Online:Herminius Sophus

Herminius Sophus is an Imperial scholar excavating various ruins across the Alik'r Desert and Bangkorai. He hired Azei at-Owynok, a local guide, to help him in his travels.
 

Related Quests




Quest-Related Events
Past in Ruins
When approaching him, he will say ''"Do you have a moment? It's worth your time."

Speaking to him:
:"You there! There's gold for you, if you lend me your time. I am a scholar of some import. Hah! Import. That is to say, I've traveled quite far, from Cyrodiil, just to study this forgotten shore. I sorely need an assistant."
:What about the fellow behind you.
:"Azei at-Owynok? He's my guide to Alik'r. He shows me the best routes and helps me make camp, but he doesn't know much about the great history of this land. I need someone to look around the ruins for an ancient sword."
:What ancient sword?
:"Legend says it only appears to a chosen few. I've had to ask strangers to walk through the ruins to look for it. Untrained eyes! I'm that desperate. Azei at-Owynok might tell you where to look, if you're willing."
:I'll help you find it.
:"I appreciate the assistance from common folk such as yourself. This sword is a significant specimen of lore; direct evidence of a legendary event in ancient Redguard history."
:Which legend?
:"There are books about this, but as you may be illiterate, I'll enlighten you. I suspect this is the site where Sword-Singer Navid slew Ihlqub, his ally, over the love of the fair  ."
::And you think Navid's sword is here?
:"The blade of a   is a physical link between ancient   and Alik'r. Navid used this particular sword to slay his rival, and then himself. As a piece of history, it belongs in a proper Imperial museum."
::What is a sword-singer.
:"The sword-singers were so disciplined, they could create a  . A sword made from their very thoughts! Not many could attain such strength of mind. Navid's sword is rare as it apparently persisted after his death."
::What happened afterwards? / What happened after his rival's death?
:"That's not important to my research. With Sword-Singer Navid and his rival dead, I expect someone else went on to have a dozen children with fair Sayeedeh. Isn't that how these stories go? The important thing is the sword."
:I'll start looking for the sword.
:"No one's seen the sword, or had any luck amongst these ruins. A pity, really. I had such high hopes for some of them."
:I'll return if I find anything.

Speaking to him again:
:"I sometimes wonder whether Azei at-Owynok's found the sword already and hasn't told me. No, he hasn't the wit to keep such a treasure secret."
:Why are you looking for this sword again? (Leads to same questions being asked)

If you choose to return the sword:
:"Any luck finding the sword yet? So few people will work as hard as I do at these things"
:About the sword…
:"I'm not surprised that you didn't find anything. It takes keen eyes an educated mind to fully identify significant artifacts. I may just abandon this site and go deeper in the desert anyway. I heard there were burial sites…."

If you choose to bring back the sword to him:
:"What news do you bring me? Were you able to locate this near-mythical sword?"
:I found the sword.
:"I…can't believe it! There's so much to study…look at the shape of the blade! You can see the way the leather used to wrap around the pommel. The tip is even chipped!"
:What will you do now?
:"I need to take this back to Cyrodiil right away. Julianos has blessed this fine day."
::You may want to talk to your guide, Azei at-Owynok, about the sword.
::"My what? Oh, my guide. I seriously doubt he has anything to contribute to my research. Don't worry about him. He will be compensated appropriately. As will you. Talk to Azei at-Owynok, please.
::'''The people of Alik'r may object to its removal.
::"The uneducated masses always object to progress, even if it's for their own good. You can go now, I have to take this back to Cyrodiil."
:May you research prove…interesting./ Take care of yourself, then.
:"I may not seem appreciative, but really, this would have been difficult without your help. Azei can pack up our camp now and we'll…Hmm. Did you hear something? Sounds like the wind's picking up a bit…"

Speaking to him again before you turn in the quest:
:"If you're looking for Azei at-Owynok, I saw him run down to the beach a moment ago. He goes down there sometimes, but I don't think he fully appreciates the site's history. He probably is just catching some fish for dinner."
:Take the sword back to Cyrodiil. (Leads to quest completion dialogue)

After the quest if you returned the sword:
:"I hardly see why you deserved payment at all. Still, you are one of the few who actually bothered to return to let me know."''

Present in Memory
thumb|right|Herminius Sophus during Present in Memory
You can find him at the north entrance of the Sunken Road. Enter the cave and you'll hear him speaking to himself:
:Herminius Sophus: "Do you see any discarded notes, journals or … well, that is a concern for another time."
:Herminius Sophus: ''"At least I still have my manuscript about Alik'r to write … except Azei carried it with him."''

Speak to him and he'll express his exasperation. If you've met before:
:''"You … don't I know you? It's so dark in here, and I'm simply too tired to think. Alas, the world might me denied my brilliance!"

Otherwise:
:"What's the point of hiring a guide if all he's going to do is abandon you at the first sign of difficulty? Not that you could possibly understand. Consider that a hypothetical … rhetorical question."

Either way...
:Why are you just sitting here?
:"Isn't it amazing how we all ask ourselves such questions? Really, it's all Azei at-Owynok's fault. He's my guide, or he was. I have no way of knowing where he could be now, but I was here to tour the ruins. That is why you're here, isn't it?"
:What ruins? Your guide went missing in some ruins?
:"Julianos's truth! Such ignorance is breathtaking. If you'll help me find out what has happened to Azei at-Owynok, I will tell you all about the ruins. If he's dead, I would want to take back the wages I'd paid him, at the very least."
:I'll help you find your guide.

After he will follow you around while you look for Azei and can be asked further questions.
:"I don't know how much longer I can survive in this decrepitude."
:Do you know which way Azei went?
:"He went further into these caverns. It's an old route between the deserts of southern Bangkorai and the more temperate northern area. You don't suppose he's gotten lost, do you? That wouldn't bode well for his reputation as a guide, would it?"
:Where are the ruins you mentioned?
:"First things first! Let's find Azei at-Owynok, especially as he left me bereft of my goods and gear."      
:Let's move out.
:*"At least I still have my manuscript about Alik'r to write … except Azei carried it with him." 
:*"It's so hard to find good help, and Azei at-Owynok is supposedly one of the best. Supposedly."

If you come across a skeleton:
:Herminius Sophus: "Ah, a colleague of mine. I would say peer but to call any corpse a peer is unsettling."

When spoken to upon finding Azei:
:"Well, what are you waiting for? Cut him down!"

After cutting him down:
:"I don't know how much longer I can survive in this decrepitude."
:"I don't think you appreciate how awful my situation is. You probably live like this every day …."

If you rescue Azei before finding Herminius, the dialogue will be instead:
:"You … don't I know you? It's so dark in here, and I'm simply too tired to think. Alas, the world might be denied my brilliance!"
:Are you all right?
:"I walked near our camp and my guide, Azei at-Owynok, disappeared. I called to him, but ended up lost. After wandering in circles, I finally ended up here. Have I been lost for days? Weeks? I can scarcely tell. And where was Azei while I suffered?"
:A spider near your camp bit Azei.
::"I hired him not only as a guide, but as my protector. He performed admirably, till now. In any event, I hadn't a knife, or any weapon on me. He had all our gear. If he'd been attacked, I'd have been hurt as well."
:He's safe now, and so are you.
::"I'm certainly glad he's alive! The ruins await us! But I'd like to get my gear and change clothes first. These rags unpleasantly chafe my most tenderest of skin."
:What will you do now?
::"We'll proceed as planned. These ruins are too interesting to leave, despite our unhappy first impression. You there, take this pittance as a reward. I need to have a word with my guide."

Upon Azei and Herminius reuniting:
:Azei at-Owynok: "Herminius Sophus, what happened to you? You are in a terrible state."
:Herminius Sophus: "Are you aware of the danger I was in?"
:Azei at-Owynok: "But where is your pack? And where is Latebrius?"
:Herminius Sophus: "Latebrius! Latebrius? I've been wasting away like a common beggar, and you ask after the monkey? I shall write about how awful you are as a guide!"
:Azei at-Owynok: "I must ensure he does not lose his way again."

After the quest:
:"I hardly see why you deserved payment at all. Still, you are one of the few who actually bothered to return to let me know."

Publish or Perish
Once Azei has been rescued, Herminius will wander out into the main chamber where he can be spoken to and assisted again.
:"Oh, you're still here? I don't suppose you'd be willing to help me on another grand adventure, would you?"
:What are you talking about?
:"I've been unable to research this site properly before moving on, but my travel arrangements are already made. Do you understand what that means?"
:What does that have to do with me?
:"My editor gave me a list of other scholars who have gone missing here, presumably to frighten me! Aminyas and Dechery are their names, and I want you to search for their camps and see if they had research I can … cite."    
:I'll see what I can find.

After accepting the quest:
:"Aminyas may have been a xenophobic, dour old Elf, but he's at least thorough in his arguments. As for Morgaulle Dechery … it might help to inject some romance into the piece, since the woman was so obviously taken with King Joile."
:You're going to take their research and say that it's yours?
:"Of course not! I intend to recompile their research into my own words and add whatever conclusions suit my opinion. Don't you know anything about the way academic writing is penned?"

Once the research has been found:
:"I can't believe this could possibly be taking you so long. How hard could it be?"
:I found the texts you wanted.
:"You've found the notes! Oh, superb. I'm sure I can cobble these together and keep the high points of the voyage. I might even make the two of them my co-authors—no that's absurd! Here, a pittance for your trouble."

Dialogue
After Publish or Perish has been completed:
:"Now all I have to do is locate that wildlife specimen Azei calls our pet. If only I'd had that monkey stuffed stuffed when we first found him, we'd know precisely where he is! Ah, well. We could always go back to the Alik'r Desert for another if need be."''