[hollmt]

I spend some time in Caste Cheydinnal and head upstairs to check for any display cases to which there aren’t any. I proceed to pick open the easy locked door and bypass the guard doing his rounds. After rummaging through a few rooms, I come across a Hand to Hand training book which I can make use of. Upon exiting that room though, the guards spots me and scolds me and warns me to leave, to which I calmly oblige and make my way out of the living quarters with the uptight guard on my tail. I decide it is time to leave and head out but stop by to visit a side room on the way out and meet a Khajit by the name of Ra’ganar who offers me more training on Hand to Hand combat. I gladly pay for these services from him, tell him he has a nice tail, and leave.

Upon my arrival at the Waterfront District in the Imperial City I notice the swarm of Imperial guards all over. I am immediately put on alert and aware that something is up and question a guard to which I am informed they are on the lookout for Armond. I imagine he will not be meeting me then at his usual place and I have to find some other method to return the statue that I stole from Cheydinnal. Lex is even in the area and he looks none to pleases, especially without his trusted claymore by his side…

I find a beggar by the name of Isleif the Open Handed and I ask him where Armond is and he informs me that he is in hiding and also that Methredhel is looking for me…and out of the blue, she comes running towards me. She informs me that the Count of Cheydinnal filed charges on Armond for the theft of the statue I stole and that there was actually NO client who wanted the statue stolen at all, but that Armond was using me to weed out the informant, which was thought to have been me as well, and now I am to plant the statue on the true suspect, a Dunmer named Myvryna. I find her house, which is just around the corner but find it a little difficult to break into with guards roaming the area. Finally I pick a time and open the lock and see Myvryna sleeping comfortably in her bed, to which I calmly place the statue in her cupboard and exit the premises.

I run and find Lex who is actually nearby and he asks me about the statue, to which I explain that Myvryna has it. He of course doesn’t believe me so it is time to use my sexy voice and charm on him to which I am successful. He is shocked and amazed that she is a suspect and I quickly realize by his pause, that Myvryna is and has been his little mole and working for him for quite some time. He orders me to follow him to her house as he accuses her of theft and based on their argument it is indeed established that she has been working for Lex for a while trying to work one step ahead of Armond and telling Lex of his plans. Lex arrests her and after they leave I again take the opportunity to rummage through her stuff but find nothing of merit.

I go and find Armond at his house a little later and he apologizes to me for using me in the manner he did, gives me a reward for the theft and promotes me to the rank of Bandit in the guild. He also informs me that he no longer has jobs for me and that my new Doyen is a Khajit named Skrivva, living in Bravil. She will have work for me if I want and I can find her at her home or the Lonely Suitor Lodge. I also have a new fence named Darjee living in Leyawin, however I think I will stick with Olag in Bruma as we are working on a good business relationship.

But for now, I put meeting Skrivva on hold and want to adventure for a few days so I travel to Aleswell and spend the night there for free before I set off on some adventures. That night I get a fantastic night’s sleep and grow stronger and feel more agile, quicker and feel that my endurance is finally growing.

The next morning I head off and arrive at a Fort Empire. Outside is an Imp which is easily dispatched and inside resides a rat and some more imps that when I am careful, easily dispatch with one arrow. However, a few of the Imps spot me and I am forced to swat them away with my claymore. I loot the place, and make a quick run of the joint and move westward then southward down the road circling the huge Imperial City.

Fort Nikel is the next stop for me and outside I see a bandit camp so quickly realize what I am up against. I see a fresh fire so I make it a point to scout the area outside first for the bandit, but find nobody. I enter the fort and see that a door is open already inside. Suspecting a bandit is already close by I proceed with caution and spot him. I quickly remove him and proceed further inside to the bottom of the fort where 5 bandits await me. I see two different paths to these bandits and I choose to go left and spot the first bandit and sharply shoot an arrow to her chest killing her, but alerting the 2 bandits still on that side. One of them is an archer and another a wizard. I get into a shooting contest with the archer and drop her with 2 shots and the wizard with 1. I loot them and am again spotted by the 4th bandit, a battlemage who quickly comes swimming across the flooded area, to which I sit and shoot arrows at him. He does however get a swing at me but only a minor scratch. I thought the room was clear and completely forgot about the last bandit clear across on the other side and began to swim my way across when an arrow struck me in the arm, so running for cover I proceeded to again get into a shooting contest with another archer and again my shot proved deadlier. I loot the area and make my way out.

I come across another Inn, called Waynet Inn, and inside awaited the owner by the name of Nervisa who offers me a job of collecting 6 bottles of Shadowbanish wine for her. I of course am the adventurous type and accept the job. Across the way is a small house where I meet Aelwin Merowald and he is an old man needing my help to collect some slaughterfish scales for him, 12 in total, so he can retire. Apparently the scales fetch a hefty sum and he is willing to offer me a reward if I do this job for him. I accept the job but am curious as to why I would want to just give the scales to him if they fetch good money, especially not knowing what his “reward” will even be.