Erandur's done too many funerals lately.

  We're in Bloated Man's Grotto, and while I feel like we did a good thing, I still feel uneasy about it.

  Hopefully tomorrow's quieter.

  Anyway, this morning we started on our trip back to Whiterun, and stopped by the barracks to learn exactly what happened with the murder.

  The barracks are pretty standard, with some bunks for the guards, dining spot… You know, the usual. There's a regular jail cell, too, which is actually a good size and well-outfitted (nothing like the ones in Cyrodiil).

  And then there's The Pit.

  It looks to me like The Pit is just an old well turned prison cell. It's open at the top and round, with a grate at the bottom and standing water up to your ankles.

  I think that's all that was in there.

  Well, aside from Sinding.

  At first glance, he looked like any other Nord you'd see walking down the street. In reality, he's a werewolf.

  I didn't ask how he became a werewolf, and to be perfectly honest, I'd rather not know. I've heard of them, but I didn't think they were real. Later, Lydia said that werewolves were known in Skyrim, and some were rumored to have been seen near Whiterun.

  Anyway, we spoke with him, and learned that Sinding was in Falkreath because he stole a ring from Hircine.

  Yes, the Daedric Prince of The Hunt

  He stole the ring because he heard it would help him manage his transformations, but it's cursed. It makes him transform randomly. He came here looking to hunt a legendary beast to gain Hircine's favor, and to ask him to please lift the curse on the ring.

  He took work at the mill because he felt it was a thing he could do. A safe thing. Then he saw the little girl, and his need to hunt became too great. His wolf instincts took over.

  Listening to him describe how small and helpless she was turned my stomach a bit, but I know now that was the wolf talking. He didn't want to hurt her, but he couldn't hold himself back.

  He attacked her and tore her to shreds, and he couldn't explain himself.

  Erandur and I shared A Look.

  I asked the others to huddle in, out of earshot of Sinding and the guard that were standing around.

  It was obvious to us that Sinding saw his lycanthropy as a curse. I asked if Erandur or Valdimar knew of a way to cure him, and they were at a loss. Lydia questioned why we'd help him at all. We wouldn't gain anything from it, and he'd slaughtered an innocent child.

  She had a point, but Erandur put his hand on his heart and said that he knew what it was like to be under the influence of the Daedra. He'd done far worse in Vaermina's name, and unlike Sinding, he knew exactly what he was doing. We should help him lift his curse.

  Lydia sighed and agreed, and I went back to the cell door to talk to Sinding.

  I offered to talk to Hircine on his behalf, and he was astonished that I'd do something like that for someone like him.

  I told him I do that a lot.

  He gave me the ring and pointed out where he'd tracked the beast to. He simply described it as Large and Majestic, and told me to kill it.

  Conveniently, it wasn't far from the site of my new property.

  Sinding handed me the ring, and said that he should get out of here while he still had his skin, then…

  Oh, that's spooky. This is not a good feeling.

  Godsdammit. It's like he knew.

  I'll explain later.

  Anyway, he said he wouldn't forget my kindness, then walked to the center of the Pit, and transformed into a werewolf right in front of us!

  Thick, black fur sprouted from his skin, he got taller, and bigger, and his face stretched into a wolf's muzzle full of huge teeth. His hands didn't turn to paws, but grew horrible-looking claws. He stayed on two legs, but his bare feet changed, and he was soon up on two big paws. He even grew a tail!

  Septim growled at first, then whined and hid behind us. I don't blame him!

  Sinding howled, then stared crawling up the wall, and was soon out of sight.

  All of us, the guards included, were too shocked to move for a second, then they raised the alarm.

  We left the barracks as quickly as we could, and got out of Falkreath before anyone asked us too many questions about what happened when we talked with him.

  As we walked, I looked at Hircine's ring. It's sort of pretty, and I've seen regular rings somewhat like it before. It's a silver band, with some carved decoration on either side of a sculpted wolf's head.

  I showed it to the others, and they agreed that it looked like a lot fancy rings they've seen.

  I don't know why, probably because I'm Stupid, but I put it on.

  The others scolded me for that, and I deserved it!

  I couldn't get it off!

  Lucky for us, we found the Legendary Beast fairly quickly. It was a huge white stag, and it was drinking from a pond. I conjured my bow, and fired.

  It fell with just one arrow, and as I walked up to take a look at it, a ghostly form of the stag rose from the body, and spoke.

  It was an aspect of Hircine, "a glimpse" of the Daedric Prince. I asked him to lift the curse from the ring, and he said he might, but only if we would do him a favor, first.

  We had to hunt down Sinding, kill him, and take his skin as an offering for Him.

  See what I meant by spooky? I wonder if part of him knew?

  I said I didn't want to kill Sinding. He'd done nothing to me to deserve it, but Hircine said that didn't matter. He didn't want Sinding dead for revenge. The werewolf had gone from hunter to prey, and Hircine wanted a Hunt.

  The Prince said that whether I liked it or not, Sinding was going to be hunted. There were other hunters, eager to earn his favor, who had heard the call and were already on their way.

  Then, the ghostly stag vanished, and we were alone.

  I didn't know what to do! I felt like I'd made things so much worse, and I said as much to the others.

  Lydia put away her sword and got out her bow. It was obvious to her. We hunt.

  We started to protest, Erandur the loudest, and she asked, "How do you think the others will treat him if they get to him first?"

  That shut us up. She was right.

  Erandur sighed, and asked if he could give a blessing before we went on. Of course we agreed, and he led us in a prayer to Mara. He asked that She guide our strikes so that Sinding's death would be swift and as painless as possible, and that our hearts not be clouded by the thrill of Hircine's Hunt, but full of Her Mercy.

  Valdimar nodded when he was finished. It was a good prayer.

  Feeling slightly better about the whole thing, we set off to find Sinding.

  There was a marker on my map I didn't add that looked scratched on with a claw. It marked a place called Bloated Man's Grotto.

  Lovely name.

  It was on the other side of the mountain ridge that borders the north part of Lake Ilinalta, not far to the north of us.

  Right by the new homestead!

  We made our way there, and I took a minute to look over the site before we kept going.

  There's a ridge and a bit of a dropoff , and as I looked over the lake, I noticed that practically right at the base of the little cliff we were on was an altar table with a mage at it! He was doing something to a skeleton laying on there, probably trying to raise it, so we fought him and stopped whatever ritual he was doing.

  I don't want any rogue necromancers or whatever lurking around the new house!

  There's a road that follows the lake shore, so we went down to follow it until we could find a good place to swim across.

  The others weren't sure about swimming for it, but agreed that it was better to hurry. It was already mid-afternoon, and we didn't want to hunt a werewolf in the dark!

  We walked along the road a bit, then I saw a little island with some standing stones that looked like it might be a good crossing point. We swam to it, and found The Lady stone there, surrounded by flowers and butterflies.

  We kept going, and as we swam across, we heard a dragon approaching from over the mountain.

  It circled over us, and we all dove under the water and swam as fast as we could. It worked, because when we got out and made for a small group of trees to hide in, it kept circling the lake. It was roaring and looking back and forth over the water, clearly searching for us. Septim was a good boy, and kept quiet.

  Valdimar chuckled to himself and said something about how we were hunting a werewolf, and the dragon's hunting us! Hircine must be awfully pleased right now!

  I couldn't help but laugh, too!

  I saw a break in the rocks, and believe it or not, it was actually a way over the mountaintop!

  It was very narrow, and we had to take it single file, but it was an actual path, and we soon found ourselves on the other side, with the plains stretching out in front of us.

  We half-skidded down, and Septim wasn't too happy about it, but we were soon at the base of the mountain, with the entrance to the grotto practically right there.

  We got our weapons ready, and went in.

  The cave turned out to be more of a short tunnel that led to a large open area on the other side. Despite the gruesome name, it's beautiful! There's a spring, waterfalls, and lush little wood in there around some ruins. There was a campfire and a small camp set up where the cave mouth opened up, and as we got closer, we saw that the area was covered in blood. There was a Khajiit slumped by the fire, barely alive and clutching at his side.

  Erandur brought his hands up to start Healing, but quickly drew back and bowed his head.

  Healing magic isn't my strong suit, but even I know it can't put your insides back in.

  The Khajiit said that "the prey" was too strong for them, but that more would come. He told us to bring him down, "for the glory of Hircine" before he coughed, then died.

  We found three more bodies, clearly the rest of his hunting party.

  I got my bow ready, then we made our way through the grotto, winding our way through narrow earth passes and ruins.

  Eventually, we found Sinding, or rather, he found us.

  He was atop a stand of rock, silhouetted against the full moons.

  He hadn't expected to see me again, and asked why we were there. I said we were there to hunt him, and he asked for me to spare him. He could be a powerful ally, he said, and he swore that if he lived, he would stay here, away from people so he wouldn't hurt anyone ever again.

  It was a hard choice. I'd already made my peace with killing him, but I was expecting to fight a monster, not a man-beast who could speak!

  I apologized, and said that we had to. If we didn't, the hunters would keep coming, and the deaths would continue, one way or another. He'd be stuck here, with nothing but their bones and his guilt for company.

  I told him that's not a life I'd wish on anyone.

  Erandur was next to me, and I could hear his breath catch in his throat. He stepped forward and said I was right. A life here, alone and filled with regret, was no life at all. He knew. He lived that life, and he called it "torture" and a "waking nightmare."

  He asked Sinding to please give up. He promised that we'd make it quick. His voice cracked as he begged him to not make us hunt him down like an animal, to not give Hircine what he wanted.

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  Sinding realized we'd made up our mind, so he turned and ran.

  The Hunt was on.

  I ran after him, with the others on my heels and Septim barking up a storm. We could hear screams, and I nearly tripped over several fresh bodies. Other hunters were in here with us.

  We caught up to him in a clearing, where he was facing off with two more. I ordered them to stop, but even my Voice couldn't calm them. Sinding flung one man aside like a toy, breaking him on the stones that surrounded us, and ripped open the other's belly with a single swipe of his claws.

  Then he turned to me.

  The paralysis poison on my bow didn't work on him, and he was on me in an instant. I managed to avoid getting slashed too badly, and my next strike stalled him long enough for Lydia to come tearing through. The others were quick to follow her, and in seconds, it was done.

  I was the only one of us to get hurt, and Erandur Healed me before helping me up.

  Taking Sinding's skin was… Not fun, but luckily, Erandur said he'd help. He had some "experience" with this sort of thing.

  It was past midnight by the time we finished, and once it was done, Hircine showed up again, not as a stag, but as Sinding in human form!

  He said I did well, and that I should look more closely at the skin. Then he bid me good hunting, and left.

  The cursed ring disappeared from my hand, and the skin transformed into a piece of enchanted armor. It looks a bit like fur armor, but with a metal breastplate with the face of a wolf on it.

  It's late, so we came back here, to the campsite at the entrance of the cave. There's plenty of bed rolls already here, with tents and a nice fire. No sense in setting all of our stuff up, so I got out the cookpot to make dinner while Lydia and Valdimar helped Erandur with the dead.

  There's too many of them to bury, so they just laid them out carefully and Erandur said a few words for them. They buried Sinding, though. With the state his body was in, after… All that, we didn't want it attracting wolves or anything bigger.

  Dinner was quiet. I can tell no one feels good about what we've done, and it seems to really be bothering Erandur.

  I know he wanted to help Sinding, one way or another, but having things go down the way they did, just…

  It feels bad.

  Maybe the hunters would leave him alone after a while, but this place is right off the main road! There was a traveler walking by as we first came in. What would happen if someone stopped in here to take refuge from a storm? Or adventurers like us just poked their heads in to see what they could find? Would it be too much for him?

  Maybe it is better this way. I don't know. I could just be trying to make myself feel better.

  Either way, the Hunt's over for now. Hircine's gonna have to find himself another plaything. I'm putting this armor in a chest as soon as we get back home.

  Damned Daedra. I wish they'd leave us alone.

  Anyway, my watch is nearly done. I'm dead tired, but I don't know if I can sleep.

  Here's hoping.

  We're in Fort Greymoor tonight, not far from Whiterun.

  And I think the older lady we saw lives here?

  Anyway, today was pretty quiet before we got here.

  We woke up in Bloated Man's Grotto, and over breakfast I confirmed that none of us slept that well. Too many thoughts about what happened yesterday.

  Fortunately, food, sunlight and the sounds of birds and water did wonders for our mood. In the light of day the grotto looks almost magical, with the waterfalls and flowers and trees. Septim was chasing butterflies.

  I decided to go through the place one more time to make sure I didn't miss anything. I know places like this can have chests stashed here and there.

  I'm glad I did! I found several chests, each with some nice things in them, along with the gold and such from the dead hunters.

  I have a feeling the others wanted to say something about that, but we all know they won't be needing it.

  Anyway, I found one chest by a pile of hay in the bit of ruins in there. It looks like this is where Sinding was sleeping.

  The more I think about it, the more I feel like we did the right thing. Sure, the grotto is nice and peaceful, but sooner or later he was going to run out of food in there to hunt, and then what?

  The plains outside are full of game, but they're also full of travelers and adventurers. It would only be a matter of time before we heard of a werewolf stalking the plains.

  Hell, I'd probably be called back to Whiterun to handle it!

  We left the grotto, and followed the short path down to the road to Whiterun. The walk was easy, but I saw something familiar.

  Those puzzle stones from a week or two (?) ago!

  There were no giants around this time, so I went up and decided to give it another shot. I looked around and eventually - I think it took an hour - I found the last symbol.

  Of course, I felt like an idiot when I found it. The symbol was literally on the back on the standing stone the spinning pillar was next to. I went to apologize to the others for being so stupid, but they burst out laughing. Turns out, they'd found it fairly quickly, but had been taking bets about when I'd finally look up and see it.

  It's not my fault I'm short! It was literally over my head!

  Lydia's 10 septims richer.

  Anyway, I set the last pillar to the Whale, and turned the handle.

  Nothing.

  We double-checked the pillars and the key stones, and tried again.

  Still nothing.

  I tried for a full hour at least - probably more - until the Giants came wandering back and we had to leave.

  UGH! It's so frustrating! I know I'm right, but it's still not working!

  Maybe it's just broken? It is pretty exposed out there on the plain, and who knows how old it is.

  Still, it bothers me. I think next time we're around there I'll try again.

  We went back to the road and headed towards Whiterun. Along the way, we saw a Giant walking towards us on the road, leading a cow painted with swirling blue paint. There was a trio of adventurers ahead of us, and they just walked by the Giant like they would any other traveler.

  I asked the others if that was all right, and Valdimar said he'd done the same thing in the past. So long as we didn't have our weapons out, we'd probably be fine.

  I made sure Septim stayed next to me, and we walked past the Giant.

  He looked down at us, and I gave him a polite nod as we passed each other.

  Mara's tits, I thought I was gonna faint! It was amazing being so close to him, but terrifying! I could feel the ground shake under his steps!

  I hadn't realized I'd been holding my breath until we were well past the giant, and from the sounds I heard behind me, I wasn't the only one.

  Ahead of us I could see the three adventurers pull out their weapons when they got near Fort Greymoor, then run up to the main gate.

  The bandits must have found new archers sine we were there last.

  We decided to help them and ran forward, weapons and spells at the ready.

  There were only four bandits, and when they were dead the adventurers left.

  Why do they always leave the loot behind? They didn't even check them over for gold!

  As we searched the courtyard and the walls of the fort, I asked the others if they wanted to just clear this place out, or stop and head to Whiterun? It would be too late to do any trading or talk with Danica by the time we'd get there, and we did still have room on us for more goods.

  Valdimar shrugged, and said why not? At the very least, there was probably a fire in there we could cook a warm dinner at.

  He had a good point, so we went into the Fort.

  At first glance it looked like every other bandit-infested keep we've come across. A pair of bandits here and there, lots of bottles of mead, occasional coins and food laying on tables… Nothing too special, until we got to -

  You know, I honestly have no idea what happened in that room, and I don't want to know.

  There was a huge cage, and inside were two bodies, scorched and burned beyond recognition.

  I could smell the burnt flesh and hair before we even turned the corner, and I'd hoped that maybe my nose was fooling me.

  When my eyes confirmed it, I ducked back out of the room and flattened myself against the wall by the open archway. Septim was growling at the cage. I think he's learned what sets me off. The others looked in the room, and understood.

  I was able to shake away the screams, but that smell was just too much. I felt like it was everywhere!

  The only way forward was through that room, and Valdimar had an idea. He had me close my eyes, and hold the end of Erandur's fur scarf over my face. I heard Lydia go first, and Erandur put his arm around my shoulders to guide me past… Whatever that was.

  I realized why Valdimar had suggested I use the end of Erandur's scarf, instead of pulling up the mantle of my robe. His scarf smells like whatever it is he uses on his hair, and it completely covered up that horrible stink.

  And, well… It feels silly to admit this, but that smell makes me feel safe. Like how the oil Lydia uses on her armor's soaked into her hands to the point where it even gets in my hair when she braids it sometimes, or how Valdimar always smells like a campfire and pine.

  Anyway, they told me to open my eyes when we got to a staircase leading down. There was a tripwire trap and some bear traps (no prizes to guess how I found those) along with dead skeevers. We came to a food cellar, and managed to get a bunch of supplies before we kept going.

  We found stairs going back up, and arrived at a kitchen area, with a closed door to one side. The door opened, and a bandit came out to attack us. We killed him, and when I went to investigate the room he came out of, I found an older Nord woman laying in bed, asleep.

  I looked around quickly before I left and quietly closed the door behind me. It was clearly her bedroom!

  I told the others what I'd seen, and we looked again at the bandit at our feet. He was a young man, with long blond hair.

  Lydia asked if I thought he'd been in bed with her.

  Given his half-dressed state and the fact I hadn't seen any other place for him to sleep in there, where else could he have been? I mean, it was a smaller bed, so they couldn't have been just sharing it.

  Oops.

  Lydia couldn't hide the smile in her voice when she asked if I was sure the lady was older?

  I told her she looked about twice his age. Good for her!

  Valdimar nodded approvingly at the dead man. He said he understood the appeal.

  Erandur looked at the bandit and asked if Valdimar was talking about the man or the woman?

  "Older lovers," he said, "They have more experience!" And then he elbowed Erandur in the arm and laughed.

  Lydia and I were giggling too, and Erandur started to blush. He shushed us and said we shouldn't wake her, then we went on our way.

  The Fort is a bit confusing, but we did end up getting back outside, and decided to check out the prison area. It was late, but we hadn't found any sleeping areas to bed down in.

  The prison wasn't that big. There was a large, round room where we came in with a cage and a dead prisoner, then a spiral staircase guarded by a bandit leading down to a long hallway lined with cells on both sides. None of the prisoners had survived, sadly, and at the end of the hall there was a bend. We could hear someone talking to themselves just around the corner.

  I summoned my Atronach right at the bend, and a bandit mage came out to attack us. He wasn't hard to get rid of, though. He'd been working on a dead troll laying on a table there. Probably getting alchemical ingredients. There was a chest with some things in it, along with a locked cabinet full of nasty poisons and one health potion.

  Those should come in handy!

  With the place cleared out, we debated sleeping in the cells, but decided against it. We came back here, to the first room we saw, and laid out our bedrolls.

  We're keeping watch in case there's anyone we missed, but I think we're all right. This place is well- stocked, and there was plenty of food around without us having to cook anything. It was too late to do much of anything once we were done with dinner, so we bid each other good night, and I got settled here at a table with this thing.

  Septim's keeping my bedroll warm for me.

  Maybe it's the Black-Briar mead I found, but I can't help but wonder some things. Lydia and I haven't had much chance to talk lately, but I have some suspicions. I don't want to put anything down on paper until I've had a chance to prove it, though.

  I don't know how I'll prove it. I could just be blunt, but I'll ask Lydia and see what she thinks. She might already have the answer!

  Oh, well. I'll ask her later. She's usually grumpy when I wake her up for her watch.

  We're spending tonight in Breezehome, and it's too crowded in here!

  We have an unexpected house guest, but I found a cot folded up in the cellar he can use.

  At least tomorrow morning should be better than this one.

  This morning Agnis, the lady who lives in the fort, roused us by jabbing at us with her broom handle, then gave us all an earful for making a mess!

  She's the caretaker of Fort Greymoor, and doesn't give a skeever's ass who runs the place. She just cooks and makes sure it's clean, and expects whoever's in it to not make her job any harder than it already is.

  This explains the neat stacks of plates and well-organized cutlery in the kitchen.

  We got up and apologized profusely, then said we'd help her clean. She ordered "all you armored boneheads" to take care of the bodies - she directed them to an unused cistern to dump them in - and handed me a mop to "clean up what you spilt."

  I haven't been yelled at like that since I was in the orphanage, but it was like a switch went off my head!

  At least I wasn't alone. We all snapped to attention and did as we were told, with a lot of "Yes, ma'am"s and scurrying about. Septim wisely made himself scarce.

  I apologized for what happened to her "companion" but she didn't really care. She said it wasn't the first time that happened, and probably wouldn't be the last!

  Agnis was in a much better mood once the place was cleared up, and had made us a hearty breakfast while we worked. She asked if we intended to set up there, and we declined.

  She was fine with that, and wished us good luck as we left.

  With the exception of an overly-ambitious thief who thought she could rob us, the way back to Whiterun was quiet. It was about noon when we got there, and I went straight to Adrienne to do some trading. It took longer than I expected, but she was chatty and took some time to admire Lydia's new armor.

  After that, we came here to get some lunch and drop off what I'm not going to sell today. We made our way through the market, then to the Temple of Kynareth to find Danica.

  The Temple of Kynareth is beautiful, but mostly full of wounded soldiers. As soon as Erandur saw the state of things, he put his hand over his heart and went to speak with a tall man in monk robes who was carefully taking off a soldier's armor so he could treat him. Valdimar went to follow him, and gestured for Lydia to come, too.

  I knew Erandur would rush to help the people there as soon as he could, and while Valdimar's not great at Healing magic, he can help in other ways. Looking back, I have the feeling that Lydia was overwhelmed by all the suffering in front of her. I can't blame her. How Danica and her healers manage to do it day after day is a mystery to me.

  I found Danica arguing with a dark-haired man, a Breton, over at the the shrine.

  The man, Maurice Jondrelle, is our house guest tonight.

  He's a pilgrim, who "follows the voice of Kynareth" and came here to Whiterun to see the Gildergreen. He's upset at the state of it, and was wondering how Danica could let it stay like it is.

  She explained that with the war, she and her people were flooded with soldiers and innocent people who got caught up in the battles. With her normal load of illnesses and such on top of that, she barely had time to eat or sleep, much less tend to the Gildergreen.

  I interrupted their argument by saying I had Nettlebane, and Danica was shocked. She honestly didn't expect me to come back (survive, it felt like) but was glad that I'd kept my word. She asked if we would be willing to get sap from the Eldergleam for her, and I didn't even have to answer. I just gestured to my friends.

  Danica's eyes got wide when she saw that she suddenly had three more people tending to the wounded. Even Septim was doing his part; he'd plopped down by a wounded man, who was now scratching his ears.

  I offered to do some Healing, too, and she gratefully accepted before marking the Eldergleam Sanctuary on my map.

  I took over for Erandur, who said he'd be back with some potions, and while I worked on a soldier's arrow wound, Maurice came up to talk with me.

  He said he'd always wanted to worship at the Eldergleam, and asked if he could come with us. I was hesitant, but agreed to let him tag along so long as he didn't get in the way, and could make himself useful at the Temple until we left.

  I have a sneaking suspicion that if I didn't take him with us he'd just hang around the Temple and drive Danica mad with his complaining.

  It was a long day at the Temple, and we didn't leave until nightfall. Lydia learned how to properly remove an arrow, but I thought Maurice was going to faint when Valdimar had him help change bandages. He mostly ran supplies back and forth and made sure everyone had water, but that alone was a big help.

  Erandur came back with a small box full of potions, and explained them to Danica and her healers. He told me later he'd made a nice selection for them. A handful for Health and to Cure, obviously, but half of them were to help people sleep. He'd also thrown in a few to stop the spread of poison, and some for the healers to Restore Magicka in case of an emergency.

  When we were finished, Danica thanked us once again for all our help, and we left for here.

  Erandur gave me A Look, so I invited Maurice to spend the night with us. He was grateful to have a free bed for the night, and promised to cook us dinner.

  I'll give credit where credit is due - Maurice is an amazing cook!

  As for being good company, all he did was complain about how we're wasting time, and how annoyed he is that Danica "let" the tree die. Never mind it was struck by lightning! Erandur tried to reason with him, but it was no use.

  I wanted no part of it, so I left for the alchemy lab in the side room.

  Erandur glowered and said, "My Lady is testing me," when he escaped his conversation with Maurice to "help me" with some alchemy. I had to needle him a bit for having me invite him to stay for the night. I was just going to give Maurice some coins so he could get a room at The Bannered Mare!

  You know, I wasn't even mixing anything, just moving things around and making noise.

  Valdimar saved us all from more of the pilgrim's nonsense by saying that we should turn in early. We had a long way to go, and he wasn't lying. The Sanctuary is in Eastmarch, a little bit north of Darkwater Crossing. We could probably get there by nightfall tomorrow, if we hurried.

  Maurice was excited at the prospect of seeing the Eldergleam so soon, and he eagerly set up his bedroll on the cot. I'd brought it up to the main room so he'd get some warmth from the fire. Hopefully a comfortable night's sleep will make him less annoying tomorrow.

  The others are upstairs in their rooms, and I grabbed myself a bottle of wine to drink while I write.

  Thank Kynareth her man doesn't snore. I think I'd just give up and go to The Bannered Mare if he did.

  I imagine Erandur saw a bit of a kindred spirit in Sinding, seeing as how both of them were heavily under the influence of the Daedra. At least he was able to make the choice to leave. Coming at it from the perspective of Bronwen, it was a hard quest to play.

  I really did spend that long in-game time trying to find that damned rock carving. AUGH!

  A half-naked Nord man really DID run out of Agnis's room! I can't think of any other reason for him to have been in there, can you? ^_^

  Yes, I did make the situation more dire inside the Temple of Kynareth, but with the way Danica talks, it feels like it should have been worse in there. The crew would obviously step in to help.And Maurice is annoying as hell, but I decided to give him the redeeming feature of being a good cook. At least he's sorta useful with that.