Atreyu’s Photo Diary – Skyrim Part 20

Part 19 Here
Chapter List Here

WARNING: ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM SPOILERS!

Prep, Prizes and Priests

I decided Rayya would suit me better as steward of my new home and appointed her as such so that she could organise a few things for me.
We started by having some animals brought in.

And I carried on with construction.

I also had Rayya hire me a bard. She found a man named Llewellyn the Nightingale.

I hoped his name was for his singing ability and not for being a member of a certain guild.

He made himself at home quite quickly.

I had hoped for a female bard…
I continued my work.

Once again, supplies diminished, so I set out to see what else I had left lying around my various other properties.

I went to the College of Winterhold where I found the staff all stood about in the main chamber.

I found a few useful things, not much, but at least it wasn’t an entirely wasted trip.
I also found my collection of Dragon Priest masks (minus the one I regularly carried for underwater breathing).
I decided to take them along too so that I could easier remember where they were stored.
Looking through I realised I was one short of the full set. It could take me months of bumbling around Skyrim before I discovered the last one. It could be anywhere!

I took the items back to Lakeview Manor and found Rayya at work.

She had also hired me a cart driver by the name of Gunjar.

My staff was growing. This pleased me.

I moved on to Solitude once again searching for building material.
It was strange to see it manned by Stormcloaks.

Finally I travelled again to Markarth to visit my last home.

Again, there was little of use, so I stopped in a store to see if I could buy any.

I met the owner, Lisbet, who told me that the Forsworn had stolen her Dibella statue.

Feeling as though I hadn’t had a proper adventure for a while, I jumped at the chance to help the woman.

I set out immediately and summoned my old thralls to join me, reminiscent of times past.
No sooner had I summoned the elementals, a dragon appeared to challenge us. What challenge.

At Red Eagle Redoubt, we were met by Forsworn resistance, but we moved through them.

Closer to the summit, the Forsworn seemed to recognise me as ally and no longer attacked.

It was strange, but made the mission easier. It was not long before I had the statue in hand.

And back where it belonged.

I returned to Lakeview Manor, to bring the supplies I had gathered and bought.
On my return, I found an unexpected guest scaring my cow.

He turned on me next. His last mistake.

With the threat removed, I could continue work. A trophy room was my next project.

Materials spent again, I decided to let Rayya organise some more things while I moved towards Riften to see what could be bought there.
As I drew nearer the city though, I felt the taste of adventure afresh.
Angarvunde was roughly on the way and I had been told of a Word of Power that lay within. Perhaps a Dragon Priest might be found too?

On the road to the ruin, I found a Stormcloak captured by Imperials. I threw him an axe and attempted to free him.
The cowards cut him down, but I took their lives in kind.

Before long I found the entrance to Angarvunde.

Inside a woman was mumbling about cowardly assistants.

Her name was Medresi Dran. She told me that a great treasure that could imbue awesome power was inside the ruins and that she would split it with me if we could get to it.
She feared the walking dead inside though who had scared off her help.
I assumed the treasure she spoke of was my Word Wall and would be no use to her even if we did find it.

She asked me to clear the way of monsters, so I went ahead.

As was to be expected, I found Draugr.

Once they had been dealt with, all that stood between us and the treasure were two gates.
I had to open them one by one by travelling through a number of other caverns first to find the levers.

The gates opened, Medresi dashed in, excited about what she would find.
All she found was death..

Behind the trap was a box which I assumed was meant to fool travellers into thinking they had found the treasure.

The real treasure however was in the opening underneath the trap.

Having won my prize, I set out towards Riften once more.

It was now dark, and as I walked I heard someone call from the side of the road.
The scene was familiar, and as I saw the group stood there, I suspected this would be something I had experienced not too long ago.

My suspicions were affirmed as I saw the bodies laying on the ground.

Vampires again. I cut the beasts down.

These vampire attacks were becoming far too frequent for my liking. I remembered the talk of the vampire hunters and recalled that they happened to be based nearby.
Riften and Lakeview could wait.
Skyrim needed the Dragonborn to deal with its problems once again.

I changed my heading for the place I believed I would find the Dawnguard.

I was surprised by another new sight.

A bear in combat with a werewolf.
I seemed to get too close, as the wolfman turned its attention on me. I defended myself from both beasts.

While continuing to search for the Dawnguard, I noticed another unexplored ruin. Something compelled me to go to it. Perhaps my lust for adventure was overwhelming me.

On arrival, I spotted a man sat at a camp near the entrance. I approached cautiously, suspecting him to be a bandit of some kind.

The man came to me and introduced himself as Captain Valmir.

He told me that a dangerous Dragon Priest lived inside the ruins of Forelhost, who wore a powerful mask and led an army of undead dragon cultists.
He wanted them defeated and the mask recovered.
I could not believe my luck. This must be the last mask I was searching for!

Inside the ruin was haunted as the Captain had told me, but the ghosts proved little problem.

The Captain had also told me to find a diary inside the ruin that might help me get through the ruins and defeat the priest.

I carried on moving through the old building.
As the book had said, there were a number of people who seemed to have committed ritual suicide. Each bedpost carried a vial of poison.

The trek wasn’t to be fruitless after all. I found a reasonable amount of iron and iron ore.

Deeper inside, the ghosts gave way to Draugr Deathlords.

There were also a number of blade traps.

I used my ability to slow time to pass through unscathed.

This was clearly the well that had been mentioned in the book. I decided to forgo searching for a key and used my skills to pick the lock.

I placed my breathing mask and dove in.

On the other side of a couple of dives, were yet more of the ruin.
Cutting through draugr and avoiding traps I found a glass claw, suggesting a door ahead.

Not long after, I was proved correct.

I entered the chamber, it seemed deadly quiet.

Stepping further inside, the priest revealed himself.

He did not wish to be taken easily.

With his flame staff spurting at all angles, a flame atronach whizzing about me and too many deathlords that I cared to count, I decided to summon a little help of my own.

Soon, all that stood in combat were myself and the dragon priest Rahgot.

He fell to my blade, as all his kind before him.

The final Dragon Priest mask was mine!

I took a key from the body and let myself out onto the balcony. A word wall awaited me, strengthening my power of the storm.

I began heading back to the Captain, who was waiting for the mask. I did not wish to part with it and hoped we could come to an agreement.
As I drew near I heard him giving the exact speech he had given me not long before to an Imperial soldier.

I approached them to let them know the mission was a success and the man needn’t risk his life.
However, the Imperial realised something was up and deduced that Valmir was really a Thalmor in disguise.

A fight broke out. The Imperial went for me, possibly assuming I was in on it, possibly realising I was a Stormcloak.

Valmir fought me too and the fight became an odd three-way battle.

I killed Valmir and the Imperial took to heel. I let him run. It was true, Valmir had orders to fool passers by.

As I began to set off, the Imperial reappeared in an attempt to surprise attack me. He failed and I left as the sole survivor.

Continuing on my way, I found a vampire who seemed to be fleeing from someone.

Perhaps I was getting close to the Dawnguard.

Part 21 ‘Dragon Priests, Dragon Masks, Dragons and a Dead Damsel’ Here
Chapter List Here