Daggerfall:The Lost Child

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to a Merchant or an Innkeeper.
# Head to the specified dungeon.
# Find the child within and return him/her to your employer within the time limit and collect your reward, or:
# Receive a letter from the Fighters Guild before heading into the dungeon.
# Meet a member of the Fighters Guild in a town in the region.
# Listen to the Fighters Guild member's story.
# Visit the child in a residence in the town where you got the quest.
# Choose whether you want to bring the child back to your employer; if so, follow the time limit and collect your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough
Kidnapped
Speak to a merchant or innkeeper, who says:

:''"I've appealed to The Fighters Guild, but they apparently have their hands too full rescuing high-born damsels and lads in distress to bother themselves with a low-born child's disappearance. But my (child's name) is all I have. Please, you'll find (him/her) for me, won't you, my friend?"
or
:"Those infernal orcs have stolen my little cousin and our so-called protectors, The Fighters Guild, refuse to take me seriously. (Child's name) is just a (child's description), not worthy of their attention, but (he/she)'s all I have. Please, good (player's race), will you help me?

Accept
The merchant or innkeeper goes on:

:"Thank you, thank you. I can give you (random gold) gold pieces if you find (child's name) -- that's all I have. Now, these orcs that took (him/her) are the ones camped out in stinking (dungeon). I need to know whether (child's name) is all right in (time limit) days or I'll send someone else. Please don't reduce me to that. (God's name) go with you, good (player's name)."

Decline
The merchant or innkeeper answers:

:"A heart of stone, just like The Fighters Guild. What is an innocent child's life worth anyhow?"

Finding the Child
This quest appears at first to be a simple dungeon crawl, and in its simplest form will be just that. In this case, simply travel to the dungeon named by your employer and rescue the missing youth, who will be found at a quest location within. Speaking to the child brings up a prompt:

:Do you take (child's name)?

If no, you are unable to further interact with the child, and cannot complete the quest. If yes, the child comes with you and says one of the following:

"Hi, I'm (child's name). I'm seven years old."
"Hi. My name is (child's name). Want to hear a joke? Okay, here it goes. (joke)."
"My gramdaddy's richer than you."
"Hello, I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. But if I don't talk to strangers, then there's no one to talk to. My name is (child's name)."
"Hello, are you a (player's race)? I am too, and my name is (child's name)."''

Bring the child back to your employer and collect your reward.

thumb|right|Your contact is a member of the Fighters Guild
thumb|right|The Fighters Guild will not take kindly to your meddling in their affairs
However, sometimes the child won't be in the dungeon at all. If your reputation with the Fighters Guild is 10 or above, about seven hours after you accept the quest you will receive a note. It may be delivered on your way to the dungeon, or you may not receive it until you have already explored within if you were quick; in the latter case, you will only find an empty dungeon. The arrival of the letter brings up a message:

:A courier bearing the heraldry of The Fighters Guild appears at your side. He hands you a letter and hurries off.

The letter can be found in your inventory. It reads:

::::::::::''(Knight's building)
::::::::::(Knight's town)
:Dear (player's name),
:(Child's name) has not been
:kidnapped by any tribe of orcs or any
:such thing. In fact, (he/she) is with us, as
:protection against (employer's name),
:who is a notorious drunk. If you want to
:see for yourself, with your own eyes,
:come on over to (knight's building).
::::::::::Yours respectfully,
::::::::::''(Knight's name) 

Since you have been invited, travel to the town and building named in the letter and meet the sender. The knight reveals that the Fighters Guild has the child, and explains their actions:

:"I guess you received my letter, (player's first name). That's good. I'd hate it if you, for all the best intentions, got involved in a pretty nasty situation. (Child's name) is (employer's name)'s cousin, all right, but more importantly, the (child's description) is heir to their grandparents' fortune. For (his/her) safety's sake, we've moved (him/her) to a place in (employer's town). I suppose I can tell you -- (residence). You'll improve your already good reputation with The Fighters Guild if you just leave little (child's name) alone."''

It is up to you how you wish to proceed from here. If you respect the knight's wishes and leave the child in the Guild's care, you will fail the quest when the time limit expires but gain a great deal of reputation with the Fighters Guild.

If you still wish to return the child to your employer, head back to the start town. Ask around to locate the safehouse used by the Fighters Guild and enter it. The building may be locked, so be prepared to pick the lock or cast an Open spell. Once inside, find and speak to the child. You will receive the same yes or no prompt as above.

If no, the child will remain in the house and you will be unable to interact further. This prevents you from returning with the child and will result in a failed quest once the time limit expires. Note that if the Fighters Guild is involved, then letting them keep the child is the only way to complete the quest without losing a substantial amount of reputation with the Guild. 

If yes, the child says one of the random phrases listed above and begins following you. Once this happens, make your escape. Stay alert, as knights may appear to try and stop you. When you hit one of these attackers, a message appears:

:The warrior bears the heraldry of The Fighters Guild.

Regardless of what happens, you will lose reputation with the Fighters Guild, so kill the knights or run away. Once you are free, return to your employer for your reward.

Reward
Upon handing the child over, your employer will thank you and say:

:''"(Child's name), oh thank (god's name)! (Oath), my good, good (player's name), you are my savior. Here, here's your (random gold) gold pieces."

Alternatively, if you recover the child but fail to make it back to your employer before the time limit expires (not entirely unlikely, if you spent too much time searching the dungeon), the child disappears:

:(Child's name) runs away when you turn away from (him/her).

You will not receive a reward in this case.

Reputation Gain/Loss
 

Additional Reputation
If you rescued the child from the dungeon, you will gain an overall reputation with your employer and the Fighters Guild according to the table below.



If the Fighters Guild asked you to leave the child alone, but you return the youth to your employer nonetheless, you will lose reputation with the Fighters Guild according to the table below.



If you talked to the member of the Fighters Guild and left the child alone, you will gain reputation with the Guild according to the table below once the quest's time limit has expired.


Enemies
Random dungeon monsters
10x One Knight every twenty-one in-game minutes (20% chance) once you take the child from the Fighters Guild's custody

Notes
Though you are told that orcs were behind the kidnapping, you will not necessarily run into any during this quest. This is true even if the child is to be found in the dungeon.

Bugs
If the child was taken by the Fighters Guild, the name of the safehouse will be visible from the beginning of the quest. Asking NPCs about it can point you there, even if the letter has not yet been delivered. Thus, it is possible to complete the quest without any proof that the Fighters Guild was ever involved.  
This is corrected by DFQFIX; the child's location will only be revealed after the player has spoken to the knight.
Note: in some earlier versions of DFQFIX, you won't receive the additional reputation when the quest ends due to the way the patch is processed. This is corrected in v3.1 and later versions. 

Additional Dialogue
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
''"(Employer's name) is quite distraught over the disappearance of (child's name)."
If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"(Employer's name) has given up ever finding (child's name) again."
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"(Employer's name) and (child's name) are reunited again, thanks to a (player's race) mercenary."
If you successfully complete the quest, the quest giver may later greet you with:
"You brought (child's name) back to me, (player's first name). What can I help you with in return?"
If you failed the quest, the quest giver will greet you with:
"Don't you remember me, (player's first name)? (Employer's name)? You said you'd get (child's name) back for me, but failed to. I have nothing to say to you. Go to Oblivion."''

Quest Log