Episode 57: Have our questions been answered, or did we just make more questions?
>Evasive maneuvers
First off, deflect
I'm almost in favor of feigning ditziness. Certainly stonewalling
QUEST CHAIN BITCHES
:
"I did your quest, so give me stuff.":
"Ahh, actually there's no reward for finding me just yet. That comes later. You're on a rare quest chain here, not some dinky little fetch quest.":
"I am? Awesome! What's next?":
"Well, first I have to ask you some questions."ask about Adorabella
ask about Adorabella
Adorabella had an Orc with her
:
"Do you know Adorabella the vampire?":
"Adorabella? More like A-DORK-abella!"He cracks a huge smile then falls onto his back on the ground and rolls around laughing.
:
"Adorkabella! Haha!" Eventually he stands up again, still giggling, wipes his eyes and continues.
"Yeah, I know her. She's a good friend of mine. What else?":
"Were you the orc who cheered her on during her arena fight?":
"Yeah, that was me. Whole thing was dumb though. Who even fights in rings?"ask him about Clover
Ranis said Clover had a grumbling orc with her
:
"You're also acquainted with Clover the Clever, aren't you?":
"I'm what?":
"Acquaintend? With Clover"One of his eyes scrunches up in confusion.
:
"...uck...wayn...":
"You know her.":
"Oh. Yeah, I know the egghead."Which means that...wait. This matchup suddenly seems familiar. Right before you joined the legion you passed two people riding Darvame's silt strider together towards Balmora. The Balmora caravaneer speculated they were a married couple, but when you later asked Darvame about it she said it was a dunmer sorceress and an orc. Was that them?
:
"You and Clover arrived in Morrowind through Seyda Neen, right? And once you got here you took the silt strider to Balmora together, right"He gives you a slightly incredulous look.
:
"Yeah? What does that have to do with this rare quest chain you were talking about?":
"And she joined the mage guild but you never did, right?":
"Dude, look...whatever. I know this is fascinating and all but can we skip the dialogue and just get to the good stuff?"You get the impression Awesomicus is not the most patient orc in the world.
:
"Umm, yeah. Sure." Tell Awsomicus that as soon as the ash creature is dead he gets paid.
once we have driven off the creature, then we can speak of quests and rewards.
You think back to what happened to Khuul. The same is supposed to happen here, right?
:
"So, there's an ash creature who's going to show up to attack the village. You have to deal with that first to get to the next step."We need to see the extent of his knowledge about Dagoth Ur
:
"You know about Dagoth Ur, right?":
"Who?":
"Dagoth Ur? The aspiring evil god in the making in Red Mountain?":
"Oh, bad guy? Cool. Where is he?":
"...in Red Mountain?":
"Ok, so I'm supposed to go kill him? What about the village?":
"Well, we're kind of getting ahead of ourselves. Dagoth Ur comes later. The ash creature that's going to show up is one of his lieutenants.":
"So, kill the ash critter, then go to Red Mountain and kill Dagoth Ur?"start a conversation about what is actually needed to defeat Dagoth Ur - Sunder and Keening, right?
:
"Well, first you have to get Sunder and Keening.":
"Who are they?":
"They're magic artifacts you need to destroy the Heart of Lorkhan.":
"Who's Lorkhan?":
"...well, he's actually an ancient god, but we don't need to worry about him. It's his heart that's the problem. Dagoth Ur is using it to make himself immortal.":
"He's got this guys heart like a brain in a jar? That's cool. Creepy, but cool. Creepy cool. So where do I get Thunder and Keening?":
"Sunder and Keening. From Ash Vampires. But before you get them you have to first get Wraithguard so you can wield them.":
"Dude, this is getting way too complicated.":
"Well, epic quest.":
"The reward better be epic.":
"Epic. Definitely epic. Plus you'd be, you know...saving the whole world. So there's that.":
"Yeah, that sounds cool. Ok, so let me see if I've got this. You want me to kill this Lieutenant Ash guy to save the village so I can go hunt vampires...heh, Dorkable will love that. After that I have to guard some wraiths and that gives me the thunder power I need to kill the guy with the heart in a jar?":
"...umm...not...exactly.":
"How about I just go kill Ash and we can deal with the rest later?":
"You know what? That's a great plan. Let's do that.":
"Ok. Cool."With that, a sword that definitely wasn't there before instantly materializes in his hand. You're pretty sure it's Eltonbrand. He then goes charging into the middle of the village.
:
"Ash! I will avenge you!"The other Legionnaires look uncertainly at each other, shrug, then march off together after Awesomicus. That went not entirely as expected, but for your purposes it probably went well enough. Now all you need to do is find a safe place to sit out the battle, and then what?
:
"Michael!":
"Gah!"Out of nowhere a pair of massive furry arms envelop you from behind, holding you in a powerful deathgrip
:
"Nuh-uh! The Vulcan Deathgrip isn't even real!"You struggle to break free, but the creature's hold on you is too strong. Terrified, you try to call out to the Legionnaires but you're being squeezed so tightly that there isn't enough air left in your lungs to scream. Then after a few seconds the apparently female creature suddenly releases you from its hug.
:
"You...you're a werewolf.":
"I know! Rawwrrr!!!"She closes her eyes, raises her paws and animatedly shakes her head back and forth when she says 'rawr.'
:
"No, I didn't! 'Rawr' is 'I love you' in dinosaur. I said 'Rawwrrr!!!" which means 'I love you' in werewolf. They aren't even similar. By the way, how come you never told Eddie I said hello?":
"...I...what?":
"You don't remember?"It's difficult to tell through all the fur and fangs, but you think the werewolf is pouting and giving you puppy-dog eyes.
:
"No, they're puppy-werewolf eyes! You really don't remember, do you? You didn't have another deja vue and forget everything did you? Well, if you did that's ok!"As you watch her speak she cycles from curious to amused, to sad that you forgot the last time you spoke with her to cheerful and forgiving, all in under a second. Then she leaps forward and hugs you again. Not knowing what else to do you hug her back and pet her fur, prompting her to lean onto one leg and repeatedly kick with the other. While this is happening, you hear Awesomicus shouting from the middle of the village.
:
"Dude! Show up already! It's been like a hundred minutes I've been waiting!":
"Oh! That's my cue to go help Maxie! See you later! Be nice to the voices in your head!"With that she bounds off after Awesomicus. Only after she's out of earshot does it occur to you to ask:
:
"Wait, how do you know about the voices?"While you try to figure out this latest development, you hear a scream followed by shouting from the middle of town. You cross the bridge to get a closer look.
Four legionniares are fighting with the werewolf while an altmer woman casts lightning balls from afar and Awesomicus yells at them to stop.
:
"Kill the beast!":
"What are you jerks doing? She's with me!":
"Your bloodline ends here!"You decide this would be an excellent thing to not get involved with. But while you're looking for a safe place to watch, you begin to feel light headed. Almost dizzy. And then you hear a deep bass voice speaking in your mind.
:
"Michael.":
"Who are you?":
"Come with me Michael. Let us flee this battle together and I will spare Seyda Neen."Frantically looking around, you see it. On the roof.
It's an Ascended Sleeper. You would be more surprised if it weren't for the fact that you were specifically expecting one to show up.
:
"Join us, Michael.We will make your flesh whole and everlasting.":
"Awesomicus! The Ascended Sleeper is here!":
"The what?":
"Lieutenant Ash! He's the tentacled thing on the roof!":
"On it!"You watch as he casts a spell and begins levitating in the direction of the Sleeper, who ignores him completely and goes straight for you. Terror fills you as you realize the Sleeper is faster than he is. You take off in a mad dash back across the bridge but quickly realize there's no way you can outrun it. Worse, this whole encounter happened as you were returning to town to heal...and you're out of healing potions. It could probably sneeze on you and kill you. And you never replaced your divine intervention scroll after it was destroyed by water on the trip to Fel Fyr. Damn it. You really need to stop forgetting stuff like that.
But wait. Don't you have-
Yep. Bought that potion as a panic measure if things went badly on the way to Tel Fyr, but never used it.
You drink it.
:
"Fool. You know not what you hide from. Join us, Michael. Join us while there's still-":
"Tag. You're it."Finally having caught up, Awesomicus madly hacks into the Sleeper, who responds by taking to the air and bombarding the area with an assortment of fire and lightning spells. You watch as two of the legionnaires drop from a stray spell. The way this is going, you could easily die from the collateral fire. You run invisibly across the bridge and hide in the house Awesomicus smashed into earlier.
Now what?
The invisibility wears off quickly and you find yourself with nothing to do but wait in a tiny house with a hole in the roof. There's a bed and you'd like to go to sleep to heal, but if you do you'll completely miss everything. Or get found and teleported away. Actually, that's a huge concern. You remember Strillian talking about how recall could be used to teleport other people, and how if you don't know Mysticism people could teleport you against your will. Probably all the Sleeper has to do it touch you and it could instantly take you back to its lair. You're tempted to head for the silt strider and just leave. But the invisibility effect has worn off and you don't have another potion. Plus, being caught on the strider during transit would leave you stuck with no way to run. Maybe you should just wait?
Well, may as well make use of the time.
Destruction skill is now 11.Nearly dead from your training with the slaughterfish and now out of magicka, you wait. You try to listen for any clue whether the battle is over, but all you hear is the ash storm ravaging the house. Maybe just a bit longer. You glance through the planet at the sun. Probably not even midnight yet. Your magicka restores a little bit and you cast a few more fleabite spells.
Then the doors opens.
:
"Excuse me, but what are you doing in my house?:
"Hiding from certain death?"Then he notices the hole in the roof and the bits of straw and broken wood littering the floor.
:
"Guards!":
"No! Wait! It wasn't me! Honest!":
"Tell it to the Legion, you fetcher.":
"Actually, I'm with the Legion."He looks at you with skepticism.
:
"Then why weren't you out there fighting when the werewolf showed up?"You pull off your boots and greaves and show him the gaping holes in your legs.
:
"Look, I'm near death here. I was going to die, so I ran. I'm sorry. I'm a coward. But I did what I could and then left to let the better warriors finish it. If I'd stayed to the end I'd have died the moment somebody sneezed on me and it wouldn't have made a bit of difference. At least this way I'll survive to fight again next time.":
"Those bites look like they're from a slaughterfish, not a werewolf.":
"You a forensic expert?":
"Well, no.":
"There you go. Werewolf did it."Speechcraft is now 23He shrugs and casts a slow healing spell on you. It takes a minute or two and even then it isn't enough to fully heal you, so he tries to cast again, but fails. Then casts a third and fourth time and eventually manages to top you off. He's clearly not very good with restoration magic, but it gets the job done.
Health is now at full:
"Thanks.":
"Of course. So what's it like being in the legion? Have you ever fought an Ogrim? Does it impress women? Have you met the Duke?"You struggle to come up with an answer.
:
"Ahh, well...none of those things. If you just go enlist, it's kind of boring, actually. I got lucky and I'm on detached duty rather than guard duty. But the first month they mostly just had me running laps and learning etiquette. And if I hadn't managed the job I did, after that I'd have been stuck guarding walls and roads and things.":
"What's the pay like?":
"100 gold a month, and one meal a week.":
"Plus lodging?":
"Well, you'd be on the job five days a week, but yes, you get a bed a a place to put your things.":
"That's not bad.":
"Yeah, I guess."So far as you know you're still on the roster. You think it's only been about three weeks since training, but you could probably show up in Gnisis next week and collect your 100 gold. Of course, the way you remember it, travel costs were 40-50 gold so it's not going to be a huge profit. Something to keep in mind, anyway.
:
"I'm Draren, by the way.":
"Michael."Draren unlocks his chest, digs around in it then offers you a drink. You accept and the two of you sit down to chat for a while, occasionally casting more practice spells as you talk. Draren follows your lead and casts spells with his surplus magicka too. Apparently it had never occurred to him to do that until now.
Destruction skill is now 12Getting to relax and chat with Draren is a huge relief after nearly being either murdered or abducted by the Ascended Sleeper. Though you probably shouldn't sit in here too long, since you still have things to do. You glance over at the sun and...wow, has it really been that long? Morrowind time travels so quickly sometimes.
:
"Hey, it's been fun. But I should be going. Need to check on the situation.":
"I understand. Feel free to visit sometime. I'd love to hear more about your daring and exciting adventures.":
"...yeah, daring and exciting. That's me. I'll see you around."You step outside.
It's early morning. The ash storm is gone and the streets are clear.
Level 8
Health 61/61
Magicka 5/70
Armor rating: 4
27.3 Strength (20)
35.2 Speed (30)
37.8 Agility (30)
40.4 Endurance (30)
43.6 Intelligence (40)
41.2 Willpower (40)
45.2 Personality (40)
57.0 Luck (50)
Numbers in parenthesis are starting values
33 Acrobatics (0)
22 Athletics (5)
7 Armorer (0)
6 Block (0)
7 Heavy Armor (0)
5 Medium Armor (0)
25 Light armor (0)
9 Unarmored (0)
5 Blunt Weapon
12 Hand to Hand
5 Longblade
8 Shortblade
8 Spear
12 Destruction (0)
7 Alchemy (0)
5 Enchanting (0)
23 Speechcraft (10)
13 Mercantile (0)
* Iron dagger
* Chitin shield
* 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:
* 75 gold
* lockpick
* 1 potion of water walking
* 1 empty bottle
* Roomkey to Arille's tavern in Seyda Neen
Backpack (Worn)
Main compartment:
* Cruel Viperblade (loose, with no sheathe)
* Repair hammer
* Dwemer Puzzle Box
* small leather pouch
* Tennis shoes
* Yellow water-damaged notepad with 54 pages left
* 1 pen
* "20% cooler" Rainbow Dash t-shirt (crunchy from having dried poorly)
* Denim pants (crunchy from having dried poorly)
* wallet with picture ID and $30 in cash
* 2 lesser soulgems (empty)
* 29 Whickwheat
Small compartment
* 122 gold
* 8 empty bottle
* 2 Ampoule Pod
* 1 Black Anther
* 7 bungler's bane
* 5 Chokeweed
* 3 Corkbulb
* 25 Heather
* 3 hypha facia
* 11 luminous russula
* 4 Racer Plume
* 8 saltrice
* 2 Stoneflower petals
* 5 spore pod
* 6 violet coprinus
Bearer of Azura's Mark
Bearer of 'scholarly acquaintance of Divayth Fyr' mark
Imperial Legion, Recruit
Fighter's Guild, Associate (1 quest completed)
Mage Guild, Associate
Registered Sadrith Mora business visa, with slave-handling endorsement
Fleabite (cost:1) (Damage fatigue 1-10 on touch)
Alit Hide [1]Resist Poison
Ash yam [1]Restore personality
Ampoule Pod [1]Restore speed
Black Anther [1]Resist poison
Black lichen [1]Drain Health
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
Kresh fiber [1]Cure common disease
Kwama cuttle [1]Restore health
Large kwama egg [1]Restore fatigue
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
Stoneflower petal [1]Fortify health
Sm. Kwama Egg [1]Restore Fatigue
Violet coprinus [1]Water Walking
Whickwheat [1]Cure paralysis
Willow Anther [1]Water Breathing
What do you do?