Strife:Floating Rotten (Dark Brotherhood)

To the GM's page

Overview
Tip of the iceberg...
 * Quest Giver: Lucien Lachance.
 * Location(s): Sheogorad,Abandoned Shipwreck.
 * Prerequisite Quest: Trading Ties.
 * Next Quest: Divine Helplessness (CONTENT WARNING skip to The Hunt if not using).
 * Reward: Belt of Sanguine Denial.
 * Optional Bonus: None.

Quest start
Continuing from the last quest, if there is an Argonian (or a person who speaks Jel) in the party, they can make a disadvantage intelligence roll after asked by Lucien to be given some time to decode the cryptic 'Aplan Ahtest'. They will realise that it is Tsetha Nalpa backwards, which translates literally from Jel to Floating Rotten. Either that or Lucien will have figured it out himself after the two day window. Lucien walks to his table if not already there. ''Lucien moves his map of Vvardenfell into the centre of his table, pointing along the coast of the region of Sheogorad to the north, he continues: "Terminators, Sheogorad is a dangerous, rocky place. Settlements there often get around by boat but inexperienced and expert sailors alike that are new to the area often crash; there are many wrecks local to this region. As for finding the correct one, I'm sorry, you are on your own." Lucien rolls up his map. "Any questions?"''

Abandoned Shipwreck
There are 4 shipwrecks along the coasts of Sheogorad: The correct shipwreck is the Abandoned Shipwreck and upon approaching the wreck, 2 Dreugh crawl out of the water attacking the players.
 * Abandoned Shipwreck, next to Vas in the north eastern shores
 * Ancient Shipwreck, on its own island next to Senim Ancestral Tomb in the north eastern shores
 * Derelict Shipwreck, close to Ibar-Dad on the north shores of the main Vvardenfell island
 * Obscure Shipwreck, underwater closest to Onnissiralis in the north western waters

Inside, the ship is normal, but as the players start to search the ship, two Dark Brotherhood Assassins leap out of the floorboards, sneak attacking the party. They are levelled to the players with their health being:

$$HP = 100 + 4 \times (Highest\ player\ character\ level)$$

During combat, they will speak to the players, saying: "Do you know... we don't even know HOW to get contracts; they were all fake. We chose people at random, or took jobs and got y’all and Lucien to kill them..." and a little after that: "The actual work you did take, paid so much than what we gave you, you know... You were given just such a small fraction... You funded our escape, LUCIEN'S black hand were funding our escape, you’ll never find me..." Notably the people killed were not Dandras nor Movis, but some other Dunmer agents.

After their defeat the players will ''hear groaning from a crate. Upon opening the crate they find Sereyne surrounded by empty bottles of Sujamma and Skooma. Sereyne quite slowly goes for the attack on players before recognising them: "Oh... Ca-" (Hic) "-an c- carry me?" She is very intoxicated, probably the doing of the agents seems as she is more than pacified due to her state. On the trip back to Lucien’s hut she groans a lot, stopping only to talk to the player carrying her, mostly complaining.''

Finishing the quest
Upon returning to Lucien's hut, they can walk straight in and lay Sereyne down; her shop will be open after a day's recovery period. ''Lucien approaches the players, looking down at Sereyne: "A sorry state is she. You know, she used to be sober, apparently. A sad affair. I've talked to her about it; if she is intoxicated you can't get any promises out of her, if she is sober you'll get your head blown to bits. Either way, here is your reward:" He gives the party the Belt of Sanguine Denial, continuing: "I will sober up this one, it will take a long time; she drinks enough to kill Sithis. While I do this, I would like you to return to Ald Sotha. While you've been finding our housecat, I've been examining the lock on Ald Sotha. It's not magical, so I've managed to make away with a wax mould of it's key after some doing, days of doing specifically. Here:" He hands the party a brass key. "I won't get into details, but I had to steal an entire anvil from an imperial fort to make this one."''

The party now has completed this quest and has now moved onto quest Divine Helplessness (CONTENT WARNING).

Finishing the quest (if skipping Divine Helplessness)
Upon returning to Lucien's hut, they can walk straight in and lay Sereyne down; her shop will be open after a day's recovery period. Lucien approaches the players, looking down at Sereyne: "A sorry state is she. You know, she used to be sober, apparently. A sad affair. I've talked to her about it; if she is intoxicated you can't get any promises out of her, if she is sober you'll get your head blown to bits. Either way, here is your reward:" He gives the party the Belt of Sanguine Denial, continuing: "You sober up this one, it will take a long time; she drinks enough to kill Sithis. When you've done that you may leave, she is fine by herself as long as she is sober. While you do this, I will return to Ald Sotha. While you've been finding our housecat, I've been examining the lock on Ald Sotha. It's not magical, so I've managed to make away with a wax mould of it's key after some doing, days of doing specifically. I won't get into details, but I had to steal an entire anvil from an imperial fort to make this one."

The party now has completed this quest and has now moved onto quest The Hunt.