Loredas, 11:59 PM, 27th of Heartfire

  Spending the night at a bandit camp near the Thalmor Embassy.  After yesterday all I wanted to do was kill Altmer...my rage took me so far as the embassy where they keep their zealous selves cloistered.  But the door was fast shut, and I could find no other way in.  It is probably for my best, there is no way that I would have walked out of that embassy alive if I would have run in, spells fully charged, feral scream on my lips like I was planning.

What set off this anger was the small group of Thalmor I met on the road yesterday morning.  I tried to simply walk past them, as I could tell they were looking for trouble.  But luck was not with me.  They stopped me and started questioning me about my allegiance to Talos.  I had no desire to speak with the vermin, thus I refused to talk.  In all reality of all the Nordic deities here in Skyrim, Talos is one of the only ones I have any respect for, he earned his place, and he has a much more multifaceted personality than many of the other 'gods' these people worship.  However I do not worship any of them.  I see no point to it.

But getting back to the Thalmor, at my refusal to speak, they tried to attack me!  Screaming threats and summoning ice atronochs, I summoned my own fire atronach to counter, and then ran, dropping ice ruins behind me to impede their progress.  They wouldn't let me be, they started range spell casting.  It was the closest I have ever come to death, if it were not for the fact that a large cave bear also joined the fight, distracting them long enough that I could get in a few good hits, I would have died there on the road, from the vile Thalmor's hands.  I will wipe this scourge from Tamriel if it takes every drop of blood and ounce of life within me.

I have not been to Whiterun in quite some time, However, I did discover more about the crystal shard which I found up here a few weeks ago.  Apparently, according to a book I discovered on a dead adventurer, it is a material known as Aetherium.  In our present age we have no knowledge of it's workings, but apparently the Dwemer crafted some sort of forge that was capable of smeltering it down and creating items of great value/power.  The book contained a paragraph which highlighted possible places the author assumed the forge may be, but he was by no means certain.  I would like to find this forge, however the few Dwemer ruins I have discovered in my traversing of Skyrim have been sealed shut either by nature, magic, or some other Dwemer trick.  However I am not daunted, if this Aetherium forge exists, then I am sure I am able to discover it.

I will travel back to White run before I set off to discover the forge.  I would like to see how Lucia is, and then perhaps travel South and see how the progress on my manor home is doing.  By now it should be nearly completed.