An Orc in Skyrim - A Skyrim AAR

[Chirurgeon]

4th of Morning Star

Sleep was hard coming in such a cold area. Gorbakh complained and so did I. With all the pelts we had acquired it just made sense to do more with them to help us. One of the things I did when I got back to Riften was to make a rudimentary tent kit. It could be rolled up and only needed basic sticks to keep it upright. I used many pelts to create it but when it was done it was quite functional. With the remaining Snow bear pelts we had, which were incredibly warm, I crafted a cloak for Gorbakh. This was not just a fashion statement, although Gorbakh loved how it matched her armor and backpack, rather it was functional. It could be used as a shield against the weather and additional insulation when sleeping. It was like having a portable blanket that was stylish. When I had enough cave bear pelts I aimed to make my own. It would need to be dark since my armor was dark. Part of our success as a team was me being able to hide in the shadows.









I spent the rest of the morning doing various other things around town including potions and enchanting and then decided to head out. Gorbakh would not stop talking about her new cloak. I smiled to myself when she said I knew the way to a woman’s heart. We pressed on along the lake and put down a few foxes. We kept moving until we got to the mill where Grosta the nord worked. Her husband had gone missing and Gorbakh and I had found his body in that bandit cave a few days ago. She was devastated but relieved that he was not being unfaithful. She asked if his death was quick. I lied since it looked like he had been shot with half a dozen arrows from close range. She did not need to know that. She gave me his hunting bow in return for what I had done. I apologized again and we walked away. The last thing I heard was her calling to her son to deliver the bad news.







Ahead of us was a lovely buck that we put down and then gathered up its hide and meat. The stronghold would benefit greatly from such a bounty. We kept working our way towards the Ivarstead area. Found several nests of pine thrush and collected the eggs. Killed our second deer of the day as well.



We headed up a small embankment on the way to an area along the mountains that might have some bandits. That is when I heard a bear rooting around in the underbrush looking for berries and other things. He didn’t see us and we were able to sneak up. I hit him with a poison heavy tipped steel arrow and he did not like that one bit. Enraged he locked on to Gorbakh who endured a few blows from the beast and then she put it down. Striped its carcass of the hide and took the claws as well. Gorbakh looked at me and said something about me being one step closer to my own cloak. I smiled and we moved on.





In front of us was an old ruin. Its steps were steep and it climbed up into the snowy region. Clouds were moving in and it was late afternoon. Hopefully whatever was in there would not take long to get rid of.








The inhabitants made their mystery perfectly clear when they charged down and attacked us. Two bandits started attacking us. Working together we were able to put them down as a team. A third bandit was taunting us from one of the towers. I advanced cautiously as to assume a trap. Halfway up the tower the chieftain charged down and attacked us. Wielding a massive steel sword he swung it ferociously. Quick footwork and ducking avoided my head from being taken clean off. I shoved him before he could swing again and he fell over the edge to fall some 20 feet. I heard a cracking sound and a howl and knew that at least one of his legs was broken.







Gorbakh met him with her sword and despite being wounded managed to hit her with an attack so hard she went backwards and his blade smashed into the floor sending sparks flying. Offbalance I knew Gorbakh was vulnerable and after such an intense swing so was he. I smashed into him with full fury sending his broken body across the floor, his big sword clanged noisily as he dropped it on the hard stone.





Gorbakh bent over to get her breath and shake off the impact. She was fine but that bandit hit super hard.

Snow was coming down and it was getting cold. I could feel the chill and with all the sweating we had just done the moisture it created would hurt us in the cold. I made a fire at the base of the ruins and we put up the tent together. Gorbakh asked where hers was. She winked at me and I just laughed.







After warming myself by the fire we ate and then I went up to look around a bit more before it got dark. Gorbakh cooked up some venison to pack up for the trip tomorrow. The plan was to see about bandits at Nilheim. Maybe even bag some more game. I found some hides the bandits had stored away and seeing that they didn’t need them I packed them away and using a tanning rack I managed to break down most of the armor we had gotten off the bandits.





I went to sleep at dark and Gorbakh was going to wake me after midnight and then I would keep watch until dawn. A storm came and it took a lot of work to stay dry and keep the fire going. Hopefully by morning it would be over.

[Chirurgeon]

16 pages, 100 000 words, and 2300 screenshots! Thank you all for helping me get this far

[Chirurgeon]

5th of Morning Star

It was not over. The winds that howled down the Jerrel Mountains brought snow and bone chilling cold. As the flakes whirled around us we ate breakfast and packed up. Neither of us were used to this. This weather is common to Windhelm not the Rift. We broke camp and headed down towards the road to Ivarstead. We stopped at an imperial camp to warm ourselves by the fire and we were not alone. The soldiers were also surprised at the weather. We had walked downhill and the cold seemed to know no boundaries.




The normally sunny and warm area of the Treva river was now a bunch of swirling ice on the wind. The wind was ferocious. It blasted through the Rift with great force. As we traversed the forest we could hear branches snapping, the trees unable to resist the powerful winds.





After crossing the river we were attacked by a Khajiit intent on taking everything we owned. I don’t think he planned on fighting two powerful orcs. His quarry most likely were merchants or farmers. After covering the ground with his blood I searched his body and took what we could.





After passing a farm that curiously grew nirnroot we found a traveler that complained about his cart being ransacked by bandits. I naturally assumed that the khajiit that attacked us would have likely attacked him. He told us to get us to his camp at Nilheim and he would give us some gold. We got him up and followed him. It was a trap







What ensued was a bloody brawl where our opponents were very tough and hard to put down. This was not your standard group of thugs. These were well traied soldiers that took a tremendous effort to kill. The weakest was the bait by the road. We killed him fast but the rest took tremendous effort. Blood flew through the air joining the snow in the howling wind. Hot crimson covered the ground and quickly congealed in the cold air. When it was done no less than five bandits had been killed. Sweating and exhausted I broke out some food and took a while to eat. I scoured what I could from the camp and nearby tower and by the time that was done I was getting cold. I was able to take in a gorgeous view of the Rift but the wind was ridiculous on the tower and getting pelted by snow in the face was no fun. We warmed ourselves by the fire that the bandits had kindly made and then we pressed on.


















Over a large hill was a tower with orc bandits inside. These bandits were not particularly strong but they did have some good loot. Once we took care of them we moved on. We were moving roughly towards riften but traversing the area that went between the Treva River and the Steep drop to the hold of Eastmarch. Here the forests are lush and green before it drops off to the volcanic land of Eastmarch.













We came upon a small pond with a few hunters. I was able to kill a deer from our high vantage point much to the chagrin of the hunters. After harvesting its hide I found a cave with a troll inside. It didn’t see me and I took the most potent toxin I had and laced an ebony arrow with it. One hit and the troll was dead. The arrow wasn’t a deadly strike but the toxin was. Deathbell and riverbetty was the strongest toxin to be made by me yet. Alchemists agree that these two ingredients are the most potent skyrim has to offer in essentially unlimited quantity.








A curious alter with a book and a bow that I took as a trophy. Along with the troll fat it was a good haul for such a small cave. There were also some useful mushrooms growing in there. We stayed and ate some food and relaxed for a little while. I was shocked to come out of the cave and the storm had dissipated. The sun was beaming and it was beginning to get warm. How quickly the weather can change.







Following a path away from the spring and up a steep hill we found another cave bear. Sneaking around I was able to surprise it with a highly poisonous dose from the same vial that I killed the troll with. Combined with an ebony arrow it was doomed. It suffered only for a short period of time and we took the pelt and claws.





Before us was a gorgeous forest with a few ponds scattered around. Looking at the sun I figured it would be a good place to camp for the night. Tomorrow we could head to Riften and work on consolidating all this stuff we had acquired.

Overlooking the forest was the entrance to a cave. And high on a rock above was a necromancer apparently keeping an eye on things. I had my eye on him and the sight of my bow. A heavy tipped arrow to the chest and he pitched off the rock. If the arrow didn’t kill him, the fall certainly would have.







Inside we had a great line of sight on another necromancer working at an alchemy table. Completely consumed in her work she was unaware that an arrow poisoned with a paralysis toxin was hurling towards her. The impact caused her to slump over on the table. Two more arrows and she was down for good. There were some rare ingredients in here along with plentiful food. We stocked up on what we could and headed out to find a good spot to set up camp for the night.









After clearing the area of some animals and a rogue mage who threatened to kill us we found a good spot next to a clear spring of water. I got a fire going and Gorbakh went off to look for ingredients. I looked around and a little ways away was a sanctuary of sorts that was full of all kinds of terrible animals including a powerful looking spriggan. I guess that battle will have to wait for tomorrow. For now we enjoyed some ale and a warm crackling fire.

[Chirurgeon]

6th of Morning Star

I had watch tomorrow night so I wanted to make sure we got back to the stronghold. We put out the fire after eating a filling breakfast and then packed up the tent. We both slept quite well and we were ready to head out. Nearby there was an area packed with beasts including bears and sabercats. All were under the watchful eye of a spriggan matron. I had scouted out the area last night and noticed some high rocks were could climb on and get some protection.

From here we were able to pelt the beasts with arrows and Gorbakh could take them on one at a time between the boulders. It worked well. Using her shield to keep the beasts at bay I would sink arrows into their body. Finally with two bears and a sabercat dead we decided to charge in with great zeal and put down the spriggan matriarch. Despite her ability to heal we were able to overpower her.







There were many things to gather including hides we found on a hunter’s body and many alchemical ingredients. A short distance away we found a bear and a wolf chasing a deer. They got the deer and then we got them.



I looked ahead and saw an old abandoned house that had long since fallen into ill repair. On the porch was a bandit and her dog. I guess we got to close and the dog came after us. As much as I hated to do it I had to put it down. Unlike most Orcs I actually don’t like to eat dogs or horses. The two bandits were fools to toil with us and soon we were standing over their bodies.









We made our way to riften and followed the lake shore. Here I was able to find some slaughterfish eggs and other ingredients I could use to concoct various potions. By midday we were in the city. I gave madresi a mammoth tusk and took several hours to break down various materials into ingots and leather. I then set to crafting my own cloak. I used cave bear fur as it was dark and would match my armor a bit better. The smith really liked it and said I should make more and sell them. I thanked him and then set to enchanting it with something to resist frost. With the short days and long nights and after that spontaneous blizzard in the rift a warm cloak was a good thing to have.







We arrived without incident at the stronghold. Gularzob pulled Gorbakh aside and talked to her a few minutes. When it was over I asked what that was about she said that he obtained permission from her father, Laruk, to marry him. I was shocked. Gularzob had secretely requested marriage. The dowry was supposed to be here in less than a week. I looked at Gorbakh and she kept her head down. No doubt she was torn between duty and freedom. I felt selfish but I wanted to steal her away but she probably would not go. I walked away to be away for a while. Gorbakh retreated to the longhouse and I took a walk into the woods. The feelings I felt that night were as strong if not stronger then when I found my parents dead and when Gorbash the Iron Hand died. I was finally happy and that asinine new chieftain is going to take Gorbakh from me. I had killed so many beasts. I had survived so many challenges, and I could do nothing to stop this from happening. Gorbakh has to honor her father, the chieftain of another stronghold, to leave she would never be allowed to set foot in a stronghold. She would be forever banished to the cold world of Skyrim.



I suppose that this was bound to happen. Perhaps the last few weeks were nothing more than a dream. It was a good dream I suppose. At least we had until the dowry comes to make the best of it. A few more days of hunting together. What was to come to pass with me? How could I stay here knowing the one person that means so much to me would be a prisoner. Every day would be torture looking at her.

Later that night I came back and Gorbakh greeted me. She saw my anger and sadness and pulled my head towards hers and kissed my forehead. She touched my face with her gloved hand. She told me that no matter what she would love me for everything I had given her. She asked me to stay until the dowry arrived. I reluctantly agreed even though every bone in my orc body wanted to leave this place.

[Chirurgeon]

Seventh of Morning Star

I woke up thinking that I was still in some kind of dream state. It was not a good dream either. Gorbakh greeted me and tried to talk to me the way things have been until the bottom fell out yesterday. She said we should spend the most time possible together until she was married. I agreed. But deep down I was still angry about the whole thing. I was angry at myself for letting me develop feelings and I was angry because Gularzob went behind everyone’s back to get Laruk’s blessing on the marriage.

However it is what it is and I was going to enjoy the rest of this time fighting with Gorbakh. We headed over to a ruin across the lake and stumbled into a first class bandit nest. Replete with gambling on pit wolves, excessive drinking, and skooma. They however did not want us around. Several of them were in the courtyard and came out to meet us. Gorbakh took care of a couple on one side and I finished off two myself.









Inside we would find several bandits in different areas. We found wolves in cages. I would open the cages by picking the lock and Gorbakh would put the animals out of their misery. No one deserves to be in a cage. We took out our anger, and mine particularly, on the various groups of bandits. They were easy to take when there were two or less. However in groups the worked well with each other and their weapons and arrows hurt quite a bit. I took a blade in the shoulder and Gorbakh’s shield has seen better days. I wanted to do something about my armor since my enemies were still finding a way through. Something to look into I guess.













We rested for a while and drank some of the ale and collected what we could including about a dozen wolf pelts. Always useful for a variety of things. I had a little bit too much of the ale and nearly begging Gorbakh to flee the stronghold with me. I felt stupid afterwords but Gorbakh said that the ale just made me more honest and open. She felt the same way and wished she could but she just couldn’t.

We left and I started to sober up. We came upon a hunter’s camp that had a nice view of the forest below. We helped her kill a big cave bear and let her have the pelt. That fight made me sober up fast.








After that we traveled to Riften and I worked on some crafting. I made some blades and talked to the smith about refining my skills. He told me that he really couldn’t help me but the smith that runs the skyforge in Whiterun could help me. Although he told me it wouldn’t be cheap.





We traveled back to the stronghold and for the first time I did not want to see it. I wanted to simply leave everything behind. I wanted to put all this out of my head but I had promised to stay. I guess it was the least I could do.

When we got back I set to task of mixing up some potions and discovered some new combinations that would make things a bit more interesting. One was a poison that could act over time. That could be very useful.





Ugor talked with me when I got back and told me that she had a favor to ask. I liked her and she seemed to have a high amount of respect for me. I asked what it was that she wanted and she told me that she wanted to help secure the stronghold by killing the giants that had terrorized it. I told her that there was at least one giant in the cave that Yamarz perished in and she wanted to go kill it. I was tempted to tell her to send Gularzob after the giant but I held my tongue.

I asked when she wanted to go and she said tomorrow. I said sure. I told her that Gorbakh would love another female to tag along. She nodded and then went off to do some other things. I told Gorbakh about it and she looked down. I asked what was wrong? She told me that Gularzob doesn’t want anything to happen to his future wife and she is to stay within the confines of the stronghold. I couldn’t believe it. Or maybe I could.

She looked over at Ugor and told me I had a real chance of giving Ugor an adventure she can tell forever and that I shouldn’t pass that up. It would give her great pride and a sense of adventure. She then told me how excited she was when I went adventuring with her for the first time. She told me that it would do me some good to see another orc excited about adventuring. I kinda nodded and admitted it would be different. But looking at Ugor I realized she needed better armor and a better weapon.

I guess tomorrow we could figure all that out. Right now I was going to take the last part of the day and get some sleep. I would need it as I had watch to take tonight.

[Chirurgeon]

9th of Morning Star

I woke up around midnight and took to the tower. I had about six hours to think about many things before the stronghold began to wake from its slumber. The air was quite chilly. Several times I ran down to the fire to warm up before running back up to the tower.

By morning I was ready for my bed. I crawled into my bed wondering what armor and weapons I was going to give Ugor for her fight with the giants.

Ugor was excited to see me and I realized I did not have enough supplies here at the stronghold to make everything I wanted. I envisioned a set of scale armor and a combination of Elven and Orcish weapons.



I talked to her and she told me she preferred axes and I had a plan to make her a dual wielding set. We left for Riften and she was excited to travel. Quite talkative it reminded me of when I took Gorbakh out of the stronghold of Mor Kashgur.

We arrived in Riften and she went to the Bee and Barb to grab a bite to eat. I set to work on crafting her armor and Beilarand helped as well. When it was done she had two Orichalcum hatchets that were heavy and deadly. I crafted her a combat bow made of orichalcum as well. For her body armor I made a set of steel scale armor overlaid atop a leather under layer with a bit of fur around the edges. She preferred lighter helmets so I went with a circlet made from steel.



When she returned I had her try it all out and made some minor adjustments. When we were done I grabbed a bite to eat and then we headed out toward the giant’s cave. We arrived after sunset but not before putting a daring but foolish bandit out of his misery. Ugor did well. Her new weapons razor sharp and cut deep into the poor fool. Soon he was dead in his own pool of blood.










We arrived at the cave and she told me she was ready. We came to the first giant and he seemed to see us but didn’t care. I focused on his arm as I knew I didn’t want to kill it. I just wanted to weaken it so that she could finish him off. The plan worked well until his giant club came crashing down nearly smashing Ugor. She quickly rolled out of the way and cut the neck of the giant with one of her hatchets.







It reared up grabbing its neck and dropping its club. It fell over with a great thud shaking the earth as it did.

Ugor turned around as we stood by the bonfire that the giant had made. She was glowing with excitement. Same as Gorbakh I thought to myself. She wanted more and there was another giant in a nearby offshoot of a cave. I shot a heavy dose of poison into it and he turned around and charged at Ugor. She ran at it with both hatchets outstretched she anticipated its club and cut the inside of both of its thighs severing the arteries beneath the soft tissue. Torrents of blood poured out of it and the giant collapsed as its life force drained from its body.











Ugor was covered in blood and smiled at me through it. She clearly was enjoying this. The third giant I killed before she had a chance to hit it and for a moment she was mad. Then I told her were a team and she already killed two. She smiled back and agreed. We collected the loot and headed out.





It was almost midnight when we emerged from the cave and I told her we would set up camp. I found a low lying area near water and set to making camp for the night. First priority was a fire as it was quite chilly. The rift would get bouts of frost on the ground from time to time especially right before the sun came up. Plenty of wood to be had and we collected enough to keep the fire going for at least the first hour. I set up a tent as well and she began to prepare a meal. That is when she told me something incredibly awful and shocking. It angered me right to the core.



Ugor told me that she had been tasked by Gularzob to deal with the giants and that she should recruit me to help her. She asked why and Gularzob told her that I was the most capable warrior around. She also told me this was the only true way to keep the stronghold safe. As the three giants we just slain could come and ravage the camp. He then told me that there was another threat to the stronghold and that was me. I couldn’t believe what she was telling me.

Ugor proceeded to tell me that Gularzob had told her about how I slaughtered innocent people including children in Markarth before assaulting a legionarre. She continued to say that I had gone in a falmer cave with an orc from another stronghold and murdered him and then told the stronghold the Falmer did it. She told me I had been banished from Dushnikh Yal and that I could never return to Markarth unless I paid my 11 000 septim bounty.

I stood there in shock and disbelief absorbing all of this with great anger. However I managed to keep myself collected. I asked her that if all this was true why would you come here alone? She told me she didn’t think it was true and that Gularzob was doing this to smear my name. She told me that it gets worse. Ugor was supposed to kill me if the giants didn’t. Gularzob had pitched the idea to her with the notion that I was a threat to the stronghold. At the very least that I was in love with his future wife and would do anything to keep her, including murdering Gularzob.

I was outraged. I may have done things out of anger, like destroying the dark brotherhood, but I was a good orc. I had a good heart and wanted to help. I would be very sad when Gorbakh gets married, but I would not murder to get her back!

I asked her if anyone else was in on this plot to murder me to “protect the stronghold”. She told me that Lob, the blacksmith apprentice, had also been approached but he balked at the idea. However Lob had written down on parchment what happened and had given it to Ugor before she came here with me. So Lob and Ugor knew of this plot against me. However they were powerless because if someone didn’t do it then both of them would be banished for going against their chieftain. Gularzob was very cunning and already had allies in the stronghold that would support him if anyone opposed his rule.

I asked her what will come to pass with you if your return to the stronghold without proof of my death? She looked down and said “banishment”. I thought about that for a moment. I realized that now she had no where to go. She had given up her belonging to the stronghold that she has lived at all her life in order to stand up for what she believes is right.

I sat there and stared into the dancing flames and thought about everything that had just transpired. There were several options here.

The first one was fake my death by giving her my gear and then me disappearing. That way she could stay in the stronghold. However that plan was discarded because Ugor told me she could not live under the reign of a chieftain that could fathom such things to do to people. The second option was that she actually killed me but obviously I would be greatly opposed to that idea. A third was to storm the stronghold and accuse Gularzob of his crimes. But he may have already had witnesses that could somehow discredit Lob and Ugor. The last option was kind of a fluke. Right now, until dawn, Gorbakh was on watch. If we got back to the stronghold before dawn we could tell Gorbakh everything that happened and then we could all escape together. I asked if Lob was willing to leave and she said probably not. He would likely stay and at least finish out his apprenticeship as a smith.

I voted for the last option and I quickly put back on my gear. I asked if she wanted to come and she said that I would need her to explain everything to Gorbakh. I agreed and she handed me the parchment that Lob had written everything down on.

She asked if we should break down the camp and I told her no. We would need a place to hide out a while until we could figure out what to do.

On the way back to the stronghold we talked about how we were going to convince Gorbakh to leave. I told Ugor that her father would have to be notified of what actually transpired. I asked Ugor if she would be willing to travel to Mor Kashgur. She whistled and told me that was on the complete other side of skyrim. She was correct. I looked at the map and realized we essentially were going to travel from the border of Morrowind to the border of High Rock. It would be an epic journey for sure. She told though that she would be willing to go. In fact she was kind of looking forward to it.

We approached the stronghold several hours after we had left. It was dead of winter here in Skyrim which meant we had about another month before the days would get long enough to notice. It wouldn’t be until next month, Suns Dawn, when the sun would wake up from its own winter slumber. Right now it was cold and both of us could use a fire to stay warm.

Gorbakh saw us and waved. She came down the watchtower and gave me a hug. The look in her eye was quite caring indeed. We went down to the fire and warmed ourselves for a bit. Ugor was nervous. She kept looking at the door to the longhouse expecting Gularzob to come out. Gorbakh asked us to come to the tower and keep her company while she kept watch.



She asked us why we didn’t just camp out and come back in the day? I looked at Ugor and she told the whole story. She showed the paper from Lob that had written. I stood there just gauging her body language. She was in disbelief. She looked at us helplessly as if not to know what to do. She said she could not marry someone that could be capable of such cowardly and evil things. But she was obligated to because her father would shamed if she didn’t. Ugor and I told her we had the proof to vindicate her if she left the stronghold. With Lob’s letter and Ugor’s witness testimony I felt we had a strong case.

After a few agonizing minutes she nodded her head. She told me that she had left supplies inside the long house. I told her we had no time for that and we could not risk Gularzob waking and finding out I was alive. She reluctantly agreed and I told her that all that stuff could be replaced.
We left the stronghold and headed back to the temporary camp near an abandoned mine. It was a safe location with some game around and water. It was about an hour’s walk from the city of Riften so we could resupply. We would lay low for a few days in our camp and see what happens. If Gularzob doesn’t hire thugs or bounty hunters we can assume its safe and make our way north towards Windhelm. Gorbakh and Ugor would stay at camp while I arranged things for the journey. It would also give me a chance to explore some of the areas I had not had a chance to see. I felt it was best that they lay low at the camp for a while and let me be the bait for anyone wanting to do harm to Ugor and Gorbakh.

[Chirurgeon]

10th of Morning Star

Woke up around noon as Ugor took watch so that Gorbakh and I could sleep. I had made a second tent so that the three of us could be in camp with two sleeping. Eventually it would be nice for us all to get our own tents. I headed to Riften with much of our gear to either sell/breakdown/improve. Spent most of the day at the smith improving my armor and that of Gorbakh and Ugor.





Went down and made some new potions and pawned off a lot of my ingredients that we never used. I had discovered the power of poison over time. It might not kill right away but it does more damage. Unless of course I am fighting Argonians or the undead….then it’s a different story.





Talked to Grelka and she gave me some tips on helping with light armor versatility. This would be most useful when I crafted new armors to make it more useful. She has a rather nasty disposition so I don't think we would ever be friends



I also took some time to buy a horse. I named him Gorbash in honor of my good friend who passed away. Maybe this way I can honor his memory.



Having unloaded a ton of gear and improved existing gear I headed back toward the camp. It was becoming dark and Gorbash did a good job of calmly navigating the dark woods. The horse trader told me that this was his best horse. For a 1000 septims it better be.

Came across some wolves that had snuck in closer to the camp. Better to get rid of them before they get too curious. Ugor and Gorbakh had made a splendid meal by the fire. I broke open some ale I had bought and had some before going to sleep for a few hours. I was going to pull watch tonight. Tomorrow I wanted to check out the mine we were camped near and maybe some ruins down the way past Shor’s Stone.

[Chirurgeon]

I will give you guys some updates on stats of my companions

[Latin Knight]

Damned Gularzob, that was unexpected. Good thing you have forged reliable alliances, it would be kinda a flimsy end game if Ugor hacked your skull with the axes while you were looting the giants to fulfill her mission

Do you really have a bounty of 11.000 septims in Markarth, ahahah, good job. That was an achievment in Steam, right?

BTW, the penultimate screenshot with the wolf was amazing, as are most of your pictures. Also, now I can see the improvements of the "enhanced blood mod" you told me about.

[Chirurgeon]

10th of Morning Star

I awoke and began my day with a solid breakfast and then went to check out the mine. It was full of all kinds of Alchemical ingredients but no metal to be found. Whoever had been here had essentially abandoned everything.



Found a note on a table:





Ashame that his friend apparently left, however I discovered the tragic truth. After I climbed up a waterfall and got soaking wet I found the man that supposedly left. He had been killed a long time ago by a rockfall. And all around him were gold ore veins. So tragic. However tragedy is in good supply in Skyrim.



I returned to came and told the ladies of the situation in the mine and they thought how tragic it was. I headed off north to do some scouting and look for game. I didn’t have to go long before I found a deer and then some really nasty frostbite spiders. The only good thing about these beasts were the venom that could be used to stain hides or use as a poison.











I moved on and put down a few wolves and found their den littered with the remains of animals and even a few bandits.



Eventually I came to a watchtower that was the scene of a brutal affair. Several Riften guards had been murdered. Apparently the imperials attacked the tower and the guards perished. This was not going to be good. I had a feeling that an event just like this might spark the beginning of an all out war.








After some strikingly beautiful vistas I moved down into a valley and found myself in a brawl with a cavebear. After that was over and I had taken its hide I wanted to head back towards camp. I took a slightly different path and ran into some bandit who wished to dance with me. By the time they realized they were in over their heads it was too late. One of them got smart and ran away. I found him and when he fled again I sunk an arrow into his spine.

















Stumbled upon a cage with a wolf in it that someone had been using to trap animals. I opened the cage and killed the wolf. The trappers must have been watching as they came at me from a nearby group of trees. They tried to kill me but my mallet’s were faster and I hit harder then they did. Soon it was over and I found a virtual treasure trove of skins. These would last us quite some time and the ones we didn’t use we could sell for a nice profit.








When I got back to camp it had begun to rain. I loaded up Gorbash and rode him up to Riften to do some trading and pick up some food before the merchants went home. Some had already gone home by the time I got there. However I did have time to get some things done and see if anyone was looking for us. Mjoll the Lioness, a mercenary that I agreed to find her sword, told me that an orc had been in town asking if he saw me and two female orcs. I asked what he looked like and she said “no offense but you orcs all look alike”. I kinda laughed at that and thanked her.





I got back to camp a few hours before midnight. It was still raining and I told them what I had found out. It turns out that we were being questioned but there was no evidence Gularzob or anyone else knew where we were. Although it wouldn’t take a genius to find us. I opted to head north tomorrow. The area where I killed that bear was protected and had water.

[Chirurgeon]

Damned Gularzob, that was unexpected. Good thing you have forged reliable alliances, it would be kinda a flimsy end game if Ugor hacked your skull with the axes while you were looting the giants to fulfill her mission

Do you really have a bounty of 11.000 septims in Markarth, ahahah, good job. That was an achievment in Steam, right?

BTW, the penultimate screenshot with the wolf was amazing, as are most of your pictures. Also, now I can see the improvements of the "enhanced blood mod" you told me about.

thank you for the words yea I kinda thought of this jealousy thing amongst orcs. Should be interesting. Kind of have a situation where they are hiding out a bit. Its been alot of fun since I downloaded a camping mod and a mod that monitors hunger/thirst/sleep. Alot more immersion.

[Chirurgeon]

11th of Morning Star

We broke camp before dawn and headed north down the valley that bordered the mountains to our east that separated Morrowind from Skyrim. As I had been here yesterday we didn’t have any surprises. We made it to our new camp by midmorning. With freshwater and plenty of trees around to gather firewood it was a good location. By noon we were ready to explore the cave that came out of the mountain above us.







Upon entering the cave it smelled of bears. In fact we could hear them and see their handy work. The people that had been here had left in a hurry and most of their supplies left behind. The bears had ripped open the burlap sacks and taken what food they wanted. The entire place was pretty much ransacked.

Snow bears, to be exact, had taken up refuge here. Soon we were attacking the first one. A whirling display of orc metal that smashed and cut the beast to pieces. Each of the subsequent bears suffered the same fate. But there were more here than just bears.



We came upon a doorway that was dwarven in design. It seemed out of place in this cave. However we proceeded to enter. Our worst fears were confirmed when emerging out of the walls of the cave were Chitonous tunnels that meant only one thing: falmer. The falmer used these small tunnels to move around in. it also meant they would be hard to detect. We were all on our toes when the first ambush happened. Three of them suddenly surrounded us and we cut into their flesh sharply. Some were unarmored and others had rudimentary armor.





We pressed further into the bowels of the cave that was an odd mix of just cave with the occasional dwarven architecture mixed in. It wasn’t long before we encountered more Falmer. They attacked viciously and tried to encircle us or get us separated from each other. But we never panicked and dealt with the threats as they came. We found a hunter that had been drug in and laid upon a stone table. His loot was considerable.







Spiders joined the fray and suddenly Gorbakh found herself surrounded. Ugor and I jumped down from a small ledge and led a charge to relieve her. Thankful she was and we moved on. That was a taste of what was to come.





We entered a large chamber and suddenly from all different locations above us and around us Falmer magicians and archers were hurling projectiles at us. I took a shock resistance potion and a few healing and stamina potions and we set to work.







Screams and blood filled the air as we worked our terrible business of dispatching these creatures. I was hit several times by electricity and arrows. Fortunately their arrows did not pack to much of a punch. The sound of spells and arrows, crunching bone and screams filled the air. Residual smoke from the electricity tainted the air with sulfur.







I took an arrow to the shoulder and a beating from a more powerful falmer. I let Gorbakh and Ugor fight it out with him while I extracted the arrow and took a few minutes to recover. We had prevailed in this fight and we found a room that had books piled with bones and other treasure. A strange combination indeed.







Found a note with some desperate writing scrawled out. I don’t know if these poor souls made it:



More darkness lay ahead and more falmer. In the dark it was hard to see but the sound of snapping bones and clanging metal was unmistakable. Our sense of hearing was very attuned to what was happening since visibility was so impaired.







Finally we were rid of the place. We made it out and then down to camp where we were starving and had an early dinner. Afterwords we scouted out the area to our North and found another ruin called Ansilvund. A powerful caster hurled all sorts of ice at us and we had to take shelter behind a pillar. Shattering like glass it filled the air with shards of ice. As we endured the onslaught Gorbakh said she had enough. I told her that was easy for someone with a big shield to say. She grunted and then raised her shield and charged the mage. I turned with my bow and sent a few arrows into her sending the mage reeling. As she tried to heal and recover, Gorbakh delivered a huge blow that cut from her shoulder deep into her chest. Her life force erupting in bright crimson and covered the ground. Gorbakh walked back to us and said something about that’s how you deal with mages. I said “oh you mean wounding them first with arrows and then sending in the crazy orc female?”. She laughed and said “something like that”.









I found a nearby alchemy table and made some potions with the plethora of ingredients I had found in the cave. Poisons and healing compounds alike I made potions that would harm or hurt when necessary. I poured some on my wounds and passed around the bottle for the ladies to put on theirs. We walked back to camp and we planned on investigating this ruin tomorrow.

[Scottish King]

I wanna play skyrim again!!!

[Chirurgeon]

I wanna play skyrim again!!!

yay! its a new game with all the mods Thank you for stopping by

[Chirurgeon]

wish me luck in the AAR monthly contest! Some very good AARs out there!

[Chirurgeon]

12th of Morning Star

Woke up and had a hearty breakfast. The air was cool but not unbearable. Still the persistent morning chill was there. After breakfast we walked down to the ruins of Ansilvund from where we came the night before.

We walked into the ruins to see that there was an excavation going on. Necromancers had managed to raise the dead and they were walking all over the place. Accompanying them were many different necromancers. We went through and systematically eliminated each and every one. We dodged traps and other hazards. Gorbakh would pin them down and draw their attention while we hammered them with our dual wielding hammers and axes. Ugor and I made a good team smashing the various enemies. Of course some enemies died from my arrows. That was always good because we didn’t have to get dirty doing that.

















We pressed on until we came to a room with a conjurer and two summoned daedra. One of fire and one of frost. It was a brutal fight but in the end we prevailed. Some random Draugr made it interesting as well. Ugor and Borgakh foolishly stood by the corpse of the fire daedra and got burned upon its death





After that I unlocked the way forward after solving a puzzle. On a table was a book I used to read as a child about two warriors that would later fall in love. I never really understood love but now I think I do. This must be the final resting place of these two warriors. What in Tamriel was going on here?









More was revealed when I found a letter by the necromancer that was behind all this. She planned to raise her husband using the male warrior. She also mentioned something about building an army. Well obviously I had to do something.





We pressed along and the necromaster did everything in her power to stop us. We had to fight through a horde of resurrected draugr in order to reach the burial chambers.











I crept quietly in and Borgakh told me to keep my blade ready. She did not like the look of this place. Lu’ah finally made herself known to us but could not see me. I coated an arrow with some paralysis potion and sunk it into her body. Her minions charged us and soon each of us was fighting a tough battle against Fjori and Holgeir. I took on Fjori and ugor and Borgakh fought Holgeir. Lu’ah having awakened from her paralysis healed and pummeled Borgakh with ice spikes. Using her shield to protect herself she had to fend off two attackers. Borgakh was forced to hide and I charged Lu’ah. Fjori died and Ugor got to the mage first but was incapacitated by a withering storm of ice. I had to finish the dead and pounded Lu’ah with a great many blows that sent her to join her dead husband. Without Lu’ah, Holgeir’s body became lifeless once again.















Two ghosts appeared and presented the ghost blade as a reward for our actions. One was male and one was female. I could not believe that I had seen two characters from one of my childhood books. I took the ghost blade and packed it away.





After looting what we could I headed out and we all went back to camp. We had spent from dawn till midday in that tomb and I was so loaded down with things I elected to go to Riften. I told Ugor and Borgakh to stay at camp. They planned to go hunting. That was fine.

I rode Ghorbash back to Riften and talked with the Khajiit traders and traded a few things with them. I also took some time to break down some armor into simple crafting materials. Sold what I could and kept my eye out for anything unusual. That is when I spotted a heavily armored orc on a bench. I walked by and he just nodded at me. Highly unusual for an orc to be just sitting in Riften with an eye on the entire market. I talked to Grelka and she said he came in that morning. He didn’t ask any questions but instead took to just sitting on a bench and watching things. Kaz Stonehead was his name.







I finished my trading and rode back to camp. I told them about Kaz Stonehead and they had never heard of him. I decided it wasn’t safe to stay here any longer and that we should find a new place. It would be nice if each of us had a horse so I decided to move the camp further north I didn’t want to get too close to the stronghold near Windhelm so I would scope out the prospects one more time. Besides I wanted to take some time to explore some of the other areas around these mountains.



Ugor suggested that we try Windhelm for a horse and if not we could travel to what was known as refugee’s rest. Here we might be able to buy from some traders from Morrowind. Regardless I was tired and rested quite well. I took late watch and by the morning was ready to look for a new camp.

[Chirurgeon]

13TH of Morning Star

Headed out early this morning to a small cave where I had heard howling the day before. Outside of the cave were two cages and an elf guarding them. I put down the elf and then the two wolves in the cages. I quietly snuck inside and put down the doorman after a brief encounter. Inside the main room was a pit of sorts where wolves would fight against each other. I took it upon myself to put an arrow in the back of the nearest one. Chaos ensued. I backed up into a tunnel and they came after me one at a time. I put them all down one by one. I had to use the tunnel to help me. I put the remaining wolves out of their misery and then moved outside.













I found a small lake nearby and into the side of a mountain was a cave. There were supplies outside so I knew it was occupied. I entered and immediately saw a dead person that had washed down the stream that probably created the cave.







Up the path I went and encountered several bandits. They never saw me and combined with powerful poisons they didn’t stand a chance.







I found the leader of sorts at an alchemy table. I dosed up some poison and sent an arrow into his back. Collapsing one of his lungs he could barely breath and was in agony as he searched for the source of his torture. It was over quickly.





I moved on and found a man next to a waterfall toiling away at a rock formation trying to coax the moonstone out of the rock. He also met the same fate as the others.





I moved out of the cave and, after warming myself by a fire for about an hour to dry off, found the imperial eastmarch camp. I traded with the quartermaster and chatted with the officer in charge about various things. He had not heard of any orcs looking for other orcs. However he did add that he had a lot of things to deal with.








I asked if he had a problem with us setting up camp nearby and he seemed fine with it. In fact he always valued orcs as they were capable warriors. I smiled a bit and then continued on.

I had found a path past Ansilvund the other day but had not had a chance to explore it. The legion commander had told me that there was a dwarven structure high up in the mountains. I had time to investigate so I set out.


The path to this place was wrought with challenges. No less than three frost trolls challenged me as I climbed higher and higher. The quality of my weapons, deftness of my moves, and the poison I concocted amounted to the fights being short and brutal. Most of my familiar enemies were easy to put down as their moves became quite predictable. The swings of the trolls arms had a rhythm to it and I was able to time my attacks accordingly.











Most of the time this went according to plan but occasionally they would get a few hits in. The last one did this and knocked the wind out of me. Fortunately he was near death. By the time I got to the top and found some ore in the hillside my face and hands and feet were numb from the cold. I found sanctuary inside the ruins and warmed myself by a fire.







I ate some lunch and then set to exploring the ruin. A strange glowing orb greeted me in the next room and when I touched it I was encased in a cage. The orb spun around the cage casting strange shadows and causing my heart to race. Suddenly the floor gave way and I was falling. I could not see the bottom. I fell for what seemed like an eternity before hitting surprisingly warm water. I swam up to get my breath and made it to a nearby tunnel where falmer were waiting for me.







I had fallen who knows how far but now I had to fight my way out of here. The falmer would drop down out of there chitonous tunnels and try to sneak up on me. However I had gotten good at navigating the regions where falmer lived. I anticipated much of what they did and with my poisons and surprise I put the twisted beasts out of their misery. The cave was full of waterfalls and used that sound to drown out my footfalls.











Slowly I navigated my way downward, roughly following the waterflow, until I came to a familiar spot. The small waterfall where I had killed the bandit mining moonstone was where I was. However this time I was standing at the top and looking down. I jumped down into the pool of water and popped out by the lake where stony creek cave was.

From here I proceeded north where I found another cave that was likely home to necromancers and what not. I didn’t explore but rather spotted a saber cat and put it down before it knew what hit it. I found my way to Kynesgrove and then took the main road back through Eastmarch back to the camp. While in Kynesgrove I used the smelter and tanning racks to break down some of the loot I had found.







I had the chance to see a nice sunset before the rain clouds rolling down the slopes of the rift started sloughing raindrops on me. I arrived at camp after dark and told ugor and Borgakh that I had found a nice spot near a pond to set up camp. They told me they were ready to do some fighting. I told them that we had some business to do in Eastmarch and they would have their fill of adventure. For now I enjoyed the venison they had caught a few days before and some ale.

[Chirurgeon]

14th of Morning Star

Woke up to a rainy morning and took some extra time to get the fire going. The fortnight coals were gone so had to get some dry kindling out of Ugor’s pack. Once the fire got started I cooked up some stew and then we prepared to break camp and move to a new campsite by stony creek cave. I told Ugor and Gorbakh that I had promised someone a long time ago to check out a bandit hideout called mist watch. Apparently they ransom people there. They seemed to think it would be fun. All I could do was smile.



We moved on at after packing everything up and eventually the rain stopped. We could see the steam filled valley of Eastmarch. Heading down towards the small lake we would camp at for the next day. After than I thought we might head east of Windhelm and look for a horse from Morrowind. Then we could turn west and work our way toward Mor Kasgur. There we would have the task of proving that Borgakh had the right to leave Gularzob after he plotted to kill me.







We walked toward Mistwatch and had a chance to see the hot springs and other features of Eastmarch. After dispatching a rather tough pack of alpha wolves we found Mistwatch.





I put an arrow into one of the sentries and the fort came alive. Enemies poured through the gate and we went into action. Each of us picking our targets and doing our best to support each other. I charged an archer that was keeping Borgakh busy hiding behind her shield. She told me to kill the that was pelting her with arrows. When Borgakh tells me to do something in battle I do it!



When it was over there were three dead bandits and another one that perished from my heavily poisoned arrow. I found a lever that lowered a small drawbridge that allowed entry into the castle. Inside, off to the side was a man named Christer. He had come here thinking that his wife, Fiola, had been kidnapped and taken here.



I took a key that he swiped off a nearby table and told him I would look for her. Inside the first door were some stairs with an orc walking toward us in studded armor. An arrow to the stomach caused him to keel over. A second arrow to his body caused him to fly backward.



After dispatching a mage we wound up entangled with no less than four bandits. I focused on the archer on the other side of the room and put him down. His body went sprawling across a nearby bed. Gorbakh took on a bandit with a massive axe. She timed her attacks carefully and withstood the attack with her shield and then gutted him with her forked sword. Ugor’s opponent failed to muster even less of a challenge, succumbing to her combined hatchets rather quickly. I unsheathed my weapons and charged into the last archer and pummeled him between the wall and a supply handcart.









We worked our way through another tower and at last came upon the top of the complex. A woman, who was clearly the leader of this rabble, approached us. She called me a snowback. I am not sure if that is an insult but what followed was utterly shocking. It turned out that this bandit leader was Fiola! She had faked being taken away and decided to set up shop for herself. Apparently making a good amount of gold. I asked her to come with us and take up her old life and she refused. She liked the bandit life too much. I told her that was unacceptable. She pulled out her sword and motioned for me. All three of us hit her simultaneously. The most serious wound was the artery on the inside of the upper arm. Severed it was quickly draining her life force out onto the floor. I raised my mallet above my head and split her skull open like a melon ending her life quickly.






Christer did not take the news well and he charged me. Gorbakh met him with a blade to the gut. His face in great surprise and then as she rammed upward great pain and then a look as if asleep. It was over. It was a tragedy indeed but at least these bandits would not be kidnapping and ransoming anyone else.



We walked over to Darkwater Crossing and I told Anneke that both the bandits at stony creek cave and mistwatch were history. She smiled and asked if I needed her help. I kind of looked awkwardly at Gorbakh and Ugor and politely told her no. She did give me some useful tips on light armor however. And that is always a good thing.





We left darkwater crossing at dark and proceeded back to camp. I had picked up a bunch of apples from mistwatch and Ghorbash could practically taste them when I pulled them out of my pack. I fed him about five of them and then told him I would get more for him tomorrow. In the mean time we sat around the fire and talked about various things while I cooked up some dinner. We had found fresh baked bread in Mistwatch and along with some cheese it was wonderful! Combined with wine it was a near perfect evening. But it was absolutely perfect when Gorbakh motioned me to come to one of the tents for the night. Ugor complained a bit but I said I would relieve her watch late that night. The next day we would be traveling to Windhelm to sell/resupply and then hopefully toward Refugee’s rest to see about a third horse.

[Chirurgeon]

15th of Morning Star

Just before dawn it started snowing. The flakes fell slowly at first and then they began to fill the air. Soon the temperature was dropping. I got the fire roaring so that we can get some heat before our journey to Windhelm. I hoped this storm was temporary. I looked out toward Eastmarch and noticed the sun was coming down. So maybe when we got clear of the mountainside the snow would abate. For now it made for a frigid start to the morning.






We packed everything and headed down the path toward the steam vent laden area of Eastmarch. Soon the sun was breaking through and we emerged from the grasp of the cold. The sunrise was very nice and the temperature was rising as well. We had an uneventful trip to Windhelm. The snow started around Kynesgrove and the last hour to Windhelm was fraught with icy snow and chilling wind. Ugor complained bitterly. Her scale armor was no match for the cold. She also needed a better cloak. With all the fur and other materials I planned on changing her uniform so to speak.





Upon arrival I negotiated a price with the horse dealer and purchased a second horse. The horse dealer had nicknamed her wind because of her speed. Speed is always a good thing. He did say that she loved to run. I noted that and moved down the long bridge to Windhelm



Once inside I tasked myself to improving a variety of things about our equipment. I used fur to better insulate our armor for the enemy of cold and of steel. I prepared a new shield for Ugor and Gorbakh. Using steel I made the shape of a Sabercat on the face of each shield. Ugor got a new set of gear that matched Borgakh and mine. However she had the color of a natural sabercat instead of something much darker or that of its close cousin the snowy saber cat. I even upgraded my bow to a combat bow with Orichalcum spikes and blades. Together we looked like a small pride of sabercats wondering Skyrim. I smiled to myself and took a moment to shine in my smithing of this armor set. Ugor was absolutely delighted in her new outfit and she proclaimed how much warmer she was. After finishing up with some other merchants and exploring the grey quarter a bit we headed out toward Refugee’s Rest. We would not get that far as the swirling snow and impending darkness forced us to make camp.

















I took first watch and took care to stitch together a blanket for each horse using a combination of the various pelts we had. It kept me occupied and in the end they were much warmer and seemingly grateful. By the time I was done I realized I had guessed the dimensions of my horses pretty well and the blankets were snug. I rolled the idea of making actual armor for the horses but put the thought away for now. Although the idea was intriguing. I threw some more wood on the fire and woke up Ugor who was supposed to take second watch. Usually the bedroll I climbed into was warm, but the cold was so severe the heat of Ugor's body had already left it. I did manage to sleep though and I dreamed of horse armor.

[Chirurgeon]

16th of Morning Star

I was not used to the cold and I felt I would probably never get used to it. I don’t know how the Nords stayed warm in the northern part of Skyrim. Ate a solid breakfast and Ugor volunteered to stay with the horses and keep an eye on the camp while we went to Refugee’s Rest to find this horse merchant.



Immediately we ran into bandit trouble. The sun was barely up and I was coating arrows with poison. I sunk an arrow into the chest of the nearest one and he fell backwards from the impact. The little bandit house came to life and Gorbakh charged in full of zeal. I put my bow on my back and pulled out my mallets made of Orichalcum. I heard screams and the sound of metal on metal. I could hear Gorbakh taunting them. I got inside and saw that she was in a fight with the war lord. He was powerful and caught Gorbakh off balance and sent a punishing kick to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. He turned to face me and he managed to block most of my blows but I was relentless. Soon he was a bleeding mess and when he turned to take cover I let him have it square in the back.









Gorbakh got up and rubbed her stomach thoughtfully and saying something about how the bandit had nearly kicked her breakfast up. We moved on after gathering what we could. Ahead of us were two frost trolls near a tower. I sent an arrow careening into the neck of the nearest one. The poison being pumped through its veins it keeled over in agony as it desperately tried to pull out its tormenting weapon. Gorbakh managed to put the second one down and soon it was over.







We looked around this refugee’s rest and found a memorial and several graves commemorating and honoring those that fled morrowind when the Red Mountain exploded. That must have been a sight to behold. Skyrim had opened up its doors when the refugees came. Many it turned out settled in Windhelm.









I found a nearby camp with a Khajiit and she informed us that there was no horse trader but that she was willing to part with one of her pets. She had a dog and a fox. Gorbakh wanted the fox as she thought it had really pretty eyes. I rolled my own eyes at that and she punched me in the shoulder and told me to get the fox. So I did. Jorin the fox was now part of our ever expanding group. I began to walk back when I heard growls of another troll and a howl of a wolf. The Khajiit said that Jorin was fast and could avoid most attackers. I was skeptical.





We found the wolf and Jorrin ran and attacked it. The wolf running in circles to catch it. Gorbakh drover her blade into the wolf and it was finished. The little fox had distracted it long enough to allow Gorbakh to put it down.



A bit later we found a troll and Jorrin never attempted to attack it. He looked at me as if to say “ I don’t have a death wish”. I notched an arrow and while the troll pounded on Gorbakh I put it out of its misery with a carefully placed shot between the ribs.






When we got back to camp Ugor laughed and thought how funny it was that we went to go get a horse and we came back with a fox. I told her that it Borgakh’s fault but she only replied about how pretty the foxes eyes were. I shook my head and started to pack up the camp. I gave Jorrin some salmon meat that he scarfed down and then game him apple. He sniffed it and then looked up at me. So I picked it up and fed it to Wind. I realized we had more mouths to feed and we would have to stop somewhere to get more food. I looked at my map and saw an Inn on the way. After watching a distant fight between a snowy sabercat and an ice wraith we finished packing and headed West. Our trip took us back across Windhelm and then past a mill and finally the Inn. The temperature was frigid and the wind was blowing steady. It had been hours since we had seen a fire, much less felt its warmth. I found a small furrow that would give us some shelter near a cliff face, and decided this would be a good spot to stop. I gathered up some wood and set to work preparing a fire. Ugor and Gorbakh set to task of prepping the horses for the night and putting up the tents. Jorrin saw a rabbit and took off after it. I shook my head and wondered what I had gotten myself into.











As it was getting dark we had a good fire going and the tents were all up. The horses were tucked in for the night and we were all getting hungry. I set to leave to go to the inn and get some food and more importantly ale. Little Jorrin came back to camp with the rabbit in its mouth and set it down by the fire. I looked at Ugor and Gorbakh and I guessed we would be eating rabbit. I headed off toward the Inn and my new companion followed me almost silently. I kinda smiled. I had never really had an animal companion like this and it was kinda fun. He seemed to be able to hunt for himself and wasn’t really a burden.



Talked to the innkeeper and he told me that a terrible storm was coming. I asked how he knew and he said to me it had been warm that day. I could scarcely believe what I was hearing. If today was warm I would hate to see it cold! I took a bunch of his food off his hands and headed back to camp. We had dinner and then I stayed up till after midnight on watch. Gorbakh had late night watch and was asleep after dinner. We traded beds and she smiled at me and told me she wished I could keep her warm tonight. I did too. I crawled into the bedroll and sandwiched between the bedroll and the side of the ten was Jorrin. His head rested on his paws and he looked very sleepy. I remember drifting off to sleep and then nothing after that. I woke up pretty warm and I didn’t want to get up to face the day. It was pouring snow and the wind had only gotten worse. The plains of Whiterun seemed almost warm compared to this!