Daggerfall:The Obsessed Child

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to the quest giver of your Temple.
# Meet the child's guardian and talk to him/her.
# Visit the child and talk to him/her.
# Head to the town mentioned by the child's guardian.
# Find the priest(ess) in town and get the holy item.
# Head back to the child and give him/her the holy item.
# If a Daedroth shows up, dispose of it.
# If no Daedroth appears, confront the guardian and get the holy item back.
# Deliver the holy item either to the quest giver or to the priest(ess) you got it from within the time limit for your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough
thumb|right|A female knight, the guardian of the child
thumb|right|This poor boy is obviously possessed
thumb|right|The priest, apparently too busy getting a weapon repaired to investigate the matter
thumb|right|The daedroth will be angry after being exorcised from the child 
 
Quest Offer
Speak to a quest giver, who says:

:''"Would you be willing to assist in an exorcism, (player's guild title)?"
or
:"(Guardian's name), a local knight, has entreated us to help (his/her) ward, who has been showing signs of daedric possession. Would you be willing to assist with the exorcism, if that's what the situation requires?"

Accept
The quest giver goes on:

:"Would you? (Oath), you have a heart as big as (region), (player's guild title). The child's name is (child's name), (he/she)'s a (child's description) over at (residence) here in (child's town), but the person you'll want to speak with is (his/her) guardian, (guardian's name) over in (tavern). If based on what (he/she) has to say, you feel that an exorcism is in order, go see (priest(ess)' name) in (priest(ess)' building) of (priest(ess)' town). I'll expect this whole unfortunate affair to be resolved in (time limit) days and to see you here then. Good luck, (temple god) be with you."

Decline
The quest giver answers:

:"That's unfortunate. I hope we can find someone else then."''

Exorcise the Daedra

This quest can follow one of two paths, depending upon whether the possession is real or faked.

The possession is real
The child's guardian is staying in a local tavern. Go there and find the knight, who will say:

:''"You've come from (temple)? Please tell me you can help little (child's name), I can't stand to see (him/her) suffer so. I don't know what to do with (him/her). Please, take a look at (him/her) and then see if you can persuade that (priest(ess)' name) to help. (Child's name) has always been such a sweet (child's description), but now ... If you want to see (him/her), (he/she) is at (residence). I don't know what else I can do."

Before you travel to the priest(ess), go see the child for yourself. It would appear that the possession is real, as the child will speak gibberish as proof: 

:"Gruh, you colly-eyed mortal greel, I would open all your veins and swim in your blood, steaming. They call me (daedra's name), the licker of cat droppings!
or
:"Poor little (child's name), (he/she)'s rotting in Oblivion, and no one will help (him/her), but kind, kind, kind, kind, kind, kind, kind, kind, kind, kind, kind, kind, kind, kind (daedra's name).
or
:''"There once was a girl named Vivian, Who met (daedra's name) of Oblivion, They decided to mate, and later they ate (child's name), their child, yum, yum."

Travel to the town where the priest(ess) can be found and talk to him/her. He will say:

:"(Daedra's name)? (Child's name) did mention the name (daedra's name)? Well, if this possession is a sham, it is at least a well-researched one. Here then is the (holy item). Just hold it with you when you next speak with the child. But beware, the daedra (child's name) mentioned is a Daedroth of great power. When the exorcism is complete, it will leave (him/her) and appear elsewhere in (residence). Be ready for a battle when it does. Good luck, (player's first name). (Temple's deity) be with you."

Head back to the residence and give the holy item and to the child, who will react immediately:

"(Daedra's name) ... oh, (oath) ... (Daedra's name) is out of me ... but ... it's still here." (Child's name) runs away. And you can, indeed, feel an alien presence in (residence).''

The possessing daedroth will appear somewhere in the building. Dispose of it and report back to the quest giver or the priest(ess) who gave you the holy item. You will receive a holy item as a reward.

The possession is a sham
thumb|right|This friendly prostitute knows some things - for the right price, that is
 
Talk to the child's guardian. In this case, the knight will say:

:''"You're from (temple)? Thank (temple god) you're here. They say you can get to (priest(ess)' name), the exorcist in (town) and (he/she) has some special (holy item) for possessions like this. I can't convince (priest(ess)' name) to get me the (holy item) myself, but someone like you with the authority of (temple) could. Go to (town) and talk to (him/her). I know you can convince (him/her)."

See the child before you travel to the priest(ess), and be told the same gibberish as before. Again, this will be enough to convince the priest(ess) to at least give you the holy item. Return to the residence with the holy item and give it to the child, who will say:

:"Oh, (oath), (oath) ... I feel ... so much better. (Guardian's name) told me that the (holy item) would help us, and (he/she) was right. Oh thank you, kind (player's guild rank). I'll keep this (holy item) for protection. Goodbye!"

The child will run away afterwards. However, the marked absence of an angry, attacking daedroth should make it readily apparent that the guardian and the child have concocted this whole story, apparently to get their hands on the holy item.

Return to the tavern and seek out the guardian for some answers. When you arrive, you will notice the knight is gone, being replaced by a prostitute. Speak to her, and she says:

:"Good day to thee, (player's guild title). You're probably looking for that (guardian's description), (guardian's name), who slipped out of here after boasting about stealing some kind of (holy item) from (temple). If you have fifty gold pieces to spare a friend, I could let you know where (guardian's name) went. What do you say?"

Agree, as the prostitute will not make this offer again. She then tells you:

:"Nice doing business with you, (player's first name). You'll find that (guardian's description) over in (guardian's residence)."

Ask in town until you know where this hiding place is located. Confront the guardian there, who will flee in a panic, shouting:

:"Don't hurt me!" (Guardian's name) hands you the (holy item) and flees."

Report back to the quest giver or the priest(ess) from whom you got the holy item to complete the quest.

Reward
When you return after taking care of the possession or getting the holy item back, the quest giver or priest(ess) will say:

:"Thank (Temple's deity)/(Priest(ess)' temple's deity) that situation's resolved. You can never really tell from the start whether an exorcism is really merited or not. You've done well, (player's first name). Accept this (holy item) as a small token of our thanks for your efforts."

Reputation Gain/Loss
 

Enemies
One Daedroth if the possession is real


Notes
If you go to the priest(ess) before speaking to the child, you will be chided for lack of evidence:
::"I'm sorry, (player's first name), but I can't give (holy item) to just anyone who suspects they know a victim of possession. It's far too rare and expensive. You're going to have to at least see the child before I agree to parting with the (holy item)."''
This quest will not be offered at the temples on the world map (shown as light blue dots), only at temples located in towns, as it requires a tavern to be present in the same locality as the temple.

Bugs
This quest sometimes suffers from a bug in the game engine which will result in missing quest locations, see here for further information.
The variable used in the prostitute's opening dialogue is supposed to refer to you by your guild title, but may erroneously display your full name instead.

Additional Dialogue
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
''"Poor little (child's name). And poor (guardian's name) having to watch (his/her) ward suffer so."
"The heart of (current locale) has really gone out to (child's name) and (his/her) terrible crisis."
If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"(Child's name) and (guardian's name) left (guardian's town)."
"We'll never know if (child's name) was really possessed."
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"Everyone's thanking (temple god) for the (player's race) who saved little (child's name)'s life."
"Everything turned out all right for little (child's name), so maybe (temple god) does care."
If you successfully complete the quest, the quest giver may later greet you with:
"You helped (temple) in that exorcism. What can I do for you?"
If you failed the quest, the quest giver will greet you with:
"You left that child to suffer. I have nothing to say to you."''

Quest Log