Velverin victory
Last Seed 30, 3E433, 5pm : Once again, I am blessedly above ground - thanks be to the Nine for that! A long, arduous journey through the labyrinthine corridors of the Velverin catacombs has finally come to a close, and I am heartily glad to be breathing fresh, clean, evening air once again!
What a fool was I to think my travails were over after I vanquished the bandits! Were I only to know that my troubles had just begun, and that I had barely begun to scratch the surface of the evil lurking within, perhaps I may have headed to the surface much earlier. But the draw of a closed door proved to be too much for my still surprising verve, and so I continued down from my camp at the bandits lair.
Down those steps, I was set upon by undead too numerous to count. Skeletal warriors who attacked at first sight. Once, trodding upon a raised stone, a secret door unveiled an zombie horror, who required all in my arsenal to subdue! Only through judicious use of my Turn Undead spell could I fend him, or rather it, off long enough to heal up and begin the attack anew. We battled for several rounds, until my conjured skeleton finally dealt his death blow, releasing him from the horrors of being undead.
Treasure there was, especially in the guise of the white, glowing Welkynd Stones. I even uncovered a rare Varla Stone, trapped beneath a strange iron contraption. And the Ayelid Statue that I pried from the grasp of long rotted corpse! Hideous prison cells and many other hidden doors all helped to raise the horror, aye, even the excitement, of it all.
After many trials and tribulations, I finally came upon the diabolical fiend who ruled this putrid underworld. I surprised him at labor in his very own heart of darkness and quickly dispatched him with arrows of rage. His name was Jalbert, a hideously immoral being who's very hand penned a confessional letter I recovered. He was actually proud of his nefarious experiments, using the bandits and other hapless wanderers as vile ingredients in his evil stew.
I continue to surprise myself. My feelings of victory and confidence, virtually unknown to me in the past, are welcome new friends. I sit here, enjoying the setting sun, watching for a future full of promise and thrill.
So far, so good. It is truly unbelievable the size and scope of this small dungeon, far off the beaten path, completely unconnected with the Main Quest. It is quite a hallmark of The Elder Scrolls in general - a full, real world, with plenty to do, see and kill! I've played a good solid 10 hours or more, and have barely begun to scratch the surface of the story.
I wish I could map keys, though. I would make my "Cast Spell" be the 'f' key, rather than the 'c' key, as that is much easier to hit. The only "gamey" thing I've run across so far is that the only difference between a sneak attack and a normal attack is whether you are crouching. So you can walk around, see someone in the distance, notch your arrow, and then crouch, giving you a massive 3x damage bonus. The strategy of lots of "Detect Life" spells, followed by sneaking around and nailing the enemy with an arrow has been working pretty well.
Thanks for all the kind words so far. I hope I can keep this journal up!