Jorrvaskr, Sun's Dusk 24
I must have impressed Vilkas more than he let on, because when I got back he had an urgent job for me: Ysolda, a local merchant, had been kidnapped by a group of bandits holed up in a mine near Riverwood. Maybe a sleeping sap deal gone wrong? She didn't say. The bandits didn't offer much resistance, just a group of rabble really, no sign of any kind of leadership. I released Ysolda and escorted her back to Whiterun. It was getting dark, so I went back to the longhouse to report in and get some sleep.

It looks like the Companions are starting to trust me, that was an important if not difficult contract. Things are boding well.


Lost Valley Redoubt, Sun's Dusk 25
I got my wish for a more challenging mission today. I was tasked with dealing with a Reach warlord consorting with the black arts. Of course, that means assaulting a Forsworn stronghold: Lost Valley Redoubt. Charging in the front gate would be difficult, the defenders would be able to use the layout to overwhelm me and force me into traps. However, there's a reason that fortresses are generally built on high ground and not nestled neatly inside a valley. From a high vantage I picked off most of the defenders with my crossbow. Even though I was surely ridgelined they didn't notice where I was striking from until I had reduced their number by half. At that point I dropped down and finished them off with my scimitar before they regrouped.

After that, I hunted down the Hagravens that the Forsworn were working with. I found them performing some sort of ritual on a comatose Reachman. I made camp a short distance from the fortress, and plan to return to Whiterun at dawn.


Four Shields Tavern, Sun's Dusk 26
Skjor passed to me a job to deal with a bandit gang hiding out near Solitude, in a place called Broken Oar Grotto. I've stopped for the night at Dragon Bridge, and will make the rest of the trip tomorrow.


Winking Skeever, Sun's Dusk 27
I'm not entirely sure what happened... I went to Broken Oar Grotto and cleared out the bandits there, no problem, but after I returned to Solitude I was approached by a mad beggar. He asked my to find his master in a sealed off wing of the palace, and I decided to humor him. Falk Firebeard gave me the key, and when I went in there... I don't know, it doesn't make any sense from there. But I do now have this staff: the Wabbajack. From what I've heard about this staff maybe it's for the best that my memory of how I came to find it remains nothing more than a strange dream.


Stonehill Refuge, Sun's Dusk 29
On my way back to Whiterun, I decided to go after a bounty placed by the Jarl of Dawnstar upon two giants known as Fleshlumpeater and Bloodbottler. They were at a giant encampment at Stonehill. The Jarl certainly isn't paying enough for this, because this camp turned out to be a massive cave system home to no fewer than a dozen of the brutes. Still, the gold and gems the monsters had collected, along with some enchanted arms that presumably used to be the property of less skilled mercenaries made the trip worthwhile.