(What? He didn't die? Plot ruined RTD over.)
Slowly pick myself up, brushing off swamp detritus. Help the bosmer up if he can stand.
"Unnn...Are you alright sir? How was that you fell from such a height?"
(Well, you rolled a 4 to catch him, so vOv )
The bosmer weakly raises his hand and casts a restoration spell upon himself. After you help him climb, limping, to his feet, [1] he simply says, "I don't want to talk about it..."
"Thieves' Guild! Hah! As if I would give those bottom-feeders the time of day!" Marcius laughs. "No, I do rather set my sights higher! I am a man of business and connections, and I have heard of enterprising souls in this area with great expertise in my twin specialties of import and export."
"Oh, but where are my manners. They call me Drasus Tellurius, and I happen to possess knowledge of some highly valuable goods that I and my associates would like to recover, and a very good plan to do so. All I require, as it were, are a few dab hands in the business of specialty import. By which I mean yourself and your lovely associates - I've heard a little about you, and I dare say you show a good bit of promise. There'd be a great deal of coin in it for you if you have as much skill as I've heard."
Be a man with a plan.
[5] "Conncections, eh? And you've heard of I, Melar Baram? Well, let me hear of this job." Artfully extracting rumors and hints from this Melar fellow using vague questions, and then pretending that you already knew the info, you cobble together a proposal. "So, you want us to help you get a load of Dwemer loot back from a gang in the Vivec underworks? Interesting. But... you sure they aren't with the Tong? Hmm..." He steps aside to whisper with his associates, Tanisie and Mulvisie. "Alright. We'll take you up on it. IF you can assure us we won't be crossing the Tong, and IF your people can help us move some of this sugar. So, when is this going down? And when and where would we meet up for further arrangement?"
Eetz pondered the oddly specific instructions, then whipped out whatever form of writing implement he had and drew a smiling face on the package. There, now he certainly couldn't be accused of defacing the package. He took his work very seriously, and it certainly didn't pay to completely disregard the instruction you were given.
Eetz paid the fare to head to Balmora.
(I refer you to the long-winded description of the journey)
[3] As you disembark onto the tower's broad top, where people of all sorts work busily to load and unload striders by the light of paper lanterns, you see that Khajiit from the prison ship take the Bosmer lady over behind a stack of crates. Moving in closer, you overhear: "The two of us share the same instructions, do we not? To find a Caius Cosades and deliver a package? Taahni thinks the best course would be to find him together."
You note a number of guards wearing a rather striking, if strange sort of armor standing on the platform.
It looks like chunks of yellowed bone and shells warped and wrapped around the frames of their bodies, making them look a bit like spiny crustaceans in the shape of men.
"For both of us, here is 5 gils. Perhaps you could tell this one what direction the South Wall cornerclub is?"
After listening to the driver's reply, Taahni motions to Tyrian to follow her and walks to a point where no one should be able to hear them speaking, and then turns to Tyrian and states, "The two of us share the same instructions, do we not? To find a Caius Cosades and deliver a package? Taahni thinks the best course would be to find him together."
Regardless of Tyrian's answer, Taahni finds the South Wall cornerclub and asks around for Caius Cosades.
Meanwhile, with Taahni at 8pm...
"You know, I had a feeling that the wording wasn't customized, especially the formal headline of this officer. I agree, but we shall invoke plausible deniability," Tyri said, not facing Taahni. She turned to smile at the Khajiit after that.
"Now that it's said and done--I'll be shadowing your tracks. Best not to delay what we need to know and do; I bet there's always something to follow this up."
What had attracted those Dunmers' attention--ask this before the embarking.
Tip that driver with thanks! ...Probably get a few generic coins from one of the richer (and maybe snobby) looking fellows to do that. If there are none, don't tip! But still offer much thanks for his chat and talks.
Ask what dangerous creatures usually use around here to sense--smell or otherwise?
The caravaneer thanks you for your tip, and answers Tyrian's question. "Oh, that would be Cliff Racers. They're a real menace in the mountains. Big, legless flying reptiles, like a snake and a bat had a baby. They harry their prey incessantly, stabing with their tails, but they're awkward on the ground, so it's best to find some cover to stand under. Or better yet, to not travel alone near the mountains." At her next questions, the Dunmer woman holds up her hand, "If you want to talk more, I'm heading to the Eight Plates for a drink. You'll find it at the bottom of the stairs." And with that, she sets off for the stairs that lead off the top of the tower into the city.
After your brief conference, the two of you set off in the same way. It seems there are a number of establishments lining the street beneath the strider port, but none of their signs read "South Wall." You ask an Argonian woman hanging around at the base of the stairs for direction. "South Wall? That's on the other side of town, I'm afraid, but not hard to find from here. Just follow the city wall East, cross the river, and keep following the wall."
The city is huge. It takes a few minutes to reach the waterfront, but the street is at least straight and easy to follow, sloping gently downhill. It seems to be fairly organized, too, at least along this street: the inns, taverns, and clubs are in a line, then a row of shops, then modest-looking residences and boarding houses. The waterfront is filled with throngs of people even after dark, and those funny-looking dunmer guards patrol the area in numbers. A number of people simply stand on the bridge as you cross its length, simply watching the river. However, things seem a bit quieter on the other side. Once you leave the wide-open area of the waterfront, the street going uphill again, there are fewer people out on the streets and fewer guards to be seen. It's darker on this street, too, but eventually you come to a blue lantern illuminating a banner: "South Wall." A corner-club indeed: the wall-hugging street turns north here.
The inside of South Wall is a bit humble, but noisy and crowded. It seems like a fairly working-class joint. [4] You are directed to the owner upstairs, who "knows things," an Imperial by the name of Bacola Closcius. "Old Caius, eh? He rents a little bed-and-basket on the North edge of town. Go out the front door, and up the stairs on your right. Then follow that street North until you can see the northern wall of the city. Caius' place will be at the dead end of the street, facing South."
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Topic: Roll to Morrowind (6/4) - Balmora: Is that the Main Quest calling? (Read 36670 times)