if these will effect the quest they’re related to later in the game.
On again and I stop occasionally if I see plants in concentrated bunches along the road, now that I am gathering twice the amount of ingredients I can’t help it! I dismount to get some ingredients but fail to spot a Snow bear who starts attacking the horse, who of course runs off! I go after the horse while healing myself but the bear keeps up with me and I have just gotten back into the saddle when the bear swipes and kills my horse! I am having no luck with horses! I run while healing myself because those bears hit hard and begin making my way to Windhelm along the river. I am not far past Bronze Water Cave when I see something in the distance standing on a path, a horse, and when I get to it I realise it’s mine, one that ran away much earlier in the game!
I stop to kill a thief as well then nearer Windhelm then I pass two Ice Wolves who start chasing. On another bit and there’s a mercenary walking along but I keep going to what I think is a safe distance then dismount to go back and watch the scrap but there’s a Sabre Cat there as well! DAMMMNNNN! I get back onto the horse and Gallop to Windhelm before coming back a little while later to finish the big cat and loot the Mercenaries body, Ebony Armour, Ker Ching!
Up to Windhelm then for some buying and selling before I head up to Kynesgrove to deal with the Dragon who’s pretty easy to be honest.
I have noticed a couple of glitches. Cicero is still standing waiting for yer man to fix the Carriage and he has been for ages, I went up to the farm any time I passed and told the man who says he’s going to get his tools but he’s not. In Breezehome Wabbajack has appeared on the weapons rack behind the door, on my first play through I put it there and somehow it has spawned on this play. I am wondering if these will effect the quest they’re related to later in the game.
38. Potemas Skull.
On the way back I look for the mountain pass through to the tundra which I used earlier but can’t find it, I head for Labarinthian instead, it’s just as quick really. The trolls at Labarinthian have respawned so I gallop on through and on the way down the other side I notice the bandits at Silent Moons Camp have also respawned, I’ll come back up when I have time and clear them out again!
I have to stop for a while and have a good think about what I am doing next. I have a letter for Danica in Whiterun which someone in Morthal gave me, I must take Toryggs war horn to the shrine of Talos and while I was clearing out Ustengrav I completely forgot to take Potemas skull back to Solitude but now I will no doubt have to travel back there after dropping the War horn off so I can do both.
I go and start mixing potions. I am aiming to get my alchemy up to 70 because that gives me the Green Thumb perk which means I will be collecting twice the amount of ingredients from plants. The damage Magicka poison as ever is a great one to make both for advancing the alchemy skill and for selling price. So once again I have a load of potions to sell and I still haven’t cleared out the chest I have with a load from earlier, these will be gone in no time when I get the speech skill up and vendors will have more money.
I am really going to have to have a good look around for a bow with soul capture so I can fill my soul gems, I could use the spell but I would like to get my Archery skill up as well.
I go and drop of the War horn then head for Riverwood to talk to Delphine and continue that quest line and after that I will head back to Solitude and take it from there…
I have to stop for a while and have a good think about what I am doing next. I have a letter for Danica in Whiterun which someone in Morthal gave me, I must take Toryggs war horn to the shrine of Talos and while I was clearing out Ustengrav I completely forgot to take Potemas skull back to Solitude but now I will no doubt have to travel back there after dropping the War horn off so I can do both.
I go and start mixing potions. I am aiming to get my alchemy up to 70 because that gives me the Green Thumb perk which means I will be collecting twice the amount of ingredients from plants. The damage Magicka poison as ever is a great one to make both for advancing the alchemy skill and for selling price. So once again I have a load of potions to sell and I still haven’t cleared out the chest I have with a load from earlier, these will be gone in no time when I get the speech skill up and vendors will have more money.
I am really going to have to have a good look around for a bow with soul capture so I can fill my soul gems, I could use the spell but I would like to get my Archery skill up as well.
I go and drop of the War horn then head for Riverwood to talk to Delphine and continue that quest line and after that I will head back to Solitude and take it from there…
37.1! Ustengrav.
158 Hours 54 Minutes, Level 34, 30389 Gold, 483 Skill Increases, 186549 Total Gold Found, 23 Bunnies!
Ustengrav is massive. Before I go in I realise I have forgotten to sell a lot of my stuff due to being distracted by the Dragon attack at Morthal and I am still two thirds full. I put stuff in a dead bandit and use reanimate on her then begin walking towards Morthal to get her as close as I can to town, although it won’t matter as long as my horse is still here when I come out. She turns into an ash pile out in the swamp and I keep in mind where exactly it is before heading back.
Ustengrav is full of Draugr of different strengths but it’s relatively easy. I have a little trick when I come to large open cavernous areas. I stand on the ledge and aim down onto a wall in front of me. Since I have the cast further away conjuration perk when I cast my Atronach in this way it ends up appearing miles away down in the cavern, much further than I would ever be able to cast it. By default the Atronach will then try and get back so it’s directly with you and that means it will be going through the Dungeon having encounters with Draugr. When I get further down I find that it has indeed been hard at work killing Draugr while I am safe up on the ledge!
I get over encumbered so I go out and load up the ash pile once again. Way down in Ustengrav there is a large open area with a waterfall. Going in behind the Waterfall reveals a chest and a Draugr Scourge, who’s pretty tough, but Atronach and Fire Rune gets him, I am really going to have to start using weapons at some point!
Get finished up and head outside. I go find the Ash Pile and take all my gear, my current carry weight is 500 and I end up carrying 1028, being able to use the horse while over encumbered is a gods send! I head to Morthal to sell a few things and buy all Lamis ingredients then I’ll go to Whiterun to take stock, get some Smithing and Alchemy done before heading for Riverwood to continue the Dragonborn quest line…
Ustengrav is massive. Before I go in I realise I have forgotten to sell a lot of my stuff due to being distracted by the Dragon attack at Morthal and I am still two thirds full. I put stuff in a dead bandit and use reanimate on her then begin walking towards Morthal to get her as close as I can to town, although it won’t matter as long as my horse is still here when I come out. She turns into an ash pile out in the swamp and I keep in mind where exactly it is before heading back.
Ustengrav is full of Draugr of different strengths but it’s relatively easy. I have a little trick when I come to large open cavernous areas. I stand on the ledge and aim down onto a wall in front of me. Since I have the cast further away conjuration perk when I cast my Atronach in this way it ends up appearing miles away down in the cavern, much further than I would ever be able to cast it. By default the Atronach will then try and get back so it’s directly with you and that means it will be going through the Dungeon having encounters with Draugr. When I get further down I find that it has indeed been hard at work killing Draugr while I am safe up on the ledge!
I get over encumbered so I go out and load up the ash pile once again. Way down in Ustengrav there is a large open area with a waterfall. Going in behind the Waterfall reveals a chest and a Draugr Scourge, who’s pretty tough, but Atronach and Fire Rune gets him, I am really going to have to start using weapons at some point!
Get finished up and head outside. I go find the Ash Pile and take all my gear, my current carry weight is 500 and I end up carrying 1028, being able to use the horse while over encumbered is a gods send! I head to Morthal to sell a few things and buy all Lamis ingredients then I’ll go to Whiterun to take stock, get some Smithing and Alchemy done before heading for Riverwood to continue the Dragonborn quest line…
Wednesday 1 February 2012
37. Swamps and horses!
I get through the big scrap and second time round I think it was a more difficult for some reason and I don’t bother with the Draugr that killed me at the end last time, there are actually two of them, one on each side so I sneak past as the door is just beyond them, then I “climb” down the mountain and head up into Solitude. After more selling I grab my horse and start out for Whiterun but I remember that Ustengrav is close by with the Jurgan Windcaller quest so I head for there instead.
The swamp is not the best of places to be riding a horse, tough going sometimes and just as I get to Ustengrav there are 3 bandits and a Necromancer on their way over to me! I turn and quickly head away from them but they’re following, I just need to get my horse to safety because I want it here so I can over encumber myself from this Dungeon and use it to get home. I pass a couple of mud crabs who end up fighting with the bandits as I ride on. I get to what I think is a safe distance and dismount but the Necromancer is firing ice and one hits the horse and away it goes! DAMMMMMNNNN! Note to self “keep horses out of swamps!”
I go after the horse a bit but give up and head back towards the fighting preparing myself for a scrap and there’s just a Mudcrab there! He’s one tough Mudcrab, he beat them all! I kill him and loot the bodies and go towards the Dungeon. I am barely in and there’s a lot of action, Necromancers and Draugr, tonnes of them! I realise I am seriously under prepared for this and after I have gathered all I can from those I have killed thus far I head outside to go towards Morthal to stock up on potions and sell some loot.
I am over encumbered by about 30 but I decide it’s not that far and begin the slow walk. I don’t get far when who do I see in the distance? My Horse! I jump on and I am in Morthal in no time. I sell some stuff to Lami and go to start making potions but it says in the top left hand corner of the screen “You cannot use this while in combat” I think it’s a glitch at first but upon going outside I see an ominous shadow fly across the ground, A Dragon and it’s making short work of the guards. Flame Atronach and Fireballs galore and I get him in the end, tough fight though strongest Dragon yet, a Frost Dragon. Back into mix up some potions then I’ll set out for Ustengav once more.
The swamp is not the best of places to be riding a horse, tough going sometimes and just as I get to Ustengrav there are 3 bandits and a Necromancer on their way over to me! I turn and quickly head away from them but they’re following, I just need to get my horse to safety because I want it here so I can over encumber myself from this Dungeon and use it to get home. I pass a couple of mud crabs who end up fighting with the bandits as I ride on. I get to what I think is a safe distance and dismount but the Necromancer is firing ice and one hits the horse and away it goes! DAMMMMMNNNN! Note to self “keep horses out of swamps!”
I go after the horse a bit but give up and head back towards the fighting preparing myself for a scrap and there’s just a Mudcrab there! He’s one tough Mudcrab, he beat them all! I kill him and loot the bodies and go towards the Dungeon. I am barely in and there’s a lot of action, Necromancers and Draugr, tonnes of them! I realise I am seriously under prepared for this and after I have gathered all I can from those I have killed thus far I head outside to go towards Morthal to stock up on potions and sell some loot.
I am over encumbered by about 30 but I decide it’s not that far and begin the slow walk. I don’t get far when who do I see in the distance? My Horse! I jump on and I am in Morthal in no time. I sell some stuff to Lami and go to start making potions but it says in the top left hand corner of the screen “You cannot use this while in combat” I think it’s a glitch at first but upon going outside I see an ominous shadow fly across the ground, A Dragon and it’s making short work of the guards. Flame Atronach and Fireballs galore and I get him in the end, tough fight though strongest Dragon yet, a Frost Dragon. Back into mix up some potions then I’ll set out for Ustengav once more.
36. Thane and all that.
I had not even headed into Whiterun when I was approached by a courier who had a letter for me from that Fire beard fella from Solitude. Since I had forgotten to go and accept my title as Thane of Morthal I decided it would do no harm to go back up there. It is also in full keeping with how I am playing the game at the moment, I really don’t mind trekking back and forth once you do it for a while you get used to it and life’s to short to allow silly things like a virtual walk to get me upset! ;) I head into Whiterun to sell and put stuff in storage then I get on my horse which is waiting at the stable and I am away back to Solitude again.
So I end up getting another quest involing Queen Potema, she wasn’t quite resurrected but she’s holed up in the Catacombs and I have to go deal with her. There are lots of Draugrs and Vampires, I hate Vampires! I am always careful fighting with them and tend to keep my distance for obvious reasons! I get killed a couple of times but keep going as my saves are not far back.
I really cannot leave stuff be! I get filled up and have to go out and sell a load of it then I come back and grab a lot of stuff in the first few rooms and corridors that I told myself upon entering I would get later and I am taking everything! Baskets and apples and goblets and carrots, the lot, it’s all gold! I go out and dump a load of stuff in the courtyard then keep going until I am full up again, same routine, out to the courtyard then back again. I think I am nearly at the end of The Catacombs before I came out I found a room full of dead Draugr and I could hear the Queens voice taunting me!
I enter a room where Potema is hovering in a large blue orb of light and immediately Draugr start coming out of their Coffins which are around the walls. This was by far the hardest thing I have experienced in this game thus far, it pushed me to the limit! I kept running around casting Atronach and laying Fire Runes but it’s really tough because shock spells were constantly being cast upon me which were depleting my magic. As if killing The Draugr was not enough the Queen begins resurrecting them after they’re dead and I get to fight them again! After a hell of a fight I must resort to arrows because I am all out of magic potions and when the last of them is done the orb and Potema vanish!
I go get her remains, a skull and head through a door which seems to take me out side, then out another door and I spy a Draugr Deathlord sitting on a throne, head bowed, I sneak an arrow at him but he gets up quickly and starts into and kills me! DAMMMMNNNNNN my last save was before the nightmare fight started! Here I go again!
So I end up getting another quest involing Queen Potema, she wasn’t quite resurrected but she’s holed up in the Catacombs and I have to go deal with her. There are lots of Draugrs and Vampires, I hate Vampires! I am always careful fighting with them and tend to keep my distance for obvious reasons! I get killed a couple of times but keep going as my saves are not far back.
I really cannot leave stuff be! I get filled up and have to go out and sell a load of it then I come back and grab a lot of stuff in the first few rooms and corridors that I told myself upon entering I would get later and I am taking everything! Baskets and apples and goblets and carrots, the lot, it’s all gold! I go out and dump a load of stuff in the courtyard then keep going until I am full up again, same routine, out to the courtyard then back again. I think I am nearly at the end of The Catacombs before I came out I found a room full of dead Draugr and I could hear the Queens voice taunting me!
I enter a room where Potema is hovering in a large blue orb of light and immediately Draugr start coming out of their Coffins which are around the walls. This was by far the hardest thing I have experienced in this game thus far, it pushed me to the limit! I kept running around casting Atronach and laying Fire Runes but it’s really tough because shock spells were constantly being cast upon me which were depleting my magic. As if killing The Draugr was not enough the Queen begins resurrecting them after they’re dead and I get to fight them again! After a hell of a fight I must resort to arrows because I am all out of magic potions and when the last of them is done the orb and Potema vanish!
I go get her remains, a skull and head through a door which seems to take me out side, then out another door and I spy a Draugr Deathlord sitting on a throne, head bowed, I sneak an arrow at him but he gets up quickly and starts into and kills me! DAMMMMNNNNNN my last save was before the nightmare fight started! Here I go again!
35. Benor's the man!
148 Hours 52 Minutes, 26785 Gold, Level 34, 999 Chests Looted, 23 Bunnies
I head to the Giants camp bringing Benor with me since he has been hanging around after clearing Vampire Lair and he’s one tough character, his axe strikes are deadly and he has a bow. The camp is pretty easy there’s one Giant in it, a few arrows and a Flame Atronach and with Benor’s help it’s done. I head down out the camp a short distance just to have a scout and find another Giant with Two Mammoths. Get the Giant quickly and one of the Mammoths with Fireball but end up getting chased back up into the camp by the other hairy elephant! Atronach and Fire rune and of course my companions help and that’s that.
When I get back to Morthal I say goodbye to Benor and I discover that the Giants camp wasn’t included in help for the people here so I stick around town and ask questions. Gorm asks me to take a letter to Solitude for him which I do. I am mindful of what way I went when I came through the Swamp from Solitude yesterday and I take a different route to gather more ingredients. In Solitude I buy up all the ingredients I can find, deliver the letter and head off. I remember at this point my horse is at Solitude stables so I go get it.
Heading back via the edge of the swamp I get ambushed by two Frostbite Spiders and when I dismount to fight them my horse gets spooked and runs off! These Spiders are tougher than I remember I am not sure if it’s this region or my level but they take a lot more work to kill! I can’t be bothered walking back to get the horse so I just keep going.
Much further down I find a pass through the mountains and I take it. A dragon comes down after a while, the first dragon I have seen in ages, but it’s very easy to kill. I firmly believe that Fast Travelling makes dragons spawn much more because I have seen hardly any on this play while there were tonnes of them before. Coming down the mountain heading towards the tundra and the view is amazing I can see Whiterun towering in the distance…
I head to the Giants camp bringing Benor with me since he has been hanging around after clearing Vampire Lair and he’s one tough character, his axe strikes are deadly and he has a bow. The camp is pretty easy there’s one Giant in it, a few arrows and a Flame Atronach and with Benor’s help it’s done. I head down out the camp a short distance just to have a scout and find another Giant with Two Mammoths. Get the Giant quickly and one of the Mammoths with Fireball but end up getting chased back up into the camp by the other hairy elephant! Atronach and Fire rune and of course my companions help and that’s that.
When I get back to Morthal I say goodbye to Benor and I discover that the Giants camp wasn’t included in help for the people here so I stick around town and ask questions. Gorm asks me to take a letter to Solitude for him which I do. I am mindful of what way I went when I came through the Swamp from Solitude yesterday and I take a different route to gather more ingredients. In Solitude I buy up all the ingredients I can find, deliver the letter and head off. I remember at this point my horse is at Solitude stables so I go get it.
Heading back via the edge of the swamp I get ambushed by two Frostbite Spiders and when I dismount to fight them my horse gets spooked and runs off! These Spiders are tougher than I remember I am not sure if it’s this region or my level but they take a lot more work to kill! I can’t be bothered walking back to get the horse so I just keep going.
Much further down I find a pass through the mountains and I take it. A dragon comes down after a while, the first dragon I have seen in ages, but it’s very easy to kill. I firmly believe that Fast Travelling makes dragons spawn much more because I have seen hardly any on this play while there were tonnes of them before. Coming down the mountain heading towards the tundra and the view is amazing I can see Whiterun towering in the distance…
34. Forgetfulness!
In the Blue Palace I lift everything and I mean everything that can be lifted, Baskets, Books Wood Bowls, Goblets, Paper, blah, blah, blah and I keep an eye on my gold before selling I end up nearly getting 1000 in gold from that tryst alone, that’s pretty good going consider there was so much I didn’t sell like ingredients and the odd potion. It never seems so much as you’re taking it all but items such as Bowls, Goblets and Candlesticks fairly bump the price up and since I have the 10% for selling to the opposite sex perk and a 12% Necklace I end up getting good prices.
I end up getting roped into the storyline about the burned down house in Morthal on the way back having once again spent some time in the swamps collecting ingredients. I find the ghost of the little girl and the story progresses to having to clear a Vampire lair located near the town. It’s not that difficult, I get help from some Villagers, but I do get right and close to some of the Vampires and I am not sure if I am going to start feeling strange when the sun comes up at some point!
The Jarl then offers to make me Thane and since I have already helped her people on two occasions I only need to do one more thing for her and since I had previously collected a bounty letter from The Inn I decide to go do that before heading back to Whiterun. So I set out immediately to clear Talking Stone Camp to kill the Giant there and part way there after killing a couple of Mudcrabs I get over encumbered, DAAAMMNNNN! Forgot to sell after all the loot I took at the Vampire lair, a serious amount of it as well, so I have to go back to Morthal to off load.
Then I’ll come back and finish up in Morthal before heading for Whiterun and seeing what I may do next…
I end up getting roped into the storyline about the burned down house in Morthal on the way back having once again spent some time in the swamps collecting ingredients. I find the ghost of the little girl and the story progresses to having to clear a Vampire lair located near the town. It’s not that difficult, I get help from some Villagers, but I do get right and close to some of the Vampires and I am not sure if I am going to start feeling strange when the sun comes up at some point!
The Jarl then offers to make me Thane and since I have already helped her people on two occasions I only need to do one more thing for her and since I had previously collected a bounty letter from The Inn I decide to go do that before heading back to Whiterun. So I set out immediately to clear Talking Stone Camp to kill the Giant there and part way there after killing a couple of Mudcrabs I get over encumbered, DAAAMMNNNN! Forgot to sell after all the loot I took at the Vampire lair, a serious amount of it as well, so I have to go back to Morthal to off load.
Then I’ll come back and finish up in Morthal before heading for Whiterun and seeing what I may do next…
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