A Respite in Eagle Brook and the Staff of Chaos
After his narrow escape from Imperial Dungeons, Talin catches his breath and learns his next steps.
With a flash of crackling blue light, Talin emerges on to a wind-whipped street. It is midday, an unseasonal snowfall muting the distant bustle of a marketplace. Talin takes stock of his surroundings, he is in High Rock, that he is sure of, but where? Fortunately, no one, save an antsy bay nag in a nearby corral, is nearby to take note of a battered warrior who smells strongly of sewer water, emerging from a magic portal. The nag shies away as Talin reaches through the slats to dip his hands in a trough. The icy water enlivens Talin as he washes the worst of the grime from his face and hair. The fatigue of his escape quickly returns however, he can’t remember the last time he’d slept. He needed to find out where he was, and perhaps even more urgently, secure a meal and lodging for the night ahead.
After escaping the opening dungeon, the game dumps you into a random town in your home province with little fanfare or direction. The last instruction Ria gave Talin was that she’d visit him in his dreams, so he heads off in search of an Inn to rest his weary bones.
Navigating cities in Arena can be a confusing affair. The draw distance is rather short even at max settings, which is compounded by snow or fog, and the layout tends to be disorderly and labyrinthian. However, the in-game citizens are a readily available source of information, so now it’s time for Talin to engage in the most exciting of high fantasy activities, asking for directions.
Dialogue is a basic contextual system, with a few options depending on whether you are talking to a citizen, a shopkeeper, a temple priest, etc. For normal citizens walking about in town, you can ask for their name and profession, directions, or ask about general rumors or leads for work.
Talin pieces together that he is in Eagle Brook, a quiet, moderately sized town on the Southwestern peninsula of High Rock. He asks a passerby for directions to the nearest inn and is directed to the Crimson Helm nearby.
A gust of wind slams the door of the Crimson Helm behind Talin. The room quiets down as patrons look towards the disturbance. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, they return to nursing their drinks and conversing among one another. Grateful to be ignored, Talin navigates the mess of tables towards the bar. The bartender, a balding brick of a man who studiously cleans a glass, looks up to Talin as he approaches. Talin quietly slides a few gold Septims across the lacquered wood of the bar and requests a room, a meal, and a bath. The coins are gone in a flash and the bartender silently indicates a table in a quiet corner of the tavern room.
Before too long, the innkeeper makes his way over to the table with a wooden tankard and bowl, which he deposits on the table before Talin along with a room key before quietly shuffling off. Talin tucks in, the fare is simple but hearty delicious, a stew of spiced rabbit and squash and a husk of freshly baked bread. The ale is strong and cold. When the meal is done, the allure of sleep begins to pull on Talin. He makes his way to an unoccupied bath chamber, a set of rough, woolen clothes to replace his tattered and soiled garments left for him by the innkeeper. He vigorously bathes himself before making his way to his bedchamber. He locks the door behind himself, rests his longsword within easy reach, and collapses into bed without a second thought. Talin dreams of Ria Silmane.
Ria informs Talin that Jagar Tharn used a weapon called the Staff of Chaos to capture the emperor and to slay Ria. Tharn then broke the staff into eight pieces and scattered them across the land. The Staff of Chaos is the only thing that can open the doorway to the dimension where the emperor is held. Talin must find the eight disparate pieces and reassemble the staff before confronting Jagar Tharn once and for all and saving the emperor.
Ria explains further that the first piece of the staff can be found in the Fang Lair, a former stronghold of the Dwarves of Kragen before they were driven out by a great wyrm. Unfortunately, she does not know where the Fang Lair is. Before departing, Ria warns Talin that while she does not think Tharn is aware of his escape, she cannot be sure, and Tharn may be searching for him already. Talin must tread lightly in the dangerous days ahead.
