Sundas, 5:00pm, 17th of the Last Seed
Down the road to Helgen town with my fellow prisoners, the surroundings slowly coming into focus as the sounds of the trees and the wheels on the road tell us that we’re on our way to face Imperial justice.
I’ve been through this sequence before but still enjoyed it, especially the ignoring of the dragon’s roar at the execution. A stray arrow, a loud peasant – those can be ignored by a group of Imperial soldiers without much fear.
But a thundering cry from an inhuman beast? Move along, nothing to worry about.
I followed Ralof down to Helgen Keep and once all was clear made my way to Riverwood; this was a path I’d been down before and it felt good to see the old place again.
Passing the Standing Stones I met Alvor the Blacksmith (the best guy you’ll ever meet), Ralof’s sister Gerdur, Lucan “I call them treasures” Valerius and his sister Camilla (who walks you to the bridge when you go to leave town on the next part of the main quest, I appreciated that) – even Stump the dog – all were there to add their own stamp on Riverwood and make it a great first impression for a wandering adventurer like myself.
The first almost-goosebump moment I had was turning the corner in the path to see Whiterun rise up out of the plain. It was magic.
I met Aela the Huntress (on the way to deliver the message to the Jarl at Dragonsreach) and she pointed me in the way of the Companions – I’ll be sure to followup with them while I’m in town.
Inside Dragonsreach we find our first jerk of Skyrim – Farengar Secret-fire, the court wizard of Jarl Balgruuf the Greater. I’m still going to run his errand for him, but come on – with a last name of “Secret-Fire” you think he’d be a better guy.
The ongoing civil war gets some faces with the introduction of clans Battle-Born and Gray-Mane, so we’ll see how that shakes out as time passes.
Elrindir of The Drunken Huntsman was a great find – not for the wares he’s selling but for the story of how the tavern got its name. The word “rump” is used and it’s awesome.
Amren has the best line of the game so far:
Sometimes I miss the soldier’s life, but when I hold my daughter in my arms, I know I made the right choice
This is one of the first things he says when you walk up to him and it caught me off guard – it’s said with a sincerity I didn’t expect.
Completed Quests:
- Before The Storm
- Greatsword for a Great Man
- A Few Words with You
- A Lovely Letter
- Unbound
Thank you for checking out my latest adventures in the nine holds! Feel free to read the first post in my Skyrim Scripted series to see how things got started.
Knightlys Nexus 