Daggerfall:The Daedric Book

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to a Noble.
# Head to the town named by the noble.
# Be prepared to be pursued by Daedra.
# (Optional) Travel to meet the Daedra's contact and hand over the book.
# Give the book to the noble's contact within the time limit and collect your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough
thumb|right|Daedra will pursue you relentlessly
thumb|right|Rest and refuge will be impossible to find as long as you have the book
thumb|right|The noble's contact, under attack by the daedra
The Book from Oblivion
Speak to a noble, who says:

:''"(Player's first name), old friend, am I glad you're here. I am in trouble with a group of daedra and am looking for someone to purvey a rare manuscript to an acquaintance of mine. The reward will be extremely liberal, but the possibility of daedric intervention is quite high. Are you interested?"

Accept
The noble goes on:

:"Excellent. Here's the book, (book). Now, (noble's contact) needs to have it in (building) in (time limit) days. You can still make it, I think. Just be on guard against the daedra. Good luck."

Decline
The noble answers:

:"I understand, (player's first name). You are a busy (player's race)."''

All Oblivion Breaks Loose
thumb|right|The daedra's contact (representing Peryite)
Shortly after you get the book, the daedra will show up to take it back from you; you must defend yourself against them or flee. When you defeat the first daedra seducer, a notification and dialogue will pop up:

:You deal the daedra a fearful blow, but it remains upright for a moment, eyes locked with yours, and a harsh voice issues from its bloody throat:
:''"You may slay my mortal form, (player's name), but my brethren will harry you mercilessly until we pluck the book from your lifeless hand. If you wish to avoid this fate, seek out (daedra's contact) and surrender it to (him/her). As the mediator between your world and mine, (he/she) alone can persuade my Lord to call us off the hunt."''

You can now proceed in one of two ways: either travel to the noble's contact and hand over the book to receive a ruby as a reward, or find and deliver the book to this "mediator" the dying daedra spoke of. If you wish to successfully complete the quest, you must do the former. However, the alternate path has benefits of its own.

Should you wish to heed the daedra's warning instead, ask around until you know which town the named individual resides in, travel there and meet with them. The contact will look exactly like the Daedra Prince for whom they are speaking, and will say:

:''"Greetings, (player's name). I have been expecting you. I am (daedra's contact), at your service. My friends in Oblivion tell me that you have involved yourself in their affairs. I may still be able to placate them, but I must have the book you carry. I should warn you, daedra have long memories. Now, give it to me, before it is too late!"

If you surrender the book:

:As you hand over the book, a shadowy form materializes:
:"Oblivion appreciates your service, (player's first name). We have been watching you. It would seem that our interest has been justifiable."
:You feel the book disappear from your grasp as the figure vanishes again.

If you decide to keep the book:

:"Insolent puppy! You come here asking for my help, then refuse my advice? May Oblivion take you!"

If you give the book to the mediator, you will gain reputation with Oblivion and the Daedra Prince the contact is representing, and the daedra won't hunt you any longer. If you refuse to surrender the book, the contact will curse you, you will lose reputation with Oblivion and the random Daedra Prince, and the Daedra will continue their attack against you. Head to the noble's contact to complete the quest.

Naturally, if you gave the book to the Daedra's contact you can no longer deliver it to the noble's contact; this will result in a failed quest once the time limit has expired. But this is one of only two quests where you can improve your reputation with the Daedra Princes and Oblivion, so decide for yourself if the rewards outweigh the costs.

Reward
thumb|right|Your reward
When you deliver the book in time, the noble's contact will say:

:''"Ah, good to see you (player's first name). And (book) too. Excellent. I hope the daedra didn't cause you too much difficulty. Ha! If they actually knew what I can use this little book for, they would have sent twice the number to stop you! Here is your reward for a job well done."''

You will receive a ruby for your efforts. Additionally, there is a 25% chance that the daedra seducer will be carrying a map to the Skeffington Coven in Ykalon with her. This chance is true for the entire contingent of daedra seducers, so if the very first one has no map, none of the following enemies will have one either.

Reputation Gain/Loss
 
Additional Reputation
If you gave the book to the Daedra's contact you will gain reputation as seen below.

(Allies/Enemies affiliations for listed factions are not considered)

If you meet with the Daedra's contact but don't give him/her the book, you will lose reputation as follows.

(Allies/Enemies affiliations for listed factions are not considered)

Enemies
7x One Fire Daedra every six in-game minutes (25% chance) until the quest is over or the book was given to the Daedra's contact
7x One Frost Daedra every four in-game minutes (17% chance) until the quest is over or the book was given to the Daedra's contact
7x One Daedroth every three in-game minutes (12% chance) until the quest is over or the book was given to the Daedra's contact
7x One Daedra Seducer every twelve in-game minutes (50% chance) until the quest is over or the book was given to the Daedra's contact




 

Notes
If you keep the book, it will remain in your inventory and won't vanish once the quest is over, unlike most quest items.
If the random Daedra Prince is Sheogorath, you will only gain/lose +20/-10 reputation with him, but there is no gain/loss with Oblivion, the other Daedra Princes or the Dark Brotherhood and its associates.
If the random Daedra Prince is Mephala, you will gain/lose +20/-10 reputation with the Dark Brotherhood and its associated factions.
The noble's dialogue doesn't actually mention what town you need to go to, only the name of the building where the contact is staying. The name of the town appears in your quest log, however the building name does not.

Bugs
Due a bug in the questfile, the map will not reveal the location of the Skeffington Coven on your map.
There is third-party patch which fixes this issue. It is part of Donald Tipton's patched quests and can be found within the QUESTPAK.ZIP file.

Additional Dialogue
If you ask an NPC about the daedra's contact:
''"(Daedra's contact) is a powerful mage living in (contact's town)."
"(Daedra's contact) of (contact's town)? (He/She)'s in league with the Daedra, I hear."
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"The daedra are excited tonight. You can feel it in the air."
"What could (noble's name) have done to infuriate the daedra so?"
If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"Someone found a very rare book around here recently."
"I hear (noble's name) is mad as hell at some (player's race) adventurer."
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"Some (contact's description) was just here, waving around some old book and cackling to (him/her)- self.
"Some jewelry store has reported the theft of a big ruby, I hear."
If you successfully complete the quest, the quest giver may later greet you with:
"I told my contact that you were tougher than any daedra. Guess you proved it."
"Hail to thee, circumventer of daedra. What can your friend do for you?"
If you failed the quest, the quest giver will greet you with:
''"The daedra proved to be too much, eh, (player's first name)? I'm disappointed. I had expected much better from you."''

Quest Log