Turdas, 2nd of Heartsfire, 4E 201

Not only did we make it to Solitude, we’re in Dragon’s Bridge, back on our way to Whiterun.

Today was… Refreshingly boring. We left the Keep and started back up the hill the way we came. We saw the body of one of the prisoners we’d freed by the small herd (pack?) of horkers as we passed. Poor bastard. Probably just got too close as he was running away.

Going up and over the hill was easy. We did run into a trio of bandits when we reached the top, but they were easy work. Once more, they demonstrated why you shouldn’t run straight at giant columns of fire.

We started to get chilly again, and stopped off at that fort we’d cleared out to warm ourselves back up.

I wonder how long it takes these forts to get re-occupied? I’d imagine not that long up here. Freezing to death is a real danger at this altitude, so they’d probably move in as quick as they could. They wouldn’t have to worry about the law, either. Sending patrols out this way just isn’t worth it unless you’ve got enough to occupy the fort itself.

If we ever come back here, I’ll have to check to see if there’s more people here. That would mean more loot!

At any rate, we got on our way once we were ready, and the walk to Solitude was a quiet one. Not far from there I heard the sound of an anvil down the mountain a bit. I decided to investigate – It was hardly noon – and we found a Stormcloak camp. I was able to trade a lot of the weapons we had with their quartermaster, and made use of their alchemy table.

We left and started for Solitude. I was almost to the gate when a courier ran up with a letter from a mage called Calcelmo in Markarth. He’s researching Dwarven items, and asked me to bring him a Dwarven arrow, since he’d heard I got my hands on some.

How do these people know? Who’s telling them about me and what I’m doing? Is there some sort of scrying spell on me? Are they watching my every move? Lydia just shrugged when I asked her if she had any idea how this kept happening.

Still, we entered the city, and went to Beirand and Sayma to trade. We grabbed a bite to eat at the market stalls, then set off for Dragon Bridge.

I debated taking the carriage back to Whiterun. It would be a faster trip, but I’d have no chance of picking up alchemical ingredients or gathering other things to sell on the way, so I decided to keep walking.

On a whim, I walked down the hill towards the water. Lydia was confused, but since we were in no special hurry, she didn’t complain.

There’s a farm and a mill down there, along with a run-down little dock and a fishing boat. Nothing much of interest, so we went back up the hill and to Dragon Bridge.

Once we got here, we ran into a very angry lady name Olda. Her husband, Horgeir, is a drunkard and she’s worried that they're going to lose their mill because he’s drinking away all of their money. She asked us if we could get rid of his secret stash, and to bring her a bottle of Dragon’s Breath Mead. It’s his favorite, and he was sure to have some.

I wasn’t going to get involved, but by “Get rid of” she meant, “Take it all for yourself.”

Well, far be it for me to turn down free drinks! The only hurdle is that he’d trained some wolves to guard it.

I mean, I’m not afraid of wolves, but if the man’s determined enough to drink himself into Oblivion every day that he’d train wolves to guard his booze, that’s saying something. I know people like this don’t quit because they don’t have anything to drink; they’ll do whatever they can to get more in their hands.

But still, it was easy drinks, and I decided to go after Horgeir’s “secret” stash before we hit the tavern and turned in for the night.

There’s wasn’t much to it, really. The little cave Olda told us about was past the mill, and through a little gully in the woods. That’s where the wolves tried to get us, but they were no trouble. The bear just beyond the standing stones was a surprise, though!

We found a trough in the cave, full of bottles. I took everything, and now we’re at the Four Shields, enjoying the fruits of our labor!

We’ll deliver the Dragon’s Breath Mead in the morning, then we’ll start back to Whiterun.