"Benjamin Gershwin, the phrenologist, wants you to bring him the skulls of the Ren'ar siamese twins."
The Player's Quest Log
This is a chain quest for a long and drawn out narrative that spans the continent; and at times seems to have reached several dead ends. It is also part of the bedrock of the ingame lore and provides a cornerstone of current Arcanum society. Many questions may be answered, but many more will be raised by the conclusion of this quest.
Some steps are optional and are marked as such. They represent the natural flow of the narrative and provide background, context, and world building. They can be delayed or even skipped, however, for a more streamlined experience.
Looking for the Skulls, or Meeting a Stranger[]
- (OPTIONAL) The quest begins with Benjamin Gershwin, Tarant University's Phrenologist. He will ask you to find the skulls of the Ren’ar Siamese twins. He thinks that they are interred at the Tarant Cemetery, and he confides that he is willing to employ grave robbing as being for the "greater good" of science.
- (OPTIONAL) At the cemetery, you will find that the door to one of the mausoleums has been pried open. Inside that mausoleum is a coffin that is empty except for a matchbook from the Wellington Gentleman's Club. That Club is the next place to visit.
- (NOTE) Men are free to visit this establishment.
- (NOTE) Women are refused entry, but still have a few avenues:
- Pick Pocket the key from the doorman
- Use Unlocking Cantrip to unbar the door
- Find out the name of the Club Owner from the doorman, getting his address from the Hall of Records, and then paying him a visit
- Once you meet with Wendell Wellington the options branch further:
- Pay a bribe and sleep with him for a special invitation
- Pick Pocket the invite
- Kill him and his bodyguard and loot his corpse for the invite
- With 8 points (2 ranks) of melee, you can threaten him for it
- With 4 points (1 rank) of persuasion and a reaction modifier of 81 you can sweet talk him for it
- Using this invitation will allow a lady to come and go as she pleases
- (OPTIONAL) Inside of the Club are a variety of individuals, some of whom are involved in separate quests. Talking to the man at the bar reveals that he is one very drunk Sir Matt de Cesare, and he is not very happy if you ask him about the matchbook. He seems suspicious, but after he threatens you with violence it is best to leave.
- As you wander the city you will run into an half-Orc named Thom Grak at the Kensington Station. The topic of de Cesare will come up and he will ask you to deliver a message to him back at the club. Doing this will give you another chance to engage with de Cesare and find out about the matchbook if you have been following the optional route. Otherwise it will result in your first meeting with him. In either case the reward is 1700 exp
Obtaining the Skulls[]
- An apparently drunken Matt de Cesare will greet you, but he seems to have forgotten who you are if you have previously met. However when you deliver Grak's message to him, an assassin will try to kill de Cesare. He kills the assassin instead, and reveals that his apparent drunkenness was a rouse. If you convince de Cesare that you where not involved, then he will admit that the matchbook is his, and that he is also looking for the same skulls as Gershwin. And if you offer to help him, then he will hint at a conspiracy, and ask you to recover the skulls for him instead. He will direct you to the docks and warehouse district as they are due to be shipped out soon.
- Exploring the area will lead you to the warehouse that contains the skulls as well as some other loot. The warehouse is guarded inside by an Ogre and a Wererat, so be prepared for a fight. The general area is also the territory of a gang of Orcs who patrol the outside at night. The door to the warehouse and the chest inside with the Skulls are locked, and there is no key. So Thieving Techniques will be needed to acquire them.
- When you get the Skulls and take them to de Cesare, he will divulge more of the conspiracy. It involves a secret breeding program of which the Skulls are evidence. Your reward is 3100 exp.
Deliver the Skulls to Arthur Tyron[]
- Sir Matt de Cesare will ask you to take the Skulls to another member of his team, one Arthur Tyron. Tyron was last seen in Black Root and he directs you there.
- (OPTIONAL) If you travel to Black Root then you will discover that Arthur Tyron is nowhere to be found. However he has left a coded note in an abandoned house there. You can take this message back to de Cesare in Tarant. If you do so, then he will confirm that it is genuine, and that the danger is increasing. He will then ask you to keep looking for Tyron.
- Eventually whenever you get to Caladon, you will meet Arthur Tyron as you explore the city. If you show him the skulls then he will explain that the conspiracy is that Gnomes were force breeding captive Human women with Ogres to produce half-Ogre bodyguards. And that now Human women are no longer needed, as there are enough female half-Ogres in a secluded village to continue birthing them themselves. Your reward is 3100 exp.
Finding Proof of the Conspiracy[]
- He then states that he is lacking proof, but that something might be found at the original suspected laboratory on Half-ogre Island. He asks you to go to find it in his stead, as de Cesare has been killed.
- Any ship captain will take you to the island, but you will also need to take enough money with you to pay for a return passage back to the port from which you left. The island itself is an uninhabited jungle except for a dock and a nearby building facility. Exploring the facility will yield a journal which goes into detail about the inner workings of the original breeding program. This is the evidence that Tyron wants. Your reward is 3100 exp.
Epilogue[]
- When you return to Caladon you will find that Tyron is gone and that a stranger is in his house instead. The stranger will at first confirm the entire conspiracy, then deny it, then make no claim whatsoever.
- For the skulls, you have two options:
- Keep them (no reward), or
- Sell them to Benjamin Gershwin, your original client. Your reward for that is 100 gp and 1000 exp.
- (NOTE) If you did this out of order and sold the skulls to Gershwin before showing them to de Cesare, then you have to find a way to get them back in order to continue.
- For the journal, you have three options:
- Keep it (no reward), or
- Sell it to the press office in Caladon, for a reward of 100 gp, or
- Take it to the press office in Tarant, who will then tell you to take it back to the Caladon press office (see above)
- (NOTE) If you sell the journal, and you go back to the Caladon press office after a day, then there will be a new person there who will deny any knowledge of the affair. And if you had contacted the Tarant office first, then they will also deny all knowledge of events.