Stormhold - Three Keys (Open)

[Deeza]

A simple find-the-item quest that gets much more complicated towards the end...

One of the many reasons it's worth talking to Periptero is that he tells you the tale of the Last King of Stormhold. It seems that once an Altmer from Summerset Isles visited the city. Claiming descent from the Barsaebic Ayleids, he had come to visit the homeland of his ancestors. He donated a strange medallion to the Rottmere Museum, claiming that it was one of three keys to the tomb of his ancestor, the last Ayleid King of the city before it was abandoned.

The player goes to the Rottmere Museum to find out more. The Curator shows them the medallion, saying that nobody has ever found the tomb, although the depths of the Undercity remain largely unexplored by non-Argonians. He explains that the idea of a "Last King" is interesting because the cities of the Marsh Elves were in decline for centuries before their disappearance. Perhaps the tomb of the last King might reveal the fate which finally befell them?

The player is offered a handsome reward if they can obtain the other two keys and uncover the tomb. They are handed a list of translations of marsh elf inscriptions found in the undercity, those which reference the layout of the old city.

The quest has two parts. First, the player has to locate the door to the tomb, using the inscriptions as a guide. Secondly, they have to ask around and try to locate the other two keys. They will not be easy to find.

One key is in the possession of Talks-with-Fists, the brutal gangster who controls the Undercity slums. A large part of his business is in mining artefacts from the ruins and selling them, so he won't part with it easily. Dealing with him is dangerous, but he will part with it for an object of equal value (his goons attack the player if he is displeased with the offering). Alternatively, you can just kill him and take it (the guy is an outlaw, and most people would be glad if he's gone. This killing may also attract the attention of Sotho...)

The other key is in the Tower of Shivers-in-Starlight, the Lord High Archein. He claims he's sympathetic to the Museum's interests, but might be more inclined to help if they were to see his way on taxation (currently the Rottmere Foundation has been avoiding tax for some time). He suggests the finding of the Tomb would more than compensate the Museum for any losses due to paying up. The player can either persuade the Curator to agree, or try to steal it from the Tower (this is very dangerous, with a lot of traps. If you live, Shivers-in-Starlight just smiles and says you "probably deserve it after all that, well done.")

With all three keys, the player can head down to the depths of the Undercity and battle their way through the Tomb. There are many precious artefacts down here that the Museum wants to get their hands on, and will offer the player a higher fixed price than they'd get by trading. Additionally there are some inscribed tablets which give details of life in the city just before the fall of the Marsh Elves.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Nicely done. Ties together many of the ideas associated with Stormhold. :goodjob:

[Deeza]

The potential advantage of this quest is that apart from the Tomb, all of the other locations necessary have already been completed. On the other hand, perhaps it needs a bit more work to make it more than a simple fetch and carry quest. Thoughts?

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Yes, it's do-able. I left it open to development. :yes:

[Deeza]

Good, good.