Daggerfall:Antique Ivory

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to the quest giver at a Thieves Guild hall.
# Head to a residence in the current town.
# Gain entrance to the residence and steal the ivory.
# Return to the quest giver and collect your reward, or:
# If you hurt or killed any of the ivory's guards, travel to the client of the heist in another town.
# Meet the client and hand over the ivory. 

Detailed Walkthrough
thumb|right|The scene of the crime
thumb|right|The Ivory in question, stashed in a closet
thumb|right|The owner hired rogues to guard his property from thieves like you
thumb|right|The shirtless goons with the big swords are the archers sent to kill you (they also carry bows)
thumb|right|The client behind the heist
 
A Valuable Stash
Speak to the quest giver, who says:

:''"(Player's first name), a simple game. An item in a house that needs lifting. Are you up for it?"

Accept
The quest giver goes on:

:"That's the spirit.  As I said, nothing complicated about this job. A client wants to get a hold of a certain antique ivory piece which currently resides in (residence) here in (current town). You have two days to bring it to me, for a finder's fee of (random gold) gold."

Decline
The quest giver answers:

:"You'll go far in the Thieves Guild with that attitude. Sure you will."

The Heist
Ask around town to locate the residence where the ivory is being stashed. Go there and gain entry. The door will be locked, so be prepared to pick the lock or cast an Open spell. Find the ivory inside and grab it; you will then receive a message:

:This looks like the piece of ivory (quest giver's name) sent you to steal.''

Needless to say, the ivory's owner does not want it stolen, and the guards will descend upon you soon after entering. You may flee or fight; if you choose to fight, hitting a guard elicits a taunting response:

:''"(Oath), you're a feisty one, aintcha? Better get outta here before I have to really hurt ya."

If you kill a guard, another screams:

:"This (player's race) scum killed (guard's name)!" 

Reward (or Pursuit)
No matter how you escape, return to the guildhall and speak to the quest giver. What happens next depends on how you handled the burglary. If you bring the ivory to the quest giver without hurting or killing any of the guards, he will say:

:''"Excellent work, (player's first name). Just the way I like these jobs to go, no fuss, no muss. Here's the (random gold) gold, and congratulations on a job well done."

If this is the case the quest is over, having successfully been completed. However, if any of the guards were injured or killed, he will instead be angry:

:"(Player's first name), what are you doing here? I don't know how you could botch such a simple job, but if you don't get yourself and that blasted ivory out of town, we're all going to end up in the slammer, or worse. I don't give a damn about your skin, but the Thieves Guild has a reputation to uphold, and we promised our client that item.  Get over to (second town). (Client's name) will meet you in (client's residence) there. Don't screw up again."''

Head to the client's location. You will need to take care, as there will now be a large posse of archers tracking you down. They want the ivory back from you; if you did not kill any guards during the burglary, they will be willing to trade it for your life. Upon being hit, the first archer you attack will say: 

:''"Don't move, or I'll cut you down where you stand!  Give us the ivory you stole from (residence) and I'll let you go."

Giving away the ivory will cause you to fail the quest, but the archers will let you escape, saying:

:"You're smarter than you look.  Now run along before we decide to turn you over to the (first town) guard."

Refuse the offer and be met with:

:"Then we're just going to have to take it off your dead body."

If you did kill at least one guard during the burglary, then the posse will be out for your head, no quarter given:
 
:"We know how to deal with murdering scum like you. (Archer's name), just be careful not to get any blood on (ivory owner's name)'s ivory when you cut this (player's race)'s throat."''

Delivery
Assuming you haven't surrendered the ivory, flee or fight your way to the client's home. Enter and deliver the ivory, and listen to the client rant:

:''"Well, if it isn't (player's name), the Inept Catburglar?  At least you managed to get through with the item. Says something about your brawn, if not your brains. You didn't actually expect to still get paid, did you?"''

As the client implied, you will get no reward. In fact, you will actually lose a small amount of reputation with one subgroup of the Thieves Guild. If you don't deliver the ivory, the quest counts as failure and you will lose two reputation with the Thieves Guild, which is pretty little compared to the fuss that has been made about this whole situation.

Reputation Gain/Loss
 

If you deliver the ivory to the heist's client in time you will lose a small amount of reputation as seen below,



Enemies
Daily from 05:30 to 19:00:
6x One Rogue every two in-game minutes (50% chance) once you enter the residence
Otherwise:
3x One Rogue every ten in-game minutes (50% chance) once you enter the residence
If you hurt or kill any of the rogues encountered in the residence:
20x Three Archers every sixty in-game minutes (50% chance) until the quest is over

Notes
Although you are given a time limit of two days, this is only the time limit for doing the heist. The time limit which ends the quest depends on the distance from your current location to the location where the heist's client is staying.
If you are a high level player, it might be worthwhile to loiter around while the guards respawn. You can get some great gear off them, possibly numerous daedric weapons and armor at higher levels. The almost countless archers that come after you when you're told to skip town can also drop great gear. If you want loads of money, take this path. You may be able to rake in over 200k gold off of a few guards if you're lucky, compared to the likely 400-1000 gold you get otherwise.

Additional Dialogue
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
''"(Ivory owner's name) has hired on a lot of extra guards at (residence) for some reason."
If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"Did you hear about the bungled break-in at (residence)?"
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"Someone broke in to (residence) and got away with (ivory owner's name)'s precious antique ivory, right under the noses of all those guards!"
If you successfully complete the quest, the quest giver may later greet you with:
"What can I do for you, my catburgling friend?"
If you failed the quest, the quest giver will greet you with:
"I can't seem to forget the botch you made of that simple heist."''

Quest Log