Sundas, 7th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 201

  Well, we didn't make it back to Falkreath. We're camped out in a

  grassy area beneath the cave where we found Valdr, waiting for Valdimar

  and Erandur to come back.

  Lucky for us, the weather's been good all day, and with luck it'll continue.

  But this morning was rough, in more ways than one.

  First

  off, Lydia woke up with a headache that had her grumbling like the bear

  on her helmet. We all had breakfast, and while we ate I told them about

  the request from Thadgeir to deliver his friend's ashes to the Priest

  of Arkay. Erandur commented that he wanted to stop by the cemetery to

  pay his respects to the dead there, anyway.

  I also told them about

  Valga's request to look for Valdr and his people. It was on the way to

  the mine Siddgeir had asked us to clear out, so it didn't look like it

  would be much trouble.

  While Lydia waited for her headache to pass

  I took some time at the alchemy table in the corner of the Inn, and the

  guys got our supplies ready.

  Our first stop was the Hall of the

  Dead. The cemetery's not far from Dead Man's Drink, just down a path by

  the gate. As soon as you start down the road, the area fills with mist,

  and there's Deathbells and Nightshade everywhere. Even in the bright

  sunshine, it looked gloomy.

  There's several areas full of

  headstones, and to the right of the path is the Hall. The Hall of the

  Dead is just a small stone house, from the looks of it, but there's

  candles and a Shrine to Arkay outside the door.

  We passed a big

  man who we later learned was named Kust as we walked in. Runil, the

  Priest of Arkay, was standing amongst the headstones, holding a funeral

  by a little stone maker next to a worryingly small patch of disturbed

  earth. Two people were there, a man and a woman, and they looked

  distraught.

  We hung back, and listened as he finished his words.

  We gathered that it was the funeral of a little girl named Lavinia, and

  the people there were her parents.

  As they turned to leave, I had

  to say something, so I offered my condolences to them. Her father said

  he couldn't believe someone could do something like that, much less to a

  harmless little girl. I asked him what happened, and he said that a

  drifter named Sinding came through town looking for work. He seemed all

  right at first, but tore their daughter to shreds.

  He said they hardly had anything left of her to bury.

  They

  threw Sinding into "The Pit", whatever that was, while they decided

  what to do with him. He then excused himself to go tend to his wife.

  The others and I traded glances before we went to speak with Runil.

  Runil

  is an older Altmer, and he greeted us warmly when we approached him. He

  and Erandur bowed slightly to one another, and addressed each other as

  "Brother".

  I swear, all priests and priestesses of the Divines

  must have some sort of secret hand signal or something. I'll never

  figure out how they can just recognize Erandur as one of them.

  I

  told him why we'd come, and handed over Berit's ashes. He said he would

  tend to them, and gave me a bit of gold for my trouble. I asked him if

  he tends the place all by himself, and he said he was far too old for

  that. Kust is his assistant and tends the grounds, while he takes care

  of the funerals and such. They both live in the Hall.

  Runil is the

  talkative type, and he soon started to chat with Erandur. While they

  spoke, I took a second to wander through the graves. There's not much

  interesting aside from rows of markers and flowers - Kust does a good

  job - but there's a section out back of the Hall of the Dead with graves

  that look Ancient. I actually felt a bit of a chill looking at those,

  and realized that Septim hadn't joined me back there.

  Smart boy!

  I rejoined the others and we left Falkreath to go look for Valdr and his hunting party.

  We

  headed north, and could see a tower not far from the town. It looked

  like a watchtower, and I wanted to go up to get a better view of the

  landscape and see if there was a good route for us to take.

  We

  followed the road to the tower, and there was a skeleton right by where

  the path to the tower breaks off from the road. A pair of Vigilants just

  happened to be passing by, and they quickly took care of it.

  I saw them exchange nods with Erandur as they moved on.

  Seriously, how can they tell?

  Anyway,

  turns out there was a necromancer camped out on top of the tower, and

  she was a tough one, too! She had some nice soul gems on her, though.

  The

  view from up there is wonderful, and I could see that going overland to

  where Valga had indicated would be pretty easy. The others agreed, and

  we were on our way.

  The hike was easy, with only the occasional

  interruption from a bear or wolf as we walked. We couldn't help but talk

  about what we'd heard at the cemetery about that poor girl. How could a

  person tear someone else apart? That sounded like something a bear

  would do, and even her own father had compared the scene to a sabercat

  slaughtering a deer. Why would they blame that Sinding fella and not an

  animal? Was it in broad daylight? If so, why would he do that?

  We had too many questions for it to make any sense. We'll look into it once we get back to Falkreath.

  It

  wasn't long until we found the road again, along with a mill. The

  worker we spoke with said there were hunters nearby, and pointed us to a

  bit of smoke coming over a rocky outcrop nor far on the other side of

  the road.

  The smoke came from a shack in a stand of trees, and

  there were two hunters outside, cooking and cleaning pelts. They weren't

  Valdr, or part of his crew, but they said they saw three people pass by

  not too long ago, and gestured to a small path that followed the rocks.

  We

  followed the path, and soon heard a voice weakly calling for help. We

  rushed towards it, and found a big man sitting on a log by a cave. He

  was covered in blood and holding his hands over a nasty wound in his

  gut.

  It was Valdr, and he said they were attacked by Spriggans. He

  was obviously near death, and he asked us to help him. The words were

  barely out of his mouth before Erandur and I both started Healing him,

  and he was soon looking a little more healthy.

  He told us how

  they'd tracked the bear to the cave when three Spriggans jumped them. He

  managed to escape but his friends, Ari and Niels, weren't so lucky.

  He said he had to give them a proper burial, and asked us to help him clear out the Spriggans so he could retrieve their bodies.

  Considering

  that it looked like there was more of Valdr's blood on the ground than

  in his veins, Erandur forbade him from even standing for a while. I

  assured him that we'd take care of the Spriggans for him. Luckily, Valdr

  still had his pack on him with his supplies, so Erandur told him to

  just sit there and eat something to get his strength back.

  I

  promised we'd be back soon, and he was very grateful that I'd do

  something like this for a stranger. Lydia smiled and said that I did

  that a lot, before we all went into the cave.

  The first part of

  the cavern is long and narrow, with little ledges you can walk along on

  either side. We found a dead woman, Ari, not far from the entrance like

  Valdr said we would.

  What he DIDN'T tell us about were the bear traps! I think I found all of them the hard way, dammit!

  I'm gonna need new pants after this.

  Of

  course the bear they were tracking ran up on us while Valdimar was

  helping me get my boot out of a trap, followed quickly by a Spriggan.

  You

  know, I think Spriggans are pretty to look at, like a Flame Atronach,

  but that buzzing sound they make, like a thousand angry bees, never

  fails to set my teeth on edge. Makes me nervous just thinking about it!

  At least they're not actually full of bees. That would be a pain in the ass to fight!

  Septim

  and Lydia tackled the bear, while us mages lit the Spriggan on fire.

  They go up like a pile of kindling, and I summoned a Flame Atronach

  ahead of us to see if I could lure out another one.

  The next part

  of the cave is beautiful! There's a break in the ceiling that lets the

  sun in, and it's like a little forest grove in there, complete with a

  clear spring.

  Honestly I don't know why we didn't just camp in there.

  Anyway,

  we found the other two Spriggans, and while one was of the normal type

  you see, the other one was wicked-looking! Like an evil thicket come to

  life! She did a lot of damage to me, too. I had to down quite a few

  healing potions, but in the end, we got her.

  Septim snapped off

  one of its… Antlers? Branches? It seems like normal wood now that it's

  dead, so I think it's okay for him to be chewing on it.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Oh, well. He's happy!

  Anyway,

  once we'd taken care of the Spriggans, I took the opportunity to search

  the cave. There's a bunch of different types of mushrooms in there,

  along with a lot of other alchemy ingredients.

  I also found another bear trap.

  At least Septim didn't find it, first.

  Oh,

  and I found not one, but two chests! One's in the back part, and is the

  bigger, fancier type of chest that you see, and the second is a regular

  one. It's really well-hidden on a ledge near the entrance. I walked

  past that one several times before I found it. I would've missed it

  entirely if I hadn't jumped up there to look for more mushrooms.

  Both had good loot, including some scrolls and enchanted weapons.

  When

  I was done, we went outside, and Valdr was standing there, waiting for

  us. He looked a lot better, and thanked us for helping him. He gave me

  his lucky dagger as payment. We said we could help him more if he

  wanted, and Erandur offered to at least say some words over the unlucky

  pair inside.

  Valdr started to refuse, but swayed a bit on his

  feet. He was still a little off from losing all that blood, and said

  he'd appreciate that. There's a clear spot just down the hillside, and

  since my leg's bothering me from stepping in all those traps Lydia and I

  said we'd make camp there.

  She and Septim kept an eye on me while the other two took care of things in the cave with Valdr.

  Valdimar

  and Erandur came back not too long ago, and said that Valdr had left to

  camp with the other hunters we met earlier. Erandur checked over my

  shin, and said there's no real damage there to Heal. It's mostly the

  bruising that has to fade, and the ache of getting caught in those iron

  jaws. He said so long as I keep it up on something it should be fine by

  morning.

  I hate those things. I swear, I always get caught in them.

  Valdimar joked that we should call them Bronwen Traps, instead!

  Maybe he's right!

  That got us joking about what sort of bait we'd put in traps to catch each other, so here's the list:

  Me

  - Lydia would put Wine, Erandur would put a new journal, and Valdimar

  would put in an empty box with a closed lid. Valdimar wins.

  Lydia -

  I would put in an Ebony greatsword, Erandur would put in a new

  whetstone, and Valdimar would put in a book on fighting techniques.

  Valdimar wins.

  Erandur - I would put in some warm tea, Lydia would

  put in a book on the saints, and Valdimar would put in some fur

  blankets. Valdimar wins.

  Valdimar - We all agreed that a book on

  Dwarves he hasn't read yet would do it, and he said if we tossed in some

  good mead, he'd set the trap himself!

  Septim - Nothing. He's too smart for it. He's never once set off any kind of trap.

  Anyway,

  my watch is almost over, and I need to figure out a comfortable way to

  put my foot up while I sleep. Tomorrow we clear out some bandits, and

  hopefully end up back in Falkreath before nightfall!

  Morndas, 8th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 201

  I really must be insane.

  I'm not even finished with one house and I've bought land to start another.

  I mean, I have the gold, so… Why not?

  Anyway,

  I ended up resting my foot on top of Septim, and the sweet boy stayed

  put all night long! When I woke up this morning my foot and ankle felt

  better, if bruised. Erandur said it'll be fine in a few days.

  It

  took a minute to find Bilegulch Mine. There was a path, but it was

  overgrown in spots and I don't think I would've seen it if I hadn't been

  looking for it. The bandits there weren't much trouble, but they had a

  nice amount of loot, including the Ebony boots I needed to complete

  Lydia's armor set!

  I was so busy sorting through things I actually

  didn't notice until we got back here to trade with Lod, but I'll write

  about that when I get to it.

  There were three bandits in a walled

  encampment outside the mine, along with a few chests and a full smithy,

  including a smelter. We found their chief in the mine itself. We were

  ready for a ton more of them, but the mine isn't very deep. It wasn't

  even noon by the time we'd cleared the place out, so I took time to mine

  some orichalcum and use the smelter on our way out.

  We headed

  back to Falkreath the way we came, but I couldn't find the path again. I

  decided to follow the side of the rock wall, and eventually found a

  break in the stone.

  Yeah, I know, I know. That usually leads to a cliff or something, but this time it really was a way over the ridge!

  Of course, directly on the other side of the gap was a tower with three bandits in it!

  They

  weren't any trouble at all - Septim killed their archer all on his own -

  but they had a decent amount of goods! They had some gold and their

  armor, of course, but they also had a little treasure room at the bottom

  of the tower, with some nice potions and gems in there, too. Aside from

  that, we mostly found food. We took what we could carry, and kept

  going.

  We kept heading towards Falkreath, and I heard some

  nirnroot chiming nearby. I could see a spring through the trees, so I

  went over to pick it and found more Spriggans! What fun.

  At least

  they were the normal type of Spriggans. Not like that one scary-looking

  one back at Valdr's cave. Once they were gone, I got the nirnroot and

  took a look at the spring. The Spriggans must have been guarding it,

  because there's some ancient-looking stones rising out of the water. I

  was about to fill my waterskins when Valdimar stopped me and said that

  wouldn't be a good idea.

  He pointed to what I thought was a rock

  in the middle of the spring. It was the body of an alchemist laying on

  an altar table, halfway out of the water. I went to investigate and he

  had some ingredients on him, along with an alchemy book. I flipped

  through it, and I'm excited to read some more later. Erandur's read it

  already, and says it's a good one.

  As we left the spring, we heard

  a noise and saw a mage and Khajiit woman run out of a stand of trees,

  attacking a deer. I figured they were just hunting, but once the deer

  went down the mage turned his attention to us and attacked! The lady ran

  up to us, too, and I realized that she was actually a zombie!

  We

  fought the necromancer and his "friend", but it wasn't that much of a

  fight, really. He wasn't very strong. I looked back the way he'd come,

  and saw candlelight, and a gathering of thick mist past the trees.

  I

  just had to see what it was, and I'm half-glad I did. There was an…

  Altar? I think? I'm not sure how to describe it. It was some sort of

  magic thing - maybe a workstation - made with smaller stones piled

  around a few bigger ones, covered in blood and bones. The whole thing

  reminded me a bit of the Butcher's secret room.

  Erandur clutched

  at his chest while he looked over the blood smears, and muttered

  something about Dark Magic to Valdimar, who just nodded. Lydia stood

  back like she usually does when there's lots of magic involved. She's

  used to magic, but still gives it a bit of a wide berth.

  It wasn't

  an entire waste of time, though. I found a small pack of alchemy

  ingredients, along with another useful book and a spell tome of Lesser

  Bound Cloak.

  We kept going in the general direction of Falkreath.

  Lod wasn't kidding when he said the place was mostly wilderness. Lots of

  thick woods, craggy rocks and little hollows and rises. It's easy to

  get turned around! Septim's loving it, though. He's just chasing rabbits

  and snuffling in all the little holes and stuff.

  We knew we must

  be getting close as the light faded, bu there was still no sign of the

  place. Eventually I could hear the mill, so we followed the sound and

  came out in the cemetery. We decided to head to the forge to sell what

  we could before Lod closed for the night.

  That's when I realized that I had a full set of Ebony armor to give to Lydia.

  I

  turned to Lydia and asked her to take off her armor so I could sell it.

  She was confused, but started to hand me things. When she got out of

  her cuirass, she asked what she was supposed to wear, instead.

  Valdimar

  and Erandur were right there, and they did a good job acting casual

  while they helped her out of her old set. I told them last night about

  the little surprise I'd been gathering for Lydia.

  I would pay a thousand septims for a drawing of her face when I handed her the Ebony set.

  When

  she could talk again she asked where I'd found it, and I told her how

  I'd been gathering pieces here and there for her. Today I found the

  boots I needed to complete the set!

  She asked if I'd bought any of

  it, and I confessed that I had. She scolded me a little for spending so

  much money on her, but I told her she was more than worth it! Besides,

  I'd found half of it, anyway.

  She immediately put it on, and Lod

  came over to fit it. He's not done much with Ebony - not much call for

  it out here - but he knows how to work it.

  If you've never seen

  Ebony armor, just know that's it's beautiful. It's black and sleek like a

  raven, with sharp edges like knives and silver engraving. Once we got

  her all settled in it, we couldn't help but stare. She looks as elegant

  as she does deadly. Lod whistled, and told her to wait right there. He

  came back with a big piece of polished steel, and propped it up on a

  crate as a mirror.

  Lod was pointing out certain things, like how

  the parts hinge together, and what parts were more prone to wear and

  tear compared to her old set. She turned and looked at herself the way

  Dru or I would trying on a dress. I think she feels pretty in it!

  I

  was standing with Valdimar and Erandur off to the side, and Erandur

  leaned over to whisper to us, "Am I mad for thinking this is adorable?"

  Valdimar coughed to hide a laugh and said if he was mad for thinking that, then so was he.

  I said that no, they're right, she's cute.

  In her own terrifying, blood-soaked way.

  Soon

  she was satisfied, and I finished selling off the rest of the armor and

  weapons we'd gathered. As we went across the street to talk to

  Siddgeir, I asked if she wanted to stay outside, or go in?

  Lydia came with us this time. Ebony helms are closed, so Siddgeir can't see her face.

  She

  said to me the other night that while Siddgeir left her alone at the

  party after she punched him, it didn't stop him. He clearly has a thing

  for her, and he sent a few letters to the barracks begging her

  forgiveness and to give him another chance.

  I asked what she did with the letters, and she said she gave them to her sister.

  Politics may not be her strongest skill, but the girl knows how it works!

  Siddgeir

  was pleased to hear that I'd taken care of the bandits, and said he

  liked me. I was good to have around, so he declared that I could buy

  property within his hold! He even offered to make me a Thane in the

  future, once I've become more known around Falkreath.

  I don't know

  about being one of his people, but I'll take another house, please and

  thank you! I went to talk with Nenya, his steward, and she said that

  there was property for sale I could build on.

  I asked how much, and handed over the 5000 septims she asked for.

  She

  gave me the charter and showed me on my map where to find the plot.

  It's back the way we first approached the town, past the cabin/bandit

  hideout. I learned it's called Pinewatch.

  I thanked Siddgeir for his generous offer, then left. As soon as we were out, the others asked if I was insane.

  Yeah, I think I am.

  Besides,

  I said, it would be good to have another place. I'm not planning on

  making it huge like Windstad Manor. Being so close to so many things, it

  makes sense to have that as our main house. There's not much out here,

  far as I know, so all we really need is somewhere to sleep and store

  things.

  If it's in a nice spot, I might bring the kids out here to

  live. There's a lot of wild animals around, not to mention Siddgeir's

  laziness, but Nenya knows what she's doing.

  Maybe I could add more bedrooms and bring them here just to get away every now and again. Use it like a vacation home!

  By the Nine! Me with a vacation home?!

  A SPARE house. One I don't actually Need.

  I

  mean, Breezehome is nice but small. It barely holds the four of us, but

  it gives us a place to sleep without having to rent rooms at the

  Bannered Mare.

  Dru, wherever you are, I hope you're doing as well as I am.

  Anyway,

  we're in Dead Man's Drink. Valga told us that Valdr made it back all

  right when I went to get us rooms, so that's good to know.

  It's

  lively in here tonight. There's another party of adventurers here, and

  we spent some time trading stories and drinking together earlier. The

  big gossip is the murder, of course.

  I want to see this killer for

  myself before we leave tomorrow. I heard The Pit is a cell in the

  guard's barracks, so we can check it out on our way to the gate.

  Right

  now, Erandur's talking with Runil while Valdimar washes up in their

  room. Lydia's doing maintenance on her new armor. Both she and it need a

  good cleaning, so she's got it all laid out on the floor in our room

  and is taking care of that. Septim's under my chair, chewing on another

  piece of spriggan he grabbed earlier.

  In all, it's been a good

  day. I didn't get us too lost, we made some gold, and soon we'll be back

  in Whiterun to hand Nettlebane to Danica.

  I love the idea of the priests and priestesses treating

  each other like one big fmaily, despite the fact that they serve

  different Divines. It would be like meeting cousins from far away.

  And

  yes, for the record, Bronwen ALWAYS find bear traps with her feet. I

  think I can count the times I've dodged them on one hand, even the ones I

  stepped over on purpose. I've stepped in traps in real life - Not the

  toothed bear ones, but the smaller ones without teeth - and it SUCKS.

  EVERY - DAMN - TIME. At least grandpa's cows didn't find them, first.

  Anyway,

  can't you picture Lydia spinning around and looking all delighted and

  cute in her new armor? I feel like that scene needs to go in the "Draw

  It!" pile.