Tamriel Rebuilt:Cursing Like A Witch

Help the local Warder of the Fighters Guild and deal with the witch who cursed him... Quest Giver: Sharnoga gra-Mal or Foedus Locutius in Old Ebonheart Location(s): Old Ebonheart Next Quest: More Rats? Reward: A few potions, 50 gold and a possible new Alchemy trainer ID: TR_m3_FG_OE_Cursing

Foedus Locutius and an odd creature which occupied his mind

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to Sharnoga gra-Mal in the Old Ebonheart Fighters Guild.
2. Find a Restore Willpower potion and give to Foedus Locutius.
3. Travel to Git and confront Margia Sycora.
4. Either kill Margia (and take her broom), or accept her proposal.
5. Return to Foedus Locutius and give him the witch's potion to remove the curse.
6. (optional) Investigate who put the bounty on alchemist's head.
7. (optional) return to Margia and she will offer you training in Alchemy.

Detailed Walkthrough

Margia Sycora in her cave

If you enter the Fighters Guild in Old Ebonheart and talk with Foedus Locutius, local Warder, he will just insult you, saying "What are you ogling at, you arse-faced goat? Your unsightly mug must be the reason why there aren't any mirrors left in this damn elf-infested sinkhole of a province!". This is very un-like him, and trying to ask around in the guild, you'll end up speaking with the crusader Sharnoga gra-Mal. Ask her about orders, and she will respond "Normally I would send you to Foedus downstairs, but he seems to have picked up some kind of curse from his last mission. He's babbling nonsense at anyone who dares speak with him, and no, that isn't normal for him. I'm no alchemist, but I believe a restore willpower potion might cure him."

Search for Standard, Quality or Exclusive "official" potion of Restore Willpower (self-made potions don't work here, as well as in any other similar quests in the game). Unfortunately, no traders in town sell one, so you will have to visit Vvardenfell or some other Mainland settlement to obtain the potion (one can now be found in the fine potions shop in town). It's recommended to use guild guide from nearby Mages Guild to speed up your journey. Once you have the required potion, speak with Foedus again, and you'll automatically give him the bottle, resulting for just a moment of relief, and him saying "Filthy...wretch...I...I can finally speak for myself. %PCrace, I don't recognize you but you must find the witch Margia Sycora. I failed to slay her and barely escaped with my life after she cursed me. Go to the cave of Git, east of the city, past Serynthul in the mountains. Find her and free me from this fate... Ahh! Is that guar I smell or just a %PCrace opening their big mouth?".

A new topic "Git" will be added to your conversations. Return to Sharnoga, and ask her about Git. She will say "That should be near the Sundered Scar. Afraid no one here knows that place as well as Foedus does. Ask around in Dondril; they might know better".

Dondril is a small village southeast from Old Ebonheart. You may choose to search for Git on your own, or you may travel to Dondril and ask any NPC for tips, and receive a response "Haven't heard of that name. Serynthul, though, I've seen -- it is an infirmary of the Temple, an old Velothi tower where they recover from their wounds and worries. That place is due north of here, but it's isolated. Leave Dondril through the eastern gate, then follow the road and take a turn left. You should pass near an egg mine, but you'll need to get off the road onto a rocky path and cross a few rope bridges. If you go there, be considerate -- they aren't expecting too many visitors."

Git is a very isolated cave, and it may require some time before you finally find it somewhere north of Serynthul. Inside, there lives a lonely Breton alchemist Margia Sycora who is non-hostile and is quite engaged in her personal experiments. Approach her and ask about Foedus' curse. She will say: "Foedus? Was he the brute who knocked over my ingredients and tracked mud into my cave? I'm sure Vhal'baan is having a great time inside him. He thinks I'm a witch? Hah! I am Margia Sycora, the greatest alchemist this side of the Thirr. I'll make a deal with you. If you agree to find out who placed a bounty on my head, I'll give you a potion to cure your precious Foedus, and I'll even train you in alchemy, for a price". There's no reason of saying "no" at this point, as this will just end the conversation without starting the fight, and you'll have to attack and kill non-hostile NPC to obtain Margia's uncurse potion and broomstick from her dead body. Agree to help her, though, and this will lead to some more interesting options later.

If you accept Margia's proposal, she will give you the quest item Sycora's Uncursing Potion, and you can now return to Fighters Guild. This will be quite a long journey, and later during the quest you'll have to visit Git at least twice, so it's best to use Mark spell in Margia's cave to reduce the backtracking.

Talk to Foedus again. He will greet you with usual insulting nonsense, but this time you'll have the option to force the witch's potion into Foedus's mouth. Immediately upon this action, a daedra vermai named Vhal'baan will appear and attack you. After a quick and easy battle, speak with now finally healed Foedus. He will thank you for your help, but it's not enough to complete the quest, as he will demand the proof of Margia's death. You won't be able to investigate who was behind the bounty on alchemist's head at this point, so you need to return to Git again, and speak with Margia. She won't be surprised, saying: "Foedus wants me dead? Understandable. Daedric possession is very painful, I assure you. What if you were to take my broomstick as proof of my demise? I'm not a witch, mind you; it has no purpose to me besides clearing out the occasional cobweb. Does that sound agreeable to you?" You'll again have to choose whether to continue helping her, or just kill her. Agree to help, and receive the odd item Margia Sycora's Broomstick. Foedus will gladly accept this item as a proof of the so-called witch's death, and now will agree to reveal some information about the origins of the bounty. Ask him about "someone important", and he will respond "I don't like you asking about our contracts, %PCrank, just worry about completing them. As for this contract I don't know who placed it. This one was delivered by Rathys some days ago, it's probably from someone in Narsis."

Ask Rathys Madalvel, a dunmer nearby in the guild, about "someone important", and he will say "The Sycora bounty? I can see why Foedus may have thought it came from Narsis. No, this message was delivered to me by a messenger of Indoril Ilvi, the lord of Roa Dyr. She probably wronged some Indoril noble and paid the price."

This information is already enough for Margia, but if you are curious, you may investigate the matter further. Go to the Warriors' Hall in Roa Dyr and search for Indoril Ilvi, then ask about Margia Sycora. The lord will be confused: "I have no idea who that is and I'm not interested in finding out." and in your journal, you will add a note "Indoril Ilvi doesn't know who Margia Sycora is. It seems unlikely that he placed the bounty."

Return to Margia Sycora and report her your investigations. She will offer you her services as an Alchemy trainer as a reward.

Quest Stages

The following Journal ID and Index codes can be used with the Journal console command to manually update the quest to a certain point.

Cursing Like A Witch (TR_m3_FG_OE_Cursing)
Index	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
5		Foedus verbally assaulted me, which is very un-like him.
10		Sharnoga gra-Mal in the Old Ebonheart Fighters Guild has tasked me with helping Foedus Locutius, her subordinate who was cursed by a witch. A restore willpower potion may cure his ailment.
20		Foedus drank the potion and told me that the witch who cursed him, Margia Sycora, still lives. She resides in Git, east of Old Ebonheart past Serynthul and the mountains.
30		Margia Sycora has revealed that she is not a witch, just a misunderstood alchemist. She gave me a potion to break the curse on the promise that I return and tell her who placed a bounty on her head.
40		Foedus drank the witch's potion and the daedra Vhal'baan emerged, quite angry. Luckily it was quickly slain.
45		I told Foedus that I killed Margia Sycora, but he requires proof of her death before he can reward me.
50		I told Foedus that I did not kill Margia Sycora. He has tasked me with killing her, and bringing proof this time.
51		Foedus told me that someone in Narsis probably put the bounty on Margia Sycora.
60		I have challenged Margia Sycora to a fight to the death. I should bring her broomstick back as proof of her demise.
70		I have agreed to let Margia Sycora live. I will show Foedus her broomstick as proof of her death.
80	Finishes quest	I gave the broomstick to Foedus as proof of Margia Sycora's death. He rewarded me and thanked me for a job well done.
81		Rathys Madalvel told me that Indoril Ilvi, the lord of Roa Dyr, placed the bounty on Margia Sycora.
82	Finishes quest	I told Margia that Indoril Ilvi placed the bounty on her, and she was grateful for fulfilling my end of the deal. She has agreed to train me in alchemy, for a price.
83	Finishes quest	Indoril Ilvi doesn't know who Margia Sycora is. It seems unlikely that he placed the bounty.

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