Wayshrines

The next day, the Fighters Guild daily sent us to Glenumbra for a dolmen, so we decided, or rather I decided, and Isobel agreed, to do a bit more exploring, and find the wayshrines and all the dolmens. We could just close the first one we found, but knowing where they all were would give us more options.

We'd heard people talking in Daggerfall about Camlorn being overrun by werewolves, so we avoided going there, but it seemed that they were all over the place. When we discovered the dolmen at Cambray Hills, there were werewolves all around it in the swamps. The dolmen was active when we arrived, so we helped close it, to complete our daily quest. We'd go find the third one in the north later.

Just as we mounted up to go look for it, however, we heard one of the other adventurers departing call out "Werewolves at the camp", so we followed to find out what was special about these. And the answer was that they were tougher than the usual ones, and it was a good thing we were all there for the dolmen. Izzie and I could not have managed them on our own.

We headed North, but by a very roundabout route that visited all the wayshrines on our map. On the way, we found a dead aventurer with a handbill about collecting crocodile teeth, so we did that whenever they attacked us, and in Hag's Fen, that was quite often. We had to pass the trader who was asking for them on our way to the dolmen, so why not?

There were a couple more side-quests like that. Ones we did because we were passing through, and they didn't take us out of our way. Getting rewarded for something you were going to do anyway, just makes sense. So bandits blocking our path were an opportunity, not a problem.

Such as the Bloodthorns at Merovec's Folly. We need to get down to the beach to reach King's Guard dolmen, so when the mage we met on the way wanted our help getting past them, we did so. Everything she needed us to do would take us closer to the dolmen.

When we got down to the beach, Isobel was a bit disappointed that the water was too cold for a dip. I pointed out on the map just how far North we were. It was even further north than Betnikh, and the water was cool there.

"So Wrothgar's even further North?" she asked. "There's no ice here, and Bud was telling me some places had ice all year round."

"You haven't been to Wrothgar yourself, I take it," chimed in Gabrielle, the mage we'd arrived with.

I told her we hadn't and explained how I'd got here from Vvardenfell, around the south coast, and then journeyed to High Isle from the Summerset Isle to meet Isobel.

"I had assumed you would have gone around the north of Cyrodiil, through mainland Morrowind, Skyrim, and Wrothgar. Nobody goes through Cyrodiil, as it's just a war zone these days." She paused. "But then I haven't gone the other way either. Never been to Vvardenfell."

Of course we'd all visited the provinces where the various guilds had sent us. She was on a guild job now, although it was a one-time situation, related to clearing the werewolves from the area. She had a talisman that she had to take to a Wyrd shrine on the beach to recharge. "And there it is, just up ahead."

The Wyrd shrine was under the roots of a large tree. The sand had been washed out from beneath it, but the roots went deep enough that it still stood. A rock had been carved into an altar for the ritual she needed to perform. Gabrielle told us that the tree itself was part of the ritual and would be providing the energy to recharge the talisman.

Isobel and I stayed to watch, and it's a good thing we did. Something went wrong with the ritual, and Gabrielle didn't know why. "It seemed like something had interfered with the process, maybe daedric, and possibly even from inside the talisman itself," she told us.

"While I recover, can you take the talisman further up the path to the Wyrd circle and try to purge the talisman there?"

The Wyrd circle was an arrangement of trilithons around a stone basin in the centre. It held a shallow pool of water, and we dropped the talisman into it, to wait for Gabrielle to catch us up and tell us what to do next.

We didn't need to wait, as contact with the water was enough to force the Dremora out of the talisman, and he attacked.

And no sooner had we put him down, the dolmen around the corner fired up. Isobel and I rushed to take part in that, or we'd have to find another for the Fighters' Guild daily. There were others there, and it didn't take too long. We were back to the Wyrd circle just as Gabrielle caught up.

We told her about the Dremora in the amulet, and she examined it, to see if it was still of any use for the ritual she'd tried earlier. No such luck.

"I need to go back to the Lion Guard Redoubt to let them know, but nothing after that. You mentioned never having visited Wrothgar, and I've never visted Vvardenfell. How about we guide each other round the wayshrines?"

That idea appealed to me, but it left Isobel without anything to do.

"Don't worry about me" she told us. "I never have problems finding something to do with the Undaunted."

We agreed to meet at the wayshrine at Elden Root after we'd reported back and completed our current assignments. When Gabrielle arrived, Izzie rushed off down to the Undaunted Enclave, following a large Orc that looked familiar.

Even when the travel itself is instant, going round thirty or more wayshrines takes a bit of time. We added some more by walking through Orsinium, and Vivec City, just to see the sights. And several of the wayshrines out in the wild had views to take in, or nearby sites of interest. So it took up the majority of a day.

Back at Snugpod, I told Isobel about our exploration, and asked how her day had gone.

"How many delves did you run through today? and did you get to 'meet up' with Bud again?" I inquired.

"Er, not so many as usual," she replied. "When I met Bud at the Enclave, he had his brother with him, and another Orc. They'd just taken a pledge from Maj, and were looking for a fourth to do the dungeon.

"They explained to me that a pledge dungeon is a private deal for the four, so nobody else gets sent there. You get to plan your strategy ... well, as much as the enemy will let you!

"It wasn't what I was used to, but a new challenge is just what I needed, so I agreed to join them. We went off to find Banished Cells in Auridon, and discussed tactics on the way. Bud's brother Fiorello was a damage-dealing mage like he was, but the other guy was more of a group healer. His staff was a Restoration one, and he could cast stronger heals than I could. So I'd mostly be up close, holding the boss still, like I usually did when there was just two of us. I could handle that, especially with the sword and shield they'd brought along for me.

"I probably should have noticed that bit of pre-planning on their part, but at the time, I just thanked Stendarr for the forethought. And it really did all work out nicely with the fights we had. They were tougher than I was used to, doing just delves, but the step up wasn't too hard. Having three sources of damage makes things go faster, especially with the lesser enemies. The bosses were a challenge, but I like a challenge!"

Izzie paused, and looked a bit sheepish, before she continued.

"When we got outside after the final boss fight, I started to suspect why they'd asked me along. We were on a beach, stinking of deadra gore, and Bud knew what that meant. And so did I, and I like a challenge, as I just said. The prospect of extra fun had crossed my mind, too.

And wow, did I have a lot of fun!"

"All three at once? You're not part Dunmer, are you? That's the sort of thing I'd be doing!"

We chatted a bit more about our experiences of multiple partners. This was her first time, but I had a few other variations to tell her about.

"With a Daedric Princess?" she exclaimed.

"And I got to keep him after all that," I replied. "Still, I miss some of the others, too. I guess you can't take the Dunmer out of me, even after I've found a good one."

"You should start doing the pledges, too," Isobel suggested. "There's a lot of possible combinations of four, and any of them suit my tastes."

"I'll give it some thought. Writs, and other dailies take up a lot of time, and the pledges don't contribute to our getting Hunding's. We have a lot of considerations, other than having fun."