19th Frostfall (afternoon)
Well, I think I’m still not completely over the poison, but I’m definitely more myself than on Tirdas, imagine thinking an archaeological site would be tedious! Although, admittedly, I was expecting it to be rather quieter than it was. It didn’t really seem worth heading back West yesterday morning, so Rumarin and I stayed in Kynesgrove until early afternoon, then headed in to Windhelm to trade some things. Of course I’d forgotten my plan to buy horses, but Ulundil was good enough to let us borrow one for the trip up to Winterhold, as I’d sent Lydia, Jenassa and the Companions with money to take the carriage to Whiterun, and Alfarinn wasn’t back yet. She’s a good, strong animal, was able to carry the pair of us and obviously used to the cold. I’d need her to be able to carry a good bit of gear as well as me, and I think she’d be up to that.
In any case, we rode up to Winterhold in the evening, and spent the night in the dormitory area, and set off to the site in the morning with the other apprentices. We met Master Tolfdir, an Alteration specialist, by one of those iron doors set into the mountain. All very unassuming, but what the note I received didn’t mention was that it was part of the first human settlement in Skyrim – Saarthal. Understandably, that’s being kept somewhat quiet, although nobody in Skyrim appears to be very good at keeping secrets. We spent an hour or two looking around what seemed to be a series of individual dwellings – all apparently constructed via a mix of carving into the rock and then building up walls, although I would think, judging from the colour and feel of the masonry, they didn’t use bricks made from the rock they dug out of the mountain. Hard to tell, of course, after so long, but it seemed different somehow. Fascinating, in any event.
After we’d explored the easily-accessible areas, Tolfdir assigned us all tasks, fairly simple ones, of course; mine was to assist one of the scholars, Arniel Gane, in locating and cataloguing enchanted items in a recently opened part of the ruin. Spent another two or three hours sifting through aeons of dust and other debris, but I did find a surprisingly pretty little ring with some kind of – rather primitive, naturally – enchantment to increase the wearer’s ability to survive combat. I was sorely tempted to keep it for myself, but it didn’t really seem in the spirit of things. Rumarin had somehow convinced Tolfdir that he must be allowed to accompany me, something about having been coerced into fighting a Dragon before I was fully recovered from Ustengrav. Which, I suppose, is not entirely untrue, but somehow he made it sound a lot more convincing and, dare I say it, sympathetic than I could have managed.
Eventually, he got bored, and wandered into a sort of alcove nobody had yet investigated. Of course, when he found a mysterious amulet on some kind of plinth, the silly Mer picked it up to bring it to show me, only to find himself trapped behind a very solid iron gate.
Tolfdir, Gane and I hurried to the source of the commotion, and to his credit, Tolfdir did a decent job of stifling his amusement. It was obvious that the amulet had been enchanted in some way so that if it was removed from its place, it would trap the unwary thief. The stranger thing was, the only way we could find to open the gate was for the amulet to be worn while the wearer cast some form of offensive (or at least targeted) spell upon the plinth where the amulet had been. So any mage, with the obvious exception – though to be fair, he does insist he’s not a mage – of Rumarin, could fairly easily escape and, even more ridiculous, the very same act which freed Rumarin (thankfully I was able to get a clear shot at the plinth through the gate, and I can aim my fiery arrow well enough at a stationary target – or a really big, scaly one) destroyed the entire seal, opening a path further into the depths of the ruin.
Tolfdir’s curiosity may actually be stronger than mine. Against Gane’s protests, the three of us made our way through the tunnel which opened onto a small chamber with two sarcophagi against the walls.
Bah, my hand is beginning to cramp up from holding this quill, and Rumarin has just brought a bowl of stew and some fresh bread from the innkeeper, Wilhelm, and I must admit it does smell good. I shall write more later, I suppose.
19th Frostfall (evening)
Feeling much better after a warm bath, and a glass of Surelie Brothers wine, I must say. I’m still somewhat unsure what actually happened in that chamber, whether it was an actual apparition, a vision, or just the last traces of the spiders’ venom leaving my system. Whatever it was, it claimed to be a member of the Psijic Order, of all things! Tolfdir and Rumarin clearly saw nothing, but then I’m sure if it was real, the Psijics would be more than capable of targeting only one individual with a message. I feel silly writing it down, but I suppose if it was real, it may be important:
Hold, mage, and listen well... Know that you have set in motion a chain of events that cannot be stopped. Judgment has not been passed, as you had no way of knowing. Judgment will be passed on your actions to come, and how you deal with the dangers ahead of you. This warning is passed to you because the Psijic Order believes in you. You, mage, and you alone, have the potential to prevent disaster. Take great care, and know that the Order is watching.
Decided against telling Tolfdir, passed it off as feeling light-headed. He seems trustworthy enough, but I didn’t want to cause a lot of fuss, and, well, if it was the Psijics, I want to know what on Nirn is going on before I start telling all and sundry I’ve been contacted by them. I imagine it had to do with what we found in the large chamber at the heart of the ruin, but of course I had no idea about that at the time. Well, I suppose I was aware that this was Saarthal, and I’ve read Seleth’s book, I knew there was alleged to be something important sealed away there, but, well, I would have rather assumed even the Nords would have used a more effective seal for something like that, if it was really there.
But, well, apparently not. They just went with a fairly useless seal and then the usual lots and lots of Draugr. Naturally, the sarcophagi in that chamber opened to reveal a pair of fairly weak Draugr, which Tolfdir despatched almost instantly with what I assume was a spell from the Alteration school - from what I remember, the offensive spells from that school work by absorbing the target’s life force, which I must admit would be useful. Although it’s hard not to associate it with the spell used by vampires. Still, it might be worth considering. My Destruction spells are reasonably strong for bringing down enemies, but strong ones still take some time, and I am not exactly able to take many blows from an axe or sword, there’s a certain utility to the idea of using an enemy’s life force to actually heal myself from their attacks. I’ll have to discuss it with Tolfdir when he returns to Winterhold.
Tolfdir was obviously fascinated by the layout of the next chamber, which was circular with a stone bridge across what must have been a shallow pool (some sort of religious symbolism, or just decorative? Who knows…) The sarcophagi had presumably been installed when the place was sealed off. In any case, Tolfdir stayed to make some notes and sketches, while we pressed on.
The majority of the Draugr weren’t especially strong, against my fire magicks and Rumarin’s silver blades, although there was one in a chamber all alone, sleeping (do they sleep? Or do they simply wait?) at the top of a set of stairs, on a sort of central platform. I would guess that it was some kind of chapel before the area was filled with Draugr and sealed, from the design of the chamber. In any case, I presume they expected this monster to prevent even the most determined grave-robber from venturing further into the place. It had more impressive armour than most, for a start, blackened and rusted from years of neglect, of course, but still comparatively intact, meaning Rumarin’s blows had to be carefully aimed at the few exposed areas for the silver to have its effect. Thankfully armour doesn’t offer much protection against flames, but even so, it took a long time and a fair amount of luck to defeat it. I think I need to work on improving my Invisibility – I found a book on Illusion in the Library when we passed through Windhelm last, that suggested it’s possible, with time (and by the sounds of it my birth sign should help) to learn to remain invisible while running. Would come in very handy in a situation like that, although of course Rumarin or Lydia would still be visible.
Eventually, Tolfdir caught up with us, shortly before we entered the largest chamber yet. The creature within was… I think it was more a Litch than a Draugr? Judging from the Writ of Sealing I found attached to it, it had been entombed alive, rather than made into a Draugr – I would assume they hoped it would die, eventually. It was evidently connected in some way to the… well, there are no other words for it than the gigantic, glowing, floating orb behind it. I would guess the orb allowed it to sustain itself over the ages. I wonder how long it took before it stopped looking human. Tolfdir managed to sever the connection, just long enough for the two of us to kill the thing. It also had what seemed to be a piece of some kind of amulet. Tolfdir suggested I seek out a copy of a book called “Lost Legends”, or anything else relating to the name Gauldurson, if I was curious. Yes, yes, I think I am curious.
Editor’s note – the next page is heavily annotated and corrected, by Nerussa at various points. A facsimile is printed in the Appendices volume, but at this point we shall only include the notes initially made when Nerussa returned to the Windhelm Library. For ease of reading, we have used numbered footnotes. The text is also fully corrected for spelling.
Lingrah krosis(1) saraan Strundu'ul, voth nid balaan klov(2) praan nau.
Naal Thu'umu(3), mu ofan nii nu, Dovahkiin(4), naal suleyk(6) do Kaan(6), naal suleyk do Shor(7), ahrk naal suleyk do Atmorasewuth(8).
Meyz nu Ysmir(9), Dovahsebrom(10). Dahmaan daar rok(11).
- sorrow
- head
- By shout/voice, suffix “u” might be possessive? By our voice?
- Dragonborn
- Suleyk = power. Naal suleyk = by the power of
- Word found in SHB – makes wildlife friendly. Suspect relates to Kyne, old Nord name for/aspect of Imperial Kynareth. (Kynesgrove…)
- Shor = old Nord god – aspect of Lorkhan??
- Atmora, obviously. Wuth = old
- Ysmir again obvious. Nu = now. Frustratingly can’t find Meyz in book, maybe wrong verb form?? Should have asked Arngeir to translate! Probably invoking Ysmir similar to previous section’s “by the power of”?
- Dovahsebrom - dragon... north ("se" may be a possessive/preposition, also in "Atmorasewuth" -"Atmora of old"? "Dragon of the north"?) Ysmir, Dragon of the North. I'm sure I've heard that before??
- These words. Educated guess, dahmaan (not in book) = remember. Remember these words. Would help if I knew what they all meant...
21st Frostfall
Climbed to High Hrothgar yesterday morning, getting used to mountains, thankfully. The weather was clear and it only took around two hours to reach the monastery. I gave the artefact to Arngeir but it seems to have found its way back into my pack. Bloody monks. Presumably I should return it to Ustengrav, although I am in no great hurry to return there.
Rumarin was asked to wait in a side room with thick walls and door, evidently to protect him from the Voice of all four Greybeards. First I was taught the third word of my first Shout: Fus Ro Dah. I tried it out this morning (more on that later) and it is indeed much more powerful now I know all three words. Then, the Greybeards, all together, recited some kind of… I’m not sure. Affirmation of my being Dragonborn, I think? I’ve written what I can remember of it on the page before this, I remembered one or two words, and there are three names that I recognise, I shall have to see how much is in the book I found in the Library, unfortunately it’s far from comprehensive.
Was strangely overwhelming, or I’d have asked Arngeir what it all meant. I also intended to ask whether they had any other books on the Dragon Tongue, but they said I was free to use what I needed at High Hrothgar, so perhaps we’ll go back up there soon and have a look for books. Collected Rumarin and returned to Ivarstead, where we decided to spend another night. It was only early afternoon, though, so after resting up a little we ended up chatting with the innkeeper. He was telling us about a haunted barrow on the edge of the village, and somehow I found myself offering to investigate. When we entered, we were met by a ghostly voice warning us to stay away. I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a ghost slipping away on the far side of a locked gate. There were a few draugr in the place, but they were, well, properly dead.
Eventually we found our way to a small room, where the “ghost” turned out to be a Dunmer named Wyndelius who apparently had spent over a year trying to find his way into the main part of the barrow (one of those dragon claws, of course, wonder if he was any relation of Arvel back in Bleak Falls?) He’d created some kind of potion that allowed him to appear spectral, to frighten off any locals who came to see what was going on, and my guess, from reading his journal, was that it addled his mind. Funny how every journal I come across in Skyrim seems to have been kept by someone who came to a bad end. Still, I suppose I wouldn’t be finding the journals of people who are still alive and sane, yes? Obviously he attacked us when we found him, but he wasn’t much of a threat, poor, mad, half-starved thing.
I showed the journal to Wilhelm, who laughed and gave me the sapphire dragon claw Wyndelius had been so desperate to find. I tried to refuse, but he said he got the impression we would be able to handle ourselves if we were inclined to actually use the damned thing, and either way, he was just glad not to have to worry about ghosts any more.
By that time, it was rather late in the evening, so we had some food and went to bed. (Separately! Ha, defensive even in my own diary…) Got up bright and early this morning and headed in to the barrow again (Shroud Hearth it’s called.) Usual sort of thing, couple of traps. The largest room was partially flooded (not sure whether intentionally or through disrepair) and as I entered the gate behind me closed, trapping me on one side and Rumarin on the other. Unfortunately it’s rather difficult to aim a bow through a gate, and he was low on silver arrows in any case, so I was mostly on my own. Thankfully, the sarcophagi contained more skeletons than draugr, rather unusually, and those are relatively easy to despatch. Especially with the ability to knock them flying by Shouting (well, it was honestly more like Screaming) at them with a full, three Word Shout.
Another Word Wall, “Kaan”. I need to speak to the Greybeards about how to intentionally… open up specific Words. As it is, it seems rather hit and miss. When the first Dragon died I somehow just... understood the Word from Bleak Falls, even though I’d encountered another Wall before that one. When we killed Sahloknir at Kynesgrove, I was sort of expecting that Word, or the one from Saarthal, to become clear, but it didn’t, then when I was standing by the Wall in Shroud Hearth Barrow I felt… I’m not sure how to describe it, but I had a similar feeling at the Watchtower – not the rushing, whooshing sensation of the Dragon’s soul entering me, but a sort of quieter sensation of clarity, and the new word, Kaan, just sort of crystallised in my mind.
After the barrow, we decided to walk to Riften, and, oh! I am very glad I decided to test my new Shout on a pack of wolves which attacked us on the road just outside the village. It seems to placate animals! So we were able to make our way to Riften without having to slaughter wildlife. I suspect it wouldn’t work on anything bigger than wolves (thankfully we didn’t encounter any bears or trolls) but it was lovely.
Sold off various bits and pieces in the marketplace, there was a lovely sunset, which made Riften look actually quite pretty, so we were just standing around admiring the view when an Argonian woman walked past, openly weeping. I wasn’t sure what to do, but Rumarin approached her and asked what was wrong. She looked terrified, and tried to run away, but we managed to somehow grab her and settle her down long enough to bring her into the Bee and Barb, which was thankfully empty of customers. Keerava and Talen-Jei didn’t seem too happy to have the woman in their establishment, but thankfully I had brought the flawless amethysts Talen had mentioned he needed for a wedding band. He told Keerava to let us stay, and rushed out of the door, presumably to speak to Madesi.
Eventually the woman stopped crying long enough to give us her name, Wujeeta, and explain what was wrong. She works at the Fishery for Bolli, and, after showing up blazed on skooma one time too many, she had been threatened with losing her job if it happened again. Thankfully, I was able to combine the effects of a potion of Vitality (not easy to come by, those…) with my spell of poison resistance, and she said she felt more like herself than she had since the first time she took the stuff. I suspect if she takes it again she’ll be back to where she was this afternoon, but she certainly seemed sincere about not wanting to take it again. I think, though, I shall have to speak to her tomorrow morning, try to find out where she was getting it from. I am strangely fond of Riften, and I don’t like the idea of its most vulnerable citizens being taken advantage of like this.
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