82. Horse Collecting!

I buy myself a horse at Markarth and begin heading back but I don’t get too far. Just down the road a bit at Kolskeggr Mine three bandits come across the bridge at me just as a Dragon is descending. I double back and let them scrap it out but one is firing arrows at me and my horse disappears from beneath me! The dragon gets two of them and I fire two arrows at it to finish it off then another 4 or 5 arrows gets the last bandit.

I go back to Markarth to get another horse because I am putting together a collection of horses just outside Whiterun, there are four there at present (one stolen) and I am going to have as many as I possibly can there, just for the craic!

Once in Whiterun I buy and sell (per usual) and get ready to head for Windhelm. Nilsine Shatter-shield is in the Temple of Talos and she’s an easy kill. From There I head for Raldthbar (spelt wrong) which is in the mountians near Irkngthand (spelt right!) Alian Dufont is in this ruin with his bandit buddies and they’re pretty easy to be honest. So now I must take the long trek back to Markarth then onto the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary again.

I may have to take a break from Skyrim for a few days due to life getting in the way but I shall be back!

81. To Markarth.

341 Hours 52 Minutes, 358189 Gold, Level 56, 739 Food Eaten, 33 Bunnies!

I begin to head back to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary to continue those quests. I pack some potions to sell to Lucan along the way and make sure I have all my archery gear and my Carry 42 apparel. I get to Riverwood first and buy and sell then move on, I don’t stop in Falkreath on this occasion as I am wanting to get on with these quests.

In the Sanctuary I speak with Astid then go talk with Nazir to get payment. Astid gives me another contract up in Markarth and I decide that I am going to head straight up there and keep going. On the way I get into all sorts of scrapes. A necromancer attacks me a little North of the Sanctuary in a clearing, easy kill! On up I run into a gang of Bandits and an Orc Camp. Then Further a Breton with strong magic abilities attacks but dodging his fireballs while I squeeze off some arrows does the trick. At Markarth I find the travelling Khajiit caravan which is always good for the odd unexpected items and a haul of soul gems.

In Markarth city I come across a Vigilant of Stendaar who asks me to have his back while he checks an abandoned house for Deadra then Molag Bol ends up telling me to kill him because he’s weak! I then must do a quest for this prince of darkness. I also pick up a quest from Lisbet in the general store and I find that my next target for TDB is in Windhelm so it’ll be a long trek back there and I will do the other two quests I have just picked up on my way back here.

80. Contracts completed.

336 Hours 20 Minutes, 344336 Gold, Level 56, 166 Locations, 33 Bunnies!

I head for Dawnstar across the snowy plains after visiting Morthal and have a Dragon to contend with, a blood Dragon this time, easy peesy! The contract is in Dawnstar standing up beside the mine and I kill her with one arrow then nearly get arrested, but hey I am with the guild!

I then make my way back to Whiterun again to buy, sell and put stuff in storage then I am off to Ivarstead. I stop again on the way past Valtheim towers and take out a few of the bandits but I don’t bother going inside this time. The next contract is a beggar hanging out in wrecked shack, another easy kill, one ebony arrow to the head! The guards start coming after me but I just do a runner. I head back toward Valtheim Towers again then take a shortcut through the mountains just down the hill east of there because my next contract is at a campsite just up from Angas Mill, once more another easy kill.

I then make my way towards Whiterun but I check my encumbrance along the way and decide I could do with gathering more gear, Irkngthand is close by and there are loads of bandits there so I take on all the ones outside then begin again for Whiterun, stopping briefly at a Giants camp to take out him and a mammoth which completely fills me up!

My enchant skill is now up to 100 and I have enchanted a necklace, ring and gauntlets each with a carry capacity of 42, I am not sure if I can get higher, I assume I can because the potion I was using to enchant was only a 26% increase so I will have to check out how to make that more.

I will head for Whiterun now then onto the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary to continue with those quests…

79. First contracts to kill.

323 Hours 54 Minutes, 312835 Gold, Level 55, 164 Locations Discovered, 31 Bunnies!

After finishing up in the Shack out in the swamps I start heading for Morthal when I am done getting some Deathbells and Fungal pods. In Morthal I buy up ingredients and sell some stuff before making my way to Dawnstar. It’s important to do this, to travel around and gather ingredients through bartering and gathering, long term it means you’ll have a massive stock of stuff for alchemy which benefits both your longer term gold hoard and any potions you may need along the way.

After Dawnstar I begin heading for Whiterun on the way I find a crypt which I enter because a few bandits outside it attack me I find some there who says she was captured by the bandits and she’s looking for a sword which I will come back later to seek. Once in Whiterun I buy and sell then make up a load of potions as I am heading Riverwood direction. Same again in Riverwood old Lucan and his 10000 buying power! On the way to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary I stop of in Falkreath and a dragon comes swooping down, an ancient dragon, bit tough but I get there in the end and then begin heading to the Sanctuary again.

I now have to three contracts at once. I have to kill three different people. One at Dawnstar, one at Angas mill which is on the way to Windhelm and the other at Iverstead. I am making my way now to Dawnstar as it’s the furthest one away then I’ll decide what way to sort the others out afterwards.

78. Dark Brotherhood.

315 Hours 24 Minutes, 314836 Gold, Level 55, 247 Undead killed, 32 Bunnies!

I get to Windhelm and start on the Misc quests only to realise the one I have to start with is the beginning of the Dark Brotherhood quests but I decide to continue anyway and clear up the misc quests as I am going along if they’re close to where I am at the time.

The first one is killing Grelod the kind at an orphanage in Riften. I head down there right away and one arrow does the job. I kill and loot along the way as I normally do and find a horse I lost at some point earlier outside Riften so I take it to go back to Windhelm. When I get there I buy and sell then head for Whiterun completely forgetting that I have to go see the young lad who had performed the Black Sacrament to give me the beginning of the Dark Brotherhood quest so I have to trek all the way back there after putting stuff in storage and buying and selling.

I do what I must at Windhelm then begin heading back for Whiterun once again and when I get there a courier is waiting for me to deliver a message from the assassins. After a sleep I then wake up in shack out in the swamps with Astid giving me the chance to redeem myself by repaying the debt of the kill to the Dark Brotherhood. I am now able to access their sanctuary and undertake contracts with them.

77. Back to Whiterun.

308 Hours 38 Minutes, 299345 Gold, Level 55, 63 Quests, 31 Bunnies!

I make my way back to Whiterun by the Northern route from High Hrothgar then pass Valtheim Towers. When I get there I kill the Bandit outside and get sucked into firing arrows at the ones on the bridge and at the other side then I subsequently end up clearing the place. I am full of loot though so I leave a lot of stuff in a body and plan to get a horse at Whiterun and come back.

Before I get to Whiterun a Dragon comes down and I sort it pretty quickly before getting back to the city and jumping on one of my horses (two wait for me at Whiterun) and heading back up to get that loot. Just across the bridge I notice the Dragon I killed is gone but strangely when I pass the spot where its body was I still absorb it. I get all the gear and head back to town.

After selling and storing I head out onto the Tundra to get some more gear. I find two Mammoths then see another two in the distance and then one roaming alone. I cast fire on them and keep them all following close and direct them up to Silent Moons Camp where they make mince meat of the Bandits! I then get them to come in the direction of Fort Greymoor and they do the same again and surprisingly one of them even manages to get inside. Not long before I am full up so I go back to Whiterun again.

I decide to save at this point because I am going to try capturing a Dragon now but I am unsure if I will do it all right now, I would rather be much stronger. I begin and just as I had figured I think I will leave it until I am much better equipped.

I have decided to come back and start clearing the Misc quests in order of where they are on the list from bottom to top, unless there are two or three in the same place. That’s what I will focus on for now.

76. Peace conference.

304 Hours 15 Minutes, 235625 Gold, Level 53, 26 Standing Stones Found, 31 Bunnies!

I decide to head back to Falkreath again to sell some more and I happen to check the map at this point and notice that the Twilight Sepulchur is close by so I am going to go there and finish of with the thieves guild quest. I dump a load of stuff at Falkreath, heavy stuff like armour etc and head on.

On the way down I get attacked by a Blood Dragon which is not too difficult, Ebony Arrows do the job. I have had a lot more Dragon encounters recently for some reason.

When I get to the Sepluchur I go on in and meet Gallius then further inside there are a couple of Nightingale ghosts who are pretty tough. Further through I get to the main chamber and I hit a glitch. After speaking with Nocturnal she vanishes and there is nothing I can do after that there. I go back to an earlier save and try again. When I enter the final chamber I notice Karliah leaving and the same thing happens again. When Nocturnal leaves I cannot select magic or even draw my weapon. Further attempts and the same thing just keeps happening so I think I will have to just leave this for now. If anyone knows of this glitch could they please give me a shout!

I head back to Helgan then through the mountains past Haemers shame and on down to High Hrothgar encountering mostly bears along the way and arrive at the Monastery for the peace conference which goes well considering. Makes me think maybe we could have done with a Dragon or two while our inept politicians in Northern Ireland were negotiating peace years ago!

Delphine and Esbern seem to think that I will have to kill Paarthurnax but when I go to do that it doesn’t seem that I can. I fire arrows but he won’t die so I end up talking to him and he tells me bout a certain shout which I can use to call a Dragon.

I will head to Whiterun where I must begin setting a trap for the Dragon Odahviing.

75 Side tracked!

302 Hours 51 Minutes, 282885 Gold, Level 53, 194 Creatures Killed, 31 Bunnies!

I cannot go straight to High Hrothgar because I have a serious amount of Soul Gems and Smithing materials which I need to put into storage. The road back to Whiterun is thick with ingredients so I periodically have to drop heavier stuff and since I come this route pretty often I will able to pick them up later.

Nearer Whiterun at the Bandit camp that doesn’t show up on the map they have respawned and they’re a tough lot but I get them with a combination of Ebony arrows, Frost Atronach and Fire Runes then I can collect all their loot and take their horse (which keeps showing up as stolen but which I use often) back to the city. I sell a load of stuff and put stuff in storage before getting myself ready to head back to High Hrothgar AGAIN!

I make a load of potions to sell to Lucan in Riverwood because I can get 10k in one go from him then I go the other way round the mountain to High Hrothgar. On the way I pass Helgan which has long since been taken over by bandits so I go on in and take them on, using my shield which is a skill I have been neglecting of late. Easy pickings but now I am completely full up! The nearest town is Falkreath so I make my way there killing a few more Bandits on the way near Pinewatch.

I get into town and sell then on my way back up towards Helgan I run into a gang of Thalmor, 5 of them, a bit of a challenge but I get them in the end, those shock spells are tough on the magic! It isn’t long before I am completely full again with some more Bandits and all that Thalmor loot so I head back to Falkreath once more and then on my return again I run into another gang of 4 Bandits.

I will get to High Hrothgar one of these days!

74. High Hrothgar again and again and again!

295 Hours 47 Minutes, 260504 Gold, Level 53, 838956 Gold found, 31 Bunnies!

I get to Solitude and sort of the business with General thingymajig and do all my usual ingredient hunts and buying and selling before beginning to head towards Windhelm to get Ulfric to agree to the peace convention. I go to Morthal first and buy all the ingredients before making my way up to Dawnstar to do the same. On the way out of Morthal I get attacked by a dragon and then when I get up beside Dawnstar another one attacks, that is two in very close proximity and that has not happened in 295 hours of game play.

I then make my way from Dawnstar to Winterhold via the coast and as I have been doing on this route lately head through Saarthal because I can never find the back path up to the College! I take out a lot of Horkers and Sabre Cats along the way and wind up having to drop some stuff on the way between Saarthal and Winterhold because of encumbrance issues.

Once at Winterhold I go see Birna and do some selling and buying then it’s off up the road to Windhelm once more. Some Trolls and Ice Wraiths along the way and two Snow bears. I find when I get to Windhelm I have a bit of a problem, much earlier in the game I agreed to begin the quest to kill the Ice Wraith way up to the North of Winterhold at The Serpent Stone, I never did the quest. Now when I try to speak to Ulfric about talking to the Greybeards he won’t discuss it so I have to make my way North and finish the Wraith before I can continue.

Once I have that done the dialogue continues and I must again make my way to see the greybeards to continue with this quest! Off I go again on the long trek to High Hrothgar!

73. Ending the war?

290 Hours 15 Minutes, 248890 Gold, Level 53, Automatons Killed 46, 30 Bunnies!

I make my way to High Hrothgar once more, slowly because I am out soul hunting! I go around the other way this time, I always change my route to collect ingredients. Once there I learn that I must ask The Jarl of Windhelm and General whatyamacall’im to go there for a peace conference, I have not taken sides in the war yet so I am wondering if this will mean the conflict will end before it has really started.

I go to Whiterun briefly then head for Solitude first as it’s further out and I plan on going to Windhelm via the coast for ingredients and a change of scenery! On the way to Solitude I don’t get very far and I have to go back because I kill a couple of giants and 4 bandits, so it’s back for some barter and off again. I have my soul bow again and there are deer and Mudcrabs along the way, I also find a giant Mudcrab which is dead in a pool out on the Tundra, I hadn’t seen that before!

I end up with a load of gear to sell when I get to Solitude and I am tempted to stall at the swamp again but I push on as I want to get as far as I can with this quest in the next few days…

72. Back, back and fourth, fourth!

282 Hours 30 Minutes, 242649 Gold, Level 52, 321 Critical Attacks, 30 Bunnies!

I get to the top of the Mountain once more to the Throat of the World and read the Elder Scroll which transports me back in time where I learn the Dragonrend shout before ending up restored to my own time where Alduin appears. He is easy to get this time round. I use Dragonrend to make him come down to the ground then I use my bow with Ebony arrows and of course I have all my Archery apparel equipped. He flies of though and I must go and speak with either the main Greybeard or Esbern and since the Greybeards are close I do that. I am told I must get the Jarl of Whiterun to agree to imprison him in Dragonsreach just as Olaf one-eye did centuries ago.

I head back around the other side of the mountain just for a change of scenery and because there will be ingredients hopefully respawned. I was thinking about how often ingredients do respawn. There have been times I would have not been in an area for a very long time and when I go back there a lot of them have renewed but equally a lot haven’t. I wondered if anyone on the forum had any insight into how the developers of the game programmed this aspect.

I get back to Whiterun and do a little bit of alchemy because I have been neglecting it of late then I head to Dragonsreach to try and convince the Jarl to imprison a Dragon there only to be told I must talk to The Greybeards again! I am packing my Soul snare bow and empty soul gems for the walk back...

71. High Hrothgar once again.

275 Hours 32 Minutes, 225676 Gold, Level 52, 153 Locations, 28 Bunnies!

I head back to Mzulft to get me some Falmer blood and spend some time around the Eldergleam area winding up Giants and Mammoths and collecting ingredients. Once I get the blood I begin the trek back up North to SS’s outpost along the way run into another “battle” between Stormcloaks and Imperials, a thief, a crazy Argonian and some Snow bears. I do what’s needed and begin heading back, I need to go to The Throat of the world once more!

I leave my horse at Windhelm, it was a stolen one and by the time I get out again it’s gone but I was planning on walking down to High Hrothgar anyways as I have not been that way in a while and I know the ingredients along the way will have respawned.

I always get lost when I am coming around the mountain this way to approach High Hrothgar and this time is no different, it’s because the whole area is surrounded by different grades of hills that it constantly confuses me and I always have to resort to my map.

Once there I do a little buying and selling then head up the steep steps once more.

70. Blood of the Elves.

271 Hours 45 Minutes, 216844 Gold, Level 52, 138 Days Passed, 28 Bunnies!

I now have to go and harvest different types of Elf to make a facsimile of Dwarven blood to give to SS. I know a place where I can get all the blood types but I found out about it on my first time playing by cheating (searching the net!) so I decide that I am not going to go there for it. I need Orc, Wood Elf, High Elf, Dark Elf and Falmer I know loads of places where there are Falmer and the other races always end up as Mages and Bandits so a trip around various Forts and Dungeons will eventually get me what I need.

On the way back to Whiterun from Winterhold I take a wrong turn and end up at Irkngthand, luckily, there’s an Orc Bandit there so I am off to a good start, I kill another few Bandits and do some looting then I am on my way again.

Once at Whiterun I go put stuff in storage and then head up to Silent Moons camp to try my luck. I kill all the Bandits outside and one of them is a Wood Elf. I also end up riling a couple of Giants and some Mammoths and before I know it I am full to Capacity so it’s back to Whiterun.

Next I head to Fort Greymoor and clear it inside and out but there are no Elves there. I then go across to a place which I cannot remember the name of over on the way to Windhelm, it begins with K but there are no elves there either. A short distance to Silver drift lair and just inside there is a dead Dark Elf laying on an alter. I go on into the Dungeon and nearly get killed by a Draugr Deathlord so I leave after that and make my way up to Fellglow Keep. There are a few mages outside then I go on in and after getting nearly right through I find a High Elf so that leaves only Falmer, the easiest as there are loads of places I can find them.

When I come outside Fellglow there are two tough Vampires who end up killing my horse, a brilliant horse it was too one of the Brown and White ones that you get a brave sprint out of! I get the Vampires after a tough fight, they don’t like Frost Atronachs!!

So I will now head out to find me some Falmer and I’ll continue the mission from there…