Online:An Affront to Mara

Retrieve relics stolen from a Temple of Mara. Zone: Reaper's March Objective: Fort Sphinxmoth — Help the priestess of Mara recover her lost relics. Quest Giver: Rafora Casca, Marcella Ammianus, Crispinus Platorius Location(s): Fort Sphinxmoth Concurrent Quest: Prisoners of the Sphinx Reward: Mara's Breath Average Leveled Gold XP Gain: Standard XP ID: 4676

The bandit chief's treasure room

Bandits attacked a chapel just over the border from Reaper's March. A group of temple guards and their priestess tracked them to the ruins of Fort Sphinxmoth.

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to Marcella outside Fort Sphinxmoth.
2. Find Mara's Chalice, Circlet, Dagger, and Phylactery inside the fort.
3. Return to Marcella.

Detailed Walkthrough

As you approach Fort Sphinxmoth from the southwest, you will meet an Imperial named Rafora Casca who warns you that the road isn't safe. She is tracking a group of thieves who stole from the Temple of Mara just over the border in nearby [[Online:Cyrodiil|Cyrodiil]. If you want to help out, you can speak to Priestess Marcella. Alternately, you can start the quest by speaking directly to Marcella.

Marcella Ammianus is further along the path to the north, standing to the left of the skyshard, behind Tertia Macatus. She says the thieves stole four artifacts: the Chalice of Mara, the Circlet of Mara, the Dagger of Mara and the Phylactery of Mara. Speaking further with her will reveal that four people went in earlier to retrieve the relics, but they haven't returned:

How many chapel guardians did you send into the ruins?

"Four of them. Eliana, Decanus, Veranus, and Talania. None of them have come back and I fear for their lives. If you can help them, in Mara's name, please do."

If you want to know more about the ruins, there is a roving guard, Horatia, who can help:

"I wish I could go with you. I'm worried about my companions who've gone inside, but the priestess won't allow me to go in after them."

Do you know anything about this place?

"Hmm. I think I saw an old book among those old tents. I've got to stay on the move, but that book might be able to tell you more."

The phylactery is in the first large room you enter in the fort. On your way to reach it, you may notice either a soldier in chains or a wounded soldier on the stairs. Interacting with either of these will begin a concurrent quest. Regardless, the phylactery is in a trunk on the upper level of the large room, guarded by Darius. Darius has apparently been involved in a tryst with a now-spurned lover, whom he used in order to acquire an item needed by the bandits; her despondent letters can be found on the upper level, as well.

To reach the remaining items, you'll need to head to the eastern side of the map, passing through a ruined barbican filled with poison gas traps. Sneaking will reveal the pressure plates, so you can avoid them. If you want to see Darius' side of the love story, you can carefully ascend the broken stairs on the west side to find a letter from him.

After negotiating the barbican, head into the storage vaults. Defeat another bandit lieutenant and keep following the hallway to go downstairs. The circlet is in a small alcove to the right. Watch out for more poison gas traps! Note: If you fall into or walk into the nearby crocodile pit, you'll need to solve a puzzle to get out. The order is: The Thief, The Tower, and The Mage.

Exit to the outer court, the large open area in the southwest corner of the map. The dagger is in the tower to the southwest, west of the water. It's in a trunk behind the stairs inside the tower guarded by another bandit lieutenant. Finally, head to the inner court, defeat the leader of these bandits, and claim the chalice from the bandits' treasure room to the west, using the lever for entry.

Exit the fort through the nearby gate (again with lever) and return to Marcella Ammianus outside Fort Sphinxmoth to be rewarded for finding the relics.

Notes

• The trunks containing the relics won't exist inside the ruins before starting the quest.
• The icon depicting the Circlet of Mara appears as a silver circlet when the description states it's made out of gold

Quest Stages

An Affront to Mara
Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
	I should speak to Priestess Marcella. Objective: Talk to Marcella Ammianus
	I've been asked to enter the ruins to retrieve the stolen relics. Objective: Enter Fort Sphinxmoth
	I should search Fort Sphinxmoth for the stolen relics. Objective: Find Phylactery of Mara Objective: Find Circlet of Mara Objective: Find Dagger of Mara Objective: Find Chalice of Mara
	I recovered all of the relics stolen from the Chapel of Mara. I should return to the priestess. Objective: Exit Fort Sphinxmoth
Finishes quest	I recovered all four stolen relics. I should return them to Priestess Marcella Ammianus. Objective: Talk to Marcella Ammianus

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.