In Which Faanshi Hunts Bandits and Draugr

This session had two overall objectives: clearing Silent Moons Camp for the bounty on the bandit leader, and then clearing Shroud Hearth Barrow! Plus, I got onto the radar of the Jarl of Falkreath, and greatly increased my arsenal of available spells.

Highlights

Play date: 5/12/2022
Session number in this run: 4
Started in Whiterun, slept at Bannered Mare
Sold more things to Belethor the next morning, and made a few potions at Arcadia’s and sold them
Headed out to Silent Moons Camp
Snuck across the plains to try hunting, but only got in one hit on a distant elk and didn’t kill it
Killed a wolf and a sabre cat within vicinity of the camp
Then started sneaking in to take out bandits with help of Lydia and familiar
Cleared the place without much trouble
Cleared the two silver veins at the end of the stream bed, after killing one of the mudcrabs
Tromped around a bit looking for a gold vein—but killed by dragon 🙁
Thrown back to coming out of Silent Moons Camp, so this time avoided going after the dragon and returned to Whiterun
Sold a bunch of stuff from bandit loot to Elrindir
Slept at the inn, then sold more stuff to Belethor and more crafted potions to Arcadia
I think this was the point at which I got the courier with the letter from the Jarl of Falkreath?
Also, I think somewhere in the middle of here, while selling and crafting, I leveled up to 9; took first Sneak perk
Went up to Dragonsreach to collect the bounty
Destroyed a couple more things for enchantments, and put frost damage enchantment on my sword
Bought seven spellbooks from Farengar: Soul Trap, Conjure Flame Atronach, Firebolt, Stoneflesh, Candlelight, Fast Healing, Bound Sword
Took Farengar’s favor quest to take frost salts down to Arcadia, and dropped those off with her
Boinged to Ivarstead
Checked back in with Klimmek to resolve his quest
Began to investigate Shroud Hearth Barrow
Took out Wyndelius, and returned to innkeeper with the journal; and got the sapphire dragon claw
Returned to run the place
Got killed a couple of times but nothing too severe as long as I remembered to keep summoning my familiar
Leveled up to 10 close to the end of the dungeon; took first Conjuration perk so I could actually cast Conjure Flame Atronach
Got the word for Kyne’s Peace and a bunch of tasty loot
Boinged back to Whiterun
Khajiit outside the city! This one is pleased to see her people! Please allow this one to sell to you her spoils!
Headed in and derped around the forge a little
Greeted by Durak for the opening Dawnguard hook; asked where to sign up and that amused him
Went to go sleep in the inn again
Saved there for the night

Commentary

A few sessions in with Faanshi, it has rapidly become apparent that even if she’s fully armored in light armor, she’s still very squishy with my Difficulty level set to Master. I can be taken out in one hit by several types of attacks.

So I’m having to take a few notes from the playbook established by Ysani:

Get Conjuration spells, fast. So now I have Conjure Flame Atronach, and I took the perk to cut the cost of Novice spells in half so I could actually cast it. I’m going to need that flame atronach to help me out in battles for a while.
I’m definitely going to have to work on my Sneak.
Get better armor onto Lydia ASAP, and get her better weaponry as well.
Get a better bow. As of this session, my bow was a Hunting Bow, improved up to Fine. As of the next session after this one, writeup forthcoming, my new bow is an Imperial one, also improved up to Fine, but I can and will need to do better.
Let Lydia and the flame atronach drive close fighting whenever possible.

Also, I need to put serious consideration into whether I’ll keep the Thief Stone as my current active Stone. Right now though chances are feeling high that I’ll return to my go-to favorite, the Steed Stone.

Clearing Silent Moons Camp, at any rate, went reasonably swiftly. There weren’t a huge number of bandits, and they weren’t anything Lyds and my familiar couldn’t handle.

(Note: I have to be amused though about a Khajiit casting a wolf familiar. I feel like a Khajiit ought to be calling up a sabre cat!)

The dragon that showed up when I came out of Silent Moons Camp, however, was another story. I need to get some fire and frost resistances onto my armor set, stat.

And I leveled up to 10 in Shroud Hearth Barrow, at a very good time to then be able to cast Conjure Flame Atronach and use that on the boss chamber in the place. Very necessary against all the skeletons and draugr.

Next time

Next session’s already played, so I can already tell you that that’ll feature running the quest for Hircine, becoming thane in Falkreath, and buying and furnishing Breezehome!