Those Dwemer ruins are probably my least favourite places to visit. Being an archer, I'm not a fan of anything that makes me go searching for my arrows.

Yes, I'm the one that scours the room for stray arrows that have missed their mark...or have bounced off of Dwarven Spiders and Centurions. I just don't like losing arrows. It drives me mental when I put four into an enemy, and get one back during the cavity search. Seriously? This is made worse when I can SEE the arrow sticking out of their skull. Aggravating.

Alas, every so often I find myself in these places. On occasion, I'm forced to bring a tag-a-long with me. On the even more rare occasion, I choose to bring someone with me. I don't know what it is...for some reason, even though I prefer to work alone, I tend to try the follower thing here and there. Perhaps I'm in search of the perfect mate. Perhaps it's like someone here once said...I just like to kill people.

Not sure the latter was the case in this instance, though.

This particular ruin was enormous. In fact, I'm still in it...wondering if it will ever end. I've been alone in it for a while now, however, as I've lost yet another companion. Her name escapes me...but she was a wonderful mage. She complimented me well...never got in my way. I thought we may have had some chemistry. She barely said a word during our travels. She seemed to know when to jump in, and when to stand back. I picked her up at a Shrine...a travesty of a shrine, too. Poor excuse for a Daedra, that one was. If she only knew how her precious little artifact would be put to use...maybe she would have chosen her champion more wisely.

I'm getting off track, here.

We had been creeping through the ruin for a time. My nerves are always ready to pop in those places. The spiders that jump out at me get me every time. Luckily, I can usually dispatch them fairly quickly. Then there's Falmer variations and the dreaded Chaurus bugs...I compare them to earwigs. And kill them with the same ferociousness.

Then, of course, there's the Dwarven Spheres. If there's one thing that will drive an archer to drink, it's a target that won't sit still. As I said, time spent collecting up arrows that miss is time away from progressing foward.

So, as I was saying...we were creeping through the ruin for a time. We had taken out a few unsuspecting automatons...a couple Falmer, a couple of them bugs. We were crossing a platform when a Sphere dropped down between us. My partner hit it with a bolt of shock immediately. I whirled around, bow up, string drawn and arrow nocked. I quickly got a bead on the weak joint between its torso and wheel. My arrow quickly headed towards its destination...only to have the Sphere move out of the way in the nick of time. My companions eyes lit up in surprise as she suddenly felt my arrow hit her in the gut.

Without panicking, I drew another arrow, which quickly found its mark...shutting down the Sphere. I stood there a moment. A part of me was hoping she would recover...that perhaps there was enough life left in her to make it through. It was not to be, though. I had taken her down with one failed shot. She lay there motionless...the light in her eyes dimming, until they finally just fell into darkness...black as my soul felt at that very moment.

I've killed many. Some deserving...some not. But all were my choice to do so. Until now. Could she have been the one? Would bitter irony be calling me this day?

Could be. I tell you one thing, though...

May whatever Gods they pray to have mercy on the souls of whomever I find at the end of this ruin.

For I shall show none.

In real life even if an arrow survives the impact with your enemy, it's very difficult to pull it out without breaking it. This is especially true for barbed arrows. So it's actually quite realistic that you can't dig all of your arrows out of an enemy even if you can see them sticking out of the carcass.

An Evil character picking the White Star, irony at its best.

Indeed. Purely selfish reasons, though. I figured I could use the use of a great mage, since it's not something I'm very good at. I've got plenty of black soul gems.

Oh, I know...just like I know the name of the follower. I was attempting a bit of 'charm' in the storytelling...

Not true, at least in medieval times. The arrow head was only fixed on loosely, often with little more than spit and a bit of friction. This was because the head was easy to make (they were cast, then hammered a bit), whereas the shaft and fletching took a lot of work. The bowman could therefore give the arrow a swift yank and the head would stay inside the wound but the shaft would come free. It was then easy to stick another head on the end, and then re-use it.

Did you get the arrow back at least?

I actually left that one behind on purpose.