Hour 21: Madstone & Glowdust

I fight my way through the tunnels and encounter some Ogre Groundlings along the way. They're not so scary, taking just four fireballs to bring down. I emerge onto the snowy Pale Pass, and have to traverse a meandering pathway which is littered with more Ogre Groundlings. It's at this point that I realise Ogre Teeth are worth 75 gold each (don't know how I missed that before), so I welcome the sight of each new Ogre as to me it symbolises nothing but cold hard white pointy cash.

I eventually reach the inevitable dungeon, and begin the search for the 'Madstone' which the Countess has gone ga-ga for. The dungeon is filled with skeletons called Undead Akaviri Warriors, which are actually tougher than the Ogres, requiring a full six fireballs to slay, and also being fairly nimble in combat. I'm a little worried at first, but I remember my 'Repulse Undead' spell, and so I manage to avoid ever being ganged up on. With judicious use of my 'ard-as-nails Zombie, and a few fireballs to the skull, even the deadly Akaviri become nothing more than an inconvenience in my hunt for the Madstone.

This dungeon is actually my favourite so far. It feels different to all of the previous ones, and I think it looks different too. There are a lot of green glowing flames like this one:

The corridors are often quite long and spacious, and the design and layout don't seem to just be rehashes of previous ones. I might be wrong in that respect, but I nevertheless thoroughly enjoy battling through it. As I reach my goal, an ominous sight greets me:

Fortunately it's just a demented apparition, and I don't have to fight it. I grab the Madstone and return to the Countess. I'm rewarded with a ring called Vipereye, which is worth 2000 gold. Nice! Or rather, it would be, if I could find anyone to buy it. As it stands, when I return to the Imperial City to sell my loot, no one will buy he ring! I take the opportunity whilst in the Market District to hunt down some Glowdust from an alchemy shop. I'll need it if I'm to speak to Azura at her shrine, which is something I intend to do soon as the reward she grants was useful even to my Warrior character, and should prove invaluable to my Mage. I also buy some Cyrodiilic Brandy, in case I ever run into Sanguine's shrine again.