Merriment and Mystery

Merriment and Mystery is a quest available in . The Vestige wandered into Cragwallow, a small settlement used by the Skald-King's royal work crews. After a lot of hard work maintaining the roads, they are preparing to throw a party.
==Quick walkthrough==
#Talk to Berj Stoneheart.
#Choose one of the cooks.
##Talk to Heggvir Sun-Hair.
##Get a young goat from the mountain. OR
##Talk to Kalogar Cookpot.
##Get bear steaks.
###Hints: Place leftovers near Ironclaw's cave.
##Talk to Kalogar.
#Find Ralduf at the storehouse.
#Find the wolf with the key.
#Get mead for the party.
#Deliver mead to Berj.
#Ask a bard to play.
#Listen to the bard.
#Talk to Arvild Gray-Sky.
#Talk to three survivors.
#Talk to Arvild Gray-Sky.
#Search Cragwallow for the missing bard.
##Hints: Look for clues.
#Talk to Vestrek Raven-Eye.
#Enter the cave.
#Find Valding.
#Get the key from the Riekling Chieftain
#Destroy the Lute.
#Decide Valding's fate.
##Unlock the cage.
==Walkthrough==
In Cragwallow, the Vestige will encounter a man named Berj Stoneheart. He will invite you to join in a celebration they are planning, and tell you that the cooks are in disagreement on what to cook. He will ask you to go talk to the cooks. 
Head over to the other end of town, where you will find both cooks. Kalogar Cookpot specializes in bear steak, and Heggvir Sun-Hair specializes in Goat Stew. If you pick Kalogar's Steak, he will ask you to slay a bear so he can use its meat. If you side with Heggvir and choose her stew, she will ask you to lure one of the native goatsso she can use it.
If you side with Kalogar, 
The goats needed for Heggvir's stew can be found to the northwest, in a clearing between The Ritual Stone and Icehammer's Vault. Bring the goat back to Heggvir and she says she will start cooking it. She then informs you that Berj wants more mead, and asks you to speak to Raldulf Wolf-Kin by the storeroom. Head over there and talk to him. He will tell you that one of his wolf friends ate the key to the storeroom, so he no longer has it. 
You will find the key on the body of one of the wolves north of here. Retrieve it and enter the storehouse to get the mead, then return the mead to Berj. He will thank you, and ask you to ask the bard to play a song. Head upstairs and speak with Valding the Bard. He will agree to treat the partygoers to a song. 
Once the bard starts singing, you will black out. When you come to, you will find dead and wounded all over the place, and a man named Arvild Gray-Sky will ask who you are. He will tell you to speak with the other survivors and find out what happened. None of them will remember clearly, but their accounts do incidate they were attacked by some kind of creatures after the bard started playing. Head outside and tell Arvild what they told you. He will tell you to go look for the bard.
Head out and look for clues. You should find a few northwest of town. While searching for clues, you will also be able to start another quest called Dying Wish. That quest has you visit the same areas as this one, so it is efficient to do them simultaneously. You will find a few crude weapons, but the most significant clue is a tankard near Cragwallow Cave that indicates the bard was dragged to that area. Head near the cave and speak to Vestrek Raven-Eye, who will tell you that the attacking creatures were Rieklings and that they dragged the bard into the cave. Head inside and look for Valding. He will be all the way in the back, in a cage. 
Talk to him and he will admit he is not actually a bard. His lute is enchanted to make people fall asleep so he could steal their gold. He then tells you that the riekling chief seems enamored by the lute, having placed it on a pedestal. Destroy it and the riekling chief should appear. Kill him and loot the key to Valding's cell from his body, then return to Valding. You can now decide to let him out or not. 
If you decide not to release Valding, 
If you release him, you have to guide him out of the cave. Once outside, he will promise to turn himself in to the people of cragwallow. This will end the quest.
==Reward==
*Riekling Skull-Cleaver (Green battleaxe)
*146–664 
Category:Online: Ebonheart Pact Quests
Category:Online: Eastmarch Side Quests
Category:Online: Cragwallow Quests