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[WillowLuman]

This guy:

Spoiler: Not talking about the guard (click to show/hide)

We should help this guy. His quest could net us a home and much liking around Seyda Neen.

Anyway, let's offer Vubius maybe 100 gold, as half the reward is a bit much. We're hurting for cash here.

Also, let's try not to wade in any swamp water with those holes in our leg. Salt water might help sterilize, though.

[Iituem]

This guy:

Spoiler: Not talking about the guard (click to show/hide)

We should help this guy. His quest could net us a home and much liking around Seyda Neen.

Anyway, let's offer Vubius maybe 100 gold, as half the reward is a bit much. We're hurting for cash here.

Also, let's try not to wade in any swamp water with those holes in our leg. Salt water might help sterilize, though.

I don't know who that guy is, but it sounds like a plan!

[LordBucket]

offer him 250.

let's offer Vubius maybe 100 gold, as half the reward is a bit much.

Nearly everyone agrees on giving Vibius part of the reward. One specified 250, one says 100, and for those who didn't specify I assume that "give him a cut" means give him an equal share.

I'm working on the next update now. If anyone wants to vote between 250 or 100, do it soon. I've already written it as 250, but if a few people vote to reduce it to 100 before I post, I'll change it. Update is almost done, but I'll be eating dinner soon. You probably only have a couple hours to vote.

[WillowLuman]

100 gold, please.

And once more, let's approach Vodunius Nuccius. Who is a distinct person from Vubius, the guard not named in the game.

[ShoesandHats]

I vote for 100.

[LordBucket]

100 gold, please.

And once more, let's approach Vodunius Nuccius. Who is a distinct person from Vubius, the guard not named in the game.

Ok. But note that when one person says the same thing 1 2 3 times, I count that as 1 vote, not 3.

[WillowLuman]

Not trying to stuff the ballot boxes or anything, just making sure people don't confuse two similar sounding names.

[GlyphGryph]

100 or 150 should be enough, I would think. After all, we ARE the one who found the murderer, and he IS already getting paid for it. >_>

[Man of Paper]

However, a little good will can go a long way. Knowledge of our generosity might spread and make people more willing to help us out. I'm in the split it in half party. As long as we can get the book we'll be good. Mortar and pestle has to be our next purchase though, or else we're just a crazy guy gathering plants.

[LordBucket]

Episode 22: Dunmer culture and an unexpected letter

You thank Sellus for the reward and step outside the census office to go find Vibius. Once outside you notice there's a small crowd of villagers. mostly dunmer, standing around Foryn's corpse.



At first you're afraid it might be the beginning of an angry mob, but after approaching close enough to hear their conversation they don't seem to be discussing anything of consequence. The weather, the egg trade, a relative that might visiting. Nobody seems concerned at all that they're standing over the corpse of a fallen villager.

Seeing that you're watching them, one of them calls over to you.

: "Hey, outlander. Care to help?"

You take a few tentative steps forward.

: "I'm sorry, I'm new here. Help with what?"

He points to Foryn's body.

: "With the cremation."

Oh. Oh!

: "I'd actually, yeah...that would be...sure. I don't know much about local culture. Thank you. I'd be honored to help. But, umm...I actually don't know any destruction magic."

: "That's fine. Why don't you help Indrele build the pyre. She should be at the water now."

He points, and you head in that direction.

You find Indrele standing ankle deep in the water using a large bowl to shovel silt onto a growing pile on the water's edge.



: "Excuse me?"

: "Yes, outlander?"

: "May I help?"

: "Of course."

She hands you the bowl and steps out of the water.

: "I've scraped away the top layer. Just keep scooping silt from that spot right there until I say to stop."

: "Ok."

You do as she says, though you notice that it takes you longer and the mount of earth you can move with each scoop is much less than she was moving. Apparently even this female dunmer commoner is much stronger than you are. She notices too, but says nothing.

Over the next several minutes the two of you construct what is apparently a dunmer funeral pyre, the first step of which is simply building a slanted bed of silty clay in a rounded triangle roughly the size of a coffin. The outer edges are significantly raised, and the middle sunken, with about half a foot height difference between the two. The tapered end, which is where you're guessing the feet will go, is lowest to the ground and rounds to a half-funnel about four inches across.

Once the clay is placed, Indrele asks you to stand back. You watch as she conjures a stream of heat and flame from her hands and proceeds from end to end of the clay. As she works her way across the pile, she has you pour water onto the heated clay to flash-cool it, turning it into a simple ceramic. By the time you've finished, two other villagers have brought Foryn's body from the town center, which they place on the pyre. They each speak a few sentences in an unfamiliar language that you presume is native dunmer, then turn and look to you.

You tense up, not knowing what's expected of you.

: "Go ahead, outlander. You're one of us now. Speak your mind. The spirit of Foryn is listening."

...uh oh. His spirit probably actually IS watching you, isn't he? You clear your throat nervously.

: "Foryn, we didn't really know each other. But I was present at your death. And I'd like to say that you died honorably. You truthfully admitted the murder you committed, and you faced your death with courage. I remember you said that it was worthwhile for you to die, if it meant freeing the people of Seyda Neen from corrupt taxation. I don't live here, and I know you didn't do it for me, but...thank you."

The dunmer nod to themselves, one of them hiding a smile as if embarrassed to be appreciative of the words of an outlander. A few more words in native dunmer, then two of them conjure up more fire from their hands and incinerate the body while the third uses a small brush to brush the resulting ash and bonemeal into an urn. Then they say their goodbyes, and return to whatever they were doing.

: "Hey. So, Foryn was actually watching his own funeral? As a ghost?"

: "Yes. Even if we could not see him. Traditionally, the child or close relative of the deceased would summon his spirit tangibly so that everyone could exchange farewells. Foryn had no direct relatives in Seyda Neen to summon him, so that wasn't possible. Even so, I'm certain he was here. You spoke well, outlander. Your words will be remembered, as will Foryn."

Speechcraft is now 17

You feel...good. It's peaceful. It's comforting. Death is such big scary unknown where you're from. Here, people know it's not the end because they can literally conjure up the spirits of their ancestors at any time and chat with them. No wonder death isn't perceived as such a big deal by the locals. Grandpa died before your birthday party? That's fine, just summon him up anyway.

since Vibious helped us catch that thief, we should offer him a cut.

I definitely agree with giving Vibius a cut of the coin

Talk to Vibius, thank him for the assistance and offer a part of the reward

also back offering the guard a cut of the reward.

If we do ask if he wants, make sure to mention that we're not familiar with local customs in many ways quite yet

You find Vibius wandering around the bridge leading out of Seyda neen.

: "Hello, citizen."

: "Call me Michael."

: "Not while on duty."

: "Oh. Sorry. Hey, now that you mention it, what's your duty cycle like anyway?"

: "5 days on, 2 days off."

: "Like...literally, your patrol is 5 days straight?"

: "Of course."

: "Huh. Well, anyway, I collected the reward for Foryn. And...I apologize, I'm just discovering that I know nothing about local customs, and I really intend no offense or anything, but since you were the one that did the fighting I thought it would be fair to at least give you some of the reward. Is that ok?"

He nods.

: "Yes, I can accept. In Cyrodiil it would be frowned on but gift-giving is deeply ingrained in dunmer culture. Many of them will tell you that it's not what you give, but how you give it. Or that well-chosen gifts are better than coin. But I haven't met a dunmer yet who wouldn't be your friend for a big enough pile of gold. And as one saying goes, 'when in Cyrodiil, do as the imperials do.'"

: "So it wouldn't be seen as a bribe?"

: "Not usually. Not here. More like a compliment and expression of desire to be affiliated. Give a stray dog meat, and he might think you're part of his pack. Or, imagine if you were to tell a woman you just met that she had wide, child-bearing hips and that you'd like to give her children."

: "...umm, yeah...that would be completely creepy where I'm from."

: "Oh? I assumed you were from Cyrodiil, where it would be taken as an unconditional marriage proposal regardless of the woman's family's ability to pay a dowry. Whether her answer was yes or no, no woman outside of a noble house would be offended by that. But cultures vary."

offer him 250

maybe 100 gold

I vote for 100.

sounds like a plan

100 or 150 should be enough

You hand Vibius 100 septims.

: "Thank you. My shift is over Loredas morning. Care to join me for a drink?"

: "I'd be delighted. Loredas, that's...what day is that?"

: "You really aren't from around here, are you? Standard Tamrielic calendar. This is Middas. Tomorrow is Turdas. Then Fredas, then Loredas. So, two sunups from tomorrow morning."

: "Alright. Sounds great. Where shall we meet?"

: "I do most of my drinking in Balmora, but if you're feeling daring there's a great little place in Suran we could go to."

: "The house of earthly delights?"

He raises an eyebrow.

: "You know it?"

: "I know...of it. How about we not decide now? Let's meet you here in Seyda Neen and figure it out then."

: "That's fine."

: "Also, to be perfectly honest...I'm still learning my way around, and I'm kind of hesitant to make a commitment that I might end up missing just because I got lost or confused about what day it is."

He nods.

: "So, yes, I'd definitely like to hang out. But if I'm not here when your shift ends, please don't feel the need to wait for me because I might be lost, in the middle of nowhere, and not know what day it is because I was indoors and lost count of sunups."

: "I understand."

: "Great. Thank you. So, tentatively I'll see you Saturday."

: "What?"

: "...Lordes?"

: "Loredas."

: "Right. Loredas."

I say we help Vodunius

sounds like a plan!

Vibius returns to his route, and you turn around to head back into town. As soon as you do, however, you notice a young dunmer boy in plain clothes watching you.



That's a little peculiar. You don't remember ever seeing any children in Morrowind. Is this just another thing that happens here that makes this place more "real" or is this something special? He's obviously watching you, and once you get far enough from Vibius he suddenly starts running towards you. Ready for a fight, but hesitant to draw a weapon on what seems to be an unarmed boy, you're surprised when he wordlessly hands you a rolled up scroll then runs back off between the buildings. Not sure what to expect, you unfurl the scroll and read it.


Michael,

We know who you are. You are a thief. Don't deny it, you've been seen in the act. Join us. There is honor among thieves. But know this: we will harbor no competition. Join us, or give up your ways. If you accept, seek us out and be our brother. If you refuse, then abandon the craft and leave it to the professionals. Independents like yourself don't last long within the demesne of the Imperial Thieves Guild.

A friend


Wow. Total Daggerfall flashback. You roll the scroll back up and toss it in your bag. You can sort that out later. You go back to asking around if anyone's seen Vodunius. It doesn't take long to find him.

: "Hey, you're Vodunius right?"

: "Yes. Do I know you?"

: "No, not personally. But I've ridden with Darvame a couple times and your name came up. At least, I think Darvame was the one who mentioned you. I've been meeting so many people lately, and just had my first experience with a dunmer funeral, I admit I'm kind of losing track of a few names. But yeah...somebody mentioned you, just in passing. I thought I'd say hi."

: "Hi. Welcome to Vvardenfell, then. For what it's worth."

: "You don't care for it?"

: "Not so much. I'm from Narsis. It's a major trade port on the mainland. Lots of business goes through there, but kind of hard for the small guy to make a name for himself, you know?"

: "I get you. Thinking of going back?"

: "I'd leave in a heartbeat if I could. Been here for a year now, and I can barely stand this place. Ash storms, corprus beasts, lousy food...yuck. I'll never eat another kwama egg ever again."

: "What's stopping you from leaving?"

: "Money. I have a little saved, but Narsis is a long trip. I'd need another 100 septims at least, and there's a shortage of ways to make any money around here. I'm not going to work in a mine."

: "Ever consider joining the Legion?"

: "What, and commit to a whole another year here? It's not like I could just leave after my first paybag. They hunt down deserters, you know. Hey...you're a friend of Darvame's, right? I wonder if you could do me a favor?"

: "What's that?"

: "Well, I'm a trader not a wizard. I came looking to buy and sell goods, and early on in my stay I invested a big chunk of change in this ring without really understanding the ins and outs of it."

He pulls out a ring enveloped in a faint bluish glow.

: "It's magic, but it's cursed. Kind of. It's got a nifty little enchantment on it that makes you run fast, but problem is it sucks the life right out of you every time you use it. Literally, you could kill yourself just by using it too much."

: "Not much of a sales pitch."

: "Hey, you're a buddy of Darvame's. She's a good gal, and I'm not going to lie to you. But you've got that adventurer look about you, and I bet you're tough enough that you could take anything this little thing can dish out. So I'll make you a deal: buy it from me for 100 gold. That's break even for me, exactly what I paid, and I'll tell Darvame you're a buddy and sail home. Will be cutting it close, but 100 should be just enough to get me home. What do you say?"

: "Hmm. I think I could do that...but, tell you what. Right now I have one prior obligation I need to pay, and I don't know exactly how much it's going to cost me. Let me go talk to Arille real quick, let me see how much money I have left and I'll let you know."

: "Great. Thanks a bunch."

we should go get that book back before Arrille sells it

we get the book back

You head to Arille's to make an inquiry about a certain book.

: "Hey, Arille."

: "Hello, Michael. You're coming to be quite a regular."

: "Yep. How about giving me a frequent customer discount?"

: "How about no?"

: "Hmm, ok. Anyway, remember that book I sold you the other day? Do you still have it?"

: "Yes."



: "374 gold? Are you serious? You only gave me-"

: "82 for it. Which means only 292 septims profit for me. Really, you should be thanking me."

The economy here is totally unforgiving.

: "Let me get back to you on that."

Check the shop (there's only one, right? Is there a fence?) for a ring.

: "Oh, by the way...has anyone sold you any rings in the past few days?"

: "No, sorry. And none for sale."

Mortar and pestle has to be our next purchase though

: "I have an Apprentice's mortar and pestle I'd be willing to part with for 123 septims."

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Known stats
Level 2
Health 35/41
Armor rating: 1

Attributes (Values in parenthesis are starting values)
21.7 Strength (20)
30.6 Speed (30)
31.9 Agility (30)
30.4 Endurance (30)
41.0 Intelligence (40)
42.4 Personality (40)
51.0 Luck (50)

Skills
17 Acrobatics (0)
 9 Athletics (5)
 2 Unarmored (0)
17 Speechcraft (10)
 5 Mercantile (0)
 5 Alchemy (0)

Worn:
 * Steel tanto, with scabbard and carrying straps
 * Colovian fur "helm"
 * Commoner's shirt
 * Commoner's belt
 * 'Expensive' pants
 * Tennis shoes
 * Interior coinpurse, containing 57 gold

Backpack
Main compartment:
 * Thieves Guild invitation
 * Letter of introductino from Ranis Athrys
 * Yellow notepad with 57 pages left
 * 1 pen
 * 1 Standard Restore Health potions
 * 1 Greef
 * 2 soulgems of uncertain size
 * "20% cooler" Rainbow Dash t-shirt,
 * Denim pants
 * a cellphone and wallet with picture ID and $30 in cash

Small compartment
 * 400 gold
 * 2 ampoule Pod
 * 1 bread
 * 8 bunger's bane
 * 1 coda flower
 * 4 hypha facia
 * 1 kwama cuttle
 * 11 luminous russula
 * 2 rat meat
 * 3 saltrice
 * 6 spore pod
 * 7 violet coprinus

Alchemy Knowledge
Bread - [1] Restore Fatigue
Small Kwama Egg - [1] Restore Fatigue
saltrice [1]Restore endurance
kwama cuttle [1]Restore health
luminous russula [1]Paralysis

What do you do?

[ShoesandHats]

I still believe we really need some way of training up our strength and agility. Again, we're not going to be threatening whatsoever in a combat situation without being at least as strong as the average native. Seriously, if we can lose in an armwrestling match to a female elven peasant, we're never going to be proficient in 1 v 1 combat. Even with magic, we'll need to be able to take a blow and return it.

Still, I don't know how to improve those right now...

Buy the ring, and sell it back to Arille. Don't say anything to him about the ring having the potential to kill you, just say something about how it weakens the wearer a bit, along with its increased running speed.

[WillowLuman]

Hmm, we seem to have directly gained HP upon leveling up, not sleeping, so I doubt we'll be allocating points...

I didn't think anyone in Seyda Neen knew destruction magic, except for Socius. Maybe all Dunmer just have innate fire powers? Or perhaps innate ones that only come out at such special times? Hmm, we should ask if there's a Gilnith ancestral tomb somewhere on the mainland.

I say we get the mortar and pestle, since we'll still have enough to buy the ring afterwards. Maybe we'll even have enough to get another piece of alchemy equipment.

[Astral]

Buy the mortar and pestle, as that will go a long way toward solving money problems, even if it may take a while to get up from our pitiful alchemy level.

Begin sampling ingredients, preferably in a place with a healer, such as the Balmora temple, in case we suffer any adverse reactions.

If possible, try picking up a large rock (meaning, as heavy as can be carried) and running with it around Seyda Neen for a few hours. It's a large enough town that it should let us see if the simplest answer (a very antiquated form of weight training) will help our strength or endurance any, since it appears that something like GCD is in effect.

Try asking around, possibly with our new buddy Vibius, how magical arms and armor work, with the pretense that we've never handled one directly. Hopefully his Guard training at least went through the basics of enchanted equipment, and it may come in useful if we come across something worth keeping.

[LordBucket]

Couple quick responses:

Buy the mortar and pestle, as that will go a long way toward solving money problems

Note that, unlike vanilla, and as described in episode 15, alchemy requires all four tools. A mortar and pestle alone will not be sufficient to make potions. If you want to buy the mortal and pestle from Arille, that's fine...but don't expect to start making potions until you get a full set.

since it appears that something like GCD is in effect.

It has previously been confirmed, on multiple occasions that a skillmod is in effect.

I didn't think anyone in Seyda Neen knew destruction magic, except for Socius. Maybe all
Dunmer just have innate fire powers? Or perhaps innate ones that only come out at such special times?

At this time, I'm not going to confirm or deny whether any race/gender/starsign/etc mods are active. But note that even in vanilla dunmer receive a +10 racial skill bonus to the destruction school.

I still believe we really need some way of training up our strength and agility.

Ok. If you want, that's fine. But note that after personality, agility and strength are already your second and third fastest-raising attributes. Since your arrival:

42.4 Personality (40) (Gain of 2.4)
31.9 Agility (30) (Gain of 1.9)
21.7 Strength (20) (Gain of 1.7)
41.0 Intelligence (40) (Gain of 1)
51.0 Luck (50) (Gain of 1)
30.6 Speed (30) (Gain of .6)
30.4 Endurance (30) (Gain of .4)

[GlyphGryph]

I think instead of the ring if we ask the guy to keep his house and stuff just to make sure everything is on the up and up we might be better off. Because that's half the point of doing his quest, right? And it's not like he'll be using it if he's not there.

I think we should probably lay off on the theft. For now, anyway.

There's not much point in a partial alchemy kit and we do NOT want to drag all that stuff around with us - getting the house kills two birds with one stone.