4E201 - 17th of Last Seed - Tirdas

I woke up at six in the morning and started my way to Riverwood.

And as luck would have it, halfway to Riverwood I was attacked by a wolf. I was scared stiff at first, but then the beast lunged at me and I just started slashing at it with my iron sword and a few seconds later it was laying dead on the ground. When I finally willed my fingers to stop shaking, I stripped it of its hide and took a few of its organs - I knew that our resident Alchemist would be able to tell me what the ingredients were good for. She was a good sort like this and I actually liked Alchemy a lot. I've gotten into the habit of picking up flowers and catching butterflies to learn their usefulness in Alchemy. The thought of learning how to brew a potion that would help heal me always made me smile. And once I learned how to brew that, Arcadia taught me how to brew others.

Brewing and selling potions is also a very lucrative business if I ever decided to actually settle down. But at the moment I'm feeling very adventurous and have no plans on settling down yet.

It took me about three hours to walk to Riverwood, and I was pretty hungry by the time I reached the bridge.

I had forgotten to eat breakfast in my excitement of seeing my friends again. I ate some bread and cheese I put in my pockets before I left the house and crossed the bridge.

Stump saw me first and greeted me happily. I smiled at him and petted him before walking into the Riverwood Trader to say hello to my friend Camilla Valerius. Her brother Lucan is the owner of the shop.

When I walked in Camilla and Lucan were arguing about something. As it turned out, Lucan's golden claw was stolen and the robber took it to the Bleak Falls Barrow. I hated the place. It was rumoured to be full of draugr (some sort of undead beings). But this was also my first adventure and my friends needed my help, so I volunteered. Camilla escorted me to the bridge and we said our goodbyes. I really hoped I would see her again.

As I trudged up the path another wolf attacked me and this time I only flinched once as I killed it. I guess I was getting used to this.

Soon after that it started snowing. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath and tried to catch snowflakes with my tongue. And yes, I haven't grown out of this yet. I love snow!

I could also see a building in the distance and it made me worried.

I also realized how stupid I was to forget to make myself a shield as well when bandits attacked me as soon as I got into their view. One of the bandits had a hide shield and I decided to take it with me for now. I would make my own when I returned to Whiterun.

I also found out that the bandits killed some cute snow buntings as I went to check the top of the tower. How cruel were they? Suddenly I felt glad that I killed them. After looting the chest on the top of the tower I made my way to Bleak Falls Barrow. I was a lot more cautious this time because I didn't want to be caught unawares by bandits again.

And I was right to be cautious. There were bandits there too!

As I finally opened the doors to the Bleak Falls Temple, I was blind for a few seconds until my eyes got used to the dark. If every temple or dungeon I visited in the future was so dark, I'd better start bringing torches or lanterns with me, I decided.

Yeah. I really needed a torch or something. I couldn't see anything!

After I stumbled on vines at least ten times, I finally saw light up ahead. There was also a bandit standing in the middle of the room. I waited to see what he would do and was shocked to see him shot down by arrows as he pulled a lever. What was that all about?

It turned out to be a puzzle. I didn't dare touch the lever until I was sure I understood what was going on. Looking around the room I was in, I noticed three stones that after further inspection I was able to turn around. There were three motifs on them: a snake, a raven and a dolphin. Upon further observation of the room, I noticed that there were three stone tablets with the same symbols on them. If I thought about it logically, I would guess that the tablets showed me a pattern. I decided to replicate the pattern with the turning stones.

After taking a deep breath and preparing myself to run as fast as I could if I got the pattern wrong, I pulled the lever…

… and the doors opened.

I was lucky that the dead bandit had a torch in his hand, otherwise I would probably continue to stumble around in the dark.

After I killed some skeevers and continued on my way through the corridor, I heard someone yell out for help. I quickened my step and found that someone was caught in a spider's web with a huge spider jumping down from the ceiling just as I ran forward to let him out.

It was a freaking huge spider! I HATE SPIDERS!

After I finally defeated it, I could feel something change in me. (LEVEL UP! Increased HEALTH! Perk spent towards Light Armor).

I quickly went to cut the man in the spider web down, only to realize that I just set the robber of Lucan's golden claw free, and by Ysmir was he quick. I couldn't run that fast! I lagged behind him quiet a bit and then just as he reached a wide room, he was cut down by draugr right in front of my eyes. And then the three draugr turned their attention to me.

After I managed to kill them all, I went through the robber's pockets to find the golden claw and his journal. It turned out that the golden claw was some kind of a key. My adventure senses tingled. Should I return to Lucan with his claw or continue the adventure.

I have to tell you the truth, journal, the adventure won.

That excitement died down soon after I was attacked by three draugr and a restless draugr. For Talos's sake, why do restless draugr have magic?

The three draugr almost finished me off, but I managed to block enough of their attacks to kill them eventually.

I groaned as I saw what awaited me next. Really? Did it have to be swinging blades? Well, here goes nothing, I thought to myself as I ran as fast as I could the moment I saw an opening.

You won't believe the relief I felt when I managed to run through the obstacle without a scratch. And there were even more draugr to fight when I walked on. Was I ever going to come out of this dungeon alive? I really hoped I would.

I got another feeling as I killed the last draugr in the room. I was actually getting used to these feelings of mine. (LEVEL UP! Increased HEALTH! Perk spent towards Light Armor)

After killing one more draugr I came to the end the dungeon. I was lost for a few moments until I saw a chain next to bars that barred the way to a cave of some sort. After pulling the chain, the bars lifted and I was granted passage onward.

I found a skeleton of a dead person with two pickaxes lying next to him. I took one. I'm sure it won't be missed. There was also an iron ore vein next to it and I mined some ore. You never know when it will come in handy.

I went on and on and finally reached the doors to the inner sanctum. Of course, I had to fight a restless draugr before I was allowed to move on and I really did almost die then and there, but another feeling went through me and I felt my energy replenish itself. One last swing and the draugr went down. Only one door stood between me and progress now.

And of course, there had to be swinging blades again. What did I do to deserve this? I managed to run through them with one scratch. Lucky me. I could have been quartered. I was, of course, immediately attacked by three more draugr. Will it ever end? I was exhausted and I promised myself that if I ever came out of here alive I would go and sleep like the dead at the Sleeping Giant's Inn before going home for a well-deserved vacation.