In Which Faanshi Gains a Hoard and Some Stalhrim

Back over to my Faanshi playthrough on the Switch, where I got some more side questing on Solstheim out of the way to try to clear Faanshi’s queue so I can get her finished up. Main action: next round of Kolbjorn Barrow; getting the Deathbrand hoard; getting the bonemold formula for Glover; and fighting a dragon at Raven Rock. And Serana resurrecting things all over the place, because this is what happens when you travel with a vampire necromancer.

Play by play

• Play dates: 11/30/2022, 12/1/2022
• Session number in this run: 66-67

Wednesday’s play

• Dropped off a lot of things at Severin Manor
• Went out to run next round of Kolbjorn Barrow
• Random High Elf at Old Attius Farm
• Ran second round of Kolbjorn, killed all the draugr
• Got the Ring of Necromancy but with a bit of effort, because I dropped it before I could nab it with Telekinesis, so I had to search the floor for it
• Also got the waterwalking boots
• Reported back to Ralis and gave him the 3,000 septims
• Proceeded towards Tel Mithryn
• Spotted netch hunters near Dusty so didn’t go close enough to trigger their encounter, was not in the mood to hunt netches
• Did however absolutely hunt the ash spawn near the final Deathbrand chest
• Got the boots and the key
• Proceeded to Gydlenhul Barrow
• Cranky Khajiit just past Nchardak
• Sighted my rieklings right after that fight
• Threw the dremora at the reavers just outside the barrow, then ran the barrow
• Serana raised Haknir Death-Brand’s skeleton, lolololol
• Once we cleared the place, sighted my rieklings again on the way out, just past the treasure chamber
• Went to camp at the Skaal village, then sold things to Baldor in the morning
• Went towards Castle Karstaag Caverns to get the formula for Glover
• Lost track of Serana on the way–but found Torkild! Took him out with dremora
• Dremora then promptly went after a nearby reaver before I spotted her
• Srana still hadn’t caught up so I started making my way towards the caverns
• But first, threw the dremora at a couple of frost trolls
• Did the sapphire geodes behind Saering’s Watch, then went over the rocks and down to the cavern
• Serana caught up when I went in, only in there long enough to get the formula; at least one riekling threw a spear, but I didn’t bother to go fight it
• Back out again, and boom, Serpentine Dragon skeleton fell in front of me–and this was the dragon I hadn’t found the corpse for earlier, so I was even able to loot it
• Fast traveled back to the Skaal village
• Told Wulf about his brother; got bumps to my skills; paid him for five rounds of Two-handed training
• Boinged from there back to Raven Rock
• After hours but found Glover in the Retching Netch; gave him back the formula and got his key
• Took all the stuff in his basement including Sapphire’s letter
• Came out of Glover’s place to find a Revered Dragon attacking! Went at it with Serana and the guards
• It crash-landed up behind the town; I went up there to kill it, but it chomped me
• Thrown back to coming out of Glover’s place
• Second time through, the dragon crashed in the same place
• This time I got up there to find Serana already engaging it; I took shots at it with my dragonbone bow; we killed it
• Only after did I discover that Serana had raised the poor madman from my previous encounter!
• Returned to Severin Manor
• Did a bunch of smithing, alchemy, and enchanting
• Made a full set of netch leather armor to satisfy the quest for that; dropped a bunch of one-handed enchantments on it
• Thought I hadn’t leveled up but apparently I had, and missed it?
• Went back out again once it was morning and sold a bunch of things to Glover, Fethis, and Milore
• Returned to Severin Manor and saved for next time

Thursday’s play

• Picked up where I left off at Severin Manor
• Saw I had a pending level up, so leveled up to 65; took Health bump and first Lockpicking perk
• Went out wearing the netch armor I’d enchanted up the wazoo with one-handed damage bonuses
• Came outside and had a dragon corpse drop down in front of me, must have been the one I’d killed in the previous session?
• Briefly went up behind the town
• Dispatched a Wood Elf who kept trying to conjure a familiar at me
• Fast traveled to Bristleback Cave to get within range of the stalhrim source; mined that
• That got me close to being overloaded though so boinged back to Raven Rock
• Saved again for next time

Commentary

Since I am only just now doing round two of Kolbjorn Barrow with this character, this tells me I gotta play Faanshi at least for another week’s worth of sessions, as I posted in her last post. I gotta hang out on Solstheim at least long enough for the third and fourth runs through Kolbjorn!

Heading into Kolbjorn this time, I saw Serana throw off a line I’m pretty sure I’ve seen her do before, but I’m noting it here because it’s kind of hilarious:

“Nordic ruins. Even older than I am. I wonder if the draugr are as gullible as they were when I was a girl.”

I have some questions about what this says about Serana’s history! And what she was doing around draugr as a girl, and what exactly prompts her word choice of “gullible” here. I’m wondering whether Serana might have been doing some early necromancer practice on draugr, and by practice, I mean “pranks”. And what her mother might have had to say about this!

Meanwhile, I now have a new champion in the Serana’s Best Act of Necromancy content: her raising the skeleton of Haknir Death-Brand in Gyldenhul Barrow, while we were fighting his ghost. This is a boss necromancer move, and exactly the kind of entertaining Serana content I wanted to see her doing when bringing her to Solstheim. This alone makes me forgive this playthrough for not having suitably excellent lines available for her in this locale! <3

I think this might perhaps have been the closest to the Skaal village I’ve ever found Torkild? Usually I find him along the northern coast of the island, but this was just a short walk away from the village. I imagine a scenario where a small part of him was still trying to come home.

I only went into Castle Karstaag Caverns long enough to get the bonemold formula for Glover. Partly because I feel kind of bad about rampaging through entire settlements of beings half my size, and partly because I want to go ahead and get Faanshi’s playthrough done. So I minimized my presence in there.

That said, one of the rieklings spotted either me or Serana. I did see a spear get chucked at us as I returned to the tunnel leading out. Didn’t bother to go after whatever riekling chucked the spear, though.

Serana got in another round of necromancy by raising the remains of the Black Book madman I’d dealt with in the previous session! Though in this case, it was just kind of pitiful. But at least the guy doesn’t have to wander around the ash-ridden wilds of Solstheim! Hopefully he’ll be more at peace in Sovngarde!

And now I’ve hit level 65, thanks to a bunch more crafting, and I may wind up staying with the netch leather armor for a bit just because it’s got a bunch of One-handed damage boosts on it. Faanshi needs all the help she can get in that area.

This is perhaps the first time I’ve done a post that featured sudden dragon skeletons from two different dragons! And conveniently, given that the one at the caverns was the Serpentine Dragon I’d killed at Saering’s Watch before, I was even able to loot it.

Next time

I feel a surgical strike on White Ridge Barrow coming on, and possibly also a speed run through Benkongerike and/or Vahlok’s Tomb. Still waffling about whether I want to bother with Kagrumez.

Screenshots

Editing to add

• 11/25/2023: Restored missing gallery.