Skyrim Blog – Page 2 – Survivor Incognito

Previously on “Freezing to Death with Style”:

I escaped Helgen, picked flowers while Hadvar tried to be serious, got mauled by wolves with no meat, chose the Thief Stone after second-guessing it five times, cleared out Embershard Mine with a chaotic mix of weapons and magic, looted some fancy rings, ate everything not nailed down, got weighed down by junk, and slept in Riverwood with a backpack which improves my lockpicking and big dreams. Oh—and I was accidentally playing on Adept. That’s going to change.

Read Day One Here

Day 2:

After surviving my first day in the freezing land of Skyrim, I woke up with new resolve—and promptly realized I’d left the difficulty set to Adept. That explained a lot. So, I knocked it down to Apprentice, because this is a survival diary, not a masochism log.

Destination: Bleak Falls Barrow.
Detour: Accidentally walked the wrong way. Did a full 180 and actually set off toward my goal.

The closer I got to the barrow, the colder it got. My health started draining from exposure, and I started wondering if this was where my playthrough ended. I also realized I had made a classic survival mistake: I didn’t bring a torch. Rookie error. I pressed on, anyway.

Inside the barrow, I took out a couple of bandits and gratefully warmed up by a fire. I even snagged a nap. Fighting fatigue and frostbite is a hard balance. As I worked deeper into the ruins, a bandit ahead of me triggered a trap and conveniently died. Looted them. Jackpot—a torch.

Further in, I encountered the infamous giant spider and did my best Legolas impression until it fell. Then I met Arvel the Swift, who begged me to cut him down. I agreed—and then immediately betrayed him. I’ve played enough Skyrim to know what happens if you don’t. With him gone, I took the Golden Claw and his journal. Thanks, buddy.

I worked my way through packs of draugr using stealth and ranged attacks, occasionally switching to a mace and shield when things got messy. Found a spell tome to raise the dead, and from there, things got necromantically fun. Raise. Fight. Repeat. Disposable zombie backup is surprisingly effective.

At the end of the barrow, I learned a Word of Power, but a Draugr Overlord decided to give me a live demonstration. Rude. I killed him, took his enchanted sword, and called it a win.

On the way back to Riverwood, I hunted a few rabbits for food and ran into a panicked woman claiming she fled from Mistwatch—a place now apparently run by bandits. Good to know.

Returned the Golden Claw to the Riverwood Trader, did some bartering, some cooking, and returned to Hadvar’s uncle’s house for the night. Leveled up in the morning, boosting health, stamina, archery, restoration, and sneak. Because stealth archery isn’t just a meme—it’s a lifestyle.

[Read The Full Journey Here]

Where Did This Happen?

[Check The Map Here]

Species: Argonian | Starting Conditions: Skyrim Survival Mode | Faction Friend: Hadvar (Imperial)

I began my snowy misadventure by choosing to play as an Argonian—because if you’re going to freeze to death, you might as well do it with gills. I followed Hadvar through the tutorial section, politely ignored the chaos around us, and activated Survival Mode the moment we hit daylight. Bad call? Maybe. But immersive? Absolutely.

As we made our way to Riverwood, Hadvar told me about the Imperial Legion while I was too busy picking every flower in sight. Gotta prep for the alchemy I’ll never actually do, right?

On the road, I got ambushed by two wolves and was bitterly disappointed when they dropped nothing but pelts. No meat. What kind of survival game lets you starve next to perfectly good wolf shanks?

I made it to the Guardian Stones and spent way too long debating between the Warrior and Thief stones before finally choosing the Thief stone. Because nothing says “stealth archer” like shouting from the bushes and missing half your arrows.

Speaking of arrows—I took on Embershard Mine using a mix of bow, fire magic, and good ol’ iron mace and shield. Found a Ring of Sneaking and a Ring of Archery. Took both, naturally. Equipped the Archery one, because priorities.

Stamina and magicka were running low, so I scarfed down any food I could loot, like a true culinary scavenger. Also had to drop a bunch of gear after becoming over-encumbered and unable to run. It was either the extra sword or dignity. Dignity lost.

Made it to Riverwood, met up with Hadvar again, got a warm welcome and a bunch of gifts from his uncle, and picked up a quest from the Riverwood Trader to find the Golden Claw. Also bought a backpack that mysteriously increased my lockpicking skill. Skyrim logic.

I ended the day sleeping in a borrowed bed, leveling up, and realizing I’d been playing on Adept difficulty the whole time. Might be time to bump that down to Apprentice. Survival’s hard enough without bandits being Olympic javelin throwers.