A Hot Stone

A Hot Stone is a Thieves Guild quest available in . The Agent is sent to retrieve a stolen gem from one of the Thieves Guild's "family" members and smuggle it back to the Guildhall.
==Background==
After successfully joining the Thieves Guild in the Iliac Bay after being Seen in the Act of stealing, the Agent will be offered various quests to complete on behalf of the Guild by one of the group's Shadow Schemers.
==Objectives==
#Speak with a Shadow Schemer at a Thieves Guild Guildhall.
#Journey to the town mentioned by the Schemer.
##Find the "catburglar" holed up in the tavern mentioned by the Schemer.
##Speak with the burglar and swap the gem for a piece of metal.
#Return to the Schemer before the time limit expires.
==Walkthrough==
After being recruited by the Thieves Guild based in the Iliac Bay, the Agent will be offered the change to "help out one of the family" by a Shadow Schemer. Upon accepting the task, the Schemer will reveal that a "catburglar" who works for the Guild has been forced to hide in a tavern having recently stolen a gem from the local Palace, and is on the verge of being discovered. The Agent is hence sent to get the gem from the catburglar, and smuggle it back to the Guildhall.
===A Tactical Trade===
The Schemer will hand the Agent a hunk of metal to hand to the catburglar, informing them that they must give the catburglar, hiding in a tavern in another town, in exchange for the gem. With that, the Agent must head to the town, find the tavern and speak with the catburglar, who will hand them the gem and take the metal. With the gem in hand the Agent must make their way back to the Schemer, although they may encounter some guards, who will shout upon being struck:
"I have it on good authority that you have the [gem] that [Catburglar's name] stole. Hand it over and I'll let you go unharmed."''
Should the Agent acquiesce to the guard's request they will hand over the gem and forfeit the quest, losing a lot of reputation with the Guild. In contrast, rejecting the offer will result in the Agent having to escape the guards and get back to the Schemer whom gave them the quest before the time limit expires.
==Rewards==
Successfully returning to the Schemer with the gem before the time limit expires will see the Agent handed a random amount of , as well as boost in reputation with the Guild, the Schemer, and the Guild's associated factions. Conversely failing the quest will see the Agent lose reputation, with a varying number of penalties based on how the quest is failed.
The changes in reputation, based on success or failure, are outlined below:
Success 	Success
Faction 	Reputation
Thieves Guild 	+5
Shadow Schemers 	+5
Associated factions	+2
Failure 	Failure
Faction 	Reputation
Thieves Guild 	-2
Shadow Schemers 	-2
Associated factions	-2
Failing the quest through failing to return the gem will result in the following additional penalties:
A Guild Thief 	A Guild Thief
Faction 	Reputation
Thieves Guild 	-22
Shadow Schemers 	-12
Associated factions	-11
Failing the quest by handing the gem to the guard will result in even more severe penalties:
Acquiescence 	Acquiescence
Faction 	Reputation
Thieves Guild 	-2
Shadow Schemers 	-2
Associated factions	-2
==Journal==
A Hot Stone – o0b00y00	A Hot Stone – o0b00y00
ID 	Journal Entry
0 	[Date]:
[Schemer's name] of the Thieves Guild in [Guild town] has sent me to [Town] to a dive called [Tavern]. I have a [metal] I am supposed to give [Catburglar's name] in exchange for the stolen rock [he/she] was seen with. I have [x] days to get this done.
*Quest accepted
==Trivia==
*This quest is identical to another Thieves Guild quest, A Lifted Gem, in terms of dialogue, objectives and rewards, but has no reputation based requirements.
*Should the Agent wish to keep either the metal or the gem it will remain in their inventory if the time limit expires.
*NPCs have a variety of remarks to make about the quest during its activation:
**Acceptance: "Well, everyone knows that [Catburglar's name] stole that jewel. Why don't they get [him/her]?" or "There's a lot of poshes at [Tavern]. Guards aren't wanted in there."
**Success: "They had to let [Catburglar's name] go after all. Turns out [he/she] was innocent." or "Now how do you mistake [metal] for a [gem]? They're both rocks, but come on!"
**Failure: "The guards finally got [Catburglar's name]. Guess [he/she] couldn't hold 'em out forever." or "Yeah, they found the [Ruler's title]'s [gem] and arrested that [Catburglar's description] alright."
*The Schemer will have a variety of greetings to give to the Agent after the quest is completed:
**Success: "What is it, [Agent's first name]? Want that [gem] back? I bet you do!"
**Failure: "Don't you remember that you were s'posed to get that [gem] from [Catburglar's name], and give [him/her] the [metal] I gave you? [Oath]! You'd think it was hard science."
==Bugs==
* The time limit is not expired after speaking with the catburglar.
==Appearances==
*