The Forest Floor: Skyrim Unarmed Build

JOURNAL ENTRY 8

For his services to the hold, Raan is granted the title of Thane and given the right to purchase a plot of land in Morthal. Morthal may not be the prettiest hold, but its quiet, isolated and dangerous. A good fit for D'raan. I buy the land and get to work building an entry way and main hall. There are three wings that can be added onto the home, each with three different room options.

East Wing additions are an armory, kitchen, or library.

North Wing additions are a trophy room, storage Room, or alchemy laboratory.

West Wing additions are a bedroom, greenhouse, enchanter's tower.

In keeping with D'raan's skill-set I choose to build an armory, an enchanter's tower, and a trophy room. The house is now finished but unfurnished and I'm broke. The bustling city of Solitude is within a day's walk from Morthal and sure to have work for a mercenary.

A blizzard kicks up and then dies down just as quickly as it started. Two frostbite spiders scuttle out of the snow covered fir trees and are quickly dispatched. An orc warrior traveling the same road causally insults Raan, calling him a "milk drinker". The two settle things with fists. At Dragon Bridge, a town halfway between Solitude and Morthal, a kid patrols the streets with his pet goat Lucky. He says hes too young to fight Stormcloaks but not too young to keep a lookout for enemies.

I find the boy's father standing in the middle of the road, arms crossed. He says some bad folks came through recently. They ate at the inn but didn't pay. Stole lumber and tried to have their way with his daughter. The Penitus Oculatus have a headquarters located here, so I decide to have a talk with them. Maybe they know more about these misbehaving soldiers.

The building is surprisingly empty except for one guy who assumes I got lost and gives me directions to the tavern across the street. Penitus Oculatus are suppose to be the emperor's guard, and with Solitude (the Imperial headquarters) just a short walk away, I want to wear Penitus Oculatus armor to see if anyone reacts to it. I knock the lone man out with a single punch, then drag his body over to the bed in case his friends show up. Raan struggles to put the man to bed, so the best I can do is partially stuff him under the bed. Good enough.

In full Penitus Oculatus armor, one of the solitude guards immediately recognizes Raan from - of all places, the College of Winterhold. Maybe the guard was originally stationed in Winterhold and then relocated? Winterhold is allied with the Stormcloaks though, and Solitude is under Imperial control. Did the unnamed guardsman switch sides? Or maybe Raan just made that big of a scene during his bender with Sam.

The local lumberjack says sales are up on account of the war, but like many of the residents of Dragon Bridge, he fears either side of the civil war might destroy the bridge to stop the other from crossing the Karth River. The only person that possibly reacts to a furry Penitus Oculatus is the Four Shields innkeep, who says I'm "not like other folk". Well, let's see what the folks over at Solitude have to say.

I take a slight detour to admire the palomino Gypsy Vanners at the stables and run into a young lad named Blaise sleeping there. Blaise tells me his Legion parents died fighting in the war, but that Katla allows him to sleep with the horses in exchange for help with the farm work.

Down the road from the stables is a large dock and warehouse belonging to the East Empire Company. I am told by a guard that the warehouse is off-limits because the trading company has run into some kind of trouble, but he doesn't know the details because he doesn't work for them. If I want to stick my nose in it I'll half to go all the way back to Windhelm to talk to the dock workers there.

A massive docked ship called the Red Wave catches my eye. Her crew are a cranky bunch that tell me to leave, but weirdly, never threaten to call the guards.

Another boat, the Dainty Sload, is docked further down the road near a lighthouse. It appears to be bandit owned and I overhear one of the men onboard ranting to his mates about how he refuses to pay child support. I don't find anything worthwhile on board, just some horker slabs, seared slaughterfish, bread and goat cheese.

The lighthouse door is unlocked, so I let myself in. The place is run by a khajiit of all things, but keeps giving me mixed messages, welcoming me in one moment and then threatening to call the guards the next. There isn't anything special here so I start the trek back to Solitude.