In my last Skyrim post, Iselia had hit the jackpot! In a tomb filled with hundreds of undead, she had looted so much treasure. So much, in fact, that she needed to visit several merchants across several villages in order to sell the lot of it.
Then she fulfilled a bounty on a group of bandits. For the first time since being shipwrecked in the icy ocean, she had completed an objective without being fatigued, without freezing solid, and without running out of food and potions.
Now she needed to get back to Solitude and inform the guards there that this latest group of bandits had been dispatched.
Since it was so far away, Iselia went to the nearest city, intending to buy a ride from the stables back to Solitude... but first she thought she'd go inside the city and visit the merchants, sell the last of her loot, perhaps buy a new tent since she had left her old one somewhere she didn't remember.
She did not expect to waltz into the city and come face-to-face with a brazen daylight murder, but it happened, right in front of her.
No one really reacted shocked or anything. There was more anger than surprise. It was as though this was a common occurrence.
She wasn't one to judge. She just wanted to sell her loot and get back to Solitude.
As she turned to find a merchant willing to ignore the spectacle and trade with her, an unknown man tried to speak with her about the murder. Had she seen it? What did the murderer say? Oh! It looks like she had dropped a note. Then he disappeared.
She most certainly had not dropped a note. Looking at it, it pleaded with her to meet with him at the Shrine of Talos.
She wasn't meeting strange men at ancient shrines; she had loot to vendor.
The market merchants wanted nothing to do with her, but one in a building who hadn't seen the murder was happy to trade with her. And she had a tent for sale, too!
Iselia bought the tent then traded a bunch of remaining jewels. She still had heaps to go. By the time she sold all these things, she could buy a mansion! Live like a queen!
With the brazen market murder swiftly forgotten, she pranced back over to the stables and bought a ride back to Solitude, travelling comfortably for the first time in days.
In saying that though, when she arrived she was cold, tired, and hungry once more. These carriages really needed some more general comforts instilled into them.
(Would just like to note that I then scoured the Nexus, looking for carriage mods. While I found several interesting ones, there was nothing that added warmth to them. Boo.)
Back in Solitude she announced to the guard that she had taken care of yet another of their bandit problems. They rewarded her with a measly 100 gold.
Wrinkling her nose, she then decided from then on out that it was far more lucrative to be a tomb diver. Dealing with undead was not her cup-of-tea, not yet anyway, but if she wanted to drown in wealth and riches that was the path she'd need to take.
In order to take on the powerful undead creatures, she would need to up her game! Be better equipped! Train hard! Be the best she could be! And then... she would take all the loot from all the tombs.
Deciding to start with becoming better equipped, Iselia grabbed a skinning knife and prepared to hunt all the furry beasts in the realm. She would take their skins, learn to tan the leather, then craft the best gear she could.
During her hunt, she came across an orphaned khajiit... she had seen a few orphans around the place, but never an orphaned khajiit. Her heart stirred. One day, when she built her very own manor, she was going to adopt that kitty person and give her a home!
In the distance were some bandits. They were interfering with her hunt and were far too close to that young khajiit!
Iselia quickly took care of them and claimed their campsite for her own.
Inside the bandit leader's chest was a most wondrous thing... a beacon! The moment Iselia touched it, a woman's voice echoed through her mind.
It was Meridia. Daedric Prince of Light. Enemy of the undead. She demanded that Iselia return the beacon to her shrine and cleanse the filth that was currently contaminating it.
This was a sign!
She had taken it upon herself to gear up in order to smite the undead and loot their burial chambers, and now Meridia herself was willing to favour her.
Taking all the pelts she had skinned to the nearest village, she transformed them all into a perfect hunter's set and then ran them across the workshop table and strengthened them.
She felt warmer, stronger, ready to take on her enemies. She still needed new weapons, but for now, she would make her way to Meridia's shrine and see what awaited her.
Until next time! 😊⚔️❄️