Part 30: Solstheim is Awesome.

Solstheim is Awesome.


As you may recall, our wizard stronghold wasn't growing for shit. So I decided to go check out Solstheim. First, of course, I picked up a quest reward from Aryon. It's all right, I guess. Minor damage in all three elemental flavors.


Then I caught a boat to Dagon Fel so I could go to Solstheim.


Except, as it turns out, the boat to Solstheim is in Khuul, not Dagon Fel. So I headed west.


There was, of course, the requisite fighting along the way.


And the game itself attempted to beg me not to lose interest in Vvardenfell.


Oh, but I got on that boat.


And there was a fort, and frost-bitten lands awaiting me.


This guy directed me to speak to the two questgivers in the fort, Captain Carius and Magicus Meatus.


So I had to play "check all the unmarked doors" for a while. Are you the Imperial Cult Shrine, door?


Eventually I found the shrine, and picked myself up a quest. Not from the guys I was looking for, mind, but it'll do. We need to find Mirina, who's somewhere in the general Lake Fjalding area. Noted!


Beeficus Sorcerous hires us into a trading company immediately. Our first mission is to escort some miners to a worksite.




Needless to say, they'll all be left waiting for a month before we get bored enough to take them.


I also decide to burgle the...


...armory.


The rest of the fort is a bit more productive, theft-wise. I pinch all of the candelabras in case I need some classy dungeon lighting.


What ho? Bounty!


...goddammit, Morrowind, I missed you.


This is Captain Falx Carius, commander of Fort Frostmoth, apparently.


There's unrest among the troops. Maybe it's because they're scumbags.


But it's worse than usual. Someone's stirring shit, and we've got to get close to the guards to find out who.


Riiiight after we read a Khajiit creation myth.


They want a change of pace in their booze, evidently. Obviously it's not in the fort, or there'd be no problem.


We could go buy some in Vvardenfell, but that wouldn't be any fun. To the wilds!


But first, a nord kindly tells us about the standard enemies we'll face. Neat!


It's not long before we run into a bear. This baby takes four freakin' hammer swings to kill.


Oh, I'm sorry. It's a plague bear.


What's this? Yonder lass is surrounded by beasts! We must help her!


Oh god she wasn't in trouble at all. Here I'm subjected to another Tribunal-style gangrape, though it's not quite as high-impact as the goblin rape.


I know EXACTLY what I'm grabbing off this corpse.


Fuzzy!
_{Also Bloodmoon keeps intermittently spitting out non-fatal texture errors at me. Oh well!}


More bears! More!


A group of hobos that pose a low-to-moderate threat to me! It's like I'm playing Morrowind again!


This would appear to be the lake. Oh well no girl here keep exploring.


There's a house of some kind nearby, but the residents are dicks.


So I break into their shed and acquire the necessary Vvardenfell liquors.


What else ya got for me, game? Altar, huh?


...huh. Something's definitely gonna happen here later.


Now what the heck...?


Holy crap.


Honest to goodness troll-as-fuck raiders. Yes. This is excitement right here. This is amazing. This is...not an enclosed city! They give me a sound beating, but I mean look at them! They deserve to beat me up!


As I get closer to the wreckage, it becomes increasingly clear. This is the airship that the one guy in Ald'Ruhn wanted us to check on.


Ooh. Not good. His journal may be of some use eventually, though.


More raiders! Or...more raider, anyway.


I try his sword. It does about average damage, but it's slow. Disappointing, overall.


Now that raider looks to have a better weapon.


Is...is that a sword coming out of a wolf's mouth?


Yes it is. Although it's named Rickling Lance, the game classifies it as a shortsword. Maybe because it is lance-sized to them.


It does pretty good damage, and is about as fast as your average stabbin' sword. Durability's not great, though.


Holy shit. How could I pass up this kind of cave door? I'll plunder it and gut it from the inside out, taking all the best riches and all the grand weapons!


...oh. It's just a cave that used to be someone's house.