I started a game of DOS EE and played for 20-30 hours. Unfortunately, I realized that venturing too far down some questlines had put me in the position of not being able to finish other questlines. Alas. After the completionist in me gnashed my teeth for a time, I decided to completely restart. New profile. New character.

Now the odd part: After playing this new character numerous hours, I discovered upon my first entry into locations, that they showed evidence of my previous characters actions. (?!?) Boxes and chests had been looted and moved. Ore veins had been mined. Torches and fires indicated that they were burning, but did not look to be alight. More teeth gnashing ensued.

With too much time on my hands, I uninstalled the game, manually deleted all traces of the game install folder AND the savegame folder. I ensured that cloud saves was still turned off. (My default) I threatened my computer. I then reinstalled the game. Checked again that cloud saves were turned off. Created a new profile with a new name. Started a new character with a new name. Played numerous hours. And finally, entered the Troll King's cave to discover... someone appeared to have been there before and all the tenebrium viens were mined out. I admit to some rather strong language at this point.

What in the world am I missing? I am befuddled. I would appreciate any kind and patient advice. FWIW, I am a wee bit older than I care to admit to myself, and my gaming experience encompasses all of the decades of computer gaming. Thank you!