Intro:

I will be doing another playthrough of Skyrim (you can find my first one here. Once more I'll be playing a 'good' character (don't steal, don't murder, don't lie) as I find them to be more challenging gamewise and easier to roleplay. For this particular playthrough, I'll be going with a Breton orphan girl, devoted to Stendarr, the Divine of Mercy. I'll try to not kill anything myself, but rely on two (maybe three) followers to keep me safe. As far as combat will be concerned, I'll have to dance around and heal/buff my companions. I will not fast travel.


Mods:

(not exhaustive)
* SKSE (for obvious reasons)
* SkyUI
* iHud
* Perkus Maximus
* Frostfall
* Cloaks of Skyrim
* Winter is Coming
* Realistic Needs and diseases
* Deadly Dragons/Creatures
* Apocalypse: Magic of Skyrim
* Thunderchild
* Path of the Divine
* Smart Cast
* Immersive Creatures
* Immersive Armor
* Immersive Weapons
* Locational Damage
* Convenient Horses
* Amazing Follower Tweaks
* Follower: Elendyl
* Follower: Hoth
* Harvest Overhaul
* Book Covers + Book Covers Lost Library
* The Seaside Library
* Character Creation Overhaul
* Alternate Start - Live A New Life
* Climates of Tamriel
* Enhanced Lights and FX


Character:



Temarissa is a Breton girl, orphaned at a young age. Not much is known about her parents, except they were Breton traders travelling near Riften. Presumably on a trading route towards the city, they were attacked by vampires and their filthy familiars. By a miracle of mercy, Temarissa was able to hide in their wagon, and remain unnoticed. When she was found by a guard patrol, she was put into the Riften orphanage under the watch of Grelod the Kind. Here she formed an unbreakable friendship with Elendyl, a fellow orphan boy. Together they worked and scraped, and saved money in secret, until they were able to espace the clutches of Grelod. Together they ran away to Whiterun, where they met Adrianne Avenicci. Adrianne decided to take them under her wing, and convinced her father to grant the two orphan children the deed of Breezehome, where they have lived ever since.

Having lost her parents to vampires, Temarissa hates the undead and all evil creatures. She worships the Divine of Mercy, who she believes has saved her from her parents' fate. In Whiterun, she helps around the forge at Warmaiden Blacksmith. It is Elendyl's dream of becoming a warrior of legend, which he trains diligently for every day. Temarissa, together with Elendyl, likes to wander the forests around Whiterun and learn about the world in general. She loves to read and hopes to have a sizeable library one day. Once a year, makes a trip to Solitude to pay her respects to Stendarr at the Temple of the Divines. This trip is coming up soon.

This post was edited by hATemOnkEy on Feb 5 2015 12:36pm

Our curiosity got us into quite an adventure. Elendyl and I were wandering around the countryside when we notice movement near White River Watch. Deciding to check it out, we find out that some bandits have taken refuge there. We thought about running to the Watch for help, but not before figuring out what these guys were up too. They couldn't have been too smart, as they posted a blind man as a guard.



Sneaking past him was easy enough. Sadly though, we alerted his buddies in the next room. Elendyl rushed forward to protect me and valiantly took on 3 bandits at once!



We take some of their weapons and armor after the fight, to prove to the guard and the townspeople that there is in fact a group of miscreants hiding near Whiterun. In the city we tell everyone who wants to hear it our tale, until we meet Amren. By some miracle, it appears we have found one of his family's heirlooms by accident. Happily, we return his precious sword and gladly accept his thanks.



By this small windfall, we're able to get our supplies for the trip to Solitude much faster than anticipated and we might even be able to take a coach there. This year, we'll travel in style!

We spend a day gathering supplies (mainly sweetrolls and alto wine) for our trip to Solitude. With our unexpected riches we can hire a coach and travel like nobility. This is the first time we'll be able to take a coach on a whim, so we plan to make the most of it.

When we arrive in Solitude, the first thing we do is pay our respects at the Temple of Divines. Every year we do this: clean the shrine to Stendarr, and argue about the disappearance of the shrine to Talos with Elendyl. He gets so mad about the whole thing every time that he forgets I agree with him.



Anyway, after performing our duties we head to the Winking Skeever for dinner and a warm bed. We're not keeping a budget! The next morning greets us well rested and eager for a brisk walk around the harbor and take in the sights. We might even meet some hardy sailors with a tale to tell.



Having miscalculated the frosty winds, we start to experience some discomfort. Elendyl describes it as 'it being so cold his bollocks clang when we walks', I won't even pretend to know what that means. Anyway, we decide to ask some sailors if we can rest and warm up in their hold. Apparantly they don't like us from the get go, because once we step on deck the temperature drops a noticable few degrees more...



This post was edited by hATemOnkEy on Feb 6 2015 09:50am

These corsairs cannot be reasoned with, and despite several pleas for them to stand down, they still insist to attack us. I barely had enough time to jump back down so that Elendyl was in their way. If the freezing cold wasn't bad enough, now I'm wet from the waist down and with a couple of pirates at my back. Luckily, Elendyl's training is really paying off and he was able to defeat them.



If they don't want Stendarr's mercy, they can have some of his justice in stead.

Seeing as the pirates are obviously a menace to society and we're still freezing to death, we decide to venture inside the ship. Inside we're met with more of these murderous thugs, but Elendyl is enraged by their obvious lack of respect for hospitality and etiquette. Tired and a bit nauseated by the blood, we find the captains cabin. Among the trinkets and such on his table, there is a strange and peculiar gem. We can't leave this jewel just wasting away here, probably it belongs to some family these idiots raided. We decide to take it back to town to have it inspected.



We decide to sleep in, take our time with breakfast and further explore the vessel for hidden booty. Despite being an aggressive lot, these corsairs don't seem to have been very succesful. That, at least, is a blessing in disguise. Not many people could have been their victim, and we might make just enough money from this to hire a coach back to Whiterun. In the late afternoon, we head back to Solitude. At the Winking Skeever, we regale other patrons with our exploits of the previous day. So far, we haven't found anyone that can give us any information about this gem.

At the inn we're told that some time ago a priest went up north to investigate a religious find. He has not returned for weeks. After talking it over with Elendyl, we decide it's our duty to go investigate and if possible help out. Walking along the road to the north, we find a hidden trapdoor in the woods.



Below we make a gruesome, but also delightful discovery. Sadly, the priest Rodryn has succumbed to a mysterious illness. However, inside a hiddin alcove there is a shrine to the Nine Divines. By using Rodryn's journal and translation notes, we can decypher it's use.



We must travel to the shrines of the Nine Divines to gather verses for a Divine Prayer. By doing so, the Divines may grant their blessings upon us. The next morning we have decided to make a pilgrimage around Skyrim and empower this shrine.

First we must head South East to Morthal. There we will find the shrine to Kynareth. Aside from the freezing cold, the journey South is uneventful, until we walk past Fort Snowhawk. Without provocation a group of cowardly necromancers attack us. I have to take care to stay behind Elendyl and back him up with healing spells and encouraging holy words for these necromancers rely on their foul minions to overwhelm us. After the battle, we venture inside the fort to warm up and heal Elendyl's wounds. Apparantly, these necromancers are hatching some evil scheme inside their dungeons. It is with a glad heart that we realize we might have stopped some dark magic blighting the world.



Even bandits do not deserve this fate.



After praying for these lost souls, we venture out to find Kynareth's shrine. Luckily it is not far and we arrive there without further incident. We stay for a couple of hours to meditate on our adventures past and yet to come. When dusk comes, we head towards the city of Morthal to find an inn.

At the Moorside Inn in Morthal we discuss our need for more protection on the perilous roads. Pirates and necromancers seem to be infesting the land and we cannot count on Elendyl to keep an everlasting vigil. During our discussion we are interrupted by a fearsome looking man named Hoth. He claims to be the best bounty hunter, bodyguard and bravo of the Old Kingdom. With some negotiating we can agree upon a price, only 500 septims for our lifelong protection.



After a nights sleep and a hearty breakfast, we decide to head back to Whiterun. One of the inn patrons overhears us and implores us to take a letter to Danica, one of the priestesses of Kynareth in Whiterun. I give her my solemn promise we will.
It didn't take long for us to thank our lucky stars we happened upon Hoth when we did. Right along the way we find the remains of traveling merchants just scattered next to the road.



Not much further we see the bandits that raided these innocents. Having noted their location on my map, we decide to leave them be and report them to the authorities. Sadly (for them) they seemed to think we also were defenseless travelers and therefore easy prey to rob. Hoth and Elendyl seemed to think otherwise.

After this head head to Whiterun without much further incident.

Once there, we deliver the letter to Danica and sell of some of the spoils of our adventures. Finally, we are back at Breezehome where we can relax and forget about the world for a day or two. In this time we come to the decision to buy horses and supplies and go to Riften. According to Rodryn's journal the Shrine of Stendarr should be located near there. Elendyl and I would rather not go anywhere near Riften, but this is the Stendarr's Shrine and the furthest away from the forgotten shrine near Solitude. From Riften, we can then make our pilgrimage back towards the shrine and complete the Divine Prayer.

The next morning we saddle up and head South East.

The ride to Riften was eventful to say the least.

Only a couple of hours ride of Whiterun we are accosted by bandits from Valtheim Tower. Hoth and Evendyl make quick work of these cowards. Some people seem to really prefer Stendarr's justice over his mercy.



When dusk starts to fall, we run into Telrav. He seems hurt and needs assistance to get back to his camp and companions. He promises a reward, but helping strangers in need is one of our duties as devotees to Stendarr.



Unfortunately, it was all an elaborate trap to ensare unsuspecting travelers. Once we arrived at his camp, hidden henchmen jump out at us and attack immediately. The element of surprise is on their side, but luckily Elendyl and Hoth had an opportunity to fight together before this and can come together in the face of this danger to conquer it.

This day probably can't get any worse.

After getting attacked by bandits twice, we are refused entry into Riften by one of the guards. Elendyl even knew the guy from when we lived back in the orphanage, but the swine pretended he didn't notice. We can only enter from the North Gate. Obviously they just want a bribe, but we didn't want to give them the satisfaction. A bit dejected we begin the tedium of backtracking and then looping around the city. It doesn't help that it's still freezing and night is starting to fall.

When we're about halfway, we're suddenly attacked by an assassin!



Hoth and Elendyl are still some way behind and cannot come to my aid in time. I have to summon a flame atronach to protect myself. I can't serve Stendarr when I'm dead. Repeated recasting of the atronach gives my companions enough time to catch up and dispatch of this hooded murderer. After inspecting the corpse we find the contract that set the assassin upon us. It speaks of a black sacrament being performed to seal my death and it is signed by somebody named Astrid. How utterly disgusting, why would anyone want me dead?!



As it's dark anyway, we decide to go to Lost Tongue Overlook to scan our surroundings. We might even be able to see Stendarr's shrine from up there. Knowing our luck, a necromancer decided to make it his hideout as well. These wretches always attack on sight, it is like they have lost all human sense and only live for murder.
After dispatching him, the shrine behind where he was performing his foul rituals calls out to me with eldritch light. A strange feeling comes up and I see these weird signs that I can almost make out. I have no idea what happened. This day gave me a lot to think about when we hit our bedroll.

From Lost Tongue Overlook we're able to make our way to Stendarr's Shrine. There, we meet with some Vigilants of Stendarr who are kind enough to invite us to stay with them for the night.



We stay up late with them to discuss philosophy around the campfire. It is obvious that they are far more advanced on the path of enlightenment than I. After breakfast we part ways to head back to Riften to stock up on supplies. This time we try to enter from the North, but still they try to swing this 'tax'. Some harsh words from Hoth changes their minds, though. Right after we stock up on food, we leave for the Shrine of Akatosh. Neither Elendyl or I want to stay in Riften longer than necessary. We almost have to go straight North, about twice the distance to Shor's Stone.

Reaching the area where the Shrine is supposed to be, we realize that it might not be as easy as we first thought.



After some searching and some excellent scouting by Hoth, we're finally able to find it.



After this we're going to head to the Shrine of Talos, which will have us travel North West. We're going to use the remaining hours of daylight to travel as far as we can, and then camp for the night.