Morrowinding

It had to come didn't it.  The joy of killing and looting.  Zarn joined the Assassin's guild - the Morag Tong and has done a couple of assassinations already.  So much easier when you can do it legally.

There was someone in the Morag Tong headquarters who drew me aside and asked me to poison some guy in Balmora.  I agreed, a little hesitantly.  Perhaps he had a personal vendetta or something.  Anyway it wasn't official.  I journeyed to Balmora and discovered that my potential victim's house is the one I've taken over as my storage facility for all my goodies!  Apparently the legal owner of this house just wanders around outside!  I just thought it was some empty (but locked) house!  Well, at least he hasn't touched any of my treasures.  Actually I wonder if it's a 'she'.  With some of the names you can't tell and there is often some weird woman hanging around those parts.  I'll feel more at ease if the person is dead anyway, even though he/she's not gonna steal my stuff. I imagine they'd be quite chuffed to find lots of treasures accummulating in their house.  Luckily they can't sell it!

After I've done that little assignment, I'll head over to Caldera to sell some expensive limeware pottery I found.  Then, perhaps, back to Vivec to retrieve a nice weapon off my first official assassination victim.  I didn't hang around because the victim's wife started beating me up.  Once that's all done, I'll head off into the wild to try to find some guy in a tent, who is my next official victim.  All very exciting.

If only I could work out how to add pictures.  Tried once, since the dreaded takeover, and haven't been able to.  Can someone give me any hints?

Well, Zarn's come a long way.  Killing seems easier or maybe she's just better skilled.  It doesn't take nearly as long to kill someone or something now.

So, as Zarn, I did a few errands for Eyris at the Fighter's Guild.  On the way to killing an Orc I found an eggmine and it was easy enough to kill the residents and gather up some of their treasure.  This is getting easier!  The Orc was in the same region as the previous ghastly volcanic area and that frost atronach was still hovering around.  I crept past the monster and went in the ruins.  The first Orc I saw was the one I was supposed to kill - no problemo.

Next errand was to kill a smugglers gang in a cave just south of Pelegiad.  Lots of them but thankfully they didn't attack me more than two at a time.  Noticed a few crates of loot including some dwarven weapons worth a bit.  Went on killing as I explored the cave.  Must have been 6 of them before I got to the leader.  More loot.  It took me three visits to a hut in Pelegiad (which I'd just broken into thankfully) to use as storage so I could go back and forth to collect the loot, including diamonds, pearls, emeralds, more valuable weapons.  Good stuff.  I collected some and reported back then journeyed to Caldera to sell some to the creeper.  Too much to sell in one go so have to go back for more!  It's just a bugger there isn't a quicker way to get to Pelegiad.

Lotsa money now!!!

Well, I finally got Zarn to the ghostgate and went to the shrine.  However, I took a wrong turn on the way back and was attacked by several creatures.  And I hadn't saved.

So second attempt she went armed with more potions and mark and recall spells.  Bugger this climbing over mountains to be attacked by 5 cliff racers every time.  She's too scared to explore Ghostgate further but got to the shrine and used a divine intervention spell to get the fuck outta there and save.  Whew.  Now she can do other temple quests.

Fueled on by the achievement, she now turned her attention to the people in Sulipund and Punabi.  A previous attempt had seen Zarn (or was it Selenius?) killed by the elf.  This time it was a piece of cake to persuade her to cough up the 2000 and just as easy to persuade the other dude to join the guild.  Another divine intervention spell got her safely home.  (On the way there she was chased by a Frost Atronach? and wasn't hanging around to let him get at her.)  The trouble with Zarn is, that the higher level she gets (and she levels up pretty damned quickly) the harder it is to get anywhere - ie more deranged creatures attacking her.

Some more peaceful errands are required at this stage.  Perhaps she'll join the Imperial cult and do a spot of herb collecting...

Well, the Nord, Selenius, got quite far with the Blades - at least up to trying to prove he's the Nevarine.  However, it took a while for him to find the Burial chamber for a quest to get the ancestral sword (or something).  After eventually finding the entrance and making his slow way to the right chamber, he couldn't jump his way past a pool.  Evidently he needs better jumping skills before completing this quest.  It was a long hard slog back to civilisation to rest and try to improve his skills.

Couldn't even get Zarn to another volcanic location without being attacked by numerous diseased beasts.  So, she went to Mournhold to find out about the assassins.

Mournhold is a weird place - a fairly small city with most of the action, apparently, in the sewers.  Zarn did a couple of little quests, but they were strangely dissatisfying and some were difficult.  Even at Level 13, Zarn couldn't kill or fight satisfactorily.  So, she went back 'home' to Vvarvendell.

Meanwhile, because I wanted to try the House Redoran quests, I made a new character.  He's a wood-elf called Rodan.  He's already surpassed Selenius and got to Level 5 (Selenius is still Level 3).  The very first Redoran quest was a challenge - trying to find this Guar farmer in the middle of nowhere.  The directions were not very useful.  First left at the hills - which path?  What is counted as "hills"?  A rise?  Which path was the one to Gnisis to start with?  Then take the first right and end up due west of Ald'ruhn.  It took Rodan three tries and each time attacked by diseased cliff-racers and Nix hounds.  Rodan has 2 very cool skills though - Beast Tongue, in which he can cast a spell on a beast who then follows him and helps him fight, and detecting animals nearby.  These helped greatly and he eventually found and killed the mudcrabs.  The next quests were easy and then back to the same guar farmer.  Her reward was hackle-lo leaf which Rodan found a bit pathetic, so he went inside her hut and stole some gold.  The Redoran quest-giver is giving no reward at all so far.  Huh.  Rodan's next Redoran quest is to travel to Molag ?  I have no map so am not certain of where that is but I'm pretty sure it's another volcanic region which is horrible to travel through.

So, I've reached a point with all three characters, that I have to travel through these desolate and difficult areas before I can progress.  It's easy, at that stage, to take a break from playing and concentrate on the boredom of reality.

Considering Selenius' generally poor performance, I thought I'd concentrate on Zarn in the short time I have left.

Zarn had a quest to obtain pieces of ebony, so I took her to the abandoned ebony mine where Selenius only had to deal with a couple of rats.  Zarn, on the other hand had other more powerful creatures to deal with including a powerful frost giant thing.  Too powerful for Zarn, so we gave up that idea even when I tried a few times and there was always too much to fight.

So to get the ebony I sneaked some from the Caldera ebony mine, which was a piece of cake.  Mission accomplished. 

I continued on the thieving quests with Gentleman Jim who promoted me to captain.  I did a few of his quests until the last one which seemed a bit tricky, so I did the good robber quests with the gloves (Bal M something).  The last one of those seems a bit tricky too (I always put off the tricky quests).  I think I only have tricky quests left, so I'll have to choose the easiest and see how it goes.

On one very simple quest, I simply had to return a locket to some person in Ald'ruhn, but twice when I tried I was attacked by cliff racers and while fighting, apparently accidently attacked others standing near - the first, the poor person I was trying to deliver the locket to, and the second time a guard who happened to be near and wanted to arrest me for attacking him.  Stupid.  Third time lucky and one annoying setback out of the way.

Zarn is brilliant at sneaking and picking locks so the other quests were a breeze until the lock at level 85 which took a bit of work.

Time for another break and perhaps Zarn will gather enough courage to visit Ghostgate.  (When she tried before she was attacked on the way there.)

Well, I took Selenius on some little adventures to give him some more experience.  Tried to do the rat infestation job in Vivec but the enchanter didn't even want to talk to him to tell him about it!  As Selenius, I'm not popular at all -  have to work on those personality skills.  So, I thought, bugger you, I'll steal your soul gem and that expensive glass dagger anyway.  Journeyed to Hla Oad and found quite a cave under Fatleg's Drop.  I escorted a slave to Balmora but the guy I was supposed to deliver it to was behind a locked door in his house.  I wonder if the door would be locked for Zarn.  Anyway, wasn't too high a level and good practice for Selenius and the minute I got in the door the guy starts attacking - apparently he was trying to kill the slave.  Well I killed him off and was thanked by the slave and then escorted him/her (never know which) to Ebonheart.  Another little quest happened to be in Ebonheart, but my unpopularity didn't trigger that one either.  On the way back to Balmora I discovered a disused ebony mine.  Fairly dark and I put some ebony down because it was heavy and couldn't find it again. So loaded up again as much as I could - damned heavy stuff, and 'teleported' out of there.  Dropped my shield so I could take the booty home and came back for the shield.  On the way, Selenius tried out some soul trapping on a rat and was sucessful!

Just as aside, Selenius managed, somehow, to lose his boots again, but this time he could afford to buy some good steel boots and a big steel axe - yes!

By this time, Ra'Virr, the trader was still ripping me off, no matter how nice I was to him, so I followed Zarn's example and killed him.  This time he attacked me, so Zarn's superior skills had obviously scared him.  Again I just paid one gold and went back for the booty.

The other little adventure Selenius had was in Gnisis, helping out some dude in the water who'd had his pants stolen.  I wasted gold trying to bribe the idiot who took them, got the pants back and all I got as a reward was a couple of hackle-lo leaves!  That pissed me off so I tried to get the idiot into a fight but he wouldn't be baited.  What a waste.  I enjoyed slashing the living daylights out of him and two guards just for the fun of it then went back to my saved game (before the huge bounty for murder!).

This morning I took Selenius to Big Helende in Sadrith Mora, because I'd noted that was the next thieving quest elsewhere.  However, once there I realised Selenius hadn't been there at all - it was Zarn who hadn't completed that quest.  I found the alchemist's shop but wasted 200 or was it 300 gold trying to butter her up when all I needed to do was go upstairs and nab the recipe from a crate.  I stole a couple of items to cover costs.  The master's mortar and pestle was sold at the Mage's guild so that got back some of my expenses.   Now it's back to Vivec for Selenius to get the Vampire book.  Glad to be out of that unfriendly place.  He achieved Level 3 after finding the mine (which I can't seem to talk to anyone about).

Zarn followed Selenius' footsteps by travelling to Sadrith Mora and completing the same quests, only now, of course, she didn't bother trying to bribe the alchemist, but went upstairs and got the recipe (and the handy master's equipment).  Big Halende now suggested going to Tel Mora.  No idea where that is.  I have no map.  It was time to head home to Balmora and rest, now Level 11.

Ok, so I'm back already.  I did have a break and some contact with real people, but the trouble with Morrowind is that you're thinking about it when you're not playing, and planning your next strategy.

So I returned to Zarn and thought I'd try a little side quest in Vivec - getting rid of an infestation of rats.  The reward for doing so was a rare grand soul gem so yeah - easy stuff.  I started killing the rats in the sewers and realised I had no walk-on-water potion to reach the others (stupidly).  So I went up to look for potions and ended up in the Mages Guild because the Telvannis are so damned unfriendly.  It was then, as I was walking away from one of the mages, that I discovered Sirilonwe's room.  I had hunted high and low for her and her room for another quest, and missed the turnoff every time!  I couldn't believe how dumb I was.  So I was sidetracked into completing the mission of 'borrowing' her book, locked away in a chest.  Easy, except for the fact that Sirilonwe blocked the exit and wouldn't move and there was a risk that she would discover I had her book.  The scroll of divine intervention came in handy and I found myself suddenly at the temple.  Back to finding some potions, but I was being told to rest and meditate (already?).  Borrowed the hammock of a murdered thief nearby (yes, I'd killed him earlier) and rested.  Then quickly headed back to Ald'ruhn to give the book to Edwinna.  While there I bought a potion and headed back to the sewers of Telvanni in Vivec.

Then I realised how dumb I was again as I could use the different trapdoors to reach different parts, not needing the potion at all.  As it happens I did end up using it just for convenience and killed all the rats.  Headed back up to the Enchanter and he gave me the gem.  Yes!  The door to his little room where the first two rats were, was still open and I'd spotted a treasure in there.  A locked chest hid a bit of gold which I nabbed, but there, at a value of 4000, was a glass dagger.  Mine!  Nothing else of much interest there so said farewell to whatsisface and headed back home to rest in Balmora.

My next mission for Edwinna involves going to Maar Gan.  As I'd stolen a book from there and the crime reported, I expect to be arrested on my arrival.  So'd better dump all stolen goods before heading up there.

I'm sure Selenius can manage the two quests Zarn did this evening.  The locks aren't that difficult.

We'll see...

Level 10 already for Zarn.  Come on Selenius - you can do it!

Well, I concentrated on Zarn today, as poor old Selenius really needs to improve his security and sneak skills if he's going to complete any quests.  Before concentrating on Zarn, I tried taking Selenius to Vivec to contact Gentleman Jim Stacey for some thieving quests.  However, a high lock level prevented him from even doing that and, using Zarn who could get through the door, discovered he's not available for quests until you complete other thieving quests first.

First idea was to use Zarn's lockpicking talents to explore the locked buildings in Seyda Neen, loot a few items, then sell them off.  After selling as much as I could find of value, I picked the lock on the trader's warehouse and stole a few of his weapons for sale in another town (obviously).  I took these to Balmora and sold them off.  Ra'Virr, the trader of smuggled and illegal items, is even less friendly to Zarn (despite them being the same race), so I figured I'd try the suggestion of killing him off and pretended to steal an item worth 1 gold.  He didn't even attack me - he was running away like a coward "don't kill me".  When I tried to speak to him, he was, apparently, in combat mode so I killed him anyway, then turned myself in.  I paid the guard 1 gold and returned to steal everything he had and sell it off.  Did very well in the process.

I then turned my attention to some neglected quests like the code book from Sottilde.  This quest is too difficult for Selenius, but Zarn managed it well with her sneaking skills.  No problemo!

With all the extra money, I was able to afford to buy a copy of a book in Vivec instead of trying to steal it (for another quest) and I couldn't find it anyway.  It was while in Vivec that I tried to contact Gentleman Jim who told me to get other quests done first.  So, I  returned to Ald'ruhn, to Aengoth the Jeweller.  He wanted the book "Withershins", which Selenius also needs to get. I journeyed to Maar Gan and could not open locked closets or chests without the crime being reported.  The guy whose room it was didn't seem to mind me wandering around picking locks.  I found the book and figured I'd take it and see what happens.  No-one stopped me, so I ran to the Silt-rider and headed back to Ald'ruhn fast.

Aengoth seemed happy and now wanted me to get some Dwemer (dwarf) metal from somewhere.  The obvious place is the Dwemer ruins which are scary places.  The only one which was easily reached was near Balmora, so back to Balmora to shed some weight (weapons, etc) to ready myself for some heavy metal - haha.  Headed out to the ruins and that annoying guy at the bridge was still alive (I avoided him before on a previous visit to the ruins).  Killed him with my trusty bow and arrow and headed towards the ruins, nabbing the diamond and raw ebony and gold I found in his crates on the way.

Maybe it's the noises of the doors opening or the creaking inside, but Dwemer ruins give me the creeps and I can't wait to get out of there.  I found four rusty dwemer cogs which were amazingly heavy, but figured hey they're metal and easy to access.  I ditched a few of my weapons in a handy crate by the exit door and had to make two trips for the four items, hiding them in an urn, before retrieving my stuff.  I headed home and shed even more weight so I could transport these cogs to Aengorth in Ald'ruhn.  I got there and after all that effort, it wasn't what he wanted - scrap metal, he said.  Not feckin' cogs.  So I sold a couple of them to the local trader - she couldn't afford to buy the lot and headed back home.  Put the remaining cogs away for future sale, retrieved my stuff and consulted a guide to discover a trader in Ald'ruhn sold the damned scrap metal anyway.  OMG.

I headed back to Ald'ruhn (you can see why hours can go by playing this thing) and found the trader who sold each piece at only 75 each.  After all that and I had been attacked by a diseased cliff racer and contracted a disease for my troubles.  I'd taken a cure disease potion and hoped that had cured it.  Nothing seemed wrong - no symptoms.

Headed back to this idiot, Aengoth and he paid me 200 each for the metal.  Well, maybe that made up for my idiocy.  His last quest was the easiest - stealing some darts of judgement from the guards at a manor in town.  They were just sitting on the bed and it was no trouble for Zarn to sneak them off.  Aengoth said I could keep them if I wanted, but since there were only four, I figured the money was better and he gave me full price.  It was then he said I could go to Gentleman Jim Stacey in Vivec for some more jobs.  Whew.

That was time for a break.  Zarn's level went up to 9 and she now had 3900 in gold to pay for training.  Not bad.

Poor old Selenius.  What to do with him.  He struggles a bit, and during one of his burglaries he managed to lose his steel axe and steel boots!  I had to go to the trader to find some cheap boots and go back to a Chitin axe!  What a setback.

I've honestly forgotten the name I gave to character number one - a Breton, I think.  Haven't done much with her.

Zarn, the Khajit, is an excellent thief.  She's done several quests for the Thieves Guild, the Fighter's Guild, the Mages Guild but only one or two for House Hlaalu.  I've come to a standstill though, having reached level 8, trying to figure out  how to do a couple of trickier quests.

In the meantime, I've concentrated on Selenius, the Nord.  Very tall and strong, etc, but totally useless trying to pick a lock or sneak (he's too big).  Poor guy is still only on level 2 despite completing quite a few quests and trying out a few skills.  He's much braver than Zarn and did some quests before she did.

Many quests require a fairly high sneak and security level, so poor old Selenius can't do them properly.  So today, he murdered the pawnbroker in Balmora since she refused to deal with him anyway.  Can't remember why - she just hated me.  Couldn't stand for that, so pretended to steal something minor - she attacked me and I killed her.  Dropped everything and turned myself in and got away with paying 2 gold.  Promptly went back to her shop and sold everything, keeping the money and the useful items.  I stored stuff in a house I managed to break into (not too high a lock level - can't manage anything over 35 and Zarn can do 75).  Selenius has a couple of houses - the more recent one in Balmora and a shack in Seyda Neen.  He's set up a mortar and pestle and lots of ingredients in both, so he can start making potions.

Zarn has a smaller house in Balmora and some digs in Gnisis.  She's only just got the idea of making potions and started collecting ingredients and the necessary equipment.  Way more interested in thieving though.

Read a suggestion today of killing another trader in Balmora and stealing his more valuable weapons.  Not a bad idea, since he's not very friendly.  I have, however, used him for all my stolen goods - much of the stuff others refuse to buy - like illegal substances and smuggled and stolen goods.  He's useful that way, but never offers a very good price, the bastard.

Anyway, when I feel like raving on about Morrowind - I'll update here.  Unless you've played the game, it will, no doubt, be very boring to read.

All for now.  Back with Zarn's or Selenius' latest adventure soon.

I have recently become addicted to "Elder Scrolls III - Morrowind" but this addiction can't last long as I don't have the time.  This Xmas/New Year period has been great, but damn it, it is very addictive and after hours of playing it, I dream about it.

I have made three characters.  I rejected the first as not very skillful at any particular level.  The second is good - makes an excellent thief and has gone far in a short time.  However, something was missing so I created character number 3 and he's a bit slow getting to the next level despite his activities.

I will introduce them in the next entry.