Tag Archives: Oblivion

Warning: potential side quest spoilers ahead!

From the journals of Garn:

The Horror of Dive Rock

It feels like it is time to leave the mead-soaked halls of Bruma behind and travel elsewhere. After a quick glance at a detailed map of the area in one of the city’s book shops I decide to take an indirect route to the city of Cheydinhal in the east. My plan is to head directly east until I’m more or less above the city and then head straight south. Hopefully this will help me avoid bandits.

I spend much of the morning purchasing supplies – rations, camp supplies, etc. before heading out of the Bruma gates. The trip through the snowy hills of the north is fairly uneventful save for a few attacks by wolves and bears. I spend most of my time trying to keep covered up and watching my footing on the often frozen ground. I spend the night in a shallow cave where I make a fire to stay warm for the night and gnaw on some awful tasting iron rations.

“Further proof that adults aren’t always right.”

Eventually I come across a curious sight – the body of a man lying at the bottom of a massive cliff face. I search his body and discovered a letter from the man’s daughter. Apparently he was trying to climb to a famous spot known as Dive Rock. Obviously he slipped and fell here. I take a few of his belongings along with the note in case I should encounter one of his family members in the future.

Given that there has been a bit of a lull in the near constant snow storms in the area I decide to investigate this so-called Dive Rock myself. While I’ve certainly done a lot of hiking in the mountains so far given my bundle of armor, weapons, and supplies I don’t think I have what it takes to safely climb up a sheer cliff face, especially one covered with ice and snow. I decide to walk all the way around the base of the mountain and up some of the smaller foot hills to the northeast of it.

When I finally reach what I believe to be the top of the mountain the snow on the ground is thick and the snow is falling hard. It is becoming dark and my pace quickens – I must find a decent place to make camp before nightfall. Soon I see a campfire in the distance. While I attempt to be stealthy the sound of my boots crunching into the frozen snow is impossible to mask. Finally I get close enough to see that the camp site is surprisingly abandoned.

“A much more impressive view when it isn’t foggy.”

The campfire is accompanied by a tent that appears to be in good shape and I quickly take advantage of it, bedding down for the night. I try to sleep lightly in case those who were camping return in the night and aren’t happy to find me.

I wake in the morning with the rising sun bouncing off of the pure white snow and blinding my already sleep-dulled eyes further. It seems that I slept a bit heavier than I intended though with the exception of some more fallen snow the campsite doesn’t appear to look any different than it did the night before – apparently no one has visited. As I put my gear back on and warm up next to the fire I admire the amazing view from this point – I can see for miles!

I decide to take advantage of the fire one last time by warming up some wolf meat. It seems my stoking of the fire has melted some of the surrounding snow and I notice some objects left by the previous inhabitants of the campsite including a journal. The journal details a man and his wife on a quest to find and slay a creature known as the Uderfrykte Matron. Apparently they had tracked the creature to a nearby location. When finally making their attack the creature quickly and savagely slew the man’s wife, swallowing her almost whole. He retreated to their camp once more. Resigned to his fate he planned to return to the site of the attack and face the creature once again – he’d either have his vengeance or join his wife in the afterlife.

Given that the fire was still burning and the campsite seemed to be in good repair I figure that I had only missed the man by a matter of hours, if that long. Depending on how far away this creature lurked I might even be able to catch up to the man and assist him in his revenge. I gather my gear and head toward the area he described in his journal.

“Ice versus fire… who will win?”

As I crest the hill I see what must surely be the creature that the writer of the journal described: A large, troll like creature that shimmers with a magical looking frosty blue aura. As I stand staring at the creature in wonder it senses my presence and charges quick towards me. Taking the man’s own observations into account I quickly summon a flame spirit and then pepper the creature with fireballs. The atronach and the creature wrestle and I circle it, chopping at it with my own attacks from behind. Soon the creature lay dead, its weakness to fire aiding me to quickly dispatch it.

“Err, need a hand?”

I search the corpse of the unusual creature and find the corpse of the man and his wife nearby. Although I wasn’t able to save them I was at least able to honor them by avenging their deaths.

I take in the magnificent view around me one more time and start to head back down the mountain. This begins what feels like an unending decent, eventually leading me to the green, craggy river valleys of Cheydinhal County and soon enough I see the city itself.

As I walk through the impressively battle ready looking gates of the walled city my first order of business is to get a proper room at an inn and try to get dried off. Perhaps a good, warm meal is also in order…

While verifying that I was indeed spelling “atronach” correctly I stumbled upon an Elder Scrolls page filled with amateur (to put it nicely) pornography drawings of atronachs and other daedra. I’ve been using the Internet for almost 15 years now and I’m still amazed by some of the bizarre shit I come across.

Warning: potential side quest spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

A lucrative profession?

In the morning I made my goodbyes with the people of Aleswell and continued on my journey, heading north along the Silver Road and soon arriving at the city of Bruma. Embarrassed, I had wondered if the people of Bruma, specifically the guard, remembered me from the run in I had with a frost titan last time I was in the city. Thankfully no one seemed to recognize me or, if they did, they kept it to themselves.

I quickly sank into what was now becoming a routine of chatting with locals about rumors and other local going-ons, and casually mentioning that I was looking for work whenever possible. My main target was usually the local inns and bars as they were the easiest places to be social without drawing to much attention to myself – that, and the fact that drunk men often can’t hold their tongues is a useful bonus.

“Relax guys, I’m not dragging a vicious monster behind me this time.”

One rumor I was consistently hearing was that of some domestic trouble between an Imperial named Arnora Auria and her Nord boyfriend Jorundr. Apparently Jorundr had stolen a bunch of her gold and got himself arrested as a result. Not only was she out her fortune but her love was now imprisoned. While I wasn’t particularly impressed by this story I couldn’t help but feel that the very presence of it on so many people’s lips seemed to indicate that there was more going on. I paid Arnora a visit.

As I suspected Arnora seemed poised for someone to approach her about these rumors and quickly dispensed with several more details of the story. She claimed that her and Jorundr were both thieves and when there marks started getting larger and larger she wanted to get out of the arrangement, yet Jorundr intimidated and coerced her into sticking around. Apparently the pair had scored quite a haul of loot on the night that he was arrest. Arnora wants me to speak with him in jail and attempt to find out where he had hidden it as reparation for her treatment. She promised me a large cut of the value if I could help her recover the loot.

I was rather suspicious of Arnora and her motives but not only did I need money but I was here for adventure and it seemed that this task might lead to some. I visited Jorundr in the Bruma Castle Dungeon.

Jorundr was belligerent and refused to talk to me but while I was there I overheard some other prisoners discussing the slaying of a vampire by a professional vampire hunter that very night. Vampire hunting sounded both rewarding and incredibly exciting. I decided to pursue this rumor and see if I could introduce myself to this vampire hunter and possibly join him.

For the record to complete this quest involving Arnoa and Jorundr it seems I would have had to get myself sent to the Bruma jail the hard way. Unwilling to set Garn on a life of crime (yet) I abandoned the quest for now and moved on to the next one…

“Chupacabra!”

After canvassing the city I learned of the location of the slaying – a villager named Bradon Lirrian’s house. As I reached the scene I saw several guards mulling around the premises including a man who identified himself as Carius Runellius, the investigator. While at first he refused to discuss the killing after explaining to him while I was there he eased up a bit.

According to Carius several bodies with bite marks in their necks were found around the city recently. The city had just begun their investigation when a Dunmer vampire hunter called Raynil Dralas entered the city and found the vampire who turned out to be Bradon Lirrian. The guards investigated his claim and it seems the citizens had only seen Bradon out at night. Furthermore, a body was discovered in the basement of his house. As if that weren’t enough the Bruma guard had also verified Raynil’s good work with the city guard of Skingrad.

While the story seemed pretty straight forward I couldn’t help but notice the presence of a woman at the scene. When I asked about her Carius told me that she was Bradon’s wife, Erline, and that she was suffering from a severe level of shock, most likely from unknowingly living with a vampire for so long.

When I spoke with Erline she didn’t seem to be suffering from shock at all to me. In fact she seemed quite far from it. However, she was very insistent that her husband wasn’t a vampire and that he had, in fact, been murdered. She told me that her husband simply worked at night and that alone didn’t make him a vampire. Carius scoffed at her claims and told me I could take a look at the scene if I wished.

When I entered the house I immediately noticed that the scene before me conflicted with what I was told. Carius said that Raynil had claimed to have snuck into Bradon’s house and killed him while he slept during the day. However, it seemed pretty clear that there was a struggle and that Bradon hadn’t been sleeping when he was killed.

I decided to continue my search for Raynil though now with a different purpose in mind. I searched high and low but was unable to find any sign of a Dunmer matching his description. A few people told me they thought he might be staying at Olav’s Tap and Tack inn so I made that my final stop. Although there was no sign of Raynil the inn’s proprietor Olav spoke of his own suspicions regarding the vampire slaying and eventually confirmed that Raynil was staying there and volunteered the key to his room so that I could take a quick poke around while he was out.

“Hey, that’s not where books go!”

At first I found little of interest in Raynil’s room but soon I spotted an old, worn out looking book wedged carefully behind a dresser. The book spun a worse tale than I would have guessed.

The book was a journal belonging to a man named Gelebourne – the very name of the “vampire” who Raynil apparently slew in Skingrad. It seems that Gelebourne, Raynil, and Bradon were all part of an adventuring group known as “The Brotherhood” that plunder dungeons, ruins, and other dangerous sites for treasures.

It seems that one of the group’s greatest hauls was that of an Ayleid artifact that they suspected to be of such value that they didn’t immediately sell it. Instead the trio had a special chest made with three locks, with each man keeping a separate key for security. They hid the key in a cave near Bruma.

Now not only did I have my suspect but also my motive. Raynil obviously framed both Gelebourne and Raynil to get their keys and recover the treasure. I quickly snatched up the journal and brought it directly to Carius.

Carius was filled with sorrow about being partially responsible for the death of Bradon but that sorrow quickly turned into vengefulness and we hatched out a plan. Bradon knew of only one nearby cave the matched the description in the journal and suspected Raynil was probably there at this very moment. If the Bruma guard were to approach the cave Raynil would surely be warned of their approach and flee. Instead he suggested that the guard secure the city in case he attempted to return to his room at Olav’s and I go, alone, in their place. Fair enough.

I borrowed a steed from a guardsman and raced towards the cave. As I quietly approached I knew I had the right place as a few of the boards that had been placed over its entrance had been recently pried off. Once inside I could see Raynil preparing a camp. From the shadows I called out his name.

“He chose… poorly.”

Raynil drew his sword and spun around. He knew who I was – he had caught on to my investigations and was planning on hiding out there in the cave until morning broke, or even longer if need be. He also knew how I had found him and cursed himself for not destroying Gelebourne’s journal once he acquired it. I suggested Raynil turn himself into the authorities but instead he seemed to think that my involvement would only delay his plans long enough for him to dispatch me.

Raynil was an excellent swordsman and had quality equipment as well. Still, after a lengthy exchange he lay dead on the cave floor. I retrieved the artifact and set back to town to tell Carius of what had transpired.

After Carius and a small retinue of his men left to retrieve Raynil’s body I spoke again to Bradon’s wife. She was extremely grateful to me for bringing her husband’s murderer to justice. I presented her with the artifact that Raynil had so desperately sought but she refused to take it. I couldn’t blame her, given the circumstances. She then revealed to me that Bradon had always suspected a day would come when one of his old group might turn to betrayal and had put a spell upon the artifact just before having it sealed away. She spoke a word of power and in a flash of light the Alyeid amulet turned from something rather unremarkable into a piece of obvious beauty and magical power. She asked me to have it, insisting that it was what Bradon would have wanted.

Not only did I accomplish bringing a murderer to justice but I was rewarded for it as well! Although I had yet to find a source of steady income my adventuring had been paying off quite satisfactorily.

Warning: potential side quest spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

Leaving Chorrol

Feeling it time to make my leave of the city of Chorrol I began to travel to northeast towards the city of Bruma.

As I was exploring some ancient ruins I discovered a chest. Most of the chests left around ruins, especially on the surface, belong to bandits and other newer inhabitants and rarely seem to contain anything of interest and this one seemed no different at first though the skeleton of a long dead warrior next to it did at least give me pause to take extra caution whilst opening it.

“Phallic monuments lead the way.”

The chest contained only a key and a scroll. The scroll contained a small note – something about “the sword pointing the way.” I admit while I’m not one for riddles I was of course intrigued. Though I didn’t recall any sword bearing statues or anything else which might have guided me to the answer to this riddle I scoured the ruins regardless. Finally ready to give up I returned to the sight of the chest one last time and almost tripped on the silver long sword of the dead warrior. Of course! I took the warrior’s sword (as it was a fine enough blade to sell later) and began to carefully walk in the direction it had pointed.

“Ok, maybe it isn’t that difficult of a riddle.”

I reached a large boulder on a hillside with a magnificent view of the Imperial City in the river valley below. Nestled beside the boulder and some other, smaller rocks sit another chest. I carefully searched around the still locked chest for any sign of hidden traps such as pressure plates or trip wires. Nothing. I unlocked the chest and it only contained a fine dagger, some gold coin, and another riddle like note. Having enough of these puzzles and feeling ever more like I was walking headlong into a trap I continued on my journey.

I soon wandered back into relative civilization onto the Red Road in the Heartlands north of the Imperial City and into a small farming village called Aleswell. Dark was quickly approaching and walking Cyrodiil’s roads had often proved to be more excitement than I was wanting at the time so I stopped at the tiny Aleswell Inn. Unfortunately the innkeeper was nowhere in sight – in fact, no one was anywhere to be found in the entire village. I was both confused and cautious and my heart almost jumped through my ribcage when a disembodied voice broke the silence and greeted me. Soon, along with the sounds of creaking footsteps, more voices joined in.

“And you thought some of my other screenshots were dark!”

It turned out that the entire population of Aleswell had been turned invisible and although they didn’t quite know how or why they unanimously seemed to suspect a wizard named Ancotar who had moved into some nearby ruins a relatively short time before this. They asked me to check into it for them, promising a reward if I were able to cure their strange condition. Although I suspected the people of Aleswell didn’t have much to offer an adventurer of my growing stature other than some food from their impressive fields I decided to take up their cause anyway.

I wandered down to the ruins of an old fort and as I quietly crept towards the entrance I was attack by not one by two invisible creatures. As I began to fight I quickly recognized them as common bears. I remember thinking it highly unusual that even the wildlife there was invisible. After all of the commotion of fighting them off I kept my sword drawn and entered the ruins with much less of a concern for stealth. Although I found what appeared to be a small camp belonging to the mage on the second level I found no sign of the man himself. As I ascended the steps to the third story of the ruined tower, however, an invisible figure ahead attempted to frighten me away. I was sure this was no spirit, however, and figured that the mage himself must be invisible too.

“Not the nicest magic laboratory I’ve ever visited.”

When I question him about the invisibility it appeared that Ancotar was unaware about the plight of the villages, intending only to make himself invisible so he’d be left alone to attend to his studies. He reluctantly gave me a scroll to reverse the effects and sent me on my way.

As I returned to the villages the people of Aleswell gathered around me in a strange, shimmering circle. As I finished reading from Ancotar’s scroll suddenly the shimmering around me gave way to reveal the true forms of the villagers. Although some of the people of Aleswell were indifferent to being cured of the inconvenience of being invisible, most were very happy to be rid of their curse. The inn keeper perhaps most of all, as he rewarded me with free lodging for life at the Aleswell Inn. Not quite as grand of a prize as many might quest for but something I could definitely make use of, starting with that very night.