"A journey of a thousand miles starts with indecision".

Old Skyrim proverb.

 

The plan was to head for Markarth using the main road but now I'm thinking across the plain to Rorikstead, up over the plateau and on to Markarth that way. The fact that I can pick up some Nightshade (skooma ingredient) from Hamvir's Rest makes the decision.

 

Girls go West.

 

At this point I realise that half the day has already gone which means we are going to be lucky to get to anywhere civilised before nightfall. ?

 

 

 

We don't get off to a great start as I run and jump over that rocky thing only to realise that the drop on the other side is a lot bigger than anticipated. It didn't do any damage but Ivis wasn't for having it so I had to stand around waiting for her as she took the scenic route.

 

Only gone a few paces when we have our first encounter with a rhino, a woolly rhino no less. It looked like an acrylic rhino to me but I'm not an expert on pachyderms. One thing I did learn here is that a rhino can take out a wolf quicker than I can draw my sword. Luckily the beast was friendly enough.

 

A few yards more and we get to Breakwind Basin. Now in my game there at at least three different types of giant and they fall into three groups - friendly; friendly if you don't come too close; and downright hostile. I'm looking at three giants and at least three mammoths and thinking that these are in either the second or third group.

 

Time for our first cunning plan. Run through the camp, snaffle the nirnroot and keep running before the giants can react. Pray that Ivis doesn't do anything stupid.

 

It wasn't entirely down to Ivis. We had just made it through the camp without incident when my radar lit up and my outfit enchantment kicked in. I spun around to see Ivis giving it plenty with here greatsword. There was a rhino, at least one mammoth and maybe something else all with the green effect from a spriggan. This sent all the giants and mammoths hostile so time for a sharp exit and no mistake.

 

Luckily there was a fight going on nearby between Stormies and Imps courtesy of Warzones. So I ran through that fight with the giants and mammoths in tow. Looks like Ivis has taken one for the team.

 

This is going to take a while.

 

Hmm. Fighting to the west that has nothing to do with me.

 

Fighting to the north that has nothing to do with me. Still no sign of Ivis. ?

 

At this point I turned east just in time to find the giants and mammoths almost on top of me so off I ran again. Time for a cunning plan - cheese tactic combo. Head for Dustman's Cairn, drag in that fight going on in the previous screenshot and hope that the skellies and draugr at Hamvir's Rest get involved.

 

Well I made it to Dustman's and the giants got sidetracked by something but . . .

 

I should point out at this stage that:

(i) I am either just short of level 25 or just turned level 25.

(ii) It has taken just short of 4 hours to get from Whiterun to Dustman's Cairn even though most of that time was spent running.

(iii) I am still short one follwer.

 

Bring it on.

Boo!

 

The mammoth can't get in but my fireballs can get out. Just finished dealing with the mammoth when a giant showed up but he must have been at death's door as one fireball finished him.

 

Time to weigh up the situation.

Fireball en route to finish off one mammoth and a giant still standing but hopefully only just.

 

Unfortunately the giant was still in tip-top condition. Oh look. I think he wants a word. ☹️

 

So I jump back into Dustman's Cairn except . . .

 . . . giants can do that too. ?

"You don't have enough Magicka" is not what I want to hear at this stage. The giant is struggling with the concept of steps but I don't know how long this will last.

 

Hopes raised only to be cruelly dashed as 3 draugr enter stage right and jump in. Sadly they jumped in just as one of my fireballs landed so they only lasted as long as it took for the giant to do 3 hits. A few seconds later a skellie enters stage left and gets one-shotted by the giant. A few seconds after that a second skellie does a rinse and repeat.

Meanwhile I learn that it requires a lot of fireballs to take down a full health level 58 Giant Beserker.

 

I'm old enough to remember when I had a follower named 'Ivis'. I suppose I should go and look for her before the light goes.

 

I backtrack as far as Silent Moons when I see a large running battle between who knows. I try to get a bit closer to see if Ivis is involved . . .

 

 

 . . .  When the time comes to write the history of stupid, this will go down as the most stupid thing on Stupid Street in Stupidtown. I was spotted.

I was doing okay running around like a lunatic, desperately looking for some friendlies to drag in until I learned that ash hoppers can run as fast as hell and still have time to hurt you from behind. Bugger!

Naked Defeat kicked in and we go into a run of captured, shagged, fight - captured, shagged, fight until all the bandits have gone.

This was the last one who just wandered off after the sex.

At least Ivis has turned up.

 

So onwards and upwards. I get my nightshade from Hamvir's and we continue towards Rorikstead and en route we bump into, near Greenspring Hollow I think, some Zombie Dogs who are new to me (I'm guessing Demonic Creatures).

 

Not far from Greenspring Hollow is a bandit camp next so the water. We get into a running fight with the bandits and initially we are doing okay.

 

The bandits' numbers eventually tell and I get captured.

 

Game goes south.

 

Thing get confusing at this point. Naked Defeat kicks in, does it's thing then we get back to fighting. We get to having only 4 bandits left, I get captured and Ivis is down, the ND sequence starts, Ivis recovers and takes out the three bandits who are waiting for their turn. This borked things. This borked things good style.

 

To unbork things took forever. Cancel running animations in SLF - no. Debug option in ND - no. Save, exit, clean save - no. Save, exit, manually clean save (by pure guesswork) - partial success. Save, exit, manually clean some more - more partial success. There may have been one or two more of those until I got to the stage where I could walk but not access the inventory or the MCMs, couldn't draw my weapon or cast a fireball. Ivis had gone into bleedout at some point but I now had her up on her feet with her weapon drawn but she wouldn't sheathe it. I wracking my brains here as I know I've had this before but it was years ago.

I decide to carry on anyway in the hope that something clicks. It does! A sneaky suspicion appears in the back of my mind. We carry on until we come across a pair of Vigilants in the middle of nowhere who have just taken out some vampires. Time to see if my suspicion is correct. I ask one of the viggies if they are interested in sex, courtesy of TDF APP. Bingo! He is and the animation kicks in.  Animation does its thing and then ends. And . . . I do a couple of shudders and Ivis sheathes her weapon. A few key presses later and everything is good. A close call there as my last non quicksave would be the autosave on leaving Whiterun.

 

After approximately 16 hours we are about half way to Rorikstead. Who needs fast travel? ?