Fear and Loathing in Vvardenfell

Seyda Neen, Fargoth's Ring, and a Lead

Midday, and here I was in Sedna Neen. There wasn't much to see looking over the quaint town from the silt strider port to the immediate north. A collection of houses, and a few business-like buildings stood taller than the rest. And in the distance a lighthouse, with a fire still burning faintly even in the midday.

I got the hell away from Vivec City as quickly as possible. I most likely would've walked, but on my way out I saw a giant bug standing about 7 to 10 meters tall next to the path. A lone Dunmer stood on top of a wooden dock I guess you'd call it and shouted down to me, "Why walk when you can ride, Imperial! Where are you headed?"

I stopped and looked up at him and shouted back, "Seyda Neen."

"I can take you there in a half-hour for only 10 septims!" I quickly glanced in my coinpurse to realize I didn't have much cash left thanks to those bastards from the Temple. It was my own fault anyways, and I tried to accept my bad karma. About to reply no, I turned and looked to the south at the terribly constructed and laid-out Vivec City. I thought about all that it stood for: Vivec, the inaccessible living god, his lackeys at the Temple, the bureaucratic impossibility of even attempting to talk to one of the higher-ups. To hell with that place, I thought. It was well worth the 10 septims to never have to see it again on my assignment.

"Sounds like a plan," I finally yelled.

I had spent a few coins on my way out of Vivec City. I needed to restock. Even someone bruised, beaten, and with their spirit totally broken needed to eat. The Foreign Quarter seemed like the safest bet; it was on the way north out of the city and was famously marketed as a place for "foreigners and services" such as myself and what I needed.

It took some time to get there, what with needing to find certain bridges leading vaguely in the direction I needed to go. Canton to bridge, bridge to canton, along the side of the blocky inconvenient bastards, and across the next bridge. Canton hopping basically. As before I wondered why the hell anyone would live in such a terribly designed place.

The Foreign Quarter canton stood taller than the rest with an extra floor to it. The shops and services were, of course, up in the top section and I had to find a way up there. From the "ground floor" (even though the cantons are giant floating buildings) one has to walk up a large ramp to get to the second floor. And from there? I still needed to go up another fucking ramp to get to the third story! And from there? 90 degrees on the east/west sides of the canton was the actual door to the top where I needed to go. In short: large ramp, walk around, large ramp, walk around again, and finally you were at your destination.

Who the hell designed this place? Surely the one the city shares its namesake with: the living god and inept city planner Vivec. I wanted to meet him even more after climbing to the top of the Foreign Quarter in search of food. I wanted to ask him, "Did you think this was a good idea? Perhaps you can levitate or fly or remove yourself from time itself to where heading to the top of the Foreign Quarter isn't a pain in the ass, but what about all the mortals in the world? Those with legs, hopeless stuck in the flow of time that have schedules and families and jobs? Didn't you think this would be a major pain in the ass for them?"

And what about the handicapped souls of the city? Were there even any handicapped people in Vivec City? How would someone roll a wheelchair up the massive ramps? Did they have handicapped accessible elevators? Anywhere? If Uriel "Senile" Septim VII found out about this he'd have a fit. A total meltdown. Senile he was but he did have an eye for injustice in any and all forms. He'd most likely put out a decree forcing this cruel city to turn the ramps into stairs, or add some lift machinery with ropes, pullies, and big dumb Orcs to make it work.