Skyrim - Smooth Jazbay

Picking myself up from the recent dragon attack, I head north east with Stenvar towards some hot springs. One of the tasks on my list is to collect some small grapes called jazbars for a farmer, and they are known to grow in this area in the west of Skyrim known as Eastmarch.

I thought the sulphurous fumes of the springs were bad enough, but no sooner do we enter the domain than yet another blood dragon looms large, venting fiery death. This time, I do not have the preventative barrier of bandits to draw its fire - I must go toe-to-toe with the creature, relying on my skills and fortitude to bring it down.

Whether down to our recent encounter with the creature at Nilheim or some other blessing from the gods, but Stenvar and I work like a well-oiled machine at killing the flying reptile, and soon it collapses to the ground. Yet unlike other dragon deaths, this one does not yield a soul, nor does it burn up into ash. This troubles me, yet I still reach down to the body and remove things of worth from it.

One benefit of the fight is my inadvertent stumbling into an area of springs containing a plethora of the jazbar berries. I like to think that subconsciously this was an informed decision - Stenvar's helmet prevents me from seeing how he views this hypothisis.

I turn my back on the dragon corpse, and we make our way back south east, soon leaving the bad lands of the springs. The landscape turns lush and verdant, trees and grass abound. I enter the small hamlet of Sarethi Farm, and locate the Avrusa Sarethi, a dark elf farmer.

Her farm exudes a strange noise, verging on a vibration. Peering over the small wooden fence, I see that she is growing uncountable nirnroot. At night, the field most glow with the light of the nirn.

Avrusa is happy to see me, and happier still to be given the jazbays she'd asked me to get. According to her, they are exactly what is needed to help the nirnroot grow. I'd have thought she'd want a ready source of water, and maybe a lot of mud - I've seen them growing well at the sides of rivers and lakes. But what do I know, I'm an adventurer not a botanist. She rewards me with some potions, and we leave.


Something had piqued my interest while we were scouring for jazbays earlier, so I retread old ground to investigate some ruins I'd seen and trudge back to Eastmarch. On the way, we pass an imperial patrol escorting a prisoner somewhere. They seem keen to emphasise that it is none of my business, so I carry on without interfering.

The hills soon begin to rise in front of me, and it is here that I discover the ancient dwemer ruins. They scatter the hillside like discarded firewood. Eager to investigate, I push forward.