A Little Something Awesome - The 27 Most Mischievous Dogs Of All Time

Check out this video of awesome, crazy, adorable dogs and pups. love dogs? Let me know how much in the comments below, and come back a little later some another Something Awesome.

The Last Dragonborn - The Journal of Johan Abbot #7

---Last Seed, 24th, 4E 201---

  I write this early in the morning. Farkas and I fought all through the night at Dustman's Cairn. It turns out that Farkas and the other members of the Companions' inner Circle are Werewolves! Not the mindless and insane supernatural beasts that you hear stories about, but men who can become powerful beasts, yet retain their faculties. I must admit that I find such a thing appealing. Farkas used the form of the beast to defeat a group of five warriors of the Silver Hand, who seem to be Werewolf hunters at war with the Companions in secret.

  The Silver Hand were strong and well equipped. I found myself often shooting around corners, healing myself, and even summoning the more taxing of my conjurable creatures, the Flame Atronach that I affectionately call "Betti". As always she fought hard for me, but left me with little Magika after each summons.

  Farkas and I are exhausted. We have set up camp off of the road and plan to trade watches until tomorrow morning, the 25th, when we will head back to Whiterun. I have brought food enough for both of us, and there is a stream nearby for water. If anything, I'm worried about another attack by the Silver Hand.

  In my pack I have the fragment of Wuthraad, but that is not all that I received in the halls of the ancient barrow. Deep within I discovered another of the etched walls, and received power from it as I did the wall in Bleak Falls. In my mind I see a word, "Yol", but I know not what it means. I do, however, recall the dragon at the watchtower saying it when he spat fire, and since defeating that dragon, I understand that the power of the walls comes in the form of words, and I understand the word I learned from the first wall, "Fus", which means force. Must I kill another dragon to glean understanding of this new power as well?

  Where did these walls come from? What do they have to do with my emerging powers as the Dragonborn? Farkas cares not, and offers no opinion. He is a man of actions, not words. There may be, in fact, no answer to these questions that has withstood the test of time, but if answers do exist, I'd like to find them. Perhaps the Greybeards have the answers? Am I ready to answer their summons? I do not know.

  I also find myself reflecting on the final battle in the Cairn between Farkas and I and a group of upwards of twenty undead, in the room with the Word Wall. Never before have I fought so many at once, and yet I found that I enjoyed the thrill. I blame my Nord blood.

 

Mods Mentioned in this Entry:

-N/A



The Last Dragonborn - The Journal of Johan Abbot #6

---Last Seed, 22nd, 4E 201---

  I did not leave for the fragment today with Vilkas (or was it Farkas? One day I will stop mixing up those two) as I had planned. Instead I spent the morning crafting a tent for myself, and working further on my conjured chest spell, which I can now safely use to store items in a pocket of Aetherius. I'm quite impressed with it, even if Odvar finds the idea of a spell dedicated only to loot storage ridiculous. I enchanted some of my gear to resist fire, and did some additional enchanting, creating items to sell to the wizard. My pockets are now heavy with almost one thousand Septims.

  I would have had a more productive day still, but I met a lovely Altmer woman named Eldawyn who has much the same attitude about things as myself. We talked of her love of wine, so I bought us a bottle. She told me tales of her friends: four like-minded mages who used to journey with her, collecting the resources to craft jewelery, which would then be enchanted and sold for a profit. She told me the stories of their deaths, and even shed a tear over the loss of one: a Nord man who clearly still hold her heart, proving that the current aggression between the High Elves and the Nords does indeed have a chance at a peaceful resolution.

  I had hoped that Eldawyn might accompany Odvar and I on out journeys, but she is not yet ready to be part of a party again. She gave me a gift, however, of an unforgettable conversation, and a re-definition of my priorities. I no longer seek to conquer Aela, or any other maiden. After talking with Eldawyn such persuits seem hollow. I want what she shared with her Nord companion: a bond of true love that will last beyond death. Maybe I'll forge such a bond during my time here in Skyrim, making all that I have gone through so far worth the pain.

 

Mods Mentioned in this Entry:

-Odvar the Afflicted

-Conjurable Chest Spell

-Interesting NPC's



The Last Dragonborn - The Journal of Johan Abbot #5

---Last Seed, 21nd, 4E 201---

  Today, at the shrine of Kynareth, I met one of the infamous Afflicted, a Nord named Odvar. He had come to Whiterun hoping for a cure for the condition, which has turned his skin orange-red and leathery, a condition which I know from my readings on Restoration is not readily contagious, despite the common misconception. Whiterun, however, has no cure for him, and so he offered to accompany me on the road, an offer which I welcome.

  After the shrine, I stopped in at Jorvaskr to let the Companions know that I completed my quest against the Bandits of Amber Guard. I was paid, and the scary one, Skjor, assigned me and Vilkas (or was it his brother, Farkas?) a new task, to recover a fragment of Wuthraad, the axe wielded by the ancient founder of the Companions, Ysgramor. I told Farkas that we would have to wait to set out. I still had to deliver the Stone to the Jarl's wizard. With Odvar at my side I climbed the stairs to Dragonsreach, and to my surprise, the innkeeper from Riverwood was there, talking to the court wizard about dragons! She was heavily disguised, but I'm sure it was her. Of course this is none of my business, so I said nothing, and she left in a hurry when the Dunmer housecarl came into the room with a message.

  The dragon was nearby, attacking the Western Watchtower.

  The Dunmer woman, Irileth, took Odvar and I to see the Jarl. I was awarded a pair of fire resistant boots, and Odvar and I were asked to join the guard in slaying the beast. I was reluctant, but Odvar seemed excited by the prospect. The fight was long, taking several hours, but finally the dragon fell when I of all people struck the final blow, and its soul poured into me.

  The guards, the Jarl, and even the reclusive Graybeards, it would seem, now believe me to be Dragonborn, like Talos of old, simply because I found that when I speak the word "fus", things are pushed away from me. The Graybeards have summoned me to their mountain. I know not why, but I don't think I'll be going quite yet. I need to enchant my gear against fire and temper my weapons and armor, and maybe practice my skills first, for I know something that the others don't as of yet.

  That was a different dragon.

  It is obvious now that the dragons, plural, are returning, and if I am Dragonborn, I'm sure that fate will expect me to play a part in stopping them and preventing another Dragon War. I must be ready. I don't want this responsibility, but if I must shoulder it, I will.

  The Jarl has made me a Thane and offered me a chance to purchase land, but I do not have the money, so once again I sleep on a cot in Jorvaskr. I will head out with Vilkas (or was it Farkas?) tomorrow to find this fragment. Maybe I'll try again tonight to woo Aela. Odvar has made progress with Ria, despite his condition, so you would think that I could find success as well, but Aela is headstrong. Of course that's half the fun.

 

Mods Referenced in the Entry:

-Odvar the Afflicted
-Amber Guard again



Something Awesome #28 - Movie Reviews - X-Men: Days of Future Past

I just got back from my first ever midnight showing of a movie, and what a movie to see as your first midnight showing. What a movie. I could sum up Days of Future Past in one word: awesome. In fact, I kind of want to end the review there. Awesome, score out of ten, done, because this movie just needs to be seen to be believed, but I'm not that kind of reviewer. Just understand that I don't want to spoil this movie for all of you. For once the trailers for this movie didn't give the entire plot away. For this reason, a lot of what I say here will be pretty vague, as the spoiler-y stuff that I put into these reviews is usually stuff that can be figured out from the trailers and therefor not really spoilers at all.

The Last Dragonborn - The Journal of Johan Abbot #4

---Last Seed, 20st, 4E 201---

  Today was uneventful. Thank to Camilla Valerius I slept far too little last night, and got a late start to Amber Guard. Once there defeating the Bandits was as simple as using the terrain against them. Their leader, a hearty Nord with an Orcish Axe, was the only strong opponent amongst them. I used almost every healing potion that I've managed to collect since coming to Skyrim, and my own magic, to survive the fight. I also still feel weak, as if from disease. I saw a chapel of Kynareth in Whiterun. I'll sleep here in the ruins of Amber Guard, in the Bandit den, tonight, and pray my health back at the shrine when I return to town tomorrow.

  Is this my life now? A fetcher and bounty hunter?

Mods Referenced in the Entry:
-The Elder Scrolls: Places (for a third time)



The Last Dragonborn - The Journal of Johan Abbot #3

---Last Seed, 19th, 4E 201---

  When I said that yesterday was my longest, I was wrong. Today was worse. I chose to head straight to Bleak Falls and save the Bandit bounty in Amber Guard for another day, and I'm glad I did. On my way to Bleak Falls Barrow, I encountered a group of three Bandits in a half-ruined tower and dispatched with them easily. Feeling confident, I marched right up to the Barrow further up the mountain and found myself dodging arrows. If not for the help of my conjured wolf, I never would have overcome them, and little did I know that they would be the least of my worries. Inside were a few more Bandits, and then, in a large, web-filled chamber, their leader was strung up by a spider even larger than the ones in the cave in Helgen. I almost turned and ran, and if not for my conjured bow I never could have fought it at all, but I did fight, and I won, freed the Bandit, defeated him, and retrieved the claw for Lucen in Riverwood.

  Now, of course, I had yet to find the stone for the wizard, and the Bandit leader said something about a secret of the claw, so I decided to explore the Barrow further. I assumed that, because the Spider had been guarding this entry into the deeper burial chambers, that there would be nothing further down, but I was sadly mistaken. On our walk from the Helgen caves to Riverwood, Hadvar mentioned that he, as a child, was afraid of the Barrow on the mountain, and the undead Draugr that lurk within.

  He's right to be afraid.

  The Draugr appeared in various states of decay from alcoves in the walls, and coffins lining the floors. They possessed various rusty-yet-durable weapons, and varying degrees of magical powers. One could even shout magic from his throat like Tiber Septim, or Ulfric when he murdered the High King earlier this year! I fought waves of them, ducking through traps and crossing ancient, crumbling ledges as I moved deeper and deeper in, and yet I saw nothing of a stone or a secret...

  ...Until I found the door.

  Three embedded stone rings made a combination lock, which could be deciphered via a pattern on the Golden Claw, and then the Claw was used as a key to loose the door and cause it to drop into the floor. Behind it was a massive natural chamber and a curved wall with ancient glyphs on it, a block of them burning blue. I was drawn to the wall, my ears filled with sounds of chanting in a language that I barely couldn't understand, filling my head with the sound of a single word, "fus", which echoes there even now. I blacked out for a moment, and heard the sound of a lid flung loose of another coffin in the same chamber. In my stupor I'd failed to notice it just behind me.

  From the coffin arose another Draugr, wielding a sword that steamed with an ice enchantment, the Dragon Stone strung to its back. I fought it sword to sword and was quickly outmatched, so I summoned my wolf and backed away, found a good vantage point, and attacked with my Bound Bow until I'd managed to even the odds. Even so my rudimentary skill in Restoration was instrumental in my survival. In only a few minutes I had the Claw and the Stone, and I was on my way back out of the Barrow through a side cavern. I was back in Riverwood by midnight.

    I sit here in the Sleeping Giant Inn, in the same seat in which I sat when I wrote the first entry in this journal. I'm tired, my heart is only now slowing back to its usual rhythm, and I'm eating a bowl of fish soup prepared by the barkeep, because he says its a home remedy for the Ataxia that I've contracted from a Skeever bite. I need to take my mind off of this new, nightmarish life that has found me. The pretty girl who works the shop with Lucen is here. Maybe I'll see if she'd like to provide a distraction.

  Tomorrow I'll return the Claw, and then head early to Amber Guard to fulfill the bounty for the Companions. After a spider the size of house and killer undead, Bandits no longer worry me. It will also give me a chance to try out my new Ice Sword.

  P.S. The inn isn't offering any beds. The inn-keeper is out. I wonder where she went?

Mods Referenced in the Entry:
-The Elder Scrolls: Places (again)