No.19- Seeking Thorald

Solitude to Northwatch Keep

I popped out of bed early the next day, but had to roust Lydia to get her to move. A quick breakfast of gruel and biscuits and we were on the road to the West by 3am to find, and if necessary rescue Thorald Gray-Mane, the son of a prominent Gray-Mane in Whiterun.

Dragon Bridge

We passed through the little village of Dragonbridge, paralleling the mountain chain extending West from Solitude on the south side. The lower regions were snow free, but soon we were headed up back into the hard freeze. I apologize, because none of the maps I possess include geographical features. I need to find a better map of the region.

The Fast Fatal Way Down to Northwatch Keep

When you look at a map of Skyrim it looks immense, but it only took us 5 hours to reach the NorthWest coast, about as far West as you can go in these parts. The road took us to a high bluff overlooking the fort, but it was all most a cliff.

Hostile Thalmor Patrol

We decided to retrace our steps to the East where we ran into a Thalmor patrol of 3 Elves who were extremely hostile to travelers on the road. With swords drawn, they kept saying "Walk away! This doesn't concern you!" Huh? I had no idea of what they were talking about but I can recognize danger when I see it. And of note, this was not the first patrol to treat us this way. The last time I walked away but this time, I was fed up with the meddling Thalmor  and officially placed them on my Shit List. I stopped and stared at them as Lydia tugged on my shoulder. I whispered prepare yourself, then they charged! Spawning my Fire Atronach, then readying my Fire Spell, we took'm down hard and fast. Afterwards, I contemplated if this was going to complicate my life with the Imperials? Not if they did not know… ;)

All Righty Then

Continuing East, in the vicinity of Lost Echo Cave we found a road to the North and down to the coast, a beautiful area despite being so far North, a lot of open water here.

North West Coast

The native walruses were semi-hostile and unfortunately when Lydia got too close, a pack of three followed us with hostile intent and finally we were forced to kill them. Following the Coast west, we rounded a corner there was the Keep a relatively small wood structure, and it was populated with Thalmor!

Northwatch Keep

Stealth Ops

I tried walking up to and talk to the guard, but all I could get out of him was "Move along". If that is how it had to be, I walked past the guard into the fort and immediately combat ensued. We decended into the fort and I was surprised how extensive an underground facility this was. More fighting and finally, we faced a Mage Inquisitor , a Frost Atronach (he had spawned) and two helpers. They were a challenge. My normal tactic of spawning help, blasting flame or lightning, drinking potions, and running around frantically, finally prevailed. Lydia frequently played possum, a questionable tactic but it seems to work for her.

Northwatch Mage Combat

We found Therald Gray-Mane chained to a wall. He told us he had no idea why he had been arrested and was extremely thankful. Fortunately he was in decent enough shape to travel so we high tailed it out of there. It had been my pleasure to clear out this Thalmor infested facility.