 |
| Lydia- Looks Can Be Deceiving |
Stomping out of Ustengrav, I wanted badly to zip over to Riverwood, however I was determined to save Thorald Gray-Mane because I promised his brother, had delayed too long, and this was part of the reason for my tour of Northern Skyrim. For all I know the Gray-Manes and Battle-Borns were attacking each other in the streets of Whiterun by now. Thorald was supposed to be held in a location about as far west as you can go in Skyrim, Northwatch Keep and to make it real interesting, it's controlled by the Thalmor. Along the way, we could discover what kind of a city Solitude, an Imperial stronghold would be.
 |
| Solitude |
There was rough terrain between Usengrav and Solitude, but the trip was uneventful. In the distance, the city standing out on a huge rock arch outcropping appeared impregnable on the East End. There was water between us and the City and instead of wasting most of the day circling around, we elected to swim. Walking up the hill to the main gate, I was informed by a guard I was just in time to see Roggvir.
"Why would I want to see him?" I queried.
"He's being executed today" was the reply.
 |
| For Helping The King Killer |
Inside we walked right into the execution with a crowd standing around waiting for the criminal to face justice. He had something to do with the killing of King Torygg by Ulfric Stormcloak, head of the Stormcloak Rebellion. In hindsight I made an incredibly stupid move. I don't know what the exact trigger was, but I approached the head guard, he pulled his weapon and just about killed me. I knew if I fought back, I'd never be able to set foot in Solitude again so instead, mortally wounded, I used my "time" spell to rewind time to the point just before we passed through the main gate.
This time I stood quietly, listened to Roggvir make an appeal, but no matter, the ax fell and Roggvir's head rolled around on the ground before it stopped with his sightless eyes looking up at the blue sky. I was going to have to watch my step around here.
 |
| Legat Rikke- Need an Arse Whoop'n? @UESP.net |
I found the Legion headquarters in the Castle. General Tullius and Legate Rikke, Tullius's Lieutenant were discussing strategy for the region. They were not impressed that I could just walk into their conversation. I informed them I was present at Helgen and actually got an apology out of the good General. I don't know what got into me, maybe dealing with pompous, too big for their britches Jarls, but I decide to apply to the Legion. At the same time I wondered how the long range effect of this decision would impede my ability to come and go in Whiterun and the Companions guild? Before acceptance they wanted me to clear out an old Fort. Good, that gave me some time to think on this. Most interesting I discovered from Rikke, the abandoned forts scattered around Skyrim are not Imperial forts but old forts built by the "Ancients" whoever they were.
Before leaving the Castle, I discovered the Thalmor headquarters in Skyrim. Damn. I entered, but no one was home, so I snooped around to see if I could find any revelations. Nope.
 |
| Blue Palace, Solitude @ElderScrolls.Wikia.com |
I stopped into a garment shop, The Radient Raiment, and met a couple of very rude sisters. When I let it slip I was headed for the Blue Palace, to meet the Queen, they offered to let me keep an expensive dress if I wore it to meet her. Sure why not, although it did not make the sisters any friendlier and the dress made me feel matronly, not a good feeling, not that my necromancer robe is anything to shout about. My long range goal is to enchant some spiffy, light but fashionable armor.
 |
| The Queen of Skyrim |
I managed to gain an audience with Queen Elisif (widow of King Torygg), spoke with her regent and the Court Mage, and picked up a quest to clean out a possibly Vampire infested Cave. Now what if I became both a Werewolf and a Vampire?? Naw, I like having the Sun warm my face. Just too prove I enjoy being a glutton, I applied to the Bard's College so I could learn to play guitar. And finally I found a blacksmith with substantial gold who was willing to buy a lot of my loot, hurrah, a load off Lydia! In this first day in Solitude, I talked more than anytime in the last 2 months and was exhausted. Lydia and I retired for the evening to the Winking Skeever Inn. Lisette, the local bard sung a very nice rendition of "We'll drink to Ulric's Death". He's the one who killed the King.
 |
| Winking Skeever Inn |
No comments:
Post a Comment