Back to Vvardenfell – Crimson

Balmora. It was a short adventure in its self to get here but now it spreads before me, inviting me to devour all the opportunities it presents. I walk through the streets absorbing the atmosphere. I pass by the thieves guild, then the fighters guild. Both crammed with adventures but I decide to enter neither for now. I’m above the fighters guild – it’s too…low brow. Full of Orks and Nords – thugs basically. It’s not my style. The Thieves guild, while more my thing, isn’t calling me in just yet. For one, how good can they be if they advertise themselves so blatantly. I need something shadier, quieter, more me.

At the very back of Balmora, behind House Hlaalu’s headquarters is a small inconspicuous building. It looks like a plain old resident building. Open the door though and pure crimson assaults your eyes. It’s like the walls are bleeding, seeping their gore into anything that comes near to them. The room is full of Dunmer (dark elves, like me). They are all Assassins, killing people for coin. This is where I belong. The group call themselves the Morag Tong and they are recruiting.

Asking around the guild house I find out that this is just the Balmora branch with the main headquarters residing in Vivec; the Capital of Morrowind. Vivec is broken into about 9 separate buildings – each massive and serving it’s own purpose. Somewhere in the Arena building A Dark Elf called Eno Hlaalu is running the Morag Tong (from his name I’m pretty sure he’s an outcast of House Hlaalu or something) and if I want to join, I need to speak with him.

As I start to head towards the local Silt Strider (massive insects which act as local buses) I’m told I feel like I need to rest and meditate on everything I’ve learnt so far (it’s time to level up RPG fans), but to do this I either need to get out into the wilderness to sleep or find a bed. Not really wanting to pay for accommodation I have a thought. When I first came into Morrowind I was told to drop something off to a guy in Balmora – maybe he can help me.

Cassius Casedies – I remember where he lives from the last time I was unofficially here several years ago but which I don’t actually remember (right). I march straight into his house and just find him standing by his bed. When I said ‘house’ just now what I actually meant is bedsit. This place is a shit-hole, plus there are drugs everywhere. Cassius man, you need to tidy up – if I was the police you would be so busted right now and you never even had your door locked. I talk to him and deliver the package then he tries to rope me into working for The Blades who in turn work for the Emperor. I don’t really want to agree, but he seems excited to have found a potential friend and I do want to borrow his bed. I agree then jump under the covers and drift off.

On waking up two things happen. The first is that I feel stronger, faster and more agile; the second is that OH MY GOD A NINJA IS ATTACKING ME AGAIN. We duke it out in Cassius’ room. Does Cassius help? No. He just fucking stands there as I get stabbed. Maybe he’s so high he doesn’t know what’s going on. I manage to kill the ninja, even without doped up Cassius’ help so then loot the corpse and just leave it there, naked, in Cassius’ shit hole bedsit. Maybe if he helped I would be more willing to get rid of the corpse.

Outside on the streets a massive storm is happening. Rain is hammering down on me as I head over to the Silt Strider. It’s a small fare to Vivec which I don’t begrudge paying considering how far it and dangerous it would be to walk. Vivec is huge and very much Maze like. Canals run between all the giant buildings like Venice, and also like Venice there are boats that can take you to the building you need. I jump on one to the Arena and head in to the Lower Wasteworks. This is below the Arena itself but has passages going off into fighters quarters and the sewers. One of the rooms is called Fighters Cells so I couldn’t not have a look in. Inside there were just a load of empty cells and two Ordinators (Vivec special police). On a little table there is a master key to the cells so when the ordinators have their backs turned I steal it – partly out of petty criminality, partly out of the feeling it might come in useful in the future.

I wander the Arena trying to find Eno. No one seems to know where he is and I can’t even find a clue of where to look. Eventually I stumble into a store room. At the back of the store room is a locked and booby-trapped door. Interesting. I disarm the trap, lockpick the door then head through into a smaller room. There is a trapdoor with a decent lock on it; I think I’m heading the right way. I use my Tower spell to unlock the door and head down a ladder. A short corridor leads to a room with a few people are standing around, none mention not knowing who I am as I hurry through up some stairs, into a group bedroom.

Over a bridge.

And into the arms of Eno. He stands tall in his crimson robe. I profess to him that I want to join him. To dedicate my blade to him and the Morag Tong. To kill for them. He says simply that he will take me if I prove myself. He hands me a Writ – a legitimate contact, accepted by law, for someone’s death. I can kill this person and not be ran down as a murderer. He is here in Vivec, I just have to kill him, then I’m in. I accept.