Online:A Mother's Obsession

Quick Walkthrough
 
#Talk to Mirri about the letter she received.
#Travel to Stormhold Mages Guild and find the contact mentioned in the letter.
#Retrieve the item promised to them by Mirri's mother in exchange for new information.
#Follow this new lead to a camp just above Steamfont Cavern.
#Investigate the area for more clues about Mirri's mother whereabouts.
#With the new evidence, look for a local Dwarven ruin.
#Make your way through its halls and find Irenni Elendis.
#After a brief talk with her, escort your companions out of the ruins.
#Listen to Mirri trying to talk sense into her mother before speaking with them.

Detailed Walkthrough
 
Speaking with Mirri, she tells about the letter she received from her father:
:''"I got a letter from my father. About my mother, Irenni. She's gone missing. She has a habit of running off on an adventure at the drop of a hat and being gone for weeks at a time, but dad says she's been out of touch for a while now. He's worried."
:Your mother is an adventurer?
:"It runs in the family. Well, mom's side. Dad's a Hlaalu trader she partnered with for years before settling down&mdash;mostly settling down. She'd acquire all sorts of rare items for their clients, but my father said they haven't had any commissions."
:Any idea where she may have gone?
:"Mom neglected to mention it, I'm sure, but my father mentioned getting an angry letter from one of their old clients at the Stormhold Mages Guild claiming she reneged on their arrangement after taking payment. Would you mind if we pay them a visit?"
:Sure, I'll help you find your mother.

Contact in Stormhold Mages Guild
Travel to Stormhold and head to the Mages Guild, located in Ayleid structure in the southern part of town. Go downstairs.
:Mirri Elendis: That High Elf matches Mirtulivon's description! Ask him if he's seen Irenni Elendis. I should probably hang back.

Mirri backs off and leaves the talking to Mirtulivon to you, so go on with that:
:"Do I know you? I don't believe I do."
:Did you meet with Irenni Elendis recently?
:"Hah, I don't see how that's any of your affair, but if you must know I did cross paths with that unscrupulous Dark Elf and I'm worse for it. What's your interest in Irenni? I suppose she cheated you as well."
:She cheated you?
:"She came to me seeking information and&mdash;given our longstanding association&mdash;I entrusted her with it on the assurance that she would do me a simple favor in return. Instead she ran off and played me for a fool. No one makes a fool of me."
:I really need to find Irenni.
:"And I really need the antique ink pot she promised to procure. I'll tell you what I told Irenni, but only after my ink pot is returned to me and not a moment sooner. I'll not have my good faith taken advantage of again."
:All right, you have a deal.
:"My inkwell is currently in the possession of a banker here in  , the result of an ill-advised card game. They seem to enjoy lording their victory over me, so they refuse to part with it at any price. I want it returned. I don't care how."

Fetching the Inkwell
Mirri will be less than happy about his request:
:"I caught the gist of that. That s'wit actually wanted my mom to rob a bank? I'm glad she had enough sense not to go through with it. Unless the reason we haven't heard from her is because she's in jail … no, no, she wouldn't …."
:You don't sound so sure.
:"I mean, adventuring can be dirty business. My family is nothing but a bunch of no-good, tomb robbers depending on who you ask. But there's a big difference between digging through old ruins for treasure and outright stealing."
:Do you think she might really be in jail?
:"No, if that were the case she'd have written my father to pay her bounty. And while he should let her sit and learn her lesson, he's too much of a softy. She probably ran off like Mirt said. So now it's us who have to get our hands dirty."
:Maybe not, we'll figure something out.
:"Let's hope so, but if we do wind up breaking the law, i could have a worse partner in crime. You're a good friend."
:Let's pay a visit to the bank.'''

Anyway, there's no other choice but to fulfill the promise, so head to the Under-Root Bank in the northeast of Stormhold.
:Mirri Elendis: ''Act casual. Just two people admiring the decorations. This is such a nice bank, isn't it? Oh, such refined taste.''

thumb|right|The Antique Inkwell in ON:Under-Root Bank|Under-Root Bank
The inkwell in question sits on the table on the upper floor. The grumpy banker, Seviel Andril, stands nearby. He can be bribed to move over to the left. However, this is entirely optional, since he is stationary and not looking at the table in either spot. You should instead look out for the guard patrolling the stairs and occasionally walking up to the top floor. Seize the opportunity and grab the   from the table.
:Mirri Elendis: ''Got it? Let's not overstay our welcome.

Head back to the Mages Guild and give Mirtulivon his inkwell:
:"Dare I ask? Is the deed done? Is my little treasure to be returned to me at last?"
:Here's your inkwell. Is it really valuable?
:"Do you have any idea how rare it is for a creation this ugly to survive on Summerset, let alone one made by the premier authority on sculpture? I even had the original assignment's written grade: barely-satisfactory! It's priceless."
:Right. So tell me about your meeting with Irenni Elendis.
:"At least Irenni had an appreciation for rarities. I sent her to meet another antiquity hunter I deal with who made a discovery in Stonefalls that Irenni would be interested in. Too interested."
:Who did you send her to meet?
:"Edvilda Stone-Stalker. She was probing my interest in Dwemer relics. I've no interest in it, but I knew Irenni has an unhealthy interest inthem. She was camped near Steamfont last I heard. That's all I can tell you, so our business is concluded."''

Following Irenni's trail in Stonefalls
Travel to Davon's Watch in Stonefalls and head west from the city gates. The camp you're looking for is located above Steamfont Cavern - follow the path going up to the right of its entrance.
:Mirri Elendis: ''Is this Edvilda? Someone killed her! Let's search the camp!''

The camp is in disorder, Edvilda is lying dead, and there's no sign of Irenni Elendis. Mirri asks you to look around for any evidence of what happened here. Pick up the   and   from the ground. Mirri recognizes the scarf as her brother's gift to her mother, and will be curious about log book's contents:
:''"Mom was definitely here. She had to have gone in a hurry if she left this scarf behind. Did Edvilda write down anything that would clue us in on where me mother's gone?"
:It looks like Edvilda was trying to sell your mother false information about a puzzle box.
:"Oh, not that fetching thing again! Mom…! She's been chasing after my grandfather's Dwemer puzzle box for decades. Ever since the old Mer joined our ancestors at the tomb. It's her obsession. Don't tell me they got into a fight over it."
:Edvilda planned to send Irenni to the Inner Sea Armature, which is full of bandits.
:"Great. Just great. So the shifty Nord met my mother out here and ran afoul of bandits? That explains what happened to Edvilda, but mom's not here, thank Vehk, but if she'd escaped we'd have heard from her, right? They must have taken her captive."
:Then let's head to the Inner Sea Armature and look for her.'''

Inner Sea Armature, the dwarven ruin mentioned, is located further to the northwest - go around the rocks and you'll find the entrance.
:Mirri Elendis: Dwarven pipes! By that cave. This looks promising.

Go inside and make your way through the ranks of bandits until you find Irenni Elendis in the middle hall of the ruin. She's chained to a post - interact with it to free her and then talk to her.
:''"Don't mind Mirri. She takes too much after her father. I've been dying to finally meet the person my daughter's been adventuring with. Though I hadn't planned on being chained up like a common criminal upon our first meeting."
:How did you wind up like this?
:"I was negotiating a lead from a contact I met out by Steamfont and talks got a little heated. She was trying to take me for a ride, I could tell, and we must have caught the attention of these feckless s'wits. They tried to rob us."
:Is that how Edvilda died?
:"She tried to make a run for it and they cut her without a second thought. Figured I'd take my chances with another approach. Offered to be their cook if they spared my life. Fortunately, they aren't picky. I was beginning to run out of recipes."
:We probably shouldn't linger here.
:"No, I suppose not. Won't be long before one of these fools gets bored or hungry and comes to swipe something from the pantry. You've done a fine job looking after Mirri, so I'll follow your lead, but don't think we're done talking!"
:Let's go.

Lead your companions out of the Dwarven ruin and listen to them arguing a little bit outside:
:Irenni Elendis: Oh, come now, Mirri. I've been doing this since before you were in diapers.
:Mirri Elendis: And you're not getting any younger! We almost lost Liam, and you nearly lost this! Would you trade it for that stupid puzzle box?
:Irenni Elendis: Liam's scarf? Mirri&mdash;I … I'm sorry. I'm sorry I worried you all. It's just … I'll let it go.
:Mirri Elendis: We love you, mom. We're your family. Go home.''

Talk to Mirri once they're done.
:''"I know it probably seems like I'm being harsh, but mom's been at this more times than I can count. She promises to give up on it, but then she catches some whiff of a lead about that damn box and she's off like a race guar."
:At least she's all right.
:"This time. Death was the only thing that stopped my grandfather from chasing after that stupid trinket. I don't want it to be the same for her. You can only keep rolling the dice in this life for so long."
:Do you think she'll really give it up this time?
:"I hope so. Probably not, but I've weighed her down with enough guilt to hold her for a little while at least. Either way, sorry for draggin you into my family drama."
:Should we make sure your mother returns home safely?
:"Are you kidding? If I don't get you out of here she'll make you meet the entire extended family. Davon's Watch is just down the road. She can make her way home from there. Thank you for putting up with all this. I'll make it up to you."''

Once the quest is completed, you will receive the gold and   which contains a couple of treasure maps - one for Blackwood and one for random zone. If your rapport with Mirri is high enough, you can then immediately take the next Mirri's quest, Dead Weight, if you continue speaking to her.

  
 

Quest Stages