Ugh; getting out of bed has never been so difficult. At least it was a dreamless night.
I somehow manage to get up, and we are soon trotting down the road and across the Dragon Bridge. Past the next bridge, we pass a pair of farmers who seem to be in a big hurry to get somewhere northwards then jog through the bandit camp, which is still empty, luckily. The noisy crickets finally shut up as we reach the 'ambush crossroads', and yet more nothing happens once we reach Rorikstead.
I'm starting to feel like everything is avoiding us. Not that I mind; it's good to be back to being amongst a more recent civilisation. I guess I was hoping for a bit more noise; for something major to have happened while I was gone. Still, it's a good 'grounder', as it were; a reminder that the world can cope without me.
A way ahead of us I spot a giant, who seems to be escorting a cow, so I take a large detour around it – I've slain enough giants to suit me a lifetime. We re-join the road where the wandering bard stands, grinning to himself about something. I don't really trust the guy.
A mercenary nods to us as we go past the road towards the Reach, and a trio of Imperial soldiers escorting a prisoner emerge from the road to Falkreath as we reach that
Nearby, one of the Khajiit caravaners waits for his companions to catch up, so I take the opportunity to sell off some of my excess stuff before continuing down the road. I am almost hoping for something to attack us now.
My wish is fulfilled moments later when an assassin bursts out of the sparse undergrowth ahead and roars towards us. I Shout, bathing the lizard in fire, then charge to meet her, swinging my own blade. The battle is short but definitely not sweet, and we are soon on our way leaving the corpse to the scavengers.
I can see the Western Watchtower to our right, so I lead Serana on a shortcut across the tundra towards it. Sure, we won't really be saving that much time, but still. We probably won't get to Fort Dawnguard before sunset anyway.
A Bosmer is hanging around the road just outside the watchtower, obviously off his head on skooma, and I wonder why the guards aren't doing anything about him. Ah well; nothing I can do either.
Instead of heading up into Whiterun I head past and down the road to Riverwood – I have quite the collection of keepsakes now. A wolf attacks us as we pass the nearest point the path up to the Barrow takes, and swiftly slaying the lone beast, we head on and into the Sleeping Giant.
I'm not so bothered with trying to keep the basement secret anymore – the sliding door makes such a racket anyway; I'd be surprised if no-one knew about it by now. Besides, it would be a bit suss if someone kept disappearing into Delphine's old room for minutes on end, especially if someone was to check and find no-one there.
I unload all the things I want to keep into the chest – I need to find somewhere else to keep it really, maybe I'll talk to Jarl Siddgeir next time I'm in Falkreath – then head next door to the Trader and sell the rest of my loot, using the money to buy the Clairvoyance and Oakflesh spell books I spot on the shelf behind him. Coin well spent, in my opinion. I've always been a bit of a hoarder, whether it be physical items or knowledge, and I now have the urge to run around Skyrim visiting each and every mage to make sure I know every spell possible.
I make do with the two I have, and learn them as we trot back northwards. I'm not really taking that much notice of where I'm going – I'm not even thinking of anything in particular – so it comes as a bit of a surprise when I look down to see why my feet are getting wet and find myself standing in the river near Ivarstead with a troll tramping towards us.
My sword is out in a flash, and I Shout as precedence to our attack, causing the troll to coil back as I slash my sword at its head. It barely has time to counter, and it is soon an ex-troll floating towards the opposite bank.
I am, for some reason, unwilling to go through Ivarstead, so I instead head down the track beside the river. The trail twists and turns down the hill and meets the road around the edge of Eastmarch. Not quite where I expected to end up – ah well. I remember now; I took this trail when I went to High Hrothgar the first time.
We follow the road towards the Rift, joining the trail towards the cave I found the enchanted hunting bow in when we encounter it, then heading cross-country when the track fades out into the undergrowth.
We end up blundering into a bear – this is why I don't travel cross-country – and so end up slaughtering the beast. Still, the pelt should make for good money. Or leather; depends on what I decide to do with it. I do enjoy creating things like armour and jewellery though…
Trotting around Fort Greenwall, we join the road again and head up towards Riften, between the three watchtowers then around the rotting city.
We reach the canyon trail to the fort as the sun sets behind us, the stars slowly peeking out to light our way through the palisade and into the great stone castle.
Isran is waiting for us in the entry hall, so I make a great show of being tired and head to the forge instead – he won't know it is I who works the hammer!
An enchanting table and alchemy lab are nearby too, so a couple of hours later I'm heading towards the cots with a whole load of new bracers and potions, and many improved weapons. I'll sell them to Gunmar and Sabine in the morning.