Killing Two Dragons With One Axe

Loredas, 12 Heartfire

I continue to be pleased that I chose to purchase my house in Whiterun.  Not only does it provide me a place to sleep without having to hand over my hard-won coin for a bed, it is also next door to War-maiden's, the armorer's shop in Whiterun.  I have been given leave to use the smelter and forge outside, where Adrianne Avenici does her smithing.  

Yesterday after waking in my own bed, I rose and visited Acadia, the alchemist.  She has also given me leave to use her alchemical equipment.  It's impressive how kind and accommodating the people of Whiterun are by comparison to the sour residents of Windhelm.  I used Acadia's equipment to prepare a few potions, and she purchased some from me.  Though she has a peculiar habit of proclaiming that I look ill each time I enter her shop, I find the place amenable.  I stocked up on healing potions, then decided that I should follow up on a bounty I'd heard about when I visited Falkreath.  I put on my helm, shouldered my shield, and Lydia and I set out for Bilgegulch Mine beyond Falkreath.

I had determined that our best course would be to visit Falkreath first before heading off in search of the mine.  But no sooner had we arrived than the village was beset by a dragon!  Lydia and the town guards peppered it with arrows.  I couldn't stay out of range of its fiery breath.  It was just as well that I had purchased those potions from Acadia.  Despite having been set ablaze, I was able to vault onto the beast's head and bury the blade of my axe in its skull.  As before, when the flames consumed its flesh I felt a rush of power as its soul flowed into me.

Feeling quite satisfied by this turn of events, I decided not to bother staying overnight in Falkreath.  We continued on in search of the mine, traveling by the light of my candlelight spell.  Not far outside the town we came upon an unusual ruin.  Suddenly there was a flare of light and a spriggan rushed us.  Lydia plied her bow to good effect and soon brought it down.  Inside the ruin we found that it had slain two men.  Some bandits had evidently been making the ruin their base, for there was also a chest inside with a few goods in it.  

Continuing on into the night, I became aware of a roaring echoing off the mountains around us.  Was it a dragon? I wondered.  But I couldn't tell what direction it came from.  The sound was too distorted by the echoes.  Eventually we came down into a valley and though it was dark and misty, I spotted a dragon ahead hovering over a spot on the ground.  When Delphine and I fought the dragon at Kynesgrove there were actually two dragons, one of which spoke some words in what I assume is the draconic tongue.  This dragon I saw now was doing the same.  It almost seemed to be chanting.  I decided to take cover and watch for a little while.  Soon I witnessed as strange stream of energy shooting out of the earth into the sky.  Could it be possible, I thought, that this chanting dragon was resurrecting one of the long-dead dragons?

I was right in my surmise.  I saw the second dragon rise up, while the first called out some phrase and then flew away.  Thinking that the newly-reborn dragon might still be weak, I raced toward it, hurling a shard of ice as soon as I was within range.  It wasn't as weak as I had hoped, but to my relief it did not simply fly off.  It repeatedly swooped toward us, breathing not flames but frost.  I don't know if my ice spikes did it any harm, but my axe did, as did Lydia's arrows.  It wasn't easy, but soon enough the dragon was consumed in fire and its soul passed to me.  Dawn was just breaking.  I had slain two dragons in as many days.

Feeling emboldened by this success, I marched on in search of Bilgegulch Mine.  We came upon a Khajit trader who had been slain by two bandits, who promptly attacked us and gave up their lives for it.  One of them tried to plead for mercy, but Lydia would have none of that.  It wasn't until then that I noticed the fort on the cliff above us.  But I decided to forego exploring it and continue my mission to find the bandits at the mine.  

While trying to find a more direct route toward the mine's location, I spotted another structure on the mountainside, dramatically set over a waterfall.  Thinking this might be the mine - though it looked more like Bleak Falls Barrow in design - we crossed the river and were immediately fired upon by someone high up on a promontory.  Lydia fired back, and I ended his life with an icy spike.  After we slew a second man I realized these people were no bandits, they were Forsworn.  As I'd thought, this wasn't a mine, but there was something about the place that pulled at me, telling me that I should take the time to investigate it further.

Hunting Dragons For Fun And... Fun

I wouldn't have thought I'd be glad to return to Whiterun, but it's a relief to get back here now that I own Breezehome.  It's certainly more pleasant here than in Windhelm.  I've just come from the home of the so-called "high king", that rebel Ulfric Stormcloak.  What a miserable hovel.  It's cold, dark and perpetually snowy there, and the stony streets are like a maze.  I have no great love for the Dunmer, but after seeing how they are treated in Windhelm I'd be glad to call them my friends.  Nearly every city guard I met looked askance at the Imperial armor I wore.  I'll be glad to be rid of it, in truth, but I've yet to find any suitable replacement.

I am willing enough to go along with Delphine's plan, but before I seek out the Thalmor embassy I think it would be wise to increase my knowledge of my dragonborn powers.  To that end I decided to follow a rumor I'd heard that there was a dragon sighted at Bonestrewn Crag, not far from Kynesgrove where Delphine and I had fought together.  Lydia and I made our way to the crag without much trouble and found the rumor true.  This dragon was not quite so easy to manage with only the two of us against it, and our battle was made more challenging by the presence of some necromancers nearby who chose that moment to attack Lydia.  But in the end the dragon succumbed.

Laden with dragon bones and hide, we set off for the nearest town, Windhelm.  As I've said, it's an unpleasant place.  The Dunmer who settled there after the Red Mountain exploded are forced to live in a miserable slum and harrassed by the Nords.  It's little wonder that the people there are so mean-spirited and petty when they are led by that blustering coward Ulfric and must spend all their days in such a wretched place.  I could hardly take pity even on the woman who kept trying to tell me about losing her daughter, and I scarcely care that someone has been murdering women there.  Perhaps if all the women die there will be no more Nords to populate the place and it will become a ruin like the many abandoned forts I've seen here.

My only satisfying moment in Windhelm was giving one big-mouthed Nord a good beating after he wagered me 200 septims that he could best me in a fistfight.  He was making derogatory remarks about the Dunmer and made the mistake of challenging me when I told him I didn't like his attitude.  The Nords are all half-mad from the cold, I think; as soon as I'd beaten him black and blue, he behaved as if I was his dearest friend.

I've yet to decide what avenue of adventure to pursue next.  I've heard a fair number of rumors, some of them worth investigating.  Since I spent most of my gold on the house, I could use a few more septims to get more furnishings.  I shall have to seek out more dragons.  Last time I was in Riverwood I saw one flying overhead but couldn't tell where it went. But I think I'll seek out some new territory.  I've spent enough time in Riverwood.

Part One: How in Akatosh's Name Did I Get Here?

I didn't start this blog until my character was 10th level, but I'm going to try to keep it up when I play from now on.  I'll endeavor not to spoiler the plot points too much.

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From  the journal of Selanis Eiravael, 10th level female high elf, Whiterun, Skyrim

I have just purchased a home in Whiterun, and in light of that I've decided to set down a chronicle of my adventures since my arrival in this chilly gods-forsaken wilderness.  

I still don't remember how I came to be in that wagon.  I must have taken a blow to the head from the idiot Imperial soldiers who took me prisoner.  I woke up to find myself in the back of a wagon in the company of three Nord men.  It must be the shared adversity that made them friendlier toward me, though I'd always heard the Nords dislike Altmer.  One of my companions felt it necessary to chatter at me until the wagon came to a halt at the Imperial fort at Helgen.  He was a Stormcloak rebel.  The second man was a sniveling horse thief, and the third to my surprise was the rebel leader himself, Ulfric Stormcloak.  He wore a gag because, as I learned, he had supposedly murdered the king by shouting him to death.  At the time I doubted that story, but what I've learned since leads me to know it could be true.

I don't know why the Imperials thought I was a rebel, but they weren't taking any chances.  As soon as we climbed out the wagon they marched us to the headsman's block.  Even when we heard the strange sounds from overhead they didn't delay.  Just as I lay with my head on the block, the dragon attacked.  I was stunned at first.  By the time I managed to gain my feet half the fort was in flames and there was no way out of the area I was inside.  In the end I had to climb up a nearby watchtower and jump down into a building that was only partly in flames.  After that I met an Imperial soldier who took pity on me and gave me some armor and weapons - the wretched rebels must have stolen my clothes, because when I woke in that wagon I was clad only in rags.

The soldier showed me a subterranean exit from the fort so we could avoid the dragon.  After fighting off some rebels who'd escaped their cells in the chaos, we made our way to the nearby town of Riverwood, where the soldier's family live.  His uncle, the local smith, was kind enough to offer me hospitality, though his wife seems to think I'm going to try to steal her husband - as if I would cast my eye on a human.  

The soldier who helped me had no objection to my looting the bodies of the Stormcloaks we killed, so I had a few items to dispose of when we arrived in Riverwood.  When I took my spoils to the local trader, he told me a tale of thieves who had stolen a golden claw he valued greatly.  He knew where the bandits were hiding, in nearby Bleak Falls Barrow, but being no warrior he couldn't go after them himself.  I decided that eliminating some bandits was a task I could easily manage in exchange for the reward he offered.  But first I made my way to the town of Whiterun to tell the local jarl about the dragon attack in Helgen.  I don't know why my soldier friend couldn't go himself.  Perhaps he was afraid he'd be accused of desertion.

The jarl was friendly enough, and seems a wise man.  He asked me to do a favor for his house wizard, who wanted to recover an item that might help him understand more about how a dragon could suddenly have appeared centuries after all the dragons were slain.  This item, coincidentally, could also be found in Bleak Falls Barrow.  The mage wouldn't say how he knew the object was there but he seemed confident of his information.  Since it seemed I was fated to visit this barrow, I accepted the task.

After a bit of a struggle I eliminated all the bandits - in truth, one fellow eliminated himself by setting off an arrow trap within the barrow.  I learned then that barrows and tombs in this northern land are always populated by the undead draugr.  I found quite a lot of loot, more than I could easily carry, which led me to return to Whiterun.  While I was there I met a woman called Uthgerd the Unbroken at the Bannered Mare.  She seemed eager for a fight and offered a hundred gold pieces if I could best her in a fistfight.  It occurred to me then that these Nords are a proud warrior people, and if I could best her I might win her respect and even friendship as well as the coin.  Once I had beaten her I asked her if she'd accompany me back to the barrow, and she agreed.

When we had cleared the barrow and acquired both the golden claw and the dragonstone, we returned to Whiterun.  Just after we arrived and presented the mage with the dragonstone, a guard rushed in to report that a dragon was attacking the western watchtower outside the town.  The jarl's housecarl, Irileth, asked me to go along and help fight it.  I was excited by the prospect.  Uthgerd and I rushed out to the watchtower with Irileth and her men.  

We made short work of the dragon.  When it died, its' corpse burst into flames.  Then something very strange happened.  Some kind of energy flowed from the dragon to me.  It made me feel stronger, more powerful.  When they saw this the Nords all started to hail me as 'dragonborn'.  After we had returned to the jarl's hall, his brother told me a tale of the ancient dragonborn.  Just before that, however, I heard a strange voice calling, a voice that shook the earth.  The jarl's brother said this was the Graybeards calling me to their fastness at High Hrothgar, where they could teach me what it means to be dragonborn.  I was somewhat dubious, but decided to investigate these Graybeards and learn what they could tell me.

As a reward for aiding in the defense of Whiterun, the jarl made me a thane of Whiterun and gifted me with an enchanted axe, my own housecarl, and the right to purchase a home in Whiterun - a privilege not usually given to outsiders.  My housecarl's name is Lydia.  Once she was assigned to me, I said farewell to Uthgerd.  Lydia would accompany me on the long journey to High Hrothgar, which lies on the peak of the Throat of the World, reputedly the highest mountain in all Skyrim. 

It was a long trek, but the journey was worth the effort.  Not only did we slay more bandits on the way, and find one of the rebels' hidden camps (I plan to tell the Imperial soldiers where it lies), but I have learned three of the Words of Power in the dragon tongue that are known to no others but the Graybeards themselves.  These words of power stood me in good stead when the Graybeards sent me off to find the horn that belonged to their founder, Jurgen Windcaller, in the tomb of Ustengrav.  I have the power to stun creatures with my voice, or to run with the speed of the wind for a short distance.  Knowing this power, I am eager for more.  And I have slain a second dragon now.  The Graybeards tell me that the force I absorb when I slay a dragon is the dragon's very soul, and that it is dragon souls that power my draconic words. 

It seems that more than the Graybeards are interested in the return of the dragons.  When I went to Ustengrav to find the horn, I found a note that led me to Delphine, owner of the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood.  She was once one of the last generation of the Blades, who in ancient times stood guard over the Dragonborn Emperors.  The Blades are now almost forgotten, pursued by the Thalmor - or so Delphine claims.  She also suspects that the Thalmor are somehow behind the return of the dragons.  She wants me to infiltrate the embassy in Solitude and find evidence.  Though I'm naturally not as opposed to the Thalmor as she, even I know they are high-handed in their dealings.  And I'm curious enough about the reappearance of the dragons that I'm willing to try Delphine's plan.