Destroying my first dragon meant I was now Thane of Whiterun Hold, so the current title list is:
- Thane of Winterhold
- Arch-Mage of The College of Winterhold
- Thane of Whiterun
Since I’m now a thane of the hold I need to keep helping the populace and my next stop was Orphan Rock to retrieve nettlebane. I remember fighting these hags from the first play through and it was fine with me to stomp them down again.
Danica Pure-Spring needs the nettlebane to revitalize the tree in the center of town (the Gildergreen), so that quest is one step closer to being complete.
In my wanderings it was great to walk through Helgen again, the place where it all started. Of course now it’s a deserted waste of a town and bandits had moved in, but still my memories of my original trip to my execution remain golden.
I cleared the North Skybound Watch and in so doing popped out at South Skybound Watch! Why the previous sentence warrants an exclamation point is due to the coolness of the game taking into account the space you travel underground.
I assumed I would simply exit on the other side of the mountain but emerging at the South location was a great visual confirmation of the distance I’d traveled. Moments like this make the game seem more real and it was well done.
Still in the “making-it-feel-more-real” category was the hunter I passed while going through the narrow mountain pass close by the Skybound Watch. He was just traveling through, singing to himself and it made for a great moment of camaraderie; just two travelers passing on the road.
On the other side of the pass the foliage changed and even in the pouring rain you could feel and see it. After quickly taking a look inside the Alchemist’s Shack (read the journal there but otherwise no sign of life) I passed over to the village of Ivarstead where I was finally able to rest my head at the Vilemyr Inn.
Even though this is virtual traveling the sight of a warm fire and soft fur bed is always welcome.
Knightlys Nexus 