The Last Dragonborn - The Journal of Johan Abbot #20

---Heartfire, 16th, 4E 201---

  Ustengrav, the burial chamber which was said to house Jurgen Windcaller's tomb and horn, was much larger than I thought, going deep underground, built into a large natural chamber. There was a Word Wall in this cavern, near a beautiful underground lake. Now, with it, I can become ethereal, like a spirit, for a few seconds at a time, though the magic does not seem to allow me to pass through objects larger than myself, including most walls. Still, it will be useful to avoid the enemy's weapons in combat long enough to recover my strength.

  Fighting through the tomb wasn't too difficult, though we did encounter more giant spiders, which Odvar, Mjoll, Barbas and my arrows were able to handle. The size of the tomb was such that the expedition took the entire day. It was fruitless, however, as we did not find Jurgen Windcaller's horn inside, but a letter from "a friend" placed upon his tomb stating that they have the horn, and directing us to the "attic room" of the inn in Riverwood. An inn with no attic. Clearly it is Delphine who took the horn as a means of drawing the Dragonborn to her, but for what reason? Who could the secretive barmaiden be?

  This new develoement complicates things a bit, but our plans remain mostly the same. Tomorrow we recover Grimsever, and then we make our way to Solitude where we'll sell off some of our loot, I'll do some crafting practice and repair my gear, and we'll eventually take a carriage to Whiterun to turn in the Silver Hand bounty to Aela. After that it's on to Riverwood to meet with this "mysterious friend", and discover once and for all who she is and what she is up to. Afterwards I would like to make way to Riften to inform the priestess that we have carried out another of Mara's tasks, but something tells me that fate has other ideas.

 

---Heartfire, 18th, 4E 201---

 

  We ended up passing through Morthal again, and staying the night in the inn there. This time the stay was without any incident, and quite enjoyable. This morning we set out for Solitude, and on the way we discovered a cabin in the forest south of the city on the cliff where a Nord had recently fallen to disease, leaving his faithful dog, Meeko, behind. Though the man's journal stated that the dog can feed and fend for himself, I could not bring myself to leave him there alone. Besides, he annoys Barbas and Odvar. For that reason alone I will likely never let him leave my side.

  Solitude is a beautiful city. All of the tales do it little justice, and I will certainly look forward to returning here often on my travels, despite the fact that my first impression of the city was an execution. It is the people of Solitude who tarnish the city façade. Many of them are pompous and entitled. The Jarl, the wife of the late High King, seems nice enough though. Next time I am in town I will see if there is anything that I can do to help the court.

  Even though the inn seems nice, my friends and I have decided to sleep in the carriage tonight on the way to Whiterun. We are too far behind schedule as it is already. We need to recover some time.

  Before coming into Morthal last night, we did successfully delve into the Dwemer ruin where Mjoll lost Grimsever, and we recovered the sword. The constructs within the ruin were difficult opponents, but still weak compared to the Briarhearts, the strength of which are still fresh in my memory. Working together we tore through the ancient machines. Mjoll was always at my side, her axe swinging gleefully. I have come to find real comfort in her presence. Her voice. Her slightly insane smile. Her many stories. She has quickly become my best friend. I will be sad to see her go when we return again to Riften and she remains behind.

  After finding Grimsever, I can see why Mjoll cherishes it. It is an expertly crafted Glass Greatsword with a moderately strong frost enchantment on it. While its edge is a bit dull, it is a deadly weapon, almost a heavier antithesis to my fiery blade Goldbrand, just one more similarity between myself and Mjoll. She is a true kindred spirit. To put it simply, I can understand why Mjoll would risk harm to recover such a weapon. Of course as I write this I realize that I would risk greater harm, alone, to recover far less for the woman.