JoS/Henriette/37th Journal - Summer in Solstheim

Sun's Height, 8th, 4E 203

We arrived at a settlement called Raven Rock around sunrise. The sky was still cloudy, but the wind had died down. I don't know how that works, but it tends to be less windy at night. Why is that? Anyway, when we pulled our little stolen boat to the docks, the town was still quiet, with only a few guardsmen outside, along with some early birds working at the docks. One of them was a well-dressed middle-aged Dunmer, who had many questions about our business, wondering why a quartet of young, scantily clad preteen girls was traveling alone. After we explained that we were adventurers who had escaped enslavement from the nearby pirate's hideout and didn't have any money on us because of that, he offered us some so we could at least get a meal and a roof over our heads.

We took the opportunity and decided to visit the local inn because let's be honest, we really were starving! Well, Frea was, but not me or my girls. We can easily live without proper "mortal" food for quite a long while because our bodies don't really need sustenance in the same way that mortals do, but it never hurts to replenish ourselves. Vitamins, proteins, and what-not still do wonders for us, even if this food may not be as iron-rich as what we prefer to eat.

We also had ourselves a jug full of Sujamma, which kicked us in the head harder than any mead Nords serve in their taverns. The taste? Well, that's for contention. I don't personally have a preference, but all three of my dates are Nords, and they all like mead more. Don't let the fact that they're little girls fool you. I assure you, little Nord girls enjoy mead and alcohol in general just as much as those hairy adult men who shame us for being "milk-drinkers".

Oh, and the name of that tavern is "The Retching Netch". It's a weird one, one that I didn't even think much of it initially... Then I actually found out what a "Netch" is. They are these weird, huge flying tentacle monsters flying around here, and they seriously creep me out. I asked the locals about them, and they just laughed at me. Apparently, they're gentle creatures unless provoked. Well, that's a relief... I wouldn't want to be attacked by one…

It's a good thing that place was open even though this town is tiny and probably doesn't get a whole lot of visitors. Then again, this entire island is very sparsely populated... I'm pretty sure that pirates, bandits, reavers, and marauders all outnumber actual law-abiding citizens in this remote little place.

As for the island itself, what kind of place is Solstheim really? In short, it's basically just Skyrim, but with a dose of Morrowind mixed in.

I was actually expecting this island to be more barren. People always talk about how Morrowind was devastated by the eruption of the Red Mountain, about how it's a wasteland because of the volcano still spewing ash, but it's so green and fertile in here, and the flora is so colorful too. I guess it has something to do with death bringing along new life, or maybe the ash is mineral-rich, promoting growth for new plant life. You can actually see the volcano in the distance on the island of Vvardenfell, and it's still smoking as an ominous reminder of what nature can produce.

I'm absolutely over the moon with all the rare ingredients I'm about to find, but not so over the moon about the monsters here. I'm not afraid of bugs, but I have never liked them, and there are a lot of them here. And I mean A LOT. Here they have some hopping crickets, which mostly seem harmless, and some chalk bugs, which I have never seen anywhere before. There are also Cliff Racers here, which is weird. I thought they were hunted to extinction?

Despite what I'm writing, we haven't had much time to explore sadly, as our efforts have mostly been concentrated within the city walls, or "the bulwark". I mostly interviewed the townsfolk alone, trying to find some answers regarding Miraak and these strange cultists attacking me, but people have only given me very strange and vague answers, nothing concrete. It's always something like, "I've heard that name before, not sure where". It's super weird and creepy.

Speaking of creepy, I visited the so-called "Earth Stone" on the shore just south of Raven Rock. At least, that's what the locals called it, saying it's one of the six such ancient landmarks scattered across the island. There were people around the stone working on it, building an altar around it or something, and these people were genuinely hypnotized. Like, if those vague answers given to us about Miraak were weird, this was downright creepy. I really had no idea what was even going on in there. There was only one person unaffected by this strange spell near the stone. Well, besides me anyway.

We sadly never got across introducing ourselves, so I have no name to give you, but he was this Dunmer mage wearing some really lavish robes, walking around the ruins, inspecting what the fuck was going on in awe. When he saw me, he obviously asked me if I was also under this spell, describing it as some weird kind of magic he had never encountered before, mumbling to himself about having to study this phenomenon. He was also interested in me in general, or at least my body… He eyed me up and down, and I'm pretty sure he stared at my butt for way longer than is normal. He's a pedophile, that's for sure. He seemed friendly though, if you forget the few sarcastic and snarky remarks he made.

Anyway, this mage was the only one who could tell me anything about Miraak, and he told me that he's been dead for thousands of years! Well, that explains the cultists, I suppose… Maybe they're worshipping him as a deity or something? He didn't tell me who Miraak exactly is, but he talked about some ancient ruins in the heart of the island, which he feels are connected to him, so I should probably start searching there.

After this point, I reunited with my girls and Frea, who suddenly was surprised to learn why we had come to Solstheim. Yeah, it's funny, isn't it? We hadn't discussed that up until that point. Surprisingly, when she heard me speak Miraak's name, she could give me more answers.

"Wait, you're looking for Miraak?" she asked. "My father also said that Miraak had returned."

I asked her to clarify, and she told me that Miraak was a Dragon Priest whose history is connected to this island, a Dragon Priest who once rebelled against his dragon overlords. Supposedly he was brought down and destroyed by the dragons, which is why he's presumed dead, but all this didn't quite add up. I also asked her if she knew anything about Miraak being a Dragonborn, to which she just shook her head and gave me a long, stretched-out "no".

Frea could also tell me about a "sickness" affecting Solstheim and how it has spread all over the island, and it's the main reason she left her own village in the first place. "It has hypnotized so many of our villagers", she said, "and there was nothing my father could do but erect a barrier to protect what few people we had left inside. He warned me not to go, but I stole his protective amulet and left anyway. When looking for answers, I was kidnapped by the pirates."

Frea also seemed surprised at why it wasn't affecting us when it seemed to be affecting everyone else on the island randomly. We're really not sure why. Whatever the case may be, we at the very least could piece these clues together and figure out that we really should explore the place that weird wizard mentioned. Frea thought this was a good idea and said she'd be happy to work as our guide. We have similar goals here, so it only makes sense. "Besides", she added with a kind smile on her face, "I owe you girls for saving my ass."

Our final course of business was talking to Glover, although I did most of the talking. I mentioned his brother and offered help in exchange for a place to stay, which he appreciates because working the forge keeps him too busy to do any Guild jobs. Yep, despite being part of the Thieves Guild, he works as the blacksmith. According to him, the place is so poor that making a living by being a thief is almost impossible. In these lands, honest work pays more. For work, he had two pieces of business for me, one regarding an improved bonemold recipe stolen from him by a bandit and another one regarding some ancient Nordic pickaxe stolen by someone else. Ironic, isn't it? Even a member of the Thieves Guild can become a victim of theft.

Anyway, I'll have to skip helping Glover for now because tomorrow, we'll venture past the bulwark. I'm quite excited to explore this island thoroughly, and so are my two old friends!

Sun's Height, 9th, 4E 203

We kicked our day off with a peaceful stroll through the quiet countryside to the mountains towards the north of the island, where we found Miraak's burial site as expected. While it looked like a typical Nord burial from some angles, it had some strange quirks to it. Its design certainly didn't remind me of anything I'd ever seen before, and it didn't look as "ancient" as I expected either. In fact, we found a lot of people doing repairs and maintenance, which was my first taste of what the "sickness" Frea described is like. None of them paid any attention to us, and some of them spoke strange, cryptic lines that, when put together, almost sounded like some sort of prayer or a chant. According to Frea, not even a slap on the cheek would help them snap out of the hypnosis, so we just moved past them.

While most of these people looked like outlaws, amongst the brainwashed folks were also two of the Skaal that Frea recognized, Yrsa and Oslaf. Having seen her own comrades, the people from her own home village like that made her so mad, and she urged us to press forward.

Oh, and we got some solid proof that we are indeed dealing with a Dragonborn here. You don't tend to come across skeletal remains of dragons too often, not unless you travel with me anyway, but walking up the mountain, we found half a dozen of them. They most certainly didn't have souls anymore either, since there was nothing left to absorb.

And finally, as we made our way down underground and then inside the ruins, we came across more cultists as well. However, we had no trouble with them.

At first, it looked like just another ordinary Nordic ruin on the inside, but as we delved deeper, we learned that it's actually quite a big place. It was like there was a ruin inside of the ruin. This didn't just use to be a place to bury dead either, but actually a place for living, as evident by a large dining room fit for a king. There were also quite a lot of skeletons and old bodies in cages. Miraak must be quite a sadist, or used to be. Then again, if he's still alive… Whatever…

Its guardians further down the bowels were powerful, and we sure had our work cut out for us. I've gotten much better at handling blades and even succeeded with one attack I've been training a long time. It's a spinning back-hand strike to the neck with a lot of speed and power behind it, and it's hard for the enemy to predict. Cut a couple of heads clean off with that. I used to prefer bows almost exclusively - and I still love them - but the adrenaline rush I get from fast-paced combat with daggers is more exhilarating. The only downside is that it's more dangerous, as I can't afford to get hit. Luckily, I'm fast and tiny, so the undead struggle to catch me.

We need to take a little breather now, as we're not quite sure how to move forward. There's a long, trapped hallway ahead with dozens of swinging blades hanging from the roof, and even I'm getting the heebie-jeebies… Like, there are just too many of them. One wrong move, and you're dead. I'm not quite sure if these things can be disabled either…

Well, it'll probably be fine, but we'll see…

Sun's Height, 9th, 4E 203

Sure enough, it was fine, but what was ahead didn't go well.

Further down the tunnels, it didn't even feel like we were inside a Nordic burial anymore. There were these strange statues around, more dragon bones, and more importantly, more nasty enemies. We came to this large hallway with stairs leading up, and the biggest horde of Draugr I had ever seen surrounded us from all directions. None of them were particularly strong, as all of them wore nothing but rags and wielded no weapons, and it almost felt like these drooling, howling creatures weren't even trying to kill us to begin with. They were tearing at our armor and attacking us with the sole purpose of stripping us. Had there not been so many of them, it wouldn't have been a problem, but like I said, there was an army of them! It was a horde! I must've killed at least two dozen of them alone.

We had no idea how many we had killed and how many were left, but one more emerged from the top of the staircase, this one actually wielding heavy armor and weaponry. He attacked us with a shout, and can you guess what kind of Thu'um it was? What if I told you it was a kind of shout that only affected us, but none of the undead we were surrounded by? Yeah, he disarmed us. All of us.

Suddenly unable to defend myself, one damn Draugr overwhelmed me and pushed me to the ground, ripping through my armor with ease. Frea, who relies only on her axes, also found herself in a similar situation, but at least my friends still had their Destruction magic. Well, I had my shout too, and it was my Unrelenting Force shout that actually was able to blow all the damn Draugr off me before they could rape me. Yeah, I have no fucking doubt that was what they were going for, and they came so close to defiling me. By the time I got hold of my daggers again, I had nothing left to wear.

I challenged the big bad Draugr while my friends were left to fend off what was left of the horde. Somehow, we survived, but not without losing our dignity. Frea and I are stark-naked, and Sofia's and Serana's garments are in tatters. If there's one consolation, it's that we think we're at the end of the road, with no more enemies left to threaten us.

Now, I'm not quite sure what to do next. What we found most certainly isn't Miraak… I'm not quite sure what this is…

It's a dead-end, some kind of strange room with weird Daedric vibes, and in the middle of it lies a pedestal, on top of which is nothing but a book. It's surrounded by a ring of fire burning from underneath the ground, from underneath a dark metal grill. We have all tried to approach it, but we're not sure… It doesn't seem like the fire burns us, but I'm afraid to step in regardless. So are my friends.

One thing we can all agree on is that this book is significant somehow. It looks old, spooky, and it's thick. Really fucking thick. I think I'm gonna touch it and pick it up to see what happens once I've regained my strength.

Sun's Height, 10th, 4E 203

Fortunately, the fire didn't burn me when I walked up to the book, even though the flames touched my skin. It was weird. I could pick up the book and open it to read it for clues… Bad idea.

The words on the pages began to move as soon as I opened the first page. They flew out from the book like a string of web being spat out, transforming into tentacles, grabbing onto my wrists and arms so I couldn't even drop the book. I couldn't look away as the book followed my eyes, and even when I closed my eyes, the words burned through my eyelids. Yet, even though I could understand the language, I couldn't comprehend the words. Soon, they took hold of my entire body, and I felt myself levitating and transported somewhere in a literal blink of an eye.

I arrived in a Daedric realm of some kind, that much I'm sure of. It was such a bizarre place, and Miraak was there, standing in front of me, talking to some creatures that I believe to be his subordinates or something. There were these strange flying tentacle creatures next to him, and he had a dragon too. He sensed my presence rather quickly and was furious about being interrupted. I tried to mount an offense, but he spoke words of power unknown to me, having some strange effect on me. Like, I don't even know what happened. I just froze completely, almost as if subservient to his will. I snapped back to reality when something massive grabbed onto me from behind with its tentacles, leaving me suspended in the air in perfect submission.

All this transpired in only about ten seconds from the moment I picked up the book, and I had no idea what the hell had just happened. He, however, quickly recognized me for what I am: a fellow Dragonborn. This recognition perhaps spared me from whatever he meant to do to me when I appeared in front of him, which would've no doubt been bad for me.

He's been disconnected from our mortal world for a long time, so he didn't really know who or what to expect, but he probably wasn't expecting a little girl … or maybe that's precisely what gave me away? He somehow knew it was I who had killed Alduin, so perhaps he did know about me. Whatever the case may be, he didn't end up coming for my life for some reason. He set me free. The tentacles that held me in place dropped me to the ground, leaving me stunned, and he called on his minions to send me back to where I came from.

It was like he was in a rush to have me gone or something. He just told me to wait for me in the mortal world, for he would soon return to Tamriel himself before finally banishing me from his realm. I just reappeared from where I picked the book, and then the whole thing was over as quickly as it started. And the final weird thing about this whole thing is that while it all certainly felt real and as if I was there, my friends all say I never disappeared or were transported anywhere as I explained what happened. They all said something along the lines of, "we could still see you, but we could also see through you", or something, and they could all see the book in my hands with all those tentacles holding me. It wasn't a dream or anything like that, that's for damn sure, so what happened? Did my soul temporarily leave my body or something?

Whatever the case may be, the book's still with me, but I don't even dare to look at it, much less open it. It feels dangerous and stupid to even carry it, but… It may be important to hold on to… After all, I can use this to travel to where Miraak is, whatever that place may be…

The real question is, can he also travel to the mortal world with this book? Surely not, especially if you consider that I never really traveled to that place either. However, in the unlikely scenario that it is possible, then unearthing this book was a terrible mistake. Yet, at the same time, when he DID tell me to wait for him, he sounded almost friendly to me… And he spared me too… Yet, the cultists wanted to kill me and probably still do…

Frea then took me to her village to talk to her father, Storn, the leader of the Skaal, so at least I'm safe here, along with my friends. We talked about our experiences as well as the book I found. He confirmed a lot of what we already knew about Miraak, about him being Dragonborn like me, and he also suspected that I am Dragonborn as well. I had no reason to hide this fact.

I'm not sure if he genuinely trusts me, and I'm not even sure where my own allegiance lies in this tale, but I feel like I have a reason to be here.

We may not have been able to solve what's happening here, as the sickness - or whatever you call it - still has this island under its spell. Sure, we learned some things, but now we just have more questions. For what it's worth, I told Storn that I would at least try to help the Skaal, and by proxy, everyone else on this island too. Where should we start? Well, that's the problem. Storn's theory is that the same power Miraak wields to his advantage on this island to control its residents could also be used against him. "You're a Dragonborn like him", he said, "so maybe you can learn such a power too."

However, there are two problems: one, this is simply a theory on his part, and two, he doesn't really even know where such a power could be located in. No doubt there are some ancient sites of the Dragon Cult scattered across this island, and no doubt many words of power could be discovered in those places. Where to start searching? Storn promised to mark some possible locations on my map, but he'll need time to study to avoid accidentally sending me out to some random ruin of zero significance.

I also showed him the book I found, saying it's what allowed me to meet Miraak and visit that world where he was, and he could shed some light on it. Apparently, it's something they call a "Black Book", but the knowledge about them is not something that's passed generations to one another in the Skaal village, so Storn couldn't tell me much. All he could say is that they're very evil things and that they're somehow connected to Miraak.

Lucky for me, even though Storn couldn't teach me much, there is a powerful Dunmer wizard called Neloth living on this island, and he has done some research into these books, so I should seek him out. That name kinda sounds familiar, but I'm not quite sure where I have heard it… Wait… Wasn't that the guy Aliya also mentioned? I guess I will be meeting up with him then, whoever he might be.

Either way, I suppose I should at least try to learn these words of power native to this island, and that comes first. Even if they may not prove helpful in this quest, I do like the idea of becoming more powerful.

That's tomorrow though, because there's a huge storm brewing outside. Oh, and it's late too. Or early, however you put it. The night had already long fallen when we made it out from the temple, and we must've woken up half the village when we arrived. Oh, but now I'm just rambling. Time to put my thoughts to rest and cuddle up under the blanket with the girls. Our bodies will keep each other warm for sure. It may be midsummer, but these snow-covered mountains are always cold regardless.

Sun's Height, 11th, 4E 203

On my journeys, I've come to learn that the Dragon Cult liked to write down their words of power in hard-to-reach places, usually either deep underground or high on the peaks of the mountains. Come morning, Storn gave me some tips on where to start looking and specifically mentioned Saering's Watch, an ancient Nordic temple high up the mountains, very close to the highest peak of Solstheim. This turned out to be a good tip because I found a word of power there, a word of power that I recognized.

You see, this is the first word of the Thu'um Miraak used on me when I first met him, the shout that somehow took control over me for a short period. I wonder, if this shout can be used to control people's minds, would it be the one he's using to have all these citizens and bandits work for him and to build temples and shrines in his name? That's my highly educated guess, at least.

I fed on that dragon while crossing the Velothi mountains, but even still, learning the true meaning of a word doesn't just happen with a snap of a finger or a pull of a lever. I know it's fun to imagine that we Dragonborns just learn everything instantly, but no, it takes time. Sure, we don't literally need to meditate for weeks, months, or even years to learn to master the voice, but we still need to meditate a little to understand specific words and their true meaning! All I know is that "Gol" means "Earth", or at least, so I think… I could be wrong… It's a good starting point for my meditation, at least…

Whatever, I hope I can get this thing to work. How do I test this shout? By using it on a person? By my logic, if it can be used to control people, I could just as easily dispel it, right? I'll put that theory to the test as soon as I can.

Sun's Height, 12th, 4E 203

I tested my new badass shout, but I still don't actually know if it works, even though I'm able to feel its power and spell it out with a thundering boom. I got to test it on both Serana and Sofia, but neither of them was affected. Serana suspects it has something to do with us being vampires since magic that affects our minds is ineffective on us… But Miraak's shout worked on me, didn't it? Or did it really? I don't know if I was ever actually under his shout's influence…

Either way, I caught the attention of a young man living in the village while practicing a shout, and he approached me asking all kinds of questions, talking about how he envies me for being able to travel and be an adventurer despite being so young. His name is Nikulas, and his mother won't allow him to leave the village, even though he's already in his early teens. He was especially interested in watching and listening to me practicing my Thu'um, asking me what the shout was supposed to do. After explaining it to him and saying I don't know if it works, he suggested something surprising. "Why not test it on me?" he asked with a sly smile.

That's what I did. I let my voice roar and had him engulfed by the magic of my shout. I'm not sure what I was supposed to do, but he was acting kinda strange, so I had him do all kinds of silly stuff, like touching his nose, doing five jumping jacks, and plucking a hair out of his head… Nothing serious, just stupid little things.

Then, a realization hit me. What if this shout could be used to make people submit to me sexually? I was feeling especially mischievous and told him to give me a kiss straight on the lips. Guess what this fucker then did? He got all flustered and told me that he was just kidding about being under my influence and that there was no way he was gonna kiss me. "I'm not into little kids", he said. "You don't even have boobs!" I got so mad at him that I shouted at him, sending him flying backward straight into a pile of snow. He was surprised and shocked, and I couldn't help but cackle looking at him in such an embarrassing position.

Lastly, I walked up to him and said - with a wide but wicked smile on my face - that I was going to have him pay me for tricking me like that. All he did was apologize before going on his merry way to do whatever he does in this little village.

This certainly is a huge bummer though. I can't control others, but perhaps the shout can still be used to dispel the shout's influence on other people? That's worth a try. I'm gonna have Frea and my friends accompany me on the trip to the nearby Wind Stone, where a bunch of Skaal villagers are still under the spell's influence. I have a good feeling about this, and I'm sure it'll work.

Sun's Height, 12th, 4E 203

Fortunately, my new shout seems to work like a charm, even though it may be too weak to actually control other people's minds. I used it to release the enthralled Skaal from their curse so they wouldn't serve Miraak any longer in building temples and shrines for him, but shouting at the Skaal surrounding the Wind Stone had unforeseen consequences.

I didn't expect my voice to destroy it, and I especially didn't expect a giant, black-skinned monster to appear from inside the stone either! It was shaped like some sort of humanoid monster, tall as giants of Skyrim, but had a face akin to that of a fish, and it could summon the same black mass of tentacles from underneath its feet, spewing them out of his hands and mouth as well. I wonder if it was one of these creatures that took hold of me in that place Miraak was? Whatever the case may be, we were forced to battle, and this monster proved to be way more powerful than I expected.

Since we didn't know what we were dealing with, it got the better of us on more than one occasion, and all of its powers came to us as a surprise. We could all damage it, but it felt like it was regenerating its skin and healing its injuries faster than we could attack. Neither Sofia nor Frea was cut to handle his strikes either, and they both almost got themselves caught on more than one occasion. We could save them every time, but it was wearing on our armor and clothes.

I had stayed relatively safe up until that point, but it seems that my poisoned arrow pissed it off enough for it to pay more attention to me. It caught me by surprise by shooting a mass of tentacles from its mouth, taking hold of me in an instant. It tore through my leather so unbelievably fast and left me half-naked, would've raped me too had it not been for Sofia saving my ass. We seriously didn't know how much longer we could go. It felt like we were fighting a dragon or something.

Eventually, our enemy couldn't regenerate itself anymore. I guess it ran out of juice. It succumbed to its injuries, first by getting considerably slower, then by not being able to summon more tentacles, and eventually by not being able to defend itself at all. After that, we could finish that monster off, but we still have no idea what it actually was!

The tentacles didn't remind me of chaurus or netch, but I have seen tentacles similar to that before. Wasn't Hermaeous Mora also this strange, black mass of eyes and tentacles similar to what I've been seeing here? Is that it? Funny that I couldn't think of him earlier, even though there were those flying tentacle creatures in that bizarre world as well… Is he behind all of this? Could he maybe even be working together with Miraak? The last time we met, he said we'd meet again or something like that… I have a bad feeling about this…

Either way, we returned to the Skaal village with the good news, but even though we have saved the Skaal, there's still work to be done as far as releasing the people of Solstheim from the corrupted stones' influence goes. With one stone having been restored, there are four more to go. Yes, there are six pillars in total, but one of them is inside the Temple of Miraak, and according to Frea, it's out of our reach, so it's not on our bucket list. We know one is near Raven Rock, but how about the other three? Well, we've got a map, but that's about it. It only gives us rough estimations about their locations, and this island is kinda huge, so finding them isn't gonna be easy. Sadly, Frea won't be joining us as our guide this time around, as she feels like she's needed at her home.

We also now know where this Neloth guy lives. He owns a small settlement east of Raven Rock called Tel Mithryn. Storn warned us that he might be a little difficult to deal with, but I hope we won't face any trouble. Maybe we should visit there next? Or return to Raven Rock first? I'll decide tomorrow by flipping a coin or something!

• 38th Journal - Hirstaang Plains