The Hide Trader quest

Walkthrough

Deep within the expansive golden-grassed plains you notice a faint path set between the towering grasses and tangled brambles, only visible to the keen observer.

[Proceed along the path]

You crouch low and study the path, which weaves its way haphazardly east and then west again. Some of the turns force you to crawl and twist so as not to be torn by the thorns on either side and above you, but you finally spill your way out into a small, well-trampled circular clearing. The heat beats down on this clearing from above with no overhead cover.

[Enter the clearing]

At the very heart of this clearing is a small hut with smoke spewing from the opening set atop the carefully woven animal skins that create its leathered walls. You hear only the occasional squawk of a bird and the rustling of the grass as the wind calls out. Just as you begin moving towards it for further inspection you hear a booming voice.

"Not one step further, unless you'd like to be skinned and tanned right where you stand"

You whip around, then left and right, seeing nobody, but the voice surely came from behind you. You grip your weapon as the stranger calls out again.

"I wouldn't try that. Set it down." The voice now seems to resonate from the left, but when you spin to look there's only tall grass and sunlight in view.

Feeling bested by the invisible foe, you heed the advice and disarm yourself.

"Very good. Perhaps you're quite not as stupid as you look!" A small humanoid tumbles across your view in an absolute flash and in that same instant your weapon is gone. As is the miniature man who took it. You can't be sure which direction he went.

["Who are you?"]

"Who am I?! Who am I?! YOU are the one trespassing on MY land. Who are YOU?!" You see the grass to the right of you shake, but as soon as you turn to face it the grass to the left of you moves suspiciously as well.

[I am Your Name and I am only here to hunt animals, not you.]

"A hunter, are you? Well, why didn't you say so! Kin, we are, you and I." A stout and broad-shouldered dwarven man with deeply tanned and heavily weathered skin clears the grass in front of you that he hid behind and extends a large calloused hand. Strips of leather and animal bones decorate a long red beard whilst his head remains bald without a single hair in sight. You shake his hand and he says, "They call me Rurik Peltcutter. Sometimes they call me 'The Peltsman on the Plains', and other times they just call me Rurik. Never you mind, call me as you like, Rurik is the name, hunting and crafting with the finest of pelts and hides is the game." The bald dwarf grins up at you and gestures you toward his animal-skin laden hut.

[Enter the hut]

"Inside, Rorik busies himself with a small blade that he sharpens against a stone. The walls are lined with various hides, pristine deer skins, splayed wolf pelts, and the more exotic leathers and pelts of much larger game. Each one is meticulously cleaned and prepared, showcasing his skill and dedication to his craft. A leopard head which bares its long, vicious teeth is mounted atop his small hearth fire that sits central in the hut and lends its smoke to the sky.

[Ask about his craft]

"Ah, not only a hunter, but a connoisseur of fine crafts as well!" The bearded man chuckles heartily, "Then you really have come to the right hut in these plains.. I can make many a fine piece if you think yourself hunter enough to gather the hides. Yes, yes.. I was right to spare you after all. You seem just the type to make use of my crafts, but you must only bring me the best specimens that you can find. Fine work requires fine materials. I can make many useful items from the animals found on this land! A few things I will warn you about.. First: The leopards of these plains are fast and dangerous, come back to me only as the hunter, and not as the hunted! Second: I do not work for free! Bring me a leopard pelt from the plains and I will do dealings with you. I don't want to waste my precious time dressing up a midday snack for a leopard."

[Give Rorik 1 Leopard pelt]