The Path of the Lycanthrope

Being, in part, the sworn statement of Dawnstar guard Ollrod Wet-Beard, regarding the nocturnal attacks last Morndas traced to the were-beast of The Pale.

I was awoken from my bed by a terrible roar (louder even than the pelting snow) coming from outside. I woke Snilvir, and made haste for the door, opening it a crack to peer outside into the blizzard. The main thoroughfare outside the Windpeak Inn was awash with blood. I witnessed a guard sitting on the cobblestones, gasping for breath and holding his chest. I couldn’t make out the shapes in the dark, but something darted by him. It was faster than a Khajiit with its tail on fire, and four times the size. I looked again, and the guard was gone (his limbs were subsequently located near Iron-Breaker Mine, by the smelter) . I heard indistinct yelling, and saw Rustleif in front of his forge, lighting a torch with his bow at the ready. More guards shouting, then a scream that turned abruptly into a gurgle. I’m ashamed to admit I shut the door and spent a few moments convincing Snilvir to head out first.

When I heard Snilvir’s curses, and came outside as quickly as I could. He had deep gouge marks across his arm, which we quickly staunched. He waved his sword toward The Mortar and Pestle. A huge, hairy beast with arrows embedded across its back, began to pick up speed. Being a reader of Experimentation in the Physicalities of the Werewolf by Reman Crex, we correctly identified the creature as a Vargr; larger than a man, filled out with thick black fur, sporting the eyes of a lunatic and the teeth of a snow wolf. We ran in opposing directions away from Dawnstar. This was, I assure you, to coax the werewolf away from the villagers.

The plan was successful, as the hairy blighter landed on Snilvir’s back and began to tear at him, by the rocks near the entrance to Quicksilver Mine. Now the Barracks had been risen, and reinforcements began crossing the harbor, but were bogged down in the fresh snow. As I explained to Brina, they arrived too late to save poor Snilvir, who subsequently died of wounds too deep and gruesome to explain the nature of. Then the werewolf was gone; vanishing into the gale. It was tracked to the west, as far as High Gate Ruins. We informed the Legate at the Imperial Camp, planted Wolfsbane, and increased patrols at night and during inclement weather.

By the breath of Akatosh, the wolf-man of Dawnstar will not prevail.