WARNING: ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM SPOILERS!
Dwarven Ruins, Daedric Princes, Drunken Nights and a Dog
Waking up in Markarth was a shock enough. I didn’t expect the place to look like this though. Incredible.
Could have got a better picture…
As it happened I had been sent to help a man here named Calcelmo with his romance problem so I went looking for him. As usual I found plenty of other people with problems to solve.
One included some kind of mysterious creature eating the dead in the city tombs. I was asked to investigate.
I went in and was greeted by an odd woman claiming that I was a cannibal and I should join her because she understood.
She left using an invisibility spell before I could get much else out of her.
As I was about doing favours for people anyway, I agreed to help Calcemo by killing a giant spider called Nimhe who had been bothering his excavation teams.
I did so with the help of my new friend:
I call him Stampy. Named because when I first conjured him, I lost sight of him and assumed he had unsummoned himself. A few moments later I heard the sound of footsteps as though a dragon was attempting to sneak up on me. I turned nervously to be faced by my friendly Atronach waiting to do my bidding.
After killing Nimhe, we found the body of one of the team carrying his diary. It said that the rest of the team had gone deeper into the Dwarven city. We decided that it would be best if we looked for them.
The search was quite grim. One by one we found the dead bodies of the team and their bodyguards. The place was full of Falmer and the diaries explained that it was them who had been the main cause.
This one however, we could see had been killed by a booby trapped chest.
Our guess was that opening the chest would bring to life that giant statue guy with the hammers for arms.
Curiosity wouldn’t let me live without opening the chest however. Bracing ourselves for the worst, I grabbed the loot and drew my axe ready to fight.
Fortunately we only had to deal with a couple of sphere guys and the big statue stayed still.
We went deeper still and found the last team member with a diary advising that we should reactivate the Dwarven defence systems so that they could flush out the Falmer.
We did so, even though I thought it might backfire and end up hurting us too.
We would have got out without incident, but Lydia decided she couldn’t leave without having a go at one of the giant Statues that came to life.
Once that had been dealt with, we decided it was high time we got back to familiar ground and figured out how I’d gotten to Markath in the first place.
Annoyingly, as I was about to leave the city, there was a murder in broad daylight by some guy shouting about Forsworn or something. I was then asked by some lad to start digging around trying to find out what had really happened and why the guards were pretty much looking the other way.
I began some snooping and while looking I was asked by a Vigilant of Stendarr named Tyranus to help him investigate a house that was supposedly being used for Daedra worship.
Foolishly thinking this wouldn’t take long and agreeing I went in with him. Tyranus became possessed and attacked me, so Lydia was forced to kill him.
The doors were locked and a mystic voice told me to go deeper into the house.
I found this altar there. The voice told me to take my reward.
I approached it and reached for the weapon, but was suddenly trapped in a cage. The voice told me he was Molag Bal, a Daedric Prince. He wanted me to get revenge on Boethiah, by luring one of her followers to the altar to be punished.
At this stage I felt I had no choice but to be cooperative.
I was let free and continued my murder investigations. After uncovering a few secrets I learned that the Silver-Blood family had deals with the Forsworn to keep the city under their control. City Guards had been bribed and the leader of the Forsworn kept in prison was really an ally being looked after.
Unfortunately, uncovering the secrets meant I became an enemy of the corrupt city and I was promptly arrested when I discovered the lad who had asked me to help had been killed by guards.
Me in prison:
It wasn’t long before Madanach, the leader, had decided enough was enough and it was time for us to escape. He wanted the Blood-Silver reign to be over and for the city to recognise that he had been in control all along.
The Forsworn gathered before the breakout:
We escaped through a secret Dwarven ruin and Madanach confronted Thonar, head of the Blood-Silver family.
Madanach assured me that my name had been cleared before leading his men on a rampage through the city slaughtering any Blood-Silvers and City Guard they came across. Somehow Mulush gro-Shugurz, the owner of the city smelter was also killed in the battle, much to the delight of his workers.
FINALLY, I left the city, where I was immediately offered the chance to buy a war dog. This seemed a grand opportunity, so I accepted and went on with my new companion Vigilance.
Vigilance proved his worth very quickly. We’d barely left the city when we were attacked by a Dragon.
Good boy!
A little further on we bumped into M’aiq the Liar again who seemed terrified of my doggy.
Having been told that Sam had mentioned Rorikstead we stopped there to see what we could find out. Apparently on that drunken night Sam and I had stolen a goat from a farmer and sold it to a giant. I was quite surprised at this as I was yet to have a sober conversation with a giant and was unaware that they used currency. The farmer wanted his goat back, so I thought I should try and renegotiate with the buyer.
I found him with the goat still alive.
Grok, as I seemed to remember him being called, wasn’t interested in talking though. Rather he attacked when I approached Gleda the goat.
The team saw an end to him.
The farmer was pleased to see Gleda back unharmed and told us that we had mentioned Whiterun and should look there next.
Conveniently that was where I was headed anyway.
En route, we met M’aiq the Liar again, who was suspiciously standing next to a single arrow stuck into the ground. He was quite secretive about what he was up to.
In Whiterun, we found Ysolda, who I had previously helped to build her caravan business. She told me I owed her money for a wedding ring.
Apparently I was engaged and had a wedding planned. She wouldn’t tell me any more unless I paid up or returned the ring.
I decided to go find the ring and the woman I was supposed to wed. Maybe I’d been lucky?
So, I made my way to the place I was told to have met the woman and found Moira patiently waiting.
I politely informed her that the engagement was a mistake, I was sorry and I couldn’t marry her. At this point she decided that if she couldn’t have me, no one could.
I was forced to slaughter yet another person caught up in my silly drunken night.
I took the ring back to Ysolda who told me to go to Morvunskar where the wedding was to take place.
Continuing on, we had a few other unfinished jobs to do that were on the way including dropping off the Horn to the Greybeards.
Vigilance having defeated a bandit leader:
Vigilance thinking he is a Greybeard.
We arrived at Morvunskar, which was full of dangerous conjurers. I have no idea why I’d choose such a hostile place to be married in!
Deep inside the keep we found this:
We had no idea what it was or what it could do, but had come too far to walk away. We approached it and it transported us to a scenic garden.
This seemed a much nicer and more reasonable place to be married. Although the wedding was off, we thought we might still find Sam and the staff he promised me.
After a little walk we saw him with a party of people presumably waiting for me and my bride.
Much to my surprise, Sam transformed into his true self, Sanguine, the Deadric Prince of debauchery. Apparently my entire escapade had been a massive prank for his amusement.
Satisfied with what I had done, he gave me the staff which I could use to summon a Dremora to fight with me.
Then with very little warning he transported me back to the Inn in Riften where we originally met…
Part 5 ‘Death, Devotion and Darkness’ Here
Chapter List Here
