Daggerfall:Concern for Nulfaga

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to Queen Aubk-i at Castle Daggerfall once you reach level 3.
# Go to Shedungent and see if Nulfaga is still alive.
# Find Nulfaga and speak to her.
# Report your findings to Aubk-i and receive your reward from the queen.

Detailed Walkthrough
thumb|right|Queen Aubk-i needs you to check on Nulfaga...
thumb|right|...in far-away Castle Shedungent
A Queen In Need
After reaching level 3, speak with Queen Aubk-i in Castle Daggerfall. She tells you that Nulfaga the sorceress (Gothryd's grandmother) has not been the same since the death of her son Lysandus:

:"''My husband's poor grandmother, Nulfaga, is rumored to be in very frail health, her once brilliant mind almost utterly destroyed. She has locked herself in her castle in the Wrothgarian Mountains and experiments in magical studies with no regard for her own safety. I would know of her condition, but few possess the bravery to face the horrors of her castle and speak with her. My reward for a report on her health is a (magical item). Will you be my champion in this?"

If you accept your offer, she will thank you:
:"(Oath), I am glad to have found a champion. The name of her castle is Shedungent, and it should not take more than 150 days to go there. If she is insane, Shedungent may be a very dangerous place indeed. Be very careful. May Kynareth and Mara protect you."''
 

Castle Shedungent
Travel to Shedungent in the Wrothgarian Mountains. The entrance is up a small flight of steps on the south side of the central tower.

Once inside, immediately ahead to the north is a door. Beside it, the wall is adorned with a tapestry bearing the colors and crest of Daggerfall. This is the entrance to Nulfaga's throne room. Unfortunately, the door is magically locked. If you lack the ability to cast Open spells, you must find an alternate means of entry.

The most obvious way to get into the throne room is through the dungeons.

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Go west from the entrance and follow the passage; go up some stairs.
 
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You will come to an intersection. Go west and then south at the next branch, than once again west. You will pass under a portcullis.
 
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Continue down the corridor and through the door to the south, go down the precipitous stairs.
 
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Go north past the two intersections to the west.
 
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Go further north and through the door, head west a few steps and go through the door to the north. You will find yourself in a huge grotto.
 
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Go north across the rope bridge spanning the abyss.
 
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Once across the bridge, go north through the door than east until you reach the end of the hallway. Turn south.
 
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Head further south and up the ramp. Follow the hallway east until it ends, then turn south.
 
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Go further south until you reach the throne room of Castle Shedungent. Go up the stairs and you will find Nulfaga on the second level.
 

The Throne Room
Castle Shedungent's throne room is a large hall flanked by staircases, with banners of the Kingdom of Daggerfall draped from the ceiling. Small living and dining areas are accessible to the east and west, and the magically locked door from before is in the south wall. Both the hall and adjoining rooms may be occupied, so be prepared to fight or sneak past any enemies within. Head up the stairs on either side of the room to find Nulfaga standing before the throne.

Speaking to Nulfaga is not productive, as she rambles on in madness. Her dialogue has several iterations, but the common thread in each is a line including the words "door" and "shut up" in some manner. These reveal a clue for a quicker way to enter and exit the throne room from the dungeon entrance. Next to the south door is a statue of a lich. Interact with it, and it will say, '' 'Command me and entry shall be yours.'  A text prompt will appear, and if you say the phrase  'shut up' , the magically locked door will open, revealing the dungeon exit.

Reward
Return to Queen Abuk-i. If you have completed your assignment within the time limit (see bugs), she will say the following:

:"I confess I doubted I would ever see you again. Your news that Nulfaga is still among the living does my heart much good. Here is your (magical item)."''

Successful completion of this quest activates Aubk-i's next quest. She will contact you when she needs you.

Reputation Gain/Loss
If you return to Aubk-i within the time limit, you will gain reputation according to the table below:



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

Enemies
Enemies

Notes
The magically locked door leading to the throne room can be opened with any Open spell. However, interacting with the adjacent tapestry (with the crest of Daggerfall on it) will bring up the same prompt as the lich statue on the other side. The command to open the door from this side is also '' 'shut up' ''. The door can also be unlocked in this way before talking with Nulfaga, although this requires foreknowledge of what the password is.
This isn't a required quest, but it makes searching for Medora's Unicorn Horn much easier.

Bugs
This quest has no time limit, even though Aubk-i gives a deadline which will appear in the journal (150 days in the latest patch). The command to end the quest after this time limit has expired is not executed, thus the quest will remain active until you report back to Aubk-i.

Additional Dialogue
Speaking to Nulfaga brings up one of four possible dialogues, all rambling and incoherent:
"United thoughts and counsels, equal hope and hazard in the once glorious enterprise joined with me once, now misery hath joined in equal ruin! Eternal, eternal, eternal ruin. I tell the door to my soul to shut up. Oh, my child, why wouldst thou not listen, thy ear, thy glorious mortal face, thy throat, and the arrow. Oh misery."
"Choosing out few words most horrible, let none them read! Verses, verses frame which with and other spells like terrible curses Heaven! Curse Oblivion! My boy! My boy is dead and let Tamriel tremble until he and I findeth peace denied. Shut up the door to his tomb and my home."
''"Say, what strange motive, Goddess! could compel an arrow to my beloved Lysandus' bare throat? Did he die there mourned and blessed or are my pretty birdies all turned to graywings? Oh doorway to my heart, shut up lest I sunder thee. I search the afterworld, the underworld, and the world-between and no where do I find the lightness of my son. Oh, madness to thy breast I cling suckling!"
"We are only like dead walls or vaulted graves, that, ruined, yield no echo. Oh, this gloomy world, in what a shadow or deep pit of darkness doth, womanish and fearful, mankind live. How came Lysandus by his death? In a mist, I know not how. Oblivion not come yet? Shut up mine door and keep out its gray skies. I'll move it nearer by a perspective, or make a glass that shall set all the world on fire upon an instant. I cannot sleep; my pillow is stuffed with a litter of porcupines."
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"Why has the Queen developed this sudden affection for crazy old Nulfaga?"
"Nulfaga is nothing but an insane witch. Why does Queen Aubk-i care if she dies?"
If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"The Queen has sent yet another mercenary after that (player's race) failed to find Nulfaga."
"Queen Aubk-i couldn't wait for that (player's race) any longer. She sent another mercenary."
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"It is nice to see Queen Aubk-i happy at last. She has a very pretty smile."
"Queen Aubk-i seems more than happy lately. She seems almost ... relieved."''

Quest Log