day 7 - A walk around Whiterun hold

Fredas, 23rd of Last Seed 4E201

At first light I woke up and readied myself for another day of exploration. There were more bandit hideouts to be found. The Jarl put a bounty on one of the bandit chiefs and I was going to get him. The Jarl puts bounty on most wanted criminals but the Whiterun guard has little resources to catch them. I will put myself to good use here and hopefully make some decent gold by doing that. After all war and fighting is what I know and have done my whole life. If I meet my end here in Skyrim, so be it, I will die a soldier’s death.  

The tundra looked calm and peaceful

The weather was clear and as I passed through the main gate I took a look at the beautiful Skyrim landscape. The high mountain near the city was clearly visible. The tundra around Whiterun looked as peaceful as ever and as if there was no peril at all hiding within. At start I took the same route North as yesterday. I checked out the two bandit camps I cleared. All was quiet. After reaching Halted stream camp I turned West.  

Silent Moons camp

Very soon I reached the ruins of a seemingly old fortification by the name of Silent Moons Camp. I searched for a back-door entrance approaching from upward but found none. I was then scouting around but there was only one way to enter, from the Southern side. Suddenly the brigands spotted me and fired arrows at once. I regard myself as a good fighter and a tough man but sneaking and scouting are not my best virtues, especially not in heavy armor. The first bandit that approached was a spell-caster which I quickly put down.  Then I treaded upwards the stairs and received a volley of arrows from three rouge archers. My heavy armor denied them of hurting me. I charged at them and the three bandits, an Imperial, a Redgard and a Dunmer scattered immediately. I approached each of them one by one with my shield up. They all succumbed to my blows.   

A bandit archer soon to be put down

Another spell-caster attacked me with frost spell from behind. It was hard to move while the rouge was freezing me in my own armor. After reaching him I ended his life with no mercy. I checked out the big hall on the top of the ruins. It had a forge and some interesting books about moonlight forging. I also found moonlight weapons. I took those with me as they will be of good use for the Whiterun guard during their night raids. Then I went down again and entered the main entrance of the ruins. Two ferocious Nords attacked me at once. I positioned myself in a way that only one of them could reach me. We formed a line me at the end and one bandit in the middle one at the other end. The Nord in between got hit by his over –zealous comrade (who was trying to slash me with a two handed sword), and was nearly at his end so I downed him with a quick stab. I blocked the other Nord’s second blow and while he was still shocked at his first ill placed first strike on his already dead chief, I slashed to the neck.  The bandit’s blonde head went right off. There was a narrow passage deeper into the ruin and an archer was waiting for me. The poor fellow had no chance in a close fight. I reached the treasure room that was closed. I could break through it somehow and entered. The bandits stocked some moderate valuables and had a very good stock of food. After collecting the loot I left Silent Moons Camp.

A very unfriendly welcome

In the recent days I encountered several bandit spell-casters. It is a very bad thing that the Mages Guild in Tamriel was severely weakened in the last century and especially in the war. It was them who put an end to rouge spell-casters, conjurers and necromancers throughout the provinces of the empire. Their absence is definitely felt here in Skyrim. The overall security in the province is very bad and thugs from other provinces are finding shelter here. It will be a long time until things settle in Skyrim. But first the Nords have to end their bloody and vain civil war and start solving their real problems. 

A bandit spell-caster

I continued to walk further West and reached a tomb named Dustman’s cairn.  I decided not to enter the tomb today. I was looking for bandits to put down and not some foul undead. There was a strange graveyard named Hamvir’s rest in the vicinity and I checked that out though.  It turned out that this was not a wise thing to do. Several skeletons and a restless draugr attacked me. The skeletons were destroyed with one or two blows. The draugr was a tougher foe and casted frost spells, but he quickly joined his companions in Oblivion where he belonged. 

Hamvir's rest was infested with the undead

I went on westward and reached a place named Greenspring Hollow. I was ready to encounter some beast of nature but it was fortunately quiet. It was time for me to turn South and reach Redoran’s retreat, the cave where the bandit chief with a bounty on his head was hiding. Soon I reached the entrance which was by surprise unguarded. I entered the cave immediately and proceeded very carefully looking for traps but found none. There was a weak bandit at the entrance hall, who went down in seconds. It was suspiciously quiet. There was the inner chamber connected to the entrance hall by a tunnel. As I entered the tunnel the bandit chief and his fierce guard attacked me.  I was lucky that the tunnel was narrow and only one of them could reach me at a time. First the tall Nord bodyguard attacked. He was wearing weak fur armor but was wielding a sharp two handed steel axe. I blocked his initial wild blows and finished him with strikes to the side and a stab to the belly.  The chief was next. This renegade warrior was a tough one and wore very good quality steel armor. Slashing and stabbing him would have not been the best way to end his criminal career. He was getting very close so I stroke him with the pommel of my sword and shattered him with several shield-bashes. He must have had several of his ribs broken and asked for a quick death. I fulfilled his last wish. Then I collected the valuables. Among the items was a valuable enchanted Orc axe. I also found a treasure map. There were god food supplies in the cave, I carried with me what I could. I also took the bandit chief’s armor with me.  

The bandit chief with a bounty on his head

I had the assignment done and was filled with loot.  I started going back straight to Whiterun. On my way I found a giant camp which I observed from a safe distance. The tree giants and their mammoths seemed to be peaceful and I intended not to change that. Other than that there were no more things to mention till I reached Whiterun. I sold the loot as usual to Adriane. She kindly permitted me to use some of their barrels in front of their house to store my belongings. I sold the remaining items to Belethor and Arcadia and I bought the necessary health potions.

Late in the afternoon I took a look at the bandit chief’s armor. I decided to clean repair and finally strengthen it. It was a fine Nord steel armor more fit to the savage conditions in rural Skyrim. My Imperial armor is stored in the barrel. The Imperial armor is best used when in formation and long marches. When questing alone in Skyrim the steel armor will provide a better protection.

In the evening I cooked my supper in the Banned Mare, apple cabbage soup and roasted goat leg.