(updated March 07, 2009)

Chapter eleven

Last Seed 30, 3E433 (late afternoon)

So here I am, standing here in this dark and creepy underground section of Fort Farragut, recovering from my wounds and trying to figure out what to do next.  Hey, you didn't really think I was going to give up that easy did you?  There's got to be some way to out smart these things . . . I just have to figure out their weaknesses.  After a bit I get to me feet and sneak back over to the iron gateway.  The skeleton thingie is just standing there, waiting for me to open the gate so it can whack me with it's war hammer.  Oh, and there's another bad guy in there, who I haven't even seen yet, who has already used me for target practice.  Not only are there two of them and only one of me, but they have much better weapons and armor than me. 

This is really not fair!  The one good thing so far is that I'm completely safe at the moment, since the lever that opens the gate is on my side.  The problem is that all the good stuff must be in there, and if I open the gate I'll be killed in a hurry.  Yes, I could just turn around, go back out the heavy door and return to town - but I haven't yet found anything at all.  And I really need to find some stuff to trade in for supplies, if I'm ever going to make the trip to find Jauffre.  I guess I could just collect plants and make potions, which I could sell - but that would take me a really long time.  The only way that I know to really get any amount of gold is by exploring dungeons and ruins, because that's where the most valuable stuff probably is.  And I'm guessing that there I could probably find all sorts of things in here - if I could get pass these skeletons.  So, I'm rather stuck at the moment: because I really don't want to be in here - yet feel that I have no other choice.  And getting myself killed would really mess up all my plans (plus the Amulet of Kings would never get to Jauffre).

But then a thought occurs to me . . . if I'm really careful to walk very quietly, and if I stay in the darkest shadows, I should really be able to sneak up on that skeleton thing, that is just hanging out over there.  But then what would I do? At best, I would be able to get in one shot with my bow or one good slash with my iron long sword.  Then the thing would most likely kill me with one blow.  Let's see, they were put here to keep people like me out - with their big weapons and by looking creepy and all . . . so I'm guessing that they're probably not all that bright.  And I do have my bow, but it's just an old iron one. Now I wish I had Terlia's much more powerful Elven bow. Then I would actually stand a chance against these two creeps. But I do have a little secret weapon . . . called Sharp Shooter, which is a power that greatly enhances my archery abilities.  All Bosmer have this magical power, but it only lasts for 90 seconds, and it drains our speed - which could be a major problem.  But that might actually be long enough if I can figure out where that other creature is hiding.

After watching patiently for a couple of minutes (which is really hard, when you're an impatient, hyper Wood Elf), I finally spot another skeleton up on a high walkway (or bridge, or whatever that is), and it is carrying a bow.  Now I just have to make sure that I can get both really quick - if my plan is going to have any chance of actually working.  Which is pretty much impossible, because it's too dark in here to see much of anything, and I can't light a torch.  Ok, timing is going to be everything - well, I still have to shoot well, but that part is easy - if I can just keep calm.  If I wait until the one down here (the one with that big elf-bashing war hammer) is way over on the other side . . . and then shoot the one up on the bridge first . . . then I'll only have to worry about one at a time.  Of course I'll still have to kill the second one before it reaches me - as I won't survive being hit with its war hammer.  I really don't like my plan, but it's all that I can come up with at the moment.

So, as soon as the one down here is out of sight, I take a deep breath, and pull on the lever that opens the iron gate, which opens loudly.  Yet neither of the two creatures seems to have even noticed.  The one down on my level is barely visible, hanging out way over on the other side of this big chamber.  And the one up on the bridge is pretty much just standing guard in the exact same spot.  Keeping my eyes on both of them (which isn't easy), I slowly sneak out into the large open chamber.  And they still don't seem to notice me.  I'm really careful to move very slowly and to stay in the darkest shadows, close to the wall, until I get to a spot where I have a clear shot of both of them.  Silently I pull out my bow and notch a steel arrow and take careful aim at the one one the bridge.  And it still doesn't even know I am here.  Cool.  This could actually work.  My first shot hits it and it lets out a raspy scream - and now they both know that I'm down here.  The one above see me takes aim, but my second arrow drops it, and it's bow and arrow clatters to the stone floor. 

As I turn, the other skeleton is nearly on top of me, and is raising its war hammer to strike.  My first arrow makes it stagger enough to miss, and I try to run, but it recovers before I can move far. Suddenly I feel my strength fading, as the power leaves my body. Great, now I've lost my marksman bonus.  There isn't even have time to notch my next arrow before it is on me again.  It slowly swings the huge weapon, just as I jump back, barely beyond its reach.  Before it can strike again, I shoot my second arrow and hit it squarely in the chest.  Well, I think that's where my arrow hit - it's not easy to tell, since the arrows don't even stick in to these things.  (Ok, I guess you sort of need to actually have some flesh for an arrow to stick into.  Whatever . . . my arrows still hurt them.)  Without my enhanced powers, my second arrow didn't do enough damage to kill the creature.  But my speed has returned, so I turn and run back toward the entry, then spin around and hit it with a third arrow.  And that finally finished it off.   Goodness, that worked so incredibly well - I never even got a scratch!  Ok, so it wasn't exactly a brilliant plan, and I was really, really lucky that the second creature didn't kill me . . . but my plan did work, and I'm still alive.

Now that both skeletons are no longer a threat, I can go collect whatever it was they were guarding.  Oh, and it turns out that they were both Dark Guardians (I checked their photo IDs).  Using a torch to see, I explore the chamber, but am pretty disappointed when all I find are some small items that aren't worth much at all.  There was certainly nothing here that was worth risking my life for.  There's got to be better stuff in here than this!  After all, what's the point of having those two Guardians in have to guard the place . . . unless there's something actually worth guarding.  But then I discover a large double door . . . which is locked.  Perhaps that's the vault. 

Using my trusty bent wire from my pack, I pick the lock.  But "the vault" is just a dark hallway that bends out of sight of my torch light.  After following it a bit, I'm nearly creamed when I trip over a cleverly concealed rope, and then I feel like an earthquake has hit, as large stones are released from up in the ceiling and fall all around me.  (Ok, so the rope was right out in the open, and I really should have seen it, but I was backing up when I tripped over it.)  After a while the hallway opens into a small chamber, with another Dark Guardian just a short distance from me.  But it doesn't even notice me, so I pull out my long sword and silently sneak right up behind it. It takes a couple of good whacks, but my surprise attack was successful.  I had to dodge a couple of mace swings, but they were not all that difficult to avoid, since the thing wasn't all that fast. Plus I'm pretty sure that all my earlier practice at fighting off cave rats and large mud crabs really paid off, as I'm now much better with a blade.  (I still prefer my bow, but bows are pretty useless in close combat, which is why I've been working at improving my blade and block skills.)

There were more Dark Guardians throughout the fort (I think there were six in all).  I use my bow and arrow against a couple, and I try to sneak by some, since I hate to kill unless I really have to.  But sneaking by them never seems to work . . . they ALWAYS notice me.  Then I have to defend myself with either my bow or with my sword.  I nearly get creamed by a couple more sneaky traps in the fort, but I made it all the way through to the last chamber, which looks like a Vampire's lair or a secret society.  (I knew that I should never have read that creepy vampire book - now I'm being spooked but those thoughts.)

But I finally find some pretty valuable stuff in there, including a couple of really nice additions to my alchemy equipment. This must be some kind of hidden lab, probably used by a dark mage (dark, as in evil - as there are human skulls in here). All those Guardians were likely put here to keep anyone from getting to this final chamber. OK, I really don't want to be here when the dark mage (or who ever lives here) returns, so I collect everything that I can carry and look for the fastest way out of here.  I discover a fast way out - sort of a hidden back door to the fort, but I'm so loaded down will all the stuff that I collected, that the climb up the ladder to the exit hatch is a real struggle. At the top of the ladder is a metal hatch which opens into a huge hollow tree trunk.

The weather has totally changed  from what it was when went into the fort several hours ago.  Clouds have moved in and it is now raining lightly, so I stuff my fur helmet into my pack and put on my wool hooded cape.  It looks to still be early evening, which is a nice surprise since I wasn't expecting it to still be daylight. Rather than just take the Blue Rod back to the East Gate, I decide to bushwhack north for a while, in hopes that I'll be able to locate the old ruins that Borba told me about.  You know, the ones that I was looking for when I stumbled upon the old fort.  Ok, so I'm not all that good at map reading.  But I'm pretty sure that I went mostly in the right direction and, if so, the ruins shouldn't be far away.  The hillside is steep, so I spend as much time hiking across it, as up it, as it's just too steep to climb straight up (after all, I'm a Wood Elf, not a mountain goat).  My legs are getting sore, which is a bit strange, as I haven't hiked all that far today.  Finally I spot what has to be the ruins, but it's still quite a ways off and the light rain has tuned into a thunderstorm.  My wool cloak is no longer keeping me dry, so I'm starting to get cold.  Time to be sensible and head back to down the city (besides, it will be getting dark soon.  Getting back should be real easy, since it is all downhill and the city is right . . .

Oh, no!  Where did Cheydinhal go?  The heavy rain and fog have completely blocked out my view of the city.  All I know is that it has to be down hill, so I try hiking straight down as fast as I can.  But that wasn't the brightest thing to do (ok, so I panicked a bit).  After healing myself from a near fatal fall off a slippery ledge, I slow way down and settle on a less steep route back.  The only problem is that I'm pretty sure that the city is directly down hill, so this way is going to be a lot further.  But I do want to get back in one piece, and even when you can heal yourself, breaking bones is still extremely painful.   And even after healing myself , my legs are still really sore and they are stiffening up.  The rain finally lets up, but the fog is as thick as ever . . . and it is getting darker by the minute.  And colder.  I'm totally drenched, and beginning to shiver violently.  If I don't find my way back real soon, I'll likely freeze out here.

"Hey, is that a fire?"  Off in the distance I can see a flickering light on the trees.  It's either a campfire or a very bright torch.  Even though I'm freezing, I'm still making my way very cautiously.  Besides, if this really is a camp, who knows who (or what) I'll find camping there.  Sneaking down carefully, I finally get a good view of the camp.  There are two small tents, a large chest, and a small campfire.  And that's it!  No one seems to be here, which is very lucky for me.  It takes me a long time to warm up, and to get my clothing dry.  The entire time, I never relaxed for a second, since I was sure that some bandits would find me at their camp . . . because I'm pretty sure that this is a bandit camp.  (A large chest out in the middle of the woods sort of gave it away.)   There's no way that I'm going to stay here tonight, since I would not sleep a wink, worrying that the bandits would come back.  

Besides, while I was warming up, I finally figured out what's wrong with my legs . . . I have Helljoint Disease!  I'm guessing that I got it from the wolf that bit me just before I went into Fort Farragut.  Wood Elves a quite resistant to diseases, so about the only way that I could become infected is from a bite from a diseased creature.  The good news is that it doesn't seem to be getting any worse.  But I'm not able to cure diseases with a healing spell or even with healing potions . . . and I don't have a cure disease potion, so that could be a real problem, if this does get worse tonight.  I need to get back to the city where I can be cured.  Now it is too dark to see without a torch, but I'm no longer shivering, and the city can't be too much further.  Unless I'm totally lost.

Apparently I sort of went the right direction, because it isn't long before I do see the lights from the city.  But I did mess up a bit, as I actually ended up at the West Gate, when I was expecting to be at the East Gate.  Once inside the city walls, I head directly to The Cheydinhal Chapel, where I'm cured at the "Alter of the Nines."  (See, having a strong faith does have its perks at times.)  On the way to Newlands I stop to fill my empty water skin at the well by the footbridge.  I'm a bit concerned that I won't be able to get back into my room, since I only paid for one night.  Before I left this morning, I tried to give Dervera another 10 gold coins for another night, but she said that I had already paid for my room.  Maybe I misunderstood her when I arrived late last night . . . maybe it's only 10 gold for two nights.  Or perhaps Dervera is running some sort of 2-for-1 special.  Whatever.  Once back at Newlands, I run up to my room to change and find that the door to my room is locked!  Once I find Dervera, she doesn't even understand why I'm upset, but she is happy to rent me the room for another night.  And all my stuff is still in there. Whew! 

Once I get washed up and changed, I decide to spend some time making potions.  If I was smart I would just go to bed, as it's pretty late . . . but I'm not really tired now.  Perhaps the cure I received included an energy boost or something. I collected a bunch of ingredients today, and I have my newly acquired alembic and retort that I really want to try out.  Oh, I sometimes forget that not everyone is trained in alchemy - so you may not be familiar with these terms.  Ok, I'll try to explain. A retort is a glass spherical vessel with a long downward-pointing neck.  An alembic is a bit more complicated, because it is made up of two retorts connected by a tube.  They're both used in much the same way - basically you put your ingredients in them and then heat it over a small fire, then the steam is collected, which then condenses back into a liquid as it cools - so both are just alchemical stills. (See, I really do know my alchemy pretty well - after all, I've been brewing potions for years.) Unfortunately the alembic and retort that I picked in the old fort are both novice level equipment, and so is my mortar & pestle - but at least I now have three pieces of alchemical equipment.  Before finally going to bed, I end up whipping up a bunch of potions (which I'll try to sell in the morning). 

Notes About MODs:

Stealth Overhaul: Sneaking in Oblivion is so much better than it was in Morrowind, but there's still one problem: once you shoot an NPC with an arrow (or when they just spot you), from then on they know exactly where you are - even when you move to a new hiding spot and are completely out of sight.  It's like they have some sort magical radar or something.  This mod does a really good job of fixing this problem, but you do need have decent sneak skills before you will really notice it.  In my current game I was still only at Level 2 when I entered Fort Farragut, and I had a sneak skill of only 11, since it was only one of my minor skills.  Stealth overhaul also changes the multiplier for sneak attacks, and attacks with daggers gain the largest increase.  And wearing light armor has a higher multiplier than heavy armor. In my previous game, when my sneak skill was over 30, when using a dagger, my sneak attacks did 6 times more damage than a non-sneak attack (using the same weapon).  My one complaint is that this mod works a bit too well, by making sneaking up and hiding way too easy at higher levels.  The next mod balances this out really well.

Proximity Based Sneak Penalties: This mod seems to work very well with Stealth Overhaul, and I highly recommend using these two mods together for the most sneak realism.  This mod factors in light (and torches) into your ability to sneak up on someone.  It also adds reduces your ability to sneak, as you get the closer to NPCs and creatures.  And others can even detect you when you are invisible - if you get too close.

Race Balancing Project: This mod really changes the way that the game plays out - which is the main reason that I've had to rewrite so much of this journal.  As much as I've tried to follow my earlier game, the effects of this mod have forced me to do things differently.  And that's totally great, because I'm love they way my current game is working.  I love the two new Bosmer powers of Sharp Shooter, and Crafter of Bone Arrows (finally bones become very useful). In addition, the Ritual Birthsign give my character the Blessing of Faith power and the lesser power of Sense Evil (which is a really handy spell). 

My Wood Elf is now both more powerful and somewhat weaker than she was in my previous game - as there are distinct disadvantages, as well as advantages for every Race.  This mod does and amazing job of balancing things between the Races. Now you have to actually consider the Race of the NPCs you are dealing with - and it really can make a big difference if you are familiar with their various strengths and weaknesses (I use a cheat-sheet, as I'm terrible at memorization).  This is not just important in combat, but with things like in trade with members of other races.

Role-Playing:

Helljoint Disease: My character did really catch this disease, and I think it was from being bitten by a diseased wolf (but I'm not really sure).  I didn't notice it for a while, and then I just happen to notice that my strength and agility attributes had a 5-point penalty.  Under the last tab in my magic menu (the one with the skull/lightning bolt in the above image) I found that these two attributes were getting the penalty because I had Helljoint Disease.   Even though I had the disease for 8 to 10 hours, it never seemed to get any worse (unlike most diseases in the game).

Weather: The various weather conditions that I faced in this chapter are exactly what happened in my game.  The weather in Oblivion is dynamic, meaning that it changes.  And I'm using mods that enhance the weather (as in more variety . . . such as the Rainbows mod that I covered back in Chapter 5).  I'll cover these other weather mods in upcoming chapters.

Shivering: In the vanilla game, your character doesn't shiver . . . ever.  In fact, the weather has no effect at all on your character.  Your character can walk naked across a snowy mountain top, in the middle of a blizzard, with no ill effects at all.  But I'm currently play testing a new mod that changes all that.  When I wrote: "I'm totally drenched, and beginning to shiver violently. If I don't find my way back real soon, I'll likely freeze out here," that was all true to what was happening in my game.  And she did actually warm up at the bandit camp's campfire. This amazing mod is made by Duke Patrick, but it still sort of in the beta stage, as it has a few issues that need to be fixed before I can add it to my recommend mod list.

continued in chapter 12

The Knights of Thorn