Quest outline

1. Wealthy Hlaalu noblewoman turned out on the street in Andothren, her overflowing luggage setting her apart from commoners. She’s clearly wealthy.

2. The lady reveals she was ejected from the inn because she refused to pay for her room. The publican suggested she pay with her jewellery, prompting the player to wonder why she won’t pay with coin.

3. The player discovers she has no coin, and through further questioning finds out the lady is married. The husband, however, disappeared on their wedding night. (But he’s such a dream!) Minor detail: he also happened to take all her money.

4. The angry publican inside knows nothing about the husband’s whereabouts, but will reveal that an angry temple priest came asking for tithes the morning after. It is revealed the happy couple got married at the local temple.

5. At the temple, the priests will be protective of their brothers and sisters in faith. One of them suggests the player should look in the archive for info on the husband, whose name remains up to this point unknown. The player receives a key.

6. Upon retrieving a document from the archive that serves as proof that the marriage was a sham, the player hears a door open and a priest enters. The document clearly incriminates him, and he is eager to take it off the player’s hands.

7. The player can persuade the priest to cooperate, but the priest might try to burn the document (and the player’s hands). The player can also give it up willingly. Violence is not preferred, and the priest won’t attack the player directly. If the priest dies without giving the player their next hint, there’s a note on their corpse with the name of a tavern (but not the city); combat is meant to be the difficult path.

8. If the priest was persuaded, the player is lead to the city gates where dropping the priest’s name instills a mixture of fear and disgust in people. It’s never made explicit why, but it is implied that the priest helps cover up illegal activity. He clearly has some sway in local politics. Ultimately, the player is directed up the silt strider platform, where the better view allows the operator to have seen the man described heading down the path to Teyn.

9. At Teyn the player will quickly find the con artist Belsador in his room upstairs, drinking. (Perhaps one of the taverngoers got conned. Although they are oblivious to this, the player is not.) He’s a smooth-talking rogue, and clearly not afraid of the player.

10. Belsador will seduce, trick, and intimidate the player. It is up to the player to navigate the conversation as they see fit:

    1. Kill the man, and discover some market shares valid at HCCB.

    2. Allow themselves to be persuaded into conning the lady’s family.

    3. Refuse to comply non-violently. Belsador disappears.

    4. Feign cooperation, but backstab him by coming clean with the family.

11. The noblewoman herself doesn’t want anything but the return of her husband, and will stay glued to the streets (rain or shine). Depending on what happens, she might offer a few complaints about the slowness of progress and threaten to lower the reward she supposedly promised. When confronting her with proof of the invalidity of her marriage, she’ll boldly claim nothing that feels so real could possibly be fake.

12.  When following options a or c the quest is resolved relatively cleanly. The lady returns home and if visited will grumble accordingly. Rewards are offered to silence the player and protect the family name.

13. When following options b or d the player will be made to deliver a forged edition of the Ebonheart Bellman:
    “Hlaalu noblewoman found wandering the streets of Andothren; homeless and beaten—is this the legacy of the Naseb family? Recent reports of the delusional bride uprooting the furniture in an east-bank tavern over financial dispute call into question the reliability of Naseb plantation's exports of colkbulb and wickwheat, as merchants look elsewhere for their business dealings. Eyewitnesses report the young woman "going at it hammer and tongs" with the publican.”

14. The player can either pretend to have accidentally stumbled upon this print in Old Ebonheart, or come clean. If the latter, the quest is cleanly resolved and Belsador is sent to prison.

15. If they choose to continue the con the player will offer their help. However, they couldn’t possibly go against such a wealthy publishing house--the player, after all, is but a humble peasant. This will prompt the nobleman to offer a family heirloom (for it is too late to visit the Andothren branch of HCCB now) as a bargaining chip. As the publication is fake, it’s non-release will satisfy the family who will think the player resolved the situation for them.

16. Returning to Teyn, the player will meet with Belsador one last time. Our old friend wants to take a closer look at the amulet. The player has the following options:

    1. Refuse to hand it over. [combat trigger]

    2. Trick the con man into believing you know a good fence. (Always succeeds if FG, otherwise it’s a speechcheck). You take the prize.

    3. Hand the heirloom over and foolishly trust him. He will disappear forever. (Need a good consolation prize here.)