And now there are three of us.

  Right now we’re holed up in the tent (I’m so glad I expanded it) in the wreck of a ruined tower.

  The weather had cleared, so we left Solitude and set up over the mountain. We were doing all right, with only a spider or wolf here and there to bother us, until the wind picked up and the snow got heavier.

  We were literally starting to freeze when we spotted an old fort practically at the top of the mountain. We thought it was abandoned, but it was full of bandits! They gave us a lot of trouble – especially the ones in the fort’s prison - but we managed (somehow) to best them. I’m getting good at raising zombies, and Lydia’s begrudgingly admitted that they did have their uses. Like going first down narrow hallways and into unfamiliar rooms.

  We didn’t find anything of note, mostly just armor and food, so we kept going after we’d warmed up. Unfortunately, I got us turned around trying to find a way down the other side of the mountain. On the way, we fought saber cats - Those things are HUGE! – and a Flame Atronach. They’re scary, but beautiful in their own way, and the fight wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. We also found a stray dog fighting some wolves, and now he won’t leave.

  I don’t have the heart to send him away. It’s freezing up here and while he’s very good in a fight with wolves and bandits – yes, more bandits – he’d be an easy meal for a saber cat. I’ll have to take him back with us to Whiterun. Lydia grumbles about him, but he did take out a wolf as it lunged for her back, so she can’t complain too loudly.

  We were soon freezing again as we wandered around up here, looking for a way down, so we made camp in this ruined tower that used to be a saber cat den, and started a fire. At least we’re warm.

  Hopefully we can find a way down tomorrow. Northwatch Keep is so close! We’re almost there!

  Well, THAT could have gone better.

  I’m getting ready to bed down in…

  Northwatch Keep.

  No, I’m not in the dungeon. I think this is the… Head Justicar’s room? (I have no idea how they rank people) Doesn’t really matter to me; it’s a real bed in a warm room.

  The important thing is they’re all dead, and we’re not. Thorald’s on his way to officially join the Stormcloaks, and to take his brother Avulstein with him.

  We also killed a dragon.

  The day started out normally. We got up, had some breakfast, then broke camp. I found a safe path down the mountainside, and while it was a bit steep, it was easy enough to follow and we were able to wind our way down to the seaside with little trouble.

  I noticed a shipwreck not too far off from where the path ended, and a spooky-looking castle on a small, rocky island in the distance. It was hard not to investigate the shipwreck. There could be all kinds of salvageable goods in there!

  Lydia caught me looking, and said she could hear me thinking.

  Damn, it’s not even been two weeks according to this thing, and she can already hear the gears turning.

  It’s been just over two weeks since I got here. I was on that one ship for… A week, was it? I’m not exactly sure. I think it took two weeks to get to Skyrim from Cyrodiil.

  I’ve been away from the Capitol for a month.

  A month ago I didn’t know how to swing an axe, or put on armor. I only knew two spells. I didn’t have a place to live aside from whatever room I could rent for the night.

  Now I have a home! A home and a title with offers for more. I have more gold than I’ve ever seen.

  And I have Lydia, and some sort of big, important destiny that I should probably take care of sooner rather than later.

  So much has happened. Part of me wants to spend a week doing nothing once we get back, but I know me. I’ll relax for one day and then get antsy and want to go out and do… Things. A heist, or run a con or something. At least here I can clear out bandit dens and not worry about the guards coming after me.

  Anyway - We passed a few horkers as we walked along the shoreline. Those things are HUGE! However big you think they are, you need to double it, at least. Lydia said that so long as we don’t bother them, they won’t bother us. We gave them a wide berth and kept walking. Luckily, the dog listens and didn’t go after them.

  The wind coming off the sea is bitterly cold, and it wasn’t long before we were shivering again. We were also right near the Keep, so I built a fire behind a big rock that kept us reasonably out of sight of the guards so we could warm up, first.

  Once I could feel my hands again, I told the dog to stay there, and Lydia and I walked up to the main gate.

  The first guard wouldn’t even let me talk to anyone else! I decided to walk right past him, you know, maybe get someone’s attention, and we were attacked!

  No weapons out, I just wanted to talk, and they decided that we had to die.

  Not today.

  We ran back out so we weren’t surrounded, and I started throwing fireballs at the archers while Lydia hacked her way through the foot guards. The one with the warhammer got raised as a zombie.

  I’m pretty sure I saw the other Thalmor recoil when they realized their comrade with the really big weapon was coming after them. They shifted their attention from me to him right away.

  It took a while, but we did manage to get rid of all the Thalmor outside the Keep. I made sure we had plenty of food and potions before we went inside to find Thorald.

  Fighting inside the keep wasn’t that terrible, thankfully. We were able to draw them into hallways to fight, and that kept things even between Lydia and the zombies I summoned. There were several mages, though, but I was able to take care of them with Sparks and my enchanted axe.

  I guess the Thalmor don’t train their mages to fight hand-to-hand. They fold like a bad hand as soon as you hit them.

  We eventually found our way down into the prison level, and I saw a bank of levers to the right. I pulled them, figuring they would open the doors, and I was right. A bunch of prisoners ran out and past me, eager to escape. To my left was a wide archway, and it led to a torture chamber, with Thorald and a Thalmor Inquisitor.

  He was a hard mage to fight, but I had quite a few magicka poisons and my Sparks to help me. He was able to use a Ward against some of my magic, but Wards can’t stop an axe to the face!

  We freed Thorald, and he said that they were just trying to get him to confess to anything. Anything they could use against him or his family. Probably so they could go after his brother, too.

  Figures. Someone makes trouble they don’t like, so they’ll lock them up first, then find a reason later.

  Well, their tactic backfired, sort of. Thorald reasoned that since he was already accused of helping the rebellion, he might as well join the Stormcloaks. He couldn’t go back, because Whiterun is the first place they’d look for him, but it wouldn't be safe for Avulstein, either. He asked me to speak with his mother when I got back, and tell her, “To suffer the winter's cold wind, for it bears aloft next summer's seeds.”

  He said that she’d know what it meant.

  We left the Keep, and were immediately set upon by a dragon! Lydia and I jumped back inside, and peeked our heads out a minute later. Still there, but no Thorald. I didn’t see a body, so he probably ran the other way.

  Smart man.

  Remember when I said I was stupid?

  Yeah, I’m still stupid.

  I blame the rush of taking out a keep full of Thalmor, but I decided to go and fight the dragon. Lydia came with me, and we fought it in the shallows, nearly freezing to death as we did so. It was so hard to do – I almost died several times! We won in the end, and Lydia got to see firsthand what happened at the watchtower outside Whiterun.

  That same strange light surrounded me, and while I didn’t get that Knowing that I did before, I did feel stronger, and more energized.

  Lydia was definitely… Unnerved by it. She wanted to know what that was, and I explained that I absorbed the soul? At least, that’s what I had been told, and she sort of shrugged because honestly, it was the best explanation.

  It was getting late and we were tired from all the fighting, so we decided to come back here to rest for the night. I went to get the dog, but it was nowhere to be found. I didn’t see any evidence that the dragon got him, so he probably ran off.

  He was friendly enough. He probably followed one of the prisoners we freed, or Thorald. Dogs are smart like that, so I’m not worried.

  So, we came back in here, and we’re getting ready to sleep. Maybe we can make it to Solitude before nightfall tomorrow.

  Not only did we make it to Solitude, we’re in Dragon’s Bridge, back on our way to Whiterun.

  Today was… Refreshingly boring. We left the Keep and started back up the hill the way we came. We saw the body of one of the prisoners we’d freed by the small herd (pack?) of horkers as we passed. Poor bastard. Probably just got too close as he was running away.

  Going up and over the hill was easy. We did run into a trio of bandits when we reached the top, but they were easy work. Once more, they demonstrated why you shouldn’t run straight at giant columns of fire.

  We started to get chilly again, and stopped off at that fort we’d cleared out to warm ourselves back up.

  I wonder how long it takes these forts to get re-occupied? I’d imagine not that long up here. Freezing to death is a real danger at this altitude, so they’d probably move in as quick as they could. They wouldn’t have to worry about the law, either. Sending patrols out this way just isn’t worth it unless you’ve got enough to occupy the fort itself.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  If we ever come back here, I’ll have to check to see if there’s more people here. That would mean more loot!

  At any rate, we got on our way once we were ready, and the walk to Solitude was a quiet one. Not far from there I heard the sound of an anvil down the mountain a bit. I decided to investigate – It was hardly noon – and we found a Stormcloak camp. I was able to trade a lot of the weapons we had with their quartermaster, and made use of their alchemy table.

  We left and started for Solitude. I was almost to the gate when a courier ran up with a letter from a mage called Calcelmo in Markarth. He’s researching Dwarven items, and asked me to bring him a Dwarven arrow, since he’d heard I got my hands on some.

  How do these people know? Who’s telling them about me and what I’m doing? Is there some sort of scrying spell on me? Are they watching my every move? Lydia just shrugged when I asked her if she had any idea how this kept happening.

  Still, we entered the city, and went to Beirand and Sayma to trade. We grabbed a bite to eat at the market stalls, then set off for Dragon Bridge.

  I debated taking the carriage back to Whiterun. It would be a faster trip, but I’d have no chance of picking up alchemical ingredients or gathering other things to sell on the way, so I decided to keep walking.

  On a whim, I walked down the hill towards the water. Lydia was confused, but since we were in no special hurry, she didn’t complain.

  There’s a farm and a mill down there, along with a run-down little dock and a fishing boat. Nothing much of interest, so we went back up the hill and to Dragon Bridge.

  Once we got here, we ran into a very angry lady name Olda. Her husband, Horgeir, is a drunkard and she’s worried that they're going to lose their mill because he’s drinking away all of their money. She asked us if we could get rid of his secret stash, and to bring her a bottle of Dragon’s Breath Mead. It’s his favorite, and he was sure to have some.

  I wasn’t going to get involved, but by “Get rid of” she meant, “Take it all for yourself.”

  Well, far be it for me to turn down free drinks! The only hurdle is that he’d trained some wolves to guard it.

  I mean, I’m not afraid of wolves, but if the man’s so determined to drink himself into Oblivion every day that he’d train wolves to guard his booze, that’s saying something. I know people like this don’t quit because they don’t have anything to drink; they’ll do whatever they can to get more in their hands.

  But still, it was easy drinks, and I decided to go after Horgeir’s “secret” stash before we hit the tavern and turned in for the night.

  There’s wasn’t much to it, really. The little cave Olda told us about was past the mill, and through a little gully in the woods. That’s where the wolves tried to get us, but they were no trouble. The bear just beyond the standing stones was a surprise, though!

  We found a trough in the cave, full of bottles. I took everything, and now we’re at the Four Shields, enjoying the fruits of our labor!

  We’ll deliver the Dragon’s Breath Mead in the morning, then we’ll start back to Whiterun.

  I’m so glad I didn’t have a hangover this morning.

  Then again, Horgeir was buying cheap ale and mead, so I wasn’t expecting one, but looking at the empty bottles would’ve fooled me!

  We woke up early, had breakfast, and made our way over to Olda’s. She was coming out just as we walked up, and was glad for the bottle of Dragon’s Breath mead. She rewarded us with some gold for the trouble, and we hustled over the bridge out of town.

  Neither of us wanted to be around when she confronted him about it.

  We followed the road, and at the second or third fork we came upon a mostly-empty cart with a dead horse still harnessed to it and the body of a Redguard woman beside it. She had a journal on her, where she wrote about how she was determined to accompany her merchant husband, despite the terrible dangers on the road. Not just bandits, war or dragons, but something else.

  There was no sign of her husband anywhere nearby, but there were some arrows around her body unlike any I’d ever seen. They looked - Unreal. Like something from a nightmare. It was as if someone had made arrows without ever having seen one before. I showed them to Lydia and she didn’t know, either. She agreed with me that they looked “off” somehow, and commented that they couldn’t be capable of much damage. That made sense, given their strange shape.

  Still, I took them, if only to sell them. Maybe someone would be able to tell me who’d made them.

  Luckily, the way to Whiterun was not in the direction of the cart, so we left the area and kept on going.

  We were passing a partially-ruined fort when I looked at the map and noticed that Morthal wasn’t that far off. As we were talking about stopping there for some food, some necromancers and a bunch of skeletons burst out of the fort and attacked us!

  They were surprisingly difficult to take care of. As soon as Lydia cut one down, they would be raised by one of their comrades to fight us again!

  But not if I raised them first! HAH! They weren’t expecting that.

  It was exhausting, but by the end of it I had wrested control of at least five of them. Lydia, for once, seemed grateful for the magic zombie assistance. She hates fighting casters.

  Once we had the courtyard of the fort cleared, I saw that we could either go through the main keep, or try clearing out the prison.

  We decided on the prison, and while it could have gone better (I drank a lot of healing potions) I was able to raise the prisoners they had killed to fight for us! There wasn’t much loot, but there were some alchemical things to be gathered, so that was good.

  Once we were through with that, we snuck into the main keep through a side door. I didn’t want to just bust in through the main entrance – Who knew how many people were in there?

  Turns out, that was a good decision on my part. There were a bunch of small interior rooms and hallways, so we never had to fight more than three people at once. Usually there was only a necromancer and maybe a skeleton guardian. The great hall, where the main entrance led to, had four people in it, -and- some dead bandits they turned to zombies. That was a bit of a fight, but I had wisely gathered a little army of my own to fight with us.

  We soon found a room with a difficult lock. After a few tries, I managed to get it open, and there we found the Head Necromancer. I had raised a zombie in case anything or anyone too dangerous had been behind the door, and I’m glad I did! Lydia and the zombie ran in to fight, and managed to keep her from raising the skeletons on the altar in front of her. I joined in with Sparks, and she was soon reduced to flailing at us with a dagger.

  She wasn’t much trouble after that.

  Once she was dealt with, we went though the main keep to see what we could loot. While we were looking, I found a letter on a table addressed to “M’Lady” that explained how they had cleared Fort Snowhawk (this place, I assume) of bandits and how good its location was for gathering “test subjects” for… Whatever it is they were up to here.

  I want no part of the “experiments” they were doing, and I don’t want to know who this “M’Lady” is.

  It’s getting late, so we’re spending the night, but I’m going to use the enchanting table and the alchemy station we found. I don’t have any soul gems to try enchanting anything of my own, but I grabbed an armload of enchanted robes that I can check out to see if I can learn the spells off of them. I’m going to make as many potions as I can before bed, too. We’re nearly out of Health potions, and my magicka potions are totally spent!

  -----

  Guess who I found? The dog! Well, more like he found us.

  There’s a cooking stand outside, and I went out there to make us some supper when I heard barking. I poked my head out of the main gate and saw him on the road! He came right up to me, and now he’s curled up at the foot of the bed I’m using for the night.

  I hope he sticks around this time.

  And now we are four, counting the dog.

  What to say about today? It’s been… Overwhelming, to say the least.

  I am now a Thane of Hjallmarch, I own more property, I’m building a house of my own (!) and I have another housecarl, Valdimar.

  All I had to do was chop some wood.

  I know, right? It seems mad, but this morning, we ate breakfast and left Fort Snowhawk for Morthal. I had looted a bunch of magic robes and such from the fort, and I wanted to see what I could sell to Falion.

  The trip there was quiet, and I was soon many Septims richer after unloading our haul. I ran into Jorgen the woodcutter as we headed to the inn for lunch, and he asked if I had firewood to sell. There was a chopping block practically right there, and I thought to myself, “Why not?”

  So, I chopped some wood for him.

  When I was done, Lydia said, “That’s your three.”

  I asked her to explain, and she reminded me that the Jarl had asked me to help out at least three people around the hold.

  Apparently, Lydia had been keeping count.

  I tried to argue that surely selling firewood to a woodcutter wouldn’t do it. He was just doing his job, but she said that it did, so we ended up making a bet on it. Morthal’s not a big place, so it was no trouble to go to the Hall and ask the Jarl herself to settle it.

  I owe Lydia a pie.

  The Jarl declared me a Thane of the Hjallmarch, and gave me a sword. She also assigned Valdimar to me, and said that if I so desired, I could buy some land and build a house for myself. I was staggered, but turned to Aslfur, her steward, and asked about the land.

  Five thousand gold, just like the house in Whiterun.

  I checked my bag, and saw that I had enough. Just a few hundred more, but it was enough.

  I didn’t give it a second thought. I handed over the gold, and he told me that my land was past the vampire lair, overlooking the marsh, with a gorgeous view of Solitude. A prime spot for a manor hall!

  I smiled and said it sounded lovely.

  Luckily, I’m a great liar!

  Unfortunately, Lydia is not. She couldn’t suppress a snort when I said that, and I had to cover it up with a cough. Aslfur seemed none the wiser, though, so I thanked both him and the Jarl, and we all left the Hall to take a look at my new holdings.

  The way was cold, wet, and gloomy. There’s no real path to it, just a partial one that leads as far as Movarth’s lair, then peters out through the shrub.

  Valdimar is full of surprises, though. Unlike Lydia, who snarks at me when I ask, he’s eager to carry things for me. I caught Lydia rolling her eyes at that, but I made sure he had food and drink for now. I’ll have to see what I can do about outfitting him. Lydia loves sorting through the loot to see what she can upgrade; maybe he will, to?

  As we trekked through the icy wetlands, we were attacked by a trio of frostbite spiders. I let loose with some fire and killed one, but another lunged at me from the side. I turned to try and fend it off with my axe, but it was too close. I was certain it was going to get me when an arrow thudded into it, quickly followed by a shard of ice!

  The beast dropped dead, and I turned to look at Valdimar, who was standing next to Lydia. In one hand, he held a mace. The other was shrouded in a frosty mist. An Ice spell! Lydia blinked a few times before she grumbled, “Not another one.”

  I couldn’t stop myself from shouting out loud. Another magic user! I’ll have to ask him what spells he has later tonight.

  We got to the building site without further interruption. There was a stack of lumber, house plans, a book on house building, a workbench, an anvil, and a chest of supplies waiting for me.

  I read the book, first. There’s a bunch of different plans I can choose from, and it looks like I’ll have to buy or gather more materials to finish it.

  I’m tempted to add all the magician parts to the house, but I think a main building surrounded by a bunch of towers would just look ugly.

  Maybe a tower for books? I don’t know, I’ll have to think on it some more…

  It’s a lot of choices all of a sudden. For now, I just want to build a main hall so we have a place to sleep and cook food.

  I did what I could with the supplies that were on hand, but I’m far from finishing the main hall. I don’t even have a door. I’m going to head back to Whiterun. If I see a cave or something I’m going to investigate. Maybe we can find something worth selling so I can get more supplies for the house.

  At least I know Valdimar can handle himself against a dragon.

  We walked to the road so we’d have an easier (and drier) time getting back to Morthal for the night, and came upon a mine! The workers there were getting ready for the night, when a strange shape came down from the sky.

  It was a dragon, but it was ghost-like. Like an invisibility spell gone half-right. It had breath cold and stinking as a tomb, and an unholy shriek.

  Luckily, it only looked ghostly. Normal weapons can hurt it, and while it was hard to see in the air, I found that setting it on fire made for a much easier target!

  There were some Hjaalmarch guards at the mine, and they were a big help in bringing it down.

  Lydia still looked a bit unsettled by the dragon soul surrounding me once it was dead, but Valdimar just nodded. He’d heard that the Dragonborn had returned, and that she was a smooth-talking, impulsive Imperial woman. As soon as he saw me come into the Hall and ask the Jarl to settle a bet with my housecarl for a pie, he figured it was me.

  Ah.

  Well, they could’ve said worse!

  Lydia cackled at that, and Valdimar soon joined in. They chatted the rest of the way, mostly talking about armor and weapons and such. I just listened.

  It feels good to be around people again. The Capitol was always noisy, and full of people talking and singing and yelling and fighting and laughing every minute of every day. Even in the slower parts of town, you could still count on hearing quiet conversations, even in the dead of night.

  It’s so different, here. Usually the only sounds I hear are forest-y ones and our footsteps. Lydia’s not much of a talker while we’re walking, but I think that might have more to do with keeping her ears open for threats. Maybe with Valdimar and the dog here, she’ll let herself relax a bit.

  Anyway, we made it back to the inn, and I need to turn in.

  It’s been a long day.