Adrift in the Rift
28th Last Seed
Coming to Riften was a mistake.
The city is corrupt beyond redemption. I've been here only a few days, and already I've been shaken down by the guards, menaced by a mob enforcer, and propositioned to participate in two separate acts of thievery. And the merchants in the market are rude.
There doesn't seem to be much honest work to be had. I went to the nearest mill (which is a damned sight farther away from the town than Hod and Gerdur's place in Riverwood) hoping to chop some wood, but while the owner did offer to buy any I might bring her, there was no chopping block to be found in the vicinity.
I have taken to running minor errands for the few citizens who don't seem to be crooks. I helped the stable hand Shadr get out of a debt to a predator who had lent him gold for a shipment of gear that she then stole from him herself. And I made a short trip to the nearby town of Shor's Stone to bring an ore sample back for Elgim, the alchemist.
I thought for a moment I might find work there in Shor's Stone, at the mine, but it seems it is closed. The mine has been overrun with frostbite spiders, and nobody has volunteered to clear them out.
There IS an empty house on the market here in Riften, but it won't be sold to the likes of me. I asked around, and apparently, I'd have to have an "in" with the Jarl's court to buy property. That seems unlikely to happen. When I asked her steward about work, she suggested I go kill some bandits.
Really. Go kill some bandits. First of all, I am not a bounty hunter. Secondly, if I WAS a bounty hunter, I could fire an arrow straight up into the air in Riften, and when it came down it would probably kill a bandit. This place is rotten with thieves.
I reported a Skooma dealer to the Jarl, too, and instead of having him arrested, she suggested I take care of it myself. Your tax dollars at work, friends.
So anyway, I won't be buying a home here. Honest gold, it seems, is not shiny enough for the city of Riften. Violence is the only currency that carries weight.
At least Waylandriah, the court mage, seems nice enough, even if she is a complete scatterbrain. She thinks I have the mind for magic, and I did buy a few spell tomes off of her. She asked me to retrieve some items she left behind in Ivarstead, Windhelm, and Winterhold, and I agreed -- I don't want to remain in Riften, so I welcome the chance to check out these other towns, and Waylandriah seems like the sort to reward the effort.
Besides, I was planning on going to Winterhold anyway, to visit the college. I am considering enrolling. I'm interested in learning to heal, and I'm already getting quite good at potions on my own. I'll leave in the morning.
Coming to Riften was a mistake.
The city is corrupt beyond redemption. I've been here only a few days, and already I've been shaken down by the guards, menaced by a mob enforcer, and propositioned to participate in two separate acts of thievery. And the merchants in the market are rude.
There doesn't seem to be much honest work to be had. I went to the nearest mill (which is a damned sight farther away from the town than Hod and Gerdur's place in Riverwood) hoping to chop some wood, but while the owner did offer to buy any I might bring her, there was no chopping block to be found in the vicinity.
I have taken to running minor errands for the few citizens who don't seem to be crooks. I helped the stable hand Shadr get out of a debt to a predator who had lent him gold for a shipment of gear that she then stole from him herself. And I made a short trip to the nearby town of Shor's Stone to bring an ore sample back for Elgim, the alchemist.
I thought for a moment I might find work there in Shor's Stone, at the mine, but it seems it is closed. The mine has been overrun with frostbite spiders, and nobody has volunteered to clear them out.
There IS an empty house on the market here in Riften, but it won't be sold to the likes of me. I asked around, and apparently, I'd have to have an "in" with the Jarl's court to buy property. That seems unlikely to happen. When I asked her steward about work, she suggested I go kill some bandits.
Really. Go kill some bandits. First of all, I am not a bounty hunter. Secondly, if I WAS a bounty hunter, I could fire an arrow straight up into the air in Riften, and when it came down it would probably kill a bandit. This place is rotten with thieves.
I reported a Skooma dealer to the Jarl, too, and instead of having him arrested, she suggested I take care of it myself. Your tax dollars at work, friends.
So anyway, I won't be buying a home here. Honest gold, it seems, is not shiny enough for the city of Riften. Violence is the only currency that carries weight.
At least Waylandriah, the court mage, seems nice enough, even if she is a complete scatterbrain. She thinks I have the mind for magic, and I did buy a few spell tomes off of her. She asked me to retrieve some items she left behind in Ivarstead, Windhelm, and Winterhold, and I agreed -- I don't want to remain in Riften, so I welcome the chance to check out these other towns, and Waylandriah seems like the sort to reward the effort.
Besides, I was planning on going to Winterhold anyway, to visit the college. I am considering enrolling. I'm interested in learning to heal, and I'm already getting quite good at potions on my own. I'll leave in the morning.
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