Dear Diary,
After my carriage ride to Whiterun, I was still a bit stunned. My head was just clear enough to remember to purchase the abandoned home, but I did not stop to sleep or make my new place more homey. I wandered northeast into the wilderness to get away for a while. I would say it was a conscious decision to just enjoy the change of climate and the views, but it was less than that.
I left Whiterun and headed northeast. I passed a few farms but did not stop to talk. My goal was the northern coast before sunset, but a few encounters kept me from meeting that goal. I camped north of Windhelm for the night, and the next day headed for the coast. When I finally reached the edge of the water, I realized it was exactly what I was looking for. The coastline was beautiful, quiet and peaceful. Not a soul in sight other than some Horkers and an occasional troll.
As I wandered further north I came upon a shipwrecked vessel called the Winter War. I am no sailor, so I couldn't really tell how long it had been there. In case it was recent and there were survivors I snuck up to the ship to take a look. I saw a scruffy looking man with a huge axe cooking some food next to some crates full of what was likely stolen goods - random items and obviously not a regular ship's cargo. I drew my bow and let one good arrow into him and he fell, thankfully, silent.
I approached the creaking ship and decided to explore further. There could be more of them and I would rather get the jump on them than they find their fallen comrade and come for me up the coast. There were two ways down. A crack in the middle of the ship and the stairs I could see in the back of the top cabin, the door flapping open in the wind. I decided to hop down through the crack and heard some voices. I follow them to a back room and silently rounded the corner. It turned out to be one man talking to himself in his sleep. By his random assortment of garb I could tell he had also been up to no good so I put him to sleep permanently and helped myself to his gear and a chest nearby. I will have to return later as I couldn't carry it all. I need to either stop hoarding books or find a safe place to stash them all. I tend to take after my grandmother in that regard, but I digress.
I would have made this newfound shelter my home as I do enjoy the thought of having my own ship to stay in, and I love the peace and quiet and climate up here, but I wasn't sure if there were more bandits out there that would return. I counted more beds than men in the ship. So I continued on.
There isn't much to write about in my walk up the coast other than the gorgeous views. I did run into two Horkers sitting outside of a small cave containing a chest. It took me a minute or two to decide what to do, even going so far as to draw my bow and knock an arrow, but I just couldn't do it. They didn't deserve to die because they happened to pick a nook in the coast that contained a chest. For all I knew it was empty and I couldn't live with myself if that is how it turned out. I will have to return later and see if they have moved on.
I turned from the Horkers and rounded a corner. I came face to face with a wolf and the same predicament. I knew he would not move and my only other option was to swim a few stones throws in the freezing water. As he stood me down I apologized and made sure the arrow landed for a quick and clean kill. I took his pelt and my arrow as to not make it a total waste in his honor.
As I stepped forward from the wolf and looked up I saw one the greatest sights so far, rivaling Markarth. What seemed to be a temple or chapel, massive in size, sitting high atop a rock that seemed barely wide enough to hold it aloft. I tracked the pathway up to the rocks and charted a course to get into it. I walked the path and checked my map, realizing I was outside Winterhold and the "chapel" was actually the College of Winterhold. The excitement could barely be contained as this was one of my top spots I intended to visit when I entered Skyrim. The College was a bastion of knowledge, and a perfect place to base my explorations from.
I walked into Winterhold and did not receive the welcome I expected. Don't get me wrong the townsfolk were nice, but they were quite glum and all told me the story of how the original city had fallen into the sea, but somehow (some believed beyond coincidence) the College remained perfectly intact, and it alone. Decided to proceed with caution as all must not be as it seemed, I gained access to the college and became a member. They were nice enough, giving me my own room and access to many masters of magic to train me in the arts. But as I wandered, I came upon something that was even more grand than the place itself. More amazing and awe inspiring than anything I had seen so far.
The biggest, most encompassing and well kept library I have ever seen.
Hundreds, if not thousands of books. After the minute it took to regain my composure and get over my impulse to take every single one of them, I walked up to the librarian and talked to him about the collection. He sold me a few books, and then mentioned he also bought them, but was looking for only a specific few. He named books that were one of a kind and scattered all over Skyrim decades ago. One of a kind books so obscure he is the only one that can translate them? By the nine, what are dragons again? New priority it is.
So he marked my map for a few places to try looking for the buried ones, and those he knew the locations of that were stolen. I took a nights sleep in my room and set out the next day back up the coast. I now am staying the night at a camp with a guy named Deekus (Note to self: his name sounds familiar, and this nice Icon of Diabella I couldn't help but swipe does too. I need to take better notes.) at another crashed ship, and tomorrow I will set out south to find more books.
Until next time.
- ST
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