We recover the stolen crates from the raiders, but alas the supplies themselves are nowhere to be seen. It appears the Winterborn have employed harpies to fly the goods up to the Reachman’s camps, although I doubt once in the talons of those insatiable monsters much of the food would have survived the flight.

Further along the pass I meet with Chief Bazrag, predictably he is about as friendly towards outsiders as a Nord maiden who finds you still in her bed the morning after. I guess such strong distrust and dislike of foreigners can be forgiven when your tribe has lived under the boots of Breton and Reachman for so long. Our only recourse now it seems is to follow the trail left us by the Reachman’s discarded communications, specifically a possible contact within Orsinium itself known as the ‘Vulture’. Bazrag suggests to close the rasping beak of this betrayer I begin my search within the inns of the capitol.

It is here on the pass that I get my first glimpse of the great stone walls of Orsinium, standing almost as tall as the mountains from which they are hewn. I am reminded of the Bosmer Greenspeakers who are said to have grown their cities from the Graht-oak trees of the Valenwood; only the Orsimer grow their cities not from trees but from mountains. Perhaps if the obstinate Orsimer had learnt to build bridges as well as they build their walls they might not have had to rebuild their capital so often.

S.K