The Northern Adventure

[Tim Kasto]

In between the moments of constant back and joint pain, there is a little joy in a world of primordial bleakness. There is Skyrim! Also known as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. You can skip reading all of this stuff below and just move on to the main part in bold.

For those who don't know what Skyrim is, here is a little copy paste I found from Google: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth main installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following 2006's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2011.

This is going to be a little blog where I post updates for my character and their journey in a fake virtual world in a video game.

I have loaded over 1,000 mods into this bad boy all coming from the Librum SE modlist which is supposed to make the game realistic, hardcore, and roleplay-ee.

Little description that I stole from the modlists website on what Librum SE is exactly: Librum significantly affects nearly every aspect of gameplay; in this section, I explain all of the significant changes that have been made, and how they change the Skyrim experience. I will separate it here into various “modules” for ease of explanation – however, this does not reflect any clean-cut separations of Librum mechanics. Changes from the various modules overlap, affect one another, and work together to create a consistent Librum experience. For instance, Spell Research forces mages to interact with the survival elements of Librum, and these survival elements turn a quest like Clockwork into a precarious and time-sensitive escape mission.

Update I

Sir Kasto, the character of this blog, is a devote follower of Akatosh and warrior by birth. He manifested himself on the mortal plane just south of Whiterun in some algae covered pond surrounded by a bunch of mudcrabs. Nothing is known about his life other than he was put on Tamriel just in time to defeat Alduin the World Eater that recently arrived after being exiled from the past by the Elder Scroll. After swimming to safety and escaping the hostile mudcrabs, he found himself at a sawmill village of Riverwood. With not a single coin to his name but the clothes on his body, he set out to survive by any means necessary. On the outskirts of the village, he would attempt to earn his coin through hunting and foraging. But, having no previous experience on how to use the bow, he resorted to chasing down the animals with a splitting axe. When he finally managed to hunt down a single animal, it took him forever to properly field dress, skin, and butcher it. It resulted in terrible quality pelts and abysmally low quantities of meat. His luck however would turn around with foraging. With every day out in the forest, his mastery of foraging improved. Hour by hour, he was able to find more materials that he could use for survival. After a week of barely scraping by, he finally acquired enough resources to survive without going hungry or cold. He took up residence outside the village at some abandoned campsite. The location provided access to the goods and services of nearby village with the basic standards of living. One day out in the forest on his usual foraging trip, he came across remnants of a battle. Soldiers from both sides of the civil war were lying dead in the dirt and blood soaking the ground below them. He has struck gold. Weapons and armor for the taking. But it appears he was not the first person to find it. Another looter came running from behind a tree swinging his recently looted sword high in the air. By the looks of it, they barely knew how to hold it right. Kasto managed to sidestep his opponents swing and deliver a swift fatal blow to the attacker. Now alone on the battlefield, he began to scavenge for what remained. He acquired an iron suit of armor, a weapon, and a pouch of gold for the items he sold. Now with a few coins to his name and a weapon in his hand, he could set forth to his grand adventure to defeat Alduin the World Eater.

 

[Tim Kasto]

Update II

With a sword and armor by his side, he set out south from Riverwood. Just a few stone skips from the gates of the village, a pack of wild dogs surrounded our great hero. Wild dogs have run rampant ever since the start of the war. With the civil unrest occupying the lands, many owners of once these loyal pets have fallen to plague, war, famine, or death. These loyal companions now roam the countryside, preying on the unaware travelers. And with men and women away at war, the remaining guards of the hold dare not venture out into the unknown to put an end to these beasts. However, the hero of this story is not some common man but the great Dragonborn. He quickly unsheathed his steel sword and thrusted it deep into the first dog that had the courage to strike him. The others fell just as the first, as if slicing a hot knife through butter. The blade has seen blood once again ever since the last owner fell in battle. He quickly wiped the sword against the fur of the dogs and ventured forth down the road.

There amongst the trees and behind multiple overgrown shrubs, a worn out path to an abandoned mine. He made his way between trees and up to the entrance where he was greeted by a brigand guarding the doors to the mine. Bandits, ruffians, outlaws, whatever you want to call them. Now are more common than ever before. These were once honest people who turned to a life of villainy and crime. Preying on the innocent during the time of war. Taking advantage of the disadvantaged even further. The hold guards do their best to keep the roads safe but wilderness is to vast to keep a tight control over. Before the bandit had the time to react, Kasto struck him down with heavy swift downward strike. He fell, where he stood. Undetected, he made his way deeper into the mine. The light of the day began to disappear the further he ventured until only darkness was visible. He reached for his pack and produced a torch that he lit. The flame of the torch spread swiftly through the mine tunnel. With a sense of determination, he continued his descent into the depths of the mine. With each step downward he almost pulled a tripwire rigged to a trap system. But with luck on his side, he managed to spot it in time. He finally made it to a large opening.

By a dimly lit campfire, few bandits huddled around sharing the treasures that they most likely stole from the previous owners of the mine or travelers on the nearby road. Here is where Kasto's luck ran out. His heavy iron armor caused him to trip which alerted the nearby ruffians. They quickly sprung into the action and were homing in on him. But these untrained bandits were not match for the Dragonborn. The first one came running straight at Kasto, he used his momentum against him and threw him into the nearby wall. The next one more careful than his previous mate, approached with the second. Kasto managed to break the defensive hold on one of them and wound them in process. There the third one, landed a hit with his weapon. Kasto staggered backwards trying to regain his posture and catch some breath. Now more arrogant, the bandit ran right at Kasto with his weapon high in the air. But Kasto quickly raised his shield and parrying the attack. With two bandits dead on the ground, the last one began to retreat to call for help. However, he was not fast enough. He dropped to the floor as the steel blade ran through his heart.

A few more dead bandits and tunnels later, the dive into the dungeon was a success. Kasto's backpack was up to the brim with loot and coins. He trekked his way back to the village to offload his inventory and turn a profit from this adventure. With even more gold in his pocket, he is ready to face harder enemies that he might encounter on his travels. Before moving on, he decided to spend a bit of coin on room and board at the local inn.