It's early 2012 and I'm playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Why? Because I (finally) can. Join me on my path to glory and the stabilization of the status quo in almost-Tolkien-land.
So I'm finally getting to
it and set out to Chorol, where I am to meet the leader of the
Blades, an organization that is a weird mixture of knights, samurai,
secret-police and swiss-guard answering only to the Emperor himself.
He is supposed to know who the surviving heir to the throne is and
where to find him. Did I mention that the religious-sanctioning of
the monarchy goes as far as to claim that the world will end when
there is no one of the imperial blood-line lighting some fire while
wearing the amulet I have on me? The Empires propaganda apparatus is
just that good but Martor believes in this sort of thing (like I
said: he is a bit dim) and I leave the ruined fortress where it is
and follow the road to Chorol, which is quite near. Now when I first
came out of the sewers the game told me that I could use the map,
which I have found out how to use by now* to fast-travel to places but
I find that horribly out of place in a fantasy game. In a world where
you don't get into a plane only to leave it six hours later on a
different continent, traveling is supposed to be slow, dangerous and
full of suspense and adventure. What lies by the wayside is the
interesting part! So I walk, or rather, jog, I like it slow but not
THAT slow.
*is there even a way to
zoom out in this thing? I think not and that makes it somewhat hard
to get a nice overview of the Empire (I assume all of it is part of
the Empire as there are no borders visible on the map). It's a little
bit like having GoogleMaps stuck in one of the deepest pits of
zoomed-in level.
After about 150 meters of
jogging there is a man on the road. I want to greet a fellow
traveler but he draws an axe and comes at me. I *sigh* panic again
and fail to block any of his first three blows. Then I go into
counter-attack and kill him rather swiftly. I leave his naked body
behind, having taken all of his possessions. So he wasn't a fellow
traveler but rather some sort of lone bandit. Must have been quite
the desperado to attack me, obviously better armed and armored than
he had been.
The rest of the road is
littered with wildlife, both peaceful, such as butterflies and deer,
and dangerous, as in wolves. Not all that dangerous though, as wolves
are pretty easy to block with my shield. I get near Chorol easily
enough, lucky it's this close, and go to the ersatz-monastery (I
don't quite get the religion in this world) where the guy I'm looking
for is supposed to live. I find him and talk to him and he tells me
that thanks, he'll keep the amulett for now and I'm to go down to
Kvatch** and find a monk named Martin for he is the heir. Looking at
the map I find this rather convenient as a bit to the West of Kvatch
there are the ruins that the half-orc gladiator wanted me to check
for proof of his heritage so I can swat two flies at once with this
one. Thinking I need my equipment repaired and I also need a bed for
the night I go into Chorol proper to find a blacksmith and an inn.
**Kvatch is a horrible
name for any native German-speaker. Not only does it reek of
Pratchetts Discworlds Klatch, the German word Quatsch describes
something silly or bullshitty and is pronounced identically. It
always takes me a bit out of the game.
The first place I see is
an inn and I go in there. To my surprise there is another patron but
he talks stuff to the keeper that sound suspiciously like a
side-quest. Being the do-gooder I am, I speak to him. Turns out his
two sons are out by the monastery, intending to go to the farm I had
passed on my way here to kill some creatures that have kept attacking
them and he is too scared and old to go help them. Okay, I'll go in
your stead, I've seen you NPCs fight, there is no point. I go out and
meet his two sons, both armed with swords and explain that their
father has chickened and sent someone more competent for the job. We
(slowly) walk to the farm. These walking bits in quests seem more and
more like annoying time-filler to me, I must say. Nothing happens
until we get there. Then the two of them lead me out onto the 'field'
of maybe three dozen crops and tell me to be on guard. I am and when
the goblins (of course it's goblins) show up, I run at them, knowing
that the NPCs are crappy at fighting and take them on three at a
time. After two or three waves it's over and the older one of the
brothers lies dead on the field.
This makes me think. I
don't believe I can change who dies or doesn't die in the main quest.
Deus Ex, like I said, this ain't. But what about side-quests? Should
I re-do this and try to save them both? No, I am a role-player, I
don't play to completely win, I take my losses and make them part of
my story. We (slowly) walk back to town and I'm tempted to just run
ahead but then don't for some reason. Better like this, as we don't
meet the father back at the inn but at some nondescript little house
in another part of town. I wouldn't have ever found him to turn the
quest in. He is a bit down because he didn't help with the fight and
thus one of his sons died but does give me 150 gold for my troubles.
I wouldn't have accepted the money if the game had given me the
option to refuse. Which it didn't (okay, so not only Deus Ex this
ain't but also Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic this ain't
either).
I go find a blacksmith and
have all my stuff repaired and sell some spare loot that has gathered
along the way. I also make the mistake of selling all weapons besides
my short-sword and my bow, a mistake I will regret much later. Then I
sleep at the tavern I first met the father in. Tomorrow I'll go down
to Kvatch (*snicker*) and see if I can find this Martin.
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