Episode 46: "Papers, please"
Ask the boatman about Clover. If he recognizes her, tell him her survival is at stake. If he seems sympathetic, let him know that we need to reach her to save her.
I doubt she took the boat but it could be worth a shot.
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"I don't suppose you've recently taken anyone else there? Dunmer sorceress by the name of Clover?"
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"No, and if I had I wouldn't tell you outlander."He glances over at the guard who followed you to the dock. He's standing at a distance, watching the two of you.
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"Now, are you booking passage out of Sadrith Mora or are you getting off my boat?"either way we've still got to get ourselves some levitation before we strike out.
Check on prices of scroll of water walking and potion of levitate.
Return to enchanter, inquire about prices of making us a scroll of water walking (using non-fancy paper; hopefully someone nearby sells some?) and a regular enchanted item with a weak levitation effect.
Ideally, we'd like you heading southwest towards Tel Fyr with an invisibility scroll, a method of levitation, and at least a few minutes of water walking. If you like your options on those fronts, go for it.
Support IronyOwl's plan.
^^Sure
I support Irony's plan
You turn around and walk down the plank back to land, passing the guard as you do.
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"Hello, officer. Is there something I can help you with?"
"..."You stand there awkwardly for a few moments.
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"...ok, well, good day to you then."You're not comfortable with this, but you're not sure what else to do. You start walking, and notice that rather than follow you, the guard boards the ship and talks to the ship captain you just spoke with. You're too far to hear what's being said, but you'd guess that he's telling the guard that you wanted to go to Tel Fyr and that you were looking for someone named Clover who you thought might have gone there too. But you pretty much dropped it when he said you couldn't go. It's not like you tried to bribe the captain into taking you anyway. Even the Telvanni wouldn't arrest you just for asking about it, would they?
Well, maybe yes, maybe no. But you'd rather not find out.
You hasten your pace while trying to not look like you're running away. Maybe if you can get to the market while the guard's busy talking you can lose him in the crowd.
Well, not much of a crowd to hide in. Time to get indoors.
Check on prices of scroll of water walking and potion of levitate.
You walk over to one of the merchants.
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"Excuse me. Could you direct me to an alchemist?"
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"Yes, we have three in town. Threvul Serethi's shop is right over there. If you need a full alchemist Anis Seloth's shop is next to Fara's Hole in the Wall by the Council House, and Pierlette Rostorard is right on the edge of town near Wolverine Hall.":
"Thank you."Well, that went pleasantly enough. Maybe it's just the guards who have a problem with you? You approach the shop she pointed out and step inside.
It's a tiny shop, and seems to double as a house. Upon entering, Threvul looks at you nervously.
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"Warm wishes, officer. How may I serve you?"Officer?
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"I'm looking for water walking or levitation potions or scrolls. Do you have any in stock?":
"A thousand pardons. I do not. I specialize in healing. If you require full alchemy services, you'll need to speak with either Anis Seloth across from Fara's tavern or Pierlette Rostorard near the edge of town.":
"I see. Thank you for your time.":
"Of course, officer."Why is he calling you officer? Does he somehow know you're a Legionnaire? You step outside and see the guard from earlier talking to the merchant who gave you directions a moment ago. On seeing you she points, and the guard nods and stands to watch you.
Ok...you think you know what's going on. Somehow the people here know you're a Legionnaire. The merchants don't seem antagonistic at all, it's just the guards. Well, and the ship captain. So presumably they see you're wandering around out of uniform and they're simply keeping tabs on you. Or maybe it's some kind of inter-service rivalry. Hopefully this isn't something you need to worry about. Obviously it can't be too much of a problem that you're in the Legion. After all, there's a Legion fort on the edge of town and you passed three Legionnaires between the Imperial cult shrine and the Thieves Guild on the way here. So they probably just see that you're out of uniform and want to know why. But that still doesn't answer how they know.
You head to Pierlette Rostorard's shop next. It's near Wolverine Hall and you'd like to go back to talk to that enchantress again anyway. Checking behind you as you go you see the guard going into the healer's shop you just left. Looks like you can safely assume that anything you say to any of the merchants, the guards will know about too. Resolving to not talk about anything possibly incriminating, you push open the door to Pierlette's shop.
Pierlette is behind the counter and a guard stands motionless on the wall to your left. Seeing you, Threvul glances at the guard then back to you.
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"Can I help you?"You look at the guard. He's just watching you. Shrugging, you turn back to Pierlette.
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"Yes, I'm looking for scrolls and potions of water walking and levitation. What do you have and how much?"Pierlette looks at you for a moment, then glances nervously at the guard.
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"You want to buy from me?":
"You're an alchemist, aren't you?":
"...yes?"At that moment the door opens behind you and the guard from before steps in.
You turn to look at him, but he says nothing. After a moment the two guards look at each other, then one of them speaks.
"You don't have a Hospitality Mark. I apologize Legionnaire, but I'm going to have to ask to see your papers."isn't trading in Sadrith Mora impossible for us due to not having a "Certification of Hospitality"?
I think in Vanilla you're either not supposed to sleep there or not supposed to be there at all but nobody minds. I guess we haven't actually tried buying anything yet, but I'd be surprised if they loathe us too much to take our gold.
Damn. You didn't really think you'd need those. Apparently you do. Well, time to bluff.
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"I'm sorry...hospitality mark? What papers?" "Don't play innocent, Legionnaire. You of all people should know better. Are you registered or not?":
"I'm sorry, no. This is my first time in Sadrith Mora and nobody said anything registration when I arrived."This could be bad. What are Telvanni prisons like?
"Very well. I'm placing you under arrest for two counts of soliciting merchandise without a-"The other guard interrupts.
"Make that three. He tried to buy potions from Pierlette just now too." "...three counts of soliciting merchandise without a license. Either pay the fine now or come with me to work off your debt via hard labor.":
"How much is the fine?" "25 gold per count, three counts. 75 gold."...oh. Well, that's not too terrible. You count out 75 gold from your coin purse and hand it over.
"Very well. I accept this payment. You are free to go. I strongly advise you to register with Angaredhel at the Gateway Inn before attempting to do any business in Sadrith Mora."With that, he opens the door and exits, leaving you, Pierlette and one guard standing quietly in the shop together. The remaining guard crosses his arms and watches you, as if daring you to try to make another purchase. You sigh to yourself. 75 gold wasn't much, but it only leaves you with 322. ...actually that's probably not a problem. You turn to the remaining guard.
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"Excuse me, officer?" "Yes?":
"I intend to get my Hospitality papers before making any purchases. I am not attempting to make a purchase now. Would it be ok...since I'm standing right here anyway...to ask how much potions will cost for when I come back later with my papers?"He shrugs
"Yes, I can permit that.":
"Thank you. Pierlette, how much for levitation and water walking potions?":
"Standard strength, 45 gold. Same price for each."Really? You were expecting the levitation potions to be more. And her prices are only about 15% higher than the Mage Guild. You're pretty sure you can work with this.
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"Alright. Thank you."You leave and start walking back to Wolverine Hall. Fortunately they didn't seem to care that you tried to book passage to Tel Fyr, it was just about getting your papers in order. You feel like you dodged a bullet, but this brings up some possibly important questions. It seems like some people knew you were in the Legion, and some didn't. Or possibly everyone knew and some just didn't care. What was the 'hospitality mark' that the guard mentioned? Why was Pierlette so nervous about selling to you, but the healer from earlier was completely polite and didn't seem concerned at all? Did she know about whatever mark it was and the healer didn't? Or was she only nervous because a guard was watching, and you could probably do business with any merchant just so long as you don't get caught?
It would probably be better to simply get your papers rather than find out, but you don't remember off the top of your head what exactly is involved with getting the papers. the guy at the Gateway Inn issues them, but isn't there a prerequisite quest? Or was that just a sidequest issued by the same guy that wasn't required? Or for that matter, even if it was a prerequisite in the game, does it even matter here?
Setting those concerns aside for the moment, you return to the Mage Guild in Wolverine Hall and strike up a conversation with Dabienne Mornardl.
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"Hey, I was just fined for trying to make a purchase from a Telvanni merchant. How come nobody told me I needed a license for that?"She raises an eyebrow.
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"You're a Legionnaire. I just assumed you'd know the law."Does everyone know you're a Legionnaire? How?
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"It never came up during training. It's obviously not an Imperial law, so I'm guessing it's just local Telvanni policy.":
"Sorry. Guards come through here all the time during shift changes. Obviously you're off duty, but it wouldn't have occurred to anyone to point it out.":
"Ok. Well, the fine wasn't too terrible. Anyway, I'm still pricing things and it occurred to me: can you enchant scrolls?":
"Of course.":
"How much? Also, we don't need a soulgem for that, right?":
"Correct. Soulgems provide replenishable charges for enchanted items, whereas scrolls are single use and the energy comes from the initial cast at time of enchanting. What do you want made?"inquire about prices of making us a scroll of water walking (using non-fancy paper; hopefully someone nearby sells some?) and a regular enchanted item with a weak levitation effect.
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"How much for a water walking scroll?":
"Standard circinate water walking? How does 136 gold sound?":
"136? Why so much? That's four times what a potion with the same effect would cost."Her cheeks flush red and her eyes narrow. Apparently this is a sore spot for her.
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"If you want a potion, buy a potion. Tusamircil's right there.":
"Wait, don't get angry. I just don't understand. Why so much?":
"Because...outlander," you notice the sudden emphasis she places on that word.
"enchanting is a lot more difficult than alchemy. Provided he has ingredients, an alchemist can quickly burn up a batch of a dozen potions in barely any more time than it takes to make one."Yes, that's true. Batch size doesn't really matter, since the tools are big enough to easily make several potions at a time. Whether you make 1 or ten potions worth at a time, it's just pouring the liquid into bottles afterwards that makes it take longer.
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"But as an enchanter, I have to actually cast a spell to make a scroll. You're lucky I even know water walking. An alchemist doesn't need to know anything about magic, he simply learns his ingredients and he can make anything he has ingredients for. I have to learn each spell I enchant individually, and I have to pay for learning those spells. You're paying for the privilege of having an enchanter who actually knows the spell you want enchanted, since you obviously can't cast it yourself.":
"Ok, right. I'm sorry."She continues uninterrupted, but more loudly.
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"Plus, unlike an alchemist who can make those dozen potions all at once and then instantly make another dozen if he wants to, I have to use my own magicka to enchant a spell, and that takes time or potions to restore. I'm only at about half right now because I've already made stock today, and if I have to burn through the other half making custom scrolls for you, that means less magicka available to me to make other stock, recall out when my shift is done, or defend myself in the event that some Balmora guard-killing psycopath decides to come through and expand her horizons."By now everyone in the guild is watching her yell at you.
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"FINALLY....outlander...unlike alchemy, which anyone can learn cheaply and easily - I know, I'm an alchemist - enchanting is a highly advanced esoteric art that takes a great deal of time and practice to master. You want a potion? Great, get some tools and any fledgeling backwoods ashlander with the barest of knowledge and no understanding of magic whatsoever can go pick flowers and make potions. If he makes a mistake? No problem, just go pick more flowers and try again. Me? I have to conjure up daedra to do my practicing. DAEDRA, outlander. Spellcasting, sword-weilding, daedra from Oblivion who will EAT ME AND STEAL MY SOUL if I make a mistake."She has a finger up at your chest and is physically pushing you backwards.
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"So if you want a custom enchantment, I don't care if it's your boots, a scroll or your panties...you're GOING TO PAY FOR IT. You're going to pay for my expertise. You're going to pay for my training time and risk. You're going to pay for spell learning costs. You're going to pay opportunity costs of my finite magicka pool. You're going to pay for all of that."By now she has you up against the table in the middle of the room. Everyone in the room is watching silently.
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"Now are you going to buy something or are you just wasting my time?"inquire about prices of making
and a regular enchanted item with a weak levitation effect.
This probably isn't the best time to be asking for another price quote. But if you understand everything that's been said so far, at the very minimum it would be 142 to procure a daedra soul, plus whatever enchanting costs turn out to be. The 480 quote was for a 30 second duration enchantment. Presumably shorter duration would be less expensive, but how much less you're not sure. Even if it's half price for half duration...unlikely since that would mean a 1 second duration would be almost free...15 seconds isn't very long. You wouldn't want to have it wear off 50 feet off the ground.
Maybe you'd be better off waiting for further price quotes until you're talking to an enchanter who isn't angrily trying to justify her profession to you.
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:
* 22 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?
Author
Topic: Marooned in Morrowind (FINISHED) (Read 434820 times)