Skyrim without fast travel

85. More Dark Brotherhood quests!

2012-04-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

I kill Lurbuk in Morthal then head east out of the place getting chased by guards a few of whom I kill. I am heading for Whiterun once again via Labyrathian. I sort all my gear out and buy and sell in Whiterun before heading back to The Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary. Once there I get the quest to go see Amaund Motierre who is in ruins called Volunruud which is not that far from Whiterun.

It has been quite a while since I have confronted any Draugr and those Deathlords are still pretty tough. I go through the ruins and come across a quest to find ceremonial weapons which will be used to open one of the doors in there. I fill up on gear so I leave and put some in a chest outside before going back to Whiterun for my horse and I sell a load while I am there.

When I get back I find Amaund and he gives me the news that I must kill the Emperor. I take this news back to Astrid but she needs time to think about it and in the mean time she tells me I should go see Delvin Malory who is my thieves guild buddy down in Riften. I walk down to Riften as I have not been down there in quite a while and there are probably lots of ingredients and encounters along the way.

I get there and sort out the business with Delvin then buy another horse and start my journey back. A brief stop at Whiterun then I am off back to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary where something strange happens. When I get inside the whole place seems to be coming apart, from the point of view of the structure and graphics of it. If I go from one room into another I end up falling through “space” and have great difficulty getting back to the rooms I need to. I go back to an earlier save and just go see Astrid in the first room so I don’t have to deal with any of the rest of it for now but I am worried that if it stays this way I will not be able to continue because trying to navigate around the place will become impossible.

I have a mission for now to kill the Bride at a wedding in Solitude so I will go and do that.

84. Dark Brotherhood continued...

2012-04-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

355 Hours 48 Minutes, 378814 Gold, Level 57, 212 Creatures Killed, 33 Bunnies.

I hide in the Night mothers chamber and she ends up speaking to me because I am the listener as it happens. She tells me to go and see some boyo but Astid needs time to think about it so she tells me to go get some contracts from Nazir. He has two contracts One is to Kill a vampire and his girlfriend (also a vampire, really!) at Half Moon Mill and the other is at Morthal.

Half Moon Mill is not that far away and it is more or less on the way to Morthal. These two are very easy I cast flame on the Girl as she’s standing outside after dark and then I cast Frost Atronach who’s pretty strong. The male Vampire then comes along and do a fire rune as I run (don’t get to close to them vampires) and another Frost Atronach, job done. I end up veering west for some reason and wind up in a clearing where there are three bandits. I get the first two easy enough but the third is an archer and he’s hitting me hard I keep my distance and wind up running into an arch conjurer who happens to be nearby, he then ends up killing the archer for me but he proves very hard to kill but I get there in the end albeit having used a lot of potions. I wait until light to make sure I have found and looted all the bodies in the area.

While searching around for bodies I get sidetracked very briefly and wind up finding Bannermist tower which is close by, first I know of it is the mistakable phrase “Well ain’t this a surprise?!” I kill two Bandits who leave me over encumbered but I quickly go into my apparel and put on my three pieces of “Carry 42” gear which leave me good to go once more. I begin running now because there is not that much room for anything else. I decide to visit Rorikstead first and least get rid of a few items which are heavy. Then I am off again through the Mountains. I encounter another load of Bandits on the way and am very soon well over my weight once more. Another encounter close to Morthal is quickly avoided because I must go and get rid of all this stuff before killing my quarry and continuing…

83. Catching Cicero out.

2012-04-02T17:27:00.001-07:00

I head out for Markarth once more after doing all my routine tasks like buying, selling and storing in Whiterun. I don’t time the trek to Markarth but I would say it takes me under 5 minutes sprinting and walking, makes me wonder what all the fuss was with this journey from the whiners who so love fast travel. Once in Markarth I do what I must then buy and sell and start out for the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary. I head a way I have never went before through the mountains and end up at Dushnikh Yal, from the distance I am at I think it’s a Bandit or Forsworn camp and I can see one person standing guard on the Battlements so I fire off an arrow only to find 3 or 4 Orcs coming out to greet me! I kill them pretty easily and when I go inside there are still two of them who don’t attack me working at the Forge.

Out of nowhere come a few Bandits who the Orcs help me kill then I am on my way again sticking to the Mountain route when I chance upon a Forsworn camp just as it is being attacked by some Stormcloak soldiers. I kill the remaining Forsworn and fill up on loot so I have to go back to Markarth to sell a load of it (I leave nothing lying around!)

I continue South after I am done up at Markarth and get attacked by some hunters without provocation, first time that has happened. Then there’s the usual random encounters, some Bears, wolves and out in the Wilds I find a Dog who is alone and has just killed some Skeevers, I heal it and move on. Once back at the Sanctuary Astid asks me to hide in The Night Mothers chamber to find out what Cicero is at. I cannot get rid of Cicero quick enough he has some good Apparel on him.

82. Horse Collecting!

2012-03-26T17:15:00.001-07:00

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.

2012-03-25T15:37:00.001-07:00

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.

2012-03-22T13:11:00.001-07:00

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.

2012-03-19T16:42:00.001-07:00

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.

2012-03-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

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.

2012-03-14T07:31:00.001-07:00

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.

2012-03-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

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!

2012-03-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

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!

2012-03-10T20:25:00.001-08:00

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?

2012-03-10T10:43:00.001-08:00

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!

2012-03-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

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.

2012-03-04T18:27:00.001-08:00

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.

2012-03-01T18:15:00.001-08:00

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…

69. Blackreach and Beyond.

2012-02-29T19:08:00.000-08:00

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…

68. Closing The Rupture.

2012-02-29T07:18:00.001-08:00

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

67. The Throat of the World.

2012-02-27T05:01:00.001-08:00

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…

66. To Karthspire.

2012-02-23T04:13:00.000-08:00

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.

65. Esbern.

2012-02-21T23:44:00.000-08:00

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.

64. Heading for Riften.

2012-02-20T18:01:00.001-08:00

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…

63. The Thalmor Embassy.

2012-02-18T21:39:00.000-08:00

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

62. Side Tracked.

2012-02-17T10:16:00.001-08:00

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.

61. The Magic Horse!

2012-02-17T05:34:00.001-08:00

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!