The Book of Love

The Book of Love is a quest available in in which the Dragonborn must earn Mara's favour by performing tasks for the Temple of Mara in Riften.
==Objectives==
#Talk to Fastred
#Talk to Fastred's parents
#Talk to Bassianus or Klimmek
#Return to Dinya Balu
#Talk to Calcelmo
#Get advice from Yngvar
#Deliver the poem
#Deliver Faleen's letter
#Return to Dinya Balu
#Put on the Amulet of Mara
#Talk to the long-dead lover
#Find Fenrig
#Bring Fenrig to Ruki
#Return to Dinya Balu
==Walkthrough==
This quest begins in the Temple of Mara in the city of Riften. It is given to the Dragonborn by Dinya Balu, one of the priestesses, when asking for the Blessing of Mara. To earn Mara's favor, Dinya sends the Dragonborn to the village of Ivarstead to help a local farmer with a love problem.
===Riften===
This quest is located by entering the city of Riften and following the path on the left towards Mistveil Keep. The Temple of Mara will be marked by a pair of guards standing before an opening in the stone wall with twin banners hanging behind them. Enter the Temple and speak with Dinya Balu, the Head Priestess of the Temple, and request Mara's Blessing. She will say that one must prove themselves worthy of the blessing by advancing the cause of love throughout Skyrim, and relays a vision sent to her by the Goddess to visit a small village called Ivarstead to the west of Riften. Travel west to Ivarstead in order to continue the quest.
===Ivarstead===
Upon arriving at the hamlet of Ivarstead, the Dragonborn will be prompted to speak with Fastred, who is in a conundrum with her parents. Fastred fancies herself in love with a local man named Bassianus Axius, but her parents disapprove of their choice to leave Ivarstead for Riften. After speaking with Fastred, speak with her mother and father as well.
Speaking with her mother, Boti, will reveal that she does not disapprove of Bassianus, and would allow the pair to elope while she took care of informing her husband. Speaking with Fastred's father, Jofthor, will show that he thinks his daughter is a rather fickle young woman, whose affections change frequently. He will state that, up until very recently, Fastred was infatuated with another local man by the name of Klimmek, and that he is concerned that Fastred will leave the rapidly shrinking village for good if she chooses to leave with Bassianus.
There are two choices: Travel to the local inn to inform Bassianus that Fastred's mother is willing to run interference so that he and his love interest can elope to Riften, or investigate Klimmek's past relationship with Fastred. Confronting Klimmek will result in the fisherman realizing that he must be assertive with his feelings for Fastred, and let her know that he wants to be with her. Additionally, if this path is taken, Bassianus will move to Riften alone. Speaking with Bassianus will result in Fastred and Bassianus eloping to Riften. Choosing either will result in the quest advancing.
Afterwards, return to Riften to learn that the Goddess requires a journey far to the west, to the city of Markarth to stoke the flames of love in the heart of Calcelmo, the eccentric Dwemer researcher and court magician in Understone Keep.
===Markarth===
Calcelmo is experiencing a difficult situation. He is attracted to a woman named Faleen, who is the housecarl to Jarl Igmund in the keep, but has no idea how to speak with her. Fearing the possibility of offending her in some way by bringing up the wrong subject, Calcelmo asks the Dragonborn to get advice from a friend of Faleen's named Yngvar, who is reputed to be quite successful with wooing the local ladies.
Yngvar can be found in the Treasury House at night or in the Silver-Blood Inn by day. He can also often be found resting against a rock by the stream, just opposite the Abandoned House. If the Stormcloaks have taken the city, he will be the new Jarl's housecarl. If Markarth was negotiated for the Stormcloaks during Season Unending and retaken by the Legion, he will be at the Palace of the Kings. He will reveal that Faleen puts on a tough front, but has a weakness for poetry. It just so happens that Yngvar has a poem that he can tweak to be about Faleen, for a sum of 200 septims. After paying the gold sum, take the poem back to Understone Keep.
After prompting Faleen to read "Calcelmo's" poem, she will ask that a letter be delivered to him. Head back to Calcelmo, and proceed to follow him and witness his stumbling confession. If Faleen is in Solitude, it will take several in-game hours for Calcelmo to walk all the way from Markarth to Solitude, so it is recommended to proceed with other quests until a notification shows up in the quest journal that Calcelmo has spoken with Faleen, or wait for four hours and he will be there. With the job in Markarth complete, return to the Temple of Mara for the next objective.
*If Stormcloaks have taken Markarth, Faleen will be found in the lower floor of the Blue Palace in Solitude, rather than Understone Keep. Yngvar will be in the Understone keep as the Jarl's housecarl.
For the final task, Mara requests that two lovers, who have lost one another beyond the pale of death, be reunited.
===Gjukar's Monument===
Put on the amulet given and travel south-southeast of Rorikstead to find the spirit of Ruki, looking for the body of her husband, Fenrig, among the ruins. Speak with her and she will ask for help looking for her husband's body. With no corpses present in the area, head northeast towards an open plain. The spirit of Ruki's husband is south of Greenspring Hollow, across the river.
Speak with him and he will ask to be led back to Ruki. At this point, either choose to fast travel back to Gjukar's Monument, or take the scenic route. After reaching Ruki, the two dead lovers will speak briefly, and ascend towards the heavens as they pledge eternal love for one another, seemingly unaware that they are both deceased.
Return to Riften and speak with Dinya Balu to receive the Agent of Mara blessing (Permanent +15% Resist Magic) and complete the quest. The Dragonborn may now hand out pamphlets for her called The Warmth of Mara as well.
==Journal==
The Book of Love – t02	The Book of Love – t02
ID 	Journal Entry
10 	I've agreed to help the Temple of Mara help the cause of love throughout Skyrim.
*Objective 10: Talk to Fastred
20 	
*Objective 20: Talk to Fastred's parents
25 	
*Objective 25: Talk to Bassianus or Klimmek
30 	
*Objective 30: Return to Dinya Balu
40 	
*Objective 40: Talk to Calcelmo
45 	
*Objective 45: Get advice from Yngvar
50 	
*Objective 50: Deliver poem
55 	
*Objective 55: Deliver Faleen's letter
70 	
*Objective 70: Return to Dinya Balu
80 	
*Objective 75: Put on the Amulet of Mara
85 	
*Objective 80: Talk to the long-dead lover
90 	
*Objective 90: Find Fenrig
95 	
*Objective 95: Bring Fenrig to Ruki
100 	
*Objective 100: Return to Dinya Balu
200 	
*Quest complete
==Trivia==
*It is highly recommended to complete this quest before the civil war questline or Season Unending, as Faleen and/or Yngvar will not be in Markarth afterwards.
*Even after moving to Riften, Bassianus (and Fastred if they elope) will still have their dialogue as if they lived in Ivarstead. They can still be asked about High Hrothgar, however.
==Bugs==
Click to show
*Fastred and Bassianus may stay in Ivarstead, even if the Dragonborn helps them elope to Riften. Both of Fastred's parents will comment on her being in Riften, even with Fastred standing in full view of them. It is possible that this is from starting the dialogue with Klimmek, then exiting it and finishing the quest by talking to Bassianus instead to help the couple elope.
*Occasionally, after talking to Klimmek or Bassianus, they will walk outside and disappear without a quest marker. If this happens, going back to Fastred's house to listen to the dialogue will update the quest.
*If this quest is not completed immediately and the Dragonborn acquires another Amulet of Mara (in addition to the one given by the priestess at the beginning of the questline), there may be a bug in which the quest stage "Put on the Amulet of Mara" cannot be completed. This is especially prone to happen if there is a stolen Amulet of Mara in the inventory. To fix this, stash all other stolen items in a safe container and then commit a small crime. When approached by a guard pay the bounty and allow them to remove the stolen Amulet of Mara. This will then allow the quest to be completed. Or, use the console command "player.drop c891b 1" enough times to drop each amulet, then try them back on one at a time, dropping each one if it does not re-trigger the quest before picking up the next one.
*If the Dragonborn speaks to Bassianus but does not then watch him speak to Fastred, the quest may not register as completed. Entering the Fellstar Farm house and watching their interaction will complete the quest.
* If Ruki's husband Fenrig is talked to, a glitch may occasionally occur where the dialogue box appears, but Fenrig does not respond to the choice in the box.
** To fix this, save and reload the game and try again.
** Secondary possible fix is to unequip the Amulet of Mara prompting the quest update put on the amulet. Re-equip the amulet and try talking to Fenrig again.
*If a dragon attacks before the Dragonborn first talks to Ruki, she will say something about it being so short and not be able to be talked to. Reload to a save before and make sure the dragon does not get close to her, this fixes the problem.
*Occasionally, after bringing Fenrig to Ruki, one or both of them will gain their normal character model under the ghost texture.
*When bringing Fenrig to Ruki, there is a chance they will look at the Dragonborn and not move toward each other despite some distance between the two. To fix this, try sneaking behind a rock.
*It is also possible that both will rise into the air like normal, but will stop at a certain point and shout at the Dragonborn as if they were hostile.
**To fix this, fast travel away from Gjukar's Monument, then fast travel back to it. (The quest will automatically complete.)
*In a similar instance, the bodies will rise in the air, but have trouble climbing, namely Fenrig. Eventually, both bodies will fall to the ground, and they will attempt to rise again. Fast traveling away may automatically complete the quest.
*It may not possible to ask for Mara's Blessing and therefore the quest cannot be started. (Dinya Balu must be approached while inside the temple for the dialogue option to appear.)
*If the Stormcloaks have taken Markarth then Calcelmo will run to the Blue Palace which can lead to, (if he becomes unessential), him possibly dying on the way, failing the quest.
* Once completing the quest, it is possible to become over encumbered, presumably by the Amulet of Mara, even though the amulet only weighs one. Once removed from the inventory, the Dragonborn will still be over-encumbered, although they were not when they entered the room. Reloading a save may not fix this.
**No carry capacity effects are active before receiving the Amulet of Mara.
** With two amulets of Mara in possession, both will be labeled as quest items for the duration of the quest, and, as such, weightless, (even though their weight is one in inventory). After completing the Ruki & Fenrig stage, the amulets will revert to "normal," (non-quest), status, and so regain their weight, (two extra encumbrance).
*More like an amusing oversight than a bug, if the Dragonborn doesn't tell Yngvar that Faleen's secret admirer is Calcelmo, he still signs the poem "from Calcelmo to Faleen."
*On occasion after receiving the Love Poem from Yngvar, the quest marker may point to Jarl Elisif in the Blue Palace in Solitude.
*It is possible that Yngvar will not talk to the Dragonborn if the Dragonborn did not have enough money in the initial dialogue, left, then returned to him. This can be fixed by waiting 24 in-game hours,
* When attempting to "Talk to Bassionus" during your third objective, Bassionus may be found in the garden speaking with Fastred and be unable to communicate with the Dragonborn. Leave the farm and return a couple "game days" later and Bassionus should speak which will allow the questline to advance.
==See also==
*Sideways
==Appearances==
*
de:Ein Bote der Liebe
es:El libro del buen amor
fr:Le livre d'amour
ru:Книга любви
Category:Skyrim: Side Quests
Category:Skyrim: Riften Quests