Sunday 11 March 2012

Chapter 4: The Road to Solitude



Chapter 4: The Road to Solitude

The Hunter of Blunders woke up early in the morning with the sun concealed by the thick surrounding cloud and fog. He felt refreshed and ready for the challenges of the day after eating the hard fought meal from last night. The ranger intended to travel north, to the city of Solitude.  He was eager to experience the unfamiliar city life and find an opportunity to sell off the little he had for some coin.

 The Hunter had originally intended to travel to Morthal in the south, however after experiencing the marshes and the horrors that dwelled within; it was not surprisingly he decided the grand walled city of Solitude, home of the Imperial Legion in Skyrim, would provide the security he craves. He quickly packed away his camp and began the Journey to Solitude. 

Just as he set off, he could see the Dragon from yesterday's conflicts flying in the distance where he had faced bear trouble, reminding him not to travel in that direction for the time being.

 
 

The Hunter decided it would be best to follow the roads this time as he was aware that further swamps and therefore further monstrosities lay in his way when taking the more direct route north. The solid footing of the paved pathways filled him with content after dealing with the waterlogged ground in the marshes.


 

As the Hunter of Blunders continued his journey, he soon came across a small fort. It had intrigued him the night before as he saw light emitting from the walls and strange noises disrupted his rest. The Hunter, keeping his distance, peaked into the entrance and discovered a skeleton guarding the fort. He stared at the undead creature, backed away and continued down the path. He was then reminded of his goal with the inspiring sight of Solitude.


 

 


After avoiding the fort, the Hunter expected this would be a much safer and uneventful journey, but he soon started to doubt this belief when a Dunmer farmer was spotted running from the devastating magic of a Thalmor Wizard.


 
 

The farmer ran for his life, stopping behind a small rock and using it for cover. He was exhausted as the Hunter of Blunders moved around undetected to support him. The Thalmor Wizard continued to unleash a hail of magic, burning and shattering the rock around the two new allies.




The farmer gave a quick glance to the Hunter, accepting that he was too critically wounded to survive much longer. He mustered what little strength he had left, proudly stating that he was a Dunmer and bravely charged at the Thalmor Wizard.

He rushed forward in the Wizard's direction with his axe raised; the Hunter of Blunders blindly followed him and witnessed the fatal ball of flames clashing with the Dunmer's body, pushing him several feet away.


 

The Hunter paused behind another rock with the sound of the Farmer's burning corpse ever so dominating. He would have usually fled by now, but after seeing what had happened to the farmer, he didn't want to face a similar end by exposing himself so openly to the wizard's magic. He took out his bow and watched on as the elf gave him a deathly stare.


 
 

The Hunter waited, hoping for a lull in the Wizard's powerful magic so he could take a shot. Fortunately, it was not long until this opportunity arrived and without thought, the Hunter quickly stood up, swiftly pulled back his bow and released a speedy arrow.

The Thalmor Wizard's upper body caught the arrow, and the magic suddenly stopped. The sheer force of the arrow pushing the wizard down to the road below.


 

 

The Thalmor Wizard was dead and the Hunter quickly ran over to see what could be found on the corpse. Eight coins were found, filling the Hunter with a sense of joy, especially after avenging the death of the unfortunate farmer. 

He continued his journey down the path before noticing Solitude Sawmill from the corner of his eye. He had seen enough of the road today, and a quick dash down to the river brought him closer to Solitude. The path to Solitude was not clear though. Thalmor Wizards were beginning to show the Hunter the true grasp they had over Skyrim and the Empire, threatening the outskirts of Solitude by attacking a petty looking sawmill. 

Lightning bolts and fireballs lit up the coastline as the workers who still remained alive cowered in fear.


 
 

The Hunter was aware he could not take on a group of Thalmor Wizards and decided it was best to avoid them. He took to the water, swimming below the surface as the destructive magic crashing into the sawmill lit up the water bed below.


 


Further down the coast, the Hunter left the waters and revealed himself on the coastline. He was unfortunate enough to be spotted by the Thalmor. The wizards quickly directed their fire towards the fleeing the huntsman as he desperately tried to reach Solitude's walls. A patrolling guardsman soon saw the conflict and began a futile attempt to protect the Hunter and the sawmill.

 

The Hunter continued to run, unaware if the Guard had survived or not. Nevertheless, he soon reached Solitude's majestic walls. He was relieved and was safe from Thalmor Wizards for now. It appears the Aldmeri Dominion is increasingly become more of a personal enemy of the Hunter.


 


4 comments:

  1. Do you have some sort of war mod going on? I don't usually see the Thalmor attacking like that.

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  2. Yeah, I've got Wars in Skyrim enabled for this blog. :)

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    1. Is it pretty stable? Seen any bugs?

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    2. It's pretty stable, I haven't encountered any major bugs really. Many of these stories wouldn't be possible without it. I believe I am using an earlier version of the mod though.

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