27th of Last Seed 4E201
I had a nightmare again last night, though it didn't wake anyone up but Jenassa this time. The dragon from Helgen came after me for killing the one outside of Whiterun. I woke up just as he was flying down at me with his mouth open, ready to eat me alive.

We headed out after breakfast. The odd men from before were still there just inside the gate. One stopped me and told me that they were looking for a Redguard woman, and would pay me for any information. They said she was a fugative, and was likely not using her real name. They didn't tell me anything other than that, not even why they were looking for her. Before they left, they said I could find them in Rorikstead if I had any information. They suspected that she was in Whiterun for some reason.

I asked one of the locals if they knew how to get to High Hrothgar, they said that the easiest way was to go to a village called Ivarstead and walk up the steps, unless I preferred climbing a mountain. I followed the sign outside of town, and soon we were on our way.

Found another of the stones that glow when you touch them, just off the road and on a small hill. A woman there attacked us, raising some nearby skeletons from the dead to help her. I could see why she liked it there though, there was a nice view of the surrounding land.

We found Valtheim Keep, not too far from Whiterun, and managed to find a sword matching the description that Amren had given us. I decided to take it back to him, since I didn't know when we would be back near Whiterun. The bandits there were very difficult, but Jenassa and I fought them off. With help from my flame atronach of course. I also wanted to sell off most of the things we'd gotten there, so our journey to Ivarstead would be easier.

On the way back, a woman in rags ran up to us, asking for help. She said she'd been kidnapped by some bandits at a place called Mistwatch, but she had managed to pick the lock and escape and now had no idea where she was. I offered to help her get to Whiterun and showed her which direction it was in, but she said she'd be ok now that she knew where it was. I followed her anyways, just to make sure she'd get there safely. She stopped at the farm near the stables outside of town and helped them pick crops as if she knew them. I shrugged and we headed into town, thankful at least that she was somewhere safe.

Amren was overjoyed to get his father's sword back, and was surprised that we'd managed to defeat all of the bandits who had it. In return for getting it, he taught me his father's favorite sword and shield technique. It was early afternoon, so we decided to head out again and get as far as we could before nightfall.

I didn't see the woman in rags when we left town. Maybe she went somewhere else? I just hoped she was ok, Skyrim wasn't a very pleasant place sometimes.

A Khajiit attacked us on the road, before we got to the standing stone on the hill. I defended myself but stopped when he fell to the ground and yelled "Mercy!". Jenassa shot him with her bow, killing him. I asked her why, and she said that he would have just attacked us again when our backs were turned. And she reminded me that he just attacked us without provocation. Still, I felt bad for him, and wondered if he had thought that we were bandits or something. I guess it didn't matter now. I wondered if I would ever get used to seeing so much death.

The sun was settting when we stopped in a small mining settlement called Darkwater Crossing. A woman there named Annekke talked to me, and told me that she used to be an adventurer too until she settled down and got married. She even found the mine that the town was later built up around. She asked if I could do her a favor, and take care of a bandit that she had seen going back to his camp when she was out scouting recently. I said that I would, in return for a place  to sleep for the night. She agreed, and even got us something to eat and some soap so that we could bathe in the river nearby. According to Jenassa's map, we had passed the bandit hideout on the way here, not too far away. We could go and get them in the  morning, then continue heading to Ivarstead.

I looked out at the land nearby while Jenassa was laying out her gear near the bedrolls they had loaned to us. It looked familiar, and I remembered meeting those soldiers near here, up on a hill, nearly a month ago. I guessed that Darkwater Crossing must have been the dwellings that I had seen in  the distance, before I ran into those soldiers and got captured alongside them.

On the way to the bedrolls, I met another Dunmer, a man named Sondas. He told me about working in the mine, and said that the ore dust  was causing people to get sick. He was going to send a letter to Windhelm for aid, and I offered to take it there for him. He thanked me, and told me to deliver it to a man named Quintus in a shop called the White Phial. He also told me about the town, and how dangerous the falls nearby were. A man named Derkeethus had been swimming near them looking for fish, but no one had seen him in a long time. I took his warning to heart, and decided to have my bath close to the shore.

We had a nice dinner of fried fish and vegetables, and talked to the local miners. Everyone in town was so kind, even the storm cloak soldiers wandering around guarding it. A young girl living there kept asking us about our adventures. I told her as much as I could, leaving out the parts about having to kill so many people who had tried to kill me. She was still young, and didn't need to be having nightmares. I just hoped I wouldn't have any tonight.