Set at the foot of Rivenspire’s north-western mountain range, the town of Crestshade is the latest victim of the malevolent Argonian necromancer, Reezal-Jul.  In his retreat from Shornhelm he is said to have sent mountain rocks crashing down to seal the Doomcrag pass, which in turn destroyed much of Crestshade.  What followed was an act of pure maliciousness as in the aftermath Reezal-Jul cast a blood-curse upon the town and its surviving residents.

Now it is a town of ruin and desolation, of scuttling and shrieks, of corpses and monsters, and of ghosts who whisper ominously of a creature far more vile and sinister hidden beneath the town in the chapel’s crypts.  Whilst some townsfolk were able to escape through the southern gate, the blood-curse turned many into the feral bloodfiends that now roam the streets and feast upon the corpses.

Bloodfiends have no master but their own insatiable hunger, which they can neither control nor resist.  What repulses us most about these creatures is not that they feed upon raw flesh and blood, but that we can see reflected in them our own worst traits of gluttony and addiction.  To destroy these creatures is not to kill them; it is to release them from themselves.

S.K

The recently forsaken mines on the outskirts of Crestshade village are now under occupation of trolls.  Whether the mines were abandoned because of the troll incursion or for some other mischance is as yet unclear.  Equally uncertain is whether the trolls will make this a permanent shelter or move on once they have ransacked all the resources left behind by the villagers.

Scholars suggest that these wild creatures might be domesticated by charm or subversion, just like the horse, guar or dog.  Some have even gone so far as to speculate that they might be trained with cudgel and armor, and turned into walking weapons.  An old Cyrodilic maxim reads ‘The most learned scholars are rarely the wisest.’

I’ve heard stories that in some rural communities of Skyrim, the Nords have learned to co-exist with mountain giants in relative tolerance of one another; even on rare occasion coming to each other’s aid in moments of conflict, much as one might come to the aid of a neighbouring village.  But these trolls have too much of the bear about them.  Perhaps we should first learn to co-exist and tolerate the wilds rather than attempt to ‘domesticate’ it.

S.K

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When heading west out of Shornhelm into the oppressive hills and barren hollows of Rivenspire, it is wise to travel in company, and stay to the well-trodden roads.  To the locals this land is known as troll country.

Standing as tall as a Nord warrior on horseback, and almost equally as boorish, trolls can move with surprising speed when so roused.  Their long powerful arms, and sharp claws are their most formidable weapons, yet one would be foolish to ignore their big mouths full of jagged teeth… again much like the Nords.

A thick hide, and patchy coarse fur covers their large man-like frames, and a third eye is set high in their horny foreheads. Trolls are said to share the same temperament as the bear, solitary and reclusive, they are content to ignore the man or mer who keeps a respectful distance, but get too close and they are swift to turn savagely aggressive.

S.K