he said he and his wife were attacked by nix hounds while traveling, and the hounds drove them apart. I was a little worried that he was a bandit, but he turned out not to be: the nix hounds were already prowling up the hill toward us and the crossbow I bought easily earned its weight in septims. It is so much easier to aim than the bow, to much deadlier effect. He ran off downhill, shouting for his wife - we found her in the next draw, thank Azura. They gave me a book from among their scattered belongings in thanks.
Ald'ruhn is gorgeous and alien all at once: the center of the city is inside the carapace of a massive crab, so
old that it has become indistinguishable from stone. The other buildings are of the same adobe-style material as Balmora, all resembling carapaces as well. I will write something more substantial later.
After quite a while, I found the clothier Teneran (Bivale is their first name). She paid me and I heard Zenithar's sigil fizzle away. Teneran entreated me with another job: a dandy named Ienas is delinquent on his payments for a pair of very fine shirt and pants.
I found the "Ald Skar Inn" eventually. Thanks to the fatigue-restoring potion I spent a while