Oblivion:Caught in the Hunt

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Contents 1 Quick Walkthrough 2 Detailed Walkthrough 2.1 A Missing Husband 2.2 Fort Grief 2.3 Duel with Kurdan 2.4 Return to Bravil 3 Bugs 4 Notes 5 Journal Entries

Ursanne Loche's husband is missing! edit Quest Giver: Ursanne Loche at Bravil Location(s): Bravil, Fort Grief Prerequisite Quest: None Next Quest: None Reward: Biography of the Wolf Queen (Speechcraft skill book) Fame/Infamy: Fame +1; Infamy +1 if Aleron dies prematurely ID: MS08

Fort Grief - Where hunters become the hunted

[edit] Quick Walkthrough

1. Learn of Ursanne's missing husband.
2. Confront her about this, and she will direct you to the loanshark, Kurdan.
3. Kurdan tells you to go to an island in Niben Bay.
4. When you arrive and speak to Aleron, he informs you it is all a game.
5. Defeat the pursuing hunters, and make it out of the dungeon.
6. Defeat Kurdan, take his key, and get off the island.
7. Return to Ursanne with the news, and receive your reward.

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

[edit] A Missing Husband

A rumor floating around Bravil will tell you that Ursanne Loche's husband Aleron has disappeared. You will need to find Ursanne in order to pursue the matter further. Ursanne will tell you that her husband has racked up a significant debt by gambling. Now an Orc loan shark named Kurdan gro-Dragol has taken him captive. Speak with Kurdan in The Lonely Suitor Lodge. As long as his disposition with you is 60 or over he will tell you that in order to release Ursanne's husband, you must travel to Fort Grief on an island in Niben Bay to retrieve an axe. If you agree to go, he will tell you that he has prepared a boat for you to use.

[edit] Fort Grief

The boat is found at the bottom of the wooden steps leading down to the river flowing through Bravil. Step into the boat and activate it to be transported to the island. The switch for the gate into Fort Grief is just to the right of the locked gate, on the ground. Inside you will find Aleron, who informs you that he was tricked into coming to look for the axe as well, but it's really a game where you are hunted to the death. Save your game -- a full save, not a quick one -- before entering the dungeon. Otherwise, you could get frozen on your way out (see bugs). It may also be sensible to make sure that Aleron is on the lowest level of the ruins before you enter the dungeon. Wander through the booby-trapped dungeon collecting the keys from the hunters as you kill them. If you find these hunters tough going, try luring them into the various traps. There is a pit that they can fall through, with spikes at the bottom, that is especially useful. Once you get back outside, Kurdan shows up and kills Aleron. When you walk through the door, you will be frozen until this killing occurs; it is possible for the game to permanently freeze at this point, as described under bugs.

[edit] Duel with Kurdan

Walk up to Kurdan, and he will explain that he can't let you leave the island alive. Fight and kill Kurdan. If you find him difficult to beat, try running into the upper levels of the ruins (he doesn't seem to climb stairs all that well). There will be an archer on the next level that is working in league with Kurdan, but the archer is easy compared to the Orc. Both Kurdan and Ra'jhera the Keeneye are wearing leveled light armor. Depending on your level, Kurdan's equipment may be enchanted. After you take care of the archer, you can steal his weapons and rain arrows down upon Kurdan. Search Kurdan's body for a key to open the gate of the small room to your left as you enter the dungeon, allowing access to a lever which will open up the main exit gate on the outside. The conversation with Kurdan can be skipped by attacking him, in which case his archer lackey will not spawn.

[edit] Return to Bravil

Return to Bravil and speak to Ursanne Loche again to receive your reward, a copy of Biography of the Wolf Queen, which is a speechcraft skill book.

[edit] Bugs

• The most common problem with this quest is becoming permanently frozen when you exit from the Hunters Run. The game is supposed to just freeze until Kurdan kills Aleron, but if Kurdan is unable to reach Aleron, you become stuck forever. This is particularly likely if Aleron finds his way onto one of the upper levels of the ruined fort; for some reason, Kurdan is unable to chase him up there. The 1.1.511 patch fixes this bug (at least in part). Other fixes for this bug include:
  • Prepare ahead of time by making sure that Aleron is on the lowest level of the ruins before you enter the Hunters Run.
  • On the PS3 and Xbox 360, the only other option is to load from an earlier saved game. This game must be from before the last of Kurdan's three Hunters in the Hunters Run have been killed. Before killing the last hunter, be sure to head outside and push Aleron down to the lowest level of the ruins.
  • On PC, you can use the Console to kill Aleron:
    1. In the console, type: prid 0001FEDA
    2. Type: kill (This will kill Aleron Loche, and may fix the quest. If not, continue to step 3.)
    3. Type: prid 0001FDB7
    4. Type: kill (This will kill Kurdan gro-Dragol as well. You should fight him, but if the game glitches on you, you may as well cheat just to get past it.)
    5. Close console, and you should be good to go.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
• It is possible to kill Kurdan, search his body, retrieve the key, and open the outer gate but you never receive the next quest update; you are unable to finish the quest. This bug can be triggered if you decide to pickpocket the key off Kurdan before killing him, or if you kill him with an attack or a spell that makes him fly into the air and then search him before he hits the ground, or are too close to him and retrieve the key from his corpse before the quest update that appears when he's dead.
  • PC users can use the Console and type setStage MS08 90 in order to get the next journal entry.
  • PS3 and Xbox360 users need to wait for the journal update where you're asked to search his body for the real key. After this update you can search the body, take the key and you will receive the next update.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
• Do not lead the hunters further into Hunter's Run when they are found; kill them close to where they are. Otherwise, you may trigger a bug where if either the Imperial or Nord hunter dies near an invisible marker for the next hunter (Nord and Orc respectively) the next hunter will never appear and the quest is broken.
  • PC users can use the Console and type PRID 1FEED (if the Nord hunter is missing) or PRID 907A5 (if the Orc hunter is missing), and then enable to cause the missing hunter to appear.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
• The first two hunters (Imperial and Nord) have to die for the next hunter to appear; pickpocketing the Hunter's Run keys from them will stall the quest. The quest will, however, update properly and be finishable if the last (Orc) hunter's key is pickpocketed from him.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
• It is possible for Kurdan to be fighting Daenlin or another patron when you first arrive at the Lonely Suitor Lodge, or if you choose to use the wait command (select "T" on PC, the "back" button on Xbox 360, or the "select" button on PS3) inside the lodge while Kurdan and Daenlin are also inside; if Kurdan is killed in any way before the appropriate point in the quest, you will get a journal update stating: "One of the characters needed to complete this quest has died". The quest is filed under Completed Quests. The only way to avoid this is to make sure that Kurdan does not get killed if you see him get involved in any fights.
  • This glitch leads to a variety of issues. The first is that you can still swim to Fort Grief and get inside. While the Nord and Breton hunters are absent, the final hunter, an Orc, will be there. He can be reached by accessing the door in the raised alcove to the right of the bridge. After killing him, leave the fort. This completes the mission in a sense, however all of Aleron's scenes will have never happened (as Kurdan could not kill him) but his wife will be aware of his death. The final glitch is that the issue of the reward(a skill book) will not be available and she will simply remark that she wants to be alone.
• If you use the Open cities mod, deactivate it before doing this quest. (make sure to do that outside of town.) otherwise you will face a few problems.
  • The stairs to Ursanne Loche's house are missing.
  • Completing the quest and using the boat will return you to the version of the town that open cities replaces. you will be unable to interact with any doors and will have to map back to the real town.
  • Any loot dropped in the replaced town is still retrievable. Just go back to the island and immediately back to town with the boat. you will be inside the town again, and your loot will be there to grab.
  • Version 1.10 of the mod fixes at least some of these problems.
• If you fast travel to Fort Grief instead of using the boat and don't go near enough the dock marker to advance the quest, Aleron will not be there. If you go into the Hunters Run, you will only encounter one lone orc hunter; killing him skips the quest to the point where it says you and Aleron should get off of the island. But since Aleron was never enabled (because you did not properly transport to Fort Grief), Kurdan will just stand there, activating the freeze bug. On the PC, you can use the following Console commands to activate Aleron:
  1. prid 0001FEDA
  2. enable
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
• Sometimes, Kurdan's Khajiit archer is not present in the fort for the final battle. This glitch has no effect on how the plot plays out, though.

[edit] Notes

• The details of this quest are an allusion to Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game."
• You can escape the trap by opening the gate, then closing it while running through. The gate will then open when you talk to Aleron and you can then escape without going through the Hunter's Run.
• Although an invisible wall extends above the fort's broken walls in most places, you can still jump out of the fort if you have very high Acrobatics skill. In order to do this you will have to use the trick of running up the top flight of stairs and jumping as you reach the top of the stairs, which gives your jump height a "boost". Paintbrushes can be used in certain parts to escape. Fast Travel is also disabled while in or near the fort.
• When fighting Kurdan's Orc Hunter in The Hunter's Abyss, one cheap trick is to run around the pool with him chasing you. If you go around enough times, he will get confused and go into the water. From here you can shoot him with a bow very easily with minimal risk of him fighting back. Additionally, there's an area underneath the floor which you can lure him into from outside the pool, and if he gets stuck under there, he will choke and eventually drown.
• It is possible to pickpocket Kurdan's weapon at The Lonely Suitor Lodge before traveling to Fort Grief. This leaves Kurdan empty handed, forcing him to use hand-to-hand combat making the final duel easier. The Generic Magic Weapon he has varies depending on your level.
• Some quest updates assume that you are using the boat to travel to and from the island. Therefore, it is safest to always use the boat instead of using fast travel or swimming.
• Before going into the Hunter's Run, explore the area above ground at the fort. Go all the way up to the top level, and you'll see a chest with some Shadowbanish Wine in it. You need to make two easy jumps to get to it. Remember this location, however, because when you fight Kurdan afterwards, it's the perfect vantage point from which to rain down arrows and spells on him. You can even ignore the archer, because where he stands, he can't see you up there, because you're behind a pillar. You can then stand on the intermediate pillar and kill the archer from above if you want. Most of his arrows will hit the ledge, so you have a clean, mostly safe place to attack him from.
• It is possible to complete this quest without killing all the hunters. Once you get the first key, follow the red marker to a spot that if you look up, you will see a platform that you cannot jump to normally. Fortify your Acrobatics skill (e.g. with the Boots of Springheel Jak) and you will be able to jump onto the platform. Go through the door in front of you and make your way through the small tunnel. Kill the final Orc hunter and take the final key. A message will pop up telling you to go back where you started. Upon returning to the entrance of the Run, you will see the ending scene with Kurdan and Aleron.
• Tip for bringing all the loot to Bravil in one go: The boat works even when you are over-encumbered! Drop your heavy loot in or by the boat; then, when the fort is empty, stand in the boat and pick everything up. Take care when picking stuff up because if you miss you may activate the boat. Doesn't seem to matter much, though. Your loot will not follow you back to the city, but if you return to the island it will still be there in the bottom of the boat.
• If you don't mind committing a murder, there's a quick way to end this quest: Kill Aleron as soon as you meet him. A pop-up window tells you that the quest is now over, and Kurdan will appear nearby. Either kill Kurdan or pickpocket him to get the key, then go to the room just inside the fort and open the outer gate. (You won't get the reward book if you do this).
• Ursanne is not an essential character. If she dies, the quest will be broken at the point where you need to talk to her and the quest marker will point to the place where she died.

[edit] Journal Entries

Caught in the Hunt (MS08)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
5		While in Bravil, I've heard that Ursanne Loche's husband, Aleron, is missing. If I wish to help, I should attempt to locate Ursanne and see if I can find out more information.
10		I've met Ursanne Loche in Bravil. She's told me that her husband, Aleron Loche is missing and she needs my help to locate him. I should ask her more about Aleron to help determine if I'm interested in helping.
20		Aleron owed a great deal of money to an Orc usurer named Kurdan gro-Dragol. He went there a day ago to beg for more time, and hasn't returned since. Kurdan gro-Dragol usually frequents The Lonely Suitor Lodge, which is close by. Perhaps I should pay him a visit.
30		Kurdan gro-Dragol has told me that he knows the location of Aleron Loche, and if I want him to reveal it to me, I'll have to retrieve an axe that belonged to his father and was lost on Fort Grief Island some time ago. If I don't bring the axe back, he says that Aleron will die. When I'm ready, I need to speak to Kurdan who will provide a boat for me.
40		Kurdan gro-Dragol told me that the boat is waiting for me at the dock next to the magic shop here in Bravil. I should get underway soon, as I wish to find out what's happened to Aleron.
50		I've arrived at Fort Grief. I should proceed inside the ruined keep and begin my search for the axe.
60		To my surprise, I've come across Aleron Loche inside the ruined keep of Fort Grief! He told me that the search for the axe is a ruse that Kurdan gro-Dragol uses to lure people into the ruins. Apparently, Aleron and I are now the prey in a bizarre hunting sport that Kurdan created. I should talk to Aleron and find out more.
65		If Aleron and I are to survive, I need to proceed down into the Hunter's Run and defeat the hunters being sent after us. According to the "rules", one of them will have the key to unlock the door Kurdan sealed behind us. Since Aleron is in no condition to fight, I'll have to seek these hunters out myself.
70		I've defeated all of the hunters. I should search the body of the Orc Hunter for the key to the keep door of Fort Grief.
75		I've found the key to the door of the keep at Fort Grief. I should now return to Aleron and get us both off this island.
80		I've returned to find Kurdan himself standing over the corpse of Aleron, whom he'd murdered. I had no choice but to attack and slay him. I should search Kurdan's corpse for anything that may help me get out of these ruins.
90		The key I discovered on the Orc Hunter was indeed a fake and the real key was on Kurdan's body. He'd never intended to let us leave whether we won his demented hunt or not. The real key should allow me to unlock the gateroom inside the Hunter's Run and then leave Fort Grief. I will then have to bring Ursanne the sad news.
100	0	I've told Ursanne about her husband's death. I said that he fought bravely and that his thoughts were with her before he died. She thanked me for my kind words and bestowed a book upon me that belonged to Aleron. I know that I did the best I could, but at least Aleron's death was avenged.
150	0	One of the characters needed to complete this quest has died.

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.