Daggerfall:The First Printing

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to a Merchant or an Innkeeper.
# Find the whereabouts of the book's thief.
# Kill the thief and retrieve the book.
# Head back to your employer and hand over the book within the time limit and collect your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough
The Vanished Volume
Speak to a Merchant or Innkeeper, who says:

:''"Pardon me. Have you ever read the book (book title)? It is excellent, and I have a first printing of it. Or, might I say, had a first printing. Seems someone has taken it. I'll gladly pay (random gold) gold pieces to the first one who returns it to me. Do you think you can find it?"

Accept
The merchant/innkeeper goes on:

:"Great! It is very important to me, being a first printing and all. Unfortunately, I have no idea who took it. You may try to ask around town."

Decline
The merchant/innkeeper answers:

:"Too bad, I really need to find that book."''

The Book Thief
thumb|right|The informant knows everything and everyone in town
thumb|right|The book's thief is not willing to give it up
 
Ask around in town until someone can point you to a tavern in town where an informant can be found. Go there and speak to the informant, who says:

:''"Hello, (player's name). Word is that you've been asking about me. I should know, all of (town)'s news comes through these ears. Enough about me. I did hear something about (employer's name)'s misfortunes. You want to find (thief's name), (he/she) has been looking for a first printing of (book title) for some time. And (he/she) is also the type who takes things without asking, if you know what I mean."''

Ask around until you know the possible whereabouts of the book's thief, who keeps to a busy schedule:
From 00:00 to 08:00 he/she will be at home
From 08:01 to 16:01 he/she will be at a certain general store in town
From 16:02 to 23:59 he/she will be at a certain inn in town

Once you know the thief's schedule, you only need to get the names of the specific buildings; ask around further. Go to one of the buildings at the correct time and confront the thief. If you go to the home, the door will be locked, so be prepared for some lockpicking or have an Open spell available. When found, the thief will attack you, saying:  

:''"You want the book? You're not so tough. Just try and take it from me!"

Kill the thief and loot the corpse to find the stolen tome.

Reward
Head back to your employer for your reward. Note that successfully completing this quest may lower your reputation with the Thieves Guild.

Upon receiving the book from you, the merchant/innkeeper says:

:"Splendid! My copy of (book title)! Well done (player's name). Here is the (random gold) gold I promised you."''

Reputation Gain/Loss
 

Enemies
Quest Target: One Thief

Notes
The time limit of this quest will always be ten days.
Given the thief's required schedule, the town where this quest takes place must have at least a general store and a tavern. If either of these buildings is not present, you can't find the thief during these periods. Wait until he or she moves on with their schedule to find the thief.
This quest is almost identical to the Mages Guild quest Missing Book, but in this case you are assisting the Merchants/Innkeepers.

Additional Dialogue
If you ask an NPC about the book title, you may hear:
''"You may want to try (informant's name). (He/She) seems to know everything that goes on around (town)."
"You should ask at the local inns. They are full of gossip."
"You should try the (tavern). There's always talk there."
"It was stolen from (employer's name)."
"(Employer's name) has been asking around about it."
"I really enjoyed it when I read it."
"You should probably visit a library."
If you ask an NPC about the thief, you may be told:
"(Thief's name) lives at (residence) in (town)."
"(Thief's name) does live in (town)."
"(Thief's name) spends (his/her) nights at (residence)."
"You should try to find (thief's name) at home, (he/she) does live in (town)."
"(Thief's name) does a lot of trading at (general store)."
"You may want to start shopping at (general store), (thief's name) does."
"(General store) is a popular place to trade stolen goods, which (thief's name) has a lot of."
"(Thief's name) has been seen at (general store)."
"(Inn) is a hang out for many thieves."
"(Thief's name) likes to drink at (inn)."
"(Thief's name)'s favorite tavern is (inn)."
"(Thief's name)'s favorite meals are served at (inn)."
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"(Employer's name) has been desperately trying to find his smelly old book. Who would want to steal it anyway?"
If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"I hear that (employer's name) finally gave up and bought another copy of his precious book. Did you know that (he/she) actually hired someone to find it? What a fool!"
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"You must be the (player's race) that found (employer's name)'s book for (him/her). (He/She) is telling everyone about it. You'd think it was the king that had been saved."
If you successfully complete the quest, the quest giver may later greet you with:
"Anything for my friend (player's first name). You recovered my precious book and I am quite grateful."
If you failed the quest, the quest giver will greet you with:
"Hmmph. I hired you to find my book. When you failed, I had to go out and buy another copy. I do not wish to speak with you."''

Quest Log