Bards, Beasts and Beauties

**Enemy Level** | PC x 1
 **Quest ID** | Amaleequest

*Bards, Beasts, and Beauties* is a personal quest for the character Amalee, as she attempts to hide her life as an adventurer from her parents by masquerading as a bard. The quest also integrates the longstanding duel between Edwayne and Skjarn, whose previous interaction was limited to conversations about their history. The title of the quest refers to all three of the characters individually and collectively, as Edwayne and Skjarn are both beasts (vampire/werewolf), bards, and by their own estimation, beauties, whereas Amalee can be considered as all (studious bard, filthy adventurer, or priestess of Dibella) or none of the three.

**Art School**

Taking Amalee to the Temple of Dibella will start a conversation on the nature of beauty, and eventually shift to questions about Amalee’s large extended family. As the inordinate amount of aunts, uncles, and cousins results in the need to plan for various birthdays and weddings, Amalee worries that she will have to play a new song as a present for one of them. Having left the Bards College to become an adventurer, she asks the player to take her to Solitude so she can find something that inspires her to compose.

Upon arriving in Solitude, she encounters a Breton by the name of Edwayne. Amalee asks for his assistance, but is thoroughly confused by Edwayne’s abstruse poetry. After taking her on as his squire, Edwayne suggests Amalee set up a duel with his Nord adversary, Skjarn.

**The Duel**

Amalee and the PC find Skjarn at Dragon Bridge and convince him to duel Edwayne. Skjarn agrees to the duel on the condition that Amalee herself is the prize. Skjarn continues to pester Amalee on the road back to Solitude, where Edwayne awaits.

Delivering Skjarn to the exterior of the Bards College will start the duel. Edwayne begins by reciting his unfinished poem, and Skjarn will counter with his poem about the common wooden bench. After a few jabs and barbs, Edwayne will switch to a lute, with Skjarn quickly following, neither of them waiting for the other to finish.

Meanwhile, Amalee turns away from the duel to look at the view of the ocean, and is inspired by the breathtaking vista. As Skjarn and Edwayne’s duel goes to its logical end, Amalee tells the player she wishes to travel to Bloated Man’s Grotto, as nature is the only thing that can truly inspire her.

Notes:

– If the Festival of King Olaf is taking place, the duel will be delayed until it is over.

– Other bards may join the duel between Skjarn and Edwayne due to Edwayne’s association with the College.

– There is an invisible trigger box in Solitude that moves Skjarn to prison and Edwayne back to the college, and also removes their invulnerable status. Fast traveling from the Bards College will cause the PC to miss the box, but workarounds have been put in place as of 2.42.

**Handsome Man’s Grotto**

Upon reaching Handsome Man’s Grotto, Amalee will ask for a brief tour of the grounds and give her commentary on the statue of Talos and a dead animal. The pair then return to camp, where Amalee tells the story of her adventurer brother. The player goes to sleep, and wakes up to find Amalee missing.

The Dragonborn eventually finds Amalee on a rock overlooking the grotto. She tells the player that she has spent all night composing a new song, which she has labeled Dibella’s Art. After playing the song, Amalee vows to become both a bard and an adventurer, as music is the best way to spread word of Dibella’s teachings. As part of her commitment to her craft, she will now learn new bard songs if they are played in her presence.

Notes:

– In some instances, after the player sleeps, Amalee may not properly travel to the rock with a view of the waterfall, or may slip off when she plays Dibella’s Art. The quest will progress regardless of where she is standing.

– As of version 2.42, Amalee can only play Dragonborn Comes in addition to Lunar Lake Serenada and Dibella’s Art, as the other songs have yet to be recorded.

– Amalee will comment on the wounded hunters if the Hircine quest is active.

Notes: Stages 15, 30, 66, 68, and 90 are set during scenes or when entering a trigger at the appropriate stage.