Tamriel Rebuilt:An Empress' Ransom

Exchange a royal artifact for the freedom of the Thieves Guild leaders. Quest Giver: Wry-Eye Moranie Location(s): Old Ebonheart Prerequisite Quest: Lost in Chunzefk Reward: Moranie's Enchanted Eye Jacket-of-All-Trades Thief's Moral Compass Disposition: +15 (Wry-Eye Moranie) Reputation Gain: +5 (Thieves Guild) ID: TR_m3_TG_Moranie3

Is that...the bill?

Quick Walkthrough

1. Read the note on the bar in the basement of the Empress Katariah.
2. Follow the note's instructions.
3. Speak to the thieves.
4. Enter the Legion Dungeon via the Ebon Tower sewers and speak to Wry-Eye Moranie.
5. Access the Raathim Ancestral Tomb via the western sewers.
6. Retrieve the Death Mask from Raathim Ancestral Tomb and give it to the guards.
7. Speak to Wry-Eye Moranie and Cap'n Fentus.

Detailed Walkthrough

Last Orders at the Empress Katariah

On your return to the Empress Katariah from the events of Lost in Chunzefk, you will find the tavern entirely deserted. An explanatory message (Note from Y.) has been left on the bar in the basement. Pick it up, along with the Thieves' Guild Hideout Key beside it. You'll need to follow the note's directions by ascending to the top floor of the tavern. Once through the trap door, take the door on the right and descend the spiral stairs. The trapdoor at the bottom will unlock if you picked up the Hideout Key from earlier.

You'll find yourself in the sewers. Speak to Yggulf the Mute here, and ask him what happened. He'll explain that a raid by the Imperial Legion has seen Cap'n Fentus and Wry-Eye Moranie arrested. Ask him about the Moranie and Fentus topic. Yggulf will suggest that you make your way through the sewers to speak to them discreetly, and seek if you can somehow help.

Navigating the Sewers

Once you've ended your conversation with Yggulf, look for a Rusted Crank in the flooded area to your east. Activating it will drain the water. You can then proceed through the hidden door in the south side of the now-dry chamber into the Old Ebonheart, Sewers: East. From here, head westwards into Old Ebonheart, Sewers: Central. You need to aim for the entrance to Old Ebonheart, Sewers: West, on the western side of this area, behind a locked gate. From here, swing west then north to find the entrance to Old Ebonheart, Sewers: Tower Bridge.

Once here, take the stairs downwards (rather than proceeding forward into the guarded area). A locked Cell Door bars the way, but if bypassed, you'll be able to transit a flooded corridor northwards to a grate, which leads to Ebon Tower, Sewers: Lower. The room here contains a small puzzle - with hanging wooden platforms that you may struggle to reach without Jump or Levitate. A Crank immediately by the entrance to this room will raise the water level however, bringing the floating crates to a height that allows you to bridge the water to the platforms, and thus the (locked) exit to Ebon Tower, Sewers: Upper. This final section is simple - just go directly east to the exit to the Legion Dungeons.

Meeting Moranie

Now you're inside the dungeon, activate the Hidden Door in the wall ahead of you and turn left to bypass the locked door there. You'll find Cap'n Fentus and Wry-Eye Moranie in the cells here. Talk to Wry-Eye to proceed. She'll express her general sense of hopelessness at the situation, but pressing her for a plan will reveal a way forward involving the Death Mask of Empress Katariah. The essence is this: the Empire would happily release two thieves in exchange for an artifact of the empress, who was buried beneath Old Ebonheart. The entrance to her tomb was enchanted so that only members of House Raathim could enter it, but Wry-Eye Moranie, a descendant of the bloodline, is able to provide you with a token that can get you in - Moranie's Enchanted Eye.

Tomb Raider

After Moranie has given you her eye, you'll need to retrace your steps through the sewers all the way back to the Old Ebonheart, Sewers: West. In the southwestern corner of this area you will find the catacombs beneath the Grand Chapel of Talos. Once here, look for the alcove to the right of the one containing the Hammer of Saint Kaladas. It is marked with the banner of a wolf and has two sconce holders - one with an Ebony-Trimmed Torch in place, and one without. Another Ebony-Trimmed Torch lies on the floor in front of this alcove. Pick it up, and activate the empty sconce to place the torch in it. A secret door will open in front of you to Raathim Ancestral Tomb, Lichgate. Crawl through the hole to enter this location.

Travel through the lichgate to the southeastern end, where stands a statue atop a platform. Under the platform is a crank. Ensuring that you have Moranie's Enchanted Eye, turn the crank to open the gate (and loot the nearby skeleton if you're running low on lockpicks). Once the gate is open, you can proceed into the Hall of Kings Past.

The Hall is a large chamber, flooded at the bottom. Be wary of the urns here - one will summon the powerful lich Shade of Moraelyn if activated, bearing the unique Dragon's Blade. At the far end lies the door to the final section, Burial of the Empress. This is a level 80 locked door and trapped. You can bypass this lock manually, or find the key to the door - this is on the lowest floor, in an alcove on the western side.

Once inside the Burial of the Empress area, activate the sarcophagus on the southern wall. It will rise up, revealing the skeletal corpse of Empress Katariah and her death mask. Take this. You'll immediately find that your exit has been blocked by a familiar face - Antio Florane. He'll demand that you hand over the mask to him or he will leave you to rot. There's no way to convince him otherwise, so do as he says. He'll disappear and the way out will be opened. Follow him. The Hall of Kings Past is now...busier, and you'll hear Antio screaming for help as undead Raathim Honor Guard assail you. Fight through or bypass them, and make your way to the exit to the Lichgate. Here you'll find a sorely wounded Antio. You can kill or help him, or simply take the mask - whichever you choose, you'll end up with the mask regardless.

The Raider Returns

Ascend now back into the Old Ebonheart, Sewers: West. On exiting, you'll be greeted by a Palace Guard Captain, who accompanies the captive Wry-Eye Moranie. He'll demand the surrender of the mask. Noting that you don't have it will result in the failure of the quest and your arrest. Refusing to hand it over will also fail the quest and initiate hostilities.

Assuming that you do give the mask over (you can steal it back later), the Palace Guard Captain will order the release of Cap'n Fentus and Moranie. Return to the Empress Katariah and speak to a relieved Wry-Eye Moranie. She'll allow you to keep her enchanted eye, permitting repeat access to the tomb of her ancestors. She'll also direct you to the docks, where it appears Cap'n Fentus is preparing to leave. Go there (it's a little dock on the western side) to see Cap'n Fentus and a small boat roughly rigged with Dwemer contraptions. He'll express his intent to sail into the sunset on his new boat, The Empress' Ransom. Ask him about this topic, and he'll reward you with the Jacket of all Trades. If Antio lived (and you didn't fail his other jobs), he may also reward you with the Thief's Moral Compass.

On saying your final farewells, the questline ends.

Notes

• If you unlock the door to the Empress' tomb before you get the key, the door will apply the negative effects regardless if you have the key
• The Death Mask of Empress Katariah can be found at the Great Hall in Ebon Tower after you have given it to a guard

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.

An Empress' Ransom (TR_m3_TG_Moranie3)
Index	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
5		I found a note on the floor, supposedly from Yggulf the Mute. It has instructions for me.
10		I've found Yggulf the Mute, now surprisingly vocal, in a sewer hideout under the Empress Katariah. Yggulf told me that the guards raided the inn and arrested both Wry-Eye Moranie and Cap'n Fentus.
15		Yggulf asked me to find away to free Moranie and Fentus from the Ebon Tower Legion dungeons where they are being held. I should use the sewers to access the dungeon undetected. The surface is crawling with guards looking for the rest of the Thieves Guild members and getting arrested myself would ruin everything.
20		Moranie told me to find the lost Death Mask of Empress Katariah, so that she use [sic] it to bargain for hers and Fentus' freedom. The mask's in Raathim Ancestral Tomb, the secret entrance of which is in the catacombs under the Grand Chapel of Talos. Moranie gave me an enchanted eye with which I can bypass the tomb's magical defenses. I should access the catacombs through the western sewers, because it's still imperative that I don't get caught by the guards.
25		I've found the Death Mask of Empress Katariah. I should head out.
30		I have been trapped in Katariah's burial chamber. However, Antio Florane has also arrived in the tomb. He says he can let me out, but only if I give him the Death Mask of Empress Katariah first.
35		I gave Antio Florane the mask. He ran away, but kept his promise and lowered the gate that had imprisoned me. I should see if I can still catch him.
40		The previously empty Hall of Kings Past is now teeming with newly-awakened undead. I wonder how far Antio Florane got.
50		I have found Antio Florane. He is seriously wounded.
55		I helped the wounded Antio Florane.
60		I've gotten the Death Mask of Empress Katariah back. I should head out of the tomb.
100		Upon exiting Raathim Ancestral Tomb I was greeted by a number of guards from the palace of Ebon Tower. Apparently, the Imperial government has agreed to the deal Moranie proposed: her and Fentus' freedom in exchange for the Death Mask of Empress Katariah.
105		I gave the Death Mask of Empress Katariah to the guards. Moranie and Fentus are now free, and the Guild in Old Ebonheart has been saved. I should head back to the Empress Katariah inn.
110		Moranie thanked me for saving the Guild. She said I could keep her enchanted eye. It will allow me to go back to Raathim Ancestral Tomb, if I wish to do so. She told me that Cap'n Fentus wanted to talk to me. He's somewhere at the docks.
115	Finishes quest	Getting ready to sail away, Cap'n Fentus thanked me for everything I had done for him and the Guild. He gave me a Jacket-of-All-Trades. The Old Ebonheart Thieves Guild has no more jobs for me. I should look for them elsewhere.
120	Finishes quest	Getting ready to sail way, Cap'n Fentus thanked me for everything I had done for him and the Guild. For saving his own life he gave me a Jacket-of-All-Trades. As a farewell gift he also gave me a Thief's Moral Compass. It won't give me answers to questions of right and wrong, but it will point me towards hidden treasures. The Old Ebonheart Thieves Guild has no more jobs for me. I should look for them elsewhere.
200	Finishes quest	The guards didn't like me not giving them the Death Mask of Empress Katariah and attacked me. Moranie and Fentus will surely suffer for this. The Thieves Guild in Old Ebonheart is finished. I should look for new jobs elsewhere.
250	Finishes quest	I have been arrested by the guards. This will spell disaster for the Thieves Guild in Old Ebonheart. I should look for new jobs elsewhere.
An Empress' Ransom (TR_m3_TG_Moranie3b)
10		I helped the wounded Antio Florane.
15		Antio Florane thanked me for saving his life yet again. He also apologized for what he had done. He then left the tomb. I wonder if I'll ever see him again -- his wounds were pretty serious.
50		I left the wounded Antio Florane behind to die.
An Empress' Ransom (TR_m3_TG_Moranie3c)
10	Finishes quest	I told Yggulf the Mute that breaking out Moranie and Fentus is too much for me to handle. He doesn't blame me for that. The city guards are under orders to arrest all Thieves Guild members they encounter, however, so I can't stay in Old Ebonheart. I can leave the city unseen through Khalammu Grotto, which can be accessed from the central sewers. I can go into exile and do jobs elsewhere until I am ready to come back and help Moranie and the captain. I should talk to Yggulf again then.
An Empress' Ransom (TR_m3_TG_Moranie3d)
100		I killed Antio Florane.
An Empress' Ransom (TR_m3_TG_Moranie3e)
100		I presented the Death Mask of Empress Katariah to Moranie. She told me to give it to one of the guards immediately.

Prev: Lost in Chunzefk

Up: Thieves Guild Quests

Next: None