Tirdas, 24th of last seed, 4E 201

We’re in Swindler’s Den, and I honestly think this was dumber than fighting a dragon.

We left the Bannered Mare bright and early this morning, so we could go to the prison at Dragonsreach. A guard directed us to the right of the building, and we found the door tucked away in a corner. Once inside, we easily found the man we were looking for.

He said that he’d tell us where to find the others if we paid the fine to set him free. I didn’t trust him. What’s stopping him from going right back to warn the others as soon as he got out? And that’s assuming he didn’t lie about their location. He explained that as an Alik’r, he’d brought shame to his fellow mercenaries by getting caught, and could never go back.

Ah, the old “Honor” thing. From what I’ve seen, it seems to get people in trouble more often than not.

I took a moment to discuss things with Lydia, and she confirmed what he said. An Alik’r who brought that much shame to their household (getting arrested and thrown in jail was a lot of shame) would probably be killed if they showed their face again.

I agreed to pay the fine (100 gold – ouch) and he told us that the others were hiding in Swindler’s Den. He marked it on my map, and we left.

Ugh – 100 gold is A LOT. That’s a week’s worth of supplies and inn nights for the two of us, if we sleep rough for a few. I mean, I’m sure I’ll make it back with the haul I’m sitting on right now, but… I still didn’t want to hand it over.

Anyway, we made our way westward to the spot on the map that Alik’r guy had marked for me. I got a bit distracted on the way here, though. I spotted a fox as we were walking, and I recalled a rumor I’d heard years ago in a bar back home.

The rumor said that foxes, if they look friendly, will lead you to treasure or “secrets”.

The fox didn’t look afraid of us. It ran off as I got near, but then stopped and looked back, as though it were waiting. So, I followed it. I explained why to Lydia, and she said that she’d heard the same thing from hunters, but never had the chance to test it.

It ran over a small rise by the road, and then past a creek. Past the creek was a short drop-off, and in the drop off was a horse, with a saddle and everything.

Lydia and I looked around and called out, but there was no sign of a rider, so I got on and started for the cave.

I will admit I’m not the best on a horse. I’ve only been on one a handful of times, and I think the horse knew. It listened to me in regards to direction - As in, I was able to point it roughly where I wanted it to go, but it took off faster than a Spark spell!

We ran over rocks and jumped over ponds until we almost ran over a man surrounded by dead bodies. He shouted that this was his find, and came at me with a sword. I jumped off the horse so I could fight him off, but in the confusion of the angry guy swinging at me and a panicked horse, I grabbed a scroll I’d picked up in the Barrow instead of the poison I planned to pour on my axe.

It was a scroll of Dread Zombie.

I’ve never used a scroll before, but this was… Terrifying and amazing, all at once. The closest body was an Imperial soldier. He looked high-ranking, so I tried it on him. He got up, pulled out his sword, and started to fight the man. I got my axe and some Fire ready while they were fighting, but I didn’t land a single hit.

I have no idea how Lydia managed to catch up with me, but she did. All I saw was her greatsword slicing through the air and almost cleaving the man in two.

So, yeah – Lydia’s terrifying.

We gathered all the loot from the dead bodies and the scavenger. The bodies were a mix of Imperial and Stormcloak soldiers, probably the result of a skirmish that left all of them dead.

What a waste. Lydia agreed, and we went on our way.

Over a hill, we saw a shrine of some sort at the base of the mountain, and a bit past that was a mammoth, and a GIANT!

I’d heard of giants, but I’ve never seen one. He was impossibly huge, even at a distance! A wolf came out from behind a stone outcrop and jumped at them, but the mammoth killed it with a single kick.

Mental note – Don’t go anywhere near mammoths.

The giant was carrying a big wooden club with a boulder at the head, and just ambling along with the mammoth. I asked if they were friendly to one another, and Lydia explained that the giants keep mammoths the way we do cows. I told her I wanted to check out that shrine, and she said as long as we don’t bother the mammoth, the giant would leave us alone.

I have no intention of going NEAR a mammoth, so we made out way down to the shrine. I don’t pay too much attention to temples and such, but I think it was a shine to Stendarr. There were some coins and such left as offerings, which I took. Lydia didn’t complain, so that’s good. Either she’s not too into it like I am, or it’s that Nord practicality I’ve heard so much about.

Then the ground started to shake. The giant had noticed us and was walking slowly towards the shrine to see what we were up to. As much as I wanted to see more of the giant (Can they understand Cyrodilic? Would they even bother talking to us, even if they could?) the sheer mass of him was intimidating and we ran off.

There was just one man outside of the Den, and he was easy to pick off. He wasn’t an Alik’r, though. Just a regular bandit. That was strange, but we snuck inside, and not far in there was a large open area with tables and chairs and such. There were more bandits talking, complaining about the Alik’r hiding out with them, and how they didn’t trust them.

We took care of them, but there was a mage with them, and he gave us a bit of trouble. Still, we finished them off, and kept going. I don’t know how many more bandits we picked off, but just as I was starting to think the Alik’r ran off when they heard the ruckus we were making, we found Kematu and a horde of Alik’r men.

Kematu wanted to talk, so I indulged him. He said that Saadia/Iman had sold out her people to the Altmeri, and that’s why the other nobles wanted her dead. He said her town could have held out and won, if not for her.

This puzzled me. Iman said she spoke out against the Dominion, and he’s calling her a traitor. Lydia pointed out that Hammerfell is fighting the Dominion. Logically she wouldn’t be persecuted for speaking against them. It would make sense her people want her dead for siding with the them. But even if she’s lying, I don’t know her reasons. For all I know the Altmeri were holding a loved one hostage. Maybe her people were under a terrible siege, and she did it to prevent more losses.

Well, whatever her reasons, she hired me to kill the guy, and I told him as much.

He and his men fell on us, and the fight was on. It was a HARD fight, and I’m forever grateful that I took the time to make a dozen or so healing potions last time I was near an alchemy table. Lydia used a bunch of them, too. I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have made it without them.

But it’s late, and we’re both tired. Luckily, there’s plenty of bedrolls, fresh water, fire and food here, so we’re taking it easy before we turn in. Lydia’s checking over her armor and switching out her old gear for better things, while I write and enjoy some wine. We make our way back to Whiterun tomorrow.