Trithik

Trithik is a Redguard sailor found at the Stros M'kai docks.
==Dialogue==
Hello, my name is Cyrus. "And mine is Trithik, lad."
:(Iszara) I'm looking for my sister, Iszara. Perhaps you've seen her? "I do not know the name, but so many have been lost since the dragon arrived."
:She went missing three months ago. "If she was with the Crowns, I would count her among the casualties. Richton's slaughter was elegant only in its thoroughness."
::(Dragon) This dragon -- an Imperial metaphor, perhaps...? "Banner and bone, young Redguard. Seek the Old Quarter if you want to see the handiwork of both."
:::(Old Quarter) What happened to the Old Quarter? "It was the last stand of the loyalist Crowns, and governor Richton had it destroyed. It smolders still, all ash and dragonfire, few escaped the incident."
::(Richton) Perhaps I should speak to this Richton, then. "Spoken true, my boy, but I'd advise against it. The Imperials suffer no Redguards in the palace, unless you're Forebear, and you walk on too few legs to be that."
:::(Imperials) What do the Imperials plan to do here? "Confusion often follows conqeuring, but if Septim does have a plan for Hammerfell it hasn't been made clear. I suspect a greater plan than constant terror. For Richton has men all about the island, Not just here inb Stros M'Kai."
:::(Palace) So I can't get into the palace, then? "Not unless you can produce something that Richton will desire."
:::(Crowns) Has Tiber Septim made the Crowns suffer much for their resistance? "Through his agents, yes, but I fear that the provinsional governor is an especially wicked feast to swallow. The blood has slowed to a trickle, if only for lack of targets. And the Crowns who survive still remain silent."
::::(Silent) Can a Redguard not even admit his allegiance to the Crowns openly? "I can't speak for the rest of Hammerfell but such an admission here is martyrdom at best. A persecution of silence reigns in Stros M'Kai."
:::(Forebears) Tell me of the Forebears. "Throne-defilers, all, hosts to the invader, and Hunding's shame."
:(League) The ship that brought me here was beset upon by some rascals callled the Restless League. What do you know of them? "They were the necessary cancer of a nation divided and at war. Grown at the borders where the kingdom's skin is most contested by the foreign swords-- Fearless men. Whose names are all too often breathed in hate."
:Hmmm. "Don't believe them too wrong, for even the prince had their ear."
::(Prince) What did the Imperials do to the prince? "A'Tor was slain at sea, and there his body was lost, thankfully. Already the obligatory prophecy of his return has begun, spoken in hush, an ill surrogate for true hope this season. The Redguard should know better, be blind to desperate omen. Thassad's son has left us, wind-swift and sadly, never to return."
:::(A'Tor) So A'Tor had dealings with the Restless League, then? "Never openly, for even the Crowns thought the League untrustworthy. Now they are Hammerfell's last hope. A'Tor's death sent them into hiding, and Dragonfire keeps them there."
:::(Body thankfully lost) How can you be thankful that Prince A'Tor's body was lost at sea? "Insofar that the seabed may claim him before the Necromancer does, that is all. That his soul may rest easy from the snare surround."
::::(Necromancer) Tell me about the Necromancer. "A westward evil, aseat in the ash-grey shoals. On parade now that the Empire's here, lad, so don't die."
:::::(Shoals) How far west are the shoals? "Not a day's journey. Just follow the path over the bridge."
:::::(Don't die) Should I fear death more than normal, then? "The snare waits for those who don't."
::::(Soul Snare) What is this 'snare surround'? "The Necromancer's curse, writhing in the near-here, only a death away. Its magic snatches at your soul should you perish, to fuel some darker deed still."
::(War) I hear that my sister's disappearance had something to do with the civil war... . "I read more than fear in your face, Redguard. Either retribution or redemption, alas, sometimes they are the same. Neither can come without wounds."
::I said nothing about redemption or -- "Why else would you be here, in this narrative? In you--"
::How can the two be the same? "In their concern for blood, in blood as closure. I assure you, it will be spilt before you find your sister. A prayer may do you well."
:::(Prayer) Where should I pray? "At the Temple of blessed Arkay. Brother Nidal presides there, and he knew most of the people in town. He may know something about your sister."
::::(Temple) Where is the Temple? "In the town square, shoreside from the pool."
:(Stros M'Kai) It seems quiet here, especially for a port-city. How fares Stros M'Kai uder Imperial rule? "Defeat is read in every native face, my boy. The war cost the city much, including its voice. The Crowns are no more, as kingless as Yokuda, lost now to song which no one will sing, lest Richton hear. Overmuch, the governor is the reason Stros M'Kai is so quiet."
::(Yokuda) I have not heard mention of Yokuda since my childhood. "The first land, where the Redguards came from, in blessed Hunding's Day."
:::(Hunding) I saw the statue of Hunding on my way into port. I'm surprised Richton hasn't levelled it yet. "He cannot, or will not, for it keeps the Goblins out of Stros M'Kai. Out and under it. Such is Frandar Hunding's grace that he blinds them still."
::::(Goblins) There are Goblins under Stros M'Kai? "And worse, but you needn't worry about them. They are doomed to the dirt and bother the Redguard no more."
: "The legend older than the Redguard. Many have looked and failed, but who can resist the lure of lost treasure? In my youth, I, too, searched for the flask. Luckier than most, for I once possessed a piece of the truth."
::(Piece) The flask is in pieces? "No, my boy, a piece of a map, purported to show its location. I say a piece of the truth, but that is only an old man talking, for the map may lead to nothing, even if it was entire."
:::(Flask Map) Perhaps, but it sounds like a worthy challenge. Do you still have the map? "No. Since my house in the Old Quarter was destroyed, I've stayed in my boat. I risked my life to save that map, and was justly rewarded for my unworthy obsession when it was stolen a few weeks ago. I'm glad it's gone."
::::(Obsession) Why unworthy? A map to a priceless magical artifact seems like a worthy prize. "And so the Redguard have fallen. The elders teach the young and who can blame them for learning? The true Redguard risks his life for honor, pride, and spirit."
:::::Ideology doesn't mark the spot, old man. "As much as a lost map it does, mercenary. I saw but fit to warn you against searching for the flask's wealth for its own sake. The world is bigger than your gold pouch."
:::::'Yeah, yeah. 'A sword sold is a sword sullied against true cause.' Nevermind why I want the flask, Trithik."
: "By the looks of it. Woke up one morning and the mid board was broken. Hope he gets to it soon."
: "Did he now? I should have known. Lower even than a Forebear, that one."
::Perhaps I can get it back. What was on the map? "Two numbers, an x, and the notation 'long tree'. That's all I can remember. If you find it, keep it. I'm too old for such things."
::Maybe I can get Crendal to find it for me. Thanks for your help, Trithik.
:(Bye) Thanks, Trithik. I've got to go.
==Appearances==
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de:Trithik
pl:Trithik
ru:Тритик