I head back to Tel Mithryn and level up my Enchanting a bit more, draining my coffers and leaving me with only about 10,000 gold now. I need to get it up to 100 so that I can put two enchantments on each item, then my plan is to create multiple types of light-weight mage gear to fulfill whatever I need - unless I can create one set that covers all bases, that is.
Upon leaving Tel Mithryn, the courier arrives (it's always the same man...) with a letter from Ralis, that just says "You're needed". I head over to the Kolbjorn Barrow and find a bunch of dead miners. After entering the tomb and dispatching a few 'fresh' Draugr (if there can be such a thing), I find Ralis in the depths in some kind of ritual chamber. As I approach him, he's flung aside by magical energy and the Dragon Priest Ahzidal arises from his slumber to do battle. A foolish decision, as he's soon cut down by the keen and hungry blades of my Daedric companions (and/or the jabbing spear of my ever-present Riekling follower, who seems to be Essential and therefore effectively immortal).
I confront Ralis, and it seems Ahzidal had been mind-controlling him somehow (which was evident from perusing the increasingly-deranged journals in his tent above the barrow).
Akward...
It seems I can kill him or let him go - I choose the latter, as through his actions I've been able to acquire another Dragon Priest mask for my collection. Soon I'll have caught 'em all! What's more, there's a chamber with yet another Black Book in it - Filament & Filigree. It's the third exceedingly short one, and I choose a reward that makes all spells free for 30 seconds (once per day), which seems like the most powerful one so far. Although I guess it's nice to get the reward without too much effort, I have been a bit let down by the last three short Black Books, seeing as the first two I entered were pretty substantial. The previous three combined are much shorter than even just the first one on its own.
I also collect the Ahzidal helmet, for the complete set of unique gear. Next time I'm back at Severin Manor I'll have to try it all on.
After leaving Kolbjorn Barrow for presumably the last time, I decide to use my newly-acquired Big Jump ability to do some proper mountain climbing. I start at the Snowclad Ruins and am easily able to scramble up to the top of the towering Mount Moesring. Although not at the far north of the island, it's quite northerly, and looking to the south I'm actually able to get the entire southern 2/3 of the island in one shot:
Tel Mithryn's on the far left, Fort Frostmoth in the centre, and the Bulwark of Raven Rock can be seen on the far right. No, it wasn't actually this blue - it seems to be a problem with my phone and no matter what I do I can't get it to stop looking this violently blue in the picture
Looking back to the north, I see a secluded, fortified Riekling encampment in what turns out to be Moesring Pass, so I clear that out (not all the Rieklings are loyal to me, only the ones that live in Thirsk Mead Hall). From there, I see an even taller-looking peak, and decide to climb that (an online check suggests that Moesring is actually the tallest, though). It turns out to be Mortrag Peak, and is a much more difficult climb, even with my magical boost, but I get there eventually. To the north I spy what seems to be some kind of ice fortification, so I climb down and head towards it...
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