Fear and Loathing in Vvardenfell

The Road to Ald'Ruhn

"Pip, I'm going to ask you a question and I'd like you to be serious with me." I glanced over at the Argonian who simply nodded.

"Okay. What are you and [REDACTED] actually up to? What are you guys seriously doing? What's the goal?"

No reply from Pip. When I looked over at him he only shrugged. "Me no know," he said.

"Come on. You have to know something."

"No. Me know nothing. Me no care. Me do job, then next job, then next job, and finish. Me no know, me no care."

Pip was either very sly and secretive about his special assignment or really didn't care, and I didn't know which possiblity was most likely.

"Well, how about all the information you had to dig up? I looked through my notes and couldn't make a damn bit of sense about any of it. Any opinions on what those mean? Ashlanders? Cults? The Sixth House? What, and why, do you guys care about it?"

I was greeted with ample silence and shrugs from Pip. Once again it was hard to tell if Pip's silence was out of ignorance or an unwillingness to talk.

So we walked on through the night heading north towards Ald'Ruhn. The road north is easy enough until you arrive in the Imperial mining town of Caldera. Situated east of a large crater in the ground, Caldera is head of the Empire's main mining establishment in Vvardenfell. Pip and I didn't linger in Caldera for long; there wasn't any reason for us to be there lacking any mining business or anything official as such. There were only a few small taverns and businesses scattered along the main, and only, road through town, mostly to serve the wants and needs of the miners and their businessmen overlords. No adventure to be had in tiny Caldera. We quickly moved on.

From then on the road turns west despite Ald'Ruhn being situated directly north of Caldera -- this is due to the hard terrain immediately north of the town. The Ashlands began there, a grey and harsh wasteland of hills and mountains devoid of foliage and life (besides a few hardy and dangerous creatures) that is difficult to pass on foot. As with everything else in the world, the economy dictates the reason for many things, and the road meandering pointlessly off to the west, north, and then east was another sign of this fact. The wagons of trae had to follow gentle terrain, and the direct path north was anything but. I thought Pip might want to travel straight through the Ashlands, but seemed content to follow the road signs towards Ald'Ruhn.

"Have you been to Ald'Ruhn before?" I asked Pip.

"No. Never. Bug shells me hear."

"What?"

"Bug shells. Homes. Shops. Bug shells. Me no understand too."

"Okay."

The sun eventually rose behind us although we couldn't directly see it; the day was going to be a grey, depressing, and chilly day, and it seemed fitting for the Ashlands that we were about to trudge through in a few hours. But on we walked in silence, keeping our thoughts, whatever they were, to ourselves. I found it better to force myself to not have any thoughts; just keep walking, I told myself. Don't think about it.

After a few hours the mind numbing silence of the grasslands was shattered, no, slightly altered by the sound of footsteps. Maybe gallops. Something running quickly at us from the north, obscured by a small hill. Pip stopped, idly looked to the north, and removed his club.

"Nix hound," he said passively.

And over the hill sped two large, freakishly hideous and malformed creatures that looked like dogs, but with tentacles near their mouths that bobbed up and down in a nauseating fashion as they ran towards us. On their feet appeared to be claws, or hooves, of some sort, although they did look sharp. How would these animals kill us? Claws? Teeth? Tentacles? I didn't know and I was reluctant to find out.