Enderal Journal, Entry 19 - Catching Some Breath blog - AK151

I'm replaying Enderal, a total conversion for Skyrim. I found it well-made, with a gripping story, great characters, and excellent music. I got a whole bunch of mods for my next playthrough, and one adds in a journal one can write in to record thoughts, events, etc. I'll be keeping this journal up as I play, and I figured it would be fun to share it here.

Heartfire, 3rd, 4E 8234

Grim start to the morning. Took a job from the Myrad keeper to clear out a nearby keep crawling with bandits. Belonged to some noble family. Found the mother and father dead in cells. Found a girl's corpse in the sewers. Killed by the bandits. I slaughtered them all. They had a treasury. I only took a few things. Figured they're better in my hands than anyone else's. The bandits were setting up oil to burn the place down. I finished the job.

Mopped up a few more bandit camps with Alice and got my pay from the Myrad keeper. They're a really good source of income, all things considered; most of the time the towers don't have too many guards, so the keepers hire mercenaries to clear out any threats that seem to be closing in. And they pay well. They kind of have to if they want mercenaries to keep coming back.

I'm taking a bit of time to rest in the tower. Then I think I'll walk back to Ark. Take the scenic route for a change. It'll be relaxing, and I really could use that after this morning.

Well, the walk was certainly relaxing. Had some time to clear my head. Even the constant threat of the wild animals isn't as bad as it used to be. When I first came here, every fight with a pack of wolves had the potential to go bad. Now, they're just nuisances I don't even really deal with; Alice is more than enough to handle them.

Anyways, I got back to Ark and did some shopping before heading back to the Sun Temple. Figured it would be best to show up "in uniform", so to speak. This armor's heavy, but it feels pretty good. I hate to admit it, but it's actually really useful in a fight; all that ceremonial coloring and fanciful decoration isn't for show, which is refreshing. I met Jespar at the temple - he had just finished reporting to Firespark. He's still a bit unnerved by the Aged Man's mansion. Hardly surprising. Thinking about that place still gives me chills.

After talking with Jespar for a bit, I went to the Chronicum to meet the arcanists and give them the last glyphs for their little incantation. I'm not sure exactly what they did, but they shattered this stone into pieces; apparently the fragments are capable of protecting against the Red Madness. They're all hewn from something called the Sigil Stone. We have enough for all of the Keepers and the guard, but that's it. I guess it's something.

I went to Arantheal after igniting the Sigil Stone. There's another expedition in a Pyrean ruin. They might have uncovered something big: a device the Pyreans were building, apparently capable of stopping the Cleansing. I have no earthly idea how much stock to put in that, but any lead is worth looking into. Maybe we'll be able to finish this thing and use it? Or maybe it'll be useless. Either way, we don't really have many options.

Lishari's already at the expedition; she left right before I got back. I'll be heading there the day after tomorrow. Have to wait on Calia. She's apparently on some mission scouting out the Farmer's Coast. Maybe taking on some of those highwaymen I came across. She'll make short work of them.

But since I've got a free evening, I think I'm going to head to the training areas and see what they've got. Maybe I'll spar with some of the Keepers and arcanists, see what they're made of. Tomorrow I'm going to take the Myrad to the Heartland's Border and collect on a few bounties, but tonight, I think I'm going to have some fun.

Say what you want about the Keepers, but their armor and weapons aren't just for show. They're exceptional fighters, but I think I'm starting to understand what makes them so dangerous for arcanists: it's hard to even see them in the Sea of Eventualities. They're there, but they've got some sort of... veil, like some shield or magical protection, that obscures their realities. It might just be that they're powerful; I've had this problem a few times, but only in situations where I was in over my head. I dueled a Keeper, and out of curiosity I tried to find the reality where he was dead, just to prove the point that were we actually fighting, I could take him down easily. Only, I couldn't. I couldn't find it. I could sort of see some of the more mundane realities, like lightning arcing from my hand to his armor, or a wall of fire sprouting up from the ground to engulf him, but the eventualities where he was dead I just couldn’t find.

Looking at them now, it applies to all of them. They're all hard to envision in any reality except ours. Anyone trying to use magic against them would be hard-pressed to find a reality that could do some damage. Granted, I was still able to pull ahead using Blutgang, but only just. These Keepers are no joke, and I was an idiot to think they would be. The arcanists are pretty impressive too. Actually picked up a few tricks dueling with one of them. Had to use Blutgang again. Had we only been using magic, it might have been a closer battle. The Holy Order certainly doesn't train weaklings. That's for sure.

All-in-all, a fairly fruitful, if slightly depressing day. I've definitely had worse. Tomorrow should be a fairly relaxing day of hunting. I think I'll be heading into the Whisperwood. The first time I went there, I didn't really appreciate it. Too busy paying attention to the whole Keeper ritual thing. I kind of regret that. Hopefully I'll rectify that mistake tomorrow.