Oblivion:A Rat Problem

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1 Quick Walkthrough
2 Detailed Walkthrough
3 Notes
4 Bugs
5 Journal Entries

Azzan in Anvil wants you to see Arvena Thelas and help her with a rat problem in her basement. ^edit

Quest Giver: Azzan at Anvil Fighters Guild
Location(s): Anvil
Prerequisite Quest: None
Next Quest: The Unfortunate Shopkeeper or The Desolate Mine
Reward: Level-dependent gold; outcome-dependent skill boost; possible advancement in Fighters Guild.
Fame/Infamy: Fame +1
ID: FGC01Rats

Where could the trouble be coming from?

[edit] Quick Walkthrough

Speak with Azzan; he claims to have a job that's perfect for you.
Head over to Arvena's house, and ask her about the rat problem.
Go down to the basement to discover and kill the culprit in the act; afterwards, head back to Arvena, and speak with her again.
She demands you to find Pinarus Inventius, and go out on a seek-and-destroy hunting party.
Once you and Pinarus have finished up, return once again to Arvena. Apparently your excursion wasn't very successful.
Now you must follow Arvena's unknowing suspect around watching for suspicious activity.
Once you catch the responsible party, you must make a decision that will determine what reward you receive.

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

[edit] Anvil Fighters Guild

Speak to Azzan about Contracts then Rats to receive this quest. You can find Arvena Thelas in her house in Anvil just west of the North gate.

Could this be the problem?

[edit] Rat Problem?

When you talk to her you'll learn her rat 'problem' isn't exactly what it sounds like. Evidently she keeps the rats as pets and has been finding them dead. You are to find out what's been happening. Head down to the basement where you should find a starving mountain lion attacking the rats. Kill the lion and then report back to Arvena. She'll ask you to find Pinarus Inventius, a hunter whose house is just on the other side of the road. Speak to him and follow him outside the city. Kill all four starving mountain lions and go back to Arvena.

[edit] Maybe Bricks Would Work

You'll learn there is yet another lion in the basement. Kill that one, go back to Arvena and she'll tell you that she suspects Quill-Weave, whose house is two houses over on the same side of the road. She says that Quill-Weave never liked her rats and has been sneaking around Arvena's house at night. Wait around (in Sneak mode) behind Arvena's house until about midnight and Quill-Weave will show up. Speak to her after she drops the rotten meat and she'll confess to the deed. She didn't actually mean to lure the lions there, she was just trying to lure the rats out so the guards would kill them. You can decide whether to keep her secret or not.

[edit] To Rat or Not

There are two options for how to finish the quest:

If you tell Arvena that Quill-Weave had nothing to do with it then Quill-Weave will give you a free one-level boost in Acrobatics.
If you tell Arvena that Quill-Weave was behind it then Arvena will give you a free one-level boost in Speechcraft. Quill-Weave will still be available as an Acrobatics trainer but she'll call you a "rat" every time you speak with her, no matter how high her disposition toward you is.

Whichever option you choose, Arvena gives you the same level-dependent gold reward and your Fame is increased by one point. If this is the first Fighters Guild quest you have completed, return to Azzan for promotion to the rank of Apprentice.

Following the completion of this quest you can return to Azzan for your next Fighters Guild quest, The Unfortunate Shopkeeper. Or, if you have not yet completed it, you can instead go to Cheydinhal and get the quest The Desolate Mine from Burz gro-Khash.

[edit] Notes

Kill the mountain lions in the basement quickly - if all the rats get killed Arvena won't need your services any more. The quest will be completed but you will get neither Fame nor free skill training.

Quill-Weave sometimes travels out of Anvil. This might be a good time to use your quest markers and world map to see where she is, since there's no point in waiting outside her home if she's in Chorrol. If she's gone, she'll usually be back the next day. When you follow her to other cities, you'll usually find her breaking into homes and stealing stuff in the night before returning to Anvil the next day.

For the first Fighters Guild quest in Morrowind there is a lady who has a problem with rats. Coincidentally, her name is Drarayne Thelas, a relative perhaps? One hates rats and the other loves them.

You can pick up the meat Quill-Weave leaves and it is perfectly fine (not rotten at all) to be used for alchemy or to eat.

Killing the rats before undertaking the quest (e.g. when you loot her house) will result in failing the contract. Arvena won't need your services any more. Killing all the rats while doing the quest will also result in failing the contract.

If you are in a rush, you can kill the lions yourself before Pinarus arrives at the location - he takes a long time getting there.

[edit] Bugs

Speaking to Arvena Thelas before undertaking the quest while she is sitting on the bench outside her house might break the quest (she never gets back into her house). POSSIBLE FIX: Break into Arvena Thelas' house. From inside the house, make sure your selected quest *is* the Rat Problem. then open console and first use the getstage command: getstage FGC01Rats (case-sensitive). The returned stage should be 10.00. Then use the "movetoqt" command. You should appear outside Arvena's house, with Arvena standing right in front of you.
- Alternatively, you can strike Arvena and allow yourself to be arrested. When you return to her home, she will have reappeared upstairs.
- Arvena might reenter her house after waiting or sleeping.
- This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.

[edit] Journal Entries

A Rat Problem (FGC01Rats)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		Azzan has told me of a contract in Anvil with Arvena Thelas. I should speak to her about a problem with rats in her basement.
20		Arvena Thelas has rats in her basement, but they're not the problem. She loves the rats, but she's been finding them dead. She would like me to go down and investigate what's been happening.
30		I've killed a mountain lion in Arvena Thelas' basement. They must be sneaking in through a hole in the wall somewhere. I should tell Arvena what has happened.
40		Arvena Thelas was glad to know what was killing her rats, but she still doesn't feel safe. She'd like me to speak with Pinarus Inventius about hunting down mountain lions in the area.
50		Pinarus has agreed to look for mountain lions with me. If we find them, we'll kill them, and make Arvena feel safer.
55		We've killed all the mountain lions Pinarus believes are in the area. I should return to Arvena Thelas.
60		I've told Arvena about the mountain lions, but she doesn't believe her problem is solved, as there's a mountain lion in her basement now. I'll have to kill it.
65		I've killed the second mountain lion in Arvena Thelas' basement. I should tell Arvena.
70		Arvena now believes that her neighbor, Quill-Weave, might be responsible. Arvena has seen her sneaking around outside the house at night. I should watch Quill-Weave and see what she's doing. I should not let Quill-Weave see me, though, lest she get suspicious.
80		I've seen Quill-Weave leaving meat outside Arvena Thelas' house. This must be what is attracting the mountain lions into town and into Arvena's basement. I should confront Quill-Weave.
90		I've confronted Quill-Weave, and she has admitted to trying to kill off Arvena's rats. She has promised to stop, and has asked me not to tell Arvena what she's done.
100	0	I've told Arvena Thelas what Quill-Weave has been doing. She thanked me for my help, and has paid me for the contract. She's also taught me a bit about Speechcraft.
105		I've told Arvena Thelas that the problem has been solved, and she has paid me for the contract. I should see Quill-Weave and tell her I've protected her secret.
110	0	Quill-Weave thanked me for protecting her secret, and has trained me in Acrobatics for free.
200	0	All of the rats in Arvena Thelas' basement are dead. I've failed my contract.

Notes

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 random order.
If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage quest stage. Where quest is the internal name of the quest, and stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages. See SetStage for more information.