Angi’s Camp, Bloodlet Throne, Falkreath: Sorella missing, Vampires, Weird wolf thing, Camp attacked, Sethri, Leaving, Pony, Beast returns.

I was woken about 7:30AM by Sigunn calling me. I sprung off my chair and hurried to her. It must be news about Rigmor!

Wrong.

Sigunn said Sorella had gone missing along with a bow. They think she has gone looking for Rigmor. Angi has left to look for her.

I told Sigunn to wait in the camp in case Sorella returns.

I quickly spoke to Lydia and Meeko and told them we were going to look for Sorella. Within minutes we were ready to go.

I was not really surprised to find Ren was back. I do not think I will ever see Dogmeat again.

I only just noticed. I should have great big holes in my armour. None. Must be part of Azura’s healing process. She fixed my armour!

Not far from the camp we found Angi on a hill looking for any signs of Sorella. After few minutes she had found footprints that may have been hers.

We followed those and they led to the Bloodlet Throne. It is some sort of ancient keep with a sinister reputation.

I asked Angi to stay close. She may be an excellent marksman but could be in trouble if surrounded by melee fighters. I asked Lydia and Meeko to keep an eye on Angi and see if they can make some room for her bow to be effective.

Not far into the place we heard a high pitched scream. We all assumed it was Sorella.

A few rooms in we came across a rather sickly individual. I asked him where the little girl is. He said we are too late and that the feast is about to begin.

Is he hinting at what I think he is? Woe to him and any friends if he is.

I asked him what he means.

He admitted they eat the flesh of children to keep them young!

I asked what kind of sick abomination is he?

He barely got his answer out, something about my worst nightmare, before I gutted him.

I was attacked more than once by statues that turned into flesh. Ugly things. Lydia said they were gargoyles.

We found Sorella in a room surrounded by wolves. But they were not attacking her. That seemed to upset the bad guys. I still had no idea what they are. Eating children’s flesh gives them an automatic death sentence.

I pulled a chain to open a portcullis and allow us into the room with Sorella. I could see the natives were planning to attack.

I asked Sorella if she was alright and about the wolves.

Sorella said she was perfectly OK now but very scared at first. Sorella knew the wolves would not attack. She didn’t know why.

I told Angi to take Sorella home. I told Lydia and Meeko to follow and protect. I was going to take care of the sick bastards.

As soon as Sorella had moved out of the room the sickos attacked. I urged her and Angi to keep going whilst Meeko, Lydia and I took care of the cannibals.

They were used to killing defenceless small children. Now they had a Dragonborn, his housecarl, a huge white dog and a dozen pissed of wolves to deal with. It was not much of a fight. I told Lydia and Meeko to catch up with Sorella and Meeko.

There was one of these dead things that had been mouthing off at us. I really hadn’t taken much notice of what he said. I have heard enough tyrants ranting about their invincibility and how they will rule Nirn blah blah blah. I presumed he was their leader and searched him. I found a note from a Sethius. It warned about some Redguard vampire hunter and her special weapons.

These guys are vampires? Normal vampires suck! These guys consume child flesh. They give vampires a bad name!

I wanted to look around and make sure they are all dead.

I found the body of the Redguard Vampire Hunter and read her journal. She came here to find proof if her daughter Xenia was a victim of these monsters. She was going to avenge the death of her daughter and other children. She had a ring that protects against the dreams the vampires create. These dreams entice children to their lair. The bow had special arrows that were instant death to these creatures. The Redguard was looking for a necklace Xenia was wearing.  It would be proof she was a victim and enable their spirits to meet in the afterlife.

I took the ring, bow and arrows from her body and set off to find the necklace.

A bit of searching found a false cupboard. These are the most cliché of all hidden doors. Might as well have a big sign saying, “Secret Door Here”.

These guys are vampires. They burn like kindling. So I was as stealthy as possible hoping I could just blast a few away with fireballs.

Passed a pit full of adult victims. Suck blood normally. Eat children for parties?

I found lots of them sitting around a table discussing what is the best vintage. Six year olds or eight year olds? Really I have no idea what was being discussed. I just thanked them all for being in a nice convenient cluster.

Three fireballs and they were all medium rare inside, crispy outside.

I enjoyed chopping up another half a dozen I met. I also managed a backstab on one. I do enjoy a variety of slaughter methods.

Eventually I found Xenia’s necklace.

I made my way back to the Redguard’s body and placed the necklace in her hands.

Xenia and her mother appeared as spirits/ghosts/ apparitions.

They walked away together then stopped, turned and waved goodbye to me. I wonder what Rigmor would have made of that?

Oh, Rigmor…

When I was busy I could hold back the panic. As soon as I relaxed she jumped into the forefront of all thoughts. What are those bastards doing to her? Where is she?

I needed to get back to Angi’s and make sure Sorella is OK. Perhaps some news has arrived and I can go rescue her?

As soon as I was back at camp I asked Sigunn how Sorella was. She told me Sorella is terrified and Angi is trying to comfort her. Sigunn said Sorella had seen people murdered. That they were keeping her for a special feast. Sorella was now hearing terrible voice in her head.

I told Sigunn I have something for Sorella to block out those voices and that I had better talk to her.

Sorella was sitting in a chair by the fire so I asked if I could sit in the other and have a talk. She nodded yes.

After I was seated I asked if she is okay. She said she thinks so and apologised, she just wanted to find Rigmor.

Such a brave little girl! Even if frightened now that was a gutsy thing to do. Once again showing how much these people love Rigmor. Baa’Ren-Dar was right. I must get her back for all their sakes as well as mine.

I told her she was a good friend to do that and very brave. That everything will be alright.

I could hear her fear when they asked if the will come to hurt her. This is a supernatural fear and not easily dismissed. I think they give the children only one option to remove the fear. Come to us!

I told her that no-one is going to hurt her. I exclaimed that Angi would put arrows in their heads!

Sorella giggled a bit at that then promised never to run away again.

I solemnly promised to Sorella that I will find Rigmor and brink her home.

She cheered up a bit with that and gave me an OK.

I asked Sorella if we could talk about what happened and she nodded.

I asked did she know why the wolves did not hurt her.

Her answer surprised me. She just told them she was a friend, like with Meeko, and then knew they would not attack her.

I remembered the first time I met Meeko. He fought the alpha male of a wolf pack and did not kill him. He let go of its throat and just walked next to Lydia and I. I thought at the time it was if there was some unheard communication between them. The alpha led his pack back into the forest.

Perhaps Sorella can do something similar? Rigmor the same with bears?

The scream we heard when we first entered the evil place was the vampire telling Sorella they were hungry and pushing her into the pit with the wolves.

I am not suggesting to these guys how they should do things but surely the wolves would scoff down the majority of the child before they retrieved the remains! So instead of a plump, juicy child placed on their meal table they get this mangled mess with chunks missing and wolf slobber all over it. “To each their own” as the maxim says.

Sorella said there was then a standoff between the wolves and the vampires. That is what was happening when we entered the pit and rescued her.

I gave Sorella Xenia’s ring and told her to put it on. I emphasised the she should never take it off and it will make the scary voices go away.

She put it on and gave me an OK. I am pretty sure she will heed my advice.

Suddenly Angi was calling for me saying we had visitors. I left Sorella by the fire looking at her new ring with a smile on her face. Only later did I think it weird a ring I took from an adult Redguard woman fit Sorella’s finger perfectly.

Angi was standing on an overhang that gave a good view to the end of the track leading to the camp. In the distance I could see an Imperial with a pack of war dogs.

Angi was confident she could take the Imperial out wither bow. That jogged my memory and I handed Xenia’s bow and arrows to her. I said they were for Sorella.

By this time Lydia and Meeko had joined us. I told them all to stay here and use bows. I told Meeko he had to stay as well. I told them I wanted to deal with the slime as far away from the camp as possible so that Sorella does not think they are the vampires coming for her. I told Lydia I was going to take a protection against fire potion and stand amongst them casting fireballs. We all knew there would be many more than the one we could see.

There were dozens of them. Most started running towards the camp accompanied by the war dogs. Some stayed back and started exchanging bow fire with the ladies. I think they realised pretty quickly they were way outclassed and they were dropping quickly. I used the “Whirlwind Sprint” Shout to arrive in the middle of the advancing pack and took most out with fireballs centred on me. I was singed a bit, they were obliterated.

As I looked around for other targets I was astounded to see some of them get zapped with lightning bolts. Another looked comically down at the huge ice spear that had punctured his middle. I did not have time to look behind to see who the mystery mage was. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was Meeko firing these things from his rear end. He seems capable of just about anything.

Way too late some of them turned to run away. I sped up two of their exits by Shouting them off the edge. Twin screams faded away and stopped suddenly.

Once they were all gone I looked at the carnage. They were not even close to Angi’s practice targets. Hopefully Sorella did not take much notice of the fireball explosions. It is amazing how many you hear echoing around the mountains.  I saw a Justiciar’s body, searched it and found a message from our favourite Thalmor General.

The New Order thought I was dead. They were trying to eliminate any others who may know something about their plans. This pile of corpses was sent to find Angi’s place of living and eliminate everybody, no matter their age, they found living there.

Dozens of Thalmor and their lackeys to wipe out Angi and company! What did they expect to find if they thought I was dead?

As I walked back towards the camp I saw Tendril Sethri standing at the bottom of the stairs. The mystery mage revealed!

We greeted each other and then I jokingly asked if he was going to announce all will be revealed.

He replied that some, not all, will be revealed.

At this stage I felt like dangling him upside down from the nearby cliff with a countdown so he stopped speaking riddles.

I asked him directly if he knew where Rigmor is.

He didn’t but he knew a man who did. He said Rigmor was being kept at the same location as the portal gate but a powerful force stopped Azura divining its location. She knew Rigmor was safe and well and thought they are looking for something. Azura did not know what they were looking for but believed it had something to do with a huge excavation site in Markarth.

A lot of unknowns but Rigmor was currently safe and healthy. That was such a relief1 I think Tendril notices how lees tense I became.

I asked of the “man who knows”.

Tendril told me his name is Jonte Malesam. He was working at the forge at Diamond Ridge but ran away when Azura’s Shrine was desecrated thinking that could attract dangerous foes. He has since been in hiding. Tendril spoke to him but Jonte will only tell me specific information.

I asked Tendril why he would want to talk to me. He doesn’t even know me. Was he a fan of the Dicko and stableboy stories?

Tendril was amazed I was ignorant of how our supposed deaths caused huge all night drinking parties for our wake at all the Imperial and Stormcloak camps. Yngol and Casius were reprimanded by the High Council for their participation in our adventure and the subsequent wakes. He said everybody assumes we are dead including the New Order. The fact we destroyed Diamond Ridge and killed all the scum their rattled them. That is why the clean-up crew we just cleaned up was sent to get rid of any loose ends.

This Jonte somehow knows I am alive and knows where the portal gate is. Tendril did not know how but stated if I find the portal gate I find Rigmor.

Tendril really hasn’t thought this through. The only beings who could have detected me emerging alive from the fort are Divine or Daedra. Jonte would not be another Divine follower like Tendril, otherwise he would have told him the information. That leaves Jonte most likely being a Daedra worshipper. I would be safe as long as the Daedra needs me for something.

The other option is people noticed my unique steed.

Time to speak to Jonte. I asked Tendril where I could find him. He marked the location on my map.

Tendril then said I should move everybody somewhere else. Now they have found the camp it is no longer safe to stay. Tendril had a “bit derelict” farm they could stay at. He assured me it only needed minor work. He marked it on my map and commented how good it would be for Sorella to see other things than these mountains. He also said that being near Riften it was safe from Thalmor and Imperial patrols. Tendril said he would inform Bar’Ren-Dar of the move.

I thanked him and he simply asked I get these people to safety and then see Jonte. They were all relying on me to rescue Rigmor. The he said goodbye and headed down the trail making sure he did not pick up bits of the dead on his shoes.

Careful Wulf, you could get to like this guy!

I had to convince the others to move. Angi being the sticking point as this was her home. Eventually she agreed to a temporary move. It was a fair distance so Sorella would need a pony. I headed to Falkreath to see if I could buy one.

I rode most of the way there but unsummoned Blaze before the guards saw him. This was Imperial territory and there was a risk I would be recognised. Sorella needed a mount so I really had no choice.

I wandered into the local inn thinking that would be a good place to start my search. It was packed to the rafters with hardly room to move. The reason being the locals had been joined by a large number of Thalmor and Imperial Troops.  Walking in, doing an about face and leaving would have drawn attention to me. So I wandered over to the bar where my back would be to them all and sat next to a farmer type. I introduced myself to him. His name was Mathias and as we chatted my wish to buy a child’s pony came up. It just so happened he knew of one for sale. His niece had been brutally murdered. Her parents asked Mathias to sell the little girl’s pony for them. Proceeds to pay for the girl’s headstone.

Wow! Of all the bars in all of Nirn Mathias happened to be in this one. Sitting next to the only seat vacant in a packed inn. Coincidentally he was the first person I asked in this whole town about a pony and low and behold, he happened to have one for sale.

Sometimes it is like our lives are part of a story written by some mysterious God.

I wasn’t going to stare a gift horse in the mouth (sorry, I swallowed a box of clichés) and agreed to buy the nag. I then asked why it was so busy. It would not be wise directly asking about the Thalmor and Imperials.

Mathias told me the Imperials were on leave. They had been drinking and bragging and hassling the women folk all day. The Thalmor were looking for some terrorists. They had sent a detachment up into the mountains looking for them.

I thanked Mathis, gave home a generous amount of coin for the pony, and said I would like to get it now and I had long way to take it tonight.

He looked at the coin and was surprised by the amount but knew I had given it freely. He told me to follow him out to the where the pony was.

As we were walking past some drunk imperials one of them asked Mathias if he knew where the terrorists were. These blokes were not looking for a giant Nord warrior so did not register who I was.

Mathias said he had no idea who they were talking about.

Then the fucking slime started bragging about how they wanted to get reacquainted with a girl they raped a few years ago. How they handed her from soldier to soldier and slaughtered her family when they tried to intervene.

The beast came roaring to life. I had to wrestle with my own self to control it. You can’t start a massacre in a crowded in. If you cut down these slime the Thalmor and other imperials will join in. Innocents would get killed. No, I will not allow it.

It was close but I kept control. I looked for a strategic spot if I did have to fight. There was an area between the bar and wall that would allow me to freely swing Azura’s Bane. Locals would be clear and any attackers would have to come one or two at a time and be ready to crawl over the piles of dead. I would also have to make sure nobody recognised the Dragonborn and that all the Thalmor and Imperial were slain.

Mathias and I continued to move when one of the raping murdering scum confronted me and asked if I knew anything about the terrorists.

Mathias said I was just a stranger who came to buy a pony. That caused a lot of laughs. This great hulking Nord wants a pony. Unfortunately that made lots heads turn my way so they could see the pony buying brute. One of those was an Imperial captain who pointed me out as Rigmor’s bodyguard.

Shit!

I barged through the raping scum, drew Anura’s Bane and prepared for the onslaught.

Then the beast took over. Quick as a flash I was the brutal killer that enjoyed the slaughter. To my surprise the thing inside me also knew strategy.

As the Thalmor and Imperials lined up for slaughter I would yell one of two things when ending their life. “Talos wills it!” for the Thalmor and “Traitor to Talos” for the Imperials. Although not as good as Rigmor my skills with the two handed were well above average. It was the first time I had wielded Azura’s Bane and it was as fine a sword as I have ever used. Azura wanted me to stop evil with it. Me and my inner beast complied with deadly and enthusiastic efficiency.

Soon they were all dead at my feat. The beast subsided and I looked around. The locals cheered and a few took kicks at the fallen Thalmor. I did not feel guilty about these Imperials. They were all of the same type as the murdering raping scum. I searched the loud mouth and found a locket. On the back was Angi’s name. A souvenir for him to gloat over when the barracks got lonely.

Mathias left and I followed. I still had a pony to collect.

Mathias was thrilled I was Rigmor’s guardian. All the locals knew Angi and respected her and knew she had been helping Rigmor. It was news to Mathias that Angi had a child. I told him it was a little girl. I also told him if he can have a quick talk to those in the inn. If they were to blab they saw Rigmor’s guardian it would mean great danger to themselves as well Angi and her little girl. Matthias promised to do so.

Now we really had to move quick. The camp needed to move to the farm as soon as possible. I needed to see Jonte and find out where Rigmor is as soon as possible. We needed to keep ahead of any news I was still alive. The horse sellers were well and truly closed for the day so I would have to risk Blaze on the long ride but would walk back to Angi’s with Sorella’s pony to half the risk of him being spotted.

When I got back to Angi’s with the pony Sorella was over the moon. I did not think to ask Mathias if it already had a name so told Sorella she could name it what she wanted. She told me she would have to think about it.

I told everybody to do their last preparations as we would be travelling all night.

I assured Angi we will not leave till she has secured the place to her satisfaction.

As all that activity was happening I sat and wrote this journal entry.