Bleak Falls Barrow: Day Three: Part Two

The day is Tirdas the 19th of Last Seed when we catch up with Dar'Shavari and her exploits. She has spent the day roaming the lands in search of adventures, fame and fortune and has happened upon an intriguing structure, of which she feels compelled to explore. Stood atop a snow covered clifftop, shivering and pacing in anticipation, she has a decision to make; to enter or not to enter... After about two seconds thought, I decide to just poke my head inside and see if there are any interesting trinkets or baubles that I can plunder. Instantly in sneak mode, I inch my way forward, as I can see two Bandits in conversation ahead of me. With my tiger-like paws making no sound at all, I make my way towards them and overhear the words "Golden Claw!". Just the sound of this treasure sets my heart skipping a beat and in that instant I have made a decision; to find this trophy and claim it for my own! I get my bow ready and loose a single arrow for each of the Bandits, who go down with one hit! Getting pretty skilled with my bow now! As I loot their corpses, my eyes catching on every little sparkle or glimmer in their posession, I notice that there are quite a few dead bodies littering the floor. The guys I just killed musn't have worked well in a team, but this fact just makes me feel glad that I am alone, with no-one to share the booty with.

I loot all of the bodies in this first chamber and even find a chest with 50 Gold in it! I prepare myself by the campfire for the upcoming exploration, checking I have enough Arrows and Potions stocked up, then make my way through the tunnels to the next area. In the tunnels, I come across another Bandit and take him out with my growing archery skills. More twisting tunnels and the smell of damp accompany me through this seemingly never ending Barrow. Then I come across a strange room which has blocks with animals carved into their surfaces, and I guess that this must be some kind of puzzle room!

My sharp Cat-wits help me to solve the puzzle and I am granted access to the next area. There is some loot in the next room and a book that looks promising, I'm not really into reading but I pick it up regardless (the title says Thief). As I open the crusty pages a sound in my ear reminds me that I have risen another level! I take the book with me for luck and once more glance up into the heavens, choosing to increse my Stamina and my Sneakiness by 20%. Better sneak skills mean better hunting, and I am eager to advance. I come across a spiral staircase and make my way down into the dank, ancient tunnels that make up this Barrow.

At the bottom of the stairs, I am immediately attacked by Skeevers. What ferocious little rats they are, I think as I chew on one of their tails. I continue on my way and come across heavily cobwebbed corridors, this can only mean spiders! Tasty... I claw down the sticky mass of webs and advance into the next chamber where a huge red, pulsating spider drops down from the ceiling! I try slashing at the beast with my claws, but this spider seems quite strong so I switch to my bow to finish it off. After catching my breath, I realise that there is a voice coming from somewhere shouting "You killed it!!"

I look around frantically while pulling the spider's bristles and webbing from my clothing and spot a man hung up in the spider's web. He is rambling on about getting him down from there and further treasures in the Barrow, but I press him for information about the Golden Claw. I even demand that he tells me because he obviously knows something, but he insists upon me getting him down from there, so I slash at the webbing holding him in place and he slides free! He immediately takes off, and I follow him through the corridors, panicking that this man would escape with the Golden Claw!! I am just about to catch up with the traitor, when the corpses that are lining the walls come to life and attack my fleeing friend! Needless to say, he is taken down and I am left to fend off their stinking bodies with my claws.

I look down at Arvel on the right (that was the fellow's name I discover) and the corpses to the left and wonder what I have gotten myself into, down here in the depths of Bleak Falls Barrow. I search his body and find the object of my mission, the Golden Claw!!! I also pick up his journel, where he describes how to use the Golden Claw and other treasures that lie further on in the cave. I must continue this journey now!! The thought of even more treasures makes me greedy and I snatch up his belongings and continue on deeper into the barrow in search of gold and jewels. This part of the Barrow is very old and filled with undead corpses that seem to come back to life upon my entering the room, there must be some kind of trigger or something. Their constant attacks leave me breathless and smelling like a dead sewer rat, but I take them all down with a mixture of my clawing skills and my bow and arrows. The stench that fills my nostrils everytime I swing my arms around won't come off for days!!

What a face! I come across a chest with some gems inside, my lockpicking skills are coming on nicely! Then I find a watery stream path that I really don't want to go down because, as I have pointed out before, I hate water!! Although, the smell from the corpses I have been tangling with all night might wash off if I go down... I ponder this as I eat a Horker loaf, wow! That's a new flavour!!! I realise that the day is slowly slipping away from me, but I can't stop now when I am so close to a fortune of treasures!! I am sure that the next room I enter will have a huge hoard of jewels, and as my mind gets taken over by thoughts of fame and fortune, I realise that we have entered a new day...