(Apologies for delay. I had to do some math for this update, and amdist that I was interrupted by the necessities of the weekend.)
(I should probably note that this Vvardenfell is not quite the ingame version.)
"I could get more selling this to a scamp in Caldera! Daylight robbery!" Eetz objected happily, giving the limeware platter a kiss before handing it to the Altmer and extending his hand for the promised money.
Check to see if he has lockpicks. If he does, buy a couple. Go upstairs, sneak into his room, and check under his bed and pillow for goodies.
[5] He does have a couple, at a very reasonable price. Admittedly they're not very good, looking like they were prison-carved from wood, but you can work with that. You get two for 2 drakes. He hands them over without much comment on your antics, merely chewing his lip bemusedly.
You find three rooms upstairs. There's the bar, served by a dunmer woman and with a handful of people hanging around, mostly some hardened or shady types, from the look of them, but also a sailor or two from the ship you just arrived from. Plus that rather loud Imperial fellow whispering with an armored Nord about something. Then there's a common room, filled with cheap beds and hammocks, presumably for rent. Finally, there's a locked door: the proprietor's room, you figure. [6] It's a moderately well-locked door, but the tradehouse isn't very crowded at this hour, so no one takes notice. You silently open the door and back into the room, then turn around to find a shaven-headed Nord lying on the bed. "Hail, friend. Are you with the Guild?"
Constantine purchases the items at their stated prices. He seems to look wistfully at the damaged Legion shield for a long moment after taking it.
"Pleasure doing business with you, sir. Would you mind directing me to "Balmora"?
If he tells me where it is, step out and begin walking the path to Balmora. A brisk outdoor walk will do me good after prison.
"Well, it's about two days journey on the roads Northward. If she's around, Elone the scout could probably give you a more exact distance. Pelagaid's a nice place to stopover in between, being about halfway there, but that's on the other side of the foothills, so you'd have a long trek through the swamps for most of today. Fortunately the roads are pretty well marked. It'd be a good deal quicker to take a Silt Strider, or maybe hitch a boat ride up to Hla Oad and walk the rest, but you'd need a bit of coin for that."
[3] However daunting this may seem with no supplies to speak of, as a former marcher in the Emperor's legions you're used to a long haul. Even if you decide not to set out quite yet, it may be a good idea to check the local area beforehand. Indeed, there's a handy signpost after the footbridge leading out of town pointing the way. After following the muddy road towards Balmora for about a mile, though, you spot something odd: a couple of swamp-skeevers fighting over a strangely new-looking shoe.
Marcius doesn't even need to think about this very hard. 20 septims for a promise? That's a sale if ever he's known one.
Get the sword and the clothes all together for 50 septims, I'm about ready to take to the road!
But first, check around town to see if any other opportunities spring up. Listen to local rumors. Hit people up for some Morrowind lore. Perhaps even find out a little secret!
Arrille smiles as he hands you the sword, complete with a modest scabbard. "Remember: for everyone you send my way, I'll make it worth your while."
[6] The locals are full of all kinds of talk! Aside from that very shady offer from that Hrisskar fellow, you find a sad-looking man in the same bar by the name of Vodunius. He says he'd like to help new arrivals out, and tells you that Davarme Hleran, one of the strider-drivers that runs the route through here, is a good friend of his and will offer a discount if you give her his name, and that she should be at the strider-port until noon. "Let me tell you, it's a lot faster and a lot safer than going on foot."
Asking the people about town, going about their business, you hear other things. It seems the local Dunmer religious authorities are cracking down on something called the "Nerevarine Prophecies," there's mutterings in the inland cities about the Legion not doing enough about abolitionists (how quaint that these dark elves still practice slavery), and that there's suspected to be a gang of smugglers who've recently set up shop somewhere near town recently, as there's all kinds of places to hide in the bayou. It also seems the local taxman hasn't been seen in a few days, and you overhear plenty of sardonic jokes about his fate. Just before punting off into the estuary on his old boat, a Dunmer fisherman offers to tell you a little secret: "You should go back to Cyrodil as soon as you get a chance, friend. Real soon, Vvardenfell will be no place for foreigners."
Down at the docks, you drop in on a conversation between a Khajiit and a Redguard. It seems that there's some big trouble brewing between the Thieve's Guild and a local crime syndicate known as the Comona Tong. Particularly as there's been talk of high-paying jobs and connections for smugglers of any color recently, a sudden spike in demand. Apparently it's real tempting for sailors of all walks of life. Due to that (among other things), Census and Excise is hiring for a number of positions, as well as offering odd-jobs to freelancers.
"Ooh, I'll take it! Thank you, thank you!"
Purchase mortar and pestle. Begin searching for alchemical ingredients, starting at the edges of town and working my way further into the totally-not-dangerous swamp.
[6] There's all kinds of stuff here! While different from your native Black Marsh, there's just as much ecological diversity as you'd expect. From your initial taste-test, you find some potential combinations: the immature pods of these glowing blue pond-flowers, as well as the flesh of a glowing purple mushroom, both have the taste that suggests induction of water-walking (very useful in this terrain). A glowing cyan toadstool and a small centipede both taste like waterbreathing: not personally useful to you, but probably valuable to softskin travelers here. You're well-versed in the properties of slaughterfish and mudcrabs, which seem as prevalent here as in anywhere else that touches the sea. And of course of the ubiquitous skeevers. You spot what look like undersized crocodiles with very long and narrow snouts lurking in some of the ponds: if they're anything like those of your homeland, they might have some useful frost or shock related properties.
There's two kinds of shelf fungi around, and a large fern with prominent spore pods, all of which taste like they might make useful poisons if you could find something to match them with. All in all, you amass a respectable pile of plant samples and tiny creatures, the useful properties of most of which you are so far unable to identify, but that's what experimentation is far!
Tyri wondered if she had any other choice to buy these things later. . .and decided against it as this was particularly, or possibly, her only stop before she went along that package trip. Although that was the impression anyway--she had no idea what to do as coin probably drove the world here like back where she lived; she couldn't do anything if she only had a fancy set of armor and nothing towards her needs otherwise. And probably it'd still be there given the lack of other people of her...people.
Buy that armor in full; inquire and haggle about getting the bow and arrows for a task needed to be done perhaps (preferably in the direction I'm generally headed).
Tyri wondered if it was a good idea to speak to the other people--especially that other person her Bosmer buddy mentioned, but was somehow forgetful of quite the needed social essentials at the moment. She moved up to her Bosmer buddy and inquired about the place. "Do you know anyone who sells maps of some sort? Also anywhere I can procure accessories or items for taking care of equipment?"
Explain that I'm an independent woman who don't need no man in the field, with a bit of my past as a hunter, and ask where I could buy some equipment for repairing on the field and all.
Probably make it loud enough for the Altmer or anyone else interested to hear (Arrille)
((Somehow I had a horrible idea to pickpocket his ring >_> Whyyyy))
[Assuming I get concrete directions]
"-...so I'd like to know where the nearest stables are too--horses and all, and if the terrain permits. What dangers will I face that way?"
[1] "You know, ma'am, I'm already giving you a discount here. Frankly, it's a bit rude to ask for more."
[3] Fargoth says you should look for Elone, the Redguard scout. She usually hangs out upstairs at the bar, when she's in town. "If anyone knows the local area, it's her. She could probably tell you how to keep up your equipment out there, too." Which might be good, as you're out of cash to get extra tools for now.
When you ask about horses, Arrille chuckles. "Oh, the Dunmer don't use horses for anything except eating. But they do have alternatives. Mostly you'll see guar, which are these big two-legged reptiles with fat round heads. They're about the size of mules, and about as strong, too. Some ride them, but most just use them as pack animals and walk besides them. They've got very broad backs, see, so it can be hard to saddle them in the way most Westerners are used to. The other one you'll see are Silt Striders: huge, long-legged flea-looking beasts. They can carry a lot of weight, both people and cargo, over long distances and at a good speed. Probably the fastest way to get around here, aside from the Mage's Guild."
When you ask about dangers on the road, he adds "Well, you'd be best off asking Elone about that. There's criminals and animals to worry about, but you should be mostly fine as long as you stick to the roads. The Legion patrols the paths between here, Pelagaid, and Ebonheart fairly often. But the safest way would be to take a boat or a strider. Quicker, too. You'd need some more coin, though."
"Taahni would like to know, what is the quickest way to get to Balmora?"
Inquire. Buy wet-weather gear and camping supplies
"Take a Silt Strider. Cross the bridge over the creek, take the path up to the big rock that looks over the town: that's where they board the big bugs. You'll get there by nightfall. Second quickest way, tag along on a boat to Hla Oad, then walk the rest of the way. You might still get there by nightfall. Might even get lucky and find someone to boat you up the Odai River straight to Balmora. Other than that, just take the roads to the North and follow the signs. That's a two-day walk for most folk though, so you might want to spend the night in Pelagaid."
[4] You get the travel and camping gear for the very reasonable price of 40 septims, leaving you with
20 remaining. As you sit next to her, you overhear the conversations of the Bosmer lady.
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Topic: Roll to Morrowind (6/4) - Balmora: Is that the Main Quest calling? (Read 37168 times)