All right, we have a plan! We're going after Red Eagle's Sword.

  As soon as Erandur is convinced that I can keep my breakfast down.

  I woke up early, feeling terribly thirsty and still a bit sick, but not so bad I wanted to stay another day.

  Last night I had trouble sleeping because of the Potion Sickness, so I read "Lost Legends", and then "The Legend of Red Eagle" before I managed to fall asleep.

  Over breakfast, we talked about "Lost Legends" and decided that since the only other artifact of power mentioned was Red Eagle's Sword, we should go after that. Far as we can figure, the last fragment of the Gauldur amulet could bolster my magicka, but if it's like the others, it wouldn't be much. Not enough to make finding it a dire mission, at any rate.

  But the sword, on the other hand - That could be dangerous if it's actually enchanted or anything like that.

  With that decided, I spent a bit of time going through some notes I had on me. I found a treasure map on a bandit a while ago, and showed the others. It looked vaguely familiar to Erandur, but he couldn't place it. We'll have to keep an eye out for it as we go. I also found the note from the Jarl of Falkreath.

  Divines, that was a while ago! I should probably get on that. Far as we can tell, the Sword is somewhere between Markarth and Falkreath. We'll get the sword, then head to Falkreath to sell off what we pick up on the way and see what he wants.

  I did some alchemy real quick before we went, and Erandur offered a bit of advice, if I wanted it. He explained it was hard, but I might be experienced enough to figure out two effects from tasting ingredients. I soft of understood what he was saying, so I tried a few things.

  I figured it out! I don't know how to explain it, but it's sort of like listening to your body, then ignoring the first half of what it tells you?

  I don't know, but anyway, I can understand more things, now!

  Of course, I immediately dove into my ingredients barrel and he hauled me out by my shirt collar. Told me to get my "grubby little skeever paws" out of there until my Potion Sickness is gone entirely. I'm still not at full strength, but he did agree to let me try what I find on the road, so long as I wait a bit between them.

  But it's been an hour - I think I'm good to go.

  -/-/-/-/-/-

  Honestly, I don't think it can get much better than this. We've made camp on top of a mountain tonight, with good weather and an amazing view!

  Back to this morning. We left the house and went through Morthal to get more food. Just as we left town, a Frost Dragon touched down! It was fighting a man wearing heavy armor. We ran to help him, and as we did, I heard him use a Shout.

  A Tongue!

  Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and the Frost Dragon killed him. By that time I got it with a poison that made it weak to fire, so we started hitting it with all the Flames we could.

  We won, I took its soul, and we went on our way.

  We started by taking the road, but ended up chasing a deer off of it to follow a river. This wasn't bad at all, because it was in the direction of where the book said Red Eagle's Sword should be.

  We found a path along the river, and there we ran into a man with an enchanted staff. He was trying to raise a wolf from the dead, but the staff had lost its charge. I offered to buy it off him, and he agreed.

  None of the others wanted it, so now I have a staff to sell.

  We kept following the river, and it was quiet except for mudcrabs and saber cats. We did manage to bag some deer and elk on the way, though.

  We headed upriver, and soon enough it turned to waterfalls where we couldn't follow. Lucky for us there was a road just on the other side of it. Midway through the water, there was a small bit of land with a chest tucked between a stump and a log. It had a tough lock, but I got it. Found myself a new Elven Axe, among other things! I'll enchant it later.

  We went to the road and found a signpost pointing to a place called Karthwasten. It was in the direction we were headed, so we decided to go there.

  The road brought us up here, to the top of the mountain. Getting here was a hike! On the way up we saw two groups of adventurers fighting bandits, but the bandits were all dead when we got there, so - More loot!

  It's a good thing we're heading to Karthwasten. Hopefully we can sell what we've got. We're already getting weighed down.

  Once we got up here we looked at the time and decided that this would be a nice spot to camp for the night. I'm sitting here, my feet dangling over a little rock ledge, with a roaring fire at my back and a gorgeous view in front of me. I can see Solitude from up here!

  Yeah, it's chilly, but I've got the fire, a dog snoozing next to me, a full belly (venison), a mug of warm wine, and good company.

  I don't think I could ask for more.

  I think the Nine thought we were having too nice of an evening last night.

  I'm writing this at a table in Broken Tower Redoubt, after killing about… I don't know, about a dozen or so Forsworn? I didn't even try to count.

  It's been a cold, hard, wet day.

  We didn't get too far along the road from our nice little camping spot before the weather started to turn. Rain came as we walked, and the wind picked up.

  As I huddled into my cloak against the cold, the road sign we passed said we were still going towards Karthwasten, but also Markarth. That's fine with me. If we can't sell our goods in Karthwasten, we can keep going on to the city.

  As the road cut between two walls of rock - Like the mountain had been split in two - We came upon this place, Broken Tower Redoubt.

  It's a large fort, built partially into the mountainside, and has three levels with a tower on either end. The outside was fortified with large wooden stakes and mammoth tusks, but also goat heads on sticks.

  That seems to be a popular decorating choice for the Forsworn.

  A fox bolted past us, and a woman wearing hardly more than skins and waving a sword that looked more like a spiked staff ran out to attack it! She spotted us and ran over swinging, but we took care of her quickly. I heard a commotion on the next level of the fort, and several archers started taking shots at us.

  Luckily they weren't hard to manage, and I decided to go inside.

  Loot is loot, right?

  We never found more than two at once, so getting through the place was pretty easy, fight-wise, but tiring because there were so many! The place has a large central hall with some store rooms on the bottom, and the round tower sections are either stairs to the next level or sleeping quarters. We're in one of those now, getting ready for bed.

  It's a standard fort on the inside, but after the Forsworn took it they did some... Redecorating. Lots of goat heads on spikes like I mentioned before, along with skulls and skins and spiky-looking bits everywhere. There's some wash basins around, but nothing I would ever use. They look like they're full of blood. Some of it's very fresh.

  At the very top of the fort, there was a platform with a dead archer we'd killed before we went in, and a door leading to the top level of the other tower. I was running out of space to carry things, so we took some time to redistribute the gear we'd picked up.

  I couldn't help but examine some of the items.

  The armor we looted was all fur and leather, covered in antlers, tusks, feathers, teeth and bone. Same goes for the weapons. Nothing is forged, really. It's all tied, stitched and notched together.

  All the people we fought were covered in wild body and face paint, but some of it was tattooed. The lady slumped at my feet had some very intricate makeup - I noticed it when I took off the spiked headdress she'd been wearing. I mentioned that she didn't look like a Nord, and Valdimar explained that the Forsworn were made up of Reachmen. They were here before the Nords came, and as far as anyone can tell, they're partially related to Bretons.

  As the others finished up trading things around, Erandur added that the Reachmen are naturally skilled in magic. He had heard that like Bretons, they have some Elven blood, but were also rumored to be part Dremora.

  I admit, that made me stand up quick and take a step away from the body I'd been looking at.

  We went into the tower, and found a half-naked man in a very complicated-looking headdress with antlers on it doing some sort of ritual. Luckily, we'd crept in quietly enough that he didn't notice us, so I was able to poison my bow with a paralysis poison before I took the shot.

  I normally wouldn't be so cautious, but there was a lightning rune on the floor in front of us. I know how hard those are to cast, so he was clearly very skilled.

  We managed to do a bit of damage before he got back up, and good thing, too! He summoned a Frost Atronach right away, then started throwing Ice Spikes!

  Still, that wasn't enough, and his Frost Atronach ended up setting off the lightning rune. Once he was dead, I looked around the room.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Lots of alchemical goodies in there, and a desecrated shrine to Dibella. It looked normal, but her statue and everything had been smeared with blood. There were bones and several severed goat heads (placed more artfully in bowls this time) at the base.

  I decided to try for a blessing. It still seemed to work as normal, so... Maybe just more of their "Decorating" choices.

  There was a side room with a big bed, a table with a book, and a chest with some nice weapons and gold!

  I went to take a good look at the sorcerer, and fell back when I turned him over. The middle of his chest was an open hole, with no sign of a human heart. In its place was a plant-like thing that looked like a spikey green and red pine cone, covered in blood and held in place with leather straps.

  Erandur explained that the man was a Briarheart. He'd heard that Hagravens made them. These men underwent rituals where their hearts were taken out and those… Things were put in their place. It gave them extra power, or something. They weren't undead. They were living, just with a different heart in place of their old one.

  He reached past the straps and pulled out the briarheart with a practiced-looking turn of his wrist. It looked like it came out easily, like it was hardly connected to anything. Erandur handed it to me and added that the heart was a very useful but rare alchemical ingredient.

  Before he or anyone else could stop me, I took a bite.

  I don't know what I was thinking.

  Nothing, probably, and that's the problem.

  Valdimar and Lydia both recoiled, but Erandur just sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. He said that he'd used them before, and could've just told me one of its uses.

  Since I managed to find out two things (restored some magicka and strengthened my defenses), I offered the rest to him so he could learn another effect, too.

  He shrugged, took the heart from me and had a bite, then looked thoughtful. He said the taste reminded him of something, so he took another bite and chewed slowly while he thought about it. I agreed. It tasted familiar to me, too, but I couldn't place it.

  Meanwhile, Valdimar was trying to keep Lydia from vomiting. They'd both taken off their helmets to get some air. He looked a bit green, himself.

  "You alchemists are lunatics, you know that?"

  I laughed, and took a swig of wine. Erandur held his hand out for the bottle, and I handed it over. He finished off the wine and the heart, commenting that the briarheart tastes like a cheesy leek soup, but made sweet instead of savory.

  He was right! That IS what it tastes like - it honestly does - and he quipped that the wine wasn't a bad pairing, actually.

  We cackled for a moment, and poor Lydia looked like she would have throttled the both of us if she wasn't so nauseous. She couldn't believe we just ate someone's heart! I pointed out that the heart was actually made out of a plant, but that didn't make it any better. Somehow, that made it worse!

  We let her rant, and that seemed to make her feel better faster than anything a Healer could do. I did get a bit of a slimy feeling when she said that we should've at least washed it, first. A Hagraven touched it!

  At least it didn't taste bad. It was sort of crunchy, too.

  When Lydia finished ranting Valdimar came over and handed us each a scrap of linen he'd found in the room, dampened with water from his pack. He said it was for the blood.

  I didn't think I got any blood from the briarheart on my face, and I hadn't gotten the chance to tell Erandur about the blood on his before Lydia started yelling at us.

  I couldn't help but laugh as I apologized and wiped off my face. No wonder they were so horrified!

  Valdimar was just staring at Erandur as he cleaned himself up. He'd looked embarrassed when Valdimar mentioned the blood, and even more so now under the staring. He got out a thank you before asking if he'd got it all. Valdimar said he'd missed a spot, and just took the rag from him to get a bit on the bottom of his chin.

  Liar.

  There wasn't any blood, and I'm positive Erandur was blushing.

  I can't wait to tell Lydia later when we get a chance to talk alone!

  Anyway, we looked at the weather (getting worse) and the time (late), and decided that it would be better to stay here for the night. There's plenty of food and mead, so we had a great dinner, and I found a lot of instruments while I was poking around, including a lute!

  I can't play it, but I stuffed it in my pack anyway. Erandur went to the Bard's College. Maybe he knows how? At the very least, I can have it at the house if anyone feels like picking it up for fun.

  After dinner we came back in here to sleep. There's two beds and three piles of fresh straw, all covered in soft furs. Lydia and Valdimar claimed the beds. They said that us lunatics could sleep on the floor with the dog. I griped at first, but Erandur just laughed and said that was fine. Better than a bedroll on the ground!

  He's not wrong.

  Well, my watch is nearly over. Time to wake Lydia, then sleep.

  Tonight I sleep in Tiber Septim's bed!

  Well, that's what Eydis the innkeeper says, anyway.

  We're at the Old Hroldan Inn, somewhere in The Reach, and I'm thankful my fingers still work. I nearly froze to death getting here!

  We left the fort this morning, and the weather hadn't improved any. Still, we kept on, and followed the road as it followed the river's edge.

  This whole place has such a close feel to it. There's cliffs all over, with only the barest openings from the road to the peaks surrounding us.

  We got to Karthwasten with no trouble, and walked right into an argument.

  The man who owns Karthwasten, Ainethach, was arguing with a heavily-armed mercenary named Atar. The mercenaries had taken up residence in one of the two mines there, and were refusing to leave until Ainethach sold his mine to the sellsword's boss, Thonar Silver-Blood. Apparently, they were here because the Forsworn had been causing Karthwasten some trouble, and the Silver-Bloods had "generously" sent over Atar and his men to help clear them out.

  According to Ainethach, the Silver-Bloods have been on him for years to sell the place to them. They already own most of The Reach, and have the Jarl in their pocket, but that's not enough for them. They want the whole thing!

  Greedy bastards.

  I said I'd see what I could do, then went to talk with the others. I was sure we'd have a fight on our hands as soon as we went into the mine, so I suggested a plan. We go to Markarth, sell what we'd picked up so far, and then come back to help. Obviously, we'd pick up more goods to sell dealing with the mercenaries, and we could always go back to Markarth, or just keep on our way, depending.

  Even Lydia agreed that wasn't a bad idea.

  I said we'd be back, and we went back down the hill, and joined the road towards Markarth.

  On the way we came to a crossroads with a bridge to the left and a little house to the right. There were three Forsworn hiding out there, and they rushed us!

  We defeated them, then checked the house. There was no sign of anyone, and in fact it didn't look like anything bad had happened inside, so we left everything as we found it. Hopefully whoever owns the place was out, and the Forsworn hadn't killed them.

  And then it felt like we got the first bit of good luck all day.

  We found Ri'saad and his caravan! I'd much rather deal with him than that grumpy lady at Arnleif and Sons. I did some trading, bought a few ingredients I didn't know much about - Erandur started to lecture me, then just sighed and cautioned me to try them one at a time. "Just pretend it's Orcish Forgewater and pace yourself."

  I promised to be good, then we headed back towards Karthwasten. It hadn't taken very long at all, thankfully, but we did have extra trouble on the way back to Ainethach.

  We walked past three Thalmor, leading a barefoot, captive man down the road.

  By the Nine, I saw red.

  I marched right up to them. Lydia and I had explained what happened at Northwatch Keep after we'd come across the Thalmor Embassy, so the other two knew (and shared) my opinion of them. They all quickened their pace to catch up with me.

  The lead lady, a mage, sneered when I got her attention and asked if I was actually a mage, or did I just steal my robes? I didn't dignify that question with an answer, and instead asked her what they were doing with that man?

  She said that he knew the location of a cult of Talos, and that they were going to interrogate him until he talked, or kill him for being a heretic.

  Having seen first-hand that "Interrogation" was Thalmor code for "Torture," I couldn't let what happened to Thorald happen to him.

  I asked her what was so bad about worshiping Talos, and she said it was immoral to worship a man, not to mention illegal. A good Imperial would know that, she said, and asked if I had anything to confess?

  Behind me, I heard the others draw themselves up, and their feet shift. The two Thalmor fighters behind the prisoner whispered to each other, smirking. I didn't catch the whole thing and I won't write what I did, but just know it was something about Dunmer that would probably get you killed if you said it in a cornerclub.

  I stared at the Justiciar for a second, then looked past her shoulder at the bound man.

  We made eye contact, and I expected to see - I don't know. Fear, I think? Anger? Desperation?

  Not Hope. But it was there; quiet, stubborn and ready to fight.

  I gave the head lady a big smile and said, loudly, "Well, you got me! I believe in Talos!"

  And then all Oblivion broke loose!

  Luckily so did the man. He bolted behind us, so we were able to concentrate on the Thalmor.

  I don't know how Lydia did it, but she rushed past them like a whirlwind and we had them surrounded. I was focused on the mage, but I think the other fighters were using magic, too?

  As before, the mage was useless against an axe, and she couldn't keep her wards up enough to deflect that AND Flames. I'm almost surprised at how quickly she went down.

  While I dealt with her, the others handled the fighters. Once we were finished, the man came back down the hill so we could free his hands. He thanked us, then ran back towards Markarth.

  I happily looted all they had, which included some very nice Elven armor that'll fetch a good price. As we were rearranging our packs yet again, Valdimar quietly asked me if I really did believe in Talos.

  I do.

  The three looked at each other, then back at me. Lydia pointed out that I didn't, before. Erandur asked, "Why the change of heart?"

  It wasn't a "change of heart", like he thought. I wanted there to be some sort of grand reason, like a vision just for the Dragonborn or something, but as I put my pack back on I told them the simple truth: His shrines work.

  This got a big laugh out of Valdimar, and soon we were all laughing as we turned up the mountain towards Karthwasten. But it really is that simple! I had gotten a blessing from Talos back at the Weynon Stones, when we were first going to Windhelm, and it worked as everyone said it should. Sure, you can make false shrines that just Heal people - I've seen that con before in the Capital - but the Divines do more for you than that.

  Erandur nodded. A blessing from Mara makes Healing magic work better, he said, and a blessing from Talos is said to help your voice recover more quickly between Shouts. Of course, this blessing is only really useful for Tongues, like me. "The rest of us have to operate on faith."

  Then we got to Karthwasten, and went into the mine to talk to Atar. He plainly admitted that he and his men were supposed to wait out Ainethach until he agreed to sell the mine to the Silver-Bloods. I managed to convince him to leave because no one wanted them there, and honestly, the miners were getting angry.

  Pickaxes-and-torches kind of angry.

  Atar didn't want to face an angry mob. No amount of money was worth that, so he took his men and left.

  Ainethach was glad that I managed to convince him to leave, and rewarded us with 800 gold for our trouble.

  Not bad!

  So, went back down the hill to keep hunting for Red Eagle's sword.

  It started to pour rain. We were all wet, miserable, and I started to freeze. I saw what looked like an encampment, but it was CRAWLING with Forsworn. As in, I think I could see six of them, and I couldn't even see the whole place.

  I'd be safer with a hungry saber cat. I turned us around and we went back to the main road and kept going. It was getting dire. Thank the Nine for Bask and Wolfskin, but I had to stop using Wolfskin because I got too cold and just… Couldn't find the magic, you know?

  Erandur offered his flame ability, but it was raining so hard all it could do was keep me from getting any colder for a solid minute.

  Still, that minute was enough.

  We spotted a building (this place) across the river, just a bit up the hillside, and soon, through the fog, a bridge! There was a shrine to Dibella on the roadside, across from where the bridge butted up to the road.

  We crossed the bridge as fast as we could, but I was almost staggering by then. Erandur wasn't much better off. Lydia grabbed me and Valdimar took Erandur, and they managed to half-drag us inside before either of us collapsed.

  Once we warmed up, I asked Eydis about getting beds for the night. She offered me Tiber Septim's! She said that Tiber Septim himself had slept right here at the Old Hroldan Inn after winning his first battle to claim Skyrim. And they still had the very bed he used!

  Why not? Closest I'll ever get to an Emperor's bed (she'd clearly heard that one before) so I booked that one for myself and the rest for the others. It's not that late, but it's too late to go anywhere, especially in this weather. Right now we're just having some mead and talking before we get some sleep. There's a boy here, her son Skuli, and he thinks it's funny that the dog is named Septim.

  Even though it's a bit early for me, I'm eager to see if old Tiber Septim slept well while he was here.

  We'll find the sword tomorrow.

  (**Unless absolutely necessary)