Middas, 18th of Last Seed, 4E 201

Good gods, I need a bath.

I woke up and I ache all over but worse – I smell like a bucket of mudcrab shells and fish heads that got left out in the sun.

That would be the blood, I guess. I didn’t sleep in my armor, but I know I’ve got… Stuff in my hair. I was too tired to clean up much last night, so I’ll have to ask Gerdur where the bath house is.

There’s no bath house.

Not just in Riverwood, but… In all of Skyrim. Bath houses aren’t a thing here. She said there were hot springs in places, but that’s it. You either bathe somewhere outside – the water has little bits of ICE in it – or you bathe in a little wooden tub with water you heat over the fire.

Luckily, she took pity on me and kicked the boys out while we took turns with the tub. She was intrigued by the idea of bath houses, though. Hopefully I convinced her to build one.

At least now I’m presentable enough to sell off the loot I gathered and get myself something to eat. I don’t want to impose on Gerdur any more than I have to. I’m sure I can get some real clothes and some warm gear to keep out the chill. She offered me some of hers, but I assured her that I had plenty to trade for my own. Besides, I’m not built for this climate. I’m sure the thin cloak she offered me is enough for her, but it felt like a bedsheet to me.

So… Today was eventful! I’m writing this from somewhere on the mountain on my way to Bleak Falls Barrow.

When I left the house I found a dead body wearing fancy clothes laying the street. People seemed understandably shocked, but for the most part left it alone. I took everything I could off the poor man and headed to the blacksmith.

His name is Alvor, and we made some small talk while we traded. Nice guy, if a bit rough; he offered me the use of his forge should I need it. He explained to me that Gerdur’s family founded the town a long time ago.

Once I was outfitted, I went to the Sleeping Giant Inn for some food. The lady who ran it (I assumed) was yelling at the barkeep about the ale going stale. Guess what I did not order.

I just bought an apple, instead. I asked about the alchemy table in the corner and Orgnar, the barkeep, said I could use it so long as I picked up after myself. Told me a little weed and blisterwort makes a healing potion! I’ll have to try that out.

There’s not much growing wild in the City, so while I’ve always been interested in alchemy, I haven’t had much chance to actually try out ingredients or make potions. I’ve been trying my best to grab whatever ingredients I can get my hands on since I escaped. Now that I could actually make something out of them…

Let’s just say that alchemy’s not for the squeamish. Good thing I’ve got a cast iron stomach! Years of eating the “Forever Stew” growing up saw to that. Thank you, Miss Agrippina. You taught me not to be picky, and you’re why I ate a spider egg, along with a lot of other things, with my breakfast.

After I made as many potions as I could, I chatted with Orgnar a bit more. He said that there was a little kid in Windhelm trying to contact the Dark Brotherhood! Why would a kid want to hire an assassin? Did a bully steal his sweetroll?

I asked him about magic and he told me about the College of Winterhold. True to form, he scoffed about magic blowing up the place.

Why do they only think of magic as something that explodes? I learned how to use Flames as a child, but I mostly just used it in the kitchen. Using it in the streets will get you arrested, so I’ve not had any real practice with it until I got here.

Oh, before I forget, I picked up a copy of Sparks, so I learned that one and I can do a bit of lightning damage, now!

Anyway, the lady's name is Delphine. She seems suspicious of me. I can't blame her. An Imperial asking about magic after what happened at Helgen? She’s another sharp one. She’d already heard about Ulfric’s escape, and is convinced the war will get worse.

I left to go unload the rest of my loot at the Riverwood Trader, and walked in on an argument. The shopkeep and his sister, Imperials, were arguing about a recent break-in. She wanted to recover what was stolen, but he said it wasn’t safe.

The man, Lucan, told me that the thieves made off with only one thing: a figure of a dragon’s claw made from solid gold! He offered a reward for its return, so I agreed to help get it back.

I know, I should be getting to Whiterun to talk to the jarl, but cities are expensive and I know I don’t have enough money to find a decent room once I get there.

We made our deals, and the sister, Camilla pointed out the way to Bleak Falls Barrow, where they believe the bandits are hiding.

Yes, the same way the dragon went.

I sold off the potions I’d made, but I wanted more, so I took some time to gather ingredients. I ran into a wood elf named Faendal. He made no secret of his dislike for Sven. Sven’s been sweet-talking his crush, Camilla. According to Faendel, Sven’s a lazy, self-styled bard who slacks off in his work at the mill a lot.

Faendal asked me for help wooing Camilla, and while I normally don’t like getting mixed up in relationship drama like this, I couldn’t help myself. Faendal wants me to give Camilla a fake letter from “Sven” that he wrote, so of course I said yes.

I mean, can you blame me? It’s just too juicy, like the trashy street plays the buskers put on during lunch back home.

I ran into Sven later at the Inn while I was making potions. He’s actually not half bad at music. Not half good, either. He’s got that annoying, cocky attitude that you see a lot in bards. It’s like being overconfident and boastful about your skills is a requirement.

I was tempted to show him the letter from Faendal, but then he started talking about Camilla like she already “belonged” to him. She “just has to realize it.”

Gross.

Faendal talks about Camilla like she controls the stars. I mean, she’s got fire in her, I give her that – Willing to haul her ass up here all alone and fight off who knows how many bandits to get back the claw for her brother?

I’ve met three women so far in Skyrim, and even though Camilla’s an Imperial, this place must grow them different.

I’ll give her the letter when I return with the claw. She deserves better than Sven.

I told Gerdur I was going to help out the Valerius siblings, so she gave me a waterskin and more food. She understood my motive, too. It was wise to get better equipped and fuller pockets before setting out. She’s not too confident about the Jarl, though. He's in over his head and trying to stay neutral, but that won’t last long. 

After that, I started on my way up. A wolf came at me, but I set it on fire, then cleaved its skull open as soon as it got in range. I’ve never done anything like that on my own before, and it was like time slowed down. I didn’t even have to think. I just – Killed it.

Not far past the wolf I found a little tower on the side of the path. The snow got heavier, and I saw two men. I approached unarmed, hoping they were friendly, but one man drew his weapons as soon as he noticed me.

So, I backed off. I could have probably snuck past them, but it was getting late and I needed to rest and find shelter. He put his weapons away and I decided to try the bow I’d picked up. He was too far for my flames to work, anyway.

You can’t really practice archery in the streets, not unless you find an empty alley. I’ve never fired a bow before, but as it turns out, I’m not too shabby at it! The first guy went down easy, but he didn’t have a bow. The second one did, but I put my last arrow into his brain.

I guess all those nights playing darts paid off!

I took what I could – Found a knapsack on one, which is a godsend because I couldn’t afford the big backpack in town – and went into the tower. It was pretty sparse, and I thought I was safe until I ran into another man at the very top!

I’d smartly switched to my axe and flames earlier, just in case, but - Why do they run right into the fire? It’s fueled by magicka but it’s still REAL FIRE. I axed him as soon as he got in range, just like I did the wolf. 

I found a decent amount of food in the tower, along with some gold and a warm fur cloak. There was even a chest up top, but they hadn’t bothered to lock it.

I’ve set up camp inside the top level. It’s a small tent, but it should do well enough.

Time for sleep.