17 - Victoria - Fort Blueblood:

The only remaining guild hall specialising in a school of magic was Leyamiin, which according to the guild book, concerned itself with mysticism. Of all the schools of magic mysticism lacks appeal to me, at least at this stage; the only practical spell I can use right now is soul trap, which would suffice for the time being. Nevertheless, I decided to make Leyamiin my next stop, despite it being located in the far south, while I was currently to the extreme north.

I didn't think Earana would have anything further to say of use, while it might be better to avoid the Argonian guild head for now – as he would likely suspect me of stealing his book. There was no point in waiting, or re-entering Chorrol, and I rode towards the Imperial City –which lay directly between here and Leyamiin.

The rain continued unabated, and despite my desire to claim what would be the second to last guild reference, I was becoming weary; and decided to spend the night at the Wawnet Inn – the place I have rested the most, besides the guild halls, and of course the Arena Bloodworks. I arrived at nine, although the whole day had seemed like late evening – the overcast sky casting a dreary light over the surroundings. Leaving the rain behind me I entered, purchased a room, and settled in for the night.

I rose at seven, a long road still ahead of me, seeming all the longer with the continuing deluge. I supposed that the flagstones must be slippery, but Shadow seemed to have no difficulty remaining steady, and we soon passed the bridge between the Imperial City and Bravil.

From here the road threaded south past Bravil, eventually arriving at Leyamiin, but I would again pass the Inn of Ill Omen before approaching Bravuk. However before I approached even this point I came across a bandit fighting a Khajiit, the latter dressed in a green flowing robe. The Khajiit seemed to be getting the worse of the encounter, and began to flee - I took this as my cue to intervene, disposing of the bandit quickly. Again however no reward was offered for the rescue, and I began to wonder if there was really any point helping in situations such as this. The bandit lacked any equipment of value, besides a war hammer, which I took – riding south once more

I had no intention of resting at the Inn of Ill Omen again, even if I had been tired, and thus ignored it – despite the continuing rain. Travelling as I was, I soon approached Bravil – previously the southernmost point of my travels, this being at ten o clock. I chose not to enter, riding the road further south. The land here, that being along the Green Road, is low lying and heavy with vegetation, but this is to be expected considering it lies alongside the Niben - the river that flows from Lake Rumare. The rain began to ease as I approached Legawiin, the journey having been uneventful – the only encounters of note being the passing of such scattered hamlets as the aptly named 'Water's Edge'.

Legawiin is a large and well build town, most buildings expansive and in good repair – however it is perhaps a little bland. I had arrived slightly after mid-day; once again I chose not to explore extensively at this point, and immediately sold the hammer I had claimed – in addition to my steel bow and iron arrows – at 'The Dividing Line', before replacing my sold iron arrows with steel replacements. From here I left, swiftly finding the guild hall, where I replaced my alembic and pestle & mortar with a better quality varient, leaving me with barely a couple of hundred gold. It is clear that I will have to explore a number of the ruins which I have rode past to regain my fortunes.

Enquiring regarding the recommendation I required, a dour man named Kalthar informed me that Dagail was the guild head, but thought that I might have some difficulty attaining what I desired. Having tracked down Dagail, an elderly female Altmer, I found that she seemed...confused. My task then seemed to be to cure her state through retrieving an item to protect her sanity from these intrusions. Agata, Degails assistant, suggested that I ask around the guild hall to see if any members could suggest where I could find an item that would treat Dagail. Returning again to Kalthar, he appeared to have a surprisingly vocal negative opinion of Dagail, although he also seemed to know a great deal of her history – including that her father had suffered from a similar affliction, and had died while in the Imperial Legion. Agata suggested that perhaps the body of Degails father held with it an item which she could use to maintain her sanity; she thought that the body might lie in a nearby Imperial Fort. Grave robbing it was then then... or at least it would be if the father had even been buried – Kalthar had implied that he had not.

I left immediately and explored the region, at last coming across Fort Blueblood, which I suspected contained the corpse, if I could indeed simply find it. Besides a bandit, no human remains could be found outside among the ruins, and I suspected that the body likely lay at the bottom of the interior complex.

The interior was dim, and rather similar to Fort Empire, unsurprisingly. Bandits appeared to be the only occupants, although of a particularly hardly type; every second one I met seemed to be a battlemage of some kind. I do wonder at how popular being a battlemage seems to be, I suppose they feel they are getting the best of both combat and magic, however in my opinion they gain neither – simply remaining competent and nothing better in both fields. In addition, to all but a master the armour limits casting ability, while simultaneously robbing the caster of all attempts at subtlety. I cleared the area as I progressed using my usual style – an arrow from the shadows, before calling forth my Atronach, and then dealing destructive damage of my own while it fought, stepping in myself when I deemed it necessary

It was in doing this that I felt I made a breakthrough in the arts of destruction, and was finally capable of casting my newest spell – Finger of the Mountain. It appeared effective, killing the first bandit it hit. However I find it extremely draining to use, and after a time reverted to my lightning touch. Contact spells deal more damage at less cost, and I am as yet not sufficiently skilled to cast more than a few ranged spells in a short time period. That said, there are certain benefits, for example one dullard was hit by three consecutive ranged spells, and yet still failed to see me hiding in the shadows.

Continuing downwards, I entered a large chamber in which I was required to fight a number of bandits simultaneously. A careful endeavour, made all the more so by the expensive Dwarven armour and sword used by one of the marauders, however upon their fall I realised that this might be the greatest reward of the search – I could sell the items and recover a quantity of my spent gold. The armour was however, rather heavy, and I was forced to cast aside any heavy and relatively inexpensive items – such as steel armour – in addition to casting relieve burden upon myself.

Advancing again, I now encountered a new enemy, a Troll. It was a short, brutish creature, its skin appearing hairy, while its limbs ended in vicious claws. I was extremely cautious, as I had yet to fight such a creature, and was unused of its abilities.

Retreating before it, I summoned my flame Atronach to give battle, simultaneously joining the fight with my own magic and bound Daedric dagger. For all its powerful appearance, the conflict was one sided, the Troll falling before me. It was soon after this that I came upon the chamber at the base of the ruins, which as I had hoped contained a number of coffins. Opening the most exposed of these revealed the amulet I had been searching for – obviously this then was the remains of Degails father. However it was at this moment I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned abruptly – for there stood Kalthar.

He appeared on edge and aggressive, and indeed informed me that it had been he who had taken Degails amulet – in the hope that her deranged state would lead to his advancement and departure. He felt he could not let me take this replacement item back to her, and drew his dagger upon me. I was unimpressed; for a mage to seek conflict at close quarters they should ensure they have potent contact spells, yet this was one thing which he appeared to lack, and he soon fell before me – his corpse revealing little of value, aside from a key – which I hoped might in time be the catalyst for the acquisition of such.

This achieved, I returned swiftly to Legawiin, entering the mages guild – however as it was now night, and I took to bed, spending until midday in sleep. Awakaning, I tracked down Degail – the amulet had a marked effect. At once her speech changed from incomprehensible, mildly deranged and directionless to mildly comprehensible, barely deranged speech - and with a vague sense of direction. She awarded me my recommendation, and I left via the door – seeking the sale of my recent loot, and the acquisition of the final guild reference.