UESP Forums

just told Mercer about Karliah

Delia-Jessamine Maric, Breton stealth-mage, Dovahkiin, and preventer of world-eating, decided to go back to the top of the Throat of the World. It was Day 2 A.D. (Alduin Defeated). She had spent the previous day just hanging out at High Hrothgar, so she wanted to see if her dear Paarthy was still there or if he had left her. She hiked to the top and found that, alas, Paarthy had not left her. Odahviing also circled the peak, and Jess was so happy being around "her" dragons that she spent the whole day there.

Speaking to Paarthy again, the symbolism was not lost on her. What symbolism? I don't know, it was lost on me, but not lost on her, and that's what's important. Jess decided then and there that she was not ready to retire from the world below. High Hrothgar can wait until she's old and grey (but hopefully not bearded). Plus, Jess's mother can't come visit Skyrim until the Civil War is over (see backstory in the "Your Skyrim Characters" thread), so Jess needs to use her Dragonborn-ness to end the war and make sure that the right side wins.

Jess decided to go to Windhelm, and left High Hrothgar the next morning. But on the 7000 Steps, she was attacked by a dragon! To think that just yesterday, she was feeling all kumbaya about dragons, and then one attacks her. It is going to be a complicated world for The Dragonborn, with some dragons following the Way of the Voice and others not. She defeated the dragon and spent the night in Ivarstead.

While in Ivearstead, a guard spoke to Jess: "There was a dragon captive in Whiterun, and you... you released it? By the gods, woman, why?"

Jess made it to Riften the next day. In Riften, she traded the hideous Naahkriin mask to Brand-Shei (her usual merchant for rare trinkets) at well below market value, but she just wanted to get rid of the awful thing. Then she prayed to Mara, and spent the night at Honeyside after having dinner with Iona.

Jess continued for Windhelm before dawn. Traveling alone felt different - she hadn't done that in quite some time. Along the way, she stopped in Darkwater Crossing. After verifying that the residents were all safe (a constant worry for Jess), she had breakfast with Annekke by the campfire. I'm not sure what they talked about, as I was out of earshot, but I think Jess told Annekke about her plan to end the war, and I think Anneke said she would be glad to help, when needed.

Jess continued to Windhelm alone and entered the Palace of the Kings. She was wearing her black dress and boots and her Amulet of Talos when she approached Ulfric about joining the Stormcloaks. Ulfric reminded Jess that they had already spoken about that and she needed to see Galmar. So Jess and Galmar sat down at a table in the war room and talked, Stone-Fist to stealth-mage. Galmar wanted Jess to prove her mettle by assassinating... an ice wraith. Where did he get this idea, from Marise Aravel? Obviously, not an assignment written with a Level 81 Defeater-of-Alduin in mind, but we'll just assume it is more a symbolic task than a practical one.

Jess spoke again with Ulfric, who was friendly and respectful. The same cannot be said for the other jarl in the room - Jarl Skald, who is in exile at the Palace after Jess negotiated the trade of The Reach for The Pale. He called Jess an "Imperial" (the nerve!) and his housecarl Jod said he should bash Jess's face in for all she had done. Calm down, fellas, she's not finished yet.

It reminded Jess that The Pale is now in Imperial hands and The Reach is under Stormcloak control. "The sooner the war ends," Jess thought, "the sooner Ulfric can subdue the Forsworn."

Exiting the Palace, a courier ran up to Jess with bad news. Oh no! This happened once before. Who died this time? Hopefully not one of Jess's good friends. It was Torbjorn Shatter-Shield. Whew, that's a relief. I mean... How sad. That family has been through so much already. Jess will pay a visit to Tova and Nilsine soon to offer her condolences. But first, she has to assassinate an ice wraith.

The next day, Jess traveled to Serpentstone Isle. Is there no way to reach this place without swimming in ice-cold water? How about some boats, Bethesda? Anyway, she killed the ice wraith and spent the night in Winterhold, where she hung out with Brelyna at the College.

The next day, Jess had traveled most of the way back to Windhelm but saw a dragon near Yngol Barrow. "How did I end up on this side of the river?" Jess wondered. "Must have zoned out for a while." Actually, it's because I used Yngol Barrow as a fast travel point.

The dragon had to have seen Jess - it flew over her several times - but did not attack. "Must be following the Way of the Voice," Jess thought. The day was young, so Jess ran after the dragon to try to see where it went, and found herself in a part of Eastmarch she had never been in before. She saw what appeared to be an old house, so she investigated. Traitor's Post, according to her magickal map. Then down the road was a tower apparently used for shelter by Dunmer refugees, but it was infested with trolls. After killing the trolls, she noticed a structure on the hillside. Could that be...?

Jess decided to investigate the structure. Yes, it be. Boethiah's Sacellum. Though still early, it got very dark as Jess walked up the trail. What the...? And the music changed to the "danger music." Yes, the music. Jess hears it, too. She attributes the music to Dibella, Goddess of Beauty, who guides and protects her. The music is Dibella's way of communicating to Jess.

Jess had read about Boethiah and his/her(?) cult in a book. And she didn't like it that they were in Skyrim. She didn't like it at all.

Jess Muffled herself and sneak-climbed above the shrine area, using Detect Life to track the movements of the cultists below. She sneaked to the statue area and was not surprised by what she found there. But rather than attack the cultists, Jess, emboldened by her recent experiences, decided to approach the Boethiah cultists directly. She walked down the steps to speak to the priestess.

The Boethiah priestess told Jess what she needed to do: Prove that her "tongue could wield a lie" and sacrifice someone at their Boethiah pole.

Jess said she would do it. She would prove that her tongue could wield a lie.

Jess walked away, but when she got out of sight of the cultists, she Muffled herself again (dual-cast, for extra-long Muffling) and sneaked back. She silently took out the priestess and another cultist with her dagger (and a Pacify spell) but somehow the other cultists were alerted, anyway. So Jess dual-cast Frenzy on the lot of them. When the last cultist standing came at Jess, she did something she had only done once before that I can recall - she cast a Fear spell (see *Note at the end). The already wounded cultist ran away terrified. When the spell wore off, the cultist came at Jess again. Jess shot the cultist with the Gauldur Blackbow.

Boethiah then possessed the body of the cultist and spoke to Jess, expressing his/her displeasure. "Take your complaints to Nocturnal," Jess said. "I have no more time for you."

Jess was unimpressed with the so-called Prince of Plots and his/her moronic, murderous cultists. And in a rare moment, Jess felt proud again to be a Nightingale of Nocturnal.

Jess returned to Windhelm. It was now after dark, so she spent the night at the Candlehearth Inn, where she heard Luaffyn sing a new song about the end of Alduin.

The next day, Jess reported back to Galmar, who had a new task for her: help him recover the Jagged Crown from the ruin Korvanjund. He also gave her some Stormcloak attire. Jess left again and spent the night at the Nightgate Inn. While there, she modeled her new armor for Hadring (not the hide helmet, though, as she doesn't wear helmets). Not bad. I think it looks pretty good on her. I'm glad she went Stormcloak, if for no other reason than the cuirass looks better than the Imperial one.

The next morning, she met Galmar and a few other Stormcloaks at the ruin. They fought their way through Imperials and draugr. As a stealthy-mage who is used to controlling the tempo of her adventures, Jess was uncomfortable with the aggressive run-and-gun fighting style of Galmar and his soldiers, especially since her only melee weapon is a dagger and she does not carry a shield. Jess used her bow against the Imperials, but against the draugr, she brought out the big dogs - Dremora Lords, Dragon Shouts, and her rarely-used Paralyze spell (one of my rules is to pretend Paralyze is super-duper-ultra expensive to cast, so it can only be cast on rare occassions). Jess learned a new word of Thu'um, and they got the Jagged Crown back without losing any soldiers (though I had to reload a couple of times to achieve that).

Wasting no time, Jess returned to the Palace of the Kings that very night. To surprise Ulfric, Jess approached him, put the Jagged Crown on her own head, and modeled it for him. Ulfric was not amused - in fact, he was a little grumpy - but it was late, so whatever. He simply took the crown from Jess and gave her a new task. Deliver his axe to Jarl Balgruuf.

"This axe?" Jess asked. "It looks like any other axe. Should I say anything to him?"
"He'll know what it means," Ulfric said.
"Understood."

Jess went back to the Candlehearth, where she celebrated her success with some late-night wine and music.

---

*Note about her use of the Fear spell: I think the only other time Jess has used a Fear spell was against a Dwarven Centurion in Blackreach, and that was for "Fun With the Master of the Mind Perk". She's normally not cruel so she doesn't use Fear against the living, but something about those Boethiah dregs brought it out in her.

The next morning, Delia-Jessamine Maric, Breton stealth-mage, offered her condolences to the remaining Shatter-Shields, Tova and Nilsine, about the loss of Torbjorn. Both were still mourning Friga's death. Now this. There was nothing Jess could say to help.

Jess resumed the more pressing matter of delivering a "Message to Whiterun."

Jess left Windhelm for Darkwater Crossing to enlist Annekke as her advisor and companion. Due to Aela’s insistence on remaining neutral, Jess needs a new partner for a while. Annekke is well-suited for the role because Jess views Annekke as a mentor and because of Annekke's existing Stormcloak ties (my interpretation, only; there are no definitive connections in the game that I'm aware of).

Near Morvunskar, Jess came upon some Imperial soldiers leading a prisoner. Jess was wearing her furs, not her Stormcloak cuirass. Though she has freed prisoners from Thalmor many times, Jess has never intervened to free prisoners of Imperials. She hesitated. At that moment a dragon flew over, distracting everyone. The dragon circled several times before flying away. Jess's infatuation with dragons trumped all other considerations, and she tried to follow it. It flew over Kynesgrove and disappeared into the Velothi mountains. Jess forgot about the Imperials and their prisoner.

At Darkwater, Jess bathed in the hot springs, then waited on the porch of the Crag/Rock-Jumper/Chucker residence until the miners got off work. She hung out by the fire with them, sharing an apple pie and Alto Wine. Annekke had already agreed to help Jess and said she could leave in the morning.

They left a little after dawn, stopping in Shor's Stone so that Annekke could visit her reclusive daughter, Sylgja, who locked herself in her house a long time ago due to a debilitating fear of spiders. Sylgja wouldn't even come out to see her loving mother, the poor girl.

At Riften, Jess did some crafting for Annekke. Jess’s crafting skills have improved since the last time she provided for Annekke, so it was time for some new gear. Jess's crafting for Annekke included:

A circlet fortifying Archery, of silver and sapphire to signify Stormcloak affiliation.
A ring and necklace, double-enchanted with Health and Magic Resistance, with emerald to signify Annekke's love of the outdoors.
Improvements to Annekke's leather armor, bracers, boots, and hide shield.
Improvements to Annekke's hunting bow and steel sword.

She did all of that in an afternoon. Efficient. Oh, and while in the market, the guards killed a thief in broad daylight.

They left for Whiterun the next morning, Jess still in furs rather than Stormcloak attire. They made it to Riverwood in the late afternoon. Jess decided they should stay the night at the Sleeping Giant. Jess requested that Sven sing "Tale of the Tongues", and found that the song is not about what she assumed. It was actually the same song she had already heard Luaffyn sing about the defeat of Alduin. The song put her in a somber mood.

On the road to Whiterun the next morning, they saw a group of Imperial soldiers leading a prisoner. Jess looked to Annekke, who shook her head: "You have to give Balgruuf a chance. We can't fight Imperials in his hold right now." They passed by the group. That’s why Annekke’s the advisor.

Before going to Dragonsreach, Jess had personal business at Jorrvaskr. She spoke briefly to her husband, Torvar, on the back porch. He was drinking as usual, and wistfully told Jess that he loves her. Jess didn't want to deal with that right now, though. She found Aela inside.

"Blood running hot?" Aela asked. Jess didn't know what Aela’s cryptic question meant, as it could refer to any number of things. Jess thought of their last night together, the night before the defeat of Alduin. Jess regretted not coming to see Aela right away. And now she brings Annekke... though her relationship with Annekke is more like mother and daughter.

Jess introduced them.
"We've met," Aela said.
"Oh, I forgot. My mind isn't so great sometimes. I'm sure I'm going to be like Wylandriah soon."
"Who?"
"Court mage in Riften. I guess you don't know her."

Aela was not cheerful. Then again, when is she? They spoke away from the other Companions, with Annekke present. Jess was uncomfortable hiding the reason she came to Whiterun, so she told Aela.

"Before you go back to Windhelm, would you tell me how the meeting with Balgruuf goes?"
"Of course."

Jess and Annekke started for Dragonsreach. Jess was nervous, just like the last time she walked to Dragonsreach.

The meeting with Balgruuf was a disaster.

Jess and Annekke went back to Jorrvaskr and found Aela out back. Aela looked up expectantly as Jess approached. Jess stopped and shook her head. They took a long look at each other before Jess turned and walked away.

On the road outside Whiterun, Jess saw the outline of High Hrothgar, and her spirits lifted a bit. She pointed it out to Annekke.
"Yes, we went there once, remember?" Annekke responded.
"When the war's over, we can go to the top and you can meet my dragons."
"Your dragons?"
"Well... one of them says he's loyal to me. I don't know about the other one."

They traveled through the night to Riften (Jess doesn’t remember being killed by an Ancient Dragon along the way), slept a few hours, and continued to Windhelm.

It was night when they arrived at the Palace of the Kings. Ulfric looked up from the war map, and noticed Annekke.
“Annekke Crag-Jumper, I’m a corundum supplier from Darkwater Crossing.”
“Ah yes. If you have business, see Jorleif in the morning,” Ulfric said.
“I’m here with the Dragonborn.”
“And what news does she bring?” Ulfric asked, looking to Jess.
Jess delivered the news to Ulfric. After over two years of skirmishing between the Imperials and the Stormcloaks, the decisive phase of the war was about to begin.

Added the main hall to Heljarchen Hall and a few shelves. Added some more furnishings to the smaller room at the entrance. Got a carriage driver there but then regretted it as he is too close to the house, but im stuck with him now.

Went to a Barrow to retrieve a fragment of Wuuthrad for Aela. The area was very small surprisingly, with only a few silverhands.

Decided to go into Kilreith ruins to get Dawnbreaker for Meridia. Unfortunately I encountered a bug where, upon picking up dawnbreaker, you get transported into the sky but Meridia does not speak to you and I ended up just stranded in the sky. Reloading from earlier did not help so, alas, dawnbreaker shall not be mine.

After ages of leaving it, I finally decided to read the elder scroll at the time wound and face Alduin. After 'defeating' him, the pesky dragon flew away and I realised that this was not the end as I had expected.

I did enjoy the next part however, which involved calling Odahviing the dragon and trapping him in Dragonsreach. The Odahviing shout sounded a bit silly but it did the job and using the dragonrend shout made him land on the balcony. I managed to forget that I was supposed to be trapping, and not killing him, and I was attacking him for ages, thinking 'why wont he die? ' before I remembered the actual plan.

I spoke to him and he gave me a ride to Skuldafn, high in the Jerrals, which was a massive Nordic ruin that had a portal to Sovngarde, where Alduin was gaining strength.
After encountering two dragons and about 7 draugr deathlords before even entering the ruins, and several more at the first tower, I really couldnt be bothered traipsing the giant area. Annoyingly, once you are at Skuldafn, you cannot leave, and calling for Odahviing did nothing, therefore I reloaded and will save that quest for some other time.