Greetings dear reader! I have spent nearly all of today engaged in battle with a group of bandits at Fort Hraggstad, an old military outpost I was asked to clear by the Imperial Legion. It was a good, enjoyable battle, and for the first time in a long while, I really felt as though and Benor and I truly connected as companions.
We left the vampire coven, and returned to Morthal, where the Jarl declared me a Thane of Morthal (I am now a nobleman of two cities here - me, a commoner, and a Khajit in Skyrim at that!). I then traveled north to Solitude where I dealt with a few bits of business and unloaded my loot. I witnessed the Jarl of Solitude, apparently the Empire-backed claimant of High Queen of Skyrim, hold court. She seemed somewhat naive, but willing to listen to her retinue, who seemed to be competent.
We then left for the real goal - Fort Hraggstad, which lies about an hour’s travel west of the gates of Solitude. On my way, I came upon a stone carved with runes, which I reverently approached and laid my hand upon. As I touched it, I felt power flowing through my body, as the burdens I was carrying became lighter and I became refreshed and energized. I left the stone encouraged and ready, navigating the snow covered rocks due west-south-west.
We ultimately approached the Fort from the south, and saw a bandit, a redgaurd woman, patrolling outside the walls. I instructed Brenor to wait in the brush, watching as she continued into the fort. I snuck to the wall, crouching with by body pressed flush against the stone. The woman strolled out, turning away from me to make her circuit around the perimeter - I snuck behind her, drew my two enchanted axes and slashed through her body, killing her in one movement. It was a most satisfying experience.
The perimeter guard dispatched, I slowly crept into the courtyard, keeping low to the ground. I quickly took account of my foes. A Nord woman stood facing into the doorway of a small hut joined to the west inner wall, a huge warhammer strapped to her back. Two archers were stationed high in towers at the corners of the fort, surveying the wilderness to the north. Good thing I took care of the redguard while she was south of the compound!
I crept behind the woman with the warhammer, slicing threw her as I had the redguard. I had little time to celebrate - suddenly, a huge Nord burst from the hut swinging a longsword, slamming it into my head, knocking back dazed and confused. He reared back to swing again, connecting with the ground as a rolled away. I looked around for Benor to rush in, but remembered almost too late that he was waiting outside, as I again evaded the sword just as it was about to connect with my head again. I sprinted away, spinning around to throw a fireball at my attacker. He charged me again, his burning silhouette eerily elegant in the early morning dark. As he was almost upon me, I cast a spell calming him. His face, gnarled into an expression of rage, suddenly relaxed - he looked confused and serene, sheathing his sword and ambling shakily away. I cracked his skull with the blade of my axe.
I quickly snuck into the highest of the towers, climbing the winding steps till I could see the bandit grumbling to himself about a girl who did not return his advances. I came behind him, and shouted FUS-RO-DAH, the force of my Thu'un pushing him off the tower. I heard a sickening sound as his body hit the ground.
Suddenly, I felt a piercing pain in my side. I reached down and felt blood pouring around an arrow lodged in my thigh. I pulled the arrow free, turning to see another flying towards my face which I narrowly dodged. The archer in the west tower was firing at me – I pulled out my own bow and fired an arrow back, which stuck very satisfyingly in the bandit’s cheek. We both drew again, loosing arrows simultaneously. It quickly became apparent that the frost enchantment on my bow was draining the bandit faster than she could hope to overcome, and in less than a minute the criminal scum was dead.
I quickly ran back to Brenor, casting a healing spell as I ordered him to follow me. We made our way into the Fort’s prison. It was here that we truly began to click as partners. There was only one bandit in the prison, who saw Brenor as soon as we entered. The bandit’s quick strikes forced Brenor into constant defense, until I released a barrage of fireballs, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. As he turned to engage me, clearly wounded near death, Brenor plunged his longsword deep into the bandit’s belly, freezing him dead in mid-step. I raised my eyebrow in surprise as the masterful move, which elicited only a sly smile from Brenor.
We burst open the doors to the fort’s main hall, standing for a moment in doorway to enjoy the shocked looks on the bandit’s faces. We charged, cornering one bandit which we quickly dispatched with a flurry of our blades. The Bandit leader provided more of a challenge. He advanced on me, forcing me to block with my shield and hurl spinning fireballs as I ran. He chased me around the building, keeping me on my toes but steadily losing health. As we rounded a corner, Brenor reached out from the bandit’s blindside, grabbing him by his throat and slamming him to the ground before thrusting his sword squarely into the man’s ribcage.
Reader, this was the most effective battle Brenor and I have ever fought. My training in stealth has been immensely helpful, and Brenor showed his true ability. As we left the fort, I felt excited about our combats to come. This will be a difficult journey – Skyrim will take work to save. But for the first time, I feel confident it can be done.
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