#( not saying harkon was right but i understand him going on about the tyranny of the sun hsjshsh )

[endawn]

pax casually asking any traveling companions if they could find someplace with shade to rest but not pushing the issue if dismissed or not having the time is really underselling the fact that—

[happywitch416]

Chapter 17

Elena was bent over her knees panting heavily when Valerica approached her. “Forgive my astonishment, but I never thought I'd witness the death of that dragon.”

Elena straightened, eyeing the skeletons littering the ground. She would never be able to convince herself that a pile of bones was harmless again, having watched so many of them get back up and walk. Repeatedly. “What makes you say that?”

“Volumes written on Durnehviir allege that he can't be slain by normal means. It appears they were mistaken. Unless...” She was quiet for a moment and Elena held a baited breath. “The soul of a dragon is as resilient as its owner's scaly hide. It's possible that your killing blow merely displaced Durnehviir's physical form while he reconstitutes himself.”

Elena’s sigh of relief was marred by a scowl. “How long will that take?” A dragon bent on vengeance was not what she wanted chasing them back to the stairs.

 Valerica shrugged. “Minutes? Hours? Years? I can't even begin to guess. I suggest we don't wait around to find out. Now, let's get your Elder Scroll and you can be on your way.” She motioned for them to follow her. Serana’s fingers gently squeezed her shoulder, startling Elena into movement.

The alcove she led them to was neat, even with its piles of alchemical ingredients and books. Valerica opened a chest and pulled out a scroll, heavier than it appeared to be. “That's it. That's the second scroll.” Serana said softly, her voice filled with awe. 

Valerica was staring at the storming sky. “Now that you've retrieved the Elder Scroll, you should be on your way. If there's anything I can do before you depart, you must let me know.”

Serana stared at her mother her eyes wide with disbelief, as Elena spoke, her tone incredulous. “You're staying here?”

She gave them a sad smile. “I have no choice. As I told you before, I'm a Daughter of Coldharbour. If I return to Tamriel, that increases Harkon's likelihood of bringing the Tyranny of the Sun to fruition.”

They both nodded. “We'll return for you when we can.” Elena extended the offer, more out of habit then suddenly deciding she liked the woman. Some words need a bit more time to mellow on the heart, but no one deserved to be stuck here.

“I appreciate your concern for me, but Serana is all I care about. You must keep her safe at all costs.” She took Elena’s hands in her own with a soft shake. “And promise me you'll keep my daughter safe. She's the only thing of value I have left.” At Elena’s nod a soft sigh left her. “After what I've put Serana through, I would understand if she never wished to see me again.” She turned to her daughter. “I leave that decision in your hands, Serana. Remember that Harkon is not to be trusted. No matter what he promises, he'll deceive you in order to get what he wants.” She shooed them into the courtyard. “Farewell.”

They started across the courtyard and once they were across Serana finally looked back. “I'm glad we found the scroll, but I, I wish she could come with us.”

Elena gave her a small push. “Go. We can last a few more hours here.” Serana blinked a moment before she was back across the dead ground, enveloping her mother in a hug.

Chapter 18

"Stay your weapons. I would speak with you, Qahnaarin." 

Elena took a deep breath staring at the undead dragon as her heart pounded against her ribs, decided being polite was better than seeing how many arrows she could get in before he ate her. "Speak freely then, Dovah." She caught the look Serana shot her from the corner of her eye and resisted the urge to squirm.

"My claws have rendered the flesh of innumerable foes, but I have never once been felled on the field of battle. I therefore honor-name you Qahnaarin the Vanquisher, the one who has bested a fellow Dovah in battle." He bowed his great head.

“Fellow Dovah?” Elena flinched back a step, panicking. "I am not a dragon."

"Forgive me, my instinct was to grant you this title. I am uncertain why.” He studied her so intently, she knew he was lying. But he let her have her secret. “Perhaps one day it will become clear to both of us."

Her smile was a bit green as she rested her fist against her heart with a short bow. "I found you to be an equally worthy opponent."

 "Your words do me great honor. My desire to speak with you was born from the result of our battle, Qahnaarin. I merely wish to respectfully ask a favor of you." Elena nodded "For countless years I've roamed the Soul Cairn, in unintended service to the Ideal Masters. Before this, I roamed the skies above Tamriel. I desire to return there.”

"What do you need from me?” She was not sure they could get him through the portal, the problem was having a dragon in that tower. A short vision of it blasting apart made her nostrils flare.

"I fear that my time here has taken its toll upon me. I share a bond with this dreaded place. If I ventured far from the Soul Cairn, my strength would begin to wane until I was no more.” At her quizzical look he continued. "I will place my name with you and grant you the right to call my name from Tamriel. Do for me this simple honor and I will fight at your side as your Grah-Zeymahzin, your Ally, and teach you my Thu'um. I don't require an answer, Qahnaarin. Simply speak my name to the heavens when you feel the time is right." With that the great dragon rose into the dark lightning cracked sky, the rush of his wings blowing their hair. 

 Elena was quiet as they returned to the stairs, braid twisted about her fingers and her brows furrowed. "Are you sure you aren't a dragon?"

Serana flinched at the face Elena made, how ghastly pale she turned.  Elena didn't meet her eyes, but flipped the braid back over her shoulder, settled her bow against her back before answering sharply. "I think I would have noticed."

Serana reached out her hand, gentle on Elena's arm. "Elena?"

Elena took a long deep breath and shook her head before giving her a bright empty grin. "Its fine. Let’s get out of here."

 “Your mother wasn’t what I expected.” Elena said as she pulled her hood low over her brow. The sun was garish in its brightness as they stood on the balcony outside of her lab. The old ladder was still useable as she tossed it over the railing and watched it land on the sand below.

“What were you expecting?” Serana replied, relieved that Elena was speaking again.

“For her to be more like you.” Elena shook her head, trying to adjust the hood, her long braid escaping to settle between her shoulders under the cloak. She tugged it back out and twisted it into a bun. “I don’t see Harkon in you, so I figured you were like her.” She swung over the side of the rail and started down.

Serana was silent as they clambered down the ladder blowing in the ocean wind that whipped past them. “At one time we were.” Elena nodded as she caught Serana’s waist and steadied her the last few rungs to the ground. “Are you like your parents?”

Elena chuckled picking her way to their stowed away boat. “Ma has always served the Divines, started as a priestess of Dibella and ran an inn before joining the temple in Solitude. My pa was a skald before becoming a Vigilant. They met when he stopped to sing at her inn.”

Serana perked up. “Can you sing?”

Elena tipped back her head to give her an arched look from under her hood, grateful the sun was behind her. “I won’t make children cry.” Serana grinned as she sat in the boat. Elena’s smile flashed in the sun; the longer canines suited her Serana thought. Spoke of the steel in her bones. “Where do we go now?”

Elena shoved the boat into the water before hopping in and setting her oar against the sand to push them out. Serana thought a moment. “The college of Winterhold, if anyone else knows where an elder scroll would be, its them.”

Chapter 19

Getting into the mage’s college had been tedious. Elena had no gift of magic and had fought back a chuckle when the woman at the gate had tested Serana’s abilities. That chuckle escaped when Serana had hissed under her breath about being able to teach at the college if they hadn’t been so against necromancy.

The library was what finally got Elena’s attention. It was a comfortable, large room with locked shelves lining the walls, books piled on tables next to uncomfortable chairs. It was a scholars’ library, and she took a deep breath of its calming air before approaching the librarian, Urag. “Excuse me, I'm looking for an Elder Scroll.”

He didn’t look up from his book, but his tone said it all. “And what do you plan to do with it? Do you even know what you're asking about?”

She tapped her fingers on the wood. “Do you have one here?”

The book snapped shut. “You think even if I did have one here, I would let you see it? It would be kept under the highest security. The greatest thief in the world wouldn't be able to lay a finger on it.”

Elena grinned but decided to not question his delusions to the security of the college or inform him how many things her sister had found there. “Do you at least have any information on them? Because I need to find one and was told you could help.” She didn’t lay the sugar on too thick; flattery wouldn’t get her as far as being earnest with this one. A degree of honesty always made people more likely to help.

He sighed and got to his feet. “I don't know who told you that, but I'll do what I can. What we do have are plenty of books. I'll bring you everything we have on them, but it's not much. So, don't get your hopes up. It's mostly lies, leavened with rumor and conjecture.”

He pulled a book from the shelf nearest to them and handed it to her before heading to other shelves. Her eyes traced the font, the book was by Septimus Signus and it rang a bell in her mind. She delved into the pages and startled a bit when Urag set the stack of books he had found on to the counter. She nodded her thanks and piled them into her arms, the open Ruminations on top. She settled into one of the chairs and tried to find a position that poked the least. Serana grabbed a book and they set to reading.

Urag had lit the candles around them before they had finished the stack. Elena went back up to his counter and waved a book at him. “This "Ruminations" book is incomprehensible.”

He nodded. “Aye, that's the work of Septimus Signus. He's the world's master on the nature of Elder Scrolls, but...well. He's been gone for a long while. Too long.”

She settled her elbows on the counter. “Where did he go? Is he dead?”

“Oh no. I hope not. But even I haven't seen him in years.” He gave a shake of his head. “Became obsessed with the Dwemer. Took off north saying he had found some old artifact. Haven't seen him since.” At her expectant look he waved vaguely in that direction. “Somewhere in the ice fields, if you want to try and find him.”

Elena nodded. “Thank you for the help. Want us to put up the books?”

“No, I’ll never be able to find them again.”

Elena had been busy reading the spines of the books on the counter to be offended.  "Oh, you have the first volume of the Wolf Queen?" Serana raised her brows and Elena grinned, cheeks tinging pink. "Do you have spare copies for sale by chance?" The old orc sighed but took the money anyway.

She was still grinning as they went back across the bridge to Winterhold. “Did you learn anything new?”

Serana shook her head. “Just that those books are not used often judging by all the dust.”

Elena laughed. “Come on, we have ice fields to explore."

Chapter 20

Elena was thoroughly sick of the snow and wind by the time they had found the door in the iceberg. Some of Winterhold’s hunters had given them the direction, saying they had heard strange things and that a man sometimes traded with them for food. She pushed it open, surprised to find it unlocked and settled on to the balls of her feet. They heard someone speaking as the tunnel turned. “Dig, Dwemer, in the beyond. I'll know your lost unknown and rise to your depths. When the top level was built, no more could be placed. It was and is the maximal apex.”

They stared at the rambling old man before glancing at each other. Elena stood and called. “Are you Septimus?”

“Yes, yes.” He paced distractedly below them.

When he said nothing more she continued. “I heard you know about Elder Scrolls.”

He looked up at them and stared a moment, lost. “Elder Scrolls. Indeed. The Empire. They absconded with them.” He shook his finger with a grin as they came down the ramp to the room. “Or so they think. The ones they saw. The ones they thought they saw. I know of one. Forgotten. Sequestered. But I cannot go to it, no poor Septimus, for I, I have arisen beyond its grasp.”

“So, where is the Scroll?” Serana asked as they both continued to eye him warily.

“Here.” He waved his hand about him. “Well, here as in this plane. Mundus. Tamriel. Nearby, relatively speaking. On the cosmological scale, it's all nearby.”

Elena tugged at her braid, impatience clipping her speech. “Can you help us get the Elder Scroll or not?”

“One block lifts another. Septimus will give you what you want, but you must bring him something in return.” He pointed at Elena before turning to the giant dwarven object behind him raising both his hands. “You see this masterwork of the Dwemer. Deep inside their greatest knowings. Septimus is clever among men, but he is but an idiot child compared to the dullest of the Dwemer. Lucky then they left behind their own way of reading the Elder Scrolls. In the depths of Blackreach one yet lies. Have you heard of Blackreach?” Elena shifted, there wasn’t a treasure hunter in Skyrim that hadn’t heard of it. "Cast upon where Dwemer cities slept, the yearning spire hidden learnings kept. Under deep. Below the dark. The hidden keep. Tower Mzark. Alftand.” Elena nodded she was familiar with the places on a map at least. “The point of puncture, of first entry, of the tapping. Delve to its depths, and Blackreach lies just beyond. But not all can enter there. Only Septimus knows the hidden key to loosen the lock to jump beneath the deathly rock.”

“How do we get in?”

Septimus wandered to his cupboard. “Two things I have for you. Two shapes. One edged, one round. The round one, for tuning. Dwemer music is soft and subtle, and needed to open their cleverest gates. The edged lexicon, for inscribing. To us, a hunk of metal. To the Dwemer, a full library of knowings. But...empty.” He forced the sphere and the blank lexicon into her hands, hard enough that the edges bit into her skin. “Find Mzark and its sky-dome. The machinations there will read the scroll and lay the lore upon the cube. Trust Septimus. He knows you can know.”

She settled them into her pack, barely taking her eyes from the old man as he began to rock on his feet. “The sphere I understand, the Dwemer doors respond to music. But what do I do with this cube?”

Septimus’s eyes flashed. “To glimpse the world inside an Elder Scroll can damage the eyes. Or the mind, as it has to Septimus. The Dwemer found a loophole, as they always do. To focus the knowledge away and inside without harm. Place the lexicon into their contraption and focus the knowings into it. When it brims with glow, bring it back and Septimus can read once more.”

“What do you want with the Elder Scroll?” Serana asked, her eyes narrowing in on the old man.

“Ooooh, an observant one. How clever to ask of Septimus. This Dwemer lockbox. Look upon it and wonder. Inside is the heart. The heart of a god! The heart of you. And me. But it was hidden away. Not by the Dwarves, you see. They were already gone. Someone else. Unseen. Unknown. Found the heart, and with a flair for the ironical, used Dwarven trickery to lock it away. The Scroll will give the deep vision needed to open it. For not even the strongest machinations of the Dwemer can hold off the all-sight given by an Elder Scroll.”

Elena nodded, began backing up the way they had come. “Thank you and we will return with your cube.” For once, she absolutely did not mean it. No one needed a heart of a god, or whatever was in that thing.

Back out in the freezing snow, Serana deflated. “Another wild chase.”

Elena grinned. “Only a little. I know where the tower is.”

Serana brightened. “We can just walk in and take the scroll?”

Elena shook her head. “Knowing dwarven ruins, I will be wishing I hadn’t retired.”

A Warrior’s Heart Master List

[sleepymarmot]

Skyrim liveblog: more Dawnguard rage and even more mods

Oh great. I installed a mod that makes quivers compatible with backpacks, decided that the several day long modding session should be over and I can go back to playing... And then I noticed that Serana's stupid Elder Scroll is considered a quiver and now is attached to her butt too. Cue an hour in Creation Kit trying to make her a bow with an ES model to wear. She fucking wears that butt scroll even if I delete it from her inventory, and refuses to wear anything else, even when I add it to her fucking outfit. Why does that quiver mod affect her but mine doesn't?! Ugh. It's as if this character is in the game specifically to spite me. Fuck off.

Well, at least I looted some stuff! Finally found the fort with the Bound Bow spell tome. It's completely against the idea of the character, and it's not as strong as my normal bows, but fast and fun. Dwarven condenser (steam staff) still haven't tried.

"I've seen that dragon before" and by that I mean "I have subtitles on and know that name from the internet"

Hell yeah, I can wait before the next part! Aka give Serana a ride home.

Solitude

After 138 hours of playing, earning 100000 gold, and becoming a Thane in three holds, I finally reach the capital! Exciting!

Wow, imperials really like beheadings, don't they.

Whoa, what a fancy tavern!

I love how distinct the interior style is.

A dude walked up to me and started to talk about his "master" and madness. Sigh. It's going to be Sheogorath, isn't it? 

"Blessings of the Eight Divines" oh i see...

"We appreciate worship in all its forms" ha

And the temple is unlike anything I've seen before in the game, like the city in general.

---

Just as I was glad to see the final battle of a dungeon end, my stupid followers decided to attack each other and Serana fucking murdered Uthgerd. Fuck! You!!!

Can't find anything to activate a bridge, think that maybe this dungeon doesn't have a shortcut, use Clairvoyance and it leads me back the way I came, I can't proceed, google and turns out there is a lever I missed. What is even the point of this spell?!

Dawnguard

Finally I have reached the place of your imprisonment, poor Thorald! But first I must get rid of Serana.

Haha, she thanks you for leading her all this way here and apologizes that she'll have to go her own way after. Fine by me!

Btw, in hindsight it wasn't the best strategic decision to show an ancient and respected vampire the location of the secret vampire hunter fort... Whoops.

Harkon *turns into a gargoyle*: Don't you wanna be pretty like me??

---

Guess who showed no finesse whatsoever in this rescue operation and just slaughtered every Thalmor on her way?

I broke like a hundred lockpicks off these master locks, and the prisoners don't show any gratitude or even try to escape...

---

With a good stock of certain mushrooms and a set of 26% fortify alchemy armor, it took me ten minutes to grind from legendary 15 back to 80 points.

Whiterun

I have figured out the problem with my Lakeview interior: it's not Whiterun-ish enough. Not enough yellow and blue, too much red and dark brown. Now that I've been to Solitude, I see its influences on the Breezehome mod I'm using and it's starting to bother me, too. Where are my blue-yellow walls? The ivy is pretty but it's Solitude's style, not Whiterun's. Btw I miss the simple vanilla Whiterun rug design...

"Not here, I told you to meet me in Riverwood" What the fuck? I didn't even expect to see her here! I live here, you know! I'm a thane here, actually!

Hmm, I tried to replace one of the rugs in Lakeview with a Whiterun rug but it just doesn't fit in... I didn't even notice that I build a red-green-brown color scheme there!

Dawnguard

Aaaand the vampires found us. Which is clearly a part of the main plot and happens whether I took Serana here or not.

"The woman was a vampire" Wait, is that supposed to be news?! How???

"I should have kept her here until we were certain" Yes we should have!!

"They also have an Elder Scroll" That's also not new! Literally the first thing you can ask her is "Is that an Elder Scroll?" Who wrote this???

"And you didn't stop them?" I LITERALLY BROUGHT HER HERE. SHE STOOD RIGHT NEAR THE CASTLE. WHY DIDN'T YOU GIVE THE ORDERS THEN???

I'm going to cry... Out of everything I've encountered in the game, this is the stupidest.

Innocence Lost

The entire internet says you don't get bounty for killing Grelod. I sneak in during the night, stealth kill her -- bounty 1000, a guard immediately attacks me outside.

Oh right. It was Constance. But Grelod was in this room during the day, and someone among the kids shouted "kill her"...

Okay, now it went well.

"When I grow up, I'm going to be an assassin. That way I'm going to help lots of children, just like you" Aw...

An unusual gem is marked "take", I take it -- it's interpreted as stealing. Good thing I saved 10 seconds ago...

A fine hour as a honest student of magic -- training with everyone, getting my money back by trading, making more enchanted shit, grinding my brains out... My enchantment is at 95 now: almost there! Didn't even touch the storyline.

Dark Brotherhood

Wow, Astrid dragged me from Winterhold all the way to Solitude!She's the leader? They don't have anyone better? Really?Wait, the DB sanctuary is so close to my home? Unacceptable!!The DB sanctuary is bugged. Not only the inhabitants can't move, which isn't a bad thing, but the word wall doesn't work. And its word is in the only shout I regularly use.. 

Dawnguard

"You wouldn't happen to have a dwarven gyro, would you?" I'm wearing dwarven armor, boots, gauntlest, and two modded dwarven items. Yeah, I think I can find a gyro too...

I thought she would send me on a quest to explore a nearby ruin before agreeing...

Finally, I can interact with the master archery trainer and fellow engineer!

Aaand she sends me to freaking Solsteim. I had to google that because it doesn't show up on the map. Apparently it's a radiant location...

Isran refused to talk to me, only after I saw Serana he told me to talk to her, then after I turned my head from her back to him he asked me to tell me what she said, as if we weren't all standing in a corner almost on top of one another.

No, Serana, I don't want you to come along, especially if it's "just me and you".

Vaermina

Smart Looter broke the Vaermina quest, looting the soul gem that I was supposed to take, so I got stuck.

LMAO Vaermina your bluff could have been more convincing if you didn't add "Vaermina commands you" at the end

Proudspire Manor

Okay, I bought Proudspire and I have a lot of questions.

Is the children's room really next to the entrance on the first floor? Not on the third floor near the master bedroom, not even the second?

Where is the housecarl's room?

Where is the kitchen? You know, the cooking pot where I can make stuff?

Aaaalright, so the kids' room does appear on the third floor. So what is the empty room with a bed roll, then? 

And the cooking pot is apparently supposed to be on the second floor, and is missing due to a Hearthfire bug.

"The housecarl's room in the basement contains an unowned bed roll, two food barrels, three food sacks and many crates, rugs and unused pieces of furniture. This doesn't get upgraded like normal when you become thane and the housecarl moves into the manor, unlike with other houses." Okay. Why the hell is this called basement when it's on the ground level and leads to the main entrance?

I finally decided to do something with my hoarding problem, selling old weak potions and trying to sort the rest.

Unique weapons -- weapon rack in my house

Upgrade everything I have to Legendary, then either sell or:

Pouch 1 -- clothes I might want to wear

Pouch 2 -- enchanted weapons I don't use (too weak or not my type) but don't want to sell

Pouch 2 -- one or two copies of every weapon I have.

Dawnguard

Wow, I fast travelled right to the entrance to the fort this time! Improvement!

Yes, Serana, I think it is my place to judge you! When your family's problems are that you feed on other people, they become other people's business!

"I'll buy whatever you're looking to get rid of" Sorine truly understands me...

Wow, Dawnguard has a special, second in Skyrim breed of dog that actually looks cute, not creepy! I actually want one, but only if they're invincible.

They're protected, not essential :( Maybe I'd take one but use console. Like I did on Uthgerd earlier today. It's impossible to play a destruction mage with a follower otherwise.

---

Came to Winterhold to ask about the scrolls and train with Faralda, and she attacks me :( It's another bug apparently.

Okay, thanks internet, waiting for 10 days fixed it.

Dawnguard

"He might know where I can find an Elder Scroll for Paarthurnax" Uh? Are we mixing up quests here? I haven't even met Paarthurnax...

Screw you, Serana! Is it not enough to just tell my follower to stay here? Do I have dismiss her entirely? Normal quest givers just leave the follower behind automatically!

I dunno, Serana, I think this courtyard looks pretty nice...

Free the horse's soul and then bind it to yourself! What's the logic? Nice horse though.

Does "Tyranny of the Sun" means "The sun harms vampires" or "Vampires destroy the sun"? I think they've used this phrase in both ways...

I'm not sure how the Soul Cairn works. Are the souls trapped here only by the special means gained from the Ideal Masters? I thought at first that they're just victims of the black soul gems, but doesn't seem so.

Wait, so if the prophecy asks for a "daughter of Cold-whatever", then any female vampire who had gone throgh that ritual would do, right? Not only Serana and her mom.

I'm not sure summoning a dragon to Tamriel is a good idea... Aren't we killing them on sight, not the other way around?

Winterhold

I just realized that I haven't used Illusion at all, but it would be very handy for roleplaying a nice character! So, another level-up session. I planned to leave legendary-ing alchemy for Solsteim, but what the hell! Got destruction and illusion to 90.

Damn, I forgot about Paralysis! And alteration altogether, it's at 38! That's because Tolfdir is in a different hall, haha.

The Black Star

Well, now I don't know what to do. When I read about the quest, I decided that I'll give the Star to the priestess -- I'm not evil and I don't need a black soul gem. But rp-wise... That mage is right. Why should I help daedra?

Wiki: "If you reveal yourself as an agent of Azura, you will have to pass an easy-level Speech check or he will dismiss you outright" Easy-level! Ha! I have 100+ Speech and I failed the persuasion and had to bribe him!

Uh, why is the owner of this mill a vampire? Is that normal?

Heljarchen Farm

Damn, the Heljarchen farm is so well decorated! The shrine decorations just floored me. I've never seen that kind of thing before!

It's a shame that as soon as I arrived to claim the property, I encountered a bandit stuck in place -- navmesh conflict? Also the light is flickering weirdly in the cellar.

LMAO my own worker addresses me "What do you want, lizard?"

I could feel the framerate die after I planted all my stuff outside lol. I didn't even fill all the planters! I wanted more of them, but maybe it wouldn't be wise...

Filled the greenhouse with mushrooms. Sorry immersion! I need those!

Oh, so I CAN light the lanterns! The activator is not on the lantern itself but on the post. Weird, but okay. Would be nice if they auto-activated at night.

Is that the outdoor toilet? Why can't I enter?

I wish it had a proper forge, not just an anvil.

I wish I could pay workers daily.

Cabbage clips through the fertile soil. Yikes.

The Hideaway

Time to tend to my other modded house -- the Hideaway. It's kinda ridiculous to have them right next to each other, but I love both. It's so amazingly designed! I haven't even seen before most of the assets in it! What I don't like is that I can't display a shrine of Zenithar -- some garbage Daedra, sure, but not one of the Divines! It's not a huge issue obviously, I can use one in the farm or anywhere else, but it's slightly irritating. The kitchen and smithing areas are too dark, there's a visible texture clash outside (might be vanilla though), and it's weird to leave all this stuff protected only by a couple of wooden planks.

Dragons Keep

Dragons Keep is beautiful and very detailed. Yes, Skyrim looks like a country that prefers home education to boarding schools -- but I really want to get those poor orphans somewhere safe even though I don't have time for parenting! I'd like some lore basis for this luxury. Maybe it was personally supported by the High King, and now that he's dead, the Dragonborn can become a new patron and pay for upkeep, as well as entrance fees for any new student I invite. That would be a good money sink, and make the entire thing more plausible.

And I wish the children were more diverse instead of carbon copies of vanilla ones...

My build

I've taken the Necromage and Aspect of Terror perks, and I think my fire spells are now even stronger than archery against draugr! So I went through an entire dungeon with Incinerate in the right hand and swapping between Soul Trap and Incinerate in the left.

My progression is going as planned. After a lot of studies in the college, I became a skilled wizard who uses all schools of magic. When I get at least one other than enchanting to mastery, I'll proceed with the quest. I know how it ends, but not how long it is, so I'm leaving it entirely until I feel deserving of the title.

lmao bless stealth archery, I have completed the final room of the Potema catacombs in Solitude without even stepping into it, killing every draugr before it could spot me

Proudspire TNF

Finally got tired that there's not a single smelter in the capital of Skyrim and installed Proudspire TNF. Well, first of all, the interior is twice as big as the vanilla one. Which means it's finally fit for a thane (the vanilla house seemed not bigger than mine!) but breaks immersion severely. Both master and children's bedrooms have balconies in place of walls; and I thought the combined bedroom in Hearthfire was bad for privacy! The housecarl room is ugly like in vanilla. And there are leftover harvestables floating in the air, but the reset interior command got rid of that. As a smaller complaint, I don't like that it got rid of the snowberry vases and leather planters. And I need to throw out those trophy bases! Why the fuck would I need a monster corpse in my home?!!

But the crafting areas are pretty much perfectly designed! The achemy room has the full lab, which I prefer to the tabletop variant, uses the table shelf for ingredients in bowls and puts three wall shelves above it for the same; there's a wooden table connected to the lab, and the lectern is placed in the corner between the two workspaces. Ingredients have their own open shelf (I wonder if it respawns), the similar shelf with the potions is a container, and there's a potion display shelf; plus, several planters in the same room, and it's all next to the kitchen but is safely separate in its own room with a door. The enchanting station is combined with the armory, which is what I wanted to do myself, and there's even a set of weapon plaques hanging right above it, and it's all close to a library.

So I really don't know what to do. I guess I leave it for convenience's sake, though I saw a comment that uninstalling it may cause problems...

I finally bit the bullet and installed USLEEP/WAFR/CCF/CCOR. And because the latter instructed me to make a bashed patch, had to learn wtf is that. Please work...

Proudspire Manor

Magically, something fixed the housecarl room. Was it some bug fix? Or just because I left and reentered the house?

I'm trying to think of a way to make this floor plan a bit less insane... My ideas:

Revert the third floor's plan to vanilla

Create a cellar -- not a trapdoor, just another flight of stairs. Move the armory/enchanting, smithy, bath there.

First floor is now main entrance/lobby. Replace the door with the fancy model. Move the housecarl room back there: she's guarding the door. Move most of the bookshelves there from the third floor; couple of display cases/plaques/mannequins; some pretty plants.

What was the lobby on the second floor is now living room for the owners.

Alternatively, if the door cannot be replaced and all of this is impossible -- make the "real" entrances way more decorated and visible.

Lmao I accidentally selected & dropped the front-facing "backdoor" in positioner and now it's permanently open

King Olaf Festival

"When Vampires Attack" broke the burning festival -- nobody came, and the bard ran back into the building as soon as he lit the fire. Disabled the mod in the MCM, but there's no option to enable it again.

"Speech skill increases 15% faster" Ha! Should have done this quest sooner.

"I believe Sanguine will be pleased with this festival" Wait, did this dude just announce his daedra worship in the middle of a festival in a capital city?

Now what?! A guard walks up to me with "You there. What do you know about this?" There shouldn't be any dead bodies near here. Maybe dead vampires? I dunno. We repeated the same lines 3 times before he walked away.

190 hours into the game and 99 active mods later, I have finally downloaded LOOT! Well, the loading screens are just as long, and framerate even seems worse.

Arrive at Lakeview, start picking flowers from my garden, get attacked by Thalmor, vampires and wolves all at once. What the hell?!

Calcelmo wants me to bring him a dwarven metal ingot? All the way from Riverwood? Wut?

Now I thought something was wrong with Breezehome -- the cooking pot was off the center, and the housekeeping book was magic-themed for some reason. But from the screenshots on the mod page, seems like it's supposed to look like that? Okay.

Uh, why the hell did Clothing and Clutter Fixes change Farengar's clothes from normal blue robes + hood to some mismatched monstrosity?!

Installed HD maps, for some reason they have greenish tint.

Wow, something deleted the bugged old tree trunk of the Gildergreen! What was it, I wonder? USLEEP?

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Okay, so. I suddenly decided it's time to make Speech legendary. I had the ideal conditions:

A stack of potions in my inventory

All three barter buffs

Thief Stone

Well Rested

Bard College bonus to speech increase

Treebalance mod ready to be installed

Now I have so many free perks! Since I don't need price reduction, Investor & Master Trader don't need to be reselected after legendary-ing, and Treebalance removes a fence perk from the merchant branch. Now I can finally buff my Illusion! And then I can start putting points into crafting again! Also ice spells for the fire dragons, alteration for defense, and armor for utility.

If only Treebalance didn't have the Allure perk... I should learn how to edit perk trees. Since I'll never dare to ask the modder to do that for me... The problem is, it's for some reason a branching point in the mod, so the entire tree would need to be reworked.

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Last round I could create 36% Fortify Enchanting potions. Now it stops on 32% :( I don't understand why.

Hmm I wonder what I should bring to the Thalmor Embassy...

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Dragonkiller Cart Reloaded & Gypsy Eyes Caravan

The setup process of Dragonkiller Cart is so difficult... But when I set it up, it immediately improved my immersion. Now I know where I'm carrying all this crap! And then I could park it and scout ahead with invisibility/muffle. Time to put on illusion on heavy armor/cloak to make a peaceful traveller's outfit. And try to assign a housecarl to sit on my cart and guard it at all times.

What isn't as immersive is the way it tumbles around after fast travel or at the slightest sign of trouble.

Okay, when I started falling off a cliff and fast-travelled back to the word wall, my horse appeared but the cart didnt. When I came back to it, the harness somehow wasn't in the inventory anymore.

I still have no idea when Jaxonz Smart Looter works on horseback and when doesn't. Not sure why I'm not using Convenient Horses's auto-loot... But I rebound the manual harvesting to M2 and my life instantly became easier.

The dragon on the peak above Morthal was once again missing textures, and now even didn't give me a soul.

And finally, I'm in Morthal! Now I can pick up my unused housecarl and assign him to guard the cart. Though considering the horrifying loops the cart did on the rocky road down the mountain, I'm a bit scared to put someone in it...

Okay, I assigned my follower a seat, but how do I get him in there?

What the fuck? Where did the harness go AGAIN? Are they consumed after a day of use or something?!

A youtube video explained the problem: the followers are invisible if assigned to seats 1-2. Also, they only get on the cart if you do, and get off with you. So much for guarding my stuff!

When I tried to use Gypsy Eyes Caravan, it freaked out and was glitching almost for a full minute.

Well, here I can do what I want: assign a follower to drive the cart permanently, and either follow me or stay back. Even though I prefer the simple design of Dragonkiller.

Just as I felt happy that everything was finally working, Valdimar disappeared. And in the morning, rose through the seat and was on it again. Wut?

Okay, I left both carts at the Markarth stables, both set to "follow". Went into Markarth, then fast-travelled from there. Only my horse appeared, neither of the carts.

I'm back to the stables. Dragonkiller informs me that it needs a horse harness, again; also it's nowhere to be seen, its map marker is still in Morthal. Gypsy eyes has its wheels flying around it wildly, and it's unable to follow me.

Dragonkiller wasn't even at its map marker in Morthal; I have no idea how those work. Had to re-summon it, and it hitched the horse without a problem -- so the harness wasn't missing again, after all?

Okay, so turns out GEC has a next beta version, and the notes basically confirmed my guess of what was going on: when I fast travel to a city, the caravan attempts to do so too, and crashes horribly. I expected that the mod would be smart enough to park the caravan at the stables which every city has next to the entrance -- you know, like your normal horse!

And my max Fortify Smithing potion is now 130% as opposed to 145% last time. Why? Was it a beneficial glitch?

I put on my fresh max Fortify Smithing armor, made a lot of max Fortify Smithing potions, and finally sat down and improved every single thing in my inventory to the limit. I can breathe easily now.

I just remembered about Angi's camp! Just in time -- my archery is at 92. Damn, the last task is difficult...