SPOILER ALERT!
Don't read this page if you want to be surprised by the start of the plugin;
instead, just swing by Gnaar Mok after you've installed it.
Note that the below description doesn't take effect before Release 4-003.

Rumours are afoot that the dreaded pirate ship Maria Daria has been sighted off of Vvardenfell's western coast, and their assault on Gnaar Mok coincides with your arrival to the village. In the ensuing confusion, the guards mistake you for being part of the marauders, and you find yourself being on the wrong side of the law - and on the recieving end of the guards' anger.

Little can be done to stop the marauders incinerating the villagers... but if you want to try - go right ahead.

Your actions will decide the fate of Gnaar Mok.
If you want to stop the assault and save the villagers, you are certainly free to try, but be prepared for a real challenge. Then again, no one said being a hero is easy! If you attack the pirates, the road to Silgrad Tower will end and you'll need to find your own way to Silgrad Tower. That's not too difficult - just check the world map, point your nose in roughly that direction and prepare for a rather long swim.
If the assault is carried through, certain changes will occur in Gnaar Mok afterwards, so you won't be stuck with an empty boring village just because the original villagers were... retired.

If you're playing a low-level player character, surviving the onslaught of the confused guards can be difficult. Keep an eye out for the pirate near the wall to the mansion - she'll cast a strong protection spell on you, and help distract the guard. If you don't find her, that probably means you're of sufficient PC level to be expected to survive by your own devices.

Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire...

As tranquility descends over the recently lively village, there aren't any witnesses left that know what happened, and as the bounty the guards put on you never gets written down and processed, it is forgotten. Take the road leading south out of Gnaar Mok and you'll bear witness to how a group of Legionnaires ambush the second party of pirates. This isn't a good day for the Empire unfortunately, as the pirate wields his horrific, flesheating weapon that leaves little left of the Legionnaires but skeletons. As the bright light of death engulfs them, the pirate runs around the muckpond to aid his less-powerful comrades... but alas, he is too late, and is the sole survivor of the clash.

I don't hold a grudge. I have no surviving enemies... at all.

The main pirate, Yvaine Herraud, is clad in Deathdealer armor and fights with Aichimo dual blades, both created by Hellwolve. His face, often known as the "Breton Hunk" face, was created by Sorcha Ravenlock and seemed appropriate for a high-seas adventurer.
After the fight, it's high time for the pirates to pull out of Gnaar Mok. Have a chat with the boatman, Eniuf Tulaine (to the right in the screenshot, left of Yvaine) - if you spot the guys some money you can ride with them on the skiff out to the Maria Daria. The boat ride is partially animated and quite fun to watch, but to save time it cuts off after awhile, and the game resumes when you're on the deck of the pirate ship.

Welcome to the Maria Daria!

Once you've climbed aboard the Maria Daria, feel free to chat with the crew. Yvaine and Eniuf from the Gnaar Mok incident are with you on deck, and wait patiently for the ship to get moving. A couple of new faces greet you while you stroll around on the deck; the sharpshooter Leufaire Trenai keeps a vigilant eye on any cliff racer that would dare attack, while the beautiful Jaine Lefeu is an adventurer doing odd jobs - healing, spying, and a bit of fighting. Leufaire's face was created by UQForgotten (Facepack #7) and he's wearing Korana's Falconer leather. Meanwhile, Jaine's face was created by Quarl, who also created the outfit she wears (it's one of the less outrageous outfits from Gothic Attire II).
Also on deck is your fellow traveller Patrique Erarde, which (depending on your player character's level) you may or may not run into on a later occasion as well. He's clad in Falconer leather pants, made by Korana, while his face was created by Emma. During his travels up north he also picked up some Nordic clothes items he found comfortable.

When you're ready to leave Vvardenfell, go down to the Captain's Quarters (it's to your left after you first arrive on the ship; below the overhang part of the ship) and have a word with Captain Nemouf, whose greeting was graciously provided by our member The Nerevarine.

"Travelling with the Maria Daria is done in much the same way as you would travel with any other transportation", as the Captain says - to proceed with the last leg of the travel to the mainland, you need to click the Travel option in the Captain's dialogue window. He charges a nominal fee for accomodating you, enough to pay for your breakfast and such ;)
Captain Nemouf wields the Light and Dark twin, an awesome animated weapon created by Phijama. If you were to fight him, you're in for a graphical treat, though it'd be wise to hold off doing that until after you've arrived near the mainland. The weapons are normal dual-wield weapons, and are quite useable if you can best him in combat. Be prepared that doing so will really tick off the other pirates.

If you tip Yoanna, she'll strip for you.

While in the Captain's Quarters you might notice Yoanna, who's entertaining the Captain with her dance. She's clad in a Falconer vest (made by Korana) and kwamaskin thong (made by Greybeard), and if you tip her they'll fall to the floor and reveal more of her. The stage, and much of the ship's interior, was created by Razorwing and is built out of several simple meshes using stock textures.

After you've paid Captain Nemouf the nominal travel fee, you'll soon find yourself back on the deck of the Maria Daria - but overlooking a very different landscape than the one you left behind. The small screenie to the right shows the scenery when the sky is clear, while the one below is more foggy. Jump down on the skiff, then into the water and swim the short distance until you reach the shore. And make it snappy - the slaughterfish are quick to notice you!

Welcome to Latrys Island.
| Latrys Island is the huge island that shields our part of the mainland from the Inner Sea. In the middle of the island lies a daedric ruin (Ashranashurbi), which is an interesting experience to play. If you want to proceed to the mainland, you need to walk along the western coast of the island until you reach the dwemer construct - you can't miss it.

The dwemer construct can ferry you to the mainland... if you figure out how to use it :P.

Traversing the dwemer construct will take you from Latrys Island to the mainland shore, but be prepared for a sometimes wild and unpredicable ride. The whole construct was built using stock components. It's meant to be a one-way trip, by the way - if you want to go back to Latrys, you'll need to swim there. The big advantage of the construct is to let low-level player characters make it to the mainland, without getting killed by the numerous slaughterfish that prowl these waters.

Once you're dropped off on the beach, you'll notice a signpost nearby which give you tips on where you might like to go. You can go anywhere you want from that point, though you won't find that much south of you. If you want to reach a specific place you basically have two options;

1) Follow the coast northwards until you reach Steadhelm. As this isn't the normal way of getting there, you need to prepare yourself for an uncomfortable journey, and you might have to swim certain distances where the terrain gets hostile. Steadhelm is an Imperial charter town, similar to Caldera. Most of its citizens worship Kynareth (the Goddess of Air), who has a local temple devoted to her. The clerics residing in Steadhelm's Cloister administers both faith and healing to those in need.

Apart from religion, military power also shows it's presence in Steadhelm in the form of an Imperial legion, located some distance north so as to not interfere with city life. The legionnaires' presence is valued by the townspeople, especially since the dragon incident some years ago when they saved the city. The memory of their bravery was honored by a statue in the town square, suitably decorated to reminisce of the battle.

The local Trader's Guild office oversees the flow of merchandise coming through the town, which is Steadhelm's main source of income. The shipmaster of the Wind Rider can spin you a tale or two, but he won't hire his ship to you. However business ventures with Ebbedin might open up in the near future, so who knows.

Ireela's Arms is the place to go if your sword is dull. The shopkeeper is also an expert in creating Shalk armor, if you can supply him with carapaces. The Mage's Guild has a branch in Steadhelm, if you're interested in those arts.

2) The second option, and perhaps the most comfortable one, is to trek westward through the swamp to reach Legio Argonis. If you walk straight westwards from the signpost you'll eventually come to the base of the Velothi Mountains; if you then point your nose northwards and keep hugging the mountainside, you shouldn't have any problems finding their Keep. Feel free to pay them a visit if you want, although they're not the most hospitable bunch you're likely to find in our world. From the mainland's view, the Keep is in a remote and wild place, but it does serve as a gateway for the odd adventurer who roam about the Bitter Coast.

One of the main road starting points begin at Legio Argonis. If you stand so that you're looking at the entrance to the Keep, that starting point is to your left, and will lead you on a dry, dusty walk through the barren mountains. A screenshot from a scene of that road is found to the right. Legio Argonis maintains two outposts in the mountains, and the first one is on an overpass near the junction to Verarchen Hall (a Hlaalu city which isn't featured in our mod). There are signposts at most forks in the road to aid you in the new world, and if your goal is to reach civilization then it's a good bet to follow the ones marked Silgrad Tower.

Eventually, the Velothi mountains give way to the lush, serene Ashunor Valley, as seen in the screenshots below. Ashunor is the mighty river which sprawls through our world, from Ebbedin in the northeast to Ashunor Lake in the midwest in wild bends. Ashunor Valley, in turn, is the name for the region of fertile but sparsely populated wilderness around the river, which is in the center of our landmass. Farmers and kagouti herders make up some of the people you're likely to find there.

| Another feature which Ashunor is recognized for is that it's one of the few habitats in Morrowind where you can find wild Silt Striders, free and uneviscerated by the Dunmer. Seeing them gently striding the river is quite a sight. Gargantuan as they may be, they are quite harmless. |

When you've cleared the passage through the Velothi Mountains, you'll find the river to your right. If you want to get to Silgrad Tower (the megacity) or Reich Parkeep (a large Redoran town in the northwest), you should keep walking westward along the road. Otherwise you could take a shortcut to Ebbedin here if you want, and follow the river northward until you reach the village. If you do that, you'll pass under a west-to-east bridge on the way; that bridge leads to Steadhelm. But for now, we'll assume you want to carry on to Silgrad Tower.

Ashunor Valley can be a deadly place as Storm Atronaches are drawn there, so if you're not prepared to fight them you should be on your guard. It's also a place of beauty, and a faery couple have made a home for themselves in a particularly tranquil grove along the road.

A few faeries can be seen south of Ashunor, on the road to Silgrad Tower.

To the right you see a Silgrad Guardian patrolling the road between Ashunor and Deepen Moor, on the road to Silgrad Tower. As Bitter Coast gave way to Velothi Mountains, and as Velothi Mountains gave way to Ashunor Valley, it's now Ashunor Valley's turn to give way to the misty and creepy Deepen Moor. If you're unlucky you'll catch the attention of a couple of Argonian bandits, who attack you on sight. If you're playing a low-level character, you'll get to meet Patrique Erarde again, who helps you in fighting them off. He was implemented as my (Razorwing's) player character kept getting killed at this point, and bears a striking resemblance to my avatar ;)

Patrique Erarde helps fight the bandits if your player character is low-level.

> At the time of writing this we're trying to fix the severe frame rate problems in Deepen Moor. We believe the old team thought the problems were caused by low-powered graphics cards, and that the problems would disappear in the future as an average gamer used more powerful cards. However it seems that the problem lies in the game engine, and that the frame rate will suffer no matter how advanced the graphics card is. We're investigating alternatives. The region isn't that vast though, so if you perservere you should clear it before long.

Once you've cleared Deepen Moor you come to a junction. If you go north, through the Forgotten Forest, you'll eventually come to Reich Parkeep. If you go south, you'll reach Silgrad Tower. The choice is yours, the adventures await. Good luck, and have fun!

Razorwing
2005-07-23