Around Saltshame in 80 Days
The time for my little review has come. It is dedicated, as the title suggests, to the Bloodmoon expansion, specifically to the island of Solstheim. Here, I will try to tell and describe all the interesting things, attractions, and simply beautiful places of this islet... But first, a small lyrical digression: I haven't written for a long time because I was busy playing Oblivion. I've been playing for the third day now, and today I finally decided to bring some joy\enrich\nostalgia to the readers of my blog about Morrowind. So, I start the game, load it up, and hear the familiar and, one could say, favorite music from the game. And you know, I caught myself thinking that I don’t remember a single melody from Oblivion, even though I just recently finished it. So: Oblivion is a decent game, but as Stanislavsky said - "I don't believe!" Unfortunately, the graphics of Oblivion did not bring realism to it, while Morrowind did not take it away. You could kill me if you haven't played Morrowind, because of its outdated graphics, but turning off Oblivion and immediately turning on the third part, I didn’t feel that my eyes were hurt or anything like that. So the conclusion: I feel complete immersion only in Morrowind. This opinion is solely mine, I won’t impose it on anyone; it is written as a spectacular long introduction. Now let’s get to the review:
Upon arriving on the island, we are greeted by a newly established fort - the Fort of the Ice Butterfly. At first glance - a formidable fortress, an impregnable stronghold with brave warriors in the garrison.
In reality, however, the warriors turn out to be not so brave as to be able to save the general, and the walls are not so impregnable as to be able to protect the garrison. To be honest, it is quite unexpected that the walls could collapse to an invasion of wolves (werewolves), either they were built by incompetent builders or they were made of drywall. Take a look:
Even the well was not spared by the revenants; this fort will remain as such until the end of the game... as far as I remember. What can be mentioned in terms of usefulness? There is an imperial shrine, the general himself, a blacksmith, and a weapons and armor trader, as well as the eastern imperial company (which you will later become a part of). After that, you can leave this fort.
Next, our path leads to the Skaal village. It's quite a familiar place, at least for me, considering the climate of Russia... Well, Solstheim in general is like Siberia with Scandinavians living on it.
Architecture, style, the great hall - everything is like with the Vikings. Even something like the northern lights is present. Coming here before the storyline is pointless. The Skaals are not verbose to outsiders. However, when you arrive here as part of the storyline, you are immediately burdened with a small quest: to run around the entire island and satisfy all the stones (of water, earth, wind, animals, etc.); I would say it’s quite a challenge... for an initial acquaintance.
Now let’s head west from the village - to Castle Karstaag. An ice castle, quite beautiful; I just want to get in there and have a snowball fight with the rieklings.
I won’t screenshot the interiors... Just because I haven't reached there in the story yet :) but I can say this: there is little furniture, the walls are blue, made of ice, and unlike the Fort of the Ice Butterfly, they do look more reliable. In the castle lives a large fluffy creature - Karstaag, I think that's the name; we will encounter him at the very end of the storyline... Unfortunately, we will have to kill him.
Now I would like to say a few words about a place called Raven Rock... But the thing is, I haven’t built it yet, and while I am building it, I suggest reading a couple of tips for those traveling on foot around the island.
During your travels, you may encounter naked men and women on the island; don’t be surprised, these are berserkers! It’s better for the weak not to engage with them, as they don’t die from a single hit even from a golden mark. There are also clothed men and women on the island - they are witches and smugglers; they are weaker, but it’s better to avoid them as well, as there is zero benefit from battling them.
The island is home to a lot of wildlife: particularly rieklings, wolves, bears, and others. For some reason, during my travels, I always encountered them in groups of 3-4. Again, the weak should avoid them.
And remember an old good phrase that will save you in any situation, sometimes even in real life, and especially in the game: "quick feet don’t fear."
But Raven Rock is already partially built, and it’s worth showing to people:
Raven Rock is a village that formed around an ebony mine. By the way, this will also be your home - the home of the Factor, when you become one, as well as either a blacksmith or a moneylender, whatever you choose. A bar will be built. In general, what I particularly like about Bloodmoon is that you can build something, even though it's an RPG, and that’s nice.
What I would especially like to note is the beer hall of Tirsk. This is the only place on the island where you feel at home: warm, cozy, and with a mug of hot (or alcoholic :)) drink. Later on, you will become its ruler, and they will make armor for you on order from animal hides.
This concludes the tour of the island. And to finish the post, I can’t help but share with you this heartwarming screenshot of a good beast. Isn’t it cute? :)
