Fear and Loathing in Vvardenfell

Vivec City: The Boatman/Reluctant Tour Guide

Luckily the way out of Ebonheart was much simpler than the way in. Instead of being lost trying to find the location of the well-hidden Imperial Cult shrine, I was able to take the exact and direct route back through bureaucratic hell. I knew exactly which doors to miss to avoid the panhandlers. Panhandlers under the guise of being of some organization with a purposeful cause, but panhandlers nonetheless. Typical panhandlers only ask for money; these leeches asked for your money and time.

Out of the shine, through the Grand Council Chambers and past the well-dressed important people who started to judge me as soon as they saw me again. As if they could forget this regular slob wandering through their clean, pristine, and prestigious building a second time. Eyes to the floor, quickly walking, I paid them no mind. And again across the bridge, down the stairs, along the south wall, into Six Fishes to purchase some food, and into the courtyard, only this time heading east instead of west. That damn dragon statue again with Vivec City in the distance past the water.

Luckily Vivec City, the proper entrance, wasn't too far away, only a short walk to the north across mild wilderness. No deadly creatures to screw my schedule up or inconvenience me. Strange and sickly trees lined the path and I was surprised to see giant tall, mushrooms as well. I supposed you'd call them mushroom trees?

Vivec City loomed to my right as I traveled the path. I found a bridge heading east into the city, and walked across it.

The first thing to greet me as I stepped foot onto one of the many Vivec City Cantons was, well, nothing. I couldn't see a single person on the large floating building that I was on. A sign on the wall described my location as "Hlaalu Canton." I was aware of House Hlaalu, one of the three great houses on Vvardenfell and the one most concerned with wheeling-and-dealing, bureaucracy, business, and wooing the Empire. Everything about House Hlaalu was about money, the power it commanded, and accumulating even more money/power, hence their fondness for the Empire. While the other two Vvardenfell houses were concerned with more ideological matters -- House Redoran with warrior culture and honor and House Telvanni with pure magical power, curiosity, and a total lack of honor -- Hlaalu knew which way the winds of change were blowing. The empire would certainly strengthen its grip on Morrowind in the near future -- especially Vvardenfell -- so cozying up to them made perfect sense.

And yet here in their canton I found not a single soul.

I walked around the south side of the canton to be greeted by a large city spreading to the east and southeast. Numerous cantons loomed above and around me into the distance.

"Muthsera?" the Dunmer said to me.

"Muthsera? My name is Octavian."

He rolled his eyes; here was another stupid, ignorant Imperial wondering why everyone didn't talk like they did in Cyrodiil. "Nevermind. It's a casual greeting. Can I help you? Do you need to travel to another canton? I operate this boat here and ferry people around, for a price of only 10 septims." He shrugged.

"No thanks. I'll walk. I need to explore the city anyways." I thought for a moment. "Can you give me any tips on where to go? I want to visit Vivec -- the person -- and beyond that I don't know where to go. Any places of interest."

"I'm a boatman, not a tour guide."

"Where can I find a tour guide?"

"There are no tour guides here."

We stared at each other for quite some time before he finally spoke up.

Sighing first, he said, "Okay. Just for you, okay? Most outlanders hang around the Foreign Quarter. This is the northernmost canton. Just walk north. It's taller than the rest. The Mages' Guild, Fighters' Guild, and other various shops and vendors are there. This right here," he gestured to the massive building behind me, "is the Hlaalu Canton. Each house has their own building, Telvanni and Redoran's are over there. You probably have no business there unless you're a member of the house. The Arena Canton is where matches, concerts, battles, and duels are held; once again if you're not going there for a specific reason there's no point in strolling on in. Um. St. Olms and St. Delyn Cantons are mostly apartments and dwellings. The Temple Canton, the headquarters of the Tribunal Temple, is over there to the south near the Palace of Vivec."

"Well, I think that's where I need to go. The Palace of Vivec."

"Oh? There isn't much to see there to be honest. It's mostly a tourist and pilgrimage site. You can't actually meet Vivec as I'm sure you could guess."

"Wait, I can't meet him? Why the hell not?! That's the entire reason I came to this terribly laid-out city. I don't have a choice in the matter now either. I've been hell-bent on meeting this guy for the past four or five days! What the hell else am I supposed to do? I have no other leads to chase!"

He shrugged, indifferent to the plight of an Imperial reporter.

"Okay, look. Does Vivec even exist? Has anyone ever seen him? Can I talk to someone to arrange a meeting?"

"Look, I'm just a boatman and you're wasting my time. But I'll humor you. I have no idea how you could meet Vivec, but he is real. He used to come out of his palace frequently years ago and visit with the citizens of the city. Rumor has it that he still meets with the temple hierarchy for guidance on policy. I suppose you could try bothering someone in High Fane, the temple on the southern canton; maybe they can humor your requests. I sure can't."

I looked around lost and confused. The city seemed dead even in the middle of the day. I didn't have anywhere else to go besides tour the apartments (which I suspected were slums) of St. Olms Canton or catch someone being slaughtered in the Arena. Or hang out in the Foreign Quarter Canton where all the other "outlanders" would be; I wouldn't dig up anything interesting there and I already knew it.

"Okay. So work my way south to the temple?"

He glanced around. "Yes. Sure. If you want to walk.Time is money, right? You'll waste time, and money, walking and you wasted my time, and hence my money, by asking me all of your stupid questions. In a way I think you owe me, outlander. I amused your silly questions. So how about a little boat ride to save your legs? Only 15 septims..."

"I thought you said 10 septims earlier?"

"The fee increased just now."

"You goddamn sly sack of mudcrab shit. 15 septims? I don't really have a choice do I?"

"You might, but let's assume you don't. Deal?"

"You fucking slaughterfish sucker. Take me to the Temple."