Mairi

Thanks for the kind comments! Writing is one of my passions, and I indulge in it whenever I can (mostly for my own enjoyment). I reinstalled and restarted the game after spending the better part of last year working on some mods that I wanted to make, and playing around with some other characters in the meantime. I may pick this little project up again one of these days, when I have some more spare time.

From the journal of Kira Shardmoon:

The Main Quest: Delivering the Amulet

Heartfire 9

I woke up, sore and stiff from sleeping in my armor again, and had a light breakfast of bread with a handful of blackberries. I felt much better by the time I got done eating, and it didn't take me long to pack up my camp and continue on my way.

The section of caves that I was in ended soon, but I found a door at the bottom of a small canyon.



The door led to a sloping passage that opened into another section of caverns. The ground continued to slope downward as I explored, and I knew that I must be very deep underground.



I had to be careful, because there were a lot of cave-ins in this cavern complex, and the stone walls rumbled ominously around me from time to time.



I killed a few more goblins who were roaming the caverns, and looted some crates and barrels for gold and bits of edible food that they had stashed away.



I found a locked chest with another petty soul gem and a few assorted potions and poisons, which was a useful discovery.



I found a human body that had been locked in a small stockade that the goblins had built, who had died next to a much older skeleton. Seeing that made me realize just how cruel and sadistic the goblins were, and made me even more eager to hunt them.



I eventually found myself at the bottom of a huge cavern that stretched far overhead. I could hear more goblins on the cliffs high above me. They were such noisy creatures.



I found a passage that wound its way up towards the upper level of the cavern, and surprised two goblins in a small room along the way.



When I reached the top of the passage, it opened out into the top level of the room, and the view was spectacular. The goblins were too busy fighting among themselves to see me at first, and I was able to take most of them out from a distance fairly easily.



A series of crude bridges made from wooden planks bridged the huge gulfs between the cliff ledges, and I was glad that they seemed to be fairly sturdy. A fall onto the rocks below would probably mean my death.



The goblins had set up several crude traps, which were easy for me to bypass. I was glad that they were fairly stupid creatures, because it was easy to wait until one wandered too close to a trap, and then spring it with a well-placed arrow, making short work of the unsuspecting creature.



I reached a final room that had a large goblin who was probably their leader. Fortunately, he was on the other side of a large chasm, and I was able to bring him down before he could get to me.



By the time I had explored the entire complex, it was late, and I was getting very hungry. I returned to a small camp that I had seen earlier at the bottom of the chasm in the large central cavern.

I spent a few minutes experimenting with my imp galls after supper, and determined that they might be good for a potion that would enhance a person's charisma, and put them in a good mood.



After putting my alchemy tools away, I got ready for bed. My camp was warm and dry, thanks to a huge bonfire that was burning nearby, and I enjoyed a good night's sleep.



Heartfire 10

I left the caverns early that afternoon (it was a long walk back to the surface), and emerged into a beautiful day. I was getting hungry for lunch, so I roasted myself some rat meat and a potato on the beach outside the cave entrance before heading out.

I really wanted a bath, but this day was much colder than the day before, and I didn't want to take the time to warm myself back up afterward. I could wait until I got back to the city, and then I would enjoy a good hot soak at the bathhouse.

I worked my way north along the coastline. I had made nearly a complete circuit of the isle. I discovered another singing plant, and took a sprig.

It was late evening when I reached the Imperial city's Waterfront District. I decided to stop and stay in one of the dockside inns. One of the ships, called the Bloated Float, had been converted into an inn, and it looked like a fun place to visit. I didn't ever want to travel on a ship again, but I didn't mind sleeping on one that was docked.



I stopped at the district's bathhouse and had a good bath, and walked along the docks toward the Bloated Float.



When I got there, I spoke to the innkeeper, a man named Ormil, and rented a room for the night. I ordered a hearty meal of beef and cabbage stew for supper, and washed it down with several bottles of mead.



A tall Khajiit tried to strike up a conversation with me, and I barely resisted the urge to tell him to leave me the hell alone. I nodded politely at him, instead, and excused myself. Ormil must have seen the look on my face when I encountered the Khajiit, because he seemed ready to kick both of us out the door.



I hurried downstairs to my room before I ended up getting myself into trouble. The room was only ten gold pieces, half as much as a room at the Merchants Inn, but it wasn't nearly as nice. The bed was relatively comfortable, though the blankets were scratchy and probably infested with fleas.

From the journal of Kira Shardmoon:

The Main Quest: Delivering the Amulet

Heartfire 6

I dressed in my armor and had a good breakfast of bread, ham, and cheese before leaving the inn. I told Velus that I would probably be back in a day or two, and he said that he would keep my room open for me.



After breakfast, I had a quick bath at the bathhouse, and filled my waterskins with fresh water at the city well. I was then ready to go, and I stepped out of the city gates into a beautiful autumn morning.



I decided to head east, and explore the area of the isle near the entrance to the Imperial sewers. I killed a deer on the way, and took a nice cut of its meat. That would make an excellent dinner, and I was sure that I would be quite hungry later on.



I stopped along my journey to admire the beautiful water, and had a good long drink of it. It was so fresh and cold that it made me shiver when I drank it. The water from the Imperial wells was pretty good, but it didn't compare to the fresh water that could be found in the wilderness. I made a vow to spend more time away from city life, and in the open and lush wilderness that I loved. When my thirst was satiated, I moved on.



Sideways Cave

I found the entrance to a cave not too far from the Imperial sewer entrance, and decided to explore it after having a quick lunch outside. The cave entrance led to a long steep tunnel that curved downward.



The tunnel rounded a bend and ended in a huge room with a deep chasm in the middle. Across the chasm, I could see some strange small humanoid creatures flying around. They had wings like bats, and made an odd chirping noise like bats did. I guessed that they must be imps, though I had never seen one in person before.



I brought them down easily with the bow, and then made my way down into the chasm. I could see that it opened into a tunnel that went further into the caverns.



I killed a rat and some more imps as I moved deeper into the caverns, and also found some more cairn bolete mushrooms and poisonous wisp stalk caps, which I harvested.



I remembered hearing an alchemist mention the power of imp galls to make powerful potions, and decided to take some from the imps' bodies to experiment with.



I made my way deeper into the cavern complex, and found a dead man, who looked as though he must be an adventurer. He looked so fresh that I thought that he must be alive at first, and touched his hand to check that he was indeed dead. I wondered what had killed him. I hoped that I didn't suffer a similar fate.



At the end of the tunnel where I found him, the passage opened up into the huge cavern with the chasm, except that now I was on the other side of the deep rift. I harvested the galls from the imps that I had shot with my bow earlier.

I investigated a large pile of skeletons that I found further along the cliff edge, and found a good bit of gold scattered between their bones, and also in a large overturned chest that lay near them. There were a few old sacks on the ground. They contained only a few scraps of food that were too moldy from the dampness of the cave to be of any use to me. I hoped that I didn't encounter the creature that killed all of those people and piled their skeletons there.



I headed back down the passageway and continued to explore the caverns. Eventually I came to a set of beautiful stone doors that had no obvious handles or mechanisms for opening. I pushed on the doors, but they didn't move. After searching a little bit, I found a small button on one of the doors that caused them to slide open when pushed. They opened with a deep grinding rumbling sound, and I was sure that every creature in the caverns had heard it.



The next area of the caverns was flooded, and the water was ice cold. Determined to explore all of the caverns' secrets, I waded into the water, which was soon up to my waist. I gasped at first as the shock of the icy water hit me, but it wasn't long before my lower extremities went numb.



I walked vigorously, trying to keep the blood flowing in my legs and feet. I killed a few imps that were flying around the caverns as I explored.

I found a strange stone tablet that was lying near the water's edge, and investigated the strange glowing symbols that were carved into it. The writing on the tablet was flowing and intricate, and I wondered if it might be Elven. Someone had scratched a partial translation into the tablet below the strange script, which was mostly illegible, but mentioned the Ayleids and someone named Meridia.



Intrigued, I wanted to take the stone with me, but it was too heavy to carry around it my pack - it was nearly as big as my torso, and I doubted that I could even lift it.

I found a chest that contained another petty soul gem and a ring. The ring looked plain and rathered battered, so I guessed that it probably wasn't magical, but it would still be a good piece of treasure to sell.



I was getting sleepy, and I couldn't stop yawning. I thought that it was probably very late at night, and I was getting pretty hungry. I would have to find a place to sleep soon, but this cold wet cavern was no place to rest. I wasn't going to repeat my previous mistake of sleeping in a cold damp environment and getting myself sick. I decided to push on and find someplace suitably safe and dry to make my camp.



The flooded cavern ended in a waterfall and another set of the stone doors, which I thought were probably of Ayleid construction. I remembered seeing some stone ruins that were built of similar stone across the water when I first escaped from the Imperial prison, and I remembered someone in the city referring to them as Ayleid.



The doors opened into a worked stone tunnel that was partially caved in and overgrown with vines and roots, and I knew that it must be very, very ancient. I found another stone tablet with the strange glowing script, also with a scrawled and mostly unreadable translation scratched into the stone. I couldn't make any sense of this tablet, either.



There were more human skeletons scattered along the passage and up the stairs, and I stepped carefully so as not to make any noise by disturbing the brittle old bones. I shivered violently as I walked, and was glad that at least the air here was dry. I knew that I would have to build a fire soon, and dry myself and my armor out.

This new area seemed to be the remains of an old Ayleid dungeon that was so far underground that it was lost to the rest of the world. I killed some more imps as I explored the rooms of the dungeon, and also found a few healing potions. Once of the nice things about potions was that, if they were brewed properly, the magic that they contained would keep them fresh forever.



I found one tunnel that was so choked with boulders and debris from a cave-in that it was completely impassable. This made me sad, as I wondered what fantastic secrets might be buried forever down those unseen halls.



The beautiful stone passages wound their way deeper underground, and I admired the graceful and delicately carved architecture as I walked.



As I traveled deeper into the dungeon, I encountered a massive stone pillar that had formed from hundreds and hundreds of years of mineral deposits, where a stalactite and a stalagmite had grown towards each other until they met in the middle and became a single column. I knew then that the building was more ancient than I could imagine.



I found a series of iron gates that opened by some unseen mechanism when I approached them. They led into a stone tunnel that ended in what appeared to be a large throne room. I killed the imp that lurked in the room, and found the dead body of a man in the back of the room.



He appeared to have been dead for a long time, but the cold dry environment in the room had preserved his remains pretty well. There was another one of the stone tablets next to him, and I wondered if he had been the one who was working on the translations. I found a book about a mystic named Galerion in one of the casks nearby, which I put in my pack to read later.



The room was dry, and quiet, and I decided that it was as good a place as any to camp. I laid out my bedroll and built a fire from some old wooden planks that I found near the body, to help drive the chill from the room.

My armor was almost dry by this time, but I took it off and oiled it carefully with some of the melted fat from my cut of venison to help keep the leather flexible and soft. When I was finished, I put the armor back on, as I didn't want to remain vulnerable without it for too long.

I made the rest of the venison into a stew over the fire, and sat on the throne to write in my journal while the food cooked. I loved the novelty of sitting on a throne, and had fun pretending that I was a queen.



I also mixed a poison from some of the wisp stalk caps that I had found earlier, in case I found any dangerous enemies on the way out of the dungeon complex.



When my food was done, I ate it quickly, and then curled up as close to my fire as I could safely get. I went to sleep with my armor on and my weapons within easy reach, though I took my boots and gauntlets off first.

Heartfire 8

I must have spent longer than I realized exploring the caverns and Ayleid dungeon, because a full day had passed. After I woke up and had a quick breakfast, I backtracked and found my way out of the dungeon. (I couldn't explore any further into the Ayleid complex because the building was too badly damaged to continue.)

When I stepped outside it was dark, and I could tell from the position of the stars that it was sometime in the middle of the night. No wonder I had been so tired. I had explored for nearly twenty-four hours before finally finding a place to sleep.



I made a mental note to keep more of an eye on the time from then on, so that I wouldn't push myself so hard again. I decided to see if I could find a small pocket watch the next time I was in town, so I would always know what time it was. Watches were expensive little trinkets, but I had no way to keep track of the time while exploring deep underground. It would be a good investment.

I made my way east along the coastline, walking briskly to keep myself warm in the chilly night air. I killed a pair of hunting wolves along the way, and took their beautiful pelts to sell.

A little while after dawn, I found another one of the singing plants along the water's edge, and discovered another one a little farther up the coast. I took a sprig of each.



I passed the exit to the Imperial sewers that I had discovered while looking for another way out. I knew that I must be getting close to the southern tip of the isle.

I took a break from my traveling to enjoy a fresh pear and a long drink of water while I watched the sun come up. It felt so good to be free, and to be off on one exciting adventure after another.



When the day warmed up some, I braved the frigid water just long enough to take a quick bath. The water was so cold that it was painful, but it felt good to get clean. When I was done, I built a small fire to warm myself. When I was dry again, I put my armor back on and continued on my way.



Fatback Cave

On the southern tip of the isle I discovered a cave that was inhabited by a goblin tribe. I killed the two goblins that were hunting mudcrabs outside the cave, and then went inside to explore, after collecting the meat from the mudcrabs that they had killed.



It was late afternoon by that time, and I roasted some of the crab meat over a fire that the goblins had built by the water's edge. It made a wonderful lunch.

Inside, the cave was formed of a series of grottoes. Cairn bolete and wisp stalk mushrooms grew everywhere, and I began eagerly collecting them for my alchemy. The grottoes were also inhabited by a lot of mudcrabs and rats, and I hunted them for their meat as I went.



The goblins had set up a comfortable home for themselves in the caves, and I killed every one of the savage creatures that I could find. By early evening I had worked my way deep into the grottoes, and I was getting tired. My day had started very early, and I wanted to get a good night's sleep so that I would be ready to explore the rest of the caverns the next morning.



I found a small room that seemed to be safe and quiet, and was able to make myself a cozy little camp in the corner. I was afraid to build a fire, because I didn't want to draw any attention to myself. At least these caves weren't as cold and damp as some of the places that I had camped in. I ate a cold supper of bread and cheese by candlelight (I had found some tallow candles in a chest while exploring), and wrote in my journal while I ate. I wore all of my armor when I went to sleep, just to be safe.



Note: Kira reached level 2.

From the journal of Kira Shardmoon:

Main Quest: Delivering the Amulet

Heartfire 4

I slept most of the day away! By the time I woke up, it was late afternoon. I must have been more tired the night before than I realized. But I felt much better after such a long night's sleep (though still a little tired), and Velus surprised me with a delicious piece of blackberry pie that his wife had made for a late breakfast. I could have hugged him, but I've never been one for expressing such physical affection.

He sure does know how to make a regular customer out of someone.

After a visit to the bathhouse, I decided to go see if Agarmir was at home, and try to find a way into his house if he wasn't. It was a long walk to his house, and I took a side trip through the beautiful Elven garden district.

When I reached Agarmir's house, he wasn't home, and I made short work of the lock on his door. I looked around in the main room of the house, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I looked upstairs in his bedroom, but all seemed normal there, too.



I tried the basement last, which was locked. I picked the lock carefully, as it was a good sturdy lock. After working it open, I stepped down into the basement, and was shocked by what I saw.



Everywhere that I looked were piles of grave dirt, bits of human bones and skulls, shovels, and scraps of clothing that were covered in mud and dust, as though they had come out of a grave. I saw a large book on a table in one corner, and went closer to investigate.

The book was covered in muddy handprints, which I examined closer. They appeared to be human. I opened the book, and found a list of the recently deceased around Cyrodiil. That must be where Agarmir was getting his stock to sell to Thoronir!



I knew that I must tell Thoronir at once. But his shop was closed by the time I got back to the market district, so I decided to come back first thing in the morning. I also wanted to go back to the Arena and try my hand at fighting again. I had a full day planned the next day, and I wanted to get plenty of rest.

I headed back to the inn and had some ham, bread, and cheese for supper, then turned in early for a good night's rest. I was still tired from being sick, and I knew that I needed all of the extra sleep that I could get.

Heartfire 5

I woke up early in the morning, feeling absolutely wonderful. Every last trace of ache in my muscles was finally gone. I had a quick breakfast of an orange, bread, and cheese in the common room, and headed out to Thoronir's shop after a bath at the bathhouse.

I told him what I had found, and showed him the book. He was horrified to find out where his inventory was coming from, and agreed to stop meeting with Agarmir immediately. He even said that he would find something to do with all of his "ill-gotten" merchandise. He said that he would help me catch Agarmir, and said that Agarmir had mentioned something important that he was going to do that day.



I wondered if Agarmir might be in the process of robbing another grave that day, as the last name written in the book, a man with the last name of Trentius, had been a person from the Imperial City. Thoronir agreed that I might be right, and he gave me directions to the city's graveyard.

I knew that if I managed to confront Agarmir, he might put up a fight. I have always been a cautious person, and have learned that one can never be too careful. I changed into my armor and poisoned two of my arrows before heading towards the graveyard, just in case.

When I got there, I saw that the door to the Trentius family mausoleum was unsealed, and I was betting that Agarmir was inside, digging up the grave. I opened the door cautiously, and Agarmir didn't seem too surprised to see me. He said that he had to kill me since I knew too much, and he and the other man that was helping him dig up the grave attacked me.



The poisoned arrow brought Agarmir down quickly, and I managed to hit the other man with the second poisoned arrow. He went down easily, too, and I was glad that I had thought to prepare ahead. I took a shovel that had been leaning against the wall next to the open grave, and also picked up Agarmir's magical sword. It would bring a good price.



Before I left, I noticed a gleam of gold behind one of the sarcophagi, and couldn't resist taking a look. It was a beautiful golden mace, covered in magical symbols and studded with gemstones. I knew that I shouldn't steal from the dead, but I couldn't resist. Besides, the original owner didn't need it anymore. I told myself that it wasn't any different than looting the bodies of my fallen foes. I could use the gold that I got from selling the mace for good.

I went back to Thoronir's shop and showed him the shovel. He apologized again for his wrongdoings, and told me he was glad that I had managed to stop Agarmir, as he feared that he would have been the next person that Agarmir tried to kill. Thoronir promised me that he would use the money that he had made from the inventory for good, and gave me a magical ring as a reward for helping him.

He said that the ring was a magical artifact called the Weatherward Circlet, and that it would protect me from both fire and frost. I thanked him and slipped the ring onto my finger, excited to own such a powerful item.

I talked to Jensine next, and told her what Thoronir had said. She was very pleased about what I had done, and gave me a hundred gold pieces as a reward. She still didn't trust me enough to talk to me about the corrupt Imperial guard who had robbed Luronk and his friend. I would just have to get to know her better, and see if I could earn her trust. Perhaps I should do more business with her.



It was late afternoon, so I had some lunch at the inn and then decided to head to the Arena for another match or two. I was excited about facing the cheering crowd and the thrill of danger again.



When I reached the Arena Bloodworks, I saw the current Champion, Agnorak gro-Malog, practicing his swordplay. I greeted him, and he said that it was nice to meet a fellow Arena combatant. He told me a little bit about his history, and said that he was a lord's son who had been robbed of his birthright.



Agnorak asked me to help him find the evidence that would prove his nobility, by investigating a fortress called Crowhaven, located in the western reaches of Cyrodiil. He said that he didn't have time to make the trip himself, as his training regimen for the Arena kept him too busy. He said that if I helped him, he would teach me some of his greatest combat secrets, moves that I couldn't learn anywhere else.

I agreed to help if I could, though I told him that it might be a while before I could make the journey, as I had some other very important business to attend to first. Agnorak gave me the key and directions to the Crowhaven fortress, and thanked me.

I tucked the key safely into my pack, and went to see Owyn about fighting some matches. He reminded me again that I had only two matches left to win before I advanced in rank. Before I went into the Arena, I applied the remaining four vials of my deadly poison to my arrows, and also poisoned one arrow with the fatiguing poison that would sap an enemy's energy.



The first opponent that I faced was a huge Nord. I took him out with two poisoned arrows and a lot of luck. He was tougher than the woman that I had fought last time, but the poisoned arrows were too much for him.



The second combatant was an Argonian archer, and he was a tricky opponent for me. He dodged my first poisoned arrow, but I managed to hit him with the second (which was the last of my deadly poison). I did still have the arrow that was loaded with the fatigue poison, and I shot him in the thigh with it.

The fatigue poison took a few moments to take effect, but the Argonian lost his footing and sank to the ground, too exhausted to remain standing. Even with him lying flat on his back, it took several arrows to kill him.



On a whim, I stepped into the middle of the Arena, and gave the crowd a victory salute. They went wild. I went back to collect my payout from Owyn with the thrill of victory surging through my veins and the roar of the crowd still echoing in my ears. I reminded myself not to let all of this Arena business go to my head. I was always a humble person at heart, and I wanted to stay that way.



I had advanced in Arena rank, and I was a Brawler now. I would have to gain more combat experience before I was worthy enough to face the next set of opponents, though. I made a vow to come back later when I was more worthy and try my luck in the Arena again.

A well-deserved steak and potato dinner at the inn, washed down with some refreshing mead, was the perfect close to my day. I decided to head out into the wilderness in the morning, and continue my exploration of the area outside the city.



The Imperial City was an interesting place, but the call of adventure and the unknown was too strong to resist. I went to bed early, so that I would be well-rested for the adventures that lay ahead.

Update: Now my story has pictures! I actually have the screenshots that were supposed to go with the first part of the story, but I can't edit my first posts because I wrote them as a guest. Sigh. . .at least I have pics for the rest of it.



From the Journal of Kira Shardmoon:

Main Quest: Delivering the Amulet

Heartfire 2

I woke up sometime during the late morning. I had tossed and turned with fever during my sleep, alternating between feeling burning hot and freezing cold. The blankets were a tangled mess, and I was soaked in sweat. But my fever had broken sometime during the night, and my headache was almost gone.

My throat was so dry that I could barely swallow, and I drank from my waterskin gratefully. After satisfying my thirst, I felt much better, and got up to make myself some willow bark tea. I still didn't really feel like eating, but I ordered a bowl of rice and an orange from the common room for breakfast. Velus commented on how much better I looked, and I gave him some gold to reserve the room for another night.

I decided to spend a quiet day exploring the city, as I still didn't feel up to adventuring until I had rested some more. I had a good soothing bath at the bathhouse, and was glad to be fresh and clean again.

The next thing that I wanted was some actual clothing. I didn't have anything to wear but my armor and underclothes, and I wanted to be able to dress comfortably when walking around town or relaxing at the inn. I found a shop called Divine Elegance, and stopped in to see what I could buy myself to wear.



The proprietor was a nice woman named Palonirya. She seemed to really know a lot about clothing, and was happy to help me find something that fit well. I was glad that I was beginning to put some weight back on, as that made it easier to fit my clothing properly. Palonirya said that I had a beautiful complexion. She loved my tawny golden hair and fur, and said that she had just the thing to complement my appearance. I was glad that she didn't say anything about me being too skinny. She gave me a beautiful blue velvet dress to try on, with a pair of gold-trimmed shoes. I tried it on, and admired myself in the full-length mirror that was hanging on the wall.

The dress was fancier than anything that I had ever worn before, and trimmed with gold that matched the shoes, and brought out the gold highlights in my hair. The deep blue of the dress complemented my silver eyes, and made me look even more exotic. Had I been a vain person, I might have even called myself beautiful. I had always worn breeches and loose shirts before, as they were more practical for desert life. But the dress and shoes were amazingly comfortable and warm, and I felt (and looked) like a real lady wearing them.

Palonirya suggested that I might visit the jewelry shop across the way and find a nice necklace to match the stunning dress, but I wasn't sure about spending any more money on something frivolous like that. Besides, the price for the dress and shoes was enough to make my jaw drop. But I was glad to have something pretty and comfortable for myself to wear, and I knew that I deserved it. I thanked Palonirya for helping me, and left the shop with a song in my heart.



Eager to be rid of my heavy armor for a while, I took it back to the inn and left it, and my pack, in my room. I put on just the belt and belt pouch, though it looked a little funny with the dress. But I needed to have someplace to carry my gold, and my dagger just in case. How did proper ladies manage to carry their gold and other stuff? They didn't wear belt pouches, so where did they keep it? I wasn't sure that I wanted to know. Velus commented on how pretty I looked as I left the inn to head back out into the city, and winked at me.

I saw a poster advertising the Arena in the market district, and decided to go check it out.

There are Khajiit in this damn city. I saw quite a few while I was walking around. I suspect that the beasts are common all over Cyrodiil. As long as they leave me alone, I will be happy.



I made my way to the Arena, and talked to Hundolin at the gate. He said that I could participate as a combatant if I wanted to, or just watch and bet on a match. I certainly didn't feel like fighting, but betting looked like fun. I spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the early evening enjoying the matches, and betting on them. I broke even at the end, but at least I hadn't lost any of my hard-earned gold.



I had heard a lot of people talk about how horribly bloody and disgusting the Arena fights were, but blood and death were nothing new to me. I found the experience to be quite thrilling, and far too addictive. I would really have to watch my self-restraint so that I didn't become an obsessive gambler like some of the folks there were. One man that I spoke to spent every day there betting on matches, and his wife was ready to leave him if he didn't stop gambling away all of their gold.

I spoke with Hundolin afterward about becoming a combatant, as it looked like a fun way to practice my fighting skills. He told me to talk to a man named Owyn in the Arena Bloodworks below the Arena. I decided to check Owyn out the next day, if I felt a little better.

I met two people who were training to be combatants outside the Arena. They were Branwin, a human, and Saliith, an Argonian. They told me about what to expect when I went in to the Arena for the first time, and even gave me some pointers on how to block and spar. They let me watch them practice for a while, and I learned some valuable tips about melee combat.



I had a good supper of baked crab and vegetables in the Merchants Inn's common room, and talked to Velus about my plans to fight in the Arena. He told me to be careful, and to watch my back and not trust any of the Arena folks too much. He said that he thought that sometimes the matches were rigged. I thanked him for his concern, and turned in for an early night. I drank one mug of willow bark tea before retiring, though I wasn't nearly as sore as I had been.

Heartfire 3

I woke up feeling so much better that I didn't drink any willow bark tea. A few nights of good sleep in a comfortable bed and a day spent relaxing and exploring the city were just what I needed to regain my strength. My muscles were a little stiff when I first woke up, but by the time I got dressed in my pretty blue dress and shoes and had a good breakfast of corncakes and strawberries in the common room, I felt just fine.

Velus wished me luck in the Arena as I left the inn, and bid me again to be careful and watch my back. He needn't have worried, though - I've been watching my back and not trusting other people all of my life.

I stepped outside to a rainy day, but that wasn't enough to dampen my good mood. I was excited about visiting the Arena, though I was admittedly a little nervous about risking my life as a combatant. By the time I reached the Arena, the butterflies in my stomach had turned into a tight knot of fear, though at least the rain had stopped. But I wouldn't back down, and walk away without even trying. I had killed bandits and vampires, and had spent my whole life hunting down dangerous game. I had enough combat training (I hoped) to be able to take care of myself in the Arena.



I made my way down to the Bloodworks, and saw a lot of big, bulky warriors practicing and warming up for the day's matches. They looked pretty good at what they were doing, and I began to have second thoughts about fighting in the matches. Even the women down there were huge, and I saw one woman practicing whose arms were bigger around than my torso.



But I sought out Owyn, and asked him about becoming a combatant. He actually laughed at me, and asked what a pretty little scrap of a girl like me was doing in a place like the Bloodworks. He said that if he let me go into the Arena, I'd get slaughtered. He said that his dead grandmother could beat me. That made me so angry that I forgot to be afraid.

He must have realized that I was serious, because he told me that letting his spectators watch my bloody death would be good for business. He agreed to let me fight as a Pit Dog (the lowliest rank of combatant) and told me the basic rules of combat. He seemed impressed that I asked for light leather armor instead of heavy metal plate. He said that he had pegged me for the type who would want to hide behind a skin of steel. Obviously, this man didn't know me.



I changed into the Arena armor that Owyn gave me to wear (which didn't seem to offer much protection), and decided that I would fight with my bow, but keep my sword and shield handy in case I needed them. If I could keep away from my opponent and shoot him before he got too close, I might have a chance of walking out alive.

As I walked up the ramp and into the Arena, the grim reality of what I was about to do was painted all over the walls and the floor in the blood of the previous combatants. The Arena crowd cheered wildly as I stepped out onto the combat floor, and I knew that they were cheering for my blood. When I got a look at the other combatant, the woman whose arms were bigger than my torso, I knew that I would need every bit of my cunning and skill to survive.



She was definitely the hardest foe that I had ever faced. She was quick, and incredibly strong. The mighty sword that she wielded caught me several times. I managed to duck the worst of the blows, and was glad for my small size and nimbleness. If I had been just a little bit slower, she would have chopped me down like a sapling tree.



I managed to turn her into a pincushion of arrows, but she just wouldn't die. I had to resort to using my healing magic to keep myself alive, and developed a rhythm to my fighting. Shoot an arrow, throw a healing spell, duck a swing, shoot an arrow, take a hard blow from her sword or a bash from her shield, throw another spell.

Eventually she began to weaken, as she began to lose a lot of blood from a gaping wound on her neck that I had managed to inflict on her with a lucky shot. I was glad that she didn't seem to know enough healing magic to keep herself alive, because she only cast one healing spell on herself during the fight, and it didn't seem to do much for her.

By the time she finally went down, I was so exhausted from the constant running and ducking to avoid her blows that I was beginning to trip over my own feet. The crowd went wild when she finally fell to the ground like an ox at slaughter. It took me a moment to realize that I had won, and that it was over. I stood over her fallen body with fierce pride swelling my chest, and the thunder of the crowd was music to my ears.



The rush of risking my very life in combat, the roar of the crowd, and the thrill of hard-won victory were an experience that I knew that I would want to repeat again and again. I had never thought of myself as being bloodthirsty, but I enjoyed the experience of killing that brute of a woman while the crowd cheered me on more than I would care to admit.

Owyn was surprised that I had won, and he paid me 50 gold pieces as my reward for winning. He told me to come back when I was ready to fight the next match in the Pit Dog set.

After a good relaxing soak at the bathhouse, I felt clean and refreshed, though a little tired from the day's excitement. I put my blue dress back on and went to pay Claudette at the alchemy shop a visit. I bought some ingredients from her with my prize money, enough to make several poisons and healing potions. She mentioned Thoronir, and said that his prices were far too low to be legitimate. She said that she thought that perhaps he was up to something shady.

I agreed that his prices did indeed seem too low for the quality of the merchandise in his shop (not that I would complain, of course), and said that I personally liked Thoronir, and that he didn't seem like a bad man to me. Claudette asked me to go talk to her friend Jensine at Jensine's "Good as New" Merchandise, who was heading up an investigation into the matter.

I did a lot of business with Thoronir, so I was curious to find out if he was indeed up to something illegal. I headed over to Jensine's shop, and asked her about Thoronir. She said that the Society of Concerned Merchants had a committee that was looking into it, and that she could use my help. She offered a reward for my assistance as well. I agreed to go speak to Thoronir about what was going on.

I headed over the Thoronir's shop, and asked him politely where he got his inventory. He avoided answering the question, saying that it was a trade secret that he couldn't reveal lest the other shopkeepers use his sources. I decided that the best thing to do would be to watch him after his shop closed and see where he went.

I had a while before Thoronir closed up his shop, since it was only mid-afternoon. I went back to the inn, and rented my room for another night. I spent some time that afternoon making some potions and poisons using the new ingredients that I had bought from Claudette, and was able to make six poisons, a poison that would drain an enemy's energy, a healing potion, a potion that would restore some of my energy when I was fatigued, and a potion to cure disease.



That done, I decided to go explore some of the other shops in the Market District. There was so much to do and explore around the city that I didn't know where to start. I stopped in at the Black Horse Courier office to see if I could find any news about what was going on in the world. The two men working inside were Khajiit. Not wanting anything to do with them, I quickly grabbed a stack of the latest newspapers, said a quick thank you, and left before they had a chance to respond.

I read the stack of papers over lunch in the inn's common room. One mentioned a Fighter's Guild, which looked interesting. I asked Velus about it, and he said that there wasn't a guild office in the Imperial City, but that I could find an office in Chorrol. That was convenient, because I was going to be heading that way anyway. I decided to check it out when I got there.



Velus also mentioned that there was a small house for sale on the Waterfront for two thousand gold pieces, if I was interested in finding someplace more permanent to stay. He had thought about buying the house for his daughter as a wedding present, but she had ended up moving to Cheydinhal with her new husband. I thanked him for the information, and said that I would keep it in mind. Besides, I didn't have that kind of money yet.

One of the papers talked about the Grey Fox and the possible existence of a Thieves Guild. According to the article, stories of the Grey Fox had been around for centuries. The article peaked my curiosity about him even more. The other newspapers contained odd bits of local news, including information on a local assassin's cult called the Dark Brotherhood. They sounded like a particularly unsavory group, and I hoped that I never ran into one of them in a dark alley.

An orcish fellow who was drinking beer and looking depressed in the common room introduced himself to me as Luronk gro-Glurzog and asked me politely if I was part Khajiit. I told him that I wasn't (I didn't begrudge him the assumption, as I do resemble the wretched beasts a little bit), and asked him why he looked so sad. He said that he and his friend Ruslan had recently been shaken down and harassed by an Imperial guard who accused them of stealing from Jensine's shop. Luronk said that they were innocent, and had even turned out their pockets to show the guard that they hadn't stolen anything. The guard took all of their gold, though, as a "fine" to keep them out of jail.

I asked him why Jensine allowed such a thing to happen in her shop, and Luronk told me that all of the shopkeepers were too afraid of the guard to do anything about him. I asked him who the guard was, so that I could keep a lookout for him. Luronk didn't know his name, but said that he would recognize him if he saw him. He said that Jensine might know who he was, and that I should try asking her.

Luronk asked me if I could help him to bring the corrupted guard to justice, before he threw some innocent person into prison, or took all of someone else's hard-earned gold. I definitely didn't want any innocent person to end up in that horrible prison like I had, and I agreed to help. I paid for Luronk's beer, and bought him lunch. He was most grateful. He tried to thank me, but I said that it was the least I could do, since he had given me some work.

After I had finished eating, I went back to Jensine's shop to ask her about the guard. She said that she knew Luronk and Ruslan, but that she didn't trust me enough yet to talk to me any more about it. I decided to try talking to her again later after I had helped her to figure out what was going on with Thoronir. Perhaps she would trust me more then.

I visited the First Edition bookstore, and purchased a book about alchemy and a book about lockpicking. I spent the remainder of the evening in the inn's common room studying the books over a few cups of lavendar tea, and a simple supper of cheese, bread, and fruit that I picked at as I read. I learned a lot of valuable things from the books.

When it was nearly time for Thoronir's shop to close, I put the books away in my room, and went to go wait for him to leave his shop. After he closed up shop, he went to the Merchants Inn for supper, and chatted with his friend Nilphas Omellian for a while.



When he was done with his meal, I followed him at a distance as he made his way to one of the city wells, where he met a man that he called Agarmir. I was glad of my stealth skills, which allowed me to keep an eye on him and yet remain unseen.

I listened to their conversation as they negotiated. Apparently, Thoronir was getting his stock from this man, though I still didn't know where it came from. I didn't think that Thoronir knew, either. I decided to follow Agarmir after they got done talking, and see if I could track down the source of the goods.



I followed Agarmir after he left, and discovered that he had a house in the Plaza district. I decided to come back later when he wasn't at home, and see if I could find any information in his house. I knew that it was a crime to break into his house, but solving the mystery seemed to be the most important thing.

I headed back to the inn, and drank some mead while I wrote the day's journal entry. By the time I got finished, I was glad to fall into bed, as it was very late at night.