Episode 45: Wolverine Hall shopping and downtown scenic Sadrith Mora
ask if anyone's heard about a guard massacre in Balmora.
Still a bit anxious over your recent escape from possible instant death, you ask out loud, maybe a bit more loudly than you'd planned:
:
"So...anyone hear about that guard massacre in Balmora?"Everyone in the room stops what they're doing to looks at you, at each other, then collectively shrug. After a few moments the Guild Guide speaks and the others go back to their business.
:
"Yes, Masalinie stopped in about 20 minutes ago with the news. Rumor has it it was one of ours in House Telvanni, but she didn't give a name.":
"One of ours?":
"Mage Guild.":
"Is that kind of thing...common?":
"No, it's highly frowned on, but joining a Great House isn't against our charter, and if you're going to be a wizard, much as I hate to say it, the Telvanni have a lot more going for them than House Hlaalu or Redoran."You notice a few of the other guild members scowl when she says this.
:
"No, I mean are guard massacres common?":
"Oh, that. No, but when it does it usually happens in Balmora. For some reason that town really seems to attract the dregs among outlanders. No offense."Hmm. Well, in any case you're glad to be out of there.
Let's find an alchemist and scroll dealer, if any, and ask about levitation, invisibility, speed boosting, acrobatics boosting, damage dealing, and water walking potions/scrolls.
I support IronyOwl's plan.
Sadrith Mora is probably home to the largest group of alchemists and magic dealers in all of Vvardenfell. You suspect you can probably get any of those things if you look around enough. But since you're in a Mages guildhall already, you check their stock first.
* 3 standard potions of water breathing, 38 gold
* 2 standard potions of water walking, 38 gold
* 1 standard invisibility potion, 38 gold
* 1 Quality potion of swift swim, 87 gold
* 1 scroll of Daynar's Airy Bubble, water breathing for 4 minutes, 121 gold
* 2 scrolls of Reynos fins, SWift swim plus water breathing for 3 minutes, 156 gold
* 2 scrolls of Breva's Averted eyes, invisibility for 1 minute, 121 gold
Pretty much everything you could ask for in terms of navigating water, but not much in terms of damage dealing and nothing for levitation. The enchanting vendor does have some summon skeletal minion scrolls, but you're pretty sure skeletons don't swim very well.
You smell the water breathing and water walking potions. They'll last about 15 seconds. Not much. The quality swift swim, 45 seconds. Looks like the scrolls are the most efficient choice, lasting 3-4 minutes. But using them would mean swimming through the slaughterfish rather than walking above them. That might not be bad, since it would mean avoiding cliff racers. But being in the water rather than above it won't make navigating any easier.
There are several Telvanni vendors in town you could check too, but as a Mage Guild member who isn't in House Telvanni, their prices are likely to be higher. Also, you remember Nalcarya mentioning that she'd be happy to fill custom orders, so even if the local vendors don't have exctly what you want on hand it might be possible to have it made. Though that would probably mean paying more.
Actually, now that you think about it...
:
"Hey, which of you is an enchanter?":
"I am. Dabienne Mornardl, at your service.":
"I'm only a dabbling enchanter. I know how to use soul gems to charge items, but I've never done any actual enchanting because I don't know any spells. But...you do, right? If I pay you, can you enchant stuff for me?":
"Certainly. May I see your soul gem?"You pull out the pair of soul gems from your bag and hand them to her.
:
"These are both empty. I'll need a soul to power the enchantment. I have a number of low to mid range souls on hand. Also, if you want something special, arrangements can be made.":
"What sort of arrangements?":
"We summon a daedra and trap its soul. But you'll pay premium for that.":
"How much?":
"Standard Mage Guild rates for summon/soultrap service are 100 gold for a clannfear, 150 for any atronach, 250 for a Hunger, Winged Twilight's are 300, and 400 for a Golden Saint. Plus soulgem costs if you don't provide a gem."That's surprisingly cheap. More than you really want to pay, but you'd have guessed it would be way more than that.
:
"Who does this? You?":
"I'm certified up to Winged Twilight. If you want a Golden Saint, I can ask Skink.":
"Where do you do the summoning? I mean, you don't just summon a daedra loose inside the guild, do you?":
"No, we use the teleport pads. They're heavily enchanted with various protective and containment wards. With proper activation, nothing short of half a dozen Golden Saints can break out.":
"...wait, do those work on people?":
"They can, but it's complicated trapping a person. Conjured daedra are bound to Mundus by the spell used to summon them. Containing them inside a circle too isn't much more complicated. But as soon as the original conjuration wears off they return to Oblivion, and a secondary containment spell won't keep them here beyond that. With a non-daedra, the local containment enchantment on the pad works just as well, but there's nothing stopping them from simply recalling out. Because of the square/distance mechanics of recall fields, it's extremely energy intensive to inhibit teleportation, and enchanting a pad to keep someone from recalling out of it just isn't practical. So every now and then you hear about a particularly dumb criminal being caught, but the Mage Guild isn't responsible for law enforcement and generally anyone powerful enough for the Legion or for local authorities to try to coordinate a containment operation is either a skilled enough caster to recall out of the ward, or smart enough to carry a divine intervention scroll. So it doesn't happen often."Hmm. That seems consistent with everything you've been told about teleportation mechanics so far. Good to know, but not immediately useful.
:
"Ok. So, 100 gold for a cheap daedra, how much would you charge me to say...enchant my boot with water walking?":
"I can do water walking. Those lesser soulgems of yours aren't big enough to hold a clannfear though, so how about 42 for a common soulgem, and for the enchantment itself...":
"Whoa, 142 gold to summon and soultrap a daedra and 480 for a 30 second enchantment?":
"Of course. Any competent caster can summon and kill a daedra when it's trapped inside a ward. It's the enchanting that's the difficult part. Becoming a skilled enchanter is both an expensive and time consuming process."That's sort of true, isn't it? Good info dump, but this is out of your price range right now.
:
"Alright. Thanks for the explanation, but that's more than I'd like to spend.":
"I understand. Please remember me for any future enchanting needs.":
"I will. Thanks."Speechcraft is now 21Michael, how far can you see? Does the game's Fog of War restrict your vision or can you see to the horizon?
:
"I remember seeing a sunrise back in Seyda Neen a few weeks ago, so I think there's no hard limit. But usually I'm surrounded by trees and buildings and things that obscure vision. Let me step outside and take a look."On your way out you pass through the Imperial Cult shrine and check their inventory. Nothing from your shopping list, but they do have a large supply of various healing potions. Restore heal, fatigue, cure poison, paralysis, disease, etc.
Foggy day. Visibility isn't great.
Since it's on an island and we're near a port, maybe ask if we can get a boat ride there.
+1
You leave the fortress and head outside. A few Legionnaires greet you as you pass and you respond in kind. As you leave Wolverine Hall and cross the bridge leading into Sadrith Mora, you're greeted by the morning sun rising up over the local Thieves Guild hall.
You defocus yours eyes and gaze at the stream of magicka pouring through you. It warms your heart, but it also reminds you that you still haven't learned to actually cast any spells yet.
Turning left into town, you notice a guard stop to eye you suspiciously as you walk past.
No doubt word of the Balmora massacre has reached here too.
:
"Hi.":
"...":
"Nice day, isn't it?":
"...":
"Ok, well...I'll just be on my way."You keep walking, pausing briefly to admire Master Neloth's fortress towering over the marketplace.
(
GM Comment: Congrats on background image #200)
Gazing at the structure, you idly wonder whether Telvanni towers and houses are edible. They're giant mushrooms, right? And it looks like the fog you saw earlier is either lifting, or it's not as dense inland. You can see a lot farther here than you could looking out over the water.
Glancing back, you notice the guard from before following about 30 feet behind you. When he sees you turn he stops to cross his arms as he watches you. Better not be loitering. You continue walking. As you pass the Gateway Inn you see two boats at the dock.
Yes, the fog is definitely thicker over the water. Visibility might be a problem. Approaching the dock, you speak to one of the ship captains.
:
"Hello, do you offer ferry services? I'd like to book passage to Tel Fyr."He doesn't answer right away.
:
"Yes, this is a ferry. But Tel Fyr is off limits except with authorization from the Council. Do you have a permit?":
"No. How would I go about acquiring one?":
"You wouldn't, outlander."You manage to get some prices for other destinations from him, but you're sensing a little animosity here.
Level 7
Health 59/59
Magick 69/69
Armor rating: 4
27.0 Strength (20)
34.9 Speed (30)
36.9 Agility (30)
39.9 Endurance (30)
42.4 Intelligence (40)
40.0 Willpower (40)
44.4 Personality (40)
56.0 Luck (50)
Numbers in parenthesis are starting values
30 Acrobatics (0)
22 Athletics (5)
7 Armorer (0)
6 Block (0)
7 Heavy Armor (0)
5 Medium Armor (0)
21 Light armor (0)
9 Unarmored (0)
5 Blunt Weapon
12 Hand to Hand
5 Longblade
6 Shortblade
8 Spear
7 Alchemy (0)
5 Enchanting (0)
21 Speechcraft (10)
11 Mercantile (0)
* Cruel Viperblade
* Chitin shield
* Colovian fur "helm"
* Chitin left + right gauntlets
* Chitin greaves
* Chitin cuirass
* Chitin left + right pauldrons
* Chitin boots
* Combat belt
* Commoner's shirt
* Commoner's pants
* Interior coinpurse, containing:
* 97 gold
* 2 Standard restore health potions
* lockpick
Backpack (Worn)
Main compartment:
* Tennis shoes
* A strange note that reads 'Remember, we are watching you.'
* Letter of introduction from Ranis Athrys
* Yellow notepad with 54 pages left
* 1 pen
* "20% cooler" Rainbow Dash t-shirt,
* Denim pants
* a cellphone and wallet with picture ID and $30 in cash
* 1 divine intervention scroll
* 2 lesser soulgems (empty)
* 30 Whickwheat(?)
Small compartment
* 300 gold
* 8 empty bottle
* 2 Ampoule Pod
* 1 Black Anther
* 18 Bonemeal(?)
* 1 bread
* 7 bungler's bane
* 5 Chokeweed
* 3 Corkbulb
* 1 kwama cuttle
* 25 Heather
* 3 hypha facia
* 11 luminous russula
* 4 Racer Plume
* 1 Rat Meat
* 8 saltrice
* 1 Scamp Skin
* 2 Stoneflower petals(?)
* 5 spore pod
* 6 violet coprinus
Blades, Novice
Imperial Legion, Recruit
Fighter's Guild, Associate (1 quest completed)
Mage Guild, Associate
* Steel tanto, with scabbard and carrying straps
* Imperial steel Cuirass
* Apprentice mortar and pestle
Alit Hide [1]Resist Poison
Ampoule Pod [1]Restore speed
Black Anther [1]Resist poison
Bread [1]Restore Fatigue
Bungler's Bane [1]Drain agility
Chokeweed [1]Drain health
Coda Flower [1]Restore luck
Comberry [1]Drain health
Corkbulb Root [1]Restore luck
Crab Meat [1]Restore fatigue
Gravedust [1]Burden
Green Lichen [1]Night Eye
Heather [1]Poison
Hound Meat [1]Poison
Hypha facia [1]Drain speed
Kwama cuttle [1]Restore health
Luminous russ. [1]Paralysis
Marshmerrow [1]Resist common disease
Muck [1]Poison
Racer plume [1]Levitate
Rat meat [1]Poison
Roobrush [1]Restore intelligence
Saltrice [1]Restore endurance
Scale [1]Swift swim
Scathecraw [1]Paralyze
Spore pod [1]Paralysis
Sm. Kwama Egg [1]Restore Fatigue
Violet coprinus [1]Water Walking
Willow Anther [1]Water Breathing
What do you do?