Nord Refugee Character Diary - Hrisskar III

  • Welcome to Skyrim Forums! Register now to participate using the 'Sign Up' button on the right. You may now register with your Facebook or Steam account!

bulbaquil

...is not Sjadbek, he just runs him.
And to think, eleven months ago Hrisskar was frantically hunting food outside Riverwood with his bare hands, trying not to starve.
 

BIGwooly

Well-Known Member
- 21st of Sun's Height, 4E 202 -

This dragon phenomenon is definitely getting out of control. When I left Riverwood yesterday morning my mind was consumed with Galmar's mission and Delphine's plan. Every detail of each bounced around inside my head until it was making me crazy. So when my daydreaming was interrupted by a huge dragon, I nearly fell off my horse.

It was the same dragon that I had seen when I followed Delphine to the dragon burial mound. I recognized it. It was unmistakably evil and sinister. And like before, I watched in horror as the dragon spoke in an ancient tongue and smoke and dust and magic rose up from a burial mound in a pillar toward the heavens.

dragonrebirth.jpg

I knew what was happening and I couldn't help but watch. All around wildlife was scattering in absolute fear of this ancient beast and his ceremony. Soon the pillar dissipated and the bones of a long-dead dragon burst from the mound. And as before the dragon that hovered over it spoke it back into existence.

I was out of sight before the end of the process. I didn't need to see that. I didn't need to be around .. alone .. when two dragons were alive and looking for trouble. But it definitely got me thinking. This means that there are now at least four dragons roaming Skyrim, and that's not counting the powerful one that is resurrecting all of them. Suddenly I'm not so sure that the empire and the thalmor are most important.

But I was already pulling into Rorikstead, so I may as well complete my mission for Galmar. I strode into the inn and proceeded straight to the keeper. He didn't want to give me any information but I was able to threaten it out of him. It probably didn't hurt that he had just recently seen me put down a very capable brute in that very inn. I felt bad for intimidating him, but this was more important than my feelings or his.

According to the innkeep, an imperial courier had just left, but would be back before long. It was early afternoon, so I left inn and rode Cloud along the road in both directions but never found the courier. As much as I would have preferred to do this business on some quiet section of the road, it didn't look like that was going to happen. So I returned to the inn and waited .. and waited .. and ate my dinner ... and waited still.

Finally the courier showed up and went to a side room to rest for the night. I considered waiting until he left in the morning, so that I could follow him and have a chat with him when no one else was around. But I had no way of knowing when he would wake or when he would leave. I was just as likely to sleep in and miss his exit from the inn. No, this had to be handled tonight .. now.

So I walked into his room and immediately I saw him bristle with uncertainty. I was fully decked out in impressive armor and I had my shield on my arm. No doubt there was a certain confidence in how I walked into that room that let this soldier know his night was going to more interesting than he wanted.

I tried to reason with him, but understandably, he refused to just hand over the imperial documents that I knew he carried. Galmar wanted these so that we could forge a set of imperial orders. I wasn't walking out of this inn without them, and the soldier was prepared for the same. In the end it was he that drew his sword first.

The soldier may have carried a sword and worn armor, but he was no match for me. He was dead on the floor in a matter of moments. I heard screams and cries in the main room but I ignored them and found the imperial papers I needed. As I stashed them in my satchel and walked out of the room a giant claymore struck me across the chest and nearly knocked me off my feet.

To my utter surprise one of the town guards was attempting to bring me to justice. He was a stormcloak, but his loyalties were obviously confused. It was unfortunate, but I had no choice other than to kill him as well.

It was unbridled chaos in the inn now, and to add more wood to the fire another guard burst in through the front door. Now from previous visits and from my observations today as well, I knew that there were only two guards in Rorikstead. As a tiny farming community they were lucky to even have these two. But the guard crashed through the door as if he meant business, and I again had no choice but to put him down.

I decided it was best that I leave at this point, even though it was going to be midnight in just an hour or two. I couldn't rent a room and stay at an inn where I had just killed three men, one an official imperial soldier, and the other two the official town guards. Surely one of these farmers would slit my neck in my sleep or run to the nearest legion post to bring back a fitting arrest party.

So I left without so much as glancing over my shoulder. I rode hard and I rode fast, and ended up at the small camp where I spent many nights several months ago when clearing out a cave with falmer in it. It was a pretty restless night, as I have so much on my mind right now .. and also that every little noise I heard made me think that an imperial patrol had found me.

It's a new day now, though, and I must figure out what I'm going to do next. The decision is not clear to me in the least.
 

bulbaquil

...is not Sjadbek, he just runs him.
I think I might have a vague idea what it was you were trying to do.

My guess is that you were trying to continue along the main quest, but because you have a high bounty in Whiterun Hold, a certain someone whom you must talk to in order to continue the main quest instead becomes hostile and attacks you on sight.

If that was the case, the solution is to pay off the bounty (either by money or by jail time).

(Truth be told, I think it would have been better - not to mention more realistic - if the crime system in the game accounted for the civil war. You shouldn't, but do, accrue bounties for killing Imperial soldiers in Stormcloak-aligned holds (or Stormcloak soldiers in Imperial-aligned holds, for that matter) when witnesses are present.)

If this WASN'T the glitch, then I don't know... just consider this forewarning that it WILL be an issue unless you were forced to backtrack before killing the courier.
 

BIGwooly

Well-Known Member
bulbaquil nailed it. Delphine attacked me because of a bounty I have in Whiterun for slaughtering imperial soldiers so gleefully. At first I thought her attack was part of the game. I was like, wow, this is a pretty sneaky betrayal. I just gave me weapon to the other guy so now I have nothing to fight with. Clever.

So I managed to run and find a woodaxe at the nearby sawmill, and I literally fought her for half a day and half a night. I dropped her to her knee several times, but couldn't quite seem to kill her. Eventually I paused out of sheer frustration and decided to look online to see if this was a glitch of some kind. And sure enough ... dammit!

Now I'm just trying to figure out the best way to move forward to maintain my character and the story. Pretty lame that killing imperials in stormcloak territory gets you a bounty, though.
 

bulbaquil

...is not Sjadbek, he just runs him.
It also doesn't make much sense from an IC perspective for Delphine to even know about the event in Rorikstead, much less care, given the ostensibly time-sensitive nature of the Thalmor Embassy party. But because Delphine's programmed as part of the Whiterun Hold crime faction....

Since I don't think you actually can afford the bounty with Hrisskar's current funds, and would have to serve the jail time (which would be a week 0f in-game time), what I might do in your situation:

Pretend you got arrested in Solitude for something (something Stormcloaky in nature would probably work - maybe the "Stormcloak soldiers" in Rorikstead were actually Imperial spies?), even though you actually have to serve the time in Whiterun. Out-of-character, fast-travel (yes, fast-travel - you're trying to account for a glitch here, not actually play your character) to Whiterun - you should be arrested immediately upon arrival. Serve your time in Dragonsreach and then fast-travel back to Solitude (and if it's a weird hour, wait until a more reasonable one). However much time this procedure took is the length of your sentence in Solitude.

As for the party, it wasn't until that day anyway.
 

BIGwooly

Well-Known Member
Well, it's going to have to be jail time for sure, as you're right. I can't afford the bounty. The question for me is how I want to handle this so it at least makes a little bit of sense. I'm sure I'll figure it out .. I just needed some time to cool off after trying to kill someone with a freaking wood axe for a couple hours, lol.
 

bulbaquil

...is not Sjadbek, he just runs him.
Well, it's going to have to be jail time for sure, as you're right. I can't afford the bounty. The question for me is how I want to handle this so it at least makes a little bit of sense. I'm sure I'll figure it out .. I just needed some time to cool off after trying to kill someone with a freaking wood axe for a couple hours, lol.

Maybe Hrisskar got in a drunken brawl in the Rorikstead inn? :)
 

BIGwooly

Well-Known Member
I've made my decision on how I will handle the glitch. In essence, I'm going to pretend it never happened. There will be a gap in the journal of 10 days or so, and that will be that.

The more I thought it over the more I didn't like the idea of polluting the journal was some completely made up story. So there we go. New entry coming soon. d;-)
 

bulbaquil

...is not Sjadbek, he just runs him.
\ 30 of Sun Hight, 4e 202 --

Just arivde back at the inn. Much to writte but drinked too much ale tonit. Barly made up the stairs to the room. Writeing more tomarow.

I am... speechless. Except in written form.
 

BIGwooly

Well-Known Member
- 31st of Sun's Height, 4E 202 -

By the gods .. my head hurts this morning. It's like I have a thunderstorm inside my skull. My stomach feels awful as well. Not even a sweetroll sounds good. I'm not even going to ask the innkeep how many bottles of ale I went through last night.

Infiltrating the thalmor party was an interesting affair. Delphine had me meet a contact of hers named Malborn here at the Winking Skeever in Solitude, and I gave him a few items to sneak inside for me. Given that he was going to have to sneak them in, I couldn't give him very much. So I gave him my mace, my enchanted gauntlets, my enchanted necklace and ring, and a handful of potions .. including a potion of invisibility that I purchased that day, just in case I needed it.

We parted ways and I went to find Delphine. I had also purchased a pair of nice shoes, to go with my clothes for the party. Delphine was going to hang on to the rest of my gear, and when I showed up she did not approve of my attire. Leave it to a female to find something wrong with an outfit. Instead, she gave me a different set of clothes and shoes, which I will admit were nicer and probably more fitting for the coming event.

She had arranged for a cart to give me a ride to the embassy, which was nice. I'd rather not having to walk the road up there wearing nothing but some dainty clothes with not even a dagger in my pocket.

My invitation passed inspection and the next thing I knew I was inside and having a conversation with the resident ambassador from the Aldmeri Dominion. She was flooding me with questions and I didn't want to blow my cover so I did my best to turn her questions back around on her. She was called away by the bartender, who turned out to be my contact that had smuggled my gear in.

I wandered the party, making conversation here and there and stuffing my face with sweetrolls and honeynut treats. After a bit I needed a drink so I wandered over to my inside man and had him get me a drink. He tried to talk to me about creating a distraction so he could sneak me inside, but I brushed him off as I was enjoying myself in a nice peaceful way for the first time in a long time.

I walked away with my drink and began chatting with a fellow who had already had a few too many. He was a nice enough fellow though, and I humored him for a bit, even giving him my drink to save him a trip back to the bar .. not that his legs would have carried him there. He thanked me and swore he would do anything for me if I ever needed anything. I wasn't sure if he said that because he meant it or because he was drunk, but it didn't matter either way. I had an idea and I knew he would help me follow through with it.

I got another drink and downed this one while hanging out with my new friend, who was seeping further and further into the land of less than sober. It was a fun party, and I was beginning to see why the rich threw these all the time. I had never been to a party before, not like this. I even spotted a woman who caught my eye and maybe a piece of my heart.

My bottle and my throat ran dry, so I headed back to get another bottle. Delphine's man made a big show about how they were out and he would need to go to the cellar to get some more. Then, under his breath, he chided at me to hurry up and cause a distraction. Under my own breath I cursed him for his impatience, but visibly acknowledged that I would take care of things.

A few minutes later my drinking buddy was on his feet and stealing all the eyes in the room. The last thing I heard was him letting an insult to the ambassador slip past his lips, and then Malborn closed the door and hurried me through the kitchen to collect my meager supplies. Then he pushed me through a door and mumbled something about locking it behind me .. and that I was on my own.

The frivolity of the party evaporated quickly as I overheard two thalmor guards talking in the next room. I waited patiently, and they returned to their rounds. But a brief survey of the hall I was in revealed I would have to pass through the room with the guards.

So I waited .. and watched. For quite some time I studied the pattern of the two guards. I needed to have a precise plan or I would be dead. I had no armor, other than my gauntlets. I didn't even have my shield. Truth be told, I may as well have been naked as that was exactly how I felt.

But eventually I had the pattern down and I moved into position. One of the few potions I had brought was a paralyze potion. I applied it to my mace and waited for one of the guards to return to a spot where he liked to lean against a wall. My breath held tight, he sauntered over and leaned back into the wall with a sigh. My mace flew at the back of his head with all my strength, and the connection was so loud I was sure the other guard would hear. But he didn't, and this guard fell dead with the single strike.

I dragged his body out of sight and hid in a pantry to take care of the other guard. With both guards dead and their bodies concealed, I moved upstairs. I left their armor on their bodies as I felt it more important to be quick and quiet right now. It wasn't easy to leave perfectly good elven armor behind when all I was wearing was fine cloth.

One more guard down I proceeded outside. It was fully night now, and the fresh fallen snow glittered with the waves of light that fluttered across the heavens. I snuck forward two steps on the snow and then I was spotted. Two thalmor guards came at me as well as a thalmor mage. Knowing that I was outnumbered and thus likely outmatched, especially since I had lost the element of surprise, I let loose a shout against and knocked all but one of them on their backs.

I went after the standing guard, and after a brief fight I took on the other two. They fell as well, and I moved into the next building, but not until after I took an elven helmet and an elven breastplate to wear. If I got surprised again I wanted to at least have some decent protection. I decided to take a bow and a quiver of arrows as well.

Inside the next building I heard some men talking .. rather, arguing. The topic of their discussion was of a man they had in a prison cell in a lower level, as well as another mysterious older man. The argument ended, and a nord man appeared. He was visibly upset over not getting paid for his cooperation. I held still in the shadows as he walked past and stormed out the door.

Realizing this might be a golden opportunity to gain an ally in my current situation, I slipped back outside to try and talk to the man. But that was a mistake. The moment he saw me he drew a dagger and came after me. All it took was a few strikes from my mace to down him, and I carefully tucked his body out of sight under a nearby tree.

I snuck back inside, and after clearing the first and second floor of the building, I proceeded down some stairs and came to a locked door. Neither the guard or the other man that I had killed had possessed a key, so I decided to perform a more thorough search of the building. While doing this I found a chest with not only a key, but with several notebooks filled with information. I took the key and all of the notes and headed downstairs.

A thalmor was busy interrogating and torturing the prisoner I had overheard the conversation about. Another thalmor sat at a table taking notes. There was plenty of candlelight flickering in the room and I knew I had no chance of sneaking in close to either of the thalmor. So I pulled out the bow I had recently picked up and notched an arrow as quietly as I could, setting my aim on the thalmor taking notes.

The taught string of the bow slipped through my fingers and my arrow found its mark. Both thalmor rushed to confront me and we fought for some time before I subdued both of them with my mace. The prisoner was moaning still, which meant he was alive, so I hurried to the cell to free him.

I had just done this when I heard a familiar voice followed by the voices of more thalmor. Malborn was headed into the prison area with some thalmor guards. I wasn't sure if he was betraying me or if he had been compromised, but I was ready for the guards either way. A blast from my voice stunned them and the prisoner and I .. and thankfully Malborn .. worked together to end their lives.

Malborn and the prisoner were adamant that it was time to leave, and I agreed. But first I grabbed the notes that the thalmor had been taking. And then we were off, through a trap door and into a cave of sorts .. where we encountered a giant frost troll.

Malborn must have lost his mind because he jumped from the ledge and attacked the troll with a dagger in hand. I began firing arrows into the troll as quickly as I could to try and assist Malborn, but it was a lost cause. As the freed prisoner ran past the troll and to a passage ahead, Malborn fell to one of the monster's mighty swipes.

The troll stepped over Malborn's dead body and chased after the prisoner. I kept firing arrows into it's back, certain that I was having minimal effect on the three-eye fiend. Trolls regenerate health rather quickly after all. I had only two arrows left anyways as the troll disappeared into the passage and I feared the worst for the poor tortured soul I had set free.

As it seemed to be the only way out I decided to make a run for the passage as well. With any luck I could maybe shout the troll down and finish it off with my mace. But when I came around the corner the troll was waiting for me, and one swipe of it's massive hand left me weak in the knees. Without my usual protection I wasn't going to survive more than another slash or two from this creature. So I shouted it down, which revealed salvation behind it ... a tunnel out of the cave.

I didn't even hesitate and just sprinted into the tunnel without looking back.

The tunnel eventually opened up and I stepped out onto the snow of Skyrim with a relieved smile spreading across my face. A giant shadow passed overhead and took my smile with it, however. Another dragon! These creatures were becoming a plague on the land. I had overheard a conversation at the party that the mages guild in Winterhold suspected at least a dozen dragons were now ravaging Skyrim. How could the gods allow this?

Luckily for me the dragon only circled back once, and didn't spot me hiding in the bushes. So I headed down a narrow trail away from the cave, lest the troll figure out what had happened and find me again.

As relieved as I was to be back out in the light of day, I still felt naked without my usual gear. And to make matters worse, I had literally no idea where I was at. Nothing looked familiar, just trees and snow and mountains .. which I suppose is familiar in a way, but not specific. I was lost, without a guide, without my armor, and my mace's magic had been drained completely.

The trail led to a road, which was a good sign. If nothing else, a road would likely lead to a town or a city. But this road led me to a skirmish between a snowy sabre cat and some imperial soldiers. I crouched and awaited the outcome of the battle, not interested in helping any of the empire's thugs save their skins.

The cat eventually killed all three, but I knew it was hurting. So I stepped from the bushes and prepared to use my shout of force to throw it over the cliff that lay behind it. The great cat turned to face me, imperial blood still dripping fresh from it's jaws. The sight made me smile just a bit. And then it charged me and I shouted it over the cliff and into oblivion.

After trading my nice shoes for some leather boots from one of the imperial soldiers, I headed down the road .. looking for any sort of landmark I could use as guidance. But instead the road switchbacked down the mountain and finally opened to a beautiful vista that instantly told me I was going the wrong way. Instead of seeing a vast expanse of mountain and forest before me, I saw a sea dotted with islands. If my memory was serving me correctly, I was on the wrong side of the mountain range.

I turned and backtracked up the road, and several hours later I saw the expanse of land I was looking for. Skyrim lay ahead, and not far up the road .. Solitude.
 

BIGwooly

Well-Known Member
- 31st of Sun's Height, 4E 202 -

I spent the day riding all the way from Solitude to Riverwood, which is a long ride for one day. I didn't have much choice, though. Delphine had returned to the small town with all of my belongings, including my gold. So I had to retrieve it. I'm not sure why she couldn't have just waited for me near Solitude. I suppose as an old member of the blades she is just being cautious.

Not surprisingly, a dragon was circling in the mountains near Rorikstead, so I left the road and headed over to the opposite mountain range to give it a wide berth. It lengthened my journey considerably, but I think it's worth it to avoid tangling with a dragon.

By late afternoon I had reached Whiterun, and I saw the the khajit trading caravan was in town. They have always been good to me, so I headed over to sell a few things. I'm sure part of me was still hoping to see Kharjo among them, but he was not with this group.

On the road again, climbing up toward Riverwood, I passed an imperial patrol. I kept riding, reasoning to myself that I didn't even have my proper gear and wasn't prepared to handle them. This reasoning got me a bit farther up the road before my heart overruled. The imperials had a prisoner with them, and how could I just ride on and abandon him?

So I turned Cloud around and dug my heels gently into her side. We headed back down the mountain at a brisk pace, and I did my best to cut across the winding road to make up time. But it was too late. By the time we reached the patrol they were at the farms outside Whiterun. An attack now would require the Whiterun guard to assist against me, and that would really complicate matters. Somewhat disgusted with myself for my earlier decision, I turned back toward Riverwood.

I've now rented a room for the night after speaking with Delphine and retrieving my own things. I sold the rest of what I could .. elven armor fetches a decent price .. and now I'm headed to bed. Tomorrow I have to decide what is more important ... heading back to Galmar for the stormcloaks .. or to Riften for Delphine and the blades.
 

bulbaquil

...is not Sjadbek, he just runs him.
Admittedly I was rather worried for Hrisskar getting through the embassy alive, but then I remember that lack of gear can't stop him from Shouting :) (And that, for Hrisskar, having gear isn't really all THAT different from not having gear).

Sjadbek: "Don't worry about the prisoner. I happened to be on the road from Rorikstead to Whiterun that day and I encountered them in the wilderness. He's safe. The Imperials are slightly less so."
 

Honourman

New Member
My bedtime reading is complete, now for Skyrim dreams...
 

BIGwooly

Well-Known Member
Admittedly I was rather worried for Hrisskar getting through the embassy alive, but then I remember that lack of gear can't stop him from Shouting :) (And that, for Hrisskar, having gear isn't really all THAT different from not having gear).

Sjadbek: "Don't worry about the prisoner. I happened to be on the road from Rorikstead to Whiterun that day and I encountered them in the wilderness. He's safe. The Imperials are slightly less so."

The biggest threat honestly was the frost troll. If I hadn't been able to run past him, things would have been ugly.
 

Uther Pundragon

The Harbinger of Awesome
Staff member
As a way to say thank you for writing such a enjoyable journal, I thought it would be nice to see what one of Hrisskar's entries would look like. So I put together an example and although it is by no means of professional quality, I found it fun and interesting to do. At the very least I hope it provides a visual stimulate to go along with the mental one you have provided with your journal entries.


Y0sxD.jpg
 

Recent chat visitors

Latest posts

Top