Posted by
Paul M June 22, 2014 -
557 views
It's Middas morning and the full cohort is back in digs asking me to help them out with various scams and japes. Sticking with the task at hand I go and speak to Savos, which leads to my being tasked to research the mystery glowing orb of power in the university library. Before I get there Faralda grabs me and has a quiet word about resident slime ball Ancano. I get a couple of lessons out of Faralda before she scoots off, and bump myself up to level 14, with a more powerful skew on my destruction spells. I have a feeling that now when I dual cast a destruction spell I should be able to stagger an opponent.
Lessons over for the day, I continue up to the library and study for a while. The librarian comes out with a very interesting gem: apparently the book I want was taken by someone called Orthorn, who ran off to Fellglow Keep to join some conjurors. I killed everyone in the keep some time ago, although I don't think to tell the librarian, but this means I now have a decent reason to head back to my old stomping ground around Whiterun, and see Lydia and Danica the tree lady again.
Ah Fellglow Keep, that was an epic adventure. Apparently the mages there are a breakaway from the college, who wanted to pursue areas of study outside of the more conservative pursuits at Winterhold. That still doesn't really explain the very first fight I witnessed between the ice mage and the fire mage by the ritual monument, but you know what: I don't care. I'm just delighted to have an excuse to leave, because Winterhold was starting to get me down.
The trouble with this place is that it's too remote, and it's made even more so by the lethality of the environment. Most of all, I've noticed a distinct lack of flowers and butterflies, and it seems like my alchemy has been a labour rather than a pastime of late. I skip out of the library and bump into Ancano, who gives me a very light grilling. He is really just intrigued that Tolfdir did not return with me from Saarthal.
Whatever. I am done with college for a bit, and it's only just turned to afternoon so I reckon I could get back to Windhelm if I start my sabbatical now. I check my map for any shortcuts or easy looking paths, but the route I took to get here from Windhelm seems to be the best bet. I know there's one sabre cat on the coastal path, but I reckon I've at least got a chance given my fear spell and various poisons. I head out into the seemingly continuous snowstorm that passes for weather around here and make my way out of town.
I make my way down the coast without incident for a bit, before coming to a horse standing by a campsite. On closer inspection nothing in the camp is owned, although it would appear the camp was recently used by a couple of hunters. I grab some Horker tusks, which have the best value to weight ratio, and am just about to leave when it suddenly clicks: I could take this horse! I think for a long time about it. We're out in the frozen wastes, where if your horse gets stolen you're effectively being sentenced to death. But equally these hunters are after dangerous game, in a dangerous locale, and are more than likely dead already. If I leave the horse, if could well end up as dinner for a sabre cat too.
I take the horse, but I decide to head west over the mountains instead of continuing south to Windhelm. It looks on the map like I should be able to come to the alchemist's cave fairly soon by taking this route, which feels like a productive step worth taking, now that I have a horse. The switch to a higher position gives me the chance to appreciate that ever since I enrolled at college I have worn mage's robes instead of steel armour. When I consider some of the foes I have bested in those circumstances, I feel suitably impressed.
Some ice wraiths try to give us some hassle at a Stonehenge like ruin, but my sure footed steed carries on seemingly oblivious. Climbing higher we come to some dead refugees who's wagon appears to have broken down as they crossed the mountain. There's a nice book about enchanting, so I have to assume at least one of them had a connection with the college. I catch my horse as it tries to slope off back down the mountain, and press on south west to find the way down from this peak.
I see a goat ahead as the pass narrows over the mountains, and I suddenly become a little uneasy. Sure enough, the goat runs on ahead and is attacked by wolves. I see something in the dim distance which looks to be a wing flapping, and then there is a rumbling sensation. I turn my horse sharpish, successfully it seems before anything senses us rather than the goat. I resolve to find another way down, even if it turns out to be back the way we came. Fortunately my horse seems to have no problem with near vertical rock faces, and we slowly work our way down towards what looks to be Windhelm. Turns out it isn't though, and hopping off my horse to contend with a skeleton who has come to greet us, I sense we are at Fort Kastav.
With the skeleton dispatched, I plan to get back on the horse and leave, but he has other ideas, and leaps into the fray. I try to follow, but come face to chest with a massive frost atronach. Flame spells dual cast, I let rip. It goes down after a bit, and I get to witness my horse's limp corpse come hurtling towards me. Behind him is an adept necromancer, who would be formidable if there wasn't a wooden railing blocking all the spells he tries throwing at me. I consider avenging my horse, but I don't really feel it, and resurrect plan-a instead: run away to the west.
I come to a goat, and then a path, and then a road sign pointing to Whiterun. There are some red guard types hassling a lady, and I consider killing them to keep Sadia safe, but it's been a while, and can't remember exactly what that was all about. It all becomes a bit of a moot point though, as a massive ice wolf comes along and deftly kills the two red guards, before succumbing to my dual cast flames. I take a scimitar, but have to give up my woodcutter axe to do so, and so I am somewhat melancholy when I eventually come to the forsaken cave, with its cobweb door.
I make slow and halting progress past some ice wolves, and into a fort populated by something human enough to light candles. A review of my inventory turns up Nurelion's potion, but I can't remember what I was meant to do with it, so I hold off drinking it for now in case I actually need it later. Advancing, I dispatch three Draugr, and start to feel a little more comfortable since my dual cast flames are proving quite effective, albeit not that subtle.
There are more Draugr, but nothing I can't handle, and I carry on round various dimly lit, zombie infested corridors, eventually coming to a large tomb with a larger zombie in. A flame atronach and my flame spells do the job, and I take a moment after the battle to learn another word of power.
An ancient bowl invites me to pour Nurelion's mixture in, which in turn removes an illusion from the rock wall ahead, opening the path to the white phial. There's also a book called a game at dinner, which increases my alchemy skills, which are already at a fairly professional level. There is possibly a recipe written between the lines, involving wheat, bitter greens and something sweet. I take some time to mix up all the ingredients I can find, and then pocket the White Phial before leaving the cave.
