11 April 2012

Playing Oblivion: Day 3 part 3 – Making Mistakes

This is part of an ongoing series. If you want to start at the beginning, go here.

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. 



I decide to make a run for it, dropping a Save before leaving the mine to run to the witches house. On the first three attempts the combination of flailing down a mountain-slope and being burned by the sun kill me. On the fourth try, I make it to the house and inside. Melisande the witch asks me about the stones and I can only tell her that I don't have five yet. As I know that there is one in her basement, I move past her and down the somewhat hidden hatch.


The basement contains a frightening number of human skeletons, one of them in a dog-sized box. Is she eating children too? Oh, yeah, there are no children in this world. Almost forgot. There are lots of soul-gems on the table, one of them is the one I want. I know that she'll be angry about me not leaving her house so I hide out between some shelves and wait for sundown. As I leave the basement, she gets rather angry with me, drawing a weapon and yelling threats. I leave the house. I need to wait 24 hours until I can use my vampiric charming-spell again. Having tested it once on that dark-elf barmaid Martor wanted to bed in Cheydinhal, I hope that it will get her disposition up high enough to stop trying to kill me. Such is my theory, as I fast-travel to Cheydinhal via the river-camp of the people who still want help with their goblin-problem (which I intend to get to once Martor is human again). In Cheydinhal I intend to see if I can buy more garlic and what the game called „Nachtschatten“ (nightshade in English) while there, waiting for my spell to refresh.

Upon reaching Cheydinhal, I notice that people now frequently remark on Martors sickly look while passing by. I should find a healer. My skin doesn't look too good. Is everything okay with me. It's starting to get worrying but I have other problems. In the local tavern, where I have rented a room before (and tried to seduce the barmaid, despite knowing that there is no seduction in Oblivion and that she is probably a racist against humans), I am no longer welcome. Wanting to talk to the owner she yells at me that she doesn't want anything to do with a beast and that I should get away. I can't, so I stand in the entrance room and wait for the day. During the day, I do one of my burning/running runs to the nearest shop, where I get the same reaction. I guess, buying things is no longer an option. This is getting problematic. Somewhat happy to make the guy who has just discriminated me extremely uncomfortable, I hang out in his shop until it gets dark outside. Afterwards I walk around Cheydinhal a little.

I find an entrance to a thieves-guild hideout but it cannot be opened. There are houses of people whose names don't tell me anything. There is a rather nice big house for sale, though I suspect that Martor doesn't have the money or the trust to do so. Then there is a beggar, sleeping on his mat. Martor looks at him. The thirst is immense by now. I hit „E“ and the game asks me if I want to feed or talk. I click „feed“. The game asks me if I really want to do this to an innocent citizen. I can't, so I talk to them instead. He gets up and drunkenly complains about waking him up, lays back down and goes back to sleep. Close call for both of us, buddy. I fast-travel back to Melisande.

Entering the house, she is still angry at me, summoning some hellbeast to attack me. The charming spell doesn't work. This has all been a big mistake, I need a different approach to getting that soulgem from her basement. Frustrated at losing so much time, I re-load at the point where I was still standing in the Squandered Mine.

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