Skyrim Journals: Lopiken [Year 3]

Day 350

We did it! We nearly died, but we actually did it! We tried to sneak back out of the cavern but found the entrance guarded. Then we looked for another exit, but managed to stumble upon the leader asleep in his bed instead. We woke him with a blade to his throat and offered to spare him if he showed us another exit and came quietly. We should've realized he would lie to us, but I think the lack of sleep made us fools.

He nearly took us straight to where all his lackeys were sleeping before we realized what he was doing. He fought us then and called for help. It was a mess after that. We managed to kill him (Belrand cut off the scarred hand, as required by the notice) and then we had to fight our way out. It was complete chaos, and it didn't help that we hardly knew how to navigate all the tunnels. At one point, we had to jump off a ledge into the cold water below, not knowing how deep it was. Thankfully we didn't break anything, and we managed to escape the cavern.

The cold, combined with our soaked armour and clothes, made our escape into the mountains slow, and it didn't help that we were leaving a trail in the snow. The bandits were on our heels, nearly trapping us against a cliff we couldn't possibly climb. We managed to find a way back down to the shore and didn't stop running until we were certain we had lost them.

By the time we reached the gates of Solitude, we were absolutely dead. I could barely stand with my shaking legs and lightheadedness. We collapsed at the inn and slept until the late afternoon. I wanted to turn in the bounty immediately upon waking, but Belrand said it would be disgraceful to enter the Blue Palace without proper attire. Unfortunately, I can't afford any fancy clothing, and Belrand can't even afford to loan me any coin to help. I tried to make some coin today, helping at the forge, selling a couple potions at the market, but it still isn't enough. Tomorrow I'm going to speak to the seller at Radiant Raiment and hopefully work out some compromise. I can't believe I have to spend money just to turn in this bounty that I took because I needed the money in the first place...