Hour 13: The Evil Dead

I fast-travel to Bleak Flats Cave, as I'd already discovered it on my way to Skingrad, to rescue Erthor for the Mages Guild. The cave is filled with Zombies. Fortunately, I have a brand spanking new Repulse Undead spell, and with it I make short work of them. One cast of it and the Zombies flee for their (un)lives, leaving my own Zombie, and my fireballs, to make short work of them. 

Seems as good a place as any to wait out the Zombie apocalypse

My coffers a running low - just 164 gold, now - due to all the spells I've been purchasing. How to make some money? I decide I'd better clear out a cave and grab some loot. After levelling up at the West Weald Inn (level 5), I head out to the nearby Derelict Mine which an Argonian in Skingrad told me about. On the way there I come across Cursed Mine too, so head inside. I hear the most terrifying bloodcurdling scream ever as I enter, but it's just full of bandits. They all fall to my foolproof tactic of summoning a zombie to distract them while I run behind them and cast spells/hack at them without mercy. Even the Ringleader falls swiftly to this tactic. I come across my first Ghost on one of the lower levels - it's weak to my spells but does hell of damage to me with its ranged attack. I'm relieved there aren't more of them.

Stay away from that Trapdoor!

Cursed Mine turns out to be fairly sprawling, with three levels culminating in a seemingly unique end-section. By the time I clear it out I have to head back to Skingrad to sell my winnings. I have 620 gold by the time I'm done - I could make much more but choose to keep two of the items I've found - Helmet of the Apprentice gives 9% magic resists, and Boots of Insulation give an additional 15% shock resist. Cutting out almost a quarter of the damage from electric spells could come in very handy. Unfortunately my new helmet looks awful:

Hour 12: The Hunt for Red Octogres

I set off for the Jemane brothers' ancestral home of Weatherleah in order to clear it out of Ogres for them, so they can return. I approach it with some trepidation; I remember Ogres from my last character, and they were huge and tough. One of the brothers mentioned that Ogres are cannibals and so he thought they ate his brother. How does eating humans make them cannibals?! Fortunately, these turn out to be Ogre Groundlings - miniature runts barely bigger than a person. With the help of my summoned zombie I tear them all a new one, though they are still quite tough to take down.

My Little Zombie

Ogres are untidy creatures and have left the house in a right state

On the way back to Chorrol I discover an odd town called Hackdirt. Many of the buildings are burned down and all of the townsfolk are belligerent and hostile. One of them is the ugliest person I've yet come across:

I nose around but don't find any leads or anything. I'm sure this town will crop up in a later quest, as there seems to be some sort of demonic worship going on.

It's time to move on again, so I choose the most logical destination of Skingrad. This time I don't stop on the way except to inspect the Shrine of Sanguine, therefore the journey is quite quick. Skingrad is the most impressive town I've been to so far:

Oddly, all the doors are 'reinforced doors'. The town has a very Eastern European feel to it, complete with a castle inhabited by a reclusive count...
I spend quite a while getting lost in the cobbled streets and get the Recommendation quest from the Mages Guild.

Hour 11: Chorrol part 2

I don't really want to leave Chorrol yet, so I spend a while looking round. I meet a few characters who seem like they could be interesting, but they offer no quests or guidance. Eventually I speak to the Countess in the castle, who asks me to help find a missing painting. The quest involves speaking to four suspects and inspecting the fairly large interior of the castle for clues. It's engrossing and ends up taking about 45 minutes. Every single person in the castle, suspect or not (except the guards) had something interesting and unique to say about Chorrol, and usually had some other comments as well. It was fun taking the time to speak to people, which is definitely not the case in Skyrim. I took no I interesting pictures, though, so here's a nice view of Chorrol Catherdral at dusk which I took from just outside the Castle after finding the thief:

Afterwards, I bumped into Reynald Jemane. I recognise that name... and that face! It's Guilbert Jemane from Cheydinal, whom I took a picture of earlier! Or rather, it's his twin brother. I quickly complete the quest to reunite them (fast-travelling between the two cities this time - my first use of fast travel), and am rewarded with another quest from them - this time, it sounds like it I'll involve Ogres. Good job I purchased some better spells.

Hour 10: Chorrol part 1

I set about the Recommendation. I must retrieve a book from a ruin called Cloud Top for Earana, and to make no mention of it to Teekeeus or anyone else in the guild. I immediately run and tell Teekeeus, then set off for Cloud Top. An Imp awaits me, but they're getting tougher now. This one takes four blasts of Cold Touch to bring down, and takes off a good bit of my health. Fortunately, Cloud Top is just an open ruin, and I retrieve the book from a nasty old charred corpse:

I hand the book to Teekeeus, and take great delight in refusing to steal it back from him for Earana:

She shouts for a bit then storms off. I decide it's time to increase my repertoire of spells, so purchase loads of spells from Alberic Litte in the Guild - Defend, Flash Bolt, Summon Zombie, Summon Scamp, Repulse Undead, and Remote Manipulation. This drains a lot of my funds, leaving me with only 600 gold, but I figure it's worth having more powerful spells.

A man I spoke to earlier in Chorrol asked for help defending his farm from some 'creatures'. By help, I mean 'he's too scared to do it so decides to ask a random stranger'. Never one to turn down some XP, I head off and his sons show me to their farm. They're painfully slow, though, and I run ahead and wait for them. It is still raining. Goblins arrive in three waves, and they're tougher now - 'Goblin Skirmishers'. The first couple of waves are dispatched with ease but the final four goblins swamp us and both of the man's sons are cut down! I have to resort to both health and mana potions in order to see off the violent attacks from the final two Goblins.

The field, littered with corpses.

As a result of the battle I am promoted to a Journeyman of destruction magic. I don't like the outcome of both sons dying, but at my current level I don't think I could have stopped it. I resign myself to the situation and head back to Chorrol to inform their father. He informs me that he can't offer a reward, as he must spend his money on burials. The wretch! I put my neck on the line to defend his measly sons, who DIED at the hands of some Goblins, and I get nothing in return? I looked up the quest online and it turns out I missed out on Chillrend by not saving both sons. I'm not too bothered though, since it's levelled, and anyway I'm focussing more on Magic than Blade.

I sell the stuff I looted from the battle to Rasheda at Fire and Steel. I get my items repaired there, and notice something odd. I can 'Repair All' for about 500+ gold, or I can repair each item one at a time for a cost of between 1 - 15 gold per item - and there are only about six items which need repairing. Looks like she's levying an extortionate surcharge just for the convenience of 'one-click repairs'...

A few people in town have mentioned 'something shady going on at the Oak and Crozier', so I head there. Look how short this elf standing by the door is:

I see nothing suspicious, though, so I break into their basement and sneak around. Still nothing. Back in the bar, there's nothing odd (except a bed by the bar, and these two identical men hanging around):

Upon further (online) investigation, it seems there was some sort of quest to do with the inn which was never put into the game.

Hour 9: Pastures New

Heeding Jorundr's advice, I flee Bruma and head West towards Chorrol. It's a seriously long way so I steal another horse when it gets dark and gallop away on hooves of keratin (so, just hooves, then). I follow the Orange Road until I come across Morana, an Ayelid Ruin. I haven't explored one of those yet, so decide to take a look. How bad can it be?

The door looks quite foreboding. Perhaps I should turn back?

Fortunately, it's just filled with Imps. I dodge their clumsy fireballs with ease and hack them to pieces. Speaking of Imps, here's a dead one:

He never got to fulfil his dreams

I focus more on my hand-to-hand here. There's a fair amount of loot alltold, and some magical  Welkynd Stones (and Varla Stones). The ruins are very creepy and filled with an eerie green luminescence. They're definitely more interesting to explore than the caves or forts I've come across so far.

 The rest of the journey (continued on foot) is uneventful save for being attacked by a brigand who bit off far more than she could chew. Due to my exploration of the ruins, however, the journey once again takes almost exactly an hour. When I arrive in Chorrol, I stay at The Grey Mare. It looks more like a hut than an inn. This is the room they expect me to sleep in:

I've levelled up once more thanks to my tireless Imp-slashing. I choose Strength, Intelligence, and Speed. For the next few levels I think I'll ease off Strength, as I can see my sword becoming quickly outclassed by my spells.

Hour 8: Vampire-Hunters and Thieves

I start off by wandering around Bruma looking for a general goods store in which to sell my Fortify Fatigue pants (I have 4 pairs now, I hope it isn't some kind of glitch where that's the only magical loot I'll find...). I bump into a man who tells me about a vampire hunter who recently caught a vampire. I happen upon the aforementioned vampire's house and break in, but it's full of guards who tell me to leave. I manage to bribe one of the guards to give me more information (it costs me a small fortune overall though). While he's talking to me, this old woman is standing behind him glaring the whole time, like this:

Turns out she's the dead vampire's wife, who insists he wasn't a vampire. After talking to her, I form the impression that the vampire hunter Raynil Draylas is nothing more than a filthy Dunmer liar (which of them aren't, though?). To track down Raynil, I head to Olav's Tap & Tack again and bribe and banter with the inkeeper, but even when he disposition is maxed he won't give me any information. Okay... Incidentally, the sneaky Dunmer is still in my room. I have better luck at the imaginatively-named 'Hammer & Axe', where the Neanderthal-esque Nord blacksmith tells me that Raynil is staying at... Olav's Tap & Tack. So that's why the inkeeper wouldn't spell the beans, I guess.

I try to pickpocket Raynil's key from the innkeeper but after several attempts give up - a guard arrests me every time. Similarly, I cannot get his disposition higher than 70, so he won't give me the key or get Raynil for me. I'll have to come back to this mission when I have a charm spell. Damnit!

I start 'Two Sides of the Coin' instead, which sounds interesting. The quest takes me to the dungeons of Bruma Castle, where I stumble across a silver sword which no one seems to be using. Perfect! For the quest, I end up siding with Jorundr as I don't like the way Arnora speaks to me - she's threatening and seems deceitful. Plus I figure I can get all of the money if I kill her, rather than half.

Arnora's lovely little cottage. Soon it will have a new red coat of paint.

Jorundr tells me where to find some hidden gold. His wife has been looking for it everywhere. Here
it is:

Yeah, real well hidden. Looks like Arnora deserved to die for being so incompetent. It's a rather modest stash of gold and trinkets, but combined with the gold from selling both of Arnora's massive amulets, I make a decent amount. The shopkeeper I offload the goods onto is selling some interesting simian-themed apparel:

Jorundr thinks it would be wise for me to leave town before the guards start investigating. I agree, but first I want to complete the Recommendation for the Mages Guild. Fortunately, it's a short and simple one which is just helping out with a harmless prank. Some of the students want help pulling a prank on the guild leader, which involves the staggeringly devious ploy of stealing one of her books and hiding it so that she'll spend weeks trying to find it. "It was a good idea wasn't it!" Errr, no.

I get given a 'mysterious note' by a Dunmer courier, which is from The Gray Fox. I intend to do the Theives Guild with Woodley as I've never done their missions before, so perhaps when I return to the Imperial City after gaining all of the Recommendations I'll pay him a visit.

Hour 7: Bruma Bound

I decide to head to Bruma, with a view to completing the next Recommendation for the Mage's Guild.  I'm eager to gain access to the Arcane Univerisity and completing all the Recommendations will give me a good excuse to revisit the Imperial City. It seems a long way on the map from Kingscrest Cavern to Bruma and I decide to walk there rather than fast-travel, in order to get a feel for the size of the world. It actually takes me the best part of an hour to walk there, because I stop to explore a few locations on the way.

Firstly I check out Lord Rugdumph's Estate. You can see the manor house in the last picture of the previous post. I break in and discover 'Lord' Rugdumph is a foul Orc. I wonder what his story is? He allows me to run around his house for a bit before threatening to call the guards, so I leave and plot my revenge for his insolence. I sneak into his 'servants quarters' and lie in wait for the hapless servants, meaning to murder them all. However, the servants never arrive. I figure Lord Rugdumph is a fake Lord or has fallen on hard times. Perhaps I'll come to his aid in the future.

For now, I set off again, and stop to explore Fort Horunn. It's infested with Imps, and my Cold Touch goes through them like a hot knife through butter. They don't stand a chance. I find another pair of Fortify Fatigue pants (!).

The abandoned forts in Oblivion really creep me out:

They're so bleak and murky, and with their low ceilings and filthy, rusty doors they feel very oppressive.

This idiot got eviscerated by Imps. What a loser he must have been! I'm glad he's dead.

Next I happen upon Red Ruby Cave. No Imps, just lots of wolves and rats. Makes a nice change from slaughtering Imps, and the wolves are actually quite a bit tougher. I use a combination of Cold Touch, blocking their attacks with my sheild, and summoning my trusty skeleton, to cut my way through them. When I summon the skeleton the wolves all go for him - must be after the bones, I guess. It's a nice touch (unlike my ice touch, which kills hell of rats and wolves). There's no boss or big treasure trove to be found, though, and I'm already getting a bit tired of the same old cave layouts (the final section always has that big hollowed-out out section in the middle, for example). The dungeon design is obviously something which is much better done in Skyrim.

My battling is rewarded with another level increase, bringing me to level 3. I finally reach Bruma, and its frosty battlements are a welcome sight after the seemingly endless mountain pathway which I traversed to reach it:

When I get there I head to the nearest inn - Olav's Tap & Tack - to sleep and level up. This jerk is in there when I arrive. He is rude to me from the get-go and threatens to turn me into ash. Then when I rent a room and go there to sleep, he's in my room, in sneak mode, and won't leave!

He boasts and makes some more threats, so I close the door and use my Cold Touch on him, hoping to kill him and thus 1) rid the world of this wretch, and 2) get invited to join the Dark Brotherhood, which many citizens and even guards have told me about. However, he screams and flees like a coward as soon as I cast the spell. He runs from the room but stays in the inn and then I can't go to sleep because 'you cannot rest with enemies nearby' - so I have to reload. Looks like my list of people to exact a bloody revenge upon is growing longer by the hour.

When I finally manage to sleep and level up, I put points in Willpower, Intelligence, and Strength (I don't want to neglect strength, as I do intend to use a sword). I wish I hadn't left my sword in that well, though, because so far no one I've killed has dropped a sword (it's always axes, maces, daggers, or giant hammers) and no shops I've been in have sold any swords. My next tasks will be to acquire a sword, and complete the Bruma Recommendation quest.