Daggerfall:The Birthday Present

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to a Merchant or an Innkeeper.
# Go to the local store and buy the item for 20 gold 
# (Optional) Head to your employer's sister and show her the "present."
# (Optional) Give her the "present."
# If you didn't give the sister her "present" head back to your employer.
# Give your employer the item within the time limit and collect your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough
A Special Gift
Speak to a Merchant or Innkeeper, who says:

:''"Excuse me? (Employer's name) is the name. I don't know how I feel about you, but I do need a favor. My sister, (sister's name), is having a birthday next month and I could really use some (item) for the celebration. It's worth (random gold) gold pieces. What do you say?"

Accept
The merchant or innkeeper goes on:

:"Excellent! You are a smart one. This is easy gold. Go to (local store) and find (merchant's name), (He/She) has the specific (item) I need. Remember, there is only a month 'til the celebration."
or
:"Very good. This is easy gold. You'll have to go to (local store) to find the exact kind I need. Talk to (merchant's name), (he/she) runs the place."

Decline
The merchant or innkeeper answers:

"Just as well, I suppose. Good day."
"Sorry I asked."
"Then we never talked, I'd hate for you to spoil the surprise."
"Whatever, it was easy gold you know."
"Leave me then, I have a celebration to plan."''

Buying the Ingredient
thumb|right|Head to a local shop to find the item
thumb|right|The merchant requires gold
thumb|right|Your employer's sister spends her time at home
 
Head to the local store mentioned by your employer. Find the merchant, who says:

:''"Hello. Yes, I am (merchant's name). Some (item)? Yes I have it. I'll take your 20 gold pieces and you can have the (item)."
Depending on whether or not you have the gold, the merchant finishes with: "Thanks for stopping by." Or, "Oh, I'm sorry. You don't seem to have enough gold to pay for that."''

Buying the requested item, an ingredient, costs 20 gold. Note that you must pay with gold pieces, letters of credit will not be accepted. Once you have the item, you have two choices; you can simply return to your employer and deliver the item for your promised reward and complete the quest, or you can show the item to your employer's sister.

If you wish to show the ingredient to the sister, you must first find her by asking around in town. Once you know where she lives, enter her home and speak to her. The quest can then proceed in one of two directions:

Spoiling the Surprise
When you show the item to your employer's sister, she says:

:''"Hello? Why are you here? You say, (employer's name) wants some (item) for my birthday celebration? Oh, what a wonderful idea! I promise not to spoil the surprise!"

You then have the option of giving her the item. If you choose to do so, she says:

:"I'll take it, I guess. But doesn't this ruin the surprise? You are a strange one, (player's name)."

Note that if you give the item to the sister, you cannot deliver the item to your employer anymore, and thus cannot complete the quest successfully. If you keep it, deliver it to your employer for your reward.

Spoiling the (Deadly) Surprise 
When shown the item, the sister may instead say:

:"Hello? How did you get in here? What? (employer's name) asked you to bring (him/her) some (item)? Oh my ... do you have any idea what he plans to do with it? I do. (Item) is part of a potion that my loving brother likes to make. A potion that kills. You must not give it to (him/her)! Please! Bring the (item) to me. You must do this, or I may be killed!"

If you choose to give her the item, she says:

:"Thank you, my brother cannot use it now. You have done well. Thank you."

Again, if you give her the item you cannot complete the quest. However, the choice is yours to live with, and you will lose reputation regardless of your choice (see below).
 
Reward
When you return with the item and hand it over, your employer says:

:"Very good, (player's name). Here's the gold I promised."''

Reputation Gain/Loss
 

Enemies
None

Notes
You can only be sure whether the ingredient is part of a poison if you show it to the sister before you deliver it to your employer. You do not need to give it to her, even when she begs you to do so.
Accepting this quest will result in an overall two point reputation loss with your employer's faction, regardless of how it ends. (Fixed in the Unity version)

Bugs
If you speak to the sister and the item is part of a poison, parts of her dialogue will refer to your employer as her "brother" regardless of your employer's gender. The dialogue will also alternate between "her" and "he" while speaking to you if the employer is female.
This is normally not an issue as the Merchants/Innkeepers are all male, but it is possible to receive the quest from other NPCs, such as the maids in gem stores.

Additional Dialogue
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
''"I hear that (employer's name) really doesn't like (his/her) sister (sister's name). And (he/she) is about to get married."
If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"Did you hear that (sister's name) uncovered an attempt to poison (him/her)?
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
''"(Sister's name) was found dead! And on the eve of (his/her) wedding day too."
If you successfully complete the quest, the quest giver may later greet you with:
"Ahem. Well, yes. I suppose since you did get that...item for my sister's nuptials I do owe you a debt."
If you failed the quest, the quest giver will greet you with:
"Traitor! I send you on a simple fetch mission and you have to blab it to (sister's name). You'll get no help from me."''

Quest Log