When my kids got out of school for the summer, I knew I wouldn't get much writing done until they went back. So, since I was kind of on a 'summer break' myself, I flipped on the PS3 about halfway through and dusted off one of my favorite games, Skyrim.
I spent about a month fiddling with different aspects of the game, restarted multiple times with different characters... to the point that everyone in the house (my three teenage kids, my wife, myself... hell, even the dog and 2 cats!) can now do the entire intro word for word. Though I'll admit, some of those restarts were merely to see the expressions on their faces when they heard for the hundredth or so time:
I spent about a month fiddling with different aspects of the game, restarted multiple times with different characters... to the point that everyone in the house (my three teenage kids, my wife, myself... hell, even the dog and 2 cats!) can now do the entire intro word for word. Though I'll admit, some of those restarts were merely to see the expressions on their faces when they heard for the hundredth or so time:
"Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm."
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| "What the... what was that?" "It's nothing. One of the guards in the tower is constipated, that's all. Carry on." |
I'm not going to repeat the whole intro because you get the idea. Oh, but I will say that the captions under the pics are NOT actual gameplay dialogue... that's just my warped sense of humor hard at work, and the pics help break up the writing a bit. Plus, it's fun to come up with crazy, humorous captions! Just thought I'd better make that clear! ;)
I watched a lot of YouTube videos as well, looking for tips and such, since I hadn't played the game in quite some time and was a bit rusty. And of course, part of the reason I started playing it again is because the re-mastered version of Skyrim is coming out soon for PS4 and Xbox One. I'm sure when it comes out I'll go buy it and start again. Ahh, the excitement within the wife and kids must be overwhelming... *grin*
"Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm..."
A lot of those vids were either old tips that no longer worked due to patches making them obsolete (who remembers the old smithing 1000 iron daggers!?), or were things that I stay away from - like the invisible Khajiit chest trick in Dawnstar.
Now, as I am a writer, I figured, why not do more than just list the tips for Skyrim that I wanted to share? Why not make it fun? Since my job is to entertain readers, I thought I'd share the tips by doing a bit of storytelling to bring them to you.
Now, as I am a writer, I figured, why not do more than just list the tips for Skyrim that I wanted to share? Why not make it fun? Since my job is to entertain readers, I thought I'd share the tips by doing a bit of storytelling to bring them to you.
We'll be following along with Kylie, one of the characters from my fantasy series. Go ahead, smirk if you want, but having kickass female characters in leading roles is kind of my thing in all of my books, so most of the characters I create when I play Skyrim tend to be female. Not always, but most of the time.
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| Some of the kickass women from my books. From left to right: Jenna, Kylie, Celeste, and Kaly |
As one of my favorite characters from my fantasy series happens to be Kylie Destaine (though I love all these girls!), I thought it would be fun to pull Kylie out of Tal'Avern, drop her into Skyrim, and have her sort of 'live through' the tips I wanted to share. And before any of you ask, the answer is yes... under the hood, Kylie is a redhead with green eyes. Feel free to check out my official website (link is up top on the right) if you have no idea why I said that or are just curious - the answer is there, along with lots of other stuff.
With that being said, enough of an intro! Chapter One!
Chapter One
Welcome to Skyrim
"We probably shouldn't stick around in case he comes back," Ralof suggested. "My sister, Gerdur, runs the mill in Riverwood. I'm sure she'd help you out. It's probably best if we..."
Kylie was already sprinting down the dirt path and was out of earshot before he had finished his sentence. She'd never been one to tag along with others, and wasn't about to start now! Besides, she was still coming to grips with suddenly finding herself in an unfamiliar world. Plus, she didn't want to give Ralof a chance to recall some of the things after the dragon had attacked, just as the headsman was preparing to remove Kylie's head from her shoulders.
Reaching a stony road, Kylie stopped for a moment to catch her breath and placed a hand on her stomach as an ominous feeling that she was reliving a horrible nightmare sent a cold chill through her body.
There were dragons on her world. They hadn't been seen in over a thousand years, but then they'd come back. Kylie remembered the cold feeling that had gone through her the first time she'd seen one. It had felt as if her blood had turned to ice. She'd barely escaped with her life then, too.
While dragons were not new to her, it seemed that something similar was happening on this world. Ralof had said that dragons hadn't been seen in so long that they'd become nothing more than children's stories and legends, after all.
Kylie forced herself to calm down and collect her thoughts. First, what the hell had happened? She'd been having an ale and playing Elemental Dice, and then suddenly, everything vanished and she was practically naked! Her armor was gone, her weapons... all she was wearing was a dirty ragged shirt and pants, and she was sitting on a cart going down an unfamiliar road, with three men who she didn't know sitting in the cart with her! One of them had been gagged, and all of them - including her - had their hands bound.
She'd quickly discovered that none of the abilities she had been granted on her world worked on this one. If they had, she could have shadow walked away from the whole situation.
"No, I couldn't have," Kylie corrected herself, cursing under her breath. She'd been a Shadow Walker on her world - a human who was, in the most basic terms (though she and the others like her hated being referred to by it), an assassin who could travel through the shadows. But in order to do so, a Shadow Walker needed to be able to picture the destination in their mind.
She knew nothing about this world, other than the fact that when she had asked, one of the men in the cart had looked at her as if she were crazy, but said it was called Tamriel, and that she was in the land known as Skyrim, the home of the Nords.
None of that information helped her. She didn't know any of the landmarks or any places of interest that she could have focused on. And even if she did, Kylie had the sinking feeling that her shadow abilities had either been stripped away from her or were unable to be used on this world. She would have to adapt and get used to not having them to rely on.
"Oh gods, I'm going to have to walk everywhere!" she groaned.
The cart had stopped in a small town, where they had been told to get out. Then the list of names had started being called out, and the horrific realization had struck Kylie. She was about to be executed along with the others, even though no one knew who she was!
And then, by a stroke of luck, just as her turn came and she was forced to get down on her knees with her head resting on the chopping block, watching as the headsman raised his axe... a dragon had landed on top of a nearby tower and attacked.
Reaching a stony road, Kylie stopped for a moment to catch her breath and placed a hand on her stomach as an ominous feeling that she was reliving a horrible nightmare sent a cold chill through her body.
There were dragons on her world. They hadn't been seen in over a thousand years, but then they'd come back. Kylie remembered the cold feeling that had gone through her the first time she'd seen one. It had felt as if her blood had turned to ice. She'd barely escaped with her life then, too.
While dragons were not new to her, it seemed that something similar was happening on this world. Ralof had said that dragons hadn't been seen in so long that they'd become nothing more than children's stories and legends, after all.
Kylie forced herself to calm down and collect her thoughts. First, what the hell had happened? She'd been having an ale and playing Elemental Dice, and then suddenly, everything vanished and she was practically naked! Her armor was gone, her weapons... all she was wearing was a dirty ragged shirt and pants, and she was sitting on a cart going down an unfamiliar road, with three men who she didn't know sitting in the cart with her! One of them had been gagged, and all of them - including her - had their hands bound.
She'd quickly discovered that none of the abilities she had been granted on her world worked on this one. If they had, she could have shadow walked away from the whole situation.
"No, I couldn't have," Kylie corrected herself, cursing under her breath. She'd been a Shadow Walker on her world - a human who was, in the most basic terms (though she and the others like her hated being referred to by it), an assassin who could travel through the shadows. But in order to do so, a Shadow Walker needed to be able to picture the destination in their mind.
She knew nothing about this world, other than the fact that when she had asked, one of the men in the cart had looked at her as if she were crazy, but said it was called Tamriel, and that she was in the land known as Skyrim, the home of the Nords.
None of that information helped her. She didn't know any of the landmarks or any places of interest that she could have focused on. And even if she did, Kylie had the sinking feeling that her shadow abilities had either been stripped away from her or were unable to be used on this world. She would have to adapt and get used to not having them to rely on.
"Oh gods, I'm going to have to walk everywhere!" she groaned.
The cart had stopped in a small town, where they had been told to get out. Then the list of names had started being called out, and the horrific realization had struck Kylie. She was about to be executed along with the others, even though no one knew who she was!
And then, by a stroke of luck, just as her turn came and she was forced to get down on her knees with her head resting on the chopping block, watching as the headsman raised his axe... a dragon had landed on top of a nearby tower and attacked.
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| "Look out! The customer has assumed her ultimate form!" "Quick, get some Chicken Nuggets!" "But we don't serve them at 10:30 in the morning!" |
During the chaos that ensued, while the Imperial soldiers had their attention on the dragon, Kylie had bolted into another tower nearby, jumped out a window, and run through a good portion of what was left of the town before ducking into the keep. Ralof had been following close behind her and cut the ropes binding her hands.
Ropes. They'd all had their hands bound by ropes! It was such a crude thing to use! On her world, she would have had iron shackles placed around her wrists. And then a slight smile touched Kylie's lips. She glanced down at her chest as she remembered that one of the first things Jenna had taught her when they were both members of the Thieves' Den was to always keep a lockpick hidden where no man ever thought to check. Maybe that's why they use ropes instead of iron shackles on this world, Kylie thought, and returned to going over what had happened in her mind.
A few moments after Ralof had freed her hands, they had heard the sound of voices coming toward them from another hallway.
"It's the Imperials!" Ralof had hissed, and quickly ducked off to the side of a closed iron gate, with Kylie hiding on the other side across from him. When the gate dropped open, Kylie and Ralof had jumped out from where they were hiding and attacked.
Ropes. They'd all had their hands bound by ropes! It was such a crude thing to use! On her world, she would have had iron shackles placed around her wrists. And then a slight smile touched Kylie's lips. She glanced down at her chest as she remembered that one of the first things Jenna had taught her when they were both members of the Thieves' Den was to always keep a lockpick hidden where no man ever thought to check. Maybe that's why they use ropes instead of iron shackles on this world, Kylie thought, and returned to going over what had happened in her mind.
A few moments after Ralof had freed her hands, they had heard the sound of voices coming toward them from another hallway.
"It's the Imperials!" Ralof had hissed, and quickly ducked off to the side of a closed iron gate, with Kylie hiding on the other side across from him. When the gate dropped open, Kylie and Ralof had jumped out from where they were hiding and attacked.
She'd helped Ralof fight off the Imperial Officer and soldier who came through the gate, and thinking that maybe the Officer had a key to the locked door on the other side of the room, Kylie had searched her body. Sure enough, she found a key, which she'd quickly taken before her Stormcloak 'rescuer' noticed.
He'd been rather whiney after the fight was over, constantly looking at the locked door and asking if she'd found a key to unlock it. The multiple sneak attacks Kylie had done to him with the daggers she'd taken from the two Imperials before finally unlocking the door probably didn't help his mood, but it was a great way for her to practice her Sneaking! She probably could have done it as long as she'd wanted to, but one could only listen to the same question being asked over and over for so long.
They'd made it out of Helgen shortly after that without too much trouble, emerging back out into the open and completely free, just as the dragon who had unintentionally saved them from becoming several inches shorter flew past overhead, disappearing from sight a few moments later behind a distant mountain that looked like it had some kind of ruins on it. At that point, Kylie had taken off at a fast run, leaving Ralof talking to himself about his sister and her mill.
"Alright, done reminiscing," Kylie muttered. It hadn't helped much. She knew that she wasn't on Tal'Avern anymore. Who had taken her from there, and for what purpose, was a complete mystery. Without knowing who had done it or even how it had been done, she had no way to get back to Tal'Avern. But why her? Why bring her here?
Kylie sighed heavily. For whatever reason, she was on another world, in a land called Skyrim, where there was some kind of civil war going on. As if that weren't enough, on top of everything else, a dragon had returned, when none had been seen in like a thousand years.
And if there was one dragon, Kylie thought nervously, there was bound to be more, if anything like what had happened on her world was beginning on this one.
Noticing a trio of stones, Kylie hopped down from the rocks and went over to the standing stones. After studying each of them for a moment, she pressed her hand against the one with a depiction of a thief on it. At one time, that had been her profession, after all. She was no warrior, and she was certainly no mage. As she did, Kylie felt a surge of power go into her.
"I'll take that as a good sign," she said, nodding in satisfaction. "I need all the positivity I can get."
She had no idea where she was, but until she found some way to get back to her own world, Kylie grudgingly gave in to the fact that she was stuck in this one. But maybe she was looking at it the wrong way. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. She had a unique opportunity in front of her, after all. She could change professions, do things she'd never had a chance to do, and expand her skills.
Kylie sighed heavily. For whatever reason, she was on another world, in a land called Skyrim, where there was some kind of civil war going on. As if that weren't enough, on top of everything else, a dragon had returned, when none had been seen in like a thousand years.
And if there was one dragon, Kylie thought nervously, there was bound to be more, if anything like what had happened on her world was beginning on this one.
Noticing a trio of stones, Kylie hopped down from the rocks and went over to the standing stones. After studying each of them for a moment, she pressed her hand against the one with a depiction of a thief on it. At one time, that had been her profession, after all. She was no warrior, and she was certainly no mage. As she did, Kylie felt a surge of power go into her.
"I'll take that as a good sign," she said, nodding in satisfaction. "I need all the positivity I can get."
She had no idea where she was, but until she found some way to get back to her own world, Kylie grudgingly gave in to the fact that she was stuck in this one. But maybe she was looking at it the wrong way. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. She had a unique opportunity in front of her, after all. She could change professions, do things she'd never had a chance to do, and expand her skills.
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| A Thief, a Mage, and a Warrior walked into a bar... Whoever the fourth one was, ducked. Probably why it's not there. ;) |
"First things first though," she muttered, taking a quick look at the various plants and flowers that dotted the side the of the road around her. "I need money."
As a Shadow Walker, one of the things she'd had to rely on (on more than one occasion) were healing potions, so she knew a bit about alchemy - enough at least to know that a few easily obtained ingredients could make potions and poisons that would sell for more than enough to make it easy to do whatever she wanted. That could backfire, her inner voice cautioned. The ingredients which mixed into a healing potion on Tal'Avern might blow up in her face on Tamriel!
Seeing the small village in the distance, Kylie starting making her way toward it, but then paused when she came across a crude, boarded path on the right. Curious, she stepped off the road and made her way up the small hill.
Kylie had no idea who the man standing outside what appeared to be the entrance to a small mine was. But when he came at her with a sword in one hand and a shield held in the other, she wasn't really concerned with who he was.
Maybe he thinks I'm one of those Imperial soldiers, Kylie thought as he rushed at her, shouting some cheesy line about how she would be so much easier to rob when she was dead. Well, she was wearing some of the gear she'd 'acquired' during her escape from that town. It was better than walking around in those thin, dirty clothes she'd found herself wearing when she'd initially appeared on the cart, though. What had the name of that town been? Holgen? Halga?
"Helgen," she muttered, hoping to shut up the curious voice in her head that continued to wonder where she was and how she got there long enough to take care of the immediate threat that had started swinging his sword at her.
The man was nothing more than a thug, a bandit... something like that. It didn't matter, regardless. He was trying to kill her, and Kylie had no intention of letting that happen.
She'd picked up a few other choice items during her escape as well, after all. Like the swords she gripped, one in each hand. Daggers had their place - they were great for sneak attacks, but swords had a better reach and could do more damage when stealth attacks weren't an option. Besides, she'd always preferred to use a sword in each hand.
"Helgen," she muttered, hoping to shut up the curious voice in her head that continued to wonder where she was and how she got there long enough to take care of the immediate threat that had started swinging his sword at her.
The man was nothing more than a thug, a bandit... something like that. It didn't matter, regardless. He was trying to kill her, and Kylie had no intention of letting that happen.
She'd picked up a few other choice items during her escape as well, after all. Like the swords she gripped, one in each hand. Daggers had their place - they were great for sneak attacks, but swords had a better reach and could do more damage when stealth attacks weren't an option. Besides, she'd always preferred to use a sword in each hand.
The fight was short. For all his threats, the bandit went down easily. Kylie stood there for a minute, chewing her lower lip and looking at the broken sign near the entrance which read 'Embershard Mine' as she considered whether or not to check it out.
"Nah, I'll save it for another day," Kylie decided, ignoring the inner voice in her head that was attempting to persuade her to go into the mine. She could learn the Smithing skill and become a master blacksmith on this world!
It was a tempting suggestion, Kylie had to admit. Blacksmithing was certainly a lucrative profession on her world, after all. It stood to reason that it was no different on this one. Probably even more so, what with the civil war that was apparently going on in Skyrim.
It was a tempting suggestion, Kylie had to admit. Blacksmithing was certainly a lucrative profession on her world, after all. It stood to reason that it was no different on this one. Probably even more so, what with the civil war that was apparently going on in Skyrim.
With a shake of her head, Kylie set the idea aside... at least for now. She had a feeling there would be a reason why she didn't take advantage of the ore that was certainly inside the mine right away - even if it didn't seem apparent at that particular moment.
She headed back in the direction of the nearby village, taking down a trio of wolves along the way. Their pelts would be useful in crafting some decent leather armor. With what she was wearing at the moment, she looked like a damn Imperial soldier, and that was the last impression she wanted to give - especially since there were certainly Stormcloak supporters in the village. Ralof was a Stormcloak, and he did say his sister ran the mill, after all. At any rate, Kylie knew she needed to rectify her appearance problem, and quickly.
Upon entering the small village, Kylie was approached almost immediately by a man who called himself Sven. He mentioned an elf named Faendal that worked at the nearby mill, and that the two of them both had a thing for a certain girl in the village named Camilla, who helped her brother at the general goods store.
After boasting that he was the better man, so Camilla couldn't possibly be interested in the elf, a nervous look crossed Sven's face for a moment. Quickly regaining his composure, he gave Kylie a fake letter he'd written and asked her to give it to Camilla, but to say that it was from Faendal. Before Kylie could object, Sven flicked his hair, stuck his nose up in the air as if he was certain that Kylie wanted him, just like every other woman in the village, and walked away.
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| "Every woman in this village wants me!" "Yeah, because a grown man who still lives with his mother in a one room house is such a turn-on, Sven!" |
If there was one thing Kylie hated, it was men like Sven. She took a single step toward him and stopped, resisting the temptation to call him back over, bury her swords in his chest, and whisper "Justice has been served" into his ear as his dying breath gasped out. That had been the Shadow Walker way, and on this world she didn't have the shadow realm in her corner. So she would do the next best thing.
Since she had to get rid of the things she'd collected during her escape and knew the general goods store would certainly buy them, Kylie made her way over to the store, deciding to take care of two birds with one arrow.
When she stepped inside, Kylie didn't bother to ask about the theft that had taken place there recently, which the shopkeeper and a young woman who she guessed was Camila were arguing about. Kylie unloaded her gear, getting a meager amount of coin for all of it, but not worrying too much about that. She would be swimming in gold soon enough, after all.
"Are you Camilla?" she asked, glancing at the girl, who gave her a surprised look.
"Why, yes I am."
"Here," Kylie said, holding out the fake letter to Camilla. "Some jackass named Sven wanted me to give you this letter he wrote, but say it was from Faendal."
As Camilla opened up the letter and began to read, one hand flew up to her mouth and her eyes grew wide.
"Sven wanted me to think Faendal wrote this?" she asked Kylie in disbelief when she had finished reading the letter. "I don't... I... thank you for telling me the truth. Would you let Faendal know about this? I'm sure he'll want to thank you as well for standing up for him."
"Oh, I wasn't standing up for Faendal," Kylie replied easily with a casual shrug. "I've never even met him. But Sven is a stuck up asshat who thinks he's the gods' gift to women. I got the distinct impression that he expects every woman to swoon over him and do anything he wants. What better way to deflate his ego than to do the exact opposite of what he asked me to do and tell you the truth instead of lie? If I do see him though, I'll let the elf know that you've chosen his dagger over Sven's... so to speak."
Camilla blushed furiously, focused her attention on the floor, and then walked quickly across the small room to a nearby table and sat down as Kylie opened the door and headed back outside.
The day was already starting to wane by then, and Kylie was still walking around looking like an Imperial soldier. She needed to change that, and then concentrate on getting some serious cash in her pouch and maybe even think about finding a permanent place to live, in case there wasn't any way for her to return to Tal'Avern. Better to not get her hopes up and be pleasantly surprised rather than expect to get home and end up being disappointed, she thought.
After talking to Faendal, who gratefully befriended her for helping him, Kylie set about her tasks. The first thing was to ask Faendal if he would trade some things with her. He would have given her everything he had, but after a quick look at what he was carrying, the only thing she asked for was the key to his house, which he was more than happy to give to her.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Kylie warned him, seeing the hopeful light in the elf's eyes, which quickly faded away. When he nodded in disappointed understanding and pointed in the direction of his house, Kylie took her leave and headed off in that direction.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Kylie warned him, seeing the hopeful light in the elf's eyes, which quickly faded away. When he nodded in disappointed understanding and pointed in the direction of his house, Kylie took her leave and headed off in that direction.
As soon as she entered, Kylie saw that her guess of Faendal doing some occasional hunting had been correct as she caught sight of a few Sabre Cat pelts on a shelf to her left. Along with the wolf pelts she already had, it would be more than enough to make herself some decent leather armor.
After grabbing the armor and weapons that were sitting on a nearby table to sell (except the Hunting Bow, which she decided to keep for herself), and going through a few chests the elf had in the house, Kylie headed back to the mill and gave the key back to Faendal.
"Could you show me a few tricks with the bow?" Kylie asked, thinking that being good with a bow might come in handy.
"Certainly! I'll show you what I know... for a small price," Faendal replied happily, and began instructing her with some basic Archery tips. With each trick however, Kylie's gold supply went down. And she didn't have much to begin with.
"Um... could I trade a few more things with you?" Kylie asked hesitantly when she realized she had given Faendal almost all of her gold.
"What would you like?"
"Well, I could use that," Kylie answered, pointing to the bulging coin pouch on his belt where he'd put all of the gold she had given to him so far.
Gods, if he's stupid enough to fall for it, she thought...
As Faendal handed it to her, Kylie did her best to keep a straight face. Apparently he was that stupid.
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| "People say that I must be related to Patrick Star. I think that's a made-up name, because it sounds fishy." *BA-DA-BAAA!* |
Faendal's knowledge in Archery was limited, and Kylie knew that there was only so much he could teach her. But with a bit of patience, she could learn every trick he had to teach and not pay a single gold for it. Perhaps the gods would wise up to Faendal's ignorance at some point and enlighten him enough so that he wouldn't 'trade' back the gold that people gave to him for his Archery tips, but such was not the case right now!
After telling him that she had some things to do and he didn't need to follow her around, Kylie headed over to the blacksmith. With the pelts she had, Kylie used the blacksmith's tanning rack and nearby forge to craft some Leather Armor, Boots, and Bracers, sighing with relief when she put it on. Her newly crafted armor was not only a little bit more protective, it looked better.
She had enough leather left over to craft a helm as well, but she decided not to. After all, cuteness over protection, she'd heard someone say once!
By the time she was done, it had grown dark. Since the blacksmith had stopped working for the day, Kylie walked across the street, seeing the glow of candlelight from the windows of the general store. Despite how late it was, the door was unlocked. Apparently, the owner couldn't sleep, having been robbed of whatever it was that Kylie had heard him and his sister arguing about the first time she had gone in.
Feeling a twang of guilt as he gave her a bit of gold for the Imperial gear she had previously been wearing, Kylie asked him what had been stolen.
"An ornament, in the shape of a claw. Pure gold," the shopkeeper replied dejectedly. Her conscious getting the better of her, Kylie sighed.
"I could try and get it back for you," she offered. "Do you know where they went?"
The shopkeeper instantly perked up, while Camilla stood up from the table and insisted on showing Kylie where the thieves had gone, despite her brother's objections.
Kylie followed her outside and past the nearby inn to a bridge at the far end of the village, where Camila pointed to some arched stone ruins in the distance that Kylie recognized as the same ones she had seen the dragon fly over before she'd lost sight of it.
"They went up there, to Bleak Falls Barrow," Camilla said. "I saw one of the thieves point up to it and tell the others that was where they needed to go, now that they had the claw, but I don't know what he meant by that."
Kylie nodded. After promising to head up there, find the thieves, and get the claw back, she turned around and headed back to the inn they had passed by. Her eyes were getting heavy, and nothing sounded better at that moment than a good night's sleep.
When she walked in, Kylie caught sight of Sven out of the corner of her eye but pretended not to notice the baleful look he gave her. Apparently, he'd heard about the letter incident, she thought.
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| "What was I thinking? I mean, he still lives with his mother, his singing really isn't that great, and... is he wearing a dress?!?!" |
"Serves you right," Kylie muttered under her breath, refusing to meet his glare as she walked over to the bar where the innkeeper was and paid for a night's lodging.
Shutting the door to the room she was shown to, Kylie went over to the bed and fell down onto it gratefully, not even bothering to take off her newly crafted armor.
She'd been yanked away from her world and brought to one she doubted even Varik had heard of, where she'd come within a breath of having her head chopped off. She had survived a dragon's attack, and fought her way through Imperials, giant spiders, and bandits. She improved her Sneaking abilities along the way, met a few new people, and even learned some things about Archery which, thanks to choosing not to lie for Sven and then some 'trading' with Faendal, she didn't have to pay for. She'd crafted some decent looking leather armor that didn't make her look like an Imperial soldier or one of those Stormcloak rebels, and had even offered to get back some kind of golden claw that had been stolen from the owner of the Riverwood general store. All on her first day.
Turning onto her side, Kylie closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.
"Welcome to Skyrim," she mumbled.
Within a matter of minutes, Kylie had fallen into an exhausted sleep.
* * *
Tips in Chapter One:
1) Using Ralof (as high as you have patience for) to up your Sneaking. I usually stop at 40, enough to get the 3x sneak dmg with bows, but 50 nets 15x dmg with Daggers, for you assassins ;)
2) Holding off on mining (for now). Believe me, there's a reason!!!
3) Using Faendal (up to 50) to up your Archery and not paying a single gold for it
1) Using Ralof (as high as you have patience for) to up your Sneaking. I usually stop at 40, enough to get the 3x sneak dmg with bows, but 50 nets 15x dmg with Daggers, for you assassins ;)
2) Holding off on mining (for now). Believe me, there's a reason!!!
3) Using Faendal (up to 50) to up your Archery and not paying a single gold for it
