Daggerfall:Background Information

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to a Merchant or an Innkeeper.
# Travel to the dungeon specified by your employer.
# Find the scroll and bring it back to your employer within the time limit.
# Receive some background information.

Detailed Walkthrough
Note: this quest is entirely optional, and has no effect on the main quest or its outcomes. However, if you complete it successfully you will receive some additional information concerning the storm that wrecked your ship at the very beginning of the game.

The Storm
Speak to a merchant or innkeeper, who says:

:''"You're (player's name), yes? The one who was shipwrecked?"

Accept
The merchant or innkeeper goes on:

:"I thought so. That storm that destroyed your boat was no natural winter squall, but I guess you suspected as much. I will gladly tell you what I know about it, if you will find a particular rare scroll for me. This is not the type of job I could give to the Fighters Guild, for the scroll is protected by some powerful daedra spirits and has the power to summon creatures from the pale of Oblivion. Go to (dungeon), find the scroll, and bring it back to me before (time limit) days have passed and I will tell you what I know about the tempest that nearly destroyed you."

Decline
The merchant or innkeeper answers:

:"That's funny. You look just like (player's name). Oh, well."''

The Rare Scroll
thumb|right|The Bothdorjii Scroll
thumb|right|Don't read the scroll, unless you want to face a fire atronach
 
Head to the specified dungeon and find the scroll within. It will be guarded by a daedra, usually a Daedroth. Kill the guardian and pick up the scroll. You will receive a notification:

:''You have found the scroll (employer's name) wants.

If you doubt this, you can read it for yourself to verify the contents. The following incantation is written on the scroll:

:::::The Bothdorjii Scroll

:Breathe candent smoke on the veil of Oblivion
:And force the line dispelled
:Awaken the sleepless, unquiet Princes
:And bid Their standing servants rise
:It is the night when frost will burn
:When flame will freeze the lamplit lake
:When clouds of bats devour clouds of birds
:When boils and sores afflict the rich
:When a boy with wings doth curse the land
:If knowing lies fester on my tongue
:And such whens are but whispers in the night
:These words form a sentence of death
:But if the Day of Oblivion is indeed at hand
:Servants of the Dark, obey me

Beware, for reading the incantation has consequences:

:A burst of fire flies from the scroll, creating a burning creature.

The creature is a fire atronach that immediately attacks you with its fiery touch. When hit, the conjured golem taunts you:

:"You summoned me, (player's first name). And now you reject my embrace?"

Kill the monster and return the scroll to your employer to receive your reward.

Reward
Upon returning with the scroll your employer says:

:"Ah, the Bothdorji Scroll. Very good. Now, let me tell you about the storm. You sailed an unmarked ship from the Imperial City, but your identity, your mission, and your patron are known to the perceptive. An unknown agent convinced the Mad Witch of the Wrothgarian Mountains, the grandmother of the present king of Daggerfall, that your ship carried the murderer of her son, the late King Lysandus. That is all that I can tell you."

You cannot keep the scroll if the time limit expires. Instead, a message pops up:

:You smell a brief puff of rancid smoke and realize that the scroll that (employer's name) wanted has disappeared.

Without receiving the scroll in time your employer will not divulge any information, so you will miss out on your reward.

Reputation Gain/Loss
 

Enemies
Random dungeon monsters
Guardian: One Daedroth
One Fire Atronach, if you use the Bothdorjii Scroll



Additional Dialogue
After you have accepted or failed the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"I got a boil the other day ... but it healed."
"I just had a three hour conversation about the weather."
"The weather is pretty usual for this time of year."
"It seems a trifle coolish in (current locale) for this time of year."
"It sure is a lot warmer today than this time last year."
"My great aunt is going to a specialist across the Bay."
"It's always funny what time it gets dark around here."
"We should erect a war statue around here."
"The kids these days with their magic. (Oath), I don't know."
"I had the weirdest dream last night."
"I heard a great joke. (Joke)"
"(Joke) Actually, that's a joke."
"(Joke) Can you explain that to me?"
"The legal system in (region) has it good points and bad ones."
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"The daedric stars burn bright and cold last evening."
"Dire portents of daedra in Mundus have I seen."
If you successfully complete the quest, the quest giver may later greet you with:
"You brought me the Bothdorji Scroll, (player's first name). How could I forget you for that?"
If you failed the quest, the quest giver will greet you with:
"I don't see why I should talk to you at all, (player's first name). You didn't bring me the Bothdorji Scroll."''

Quest Log