Oh God… I Swear I Wasn’t Trying to Cross the Border! III

That skill increase is going to get annoying... But, I kinda almost feel like I'm cheating... Though, it seems easy now... I don't know if this is hardcore difficulty, I'm still in the tutorial area after all...

And what happens if I die? Is that it? Do I revert to a previous save? Will I go home?... I shake those thoughts from my head as I turn to our little group, a kid, a smith, a horse thief, and about 17 Stormcloaks, not counting Ulfric or Ralof...

Damn... This might actually be fun. I smile widely before speaking, "Has everyone had a chance to rest? Is anyone hurt? Hrothgar, how're you and the boy holding up?" I look to the "civilians" wandering what I'm going to do.

The Stormcloaks nod, appearing to be relatively well off given the circumstances... Hrothgar coughs, "I'm fine, but I'm not so sure about the boy..." he says looking down to the kid...

Shit, I never really noticed kids all that much during my playthroughs, what am I supposed to do? I don't even have a house... Girder, right? That was Ralof's sister's name? She owns the mill in Riverwood I think? The kid looks to me... Fear in his eyes... Damn, poor kid just lost everything to a dragon and there's a bunch of big scary Stormcloak's around...

I kneel down to the boy and take off the helmet, trying to speak as softly as possible I say, "Hey kid, how you doing? Some pretty scary stuff going on huh?" he nervously nods in agreement...

"I'm sorry, but there's going to be a few more scary things going on... But all these big, strong men and women are here to keep you safe, especially this big ol'scary Orc... Think you can continue being the brave young man you've been so far? We're almost out of here... And I'll get you someplace safe. Promise." the boy looks at me cautiously before nodding and sliding back behind Hrothgar.

Speechcraft Increased to level 22

I turn to everyone else after salvaging whatever I could from our immediate surroundings, "Alright, we've got some more Imperials, some frostbite spiders, and a cave bear between us and freedom. Are you men up to the task?"

They nod aimlessly in affirmation, "Ulfric, are these the true sons and daughters of Skyrim or just a bunch of soft-bellied, milk drinkers!?" I shout at the men.

"I don't know. Are you!" Ulfric shouts at the men. "No, High King Ulfric!" the men reply in a chorus of soldiers returning to their roots, shaking off their daze, and preparing for battle.

"Then prove it! Follow me to victory! To freedom! To Soverengarde!" I shout, before advancing deeper into the dungeons.

Speechcraft Increased to level 23

With that rallying cry, we charge forward quickly overtaking the Imperials in a flurry of blades, arrows, and magic... The magic was supplied by me, using flames and electricity to suppress who I could.

Destruction Increased to level 16

Destruction Increased to level 17

Destruction Increased to level 18

As the last of our foes fall the men and I take a moment to catch our breaths, "Okay, take what you can from the fallen... We're about to enter the caverns... There'll be no turning back... We're still to face frostbite spiders and a cave bear." After checking on everyone, I usher them quickly into the cavern as the way behind us is sealed by debris... The roars of the dragon reverberating through the cavern...

"Don't worry, we're almost there. Everyone beware the spiders' venom. Those with bows, sneak up with me. We're going to clear them out." Advancing stealthily down the narrow tunnel, I hold up my hand and whisper.

"There should be about 4 spiders, 2 on the ground and 2 that will descend from the ceiling. I'm going to charge in and draw them all out. I want you to rain arrow after arrow down on them until they stop twitching. You understand?" All the men look to me and nod. Shit, I guess it's time to go... I hate spiders... Especially ones bigger than me!

I rush forward shouting at the spiders as I bathe them in a torrent of flame from my hands, arrows fly forth from behind me, dispatching the spiders before any could let loose a volley of venom. Taking a moment to rest, I begin to harvest materials while the rest of the group enters the new cavern.

Item gained 4x Frostbite Venom

Item gained 6x Spider Eggs

Ugh, that's disgusting... I really don't want to eat these... I'll push it off for as long as possible. Everyone is here now... Time for the final hurdle.

"Alright everyone, there is a sleeping bear up ahead. Once I kill it, we'll be safe to make our way to Riverwood. After getting there Ulfric and the other Stormcloaks can separate and make their way to Windhelm. Lokir, Hrothgar, the kid, and I will stay there for a few days before moving on. Once we get out of the cave take cover." After getting nods of affirmation from everyone, we advanced... Drawing my bow, I let loose two arrows in quick succession, straight into the beast's skull.

Archery skill Increased to 16

As we exit the mouth of the cave and take cover, the dragon flies out overhead.

Once everyone recovers from the shock, we silently make our way to Riverwood. Halfway there we come upon a set of three standing stones as well as a much smaller one near the edge. The thief's, warrior's, and mage's stone.

I refrain from choosing one until I'm alone, can't have them see me take the thief's stone after all. After entering the town Ulfric tells Ralof to stay behind with his sister for a couple of days as the rest make their way north to Windhelm. As the "Imperials" escort the "captive" Stormcloak's out of the town, I lay down for a short rest in Gerdur's house...

And then everything goes black...

A glorious aurora of stars and lights fills my mind as I see the skill trees listed before me, the screen instructs me to choose which stats to increase...

Character Info

Name: Silvantus Malborne

Level: 4

Race: Orsimer

Standing Stone: n/a

Health: 105 -> 115

Magicka: 80 ->110

Stamina: 115

Health regen: 1.0%

Magicka regen: 2.75%

Stamina regen: 5.5%

Carry weight: 350

Racial Abilities

Mind of the Gamer: This allows you to rationalize all your actions from a detached perspective. Suffering little to no mental degradation from poor morality.

Body of the Gamer: Your body suffers no I'll effects from damage, instead a health, mana, exposure, wetness, hunger, thrist, and stamina bars represents your durability, available mana pool, degree of exposure to the elements, degree of wetness in your clothes, your level of hunger, your level of thirst, and your remaining stamina respectively.

Bonus Experience: Through selecting a random race at the start of the adventure, the individual will receive 15% to experience when performing related tasks.

Bloodlust: When entering combat, gain 25% movement speed and 300% Magicka and Stamina regeneration. Bonuses gradually decay to zero over 20 seconds.

Shockwave: Once per battle, jump to cause a tremor that staggers opponents and may knock them off their feet.

Strength of Steel: Weapons and armor are 20% stronger, but enchantments on them are 20% weaker.

Quest reward - Stagger 150 enemies with Shockwave to unlock...

Berserk: 1/day - Doubles attack damage and critical strike damage and halves spell costs for 15 seconds. While off cooldown, may activate randomly in combat.