Sundas, 5^th of Heartsfire, 4E 201

Did I say yesterday was a long day? TODAY has been a long day. Too bad I can’t remember most of it.

We’re in some Dwemer ruins in a place called Markarth. No, I don’t really know how I got to Markarth, but I’ll try to explain as best I can.

We woke up at the inn and set off for Whiterun. I decided to go East and take the other way around the mountains, just to see what we could find on the way.

Nothing strange happened, although we did come upon some bandits attacking a cart with two magic users in it. Unfortunately, they’d already killed one of them, and the other fell just as we arrived. At least we got some decent loot from everyone.

As we went on, it got colder and colder. I was literally starting to freeze to death when we came upon the town of Dawnstar. We made our way to it, and met a lady carrying firewood. She said that she worked at the inn, and that we’d better get inside, quick.

Luckily, the inn is the first building we came to, so we ducked right in.

And straight into a pair of panicked villagers, complaining to a Dunmer priest about being haunted by recurring nightmares. He calmed them down, and reminded them to trust in Mara.

I was curious, and asked him about what was going on.

I can hear Dru now, whining about how I always have to stick my nose in other people’s business. I can’t help it! I like knowing what’s going on. It saved our butts more than once.

I learned his name is Erandur, and he confided that these are no normal nightmares, but an affliction from one of the Daedra. Specifically, Vaermina, who steals memories and puts nightmares in their place. He knows where the source of the trouble is; a place nearby called Nightcaller Temple, which has a shrine to Vaermina.

He said that he had to “go back” to fix things.

Going back implies that he’s been there before, and when I pointed it out, he got cagey and asked for my help. He promised to tell me everything if I could help him save the townsfolk. Apparently, the nightmares are capable of causing real harm, and he wants to help them before the damage becomes permanent.

I looked back to Lydia and Valdimar. She just sighed at me, and nodded. Valdimar looked a bit confused, and she explained, “She does this a lot.”

I agreed to help, and he was overjoyed. He asked me to meet him at Nightcaller Temple so we could get started. I said that my companions and I needed to finish warming up and get some food and drink in us before we did anything, and he was understanding.

So, I went up to the bar for some drinks, and a man named Sam dressed in magic robes challenged me to a drinking contest.

Now, I don’t mean to brag, but as someone who’s spent most of her life hanging out in taverns, I’ve won far more drinking contests than I’ve lost. Of course I’m going to accept his challenge!

Admittedly, I would have done it just for bragging rights, but he bet a magic staff on the outcome, so what did I have to lose?

The first one went down like water. The second one started to hit me a bit, and that’s when he tapped out. He said that if I could do a third, the staff was mine.

I blame my empty stomach.

The next thing I remember is waking up in a temple of Dibella with a priestess yelling at me! Apparently I barged in, groped the statues (!?!?) and wrecked the place. My head was killing me, so I asked if I could just pay for the damages, and have her tell me what in Oblivion happened.

Lydia and Valdimar were no help. They just stood there and tried very, very hard to look like they didn’t know me.

Even the dog wouldn’t look at me.

The priestess said that I was too drunk to make a lot of sense, but I did say something about Rorikstead. Maybe try going there?

I thanked her, gave her the gold, and we left.

Now, I’ve only ever seen a few Dwemer artifacts before now. A few cups and bowls here and there at swanky parties we’d managed to get into back in the Capitol, but this place…

It’s beautiful!

A whole city carved from the mountain, with towering waterfalls and carvings everywhere! There’s little canals passing through, and hundreds of bridges and stairs connecting everything. It’s a bit of a maze, but that just adds to it, for me.

Markarth is simply one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen. I wonder if I can get a house here, too?

Anyway, we managed to find our way to the city gates, and just as I went through, Lydia reminded me that I had a letter from a researcher here.

I had completely forgotten!

I also hadn’t bothered to look for a trader, which would have been useful. We were woefully short on gold.

So, we went back in, and luckily the trader was right there. The lady running the shop was a little surly, but she gave decent prices, so that’s good.

We left, and as we walked out, a man attacked a lady, shouting about the Forsworn? He was quickly taken out by the city guards (there were several standing right there, so I have no idea what the man was thinking) but they were reluctant to tell me anything about what he meant.

I did learn from a shopkeep who witnessed the attack that the Forsworn are barbarians who want to take Skyrim from the Nords. Seems a bit of an impossible task to me, but it sounds like they’re just as mad as everyone says they are.

So, we found our way to the keep, and walked into an argument between a priest of Arkay and some sort of guard captain type. Apparently they’ve been having trouble in the crypts, and the armored man was angry that he couldn’t go in to see his ancestors whenever he pleased. He was also furious about the possibility of desecration.

The priest managed to calm him down a bit, and walked away. I was going to speak with him, but he seemed angry and was obviously not the man I was looking for. I found Calcelmo near the entrance to some Dwemer ruins, talking with his nephew. I let them finish – his nephew wants to leave for other projects, but his uncle insists he needs him here on the excavation – before walking up to offer the arrow to him.

I tell you what, that man needs to take a day off! Go out for a night on the town, get a massage, visit some ladies… Something! Soon as I opened my mouth he went off on me, yelling about how people were always interrupting him and trying to steal his work.

Once he’d vented enough, he apologized for his outburst and paid me for the arrow. He said that the excavation was slowed because a giant spider in there was terrorizing his workers. They were refusing to dig until it had been taken care of, but he didn’t have anyone to help.

I was going to ask about the city guard, but with those Forsworn people and their sympathizers attacking people in the street, well…. The guards had better things to do. Lydia tried to argue that we might also have better things to do, but when I asked what’s better than helping - And maybe earning a pile of gold while we’re at it – she didn’t have an answer.

Valdimar was eager to go in, though. Turns out, he thinks the Dwemer and the mystery of their disappearance is fascinating. Getting to explore a real Dwemer ruin to help the leading expert on the Dwemer is a dream come true!

So, in we went! The ruins are impressive, with strange lights that burn without flame. I can hear wheels turning, like in a mill, but everything sounds like metal and stone. I even hear hissing, like the sound of steam around a pot lid.

As we hunted for the giant spider, we picked up every bit of Dwemer treasure we could carry. Pots, urns, bowls, bit of metal… A treasure trove of goods to trade! I’ll be keeping some, too. I like them, and I think they’ll look nice in the house I’m building.

After a few twists and turns, we hit an earthen area that’s clearly in the process of being dug through. There’s tables and mugs and other bits of regular furniture here and there that the workers left behind. We found a few regular-sized frostbite spiders, which were easy enough to deal with, and then we found a large, open room, with a large door on the other side.

Everything was covered in webs.

That’s also where we found the giant spider, the one that Calcelmo said his workers called Nimhe. It wasn’t that hard to take care of, thankfully. It saw me first so I got a bit banged up, but none of us got poisoned, and the dog is still safe.

Once it was dead, I investigated the room, and we found the body of a guard in front of the door with a note next to him. He talked about the rest of the expedition members; how useless the spell-casters were in a fight, and that he was afraid that some of the other party members were up to no good.

It was getting late, so we decided to save on inn fees (not like we knew where one was, anyway) and camp here for the night.

Something about the dead man doesn’t sit right with me. He’s just laying there, bloodied. Spiders don’t do that – They poison their prey and wrap them up.

Was he killed by those people he was worried about? Or was it something else?

I pointed this out to Lydia and Valdimar, and they exchanged grave looks before agreeing with me. Even though we’ve killed everything, and that massive metal door would surely make a lot of noise if it opened, we’re keeping watch tonight.

I took first watch so I can sip at some wine while I write.

It’s sort of funny. Lydia’s letting the dog sleep next to her. She normally calls him stupid, but in a strange place like this, full of unfamiliar sounds and who-knows-what lurking around the ruins, having him here is a comfort to us all.

Earlier, Valdimar said that the dogs here in Skyrim usually latch on to their masters, or their master’s children. They’ll typically wander off if they don’t have anyone to follow, which is probably why he left the campfire last time.

He’s a good dog, and while he’s useful, it pains me to see him getting hurt in all the fighting.

But Valdimar mentioned children, too. Hmm… I know I don’t want to have any babies of my own. I never did like having to help take care of them. There’s got to be an orphanage somewhere here in Skyrim. Or a street urchin wandering around who needs a place to live.

Oh, this -is- funny! Here I am, thinking about adopting a kid so my overprotective dog will have someone to look after! This is why I shouldn’t have a baby of my own.

Yeah, the bottle is almost finished. I’m going to drink water for the rest of the night.

A thought. If I adopt a kid, I can’t just leave them at the house all alone with the dog while I run around Skyrim earning money fighting bandits and such. They’ll need a parent around. I’ll have to get married, first.

Hmm. I wonder how that works out here? Most marriages in the Capitol between people of rank are just for politics. I’m a Thane in two holds. Does that mean I’ll have to marry someone from one of the holds? Or can I pick anyone? How does getting married here in Skyrim work? I mean, usually there’s contracts and things to go over, and then there’s a ceremony at the Temple of Mara where you sign everything and get a blessing.

I have no identity here, really, aside from being a Thane and the Dragonborn. It’s not like I can contribute much to the paperwork.

By the Eight, I don’t even have a SEAL! I mean, I can probably have one made, but I’ve not seen anywhere that looks like they do that sort of thing. Maybe the jewelers?

But I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s almost time for me to wake up Valdimar. I can always ask Lydia more about it when we get out of here.