Online:The Price of Longevity

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Solve the mystery of the strange sapling. Zone: Rivenspire Quest Giver: Strange Sapling Location(s): Cave of Sorrows Reward: Eternal Tree Spliter Average Leveled Gold

The bound tree spirit

I found a strange sapling that spoke to me, confused about its own ability to think and feel. It has vague memories of walking and a nearby cave. I agreed to help the sapling get some answers.

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to the Strange Sapling.
2. Investigate the Cave of Sorrows.
3. Go to the Mages Guild in Shornhelm.
4. Visit the nearby house.
5. Return to the Cave of Sorrows.
6. Return to the Strange Sapling.

Detailed Walkthrough

While exploring near the town of Hoarfrost Downs, one can run into a peculiar tree with a strange green mist emanating from it. Upon closer inspection, the tree will suddenly start talking :

"The wind whispers to me tales of distant places, of verdant glades dappled with sunlight. Where is this beauty, this wonder? Why can't I go there?

What is this strange being standing before me?"

Continue conversing with it, and it will mention a nearby cave. If you check out the cave, you will see a ghostly-looking spriggan on a platform. The Tree Spirit will tell you that a mage named Merethrin used an arcane ritual that forced his spirit into the tree, displacing the tree's spirit.

Merethrin was a member of the Mages Guild in Shornhelm, so you head there next. On a table on the first floor, you can find Merethrin's Research Notes. Reading the notes, you discover that Merethrin's ritual was an attempt to prolong his life. He mentions dust that can be used to reverse the ritual.

Go to his house next door to the guildhall to find the dust. The door is locked, so it will need to be picked or forced, and entering is considered trespassing. There is the potential for a roaming guard to catch you, so either be careful or be prepared to pay the bounty to clear your name. You will find Elemental Dust upstairs on a dresser. Take it and head back to the Cave of Sorrows.

Speak to the Tree Spirit, who will tell you to use the dust and say she is ready to die rather than remain in her current state. Use the Elemental Dust to destroy the three colored crystals ringing the platform: the Water Crystal, the Vitality Crystal, and the Light Crystal. They can be destroyed in any order. When you destroy the last one, the Tree Spirit will say, "Peace, at last!" and vanish.

Going back outside, you will see that the Strange Sapling has become the Dead Sapling. A ghostly Bosmer will be standing next to the tree. Speak to Merethrin's spirit to hear that he regrets what he did but is happy to be granted the peace of death at last. After you receive your reward, he will vanish.

Quest Stages

The Price of Longevity
Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
	I should search the cave for any signs of what happened to the sapling. Objective: Search the Cave Near the Sapling
	Objective: Talk to the Bound Tree Spirit
	The Tree Spirit told me that it was cursed by some foul magic cast by the mage Merethrin who apparently is the being trapped within the sapling. The spirit said there might be clues to what Merethrin did in the Mages Guild in Shornhelm. Objective: Go to the Mages Guild in Shornhelm
	The mage Merethrin's Research Notes appear to be sitting on a table in the Mages Guild. I should read the notes to find out what happened. Objective: Search for Clues to Merethrin's Plans
	Merethrin's research notes reveal that the curse apparently happened because of his attempt to cast an enchantment in the cave to extend his life. I should retrieve Emerald Dust from Merethrin's House to reverse the curse. Objective: Go to Merethrin's House
	Objective: Collect the Elemental Dust
	I should take the Elemental Dust back to the cave and use to reverse the curse that bound the tree spirit and trapped Merethin within the sapling. Objective: Return to Cave of Sorrows
	I should tell the Tree Spirit that I can now reverse the curse. Objective: Talk to the Tree Spirit
	I should use the Elemental Dust to destroy the crystals and reverse the curse. Objective: Destroy the Water Crystal Objective: Destroy the Vitality Crystal Objective: Destroy the Light Crystal
	I destroyed the crystals and reversed the curse. I should return to the sapling to see what happened. Objective: Return to the Sapling
Finishes quest	I reversed the curse and it appears that the sapling is now dead. Merethrin's spirit is standing nearby. I should speak to the spirit and let him know that he has been released. Objective: Talk to Merethrin's Spirit

Notes

* Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the game and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.

• Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
• Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.

Missing journal entry for "Talk to the Bound Tree Spirit" quest stage.