Tacitus Sallustius

Tacitus Sallustius is an Imperial found in Markarth and works for Ghorza gra-Bagol at the blacksmith's forge near Cidhna Mine.
==Background==
Tacitus is an admitted failure at smithing and can only produce nails, and even those are of questionable quality, much to Ghorza's frustration. When running the forge, he is shown to be very unconfident with his abilities, which is possibly the reason why he can only produce nails, despite Ghorza's teaching.
Even through his repeated failures, Tacitus seems to show a willingness to continue practicing his abilities.
==Interactions==
===Skilled Apprenticeship===
Because of Tacitus' failures, the Dragonborn is tasked with a miscellaneous quest to obtain a copy of The Last Scabbard of Akrash.
==Quotes==
*"Need a sword? Uh, how about a small sword? Nail-sized?"
*"I run the forge now. Kind of... scary. Making weapons and armor isn't like making nails at all." —If Ghorza dies
*"Well, that's not something you see everyday."
*"I should heat up the forge. Why does it have to be so hot?"
*"I'm not good for smithing much more than nails right now."
*"One time, I almost cut a finger off sharpening a blade. I hate blood."
==Conversations==
===Metalworking===
Ghorza "You strike the metal like a new mother giving her babe a light slap. Hit it harder!"''
Tacitus "I'm sorry, Ghorza. I just...flinch, and...uh..."''
Ghorza "If you can't pound the dust out of your iron, it'll break when it's finished. Hit. It. Harder!"''
===Forge duties===
Tacitus "When will I learn to forge weapons and armor? Isn't that my job?"''
Ghorza "Your job is to do what I say. And I say you have many nails and fittings to make before you even touch a blade. Now get to work."''
===Useless!===
Ghorza "Tacitus, what is this?"''
Tacitus "Uh, a nail?"''
Ghorza "Is that what you call it? In the Legion we would have called it "useless." Look how brittle the metal is!"''
Tacitus "I...I'm sorry. I just, well, the forge gets so hot and I thought..."''
Ghorza "You thought what? You skip a step? Not heat the metal all the way through? Useless! Now do it again."''
==Trivia==
*Tacitus is Latin for "silent" or "mute."
*"Tacitus Sallustius" name is a combination of two Roman historians: Tacitus and Sallust. 
*If the Dragonborn drops a piece of armor near Tacitus, he will ask if he can have it; however, he never wears or picks up the piece he asks for.
*Ironically, when bartering, he will still claim to have "the finest weapons and armor."
==Appearances==
*
de:Tacitus Sallustius
es:Tácito Salustio
pl:Tacitus Sallustius
ru:Тацит Саллустий
uk:Тацит Саллюстій
Category:Skyrim: Blacksmiths
Category:Skyrim: Markarth Characters