Hours 15 - 16: Windhelm to Whiterun

After paying a visit to the shrine of Talos, below, I decide it's high time to return to Falkreath with the mead, passing through Whiterun on the way.

I make a detour near Bonestrewn Crest to check out Cronvangr Cave for someone's ancestral shield they asked me to find. The cave is absolutely crawling with aggressive frostbite spiders, which I can't stand, so the quest mostly proceeds with me ordering Illia to go on ahead and deal with whatever horrors appear in the next chamber or passage.

We scour the cave, which takes the best part of an hour, but I don't see any sign of the shield. We continue on our journey, and just past Mixwater Mill we happen upon another skirmish between the Stormcloaks and Imperials. This time I take sides, helping the brave Imperials triumph against their bigoted foes. The aftermath:

Bodies litter the road, and after checking in the bushes etc I count at least seven dead Stormcloaks and a dead Imperial. My presence was decisive, as Illia's ice spikes slew the Stormcloaks with impunity, and I tanked a lot of arrowfire with my shield, allowing the Imperials to launch a deadly counterattack.

About halfway back to Whiterun we pass the deserted Valtheim Towers, and this time I ransack the place and retrieve an amulet for a travelling Khajit I met in the east. It may be a while before I see him again.

Finally, I clear out White River Watch, which is close to Whiterun, as one of the citizens had asked me to try and recover his sword from there.

Upon entering Whiterun, I'm approached by a member of the Dawnguard and agree to join their ranks. That means a trip back east at some point.

Illia has loyally followed me on an epic journey since I rescued her near Riften. We trekked all the way to Windhelm, cleared out two Nord burial chambers, and battled wolves and bandits all the way between Windhelm and Whiterun. I decided it would be nice for Decimus to marry her - I've never bothered doing this before in Skyrim, so it would be good to try it this time - but after checking how to do this it turns out you have to go to Riften?! Might be time to hire a carriage. I also wanted to buy Breezehome in Whiterun, but to do that I need to unlock dragon encounters, which I'm not keen on doing.

Hours 13 - 14: Phial Under M for Murder

The White Phial lies in a an ancient Nord cairn to the west. Retrieving it is simple and the Draugr here seem to be lower level than the ones I encountered previously. On the way to the cairn, I did bump into two Vigilants of Stendarr. I'm sure Illia would disapprove of wanton murder, but I know they carry pendants which improve Block by 10%, so I slay one of them, and the other one has to dir too to prevent the crime from being reported...

On returning the White Phial to the alchemists in Windhelm, Nurelion the alchemists gives me a measly 5 gold, first accusing me of breaking the Phial and then stating that I'm too stupid to know how. Although his assistant pays me a bit more, I storm into Nurelions chamber with murder in mind, but am unable to harm him or wake him, instead receiving this message:

I walk around Windhelm some more and to vent my anger pick a fight with someone called a Veteran Warrior who's wearing a full suit of steel armour. The guards don't stop our fight and what's more a passing mercenary even stops to help me out:

The Veteran Warrior turned out to be carrying 5000 gold! This is enough to buy a house in Whiterun!

After some more exploration I stop to investigate a grisly murder scene. The guards say they're stretched thin and unable to look into this, the latest in a spate of killings by 'The Butcher'. After they agree to let me help them, I follow a *literal trail of blood* to a house which contains clues, which leads to more clues, which leads to the killer, the Court Wizard.

Kudos to Skyrim for having one of these combatless quests like Oblivion did, but really this was just done so much better in Oblivion. The whole plot of the quest, including how ridiculous it was the guards didn't think to follow an actual trail of blood (and we're talking litres of the stuff, not just drops) was *extremely* simplistic and straightforward, with very little in the way of cool extra dialogue available, and seemingly no other way to complete the quest other than go from location to location as required by the script.

One fantastic detail I did like, however, was that after you present your evidence to the chief guard or whoever he is, he says the wizard will be arrested, and you get the little 'quest complete' sound (and message if you have the HUD visible) - but I noticed he walks off straight away, so I decided to follow him. He actually goes up to another guard and asks him to accompany him to arrest the wizard. I followed them upstairs to the wizard's quarters, where they had some more dialogue, and the wizard is then escorted all the way to the dungeons underneath the palace and locked in a cell!

It's great that they added all that entirely optional activity too add more depth, but they just needed to go that *little bit* further to make it truly amazing. Extra dialogue options from the wizard once he's in the cell, or even a further quest from him, for example.

Hour 12: Windhelm Bound

We set off for Windhelm early in the morning. I've taken to wearing the Dragon Priest mask, as it's better than my steel helmet:

Passing north out of Riften, the road takes us through Fort Greenwall, and as we approach a battle is being fought between Imperials and Stormcloaks! I don't remember anything like this from my previous games, so perhaps it's one of the mods. Either way it's awesome. We stay out of the way and let them duke it out.

The road takes us through Shores Stone, and eventually back across the acidic cratered flatlands that lie to the north of Darkwater Crossing. Marching across this arid terrain, I accompany a patrol of guards evidently on their way to Windhelm. Again, I don't remember anything like this from before.

As the night wears on, we reach the inn at Kynesgrove, just south of Windhelm. Another patrol crosses our path, just as several imperial soldiers launch a surprise attack outside the inn! Decimus would normally side with the Imperials, but being massively outnumbered and clearly deep in Stormcloak territory, I hedge my bets and help the guards slay the imperial attackers, before turning in for the night.

We set off on the last leg of the journey very early the next morning. As we near Windhelm, we're greeted by this awesome sight:

What the hell! I'm lost for words. This is largely thanks to the Surreal Lighting mod I think, and has to be one of the coolest shots I've ever seen in this or any game. I believe the additional defences and guards may also be due to a mod - it's been many years since I visited vanilla Windhelm, so I'm not sure. I  total, five guards stand watch or nearby, and as we cross the awesome bridge into the city, another four guards march towards us on patrol. Yes! THIS is how the original game should have been! The immersion is becoming overwhelming.

Before I reached the city I was a bit apprehensive, as I remember it being quite boring and bleak. Well take a look at this:

New favourite city! I deliver the note to the alchemists from Darkwater Crossing as requested, and the senior alchemists gives me another quest, to retrieve something called the White Phial.

The journey north to Windhelm, while superficially fairly uneventful, took about an hour, and has deepened my appreciation for the game even more.

Hours 10 - 11: A Dance With Draugr

I picked up a bounty letter in the Bee & Barb, to kill the bandit leader at Broken Helm Hollow. I set off with Illia in tow.

I love the increased population in towns, but it's a bit weird that everyone just kind of stares at you.

I head up the nearby mountain, looking for the cave, but stumble across the ruins of Forelhost on the way. A captain outside tells me he's trying to retrieve a powerful dragon priest mask from within, so I volunteer to help.

Battling through Forelhost is incredible. It's full of Draugr Scourge and Deathlords, and I die frequently. Every fight feels tactical and even. The Draugr are slow and go down to a few savage strikes from my mace and Illia's ice spikes, but if one good swing of a double handed axe connects with me and I'm not blocking, I'm toast. Conversely, when blocking I take almost no damage. Sometimes I'm annihilated straight away by powerful magic, but by trying different angles of attack and ordering Illia to different locations, I can always scrape through by the skin of my teeth eventually.

Illia takes to summoning an Atronach to even up our odds:

At one point, one of the Draugr summons their own Atronach and the two beasts do battle! We gradually fight our way to the Dragon Priest's chamber, and the final battle is mighty indeed. Illia targets the Dragon Priest while I desperately fend off several Scourge.  I consume an unhealthy amount of healing potions - easily 20+, and we eventually prevail.

On returning to the captain with the mask, he turns out to be an 'imposter' and attacks me. I find this to be an odd and unnecessary twist. I find a lot of the quests have these kind of silly twists at the end, and I think I noted the same in my Oblivion blog too.

I feel the follower system could be massively improved too. Firstly, I don't like how many of them can't die. I don't know if it applies to all of them, but Illia for one cannot. Yes it would be annoying to lose one, but it would also up the stakes considerably. Secondly, the whole way it works seems a bit odd. If it's not a directory hired follower, they take no share of your spoils, and just loyally follow you into every dark dungeon. You should have to pay them a sizeable stipend at the very least, and sellsword should cost a lot more - thousands, rather than 500...

The journey to and through Forelhost ate up a good couple of hours alltold. While I'm on the mountain I may as well head to the cave before returning to Riften. Here's the view from the mountain:

Hours 8 - 9: The Road to Riften part 2

In the morning we set off for Riften once more. We pass through a wooded area filled with golden-leaved trees, which is infested with frostbite spiders. I absolutely hate these things, as they look and sound disgusting, but fortunately Anneke is able to deal with most of them herself. I spy an Orc fortress just off the road.

Orcs are renowned warriors and craft some of the best weapons and armour in the land, so why are their forts always so primitive? It strikes me that TES tries to have it both ways with Orcs, retaining their 'primitive, savage' trope from most other fantasy, but also trying to say they're just another strand of Elf, can craft exquisite armour just like any other Elves, and are merely misunderstood. Not keen. I sneak in, but am beset by dozens of Orcs far too strong for me, so I reload and leave it alone. Strangely, there's a lone Giant hanging around nearby.

A short way further and I sense we're not too far off Riften. However, I see this amazing ruin nestled in the mountains and decide I have to explore it:

How awesome does that look! It turns out to be Darklight Tower, which I don't recall ever visting with a previous character. There's a mage inside called Illia who asks for help defeating her evil witch mother who's at the top of the tower. We fight our way up (with Illia doing most of the killing). Illia then plans to present me as a sacrifice to her mother so she can sneak attack and kill her. After this fails and her mother kills us all with spells, I reload and decide the plan is far too elaborate. Next time, as soon as we arrive I walk up to her mother and deliver a swift uppercut with my Elven mace, slaying her on the spot.

I get a bit of treasure as a reward. Illia seems awesome and quite powerful, so I part ways with Anneke and have Illia follow me. She seemed at a loose end anyway.

We soon reach Riften. I'd forgotten how much I like this place, and spend a while exploring and selling my loot. In the alchemists store I bump into one of the Blackbriar family and talk to her for a bit. Illia looks absolutely furious:

I make sure to visit the Blackbriar Meadery and pick up some mead for the Jarl of Falkreath. That's why I came all this way, after all. I head to the Bee and Barn and rent a room, and beings another 2 hours of gameplay to a close.

Hours 5 - 7: The Road to Riften part 1

I set out early in the morning from Whiterun. I haven't mentioned before, but I'm specialising in heavy armour, block, and one-handed, and am currently sporting this awesome set of steel armour which I murdered a sellsword for, an Orcish shield, and an Elven mace:

I'm currently level 4. I pass Valtheim Towers just down the river from Whiterun, and clear out all the bandits. I feel bandits are probably a bit too aggressive and homicidal in this game.

A little later, I experience an awesome encounter. A Stormcloak soldier and a mage are travelling just ahead of me, by a bridge. Suddenly a rabid river troll jumps out of the bushes and attacks them, slaying both in a frenzy. I rush to engage it and try to bring it down, but it seems impervious to my blows, and when it strikes me I suffer a lot of damage even when blocking. Just as I think I'm about to die, the troll explodes in a violent burst of flames. It was incinerated by a passing wizard!

I press on further and reach Darkwater Crossing. After mining some ore for the farmer there, and agreeing to take a message to Windhelm, I speak to Anneke who asks me to clear out a nearby bandit cave. I agree (checking what direction to head in is one of the few times I'll use the map). The cave itself is huge and impressive, with branching bridges leading out from a large central cavern:

There are a couple of bandits in hete who give me trouble, and I die a few times. Fortunately, the scariest one is off in a room by himself, so after trying and failing to kill him several times, I just left him alone. He wielded some kind of life-draining weapon that always managed to kill me no matter what I did.

After killing the bandit chief (another tough fight, where I had to resort to a bow for the first time), I return to Darkwater Crossing and tell Anneke. She agrees to accompany me on the rest of my journey.

Together, we continue on the road to Riften, getting into a few scrapes with thieves, bandits, and a giant spider. She proves useful and picking off enemies at range with her bow. We eventually come across a group of what appear to be hunters camped near the road. I speak to them and one of them says that bandits have his family hostage in the fortress of Treva's watch. I agree to help him, and battle my way through the fort. Whilst inside, I find a room with his family in, all murdered.

After clearing out the bandits and opening the main gate for him, he asks me if I found his family in there. The only option I have is to say no! That sucks! I did see them. I decide that in order to save him the pain of finding his dead family, to kill him and his whole entourage. It's a friendly killing in a way. It turns out that he and his followers have some really great gear too, and tons of health potions. Yoink!

Anneke and I walk a short way further as night begins to fall. I find an empty tent near the river and bed down:

There's still a long way to go before we reach Riften, and the journey so far has filled up a good 3 hours of game-time.

Hours 1 - 4: The Plains of Whiterun

Upon starting a new game I was taken straight to the character creation screen. I made an Imperial named Decimus.

I should have named him Calvus...

After finishing, I was asked to choose whether I want to follow the Imperial or the Stormcloak. Obviously I chose the Imperial. I fought my way out of Helgen without much difficulty, although combat is immediately more thrilling, as I'd hoped. A good bit dispatches my foes with ease, but a couple of blows that they land on me very nearly kill me.

Upon exiting Helgen through the cave, I was greeted by this glorious sight:

Incredible! So much brighter and more intoxicating that vanilla Skyrim. Without my compass, I start to follow the road to Riverrun. I remembered there was a mine around here somewhere. But without my compass telling me every single thing that's nearby and how close I am, I had to... explore! I suddenly had a rush of contentment - the forest looked different to how I remembered it, nothing was spoon-fed to me, and I'd actually have to look for roads and signposts to navigate around.

I found the path that lead to Embershard mine, and began my adventure.

I cleared the mind without trouble, although every encounter carried with it the threat of death, so when I eventually dispatched each foe it really did feel like a proper fight in which I got the better of them, rather than two Team-america puppets flailing at each other. Archers proved somewhat bothersome, as their arrows did a lot of damage. I made use of terrain, and a technique of advancing towards them like Jon Snow when he tackled Ramsay Bolton. Sprint forwards, raise shield just in time to block arrow, repeat, then shield bash and an axe to the face.

After clearing the mine, I headed to Riverrun.

Wow! Finally, Skyrim is more beautiful than Cyrodiil! Why didn't the original designers go with this brighter, more 'fantasy' palette? Cos frost and cold and teh bleakz I guess. Well I can already feel myself starting to fall in love with Skyrim again, after years of maligning it.

I got the usual Golden Claw quest, but headed to Whiterun first. It's even more beautiful than Riverrun, and I spent a while just walking around and looking at things, marvelling at the changes and refamiliarising myself with the place.

I obtained a bounty for the leader of the Silent Moons camp, so I roamed the plains near Whiterun for a while and discovered the camp. I was slain almost immediately by a powerful mage. I tried a few times, but nothing I had could overcome her magic. Dejected, I started to head back to Whiterun, but I happened upon a Dunmer mage, who agreed to follow me! With his mighty magic we managed to clear out the camp (I let him do most of the fighting).

As I roamed the plains on my way back to Whiterun, marvelling at the brighter landscape, I spied a castle in the far distance, which I didn't recognise

You can't really see it in that picture but it's in the mountains straight ahead, wreathed in fog. I headed over there and it turned out to be Fort Sungard, which I cleared of bandits.

I took a southerly path back and ended up in Falkreath, which was far prettier than I remembered, no doubt on account of the mods. I spoke to the Jarl there, who asked me to bring him some Black Briar Mead.

I travelled back to Whiterun via Helgen and Riverrun, without much incident. At one point I encountered a fort filled with bandits who were far beyond my ability to tackle, and at another time I was slain by a wandering Necromamcer and had to reload and make sure to avoid him. I arrived back at Whiterun and pondered what to do. I didn't really want to have dragons showing up everywhere as I find that quite immersion-breaking. The Jarl's request sounded interesting; a journey to Riften would be a mighty and epic quest indeed.

Onwards, for honour, glory, and mead!