Project Tamriel:Cyrodiil/The Drowned

Crush a cult or join its ranks. Quest Giver: Luaki Location(s): TEM Kintyra's Shield, Anvil Prerequisite Quest: Meat-Cute Reward: Wanderer's Robe and Ring of Spiritual Wisdom OR Staff of the Watcher and access to an Alteration Master Trainer Disposition: -75 or +15 (Luaki) Reputation Gain: No change OR +1 (general) and +5 (Order of Itinerant Priests) ID: PC_m1_IP_Lki4

The Placid Drowner Cult has arrived in Anvil

Quick Walkthrough

The ritual begins

1. Talk to Luaki about works, Drowner contract and Placid Drowner Cult.
2. Ask around Fort Telodrach about the Placid Drowner Cult.
3. Talk to Kelad with 70+ disposition.
4. Go to the Brine Stone to talk to Kyrana Quina.
   • Either:
     1. Kill her.
     2. Kill everybody aboard.
     3. Read the Cultist Note that Kyrana carried.
     4. Go to The Scupper and kill Famir.
     5. Return to Luaki (rewards Wanderer's Robe and Ring of Spiritual Wisdom).
   • Or:
     1. Ask to join the cult.
     2. Talk to Arthi (outside the Sailor's Fluke) about works.
     3. Offer Arthi a place to sleep for the night (requires 70+ disposition), or Command him.
     4. Lead Arthi to the bottom floor of The Scupper.
     5. Talk to Kyrana about the Drowner's ritual, and either:
        • Back out (skip to step 14).
        • Agree to perform the ritual, and receive a Flask of Fish Blood.
     6. Speak to Arthi and either:
        • Warn him (skip to step 14).
        • Anoint him with fish blood.
     7. Speak to Kyrana and place 1x Wheat and 1x Crab Meat on the Altar of Molag Bal.
     8. Talk to Kyrana.
     9. Speak to Arthi and either:
        • Warn him (skip to step 14).
        • Drown him.
     10. Speak to Kyrana to receive your Personal Drowner Contract.
     11. Activate the Altar of Molag Bal with the contract in your inventory.
     12. Speak to Kyrana again (rewards Staff of the Watcher).
     13. Return to Luaki (ends quest, and Luaki's faith in you).
     14. (If you would not complete the ritual)
         1. Kill Kyrana and all cultists in The Scupper and Brine Stone,
         2. Return to Luaki (rewards Wanderer's Robe and Ring of Spiritual Wisdom).

Detailed Walkthrough

Fables of Human Sacrifice

Your overtures to the Dibellans have so far met with some small personal rewards for you, but with no promises of funding for Luaki's work among the sailors of the Imperial Navy. Return to him at the TEM Kintyra's Shield to let him know. While disappointed at the Dibellan cult's refusal to engage, he has another more urgent matter for you to look into - evidence of a cult worshipping Molag Bal in Anvil through the ritual drowning of people and animals. He calls them the Placid Drowner Cult, explaining their origins as follows:

"During the [Soulrest] uprising, certain Nibenese sailor folklore had spread among the South Navy that Molag Bal, lord of the deep ocean, must be placated with sacrifice. Believers would create contracts such as the one I gave you, and they'd ritually drown their victims in honor of Bal. A Daedric cult was formed revolving around this tradition, and its cultists began maintaining secret shrines in port cities and aboard ships. The cult's drowning practices were so common that it became known as the Placid Drowner Cult."

Luaki presents you with some Cultist Scribblings that were fished from the waters near Fort Telodrach, and suspects that a sailor of the Navy may have disposed of them in a hurry. He suggests asking around Fort Telodrach itself. Enter the fort, and speak to the guards there about the Placid Drowner Cult. They'll make reference to a soldier who fought in the Soulrest Uprising named Kelad, who is stationed in the fort's Auxiliary Tower. Find him. With 70+ disposition, he'll open up - he was formerly a member of the cult itself, and can go into great detail about their practices. He names one Kyrana Quina in particular - ask him about this topic to receive a journal update. Her ship, the Brine Stone, is docked in Anvil.

While he's been helpful, you can still report Kelad's past membership of a murderous cult to other sailors, by speaking to them about the Kelad topic. If you do so, he will disappear.

The Brine Stone

You can go directly to the Brine Stone to challenge Kyrana Quina, or report to Luaki (who will ask you to do just that). The ship itself is docked just outside the Harbormaster building. Kyrana is in the cabin. Speak to her about the Placid Drowner Cult to be presented with a choice - you can pledge to destroy it (Path 1), or join it (Path 2).

Path 1: Down with the Drowners!

Killing Kyrana isn't enough to satisfy Luaki. You must kill all cultists aboard, and also discover the location of the cult's shrine. That's easy enough - Kyrana bears a Cultist Note indicating its location, and a key to unlock its door. Once you've cleared all cultists from the Brine Stone's hold and cabin, head to The Scupper to empty it of enemies. The door to it is in the canal that forms the southern border of Little Arenthia. Inside, kill the single cultist on the top floor - a man named Famir.

Cult cleared, return to Luaki, who will reward you handsomely with both the Wanderer's Robe and the Ring of Spiritual Wisdom. You'll additionally receive +1 general Reputation and +5 reputation with the Order of Itinerant Priests.

Path 2: Swearing to Bal

Instead of killing Kyrana, you may ask to join the Placid Drowner Cult yourself. In this case, she asks that you prove yourself by luring the beggar, Arthi, to The Scupper. Disagree, and she will attack. Agree, and she will give you both the Yard Gates Tenement Key and a Scroll of Drowner's Trance to assist in your task. This latter item is capable of commanding your target to follow you for 120 seconds, but is single use.

You'll find Arthi in Little Arenthia outside the Sailor's Fluke. Talk to him about works. He asks if you can give him money. Doing so will raise his disposition. If you get it above 70, you can offer him a place to sleep for the night. Arthi will follow you at this point. Lead him into the Yard Gate Tenements, and unlock the level 80 locked door. The ceiling has collapsed here - activating the rope hanging through the hole will allow you to climb up. Then exit the tenements via the upper door, crossing the covered bridge to The Scupper. Finally, lead him down to the flooded ground floor, where you will find Kyrana.

Speak to her. You'll have a chance to back out here, in which case you must kill her and every other cultist. If you wish to go ahead, she will begin to induct you into the cult's secrets - granting you a Flask of Fish Blood with which to annoint Arthi, your sacrifice. He's a little concerned, as perhaps you might expect, and will ask you what's going on. Informing him will cause him to scream out, and the cult will attack you (in which case, revert to killing all cultists in both The Scupper and on the Brine Stone and report to Luaki).

Choose to annoint Arthi with the blood however, and you'll need to speak to Kyrana about the Drowner's ritual again. She gives you a piece of Wheat and a piece of Crab Meat to put on the altar. Activate the Altar of Molag Bal beside her to do so. Speak to her once more. She'll instruct you to lie Arthi into the water.

Speak to Arthi. He is not very down with all this. As before, telling him what's going on will initiate combat with Kyrana. You can also knock him out to proceed with the sacrifice. He will drown in the water. Speak to Kyrana. She will present you with a Personal Drowner Contract. Activate the Altar of Molag Bal to read the contract aloud and sign your name in blood. Talking to Kyrana one final time concludes the ritual. She will accept you as a Drowner, grant you the Staff of the Watcher, and ask that you continue to provide offerings to Bal during your travels. She will then warp out of the room. You can return to her on the Brine Stone if you've time - she'll let slip about another branch of the cult in Vallanytha Grotto. As one of the cult members in that area is Carlonus Tarus, a master Alteration trainer that would otherwise be hostile to you, this is a useful tip to follow up on.

Return to Luaki and talk to him about the Placid Drowner Cult. He will sense Molag Bal's influence upon you - an event that clearly shakes his faith. He'll bid you leave, promising to keep quiet about your involvement if you go your own way:

"Maybe you can still redeem yourself, if you decide to perform works of charity and service on behalf of the Order. Or maybe I will have to accept that our efforts are just a drop in the ocean, and that I too need to find a new master to serve. We both might be forgiven yet."

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.

The Drowned (PC_m1_IP_Lki4)
Index	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		Luaki was disappointed that Cassandra and the Dibellan hedonists had no further interest in engaging with the Order. However, he has another concern right now.
15		Luaki was disappointed that the Dibellans had no interest in engaging with the Order in works after learning that one of them was killed. However, he has another concern right now.
25		Luaki told me that one of the Navy sailors on his ship found a Drowner contract floating in the ocean near Fort Telodrach. He believes it is the work of the Placid Drowner Cult, a Daedric cult of sailors who drown their victims in honor of Molag Bal. Luaki fears that they have a base in Anvil. He suggested that I explore the fort, speak with the Navy sailors about it, and see if I could find the one who disposed of the contract. Maybe they can tell me from where the cult operates.
30		While investigating the Placid Drowner Cult, I found a former cult member named Kelad in Fort Telodrach. The Navy sailor said he'd tell me anything he knows about the cult, if I don't mention anything to the others at the fort about it.
35		I killed Kelad before he could tell me all he knew about the Placid Drowner Cult.
40		Kelad told me that the Placid Drowner Cult's mobile headquarters is located in a ship called Brine Stone, and that its owner and captain, Kyrana Quina, is the cult's leader there.
45		Luaki was glad to hear that I found the base of the Placid Drowner Cult. He said he hopes I will do the right thing for the Order and take down their local leader.
50		Kyrana, the leader of the Placid Drowner Cult on the Brine Stone, offered to induct me into her cult and reward me for it if I find their next ritual sacrifice. I accepted her offer. She told me the sacrifice's name is Arthi, a destitute beggar in Little Arenthia. She asked me to find and lure him to their shrine in the Scupper. She said I could gain access with her key through the Yard Gate Tenements.
55		After I brought Arthi to the cult shrine in The Scupper, I told Kyrana that I was ready to begin the Drowner's ritual.
60		I killed Kyrana, the leader of the Placid Drowner Cult in Anvil.
62		Luaki was pleased that I killed the Placid Drowner Cult's local leader on the Brine Stone, and asked if I had taken care of the rest of the cultists there as well.
64		Luaki was very pleased that I killed all the Placid Drowner cult's members on the Brine Stone. He then told me to go to The Scupper and get rid of any other cultists I find there.
66		Luaki was pleased that I killed the Placid Drowner Cult's local leader, but he had a couple new requests for me. He first told me to go back to the ship Brine Stone and kill all the cult members on board. He then told me to go back to The Scupper and get rid of any other cultists I find there too.
68		Luaki was pleased that I killed the Placid Drowner Cult's local leader and the cultist I found in The Scupper, but he had one last request for me. He told me to go back to the Brine Stone and kill all the cult members on board.
70		Arthi has drowned in The Scupper during the Drowner's ritual.
100	Finishes quest	Luaki told me that I did the Order and the people of Anvil a great service in destroying the Placid Drowner Cult. He rewarded me accordingly.
110	Finishes quest	After completing the Drowner's ritual, Kyrana said I was now a member of the Placid Drowner Cult. She gave me a gift on their behalf and asked me to continue providing offerings to the Watcher during my travels.
120	Finishes quest	Luaki told me that he knew I drowned someone. He does not want to speak to me again.
130	Finishes quest	Luaki was disappointed that I killed the only lead we had on the Placid Drowner Cult. He told me there is nothing else we can do in this matter now, but that he hopes I will continue to perform other works in charity and service for the Order.
140	Finishes quest	Luaki was disappointed that the Dibellans had no interest in engaging with the Order in works after learning that one of them was killed. He doesn't have any other opportunities for me, but he hopes I will continue to perform other works of charity and service for the Order.
150	Finishes quest	Luaki was disappointed that Cassandra and the Dibellan hedonists had no further interest in engaging with the Order He said he doesn't have any other opportunities for me, but said that he hopes I will continue to perform other works of charity and service for the Order.