22nd of Last Seed 4E201 - Entering the Barrow
Thus it was that two days later I found myself standing alone and with some trepidation before the imposing entrance to Bleak Falls Barrow.
I had already encountered three members of the bandit group who had stolen the Golden Claw on the path up the mountain and had been lucky to survive the encounter.
One them had lived long enough to confirm that their leader was in the barrow with the claw, but was unable to tell me much more before she died.
Even the weather has proved an obstical as I am yet to find any clothing suited to the the cold climate at the top of the mountain and was reluctant to impose any further on Lucan generousity when I had yet to deliver on our initial contract.
Entering the barrow I soon discovered more of the bandit gang and worked my way steadily and cautiously deeper into the depths of the burial chamber seeking their leader and Lucans treasure.
Just before lunch time I reached a room with a lever and a gate.
I was fortunate in that as I crept into this room I was able to witness the fate of a bandit who was trying to operate the level in order to gain entrance to the next room.
He was killed instantly by a hail of bolts as soon as he operated the mechanism, potentially saving me from a similar fate.
With no obvious solution to avoiding this trap apparent, and with my backpack and pockets bulging with loot from the area of the barrow I had cleared, I decided that this was a good time to head back to town, have something to eat and store some of my treasure in the cottage.
I made a careful note of the layout and features of the room and retraced my steps to the entrance and back down the mountain.
Having refreshed myself and cleared my mind of the foreboding atmosphere of the barrow I decided to spend the afternoon on more enjoyable pursuits. It was a bright sunny day and I decided to take my bow on a hunting expedition in the wilds around Riverwood and generally familiarise myself with the area.
It was on this expedition that I discovered a dead bandit laying beside the road between Riverwood and Helgen, and standing next to his body was a horse. How this bandit met his end remains a mystery, but I swear on the nine divines that I had no part in it. However, by care and patience I was able to take control of his horse.
Finding that it was willing to let me ride it I spent the next few hours extending my knowledge of the surrorunding area and exploring any key points of interest.
Mind you this was not without it's challenges, for whilst the bandits horse seemed happy to let me ride it, it was not prepared to wait for me if I left it unattended. Instead it kept wandering off and I was forced to chase it and recapture it several times during the course of the afternoon. It seemed remarkably loyal to it's dead master and would often return to stand next to his body, as if expecting him to wake up at any moment. In the end the only way I could persuade it to change it's allegience was to take the time to give it's master a proper burial.
With the body of its master no longer visible the horse seemed content to accept the change in her circumstances and I was eventually able to tame it and persuade it to stay where it was put.
23rd of Last Seed 4E201
The Golden Claw
Early the next morning I rode my new horse up the mountain to Bleak Falls Barrow to continue my exploration. It was a relief to get away because in my absence yesterday Camilla seems to have convinced herself that I am the only eligible bachelor in town, and all she seems to talk about now is her desire to get married and the size of my muscles. I have no doubt that Lucan has had some input into this decision, and I was beginning to regret not delivering Sven’s poison pen letter whilst I had the chance.
Back to Bleak Falls
Refreshed from my afternoon in the sun, and a good nights sleep I quickly managed to decipher the puzzle which had caused the death of the unfortunate bandit yesterday, and plunged onward into the temple area of the barrow.
The challenges I faced now took an even more disturbing dimension. For not only were there bandits and traps to contend with, but the undead corpses of our own ancient ancestors the Draugr, and a giant Frost-bite spider.
Fortunately, I discovered that the very size of this latter monster was it's own weakness, for it could not leave its lair, and so, by dint of my natural cunning I was able to kill it using my bow whilst staying away from it's embrace and using the pillars around the liars entrance as cover from it's venom spitting attacks.
It was here that I finally caught up with the bandit leader who had possession of Lucan's Golden Claw.
He said his name was Arvel the Swift, but he was going nowhere in a hurry when I found him suspended in the web of the giant Frostbite Spider I had just killed.
He begged me to cut him down in return for which he would tell me the secret of The Golden Claw. However, as soon as I did so he laughed and attempted to make a hasty escape.
Not swiftly enough however, and my hammer quickly ended his life.
With The Golden Claw safely in my possession Lucan's quest was now complete. But something Arvel had said before I released him made me curious to discover the secret of this artifact I now held in my hand.
In his panic to be free of the webs, the Dark Elf had mentioned that the claws, markings, held the key to a door in the Hall of Stories. He said that they all fit together to open the door, and that beyond this door the Nords had hidden something of immense power. "when you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands." he wrote in his journal.
It did not seem wise to hand the claw back to Lucan until I had determined what power it may 
unlock, and so I plunged onward into the depths of the barrow until I finally discovered a puzzle door which was guarding the inner sanctum of the barrow complex.
It was a relatively simple task to work out the secret of the claw, and with the puzzle door open I crept cautiously into the huge chamber beyond.
I was exploring this cavern, looking for loot and keeping a wary eye open for danger when I became aware of a strange wall covered with illegible glyphs which seemed to be talking to me.
Creeping closer I was engulfed in a mysterious force which appeared to reach out to me from the wall turning the entire cavern dark and swirling around and through me. I was frozen to the spot unsure whether to run or stay, and not sure if I even had the choice.
When the effects finally subsided I felt somehow stronger, but before I could consider what may have just happened I heard a loud noise behind me like the cracking of stone.
I turned to see a huge Draugr Overlord climbing out of his sarcophagus on the plinth below the wall. It was already too late to run as he was blocking my path to the cavern entrance, and so a fierce battle ensued, which I was barely able to survive.
With the overlord dead I was now free to finish my looting of the inner sanctum, and quickly discovered a Dragonstone amonst the Overlords possessions along with an enchanted axe of cold.
With the quest completed and the word of power discovered I returned to Riverwood truimphant and handed Lucan the Golden Claw. Deftly dodging the attentions of Camilla who seemed desperate to reward me still further.
